I am not without an axe to grind over Walmart’s land use practices since I am an active member of the grassroots group Northwest Citizens For Responsible Growth; but the latest target of Walmart’s greed-grab is taking place in cyber-space.   As you have no doubt heard, Walmart.com is making a play to monopolize online booksales in a price war with Target and Amazon.  It doesn’t matter which behemoth wins the war, because it will be us, the readers and writers, who are the real losers.

In the 1970’s, I worked for a time at two huge book retailers in Canada, “W.H. Smith & Sons,” and “Classics.” Classics died in its own grab for dominance, and W.H. Smith has been reduced to the newspaper stand from whence it came in England.  Those were still pretty good years for publishing, with lots and lots of niche publishers and legions of independent book sellers.  However narrow your audience, if the material was good, you could sooner or later find a publisher for it; and we, the reading public were all the richer for the bounty of small editions that were available to us.  It was during the decades before  Barnes and Noble went national that some of the greatest American literature found its way from obscurity into print.

At some point, someone in marketing heaven came up with the brilliant idea of planned “remainders.”  A “remainder” is a book that remains in stock after demand at retail has subsided.  That book would normally  be marked down in price and moved  to a sale table.  The idea of planned remainders was to deliberately print huge overstocks of a book in the first edition. That way, while the book was still “hot” a large number of copies could be sold at retail;  but an even larger number would be expected to sell afterward at the slashed “sacrifice” price. This way far more copies would be sold and by cost-averaging, the expense of publishing, advertising and distributing the volume would be more than handsomely offset by the return.  This practice inevitably became so common that we now have a situation where sale books sometimes seem to outnumber full priced ones at booksellers, and only the pound-foolish run out and buy a new release at the cover price.

It would seem, on the face of it, like readers had fallen into a vat of cream, thanks to such marketing schemes. Cheaper books must mean more to read for everyone!  What’s not to like?  The answer to that is “plenty.”  Have you noticed how many great books you look for now that are “out of print?”  And have you noticed that what IS in print is mainly picture books and bestsellers?  That’s because the small independent publishers who fostered great writers with niche audiences have all but vanished due to the pressures of a bottom-line driven marketplace.  Stacy Mitchell explains this dynamic much better than I ever could in her landmark expose on mass marketing, “Big Box Swindle.” In fact, she devotes most of a chapter (“Monopolized Consumers”) to the demise of independent publishing and bookselling in America.  It’s well-worth the retail price, if you can ever lay your hands on it:

…Publishers may also self-censor books they believe the chains would dislike.  More than one publisher rejected this book on those grounds.  “I thought this was an excellent proposal,” one editor replied by e-mail. ” Genuinely fascinating, and there was interest in the meeting but the problem is the obvious one: the exposure of Barnes & Noble (sic).  Our publisher shut it down immediately -didn’t want to bite the hand that feeds it, etc.  I hope you’re able to find someone willing to tough this one out; as I say, it seems like a fine and important book.”  “Big Box Swindle” by Stacy Mitchell  Beacon Press 2006

What Stacy will no doubt find herself writing into future editions (should there ever BE any future editions) is an epilogue on the final defeat of American literature at the hands of the marketing geniuses who started this latest price war.  Having driven small publishers out of business in their zeal to corner a new discount audience, Barnes and Noble and Borders will now witness the final devaluation of bricks and mortar bookstores;  and of the printed word, itself.  Cheaper and cheaper editions of only  “bestseller” material (and fewer and fewer of those) will become the publishing priority, with all else falling to self-publishing and the blogosphere.  There is a an odd kind of symmetry to this,  like the destruction of the monasteries that ushered in the Dark Ages.

Anyway, that’s why I personally receive the news of Walmart.com’s price war with Amazon and Target.com like the Angel of Death to American literacy.

Bill McKibben’s 350.org is almost a household word now and this Saturday the 24th is International Day of Climate Action… and here’s the dope:

… It looks like the International Day of Climate Action this Saturday October 24th will be the single most widespread day of political action the planet has ever seen–we’re closing in on 170 nations, and more than 4,000 rallies and events. There’s something happening near you–if you’re not sure what, this link will let you find out quickly and easily: .

