Crossposted at rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com

So I already voted by absentee ballot, and no, I couldn’t vote for Hillary.  Our nation needs to move forward, not backward.  We already had 8 years of a Clinton in office, anyone else remember what it was like?  No, I’m not ready for Whitewater Gate 3, or Lewinsky Gate 4.  Unfortunately that’s what I akin her running to, a bad sequel.

When I look at where we are now, and how we got here, I really wonder.  It seems to me the NAFTA Hillary’s husband signed into law did more harm than good.  I guess that’s really the only place I let Bush off the hook.  The job’s began headed out of the US before he took office, of course, did he do anything to stop it?  Stem the tide?  No, I feel the Clintons deserve some of the blame as well.

I realize she was only the first lady then, and she wasn’t running the country, or was she?  Sure seems like she wears the pants in that family, so that would mean she’d bare part of the responsibility.   As far as I’m concerned NAFTA was the plug that was pulled, that allowed the slow drain of jobs from our economy.  Maybe if the focus of her campaign was to undo NAFTA and the bad things her husband and Bush did, I’d be a little more inclined to listen to her.  But so far, and we’re late in the season, I’m hearing nothing new.

At least with Obama his message of change resonates, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind.  Talking about climate change, jobs and green energy he’s at least talking about heading in a positive direction.  I’m still apprehensive of putting all my eggs in his basket, but between him, McCain, and Hillary, I’ll take the chance on Obama.  This country needs a new direction, and a change from the old guard.  Hopefully Obama will be the champion he purports to be.

Yee-Ha, Whoopee…  The big day has passed, Super Tuesday.  The so called closest thing to a national primary.  Where did it get us?  Clinton and Obama are still neck and neck, and we’re from a clear winner.  

Just think of the money being spent in these campaigns.  Where does it all come from, and could it be spent a little more wisely?  Show me a candidate who donates their war chest to relieve the national debt, or builds jobs for the U.S. and that’s the person I’ll vote for.

At this point we still haven’t heard a good plan to pull us out of the toilet.  All it’s been is I’m not Obama, and I’m not Hillary.  They talk, give speeches, and debate.  I just really don’t have a good feel for what they’re gonna do other than not be another Bush.  Not that that’s not a good direction, but it’d be nice to know what we’re getting into.

I’m still waiting for change, I don’t know what form it will take.

Crossposted @ www.rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com

Over the last week I’ve been bombarded by adds and commentary, about the Super Bowl, and Super Tuesday.  Everything’s super this week, including the savings on a big new TV for the game.  Super savings at the grocery store on the food you’ll need to sustain the super long period you’ll be glued to the TV for the game.

Everything’s just super, but how much is it really?  The America that’s supposed to be the hope of the world has its problems.  How super is it that there are kids that go to bed hungry in the U.S.?  How super is it that most Americans can barely pay their bills, let alone put some money into savings for the future?  How super is it that we can’t balance our needs for energy and economics with the needs of the natural world?

You know what’d be super?  If America really was the greatest place to live in the world.  If other nations admired and looked up to us, instead of laughing at the most recent debacle we’ve gotten ourselves into.  If the United States became the super nation it was destined to be before somewhere along the way we got sidetracked.  What’d be super is if we were again the envy of the world.  We’re supposed to be its hope, the land of the free.

We’ve almost decided on the candidates for the next president, and still I have yet to really hear any good plan as to what they will do to make America super again.  Just super!

Crossposted @ www.rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com

While we’re shaking up the political scene in the U.S., I think we’re due for a revamp of a little something I call government as usual.   This long drawn out primary has convinced me it needs to be a short quick process.  Left to their own ends, the candidates are pulling off the gloves, to no ones benefit.  Look at McCain & Romney, and Obama & Clinton, dividing their own parties.  It makes people want to turn off their TV’s already and we’ve got till November.

1st change is a national primary.  A week of televised debates on real issues, then everyone in the country votes in a primary.  There shouldn’t be any states whose opinion counts anymore than others.  It would cut down on costs and why should the states be treated unequally?  The only thing going on in our nations economy right now is all the wealth being spent and applied toward the presidential election.  Think about it, if the money was being put toward job creation or national debt our economy wouldn’t be going down the pooper.

2nd change is along the line of treating all states equally, and goes along with the idea of a national primary.  We eliminate the electoral college, the president must win by popular vote.  After all, are we not all americans?  Does one person’s vote not count equally as anothers?  The person getting more votes from citizens should be the winner.  This would be true democracy, not the watered down version we’ve all been fed for years.  Yes, it would make campaigning harder, to reach a bigger audience.  But then maybe real issues would be addressed instead of proving which candidate can bicker and sidestep issues more.  We need a president who can lead, unite, and bring the hope of prosperity.  Not divide and conquer.

