Green Mountain Daily - Front Page

McCain - Oil on Troubled Waters

Margaret Gundersen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:37:43 GMT

Mission not accomplished:

According to Washington Post Staff Writer Michael D. Shear, McCain Still Waiting for His Turn at Good Luck. [Thursday, July 24, 2008; Page A06 Washington Post] http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

It seemed like a great way to counter Obamamania. Sen. John McCain would board a helicopter in New Orleans today, skim quickly over the Gulf of Mexico and land on an oil rig -- a made-for-TV moment to highlight his call for offshore drilling, an issue that Republicans believe will be a big winner in November.
Then came Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm that made a helicopter ride impossible. And then, improbably, a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city's French Quarter. The trip was off.

Shear concluded with

In this campaign, it seems, McCain just can't catch a break.

Unless one counts CBS News....

Vermont Yankee tries, fails, to be comforting

JulieWaters — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:28:50 GMT

Per The Rutland Herald:

Vermont Yankee's steam dryer has withstood the additional stress from a 20 percent jump in power production despite developing an increasing number of cracks, Entergy engineers told a panel from the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Wednesday.
And if the steam dryer was going to show serious problems, as it has at other, similar nuclear power plants which have increased power production, it would have by now, Larry Lukens, an Entergy Nuclear engineer, said.
Lukens said the steam dryer's new cracks appeared in areas of the dryer that don't receive a lot of stress, supporting his theory that the cracks are a result of natural aging in earlier welded areas rather than metal fatigue. He said the cracks did not affect the structural integrity of the large steel dryer.

Uhm... Good?

Or maybe not. What Lukens is saying is that (1) there are cracks throughout the system, (2) just because there are cracks is no reason to be concerned and (3) it's just part of the aging process.

This is my take on it:

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

This is not rocket science, though it requires rudimentary knowledge of The Way Things Work.

Large structures with small cracks in them might last for years, but if those cracks are exposed to continual vibrations (you know, like the constant stress of power output designed beyond the device's original intent) or used beyond their intended age limit (this is not a McCain joke), then maybe those tiny cracks can get a little... what's the word for it? Oh yes. BIGGER.

But I'm sure there's nothing to worry about it. It's not as though any of the aging, antiquated equipment at Vermont Yankee has suffered from any sort of structural problems.

Nothing to worry about at all.

New Dem Web Ad Hits Douglas on Sex Offender Issue

odum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:56:34 GMT

Here it is:

Mixed feelings. The content needs to get out there, and kudos to them for that. Lord knows the press corps doesn't give a crap about reporting on this kind of shameful behavior from our chief executive.

But stylistically, I think the subject is too hot to deal with in standard political ad format. On this one, I think they would've been a lot wiser to do away with the sinister music and let the bobbing and weaving speak for itself. But that might just be me.

In any event, good for them for holding Douglas accountable like they never - and I mean never - have before.

Who's the media really carrying water for?

JDRyan — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:56:35 GMT

I just have to laugh at the incessant whining from the McCain campaign, about how "the media loves Obama". Is Obama getting more minutes on the news? I don't doubt that, as what he's doing lately does make for a more newsworthy story, regardless of the political persuasion (first major presidential candidate of color repeatedly bucking the odds, and generating lots of enthusiasm, most lately on his Middle East trip vs. stodgy old fart with flappy cheeks who's one minute away from crapping his drawers, getting everything wrong so often you can't keep score anymore).

Plus, with all that extra media coverage of Obama, don't forget how many non-story/inflated b.s. sensationalist stuff was in that coverage... Rev. Wright, Bittergate, a bad bowler who just can't relate to the hicks in Appalachia, etc.

The press, with all of McCain's whining, is still his "base", and as he continuously goes more and more off the deep end into some factually-challenged twilight zone, we're seeing them actually cover up for him. This makes the press coverage of Bush in 2000 that downplayed he had the intelligence of a fourth grader look like nothing, by comparison. How perverted is it getting? McCain completely screwed up his facts regarding the timelines of the surge and events surrounding it. CBS actually went ahead and cut out his horribly mangled answer and inserted the answer to a different question. Yeah, you just can't make this stuff up, I tells ya.Your liberal media at work:

Great news! The US economy is booming!

odum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:07:16 GMT

The economy is saved! As any serious economicalist surely knows, the only way to guarantee prosperity and a booming economy for all is to cut taxes, regulations, all those pesky government programs and stuff that interfere with the purity of an absolutely, unregulated, uninhibited global market, and allow the super-rich to become super-duper-extra-rich. They then use their powers of hard-working genius (because you can't be rich unless you're a hard-working genius) even more than usual, and the benefits trickle down to all. It's all about supply side maximization. Rising tides and boat raising and such. So the Wall Street Journal report today is awesome!