People in all those cities and towns all around the world will be saying the same thing: science tells us that we can’t have more than 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere if we want a planet like the one we were born onto. That sounds complicated, but it isn’t–350 is the bottom line for the earth.

Across Vermont, there are dozens of fantastic events that will happen. Early in the day, the Vermont Natural Resources Council is partnering with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and NRG Systems and National Wildlife Federation for a Town Hall meeting-esque discussion with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and local grassroots activists. In attendance will be many members of grassroots “Town Energy Committees” from across the state – the local citizens on the ground who are actually bringing down our collective carbon footprint one town at a time. Sound like fun?

Wish you could make it? Well you can, because the event will be webcast at vnrc.org. Join us at 10AM this Saturday to take part in the conversation through the stream and by emailing your questions to Senator Sanders and the panel at climateaction@vnrc.org. We can’t guarantee we’ll get to all the questions, but we’ll do what we can. Or, if you want to be there in person, call VNRC at 802-223-2328. Spread the word and thanks for doing your part to combat global climate change.

What the hell was he doing from 2003 thtu 2008, while the Taliban was rebuilding?  

In Afghanistan, he was just sitting on his ass, taking up space, pissing away the good will of the Afghans, and making today’s problems there inevitable!!!

In Iraq, he was pissing away 2 trillion dollars of our money, to get his buddies access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil!!!

In the big picture, he was making the world a safe place for Bush to hold hands with foreign kings, while the rest of the world began to loathe America!  

Today, his buddies (Halliburton) have emigrated to Dubai, so they don’t have to pay the bill when it comes due.  

Today, Cheney has an exit strategy: pin the blame for his evil and incompetence on someone else, and duck responsibility!!

Cheney’s Republican “individual responsibility” has all the characteristics of an erection, and none of those of a backbone!  It’s rigid and inflexible in its boasting and posturing, but now that there’s work to be done, it’s shriveling up, making itself as small as possible, and has no intention of taking its share of the load.  

On the other side, we haven’t been as strong as we should be, but we are flexible enough to deal with reality, and we will shoulder the load, because we’re stuck with it.  

But, we should be shouting, “Are you too weak to carry your share, or just too lazy?”, until that’s the only question on the table.

Burlington Telecom is drawing ire and fire from the Douglas administration and others for making use of a $17 million dollar loan from the city of Burlington. It appears Department of Public Services Commissioner is concerned about the fiscal risk to taxpayers among other things. (Burlington’s telecom foray runs into $17 million snag, Times Argus, 10/23/09)

At least folks are talking about re-payment.

Meanwhile Fairpoint, which according to the Times Argus “paid $2.4 billion for the [Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine] network, is mired in debt and edging closer to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which would allow the North Carolina corporation to restructure”, is taking an entirely different and more market based approach … they’ve applied for almost $38 million dollars in grant money from the federal government to help bail their financial asses out! (FairPoint calls on unions to help avoid bankruptcy, Times Argus, 10/23/09)

Tom Evslin, the state official who is transitioning from being Vermont’s Recovery Officer to its Chief Technology Officer, said this build-out is in addition to what FairPoint has already promised the state that it would do.

“We did sign a letter of recommendation for this funding,” Evslin said.

Nope – nobody talks about repayment there.

And certainly Montpelier’s cautionary tale on making deals with financially shaky firms isn’t having any play in this.

Here’s the unpleasant truth, and it has been recognized across the existing power structure’s political spectrum: bringing modern day communications to Vermont requires government intervention and public cash.

Stop beating up on BT for needing the helping hand, put ECFiberNet high on the priorities list, encourage more locally controlled municipal communications ventures, and then maybe … if they can prove they deserve it … pass that money on to Fairpoint.

From a recent hearing focused yet again on the Republicans’ ACORN obsession. Rep. Alan Grayson shows how this issue should be handled (are you watching, Rep. Welch?).

Talk about anything and everything.

FYI — From Judy at Central Command:

Bernie & Jim Hightower speaking together:

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and author Jim Hightower will discuss building a progressive grassroots movement to defeat the big money interests that dominate the economic and political life of our country.

