READY SET GO 

And he’s off, off to a great start that Douglas fellow. He works, works hard, works a lot, works smart. He even dresses smart, well nice, neat and professional, always. Up early, still over the Appalachian Gap and though he knows the way by heart after 30 years, he no longer drives. And he is in Chittenden County for only seconds, avoiding the political correctness from the University, socialism from the Queen City, sprawl from the suburbs, and the usual power of money.

TROUBLESOME GULCH

Of course any security detail would say, great place to stage a shoot out, a hold up, or a kidnapping, that long lonely climb up, slow speeds, switchbacks, and all. But for our fearless leader, no fear.

PERIPATETIC

His weekly-published public appearance schedule contains more events per day than our dearly departed governor had in a month. His staff complains, you are never here, we have needs too.

How’s this for starters? In the last few days, Douglas publicly appeared at a Super Bowl Party, the Governor’s Commission on Women party, and the Farm Show. He appeared before and talked with the Chiropractors, the American Red Cross, the Girl Scouts, Vermont Fresh, the CPA’s, the Grocers, the volunteer Fire Fighters, Fire Fighters from Lyndon, and the Retired Teachers. He has an open door policy with most anyone first thing in the morning, intended for those who work under the golden dome.

Douglas defends his wanderings saying that it is important to be away from the Montpelier scene, to learn, to listen, to carry his administration’s message to the citizens. And he intends to continue it.

Through the decades, when they gathered, he was there. His wanderings are not new, they are habit, a good habit.

FEEDS THE BEAST

He holds weekly press conferences on top of taking questions at most every public appearance. He handles the press politely, respectfully, and knowledgeably. He does not lie, he does not exaggerate, he does not create facts to his liking, and he is not too proud to say, "I do not know." The press has slackened its early despair and disbelief from no longer being part of the ruling elite. They probe, they push their agenda items via questions, and they carry advocates’ water. But they do so respectfully. Almost civilized.

It is nice to see a Governor engaged. With those thirty years of experience, Douglas knows the facts, the players, the ropes, and its shows. 

TONGUE TWISTER 

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie just became a full Colonel. Maybe some day he will make grade Colonel Governor Dubie. Congratulations. 

OFF THE BUS OR ON THE BUS 

"Legislators have all but rejected Governor James Douglas’s proposal for cutting the statewide property tax rate..." begins an Associated Press story. "'There is probably another way to skin this cat that might be better,' said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Marron, R-Stowe."

Maybe Rep. Marron does not realize yet that Douglas is a Republican. Maybe he is right. But he caused Governor Douglas to spend some political capital unnecessarily. Perhaps twenty percent of the Q&A part of his weekly news conference was spent resuscitating his proposal to reduce property taxes.

Some speculate that Marron's constant losing the message debate last session, spin or sound bite, to Representative Gaye Symington, D-Jericho, contributed to the Party’s startling loss of fifteen members. His inability to produce anything, zip, zero, nada, on a law (Act 60) which has never enjoyed majority approval in the land, certainly did not help the cause. Perhaps his being in an uncontested district and the demands of his day job kept him away from the pressures of campaigning and competition.

In any event, we wish that the Speaker might follow President Ronald Reagan’s treatment of a similar performance of then Budget Director David Stockman and take Marron to the woodshed. Or some remedial training perhaps. Maybe a guide dog. 

FISH COMMANDER 

Governor Douglas this week appointed Wayne Laroche of Enosberg as Vermont’s new Commissioner of Field and Stream, a.k.a. Fish and Wildlife. DPR asked members of House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee if they approved.

They said that it was not that Commissioner Regan or those before them were bad. It was that they came before the committee with marching orders from Governor Dean. They had no flexibility, no authorization to reason, learn, or listen. The members believe that Laroche will be on a much longer leash. 

A VIRTUAL TOUR OF POWER 

"The fifth floor" is sometimes whispered in a tone reserved for a ghost or a regent. Curious, we asked for a tour of the governor’s Pavillon offices.

The large reception area leads to a door, a door where a five-digit code sequence is required. Entering, the capitol beckons. The governor’s office is spacious; a private conference room adjoins. Windows grace two sides. The glass ripples the view, akin to glass in old homes. Bulletproof it seems. A small apartment with a kitchen and bath waits behind, unused. A long corridor heads south, offices on each side filled with eager staff, so hard at work that we are never acknowledged. Twenty something Jim Barnett fills an office so large that were it merely a campaign office, eight other desks, phones, computers and staff would join him. It was not Spartan, it was not posh. It was busy.

Security has arrived. Well sort of. As you enter the Pavillon, there is now a guard and a desk for registration. But if you are press, you can just walk on by, no press credentials required, cradling your bomb. The shades are drawn, the glass solid, the doors coded. No parking alongside. Nonetheless, your government remains very open. 

