WASN’T HE FUNNY?

And he was. In a huge turnout for an Ethan Allen Institute, P. J. O’Rourke, a national political columnist and satirist, was very entertaining. O’Rourke who lives in Sharon, NH describes Vermont as "an upside down New Hampshire where everything loose just rolled out."

O’Rourke had lots of one-liners. Try these: Vermont is that little state to the left. Or, if you think health care is expensive, wait until it’s free. Or, politics is about looking for people with money and then mugging them. Or, the Republicans campaign by saying that government does not work, get elected, and then prove it. Or, letting lawyers write laws is like letting the drug companies invent diseases. Or, all SUV’s which have not been off road in the last six months should be confiscated. Or, most of us got over the 60’s, the rest became university professors.

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT

Yet O’Rourke through all his satire developed a clear message. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s ass, etc. Government is for the folks who covet that which they do not have and do not want to work for. Government comes to take your hard-earned money, gives it to them, and earns their vote. Some people make more money and we just cannot have that. They think that we need to close the gap so that everyone keeps about the same. Should we close the beauty gap so that everyone looks like Margaret Thatcher? Should we close the football gap so that everyone is the same size?

The graduated income tax is a success penalty. What this country needs is wealth not a zero sum game. When someone wins, we all win. Economic vitality requires that we not covet, that we not envy. Politics creates those who covet. The antidote is clear. Go to Hell!

DEAN’S NO LIBERAL

O’Rourke had kind words for our dear departed Dean, saying "His entire campaign is 'it worked in Vermont.' Yet Dean is no ultra liberal or even liberal as he is characterized. In an article in next month’s Atlantic I write, 'Dean’s proposals are much less costly than Gephardt's. Dean says simply that we could insure all the children in Vermont because it was cheap, kids don't get sick.'" 

THE KING HAS RISEN

Finally Vermonters have a governor whom they like and will re-elect and who will continue to bring good government and continuity to the state. Only Vermont and New Hampshire elect their governors every two years, the rest every four, except of course California which elects whenever.

Rumor has it that in recent polls Douglas’s favorability ratings were 71 to 18, with only the hard core haties over on the left polling against. When the Progressive Democrat Clavelle runs up against Douglas, he loses by thirty points, no even as close as Ruth was to Howard.

Why? Look at his weekly schedule for example. He must be on a first name basis with half the state. Last week he visited with Trout Unlimited, the Grange, Gold Star Mothers, Bennington GOP, the Substance Abuse folks, the Wilmington Selectboard, Chamber of Commerce Executives, Wallace Computer, and Dean Hill Motors in White River. And that is not half of it. 

HIT THE ROAD JACK

The chances that the Republicans can win the senate in our lifetimes are infinitesimal. Why? Minority Leader Senator John Bloomer is part of the problem. Bloomer once told DPR, "The time limit for serving here in the senate is six years. Either you move on to statewide office or you get out." Bloomer is now over his six years. Rumor has it that he may take on Elizabeth Ready in 2004.

Senator Bloomer has been continuing the Bloomer legacy in the Vermont Senate which began in the 1930’s. However smart and articulate, the fires of political combat do not burn brightly in Bloomer’s gut. His heart and soul appear to lie much more in Rutland with his family and legal practice than in Montpelier with his legacy.

Under his leadership, the Republican senate caucus shrinks. Effectively his caucus is in single digits. Even with the gift of the divisive Civil Union debate and a motivated voter base, Bloomer could not significantly improve his position whilst on the house side they picked up seventeen seats.

The senate is not politically organized like the house, there is no Group of 18 meeting weekly to recruit, no political director like Representative Rick Hube to organize, fundraise, train, and deliver. No chance.

Too bad. Douglas cannot move his agenda into law. The House can do all the heavy lifting only to find its best effort tacked to the wall, never considered in committee let alone on the floor. The minority liberal agenda continues to dominate.

