This week kicks off a new (more or less) weekly feature. Our gubernatorial election mojometers will be a jumping off point for discussing the activities and momentum of the candidates for governor now that we’re getting into a more heavily political season. Subjective, yeah obviously – but tell me I’m full of crap if that’s what you think (as if I have to tell anyone to do that).

So the meters are just a week-to-week snapshot and will move around a lot. This first one is a bit inclusive of recent weeks – months, even – but is still focused on the now. And by all means, email me with your thoughts and impressions as the days go on. The meters are a bit small, but if you squint, you’ll see that they run from red hot, to warm, to luke warm, neutral, chilly, cold and ice cold.

Peter Shumlin. This is a good week in primary land for the Senate Leader. First of all the session has begun and where his Senatorial rivals for the nomination are in danger of being swallowed up by it to their campaign detriment Shumlin – by virtue of his office – will have an increased spotlight (and will not be likely to squander it the way Peter Welch did the year he defeated Martha Rainville). At the VASA Annual Meeting Shumlin further distinguished himself from the field before primary voters (none of whom were in that room, of course) by sticking to his guns before a hostile crowd while Racine and Bartlett wobbled (and Markowitz and Dunne just stayed away). Shumlin goes into the new week running hot before his primary audience.

Deb Markowitz. Markowitz is still doing well with the fundraising and with the session beginning, her number one rival at the moment (Racine) could well find himself constrained from campaigning, giving her an opportunity to gain ground. On the other hand she’s been a bit quiet of late after underwhelming some at last year’s candidate forums and leaning a bit too heavily on the foregone conclusion of her Emily’s List endorsement (and she was a no show at the VASA event which could add to concerns among primary voters about her chumminess with the right). Lukewarm only, then, rather than hot.

Matt Dunne. For weeks, Dunne has reportedly been affectionately harassed by Democrats over his decision to run for Governor in a crowded field rather than Lieutenant Governor, but in light of some high profile earned media setting a unique, Google-driven narrative for his campaign, I’m hearing less of the head-scratching and more second looks from skeptics as he continues his largely internet-driven organizing. Dunne goes into neutral territory with upward mobility that could drive him into warmer climates at any moment (so long as he can get the staffing infrastructure to maintain it).

Susan Bartlett. Senator Bartlett got some mojo going despite some odd early campaign decisions (Polling? In the Fall? With so little money on hand? Seriously?) with strong showings at campaign forums that made folks stand up and take notice. Unfortunately the last few days haven’t been the best for her in the primary arena. The wobbly VASA performance wont play well in the base-driven primary election and as Chair of Appropriations, the new legislative session threatens to bottle up her campaign more than her fellow Senators, making this week’s “chilly” status largely due to forces beyond her control. The Bartlett campaign is going to have to be creative over the coming months.

Doug Racine. Rough time for the Racine campaign. Not only is he going to have to struggle to be noticed during the session (he’s not in too bad a position to generate some buzz if he plays his cards right, but consider it a competitive disadvantage), but the session will claim his campaign point person – Representative Mark Larson of Burlington. And, yes, there was the wobbling at that VASA meeting but the bigger concern for Racine is the return of the most poisonous narrative to his primary prospects. This past fall, many were first taking notice of the candidates at various forums. Racine, however, spent much of this time on vacation. And while he did get an opportunity to show off some fine surrogates on his behalf, the vacation simply went on too long, and there has been little heard from him since his return. As a result, I’ve heard from more than one person the concerns about Racine’s “fire in the belly” for the campaign based on bad memories of his 2002 run. This was a narrative that had been largely quieted through his truly impressive fundraising and media run in the first half of 2009, but the fact that he has allowed it to begin to resurface – combined with the other points against him (that are beyond his control) this week – put the good Senator into cold territory for the first week of the mojometers.

Brian Dubie. The Dubester has a couple big pluses going into the week. First it seems clear that Governor Douglas is going to be using his soapblox to help increase Dubie’s profile. The Lite Guv has also been working aggressively behind the scenes with a parade of Facebook promotions YouTubes and emails. This is a good medium for Dubie as its one-way and the message can be tightly controlled. All told Dubie should be running in the warm zone…but… the concerned mumblings among much of the old Republican guard from the top to the bottom of the state continue unabated. The GOP insiders continue to be very very concerned about Dubie’s ability to win at this level of battle. It’s a concern that has already fueled public musings of potential primary challenger Skip Vallee and Republican-as-Independent Michael Bernhardt – and behind the scenes gossip now includes the name of Tom Evslin in the mix. It almost doesn’t matter if that rumor is reality-based, as its just as worrisome for Dubie if its just a mass case of wishful GOP-insider thinking.  If I had to bet money I’d still guess (as I’ve been saying for a while) that Dubie is going to be primaried. The question is who. All told, the persistent – and seemingly growing – disquiet among his ranks makes for chilly times.

