Daily Archives: May 16, 2008

Symington and Richter

Some time ago, I penned diaries discussing what I considered to be the best strategies for victory (at the time…. that was a while ago) for Gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina, and then-potential candidate Peter Galbraith, who – of course – has since formally deferred to the Speaker of the House's candidacy. Seems only reasonable to do one for Symington as well (with the usual caveats that it only represents one opinion). Since those are long, research-paper style pieces, I'll have to slog through it over the weekend.

In the meantime, though, there is one suggestion I would make to both Symington and as-yet-unannounced Democratic Lieutenant Gubernatorial candidate Deb Richter:

Run as a ticket.

Symington and Richter should appear often together, as they complement each other electorally and in terms of message – or at least they have the potential to. Richter's presence would shore up Symington among the left and ease concerns that her failure to aggressively advocate for many progressive priorities during her tenure as Speaker was a matter of strategic choices, rather than ideological disagreement. 

Symington could lend broader name-recognition and credibility among more centrist Democrats to Richter… and the two together could potentially synergize (sorry for the jargon), propogating a clear (and irrefutable) narrative that a universal health care system would be a magnet for attracting business to Vermont, as well as a powerful force in bringing down local school budgets (and by extension, property taxes).

And frankly, the picture of two women running together to lead the state would be absolutely terrific, and more than a little inspiring to a lot of people. In this sense, standing along side each other, the gender effect would be even greater than the sum of its individual parts.

UPDATE: … but Symington is gonna have to have a more clear, pro-active response to the question of “where do we go from here” on health care for it to work. Just listened to her meandering (careening, even) response on Vermont Edition, and it was not good.

ECFiberNet update … acutally 2 of ’em

ECFiber Finalizes Founding Membership (directly below)

ECFiber Joins Fairpoint and Comcast at GMEDC Economic Development Panel (after the jump)

ECFiber Finalizes Founding Membership

Quechee, Vt.  ­ The ECFiberNet Governing Board officially seated delegates from Williamstown, Brookfield, and Bethel at its meeting this week, bringing the total number of towns represented to 23.

According to Project Director Tim Nulty, “This is a major milestone for ECFiber because it brings our coverage area to almost 1000 square miles, with about 35,000 utility poles.”

“Things are looking very good for the project at the moment,” Nulty said. “We’ve just invited financing bids from 18 financial institutions who have already expressed interest in the project. We expect at least 4 bids by May 21st. In spite of the unsettled state of the credit markets, there is a great deal of interest.”

At this point, ECFiber holds a bonded commitment from the nation’s premier fiber-optic network contractor to build the specified network within ECFiber’s projected budget and timeframe. The organization has also received a $25,000 planning grant from the Vermont Telecom Authority.

Loredo Sola, Chair of ECFiber’s Executive Committee, said “Development is steaming full-speed ahead, and our organizational structure is coming together nicely. Our grassroots support has been very encouraging  – 3500 pre-registrations represents 15% of the households in the service area. In several towns, half of the population has pre-registered; and we are aiming for 5000 by the end of May.”

Sola said ECFiber hopes to break ground on the project in the spring of 2009 and connect the first customers by the end of that year.  

ECFiber Joins Fairpoint and Comcast at GMEDC Economic Development Panel

White River Junction, Vt. – Representatives of ECFiberNet, a local non-profit that is building a ultra-high-speed network, will join representatives of the Fairpoint and Comcast corporations in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Monday May 19th.

The focus of the discussion will be centered around the services each provider brings to the area and how they affect economic development.

“We’re excited to be involved in the discussion,” said ECFiber Executive Committee member and State Representative Jim Masland of Thetford. “We feel that broadband is crucial to the continued economic development of the area, and that ECFiber is leading the way to universal coverage at reasonable prices.”

The GMEDC meeting will be held at Elixir Restaurant on South Main Street in White River Junction from 6 to 8 P.M.  

ECFiberNet update … acutally 2 of ’em

ECFiber Finalizes Founding Membership (directly below)

ECFiber Joins Fairpoint and Comcast at GMEDC Economic Development Panel (after the jump)

ECFiber Finalizes Founding Membership

Quechee, Vt.  ­ The ECFiberNet Governing Board officially seated delegates from Williamstown, Brookfield, and Bethel at its meeting this week, bringing the total number of towns represented to 23.

According to Project Director Tim Nulty, “This is a major milestone for ECFiber because it brings our coverage area to almost 1000 square miles, with about 35,000 utility poles.”

“Things are looking very good for the project at the moment,” Nulty said. “We’ve just invited financing bids from 18 financial institutions who have already expressed interest in the project. We expect at least 4 bids by May 21st. In spite of the unsettled state of the credit markets, there is a great deal of interest.”

At this point, ECFiber holds a bonded commitment from the nation’s premier fiber-optic network contractor to build the specified network within ECFiber’s projected budget and timeframe. The organization has also received a $25,000 planning grant from the Vermont Telecom Authority.

Loredo Sola, Chair of ECFiber’s Executive Committee, said “Development is steaming full-speed ahead, and our organizational structure is coming together nicely. Our grassroots support has been very encouraging  – 3500 pre-registrations represents 15% of the households in the service area. In several towns, half of the population has pre-registered; and we are aiming for 5000 by the end of May.”

