(Interesting, eh? Thanks Ed!   – promoted by Christian Avard)

…Sen. Barack Obama, standing at the podium, took a few questions. The last one from the audience, delivered via AP chairman W. Dean Singleton, was related to Afghanistan, our troops in Iraq and the threat posed by, as Singleton put it, “Obama bin Laden.

“… the Brattleboro Reformer, with a circulation of 11500, is owned by the Dean Singleton MediaNews Group…”

AP Chairman Refers to “Obama bin Laden” — In Posing Question to Barack Obama

By Joe Strupp

Published: April 14, 2008 3:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON After addressing the journalists gathered at the annual Associated Press luncheon in Washington, D.C., today, Sen. Barack Obama, standing at the podium, took a few questions. The last one from the audience, delivered via AP chairman W. Dean Singleton, was related to Afghanistan, our troops in Iraq and the threat posed by, as Singleton put it, “Obama bin Laden.

http://www.editorandpublisher….

Fans of the early, early days of rock 'n roll might recall the Platters' 1955 hit, “The Great Pretender”:

“Oh yes, I'm the Great Pretender, pretending that I'm doing well.

My need is such, I pretend too much. I'm lonely, but no one can tell…”

Well, it seems we've found a variation on this could be making the rounds as Gov. Whinin' Jim Douglas' new campaign song:

 “Oh yes, I'm the Great Preventer, preventing what would do us well.

My need is such, I prevent too much. life in Vermont is hell…”

My apologies to the Platters there, but as you probably know by now, the Guv. vetoed the recent Instant Runoff Voting bill, as expected. Gotta keep those damn lib'ruls in check – it's his life's calling, you know (well, that and telling everyone else how miserable life in Vermont really is). 

More below the jump… 

In yesterday's Times Argus, Curtis Fisher of Common Cause Vermont ably eviscerated Douglas' “logic” for vetoing the bill, basically exposing the governor's b.s. and hypocrisy for exactly what it is:

If Douglas was so concerned about the constitutional implications of IRV (specifically the one-person, one-vote issue), then why did he sign the Burlington charter change allowing its use in the mayor's race? If he genuinely believes IRV to be unconstitutional, then he was negligent in signing the first IRV bill. If not, he has disingenuously used the Constitution as cover for his irresponsible veto.

Douglas then notes a legal opinion by the attorney general that questioned (incorrectly, I believe) whether instant runoff voting could be used for electing the governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer without first amending the state Constitution. Douglas ignores the fact that 1. this legal opinion also states that “A constitutional amendment is not legally required for the other statewide offices…”; and 2. this bill does not even address those offices! Douglas suggests that advocates pursue a state constitutional amendment to obtain IRV in Vermont after stating that he believes IRV runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution. Voters should be insulted by this political doublespeak coming from the governor.

Finally, Douglas outrageously asserts that “it is mathematically impossible for the candidate chosen by the IRV process to receive a majority of first votes cast.” This is nonsense, as most candidates elected using IRV in the United States in recent years won more than 50 percent of the first-choice votes. Either the governor didn't read the bill he vetoed, or he is blowing smoke to confuse the public.

So Gevernor Douglas is a also a flip-flopper, as well as an impediment to progress. He knows damn well that in many cases the only way a Republican in this state can get ahead in any kind of three-way race is to keep things the way they currently are, marginalizing the majority that is often expressed by the Dems and the Progs.

It is very important that wheneve we talk of Governor Douglas, we use these words that present an accurate assesment of what he really is, to rough up  that 'likeability' veneer that has served him so well in his reign. Flip-flopper. Obstructionist. Out-of-touch. Standing in the way of progress. You get the picture. I'm sure you can think of a few more.

It's high time that the Dems and Progs in the legislature twisted some arms, and handed the Great Preventer the veto override he desperately deserves. The previous attempts to stand up to Douglas have been rather uninspiring, but perhaps with Symington and Shumlin eyeing the higher offices, they might find the necessary backbone. We shall see.

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……has puzzled veterans’ advocates

The cost two wars are imposing on the people that fight them are huge.

$2.5 billion wisely spent for helping people who fought is not too much to spend.