It is not just that Bloomer should step aside and then all is well. All will not be well until the Republicans, perhaps in conjunction with the Progressive Party now shut out of the senate, take on the illegal six-member Chittenden County senate district. Only a handful of states now have more than single member districts and no other state has a district larger than a two member. A financial angel, a plaintiff, and a bit of political courage are needed. 

WHERE’S THE PARTY?

Exactly, where is the party. It is not all Senator Bloomer’s fault. DPR spoke with one who is considering a run for the legislature, but he/she is worried. "What will the party do? They did nothing in 2002. There was no way that Carrow or Voyer should have lost. But look at what the Democrats did: polling, focus groups, message development, targeting, and the tens of thousands of dollars of targeted mail. How can I compete with that? The party better take that $600,000 which the RNC gave Douglas in 2002 and which he will not need this election and help us or there is no chance."

WHO IS THE PARTY?

Finding the best use for RNC money is all well and good, but Vermonters who call themselves Republicans have an obligation as well. Let's not blame "the party" when most Vermont Republicans have never given the party a dime. Many who do donate wait until just weeks before an election when it's too late to put donations to optimal use. Republicans tend to want to hang on to their hard-earned dollars. But this is not the time to be "penny wise and pound foolish." 

RED STATE, BLUE STATE

Looks like the reds will win again. Everybody hates Bush we know. The economy is in the tank, the war is a quagmire. On top of that Bush is just a dumb cowboy way out of his element. And he has never even been elected president.

Look again. Gore won Florida (or not) and Iowa by less than one point. Since September 11th, Republicans have gained in voter identification by six points in Florida and twelve points in Iowa. Gore won Minnesota by two points and the GOP has gained eight points there. Gore won Michigan by five points and the GOP has gained nine points. Now which states that Bush won in 2000 is he likely to lose in 2004? 

RETORT TO DEAN FOR PRESIDENT

"As governor of Vermont, I took action to protect our environment and preserve our land. One hundred years from now, long after my governorship has ended, Vermonters will continue to hike, camp, hunt, fish, and farm lands that will be forever pristine, because we protected hundreds of thousands of acres of land from development." -Howard Brush Dean

In other words: Nothing should ever, ever change. Everything should be the way it was 200 years ago -- exactly as it was. Since this isn't possible, we'll settle for the next best thing. Everything will freeze exactly as it is now. No more development, period. I did it for Vermont, and now I'll do it for the rest of the country. We'll have one big vacationland with no hint of productivity whatsoever.

From: Lean, Mean, and Dean, by Michael J. Hurd, Capitalism Magazine (10/23/03) http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3203 

THE TALE OF TWO CITIES

Howard Dean over the weekend filled the air waves of C-Span from the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner. Amazingly he said, "When I am president, we will invest in bridges and highways and broadband access even in the rural towns and areas." Well this sure is a surprise to all his children left behind in Vermont where during his watch all the highways and bridges crumbled and the only growing broadband was the one across your editors midriff. 

CAR 99, WHERE ARE YOU?

John Kerry has declared an emergency. APB: new campaign manager needed. And he like Dean will eschew public financing. But not just like that. Dean will still obtain his financing from the public, just not from the public trough. Kerry will obtain his money the old fashioned way, marry it and spend it. This will not go down well. 

WILL WALDO CATCH A LUCKY BREAK?

Arthur Schlesinger Jr. penned a book a decade and a half ago, The Cycles of American History. He wrote that from 1896 until 1932, thirty-six years, every president was a Republican except Woodrow Wilson, from 1932 until 1968, thirty-six years, every president was a Democrat except Dwight Eisenhower. 

During the thirty-six year period from 1968 to 2004, every president was a Republican once again except for the four year of Jimmy Carter, an aberration caused by Watergate and the eight years of the minority presidency of Bill Clinton, ushered in by the big eared wacko Ross Perot.

