On Life & Civil Disobedience
October 19, 2007 | 3 Comments
Oops. Sorry about that. The screen getting all static with the same information and all. But don’t worry, I’ve got excuses. Lots and lots of excuses.
The public schools in Vermont have decided to kick the kids out over the last several days. Why? I’m not sure. But, in our case, it’s meant that I get to play the stay-at-home-dad role. No complaints here. On Wednesday, my daughter and her friend dressed up as devils and ran around the pasture and hillside (see photo). It provided some entertainment for me as I did what Gary Snyder called the “real work”: harvesting carrots, potatoes and the cherry tomatoes that just keep coming. The horses, however, were a bit confused.
Time’s Up (again) for Welch: Okay folks, if you’ve had enough of Congressman Peter Welch doing little more than talk, talk and talk about how much he opposes the war but yet keep voting, voting and voting to give Bush more time and money to continue it, let’s talk. There’s a call out by several folks to make a visit to Welch’s Burlington office on Monday to let him know that we’re not falling for the rhetoric.
In the last month, Welch has voted in favor of the “emergency” federal budget bill that included billions more for the war and voted in favor congressional resolution condemning the now infamous MoveOn advertisement. So let me simply that for you: Welch voted to give more money for war and to condemn the anti-war movement. But – almost laughably – he continues to declare that “no one is more opposed to the war” than he is. Sorry, Peter, but talk is cheap. And, as you should know by now, the votes are what matter.
So, if you’re interested in finding out more about the proposed show of democracy in Congressman Welch’s office on Monday, drop me an email at: mcolby@broadsides.org. Or, if you don’t want to chat with me, contact Boots Wardinski at: greenreaper@fairpoint.net.
Speaking of Civil Disobedience: Last Summer, on the advice of my lawyer, the fabulous David Sleigh, I entered a plea of “no contest” to the charges of “attempted disorderly conduct” and “trespassing” for my protest of the speech of then-National Intelligence Czar, John Negroponte at the St. Johnsbury Academy’s graduation in 2006.
Sleigh advised me to enter the no-contest plea and then appeal the case to the Vermont Supreme Court – a course of action I agreed to and which continues to this day as the appeal currently awaits court action. It is our hope that the appeal will succeed and we will prove that my brief protest of Negroponte’s speech – thanks to the federal agents who swarmed me – was nothing more than an exercise of my right to free speech.
My fellow defendant in the matter, Boots Wardinski, decided to seek a jury trial instead of pursuing the Supreme Court-appeal route. Ironically, as his trial was about to begin last month, the judge ruled that a motion submitted by his attorney – also David Sleigh – needed to be addressed by the Supreme Court before the trial could take place. Thus, it now could be more than a year before either of us will know how (or if) the Supreme Court will proceed.
One thing is clear: It is time to stand up and be heard. Join us.
The Hand of Harlan
October 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I told you the real behind-the-scenes Vermont Dems weren’t going to sit on their hands and watch Anthony Pollina play in the media spotlight for long. Trust me, they’re scrambling – and fighting. I happen to know because my little in-box has gotten some fun little misdirected missives over the last 24 hours. The talk yesterday – that Louis Porter nailed this morning – was a possible candidacy for governor by Peter Galbraith, the former diplomat, Iraq war critique and son of noted economist, John Kenneth Galbraith.
Galbraith represents the third trail-balloon candidacy that has Senator Peter Shumlin’s fingerprints all over it. And it’s no coincidence that all three people Shumlin is trying to push over the cliff – er, make that: run for office – are people with little to no chance of winning. First, as you recall, it was Vincent Illuzzi. Then came Pollina. And now it’s Galbraith. Shumlin just wants a nice sacrificial lamb to come in and soften Douglas up for what he hopes will be his run for the office in 2010.
But there’s one big stumbling block to Shumlin’s political hopes: The real behind the scenes kingmaker of Vermont politicians, Harlan Sylvester of Smith Barney money fame, can’t stand him. And don’t feel left out if you don’t know who Sylvester is because he keeps way behind the scenes. But, sadly, if you want to win the governorship in Vermont, you’ve got to have the blessings of Sylvester and his cadre of well-heeled business leaders who fall into line the minute Pope Harlan anoints his chosen one.
