(Major kudos to Annikee and former selectboard member Dora Bouboulis for passing the resolution! – promoted by Brattlerouser)

Without much ado, and with some enthusiasm, the Town Meeting Reps of Brattleboro passed the No War in Iran Resolution today. Here is a copy of the text of the Resolution.

WHEREAS, In the lead-up to the Iraq War and Occupation, the Bush Administration and its Congressional allies used unreliable sources, exaggerated threat assessments, selective use of information, and questionable accusations as centerpieces of their case to the American people for war against Iraq; and

WHEREAS, A widening of the United States war in the Middle East would almost certainly drive all segments of Iranian society into increased hostility toward the United States, turning potential friends into enemies by sending a signal that the United States prefers violence to the peaceful resolution of disputes, and would invite retaliation against our troops in Iraq and elsewhere; and

WHEREAS, Comprehensive direct diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran would likely result in improved relations and reduced tensions between our nations; and

WHEREAS, Continued threats of violence and other aggressive actions exacerbate tensions with Iran and could obstruct efforts to cooperate with Iran over ending violence in Iraq, thereby delaying the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq; and

WHEREAS, The Iraq War has already cost the lives of almost 4,000 American soldiers, the serious maiming of over 30,000 American soldiers, and the death and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, as well as the cost of over 400 billion dollars of American tax dollars; and embarking on yet another military campaign against a much stronger adversary could only further exacerbate international tensions, endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of people both here and abroad, and do nothing to address the most serious problems facing the American people and humanity generally; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Representative Town Meeting Members of the town of Brattleboro calls on our representatives in Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Bernard Sanders and Representative Peter Welch

(1) to ensure that no preemptive military attack, strike or invasion by the U.S. against Iran takes place;

(2) to make clear to the administration that such a preemptive attack has not been authorized by any law, resolution, court ruling or article of the Constitution;

(3) to support diplomatic engagement with Iran; and

(4) to maintain pressure against all escalations of war in the Middle East;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Representative Town Meeting Members of the town of Brattleboro directs the Town Clerk to send copies of this Resolution to the President of the United States, our Congressional representatives, our Vermont legislative representatives, and all local media outlets; and to arrange that a copy of this resolution be placed on the Brattleboro town website.

I’m one very happy camper right now. And everything was done before the Dem Caucus.

Some days, things just go better than you ever expected.  

   

( – promoted by Brattlerouser)

The news is spreading quickly that Stanley Inc. was one of the State Department contractors whose employees illegally accessed the passport records of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and, as it also turns out, John McCain. It’s CEO, Philip Nolan is, naturally, a big GOP contributor. Certainly there are eyebrows a-raising, but no smoking gun yet. I imagine, though, that bloggers and citizen journalists are leaving no stone unturned in the quest for one, so if there is hanky-panky, I suspect it won’t be long before we start seeing what shape it might take.

In the meantime, though, Stanley Inc. – which earlier this week had received a 5-year, $570 million contract with the federal government – is a big player in Vermont as well. Only a few months ago, Virginia-based Stanley took over the management of visa and citizenship applications in St. Albans. It arrived with a bang just last November, dramatically slashing the pay of employees in a period where such applications are on the rise, and during an ongoing government-promoted narrative of the danger of terrorists crossing international borders into the US. Many employees under the previous contractor who have found their jobs renewed were greeted with pay cuts of 12% just before last Christmas. This from a company lauded by Fortune Magazine as the 100th best company to work for (yeah, that sounds about right). In some cases, employees who had been making $20 an hour, saw that hourly wage drop down to $13.

All of which would seem to fly in the face of the Service Contract Act, which guarantees prevailing wages and benefits to federal contract workers. At the prodding of Senator Sanders, the US Department of Labor opened an investigation last year. You know – the Department run by the wife of the Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Not content to hang their hats on the sterling record of fairness and adherence to law of the Bush administration, the employees moved with blazing speed towards unionizing with United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, receiving encouragement in doing so from Bernie’s office. Earlier this month, elections resulted in St. Albans employees of Stanley subcontractors Choctaw Archiving Enterprise and Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc being represented by UE. Employees at another subcontractor and at Stanley proper did not vote to unionize, however.

