All posts by Sue Prent

About Sue Prent

Artist/Writer/Activist living in St. Albans, Vermont with my husband since 1983. I was born in Chicago; moved to Montreal in 1969; lived there and in Berlin, W. Germany until we finally settled in St. Albans.

Better Late Than Never?

Uncategorized

Smart move by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy who pivoted nimbly to advocate for reform of the EB-5 program, just in time to make the same news cycle as the raid on Q-Burke.

As you can read in the story below, EB-5 is the particular briar patch into which the developers of Q-Burke dove headfirst, only to later find themselves hopelessly ensnared.

From its inception, we on GMD have questioned the value of this program to the public and couldn’t help wondering whether it would evolve into a government sanctioned ponzi scheme.

Senator Leahy was a big supporter of the EB-5 program for Vermont, as was Governor Shumlin.  Job one for governors and senators is to promote economic growth, so their initial enthusiasm is not surprising; but even the earliest news stories about Mr. Stenger’s and Mr. Quiros’s scheme should have set off a few alarm bells.

As I recall, the original pitch promised a hotel, conference center, airport, high-tech window manufactory and a state of the art bio-tech plant; and that was to be just the start. There were big plans to see EB5 investments plumping local economies all over the state.

In a corner of the state where winters are long and opportunities are few, such a drastic transformation might initially mean construction and service jobs for the locals; but it seemed likely that low wage locals would soon find themselves priced out of the housing market in a burgeoning resort town.

With things having gotten so far out of hand in the finance department that the SEC has blown the whistle, it now looks like the jig may be up.

So announcement of Senator Leahy’s reform efforts couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment.

Sadly, it is may be too late to save Vermont’s credibility for international investors.

How NOT to win friends and influence voters.

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Does this sound familiar to you? You’re quietly reading news articles and blogposts when suddenly, very loudly, an ad blares from your computer. You look all over the screen to try and find the sneaky link that you have inadvertently triggered, but fail to see one.

So you sit there fuming for the duration…not listening, just fuming. At the close of the seemingly endless interruption, you hear “…Paid for by Bruce Lisman for Governor, blah, blah, blah…”

That’s right: like the ubiquitous “Kilroy” in WWII, Lisman was here.

Bad idea, Mr. Lisman. No one likes those annoying pop-ups, and fewer than no one can tolerate their audio counterpart.

Whoever sold you this bill of goods must be working for the other side.

Whatever it said (and I honestly didn’t hear a word as I furiously looked for the ‘off’ button), the message it unmistakably carried was that Mr. Lisman has more dollars than sense, as my dad used to say.

Why would anyone support a man for governor who can’t respect their online privacy?

Cozy Committee Assignment Goes to Degree

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Well, isn’t this nice? The boys on the Committee of Committees, all three of them, had a huddle and decided to put Dustin Degree onto the Finance Committee. That’s gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott, resigning Senate Pro-Tem, John Campbell and reliable blue-dog, Dick Mazza.

Don’t ask to see a record of the deliberations. There isn’t one. Just three good ol’ boys making it work…for them.

Guess whose going out stumping for Phil Scott, other than Dick Mazza whose allegiance is already a matter of public record?

Look for a dutiful DD to hit the election trail with Scott…and maybe even a surprise appearance from good-buddy Campbell.

We, in Franklin County have some serious doubts about Dustin Degree’s judgment, following the Norm McAllister debacle; and they will no doubt be raised in the heat of the election campaign. McAllister and Degree campaigned in tandem in the last two election cycles, often appearing joined at the hip.

If we are to believe he had no idea of McAllister’s penchant for predatory sex, even after his teenaged ‘intern’ repeatedly accompanied McAllister on his overnights in Montpelier, it is difficult to understand how Degree’s powers of observation and simple judgment should not be suspect, too.

So when a vacancy opened on one of the most desirable committees in the statehouse, how is it that Degree sprang so quickly to mind for the gang of three?

Surely there is someone in the senate who has a more impressive record of good judgment than has McAllister’s sidekick.

