Passage of Bill H-458 is a necessary but just a first step along the path towards making Vermont into the “Delaware of the Net”….Testimony of David R. Johnson  Before the House Commerce Committee

I read today that Vermont may become the Delaware of the Net on June 6th .I never used to worry about the unintended consequences of Vermont tax law. Did we want to be ‘the Delaware of the Net ‘? Naturally and/or perhaps selfishly I wonder what’s in it for Vermonters ? Jobs? Any technical administration could be outsourced anywhere in the World I imagine.Virtual law cases and lawyers might have some in-State impact.Gov.Douglas who is averse to taxing brick and mortar corporations would be even less likely to tax a virtual corporation in Vermont.Virtual sales taxes on Sesond Life products ? It is suggested from the start that fees remain low to encourage virtual registration .The e-state technical side of this may be lagging a little if the recent level 3 web server crash problems continue.

This law may not be a bad thing,it may even be good thing,but I drive over poorly maintained roads and bridges,health care is expensive ,State services are being cut and solutions seem out of reach for the near term so selfishly I wonder who this helps?

David R. Johnson’s testimony continued ….I recommend that the Secretary of State initially impose a nominal filing fee for accepting the filings necessary for establishing an online company.

By allowing innovation by the private sector, including the members of the Vermont Bar who will assist such companies, this Bill may make it easier for people all over the world to find a job (online) and to create valuable products and services (a portion of the revenues from which will rightly become payable to Vermont in the form of fees — in exchange for the provision of an electronic company headquarters).

http://cairns.typepad.com/blog…

Under the new law, for example, a board meeting may be conducted “in person or through the use of [an] electronic or telecommunications medium.” A “‘virtual company’ will be, as a legal matter, a Vermont limited liability company,” said Johnson. And other states are required to recognize the corporation as a legitimate LLC. So while in the past many companies registered in Delaware to take advantage of that state’s business-friendly policies, with this law, Internet-driven startups may find Vermont even more ideal.

http://gigaom.com/2008/06/17/v…  

http://dotank.nyls.edu/VisualC…      http://www.leg.state.vt.us/doc…

(You’ve got to be kidding me. Tuesdays just got more interesting “up north.” – promoted by Christian Avard)

Rich Haskell just stated on WDEV (12:55 PM) that Carl Etnier will be introducing Vermont Commons editor Rob Williams as a new host on Equal Time, Anthony Pollina’s talk show.

This, somehow, seems like failing upward.

Update (1:25 PM):  He will be hosting “Free Vermont Radio” on Tuesdays on Equal Time. The emphasis will be on how secession is related to local sustainability, not racism.  I just turned it off.  Like listening to paint dry.

Update 2:  Starting in July.  Today was a preview.

Honda’s new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

(AP article via Google news)

Excellent news and all, but it emits only water? I might be missing something here … BUT

Water freezes at 32F/0C. We spend a good part of our year in sub-freezing temperatures. Water vapor in cold temps falls out of the air.

Ever try driving on a road covered with an invisible but present glaze of (black) ice?

Is there something in this technology I’m missing, or are we in for some rough winters with thousands of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles running around our roads emitting water?

Today’s Rutland Herald talks about Layoffs at the state level:

“It was a surprise,” said Dean, who has worked in state government for eight years and is – at least until the middle of next month – an information technology manager in the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

Dean and three other workers in the agency – a tourism data administrator, a systems developer and a community development consultant – had work to do and lost their jobs because of lack of money to pay them, not because of how they did their jobs, state officials said.

I’m taking this more personally than I probably should because I know that some of these budget cuts are going to hit friends of mine.  I know of at least one other agency that’s been mandated to cut four positions by the end of the year, and I know people in that agency who are finding it extremely difficult to keep up with their work.   I’m not going to give details on this yet because I have to check to see if I have permission to discuss more of it in public, but I’ll give the short summary: an agency which provides support and assistance for people who are just barely struggling to get by is having its staff cut during an economic downturn.

So yeah, I’m kind of pissed about this.

But I’m also kind of pissed because of the stupid, inane, it’s not our fault crap from the administration which is mandating the layoffs:

Who’s responsible for this?  Apparently, it’s all on the legislature’s shoulders:

It was the Legislature’s fault, said Jason Gibbs, a spokesman for Gov. James Douglas, who said earlier this year that reducing the number of positions through elimination of vacant spots would allow Vermont to avoid layoffs or reductions in force (RIFs).

