(Cross-posted on Broadsides.org}

Big day. Well, if you care about all things wild in Vermont. Because the Agency of Natural Resources will be holding a public hearing tonight in Montpelier (Pavilion Auditorium, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.) to take testimony regarding its plans to allow all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) access to state-owned land.

Proponents of the letting these gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting and otherwise just noisy and obnoxious machines onto Vermont’s public lands are trying to soft-pedal these new rules, claiming that the newly proposed ATV trails will just be “short connectors” to already existing off-road-vehicle trails on private lands.

Yeah right. If you’ve bothered to follow snowmobile or ATV issues in Vermont, you know that when you give these renegades an inch they take a mile – literally.

Make no mistake, the ANR’s proposed rule to allow ATV access to public lands – no matter how short the original connector trails are – is a huge change in public policy that will almost certainly lead to more and more ATV access to state lands, including our publicly-owned forests. The organized ATV groups – like VASA  – don’t hide the fact that they want to ride practically anywhere they can put it in four-wheel drive and rip it up.

The irony in the ANR’s proposed new rule is that ATV proponents are admitting that these new trails are necessary partly due to the current illegal riding by ATVers. Just read these words by VASA’s Danny Hale, as told to John Dillon of Vermont Public Radio:

Unfortunately there’s a fair amount of illegal use already taking place on state land. And what we’re trying to accomplish with a managed trail system is give people a chance to recreate where it’s legal, so that’s going to take a large number of the illegal riders right out of the picture.

Got that? In case you don’t, let me explain: The ATV riders are riding illegally on the public’s land now so, instead of enforcing the laws banning it, the state should change the laws to make it legal.

I’m guessing you’ve got to be around a lot of burned hydrocarbons to come up with that argument.

Unfortunately (and predictably), mainstream environmental groups like the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) aren’t showing a lot teeth when it comes to fighting back against this proposed ATV land grab. The Vermont Press Bureau, for example, writes in this morning’s papers that, according to the VNRC’s Jamey Fidel, the group “isn’t necessarily opposed” to the first new connector trail being proposed in Island Pond.  

Why – oh why – is it so hard from groups like VNRC to take a firm stand? But that’s another story for another time I suppose.

To the group’s credit, VNRC does document the very real and acknowledged problems with ATV riding: pollution, noise, flora and fauna damage, water run-off issues, interference with non-motorized forms of recreation and even rider safety. But with a laundry lists of problems like this, VNRC ought to be flying the “ban ATVs flag” as high as they can.

But, have no fear, the Horse Loggers for Peace will there – at tonight’s hearing that is. And you won’t have any trouble figuring out where we stand on this issue. It should be fun. Join us if you can.

Below are some great links to resources from groups who aren’t afraid to speak up and act out:

Leave it Wild

Bluewater Network

New Rules Project

[UPDATE: The House today passed the war supplemental without timetables for troop withdrawal 226-202. Of the yes votes, 221 were Democrats. Of the no votes, 32 were Democrats, including Vermont Rep. Peter Welch. Welch was reported to be leaning toward voting yes, despite his promise during the Bush Administration that he would not vote for war funding without withdrawal timetables. Some activists are crediting the netroots with energizing enough constituents to gather up the 32 votes against, including some representatives who were wavering or known to be yes votes. Jane Hamsher at firedoglake cited GMD and Odum for keeping the pressure on Peter to do the right thing and keep his promise. –Nanuq]

Robert Greenwald is one of the most prominent and influential voices in the new media. Apart from his groundbreaking web work as founder of Brave New Films, he has produced and directed such films as “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers” (2006), “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” (2005), and “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism” (2004), to name a few. As his website bio says, he has “produced and/or directed more than 55 television movies, miniseries and feature films. Greenwald’s films have garnered 25 Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, the Peabody Award and the Robert Wood Johnson Award. He was awarded the 2002 Producer of the Year Award by the American Film Institute.”

