This segment is Bernie introducing Kate Kanelstein from the Vermont Worker’s Center, along with her comments on poverty and health care:

This is the last of the videos with poor video quality.  On the plus side, it turns out that my microphone works extremely well, which is good because doing audio in a crowded room can be very tricky and it was my first time trying it with this camera.

Thank you Pat Leahy for your efforts to obtain war related jobs for Vermont. We do need to provide the best possible equipment for our warriors and heroes so they can be effective in killing civilians and destroying infrastructure. But not a questioning  peep from the Vermont media or elected politicians regarding this issue or the rosy picture Douglas presented of the Afghanistan war, a picture provided by the generals.

I am opposed to basing any part of Vermont’s economy on war related industries and support only life affirming and life sustaining employment.

[For more information on my campaign, go to VoteBoots.com]

Lisa Clarke from SEVCA (Southeastern VT Community Action) speaks about how much additional stress is being put on services today:

We’re hearing this everywhere in the state: agencies which used to have downtime for providing assistance don’t have that.  The need out there is beyond the capacity of many organizations to meet and technology only serves us to a certain extent.

I’ll be skipping a couple clips because the item I really want to get to for tomorrow is probably my favorite moment from the whole meeting and it’s how I think it’s best to end the series for the week.  After tomorrow, I’ll resume with other clips starting next week.

(Promoted, as per site policy on serious statewide candidate diaries. – promoted by GMD)

Today is an important day for our campaign for governor. Because of the generosity of nearly 2,000 Vermonters it is possible for me to speak directly to the entire state about my jobs creation plan–JumpstartVT–and why I am the leader who will keep Vermont the best place to live, work and raise a family.

First, I’m going to start with an apology.  The video quality in the first few videos is poor, primarily because I switched to a lens I’d never used for video before and didn’t realize it was out of focus.  So the first 3-4 clips I’ll be presenting have great audio quality but the video is nothing good at all.  This is especially a shame because not only was Bernie’s introduction excellent, Peter Shumlin’s short speech was outstanding.  

Both are available after the fold.

After the 3rd or 4th video (in future pieces), you’ll be getting much higher quality videos, most of which will be in high definition.  Uploading the HD videos is a very slow process so it may take some time to get everything up, which is one reason I’m splitting this up into stages.  

This first segment is specifically about health care, but other issues are touched upon as well.  

Last night we attended a Bernie Sanders town meeting in Putney.  I took a lot of video.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be uploading those videos, one clip at a time, posting videos with brief commentary.  

For today, I’ll just mention one thing: Dunne and Shumlin had supporters at this event working the crowd.  Not one other candidate did.  I honestly have real trouble understanding why anyone running for Governor wouldn’t make sure that someone’s there for any Bernie Sanders town meeting.  That’s a major missed opportunity.

It was a great event.  Some of the speakers were pretty incredible, and Bernie was awesome as always.  

Lots more once I get the videos uploaded.  

The first gubernatorial candidate that can figure out how to household their mailing or calling list may well get my vote.  

(Keeping with our promotion of candidate diaries. Cheney is running in the Washington County Senate primary. – promoted by GMD)

In 2010 spaceship earth shows worrisome signs of wear.  Economic collapse, loss of jobs, lack of public money to help those who need it, global warming, melting ice caps, highly polluting fuel sources, and political gridlock, to name a few causes.

The Vermont solutions are obvious. Keep Vermont Dollars in Vermont. Promote green energy and the technology that it requires, promote local farms, restructure health care, encourage public transportation, build information highways, and insist on a state tax system that is progressive.  Use tax policy to achieve these goals. Maintain an excellent education system. Where else will we find leaders?

There is creativity in Vermont, a lot of it generated by the Democratic Party.   We’ll need it next biennium. A budget that protects those who need help while keeping the best of Vermont, clean air, clean water, open government, progressive laws, and reasoned dialogue about issues will bring us through.

The U.S. military brass stepped up to the microphones yesterday to bitch-slap WikiLeaks for its now infamous release of 90,000+ top-secret documents involving the missteps, misdeeds and ill-begotten notions that have fueled the tragic-comedy known as Operation Fuck Shit Up in the Name of Revenge in Afghanistan. Okay, that’s not really the title. But it should be.

First up was Robert Gates, the Bush-league hold-over as the head of the Defense Department (oh baby, feel the “change”), proving once again that there really is no difference in the two parties when it comes to wars, economic hegemony and a near-complete inattention toward anything or anyone that does come bearing boatloads of cash and/or connections.  

Here’s what Gates had to say:

“The battlefield consequences of the release of these documents are potentially severe and dangerous for our troops, our allies and Afghan partners, and may well damage our relationships and reputation in that key part of the world. Intelligence sources and methods, as well as military tactics, techniques and procedures, will become known to our adversaries.”

That’s what those of us outside of the mainstream ninniness would call: A whole hunk of bullshit. But let’s take it piece by stinking piece.