Now is the time for a generation of Democrats to rule. Schlesinger also posits that only once in a generation does a president or cause enable us to reach beyond self-interest to an ideal in our selection process. Of course in Schlesinger’s mind only Democrats can qualify for the self-sacrificed ideal.

If Dean does capture his party’s nomination, will he be able to ride the cycle of history into the White House? 

JOE KLEIN TO WALDO

"Dean’s future may depend on his ability to slow down, stop hectoring, and lay out a vision that shows some deeper understanding of the cultural and substantive differences confronting the nation." --Newsweek, November 17, 2003 

EASY COME EASY GO

Not really. Wayne Nadeau, a Hype Park teacher who should be hanging his head in shame for violating school policy on substance abuse and teacher conduct, and separately, for having sex with a staffer in his classroom while children were about, is grieving to be returned to work with back pay and benefits. This is courtesy of the Vermont NEA where "It’s all about the kids." Who is kidding whom? 

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

Just when we thought that after months of blood and gore that all the school budgets were settled, we read that the towns of Franklin, Swanton, and Highgate had defeated the school budget for Missisquoi Valley Union Middle and High School for the fifth time.

For sure if the citizens had the vote on teacher pay and benefits, none of the current contracts would be ratified. In Montpelier with shrinking enrollments causing the School Board to discuss closing the middle school, teachers remain unhappy with their $30,000 starting pay just out of school. "With heavy hearts," they say they make concessions in spite of the fact that neighboring school districts award raises 25 to 50 percent higher. It is always higher someplace they say, but then we could point out where it is always lower. In Claremont, NH starting pay is less than $24,000. So who’s crying now? 

SAVE THE UNION

The teacher’s union? They do not deserve it, especially in Michigan. A retired road builder, Bob Thompson, decided that he wanted to donate half of his $440,000,000 fortune to public education in Detroit. He would build the schools and ask them to graduate 90 percent of their students. If they failed after three years, the administration must resign and new folks appointed. What a guy!

Not so according to the Detroit Federation of Teachers which "led a furious and scurrilous, and successful campaign against his generosity," according to a Time, November 3rd report. Mayor Kilpatrick, a former teacher, was not pleased, "The teachers’ union once was a progressive force but that day has passed. And it is not coming back until the union realizes that we are going to have to make dramatic changes to improve education." 

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR TEST RESULT, CHEAT

If at first you do not succeed, cheat. That is the conclusion of a $500,000 study here in England. The Labor Party promised higher tests results and got them by secretly lowering the passing grade from fifty-one out of a hundred to forty four. Suddenly 75 percent were passing the test instead of 65 percent.

When found out, Labor said that they lowered the passing level as they had increased the difficulty of the test. Not so the study concluded: "The reduction in the pass mark in 1999 and again in 2000 had not been justified because the tests were not significantly harder." 

DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO

Following a long tradition of liberal hypocrisy, England’s Labor Member of Parliament Diane Abbott placed her son in private school. She had recently condemned Conservative MP Oliver Letwin for doing the same. At least he was direct, saying, "I would rather beg on the streets than send my child to a state school."

Not much different in Vermont where our two biggest critics of school choice, Angelo Dorta of VTNEA and William Mathis of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, both chose to send their children to private school. In an interview with DPR, Mr. Mathis defended his decision saying, "It was in the best interests of our daughter to attend a private school at that time in her life." 

Well maybe it is in the best interests of many a student. With Dorta and Mathis’s compensation package exceeding $100,000, they could afford to make that choice. For most Vermonters with average per capita income of below $30,000, they have no choice. 

CHOICE TO THE RESCUE

There is an option, the Vermont Student Opportunity Scholarship Fund. This private funded organization founded in 1999 gave out 282 scholarships last year to low and moderate income families of up to $2,000 or half of the tuition so that they could enjoy school choice just like Angelo Dorta. They have asked that contributors receive a tax credit from the state to encourage donations but have been turned back at the gates. 

