( – promoted by JDRyan)

****Update: Terri Hallenbeck posted on vt.Buzz that the Douglas campaign is calling on the VDP and the Symington campign to ask the ad be pulled.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

Democracy for America will be up with a tough commercial this week against Gov. Douglas and Vermont Yankee. It will run on all the major networks and on cable.

We all know that Gov. Douglas’ failure of leadership on Vermont Yankee’s problems should concern us all. It is time for Vermonters to know that Douglas’ failure of leadership and lack of action could be a big problem for all of us.

His record on Vermont Yankee is clear. He was against an independent inspection created to address rising concerns about the age and condition of the plant. He vetoed “decommissioning fund” legislation designed to ensure that Vermont Yankee would be responsible for all future clean-up costs — instead of Vermont taxpayers. Governor Douglas’ administration even blocked members of the state’s special oversight panel from joining Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials on an inspection tour last July.

http://www.democracyforamerica…

(Full disclosure, I work for Democracy for America. Adam Quinn)  

The title is a rhetorical question. For those who don’t know the answer: it’s not.

There are so many reasons that it couldn’t possibly work that it would take an entire encyclopedia’s worth of dead trees to describe it. I’m not even going to try right now. I’m just here to vent. We’ve been had and I’m furious, because it could have been prevented.

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 10,000 for the first time in four years, after bank bailouts in Europe widened and commodities companies tumbled on concern global growth is slowing.

Equities tumbled around the globe, with trading in Russia and Brazil halted due to losses. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. fell more than 6.3 percent after the German government led a bailout of commercial-property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and BNP Paribas SA bought Fortis’s Belgium bank. ConocoPhillips slid 7.3 percent as oil traded below $90 a barrel, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Energy Index to a 21-month low.

More after the fold…

Last week, America blinked. Faced with one of the most terrifying crises to face our nation – and our world – in close to 100 years, we blinked.

And now, we will not only slide into economic depression, we will do so in a world where the people we elect to represent us, whose constitutional role is to handle the budget, will have NO CONTROL OVER THE MONEY.

They sat there at the poker table last week, and blinked. They went all-in, then folded.

Now the other guy’s bluff has been exposed. The entire world’s economy was as ephemeral as spider silk in a hurricane, and there’s a foul wind a-blowin’.

The thugs with the crow-bars and cement overshoes who stopped by for a “friendly” visit: “Nice economy ya’ got heyah. Be a real shame if anything was tuh happen to it…” were given unfettered control over all our money, in exchange for a false promise of protection.

Really, I’ve got to give the thugs credit. For a bunch of [expletive] idiots, they’re pretty damn clever when it comes to hoodwinking the rubes on Capitol Hill.

The sad thing is that their hoodwinking method is a wide-open “secret.”  They write up some undemocratic shit they want to pass, then either wait for, or gin up, an OMG CRISIS! and use it as an excuse to ram-rod through a policy that sounds like it would make us “safer,” but that on closer examination just rips us off – stealing our rights and/or our money.

As the kids would say, we’ve been PWNED.

Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country’s bloody conflict — and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN.

. . .

According to the source, fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar — high on the U.S. military’s most-wanted list — was not present, but his representatives were keen to stress the reclusive cleric is no longer allied to al Qaeda.

. . .

The Afghan government believes the Taliban cannot be defeated militarily, and the Taliban believe that they can’t win a war against the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, the Saudi source said.

(Sources: Taliban split with al Qaeda, seek peace, CNN.com, 10/06/08)

Keep in mind that the politics of Afghanistan (as in every other part of the world) are muddy with many intertwined relationships.

That said, I have heard and read (nothing specific I can cite at this moment) that the NATO/US military has been actively trying to kill the Taliban leadership interested in working out an arrangement with the current Afghan government.

This would mirror what we tried, and failed, to do in Iraq: keep pursuing those we don’t want in the government even if the local population wants to work with those we’re pursuing.

The Iraqis woke up and have said no thanks, time for us to leave … and now Afghanistan is following suite.

More poll troubles. The release of the results is being delayed for a couple days (again). Apparently because they blew the question (yes… again).

Crap. Just consider this an open thread instead.

