The Northeast Kingdom has lost another young soldier to war.
Yesterday, in Hardwick, Sgt. Tristan Southworth was laid to rest with full military honors, following his funeral, which was attended by about 1400 people, at Hazen Union School, from where he had graduated in 2007 after joining the Guard in 2006. Tristan was a three-sport standout athlete. He was promoted to sergeant posthumously and awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service.
Southworth, 21, of Walden, died Aug. 22 while trying to rescue a fellow soldier in a prolonged gun battle with insurgents who had attacked his unit using small arms and rocket propelled grenades in Paktika Province, about 12 miles west of the border with Pakistan.
In Tristan's own words:
(Here he speaks of a Congressional Medal of Honor received by his cousin, a medic in Vietnam killed throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of soldiers around him.)
"This is important to me because of what it means. My cousin got this award for jumping on a grenade and saving his fellow men while operating on them in Vietnam. He was one of the few medics to achieve this award during that conflict. I don't have and respect for any person higher than the respect I have for him."
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, sed dulcius pro patria vivere, et dulcissimum pro patria bibere. Ergo, bibamus pro salute patriae."
Godspeed, young sergeant. Thank you for your service.
Quick e-mail from the Shumlin campaign, signed by all five candidates (I'm assuming this went out to the other campaigns as well) indicating that if you want to volunteer for the recount, you can do so via this link. It asks basic information (including who you supported in the primary to get a balanced recount team) and your district, etc.
The recount officially starts September 8th, so time is of the essence.
Per the e-mail:
Judge Crawford has informed us that the primary election recount will begin on Wednesday, September 8th. We need your help to make this process go as quickly as possible. The judge has asked that we submit a list of volunteers by Friday morning (September 3rd). We will need 40 volunteers from each county to complete the recount.
Each county clerk will oversee a recount team, who will be responsible for counting all of the ballots in that county. Normally, each candidate would recruit their own volunteers in each county, but in order to make this process happen as quickly as possible, all five of us have agreed to put out the call generally and nominate the volunteers together.
The more volunteers we can recruit in each county, the faster the recount can be completed. Please help if you can, especially if you have experience with elections or if you are on the Board of Civil Authority. Once we have a list of volunteers, we will submit them to Judge Crawford, so the process can begin on time. If you know people who might be interested in volunteering, please forward this email to them.
This is urgent folks: those of us who are concerned about how long a recount will take should be the first to sign up, if at all possible.
Information not yet known: are you able to volunteer for a single day or do you have to volunteer for the entire recount? Is there a screening process?
Regardless, please volunteer if you can. The sooner we can get this completed, the sooner we can get to the work of taking Dubie down come November.
Rumors started last week that Entergy may be putting Vermont Yankee out for sale. An energy trade publication carried the story but Entergy has had no comment.
Now the Rutland Herald reports Entergy and one other company (not named) tried to pull out mid way through a power contract auction run by ISO the operator of the New England power grid.
ISO-New England Inc. held the auction. ISO spokeswoman Ellen Foley said that Entergy Nuclear participated until the fifth round of the auction and then requested to “delist,” or pull out of the auction, a move which was denied by ISO-New England, citing grid reliability concerns.
The auction was held Aug. 2 and 3, and Entergy’s request came on Aug. 2, Foley said. Entergy did not request in advance to pull out of the auction, she said. By law, every power generator must participate in such power capacity auctions.
Vermont Department of Public Service David O’Brien’s reaction is notable.
O’Brien, Vermont’s advocate for the people of the state of Vermont in these matters didn’t ask why Entergy attempted to withdraw from the auction. Rather than find out the facts or an explanation for Entergy’s behavior he simply brushed aside the question and raised fears of reliability.
David O’Brien, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, said he did not ask Entergy why it tried to withdraw from the auction. But he said the more important issue was what the loss of Vermont Yankee would have on the New England power grid.
I was in Virginia for that "Real Virginia" thing, and I have a pretty good sense for what it was about.
#8. Posted by Hunter Melville on May 18, 2010 Pure Vermont, what a great slogan! Good luck, Brian. You're right, Vermonters need more freedom, and we need you in the Governor's Office.
It's worh mentioning that Mr. Pure Vermont is having money raised for him by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.
RICHMOND -- Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday but that political observers said would strengthen his position with his conservative base.