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY MISSED

A Vermont activist group, The Vermont Anti-Racism Action Team, approved a resolution which calls on the Legislature to fund school choice. The group believes that then it would be easier for a student who feels harassed or uncomfortable to attend a more favorable school. Many of the strongest supporters of school choice are minorities who see education as too valuable to accept the present lack of choice in their children's schools. The school choice issue is an especially ironic case of special interest politics; African Americans and teachers are both core constituencies of Democrats. Whom will they choose? The white guys of course.

Republican Governor Jim Douglas, a strong school choice supporter who sent his kids to public school, welcomed the Vermont Anti-Racism Action Team's decision. Douglas spokesman Jason Gibbs gave the governor's view, "Whether it is a situation where a student is uncomfortable because of the way he or she has been treated because of race, or a situation that a student would like to attend another school for a music or athletic program, they should be entitled to do so in our public school system."

THE VEA TO THE RESCUE OF THE STATUS QUO

Predictably, Democrats and the VEA could not find it in themselves to support the conclusion of the Vermont Anti-Racism Action Team. The usual suspects prevailed. "It doesn't solve the issue. It is treating the symptom. It is important that we deal with the root causes." 

Of course dealing with root causes of racism is important and must be done, but when will that process be complete and how will it help students today? Vermonters overwhelmingly support school choice in public schools. VEA president Dorta claimed that the issue of racism in schools can be solved and thus school choice is not the answer. That the problem has not been solved in 225 years is not relevant to Dorta. 

JOBS COME AND JOBS GO

Parks and Woolson of Springfield, reported to be one of our oldest manufacturing companies, threw in the towel after operating for 174 years leaving fourteen out of work.

Burton Snowboards of South Burlington laid off twenty-two, moving some of its production to cheaper foreign factories. Relax-R Corporation of Milton announced that it closed its distribution center putting 22 out of work. They are consolidating in Quebec.

Select Design of Burlington obtained a contract to make licensed sports clothes and expect to hire a few. IDX because of increasing business hopes to add 100 new jobs in the next year. 

THE RESCUE SQUAD

On May 15th, Wallace Computer, founded in 1908, merged with Moore, founded in 1882, its major competitor. Moore Wallace, "the largest single source provider of print management and outsourced communications," has over $2,300,000,000 in assets, 18,000 employees, and a plant in Manchester. Moore Wallace planned to shut the Vermont operation.

When T.J. Smith, the local plant manager, heard the plans, he contacted Kevin Dorn, Secretary of Commerce who came to Manchester, VT within a week with Lance Matteson, Executive Director of the Bennington County Industrial Corporation, Ivan Beattie First Selectman in Manchester, and Lee Kron the Town's Planning Manager. Together they devised strategies to keep the plant open. Governor Douglas was asked to contact the CEO of Moore which the Governor did saying that Vermont wanted very much to retain the Manchester facility.

The CEO was impressed, telling his senior staff that no governor had ever contacted him. Meanwhile, Wallace applied to Vermont Economic Progress Council for $165,000 in tax credits and incentives which VEPC quickly awarded. Moore announced in early September that they would stay, not only saving the 90 jobs, but now there will be an expansion with an additional 50 jobs. 

THE WORD ON IBM FROM THE EXPERTS

DPR asked its Council of Economic Advisors about the future of IBM. "The $150,000,000 IBM Essex investment written up in the Free Press a few weeks back was not a true ‘investment’ in the proper meaning of the word - in new plant and equipment, say. It is operational spending, and that is not investment in the business world.

"It is depressing the way numbers are shamelessly tossed around in the Vermont economic vacuum. '$150 Million! Wow!' Running a fabrication shop is a terribly capital-intensive business. Recall back in 1993, there was a story in the press about a $200M ‘investment.’ In this business $200 Million is chicken feed. That same year, Intel's capital budget was $7 Billion! 