Then Gov. James Douglas and University of Vermont President Daniel Fogel reached an agreement Wednesday on a partnership for working on recommendations of a panel set up to research the problem. Douglas called the agreement “a major step forward for the state” that will help Vermonters “maintain our reputation as the greenest state in the country.”

(State forging ahead with green initiatives on climate change, Barre/Montpelier Times Argus, 10/06/08)

Ouch … and that wasn’t even including the headline!

Way back in January, I linked to a Comedy Central blog post comparing the presidential primary candidates to superheroes… Hillary Clinton as the She-Hulk, John Edwards as Nightwing, etc…

Well, it's Sunday night, there's a bizarre playoff game underway, and I think its time to revisit the which-comic-book-hero-or-villain-is-your-favorite-politician, but Vermont flavored.

Sorry, its just how I kill time waiting for tomorrow's Rasmussen poll to come out… the following should be avoided unless you're enough of a geek to be entertained by it. I realize that probably only gets me Ed and Bill, but the rest of you can find something more important to do, I'm sure.

  Jim Douglas = The Chameleon

Yeah, I suppose this one is too easy, but whatever.

Chameleon's been in the professional supervillain business a looooooong time. Gets by by putting on whatever face he needs to meet his goals. You get the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

  Gaye Symington = Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat) of the X-Men

Super power is to make herself and things she touches insubstantial. It's a power that doesn't always come in handy, but she's also technically skilled and her teammates absolutely love her.

 

 

 

 

 

  Anthony Pollina = Underdog

 Noted for his style of oration, Underdog always swoops into a crisis with his trademark pronouncement “There's no need to fear, Underdog is here.”

Underdog causes a lot of collateral damage when he crashes in. When questioned about it in the cartoon series, he replied (according to Wikipedia):

I am a hero who never fails.

I cannot be bothered with such details.

 

 

 

Brian Dubie = Unus the Untouchable

An X-Men villain, Unus has no particular skills or talents, but only posseses an impenetrable force field of unknown energy that keeps him from being taken down. Has repeated issues with getting enough oxygen to his brain.

You don't see Unus very often.

 

 

 

 Tom Costello = The Red Bee

An attorney, not many people have heard of him (or have seen him since his heyday in the Golden Age). Doesn't bring a lot of firepower to the fight. Often dismissed as a C-lister.

Probably will only register a buzzing on Election Day, but you never know…

 

 

 

 

Jeb Spaulding = The Martian Manhunter

The member of the Justice League of America that people often forget to mention.

MM has oodles of power, but more often than not prefers to be back at the base manning the controls and sensors rather than getting into a slugfest.

 

 

 

 

  Deb Markowitz = Batgirl/Oracle

Isn't as active as she was when she first hit the scene as batgirl. These days, we usually only hear from her if someone needs to get some information.

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Sorrell = Sandman

An accident of fate put him where he is. Never sure whether he's going to be tough as stone or as permeable as sand.

Looking at his history, its not usually very clear whether he's going to be one of the good guys or one of the bad guys in any given adventure.

 

 

 

 

Tom Salmon Jr. = Man At Arms

Military guy. Usually off doing his job when the story is playing out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and then there's the Washington delegation…

 

Patrick Leahy = The Crimson Chin

Powerful guy. Stars in his own comic. Looked up to and admired as a role model by kids. Some of the time spent making big pronouncements about truth and justice would probably be better spent kicking bad guy butt, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bernie Sanders = Zorro

Wealthy guy who spends his time defending the working people from an oppressive govenment, with a tendency towards the dramatic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Welch = Kid Flash

Newer hero on the block, but has been getting things done with blinding speed. Has seen his power wax and wane over the years. Faces a challenge distinguishing himself from his high-profile predecessor while trying to define himself as his own hero.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course, the big guy:

Howard Dean = Thor

Started off as a doctor, found himself elevated to supreme power. Left Earth to do battle with the gods in ragnarok. Fell in battle and the realm of the gods was devastated. Has been reborn as the king of Asgard where he's been shaking up the old status quo.

Doesn't get back down to Earth to mix with the mere mortals so much anymore, as the responsibilities of rebuilding a bigger and better Asgard have been keeping him busy.

 

 

 

 

…and one more look at the national, but as tickets, rather than individuals…

Barack Obama and Joe Biden: Mr. Fantastic and the Thing

 

 

John McCain and Sarah Palin: Absorbing Man and Titania