FOR YOU FOLKS IN THE BANANA BELT:

Friday, October 30 @ 7:00 PM

Brattleboro Union High School

$10.00 Admission

AND FOR THE FOLKS IN THE HILLS OF CENTRAL VT:

Saturday, October 31 @ 10:30 AM

Montpelier High School

Comes w/Brunch!!!

$15.00 Admission

Jim Hightower, often described as America’s #1 Populist, is a national radio commentator and author of the recently released “Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow”. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.bernie.org, or checks can be sent to Friends of Bernie Sanders, PO Box 391 Burlington, VT 05402. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Washington Post/ABC News Poll Finds 57 Percent Favor Government-Run Health-Care Plan to Compete With Private Insurers; Separate Poll Finds Even Stronger Support, at 77 Percent; Republicans in Deep Trouble as Identification With Party Falls to 20 Percent — and Americans Are More Likely to Blame GOP if Health-Care Reform Fails to Pass

What’s a Republican elephant to do? The GOP’s efforts to scuttle the Democrats’ plans for health-care reform in Congress — particularly a government-run plan that would compete directly with private insurers — is running up against public opinion. Two new polls have found solid majorities of Americans supporting a “public option” by wide margins. Even worse for the GOP, the polls also show that the party’s voter base has shrunk to 20 percent — the lowest in more than 25 years — and that most Americans have no confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decisions for the future of the nation. (Illustration courtesy FreedomsPhoenix.com)

(Posted 5:00 a.m. EDT Thursday, October 22, 2009)

By SKEETER SANDERS

Republicans on Capitol Hill who are fighting to prevent the Democrats’ proposals for health-care reform, particularly the so-called “public option,” from becoming law are finding themselves on the outs with public opinion –again. At least three new polls show that the public strongly disapproves of the GOP’s performance in the health-care debate.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has bounced back from losses incurred over the summer and now stands at a solid 57 percent majority. Forty percent are opposed.

Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows a nearly two-thirds majority disapproves of how congressional Republicans are handling the issue of health care overhaul, while just 21 percent said they approve.

The poll also found that nearly four times as many Americans would blame the GOP than would blame the Democrats if Congress fails to pass health-care reform.

More alarming for Republicans in the long run, the Washington Post/ABC News poll found that fewer Americans now identify themselves as Republicans than at any time since 1983, with Republicans now comprising only 20 percent of the electorate.

The findings represent a seven-point drop in voter identification with the GOP since a similar poll released 20 months ago by the Pew Center for the People and the Press.

The Post/ABC poll found that a staggering 79 percent of Americans expressed a lack of confidence in the GOP’s ability to make the right decisions for the future of the nation, while just 19 percent expressed full confidence in the the Republicans.

Among independent voters — without whom neither party can win the White House or a congressional majority — Republicans fare even worse, with more than four out of every five independents voicing no confidence in the GOP.

INSURANCE MANDATE WITH ‘PUBLIC OPTION’ POPULAR, BUT SPLITS REMAIN ON OTHER PLANS

Support for a “public option” is running particularly strong among two voting blocs the GOP has been targeting for weeks in their drive to defeat it: Independents and seniors, with the poll showing the option drawing particularly strong support if it is administered by the states, rather than by the federal government, and if it is targeted specifically to Americans who can’t afford private health insurance.

Under those two circumstances, support for a “public option” soars to 76 percent — with even 56 percent of Republicans in favor.

Despite what appears to be solid support for the “public option” and for a proposal to make health insurance mandatory for all Americans, the public remains sharply divided about the five health-care reform bills now pending in Congress, according to the Post/ABC poll, reflecting a sharply partisan split over what President Obama has called his top legislative priority.

The Post/ABC News poll found that the bills have 45 percent support, while 48 percent oppose them, roughly unchanged from a previous poll released in August. The partisan divide over the bills is both predictable and stark: Over 70 percent of Democrats support the plans, while nearly 90 percent of Republicans oppose it. Independents have more mixed feelings about the plan, with 42 percent in favor and 52 percent opposed.