It is also worth noting that Brian Dubie's campaign manager, Corry Bliss, last worked in Virginia for nutter Thelma Drake.
With those things in mind, I was in Virginia during the battle to keep the Virginia State Constitution from being defaced by hate and bigotry, and I recall one thing I heard over and over from the haters:
"We don't want Vermont values in Virginia."
So, I did the proper thing. I left, and came back to Vermont.
And I don't want Virginia values in Vermont.
You?
What do you suppose Brian Dubie might mean by, "Pure Vermont?"
I have a funny feeling, based on his associations, that I know.
Should Matt Dunne and Susan Bartlett have been included in Team Recount-unity? Will it all be enough to keep Democatic primary voters' enthusiasm up and tempers down? Is the motivation self-interest or team spirit?
These are quantum, unknowable questions that can, and will be debated. One thing that can't be debated, however, is the unprecedented solidarity between the apparent winner, the second place finisher calling for a recount, and the third place finisher who is also entitled to a recount by virtue of the historically tight finish. And while the party-togetherness alone is nice, it is hardly the unprecedented piece of this. It's the actual coordination, allowing the Shumlin campaign to move forward without worrying about damaging blowback from other candidate's supporters - that's the truly unique and extraordinary part.
In light of this, it is meet and right to honor and praise St. Deborah of Montpelier and St. Peter of Putney, the Democratic Party's patron saints of lemonade.
Generous St. Deb & St. Peter, you gained this crowning grace with your act of self denial. By faithfulness in the bigger picture you were ready for your vital trial. Please teach us by your example and help to use the lemons of life so that we may not miss our chance for lemonade eternal. Help us, too, to watch and pray for ourselves and others. Amen.
The race appears to be promising in terms of symbolism. Per today's Rutland Herald:
A picturesque campaign tour by Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie through Vermont on Saturday on a set of antique train cars ran into an antique problem...
Brattleboro Police Officer Chad Emery said he was called in after a New England Central Railroad conductor in charge of pulling the pair of private rail cars on the campaign train's journey down from St. Albans found a man inside the train carrying a blanket.
I'd say that given Brian Dubie's 10 point economic "plan" pretty much throws kicks the indigent to the curb, this actually fits perfectly, especially given this comment:
Dubie's campaign manager, Corry Bliss, said Democrats are trying to obscure their own history of imposing "higher taxes, new government programs and other gimmicks that hit like a lead balloon."
"Peter Shumlin never lets the truth get in the way of his political agenda," Bliss wrote in a campaign e-mail. "I guess the National Federation of Independent Business/Vermont hadn't heard about his plan when they gave him a 0-percent rating on their newest legislative scorecard."
...'cause otherwise I'd be concerned. Thanks to Larry Smith, Director of Communications for Vermont Yankee, for making us all feel better:
Operators at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant declared an Unusual Event at 7:05 p.m., Sunday.
The Unusual Event was declared due to a loss of some control room alarm circuits... Plant maintenance and engineering technicians investigated the... problem. During the event, the plant was at 100 percent power and was stable, Smith stated...
According to a 2008 report issued by the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Buildings and General Services, both the Rockingham and Brattleboro barracks are "worn out, under-sized and have outlived their useful lives."
The report found that sites near Exits 1, 2, 3 and 4 would not work because of their proximity to Vermont Yankee. In case of an emergency at the nuclear power plant, a command center near Yankee might have to be evacuated.
Through an unusual set of circumstances Green Mountain Daily has obtained a sneak preview of some raw footage of what is believed the next RGA funded commercial in support of Brian Dubie's candidacy. Insiders shown the ad speculate it will soon be released in co-ordination with his long awaited Ten Point Plan.
In the un-edited spot, a fit looking Lt.Gov. stands beside an easel and helpfully points at his Ten Point Plan and expounds on his vision for Vermont's future. The comprehensive list notes the importance of relaxation, grooming and positive attitude.
No doubt some of the less polished moments will be edited out of the final piece. However, this uncut version offers a unique glimpse into the campaign's strategy for swaying voters with Dubie's unadorned suggestions.
The Northeast Kingdom has lost another young soldier to war.
Should Matt Dunne and Susan Bartlett have been included in Team Recount-unity? Will it all be enough to keep Democatic primary voters' enthusiasm up and tempers down? Is the motivation self-interest or team spirit?