Don’t believe me? Who do you think was behind Dean’s stronghold on the office? Harlan Sylvester. And who gave his blessings to Douglas’ pursuit of the office? Harlan Sylvester. And who keeps slamming the door on the legitimate Dem challengers to Douglas: Harlan Sylvester. Yep, when the rest of the state was thinking Doug Racine was going to walk right into Dean’s office in 2002, the insiders knew that the Sylvester machine was on Douglas’ side. If you’d like to see who Sylvester runs with, just go here and check out the names.
Oh, and by the way, the word on the street is that while Sylvester may not be in love with Douglas in the same way he was with Dean, he’s still mighty proud of how Douglas is willing to go to bat for his Smith Barney clients. It was Sylvester who got Dean to poke the ideological eye of the Dems and pass his massive Republican-like tax cut in his first year in office. Here’s how the illusive Sylvester spoke about Dean in an article in the American Prospect in 2002:
Sylvester praises Dean for forcing through a dramatic tax cut during his first year in office, over the objections of “the left of the party [who] wanted to soak the wealthy,” Sylvester explains, leaning back in his chair in an expansive office just off Lake Champlain. “One-quarter of 1 percent of Vermonters pay 16 percent of state income taxes,” he says. “That’s 829 people, and a lot of them are clients of mine. Four of them moved out of state rather than pay Vermont taxes.”
Hmm, Dean sure changed his tune once he got out from under Sylvester and hit the national stage, huh?
Oops, ran out of time again. I’ll be back later with a little look into the recent huffing and puffing of Peter Welch. Stay tuned.
[P.S. Yes, those are my horses on the front page of the Times Argus this morning. If you missed it, click here for a look.]
I Dare You to Read This
October 16, 2007 | 1 Comment
Oh no, you again. I thought I scared you away? Okay, suit yourself. But don’t come whining to me when you get your little feelings all hurt. Because, my friends, you’ve been warned.
I haven’t got much time for you brats today. The ground is slowly drying and I’ve got wood to drag and a horse ready to do it. So, let me entertain and otherwise incite you with these little random jewels that – when measured – amount to absolutely nothing but mind clutter. Oh well, you get what you pay for.
Lights, Camera, Ass-kissing: Much of the Vermont media and blogosphere is all atwitter over the news that George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio are thinking about doing a movie about Howard Dean. No, it’s not called “The Scream.” But, yes, everyone will giggle and drool all over themselves to get in on the Hollywood action. Don’t believe me? Check out Freyne’s piece this morning. It doesn’t get any more pathetic than that. Earth to Peter: You are NOT the center of every political story. But at least we now know where you got those nasty chapped lips during the Deaniac presidential times: Smooching all that Dean campaign ass. Of course, you probably forgot to mention to your readers at the time that you were assuming the position for the Dean team while writing your fawning missives. Access ain’t free, eh?
More on Pollina: I received several emails from folks about my little screed about Pollina yesterday and most of them had this little question in common: Well, then, what should the Dems do? Okay, I’ll answer that: Build a nice little soapbox, make a list of about four things that you really, really believe in to the point of risking a bloody nose or two over fighting for, take the soapbox to as many venues in Vermont as you possibly can to stand upon, to speak passionately about your issues and to demonstrate how you’re going to really fight – no matter the short-term electoral consequences.
But, be careful, if you follow my advice, you might find that people will become excited and otherwise energized by what you’re saying and doing. And then you just keep doing it.
Let me know how that works out for you. It’s got to be better than all the nervous hand wringing and obsessive calculating you’ve become paralyzed by. Oh yeah, and where do I send the bill?
But, seriously, imagine if the Dems and Progs got off this little runaway “will he or won’t he“ Pollina train and, instead, put all of that energy into igniting a grassroots firestorm in Vermont. Now THAT would be exciting. To give them some credit, this is what the Progs have been trying to do over the last several years by focusing on the local contests and the local issues. (Did you all hear that? It was called praise. Sort of.) But, unfortunately, it seems like the energy they’re putting into a potential Pollina campaign for the state’s highest office will be a step backward for them – especially if they have to go to their rank and file members and basically say “never mind all that stuff we said about the Dems and our focus on building a base in the legislature.”
Sure, Douglas is the problem for those looking to have a Dem/Prog stairway to legislative heaven. But, remember, the so-called veto-proof majorities held by the Dem/Progs in the legislature were pretty damn lame last session, acting more like deer in the headlights than the super-majority leaders that they were. So sure, if the Dem/Progs want to work together, how about working to organize the grassroots to create a movement that will strengthen their legislative numbers and, just as importantly, embolden them to actually ACT, take risks and stand up for – not ignore – the people who put them there.
