I was immediately taken aback to see this quote from Rep Mike Pence (R-IN) in this morning’s headline article- behind a paywall- (House Cuts Spending, Regulation) in the Times-Argus:

It is morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans and use them to fund organizations that provide and promote abortion.

How shockingly wrong Mr Pence is.  We are all, of course, free to our own opinions.  That’s the supposed point of liberal democracy and Constitutionally protected freedom- you can be for against a woman’s right to choose what’s best for her body and her family and her life, you can be for or against limits in campaign contributions, you can be for or against tax-subsidies to this or that corporation or industry; you can even believe and practice whatever religious rites you want to (or don’t want to).

However, the function of the government is to take the resources (tax revenues) of the nation and provide support and services that benefit everyone, regardless of any one individual or group’s own particular belief in this, that or the other thing.  Most importantly, said function should be particularly focused on providing for the needs of the most vulnerable, the least fortunate, and least able of our society.  It is the government (and to be clear, I’m not a fan whatsoever of ‘the state’ but I use it in this form as the present-world function of the collective “will of the people”, as it supposedly is) which steps in to make sure the needs of the citizens are achieved.

There are any number of things which I do not like or agree with- yet my neighbors have needs which are different than mine, and if they find themselves un-able to accomplish those needs which generally provide for their own health, wellness, and prosperity than it is certainly my job (through ‘the state’) to provide for such.  If my needy neighbor is left to fail and suffer, the negative impacts upon me, my family, and our own health, wellness and prosperity are exponential.

The typical conservative retort would be that it is not, in fact, the role of the government to provide things for people which they are not capable of achieving themselves; that “true democracy” is a free-for-all, a survival of the fittest sort of anarchy out in the marketplace.  Such empty rhetoric is easily exposed as mere doublespeak from the mouths of the rich in their never-ending class war against the working and impoverished among us.  These very same conservatives who demand government “get out of the way” are happy to enact laws which deter or prevent people from forming unions, and set rules which favor bosses over unions.  These very same conservatives throw massive heaps of subsidies and “tax breaks” (giveaways) to certain industries (big agriculture, war toys, pharmaceuticals, oil-coal-nuclear) while declining to do so for others (local agriculture, clean technology, health care, clean energy).

The past 32 years, in fact 70 years, of American government as well as international governments (primarily European) show the absolute failure of the ideas of conservatism.  Left free to “the market” the rich get richer while everyone else falls further and further behind.  If the conservative notion of government “getting out of the way” where so right, over 250 million people across America would be left to starve, die of easily treatable and preventable health problems, and generally waste away their lives working for slave wages 80 hours a week just to try and care for their families; all while the top 10% or so of the population struggles to find ways to spend their vast and often un-imaginable fortunes.  Such a “society” brings in to question why humans would biologically be social animals at all, as no other social species works for the success of the few at the detriment of the many.

No, Mr Pence, it is not morally wrong to use the resources of the people of this country to provide services to the most needy.  It is morally wrong to deny such services based on part of the population’s religious (personal) opinion of right and wrong.

For those who think Vermont Democrats are ignoring labor:

From VDP Chairwoman Judy Bevans:

As you have undoubtedly heard, workers in Wisconsin are under siege. Under the banner of addressing his state’s budget crisis, the Badger State’s tea party governor is pushing through one of the worst union-busting bills in modern history.

But Wisconsin’s workers aren’t alone!

All over this nation, teachers, fire fighters, cops, and other public employees are under the threat of having their voices silenced.  Vermont might too have been one of these states, if it weren’t for the fact that we stood up against the Republican attack machine and elected a Democratic Governor and strong Democratic majorities in our State House and Senate who value our middle class.

To that end, we are asking our activists to stand together with Democrats in Wisconsin and fight for workers’ rights.

The Wisconsin Democratic Party is currently conducting virtual phone banks to let people know what’s happening in their state.  If you’re interested and can help, please email saveourstate@wisdems.org for log-in information.

There’s more after the flip

VDP’s Labor message to Vermont Democrats, continued:

Republican Governor Scott Walker’s budget represents one of the boldest assaults on working families and the middle class in quite some time. And this from a state known for its progressive leaders from both sides of the aisle, like Republican Congressman “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Sr. and former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, who has recently started his own PAC, Progressives United.

