( – promoted by odum)

Here’s a leadership hot button opportunity for some State politician’s skills. The ongoing Intervale compost saga cries out for resolution. A timely issue to say the least. Burlington and the State benefit from this energy saving program it’s in the public’s day to day lives. This tangle is a micro-drama of the Statewide political landscape. It’s got Gov. Jim, Gaye Symington, Progressives, the ANR, Historic Preservation, the State Attorney General and the Chittenden Solid Waste district all on stage at once.

The nonprofit composter will continue to accept waste and sell compost for the moment, but its future is “incredibly tenuous,” a spokesman for the nonprofit Intervale Center said.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell, whose office holds one key to the short-term future of the composting operation, said he hopes for a “win-win settlement” of Intervale’s problems.

At the solid waste district, general manager Tom Moreau said his board has been increasingly skeptical that composting has even a near-term future in the Intervale.

“They are saying, we’ve put in a tremendous amount of time and resources, and maybe we should cut our losses now,” he said.

While the solid waste district is interested in taking over the operation for two years – until an alternative site can be developed – there are too many unknowns about what regulators would require during that two years, Moreau said.

“We’re not getting transparency from the Agency of Natural Resources or the Division of Historic Preservation, and what we do see appears to make the operation financially infeasible,” he said.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

Another useful compost operation may fail due to lack of coherent policy leadership

Vt. Compost told to halt operations(not Intervale)

Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – The Natural Resources Board has told Karl Hammer to halt operations at Vermont Compost Co., located on Main Street a few miles outside of the state’s capital city.

Hammer’s company, along with the composting operation in Burlington’s Intervale, have been used as examples of how to get food scraps out of the landfill and into people’s gardens and farms.

But both have run into trouble with state regulators and neighbors. In Hammer’s case the question at the root of the matter is whether his site in Montpelier is a farm – therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Act 250 land use rules – or a manufacturing company subject to them.

Early this year Hammer was told he needs a permit under the state’s sweeping land use regulation to run the composting facility. He appealed that “jurisdictional opinion,” but the Natural Resources Board has now declined to allow him to keep operating until that process is complete.

If I'm walking down the street and the police ask me to break into your house, rifle through your possessions, and bring them anything I think they might be interested in, I could be prosecuted, charged with burgalary, breaking and entering, theft, and unlawful trespass, and besides that, you could sue me for it.

Now, according to the bill that Bush and the House of Representatives want to pass, if the police asked me to do it, my criminal acts would suddenly be legal.

I'm talking about the new FISA legislation. Last year many of us were hugely supportive of Chris Dodd because he stood up to the administration and the Senate leadership and he was willing to filibuster to block FISA, and especially the retroactive immunity provisions.

Now it's back and Obama is saying he's going to support the bill even with the retroactive immunity provision in it.

I am so angry I am thinking about asking our delegation not to support him in Denver.

Before doing that, though, there is a way for Obama supporters to make their voices heard. If you go to www.mybarackobama.com you can sign up with the group called Senator Obama – Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity – Get FISA Right.

Since last Wednesday more than 6000 Obama supporters have signed up, probably 4000 since noon yesterday.

I've been trying to get the message through every way I can. As soon as I learn that Obama has a staff person in Vermont I'll post that information. Obama needs to hear this. Maybe if we rise up with one voice, and make clear that we aren't going along with Bush's assault on our civil liberties, and we don't want him to go along with it either, it will make a difference.

Remember this shocker from the Rutland Herald/Times Argus a couple weeks ago?

Is the state Agency of Natural Resources too cozy with Omya Inc., the marble processing company with a plant in Florence? That is the view of whistleblower John Brabant, an agency official who believes his superiors at ANR have not been following agency rules in giving Omya a break on the waste it has been dumping in abandoned quarries…

…Brabant says the agency was subject to political pressure from the Douglas administration. When the agency issued its initial finding letting Omya off the hook, Jeff Wennberg, former mayor of Rutland, was commissioner of environmental conservation, and it was possible to believe that Gov. James Douglas and Wennberg together decided it was best to bend the rules to help a company with 300 employees in Rutland County.

This is not the first such story, this year or previous years – or for that matter, previous administrations. Whereas a comparable story at the federal level would result in immediate hubbub, and likely congressional hearings under oath, that’s not generally how it works in Vermont. It’s not that the legislature doesn’t have oversight power in this state – it does. They also have the power to issue legislative subpoenas, if you look deep enough into their governing documentation. There’s also no reason not to take testimony under oath.

But that’s not how it works in Vermont. At least not now.