Fletcher Allen was looking for cost savings. They found a less expensive transportation package to replace their current one deemed too costly .They contracted with another company based on savings and not surprisingly this new company doesn’t pay health care for its shuttle-bus drivers as the other had.    

Quoted here from a good Free Press article, Fletcher Allen's spokesman tries nobly to explain the situation and earn his own salary, but maybe made it worse.  

“The suggestion that we require similar health care plans and wages among vendors bidding with us is well intended, but is unrealistic in today’s world,” said Mike Noble, the hospital’s spokesman. …“ We have to be watching our resources as well,” Noble said. “You’ll notice that there is a lot of discussion about the very high cost of health care, and we are very mindful of that and watch what we do.”

Today’s world in context: The CEO of Fletcher Allen, a non- profit makes a salary in the high six figure range,plus benefits in today’s world.    Medical bills in today’s world are behind more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies in the United States.

A “routine business decision” by the execs at Fletcher Allen Health Care – the 7,000-employee hospital with an operating income of $11.5 million last quarter – threw its bus drivers to the wolves by accepting a low-bid contract from a transit company (Mountain Transit, Inc.) that provides no health insurance to its workers. The previous contractor, First Student, Inc., employed about six full-timers at Fletcher Allen who shuttled FA employees to off-site parking lots.  All six drivers will lose their jobs and their health insurance as part of the move.

From today’s Burlington Free Press:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

( – promoted by Sue Prent)

The Governor is asking the Emergency Board to raise the annual cap on business tax “incentives” from $10 million to $25 million.  The E Board consists of five people: the governor and the four chairpersons of the money committees (Heath, Obuchowski, Bartlett, and Cummings).  The proposal is bad on substance AND process.  The meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday (13th).  I sent the following memo this morning in the hope that these folks will not give Jim Douglas the $15 million he is willing to spend so cavalierly at the same time he cuts state jobs and programs.

Note: VEPC is the VT Economic Progress Council; VEGI is the VT Economic Growth Incentive program; and EATI was the Economic Advancement Tax Incentive program. “Challenges for Change” is the report (just issued) that calls for deep cuts that will (magically) produce better results.  It was heralded by the Governor and the Leg. leadership.

“I understand that the Emergency Board has been asked by the Governor to raise the annual cap for VEPC / VEGI from $10 million to $25 million.  I urge you strongly not to do so without further analysis and deliberation.

The Economic Development section of “Challenges for Change” calls for the creation of a data driven strategy before deciding how to allocate resources.  In this case, there appears to be an assumption that VEGI is a cost-effective program.  In fact, three State Auditors, the Joint Fiscal Office, and others have raised very serious questions about the efficacy of the old EATI and now VEGI (which are very similar in many ways).

more below

•  The Auditor has found that the background growth rate methodology is deeply flawed.  In my opinion, it has probably cost the state millions for jobs that would have been created without the “incentives”.  The Joint Fiscal Committee asked the House Commerce Committee to look into this further.  It seems imprudent to act before the issue is resolved.

•  The “but for” test, upon which the entire program’s purported fiscal benefits are predicated, is not auditable and is suspect.  For example, in the midst of this deep recession, it seems unlikely that a business would expand significantly unless there were sound business reasons to do so.  Thus, the businesses applying for VEGI “incentives” right now are probably those that are lucky enough to be largely unharmed by the recession or those that have shed jobs and now expect to rehire.  If so, the “incentives” are not needed.

•  VEPC has argued that there is no cost to these “incentives” because the “but for” ensures that they are always net positive.  This is demonstrably false even if we set aside the legitimate questions noted above.  For example, it is well known that many recipients of EATI and VEGI “incentives” have cut jobs during this recession.  That’s not surprising but it raises serious questions.  

First, it illustrates how such “incentives” are not long-term investments because the business cycle can overwhelm the purported benefits (see my earlier memos on the ill-fated Financial Services tax program for a good example of this).  [And note that VEPC has never conducted the relatively simple analysis necessary to inform the legislature about this.  Thankfully, Chairman Kitzmiller has expressed interest in this issue.]  

Second, the same companies can return after the recession to obtain “incentives” to recreate the same jobs (if so, we pay twice for one job).  The Boston Federal Reserve Bank recently completed a study of regional business tax incentive programs, including VEGI, and concluded that they virtually all represent a net fiscal cost to the states.