“It is a direct result of the cut that the Legislature required in that agency’s budget,” Gibbs said. “It is a consequence they were aware of and one for which they are entirely responsible.”

This was an extremely difficult budget, and one that took some real compromise between the Governor’s office and the legislature.  But when it leads to bad choices on the part of the administration, it’s obviously got nothing to do with the administration.

You.  Have.  Got.  To.  Be.  Kidding.  Me.

Is there anything about this administration which is not about politics and the way things are worded?

It sounds like the discussions about who will be the next Speaker of the Vermont House are moving into more serious territory. Some names that were being floated, such as Rep. Johanna Leddy Donovan (Chit-3-5) would seem to be drifting off the radar, which is kind of a shame (I always had the sense that, in Donovan’s case, it was more likely that others wanted or were encouraging her to consider it, but that’s just a finger-to-the-wind sense).

At this point, there are a handful of names being bandied about. The one you hear the most in both the press and the hubbub is Rep. Mark Larson (Chit-3-2). Larson got some high-profile attention at the session’s Douglas-driven curtain call, being a point person in the response to the Governor’s so-called stimulus package. The response was not well-executed, but that’s not necessarily to say there wasn’t a good notion under there. It’s also worth noting that despite being from Burlington, Larson has not become mired in the endless Dem versus Prog warfare up that way, as a concern with any Burlington candidate would be the possibility of that warfare piggybacking into the statehouse in a more prominent way.

Carolyn Partridge (Windham-4) wants the job as well, according to the hubbub. Partridge has been the Majority Leader under Symington’s Speakership. Partridge, of course, shares a district with former Speaker Obuchowski. But right behind her on the leadership team is Floyd Nease (Lam-3) who many looked at as an early front runner. Nease would likely run a tight ship, which is good (and needed), but has a bit of a bunker mentality which could alienate. On the other hand, it may be that those qualities simply go together. Also there is Shap Smith (Lam-Wash 1), who is probably a longer shot as a legislator who is not as well known across constituencies as the others, but who is smart and well-liked, and being talked up by some.

Reportedly, John Rodgers (Orl-Cal 1) is also being talked up – by Republicans. I don’t know Rodgers, he seems like a fine enough sort, but its easy to understand why he would be an appealing choice to the Rs, in that he will always be vulnerable in that district. It’s important to have whoever the Speaker is be from a “safe” district. The Speaker will take on a lot of extra responsibility – supporting (and re-electing) the caucus, and promoting the agenda from a place of strength. If the Speaker is having to spend all their time worrying about their own re-election, that’s not only a time and focus distraction, it could effect their approach to policy as well, in an attempt to mollify potential opposition. For that matter, Smith is also in a district that will likely never be completely secure, although he seems to be establishing himself surprisingly well there.

What do folks think? Any favorites?

Does Vermont, the whitest state in the country, have a racism problem? I’ve asked the question before, but Peter Hirschfeld’s excellent front page article in the Rutland Herald/Times Argus today calls the question front and center once again.

I’m not just speaking of overt racism – the kind that accompanies violence – I’m also speaking of the more challenging kind, as described by the famous/infamous Stokely Carmichael and Stanley Hamilton:

The second type is less overt, far more subtle, less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. But it is no less destructive of human life. The second type operates in the operation of established and respected forces in the society, and thus receives far less public condemnation than the first type.”… The society either pretends it does not know of this latter situation, or is in fact incapable of doing anything meaningful about it”

To be blunt: as far as racial issues go, does the oft-cited “Vermont Way” have more in common with a 1950’s Mississippi lunch counter than a liberal haven? Consider:

• One of two states in the US (Mississippi being the other one) that doesn’t collect race-based information on police incidents (which would enable the tracking of racial profiling issues).
• According to the Sentencing Project’s data from 2005, Vermont is 4th in the nation in incarceration rates for African Americans (only following South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa).
• When looking at the ratio of white incarceration rates to black incarceration rates, Vermont comes in second only to Iowa.
• In Brattleboro, 80% of respondents to an Alana survey said they believe racial profiling by police is a problem and 79% of minority households reported contacts with the Brattleboro Police Department in the preceding year.
• Burlington area police continue to have racial profiling issues, including the one highlighted on the front page of today’s Herald/Argus, concerning the profiling and subsequent assault resulting in injury of a pregnant woman by a Williston cop.
• Vermont ranks #11 in per capita race-related hate crime rates in the US (and without a major metropolitan area and all its associated challenges).
• And of course, many on the Vermont left (traditionally the political population that fights for racial justice) gleefully hold hands with white supremacists to the collective yawn by the Vermont media and so-called racial justice and diversity groups.