How’s that ethics committee coming along, Boys?  Is it going to be seated in a similar manner?

The Little Bill Who Cried Wolf

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It would be a shame to see the Democratic primary race descend into the sort of food fight we‘ve lately witnessed from the GOP.

One would think that there are enough differences on policy between the candidates so that hyperbolic characterizations might be set aside. Sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case.

When the candidates begin to show a little strain, the media is right there to stir the pot, dangling ‘he said/she saids’ and hoping for a strike. All too often, they are rewarded with a juicy bite of red meat that keeps them coming back for more.

Bernie Sanders was finally provoked into suggesting something which I am sure he regrets: that Hillary Clinton might be ‘unqualified’ to be president, based on a series of regrettable decisions from her political career. He was responding to a leaked Clinton campaign plan of attack on Sanders described as “disqualify, defeat, and then reunite (the party).”

It was a war of words with a candidate who is extremely capable of dishing it out herself. Neither came out of the exchange smelling like a rose; however, it is Bill Clinton who ought now to be apologizing for his implication that somehow Bernie was being sexist in his remarks.

Of course, he was not; Bernie was simply hitting her on the issues in response to her campaign’s implication that he might not ‘qualify’ as a real Democrat.

It is an insult to women everywhere when a man such as Bill Clinton cries ‘wolf’ as he has in this case.

Sexism is a very real and pernicious obstacle that women deal with every day. It is not a false flag of political convenience to be trotted out whenever a female candidate is exposed to criticism for her policies. Most female candidates use the accusation only rarely, and even then, judiciously. They recognize the damage done to legitimate outrage when sexism is invoked without cause.

Certainly Bill Clinton should be the last man on earth to challenge Bernie Sanders on his feminist credentials. I have the impression that he still doesn’t ‘get’ that he is the very embodiment of sexism for many American women.

It is a mistake for the Clinton campaign to let Bill off the leash. He made a hash of her campaign against Obama and he may just do it again if somebody doesn’t send him on a long vacation.

Monroe takes the helm – with a smile!

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A tip of the hat to Michelle Monroe, newly elevated Executive Editor of the St. Albans Messenger.

The April 1 Messenger carried a banner headline: at the urging of his new wife, Peter Shumlin had decided to seek a fourth term!

If I hadn’t just launched my own April Fool’s Day post on GMD, I’d have bought it hook, line, and sinker. It was beautiful in its authenticity! The only tip off was that it was featured as an “Exclusive to the Messenger.”

If Shumlin really was going to run for a fourth term, he would certainly not give the Messenger the exclusive story!

The article explained that, after considering popular wisdom that a governor’s wife didn’t get to see much of her husband, the new Mrs. Shumlin decided that might not be such a bad thing.

Well done, Michelle!

The paper couldn’t be in better hands and I look forward to years of Messenger reporting under Monroe’s  journalistic guidance.

Donald Trump Gives Us a Jingle

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We had the unexpected pleasure of speaking with Donald Trump himself this morning, when he telephoned our Wake-Up Hour host, W.S. Gilbert to give us a few thoughts. The live recording has inexplicably disappeared, but we can provide this transcript:

WSG: Thank you for calling-in, Mr. Trump…

DT: Don’t Mention it. I owe it to the little people who adore me to make myself available.
You know I’m all about the little people. I LOVE the little people…and the blacks…and the gays…they love me too.

…And women! The women…you know, the women love me best of all. That’s because I understand what they want. Men are always saying, you know, “I don’t get women…” Well, I get women. I cherish the women. Just ask Melania…I cherish Melania, I cherish Ivanka. They’re my precious jewels. They just sparkle! I get that sparkle; and they deserve to sparkle. I love to make them sparkle…

WSG:  Yes, yes, Mr. Trump…Now there are a few policy questions I know my listeners would like me to ask.