In a new sign of increasing inequality in the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the nation's adjusted gross income for two decades, and possibly the highest since 1929, according to Internal Revenue Service data.
Meanwhile, the average tax rate of the wealthiest 1% fell to its lowest level in at least 18 years. The group's share of the tax burden has risen, though not as quickly as its share of income.

Yay! This means the economy must be great! Why, this must be a new golden age, just like it was back in 1929! Woo-hoo! Mission accomplished! I'm goin' on a shopping spree (well, as soon as I get approved for my umpteenth credit card, anyway)!

Whom should we trust on foreign policy?

Jack McCullough — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:00:00 GMT

So we know that McBush's big selling point is that he has a lot of experience in foreign policy and knows a lot about it, right?

Here we have another example of what he knows. I know all about linguistic competence vs. linguistic performance. Still, when the guy consistently gets significant points wrong, pretty much every time he opens his mouth, shouldn't it make us wonder if he has the first idea what he's talking about?

On the other hand, the greenhorn, Obama, has been saying for months that we should be getting out if Iraq in about sixteen months after he takes office.

You know who agrees with him? Iraq.

So if the young guy knows what he's talking about, and the people we're supposedly trying to help agree with him, and the old guy doesn't have a clue, maybe we're safer with the young guy, huh?

Pizzo, Isabelle Announce Run for State House in Barre Town

Jack McCullough — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:38:19 GMT

Now that the Secretary of State has posted the petitioned candidates, we are seeing what a good year this should be for the Democrats. A quick scan of the list shows that there are something like 25 more Democratic than Republican House candidates, and a similarly lopsided balance for the Senate. (One Republican candidate for six Chittenden County Senate seats, for one example.)

One example is in Barre Town, where for the first time in years we have two legitimate candidates for the House of Representatives. Take a look at what they have to say.

July 22, 2008-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: JP Isabelle, 802-999-7849
Isabelle.jp@gmail.com

Barre Town- John Pizzo, DC., and J. Guy Isabelle announced on Tuesday that they are entering the race to represent Barre Town in the Vermont State House. In a unique twist to their candidacies, they plan to limit campaign spending and are working to set up a fund that will provide fuel and food assistance for Barre Towners in need this winter.

In the spirit of former Vermont Governor and Senator George Aiken, Pizzo and Isabelle plan to spend as little as possible on their race. In Aiken’s 1968 race for US Senate, his final campaign after an illustrious political career, he spent only $17.09.

“We want to honor the memory of Senator Aiken by limiting our campaign spending to represent Barre Town in the legislature,” said Pizzo. “Sen. Aiken knew that politics was about helping your friends and neighbors, not who could spend the most money. We can’t justify spending large amounts of money on lawn signs and parade floats when our neighbors are enduring hard economic times. Guy and I are going to work hard without spending exorbitant amounts of money”.

“Our campaign is about people and policy, not politics,” said Isabelle. “At a time when Vermonters are having trouble paying their bills, we want to do our part, even before we get to Montpelier. Sen. Aiken worked with people of all political stripes to do what was best for Vermonters. John and I will model our campaign and our service in the legislature after him”.

Pizzo and Isabelle plan to hit the ground running after their announcement. They hope to meet with Barre Town businesses and community groups to hear what issues are important to them. The two candidates will also begin a vigorous door knocking campaign in neighborhoods across Barre Town.

“We want to hear from as many people as possible,” Pizzo said. “We encourage everyone in Barre Town to contact us to discuss the issues”.

Candidate Bios:

John Pizzo has lived in Barre Town for over 25 years and has owned and operated a private chiropractor practice during that time. He is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo and received his DC from the New York Chiropractic College. He was appointed to the VT Board of Chiropractic Examiners by Gov. Kunin in 1986 and served for 13 years, seven of them as the chairman. As a member of the board, Pizzo lead the effort to pass a scope of practice bill for chiropractors in 1992 and, in 1999, helped to write and enact into law a landmark law requiring insurance coverage of chiropractic services. In 1992, he was named the Vermont Chiropractor of the Year. He is a member of the National Board of Chiropractor Examiners test design committee and taught for four years at Community College of Vermont. He currently serves on the Spaulding High School Board, where he was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2007. He serves on the Negotiation Committee and the Policy and Curriculum Committee. He is the volunteer physician for the state champion Spaulding High School football team. He and his wife Lynda have two children and one grandchild.