And he has a message for Green Mountain Daily Readers, as well as Rep. Peter Welch:

According to Jane Hamsher at firedoglake (who has taken point on this issue), a mere 4 votes are necessary to block the latest request for supplemental Iraq (yes, and Afghanistan) War funding. Welch and others pledged not to vote on such further appropriations without the inclusion of a timetable for withdrawal, and word on the Hill is that Welch may be among those signatories who may reverse themselves on the issue under pressure from the new, Democratic administration.

It’s past time for the progressive wing of the party to stand up and expect the same deference being shown by the Obama administration to the congressional blue dogs. Call Welch and let him know you look forward to him sticking to his pledge to Vermonters at (888) 605-7270 (toll free in Vermont),(802) 652-2450, and/or (202) 225-4115 (here’s the fdl whip tool again).

Just a little over two years ago, Green Mountain Daily did reporting & commentary on the Second Vermont Republic and its ties to white supremacist groups.  At that time, Odum posted this piece, which specifically mentioned Robert Griffin, his writing for the SVR and his bigotry.  Here’s an excerpt of Griffin’s piece from Vermont Commons, as quoted in the Odum piece:

…I think it is fair to say that the victors in the competition to insert their perspective into school programs have been the egalitarians, collectivists, multiculturalists, feminists, gays, environmentalists, internationalists, secularists, and Holocaust promoters.

Imagine my surprise, however, when I saw this piece on the Rutland Herald’s web site, by Dan Barlow:

For more than 30 years, Robert S. Griffin has taught education courses at the University of Vermont.

But when he is not in the classroom, Griffin is a prolific writer on the topic of white pride – and his books and essays are extremely popular among the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements in the United States.

I’m actually very curious about this, because, as the school’s communication director notes:

Enrique Corredera, the director of UVM’s communications office, said Griffin has worked at the school since 1974 and confirmed that he is both a tenured professor and still employed there – although he was not sure how actively he teaches classes these days.

Corredera said school officials are aware of Griffin’ writings on race and white pride, but said unless his words “cross a line” into clear derogatory attacks or encourage violence – it is protected under the school’s dedication to academic freedom and free speech.

He’s right– if Griffin’s a good teacher who doesn’t allow his bigotry to influence how he teaches his courses, he has every right to remain a teacher, just as we have every right to comment on his racism and nationalism without fear of reprisal in our own work.  

But I’m trying to figure out the context of this piece.  Was it published now because of the rise in right-wing violence?  There’s nothing about Griffin that’s referenced in the piece that should put him in the news for any other reason.

Is the media finally figuring out that we need to know more about the right wing extremist groups that exist around us?

So let’s take a moment and tie this into other local groups.  

We’ve recently been discussing the Vermont Tea Party groups.  Until very recently, the web site included a homophobic reference to Barney Frank as “the banking queen.”  They appear to have figured out that homophobia that blatant is bad PR, so it’s been removed.  What hasn’t been removed is an endorsement of an interview with Alan Keyes:

In the interview, Keyes says about Obama, “we’re either going to stop him, or the United States is going to cease to exist.”  He refers to Obama as an “abomination.”  Keyes, like some other right-wing extremists, is a “birther:”

The California secretary of state should refuse to allow the state’s 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until President-elect Barack Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office, alleges a California court petition filed on behalf of former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and others.

The legal action today is just the latest is a series of challenges, some of which have gone as high as the U.S. Supreme Court, over the issue of Obama’s status as a “natural-born citizen,” a requirement set by the U.S. Constitution.

Once again, Keyes has every right to his opinion, but there is something about the ratcheting up of this rhetoric which comes across to me not like mere freedom of speech, but an urge towards violent overthrow of the government.  

The tea parties also seem to take aim at Democrats, not bothering to cite their sources.  This quote, for example, appears on the VTteaparty site:

“I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party.  The Democrat Party has adopted our platform.”  1944

Norman Thomas

This was sent out via e-mail among right-wingers, but to the best of my knowledge, no one’s ever cited the original source for it.  No one’s been able to provide anything but the quote itself, but I’m sure that won’t stop them from claiming it’s true.