"According to a Taiwanese chip design source close to IBM, IBM has off-loaded some of its PowerPC production to Samsung. This sounds like IBM is prepping outside foundries to handle the load when Essex goes down, that IBM is preparing to shut down CMOS7 soon, but no sooner than six months since they will need to get parts out and verified, yields checked, and so forth. But any way you cut it, for IBM to be outsourcing is not a good sign to Essex given the capacity surplus in that same line here.

"Vermont’s emotional dependence on IBM is just appalling. All the leading political figures run up there so that some flack can tell them that all is cool, we are on course, we will subsidize things because we love you, etc. 

"This is getting to be so Vermont - everything is a money-losing operation that has to be subsidized.... even if it is in the ‘private’ sector. The United States is going to do fine since we are an open marketplace and have a business culture that is market-driven, not entitlement driven. The big loser is going to be ‘old’ Europe or Vermont where there is a subsidy/entitlement mentality."

SAVED BY THE TROOPS?

"The Department of Defense contract of $60M/yr. is trivial. That will not pay for expenses for a fab for more than a couple months. Remember, to be competitive a fab has to have revenue in the $1B range at least - most Defense stuff is small potatoes. It can be moved elsewhere or cancelled without notice."

Harlan Sylvester, chair of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors was reported by the Free Press to have said, "Whether you agree with Pat Leahy's politics or not, this contract points out the advantages of having a senator with seniority in Washington."

DPR’s Council of Economic Advisors disagrees, "Yet once more, Vermont is unable to function competitively in the business world, but requires welfare pork subsidies; we might be ashamed instead of proud of this gross dependence on the ability of Senator Leahy to subsidize our jobs." 

LET’S MAKE A DEAL

Vermonters are going to subsidize IBM’s power bill. What do we get in return? Not sure. According to our experts, IBM as we have known it is a goner. The governor’s Council of Economic Advisors and the Burlington Free Press support such a deal but it seems like they are looking in the rear view mirror not into the future. (Free Press editorial here for one week: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/editorial/sunday/1000h.htm.)

IBM has to "stay" as they own a toxic waste pit full of trichloroethylene (TCE) that nobody is going to buy, rent, repossess, or in any other way own. They need to use the overhead and thus the new Army project goes there. It would go there power subsidy or not. 

THE LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

According to the Burlington Free Press, we have paid farmers over $37,000,000 for development rights on their farms. In theory, we want to make available to future farmers affordable land to provide us with a working landscape not just open space.

When it comes time to sell their farms, folks are finding that there are non-farm buyers who are willing and able to pay more than farmers. The land goes to the highest bidder.

Now conservationists are howling that rich folks are taking advantage of the lower cost of open land because the development rights are now gone. Wealthy dude Peter Redding bought a 360 acre protected farm for $550,000 instead of his alternative choice in California’s Sonoma Valley where land is closer to that per acre. We are subsidizing him. 

PARK AND PAY

Things are going better for UVM as demonstrated by the number and quality of student applications and the recent quick success the university had in raising half of its $250 million endowment target from wealthy donors. The school has begun an ambitious expansion of its student population. This makes sense President Fogel said, "Adding 1,143 undergraduates adds $50,000,000 to our bottom line." However with such an expansion come problems in infrastructure for this larger population.

One long-time UVM staff member complained recently to the DPR, "Although members of the UVM community obviously wish our institution well, we are concerned about the addition of so many more students while not providing adequate commuter parking to its existing population.

"Mundane perhaps but if the school took a poll, parking would be very high on the list. Each year parking areas shrink as existing parking is usurped by new buildings or university vehicles. Meanwhile enforcement goes overboard with tickets of $30 and $50. Every recipient of these tickets is likely to be asked to support the UVM fund drive. 

"UVM needs to expand parking spaces in the existing lots, shift university vehicles out of the commuter lots, be less fanatical about enforcement, and begin construction of a major parking facility. If something is not done soon the administration is going to be unpleasantly surprised by the strength of our reaction."  

