Daily Archives: December 2, 2007

An Inconvenient (and not-so hidden) Truth

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From Geoffrey Norman at VT Tiger, emphasis mine:

Ms. Partridge does not say what specific utterance by the Governor got her nose so out of joint.  And one is curious, since the man is the soul of temperance.  If Jim Douglas and Harry Truman were in a kitchen somewhere together, Truman would no doubt be saying, "Jim, dammit, turn up the heat." 

Benefit of the doubt time, cuz I'm such an agreeable guy: from the tone, it sounds as if Norman sincerely believes this, and isn't just perpetuating a convenient narrative for his team. By all means, then, let's review a little history after the fold…

According to press accounts at the time, Douglas hammered away at Leahy for voting for a $23,000 boost in congressional salaries at a time when the Vermont economy was sluggish. Douglas chided the senator for calling such an attack unfair and labeled a pamphlet on the subject as "McCarthyism innuendo," according to the Oct. 30, 1992, editions of the Rutland Herald.

Douglas shot back by saying Leahy was "screaming like a stuck pig," the paper reported.

 

… the hard-hitting TV spot that flipped Racine's image back and forth like a catfish on a griddle. Since both candidates enjoyed high favorability ratings, victory required going on the attack and taking the Quiet Man down a few notches. 

 
 

The Republican Party, on behalf of Governor James Douglas, distributed a 15-year-old news clipping this month that described the Democratic contender, Mayor Peter Clavelle of Burlington, as marching in support of the Sandinistas,

 

Republican Jim Douglas suddenly went into Tarrant-style, negative-attack-mode with a 30-second TV spot trashing Democratic challenger Scudder Parker and a 60-second version doing likewise on the radio dial. Hey, I thought Ol' Scudder was a long-shot?

Here's the radio script:

Some people make a name for themselves, and they call Scudder Parker "Mr. Property Tax."
 
 

(Douglas:) "There are obviously people who are not interested in my political success, and they’re certainly exercising every opportunity to try to act on that belief this year."

Then he blamed the media:

"Some of the questions I get from the media sound an awful lot like some of the e-mails that come out of the other party headquarters."

Huh? I was speechless. Was he saying that questioning the technology security breaches or the delays at the Bennington office building was somehow political?

 
 

A day after the Legislature failed to override his vetoes, Gov. Jim Douglas on Thursday labeled legislative Democrats "big losers," faulting them for what he said was a lack of civility.

 
…and those are just the bits I found without really trying.
 
Now, if I were feeling cynical today, I would suggest that Norman's post was disingenuous coming from someone steeped in politics. As though it were intended to further perpetuate the "Mr. Nice Guy" schtick that has been a winning (but deceptive) image narrative for the Governor, perennially supported by the willing collaboration of the Vermont traditional media.
 
But it's a happy day, today. The house is warm, the kids are entertained, I'm having shrimp tonight, and I'm looking forward to enjoying my rented copy of "Live Free or Die Hard" this evening, so we'll just assume it's the kind of self-serving myopia all we political hacks are susceptible to from time to time.
 
Which just makes it my pleasure to set the record straight. 

iBrattleboro story brings blogs into the MSM: UPDATE

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(New information from Chris & Lise.

– promoted by Brattlerouser)

Chris & Lise have an update on the lawsuit. Check it out for the latest.

Today's Times Argus has a piece about the iBrattleboro story that's worth a look. The story gives the outline of what's happening and examines the legal and constitutional issues about free speech on the Internet.


News of the iBrattleboro lawsuit this week hit the Vermont blogging community like a storm.

One day after the news broke, the liberal blog Green Mountain Daily added a disclaimer to its site stating that "you alone are fully responsible for (and bear full legal liability for) the content" of comments, including "inaccuracies or potentially libelous statements."

That disclaimer is similar to the one on iBrattleboro.com.

"I'm pretty comfortable that the suit is without merit based on the case law out there," said John Odum, the main blogger behind Green Mountain Daily. "I just didn't want there to be any wiggle-room. This is dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's."

The story also quotes our friend Charity, who takes a similar pro-free-speech position: 


"I am afraid this could lead to more censorship," Tensel said. "I don't want to remove this format, which allows for discussion and debate."

Needless to say, even those of us who are confident that the suit against iBrattleboro is groundless will be watching it with great interest. 

The Douglas Energy “Plan”

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( – promoted by odum)

The Rutland Herald recently ran an article about the Governor's energy "plan".
Here's the article's summary of the plan:
The centerpiece of Douglas' proposal is creating a Vermont standard — taking advantage of the state's environmental reputation and based on its guarantee — for carbon offsets. The state would assume a role similar to that of a debt evaluation agency like Standard & Poor's. It would examine bonds, determine what they are worth and presumably get a commission for it. 
It occurs to me that this response from Douglas embodies all the is wrong with extreme Republicans these days. Here is an issue of major importance to our species, with growing evidence every day that there is an increasing danger, and the response is a financial market scam that allows financiers to profit from the problem.
"You say that the world may end as we know it? How can we make a buck off of that?" Vouchers! Privatize!
This whole VT Standard concept is rather ingenious in a twisted sort of way, as it actually makes a profit off of the issue without contributing in any meaningful way to reducing global warming or increasing energy efficiency. It even cuts out the dirty alternative energy hippies who have actually got some marketable products and knowledge to offer and diverts the money right to the suits. Brilliant! Who would have thought that what this global warming crisis needed was for the state to "assume a role similar to that of a debt evaluation agency like Standard & Poor's"?!?!
Too much of our corporate economy is already making money without adding any value, causing our dollar to devalue and wages to decline. Can we make people see through this recent attempt by Douglas?
Not with articles like this.  (more below)

I probably should just let this roll, but I can't.

The Article was yet another spin job job by the press in support of Douglas in spite of the facts.

Positive headline.

Moderate opening paragraph.

Lots of propaganda from a Douglas administration official who's job it is to implement this program…
Finally, towards the end of the article are the unbiased quotes, and they are all critical!
VT alternative energy expert Jeff Wolfe, the head of White River Junction based Gro Solar:
He either has no idea how to implement new policy, or he is so in the bag of traditional fossil energy groups. Wolfe said the governor has ignored the vast majority of the group's recommendations, which he contends could be implemented immediately.

"He is … ignoring and marginalizing his climate change commission," Wolfe said. "If Gov. Douglas thinks this is leadership I guess I own a different dictionary."

-Right Wing Free Market Extremist John McLaughry:

I think the whole thing is a giant scam.

Like many things that Jim Douglas proposes, it can't hurt anything.
-National Global Warming Crusader Bill McKibben:
"It is just more of what we have come to expect from (Douglas). Endless delay, no action," McKibben said. "There was a strong and interesting global warming bill on the table last year and there was money to pay for it."

In McKibben's view other states like California, Florida and Massachusetts are ahead of Vermont and pulling farther away.

"They are getting all the industries of tomorrow. We are just suckers. We get stuck with all the industries of the last century or the century before that," McKibben said.

"The idea that this is all we have to do …. is ludicrous," he said. "It is going to take work and it is going to take money."

Efficiency Vermont, which runs the current electrical efficiency program in Vermont, is working, McKibben said.

"We should turn them loose on every other form of energy in the state, starting with home heating oil," McKibben said.

"I think his basic idea is the rest of the country is going to pay Vermont because we happen to have trees," McKibben said. "That is just a fantasy land."

So basically the reporter heard a total slam on this from everyone he asked who wasn't directly paid by Douglas to support it and him.
How about a title that reflects that, Like "Douglas Criticized for Lack of Energy Plan"?