Who is Lurleen?  Lurleen Wallace was the wife of George Wallace.  When George was term limited out of running for re-election as Governor of Alabama, he ran his wife.  

There are two very different models of women in politics.  One I like to call the Great Man can’t so the little woman steps in.  Term limits or death or, in the case of Ma Ferguson in Texas, the great man was removed from office and was disqualified from running again.  Sometimes, it’s the great man’s daughter.  In the case of Indira Gandhi, it could be argued that politics is the family business.

The other model is the real move toward equality.  Golda Meir.  Helen Clark.  God help us, Maggie Thatcher.  Here at home: Madeleine Kunin.  Gay Symington.  Carolyn Partridge.  

Gay Symington and her federal counterpart are both from political families.  Nancy Pelosi’s father was a Maryland pol, but she made her home and career in San Francisco.  Gay is the niece or grandniece of Stuart Symington, the Mo. Senator.  

Let’s have real equality.  In short,

LURLEEN, go home and sit down.

This is an interesting twist to appear at this point,after the decommissioning bill passed and while Gov.Douglas sits with his veto pen.Just a small detail arriving quietly Saturday morning on little cat feet.I have a distinct feeling that Entergy will/can find a way to do whatever they want.When dealing with aging nuclear power plants always do what is optimal not just permissible.

Vermont Yankee wants to raid decommission fund

Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – A new twist has hit the contentious debate over how to force the owners of Vermont Yankee to assure there’s enough money required for decommissioning the nuclear plant in Vernon.

Documents show the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has asked for federal permission to use the plant’s decommissioning fund to pay for storage of waste rather than for taking the plant apart.

………Part of Entergy’s proposal for managing its spent fuel – some of which is now stored on the Vernon site in metal and concrete “dry casks” or a water-filled pool – is to use $157 million from the decommissioning trust fund to pay for storage.

Steve Wark of the Vermont Department of Public Service said that it is not ideal for the Yankee plant to use money from the decommissioning fund to build dry casks for storage of spent fuel.

“It is permissible” under federal rules, he said. “I don’t think it is optimal.“

http://www.timesargus.com/apps…

more Entergy news http://www.forbes.com/markets/…

Aw, geez. Who knows…

But the fact is, I’ve now heard from enough sources that it can’t be ignored – the scuttlebutt is now that Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin will likely not run for Lieutenant Governor after all. I kid you not. Head spinning yet?

The session is likely to end at the end of next week, so we’ll have all our answers shortly thereafter. I’m gonna make it my personal mission in life to find out who the candidate is going to be before then, though… stay tuned.

In a true Great Race

There’d be two candidates.

Opposing “parties” even, maybe,

But whose only motives were

That our nation be the best it can be and

That they would give their life’s effort to that goal.

These people would shun everything but that goal,

Wouldn’t be bowed by money and fake “allegiances”,

Wouldn’t owe anyone anything because they never saw the reason in doing that.

And wouldn’t compromise themselves because they couldn’t live with themselves if they did.

Human still, they’d have their faults-

Sometimes putting their family above service to the people,

Sometimes just unable to be on their game.

But honest, uncorrupted, caring servants of the Greater Good.

I suppose that will always be the dream I have;

Two candidates that are difficult to choose between,

Because each is such a damned good person.