IMITATION IS FLATTARY 

The following is from Governor Douglas's budget address and President Bush’s State of the Union Address.

Douglas: We need to invest in programs which will lead us back to prosperity.

Bush: We must have an economy that grows fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job.

Douglas: The problem is not that Vermonters are undertaxed; it is that government has overspent.

Bush: Tax relief is good for Americans...the best way to address the deficit is to show some spending discipline.

Douglas: More Vermonters turn to government for help in securing health care.

Bush: Our second goal is high quality affordable health care for all Americans.

Douglas: Addicts are not independent, they are not prudent in their finances, they are not industrious; they are only concerned with funding their destructive habits.

Bush: Addiction crowds out friendship, ambition, moral conviction and reduces all the richness of live to a single destructive desire.

OVERBOARD? 

President Bush’s rhetoric sailed pass this newspaper’s mark. Referring to the incineration of a group of alleged terrorists in the deserts of Yemen, the President said, "Terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice."

Really? Revenge perhaps but not justice. Our system is a bundle of rights, habeas corpus, legal defense, a public hearing with a qualified judge before a jury of your peers. It is a value worth fighting for, not one for cowboy transliteration. 

CRUSADES ANYONE? 

"We place our confidence in the loving God behind all of life and all of history. May He guide us now..."

"In God We Trust" appears on our currency. "Under God" appears in our Pledge. Our forefathers dedicated our independence struggle to God Almighty. And it was right to do so.

Then we were fighting for our freedom within the confines of thirteen small colonies. Now we are embarking on an overseas adventure into the land of Allah. Muslims in fewer than a hundred years raced from creation to controlling lands from Samarkand to Seville. Baghdad soon became the intellectual center of the world.

They have a "history", and "God", and "faith." Words matter. For years, soldiers heard, "loose lips lose lives." The Commander in Chief is no exception. 

WHERE'S WALDO? 

Here, there and everywhere. The outrageous quipster is now the media's newest best friend. Dean is scheduled to go before Meet the Press, well actually Meet Tim Russet, this weekend. We expect that he will graphically display Dean's latest series of "unnuanced" remarks and ask him to defend them which of course he will with great aplomb.

Columnist George Will took a shot at him in this week's Newsweek. "Dean said that five Supreme Court justices 'are so far right that we can't see them anymore.' At breakfast he said, well, OK, only three...O'Conner and Kennedy were rehabilitated... Dean says the tripling of the national debt between 1980 and 1992 caused interest rates to rise. But the basic rate was 13.35 in 1980 (in the last year of the Carter presidency) and 3.52 in 1992 (the last of the Reagan-Bush years)." Natives know that Dean never let facts get in the way of a good story. Guess that is a surprise to the national media. 

George Will's column: http://www.msnbc.com/news/864400.asp

GO LEFT YOUNG MAN 

President Josiah Bartlet today endorsed former Vermont Governor Howard Dean for president. In an interview with Mark Pattison for Horizon Magazine, it is revealed that Bartlet is a "left of center" president. Actor Martin Sheen who plays Bartlet on television, told Pattison "The Green Party asked me if I'd be interested in running with Ralph Nader. I was flattered since I believed in their whole platform..." Birds of a feather? 

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL 

"We remain committed to the universal right of women of all ages to make personal, confidential decisions regarding abortion..."

"...we also support the designation of a core ecological area within the Champion Lands."

They are in favor of killing the unborn but they oppose killing trees.

Vermont Democrat's 2002 Platform: http://www.vtdemocrats.org/2002_platform.htm 

WHO IS RIGHT? 

If you do NOT qualify for "income sensitivity" under Act 60, your education property taxes go up every year as property values rise (the Common Level of Appraisal mechanism).

If you DO qualify for "income sensitivity," your education property tax is limited. You do not pay more when property values rise, you pay very little more when local spending increases.

This year, rising property values have increased property taxes to such an extent that there's a $16.5 million surplus in the Education Fund even after shaving $24.4 million off the General Fund contribution. The Governor proposed a tax cut for the people who paid these extra property taxes with a 3-cent decrease in the statewide property tax rate.

Democrats want to increase the block grant - they don't want to cut the statewide property tax. Senator Susan Bartlett (D-Lamoille) said, "If you want to help the average Vermonter, you need to increase the block grant..."

One thing is clear. If the block grant goes up, there will be no significant tax relief for those who do not enjoy income sensitivity. And if the income sensitivity formula remains unchanged - two percent of household income for the block grant - the result will be a huge tax cut for those who do qualify for "income sensitivity." According to Douglas, "They have already received their tax cut."

For additional details go to: http://www.act60.org/2003_budget.htm 

THE MISDIRECTION PLAY 

Molly Walsh of the Burlington Free Press put a creative spin on these facts: Burlington developer Retrovest is planning to build a 310-unit "New Urbanist-style" subdivision on a 220-acre parcel adjacent to Vermont Republican National Committeeman Skip Vallee's 30-acre homestead. Vallee calls aspects of the proposal laudable, but argues that too many units are planned and the design would encroach on wetlands. He plans to participate in the permit process as an abutter.