If Pollina and this rumored Dem/Prog union were hired to build your house I’ll bet they’d try to convince you to put the roof on first. And I’ll bet you’d fire them and find someone who wanted to start at the basement level and work up.
It could all start by Pollina making an announcement that he will, indeed, be waging a campaign in 2008. But instead of taking on Jim Douglas, he’s going to wage a unified Dem/Prog effort for the Vermont Senate. And then, if he beats Bill Doyle, he’ll be in a fine position to do the legislative work he wants to do and think about his next steps in 2010.
Enough already. I’ve got work to do.
[Housekeeping note: If you want to comment publicly, you have to click on the “blog” or “go to the full blog” to access the comments option. But, if you’d like to continue keeping your missives private, you can email me directly at mcolby@broadsides.org. All correspondence is considered confidential.]
If It’s a Losing Proposition, Count Pollina In.
October 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I guess there’s no end to the tragic comedy known as Vermont liberals. I mean, even in what should be a moment of shining opportunity for them, they still keep trying to lose. Take, for example, all the talk recently over yet another run for statewide office by the poster-boy for the losing left, Anthony Pollina. And if it feels like you’ve already lived this nightmare…well….you have. Several times over.
As we all should know by now, Pollina-the-placeholder is being called upon once again to step up and lose for a coalition of Progressives and Democrats who apparently can’t find the energy, creativity or vision to find anyone with a real chance of taking on Republican Governor Jim Douglas. Cue the laugh track. Or, if you’re in the Governor’s office, cue the “Hail to the Chief” music for another two years.
While Pollina is certainly loving all the attention he’s getting of late, I’d recommend he not get too used to it. Because the real Democratic Party players aren’t going to let this story go on for much longer. Why? They still despise Pollina for his clumsy romp upon the political landscape for the past twenty-plus years, a romp that has him either snuggling or bashing the Dems depending on what’s best for one person: Himself. Principles? Forgetaboutit.
You’ve got to hand it to Pollina, though, because he’s certainly made a nice political career out of losing. I mean, think about it, the guy has lost every political campaign he’s run since 1984 and he’s still considered a viable candidate in 2008. But I think that says as much about Pollina’s acceptance of losing as it does about the political culture in Vermont – especially the way the mainstream media – and now the blogosphere — covers it.
Take, for example, this most recent round of Pollina babble. It is truly being fueled by a media in Vermont that is dying for an easy political story. And if Pollina knows how to win anything it’s media attention. So, in he stepped into a void that guaranteed lots and lots of ink and airtime that prattled on and on about – you guessed it – himself. Hey, losers need to feel like they’re loved once in awhile and, sadly, for Pollina that’s always a good year or so BEFORE an election.
Pollina, however, is only a tiny part of the problem here. The bigger problem is the timidity and near-complete lack of compassion by Vermont’s liberals to find and rally behind a real opponent for Jim Douglas. As I said at the beginning, this should be a mighty heady time for liberals – both in Vermont and nationally. But instead of seizing the opportunity, they’re wringing their hands and making themselves dizzy with every kind of political calculation and re-calculation until they’ve all but lost sight of the main ingredients: passion and principles. And then they call Pollina-the-placeholder.
Yep, they deserve to lose.
P.S. I went over to the increasingly entertaining political blog over at the Burlington Free Press – Vermont Buzz – and read some of the comments regarding Terri Hallenbeck’s piece on the governor’s race. My favorite was this anonymous missive about Pollina:
Pollina’s campaign headquarters will be at Capital Grounds in Montpeculiar, where Anthony sits most every day and waxes poetic about his strong work ethic. What a sham this guy is.
Now that’s funny.
Roper Redux
October 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Oh no, he’s back! Like the telemarketer who calls at dinnertime, Rob Roper is coming back for more abuse. It doesn’t matter to him that the last time he called he was all but pummeled into a state of political embarrassment because, dear readers, Roper’s kind of partisanship knows no shame – or boundaries.
Roper, of course, is the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, a job that requires him to do the bidding of the state’s top elected Republican, Governor Jim Douglas – even if it means making a complete ass of himself. That way, you see, Douglas gets to continue with his “aw-shucks” shrugs and smirks while Roper rapid-fires the spittle of absurd partisanship, hoping that something – anything! — will stick before he starts the process over again the next day.