First, let’s consider Gates’ concern for things that are “dangerous for our troops.” With all due respect Mr. Republican/Democrat Gates, it is the decision to have the troops in Afghanistan that is making things “dangerous” for them. Otherwise, they’d all be stateside helping us with hurricanes, oil spills and otherwise just shining unused missiles and changing the oil on unnecessary planes, tanks and the like.

Sorry, WikiLeaks didn’t stoke the war flames, whip the country into a flag-waving and magnet-bearing bunch of slobbering revenge seekers, or manipulate intelligence (sic) data to make it all seem like “getting the bastards” would be quick and easy. Yes, indeed, some of us do remember Gates’ first boss, Bush, making the war on Afghanistan and the search and capture of Bin Laden seem like a quick and clean episode of Gunsmoke (“Dead or alive,” baby).

Besides, if keeping the troops out of conditions that are “severe and dangerous,” there’s an obvious solution: Bring them home now. In fact, that’ll even amount to one of those win-win scenarios the politicos like to talk about because it’ll also make the new villain in town, WikiLeaks, obsolete with regards to Afghanistan because…well.. we won’t be there. Na-na-na-na-na.

Gates then attempts to blame WikiLeaks for potentially damaging “our relationships and reputation in that key part of the world.”

It’s okay if you’re finding your head cocked sideways like a confused dog after reading that. Because that means you’ve still got your thinking cap on. Congratulations. But, on the other hand, if you find yourself nodding in agreement like the two-party leaders who contrive this kind of nonsense, well, there is no hope for you. So, write “stupid” on your forehead so we can recognize you in public, do not reproduce, and stay away from sharp objects (you know, like anyone over three-years of age and all).

Earth to Gates (but I know you already know this): The problem with our country’s reputation in “that key part of the world” is because we’ve been fucking carpet bombing it in our effort to “bring the wars to them,” killing hundreds of thousands of its citizens, destroying its infrastructure and environment with little more than a Jethro-like “oops” in response, and – oh yeah — supporting an equally-wrong-headed regime in Israel.

Yeah, that’s it. Or, in other words: It’s NOT WikiLeaks, you dope.

Next up came Admiral Mike Mullen, who was apparently there to provide all the same kinds of nonsense but with a military uniform on while he said. Oh, that’ll show ’em. Yes, sir, we are stupid and your medals are lovely. Whatever. Drop down and give me 15 years of schooling and don’t come back until you’re not a fucking moron, Admiral Mike.

But here’s what Mullen had to say:

“Mr. Assange [the WikiLeaks’ leader] can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family.”

If I was a glass half full kind of a guy, I’d be thrilled to hear a military man like Mullen actually express concern about someone having blood on their hands. But, then again, if I’m a person with a pulse and a mere modicum of knowledge about…um… reality, I’d know that if the subject was “blood on their hands,” I wouldn’t be highlighting it if I was a leader of a military regime that is seemingly hell-bent on being the king-pin of blood letting.

Again, there have been hundreds of thousands of people killed – most being innocent civilians — as a result of the U.S. governments ill-fated, illegal and simply wrong-headed decision to wage wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq BEFORE WikiLeaks said a peep about any of it. So, if I were you, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullens, I’d probably want to shut the fuck up when it comes to the whole “blood on their hands” stuff.

Besides, blaming WikiLeaks for the mess of Afghanistan is like blaming Woodward and Bernstein for Watergate. It’s just stupid.

But, sadly, there will be many who will play along with the numb-headed tunes of the two-party war machine. They’ll be waving their flags, praising the troops, cheering their “team,” ignoring the facts, and proving, once again, that ignorance is, indeed, bliss.

Thank you, WikiLeaks, for providing the lifeblood of democracy: Information. There can never be enough.

(keeping with our promotion of candidate diaries. Osman is running in the Washington County Senate primary. – promoted by JDRyan)

Quite understandably, environment and health care are up there as the hot button issues with the most resonance for progressive voters. But why doesn’t education and, in particular, early care and education have the same attention of progressive voters?

The science behind early education is clear.  During the first years of life, when the brain is stimulated in specific ways the neurons connect.  If the proper stimuli are not given then it is likely that many of those brain synapses may never connect.  When a child begins school without the basic building blocks of learning it becomes very difficult to catch up.  If children begin the race behind the starting line they are literally left behind.

I was talking to someone last week at the hamburger summit.  He was jesting with me.  He told me that he is a high school special educator.  He protested that if I had my way and all children came to school with the requisite skills he would be out of a job.  He was right.

Vermont needs universal access to high quality early care and education.  The evidence is overwhelming that over a lifetime a one dollar investment in early education pays back many times over.  High quality universal pre K will, in the long run, save on special education costs, welfare costs, not to mention the enormous amounts of money spent on prison.  Most of the inmate population in Vermont lack reading and learning skills.

Vermont has begun to walk toward universal Pre K through a program called “Building Bright Futures.” But the Douglas Administration has not put its money where its mouth is.  Fear mongering by the right wing tells parents that those who favor early education are trying to take their children away and that universal pre K is a slap in the face of parenthood.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Having a rich early childhood with various and different stimulation is the first major step to a full and productive life.  For more information on this issue check out the website of KIds Are Priority One http://kidsarepriorityone.org/