The large, bold-lettered come-on quote in Sunday's paper did not highlight any of that. Featured instead was Mark Sinclair of the Conservation Law Foundation. "I find it ironic that a leader of the Republican Party in Vermont is counting on active participation in the Act 250 and the local zoning process to stop a fairly progressive housing development while at the same time the Republican Party is hell-bent on making it more difficult for average citizens to have a voice in environmental regulatory processes."

Sinclair knows, Walsh knows, and the editors of the Free Press know that there is no Republican permit reform proposal that would do anything of the kind. Vallee never said that he wanted to "stop" the development. That is Sinclair's specialty. To the contrary, there are bipartisan proposals to limit participation by special interest groups that have abused the permit process. Sinclair is the leader of one such group.

Read the article here (expires 2/1/03): http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/local/sunday/3000h.htm 

SHORT OF BEDSIDE READING? 

Fans of "The Legislative Body," have two things to be happy about. First, the book is now conveniently available on Amazon.com. If you access Amazon via our web site, we make a quarter (go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0741411369/act60whatvermosh). The author Robert Pittman has a second book entitled "Still Waters," expected to be available this spring. The new book skewers some of Vermont's more deserving institutions. We will let you know when "Still Waters" hits the stands. 

THERE OUGHTA BE A LAW 

»» Representative Kurt Wright, Burlington: On the issue of absentee ballot "collection" a couple of points; Secretary Markowitz has told me her office informs candidates that while it is not illegal for them to return these ballots it is inappropriate. Two previous Secretaries of State (Milne-Republican, and Hooper-Democrat) stated in writing that if not illegal it is both unseemly and inappropriate for candidates or people with a vested interest in the outcome of the campaign to return ballots. I believe most candidates do not engage in this practice but sometimes campaign workers do on their behalf. In Burlington it is the Progressives that are famous for this, not so much the Democrats. I want to make clear I am all in favor of voters being able to vote absentee (or early) if they choose to and making it as easy as possible for them to get the ballot. But once they get the ballot, I believe it should be "hands off" by political parties (i.e. candidates or their surrogates). If at least three Secretaries of State have advised that it is inappropriate or unseemly, yet it is still occasionally done, then clearly I think it is time to make this practice illegal.

To be fair, I also acknowledge that people collecting and returning ballots have good intentions, but I believe the system is too loose and open to manipulation when we allow this. 

DON'T SPIT INTO THE WIND 

»» Bernier Mayo, St. Johnsbury: There is a new and fresh breeze blowing from Montpelier. I think that it will become irresistible in two years if the Democrat ideologues do not cooperate with the Douglas agenda. 

BREAKS FOR FARMERS, NOT SQUIRES 

»» Craig and Elaine Averill, Goshen: I can fully understand the purpose of Land Use, after all if the farmer is going to plant 500 acres of hay to feed his milkers, he would not be able to afford a normal tax. Neither can I.

What is unfair about the system is; the farmer owns prime land in the valleys and that land has been removed from the regular tax base. The townspeople pay the tax difference. But, when he sells off the land, he gets top dollar and it is not shared with the townspeople who have been paying his overhead.

Many of the farms that are being sold, are farms that have been purchased in the last 5 years or inherited. So why isn't there a minimum ownership requirement? Let's say, if you sell the farm within 20 years of ownership, you repay the townspeople. As far as Forest Land Use, that seems to be one helluva a Tax shelter for a lot of people.

Something else that is unfair. You must have 25 acres to qualify. I have ten and half and I cut my firewood off the land, I have a garden, I have turkeys and I tap the trees and boil the sap into syrup and I hunt it as well. I am using my land more than most of these jokers who claim the land use, yet I am not qualified for any tax break at all. So if I was wealthy enough to buy 25 acres and if I wanted to get a shelter on my investment, all I would have to do is sell ONE small cherry tree off of it per year and I would have total Land Use protection. Yes it is suppose to be inspected for proper Land Use, every five years. But is it? I believe the farmer needs assistance, but I have yet to understand the Forest Land Use, I think it is a total Tax Shelter clause. The farmer needs to have some strict guidelines. Let's not say the FARMER. Let's say that rich guy who wants to convince the state or the Townspeople, on paper that he is a Farmer. I feel I am being screwed by these people and then I watch them sell their land off for Top Dollar and they never, and I mean they never, got any dirt under their nails, and then they drive off into the sunset and the Townspeople are screwed. The land would have never been developed anyway, it is in a very remote, hard to get area and yet they followed the guidelines and they are able to claim it.

I think we need Major Land Use Reform to tighten the loops on the fraud. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TRUTH? 