I’m posting all this not because I think that all the teabaggers support this extremism.  I’m posting it because I think that anyone who wants to be involved with this anti-tax movement needs to know exactly what they’re involving themselves with, and that people who willingly tie themselves in with extremist groups are taking the risk of participating in something beyond just advocacy for their own issues.  People have the right to their views, opinions and perspectives on any issue.  While NAMBLA members have the right to advocate for sex between adults and children, they do not have the right to actually do the act of molesting a child.  

While right-wing extremists have the right to claim that Obama must be stopped, their options of specifically how to stop him are a little more limited.  So when their websites say such things as…

As Congress and the White House Administration pursue their agenda at an unprecedented pace, the

the Tea Party Patriot Movement is awakening the “Sleeping Giant” as a  response to this threat to our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.  This silent majority of patriotic Americans, will be silent no more, and will not rest untill the sovereignty of We the People is safe from the reaches of despotism…”with a firm Reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor”…

I wonder if they’re trying to recode the Declaration of Independence to mean overthrowing the current government.  Because as patriotic and valuable as that document is, it was basically a declaration of violent war.  In the context of claiming that Obama is not a natural born citizen, in the context of the statement “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle,” in context of the phrase “Americans Taking Care Of Their Own…”

I guess I have to wonder what these groups really are.

It may be early in the race, but there is some important action taking place in the 2010 Democratic Gubernatorial campaign. Senator Doug Racine has announced a follow up to the Phil Hoff endorsement with this announcement:

Please join us at a reception for State Senator and Gubernatorial candidate Doug Racine. Featuring special Guest Kathleen Kennedy Townsend former Lt. Governor of Maryland, Author and eldest child of Robert Kennedy.  The reception will be held Saturday June 20th, 2009 at the home of Rep. Joan Lenes. Please see the attached invitation for more information.  

Joining Former Governor Hoff and his wife Joan in sponsoring the event were Rep. Joan Lenes, Rep. Kate & Marshall Webb, John Hasen, Jerry O’Neil, George Burrill, John & Jane Ewing, Lola Van Wagenen

Townsend is the former Lt. Gov of Maryland and previously worked in the Clinton Justice Department.

Townsend and her siblings Robert and Kerry were in the less publicized Kennedy camp who endorsed Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary. In an editorial, they wrote:

By now you may have read or heard that our cousin, Caroline Kennedy, and our uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, have come out in favor of Sen. Barack Obama. We, however, are supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because we believe that she is the strongest candidate for our party and our country.

The wording suggest that the Racine campaign is touting its experience and electability. It will be interesting to see if this endorsement defines the Racine/Markowitz dynamic in any way relative to the Obama/Clinton pattern, as Markowitz seems to be building a strong contribution base according to early rumors, against the “established” candidate in Doug Racine. Event sponsors appear to have been strong Obama contributors according to campaign finance records though. Yet to be established is which candidate will take the more progressive tack in the race, with Racine seen as leaning towards that more than Markowitz, but without much of a track record to judge the Secretary of State on yet.

Another interesting twist in how the endorsement family tree is evolving is Hoff’s endorsement of Progressive Anthony Pollina in the last race.

Rep’s Lenes and Webb are second and first term legislators from Shelburne, respectively. Other sponsors range from strong party contributors to solid Dem “good guys” if you want to play the judge-the-candidate-by-the-supporters game. A solid team to build the foundations of a campaign on in the early going, but only Hoff so far appears to be the kind of endorsement that would sway public opinion.

( – promoted by odum)

Hadn’t seen it up here yet, so I thought I might as well:

It looks like Jim’s ready for another go-around.

It was hardly a full-throated announcement, but on VPR this morning Governor Douglas made it clear that he intends to seek re-election.  

I also found it interesting that the WCAX article mentions Shumlin in the same breath as Markowitz in terms of potential candidates; given how much more we’ve heard from Markowitz then Shumlin.

