STROM JEFFORDS’S WEEK

After our last report predicting that Senator Jim Jeffords would not run in 2006 for health reasons, Jim appeared with his wife on Channel 5 in Burlington. He said that he was fine. His wife said that she did not want him to run.

On Thursday, reporter John Gregg continued the discussion in the Valley News. Go to http://www.vnews.com/04072005/2345097.htm

He was following up his article written in February, 2004 after a Jeffords’s speech at the retirement party for long-time Administrative Assistant Susan Boardman was reported to be disjointed. Go to: http://www.vnews.com/02132004/1582271.htm Unlike Switchboard, there was no public recording.

THE BLITZ

Gregg called me a Republican red meat chucker. That was not so bad. Jeffords’s mouthpiece, Erik Smulson said, "'Turncoat Jeffords' clearly did not work for them. Now they have sunk even lower. Senator Jeffords is in excellent health." Spin became lies.

Friday, we received the first volume of "Senator Jim Jeffords Dispatch," an email update. Friday night we found Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes analyzing the Jeffords’s appearance on Vermont Public Radio. Monday, the Wall Street Journal commented on Jeffords’s appearance on Switchboard: OpinionJournal's Political Diary reported "Senator Jeffords loses his mind in an NPR studio."

PERSONAL AFFIRMATION

Many of you wrote with personal stories, some of which are published in the "Roar of the Crowd" section below. Others phoned. All recalled recent face to face meetings with Jeffords which left them in shock and amazement. Some letters were not for publication. They all had the same theme: something is wrong with Jeffords’s health.

DEAD MAN WALKING

It is not about Jeffords. It is about Vermont. How is Vermont best served? Even if Jeffords were comatose, he would probably beat any Republican. The animus in Vermont towards President Bush is so strong that voters would not want to give Bush another arrow in his quiver. If Jeffords resigned, which we cannot imagine, Governor Douglas could appoint himself. That would be a disaster for us as Douglas is the only thing between you and the abyss.

I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD

Not lately, not here. Let’s take a tour of the real world.

Take Ukraine: "We welcome the flow of capital to Ukraine, regardless of its geography, as long as it is honest capital," President Yushchenko was quoted as saying by Interfax. Capital inflow = investment = job creation. Pretty simple stuff, but not a line we have heard in Vermont recently.

From the Kiev Post editorial page: "We agree with the optimists that Ukraine must be taken seriously as a great place to invest money." Heard that lately on the editorial pages in Vermont?

Take Maryland: According to the National Review, Governor Robert Ehrlich, R-MD scolded the business community, saying that they lacked spine, that they will not support their own interests, that, indeed, they suffer from "Patty Hearst syndrome. ‘You identify with your captors,’ he told an assembly of businessmen and their lobbyists last year. ‘We need you to influence votes. We need you to be dangerous.’" Sound like Douglas?

TECHNOLOGY ANYBODY? NO THANKS

Take a Georgia website (http://www.smartgeorgia.org): Every morning, people in Georgia wake up with a little more on their minds. Like designing a wireless city. Or pioneering research to find a worldwide AIDS vaccine. The Office of Science and Technology is a specialized team built to recruit and support technology and life science companies.

From New York City: We have a two pronged economic strategy: First to improve the schools so that our children will be able to get the jobs of tomorrow which require a higher level of skills, and second to make sure that companies come here and create jobs.

Vermont prepares its children for export.

From the Economist: Evidence suggests that the mobile phone is the technology with the greatest impact on development. A new paper finds that mobile phones raise long-term growth rates. The digital divide that really matters, then, is between those with access to a mobile network and those without.

That would be us.

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS

Guess we would rather be without. You know that those cell towers cause the brain to ooze out of your ear, green ooze actually. Look at the map of coverage of Vermont: Burlington, along most of the I-89, half of I-91, some of Route 4 and 7. Pathetic. We would not like long-term growth rates and corporations, the bane of our existence. Long term growth might pay for infrastructure, maybe even health care overhaul but no matter.