Recently, of course, Roper donned his Kaptain Kook outfit and huffed and puffed about the regulatory infractions at the Burlington-based Intervale’s compost facility. Of course, Roper and his puppeteer, Douglas, could care a less about the liquid run-off at the Intervale. As I wrote about earlier this week, what’s got these two shiny Republicans all atwitter is the fact that two of their political rivals have connections with the Intervale. House Speaker Gaye Symington is the fund-raiser for the Intervale and Prog Representative Dave Zuckerman farms there. Welcome to the kindergarten world of “gotcha!” politics.
The word on the street was that Roper and Douglas would probably tippy-toe away from this story after the blowback got a little hot for them. Most media outlets in Vermont, for example, either shrugged or laughed at their partisan yapping, noting the obvious stretch in logic required to smear Symington and Zuckerman for the oozing compost.
End of story, right? Wrong. Because Douglas has apparently wound up his little attack dog to come back for more on this story. In today’s Times Argus, Roper pens a long editorial that basically serves to pick the political scab. The piece (“Did Symington Gain Special Treatment For Intervale?”) reads like a rather breathless and desperate second attempt to make sense out of a story that just doesn’t make sense.
Consider, for example, Roper’s tortured reasoning:
First, Speaker Symington’s job at Intervale Center is not just fund raising. Her job also entails completing annual report and and “being a public voice for the nonprofit Intervale Center.
Roper’s source for the Symington job description? The Associated Press. But let’s forget about that and, instead, continue down the long and winding road of Roper logic.
Since Symington is the Intervale’s “public voice,” Roper argues, she should be held responsible for anything and everything that goes on at the entire center. Never mind that they have an executive director and a board of directors – not to mention a director of the compost division (who got fired). Is it snack time in partisan kindergarten yet?
But, again, let’s try to stay on this swerving Roper logic train. Because guess who else has “public voice” in his job description? Yep, Mr. Roper – as in the “public voice” for Vermont’s Republican Party. And – oh my goodness – his website shows a direct link and affiliation with the National Republican Party. So, Mr. Public Voice, you gonna own up to some of the stuff happening in your house of cards? Torture? Illegal wars? And how did you not know about that Senator Craig foot tapping, my friend?
The Times Argus got it right: This whole thing is “silly.” Please, Mr. Governor, will you shorten the leash on your attack dog. He’s scaring the children.
Housekeeping
October 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lucky for you, dear readers, that the rain has muddied the skidding trails and the horse is in the barn. So, your sometimes-friendly editor gets to spend extra time in the cozy warmth of an office, staring at the glowing box that I pretend is your face. Yeah, you. Yes, I see exactly what you’re doing. You’ve been warned.
I’ve been spending way too much time playing under the hood of this website. Sorry, but I’m still laboring over some of the options. And, for those of you who know me and my near complete lack of computer skills, you can only imagine the look on my face when one of the fine fellows helping me says something like: “format the php file so that the page links to the category but not the post.” Yeah sure, I’ll get right on that. Actually, at moments like that, I’d rather hook the Mac to the horse and drag it around. But, thanks to the infinite patience of the folks behind the scenes, it’s slowly getting done.
And while we’re on housekeeping matters, let me direct your attention to two features on this site. First – and most importantly – is the handy-dandy PayPal donation button that can be found on the sidebar of the blog. Click on it and you’ll have the very satisfying opportunity to donate some money to the Broadsides investigative journalism fund. Several of you let me know that the PayPal option was not working for you earlier this week. You were right. But I fixed it and now it’s working just fine. And, in case you’re wondering, all donations are strictly confidential.
The other little feature is the “email subscription” option. It, too, can be found on the sidebar of the blog. All you have to do is enter your email, follow the easy confirmation procedure and then sit back and allow the new Broadsides content to flow into your email box – once a day. Try it. And if you don’t like it, just click on the “remove me” option and it’ll go away. If you’re a reader from the old Broadsides site who signed up for that email list, you need to re-sign up for this list. Sorry about that.
Now let me get back to the clips and tips. Stayed tuned for today’s “real” posts…
Reading Around
October 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I’ve got a pile of clips, tips and links piling up so please allow me to dispense with some of it real fast. Off we go….
The Vermont Press Bureau has been doing a yeoman’s job of late, kicking out timely and topical pieces. Today, for example, Louis Porter got the lead on the Times-Argus’ front page with his article on taxes in Vermont. The headline says it all: “Study Concludes Vermont Income Tax is Progressive.”