A

Not too long ago Vermont’s Commissioner of Education Armando Vilaseca wrote “Our children’s education is the message we send into the future, and we only get one chance to get it right.” (We get only one chance on education, Times Argus oped by Vilaseca, 2/15/09) And Mr. Vilaseca is now appearing before the legislature pushing that view by complaining about the number of schools we operate in Vermont. (Too many schools, too few students, Times Argus, 06/12/09)

While the first half of Vilaseca’s statement is certainly true under any circumstances, the second half is only true if we continue to demand more centralized control over fewer school districts and supervisory unions. Having one and only one chance is true if we follow his lead and put all our educational eggs in a single basket.

I do agree with Vilaseca’s contention that our current public educational model is obsolete. It was designed in the first part of the 20th century to provide a modicum of teaching to the ever increasing numbers of non-rural dwellers. The design itself was based upon one of the most efficacious processes available at the time: the assembly line.

Even now in the 21st century our kids are marched through learning factories. Like good Ford Model T components, these young folks are pushed to move from one point to another with the education system bolting on one piece of knowledge or another. These youth are moved along in factory like synchronicity from grade to grade … each child expected to be like the next with identical knowledge and skill sets defined by national and state mandated standards (most designed to help out corporate America, but that’s another story).

And, if the factory workers have all done their jobs, in the end we have an 18 year old with a diploma entitling this newly minted adult advancement into the military or college.

It is this assembly line factory paradigm that needs to go … not the schools. The buildings can disappear, but the local access to local educational resources needs to be maintained. We may be able to do with fewer superintendents, but we need to keep the school boards and empower them to seek out educational benchmarks (standards) that meet the needs and expectations of the local community.

We need diversity in our educational approach so our eggs aren’t all in one basket. We need de-centralization of our public education system so we will have many, many chances to get it right … instead of risking our message to the future with a singular approach … like that done way back in the twentieth century.

PS. I could go on about young kids spending ever increasing times being bussed to schools ever farther from their homes … but that too is another story.

UPDATE: Hamsher reports, based on feedback from Paul Martin of Peace Action who is lobbying on this, that Welch is leaning in the direction of abandoning his position and supporting the war funding supplemental without a timetable for withdrawal. A lot of us stuck up for him when he was getting beat up on his handling of this stuff, so I can say with certainty that he’s gonna catch hell if he does flip. I haven’t been able to get anything definitive from his office myself, so I’ll keep trying. Folks should definitely be calling (numbers below). Don’t let us down, Peter.

Peter Welch is getting a lot of positive attention on health care reform, but an all-too familiar issue may be on the horizon for the coming week

On health care, while battle lines are being drawn over the so-called “public option” in any reform legislation, Welch is already aggressively moving to introduce legislation to guarantee its inclusion. In a nutshell, reform legislation will present taxpayers with a menu of mostly commercial insurer options to buy into, which will be subsidized for low income earners. A “public option” would be a government payer (a la medicare or medicaid) as one of the menu choices. Obviously this makes subsidizing easier on the one hand, but also allows the feds more control over the types of coverage. Private insurers are afraid any public option would be too appealing and affordable and draw away business – and both opponents and proponents of a single payer system see this as a way to potentially facilitate a transition to such a model. Welch put himself in front of the argument two days ago (along with Reps. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bruce Braley (D-Iowa)) by introducing H.R. 2668, the Choice in Health Options Insures Care for Everyone (CHOICE) Act, which doesn’t wait for a megabill and would mandate a public option be included and paid for by premiums.

So big good on Peter on the one hand, yes?

…but behind door two…

Fast approaching (next Thursday, probably) is a vote on yet another supplemental to Iraq War funding. Welch is among those who vowed not to approve any more such funds unless they included a timetable for withdrawal – and he has held to that vow in the past. But there’s a new Sheriff in town in the form of a Democratic President, and some Representatives who made such vows are showing signs of wavering – and, according to Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake, one of them is Mr. Welch:

I get emails:

Some folks in a position to have an informed opinion think that Peter Welch is going to go with Barney Frank and vote in favor of the war supplemental.

I thought Vermont had a peace movement.

Comes from a friend who’s been up on the Hill lobbying.

I guess some people think this one is going to fall down the memory hole.  Don’t think so.