Sometimes legislative committees that would seem to be the logical places for executive oversight do ask questions, but the questions are never sustained. Nor are there opportunities to do the asking when the session is over. It just doesn’t happen, and when oversight doesn’t happen, a cavalier executive culture develops and thrives.

It’s not that there isn’t interest. It’s not even that there isn’t will. It’s that there isn’t time. The same problem that brings us strange, cobbled together Frankenbills, or laws so painfully bereft of details, too many of those details are punted to that same executive branch to be worked out and implemented as they see fit. It’s yet another manifestation of a theme that is becoming a common one on this site; the need to professionalize our legislature.

We’re not about to take that plunge anytime soon. So, what’s the solution? I’ve suggested that a more feasable proposal might be to professionalize the relatively small State Senate only, allowing committee action to continue outside the session. Short of that, legislative leaders could consider tweaking the committee structure to consolidate executive oversight, taking it out of already overburdened traditional bill writing committees and dumping matters into omnibus oversight committees (wouldn’t you love to chair one of those, eh?).

In any case, the culture needs to change, and the sooner the better.

Seven and three-quarter years later, the the state has dotted its last “i” and crossed its last “t” in my Kafkaesque experience with Deborah Markowitz’s Office of Professional Regulation (OPR).  It ended predictably, providing, in the course of it all, considerable documentation that argues for the necessity of creating a State Ombudsman Office in Vermont.  I put up a featured post about it on BureaucracyBlog today–click here.

The outcome has so far had the effect of raising a few more eyebrows, and a few more people starting to talk about the wisdom of creating a State Ombuds office.  We need it the more so in Vermont, as the small size of the state makes for fewer degrees of separation between any two people in the state, and thereby increases the opportunities for conflicts of interest to be present.

Much more to come in the days and months ahead, including a book about the whole 7 & 3/4 years in the not too distant future.  Working title: Professional Breaks and Broken Professionals.

Onward.

Deb Alicen

I know that Vermont doesn’t have a U.S. Senate race in 2008.  But 33 other states do.  And anyone following the news over the last year-and-a-half has read about Senate Republicans filibustering anything and everything that moves, breaking the record for filibusters in a two-year Congressional session in less than one year!

It is critical that we expand our majority in the U.S. Senate to reduce this historic rate of Republican obstructionism, so that an Obama administration can proceed with an agenda that helps rather than hinders American progress.  I have been following this on my blog, Senate Guru, very closely and have been pushing for us to expand the map of competitive Senate races.

To that end, I have established the Expand the Map! ActBlue page, raising much needed funds for Democratic Senate candidates in uphill but competitive (or very-close-to-competitive) Senate races.  Every one of these Democratic Senate candidates who wins her or his race means one less Republican filibustering progressive legislation.  And every one of these Democratic Senate candidates has a message that will resonate with voters – all they need are the resources to get their messages out to the electorate and prevent the Republican incumbents from muddying their records.

With tonight being the deadline for the second fundraising quarter of 2008, it is critical that we get funds in to help these Democratic candidates show strength.  So, please, please, please contribute if you can to any of the terrific candidates for Senate on the Expand the Map! ActBlue page.  Even though these candidates don’t represent your state, if elected, they will defeat the Republican obstructionism that very much impacts you and your state.

ate last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. United States Special Operations Forces have been conducting cross-border operations from southern Iraq, with Presidential authorization, since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of “high-value targets” in the President’s war on terror, who may be captured or killed. But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded, according to the current and former officials. Many of these activities are not specified in the new Finding, and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature.

(Preparing the Battlefield, The New Yorker online)

Oh yeah … real serious questions … like how fast can we sign on the dotted line Dear Leader Bush?

Another round of thanks to our Democratic troika of Leahy, Sanders and Welch for their continued support of a “leadership” that has helped advance every war mongering, constitution busting move made by Cheney/Bush.

You know the rest, right? Well, phooey on you if you don’t. It’s the maxim coined by my favorite of the 20th Century philosophers: “With great power comes great responsibility.” There are days when I think we should replace the entire Democratic Party platform with that single line.

The disappearance of Brooke Bennett and the public spectacle of the states first “Amber Alert” has sucked all the air out of rooms across the Vermont. The conversations are slowly emerging from the (apparent) misperception of the first 24 hour news cycle – that this was an old fashioned child abduction. As details have quickly emerged, it seems clear that – once again – this is likely a case involving the social networking phenom site, MySpace.com. Some sort of rendezvous between the discontented 12 year old and an unknown, nameless (to us, anyway) “other” on the internet that went from the virtual to the literal.