That’s not the kind of headline our doom and gloom governor, Jim Douglas, wants to see. As Vermonters know by now, Douglas has been doing his best to scare the wits out of everyone about how unfairly the state taxes its citizens – all while pretending to be promoting the state. Go figure.
But contrary to Douglas’ fear mongering on taxes, this report by the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office shows that Vermont is more tax friendly to lower and middle-income citizens than most other states. The report concludes that Vermont, more than most states, makes an effort to have a progressive tax code, thereby shifting the tax burden more towards those with the money. And who would that be? Well – ahem — Douglas and his well-heeled Republican friends, of course.
Douglas is no dummy. Let’s just say he knows who butters his bread. But does he have to continue to trash the entire state just to protect his country club buddies?
Speaking of the Press Bureau, Porter’s compatriot over there, Daniel Barlow, has an interesting piece today on the first public hearing of the legislatively-appointed commission looking into the issue of same-sex marriage.
As you’ll remember, the always-nervous Democrats in the Vermont legislature – led by Peter Shumlin and Gaye Symington – decided last summer that they needed this commission to help them figure out a way to go forward on the issue. Sorry, but one word comes to mind: Wimps. Yo, Dems, the way forward is very simple and does not require a commission to cover your backsides. It’s called having some principles, compassion and leadership skills. And then you simple pick up a pencil and write the bill that says something like this: Marriage – and all the benefits it entails – shall be granted to same-sex couples in Vermont in the exact same manner as they are granted to heterosexual couples. See, it’s really not that hard.
Given the attendance at last night’s first hearing, it’s pretty clear that the vast majority of Vermonters agree that it’s really not the issue that the Dems apparently want to make it. According to Barlow’s article, only two of the 75 people who showed up to the hearing spoke out against gay marriage. And one of the two who bothered to turn back the clock of social justice and speak out against the proposal was none other than Brian Pearl, one of the few conservatives in the state who can make WDEV’s Paul Beaudry actually sound reasonable. Yeah, he’s that bad. And then some. Just taste this from Barlow’s article:
Pearl, who was the first to speak, said he worried that legalizing gay marriage would result in minors marrying older members of the same sex. He added that same-sex marriage should not be recognized because the couples cannot procreate as heterosexual couples do.
Oh boy. You know, Mr. Pearl, sometimes procreation isn’t a good thing. Because sometimes it manages to create severely maladjusted individuals who can convince themselves that hate can be contorted into a “cause.”
The real kicker in the Pearl testimony was his proclamation that “you’ll never win” on this issue. And this from one of two people amongst 75 who showed up to oppose the issue at hand. Oh credibility, where were you when he needed you most? Goodnight, Mr. Pearl.
Now, please, can the Dems just promise to get on with the business of passing a gay marriage bill?
Judith Levine rocks. Yeah, the Judith Levine who writes the “poli psy” column once a month for Seven Days. She hits one out of the ballpark in her current column on the streets (and online) now. Read it, my friends. Levine masterfully dismantles the increasingly asinine notion that we all must “support the troops” during this time of illegal war. Taste this:
To speak of the virtues of soldiering is implicitly to ratify the values of militarism: that might leads to right.
Or this:
Ok, I’ll say it. I don’t “support the troops.” That is, I don’t support them as troops. I support them as people, just as I support – or rather, worry, grieve and rage on behalf of – the Iraqis: as people caught in a senseless, fruitless, apparently endless bloodletting.
Bravo. Now, could someone please tell me where the antiwar movement went?
Oops, out of time for now. Stay tuned.
Hold Everything! The Dems are Nervous!
October 11, 2007 | 1 Comment
I don’t know about you but I’m fed up with hearing about how “nervous” the Democrats are of late. They’re nervous about ending the war. They’re nervous about opposing Bush’s eavesdropping proposal. They’re nervous about taxing the rich. They’re nervous about losing their majority status in Congress. And, here in Vermont, they’re nervous about supporting same-sex marriage. Enough already. Please, could someone pass them some valium?
Frankly, all this Dem nervousness is just insulting. It’s as if they can’t even fathom the things that are really causing people’s nerves to flare up. You know, little things like dodging bullets in an illegal war, being strapped to Bush’s favorite water board for a little “questioning,” facing institutional discrimination on a daily basis, sweating over how to make the minimum payments on a credit card and/or wondering if you’ve got enough cash to see a doctor. Now that stuff is nerve racking. But voting to de-fund Bush’s programs? Piece of cake.