AMERICA’S LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS

We all rail at the media, a bunch of biased liberal we-think-that­we-are-smarter-than-you folks. They rail back, we are moderates just reporting the facts, you are all conservative Republicans.

Columnist Mark Steyn argues against criticizing the media, "Bring it on, baby!" he writes. "If I were a Democrat, I'd be getting a little miffed at the recurring pattern of the past two years: throughout the election campaign, my newspaper produces a poll showing my guy way ahead; finds 'typical voters' anxious to blame Bush for the worst recession since Hoover; runs front-page features on how Clinton's flown in to campaign with my man, exuding the rock-star glamor that so enthuses the base, etc.

"And then the morning after election night, I wake up to discover that, in a stunning upset utterly predictable to anyone but the expert media analysts, the Democrat got hammered."

For the complete commentary, go to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fopinion%2F2003%2F11%2F08%2Fdo0803.xml 

YOU HAD TO BE THERE

This Monday’s Burlington Free Press local offering above the fold in bold thirty-six point type was "Reporter blasts Iraq war." Veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas blasted Bush in front of 600 at the Sheraton Hotel in an event sponsored by Vermont Woman. "The large audience was enthusiastic. The crowd gave Thomas a standing ovation at the end of her speech and clapped often during her remarks."

Monday, P. J. O’Rourke offered a different view to about 600 at the Sheraton Hotel in an event sponsored by the Ethan Allen Institute. The large audience was enthusiastic. The crowd gave O’Rourke a standing ovation at the end of his speech and laughed often during his remarks.

There was no mention in the Tuesday edition of the Burlington Free Press of O’Rourke’s visit or comments. 

DIVERSITY DISCUSSION APPRECIATED

»» Jennifer Hersey, Barton: I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you offering honest commentary about race [DPR, 10/20/03]. It seems these days that to even mention race makes you "racist." Rush Limbaugh was blasted for offering his honest opinion about something, just because it had to do with race, and whether a person agrees or disagrees with him, he has the right to say it.

How can people of different races ever understand one another unless we are allowed to speak about that which separates us? 

Your opinion of how the term diversity has been manipulated is similar to my own. Diversity at universities I have attended meant black people, period. The more black folks attending, the more "diverse" the university's population.

This report is possibly your best yet. Keep talking about the topics no one else will touch. Your readers will continue to appreciate this dialogue. 

»» Martin Harris: On the subject of Mr. Allen and his deep need for diversity; if he had stayed in Baltimore (Bal'mer to some of us) he would have had all he could possibly have wanted, but for some reason he chose to come here, where there isn't much (melanin-based, that is) and then whine about it.

I can remember Bal'mer from my college years, when the city was primarily white lower middle class and the marble stoops were scrubbed most every day. The streets were safe day and night, although there wasn't an Inner Harbor tourist Mecca then. Now the streets aren't safe day or night, the stoops aren't scrubbed and .. oh, what the hell, enough. 

»» Dick & Margaret Waite, Braintree: Thanks for the Cal Coolidge quotes. We (natives) had never picked up on that expression: "....a race of pioneers"..... before. Does that affect our status? 

SENATE STRATEGY

»» Paul Chandler, Newport: I have felt for several election cycles that the state GOP has focused wrongly on Chittenden County for the Senate campaigns. Close races lost elsewhere --some by relative unknowns [at least to part brass] could have been won had campaign efforts been focused there instead of the black hole which is the [illegal?] six seat district. In fact the ONLY way to swing the Senate back to the GOP is to largely ignore Chittenden and pick up seats in the other counties. It only takes five of those close races to tip the scales, and if by chance the GOP captures two Chittenden seats --hurrah.

Lamoille, Franklin, Orange & Addison present very good opportunities for the GOP. And pulling out a squeaker in Windsor or Windham while holding onto the rest of the Republican seats does the trick. Will this election cycle be any different for the Republican Party? Stay tuned. 

