I was picking up a few things in the (ONLY) grocery store in Enosburg one Saturday last month, having beeped and waved at the anti-war vigileers at the park on my way by, when I ran into a friend. She’d been at the vigil and was picking up a few things herself, including a copy of Vermont Life. At the front of the store is a nice seat-height wooden ledge. We sat.

As we chatted she said, “I wish Barack Obama would get more specific on policy instead of all this general ‘let’s work together’ stuff.” I agreed and mentioned Obama partisan and blogger Philip Baruth.

“You probably know the story, don’t you?” I did not. “Barack Obama’s grandfather, that was Hussein, was our family’s cook in Kenya.” (more below the fold)

Paula’s mom, now aged 94, still lives in Nairobi, and Paula was on her way there on the last day of March to check in on Mom. Her family had moved to the Kenyan capital in 1956, where the house they occupied came with its own staff, including  Hussein.

Barack Hussein (senior) went to school and came occasionally to visit. “He would come to the house and say, ‘I’m here to see the old man’,” Paula said. Hussein was proud of his educated son, who got the chance to go to America to study, first at the University of Hawaii, where he met Ann Durham, the woman who would become Senator Barack Obama’s mom. Barack Obama now-the-Illinois-Senator was born in Honolulu in 1961.

Obama senior then had a choice to make: go to Columbia University, which was offering housing for him and his wife and daughter; or go to Harvard, the best of the best, which offered no housing. “Barack senior was ambitious,” Paula remembered. “He couldn’t turn away from Harvard, even though it meant leaving his wife and son behind.”

Eventually, “other things happened and Barack senior and his wife got divorced. Then he married another American woman named Ruth. I remember this was the early sixties, and it wasn’t all that common for a black African man and a white woman to be married, and especially not in Kenya. He brought his new wife back to Kenya, and brought her to visit my family because he knew my parents would be welcoming.”

According to Paula, Barack senior and his wife Ruth moved back to Nairobi, where he “brought his two children down from his village wife and said to her, ‘Here, raise my children,'” half-siblings of the Senator. Ruth eventually also divorced Barack senior. He died in a car accident in 1982. Ruth is still friends with Paula’s mom in Nairobi.

Paula said she’d read Senator Barack Hussein (named after his father and grandfather, eh!) Obama’s memoir and had sent him a hand-written note, reminding him that his grandfather also worked for Americans, and not just Brits in Kenya (as he apparently wrote in his memoir). “I don’t know whether he ever got my letter or read it, but he never replied.”

There’s no dirt here, and none meant. Just awe at what amazing connections can be found or made in small-town Vermont.

Nanuq FC

(bumped up 4/13 as a reminder… – promoted by odum)

On April 14 – the National Day of Climate Action – a ‘Step It Up’ action will take place in two parts in the Queen Capitol City region. The first half of the event will occur at Morse Farm in East Montpelier and the day will culminate with a walk from the farm to the State House where U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, among others, will join the event.

Morse Farm’s iconic location is perfect for the kickoff of an event that is all about asking Congress and state lawmakers to take concrete, substantive steps to address global warming. The maple sugar works and ski touring center, after all, have a lot to lose in a world where temperatures could rise enough to snuff them out by the end of the century.

Andrew Brewer of Onion River Sports, who partners with the Morse Farm Touring Center, understands what’s at stake and will lend his perspective on April 14. “It’s been a disaster of a winter for the winter sports industry,” noted Brewer. “I could’ve mowed my lawn on Christmas Day. Winters like this are forcing me to change the way I do business.”

These and other impending new realities are converging to intensify the public outcry for action on climate change. Last fall, the Vermont Natural Resources Council joined renowned author and `Step It Up’ architect Bill McKibben in helping to organize a Burlington rally attended by more than 1,000 people.  The event culminated in a five-day, 56-mile walk across Vermont to raise awareness about the issue and demand action. Now, just seven months later, more than 1,000 communities across the country are rallying to call on Congress and state legislative leaders to `Step It Up’ on global warming and commit to 80 percent reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  This will mark the single largest unified action to date in the United States on this critical environmental challenge.

More information (including rally times and transportation details) below the fold…

Burr Morse has been tapping trees nearly all his 59 years. He’s witnessed many changes in the syrup-making industry: the replacement of sap collecting buckets with tubing; the development of vacuum systems to draw sap from the trees; and the subtle but certain shift in weather patterns.

