Every four years the legislature has the opportunity to begin the long process of amending the Vermont state constitution. This year, the big push is to get four-year terms for the governor and lieutenant governor. It’s being pushed by Sen. Bill Doyle (R- Washington County) and the Snelling Center for Government, which identifies itself as a “nonpartisan” 501c3 group.

All the living former governors are in favor, according to quotes from the Snelling Center. They say it would allow the governor to actually govern and work on more nuanced solutions to complex problems rather than looking for quick answers to tout during the too-soon-upcoming next election. Other proponents cite “strategic planning.”

All I can say is thank the powers that be for Frank Bryan. More after the jump.

The much honored curmudgeon of Vermont politics, supporter of town meeting, and UVM professor of political science is agin it, as am I, and his basic argument is this: in one swell foop, you cut democracy in half, giving Vermonters half as many opportunities to provide concrete feedback by their votes to their executive (and perhaps legislative) branches. Besides, he counters the “strategic planning” pleaders and the “government is too complex  now” complainers, Vermonters have a long history of giving governors a second term in office anyway.

The Snelling Center’s “nonpartisan approach” is to suggest that each office be considered as a separate amendment, let the chips fall where they may (Governor for four years would be one amendment; Lt. Gov would be another; Senate would be another amendment; House still another; constitutional officers would be another separate amendment). Sen. Jim Condos (D-chittenden) won’t go for four years for executive branch only; he wants the legislature included. Sen. Doyle suggests that including the legislature in the proposal would result in its defeat, should an amendment reach the voters (in 2010).

If you want the history, try the Secretary of State’s archives page.

If you want a personality reason to oppose an extension of executive branch terms (only) to four years, here’s one: John McClaughry (anyone notice there’s a “laugh” in the middle of that name?) loves the idea, along with the notion that the Attorney General, at least (and at best, all of the other statewide officers) should be appointed by the Governor, and that the Governor and Lt. Gov should be one slate (I guess he never got over the accession of Howard Dean when Richard Snelling died; perhaps he thought it was really too bad that Barbara Snelling didn’t get the same chance).

McClaughry, should anyone need reminding, is the president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a “think tank” headquartered in Concord, Vermont, and the recipient of at least $103,000 in grants since 1998, according to Media Transparency.org. $40k came from the Roe Foundation (North Carolina) and $48K from the Jaqueline Hume Foundation (San Francisco), with another $15K from the JM Foundation (Madison Ave., NYC). The Ethan Allen Institute bills itself as “nonpartisan,” but I’ve never heard its president support any idea that came from the Democrats. (He’s a dyed in the wool Republican: ran for governor as an R, worked for Ronnie Reagan’s administration, just for two examples.) And I’ve never heard anybody but its president and perhaps his wife Ann, the secretary-treasurer, ever say or write anything identified with the Ethan Allen Institute.

In typically dismissive and snide terms, he argues that legislators do not deserve the same deal as the executive branch because

they just want to be spared the expense, inconvenience and political danger of being held accountable by their voters every two years.

How is this not applicable to the executive branch?

I could manage a grudging acceptance of four-year terms only if the legislature got the same deal; otherwise it stacks the deck way over in the Gov’s column and leads to the inevitable influencing of local campaigns (like that doesn’t happen now) on the non-gubernatorial election years.

Can’t help but wonder what, if anything, the state Democratic Committee might do with this question. Notably both Madeline Kunin and Phil Hoff support four-year terms for the governor.

On the other hand, during the recount for State Auditor, I chatted with a Republican Party activist who agreed with me. (Uh-oh)

Bottom line: I’m with Frank Bryan, although I don’t often agree with him, and he wrote a book with John McClaughry. Don’t gut Vermont grass roots democracy!

NanuqFC

Below the fold…………..

The mama pajama rolled out of bed, and she ran to the police station

When the papa found out, he began to shout, and he started the investigation

It’s against the law,

it was against the law

What the mama saw,

it was against the law.

The mama looked down and spit on the ground ev’ry time my name gets mentioned

The papa say “Oy, if I get that boy

I’m gonna stick him in the house of detention.”

I’m on my way, I don’t know where I’m goin’,

I’m on my way, I’m takin’ my time, but I don’t know where.

Goodbye to Rosie, the Queen of Corona

See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard

In a couple of days they come and take me away
But the press let the story leak

And when the radical priest come to get me released

We’s all on the cover of Newsweek

Well, I’m on my way,

I don’t know where I’m goin’

I’m on my way,

I’m takin’ my time, but I don’t know where

Goodbye to Rosie, the Queen of Corona

See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard

Over the New Year’s weekend, I kept my TV on Nickelodeon.
And there were two good reasons for that.
Here they are:

A child is dead because of the irresponsibility not just of caregivers, but of the mainstream media.
The heartbreaking – and sickening – story is below the fold.