J. Guy Isabelle has lived in Barre Town for over 50 years. He received his BA from Johnson State College and was the first in his family to graduate from college. He is the 58 student of long-time JSC professor and Washington county state senator Bill Doyle to run for office. Isabelle is currently the director of the RSVP for Central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom, as well as the director of the statewide Senior Companion Program. He is also a member of the Governor’s Commission on National and Community Service, representing Vermont at various service oriented conferences around the country. He served a combined 15 years on the Barre Town Elementary School Board and the Spaulding High School Board, with several years as Chairman or Vice-Chairman. In 2000, he was named the recipient of the Wendell Pelkey Award by the Barre Town Selectboard for outstanding community service. He has coached youth sports in Barre for over 20 years, has been a justice of the peace for over 15 years, served on the local board of civil authority, and has volunteered in numerous capacities on various community boards. A British car enthusiast, he can be seen on weekends working in his garage or tending to his numerous flower and vegetable gardens. He has been married to his wife Rita, who is a nurse, for 29 years and they have two grown children.

One of these things is not like the other...

odum — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:42:41 GMT

Compare and contrast...

Geez. Obama looks like a freaking action hero sitting next to Petraeus. Don't suppose it matters in any meaningful way, but its reassuring that they won't get us with that particular cheap trick this time...

Turn, turn, turn...

odum — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:31:19 GMT

Here's a little story:

Way back about 12 years ago I was a field organizer for the Sanders campaign (the year he went up against Susan Sweetser.... remember her?), and most of my "territory" was Washington County. Obviously, the election went well - and if I do say so myself, it was the first election up to that point (and thereafter, I believe) that Washington County was proportionately the strongest County for Bernie. We kicked Susie's butt by nearly 2 to 1.

The Sunday after the election, there was a meeting of the handful of key progressive activists in the area - at the time, the "Washington County Progressive Coalition" - to go over how the election had gone and its impact for future movement building. I was there, as well as folks like Hal Leyshon, Ellen David Friedman - and Anthony Pollina.

We had somebody there from Burlington as well... I forget who, exactly - maybe Dean Corren? The conversation at one point went into a discussion of using the success of the Bernie groundgame and the Coalition successes in Burlington to jumpstart a statewide "Progressive Party" (there was also talk about a Labor party and a Green Party, at least briefly).

I chimed in at that point. I shared my opinion that, given the structure of the system and the inevitable marginalization that would occur, third parties just seemed like tilting at windmills. That if we wanted to send progressive messages and shake up the political institutions but still be viable electorally, running some targeted independents in key races made more sense, as doing so would not preclude support from partisans (or even parties themselves), and would better enable an opt-in dynamic for coalition building should some of these folks get elected (you know - like Bernie).

What can I say? I was a kid then: naive, ofttimes ridiculous, pretty new to the state, and had no idea of just how antithetical that view really was to the crowd in that room. There was a moment of silence while everybody looked at me, and gave a sort of collective "hmm" before moving on as though I'd said nothing.

Twelve years later, while its always nice to see one's advice taken, there's something to be said for the matter of timing...

Symington as a Dem/Prog?

odum — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:09:47 GMT

So what I've been hearing suggests that Pollina may indeed be polling in the doghouse, and his surprise shift to indyland likely is an attempt to reinvent the campaign. It's a move that could easily backfire, though, given the fact that it will be seen as essentially sacrificing the greater good of the Party to one guy's campaign.

To add insult to injury, Gaye Symington turned in a whopping 2500 signatures to lock in the Democratic spot - which has got to dampen the prospects of those "Democrats for Pollina" who were hoping that low enthusiasm for Symington might fuel a campaign to get Pollina written in for the Democratic primary.

But it aint over yet. The ballots will still get printed, which means that somebody could get written into the Prog Party line for Governor or any of these offices (they do apparently have a candidate against Peter Welch) come the primary, and if a write in reaches the threshold of 500 votes, they get to be the candidate. Of course, turnout is likely to be low, low, low, and this means that Gaye Symington's supporters might actually be better situated to pull something like that off themselves (that would be weird).

Of course it also means that anybody else could get written in as the Prog Party candidate for Governor, which could also complicate things for Pollina. Anybody interested?