LIBERALS ADAMANT: NO REFORM WITHOUT ‘PUBLIC OPTION’

However, the proportion of Democrats in favor of the plan is down from 46 percent recorded in September, perhaps reflecting a growing impatience among liberals with President Obama over the “public option.”

Liberal Democrats — particularly in the House — have made it clear that they won’t accept any final health-care reform bill that does not contain a “public option” — which is fiercely opposed by Republicans and conservative Senate Democrats. The new poll numbers are likely to harden the liberals’ resolve.

That impatience among liberals is also being reflected in Obama’s job-approval ratings among his fellow Democrats on the health-care reform issue. The Post/ABC News poll found that the president’s rating fell among his fellow Democrats by 15 points from a high of 85 percent last month.

GOP’S RATINGS ON HEALTH CARE REMAIN DISMAL . . .

Evan as the president and Capitol Hill Democrats continue to struggle on a final health-care reform bill, their Republican rivals are faring very poorly on the issue, with a solid 65 percent majority in the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll disapproving of the GOP’s handling of the health-care issue.  Only 21 percent approve.

The new numbers show a three-percentage-point worsening of the public’s disapproval of the Republicans’ handling of the health-care reform issue since September, when 62 percent disapproved. The percentage who approved remained unchanged.

More ominous for the GOP, the Journal/NBC News poll found that if Congress fails to pass health-care reform, nearly four times as many Americans would hold congressional Republicans responsible for the reform plan’s failure (37 percent) than they would the president  (10 percent) or congressional Democrats (16 percent).

Twenty-three percent would blame both parties.

The GOP’s poor marks on health care come against the backdrop of even more dismal public confidence in the Republicans’ overall ability to make the right decisions for the future of the country.

Less than a fifth of Americans in the Post/ABC News poll have confidence in the GOP to lead the country, while a overwhelming 79 percent expressed no confidence.

Less than one in five voters (19 percent) expressed confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decisions for America’s future while a whopping 79 percent lacked that confidence.

Among the all-important independent voters — who now outnumber both Republicans and Democrats and who voted strongly for the Democrats in the last two election cycles — confidence in the GOP stands at a record-low 17 percent, while a record-high 83 percent of independents voiced no confidence in the Republicans.

By comparison, the president’s own confidence ratings aren’t all that impressive either — Only 49 percent expressed confidence in Obama, while 50 percent voiced a lack of confidence in him. But as weak as public confidence in the president is, it’s still far greater than that of the GOP.

. . . . . . AND ITS VOTER BASE CONTINUES TO SHRINK

As bad at the GOP’s standing is now, the party’s long-term future is looking increasingly bleak, as the percentage of the electorate that identifies with the Republicans continues to erode.  Only 20 percent of Americans in the Post/ABC News poll now identify themselves as Republicans — the lowest GOP party affiliation in a quarter-century.

The new findings continue a trend that was noted more than a year and a half ago by the Pew Center, whose poll in March 2008 found that identification with the GOP had fallen to 27 percent of the electorate, while Democrats and independents increased to a 36 percent tie.

A look at voters’ ideological leanings is telling. Significantly, the bulk of the GOP’s losses is among moderates and traditional conservatives who have become increasingly alarmed by what they see as a dangerous turn by the party to the far-right fringe and have moved into the independents’ column.

Independents now comprise a 42 percent plurality of the electorate, with Democrats making up 33 percent. There are now enough independents to create a third major political party if they so chose.

And a new party is not beyond the realm of possibility. Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot may have been 20 years ahead of his time when he founded his short-lived Reform Party — with its appeal to voters disenchanted by the liberal leanings of the Democrats and the conservative tilt of the Republicans —  in 1997.

It’s happened before at least once in the nation’s history: The Republicans, founded in 1854 as an anti-slavery party, itself eventually replaced a moribund political party — the Whigs — in the 1870s after the Civil War.

# # #

Copyright 2009, Skeeter Sanders. All rights reserved.

(More incompetence and shoulder shrugging by the Douglas-Dubie Administration. – promoted by NanuqFC)

As the costs of budget cuts and deferred maintenance on local infrastructure are driven home by the emergency closure of Champlain Bridge, Vermont Gov. Douglas,other state officials and executives from Vermont businesses left the country (as far as we know).