It’s just weird, but somehow it seems like when Dems gain public office they immediately start with their nervousness. Vermont’s Peter Welch became a nervous wreck from the get go, for example. The tough-talking Welch-as-campaigner let his nervousness get the best of him after he took his oath of office, leading him to nervously vote for several war-funding bills, seek the Bush’s autograph at the State of the Union address like some kind of star-crossed groupie, and, most recently, to vote in favor of the absurd condemnation of MoveOn’s anti-war ad.
The irony in all this nervousness is that it all turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They get nervous because they don’t want to take a stand that might offend voters. But by not taking a stand they offend voters. Worse, the voters they are offending by their nerve-inspired backtracking and blandness are the voters they most need for their own political careers. Sorry, but there is absolutely no political – or moral – logic behind Welch’s votes to hand Bush all the money he wants to fight the war that Welch opposes – rhetorically, at least. And the great schism between Welch’s rhetoric and Welch’s action with regards to the war is made to look even more bizarre when seen through the lens of Vermonters – a populace that overwhelming opposes all things Bush, especially the war. There’s a reason, you know, that Vermont is the only state the Prez hasn’t visited while in office.
For the Dems it seems as though you have to wait to get out of office before your nervousness subsides. Don’t believe me? Look at Howard Dean. Once relieved of his gubernatorial duties, Dean morphed from a nervous right-leaning Dem to a screaming (sorry about that) progressive Dem.
And on the national scene, look at the change in Al Gore once he left office. While the second most powerful person in the nation for eight years, Gore was too nervous to fundamentally address global warming. Eight years of power! Poof! Funny, huh, that once his power was gone his passion kicked in and his nervousness was gone. Too late, Al.
You know things are bad with the Dems when people start getting all nostalgic about the Carter administration. Carter, of course, was a ball of nerves as the president but, lucky for him, things have gotten so much worse since he left office that he’s beginning to look like a roaring lion of justice rather than the Georgia mouse he was at the time. Carter is in the news today talking tough like most ex-office-holding Dems do. Carter, in case you haven’t heard, told the BBC that Dick Cheney was “a disaster” and that the Bush regime was doing a lot to undermine the credibility of the nation, especially when it comes to their insistence on using illegal torture – yes, Carter said “illegal” torture.
Unfortunately, the tougher the ex-office-holders talk, the more nervous elected Dems like Peter Welch get. It should, however, create just the opposite reaction. I mean, how much more do the Welch’s of the Dem-world need to have behind them before they get bold?
So please, Dems, get over your nervousness already. Either pop a valium or take a trip to Iraq and pose as an Iraqi and face down a Blackwater thug – that should put things in perspective for you. Because it’s time for some leadership.
Compost Happens
October 10, 2007 | 4 Comments
What’s with the Douglas administration’s fixation of late on the business of composting? As we all know by now, the Pee Wee Herman of Vermont politics, Rob Roper, who officially goes by the title of Executive Director of the Republican Party, has been making an ass of himself by trying to fling compost on anyone and everyone he doesn’t like. Specifically, Roper has been doing a terrible job of trying to pin the regulatory problems of the Intervale’s composting business on House Speaking Gaye Symington – who fundraises for the Intervale – and Rep. David Zuckerman – who farms at the Intervale. The problem, of course, is that neither one of them have anything to do with the Intervale’s composting business.
But at the same time Roper’s getting a few of his precious hairs out of place over this, the Douglas team at the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is also putting the regulatory clampdown on other compost sites in the state, including Montpelier’s Vermont Compost Company. The ANR is claiming that the compost facilities are not “agricultural” in nature, but “industrial.” Hmm, ever seen the hundreds of chickens over there? Sure looks agricultural to me.
But, for now, let’s leave Roper’s kindergarten-like compost slinging and the ANR’s wacky definition of “agriculture” behind and, instead, take a gander at the bigger picture here. Sure, regulatory infractions like those the Intervale is being accused of need to be addressed. But do they require that the head of the state’s Republican Party come screaming out of his office to spread the news about the infractions? Goodness, if you didn’t know any better you would have thought Roper would have found Osama at the Intervale.