The United States used to be first in "networked readiness." Now we are fourth. For the first time, the United States is no longer in the top ten for Economic Freedom, finishing twelfth.

According to Fast Company magazine, the three largest economy busters are all in the technology field: 1) poor knowledge harnessing --$1.4 trillion, 2) digital publishing inefficiencies --$750 billion, and 3) data quality problems --$600 billion. These are way above fraud, literacy, drugs addiction, highway congestion, etc.

FLYPAPER

Behind we are, and it is where it appears most of the people in power and in the halls of Montpelier want us to be. This combined with the flypaper effect is almost a doomsday scenario. Most of our publicity is scary to the investor: Howard Dean, Jim Jeffords, Bernie Sanders, pension activism, socialized medicine, renewable energy leading to higher electrical bills, and permit hell.

It is not hard to imagine what the impact of our cute but whacko ideas does to chill all but the most intrepid investor. What is the flypaper effect? Many of these business negatives attract a group of people whom we would best do without. These folks are attracted to the flypaper of crazy ideas.

WE HAVE IBM

Not for long. According to the EE Times, thirty wafer fabrication plants are set to be built in China during the next three years, most of which would use 0.25-micron and 0.13-micron process technologies, according to a senior executive at chip equipment maker Applied Materials Inc.

The Advanced Semiconductor Technology Center, the engineering center IBM built in Fishkill, NY in 1990/91, is being closed. Its placement figured prominently in the downgrading of the workforce in Vermont as IBM consolidated "development functions" there. There was a big exodus of research engineering jobs. Concurrently, Vermont's per capita income as a percent of national average fell, probably not a coincidence. What is the message here? Perhaps the rest of IBM-Essex will not be too far behind.

IT IS ALL GREEK TO ME

From: Senatorbartlett@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: Meeting

"The quick turn around is in getting your full kid count. That helps everyone but costs lots. Next year with a large surplus in the Education Fund is the time to grab the money. Yea, it is coming from your property taxes, but you will get more back in the total block grant and then there should still be some money to lower the statewide rate as well, so you can get a double bite."

TRANSLATION PLEASE

Senator Bartlett is talking about Act 60. "Full kid count" means maximizing pupil count to pull in more money with the block grant, adding preschoolers for example. Overall that would cost Vermont property taxpayers more, but the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) is going through the roof this year, perhaps 11 percent due to home price inflation. There will be tons of extra cash in the fund next year. Plan ahead and grab the money.

There might even be enough to lower the property tax rate while paying out more in the block grant e.g., for preschoolers. A bigger block grant plus lower tax rate equals the double bite.

Bartlett’s message appears to be, "spend more and your taxes will be lower." If you believe that, call us about our bridge sale.

SOCIAIZED MEDICINE STIMULATES ECONOMY

It is surprising what one hears in Montpelier. The Ethan Allen Institute sponsored an evening to discuss Health Care Reform. Dr. Deb Richter, President of Vermont Health Care for All, was one of the panelists. According to the Ethan Allen Letter, she was asked if a socialized health care system "would become a magnet for sick people" from other states. "Richter said that it is a potential problem which needs to be addressed, and that people coming here for health care would stimulate the economy."

How does that happen? They come, we spend thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands on providing health care for free, and this stimulates the economy? Richter may be a doctor but not a doctor of economics.

TAX-A-VERMONTER

They have thought up about every way that they can. Now it is just a matter of raising rates. The Tax Foundation has released its annual report on how "tax friendly" each state is. Vermont is 44th most friendly. Eight states have no income taxes, five states have no sales taxes, and sixteen states have tax breaks for retirees. Vermont is not one of those. Wyoming has no income tax and has the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.9 percent. Think there is a connection?

