HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Two big ninetieth birthdays this week: Stuart "Red" Martin who brought the idiot box and all its glory to Vermont and Robert Stafford who brought the Superfund and Clean Water to Vermont.

In 1954 WCAX replaced the snow on Channel 3 bringing Jim Lee Howell, Charlie Connerly, and Roosevelt Grier into our living rooms to do battle with Johnny Unitas, Alan Ameche and Jim Brown. Addiction followed.

Mr. Martin, upon being found out to have given twice the allowed contribution to an opponent of Bernie Sanders, said something like, "I consider it a public service to rid Vermont of Mr. Sanders."

Congratulations. 

THE WOODFORD PACKERS

A few months back DPR reported on the oral arguments before the Vermont Supreme Court concerning the State of Vermont v. Woodford Packers. Woodford Packers wanted to build a thirty unit retirement village on 12.5 acres in Bennington which was originally permitted by the Act 250 District Commission. It was later overturned by the Environmental Board when the State expressed its concerns about the fluvial geomorphology of the river and the adjoining site.

Upon the Agency of Natural Resources and its Canadian experts testimony, the permit was withdrawn. Woodford Packers appealed to the Supreme Court. Forlornly. It appears that the Court merely threw in the towel, writing, "this Court gives deference to the Environmental Board’s interpretations of Act 250 and its own rules and to the Board’s specialized knowledge in the environmental field." Why then have a Supreme Court? Why not the "rubber court" or the "me too court" or the "Xerox court." Ah right, you know, to usurp local control and re-write the Constitutional document.

Christopher Rhodes, attorney for the plaintiff told DPR, "It is a very, very dark and unfortunate decision. The Court said that the Agency of Natural Resources does not have to play by the same rules and statues as the rest of us. Even Chief Justice Amestoy corrected me in oral arguments. When I said that ANR had changed the rules in the seventh inning, Amestoy said, ‘They changed the rules in the bottom of the ninth.’

"That the state can do what it wants, can be arbitrary and capricious, came as a surprise to us." 

THE HOSPITAL ON THE HILL

Fletcher Allen has had more than its share of difficulties. A teaching hospital, it has grown to better serve northern Vermont through the years, buying up Degosbriand and Fanny Allen to become the behemoth on the hill. Today though they have a big hole in their pocket, a big hole in the ground, a union to deal with, and physicians in the dark, hope is just around the corner. Or is it?

Industry experts tell DPR that it will be years if ever for Fletcher to turn itself around. Teaching hospitals have higher costs and traditionally those higher costs have been recognized by the insurance companies which pay most of the bills. No more we are told. "The pressure to bring down insurance premiums is so great. The government reimbursements keep shrinking and employers have had enough. Fletcher is in a uniquely bad situation. It's not just its problems of the last year and its business falloff.

"Most hospitals are in the $1,800 of revenue per patient per day category. For unique but probably non-sustainable reasons, Fletcher is enjoying $2,700 per patient per day yet losing money. When their revenues and reimbursements are cut from $2,700 by 20-30 percent, they will be in real trouble. On top of that, their balance sheet is not good and they need to borrow about $100,000,000 which will not be easy to find and will be quite expensive." 

I’M BEING MORPHED

IBM is "offshoring" to India and beyond such that some employee emails now suggest, "Layoffs coming, may be as early as this Friday or next Friday. Heard from a person who heard from a manager that 20 percent of engineering on the back end of the line is being laid off. We're at 7,000 and rumors are for a reduction of 1,200."

Even Governor Douglas weighed in on the guessing game. "IBM has told me nothing about layoffs. But I have heard the rumblings of more job losses at IBM. I understand that there is a softness in demand for IBM products. They did talk to us about the changes in the market." 

COMPUTERS R US

Thanks to Jim Douglas’s urging, the Legislature granted us a tax holiday this weekend, from Saturday till Monday night, to buy a new computer, tax free, saving you up to six percent of your purchase price. But for individuals only. If you are a small business, the state will whack you upside the head for its tax. We’re a business friendly state of course. But then you could always buy you computer with your personal credit card and be reimbursed by your company.

Or if you are simple minded, keep shopping in New Hampshire and don't strain your brain. 