•  The repeated claims about the risk of businesses leaving the state are not supported by the evidence.  Notwithstanding occasional headlines, net job impacts from domestic relocation are negligible here and in other states.  [Note that the Peace & Justice Center will soon publish a new Job Gap Study report that I am preparing with extensive data on this subject.]  

Everyone wants to help create good jobs for Vermont.  But there is simply no objective data to support the assertion that VEGI is what it’s cracked up to be.  If you take seriously the call for a data driven strategy, it is essential to answer the important outstanding questions about this program.  In the meantime, VEPC should slow down and use the available resources carefully – as all other agencies and departments have been asked to do.  

Finally, I understand that the Emergency Board has the statutory authority to approve this request.  But in my view this is not an “emergency”.  Therefore, a decision of this magnitude should be referred to the committees of jurisdiction and debated by your colleagues.”

This is a side by side picture of two very common hawks that can be seen, at various times, throughout the entire United States:

One is a Cooper’s Hawk, the other a Sharp-Shinned.  They look fairly similar, being both of the genus Accipiter.  Accipiters are generally defined by long tails for better maneuverability, along with long legs.  Unlike some birds of prey, they tend to be sneaky and ambush their prey, waiting in bushes or other hidden areas for smaller creatures (other birds or rodents, usually), rather than soaring from great heights and swooping down.

Can you tell which one is the coopers and which one is the sharp-shinned?

Read on…

The biggest and most obvious difference between the two birds is size.  Coopers hawks are bigger, in the 14″-20″ range, making them not that far from a crow’s size on either end.  Sharp-shinned hawks are in the 10″-14″ range, making some of them even smaller than a blue jay.

That said, size can be deceptive.  It’s not as easy to judge size in the field as people think, and even if you can, the smallest size of one bird matches the largest end of the other.  Size alone can’t give you a good ID.  There are, however, a couple other factors that are quite relevant.  

A friend of mine often says to think of the sharp-shinned as a track-star and the coopers as a football player: one’s sleeker than the other, and the “shoulders” tend to be less broad.  This is accurate in flight, but not as useful when the birds are stationary.  Furthermore, in the wintertime, birds often fluff themselves up (they can use their feathers to make pockets of heat) to keep warm, making comparisons of this nature complicated, though they do tend to work in flight.

I, however, use two specific things to help me tell the difference between the two birds: tail and belly.

First, let’s look at the sharp-shinned, the smaller of the two:

There are two things on this bird which immediately tell me it’s a sharpie: first, the feather pattern: there are patches of white on the stomach.  This doesn’t happen with coopers hawks.  They’ve got color all the way down.  

Second, the tip of the tail.  Notice how it’s shaped: it’s almost flat: no curve to it whatsoever.

Now let’s look at the coopers with those same concepts in mind:

Again, notice the belly: color all the way down– no patches of white until the legs themselves.  

Now notice the tail: rounded and well curved, like a semicircle.  

Related links:

• Coopers Hawk photos


• Sharp-shinned hawk photos

Hope you enjoyed the hawk lesson!

Rep. Rachel Weston (D-Burlington) on pending bills regarding “fetal personhood” in the Vermont legislature, and the implications for abortion rights… could this become an election issue with pro-life Lieutenant Governor Dubie in the run for Governor?

Maybe we should make it one.

Update: Worth a reminder that, for Christians, the Bible is fairly direct on the incident Weston refers to:

“And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no [further] injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any [further] injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” – Exodus 21:22-25

In other words, causing a miscarriage is a crime, but it is not the crime of murder. Not by a long shot. If you want to entertain yourself, google this phrase and see how the conservative Christian set try and contort themselves into pretzels to try to force it to fit into their preexisting, supposedly “biblical” viewpoint.

I don't doubt that many of our readers have enjoyed Stephen Huneck's work: his sculptures and other dog art, and the mug he designed for Vermont Public Radio. I've never visited the dog chapel, but I have been to the gallery he used to operate on Martha's Vineyard. At our last visit to the Vineyard last summer the gallery was closed, possibly an indicator of the financial troubles he was facing.

The news today is that on Thursday Stephen Huneck, despondent about the financial setbacks his business had suffered, took his own life.

A letter from his wife, Gwen Huneck, recalls that  “On the last page of the 'Dog Chapel' book Stephen wrote 'you too can build a chapel, in a place that’s always open in your heart'.”