MAKING DEPOSITS

The current returnable bottle law is a nickel on any bottle which contains a fizzy drink and fifteen cents for bottles of liquor. Been a nickel for more than a generation. In the cities they might have raised the amount if nothing else than to give the homeless a raise.

Here the legislature is talking about making all bottles except those containing milk and soy products returnable. That would be wine, water, coffee, jolts, and liquor. They also want to add tires and former spouses.

Your editor’s annual pilgrimage along Mason Road in Randolph suggests that they add the miniature liquor bottles, which by 20 to 1 outweigh regular liquor bottles, and second, prescription drugs containers. The later is a phenomenon of the last two years. Scores of drug containers appear as the snow melts.

Because of the deplorable conditions of Vermont’s roads, along Mason Road you would also need returnable hub caps, tail gates, engine parts, and oil pans. No tires were found though we did run into a former spouse.

VICTIMS' REIMBURSEMENT

The legislature passed a law that victims of crime should be compensated. Then the law of unintended consequences struck. It turns out that the victims of crime who lose the most are those big corporations Bernie is always talking about. "I was shocked at the number of businesses," Judy Rex of the Center for Crime Victim Services mumbled.

Where has she been? Shoplifters do not strike many homes. Credit card fraud rarely strikes NGO’s. Wal-Mart claimed $3,984 and Banknorth $9,211. Not fair, change the law, and we are sure that they will. But crime losses to corporations cause them to hire security personnel and install specialized equipment and then they must raise their prices costing us all money.

DEAD OLD WHITE GUYS

Last century, John Zicconi writing in the Stowe Reporter opined that the Republicans always lost to Senator Susan Bartlett because they ran "dead old white guys." His message has taken root on the fifth floor of the Pavilion and the third floor of the Capital Plaza, the power centers of the Douglas camp and VTGOP. Let’s skip a generation.

After having fallen from an all powerful eighty-three representatives to a barely veto sustaining corps, the folks are worried. Recruiting in the future may include live women, people of color, gays, and a live young white guy.

THE OLD GANG AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE

Our capital city is one of the most left wing towns of many left wing towns in Vermont. In the spirit of peace, love and tie-dye, the Downtown Workers Union was formed, affiliating with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. It felt so good.

Chu Sipka who owned the Mountain Café on Langdon Street loved the idea. She called the union in and signed a one-year contract. Less than a year later, how does Ms. Sipka feel? According to a report in the Times Argus, not so good. "Sipka has gone so sour that she said she is considering giving up the restaurant just to rid herself of an organization which has made her life ‘hell’.

"’We need each other in order to thrive,’ she said. ‘I wanted to show the town that we could all just help each other. Since the union, I have had nothing but a really stressed-out time. They file a grievance right away before they even talk to me. I was feeling it was worth losing everything I put into here.’"

DEMOCRACY IS WHAT I WANT

The townspeople of Hartland were upset. The school planned a $410,000 security addition, enclosing the entryway, creating offices with a better view of the front entryway, and automatic locks after 8:00 AM with staff being able to "buzz in" appropriate visitors. The plan had earlier been approved in a low turnout vote.

A more motivated turnout voted down the proposal 174 to 128. They followed that with an Australian ballot proposal which passed 187 to 89. According to the Woodstock Standard, School Board Chair Nancy Brogden said, "This is a sad night for Hartland...to just do away with the democratic process..." Town Clerk Clyde Jenne agreed, saying, "They effectively killed free democracy tonight."

They came, they voted, they killed democracy. How?

NO JOHN KERRY HERE

According to a report in the Times Argus, Sergeant John Hooker of Barre was on a security detail in Iraq. A roadside explosive device was detonated, shrapnel sliced his check, just missing his eyes and brain. Hooker turned down a Purple Heart saying, "There are a few guys who took serious injuries. We pick on guys with awards for stupid injuries like that. I felt if I took it that would make me a hypocrite."

STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

Evan Thomas’s book Election 2004 has some revealing Waldo episodes. "The Dean campaign took reporters to watch 40-plus yellow school buses rumble into town filled with Deaniacs. ‘Is it just me, or are they empty?’ asked Liz Marlantes of the Christian Science Monitor. As reporters peered through the tinted-glass windows, all they could see was row after row of empty seats."

"Dean had always been a loose cannon. His aides had been relieved that no cameras had captured the would-be Democrat nominee in full cry at a gay fundraiser on Fire Island, "If Bill Clinton could be the first black president, I can be the first gay president."

"One senior aide compared the Dean campaign to the novel Flowers for Algernon, the story of a seriously retarded man who, put through a course of radically experimental treatment, lives for a few months as a genius, then regresses rapidly to what he had been before the experts remade him: a moron."

GOT THAT FAIRLANE IN MY SITES

According to a report in the Economist, in Alaska the moose population is declining. Some folks without the benefit of a study blame the wolf. The government authorized helicopter hunting of wolves. Other folks, without study, blame bears. The government authorized bear shooting where the tourists watch bears scooping the salmon from the rivers.

Statistically by study, 600 moose are killed each year by cars. "Time to hunt a few Fords?" asked the Economist.

UNDERSTATMENT OF THE YEAR

While the Democrats and the Progressives are planning a take over of the health system, a Free Press headline describes it: "Health overhaul on track."

You car is not running too well, you take it in for an overall. When finished, they return your car; they do not give you a donkey and wish you well.

SENATOR JEFFORDS

»» Eleanor Collier, Berlin: I appreciated your enlightening piece on Jeffords. I have been saying this for a long time. Mostly since WCAX covered a National Guard send-off months ago....when Leahy had to assist him out of his chair....and then, he did not make much sense at the microphone. I only hope that he realizes what is happening to him. I was amazed that you had campaigned for him! I realized what kind of a man he was way back when he was Vermont's Attorney General. He gave Governor Davis a hard time then.

Scary the names you put forth as possibilities for the seat! Only name that interests me is Dubie.

»» Harry Holland, Vero Beach, Fl: Jim Jeffords has been in a fog for several years. Washington reporters I've spoken with seem to know that but they do not write opinions. His office has been tight lipped, but have been propping him up a la Strom Thurmond.

A few years ago I sat and visited with him on a plane. Had talked with him off and on many years. We got back to Burlington and picked up suitcases at the carousel. It got quite strange when we again crossed paths getting to cars after having said goodbye. I just walked along, raised thumb, said "Jim". He stopped in tracks, put on big smile, said "How are you?!" Had no recollection of the just previous conversations. A staffer friend was in his Vermont office for a few years. Told me that was an ongoing problem.

»» Lang Durfee, Bethel: I agree about Jeffords. I met with him in DC last month and had the feeling that early Alzheimer's or similar ailment was setting in.   * * *

»» Name withheld by request, Vermont: Very, very sad. He could retire and be yet another spokesman for dementia/alzheimer's.

THE HOUSE HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL: MAPLE MARXISM

»» Name withheld by request, Vermont: It's funny how the leftist thinking is permanently mired in the mechanical mindset of Marxism. This is compounded by the Vermont left being particularly compromised of individuals who have never really worked and have clearly never really had to get something together and "deliver" it to someone.

Anyone with real business experience knows that if you do not take care of the people putting points on the board, you lose them. I suppose that under maple-Marxist ideology, paying people 1/3rd the national average is a way of making sure that you get people who really want to help humanity and probably thus are not in it for the money. In the real world, anyone with more than three functioning neurons knows that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

A good friend's wife is Canadian. His brother-in-law was a very respected cardiologist in Ontario. The provincial government asked him to head a commission to study a problem of why doctors were leaving. They studied, listened, and wrote. Upon delivering the final report to the provincial government, he immediately resigned his position in Ontario and relocated to Salt Lake City. That was probably the best "final report" he could have given.