The water-cooler conversations will now even further bisect along lines of parents versus non-parents, with non-parents blithely glossing over the complexities that leave the parents a bit terrified. Computers are a medium (and a skillset) that are a pillar of modern life, can you really cut off your child from them? How do you restrict social network sites, and do you want to? Kids may lack judgment and experience, but they’re every bit as smart as adults. If you monitor their MySpace page, there’s nothing stopping them from making one, two or a dozen others.

Here’s the reality that precedes the computer era: information and communication have always been the currency of power in human society, every bit as much (if not moreso) as gold. We are in a new communication and information age, communication and information with & about other institutions as well as other individuals. As a result we all have more access to power, and a world more supercharged with potential power, than ever before, and at every level.

And with that power, comes commensurate responsibility. The complex question is; where does that responsibility land, and how should we deal with it?

It’s a continually evolving question set against a continually evolving environment, requiring vigilance and clear-headedness from everybody – especially parents. All I know for sure is that the power to create answers and keep children as safe as they can be kept (without irrational or punitive restrictions that could, themselves, create needless challenges for them as they develop into adults) lies in two things; sharing information and keeping open lines of communication between parents, law enforcement, professionals and institutions.

And in this era, we have the means to facilitate information and communication like never before. Let’s engage with the medium and its potential for good, rather than leave that kind of power entirely to the predators.

Don't mean to dampen the joy after the VDB/GMD summit but this story is serious. Mohammed is a friend a former colleague of mine. – Christian

 

   

GAZA CITY- IPS reports award winning journalist Mohammed Omer, Rafah, was assaulted and abused by Israeli security forces at the Jordan-West Bank checkpoint Thursday. Omer was on his way home from a Netherlands trip sponsored by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

IPS details the shocking treatment Omer experienced at the hands of Israeli security forces.

More below the fold.

Mohammed Omer is the joint winner of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism and previous recipient of the New America Media’s Best Youth Voice award. Mohammed was a foreign correspondent for The Vermont Guardian and visited Brattleboro on his 2006 American speaking tour. For more on the story click here.

No one is ever going to ask us to publish a “Bloggers of GMD Swimsuit Calendar,” —

However

— for those of you who just CANNOT see enough of other people's wedding albums or the grade school graduation pictures of your co-workers' children —

Well

— do I have a treat for you, below the fold! 

Dateline: NorthBeach, Burlington 28 Hamburger Summit June '08.

Thanks John & Philip.

It was nice to see GMD friends as well as many other “More & Better Democrats” folks (including some M&BD who call themselves Progressives) I've known from weeks to years.

The best part of the day was meeting folks in person and for the first time, including:

Nate Freeman

NanuqFC (the person I definitely want with me if I am ever shipwrecked, lost in the mountains or otherwise far from civilization as nightfall and the elements begin to challenge my survival).

Undamned Yanke,

Christian Avard and

Linda in the Northeast Kingdomdom

There was good food, cold beer, plenty of fun & entertaining discussions including lots of

POINT

and COUNTER-POINT.

It was also nice to see Gaye Symington attending the Hamburger Summit.  Unfortunately, for all the pictures I took, the one I needed to take was the one of our Speaker and Anthony Pollina exchanging salutations. Naturally, I picked the most inopportune moment possible to be collecting my second (more or less) beer; and I therefore do not have today's money shot – guess you kinda' had to have been there.

*    *    *

This is what I did see. Now … look closely at this next photograph.

You will likely marvel at the expert craftsmanship displayed in the manner I seamlessly photo-shopped Kaiser Sose out of this picture (and right before JD gave him the goose too).

*    *    * 

Really good host, but will someone please teach Philip how to cook, the guests are coming in any minute. 

We all know the drill, each year it's hairier and scarier!

*    *     *

The bottom line? Between bouts of imperfect weather, the kids enjoyed swimming, the beach and lake surrounds. It was a fun crowd and a good day to be liberal and outdoors.

— Lastly (how can I forget!) the elusive Madame Heutefeu, who has not posted anything at GMD for months  managed a quick appearance. She did not stay long, but it is always nice to see her when she drops in to say hi. Maybe we can convince her to post her to post more often?

One more time, thanks to Philip, John, & to everyone who was responsible for the food. J.D., don't forget about the oak tree, I'm expecting you.

Let's do a bonfire next time.

(I edited the body into “extended entry” for easier front-page promotion… – promoted by odum)

From:  Nate Freeman

To:  Hard Working Vermonters

As you are aware, the 2007-2008 electoral cycle has been both interesting and frustrating nationally and even more so here in Vermont.  With roughly 20 days to the petition deadline, the Lieutenant Governor's office remains unchallenged.  This is about to change.