While reluctant to link the marked changes in recent sugaring seasons directly to global warming, Morse’s thinking about the issue has certainly shifted. Until five years ago, Burr wasn’t convinced global warming was an issue.

  “As a sugar-maker and a ski operator, I changed my mind though,” noted Morse. “I think global warming is real. I see it every day in my work. That’s why I support every effort to address the issue so that Vermont does not lose the important industries – sugaring, skiing, and others – that define it.” 

The increasingly obvious connection between the rise in the earth’s temperature and environmental changes on the ground, such as earlier sugaring and shorter ski seasons, has spurred concern and action about climate change.

Clarity on Climate Change
There is no longer any dispute over climate change. It’s happening. It’s in large part due to human activity. And it will alter life as we know it on this planet.

This past February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveiled the most definitive report to date making this case. The report reflected the consensus of more than 2,000 climate scientists from 150 countries who outlined very real threats from global warming: heat waves and heavy precipitation; increased droughts and intensified hurricanes; the spread of tropical disease and the flooding of coastal cities.

Many Vermonters worry about the impact a warmer world could have on sugaring, skiing, fishing, fall foliage, tourism and quality of life in the Green Mountain State.

The Vermont Legislature, in fact, kicked off the legislative session with a three-week crash course on global warming. Since then, lawmakers have been wrestling with two key pieces of legislation to address climate change.

The House Natural Resources Committee recently passed a bill, H.520, that requires utilities to get more power from renewable sources. The bill also sets a goal of producing 25 percent of the state’s total electric energy from renewable resources, particularly from Vermont’s farms and forests. Simultaneously, the Senate is considering a bill that would expand the mandate of the state’s successful efficiency utility to include building heating fuels. The bill, S.94, would help Vermonters weatherize their homes and businesses to minimize the large amount of heat leaking through the cracks around windows, doors, attics and more.  It’s anticipated the Legislature will roll both of these bills into one. If passed, the legislation would take the state a vital step forward in helping Vermonters save energy, save money, and address global warming.

While these measures will help, there is much more that can and must be done. On April 14, the simultaneous `Step It Up’ rallies intend to help trigger that action.

For Vermont and the world, there’s a lot at stake. Though the negative consequences of a warmer world won’t happen overnight, it is increasingly clear that climate change is real, that it will have consequences, and that we can do something about it today.

Here are the details:

Step it Up – A National Day of Climate Action

Don’t miss a fun opportunity to get involved and participate in Montpelier’s `Step it Up’ climate action day.

What: Hosted by VNRC, the Association of Vermont Recyclers, National Wildlife Federation and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, the event includes speakers, music, maple creemees, a march to the State House and appearances by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and state Senator Peter Shumlin.

When: Saturday, April 14, 2007

Where: Morse Farm in East Montpelier (1168 County Road), followed by a march (or shuttle bus ride) to the State House in Montpelier. 

Why: To push for bold and meaningful climate change action from lawmakers locally and nationally.

For more information visit www.vnrc.org or www.stepitup2007.org or call 802-223-2328.

crossposted on Evolving Peace (http://evolvingworld…)

Dominating coverage of potential political candidates recently seems to be too focused on how much money each candidate has raised. While there are a whole plethora of candidates to choose from for the office of president it seems that the American media prefers the candidates who are able to obtain the most amount of money with little regards to policy or track record.

The other day, Hilary Clinton was hailed as the front runner since she raised 26 million; however just twenty million dollars of that money can be used for the primary, so that entitles Barrack Obama the leader, since he raised 23.5 million. I fear this trend of politics that candidates are decided based on their ability to raise money, since it leaves room for American democracy to be overly influenced by big money. Elected officials are supposed to answer to the will of the people, but with the introduction of money interests candidates who had obtained the support from Oil companies, Nuclear Industries or “High Tech” companies tend to favor legislation favorable to their donors. I ponder to question on where this money is coming from and how much influence is being peddled onto them.

As had been revealed recently in a New York Times article, the top 300,000 Americans earn 440 times the amount of the bottom 150 million America, so as a result the top 300,000 have an unfair advantage to dictate policy and control the political system as they fell fit. So while corporate America jockeys up their support and place their dollars on their political horse we Americans are left on the infield of the track looking on and hoping for maybe a candidate that supports the slightest interest to our plight.