»» Neal Laybourne, Barre City: Why is the truth so hard for the Vermont Press Bureau to report, especially in social areas where they clearly have strong personal opinions.

In the very first sentence of the front page article of the Wednesday, Jan 22nd, Times Argus, Vermont Press Bureau reporter, Tracy Schmaler defined the parental notification bill as "a bill requiring a minor girl to notify her parents when she seeks an abortion." She repeats the same statement again in the fourth paragraph. Yet the parental notification bill presented to the legislature in the last session and passed by the House said no such thing. What it requires is that an adult working for the abortion provider is to notify one of the parents that this medical procedure was going to be done to their underage daughter. In fact, this notice is to be written and sent or delivered by provider rather than face-to-face. To say that the bill requires a young girl to notify their parents is inaccurate. It is false. After two years of discussion, it is inexcusable to still be getting the core truths of this bill wrong.

And the editors of the Times Argus have done the very same thing in their dealing with this issue. In the Feb 23, 2001 and the May 13, 2001 editorials, the very first line in each states that the bill requires a YOUNG GIRL to notify her parents of an abortion. Do not the editors read these bills before they condemn them? How can any meaningful discussion go on in a free country when such liberties are taken with the truth. While this is better than the TV news reports which first reported the VT parental notification bill required parental "approval," it still is false reporting. The TV news outlets I contacted had the decency to do an on-the-air retraction.

I challenge the Times Argus editors & the Vermont Press Bureau to either make a formal retraction and better train their reporters in fact reporting or to show me the actual part of the Parental Notification bill last term (H.218) where the law "required minor girls to notify one of their parents." This is not about maneuvering to try to pass a law (the bill is probably dead this session), this is about the truth. If top reporters can not get this simple fact straight how can we trust the other reporting they do? 

COUNTING HEADS 

»» Mike Empey, Bellows Falls: I was disappointed to find no Dwinell analysis or mention of the utterly ridiculous headlines in Vermont papers last weekend. They screamed "200,000 March" (in Washington to protest war in Iraq). To which I believe the proper reply should be "And 242,800,000 Did Not March". Has the American public become so numb that nobody can even do math this simple?

In fairness if we make an extremely gracious estimate that another 10,000 per state marched locally though it is highly unlikely, there would still be 242,300,000 of us who did not march in opposition to George Bush taking us to war with Iraq. This reminds me of Rush Limbaugh's exposure of the Washington homeless shelter leader whose outrageous claims when you did the math would have shown us all to be homeless in less than a year.

Somebody else please join me and question this stupidity and intellectual dishonesty! 

TO KNOW, KNOW, KNOW HIM... 

»» Laura Brueckner, Waterbury Center: Thank you for revealing the Howard Dean -- "Doonesbury" connection. I thought it was a very real possibility but it's nice to have it confirmed. So, how do you account for the lack of campaign contributions when Howard Dean knows so many famous, fabulously wealthy folks? Could it be they KNOW Howard Dean? 

THEY LIKE US 

»» Airell Jenks, Woodstock: Thanks for the good work!

»» Mike Ticehurst: I don't know where you find these articles ["Party People" - the five wealthiest senators are democrats], but they're amazing! I did not know this tidbit of information, but you can be assured I'll be using it in my discussions/arguments with democrat family & friends. Seems like they are always pointing the finger at the "rich", but what they don't understand or even fathom is their own representatives in Congress are the very people they are complaining about. I think Americans are starting to see the democrats for what they really are - a bunch of two-face losers. Keep up the great job Jim! Thank God for the DSR! 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free and remaining free unless being kept and made so by the exertions of better men than himself." --John Stuart Mill 

JUDICIAL HUBRIS WREAKS HAVOC 

"The task for legal conservatism is to preserve what we have and to regain as much as possible of what we have lost--to wit, the fundamental design of our government and a society that attains a more wholesome balance between the freedom of the individual and the legitimate demands of community. Put differently, we need to restore, against judicial usurpation, the separation of powers. That the decisions of the Supreme Court and many state supreme courts have less and less to do with the historic Constitution is undeniable. Indeed, that fact is glorified by those who urge the Court on to greater adventures in policy making. Justice Antonin Scalia accurately described the state of play: 'Day by day, case by case, [the court] is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.'" --Robert Bork, Wall Street Journal http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002963 

FOUNDING FATHERS 

"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." --Thomas Jefferson 

OOOPS... 

"Democrats will trample over a thousand poor people to throw a rock at a rich man." --Tom Adkins of "The Common Conservative," on the Bush tax-cut plan. http://commonconservative.com/adkins.html 

POLITICS OF ENVY 

"Envy used to be just a human failing, but today it is a major industry. Politicians, journalists and academics are all part of that industry, which some call 'social justice'." --Thomas Sowell http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell011603.asp 

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