Right now, the bill is temporarily stalled in the Senate after 14 Democrats walked off the floor of that chamber in protest, denying Republicans the chance to pass this legislation. Those Democrats are currently in Illinois, working to get their message out about what this bill will mean to the working families they represent.

[Thursday], over 25,000 protesters stormed the statehouse in Madison in opposition to the bill, with many more expected to show today. But even this might not be enough to prevent Republicans from getting their way.

We need to stand shoulder to shoulder against these threats and show our solidarity with Wisconsin’s working families. Again, I’d like to ask you to consider taking an hour or two to make phone calls into Wisconsin to let people know what’s at stake. You can do your part by e-mailing the Wisconsin Democratic Party at saveourstate@wisdems.org.

I’m also calling on Vermont Democrats to make your voice heard next Tuesday, February 22nd as we stand with organized labor for a noontime rally at our own statehouse in support.  Contact the Vermont AFL-CIO for more details at (802) 223-5229.

Thanks for your consideration of this urgent request.

~ Judy

Judy Bevans, Chairwoman, Vermont Democratic Party

[emphasis added]

Some notes from the scene:

According to someone I know who was at the Wisconsin Capitol Thursday, two Republicans have also absented themselves to prevent a quorum.

[UPDATE: The report of the two R’s walking is unconfirmed, although it was tallied that way on a whiteboard in the rotunda]

She also wrote that firemen from Janesville (home of Lands End catalog merchants) marched in solidarity, accompanied by three bagpipers, even though police and firefighters have been exempted from the depredations of this particular union-busting bill.

She saw:

People of every possible age and a wide demographic range. There were “Orthodox Christians For Unions”, and a guy at the top of State St calling for a General Strike.

And, btw, she says the unions are receiving statements of support from members of the Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packers, the only publicly-owned football team in America.

Another person in a comment on this LiveJournal entry quoted “St. Molly of Austin: ‘have fun fightin’ for freedom!'”

Words to live by.

Also check out Steve Benen’s take:

[Republican Governor Scott] Walker inherited a pretty good fiscal situation from his Democratic predecessor — Wisconsin was on track to end the fiscal year with an extra $120 million in state coffers. […] a far-right governor inherited sound state finances, made them worse on purpose, and now demands public employees fix his problem. While he’s at it, Walker hopes to engage in superfluous union-busting, not to improve the budget, but just because he feels like it.

The “worse on purpose” came from a couple of big business tax breaks and a train wreck in health care policy.

Make some calls: you’ll be glad you did.

I see Donald Trump wants us to tax other countries, including much of Europe and South Korea (for hosting U.S. troops on their soil); and China, which holds a double handful of U.S. debt. His hair-brained logic doesn’t really merit elaboration, but the “audacity of (this) dope” begs the question: how has the Ugly American evolved since 1958, when the bestselling novel which coined the purjorative was first released? A character in the book explains it this way:

Many of us recoiled from the waste, greed and human suffering…but not all. There was a growing anger on the far right; not so much with Bush and his folly for invading Iraq.  This anger turned back on the very people who opposed the war domestically, and on the overwhelming majority of our traditional allies who shared in this opposition.  The far right dug in their heels and ratcheted-up the pseudo-patriotic rhetoric, adding a healthy dose of “Christian” self-righteousness for good measure.

The candidacy and then election of the first “black” president, with all of his cross-cultural chops, showed every promise of turning around America’s tarnished reputation, but it only served to inflame the defensive anger on the far right for whom all pretense of tolerance and engagement was cast aside as a new wave of xenophobia swept the land.  Now, after several decades of Republican excess and obstructionism, our financial system is in ruins, our children are falling behind in education, our jobs have been off-shored, and our governance is in danger of being reduced to corporate colonialism with a dash of tribal lunacy thrown in, just to keep us guessing.  We have one of the highest levels of income inequity in the industrialized world.  Notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary, characters like Sara Palin and Michel Bachman prattle on about American exceptionalism, without a touch of irony.  This sort of mindless nationalism looks uncomfortably familiar to the rest of the world.

If, in 2012, we were to revert to type (god forbid), electing the guy with the most name-recognition, lowest I.Q., and biggest pair of clown-shoes; that Bush might well be Trump.  I can just see the Donald extending an open palm to China, demanding taxes.  Having a smorgasbord of emerging  economies with which to do business, China to Trump might well reply with a smile, “You’re foreclosed.”