As Sanders has correctly noted, the St. Albans wage situation alone should raise serious questions about the rush to contract and privatize what are by anyone’s measure, clearly fundamental governmental responsibilities – and the passport breaches call the question even more dramatically, wherever that storyline may ultimately lead.

(I was gonna write something today, but between this diary and SPS’s thoughtful one below, I think I’ll just promote the work of others and kick back… – promoted by odum)

Congratulations are in order for the 22 Vermont State Senators who decided it makes sense for a nuclear power company to have enough money to properly shut down its power plant when it is finally decommissioned (as opposed to, say, letting it gather dust on the Connecticut River bank while Entergy counts its money).

As was typical on an issue that is strikingly simple, yet runs contrary to his political ideology, Governor Jim Douglas avoided telling Vermonters the truth: that he opposes such a common sense measure… it is an election year, after all.

But this diary isn’t about Douglas' inability to move the state in any meaningful direction, or his preference for inaction and homeostatis in our fast-moving times. It is rather about the all-too-often unheralded work of our PART-TIME state legislators who stood up to some of the most powerful professional lobbyists in the state and did what is right for present and future generations of Vermonters.

Bipartisan props to the following senators for their support of S. 373:

Ayer, Bartlett, Campbell, Carris, Collins, Condos, Cummings, Flanagan, Giard, Hartwell, Illuzzi, Kitchel, Kittell, Lyons, MacDonald, McCormack, Nitka, Racine, Sears, Shumlin, Snelling, White.

These Senators recognized that SOMEONE is going to have to pay for the decommissioning of the plant:

“Now we're talking about this plant belonging to another unknown and perhaps less financially secure company,” said Ann Cummings, D-Washington and chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, which drafted the bill.  She said she did not want to see ratepayers or taxpayers “left holding the bag” for possibly hundreds of millions in decommissioning costs.

It is easy (and I'll point the finger at myself first) to use this blog as a medium for complaints, but sometimes the situation calls for congratulations, even if this is only a small step down a journey we would prefer to see concluded sooner rather than later.

( – promoted by odum)

The NYT fronts with a very good piece outlining some of the flaws in the whole carbon neutral concept:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/world/europe/22norway.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin 

I've spent a lot of time in Norway and the thought of them being carbon-neutral is delusional.  It is a classic petro-economy.  Take away the North Sea fields and you have a small, cold and poor fishing economy.  

I used to be a big fan of the whole carbon neutral thing, but now I am increasingly skeptical.  Buying offsets basically exports your responsibility to a poor country.  On a small scale, I think this is an ok thing.  On a large scale, I think it is asking for trouble.  I was just in Indonesia and there is increasing tension between international groups trying to buy up forest for carbon sinks and local communities, which want to use the land as they see fit.   Classic local control issues (something we Vermonters can relate to).

 Of course, then there is the problem of verification of offsets – still a pretty problematic subject.  The EU is further along than the US on this, but auditing these offsets is tricky. As we've discovered with the sub-prime mess, any time you create a security where you can't really assess the value or the risk, you are asking for trouble.

I am increasingly of the belief we simply need a carbon tax for energy as it enters the country.  Complement that with an estimated carbon tax for raw materials and finished goods coming into the country to ensure that we don't simply export the emission emitters.

That would price the emissions and minimize the externalities.  

crossposted @ www.vermontbloggernaut.blogspot.com

Today, 3/21/08 the Grand Isle Drawbridge was reopened to two-way traffic, no more one way! This was a VTrans success as the bridge is the heart of Grand Isle County, the connection between all 5 towns. Finished well before the navigational season on Lake Champlain begins, with north and south of the bridge still frozen.

A big kudos to the diligent crew from Engineers Construction Inc, who was contracted for the repair. They worked through extreme cold, wind, snow, driving rain, and a mini-ice storm. After the ice they had to break apart everything that had frozen to the bridge before they could recommence their work. Everyone is now safer who travels over the bridge, even is it is only a temporary fix. A more permanent replacement will be needed in the future.

Without this drawbridge Grand Isle County would literally be divided into a north and south. VTrans did a hell of a job formulating a plan and enacting it.  People no longer have to worry about dropping through into the lake when they pass over the bridge!!