After the execution of Saddam Hussein by hanging was shown over and over and over all weekend long and beyond on both CNN and Fox News, and presumably elsewhere, I reached another tipping point, and did this on the air.
What you are hearing here is the dry voice extracted from the voicetracker. I recorded it at home, but the quality is kind of sucky; should have taped it from the webstream rather than the air.
Anyway.
Today, HuffPo links to this piece from the AP:

HOUSTON – A 10-year-old boy was apparently mimicking Saddam Hussein’s execution when he hanged himself from a bunk bed, police and family members said.

Sergio Pelico was found dead Sunday in his apartment bedroom after watching a news report on the execution of the former Iraqi leader, said Webster Police Lt. Tom Claunch.

“Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting,” Claunch said after officials spoke with family members. An autopsy of the fifth-grader’s body was pending.

Some may be tempted to blame the caregivers first and solely. First, perhaps, but these were the circumstances:

Sergio’s mother, Sara Pelico DeLeon, was at work Sunday and her children were being watched by a relative when one of them found Sergio’s body, Gustavo said.
Family members held a memorial for the boy Wednesday in the apartment complex activity center. Gustavo said the family is trying to put together enough money to send Sergio’s body to Guatemala for burial.

I do not know how many children were in the household. I have a better idea, however, how many households this obscenity was repeatedly brought into. Nielsen stats are easily available for those who care to seek them out.
Some people get it. I get it. I have gone to LENGTHS to ensure that Julian and Tristan did not see that. They have not, and will not. (The audio of Julian speaking in the aircheck is him simply saying what I told him to say. He hasn’t the first clue what it means.)
I don’t much like country music, but…..I do like this song. My eyes tear up when I hear it, religious references notwithstanding:

RODNEY ATKINS LYRICS

“Watching You”

Driving through town just my boy and me
With a happy meal in his booster seat
Knowing that he couldn’t have the toy
Till his nuggets were gone
Green traffic light turned straight to red
I hit my breaks and mumbled under my breath
As fries went a flying and his orange drink covered his lap
Well then my four year old said a four letter word
That started with “s” and I was concerned
So I said son now where did you learn to talk like that

[Chorus one]

He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I’ve been watching you

We got back home and I went to the barn
I bowed my head and I prayed real hard
Said lord please help me help my stupid self
Then this side of bedtime later that night
Turning on my son’s scooby doo nightlight
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands
And spoke to god like he was talking to a friend
And I said son where’d you learn to pray like that

[Chorus two]

He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We like fixing things and holding mama’s hand
Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I’ve been watching you

[Bridge]

With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug
Said my little bear is growing up
He said but when I’m big I’ll still know what to do

[Chorus three]

Cause I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
Then I’ll be as strong as you and superman
We’ll be just alike, hey won’t we dad
When I can do everything you do
Cause I’ve been watching you

I bet Rodney Atkins’ child didn’t see that either.
Anyone who could write a song like that (with a head start from a little song his son made up, Lady Kestrel tells me) understand that our children learn by imitating, and by the example we sat.
No more happy meals, Sergio. No more Scooby Doo night light, cowboy boots or camo pants. No more holding Mommy’s hand.
No growing up to be just like Dad.
To the MSM: I hope you’re happy. I hope you sleep well.
I charge you with the death of this child.
His blood is on your hands.
And yet, another casualty of George W. Bush’s illegal and unjust war based on lies.

(From today’s Blog posting at www.greenmountainpolitics1.blogspot.com I am hoping that sometime soon Odum is kind enough to link to me)

2006 was a great year for the Democrats. The Party, united in its hatred of all things Bush, rode the President and his handling of the Iraq War to a majority in both Chambers of Congress.

But, as good as the 06′ campaign talking points were for the Democrats – “A new direction in Iraq!” and “I will hold the President accountable!” – 06’s talking points are having a tough time carrying over to the 07′ majority.

Much to the dismay of voters who voted in the Anti-War Establishment freshman class of the 110th Congress.

Hey, it’s a lot tougher to govern than it is to throw bombs on the campaign trail.

And, what does a freshman majority do when it starts to get tough in the governing arena? They wait two full hours after being sworn in to start backing off their campaign promises.

Two hours.

Two hours after Steny Hoyer officially took over as House Majority Leader he sat down with NPR’s Rober Siegal to chat about the War in Iraq (among a few other things).

The audio of the interview can be found here: http://www.npr.org/t…

Warning: The Following Contains Language That May Be Unsuitable For Anyone Who Thought That This Congress Will Be Any Different Than The Last When It Comes To Dealing With The Iraq War

Siegel: What message about Iraq does the new Congress take from the election?

Hoyer (dodging): The complexity of Iraq and the fact that the President is the Commander-In-Chief and in charge of the administration of the armed forces and could veto any legislation are all significant factors in dealing with the Iraq issue.

Clacker: Whoa, Whoa, Whoa Steny! “Complexity”? “Significant factors”? But you promised us a new way forward. It all sounded so simple two months ago!