On the heals of the newly created Vermont Migrant Farm Workers Solidarity Project comes the following announcement:

Tragic Death of Migrant Farmworker José Obeth Santiz Cruz Inspires Vermonters to Build Bridges of Friendship and Solidarity With the Worker’s Tojolabal Mayan Community and Travel to Chiapas, Mexico

Vermonters Hope to Make Visible The Invisible Who Sustain Struggling Vermont Dairy Farms

On December 22, 2009 in Fairfield, Vermont on Howrigan dairy farm 20 year old José Obeth Santiz Cruz from the town of Las Margaritas, Chiapas, Mexico was killed in a tragic farming accident. One day later a vigil was organized to honor the life, sacrifice and dignity of José Obeth Santiz Cruz and call upon Vermonters to commit themselves to work for real immigration reform that recognizes and respects the basic needs, dignity and human rights of all immigrants. But who was Santiz Cruz? Where is he from? Why did he come here? These questions and more have motivated one group of Vermonters to cross the border and learn more to further cultivate a new relationship with Santiz Cruz’s indigenous Tojolobal Mayan community where he will be buried early next week.

On Saturday, January 9 the newly launched Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project will sponsor a small delegation of Vermonters Brendan O’Neill, Gustavo Teran, and Sam Mayfield to fly to Villahermosa, Tabascao in order to meet with the family of José Obeth Santiz Cruz, express their sorrow and gratitude, and accompany Santiz Cruz’s body to their Tojobal Mayan village of San Isidro near Las Margaritas, Chiapas. However, getting Santiz Cruz’s body home has not been easy.

As Gustavo Teran, who will travel to Mexico on Saturday on the delegation remarked, “I was pleased by the collaboration of migrant farmworker support workers and farmers in support of efforts to ensure Jose Obeth had a dignified burial in his own village. Often families never see the remains of their loved ones because they don’t have the money to bring them home.” Teran’s words resonate with the extended family of Santiz Cruz. The VTMFSP has learned that just 10 months ago an extended family member of Santiz Cruz, Ismael Meza Calvo, also from San Isidro, was attacked and murdered on his way home from a night shift in a warehouse in New Jersey and his family could not afford nor arrange for the transportation of his body back to Mexico so he was buried in New Jersey. These two deaths shed light on the hardships and invisibility of the lives and deaths of migrant workers in Vermont and the United States.

(the rest of their press release bellow the fold)

Over the past 2 weeks the VTMFSP has been meeting with and communicating closely with the extended family and community of Santiz Cruz in both Vermont and San Isidro; collaborating with a team of migrant farmworker support workers and the Mexican Consulate; and teaming up with VT Dairy farmers to ensure that Santiz Cruz’s body gets returned safely and respectfully to San Isidro without the financial burden having to fall on the family. This collaborative spirit led one VT dairy farmer, who wished to remain anonymous due to the broken immigration system that has both migrant farmworkers and farmers living in fear, to gather $4,000.00 in donation from the farming community to contribute towards the safe transportation of José Obeth Santiz Cruz’s body home to his village. Additionally, the Mexican Consulate, who contributed $2,0000.00 towards the transportation of Santiz Cruz’s body, has worked tirelessly in collaboration with other migrant farmworker support workers to ensure that José Obeth’s family in Mexico was kept informed and involved with developments, decision making and arrangements. The body of Santiz Cruz is departing today from JFK in New York and will arrive in Villahermosa, Tabasco late Sunday night. On Monday the VTMFSP delegates who have been invited to meet Santiz Cruz’s family and accompany them back to San Isidro will participate in a funeral service in which the entire village is expected to be present.

One goal of the delegation to San Isidro is to meet with the family and community to get to know the untold story of the life of the young migrant farmworker and see and hear first hand who he was, what he hoped for, and why he came here. Over the course of the past weeks VTMFSP has been meeting with community members of Santiz Cruz’s Tojolabal indigenous community here in Vermont and we were told just 2 days ago by one worker that there may be as many as 300 migrant farmworkers workers from the area of Las Margaritas that are currently living and working here in VT. Furthermore, as Teran explains, many migrant farmworkers here in Vermont come from indigenous communities in southern Mexico including in this case the Mayan Tojolabal. “The Tojolabal endure extraordinary hardships and, in the case of José Obeth Santiz Cruz, even death. Their contributions go unnoticed and unappreciated by the general public. Few people even know they are here and even fewer are aware that many workers here are from indigenous communities and some even speak Spanish as a second language. We are traveling to Chiapas because we want to make their presence visible and their contributions to the survival of Vermont dairy industry known. We also seek to promote a dialogue between these two affected communities.”