PARTY ON

Fundraising has fallen on hard times, yet the law of unintended consequences is still in effect. Our government created a campaign finance plan touted by one Waldo as the most strict and far reaching in the universe. He could not, however, bring himself to use it. Almost nobody has. But it does limit contributions to $400 for governor, less for the less powerful.

In a past of unlimited donations, you could drag yourself to the Secretary of State’s office and find out who the moneybags were behind all the parties and candidates. No more. Now folks can give or accumulate big bucks to the National Parties and their affiliates who pass through the money string free to campaigns and parties. Cool or what. 

MONEY, THE MOTHER’S MILK OF POLITICS

Just look what it did for Waldo. Lots of money popped him into the first tier and made him cover boy for Time, Newsweek, and US News. 

On the state level, meanwhile, as has become the standard, the Republicans raised the least, $29,739. Imagine the capitalists being out-raised by the socialists. Only in Vermont and USSR. Skip Vallee once again led the parade as the largest donor using a couple of his entities. The rest of the reported contributors were the usual crowd of lobbyists. Strange but we recall the GOP saying they made up to $35,000 at their Capitol Plaza Gala. Seems that it isn't so.

The Progressives were second, raising $32,131, nothing from the lobbyists. Mayor and governor-wannabe Peter Clavelle chipped in $100 and Representative David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, is on a $20 a month plan. Chris Pearson, though owed $4,375 in back wages, is still on board making things hum. We thought that we might have finally struck the mother lode, unearthing two anonymous contributions on page 18 of their report, one for $15,971 and the other for $21,790. Maybe the Cambodian Communist Party was closing its accounts and forwarding it balances to the last standing socialist power. But no, a call to Prog HQ claimed they were only computer glitches.

The Democrats claimed to have raised $36,762. What do West Chesterfield, NH, Plano and Dallas, TX, and Orem, UT have in common? Or have in common with Vermont? Not sure, but folks from there each gave $1,000 or more to the Dems. Besides Peter Shumlin and the Growalds ($4,000) of Shelburne, only lobbyists and PACs gave to the Dems. Guess they give to everyone. Wonder why? Is it so easy and cheap to buy access? The Democrats do practice what they preach, buying health and now dental insurance for its busy beavers. And they finally gave up on Adelphia Power Link and linked up with Innevi of Randolph. 

BUT MOMMY, WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

So crooned a Burlington attorney on finding herself in Wolcott looking for a deal on a couch. "Not only was I in the middle of nowhere, it felt like shopping ‘south of the border.’" Guess she did not like Buck’s new paint job. 

TIMBERRRRRRRRRR

More wood products companies are going, going, gone. Vermont Tubbs of Brandon, in business since before the Civil War, gave their required 60-day shutdown notice for companies with more than fifty employees. The manufacturing base in Vermont remains in a "free fall" with up to 160 more Vermonters losing their jobs at Tubbs. What’s that we hear from Waldo? "This campaign is about jobs. Bush has lost 2,500,000 jobs. I can get those jobs back." And we thought that he wanted to make the USA like Vermont with our manufacturing sector in a "free fall." How foolish we were. 

POLITICAL JUNKIE HEAVAN

For those of us who are proud to say that we are political junkies, the California recall race is heaven on earth. It will be only two short months, no snow and ice to mess with, the weight lifter from Vienna, the diminutive pugilist, the smut peddler, the bisexual, the Greek goddess, and even a politician or two-hundred. Dreams are made of this stuff. Movies too. 

WIP UPDATE

With Douglas left out to dry by his staff over his call for doomed WIP legislation, the Rutland Herald/Times Argus used its Sunday Editorial Page to whack him. Auditor Elizabeth Ready who just praised Douglas’s ability to reduce travel and phone expense in state government, whacked him again for his WIP plan which "might" bring about a federal takeover or lawsuits or lose us tourist business or maybe just earn Ms. Ready some press.

Suddenly, to the rescue came the Water Resources Board itself which proposed looking at the science to see if some compromise could be reached to begin the process to actually cleaning up the waterways.

Douglas said, "Everyone’s goal is to clean up the waterways and in this case Lake Champlain. We think that the WIP approach is best. But I support the Water Resource Board’s looking at the technical aspects of storm water control to better understand the problems." 

IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID

Douglas went on, "We have an economic environment which is not competitive. We need WIPs, permit reform, lower health care costs, workman’s compensation reform, and lower utility rates in relation to the rest of the country. We are working on changes. Our permit reform bill did not make it through the legislature. I have hope that with work we can still have a one-day session if the conferees can agree on something.

"We are making changes where we can. We are making some administrative changes to workman’s compensation for example. Chairperson Powden of the Environmental Board is also making rule changes. The new jobs at General Dynamics is a strong story in partnership with high tech, our fine educational centers and a comment on our quality of life. The word is already spreading about the General Dynamic move and will help our recruiting efforts." 

VERIZON STRIKES, WHO CARES

We do, unfortunately and unnecessarily. Take Cambodia, for example, where "nearly 90 percent of phones are cellular" according to an AP story. Would they care if Verizon struck? Even in America when younger folks move, to avoid the cost of installation and all that, they sign a quick cell phone contract. In Argentina it used to take years to be hooked up. People were stringing their own lines. Now, wham, you have a dial tone. Seven-and-a-half million Americans have dropped their land lines.

Except of course in Vermont. Service is still spotty as cell towers are aggressive man-eaters, swallowing whole man and beast. Soon when our per capita income falls off the charts, studies will show that the first failed American state collapsed due to a lack of modern communication technology. The researchers will stay in our motels and we will have the privilege of cleaning up after them. 

BERNIE WAS RIGHT?

Judge Patrick Murphy of the United States District Court in Illinois has found that the IBM 1995 pension plan "violated age discrimination provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act."

This proves the age old adage, "Even the blind squirrel gets a few acorns." 

THE ROSEBUD EXPRESS

Shay Totten, formerly of Vermont Times, the Burlington Free Press, and the Barton Chronicle and now of the Auditor’s executive assistant, is out talking of raising money to start a statewide weekly newspaper. "It’s a dream really. I would love to start a statewide paper with good community journalism. I have been talking up the idea for some time but recently more people with money are interested. That said, I do not have an escrow account stashed full of money.

"At times it seems that there is a lack of depth, a lack of historical knowledge and therefore an inability to connect the dots. I think that I can do that and would love to try." So our inquiring mind wanted to know, do you get coffee for Elizabeth? "Of course, I ask her every time I am going out to get my own." 

IT'S LIKE DEAN VERSUS DWYER ALL OVER AGAIN

"...[R]eporters make excuses for Dean's fierce attacks on President Bush. They make Democratic hearts 'soar.' They are not described as 'red meat' for 'Bush haters,' although those words would apply. They use words like 'brusque,' 'feisty,' 'testy' and 'in-your-face.'

"What they're not doing is dipping into the vocabulary they used for conservatives, for example Newt Gingrich. CBS called Newt 'bombastic and ruthless.' NBC chided him as a '"rabid attack dog against anything liberal.' ABC claimed that his 'slash-and-burn rhetoric against Democrats has made him the poster boy for political resentment and rage, and he's proud of it.' Network reporters wrapped these attacks in 'news' stories on Gingrich, and now Dean is only 'feisty.'" --Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Center

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/brentbozell/bb20030806.shtml 

WHERE ARE THE TOUGH GUYS?

Columnists Mona Charen and Kate O'Beirne are asked, "Why are there so many wimpy male journalists?" Their responses:

Miss Charen: "Because they're liberals. Not to say there aren't some conservative wimps. But conservatives never really bought into the notion of androgyny or into feminism, and so conservative men never felt the need to abandon their manliness. Liberal men, on the other hand, thought that was being enlightened. So, since most journalists are liberal, a lot of them are wimpy."

Miss O'Bierne: "It goes back to how these journalists spent their high school years, which I assume was being stuffed into lockers by other males. This also explains the whole media love affair with John McCain. He created a fighter pilot ready-room in the back of his bus and told off-color jokes and brought these former high school nerds into the circle of the cool guy. They were so thrilled that one of the jocks was finally paying attention to them that they just swooned." --September, 2003 issue of the American Enterprise 

SAVE OUR JOBS!

