Last year we were told about nuclear warhead armed cruise missiles being flown around the country by accident (see here and more importantly here).

Now we’re being told about nuclear missile parts being accidentally being shipped to Taiwan (see here for just one of many news bits).

So what does the hidden part of this iceberg look like? I can’t help but believe we’re only seeing a small part of a larger movement that is being carefully hidden from us.

Thankfully, however, impeachment is kept safely off the table in part by our wonderful trio of federal lawmakers.

One of the reasons that I and many other liberals supported John Edwards's candidacy for president is that he made the elimination of poverty the main theme of his campaign. I really think it's true that if you're not poor, and don't spend any considerable amount of time with poor people, it's very hard to get a realistic picture of how difficult life is for poor people in the United States.

Today we have the chance to get a good look at one aspect of this problem.  The Vermont Housing Council and the Housing Awareness Campaign have released Between a Rock and a Hard PLace, their annual study of housing and wages in Vemront, and unsurprisingly, they find that things continue to get worse for Vermont's poor. Among the findings:

 Vermont had the second tightest rental housing market in the nation in 2007. The rental vacancy rate was 4.9 percent. The homeownership vacancy rate was 1.0 percent, the lowest in the nation.11 Vermont had a shortage of 21,000 affordable rental units as of the most recent statewide housing needs assessment in 2005.12 Our state will need 12,900 more owner-occupied units by 2012. The current pace of housing construction is nowhere near what would be necessary to fill those gaps.

 Vermont has the highest rate of homelessness in New England,14 and the ength of time people spend in homeless shelters in Vermont is increasing apidly. In 2000, the average stay was 11 days. In 2007, it was 33 days.

 Forty-seven percent of Vermont’s renter households were paying more than  30 percent of their incomes for rent and utilities in 2006, and one-fifth of enter households were paying more than 50 percent of their incomes for ent and utilities.

In a crisis of such proportions, a well-intentioned leader would act, wouldn't he? After all, as the problem grows worse and worse, with no sign of relief, this would seem to be  a time when increasing state investments are needed. After all, we have seen that Vermont's investment in affordable housing has been incredibly effective,

Over the last twenty years the Housing and Conservation Board has created 8,500 units of affordable housing, helped preserve downtowns and historic sites, and conserved 365,000 acres of agricultural and recreational lands and natural areas. 

Douglas's response: slash the VHCB budget. While he has called housing costs part of his “affordability agenda” (remember that?), Douglas has proposed a $5.2 million cut in funding to the Housing and Conservation Board.  

When will people see through the smooth veneer to the vicious reality that is Jim Douglas?

I read someplace yesterday that this is being called the Tonya Harding option .Who thinks up this stuff ?

Historic update :Harding never won that figure skating title ,she was last seen as celebrity boxer on Fox. We may not have any Democrat there at the White House to answer the fabled 3:00am phone if this keeps up. Hillary after getting called out  for “misspeaking” multiple times about being under fire in Bosnia ,snipes back with the Rev. Wright issue,to divert attention  . Its unbelievable what  we may be seeing happen. Hillary may destroy Democratic unity against a week ,damaged Republican Party ,win the primaries and give John McCain a chance to answer that stupid phone we apparently should worry about . Mud season a time for worry.

Poll: Bitterness Of Pennsylvania Primary Could Spell Trouble For Dems In November

A new Rasmussen poll of Pennsylvania shows that the sheer bitterness of the Democratic race could spell trouble for the party down the road in this key big swing state.

The poll shows that the divisive Democratic primary is dragging down the prospects for party unity, at least for now: Only 55% of Clinton supporters say they are even just somewhat likely to back Obama if he’s the nominee, and the same goes for only 55% of Obama supporters if Hillary is the nominee.

Here are the horse-race numbers compared to the previous poll from about two weeks ago:

Clinton 49% (-2)

Obama 39% (+1)

from TPM Election Central

I just returned from a weekend in Scranton, PA, visiting friends.  Scranton, by the way, is in the midst of a fantastic revitalization.  The town’s incredible old-world architectural gems are being, or have been, restored.  The blight of post-industrial decline is being erased.  A town well-worth visiting if you happen to be in the area or passing through.

The first thing I noticed in Scranton, however, is Hillary signs.  Everywhere.  Scranton is Hillary Clinton’s father’s hometown, and she has been playing up her ties to northeaster PA.  As we drove around sightseeing with our friends, my wife called out “hey, there’s an Obama sign!”  Our host said “well, that’s two,” referring to the only other Obama sign in town on his front lawn.

Apparently there wasn’t so much political hype until Scranton’s St. Paddy’s Day parade (fourth largest in the USA), in which Clinton was prominently featured, alongside the popular mayor of Scranton, Christopher Doherty.  It wasn’t long after that the Hillary signs began to sprout like spring daffodils on lawns everywhere.  And I mean everywhere.

(Obama, for his part, was invited to speak at the Society of Irish Women in Scranton on St. Paddy’s Day, a gig that Clinton turned down.)  