Crossposted @ www.rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com

While we’re shaking up the political scene in the U.S., I think we’re due for a revamp of a little something I call government as usual.   This long drawn out primary has convinced me it needs to be a short quick process.  Left to their own ends, the candidates are pulling off the gloves, to no ones benefit.  Look at McCain & Romney, and Obama & Clinton, dividing their own parties.  It makes people want to turn off their TV’s already and we’ve got till November.

1st change is a national primary.  A week of televised debates on real issues, then everyone in the country votes in a primary.  There shouldn’t be any states whose opinion counts anymore than others.  It would cut down on costs and why should the states be treated unequally?  The only thing going on in our nations economy right now is all the wealth being spent and applied toward the presidential election.  Think about it, if the money was being put toward job creation or national debt our economy wouldn’t be going down the pooper.

2nd change is along the line of treating all states equally, and goes along with the idea of a national primary.  We eliminate the electoral college, the president must win by popular vote.  After all, are we not all americans?  Does one person’s vote not count equally as anothers?  The person getting more votes from citizens should be the winner.  This would be true democracy, not the watered down version we’ve all been fed for years.  Yes, it would make campaigning harder, to reach a bigger audience.  But then maybe real issues would be addressed instead of proving which candidate can bicker and sidestep issues more.  We need a president who can lead, unite, and bring the hope of prosperity.  Not divide and conquer.

Crossposted @ www.rednalsiofvermont.blogspot.com

Saturday, I had the pleasure of accompanying my father, grandfather, and nephew to the annual Yankee Sportsman’s Classic. It was held at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. A great outing, we saw lots of taxidermy animals and fish, and oufitters from as far away as Montana, North Carolina, and Canada. Exhibits, products, campers, boats, cars, trucks, ATV’s, galore. There were lots of things to benefit Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a camp for kids with cancer.

It took us about three hours to weave throught the sensory delight. Along the way I got to see my nephew of 6 years use a laser gun to shoot deer on a TV screen at the Fish and Wildlife Dept. exhibit. He shot a BB gun to benefit the camp, fished in the pond to benefit the camp. We entered a raffle for the camp. Still as we passed the concessions I began to wonder. All these people who had been elbow to elbow since the show opened, with a line long out the door as we left and every adult paying ten dollars to get in.

All these thousands of adults paying to attend an event in the dead of winter. The vendors pay to be there, and concessions are sold. This is one of many events outside what is typically thought of the “fair season”. The Champlain Valley Exposition has become a year round venue, it should be paying taxes. It developed new facilities and expanded its season, it has long past its fairground status. The day they undertook to develop new year round facilities was when I feel their tax status changed.

I was blown away last night watching the news how much of the world is tuned into our presidential election.  I thought they were showing pictures of a rally in the US.  Turns out it was crowd of Europeans holding Obama signs!

Our election is easily getting as much attention abroad as it is here in the United States.  The message of change has resonated well beyond our borders.  Fighting two wars, and facing the makings of a recession, the world is watching us.  Just like we watched Europe when the Iron Curtain fell.

The United States has been a major player in the world for a great many years.  It has helped shape the course of world history several times.  Everyone watches and wonders, is the worlds most powerful nation on a downhill slide?  If nothing else they want to see what lies in the future.  Will it be a continuation of the Bush years, or a return to some sense of normalcy?

This is Americas chance to shine.  To show the rest of the world that our political system may not be perfect, but it works.  Or at least that their are Americans trying to make it work.  Our allies worry and rightfully so, if the U.S. sinks, who and what will it take down with it?

Many questions that will only be answered by the outcome of our next presidential election…….

…..I still have to wonder about what part the electoral college will play in the outcome.  Here we are over 200 years later and still one person’s vote does not count the same as another’s.  The state you reside in being the deciding factor.  Are we not one nation?

We fought a war to be one nation.  We’ve fought many wars as one nation.  We are all Americans.  More than this though it’s a simple matter of numbers.  A candidate may have more Americans vote for them, but because of the electoral college, lose the election.  If more people in the United States voted for a candidate, they should be president.  That is true democracy.

Its too bad the constitution has no provision for emergency constitutional conventions.  Suspend the electoral college, make the 2008 election by popular vote.  Yeah, that’ll happen….  It’s almost like the framers intended to make a constitutional convention timeframe prohibitive.  They understood humanity well.  Make it a difficult and time consuming process and they’ll lose interest.