Sola said ECFiber hopes to break ground on the project in the spring of 2009 and connect the first customers by the end of that year.  

ECFiber Joins Fairpoint and Comcast at GMEDC Economic Development Panel

White River Junction, Vt. – Representatives of ECFiberNet, a local non-profit that is building a ultra-high-speed network, will join representatives of the Fairpoint and Comcast corporations in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Monday May 19th.

The focus of the discussion will be centered around the services each provider brings to the area and how they affect economic development.

“We’re excited to be involved in the discussion,” said ECFiber Executive Committee member and State Representative Jim Masland of Thetford. “We feel that broadband is crucial to the continued economic development of the area, and that ECFiber is leading the way to universal coverage at reasonable prices.”

The GMEDC meeting will be held at Elixir Restaurant on South Main Street in White River Junction from 6 to 8 P.M.  

Entergy Nuclear security breach

(Any security breach at Vermont Yankee merits special attention.   – promoted by Christian Avard)

Susan Smallheer in the Herald got a scoop on a February security failure at ENVY. She also covers other older security breaches there and elsewhere by Wackenhut.

Yankee cited for security violations

May 16, 2008

By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

BRATTLEBORO – The owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have been cited for security violations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The nature of the violations is not disclosed to the public because of security concerns, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.

But Sheehan said the violation was serious enough to warrant increased inspections of Entergy Nuclear’s security at the Vernon reactor. The security breach was termed “an escalated enforcement action,” in a letter sent to Entergy Nuclear site vice president Theodore Sullivan.

Sheehan said the security violation occurred in February, and he would only say that it did not involve “an inattentive security officer.”

“We don’t talk about the findings,” Sheehan said. “Whenever it’s related to security it’s serious.”

“As always, our inspectors will not leave the site until a security issue has either been fully addressed or compensatory measures put in place pending the completion of corrective actions,” he added.

To read more click below.

http://rutlandherald.com/apps/…

Making history at the Vermont Obama Delegate Forum

( – promoted by odum)

Last night in Norwich, we took democracy to the next level. For the first time in the Vermont Democratic Party’s history, a group of delegates met in advance of the May 24th state convention – to hear speeches and ask questions of candidates for national delegate.

Nine Obama-pledged delegates gave speeches. They came from the far corners of Vermont – Bennington, Williston, Jeffersonville – as well as the local area. They made well-reasoned and impassioned pleas, on themes ranging from the need to unify the Democratic Party and heal the divisions between Obama and Clinton supporters – to the party’s need to embrace Obama grassroots activists by rewarding them for the many months they’ve spent pounding the pavement for Barack.

Two more forums are scheduled: Monday at 6:30pm at Oakledge Park in Burlington; and Tuesday at 6:30pm at the Mark Skinner Library in Manchester. I’ll be at the Burlington forum and hope to see you there. The forums were organized by Damian Sedney of Underhill, who deserves our thanks for this important step in making the Democratic Party more “small-d” democratic.

This is my first diary – so I’ll keep it brief, and look forward to your comments!

Whenever it’s related to security it’s serious

 What will it take to get Gov.Jim Douglas out of bed with Entergy and  wake up for the safety of Vermonters ?



NRC hits Entergy with security violation



By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

BRATTLEBORO – The owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have been cited for security violations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The nature of the violations is not disclosed to the public because of security concerns, said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.

“We don’t talk about the findings,” Sheehan said. “Whenever it’s related to security it’s serious.”

“As always, our inspectors will not leave the site until a security issue has either been fully addressed or compensatory measures put in place pending the completion of corrective actions,” he added.

Jason Gibbs, Gov. James Douglas’ spokesman, didn’t return a call for comment about the security  breach.

further on they note .

..the security violation occurred in February, and he would only say that it did not involve “an inattentive security officer.”

I wonder how this news would have been received during some of the decommissioning hearings. http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

KnockEmStiff, Ohio: A Truism For the Racist Vote

Donald Ray Pollock was interviewed today on NPR's “On Point” regarding his new book about life in the real-life town, KnockEmStiff, Ohio.  The collection of fictional stories reflects a community at about ten times it's actual level of dysfunction, yet southern men and women calling in seemed very appreciative of Pollock's description of poor, uneducated paper mill folk afflicated by their deviant sexual encounters, alcoholism, violence, and bizarre, bread-sack, “huffing bactine” highs.

The desperate, trapped, self-destructiveness of the narrative sparked a question in my mind as I pulled fabric into an intricate corner of the chair I was busy upholstering.  Interestingly, only moments later (at the 37 minute mark if you listen to the podcast), a caller from Boston verbalized what I was thinking:

“…about the working pattern [sic] of the people:  is the [sic] same people Hillary Clinton is talking about, the people voting for her?”

or, paraphrased by Tom Ashbrook:

“It's a good question.  Is this the white working class that's been talked about so much in the presidential campaign, Don?”