We in Vermont project all kinds of wonderful, fawning, almost idolatrous emotion and imagery onto our view of the state. Does that make us incapable of addressing its real social and cultural problems in an honest, constructive way? Does it mean we allow them to fester?

What do you think? How far does it have to go before Vermont progressives consider this enough of a priority to step up and do something about it?

On Obama’s campaign website there is a place to “Fight the Smears” (link here).

Personally I think it’s an excellent way to work back against all the email style bullshit currently flooding the ‘net/tubes, and I think the approach of  “lies” vs “truth” is the way to go.

However … referring to being called a Muslim as a “smear”?

That’s plain stupid in my opinion … and bigoted … and insulting to more than a billion non-violent people throughout the world.

Obama has every right to express his religious bent, and he should correct untruths. He shouldn’t be doing it at the expense of folks who have done him no harm however, calling a reference to himself as being a smear is clearly a rhetorical attack against Muslims.

Some news of whistle blower variety on the Agency of Natural Resources today .Comparison between Omya and Intervale compost is a little tough to avoid on this . I have notice is Gov.Douglas awfully touchy about the environment lately.

Whistle Blower : State bent rules for Omya

ANR employee accuses his division of working on the company’s behalf

A state regulator has accused his own department of ignoring the law when it decided in April to issue a draft solid waste disposal permit for Omya Inc.

John Brabant, a 20-year veteran of the Waste Management Division, said the state should bring an enforcement action – a statement of violations along with possible penalties – against Omya because its unpermitted waste site is not in compliance with the state’s solid waste laws.

Brabant accuses the Agency of Natural Resources of working on Omya’s behalf. He said the agency is using a different standard for the company and cited the enforcement action taken against Intervale Compost Products in Burlington, which was found to be in violation of its solid waste certification and also lacked an Act 250 land use permit. ANR also fined the town of Shrewsbury transfer station $9,200 for failing to renew its permit in a timely fashion and for what Brabant termed minor violations.

John Sayles, ANR’s deputy secretary, said the agency’s enforcement action against Intervale Compost Products was based on a determination that if the leachate at the site entered the groundwater “that would cause an imminent threat and it was appropriate to take action,” Sayles said. In Omya’s case, he said a recent study concluded that the Omya site posed no such threat.

Times Argus ,Bruce Edwards   http://www.timesargus.com/apps…

“We are going to be bollixed up in a way that’s terribly unfortunate,” he said. “Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that.”

(McCain Denounces Detainee Ruling, Washington Post, 06/14/08)

Actually, Senator McCain, you took the following oath

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

(US  Senate)

And in the United States of America’s Constitution we find the following language

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

(Article. VI. – Debts, Supremacy, Oaths)

It certainly is politically correct and politically sexy to lay claim to some other supreme responsibility (as opposed to defending the Constitution), but it is also a lie.

I say lie because each and every politician who takes the above oath knows what it says … they give their solemn word … and then what?

PS. This also applies to an awful lot of Democratic politicians too.

I just wanna do a plug for a good friend of mine, Jack McEnany. Check out his political blog Lost Nation. It’s worth a visit.

Jack’s from Franconia, NH and one of the funniest guys I’ve met. In some ways, he’s like Philip Baruth… but on overdrive. Ironically, Lost Nation has a VDB feel to it too. Call him Baruth’s alter ego.

He just wrote his second book Brush Cat: On Trees, the Wood Economy, and the Most Dangerous Job in America and is about to write his third Who Killed Mick Mars? Jack spent a couple weeks, on tour, with Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars. Find out more. This will be great.  And then of course, we all know his first book, but I digress.

The point I wanna make is… he’s back blogging.

Go check it out or visit his archives.