In the 4th Article of the United States’ Constitution, it is declared that all states have a “Republican form of government”. This forces upon the state government that it be elected by the people, and that it serve the interests of the people. In Vermont, as with all other 50 states and the several dependencies, this has tended to come with a bicameral legislature (or just unicameral, in a single case), a governor, a lieutenant governor, and a system for elections that oftentimes closes down any third party opposition. Some governments are dutifully trying to do what is right as in our state, while others are trying to force a rewriting of history, as we’ve seen in states like Arizona and Wisconsin.

While I can’t complain about Vermont’s political landscape (hell, even the secessionists and liberty union crowd make the place fun), I can, and will complain that our system isn’t quite as perfect as we’d like it to be. I suppose, with my limited understanding on the formation of government, and the political powers in the state, I’ll try to show you what I think our state should operate, at least on an electoral and legislative level. (I might delve into what I do know some of, which is the economics of it. Might.)

I won’t mince words, I don’t think the primary system we have in our state works. I believe the progressives in Burlington were onto something when IRV (instant runoff voting) was implemented, and I was saddened when it was stripped from the city for merely political reasons, stripping the people of the city a real opportunity to choose in an election. I think the IRV should be taken statewide, to every office, from the town and the village, to Montpelier, St. Albans, to Rutland and beyond. A statewide election system based on IRV gives a political party (or independents) more of a chance than the current system. With this, a flow of ideas, the kind of flow that makes Vermont great, can become even more powerful. Without the trade of ideas, we’ll become stagnant, I don’t particularly want to see that.

So, IRV still is within the “Republican form of government” required by Article 4.

Next, Vermont should reform its bicameral legislature, into parliamentary assemblies. I’ll admit, this idea makes IRV look palatable to even people like the ones at Vermont Tiger. In this concept, there wouldn’t be the separation of a head-of-state and a head-of-government. The head of state would also be the head of government, in other words, the powers that Governor Shumlin has today, a Premier Shumlin would have in this scenario. What would change, is the role of the Lieutenant Governor, while in Vermont we sometimes have a Batman of one party to a Robin from another, a parliamentary system would dictate that the Lieutenant Governor be positioned either through a coalition government or a popular vote (through IRV) by the parliamentary assembly. In this case, it would still be possible that Phil Scott could be the Lieutenant Governor under Peter Shumlin, but his odds are diminshed. I do realize that at this point, Vermont would look like a one party state, but my belief is that redistricting, along with instant runoff voting, that not only will Democrats return to office in large numbers, but Republicans in the rural parts of the state could win seats they’ve lost in the last few cycles, and the Progressives will move out of their traditional strongholds. This includes motions of confidence, snap elections, and a fluid political system even more responsive to the Vermont voter.

There should be citizen juries, where a committee of chosen (at random, much like a jury trial) Vermont citizens are given petitions and referendums and give a report on the issues and suggest to the parliament action or inaction on the filings before them. The citizen juries would likely have the lottery two months after an election (whether snap or not) to give time to the new (or re-elected) government time to form their cabinet.

In this electoral change, campaign spending, filing, and finance laws need to be completely transparent. Where is money moving from, where is it moving to, and what mediums is it being spent on. Personally, in this if a candidate raises more than $10,000.00 in a race for the state legislature or statewide office, any amount over 10,000.00 goes into the rainy day fund (regardless of party). The remainder can be spent in the lull between elections, with quarterly filings. Could we also have a sort of CSPAN for this parliament (or for this legislature, anyway)? VT Digger and the BFP do a good job, but it’s not quite wall-to-wall coverage on the government.

For the economic aspect of this, all the letterheads will be changed, the wiki will be edited, but we should use a popular referendum to create Offices of Trade to our top 10 international trading partners, to secure deals on energy and goods that give the next generation of citizens a fair shake at an evolving world. That is, if it passes.

I think this is all I want to type for now. This might be a series.

What does it mean when a bass player dies?

There isn’t a lot of video out there that I can find of Dave Shapiro.   You can see him at the beginning of this piece– he’s the guy hunched over a double-bass doing very solid work behind the scenes, making the other musicians look good, but around 6 minutes in, his fairly incredible solo starts:

Dave was a friend of mine– not a close friend.  We talked from time to time about doing music together, but it never quite happened.  That’s my fault.  I needed to make it happen and just never did.  

I don’t know exactly how Dave died.  There’s not much word out there about it right now.  It’s not important.