»» Ed Malila, Milton: The State of Vermont needs to start paying attention, as the Golden Goose (IBM)is slowly leaving town. Our current governor is well aware of IBM's importance. Unfortunately Howard, the Democrats and the environmental wackos don't understand IBM's financial importance in the state, and did nothing to support IBM. If IBM leaves it will send the state into cardiac arrest. 

IBM needs the Circ highway completed to ship its billions of dollars worth of products on time and get people in and out quickly. IBM does not need Vermont and if they decide to source products elsewhere, it's going to get very ugly around Chittenden County. Fortunately, IBM has been very patient as Vermonters have always come through and delivered for IBM. But our previous Governor, King Howard, did not do anything to get Fab 2000 in Vermont or put a support structure in place to help IBM. 

A major business like IBM generates billions of dollars in product sales which drives billions in wages, housing starts, support businesses, taxes, etc. And once it's gone it will not be back and the money and people will be in NY or some other state. Vermont is a special place and that's why IBM has been so successful here, but money talks and people walk. So, I hope our legislature does the right thing and gets the Circ highway done. 

RAW MATERIAL FOR NIGHTMARES

»» Steve Allen, Ryegate: Given the rather dismal enthusiasm for the current Democrat candidates, I predict Hillary will save lots of bucks by not "seeking" the nomination but will accept it "for the good of the Party" when drafted... 

SPACE INVADERS

»» Michael Ticehurst: I'm beginning to believe that the CLF and these environment groups are really invaders from another planet because it seems to me their #1 reason for existence is to STOP ALL HUMAN PROGRESS!!! I mean, what other purpose do they serve, if not to halt the progress of all humans by NOT allowing an inch of land use to any of us? If we humans are NOT allowed to build more roads & highways to spread out, invest in our businesses by erecting more buildings to increase our livelihood, propagate the population of our own kind by developing more housing and living environments, then how will we continue to grow and prosper? 

Are we expected to be content with our present condition or the existence of our state of living? What other purpose would the CLF have if they were not trying to curb the spread of humans into the vast innocent wilderness? What exactly are they trying to do for us? Quality of life you say? How exactly are we expected to live life with quality if there's no one here to live it? Maybe it is not human lives that they're really concerned with here...which makes me wonder. Are these people really aliens from another world or dimension? 

UPWARD MOBILITY

»» Rob Roper: In quick defense of John McClaughry and the Reagan tax cuts: There is an awful pitfall we often fall into when looking at quintiles. The second people start analyzing quintiles, they become in everyone's minds like the Indian Caste system -- static inescapable boxes of social strata. Not the case in our free democratic society. The real beauty of Reagan's policies was that over his eight years in office, more people who started out in the bottom quintile climbed their way out, and a stunning number (I wish I had it at my fingertips to share) made it into the top. The majority of the bottom quintile of citizens is not made up of the perpetual poor. They are mostly young people, just entering the job market, who haven't had time to earn anything yet. As such, there are always crops of young about-to-go go-getters filling out the bottom fifth of our poverty pie. Reagan, more than anybody, gave these folks the means and opportunities to slingshot their way out of t! he bottom. 

»» Robert Maynard, Williston: In his on going argument with John McClaughry over the Reagan tax cuts, Alexey Voinov asserts that: "It's the income gap that makes a poor person poor. The larger the gap, the poorer are the poor." While technically accurate, the term "poor" is a relative term, it is an argument that reminds me of the old definition of a Puritan being someone with a fear that somewhere, someone may be having a good time. In other words, regardless of whether a tax cut leaves us better off than we were, we are not supposed to be satisfied if someone else is left even better off. It is the standard class warfare argument rooted in the age old human emotion of envy. May I add that it is an argument used by Hitler and the Nazi's against the Jews and by Roman Caesar's to maintain their political power. In fact, some form of the "divide and conquer" approach has been used by just about every demagogue, with visions of a totalitarian dictatorship, that has ever ca! me along. One of the reasons why Jewish people were so severely demonized wherever they lived was the fact that they were financially successful.

Frankly, I really do not care if people who make up the so-called "rich" have more money than me or not, unless they got it by taking it away from me. It is not the rich that take my money without my consent, but the government. Nor am I overly exercised about the rich benefiting more from a tax break, as they pay far more in taxes than I do.

According to the Tax Foundation's special report entitled "Who Pays the Federal Individual Income Tax?", the top-earning 25 percent of taxpayers earned more than two-thirds of the nation's income (67.3%) and paid more than five out of every six dollars collected by the federal income tax (84%) in 2000. There were 32 million tax returns in the top 25 percent, all with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $55,225. The top one percent of U.S. taxpayers (annual income over $313,469) made 20.8 percent of the income earned in 2000 and paid 37.4 percent of the total federal individual income taxes collected that year. This fraction of the tax burden paid by the top one percent - well over a third of the total - is up from 25.1 percent ten years earlier in tax year 1990. At the other end of the income spectrum, the bottom 50 percent of the nation's taxpayers earned only 13.0 percent of all income in 2000, but they paid an even smaller fraction of the federal individual income taxes collected - 3.9 percent.

Yes, there is an income gap, but there is an even bigger gap between those pulling the load and those riding in the wagon. For all the class warfare inspired rhetoric about the rich "paying their fair share", the cold hard reality is just the opposite. Aggravating this problem is the fact that the number of those paying the lion's share of the taxes is dwindling. What we have here is a political minority that is being taken to the cleaners by the majority. This is one of the factors that leads to the downfall of democratic societies.

It is past time that we stop allowing the political class to drive a wedge between those of us in the private sector for the sole purpose of expanding the power of government. When I got laid off from IBM, it was those who were successful in business who provided me with the inspiration to start my own business. While I am still in the red and a LONG way from being considered successful, I draw inspiration from those who have made it. Far from making me envious, or resentful, the success stories of people like Michael Dell and Bill Gates, gives me hope and provides me with a lesson in what it takes to be successful. We would all benefit far more if we concentrated on learning the secrets of success from such people, rather than insisting that "Big Mama" government punish them for being more successful than we are. 

PEEVED

»» Rob Towle, Rutland City: As the upcoming election season is drawing near, I have a pet peeve. Why is that people such as Bernie Sanders and Howard Dean receive coverage of every sneeze and hiccup in the paper or on the radio and it is not considered a contribution to their respective campaigns, yet they lead the charge (supposedly) for Campaign Finance Reform?? I guess they really mean Challenger Campaign Finance reform.

Oh, by the way Congressman Sanders....The Republicans wished they had the control over the media the way you say we do. I don't remember the Rutland Herald being Right about anything except which way you turn going north to get to Woodstock. Tri-lateral commission media does not exist not matter how many times you can say Murdoch. Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, and the other anchors we have endured over the many years have not lead the way on the Conservative Agenda and probably won't no matter how many times you make this infantile charge. Dems and Progressives really believe that people are stupid...

BLACK HELICOPTORS

»» Bill Brueckner, Waterbury Center: [Re., I've Been There] Thank-you Mr Ticehurst for making my point. Reaction to the two specific examples I mentioned demonstrated that the police were treating a report for the request for help with a type of military invasion that promotes heightened tension of all present forcing police to use deadly force. You have confirmed that. No crime requiring deadly force is initially being reported so obviously the police intrusion escalated the promotion of events to that level. What ever happened to police training that promoted the evacuation of all in the area and discussions. We still have not discussed the people who are making rules, regulation and procedures for police training that are not accountable to the public. Why do we have police with procedures that use deadly force that are not the subject of public input and the legislative processes of our government. Deadly force is certainly as serious as taxation and the environment. Do we simply have a police state? 

CAMPAIGN EXPENSE: GAS?

»» Bob Hardy, Vergennes: [Re., Jumpin' Jim goes to Hollywood] I guess that new looking Chrysler Town and Country with Vermont #2 U.S. Senate plates in the office garage is for the use of the staff. Is that an SUV? 

FIRST HE SCREWED UP VEPC...

»» John F. Schwartz, West Lebanon, NH: You wrote in the 8/1/03 DPR "If VEPC had been empowered to provide credits and incentives to protect the businesses which already exist in the state, Vermont might have had an opportunity to save some of those 10,000+ jobs which have disappeared."

In the August 6 Media Research (http://www.mediaresearch.org/) Cyberalert I read: "Lauer's questions to Dean on the August 5 Today on Tuesday morning, as transcribed by MRC analyst Geoffrey Dickens: 'Ten seconds left. Are you too liberal to win the general election?' Dean: 'If balancing budgets means I'm too liberal then call me liberal because I, I think that's what the country needs and I think the country desperately needs jobs again.'"