A REAL ACTION HERO

»» Rob Towle, Rutland City: Although Californians installed their second big-screen action hero to office (who can forget the Gipper), Vermont has the opportunity to do the same, only in real life. This year, former Lt Col Greg Parke is running against the Socialist Bernard Sanders. Greg has come from a military background that included a tour in the Middle East, time in the Pentagon, and more importantly, time in reality. Greg holds down a real job and has a wife and two very nice children. He also is spending every available hour looking into Vermonters' problems and looking for the solutions.

The difference between Greg and Bernie is that Bernie believes being able to protect our children (via Amber Alert) is wrong because the rights of the sexual offender are infringed with a two strikes and you are out (I guess Bernie wants 3 strikes) and also Mr. Sanders believes that being able to sell to China instead of buying from China will fix our Trade imbalance (one that Bernie campaigns on all the time). Lastly, Mr. Sanders, a self-proclaimed protector of the Military, voted against the bill to send money to Iraq to not only fix the infra-structure (thereby saving Iraqi and American lives) but also to provide extra resources to help to rotate and bring troops home. Bernie would rather leave the status quo regardless of the consequences so he and Dean have issues with President Bush.

Greg Parke on the other hand, believes that allowing the American people and more importantly Vermonters, to take control of their lives and keeping reality as a basis of governing, will help to continue the rebound of the American dream. Greg has lived in lands oppressed by the government, for the government and wants to make sure that people such as Bernie go to the same fate as Grey-out Davis.

Now is the time for true revolt....help to bring a real action hero to DC for VT. Vote for Greg Parke for Congress in 2004. 

YOU MIGHT WANT TO STAY IN THE UK

»» Jim Daley, Colchester: I'm always glad to get the Dwinell update even if it is from miles across the sea. What's with the "blueyonder.co.uk".... did you have to rejoin the 8th Air Force?

Here on the 'home front' you are probably aware of the similarities between the Presidential pre-campaign featuring the nine dwarfs and the newly-developing Vermont gubernatorial campaign featuring the Democrat-Progressive-Former Losers Foursome which has now been graced with hints by Peter (lost-by-a-nose) Shumlin that he will join the Peter Clavelle (I-used-to-be-a-Democrat-but-the-job-didn't-pay-well-enough) in a run to unseat Jim Douglas.

Jan Backus and Anthony Pollina are apparently waiting to win PowerBall before making stronger efforts than to date.

Maybe I'm the problem... I lived in Rhode Island during the "I'm sort of a Republican" Chaffee era...moved to Massachusetts when the Kennedy clan rose up the from the sewers....and now I'm blessed with the Leaky Leahy, Benedict Jeffords and Chicago One Sanders trio.

The Red Sox got nicked, the Colchester School budget just passed $18 million, the Social Security COLA went up to $9.00 and the Medicare premium to $15.00, the Enviro-freaks continue to delay the Circ (for which Harry Behney, Art Hogan and I pried $20 million from Stafford in 1982) and the Free Press has made Sam Hemingway their official Howard Dean flack for the rest of the campaign.

Are you sure you want to come back here? 

THEY LIKE US

»» Senator Bernier Mayo, St. Johnsbury: Getting your report again is a gulp of fresh air, rather like holding your breath underwater for two months before someone throws you a life line. 

»» G. Lester Corwin II, South Royalton: I like you and your opinions. And I will say to Jan Backus and everyone else who denigrates "right wingers" you'd better look out because more and more people are beginning to catch on. It's You who are left-wingers. I don't know any "right-wingers" who are not in fact moderates. Media, particularly the Rutland Herald take notice!

This is a Republic not a democracy. Let's keep it that way. The chances are good to excellent we'll have a full complement of candiates from Windsor County. Thank you for keeping up the publication.  

THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN POLITICS 

Listen to the weather report before you read "Still Waters." If it's going to be a nice weekend, do not start this book. You will not be able to put it down; you'll never make it outside. This book is an adventure that will compel you to stay up late, forsake lovemaking, and use a sick day on Monday.