Since this is a work of fiction, it's not surprising to hear the immediate response, “Well, I don't know about that.”  But the anecdote that follows about voters who live in the “hollers” around KnockEmStiff, the town where the author lives, seems to confirm what the MSM still won't touch, even after Obama's historic speech on race in America.

Pollack continues, below the fold.

 

Pollack:  I do know that in Southern Ohio, at least down where I live, there are a lot of Hillary Clinton supporters, and, I'm a liberal, and what I'm afraid is going to happen… it seems to me that a lot of these people who are for Hillary are … you know, probably going to switch to McCain.

Ashbrook:  Because of race issues?

Pollack:  You know I hate to say it, but I think it is, I wish people could get past the color of a man's skin, but it seems like that with people that I run into and we start to talk about politics a bit … even if they won't come out and admit it, yea, I can't think of any other reason than that.  Like I say, Hillary's got a lot of support down there, and maybe that's the people she's talking about.

The fact of American racism isn't surprising news, but still it's interesting to hear it acknowledged by anyone when they don't necessarily have to discuss it.  Maybe we should even acknowledge the reality of Clinton's “hard working white voters” comment.  It's easy for those of us in the whitest state in the country to be shocked, agog and aghast that such a phrase actually be said out loud.  The taboo surrounding the subject is a visceral reaction against bringing such a profane subject into the sacred realm of public discourse. 

But there is nothing sacred about sublimating or repressing the facts of who we are as Americans and how black people and white people are different.  In fact, talking about the reality of racism is a healthy departure from the politically correct, emotionally dysfunctional process of not talking about one of the fundamental social issues in America throughout it's ongoing history.

The fountain of power Obama drew from in his speech on race in Philedelphia came from breaking the presumed taboo and speaking out loud, using concrete examples how America still suffers from the ugly reality of racism.  Obama's speech on racism rose beyond the brand of eloquence because it broke the myth of this American taboo.  Weeks later, as if following in the dual wakes of Obama's speech and Clinton's “hard working white voter” comment, Pollack's confirmation of the reality of racism was as if a first ray of light shining into racism's dark, quiet closet.

Hearing the acknowledgement that Pollack's fictional description of KnockEmStiff, Ohio as a complicated truism of what Clinton meant by “hard working white voters” was, in a weird way, reassuring.  Acknowledging the fact that people in Southern Ohio refuse to vote for a black man for no other reason than the color of his skin was perhaps the first time I have heard a truthful, honest extension of the conversation Obama started in the wake of the Pastor Wright controversy. 

To hear a white, southern author being interviewed by a white, Yale-trained journalist having a frank conversation about the unspeakable reality of white people voting against Obama because he is a black man seemed as if to calm the growling dogs of fear.  It was as if Pollack was saying, “Easy boy.  It's ok.  Easy, there.”  There's no need to be afraid.  We can talk about this.

Fear of black skin.  Distaste of black smell.  White fright, rising to anger, in the face of black confidence.  Americans make a choice to not discuss the truth of how so many of us vote from the belly of repressed emotion and the misery of KnockEmStiff-like lives.

Send Mary to Denver! [w/Poll]

I can only echo John's solid suggestions for Denver.  If anybody should be there, it is two “more and better Democrats” blogger types such as Neil and Philip.

There is one more person I want to put on the list.

Mary Sullivan.

In fact, I want to put her right at the top of the list.

Several months ago, I said to myself: “Self, if we don't send John Edwards to Denver as the nominee, sending Mary Sullivan and Barack Obama will be the next best thing” (or so the story goes…). Well, it did not quite pan out for Senator Edwards. Now I am ready to go to the mat for Senator Obama, and I can't think of anyone better to be a delegate representing Vermont Democrats than Mary Sullivan.

For those of you who do not know Mary already, she is a walking, talking, living, breathing made-to-order Democratic convention on two legs. As Philip Baruth describes – from the Club Obama night

It was the sort of event that money can’t buy. You can’t pay people to sweat the details the way Neil did in the weeks prior to last night. You can’t pay people to gently encourage public endorsements the way that Mary Sullivan — a quiet force of nature in her own right — has for the last six months

Mary was one of the Obama campaign's “Vermont Women for Obama” established last winter. (Free Press 26 February 2008).

And best of all, she is a terrific writer who sent us dispatches from the 2004 Democratic Convention.  I'm sure we can talk her into a guest post or two from Denver as well. As described in grist.org from her 2004 dispatches,

Mary Sullivan is one of 22 Vermont delegates to the Democratic National Convention, and one of nine state delegates originally pledged to former Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean. She was a 10-year member of the Vermont House of Representatives and chair of its natural resources committee. In the 1980s, she wrote for The Washington Post. Currently, she is communications coordinator at the Burlington Electric Department, part of the Alliance for Climate Action.”

There is an excellent list of liberal Democrats vying for the chance to be national delegates for Senator Obama at the Vermont State Convention. Please consider Mary Sullivan, she's extra cool! AND you can see her campaigning in the cold for Senator Obama RIGHT HERE (http://my.barackobama.com).  

THE FIRST VERMONT PRESIDENTIAL STRAW POLL (for links to the candidates exploratory committees, refer to the diary on the right-hand column)!!! If the 2008 Vermont Democratic Presidential Primary were

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