Teran, continues, “The Tojolabal are in Vermont because they cannot make it on their own farms. They abandon their lands and their family behind because of failed national and international trade and agricultural policies and paradoxically find themselves here in Vermont contributing to the survival of farmers in Vermont, also affected by these same corporate-driven trade and agricultural policies that favor corporate agribusiness.”

José Obeth Santiz Cruz is one of approximately 2,000 migrant farm workers who have come to the aid of struggling Vermont Dairy Farms in crisis and yet despite their essential contributions to Vermont due to an unjust and broken U.S. immigration system they are forced to live and in this case die in fear, silence and in the shadows. In the state of Vermont and throughout the United States the invisible hands that milk so many of our cows and pick so many of our vegetables, which literally puts the food on the table, live and die invisibly without the dignity and respect that all human beings deserve.

Cross posted from Nourishing the Planet.

While touring Lilongwe, Malawi, we met Kambuku (which means “leopard” in Chichewa), who was soundly sleeping in his 2,500 sq meter backyard of fenced green landscape. He was rescued by the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre after poachers shattered his knee in Nyika National Park (making it impossible for him to ever return to the wild.) As we toured the facility nearly every animal we saw – from baboons to alligators – had a similar Cinderella story of overcoming insurmountable odds to survive and, in most cases, return back to the wild.

As we toured the animal rescue, rehabilitation and education facility, it was clear that the staff felt a deep commitment to their cause. The organization funded, in part, by UK-based retailer The Body Shop abides by the philosophy that all animals have the right to live in the wild and that teaching conservation is key to protecting the rights of wildlife.

Not only do they provide sanctuary space for rescued, confiscated, orphaned and injured wild animals of Malawi, but the Center is one of the leading organizations in Malawi pushing lawmakers to enforce and enact legislation in support of wildlife conservation and environmental protection. They also develop local partnerships and training programs with the farmers and communities surrounding national parks. The struggle between protecting wildlife and agriculture is becoming especially evident as drought, conflict, and hunger continue to affect sub-Saharan Africa.  I’ll be visiting other projects, including Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), in Zambia that are helping educate-and increase economic opportunities-for farmers living inside and near conservation areas.

Should you feel inspired to help the Center, you can donate directly by clicking here. Also, for a more hands-on experience, they are actively looking for volunteers on the ground to help.

(my emphasis)

Employers of all sizes, in all sectors, have made clear what they need to restart the engine of our prosperity: lower taxes; universal broadband and wireless; reliable, affordable energy; a well-trained workforce; and an education system that is top-notch without being top-dollar.

(Gov Douglas’ 2010 State of the state address, incorrect year in document title noted)

Read that paragraph several times over. That’s right, according to Douglas it is businesses of all sizes that want that miraculous something huge for nothing.

Douglas is a lying ass plain and simple.

Further, the estate tax was increased last year to collect a greater portion of assets from deceased Vermonters. This change is particularly unfair to farmers whose assets are not easily mobile. It is a punitive tax that discourages farmers and small business owners from passing along their life’s work to sons and daughters. And, in the long run, it will have a tangible, detrimental effect on our revenues, as individuals change their residency to another state. I ask legislators to join me in rolling back this tax increase.

(ibid)

Yup, we’re discouraging hard working Vermonters from dying … after all … we’re all aware of all those family farms that are worth tens of millions of dollars.

Oh, and don’t forget the favorite whipping boy … education (again):

Our school governance structures are a vestige of the 19th century and, like our unsustainable personnel costs, must be reformed. We have 290 separate school districts – one for every 312 students – 63 different supervisory bodies and a State Board of Education. That’s a total of 354 different education governing bodies for a state with only 251 towns. We spend, by some estimates, nearly triple the national average for school administration. There is no doubt that we have room to make our system of education more efficient and affordable.

(ibid)

(Hey Douglas, those supervisory union boards are made up of representatives from the local boards … so stop your bullshit numbers fantasy … okay?)

I mean … our school boards really drain our state and town coffers. For example last year Williamstown voted to give each school board member $600 to help defray expenses. The chair of the board got $750 … HOLY ECONOMIC DIARRHEA BATMAN, WE GOT OUT OF CONTROL SCHOOL BOARD COSTS!

Oh, and those administrators that are required not because local communities love to hire them, but because of such as Douglas much approved of no child left untested law? Think the need for them will go away simply because we lose local control and accountability over our for now local school systems? Do I hear anything about reducing the federal and state information reporting mandates that make those administrators a requirement?

Didn’t think so.