So we’re stuck with it.  The residents of some states votes do count more than others.  These will continue to be “key” states for candidates to campaign and spend money in.  I really do feel this is a black eye on our American democracy.  In this day and age we can and should do better.

………For trying to Tarrant Vermont! That’s right, I said it! What were they thinking? TV ads minutes apart for months and Vermont still said no. Did they actually think they could just dump a bunch of money into advertising and get their way? I’ve never been so proud of Vermont’s Public Service Board, way to stand up to the big guys.

Regardless of Maine’s acceptance of Fairpoint’s terms, our state did the right thing. Monopolies of any utility especially statewide is asinine, just too much power for one company to possess. The simple fact is Vermonters asked for things, issues that were side-stepped or minimized by Fairpoint.

There was no negotiation or middle ground. Fairpoint pretty much said here this is what we’re going to do, approve it. For someone to already act like a monopoly in the state when they’re not even yet, makes me wonder what the future holds? It’d be nice if they were at least fair and to the point with Vermont.

Those ads on TV look like anywhere small town Vermont, but what are they really telling us? How financially they will be able to do this……How financially this will help them. What about us? Where is the promise to Vermonters not to start jacking prices once they take over? Where’s the promise that when there’s a storm of significant proportions that they’re going to get out and get the lines back up in a timely manner? With a monopoly there aren’t any competitors for service, so why bother? What if it made better financial sense for the company to wait a week? They tell it to you straight in the ads, its all about the company finances.

Is all hope lost? Not really. If Fairpoint will come to the table, and Vermont’s Public Service Board holds steadfast, than an understanding can be had. In this case Vermont needs to think less like government and more like a corporation. What do we want to get from this, and how will it benefit us? The Public Service board should negotiate for better rates and increase caps from the start. Time will tell if the company is fair and to the point, and this was a good thing for Vermont.

Think ice fishing in Vermont is as simple as grabbing some gear and bait and going? You’d certainly be wrong this year. Vermont Fish and Wildlife has enacted a rule that they hope to have the legislature approve as law this session. Good luck, you’ve got to have a degree to understand language put into this one. Certainly not something written for the average Vermonter.

Please go to www.vtfishandwildlife.com to read it yourself. It’s very confusing and leaves a person with nothing but questions. I was only able to glean several things from it myself, but what I did, alarmed me. There is to be NO PERSONAL BAITFISH COLLECTION, all those traps I went and bought will have to sit and collect dust. The money and time I spent on the art of collecting ones own bait. Nothing like making people have to go buy bait, fishing used to be a poor mans sport. How can a minnow on the approved species list, caught in Lake Champlain, be bad for use as bait in Lake Champlain? KEEP YOUR RECEIPT for your bait with you. But don’t forget that it’s only GOOD FOR 48 HOURS. No longer do you just have to remember your license, but lose or forget that receipt for your bait and you’re fined. So much for setting up a tub of water in the house to keep your minnows alive during the derby, Now you have to run to the baitshop and wait in line like everyone else in the morning. THE MINNOWS MUST BE DESTROYED WHEN YOU LEAVE THE ICE, no more bringing them home and using them tomorrow.

Intrigued yet? All this and more because Fish and Wildlife is all up in arms about this new fish disease that they think might be coming, or might already be here. Well which is it? It seems more like a knee jerk reaction to me than, just like a few years ago with not baiting deer because of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Why the hoopla and drastic steps? Why not just ban importing bait from places where the disease is known. If it’s here, it’s here, and there’s not much we can really do about it. How is my catching minnows in the lake, and using them as bait in the same lake going to make a difference?

Wouldn’t it have been easier to create a baitfish trapping permit? Make people sign off that they read a pamphlet and have them pay a couple bucks, then turn them loose. Nobody, nothing is a heck of attitude to have, especially when license sales drive your agencies budget. Who will want to buy a license, go wait in line, and still be afraid they didn’t dot their i’s and cross their t’s. F & W went and made things way too complicated.

I encourage everyone to contact the government that supposedly represents us. Legislators, senators, the Governor, everyone needs to know how many people this will affect. Tell them you want to go fishing, but it’s too complicated, and it shouldn’t be. Vermont Fish and Wildlife needs to have a better, less complicated plan for bait regulations in Vermont.

The department is likely to strong arm this into law by “educating” legislators on the issue, stand up to the propaganda.

If the Fish and Wildlife department is trolling for fines, then this Vermonter is not biting!