On June 28th, I began to gather signatures in a bold challenge against Brian Dubie.   I am sharing this news with you today so that you will know in advance my intent and so that I can offer you an opportunity to call or email me with any questions you may have.  And of course, I am asking for your support.

Four years ago, when I sealed my commitment to become a member of the Democratic Party, I set a goal  to one day become the Governor of Vermont.  At that time, I assumed the traditional approach of rising through the ranks from the very bottom, climbing the appropriate rungs along the way.  In fact, I began my effort as a volunteer in Project Bluegrass under Jon Copans, helping with the tedious work of data entry in the Voter Checklist.  I began networking with nearby county parties and volunteered for the Scudder Parker campaign.  I ran against Anne Donahue in 2006, earning a respectable margin against her.  Months later, I was elected by a wide margin as a member of the district school board.  I now serve in two appointed positions, including a seat on the Transportation Advisory Committee for the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission.  Most recently, I have produced a short video on the Taylor Street Bridge in Montpelier.  This effort was my first shot across the bow, catching the Douglas administration off guard and instilling the fear of vulnerability from an unanticipated attack.  With your help, and the help of the Vermont grassroots movement, this campaign can launch a series of similar attacks from a wide variety of angles. 

The decision to run for Lieutenant Governor came after several months of consideration and an assessment of the current election dynamic.  Finally, on June 11th, prior to the rumor about Harry Chen, I shared my intent in confidence with two colleagues from GreenMountainDaily.com.  Four years ago, I would have never considered such a bold political leap to the second highest position in Vermont.  But circumstances have changed and it's time for bold leadership, iron will and the mettle to withstand the most brutal campaign.  

I have made a decision to run for Lieutenant Governor because we cannot afford another two years without leadership in the executive branch.  While I am confident that Gaye Symington will be our next governor, Vermont cannot afford to maintain the office of Lieutenant Governor as an empty, ceremonial position such as we've seen for the last six years. 

Last September, Jane Lindholm interviewed Madeleine May Kunin about her experience as Lieutenant Governor under Dick Snelling.  The occasion for this interview followed on the news that Brian Dubie, for the second time, was applying for a position in the Bush administration.  As we all know, over the course of six years, fighter pilot Brian Dubie has accomplished nothing more than a one-time visit to Cuba; a Tour of Glory to Baghdad on the eve of the Democratic Primary; and his recent, johnny-come-lately scramble to emergency on the issue of home-heating fuel.  From the precedence of Lieutenant Governors Madeleine May Kunin and Howard Dean, Brian Dubie has diminished the role of second-in-command to symbolic gestures devoid of concrete results.

Last September, Madeleine May Kunin reminded us that the role of Lieutenant Governor is as expansive as the imagination of the person who holds that office.  As Lt. Governor, I will work hard to build a coalition among the three major parties so that Vermont can once again move forward productively and efficiently.  As Lieutenant Governor, I will seek to convene multiple task forces challenged to deliver the most creative, state-of-the-art solutions on the most pressing of issues.  I will ask private, public and non-profit leaders to bring their minds together to determine how Vermont will generate more energy while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels; how Vermont will create new jobs and higher wages; and how Vermont can prepare, in concert with the National Intelligence Council, on the impact of climate change as a national security issue.

Vermont needs a Lieutenant Governor who can bring courage, creativity, and commitment to Montpelier.  Vermont needs a Lieutenant Governor inspired by the early work, achievement and leadership of that office under Howard Dean and Madeleiene Kay Kunin.  Vermont needs a Lieutenant Governor who will build a coalition of forces together on his way to the Governor's office so that we can at last address three converging storms on the horizon:  the end of oil, climate change and the decline of economic strength.

I ask you for your support and your confidence in the classic American story of a common individual inspiring and accomplishing extraodinary change.  I ask for your support and confidence that together we can take back the executive branch of government and return Vermont to its leading role in the nation.  I ask for your support and confidence in the belief that the most credible candidate is one who has the will to succeed.

By trade I am an upholsterer; in character I am a fighter and a leader; and in my soul I am a poet who understands the ongoing plight of humanity and how we must work to succeed. 

One day, long ago, I called a leading poet, now deceased, to ask if I could use his words.  I offer his words as a testament that hard work and long term commitment will prevail over the hardships and distress of today.  These are words I have emblazoned in my heart, and this is the message I will bring to the office of Lieutenant Governor.

I look forward to meeting you, listening to your ideas and concerns.  I look forward to working with you so that the orchard of good living we enjoy here in Vermont will blossom and bear fruit once again.

—
Nate Freeman
Freeman's Upholstery Shop, Inc
109 VT RTE 12A
Northfield, VT 05663
(802) 485-4428