So I’m just going to share a little bit.   He and I taught at the same college for a time and at one point our courses intersected so we could commute together, which made the rides more interesting.  He knew a lot about the history of Jazz.  Had been there for a lot of it.  He hated the Ken Burns Jazz series– he had a conspiracy theory about it.  Dave had conspiracy theories about everything.  This one involved the Burns series focusing only on musicians whom the label sponsoring it (Columbia?) had signed.  I didn’t know if it was true or not.  

He also insisted on explaining to me why every single thing in Charles Mingus’ autobiography was a lie, though I don’t remember any details about it.  The rides were fun.  I never could tell how much of what he was telling me was complete crap and how much was genuine, but it was a lot of fun to hear the stories regardless.

My favorite story of his though is one I’m convinced was true.   There’s a ride from Newfane (VT) to Grafton which is not a long ride, but an unpleasant one in poor weather.  He had a gig at the Grafton Inn and there was a snowstorm.  So instead of the 20 minutes he would normally take, he gave himself an hour and a half, and slowly made his way there.  Took him most of that time but he made it to the gig.  He was the only guy in the band to make it.

It was an anniversary party for this couple.  I can’t remember which anniversary– 30th, 40th… whichever– but their son was there and asked if Dave wanted to try just jamming out some — he was a drummer and they were the only musicians there so they figured what the heck.  Turns out the son was an amazing drummer– absolutely fantastic.  They jammed together for a few hours.

Dave didn’t realize who he was.  How would he?  Dave never gave a damn about pop music.  It was all about jazz for him.  Wouldn’t have been able to tell Justin Bieber from Marky Mark.  

So he had absolutely no idea that he’d spent the evening jamming with Steven Tyler until they were wrapping up for the night.  He just thought it was funny– not so much that he jammed with a famous rock star, but that he had no idea whatsoever that he was doing it.

Dave was a great guy and a fantastic musician.  I know he didn’t have an easy life, and I know his wife died several years before him.   I enjoyed those rides with him, the strange stories.  I loved arguing with him about music theory.  

At one point, he tried to explain to me the value of 1/1 time, which basically boiled down to never having to worry about keeping proper time.  I don’t get to spend a lot of time around people who as mentally convoluted as I am.  He had his rant about 1/1 time and I had my rant about how C^# and D^b are completely different notes and it was a mistake to confuse them.  Between the two of us, it could be rant central, but it was great and awesome ranting that hadn’t happened for way too long.

So… what does it mean when a bass player dies?  Does the rhythm of the universe skip a beat, or is it just our hearts?  Do we lose a bit of our collective soul, or does his talent disperse throughout the world, releasing that light to the rest of us?

Dave touched a lot of lives, as a musician as a teacher, and I mean a lot and I don’t even know how to explain how important that was, not just for his music, but for his teaching and the number of students he was able to shepherd through a basic understanding of math and statistics, something sorely lacking in this world.  

I’m going to play at a local open mic tonight.  I think I’ll have to dedicate a piece to him.  

TO THE CONGREGANTS OF WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH:

   We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS – the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People – have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion.

   Being such aggressive proponents for the Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Information as we are, we have hitherto allowed you to continue preaching your benighted gospel of hatred and your theatrical exhibitions of, not only your fascist views, but your utter lack of Christ-like attributes. You have condemned the men and women who serve, fight, and perish in the armed forces of your nation; you have prayed for and celebrated the deaths of young children, who are without fault; you have stood outside the United States National Holocaust Museum, condemning the men, women, and children who, despite their innocence, were annihilated by a tyrannical embodiment of fascism and unsubstantiated repugnance. Rather than allowing the deceased some degree of peace and respect, you instead choose to torment, harass, and assault those who grieve.

   Your demonstrations and your unrelenting cascade of disparaging slurs, unfounded judgments, and prejudicial innuendos, which apparently apply to every individual numbered amongst the race of Man – except for yourselves – has frequently crossed the line which separates Freedom of Speech from deliberately utilizing the same tactics and methods of intimidation and mental & emotional abuse that have been previously exploited and employed by tyrants and dictators, fascists and terrorist organizations throughout history.

   ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.

   Should you ignore this warning, you will meet with the vicious retaliatory arm of ANONYMOUS: We will target your public Websites, and the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover. It is in your best interest to comply now, while the option to do so is still being offered, because we will not relent until you cease the conduction & promotion of all your bigoted operations & doctrines.

