(You’ve got to be kidding me. Tuesdays just got more interesting “up north.” – promoted by Christian Avard)

Rich Haskell just stated on WDEV (12:55 PM) that Carl Etnier will be introducing Vermont Commons editor Rob Williams as a new host on Equal Time, Anthony Pollina’s talk show.

This, somehow, seems like failing upward.

Update (1:25 PM):  He will be hosting “Free Vermont Radio” on Tuesdays on Equal Time. The emphasis will be on how secession is related to local sustainability, not racism.  I just turned it off.  Like listening to paint dry.

Update 2:  Starting in July.  Today was a preview.

Honda’s new zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell car rolled off a Japanese production line Monday and is headed to Southern California, where Hollywood is already abuzz over the latest splash in green motoring.

The FCX Clarity, which runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water and none of the noxious fumes believed to induce global warming. It is also two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car, the company says.

(AP article via Google news)

Excellent news and all, but it emits only water? I might be missing something here … BUT

Water freezes at 32F/0C. We spend a good part of our year in sub-freezing temperatures. Water vapor in cold temps falls out of the air.

Ever try driving on a road covered with an invisible but present glaze of (black) ice?

Is there something in this technology I’m missing, or are we in for some rough winters with thousands of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles running around our roads emitting water?

Today’s Rutland Herald talks about Layoffs at the state level:

“It was a surprise,” said Dean, who has worked in state government for eight years and is – at least until the middle of next month – an information technology manager in the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

Dean and three other workers in the agency – a tourism data administrator, a systems developer and a community development consultant – had work to do and lost their jobs because of lack of money to pay them, not because of how they did their jobs, state officials said.

I’m taking this more personally than I probably should because I know that some of these budget cuts are going to hit friends of mine.  I know of at least one other agency that’s been mandated to cut four positions by the end of the year, and I know people in that agency who are finding it extremely difficult to keep up with their work.   I’m not going to give details on this yet because I have to check to see if I have permission to discuss more of it in public, but I’ll give the short summary: an agency which provides support and assistance for people who are just barely struggling to get by is having its staff cut during an economic downturn.

So yeah, I’m kind of pissed about this.

But I’m also kind of pissed because of the stupid, inane, it’s not our fault crap from the administration which is mandating the layoffs:

Who’s responsible for this?  Apparently, it’s all on the legislature’s shoulders:

It was the Legislature’s fault, said Jason Gibbs, a spokesman for Gov. James Douglas, who said earlier this year that reducing the number of positions through elimination of vacant spots would allow Vermont to avoid layoffs or reductions in force (RIFs).

“It is a direct result of the cut that the Legislature required in that agency’s budget,” Gibbs said. “It is a consequence they were aware of and one for which they are entirely responsible.”

This was an extremely difficult budget, and one that took some real compromise between the Governor’s office and the legislature.  But when it leads to bad choices on the part of the administration, it’s obviously got nothing to do with the administration.

You.  Have.  Got.  To.  Be.  Kidding.  Me.

Is there anything about this administration which is not about politics and the way things are worded?