McCain probably thought that by choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate he could mask his record on women’s issues – or to borrow a timely phrase, put lipstick on the pig that is his platform.

But WakeUpWalmart.com is going to make sure he doesn’t get away with it.

In a new ad, WakeUpWalmart.com highlights what is one of the most egregious examples of his standing in the way of progressive reforms like fair pay for women.  

Women working at Walmart make notoriously less than their male counterparts (it’s the Walmart way).  That’s why WakeUp Walmart joined together with other groups to form the largest discrimination class action in history.  

This was a chance for Big Mac to prove those reform credentials he likes to talk about, but instead he case a big, fat, regressive “NO” to fair pay.

You call that “reform”?  

McCain talks a big game about “change” all of a sudden, but he’s saddled with an ugly record of reinforcing Walmart’s Republican policies.

As economic anxiety continues, we need a president who will fight for the rights of workers, not Walmart.

WakeUpWalmart.com will hold McCain accountable for his votes and is running this ad in battleground states beginning with the McCain’s parading of Palin at the debate tonight.

I encourage everyone to send it to any of the women in your life and to post it yourself.  

micro-market radio ad from Ralph Stanley

(hat tip talkingpointsmemo election central)

http://tpmelectioncentral.talk…

Douglas appointed RJ Elrick to chief of the Vermont Police Academy when the federal courts already found Elrick to be a civil rights violator.  No surprise of police shootings, tasings and negligence in tracking sex offenders.  A letter to the gov. is below which details dates court proceedings, etc..

http://douglas-appointees.blog…

Below is the story about the $708,000 dollars that the state and state officials paid to me.  Not to mention thousands of law enforcement hours.  Vermont, Taser Capital USA,should be putting vast resources such as this into proper training of law enforcement instead of the training provided by one of Douglas’ anti-constitution stooges.

http://www.firstamendmentcente…

— Scott Huminski

(202) 239-1252

Not sure who caught tonight’s yesterday’s debate in Brattleboro but from the Austine School, it was a success. A lot of colorful questions and topics were raised tonight and I think everyone had there moments where they stood out among the others. I’m going to write from memory so bear with me. If anyone saw things differently, let me (or us) know. I know Mike Eldred was there and maybe he can give a more accurate account of what happened. So here’s my raw recap:

* Gaye Symington did much better than her last debate. That was a relief. The good news, IMO, is she answered the Entergy questions the best. She received the loudest applause regarding the decommissioning fund. I think you know where Jim stands. Gaye spoke with passion about holding VY accountable, making sure they contribute to the decom. fund, and I think the line that resonated with the most people was “Vermont Yankee is leaving radioactive nuclear waste on the banks of the Connecticut River.” I think that was probably the most forceful response I’ve heard from a Democratic gubernatorial candidate yet. It definitely gave me the impression the Dems want to move on and not renew VY’s license. That’s great.

Anthony Pollina went next and IMO, really didn’t have much to say except (and I’m paraphrasing) “As I’m sure many of you know, I have always been against nuclear power and I hate when out-of-state corporations come in and bully us around.” It was standard Pollina, which was fine, but I really thought Gaye stole the VY momentum from Anthony that he didn’t have anything new to say.

More below the fold.

 

* One of the other cool things about the debates were the questions that the Austine School came up with. The moderator, Anne Potter asked And please correct me if I have this wrong “Have you ever met to talk with a person who is hard of hearing, an ethnic minority, the homeless, teenagers, etc.” None of the candidates could remember all of them (neither can I). But you got some round about responses from Jim Douglas. He pointed out Curtiss Reed, executive director of ALANA in Brattleboro as “his good friend,” (I’m sure Curtiss just LOVED that) and said he set up some kind of an umbrella ad hoc-ish organization meeting with people from different communities, etc. Pollina tried to list all the people Potter named but no dice. However he did say he met with a group of homeless people outside the Austine School. I think they were demonstrating or something. Pollina said he was the only candidate that went to talk to them before the debate and asked where were the other two, etc. He said he talks/works with his daughter’s boyfriend, who is from Rwanda, and ended with “diversity is a beautiful thing.” When I heard him say that, I gotta say it sounded really great. He also got applause for it. Gaye, from what I recall said, “that’s a good question” and talked about homelessness, but that was it. Nothing that stood out for her in particular.

* During questions from the audience, the first person asked about poverty. She asked why aren’t politicians talking more about this crucial issue and what will they do to end it? Jim went first and just mentioned again about the ad-hoc group he’s been working with (I still can’t remember the name) and blamed high taxes as a result of people not getting by. Then he went off on things like Act 60/68, you know the rest. Pollina spoke impassionately about why nobody is talking about the issue, how poverty is an injustice, and how he will represent the working poor, universal health care, etc. Gaye didn’t say much that stood out.

