Vermont… has not yet sent in its application to the U.S. Department of Education for its share of stimulus money.
States have until July 1 and Vermont expects to receive $77 million from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund…
Vermont’s application was held up due to the budget fight between Gov. James Douglas and the Legislature, and Tom Evslin, the state’s chief recovery officer, said his staff is working to get the application in on time.
“We could not finish this until the budget was finalized. We could not have done this any sooner,” Evslin said Monday.
So let me get this right: the governor’s pissing match with the legislature had the potential to completely eliminate our deadline for the Fiscal Stabilization money?
“We don’t have the specific cause, however, this type of leak is common in steam-generating plants with condensers. It can be caused by a defect created during tube manufacturing installation, or operational conditions,” he said.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m picky. But I’d personally think that if someone were running, for example, a nuclear power plant, they’d be a stickler for accuracy when it comes to this sort of thing. Then again…
Williams said this month’s condenser leak was of the same type of leak that occurred in the condenser last year. He said the condenser has had several leaks over its life, although he said he didn’t have an exact number.
Per today’s Rutland Herald, from LewisLouis [sorry] Porter:
In April, staff of the Forest, Parks and Recreation Department talked about ways to boost use of state parks, including how to increase reservations for gay marriages and accommodate couples who might now want to change plans as a result of the new law that goes into effect in September.
“I wanted to make sure we could accommodate any guests who had made reservations for civil union ceremonies who might want to reschedule,” Jason Gibbs, the head of the department, said this week. “I wanted to make sure we were accommodating those guests so we did not lose any reservations.”
Yes, that’s the same Jason Gibbs who worked as our governor’s official spokestooge.
VT Yankee’s sprung another leak, which isn’t really a surprise to me. THIS is the surprise (from a Susan Smallheer piece in the Rutland Herald):
Stephen Wark, a spokesman for the Department of Public Service, said the recent inspection by the NSA team did not inspect the pipe per se, but general criteria such as the “design bases, maintenance, corrective actions and walk down of some areas.”
Hey, I’ve got an idea. When dealing with parolees, instead of looking at their actions, let’s just ask them about their life philosophy.
Maybe when we inspect restaurants, we shouldn’t look at the actual food they store, but the overall structure of their storage areas.
Or, how about… when we inspect airplanes, we don’t look at the planes themselves, but interview a few of the mechanics, look at their instruction manuals and take a quick tour of the hangar.
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.
Believe it or not, I was looking for photos of beetles to try to ID some that frequent our house, but I instead ended up finding this gem:
So many people, so much effort. We needed 50 votes in the Vermont House to hold the veto in place. We got 49. It all came down to one vote in Vermont.
The post is in reference to Audette’s abstention, and the framing is that that one vote could have made the difference.
So here’s the thing– the vote was 100 – 49. Even if Audette had voted, they still would have lost. All we needed was 100 votes to win, and we got 100 votes. The opponents didn’t need 50. They needed 51.
To anti-marriage people, please, please, please, continue to be bad at math. Campaign for that one vote who won’t make a difference.
And while you’re at it:
For the rest of us, we’ve got to decide, where do we stand? And are we willing to make that stand, even under pressure? Even through persecution? Hate mail? Angry friends? What price is there on your vote?
How incredibly powerful one vote can be, and how dear the cost.
Ooh… angry friends. The horror.
Persecution. Give me a break. Claiming opponents of same-sex marriage are being persecuted is like complaining that all your riches are dragging you down.
As far as the price goes, the price of your opposing same sex marriage is paid by those whose rights you would choose to restrict. It is paid out in the form of lack of visitation rights when a same-sex partner is hospitalized. It is paid out in the form of failure to provide information to the parent of a child of a same-sex partner, As was made clear during the debates in Massachusetts:
“The human aspect of this debate is very important to understand,” said Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios. “If this were to pass, I would be denied basic human rights that most of you don’t even know you have.” The room stood silent for the first time in two days as Barrios talked about calling the hospital for his sick 7-year-old, only to be told that he was not listed as the boy’s parent.
The price of opposition to same-sex marriage is serious, it is real and it is severe.
It’s just not paid by those who would choose to oppose it.
I do a lot of writing about birds, and a lot (and I mean a lot) of bird photography.