We first met protagonist Bill Parker in the author's previous book, "Legislative Body." Always one to favor common sense over bleeding heart nonsense, Bill struggled mightily with Vermont's power-hungry left wing. But enough was enough. Bill retired from Vermont politics after being shot while speaking his mind on the floor of the legislature.

"Still Waters" picks up Bill's life a year later. Having returned to the insurance business, he and his much-loved wife Addie are living with two dogs in an eclectic Vermont farmhouse. But Bill can't quite get rid of that political bug. His will favors a Vermont school choice organization long outspent by the Vermont teacher's union. He employs an ex-school teacher who quit rather than remain part of a system increasingly devoted to the interests of the union rather than the children. As an insurance agent, Bill is steamed at how the state worked actively to destroy the private health insurance industry to force acceptance of a single-payer system.

There is more to Parker's Vermont than politics, however. Small town life in Bridgeton comes alive. An excursion into Vermont's Northeast Kingdom enriches one's appreciation of an often-overlooked corner of the state. There are wonderfully descriptive visits to Burlington that provide a sense of its Victorian mansions, historical civic buildings, and wacky city government.

A cast of intimately portrayed characters populates the adventure, including many good old salt-of-the-earth Vermonters. Bill takes good care of his friends, and that's what involves him in events that at first are tragic, then suspicious, and then terrifying. Enough said.

Contrary to what one might expect from this author, the crimes uncovered in "Still Waters" are not politically motivated. It's just that someone has taken it upon himself or herself to follow the Vermont legislature's example, "to subtly redistribute income from those who earn it to those who feel that they need it."

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0741415844/act60whatvermosh 

THE MIGHTY OAK 

“Today’s large oak tree was once a small acorn which held its ground.” --Anglican Church Sign, Bristol, UK 

DIVERSITY WHERE ARE YOU 

“The leftists who seized control of the universities have imposed their world-view on the young with awesome enthusiasm, bowdlerizing text-books of anything that might be considered sexist or racist, imposing Draconian speech codes, and inventing pseudo-subjects.” --Lexington, Economist, July 26, 2003 

SECOND THOUGHTS ON THE EU? 

“Quite simply, Europe’s rigidities, inflexibilities, and lack of competitiveness, which could once be sheltered in the era of trade blocs, are now fully exposed in the era of global competition.” --Chancellor Gordon Brown, long time supporter of the EU 

THE WAY WE WERE 

"The troops returning home are worried. 'We've lost the peace,' men tell you. 'We can't make it stick.' . . . Friend and foe alike look you accusingly in the face and tell you how bitterly they are disappointed in you as an American."

From "Americans Are Losing the Victory in Europe," by John Dos Passos, Life Magazine, January 7, 1946. http://www.opinionjournal.com/politicaldiary/?id=110004198#b4 

OUR WALDO TO A TEE 

"[It is] one of the salient and most striking characteristics of the Dean campaign: The coruscating disdain he habitually expresses, not just for particular ideas he opposes or for the particular people who may fairly be associated with those ideas, but for whole, big chunks of the American population -- to which Dean just as habitually ascribes an ill spirit of the deepest and darkest variety." -- David Tell, the Weekly Standard 11/17/03

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/367iseie.asp

TINY BUBBLES 

"The Democrats remind me of a chronic drunk going through delirium tremens. The drunk may see monsters and pink elephants everywhere, but it's just in his head, and purely the result of his own misbehavior." --William Hoyt, letter to Opinion Journal 

BLOWING BUBBLES 

"The California Democrat Party has moved so far left that it is somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, probably surrounded by whales carrying signs saying, "Save the Democrats." --Doug Gamble, Orange County Register 

DEMOCRAT RACISM 

"This is one more assault on intellectual freedom and diversity, conducted by patronizing Democrats who still feel they know what is best for blacks and Hispanics." --Armstrong Williams, Judge Brown and the new racism. 

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/aw20031103.shtml 

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