DT:   I’m all ears…no, not really. Ted Cruz, now there’s someone who’s “all ears!” Have you seen the cartoons of him with the big nose and the weird eyebrows? Mean…very mean, but ya gotta say, there is a striking resemblance there. Not the most attractive guy. Ya gotta wonder what’s goin’ on down there, if you know what I mean. Could you believe that Enquirer story?!! I said to Melania, “Melania honey, can you see it?” She couldn’t; she couldn’t see it. Five women??! Even one woman…!

WSG:  Mr. Trump, Mr. Trump about policy…?

DT:  Yeah, yeah…policy. My policies are HUGE. You’ve never seen such huge policies…and GREAT. I mean, I’ll give you policies that are so great you won’t believe your ears. Ha, ha…even Ted Cruz won’t believe his ears…ha, ha…but really. You know what I’m all about?

I’m all about making America great again. That’s right. We haven’t been great since…well, we haven’t been great in a long, LONG time. Let me tell you. I’ll change all that. We’re going to be winning again. We haven’t been winning, you know…and when you aren’t winning, what are you? You’re a loser, right? Am I right?

WSG:  Yes, well…can I ask you about your recent remarks on women and abortion…

DT:  Ya know, that’s not what people care about…they want to hear more about the wall I’m
going to build. Did you know I’m going to build a great big wall (it’ll be HUGE) along the border and it’s going to have a beautiful little door in it so we can let in the little people (I love the little people)…and you know who’s going to pay for it don’t you? Mexico…

WSG: …But, Mr. Trump my listeners want to know if you really mean to punish women who have abor…

DT:   Gilly, Gilly… you don’t mind if I call you Gilly, do you? Gilly, you know I love the women, but when they’re bad, they’ve got to be punished. Right? You know my lovely daughter Ivanka?
Isn’t she lovely. You know, I cherish Ivanka; but when she is bad she has to be punished. Right? So I punish her…out of love. That’s what a parent does…out of love.

So those girls who get knoc… uh, those girls who have the ‘misfortune’ to get caught, they just have to make the daddies marry them. It’s all about the family. I have eight grandchildren, you know. You wouldn’t believe it to look at me, would you. That says plenty about what’s going on down there! Ha, ha…Have you seen how I’m killing in the polls this morning? It’s a complete blow-out…

WSG:   Mr. Trump…Mr. Trump let’s move on. Now, I believe you said the other day that you would consider using nuclear weapons? Isn’t that a pretty extreme position to take…

DT:   Look, I’m a businessman, right? My business is a HUGE success. Ask anyone. The steaks, the water, the magazine, the university…all of it. Huge success!

That’s because I know how to manage my assets. I don’t just leave ‘em lying around doing nothing. Right? And I don’t believe in being politically correct. That’s for sissy’s.

Look, we’ve got nuclear weapons; they’re our assets. Right? Sooner or later we’re gonna use them. Right? What’s the point in having them if we say we’ll never use them? Right?

I’m not gonna say when I’ll use them. That would be telling, and we don’t want to give away the game…but, we’ve got ‘em and we can use ‘em…any time.

Look, there are a lot of real bad guys out there. Right? They hate America. If they had the nukes, you can bet your ass they’d use them against us! But we’ve got ‘em so it’s game over; but only if we use them real soon…before they get ‘em.

It’s all asset management.

WSG:   I see…but what about the worldwide nuclear devastation that would unleash?

DT:  “Worldwide nuclear devastation.” Listen to yourself! That’s a lot of whiny liberal BS.

Look, I keep reading about how there’s a population explosion and that’s the cause of all our problems. Well, I’ve got another ‘explosion” that could fix all that. Am I right?? Am I right??

Ha-ha-ha-ha…look, if we’re quick, we’ll be the ones holding all the cards. We can blow the competition away!

Hey… how big do you think that bunker is under 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Let’s see: me, Melania, Ivanka, that husband of hers, the boys, the grandkids, the nanny, the cook, my hairdresser, my masseuse, my tailor, my press agent, my girl…that’s nineteen right there…

WSG:  I’m sorry Mr. Trump but we’re all out of time.