»» Bart Bonazinga, MD: As a cardiologist in Vermont for 26 years I am appalled that the legislature would even consider a socialized health care system like Canada's. We have 6 doctors from Canada at Rutland Regional Medical Center. They left Canada because of the system and the low compensation. Now 2 out of 5 cardiologists have left... to earn 3 times as much money in South Carolina and Florida. After 2 years of recruiting we have had no one -- I repeat -- no one applying to work for 1/3rd the national average cardiology salary... Bring on the social experiment and we MDs will bring on...retirement!

VERMONT'S BROOKLYN DEMAGOGUE

»» Michael Seely, Dorset: Bernie Sanders wrote "They're out to get us" pieces on out-sourcing, the murder of the middle class, etc. to the Times Argus. It was infuriatingly misleading. He attributes the loss of 2.7 million "good paying" American jobs to greedy corporation's moving jobs to low labor rate countries where their oppressed workers labor for peanuts. In fact, as anyone--never Bernie the demagogue--who wants to do the work knows that the big bounce in our productivity, not out-sourcing, accounts for the job creation softness in this recovery. Keep up the good work.

PATRIOT ACT ATTACK

»» Robert B. Evans, Stowe: I see today in the BFP that our legislative representatives are in the process attacking the Patriot Act. How can so called educated men object to an act that is designed to protect the citizens of this country? Terrorists gave up their rights and the vast majority of this country realizes that one must give up some of our great liberties in time of war.

TAKE THE OATH

»» Bill Brueckner, Waterbury: Oaths are the cornerstone of due process. All testimony is given under oath. If the judges that arraign and conduct the courts business have not taken the oath of office does the conviction of a murderer stand or is the murderer released? The law that creates the seats of government in the executive, legislative and judicial branches, also requires those that occupy these seats of government to take oaths. The law that designed this nation also requires all federal office holders to take an oath to support the law of the land. Just as the alleged murderer of Winterbottom will be tried for violating her rights to life, judges and justices that fail to obey the law of the land by not taking the oaths of office are criminals. Failure to take the oath office allows those that hold the seats of government to run government to their own standards rather than the laws of these republics.

THEY LIKE US

»» Francis Jones, Bennington: Keep up the good work.

»» Joyce Schmaldienst, Winooski: Thanks for keeping us so well informed.

»» Peter Brownell, Richmond: Always informative, to the point.

»» Robert Chernin, Killington: I am glad there is some sanity in Vermont politics.

»» Eleanor Collier, Berlin: Glad you are back and we are receiving your report move often.

CANCEL ELECTIONS, LIBERALS KNOW BEST

Voters in Bennington turned out to vote down "capping the size of big-box retailers to 75,000 square feet." The vote will allow Wal-Mart to expand to 112,000 square feet. But it was democracy run amuck.

According to the AP, Alicia Romac of the cap crowd said that the decision should have been left to elected officials. "It is those special interests which interfere with what is best for the community."

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME

"I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious." Thomas Jefferson, 1824, predicting a parasite migration to Vermont attracted by its socialized medical services.

THANKS MR PRESIDENT

"One in five U.S. ninth-graders say they have had oral sex which they do not consider sex, according to a new report." --Netscape News, 4/7/05

http://community.netscape.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=ws-newsforum&nav=messages&tid=194289

ALL POWER TO THE STATE

"The Soviet Union is long gone but Russia's new rulers don't seem to have a clue what a new post-Soviet homeland should be made of. Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin chief of staff, tried to answer the question: 'The preservation of an effective state within its current borders. All other ideologies are superfluous.'

"We are being asked to defend the besieged fortress of the Russian state. The fortress does not even have any heraldry or credo. Its defenders have no idea what they will do if someone finally notices that no one is attacking the pitiful fortress at all. There is no siege because no one wants what the fortress holds."

Editorial, Moscow Times, April 7, 2005. Go to: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/07/008.html

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