In the most detailed examination yet of Senator John McCain’s eligibility to be president, a law professor at the University of Arizona has concluded that neither Mr. McCain’s birth in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone nor the fact that his parents were American citizens is enough to satisfy the constitutional requirement that the president must be a “natural-born citizen.”

The analysis, by Prof. Gabriel J. Chin, focused on a 1937 law that has been largely overlooked in the debate over Mr. McCain’s eligibility to be president. The law conferred citizenship on children of American parents born in the Canal Zone after 1904, and it made John McCain a citizen just before his first birthday. But the law came too late, Professor Chin argued, to make Mr. McCain a natural-born citizen.

(A Hint of New Life to a McCain Birth Issue, NY Times, 07/11/08)

Now, however, the Senate has moved to put that minor controversy to rest. Yesterday, the Senate passed a resolution declaring that McCain is a natural-born citizen. The resolution was passed by unanimous consent. More surprising than the result, however, was the fact that the bill was written and submitted by Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and co sponsored by both Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Politics makes strange bedfellows.

(Clinton, Obama Sponsor McCain Citizenship Bill, AOL News, 05/01/08)

How far are you willing to let Obama go just because he isn’t John McCain?

As expected, Barack Obama stood on the wrong side of the issue re: the FISA amendment. How many more times are we going to be duped by “progressive change” he claims to represent?

John Nichols of The Nation and Roberto Lovato of Of America put out an interesting report now on Alternet.org. The headline is

“Obama Retreats From Key Progressive Issues.”

Obama votes like a Republican on FISA and backs off from Iraq, keeping corporate America happy.

Read the article and let us know what you think.

Is he still worth our vote? Given the nature of our community, I think Obama is only going to aggravate us the next four years. Speaking for me, after yesterday’s FISA vote…. I’m seriously reconsidering. I won’t even dare vote Nader. I’ll just leave it blank and vote for the other races. Much better! – CA

So whadda you think folks? Discuss.

Some U.S. cities waste water and water supply is actually showing signs of residue from prescription drugs .Recently VPR had a segment on the Vermont law that requires  pharmaceutical companies to report how much money they spend on marketing to doctors.

Drug companies spent more than $3 million last year to entice Vermont physicians to prescribe their products. The payments include consulting fees, travel, gifts and money for lectures. Not included are free drug samples, or payments for clinical research studies……. Drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression were among the top five in terms of total dollars spent.

This report is the 5th that the State has complied .Drugs in search of diseases is the way some of the new marketing has struck me ,and this law is good for providing a window into big pharma drug dealing .

Too many drugs and not enough human patients .The New York Times has a window of another sort into the pharma world of big profit drugs ……..Beef flavored prozac for your dog.In the big scheme of war ,peace and etc.dogs,pets on drugs probably rates low,but it is an astounding illustration of big pharma marketing .

The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior-modification and “lifestyle” drugs specifically for pets. America’s animals, it seems, have very American health problems. More than 20 percent of our dogs are overweight; Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved by the F.D.A. last year as the country’s first canine anti-obesity medication. Dogs live 13 years on average, considerably longer than they did in the past; Pfizer’s Anipryl treats cognitive dysfunction so that absent-minded pets can remember the location of the supper bowl or doggy door. For lonely dogs with separation anxiety, Eli Lilly brought to market its own drug Reconcile last year. The only difference between it and Prozac is that Reconcile is chewable and tastes like beef.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07…

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail…

Believe that? Me neither.

Shay Totten has the story that the Second Vermont Republic has decided to make a clean break from the (openly) racist League of the South.  

UPDATE–MAKE SURE TO READ THE COMMENTS AT SEVEN DAYS!! 

 The famous Thomas “Don't Call Me a Racist” Naylor has published a letter called (I'm not making this up)  

To The League of the South From Vermont With Love

Yes, you read that right: “With Love”. That's only the first reason to question the sincerity of this “break”, however. If you read the letter, you will see that, far from acknowledging the racism of the League of the South, Naylor treats it as no more than a PR problem.

Naylor thinks racism is no more than a problem of perception.  Naylor covers some history, and then begins with the racist aroma surrounding secession movements: “Secession is often equated with Southern, redneck, Christian fundamentalist racism. Anyone who is a secessionist is considered a likely racist, but a Southern secessionist is a racist a priori. Since the LOS is a Southern secessionist group, it’s hardly surprising that there is a widespread perception that it is racist”. Get it? There's nothing racist about LOS, but for some bizarre reason, people think that southern secessionists have some racist ideas. According to Naylor, this idea is no more than a “knee-jerk reaction” on the part of most Americans. It's not that there actually is any racism involved in secessionists, it's just “equated with” southern racism. The problem isn't the racist ideas, it's that people can't stop thinking about them. There's nothing wrong with it except those unfortunate associations with “images of the Civil War, slavery, racism, violence, and preservation of the Southern way of life.”