   The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.

WE ARE ANONYMOUS.

WE ARE LEGION.

WE DO NOT FORGIVE.

WE DO NOT FORGET.

EXPECT US.

“My fellow Vermonters, today I am announcing my plan to run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.  Yeah.  This will be fun.  We all know Bernie Sanders will get re-elected.  That’s a given.  But if I make a strong second-place showing, well, that would be cool.  

I mean, I’m the State Monster; an underwater creature who eats salmon as part of my diet.  Yumm.  So, please write me in next November.  I will not be doing a petition to get my name on the ballot.  I feel a second-place write-in finish for me will be much more of a statement by the voters.

Think of the headline on Nov 7: ‘Champ Eats Salmon’ and give me your support in the spirit, well, of Silliness, I guess.  If Salmon actually thinks Vermonters would make him a U.S. Senator (silly) after all that’s on his record, this would be a good way of saying to him: “Come on, man.  You can’t be serious.  Are you on drugs?”

Now, by that I don’t mean to say that Mr. Salmon has any problem with controlled substances. Quite the contrary.  Can you imagine him on drugs?  Scary.  I think his problem is more of a neurological one.  One I’m sure he’ll get treatment for after the returns come in next November.  See, if you write me in, you’ll also be helping Salmon too.  Then, after his long recuperation, he’ll be back in 2016 ready to be a serious candidate against Pat Leahy–or, I mean, at least against Peter Diamondstone.

So, that’s all I have to say.  The decision is yours.  I’m sure when you get in the voting booth next November and see on the ballot for U.S. Senator: Thomas Salmon, you’ll know what to do.  Try not to still be laughing too hard when you put my name down.  You might make it illegible from all that convulsing, and then Salmon will ask for a recount.

Thank you all for your upcoming support.  See you on the Lake.”

CHAMP

Lake Champlain, Vt.

2/18/11

“Vermont Yankee: Shut it down or keep it running”

Arnie Gundersen nuclear industry critic & nuclear engineer, consultant, debates Howard Shaffer well known industry apologist & ANS member.

http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Pag…

– crossposted

Are these ladies the most famous working stiffs from Wisconsin, or what?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Go Wisconsin, stop the corporate personhood machine. We stand with you.

If you’ve ever wondered what Republican reps from Franklin County do with their time in the Statehouse, your puzzling days are over!  Judging soley from a resolution that recently came to my attention, it would seem that they pretty much concentrate on the work of getting themselves re-elected.

Now before I go any further with this, I am obliged to remind you that I am an active member of the Northwest Citizens for Responsible Growth.  We’re the grassroots group that has, for almost eighteen years, diligently maintained opposition to the proposed location of what would be the state’s largest Walmart on a tract of agricultural land, near the border of St. Albans Town.



Appearing in the Tuesday, January 18 Journal of the House,  J.R.H. 7, the “Joint resolution in support of the construction of a Walmart store in St. Albans Town,”  must be a high priority for sponsoring representatives Dickinson (St. Albans Town), Branagan (Georgia), McAllister (Highgate), Pearce (Richford), Perley (Enosburg), Savage (Swanton)…and my own local rep and new next-door neighbor, Dustin Degree.  With all the serious budgetary, healthcare, education, energy and infrastructure issues that the Legislature faces this term, the best use this bunch could find for their elected office was to advocate on behalf of an out-of-state retailer in a vainglorious attempt to…to do what exactly?

The issue of whether the store will or will not be permitted is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court of Vermont.  No other official entity has any say in the matter at this point, so their resolution is utterly meaningless…just a red herring they can wave at their Walmart-deprived constituents come re-election time.  “End the wait for Walmart” is a favorite Republican campaign theme in these parts.  In a letter-to-the-editor a couple of years ago, Lynn Dickinson even went so far as to imply that electing her could somehow clear the way for Walmart!  I remember responding that she should familiarize herself with the way the legal system works in this state.

To our Republican reps I have this piece of advice:   If you have so much free time on your hands, when next the county is embroiled in a controversial permit debate that goes on for years, you might show up at one or two of the hearings before you start drafting resolutions on topics you know nothing about, as is evidenced by the text of your resolution, which shows a fundamental ignorance of the factual evidence and of how the project lines-up with the ten criteria of Act 250.

C’mon Franklin County Republicans, is this the best use you can make of your time in office?