GOP War on Women Comes to Vermont

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The latest bulletin from St. Albans City Representative Corey Parent makes no mention of an amendment which he and 32 other Republicans supported; one which, if widely known, is likely to reinforce the perception that the national Republican war on women has descended upon Vermont.

The amendment in question, attached to H.620, was introduced by Rep. Willhoit of St. Johnsbury, but failed 107-33. To wit:

“In Sec. 1, 8 V.S.A. § 4099c, by adding a subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h)(1) Upon request by a religious employer, as described in 26 U.S.C. § 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) and (iii) and as certified by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, a health insurer shall make available a health insurance plan that does not provide coverage for contraceptive services.”

I think we can safely assume that there was no such measure afoot to defund Viagra supply for the gentlemen of our fair state.

Funny how that works.

You would think that, after the multiple violations against female constituents that Republican Senator Norm McAllister is alleged to have committed, Republicans in both chambers would be inclined to tread more softly on the matter of women’s reproductive rights.

That 33 Republican members of the House had the temerity to give employers dominion over the private consciences and reproductive rights of working women suggests that it is time to take the argument to a new level.

I am not aware of any other restrictions on employees’ purchase of goods or services that have been similarly ceded to the prerogative of their employers.

Put very plainly, support for legislation that would  effectively restrict access to contraception should be understood to be a vote in favor of abortion.

With Donald Trump as the national standard bearer, and the stench of rape, exploitation, and party indifference  lingering in Franklin County’s GOP  like limburger cheese on a  humid day, it’s going to be ugly for Republicans in this election cycle.

Fukushima’s invisible victims

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It’s been a while since we last discussed the Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown.  That is not for lack of issues; it is primarily for lack of any meaningful progress in the ongoingdisaster.

We have just passed the fifth observance of the first catastrophic day, March 11, 2011 and pretty much all of nuclear safety expert Arnie Gundersen’s grim predictions of what we would learn in the aftermath have come to pass.

What Arnie could not have predicted iin 2011 is how unwilling both TEPCO and Japan’s government officials have been to learn from this disaster, and how persistent the effort would be to suppress important radiological and epidemiological information.

Without accountability, deaths of citizens who lived near the doomed reactors following the triple meltdown have simply been attributed to the stress of evacuation, and supposedly no one has been harmed by radiation.  In an unbelievable extrapolation of a convenient myth, there has been a major government effort, supported by the atomic power industry, to increase allowable levels of radiation exposure and dismiss the need for future costly evacuations as harmful and unnecessary.

It was only a little over a week ago, that anyone in an official position at TEPCO was finally held accountable under the law.   I find it unbelievable that only three individuals can be held responsible for the cascade of unaddressed design flaws, corruption, lax regulation, human error and human arrogance that all contributed to making a bad situation much, much worse.

Now we are learning of an even more egregious breach of the public trust and social justice at Fukushima.

Individuals who have exhibited symptoms of radiation poisoning and other illnesses are apparently being shunned by some of their neighbors and dismissed by the medical establishment without appropriate care and without acknowledgment in their medical records.

This mistreatment specific to radiation victims is apparently not without precedent in Japanese history.

On his current speaking tour of Japan, Arnie Gundersen has had the privilege of speaking with a small group of survivors of the 1945 bombing at Hiroshima who share a unique perspective on what may lie ahead for the people of Fukushima

Hiroshima survivor, Tomiko Matsumoto, 85, recalls being a schoolgirl following that inhuman bombing.  Of the 80 students at her school, only thirty survived the blast.  Tomiko could be said to have been one of the “lucky” ones, but mere survival is a pretty poor kind of ‘luck.’

Still traumatized by the mental and physical horrors of the blast experience, she recalls that there was no proper care provided for the injured who were regarded with suspicion and hostility by their neighbors and callous indifference or unfeeling curiosity by their occupiers, upon whom they depended for any care that they could get.