This unfortunate perception even infects the cultural symbols of the South. For instance, here's Naylor on the Confederate flag: Whether justifiably or not, most Southern blacks view the Confederate flag as an overt racist symbol aimed at rubbing salt in their 400-year wounds.

 “Whether justifiably or not?” He really thinks there is some question about this? Try this little thought experiment: “Whether justifably or not, most Jews view the Nazi flag as an overt anti-Semitic symbol aimed at rubbing salt in their wounds.” If you read this as a serious proposition, would you conclude that the author understands that the Nazi flag is actually a symbol of anti-Semitism, or would you think that the entire problem is in the eye of the beholder? Clearly, if Naylor thinks that the display of the Confederate flag (maybe it's just a coincidence that many southern states started flying it during the Civil Rights Movement) has nothing to do with racism, he lacks the ability to detect racism in himself and others, a basic tool for identifying and extirpating it.

Or, take this line:  “And in a similar vein, nothing enrages Southern blacks more than the singing of “Dixie.” Oh yeah, like when Jesse Helms used to start singing Dixie whenever Carol Moseley Braun got on the Senate elevator, vowing that he would keep singing it until he made her cry. Yup, in Naylor's view, the only people who have any objection to these racist displays are “Southern blacks”. Funny how touchy a few centuries of slavery and oppression can make you, isn't it?

  Naylor ignores the reality of modern racism. In the world according to Naylor, racism is all in the past, but since Bush 43 became president that's all gone away. Bush's appointment of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice “sent a very clear signal to white racists everywhere that racism was no longer part of the national agenda.” Really? Well, here's what Bush's pal, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just said about racist dog Jesse Helms: “He put duty above all else — duty to God, to country, to family … the simple duty of treating other people well.” And famous right wing preacher Billy Graham called Helms “a man of consistent conviction to conservative ideals and courage to faithfully serve God and country based on principle, not popularity or politics.”

And yet, to hear Naylor say it, racism is gone from the modern scene, except when practiced by Democrats like Bill Clinton, and even then it doesn't work.  “White South Carolina Democrats got the message and voted for Obama. Guess what, Tom? That's because the white racists who used to make up the Democratic Party in the South became Republicans! 

 Naylor attacks anti-racist organizations. For instance, he refers to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has spent decades investigating and suing the KKK and other racist organizations a “race-baiting” organization.

Naylor is blind to true racism. Up is down, black is white in Naylor's world. After reciting a long history of racism, the use of racist symbols, and calling on them to start letting black people to join, who does Naylor think is ideally suited to unite all southerners, black and white? You guessed it, the League of the South.

So there we have it. In the world according to Naylor, the Southerners who run the League of the South, fly Confederate flags, and sing “Dixie” aren't really racists, they just suffer from unfortunate associations. The real racists and race-baiters are people like the Southern Poverty Law Center and Bill Clinton, who have actually worked for the cause of racial justice. And the reason SVR can't continue to work hand0n-hand with the LOS is not because the LOS is an irredeemably racist organization, but because it makes SVR look bad. If they could just fix those pesky perceptions they can be friends again.

For us here at GMD, though, it's clear that Naylor hasn't changed, and we continue to believe that SVR has no place in the legitimate debates on Vermont's future. 

David Swanson, Washington director of Democrats.com and After Downing Street.org puts today’s events, (ie: FISA capitulation) into perspective. The guy is clear, succinct, and perceptive. He has a lot to offer and represents the kind of leadership the Dems need…. at least IMO. Take a minute and hear what he has to say.

In our next segment longhaired slouchy pen-tapping bloggers examine and reinforce stereotypes about bloggers, the blogosphere and blogosity. A brief recounting of the creation myth of GMD follows. John Odum closes this segment by acing his vocab quiz on the terminology of blogology.

I will get the remaining pieces of the debut episode of VTblogosphereTV up in due time. I am also pleased to announce that there will be an episode two. Despite imperfections, episode one went better than I could have expected and I think we exceeded the “boring and amateurish” public access TV threshold.  Again much thanks to John and thanks generally for the feedback and interest.  

….but somebody had to do it:

And yeah, I admit it. I voted “not sure it was a good idea” on the poll, but might as well have fun with it now that it’s out there…

Whether it is the business of Burlington City Government, Chittenden County public safety issues, Vermont State Government layoffs all the while the Governor’s favored employees receive bonuses, or the latest Bush/Cheney fiasco, open government is fast becoming obsolete.

Not so with your rights or your tax dollars.  In spite of the Feingold, Dodd, Leahy, amendment, the Senate is poised to pass a FISA bill that grants immunity to telecom giants who listened to your phone calls and read your emails and without court order and without cause turned your records over to the Bush administration.

If you are a Burlington resident or business owner, you may wish to have tonight’s open government task force and forum on your agenda.  The meeting is tonight, Wednesday July 8 at the McClure Facility onNorth Winooski Avenue from 7 pm – 9 pm.