Today, I’m taking a different approach, and looking at photographs of things that are not birds.
The first set of photos are all of turtles. Primarily, they are of snapping turtles, because I came across seven different snapping turtles on my walk earlier this week, and one more this morning. I’d never seen anything like it before.
Notes:
All these photos are clickable. They lead to larger images with details about the shot, ISO, lens size, etc.;
I still do lots of bird photograph, but wanted to try something different;
Take a look at that last photo. This is what most of them were doing: either sitting in or moving out of dirt holes. I didn’t know this at the time, but what they were doing was burying their eggs. In a few months, a bunch of baby snapping turtles should be climbing out of those holes and heading for the water. I’ve done a little research and I know when to start looking. If I’m lucky, I’ll get photos of those as well.
I’ve got a couple more photos from Surry, NH. At the time, I thought this was a snapping turtle, too, but looking at the others, I’m convinced this is something else. Anyone able to help me?
Surry, NH, May 2009
Mystery #1
Everything else that follows are bugs of some sort (spiders, dragon or damselflies, moths, butterflies or other miscellaneous insects, grouped by region. I do not know what these are. I do not know bugs the way I know birds. So this is also a plea for help. If you can help me ID any of the creatures below, it would be great:
Not only did the judge rule to block the state from making those layoffs, he ruled that there wasn’t even any standing to sue since the budget doesn’t go into effect until July 1st.
I’m not sure whether or not I agree with this. When you include something in a budget bill scheduled to begin on July 1st, does that mean that any change law included in the budget bill is scheduled to begin on the 1st as well?
Was the start date for this specified in the bill itself? If not, it should have been.
I’m still opposed to these layoffs on so many levels, but I’m no longer convinced that they’re illegal, at least not this month (I remain open to the possibility, but I’m not convinced).
The Administration just hired Michael Marks, an expensive PRIVATE attorney to defend them in superior court tomorrow. When the State has so many of their own attorneys, why are they wasting taxpayer money and hiring outside counsel?
Anyone able to verify this? I figure if they hired this guy, he’ll be at the hearing this morning.
First from the Herald, as reported by Dan Barlow:
A provision in the 2010 budget that requires Douglas to seek approval from the Joint Fiscal Committee, an off-session legislative body that makes budget decisions, before making any further job cuts has set off a war or [sic] words between the executive and legislative branches.
…and…
The union representing thousands of state workers will file for a restraining order today to stop the state government from laying off about 120 state workers.
The Vermont State Employees Association officials said they will ask a Washington County Superior Court judge to issue an emergency order to stop Gov. James Douglas’ future layoff plans. Nearly 100 state employees are scheduled to work their last day Friday.
And from Hallenbeck, in the Free Press:
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, said administration officials told her Tuesday that Douglas would take the Legislature to court over the new wording.
Lunderville said Wednesday, “We’re not going to sue the Legislature,” but he didn’t dismiss the idea of ignoring the directive if the administration deems it unconstitutional.
There also seems to be some question about the number of layoffs. The Free Press reports it as anywhere from 78-99, depending on whom you ask, and the Herald reports a range of 100-120. You’d think that would be something that would be easy enough to figure out, but clearly not.
That said, there is probably a serious constitutional question here, but Lunderville’s solution (“he didn’t dismiss the idea of ignoring the directive if the administration deems it unconstitutional”) is a good lesson. If you lose at the legislature, why risk a fair fight in the court system? Best to just ignore the whole thing.
I also want to be up front about something here: this is personal for me. I lost my own job a year or so ago because of budget cuts at the state level. I was a contractor, and I think contractors should be cut before state employees so I had no real argument with that decision.
But during the time I was working for the State of VT, I learned a lot about the inner workings of state government and I know other contractors who are still working with the state whom are an immense waste of money for us, but they’re going to cut state union workers instead of looking at contracted positions. People I know are likely to lose their job over this bugetary shell game.
So yes, it’s personal. That doesn’t make it less important and it doesn’t make it less disturbing.
If the administration wants to cut these positions, the law now dictates that they have to seek approval to do so. If they want to violate that law, they need to do it through the court system through appropriate venues, and not through the time-honored “lalalalalalalala I can’t HEAR you!” tradition.