Next question:

Siegel: Should we expect the House to use its power of the purse over the War in Iraq?

Hoyer (really dodging): Clearly you are going to see the House, in the near term, exercise its oversight. Murtha and Skelton are going to hold hearings. The Iraq War is the worst execution of foreign policy in my lifetime.

Clacker: No shit? In your lifetime? Tell us something we don’t know Steny.

And these hearings the House Democrats keep talking about? We already had them. They were called the Iraq Study Group – a well-funded, bi-partisan group of foreign policy Wise Men who did there level best to show the American public that there are no good options in Iraq.

The only thing that Skelton and Murtha are going to dig up is that Bush is a moron and that lots of people are guilty of war profiteering.

Again, no shit.

Steny, you’re in the majority now. Embarrass the President. Prove that Haliburton is disgusting. Fine. But the war is still raging and you made promises to the American public.

The truth is if you are against putting more troops in and you are against cutting off funding for the entire war effort than you are in favor of staying the course.

It’s the truth even if you are in the majority party.

Steny better get some new talking points.

I just checked the Auditor’s website and Randy Brock is still the incumbent.  Has the there been a delay because of the recount?  When does Tom Salmon take over?

Although Randy was my friend and Frat brother at Middlebury, I could not bring myself to vote for a Republican.  I actually was glad when Tom Salmon won.  I was also glad that the recount demonstrated just how honest our elections are in Vermont in comparison with states that end with a vowel.

(vtimpeach.com is now live, if still a work in progress… – promoted by odum)

Vermonters’ efforts to get impeachment and “troops home now” resolutions on town meeting warnings, as well as working for impeachment legislation in the Vermont legislature has captured the attention of several national figures calling for impeachment.

John Nichols and Cindy Sheehan have offered to come to Vermont the first weekend in March, to help us rally folks to get out to town meeting votes, and to bring these resolutions up as “other business to come before the town” in towns that didn’t get them warned.
Cynthia McKinney has also expressed interest in joining them.

David Lindorff, co-author of “The Legal case for Impeachment” will be making appearances for us in Brattleboro and Manchester on Feb. 3.

Elizabeth Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee that impeached Richard Nixon, and author of “the Impeachment of George W. Bush”, has offered to come and address legislators about their rights and duties regarding impeachment.

That is because Vermont, with some help from Maine, NH and MA, is serving as a catalyst to the nation.
We are showing them what a citizenry can do when it stands up and says “enough”.

We should declare this an insurrection of reclamation.

The executive branch has subverted our constitution and illegaly seized power from the legislative branch. With illegal signing statements, Bush declares the right to open the mail of Americans, to sieze and hold without explanation American citizens, to wiretap without warrant our conversations and emails.

We will not rest until this foul genie of a unitary executive branch is put back in the bottle and its perpetrators held accountable.

We will force a return to the principles upon which we were founded.

As Congressional investigations unearth damning facts and are met with stonewalling and resistance by the Bush administration, it will be the outrage of the American people, not our politicians who will force them to face their constitutional duty and vote articles of impeachment.

Join us. Take back the Republic.
visit VTImpeach.com

Sitting here at Blogapalooza on the Hill, and this dude walked in, so I flipped open the camera phone.

Anybody know this guy? Looks familiar.

I’m so glad that George Bush is committed to preserving the freedoms we Americans have, as he often likes to remind us, usually to the point of producing nausea at best, or sometimes violent diarrhea. In keeping with that tradition of reckless freedom-producing, he’s produced another one of those signing statements in the latest Postal bill that will give him sweeping new powers to open your mail without a warrant:

The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a “signing statement” that declared his right to open people’s mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it…

Most of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act deals with mundane reform measures. But it also explicitly reinforced protections of first-class mail from searches without a court’s approval.

Yet in his statement Bush said he will “construe” an exception, “which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent … with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances.”

Bush cited as examples the need to “protect human life and safety against hazardous materials and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.”

Now, I’m sure the conservative nutjobs will once again be okay with this, because, you know, if you’ve got nothing to hide, why would you care. But then again, since many of these people tend to be some of the most sexually repressed members of our society, aren’t they a little concerned about what the Prez might find in their mailbox?

Crossposted at five before chaos.

From the VT Dems:

The Vermont Democratic Party announced today that Jill Krowinski has been hired to serve as Executive Director.

Krowinski, a native of North Tonawanda , New York and currently of Burlington , came to Vermont in 2002 as a Field Coordinator for the Vermont Democratic Party. In 2003 she served as the Director for the Vermont Democratic House Campaign and in 2004 as Field Director for the Vermont Democratic Party.

In 2005, Krowinski worked for House Speaker Gaye Symington (D-Jericho) as her Assistant at the Statehouse. In June 2006, she left the Speaker’s Office to work on Peter Welch’s Congressional campaign as Field Director.

Congrats Jill! Hope the high-falootin’ new job doesn’t make you re-evaluate your taste in movies…

Groovy.