Look at Burlington’s skyline and you will see the Marriott Hotel, which did not provide the affordable housing that was part of the approval process.  You will also see a building that dwarfs everything around it and has the look of a 1950’s style commercial high-rise.  This issue and the muffed zoning rewrite brought the public forward to let city council know it’s concerns are not being heard, and its tax dollars are being misused.  

Fast forward to late April and new hope was on the horizon when Mayor Kiss and City Council teamed up to create an open government task force, which will hold its 4th very public meeting tonight.

Still, it is not all roses… local residents from across the city responded to the invitiation to fill three resident seats.  By random selection Steve McIntyre, Damon Lane and Jeff Royer were selected and agreed to serve on the Committee as  resident members, according to Mayor Kiss.  At that point in time, I and others were heavily critical that no women and no minorities were appointed.

So far I have sat in on two open government meetings.  The first has only public comments, which was OK, but also like sending something into a black hole, and the third meeting (my second) seemed to be a surprisingly honest and frank discussion about CEDO — Burlington’s Community Economic Development Organization.

Missed meetings and want to know more?  Open Government Committee was recorded on 2008-06-25.  You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom systems at the following times:

Saturday July 12, 10:30 PM, Sunday July 13, 3:30 AM, Sunday July 13, 9:30 AM, or Sunday July 13, 3:30 PM.

Have things to say about open government in Burlington, then tonight is your last opportunity.  Believe me, after the Task Force makes its recommendation, you will hear me and others comment again.

UPDATE: Annikee points out that the Guard also advertises on AIr America Radio, which makes a difference. I still think its a bad idea to be supporting media outlets with explicitly partisan agendas with tax dollars, but at least there seems to be equal opportunity payoffs going on. / UPDATE

Just imagine the hew and cry, the outrage, the backlash – if this site, or one like it, had some form of government sponsorship. If such a partisan, left-wing online community openly touted direct support from taxpayers, regardless of whether those taxpayers were liberal, conservative, or what have you. How dare my money go to support this garbage! It’s proof of collusion – liberals and their big government agenda! The government shouldn’t be in the business of promoting this kind of partisan agenda!

I imagine it’d be quite a show.

I wonder if far-right reactionary Paul Beaudry of True North Radio would chime in? One would think so, except for the fact that, on his website, the first sponsor listed is The National Guard. That’s right, your tax dollars at work, and all to help keep the most reactionary drivel Vermont has to offer (the site, among other things, currently refers to liberalism as a “disease”) alive and kicking. Guess he can’t quite make his li’l enterprise work without feeding at the public trough, eh? What would Adam Smith say?

Somebody should ask him about it. Maybe this Thursday, when regular visitor and former unofficial co-host Rob Roper, Chair of the Vermont Republican Party, stops by.

A couple of awards to give out. Wish I could say that either one came as a big surprise…

Quickest to politicize tragedy: Gov. Jim Douglas.

Sure didn’t take long, but honestly it took a couple more days than I expected. Everybody from the Governor to the Legislative Leaders rightfully put out strong words about the tragedy when the news broke, but Douglas has the distinction of using it to ham-handedly push his electoral agenda before anyone by linking it to a renewed push for his warmed-over, already rejected idea for “civil commitment” that would further extend offenders’ sentences indefinitely. Why does this, and his push for xxx qualify as crass politicization? Because neither would have made one whit of difference in this case. Add that to the fact that Douglas’s tried-and-true propoganda modus operandum is always to return to his oft-rejected (and meaningless) gimmicks at every opportunity, and its clear that the Bennett tragedy is just the latest opportunity for playing the same, tired (but still effective) game.

What makes it even more abhorrent is that xxx has been roundly rejected by everyone except the knee-jerk, emote-now-think-later wing of the GOP, as its blatantly unconstitutional. Of course the guy who put his arm around Dick Cheney, waxing enthused about how “lucky” we are to “have George W. Bush in the White House” is probably not too concerned about constitutionality. It’s pretty gross that he’s using this tragedy as a tool to tear into it further, though. Yuck. Double yuck.

Cheap drama-ing-up of coverage award: Vermont AP’s Wilson Ring.

I was surprised to find myself on a first-name basis with the victim of this too-horrific-for-words crime over the weekend, as the AP writer broke with their standard protocol to consistently refer to Brooke Bennett not as “Bennett” or even “the victim,” but by the first name “Brooke.” Even her photo in the Times Argus was captioned “Brooke.”

Come on. For one thing, this issue is emotional enough without naked attempts by reporters to further personalize it. More to the point, though, it’s not your job to drama it up by making the victim some sort of character in a media storyline. If it were my child that had been killed, and I caught a whiff of that sort of manipulative tackiness (especially in clear contrast with standard reporting practices), I’d be furious.

Please, folks. Do your jobs, and only your jobs. I can think of nothing more serious than this tragedy, and nothing that, therefore, should be treated with more seriousness, respect and professionalism.