Let’s get back to that bigger picture. Given the amount of attention Roper and the Douglas team are giving to the Intervale infractions and the role composting plays in the definition of “agriculture,” you would have to assume that these are what they consider to be the most pressing issues facing Vermont’s agricultural community. Worse, they also seem to think that these are the agricultural issues that Vermonters in general are most concerned about.
Sorry, but that’s just absurd. Think about it, they’d rather put the spotlight on some compost run-off at the site where some of their political enemies are employed than on the tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals – especially the carcinogen Atrazine — used on Vermont’s industrial farms. You know, like the farm owned by Douglas’ in-laws in Middlebury, the Foster Farm. And they’d rather wring their hands about the definition of composting than crack down on the continued use of artificial hormones like rBGH in the state’s milk supply.
Silly boys, don’t they know that we weren’t all born yesterday.
While the Intervale will be addressing its infractions and composters like the Vermont Compost Company will be waging their regulatory battles with the state, I’m betting that Roper and Douglas will be stepping back from their Rove-like involvement. They clearly got stung in the media for being such fools.
The problem for the rest of us is that you know Roper is getting his hair back in place and meeting with the Douglas re-election team to try and figure out who to attack next. Hmm, maybe they could attack the state’s farmers’ markets over the overcrowding issue? Yeah, that’s it. Go for it, Rob….
Presidential Campaigns: The Modern Opiates
October 9, 2007 | 2 Comments
Karl Marx wasn’t completely correct in declaring that religion was the opiate of the people. But, then again, he didn’t live in our times so there’s no way he could have possibly imagined the even more powerful opiates in our midst. Imagine, for example, what old Karl would have thought of the mainstream media and the Internet?
But nothing dumbs down the American people more than two-party politics – especially when it comes to their little game of presidential elections. And its only getting worse as the once-every-four-year event seems to be oozing into a nearly continuous affair. Ugh.
Currently, for example, the political landscape is full of landmines – a plethora of issues and outrageous happenings that should have a fully alert populace salivating for action. Just look at today’s headlines: war, torture, health care cuts for kids, mercenary madness, global warming denial by our government, economic malaise for most of us, and on and on it goes. Enough – one would think – to wake the sleepers. Not quite.
Instead of taking it to the streets, the increasingly shrinking percentage of the public who seem to care about any of this are themselves yawning. And when they’re not yawning, they’re telling you which candidate in the 2008 presidential campaign they’re thinking about supporting. You know, kind of like fretting about what to wear to your execution.
If you don’t believe me, just ask yourself when’s the last time you were inspired by political activism or – better yet – the successful actions of a politician. Even the mainstream media has been wondering of late where the anti-war activism has gone . Think about it, we’re a nation at war, polls show more than 70% of the public disapprove of the war, and the mainstream media is wondering why no one is protesting. This clearly ain’t the 1960’s, my friends.
And the answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind. The wind, that is, blowing from the lips of the presidential candidates and their many minions and true believers who have thrown a collective wet blanket on the world of political activism with these words of pure inertia: Wait until after the election and Bush is gone.
Stop the war? Wait. Stop the torture? Wait. Health care for kids? Wait. Stop the illegal wire-tapping? Wait. Yep, just wait until the election that’s still thirteen months away and the changing of the administration that’s nearly sixteen months away to deal with it all. And whatever you do: Do not wake the sleepers. Ah, the luxury of time…well, as long as you don’t mind all that blood on your hands.
Of course, the ultimate irony in this little game of “wait until after the election” and everything will be fine is that it rather perversely requires us all to not only stop thinking and acting in the name of democracy but also to stop remembering. For your political slumber to be really restful, for example, you have to forget that this little waiting game has never worked. Remember John Kerry? Al Gore? Michael Dukakis? Or, better yet, remember Bill Clinton? Yeah, he and his wife were going to give us all health care in – oh – 1992. But you don’t want to think about that, it might give you nightmares while you sleep.
So line up, America. Stick your tongues out and take the little pill from Hillary or Barack or Edwards or Rudy or Mitt. It’ll clear your mind. It’ll relieve that anxiety of having to think about ugly little things like genocide, torture, injustice, ecocide and the like. It’ll make you sleep. And the next thing you know, you’ll wake up in January 2009 and you’ll have that warm feeling of change around you. But it will probably be even better this time because you’ll be awaking to that familiar feeling of a Bush family member handing over the reins to a Clinton family member.
Sorry, but there’s no way around it my friends: Presidential campaigns are the opiates of the people.
Posts