The discrimination must have been the hardest for a young girl with no surviving family to bear:

“I was shocked because I was discriminated against by Hiroshima people. We lived together in the same place and Hiroshima people know what happened but they discriminated against each other. ..I was shocked.”

“There were so many different kinds of discrimination. People said that girls who survived the bomb shouldn’t get married. Also they refused to hire the survivors, not only because of the scars, but because they were so weak. Survivors did not have 100 percent energy.”

“There was a survivor’s certificate and medical treatment was free. But the other people were jealous. Jealous people, mentally discriminated. So, I didn’t want to show the health book sometimes, so I paid. Some of the people, even though they had the health book, were afraid of discrimination, so they didn’t even apply for the health book. They thought discrimination was worse than paying for health care.”

The mistreatment and insensitivity experienced by survivors continued into Tomiko’s adulthood. She was the victim of employment discrimination and personal shame.

Though she was lucky enough to bear children, both of her daughters are sterile and one suffers from anemia. Doctors have dismissed the possibility that the family’s health issues might be linked to her exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb blast.

It may be precisely because of their uniquely traumatic history of nuclear attack that modern Japanese society is ill-prepared to challenge the current meme being promoted by TEPCO and the Abe government, that no one was harmed by the triple meltdown at Fukushima and there is no cause for concern about using atomic power as an energy source.

Having emerged from beneath the cloud of WWII, they want to view themselves  under the lens of success and progress, not to revisit the shameful legacy of nuclear radiation sickness that they had hoped to leave behind.

Sadly, neither TEPCO nor the Abe government and functionaries right down to the regional level can be trusted to reveal the truth about radiation from Fukushima Daiichi and how it’s shadow has now been irreversibly cast over the Prefecture, marring the future of Japan.

So survivors of Fukushima, like those of Hiroshima before them are left to face unfolding health issues and despair in the friendless vacuum of their own thoughts and care.

(I am pleased to be a non-technical member of the Fairewinds Energy Education crew, but my posts on GMD are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Fairewinds.)

Not your father’s horserace

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I know that everyone from the conventional media to Hillary Clinton is racing to discount Bernie Sanders in the 2016 race for the nomination, insisting that the “math” is already against him.

What they don’t seem to understand is that the “math” is of little consequence to Bernie’s supporters who are focussed on issues of economic and social justice; and the only way progress will be made on those issues is if we bring them all the way to the convention.

Personally, I think that Bernie should continue doing exactly what he has been doing. Campaign on the issues that are important to most Americans and contrast his record with that of Hillary Clinton. Every voter in every state deserves an opportunity to weigh-in before the convention.

This is doubly important in a turbulent election year like 2016, when so many new voters are engaged in the conversation. There will never be a better chance to move progressive values forward in the political dialogue.

Were Bernie to simply fold his tent and steal silently into the night, as President Obama and the conventional pundits so fervently desire, not only would Hillary Clinton suffer the immediate uptick of slings and arrows from Donald Trump, she would also be likely to seek the conventional security of a centrist position. This would mean death to the forward-looking face of the 2016 Democratic party which has excited so many new voters.

It would also mean that Hillary’s campaign would languish in the ‘old news’ department, relegated only to responding to each outrageous new attack that DT slings her way. This is not the way any candidate wants to capture voter attention. Better she should be forced to flesh-out her positions on important issues in response to Bernie’s legitimate questions and that Barack Obama remains neutral a little longer. His interference would not exactly burnish her progressive credentials and could further alienate Bernie’s not inconsiderable bloc of loyalists.

The fact is that the president’s endorsement will not serve to peel away any support from Bernie since Bernie’s supporters are inclined to be disappointed in President Obama’s underwhelming performance on some key progressive issues.

If our democracy is to limp forward with any hope of regaining public confidence, it is necessary that the Democratic party do just as much soul-searching as will be required of the Republicans.

The writing is on the wall. We can’t keep shorthanding the political process to the advantage of just a few big power brokers and high rolling lobbyists.

It’s time to recognize that this not your father’s horserace.