We stopped in at the Scranton Obama HQ for a couple campaign buttons – they were out, which may or may not be a good sign.  While we were there we noticed several of the campaign staff wearing “NY loves Obama” pins, a major no-no in an area where people are wary of outsiders (particularly from NY).  They seemed disorganized and out of sorts, but excited and upbeat.

Scranton may be in Clinton’s corner, but there are also signs that the race is tightening up in the rest of PA.  A recent poll puts Clinton’s lead at 10 points.  Record numbers of people are turning out to register to vote – young people, new voters, African Americans.  Many people are said to be switching parties, and it’s a safe bet they aren’t switching from Dem to Rep.  

According to my hosts, Obama can narrow Clinton’s lead, and perhaps even win if he concentrates on the population centers of Philadelphia and Pittsburg – a strategy that has worked in statewide politics there.

-M

 From the LA Times Top of the Ticket Blog

… those at the event — at least the vast majority of them — highly disapproved of Clinton's behavior. But they were not willing to shun him.

Brazile's none-too-subtle point: There's a potential downside to turning away, with nary a forgiving nod, from those who once stood by you.

Wright, by the way, remains out of the public eye. He had been invited to preach tonight, Wednesday and Thursday at a church in Tampa, but his appearance was canceled because of security concerns.

— Don Frederick (author info below the fold)

Don Frederick has served as an editor helping guide coverage of every presidential election since 1984. He is a third-generation Washingtonian, so watching the political world comes naturally to him.

A graduate of Northwestern University, he was a reporter for newspapers in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas before joining the (now-defunct) Los Angeles Herald Examiner in 1983. Hired by The Times in 1989, he has worked in its Washington bureau since 1996 — a perch providing him a close-up view of the impeachment of President Clinton, the government's response to 9/11 and the day-to-day wrangling of the two major parties.

An Antarctic Ice Shelf the size of Connecticut is getting ready to come loose, dumping tons of water into the oceans as a result of global warming.  The Wilkins ice shelf would be the biggest Antarctic ice shelf to come down yet. Perhaps its time to stop referring to “global warming deniers” and start calling them “giant state-sized iceberg deniers.”

This is the sort of melt that raises the sea levels, as well. (not so, as mydog pointed out from the same article… the “ice shelfs” are purely sea based already… my bad… makes this another big warning bell rather than the actual diaster). Arctic ice is frozen sea ice, so its melt – while environmentally significant – won't add extra water to the oceans. Ice from the Antarctic continent and Greenland will.

So enjoy those trips to the cape and islands while you can, because I don't think they're gonna be there for your kids to appreciate in their adulthood, the way things are going, at least not as we know them today.

( – promoted by odum)

After all these many years this pair can still cobsmack me with their pure freaking arrogance,insensitivity and all around lack of lack of humanity.

Raddatz: “Mr. Vice President, I want to start with the milestone today of 4,000 dead in Iraq, Americans, and just what effect you think that has on the country. Your thoughts on that?”

Cheney: “Well, it obviously brings home, I think for a lot of people, the cost that’s involved in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. It places a special burden, obviously, on the families. We recognize, I think — it’s a reminder of the extent to which we’re blessed with families who have sacrificed as they have. The President carries the biggest burden, obviously; he’s the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans. But we are fortunate to have the group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm’s way for the rest of us. You wish nobody ever lost their life, but unfortunately it’s one of those things that go with living in the world we live in. Sometimes you have to commit military force, and when you do, there are casualties.”

Yesterday, as the American military death toll in Iraq passed 4,000, Bush’s first public appearance was at the annual Easter Egg Roll, where he appeared in high spirits. Today he participated in a photo op with two bass-fishing champions. “There’s nothing better than fishing,” he said.

ABC News via Froomkin  

It seems like Vt Tiger is kicking GMDs butt for the number of new diaries the last few weeks. So maybe it's time for a poll. It's a multi-vote poll, so you can check a couple of reasons why you think it's quiet around here.

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Quoting the Progressive Party news letter:

Instant Runoff Voting, S.108, has passed the House and Senate.  It is expected to hit the desk of Governor Douglas by the end of the week.  While Douglas has publicly said that he does not like IRV, there are some signs that he may be willing to let it pass into law without his signature.

Douglas signed the last IRV bill sent to his desk, a Burlington charter change that took effect in 2006.  Given IRV’s huge success in Burlington (99.9% valid ballots), a Douglas veto would say either democracy is good for Burlington but bad for the rest of the state, or IRV is bad for Vermont, but he doesn’t care about elections in Burlington.

There is wide support for IRV, from groups ranging from the League of Women Voters to the Utah State Republican Committee, from John McCain and Barack Obama, from the 53 of 56 towns that supported the change in past town meeting resolutions, and from the large number of phone calls coming into the Governor’s office over the past several days.

If majority winners in elections are important to you, please take time today to call Governor Douglas’ office at: 800-649-6825.

No better way to put it.

I was on Vermont Edition today, talking with host Jane Lindholm about the iBrattleboro case and defending the judges decision to dismiss from a blogger’s perspective. It was fun, and is only about a 6 or 7 minute listen. Give a hear and weigh in, if you’re so inclined: