WE’RE BACK

Well, not really, but monthly we will give it a try. We appreciate all your cards and letters, emails mostly, lamenting the cessation of our weekly communications. We appreciate even more those of you who sent money. For the foreseeable future we will publish monthly.

Much of our creative efforts will by necessity be based on our experiences here in the old country. We will also have dispatches from the New World. Thanks for all your encouragement. We will need to receive small bits of cash flow to meet our operating costs. So keep those card and letters stuffed with money coming to DPR at 610 Mason Road, Randolph, VT 05060. Thanks. 

NEW EUROPE CREATES

Ryanair is an Irish low cost carrier established in 1985. From humble beginnings it now carries over 15,000,000 passengers a year. Its CEO Michael O’Leary came up with a great scheme. He contacted the Chamber of Commerce type groups in out of the way French towns with an airport. He persuaded them that they might be better off to spend their promotional Euros with Ryanair than with the London Daily Telegraph.

And so they did and Ryanair began bringing thousands of Englishmen and women to unheard of French towns such as Carcassone, Dinard, Bergerac, Perpignan and La Rochelle. They bought country homes, spent money fixing them up, brought friends for dinner out and shopping. Areas which had fallen on very hard times began recovering economically.

Ryanair is currently offering free seats to many destinations; you pay only taxes and fees. For details go to: http://www.ryanair.com

OLD EUROPE SUES

All these good times for so many may come to an end. Air France sued about such an arrangement in Strasbourg. "The resistance is being orchestrated by union-dominated Air France, a blatant example of the xenophobic, statist, anti-competitive mindset which has done so much to hold back the economies of what we now think of as ‘old’ Europe," writes British columnist Martin Vander Weyer. And of course French courts gave Air France a victory. Ryanair cancelled service forcing 17,000 passengers a year to fly via Charles de Gaulle Airport at $652 instead of $59 non-stop.

"The savings on the ticket is injected into the local economy in the form of a great lunch or new plumbing instead of sustaining the bad habits of Air France. The real subsidies are the huge state bail-outs which have kept Air France lumbering unreformed. Air France is a living museum of nationalized industry mismanagement and refusal to adapt. Air France operates with almost twenty times more staff per passenger than Ryanair."

BERNIE AIR

"Air France managers show no appetite for outfacing the unions or slashing costs, repeatedly citing the importance of ‘social’ factors, that is job preservation, in their strategy."

VERMONT AIR

Maybe encouraging such a scheme for Vermont would help those communities desperate for economic relief. Take the Northeast Kingdom for example. Ethan Allen’s president has suggested that soon Ethan Allen will close both its Orleans and Beecher Falls plants. For the folks in Beecher Falls, there is no other employer; their homes would become unsaleable, bank loans uncollectible, and local jobs unavailable. Promoting a destination in Newport or Island Pond from Hartford’s Bradley Field, New York’s Kennedy Airport or Toronto, might be a really good idea.

Dining at Island Pond’s Buck and Doe (to be reopened October 15th as Loon’s Landing) may not be French dining at its best but it sure is a unique experience for a flatlander. Ponds, lakes, wilderness, lodges, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and birding beckon. 

OLD VERMONT OR NEW VERMONT

Certainly, there is a constituency for Vermont becoming more like old Europe: statist, paternalistic, high taxes, and more cradle to grave services. Vermont’s largest employer is the public school system, followed by the state and the quasi public Fletcher Hospital system. One has to go a long way to find as large a private employer.

Vermont has turned itself into a haven for the hassled wealthy flatlander to come weekends and holidays to rejuvenate, some in their million dollar retreats. France is similar in that its basic competitiveness is questionable while its cradle to grave approach and its service to the second home owner and traveler is strong. 

GO EAST YOUNG WOMEN AND MEN

In the last year, over 1,000,000 left California to go east for development opportunities and freedom as people were "overtaxed, over-regulated, government over-spent, and workman’s compensation and employer costs increased to non-sustainable levels" according to a report in USAA Magazine. Sound familiar? 

THE DEAN LEGACY CONTINUES

Unfortunately our departure from the scene has not helped stem the tide of plant closings and layoffs. Melsur Corporation of Westminster, a leading manufacturer of plastic school furniture, laid off twenty-five. They did not however lay off anyone at their Alabama plant. Killington Wood Products joined many other wood related companies on the sidelines announcing that they will close putting thirty out of work. They manufacture and re-manufacture pallets. Milton Pallets closed a few years ago.

Vermont Fasteners Manufacturing with plants in Swanton and Georgia announced that both will be closed by the end of the year throwing another forty five out of work. Vermont Fasteners, Canadian owned, is known for good wages and benefits.

Dixville Glove Factory, in business since 1932, announced that due to foreign competition they had closed their operations putting one hundred and thirty North Country folks out of work. The State of Vermont announced that they were accepting offers on the old state farm, that collection of yellow barns just south of the Waterbury Duxbury line. However, they would only accept "limited development" on the site. Heavens, we sure would not want the local people to decide what to allow nor would we want lots of development employing lots of people providing lots of good and services to discerning consumers.

Meanwhile Congressman Bernie Sanders is holding a forum "on the plight of federal workers." Give us a break. While his state’s economy goes down the toilet, the economy which provides the taxes which support his federal workers, he needs to protect "the job security of federal employees." Nobody else seems to have job security, so why do federal workers who have gold plated benefits need to have an exemption from the real world? 

SAY GOOD BYE TO THE BIGGEST

Eighteen years of Democrat liberal rule has driven the largest business and the largest private employer from Vermont. As presidential aspirant Dean said recently, being a moderate Democrat in Vermont is being a liberal Democrat in any other state.

C&S Wholesale Grocers with sales over $9,700,000,000 had been content in Brattleboro and was even willing to build its own interstate exit for its growing warehouse business. But folks down there concluded that C&S really was not a good fit anyway and the business expanded in Massachusetts instead and announced its intention to move the rest of its business to Keene, NH.

And IBM is slowly leaving. Who lost IBM? It was not any one thing. It was the anti-business nature of our liberal rulers over the previous eighteen years. No Circ, higher energy costs, higher taxes, more regulation, longer permit process, higher health insurance costs, higher workmans’ compensation insurance costs, and commissions, boards, and agencies packed with anti business folk! 

THERE IS NO SPRAWL

Here in England, there is no sprawl. Looking out over our city of Bristol, the housing suddenly ends and the farm land begins. It is beautiful and quaint, really lovely. They do allow their fields to grow up to brush, everything is neat and tidy, fields all mown or grazed. There is a catch.

Homes have no yards, people have no space, and appliances are tiny as are closets, rooms, and garages. Your refrigerator and freezer could comfortably sit in the passenger seat of your Mini. You live on top of each other. Roads are so narrow that side mirrors are the usual road kill. 

PROTECT OUR CULTURE

A leading Welsh politician has created a stir. He has been tarred as an anti-immigrant. It seems many English are retiring to cottages in Wales.

He defends himself however, saying, "I am only speaking about protecting our unique culture. I am not speaking about keeping anybody out. It is our very unique culture that attracted these folks in the first place. To protect that would seem to be in everyone’s best interest." 

E.T. PHONE HOME

To phone Randolph from the United Kingdom, the cost is three and a quarter cents per minute. To call Montpelier from Randolph costs eight cents per minute. Perhaps some eager reporter would like to find out why instead of living off press releases. 

CULTURE WARS UK

Some things do not change. Parliament set up funds to "strengthen marriage along the lines set out in the government document 'Supporting Families.'" Instead, $78,000 went for an "inner enigma self-help group for pre- and post-operative transsexuals" and more went to "Icebreakers, a group which help people cope with the stress of coming out." Another $75,000 went to a group which "counsels lesbians on issues of HIV and depression."

WHO HAS THE LAST WORD?

The papers here are full of the "gay bishop." The old world is not as amused as the new. There is of course irony. For years the liberals have espoused solidarity with the black man, both in America and abroad. More recently the liberals have espoused solidarity with the gay man. In the Church of England or the Anglican Church or as called in the New World the Episcopal Church, the black man has lobbied against a gay bishop, especially the black men abroad. But those pleas from their former "best friend" have fallen on deaf liberal ears

For tasty revenge, the Church of England is suggesting that they in fact own all the Episcopal real estate in America, quite vast even in Vermont, and that they will reclaim their lands and buildings from those who support the gay bishop. The new Episcopal order may hold their services in vacant storefronts at the local malls if the Church here wishes, but not in the church buildings owned by the Mother Church.

To join in the debate, "how can Anglican unity be preserved," write Mailto:debate@thetimes.co.uk 

FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER

President Vincente Fox of Mexico told Alma Guillermoprieto of the New Yorker, "The PRD, Partido de la Revolucion Democratica, has an electoral ceiling of twenty percent, as the left does in general all over the world," except of course in Vermont. 

BUSINESS FRIENDLIES AND FLEXIBILITY

Years ago and close to you, towns passed zoning ordinances. They did so after study and public hearings. They organized their town into residential, farming, manufacturing/industrial, commercial, and so forth. How are they doing in the new millennia?

Here is an example. In Randolph, two factories in the industrial zone have closed, Ethan Allen and Waterbury Plastics. Both are moving operations to China. As one old salt told DPR, if you are in manufacturing today, you are either in China or in bankruptcy. The buildings were recently purchased or are on the market.

The zoning ordinances say that they can only be used for manufacturing. That’s great, but manufacturing is gone and is not coming back. So how about a mixed use, some offices, health facilities, or an art gallery. Plenty of parking, easy access, and well known locations. Nope, zoning says that you must manufacturer and/or support that manufacturing. Flexibility? Nope, zoning has no flexibility. Or common sense.

Opportunity knocks, opportunity moves on to friendlier climes. Too bad, folks could have used the jobs. Heard the state was hiring. Fortunately in Randolph, the select board is "heaving to" in order to try and change the zoning laws to reflect the reality of today.

According to the Herald of Randolph, Development Review Board member Joel Tillburg pronounced that the existing zoning ordinances were "brought over on the Mayflower and had not been dusted off since." The Board also moved to repair the breech. 

THE GOOD PARENT TRAP

Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren and McKinsey consultant Amelia Tyagi have written a book, The Two Income Trap, which asks the question, why are middle-class mothers and fathers going broke?

Their answer is: "The decline of public education has dramatically raised the price of housing in good school districts, prompting parents to overstretch on mortgages and bid up the price of a middle class life," according to a report in Business Week. Just check out the cost of housing in Hanover or Norwich, Manchester or Dorset.

The authors go on to say, "Having a child is now the single biggest predictor that a woman will end up in financial ruin." So much for family values. So much for VT NEA claims that it is all about the children. Theirs maybe but not ours.

Business week, page 9, Sept 15, 2003 (International edition) http://www.businessweek.com/premium/content/03_37/b3849034_mz005.htm?se=1 (subscription required) 

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Check this out, the new legal frontier. According to the August 9th Economist, a recent court decision in London, UK provides an example. Steven Horkulak went to work for Cantor Fitzgerald as a broker in 1997. He left in 2000. He left because his workplace was only interested in "making money for the company and for yourself."

The stress of his job, "not accommodating its employees but dictating to them and to requiring them to perform," was too great for Steven. The stress drove him to cocaine, drink, and lap-dancing, and this from a man who only "wanted nothing so much as to be at home tucking up his wife and three children." So of course he sued after "being driven from his job as enormous bonuses created high pressure." He won $1,761,000 

LAWYERS WIN

What else is new? Arthur Anderson goes kaput over the misguided efforts of an employee servicing Enron, but attorneys who are equally deep in deception emerge unscathed, maybe even enhanced. A recent American Bar Association meeting served up "weak gruel" in now allowing attorneys to breech attorney-client privilege when faced with criminal acts. One would think that as an officer of the court and therefore part of our criminal justice system that this would not necessarily have been a big step forward.

Business is huge for attorneys in the permit application process. A report in the Economist suggests that in California today the permit process adds $70,000 to the cost of each home. And we have conferences on why there is no low-cost housing. 

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

Remember Ronald Reagan’s little ditty, facts are funny things or something like that? According to a report in the Free Press, our Queen City’s housing stock cost is 125 percent above the national average, and 44 percent higher than Plattsburgh, just across the lake. Meanwhile, wages in Burlington are 9.4 percent below the national average.

Not much good news on the school front. Again we spend more than any other country but reported results in math, reading and science are near the bottom. We are clearly not getting what we are paying for. The average cost per student in the developed world is $6,361 while we spend 61 percent more than that or $10,240 per student. We rank 19th in math, 15th in reading, and 14th in science according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. What me worry? In the United Kingdom, we are 8th in math, 7th in reading, and 4th in science. 

DODGE CITY

Dodge City but where is Wyatt Earp when we need him. A shoot out in the North End of Burlington only left the wounded and the shaken. Another shoot-em-up occurred just inside the upscale Parima Restaurant just off the Church Street Mall leaving police digging rounds out of the ceiling. No one was injured. On the Church Street Mall a fellow had his neck cut, only an eight inch gash, leaving him with scars but alive. Just off the Mall, Walt Glover plugged in his power wheel chair to recharge. As he dozed, someone stole his chair.

With a record of rampant violent crime, unaffordable housing and low wages, Mayor Peter Clavelle now sees himself as governor material. Like our beloved Waldo, he will do for Vermont what he did for Burlington. Hurray. 

DEAN SPEAKS TO LABOR UNIONS

"He accused union leaders last night of suffering the 100-year-old ‘delusion.’ He went on to say, 'The idea of a left-wing labor government as the alternative to a moderate one is the abiding delusion of 100 years of our party.'" Actually, it was British Prime Minister Tony Blair addressing a dinner of the union conference. We have not heard this sort of thing from our Waldo. 

ARE REPORTERS LIBERAL?

"...people who work in (BBC) news mostly share a soft-lens world-view: instinctive statism, cordial anti-capitalism, and bien-pensant liberal internationalism. Reporters prejudices, allied with their preference in news for context and commentary over facts, yielded a generally pessimistic account of British and American actions before, during, and after the Iraq war." The Economist, August 2003 

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN

Ever notice that in the local press nobody is ever referred to as a Republican, only a conservative Republican? This in spite of Howard Dean’s assertion that a moderate Democrat in Vermont is a liberal anywhere else might lead one to say that a moderate Republican is a Democrat any where else. Even a conservative Republican is a moderate any where else. And in Vermont, GOP is almost spit out as a three letter word parading as a four letter word. 

LIBERTARIANS UNITE

»» Hardy Macia, Grand Isle: Douglas said: "Jobs are growing in government, health care and education. Overall jobs are up."

Do I understand this correctly? Jobs are growing in tax-funded industries of government, health care, and education, but we are losing jobs in the other industries. Can anyone say "taxed to death"? It's a good thing the Free State Project is happening because we don't need anymore of the Democrats or Republicans tax and spending to dig us deeper into trouble. 

Liberty in our lifetime: http://www.freestateproject.com 

AWESOME

»» Eric Jacobs, Burlington: Awesome. I know you get this, but this is edition is especially awesome. 

WHAT WILL THEY DO NEXT?

»» Carol Brown Bedford, Albany, NY: The notice of your sabbatical surprised us. We have enjoyed your newsletter and will miss it.

I was born and brought up in Vermont. We have a piece of property in Vermont where we were planning to retire. We may not do that now. Vermont has changed a lot just since the 1980’s when we bought our land. Your newsletter has confirmed what so many of my friends have been saying. In the town where I grew up, people who run the town are not local people but mostly real estate people who have come in as "flatlanders." They are more interested in their personal pocketbooks than the general welfare of the community. These folks seem to bypass the history and culture of the community for their own interpretation of "progress." Progress is needed but not on the same terms as where they originally came from!

Which goes back to our property. Sure enough, now there is more regulation. I am all in favor of conservation and protecting land, but within reason and within a balance. We have been paying taxes on this land for years and bought it with the sole purpose of building on it. With our recent tax bill came a notice about new laws for water and septic.

We must file engineering and building plans now even though we do not know when we might build. According to what we were told, we must build by 2007 or we might not ever be able to build. That means that we will probably have to sell the land instead of ending up owning unusable land. We had also thought about giving half of our 10.1 acres to each of our children but apparently we may not be able to do that either.

This new "law" if I understand it correctly really makes me angry. I have always bragged about being a Vermonter. Don’t think that I want to admit that now! 

THEY LIKE US

»» Governor Jim Douglas, Middlebury: Thanks, James, for your fine work over these nearly 3 years. I hope the sabbatical is enjoyable & invigorating, and that you're be back in form next year...when we'll really need you! Godspeed.

»» John McClaughry, Concord: This is a good occasion to tell you how much I have benefited from DPR these past three years, and how much I'll miss it. You deserve to take a lot of satisfaction for what you have done. Thank you.

»» Dennis Myrick, Danville: "Thanks Jim!"

»» Barbara K. Duquette, Newport: Thank you for your service as a voice for an often unheard community. You have been inspirational in your dedication and your courage. Your observations have often provided me, as an editor, with the opportunity to take a second or third look at what was ostensibly run-of-the-mill "news" churned out by media oblivious to its own bias, so sure it was of its righteousness and fair representation of the people.

I wish you well on your sabbatical and hope that your are enriched by your experience, as those of us who have been fortunate enough to receive your newsletter every week have been enriched by your work.

»» Laurie Morrow, Montpelier: Best wishes on your Sabbatical. Hope whatever had you dodging moose at 1 a.m. worked out well. Hoping that the Aug 2004 issue of the DPR will find us better than you now leave us. Bon voyage.

»» Ralph F Colin, Jr., Dorset: I'm going to miss DPR. I always looked forward to and was stimulated every Friday morning by DPR. You're leaving a huge void.

DPR provided an enormous service to the many of us who are ignored and defiled by Vermont's predominantly "liberal" and biased press. Often, the ONLY way we learned of certain issues and got the real facts was from DPR. Your sabbatical will mean that nobody will be there to put the press' and certain governmental bodies' or bureaucrats' feet to the fire. It's going to be like our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other remote habitats: we'll be forced to eat MRE's fed to us by the BFP and the Russian Herald, their fellow travellers and the alphabets, CLF, VNRC and VPIRG.

Good luck, have fun and don't stay away any longer than necessary.

»» Joan Hadden: Thanks for the great job!!! You will be greatly missed! Enjoy your sabbatical!

»» Neal Laybourne, Barre: Have a great time on "sabbatical" this next year. Have really enjoyed my late Thursday night reading and the challenging statistics that you bring up -- I've really appreciated this alternative to the VT official press crew.

»» Mark Lafayette: To not have the Dwinell Report makes this a very say day. The last issue was a classic. I have forwarded it to some of my liberal acquaintances.

»» Rep. Mike Obuchowski: Thanks for the democratic memories. Good luck and hurry back.

»» John Bauer, Vermont Voice: The best of luck to you. 

»» Dave O'Grady, Jericho: I am sad to hear you will not be doing the DPR and are going away, but I am excited about your new calling in the UK. It sounds like another Vermont loss and somewhere else's gain. Please do send us you views from Europe, and please do keep the money I sent. (I wish I had sent more)... You saved your best work for your last issue, I must say! 

»» Glenn Martin: We will miss you. Good luck in your new venture!

»» Jim Daley, Colchester: What a bummer!!!!!! You have been Vermont's light at the end of the tunnel. If I can do anything to keep this thing alive...let me know. Best Wishes for Jolly Old.....

»» Deacon Peter Brooks: There goes DPR and along with it my last portal to a sane world... Thank-you, best wishes and Godspeed.

»» Russ Spreeman: I hope that you will still put up an occasional edition of the DPR, or that you will return to regular publishing when you can. For the time being please leave up the site as it is for the present. The archives are well worth reading.

»» Phillip and Ann Johnson: My wife and I shall miss the weekly report much. It was a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak Vermont political and social landscape. Jim Douglas and Brian Dubie are certainly cause for optimism but we need to do so much it seems hopeless.

I hope you shall return in a year, refreshed and ready to again tweak both sides - it does us all good to be prodded into looking more closely at ourselves. You've opened many eyes with the reports, a great service to Vermont.

Have a wonderful sabbatical.

»» Lou King, Poultny: On the one hand, I wish you a rewarding venture in the UK, on the other hand, it seems that the "bad guys" outlast the "good guys". I will miss your informative reports.

»» Karen Kerin: Have a good time in England my friend. I met a lot of good people there, but was very disappointed with the quality of living standards. Do email from time to time. There aren't enough of us left. You nailed it in your magnum opus depatus. God Speed & return safely.

»» Francis S. Jones, Bennington: I am deeply saddened by the loss of your informative and incisive reports. Your service has been very valuable and a source of fresh air.

»» Janet Peduzzi, East Montpelier: Sorry to hear you are headed across "The Big Pond" and will be gone so long, but know that your "Dwinell Political Report" was faithfully read and digested favorably, after I found it, and will be deeply missed. You surely addressed what is going on here in our back yard, and we appreciated it and your views, as well as those of readers and writers! Enjoy your sabbatical in England! 

»» Ken Smith: I am disappointed to learn we will not be able to receive your insight regularly. I loved reading your report. I do wish you the best and hope you can periodically keep us apprised of what is really going on in our own back yard in Vermont from Bristol, UK.

»» Lester Corwin, South Royalton: Thank you and God speed. 

»» Peter Taylor, South Burlington: Thanks and enjoy your year!

»» Dee McGrath, Georgia: Where would we be without watch-dogs like you! We would be surrounded by total insanity and very few to quell the yelling of the chicken-little liberals over the deteriorating environment at the cost of freedom and a moral-less behavior that robs family and human life. Thanks more than these words can ever express. 

ONE BIG SCHOOL SYSTEM 

"In 1930 there were 200,000 school boards in the United States. Today, with twice as many citizens and three times as many students in our public schools, we have only 15,000. Once one of every 500 citizens sat on a school board; today it's one out of nearly 20,000. Once most of us knew a school board member personally; today it's rare to know one. ...

"It's no wonder that most citizens aren't concerned about the demise of public education: It's been a long time since education felt like a public enterprise -- except for who pays for it." --Deborah Meier, American School Board Journal, September, 2003

http://www.asbj.com/current/coverstory.html 

YET DEAN WOULD DO NOTHING 

"Despite my initial opposition to the war, I am now convinced, whether we find any weapons of mass destruction or prove Saddam sheltered and financed terrorists, absolutely, we should have overthrown the Baathists, indeed, we should have done it sooner.

"What changed my mind? When we left in mid June, 57 mass graves had been found, one with the bodies of 1200 children. There have been credible reports of murder, brutality and torture of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iraqi citizens. There is poverty on a monumental scale and fear on a larger one. That fear is still palpable." --Don Walters, a federal judge from Shreveport, LA., after a recent trip to Iraq 

Read the full speech here: http://globalspecops.com/view.html 

Do you enjoy the Dwinell Political Report? Think of a voluntary subscription. For $25, you can receive the newsletter for a year and help offset the costs of production. Make checks payable to JDLS Publishing, LLC and mail to 610 Mason Road, Randolph, VT 05060.

The Dwinell Political Report is published weekly by JDLS Publishing, LLC.
Portions of the Dwinell Political Report may be reprinted with attribution.

Contact the Editor with news & comments at: jd007g2940@blueyonder.co.uk or 802.728.4793

The mission of the Dwinell Political Report is to give readers another view of the news that is refreshing, provocative and sometimes irreverent.