Sec. of State Jim Condos on “Sunshine Week”

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It is always my pleasure to share Jim Condos’ words on any subject with GMD readers.  Open government has been Sec. Condos’ priority since he first stepped into the office.  It is a topic near and dear to my heart so it is a particular pleasure to bring this to you:

Sunshine Week, celebrated nationwide this week, is about opening the blinds and letting the sun shine in on government.

My long understanding about Open Government’s importance began while growing up in VT and is based on 18 years on the South Burlington City Council, 6 years on the VT League of Cities and Towns Board, 8 years in the VT Senate, and 5+ years as VT’s Secretary of State.

VT’s history has several examples of Vermonters who support Open Government – including former state legislator Matthew Lyon – jailed in 1798 for his beliefs; U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) – strong advocacy of Federal Freedom of Information; and my work with current Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin, to strengthen VT public records laws.

Who can argue against open and transparent government?

It means different things to different people. Arguments can be clouded with misinterpretations of the law, personal interests, and other factors. It also is easier to make decisions when nobody is watching.

The vast majority of our elected state/local officials are trustworthy, dedicated and passionate individuals who want to do the right thing.  However, corruption can exist.  In small doses corruption can be just as corrosive to our democracy as any prominent scandal, undermining the public’s trust.

There are many cases in the news where public and elected officials have clashed on their interpretation of laws covering public meetings and/or public records. Sometimes one side is clearly right – the other side is clearly wrong. Sometimes there is grey area in the law that is open for interpretation.

However, even with these grey areas, Vermont’s Constitution and state statutes have always been clear in their fundamental intent:  VT’s public officials ARE accountable to the people.

From the Vermont Constitution, Chapter 1, Article 6:
“That all power being originally inherent in and consequently derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them.”

This is the very basis of public office – elected officials represent the people and are accountable to the people.

And just in case there was any confusion over the intent of Article 6, the VT statutes for Open Meeting Laws (1 V.S.A. § 311(a)) says:
“…the legislature finds and declares that public commissions, boards and councils and other public agencies in this state exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and are accountable to them pursuant to Chapter I, Article VI of the Vermont constitution.”

Sunshine Week should be every week, and every day!

VT’s open meeting law recognizes that the media and the public are one and the same; AND they are entitled to: properly warned public meetings; posting of meeting agendas; an opportunity to express one’s opinion on matters considered by the public body during the meeting; knowing why a public body is going into Executive Session; and, the posting/availability of minutes 5 days after the meeting – even if in draft form.

Let’s continue this journey, that all public bodies conduct the business of the people and are, thus, accountable to the people.

Again, from the VT statutes (1 V.S.A. § 315), Access to Public Records:
“…to provide for free and open examination of records consistent with Chapter I, Article 6 of the Vermont Constitution. Officers of government are trustees and servants of the people and it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize their decisions even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment.”

These excerpts support a mandate on government (state and local) transparency so the people of VT know what is happening in their government. The only time the people lose their “right to know” is when greater harm to an individual or the state could come from releasing certain information. However, in these very rare cases, the burden of proof for withholding information is on the state and the exemption must be laid out in statute.

Public records are defined as: “…any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which is produced or acquired in the course of public agency business.”  1 V.S.A. § 317(b)

The courts have upheld the notion that the public’s access to records “shall be liberally construed to implement this policy, and the burden of proof shall be on the public agency to sustain its action.”

This means if that which is being disputed falls in a gray area – the courts will likely fall on the side of disclosure.

Simply, illegal meetings and improperly withheld public records offend our notions of openness, accountability, and the core of our democracy.

Open Government just makes good sense for officials and the people they serve.  

So, to any public officials reading this – please think twice about what you “text,” “tweet” or “email” a fellow board member or constituent.  Those messages can all constitute government work and be classified public records.
And to the public, in Vermont, you do have a right to know!

Let the sun shine in and on government – let’s restore our faith in government.

Jim Condos, Vermont’s 38th Secretary of State, has served since January 2011.