* Another question related education spending. Meg Streeter, of Wilmington spoke and thanked the girl for bringing poverty up. She said Wilmington has one of the highest poverty rates in the state and that the issue is important not to ignore. She then went on to education spending. Streeter said Wilmington (and the Deerfield Valley for that matter) is an area that’s been hit hard by Act 60 and it’s a big topic in selectboards across the area (and elsewhere I’m sure). Douglas said Act 60 has hurt towns who need the cash and doesn’t support the two-vote system that was enacted. He then blamed Gaye for the mess this created. Gaye responded that Act 60 was developed back in other legislatures for one and two that Douglas’ plans are not that much different, just re-packaged. Pollina said equity in education is critical to all schools but would look elsewhere instead of property taxes.

Jim Douglas went on the defensive a couple times, responding to Gaye’s comments about education funding. He actually got a bit testy at times saying “Gaye you’re absolutely wrong.”

* There were several other topics brought up, mental health care, health care in general, sex offenders were brought up again, and others.

*That’s all I can remember right now but I do think Gaye did well, Pollina wowed many, He also sounded the most articulate, and Douglas said he just wants to continue to do the things he’s doing and move Vermont in the right direction.

As I said, if any of this is wrong, PLEASE correct me. I’m just rattling stuff that I remember… off the top of my head.

Gotta go to sleep.  

You're probably looking forward to tomorrow's VP debate, aren't you? Admit it, I know you are.

Sarah Palin may do better than we expect, but her performance so far has exposed her grossly inadequate command of any single area of American government. From the economy, to foreign affairs, to national defense, she can't say anything without coming across as an idiot, which means that, despite her reputation as a scrapper, it's hard to believe that any reasonably intelligent debate moderator (and Gwen Ifill more than meets that standard) should eviscerate her. Hell, Katie Couric has been able to do it, and her primary, if not only, qualification is that she's cute as a button.

CBS has released more of the interview, and it isn't getting any better. As you know, the Supreme Court has been the favorite target of the right wing since the 1950's. Remember “Impeach Earl Warren”? Remember Gerald Ford's repeated efforts to impeach William O. Douglas? So you might find it shocking that Sarah Palin can't even recite a single Republican talking point about the Supreme Court. Not only does she get the Republican position on Roe v. Wade wrong (their argument is not that it should be a state issue, but that the fetus is a living human being with a right to life, and when Bork was nominated he would have completely disagreed with her statement that there is a constitutional right to privacy), but she can't mention a single other Supreme Court decision she disagrees with. What about Medina, Miranda, and the other precedents that keep the cops from beating confessions out of subjects? What about all the other exclusionary rule decisions? What about allowing affirmative action? What about one-person-one-vote? Every statement she makes, like the repeated references to this history of this great country, sounds like the kid using two inch margins and triple spacing in a vain attempt to meet the page requirement for that high school paper where they haven't done any of the work.

So while you wait for tomorrow's debate, sit back and enjoy this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rXmuhWrlj4

( – promoted by odum)

As reported by Vermont Business Magazine this afternoon:

This letter was sent by University of Vermont President Dan Fogel on October 1, 2008, to the UVM Community

I am writing to alert you to a situation that is affecting nearly 1,000 higher education institutions nationwide, as reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education and The Washington Post (attached). We learned on Monday from the Commonfund that Wachovia (the trustee bank for Commonfund) had frozen 90% of the assets in its Short Term Fund. UVM invests the majority of its operating cash assets in the Short Term fund, and we immediately withdrew the maximum amount allowed under these new restrictions in order to maximize our ability to access sufficient cash to meet our payroll and other obligations.

Yesterday UVM participated in a lengthy conference call with the President of the Commonfund and representatives of many other affected institutions. During the call we were briefed on the redemption requirements and told that an additional 16-19% would be released by the end of the day today (Wednesday). Furthermore, more money is to be made available in increments over the next three months with a cumulative total of 57% to be available by December 29th and a cumulative total of 85% available by December 2010. At this time these assets do not appear to be at risk, but it will take some time before the University can withdraw all of its money. The time frame will be subject to credit market conditions.

I want to assure you that UVM will be able to meet its near-term cash flow needs. We are also in the process of negotiating a line of credit with a local bank to cover any potential gaps in cash needs and as insurance should the promised redemption schedule change or not materialize. We are also in the process of investigating alternatives to invest incoming cash somewhere other than in the Commonfund during this time of instability.

I expect that you will be hearing reports about this situation in both local and national media over the next several days. We believe that we have a satisfactory and sound plan for dealing with this very fluid situation, but we will be constantly re-evaluating our position based on continuing developments in the markets. Unfortunately, it appears that at least some small institutions may be more adversely affected by these developments.