As part of a previously planned trip they have flown to Asia in an effort to attract foreign business investors to the state. How will the news of the areas crumbling infrastructure impress potential foreign investors?

While the governor is gone state officials from New York and Vermont are left to deal with the declared emergency surrounding the Champlain Bridge closure

The Champlain Bridge was known to be in bad repair, studies were in progress and the bridge had been shut down to one lane within the last year .It seems though that few contingency plans had been made about what to do about 4,000 people that pass over the bridge daily if the bridge needed to shut down completely as is now the case. Business owners and workers on both sides of the lake are worried about the financial effect of the closure.  One local hospital has patients and employees on both sides of the lake in need of transportation.

Before leaving Governor Douglas took the time to share his expert reading of the situation “Detours are time consuming and costly. This is not just about convenience; this is an economic burden as well as a safety issue,”

Extra ferries have been added and are running longer hours but winter is swooping in quickly. Hopes for a temporary bridge were put to rest by the VT Agency of Transportation spokesman John Zicconi who said

What the state isn’t likely to do, he said, is put in a temporary bridge. He said the lake is an international waterway and such a bridge would block it, something the federal government is unlikely to approve. He also said there were safety concerns with such bridges on the lake.

No safety concerns were cited about possible problems with increased ferry traffic.

At a public hearing in Addison on Oct. 8, residents had ridiculed the idea of substituting ferry service for the ailing bridge. Vermont Transportation Secretary David Dill made no suggestion that ferries would be anything but a short-term alternative to people driving 100 miles to work in another state.

The initial estimate was that a new ferry would require a round-trip ticket price of $131, Dill said. But it might be possible to get a federal subsidy for the additional ferry route, thus reducing that price, he said – but not compensating affected individuals or companies directly for their expenses during the declared transportation emergency, he said.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

Well no … not really … at least as far as I know.

What I did want to point out was this posting at Media Matters for America regarding ACORN and phony right wing smear jobs and I want to give a full middle finger salute to those like Welch who’s rush to censure ACORN over a fabricated event was bested only by Welch’s own fawning and stumbling rush to get Bush’s autograph at a State of the Union address.

Anyway here’s part of what you need to have fresh in mind

Russell can be seen holding police report in O’Keefe’s October 21 video. O’Keefe’s video shows footage from Russell’s September 17, 2009, YouTube video in which she made statements about O’Keefe’s and Giles’ visit to the Philadelphia ACORN office. Russell said that following O’Keefe’s visit, “We called the police and filed this report.” In his October 21 video, O’Keefe does not dispute that ACORN filed a police report about his visit.

Below is an image of the police report, which Media Matters has confirmed is on file with the Philadelphia Police Department:

(In “heavily edited” video rebuttal, O’Keefe does not dispute Philly police report filed after his visit to ACORN office, Media Matters for America, 10/21/09)

That’s right … seems O’Keefe & co were being turned in to the cops BY ACORN all across the country … literally.

Thanks Peter.

Good news from Morrisville. According to VPR, the bullies who make Monster Energy Drink have agreed to stop hassling local heroes Rock Art for their Vermonster brew.

Vermontster president Matt Nadeau is cautious about spelling out the agreement before getting instructions from his attorney. 

But he will say that Monster has agreed to withdraw its cease and desist letter, provided that Vermontster doesn't try to break in to the ‘energy drink' market.

Here's what Rock Art says on their web page:

America You have saved
THE VERMONSTER  !!

Your voice has caused corporate america to rethink its position

POWER to the PEOPLE
POWER belongs to the people

 Given that one or two of us around GMD have been known to sample an adult beverage, this is great news for the locals, and another victory over the big corporations.

We can think of no more appropriate way to celebrate than to go out and hoist a Vermonster at your nearest local pub.

In related news, the manufacturers of  Monster energy drink sugar/caffeine punch have also agreed to drop cease and desist letters directed to employment placement service Monster.com, the Green Monster at Fenway Park, and the Loch Ness Monster. Nessie was unavailable for comment.