Hmmmm... Thanks for your good work. 

ERRATUM

»» Franz Reichsman, Brattleboro: Regarding Vice President Cheney's address only being in the Washington Times: A Google search on "cheney torture chambers" yielded 2790 hits, including coverage of Cheney's speech in the New York Times, CBS News, Washington Post, Sacramento Bee, msnbc, and Boston Globe, in addition to the Washington Times. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think I even read about it in the Brattleboro Reformer. 

Contributor's note: Mr. Reichsman is correct. We searched on "Cheney" and part of another key paragraph, "They target the innocent as a means of spreading chaos and fear." This still turns up only a few reports, but more than it did a week earlier. Search engine lag? 

THEY LIKE US

»» Former Burlington Mayor and Senator Peter Brownell, Richmond: Enjoy reading your report. 

THE RESTAURANT IS NOT OPEN 

"Bird feeders are not meant to be bear bait." --Governor Jim Douglas, August 6, 2003 

HOW MANY LIBERALS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE... 

"Five. One to change the bulb, and four to screw it up." --Garrison Keillor, VPR, Annual Joke Show, 8/2/03 

THREE FLAVORS 

"...the [Vermont] state legislature tends to come in three ideological flavors, moderate Republicans, liberal Democrats and left-wing Progressives..." --Michael Powell, Washington Post, 8/2/03 

WALDO'S NEW CLOTHES 

"Monday night on CNBC, David Shuster delivered another effort to portray Howard Dean as less than liberal... As if supporting massive new spending and further government intervention into peoples’ lives makes you a centrist so long as you raise taxes to pay for it and, therefore, maintain a balanced budget." --The Media Center CyberAlert for 8/6/03

http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20030806.asp#1

"Mr. Dean ... proposes to repeal all three of the Bush tax cuts, right down to the last penny for every taxpayer. In addition, as he recently told NBC's Tim Russert, he'd raise the income threshold on the payroll tax... --The Wall Street Journal

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110003827 

DON'T HOLD BACK! 

"... I have a simple message to pass along: the national Democrat party seems to have lost its marbles. ...Just look at their presidential candidates: it's like they're lost in a time warp. They want to tax like Mondale and spend like Carter. Everyone else got the memo that big-government, blame-America-first liberalism died with disco..." --House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, speaking to Republican college students in Washington last Friday. 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,92971,00.html 

YOU'LL NEVER HEAR DAN RATHER REPEAT THIS... 

"Christopher Hitchens, a decidedly non-credulous international journalist, told Fox News, 'It's quite extraordinary to see the way American soldiers are welcomed. To see the work that they're doing — and not just rolling up these filthy networks of Ba'athists and jihadists — but building schools, opening soccer stadiums, helping connect to the Internet, there is a really intelligent political program as well as a very tough military one.' Because the daily lives of Iraqis are improving and political stability is increasing, Wall Street Journal editor Paul Gigot reports from Najaf that, 'The majority aren't worried we'll stay too long; they're petrified we'll leave too soon.'" -- Washington Times Editorial, 7/28/03

http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20030728-084132-1405r.htm 

OR THIS
(from the same Op-Ed as above)

"Since the end of the war to oust Saddam's regime, much has been made of the isolated ambushes on U.S. troops, and the media has hyped the non-story that Americans are already tiring of the mounting body count. A frequent line — especially on TV news shows — is that this resistance is in marked contrast to the peaceful time American GIs had reconstructing Germany after a longer and nastier Second World War. This is not in fact the case, as pockets of Nazis did employ a hit-and-run guerrilla campaign to try to dissuade allied occupation and reconstruction. From the fall of Berlin in May 1945 and into 1947, Nazi resistance fighters — known as werewolves — blew up roads and bridges, assassinated German officials cooperating with the Allies, sniped at GIs, sacked museums and undertook countless other acts of vigilantism and sabotage. Eventually this mayhem passed and Germany became a peace-loving capitalist democracy. The goal in Iraq is a difficult one, but progress is being made — and is now finally being reported on." 

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