Since the conversation about the tragedy in Randolph focused almost exclusively on after-the-fact penalties,  I am personally very grateful for the immediate response by Grand Isle Sherrif's Office and the Northwest Unit for Special Investigations. Their response is a perfect example of prevention from the law enforcement side. Without knowing details, my guess is that parents were also key players in prevention.

The unfortunate direction of after-the-tragedy penalties as the primary response to sexual predators is not only ineffective, it demonstrated Brian Dubie's and Jim Douglas' inadequate understanding of best practices used – or should be used – in the role of parents and law enforcement. Vermont's Special Investigations Units need to funded in a manner that will allow them to continue the good work of rescuing children before they become victims.

The article is below the fold and kudos to the Times Argus for reporting this event. But as you read the article, please keep in mind that the highest proportion of sexual tragedies occur by trusted members of the community and far too often by members of extended families and persons in the family home.

Nate Freeman

Gov Douglas in Atlantic City ,NJ attending a regional conference of the Council of State Governments blamed the Federal government for highway problems.

After a comment from Gov.Jodi Rell of Connecticut(R) he chimed in cleverly noting that the interstate is a national highway system and was built many years ago.

In a moment of candor he also admitted to enjoy blaming the feds.

“Whatever we invest today isn’t going to be enough,” said Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R), noting that steel prices rose 93 percent in the last year. Meanwhile, she said, governors are “angry” because the Bush administration is promoting partnerships with private companies to lease or manage public assets such as toll roads or airports, rather than offering states more money.

“The truth is, we do like to blame the federal government, and rightly so. (The highway system) was a national, interstate defense highway system when it was created a half century ago,” added Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R).

The governors also touted smaller efforts their states were taking to help low-income residents cope with the economic slowdown.

In Vermont, farmers are given extra seeds so they can “grow an extra row” of food to donate to low-income residents, Douglas said. Vermont also is considering opening up state-owned forests for firewood and wood-pellet production used in home heating, he said.

Small efforts indeed .Give the farmers seeds and the poor firewood and blame the Federal Government for  building the highway system 50 yrs ago. Meanwhile here in Vermont Gov.Douglas is managing the cutting of $ 32 million more from the State budget.Still no word regarding cuts to Douglas’s 14 person “communications” team with salaries totaling approximately a million a year according to the Times Argus.

http://www.stateline.org/live/…

http://www.timesargus.com/apps…

…and Vermont is number 2. A study that appeared in the Times Argus yesterday by the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society revealed that the amount of women participating in state governmental roles is on the rise, and is actually getting closer to represent the proportions of women in the population. The top five states were (in this order) Montana, Vermont, Connecticut, Washington, and Alaska, a rather diverse bunch of states. The bottom  consists of South Dakota, Louisiana, Wyoming and Idaho. Vermont scored 48.6,% with a female population of 51%, pretty darn close to parity.

Some other interesting facts from the study:

The university study found that agencies in areas where women have traditionally been better represented — including health, human rights and education — still have the highest number of women in leadership.

At the same time, it found a growing number of women breaking into areas traditionally dominated by men, including administration and budget. For example, Laura Anglin is New York's budget director.

The study found governors across the country have appointed 15 women to head departments of administration, and 10 to lead management and budget agencies.

 They aslso talk to fromer Gov. Madeline Kunin in the piece, have a read.

threatens to hold hearings on next AG nominee.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the former Vermont prosecutor who is now the head of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, is not at all pleased with the decision by U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to not prosecute officials who politicized hiring at the Department of Justice.

“I think it is outrageous,” Leahy said on Tuesday. “What it says is if you go ahead and violate the law, if you go ahead and try and politicize prosecutions … if you keep it hidden long enough and you get away with it, good for you, nobody is going to touch you.”

. . .

Leahy said he will continue hearings in his committee into the matter – and warned he will still be in the Senate when the next attorney general is nominated by the next president, whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain.

“After this administration leaves, I am going to still be chairman of Judiciary,” Leahy said. “I will be the one chairing the hearings on the nominee.”

(Leahy angered by AG decision, Times Argus, 08/13/08)

Hey tough guy, way to stand up for the American people.

If you needed any more proof of Obama’s Gen X appeal…

(Woops… Just noticed as I sit “save” that BP got a diary up on this while I was working on mine… check out what he’s got to say as well…)

Ruh-roh. In yet another sign that Mr. Pollina’s last minute surprise abandonment of the Progressive Party ballot line was a hastily made decision, the Free Press is reporting that the implications of campaign finance regulations for the born-again Independent may be dire for the cash-strapped campaign. As in a whopping $28,000 worth of dire (and this for a campaign that had only $23,000 on hand as of the filing of less than two weeks ago). Ouch.

From Hallenbeck::

Pollina faces the likelihood of having to return $28,000 in campaign contributions that go over the limit of what an independent candidate is allowed to accept from donors. Independents are limited to $1,000 donations from individuals per election while candidates from parties that hold primaries have a $2,000 limit, according to Elections Director Kathy DeWolfe.

She gave Pollina’s campaign the news last week after reviewing his campaign’s finance reports that were filed July 31.

Pollina had listed contributions over $1,000 from 35 donors as of July 31.

Of course, many will remember the last time Pollina just did his thing despite the requirements of the campaign finance law (when the Progressive Party shared polling information with him – an act defined by law as a campaign contribution disqualifying him from the public financing he had been planning for). At that time, his first impulse was not to comply, but to sue to have the law (that he had helped get enacted) overturned, in an extraordinary act of political burning-the-village-in-order-to-save-it-ism. It’s hard to imagine him doing that again and courting a very poor narrative. On the other hand, it didn’t really hurt him in 2002, as he received his highest percentage of the final vote in a November election to date. In any event, it’s a real stunner that someone once dubbed Mr. Campaign Finance Reform once again did not do his homework. Or maybe it’s just another “rules are only for the bad guys” thing.

Or – whatever. Who knows. I just don’t understand that guy and the campaigns he runs. I really, really don’t.

In any event, as I expected, Pollina’s switch is bringing out many questions regarding the current campaign finance scheme. WIll contributors be able to re-gift Pollina under their kids’ names? Will that just look slimy? Will Pollina flip yet again and go for a Progressive write-in? Could he accept such a write in, or would the double flip make him a total joke? How exactly can these laws be applied before there has even been a primary, dubbing any candidate an “official “major party candidate?”

Whatever the case, Pollina now has a $28,000 alarm clock ticking to primary day next month.