While Representatives such as Frank and Jackson-Lee have indicated they will weenie out on this, we trust that Rep. Welch will join fellow progressives like Baldwin, Conyers and Woolsey and stick to his guns (so to speak). You can encourage him with a phone call at (202) 225-4115 or (202) 225-4115, or use the Whip tool at fdl here. Word is that the pressure is turned up to 11 on this bill (which includes the controversial IMF bailout language), with Rahm Emanuel working legislators relentlessly and Nancy Pelosi herself playing whip, so counter pressure is definitely called for. According to Hamsher, “Members are being bribed, bullied and cajoled into abandoning their commitment to vote against any war funding that doesn’t include a time table to bring the troops home.”

We’ll keep you informed on both these issues as things develop.

{First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate Guru.}

While 2010 will be chock-full of exciting races at all levels of government.  In 2009, though, there will be two marquee races across the country: the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.  Republicans are favored in both races, but both races should come down to the wire, and Democrats can hold both seats – with your help.

In Virginia, Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds won an impressive, come-from-behind victory for the nomination this past Tuesday, demonstrating a strong ground game.  The Republican nominee will be far-right-winger Bob McDonnell.  The best description for McDonnell’s brand of Republicanism is that he is a Pat Robertson disciple.  You can learn more about McDonnell at TheRealBobMcDonnell.com.  Deeds and McDonnell have tangled before, in the 2005 Virginia Attorney General race, where McDonnell barely edged Deeds by 323 votes (yes, just 323 votes – that’s not a typo with zeroes missing) out of over 1.94 million votes counted.  This race will be exceptionally close, so every single dollar contributed and every single hour spent volunteering will make a real difference.  A bit of good news is that the first poll taken after Tuesday’s primary, by Rasmussen Reports, shows Deeds with a 47-41 lead over McDonnell, but this could just be due to a primary bump.  Rasmussen’s last poll showed McDonnell leading Deeds 45-30.  Your support will help Deeds sustain his new lead.

In New Jersey, Democratic incumbent Governor Jon Corzine will square off against Republican former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.  Christie is very much at home in the Republican Culture of Corruption.  Republican Christie has faced scandals involving no-bid contracts, abuse of the state pension system, pay-to-play, and even allegedly cutting a deal to get his younger brother’s sentence reduced after being implicated for fraudulent trading practices on Wall Street.  Despite Christie’s mountain of scandal, New Jersey’s lagging economy has hurt Governor Corzine’s poll numbers.  Recent polling gives Christie a 7 to 13 point lead over Corzine.  Research 2000, May 25-27: Christie 46, Corzine 39; Rasmussen Reports, June 4: Christie 51, Corzine 38; and, Quinnipiac, June 10: Christie 50, Corzine 40.  In other words, Christie has an edge, but the fundamentals of the race moving forward favor Governor Corzine.  As the economy gradually picks up over the coming months and voters learn more about Christie’s corrupt background, New Jersey’s blue state status will shine through and Governor Corzine should tighten the race back up.  Your support will help Governor Corzine tighten the race up even faster.

Below are the links to how you can connect with the gubernatorial campaigns (and – please – contribute anything you can to these campaigns, and spread the word!).  Republicans are expecting (and expected) to win both of these races.  However, after being upset in the NY-20 special U.S. House election and losing a U.S. Senator to a Party switch, the GOP is reeling.  Losing either (or both!) VA-Gov or/and NJ-Gov would be a major body blow and simply crush Republicans heading into the 2010 calendar year.  If Democrats across the country are able to support these Democratic campaigns, we can flush the conventional wisdom down the toilet and deliver two more embarrassments to the Rush-Newt-Cheney Republican Party and two more losses to the Michael Steele RNC.

Here’s a jobs program from a different culture for you. Perhaps it can be retrofitted for Vermont.

Meaningless background: When I was about thirteen, my family moved into a house we’d built a couple miles out of town, which technically made us citizens of Paint Lick, Kentucky. Much as its fun to drop that name as my hometown to yankees, my hometown was really Berea (which I wouldn’t exactly call a groovy place, but it did have a lot of uniquely positive and negative qualities, all of which were tied up around Berea College, a Christian college founded way back when as an abolitionist school servicing poor appalachian mountain youth).