I am doubtful that any of these major candidates truly represent the average American but as my pessimism rides on the national political spectrum, I am hopeful on changing what occurs around me locally. In individual towns, counties and states a lot more can be achieved, your voice is stronger to your locally elected officials and that is where the true roots of democracy are. We are made to believe that politics revolve around what goes on in Washington, while it tends to be the case revolving around issues such as the War in Iraq and taxation; however the daily policies of our lives are affected much more of what occurs locally.

So, while I read the disturbing stories of the money involved in national elections, I am weary about the corruptibility of the national system. The message portrayed on the national level is that if you have 50,000 dollars you can become appointed ambassador of Belgium if you donate money in attacking your candidate’s opponent. While the rich and powerful of the upper classed dictate the resolve of our national government, we the people have a voice within our local communities. In statehouses and town halls policies are being dictated without your involvement, if you want to make a difference act locally and speak your voice. The true voice of democracy comes from the people on the ground, not from the barrel of the President’s gun.

Peace
Robb Kidd

“The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power.” Paul Wellstone, deceased U.S. Senator Minnesota

Cross posted from Rational Resistance

You are probably aware of McCain’s bullshit line the other day about how things are just hunky-dory in Baghdad. The surge is working, everything’s fine, you could just go for a stroll there in perfect safety.

First off, we know it’s a lie. Here’s the picture of McCain taking a little stroll in a market in Baghdad. 
Pretty much the way you go for a stroll, say to the farmer’s market in Montpelier, right? I spend a lot of time at our farmers’ market, and for months at a stretch I’ll spend my Saturday mornings there, registering voters and talking about politics. Needless to say, I’ve never seen anyone wearing body armor.

“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!”

The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees – the equivalent of an entire company – and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.

“They paralyzed the market when they came,” Mr. Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. “This was only for the media.”

“like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime,” offered Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican who was a member of the delegation.

And now get a load of this:

A newborn baby was one of at least 14 children and adults killed when a  suicide bomber detonated a lorry laden with explosives close to a primary  school in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk yesterday.

The latest massacre of Iraqi children came as 21 Shia market workers were  ambushed, bound and shot dead north of the capital. The victims came from  the Baghdad market visited the previous day by John McCain, the US  presidential candidate, who said that an American security plan in the  capital was starting to show signs of progress.

Sometimes I think these guys are just contemptible. Sometimes they’re unspeakably vile.

In the Bush Administration, probably the biggest one is to be willing and able to lie about the role of the United States in the world. In that case, who better to represent the United States than a guy who spent $50,000 to help the Swifties lie about Kerry?

( – promoted by JDRyan)

Our new state Rep. Anderson’s first days have generated a lot of talk over at vtbuzz, where he has NOT taken over Francis Brooks seat on the Housing, General and Military Affairs Committee and was instead switched over to Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources. vtbuzz had this to say:

House General Chairwoman Helen Head needed a woman to join her on the panel and she needed a liberal woman at that.

Is that really the reason? I think another one is more likely base on this (emphasis added by me):

“Jon cares deeply about the people of this community and will work hard to make it a more affordable place to live, work and raise a family,” Douglas said in a statement Friday.

Anderson, 54, said he would focus on housing issues

Notice the Governor’s big buzzword: affordable, reminding us why he sent Anderson in there against the wishes of Montpelier Dems -; to promote his “affordability agenda” nonsense. And from Anderson’s work for people like Skip Vallee, his interest in “housing” actually equals “uncontrolled sprawl.”

In Fish & Wildlife, Anderson will have little opportunity to help along the Governor’s hopes. The speed at which he was moved makes a clear statement that the Dem leadership know exactly who they are dealing with in this guy.

Of course that’s not to say he can’t still cause mischief. Rumor is that Anderson has already informed House leadership that he intends to support Douglas’ (expected) gubernatorial veto of the budget adjustment – you know, the one that cuts funding for the $750,000 paying for Douglas’ army of spinmeisters on the state payroll FY ’08 budget that House Approps just passed.

I’m going to make something less than a prediction; but lay out a possible scenario: by this time next year, Anderson has figured out he’s going to get creamed by Mayor Mary Hooper in a Democratic primary and gets “Pelhamed” with an administration appointment allowing him to avoid an embarassing defeat. Given that he’s a “conservative Democrat” who through the Party nomination process, was rejected, went around it as – an independent Democrat? – and got in with the support of the right, and due to his alliance with the Republican Chief Executive, the Lieberman label applied by JDRyan will probably continue to stick to him through his term.