Where’s McCain? The Straight Talker(TM) himself can’t get straight with this and make up his mind .

The bulk of this bill is one year old and he has yet to make a decision !

..

the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has said repeatedly that he supports the concept but has yet to delve into the details of the proposal.

A McCain spokeswoman said Wednesday that the senator has not yet made a determination.

McCain’s silence has puzzled veterans’ advocates, who wonder why the much-celebrated prisoner of the Vietnam War is reluctant to support a better GI Bill for a younger generation.

An updated GI Bill, sponsored by Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), would offer Iraq and Afghanistan veterans up to four academic years of full, state college benefits — covering room, board and other expenses. Webb says it maintains “the spirit of the original World War II GI Bill,” which offered far more comprehensive benefits than the GI Bill of today. Many of Webb’s colleagues agree. The proposal is supported by 52 additional senators, including 10 Republicans.

……The Bush administration and some congressional Republicans have quietly resisted the Webb bill. They cite its cost — an estimated $2.5 billion in the first year — as well as concerns that an improved education benefit would entice troops to leave service earlier, exacerbating the already substantial retention problems surrounding today’s all-volunteer military.

http://www.washingtonindepende…

Vermont, of course, leads the nation in per capita fatalities in the Iraq war. What may be less well-known is that Richard Cody, the Army Vice-Chief of Staff, is a native of Montpelier.

Cody was recentl the subject of a “Talk of the Town” piece in the New Yorker, and his observations of military preparedness after five years of Bush's illegal war in Iraq, coming, as they do, from someone in a position to know, should be read by everyone concerned about our national security.

The current demand for our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds the sustainable supply, and limits our ability to provide ready forces for other contingencies. . . . Soldiers, families, support systems and equipment are stretched and stressed. . . . Overall, our readiness is being consumed as fast as we build it. If unaddressed, this lack of balance poses a significant risk to the all-volunteer force and degrades the Army’s ability to make a timely response to other contingencies.

 It's worth reading the rest of the piece.

I am continually frustrated, bewidered and infuriated by the depressing lack of outrage in the United States. The criminality of the Republican leaders in Congress for most of the past dozen or so years has been met with relative silence. Criminality and prevarication has been the default policy of the Bush adminstration since Mister Bush was socially promoted to the presidency in 2001. Given the magnitude of the outrageously blatent crimes, the lack of citizen outrage is spiritually deafening.

I like to think of myself as someone who is at least keeping score of the

So when I saw the details of this: 

Staff Sgt. Hartley, the son of a police officer and a career military man, was on his fifth deployment when he was killed on 8 April 2008.

I felt disappointed in myself. I realize the what has been done to our military is reckless beyond words and what this Republican administration has done to the troops went from cruel to insane even before the 2004 campaign of reelection dishonesty about everything importnat to the troops and their families

Staff Sgt. Hartley died April 8 in Kharguliah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia.

I remember when “A Deployment” – just (just!) one deployment – was frequently an earth shattering event for an entire extended family, if not a community not to mention what it meant to the individual we recruited into our armed forces.

“A Deployment” – One Deployment to a war zone overseas.

Since 2002, Republicans talk about deployments and deployment extensions like just another semester in college spent not bothering to collect enough credits to graduate.

“A Deployment” has become just another piece of devalued currency to the GOP war machine.

When a family member had “A Deployment” to a war zone several years ago, it rocked my family. Prior to Dubya's social promotion to the presidency, I've had neighbors and business friends who had “A Deployment” and it shook our community with anxiety.

Five deployments to an endlessly scheduled political cycle of violence is obscene.

It is a mind numbing obscenity in its undervalued and underappreciated signigicance. It is mind numbing in context of so many obscenities comitted by Mister Bush in our name against the world, against the people of Iraq, against our future, against our military and against Staff Sgt. Hartley, his family and his community. No one in the U.S. military was recruited to do what we are making them do in Iraq. No one in the U.S. military was recruited to do what we are making them do to Iraq.

Five Deployments.  In a year when finding it in one's heart to feel pride in the United States is a legitimate campaign issue to the right wing chickenhawk criminals who are responsible for Staff Sgt Hartley's obituary, I do not possibly know where I could find capacity to be proud of the United States.