Anyway. History lesson over, as it really has nothing to do with the one-liner I wanted to share. I went to high school about 12 miles away, and there were only a few other Bereans in my 9th grade citizenship class. One was a guy named Charles – a rather intimidatingly large fellow (tall, broad shouldered, round), real working class Kentucky stock with the dry wit and innate sense of comic timing typical to a lot of folks like him back home.

One day, the teacher posed a question to the class: “What’s somebody supposed to do if they lose their job and they have no education, no real professional skills, no money, no family resources to fall back on, and no prospects?”

Charles, with that comic timing gene fully engaged, took a breath during the all-too-typical silence in the class and responded into the vacuum; “in Berea, he opens up a church.”

I dunno. Maybe you had to be there, or maybe you have to be a southerner, but I swear to god I’m still laughing at that.

Man, lots of nastiness flying around yesterday. Jim Douglas doing his pouty pushback after quietly signing the budget supplemental, accusing the legislature of “the sloppiest lawmaking I can recall” (what does that even mean, exactly? – certainly not caucus-control, that’s for sure, although I’m sure he wishes they were still so sloppy at that). Meanwhile, another Democratic lawmaker has accused Douglas of lying, and this one on the record – Senator Shumlin. From VTBuzz:

(Douglas) charged that legislative leaders walked away from the negotiating table – three times….

…”Nobody ever walked away,” Shumlin said. “I don’t know what motivates the governor at this time to say something that is untrue.”

The second time in recent weeks this has happened. So weird that its just treated as background noise by the media. In any other state, it’d be headline news. Bizarre. And why isn’t Douglas jumping up to defend his honor, or make a political stink about it (could it be he doesn’t want any more attention paid to the charges)?

Over on the third dimension, after the legislative Dems owned up to majorly screwing up on the wording of the language demanding Douglas seek their approval for large layoffs (it doesn’t take effect until July, so Douglas is just making sure the layoffs get under the deadline) Rep. Zuckerman (who, more than any other Prog, rarely misses an opportunity to poke Dems, but often tosses in a token compliment to offset the attacks, I guess) wants to be absolutely sure that organized labor understands that the Dems really are their enemies:

“Had this been a bigger priority for the whole session, then I don’t think these kinds of mistakes would have happened,” Zuckerman said. “All session long, it certainly appeared as though leadership in the House and maybe Senate was not really standing up for our state workforce and the services they provide.”

Okay. Whatever. Maybe everybody should acquaint themselves the bill before they vote on it, no? If the Dem leadership is so bad, why wouldn’t you read what they spoonfeed you?

On the other hand, maybe this all adds up to that sloppiness we were hearing about. Perhaps Douglas should be celebrating it, rather than criticizing it.

Lets see… Rs grousing at Ds, Ds grousing at Rs, Ps grousing at Ds. What about Ds grousing at Ps? Ah, well, Burlington never lets us down. Per Shay:

The city’s Dems are positioning themselves to block Larry Kupferman’s reappointment as head of the city’s Community and Economic Development Office. Ditto (Progressive Mayor Bob) Kiss’ efforts to replace Parks & Recreation Director Wayne Gross.

Look, I’m not gonna wade into the vendetta politics that characterize Burlington right now (maybe later), except to say that, fine, I understand that the Dems historically feel ganged up on and bullied by Ps and Rs, fairly or unfairly. All I’m gonna say is you might wanna pick your battles more discriminatingly rather than pick all of them, nomesayin?

But on the lighter side of yesterday, here are the greatest hits from the Montpelier police log!

A North Street resident called, asking for help catching her indoor cat that got out.

An area organization reported they find musicians on State Street irritating.

Police received a report of a female who is on the run again.

Police received a report that a male jumped on traffic signal and it fell over.

A concerned citizen reported the travel lanes through construction zone on River Street are confusing.

A Loomis Street resident called, worried neighbor’s music will cause seizure.

Ah, Vermont living…