Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post’s political blog “The Fix” is polling his community and putting up a list of the best political blogs in each state. He just put up the winners for Vermont, and GMD, along with Baruth’s Vermont Daily Briefing, make up the list.

Now, based on the other state lists, they don’t seem to be in alphabetical order… does GMD’s placement atop the list mean we’re number one? Could this be a preview of the rapidly approaching Daysie Awards? Sort of a “Golden Globes” to 7Days’ “Oscars?”

Watch out, Philip – we’re nipping at yer heels…

In prior conversations I suggested changing the rating systems, in particular #2 since it really didn’t say too much.

Thanks to the powers that be for making a change that at this time seems humorously appropriate.  🙂

Don’t worry, MG, you’re still appreciated by one and all.  It just seems you’ve used the 2 so much that it’s now your namesake.  

It’s kinda like having a dish named after you in your favorite restaurant.

Nate

This letter has been making the rounds. I think it speaks for itself:

Dear Vermont Hillary Clinton Supporter:

I was shocked to hear Senator Leahy say that Hillary Clinton should step out of the race.  He amended his original statement to Vermont Public Radio later, only to say, “Senator Clinton has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to.  As far as the delegate count and the interests of a Democratic victory in November go, there is not a very good reason for drawing this out.”

I have responded by saying it is very premature and patronizing to ask her to drop out. Ten states have yet to vote. The race remains very close. Leahy’s statement deprives these voters of having their voices heard. We are five months away from the Democratic National Convention. That is a long time to heal wounds. Compared to previous campaigns we are very early in the process.  I am confident that no matter who wins, the candidates are so close on the issues that they will be able to unite their supporters. They both made such a statement today.

The voters are not dumb. They know the difference between McCain and either Clinton or Obama. They know what is at stake for the future of our country, from the ongoing war in Iraq to the failing economy. In an ideal world we would have chosen the Democratic candidate at the same time the Republicans chose theirs. But we live in a democracy and the democratic process is sometimes messy. However, it works better than any other system. I believe the primary process should play itself out until every state has voted. I strongly oppose Senator Leahy’s suggestion.

If you agree, let Senator Leahy know what you think.  Call or email him at his offices: His email address is senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov. His Washington phone number is 202-224-4242. His Burlington number is 802-863-2525.

Madeleine M. Kunin

Lots of eye-opening stuff here in this escalation of what may grow into a genuine feud with this unprecedented intra-party smackdown. First and foremost is the simple fact of former Ambassador, Vermont Democratic Party icon and first woman Governor of the state Kunin issuing a considered attack on Leahy couched in such patronizing, even insulting terms.

What is missing is the allusion contained in her initial dismissal of Leahy’s statement that Clinton should bow out for the good of the Party: that it is somehow inherently sexist to make this suggestion. The implications were there when she characterized Leahy’s statement as saying to Clinton “Honey, you know you’ve got to drop out for the good of the Party”, and it has been the overriding primary narrative from her, suggesting as she did in the Washington Post that the vote for Clinton is a metric of the level of sexism in any given state (which, I guess means women are still wearing corsets and being footbound in Vermont, given her margin of defeat).

In any event, Democratic officeholders and former officeholders simply don’t attack Senator Leahy in this way – or in any way. And with nothing to be gained in the state, the comment and follow-up letter amounts to little more than picking a fight (and putting his official Senate office contact information for fired-up Clintonites – an office where discussing electoral politics is a massive no-no – seems to be a way to simply be as pesky as possible).

I don’t think we’ve heard the end of this.

This just in.  A minor side effect, of course, but certainly indicative of the global impact of the ever increasing human carbon footprint.  We note also that Galactose also has shown a small correlation to ovarian cancer.

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Global Warming Causing Increased Tooth Decay in Children

Scientists at the Food Science Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, have found a link between global warming and tooth decay in children.

Dr. William F. Green, Senior Project Chemist and a member of the Australian Academy of Sciences, revealed the results of an 8-year study on dental health associated with high natural fruit consumption in children at the annual meeting of the Australian Dental Association in Sydney on March 13, 2008.  The problem, says Green, is that the increasing world temperatures have significantly changed the ratio between two types of sugar associated with common fruits:  Fructose and Galactose.  Galactose, which usually combines with Glucose to form Lactose, is normally associated with dairy products and typically not found in large amounts in common fruits, which characteristically are Fructose-dominant in sugar content.  But increasing temperatures in the fruit bearing regions of Australia have apparently caused a significant shift in the ratios, with Galactose levels rising in both fruits and grains, whose predominate sugar is Maltose.

The problem lies with the decay-producing bacteria known as Streptococcus mutans, which uses sugar to produce acid leading to calcium deterioration, or tooth decay.  The acid produced by Streptococcus mutans when metabolizing Galactose has a 16% lower ph ( is more acidic ) than that produced by the same bacterium metabolizing the more common Fructose.  This in turn has led to an 8% rise in tooth decay among the 1800 children involved in the study, which was co-sponsored by the Australian Dental Association.  “Increasing Galactose levels are increasing oral acid levels to the point where our common ph-balancing dentifrices cannot keep up,” says Dr. Green.  “New formulations are going to be required to counter this problem, which has a clear link to ever-increasing mean growing temperatures in our fruit-producing orchard regions.”

>From the Sydney Science Journal, reported by G.F. Wilson and P.D. Swanson.

Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.

The Malta Independent on Sunday presents you with the Fool’s Guide to April Fool!  http://www.independent.com.mt/…

1.    The Covert Clicker

2.    The Toilet Monster

3.    Funny Crime Scene Tapes

4.     Embarrassing Magnetic Bumper Stickers

5.     Fake Parking Tickets

6.     Fake Lottery Tickets

7.     Exploding Golf Ball

8.    Prank Envelopes

9.     Shocking Pen

10.     Spilled Coffee Cup*

*Actually nothing is funny about spilling coffee