President Barack Obama

I just wanted to write that for the first time.

-Dan Barlow

Vermont Editorial Roundup

The inauguration is taking the spotlight today, not just in Vermont, but around the nation and the world. Much of the coverage seems a bit breathless, but it is rare that there is a moment like this in history that is expected and gives the media time to prepare. What you're seeing is the result of that preparation - we're on the story and we'll get into every nook and cranny.
Around the state, the editorials are mostly about the incoming president and the hope or symbol that he represents to so many. The Times Argus and the Rutland Herald are publishing an inaugural special edition later today; our editorials call this day a turning point for America, and a historic moment.
The Caledonian Record casts Obama's inauguration as a 'momentus day in the history of the modern world', and calls it a 'proud and joyous day for our country'.
Down south the Brattleboro Reformer calls this an opportunity for a more mature discourse
and talks about the 'power of words'. They hit on something here, which is the fact that Obama and YouTube have taken the discourse back from the 24-hour news cycle of sound bites and trivialities. Simply by typing in a few keywords anyone can find the full text or watch the entirety of almost any speech or message of the incoming President. I think that is very good for the people of this country, and it's not just about Obama.
The Bennington Banner, owned by the same group as the Reformer, takes a more skeptical view, talking about the hype surrounding the president-elect, and the danger it represents. As I write this, the cable news channels are on wall-to-wall coverage of the inauguration, with endless loops of commentary by the talking heads. Will Obama live up to the hype? He is certainly the most commercialized president in memory - his image is on just about everything from billboards to t-shirts to baby-wear.
The Free Press makes a call for renewed sacrifice shared among all Americans; that culture was spawned by the Great Depression generation and in general it is believed that it has been lost. But the know-how on how to make ends meet has not been lost, as the rapidly changing spending habits of Americans over the last 6 months attests.
Most of the weeklies in the state come out on a Wednesday, so their editorials are about last week's opening salvo of the legislative session from Gov. James Douglas. The Stowe Reporter lauded him for boldnes; the Addison Independent is a little behind in asking for a balanced approach to spending in its Dec. 30 editorial; and the Randolph Herald editorial opens with Douglas throwing bombs, but to access the full editorial takes an online subscription, so we'll end there. Happy Inauguration Day!
-Rob Mitchell

Monday morning news round-up

It's a big week, both in Vermont and Washington, D.C. Here's a few news items that have my attention this morning.

- There's a new president coming tomorrow. A crowd of 50 residents from Montpelier leave in a bus for D.C. this evening. Expect lots of coverage about Vermonters and this historic inauguration in the Times Argus and Rutland Herald this week.

- State Auditor Thomas Salmon wants to open up casinos at Vermont ski resorts.

- The Vermont House Committee on Appropriations will hold a public hearing on Gov. James Douglas' budget adjustment proposal on Wednesday, Jan. 21. That takes place in Room 11 on the first floor of the Statehouse in Montpelier from 1:15-3:15 p.m. For more information, drop Theresa Utton-Jerman a line at 802-828-5970 or at [email protected]

- Al Franken, who really does appear to be the new senator from Minnesota, chatted with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at a D.C. fundraiser over the weekend. I bet they will get along great.

- Want a quick laugh? Here's a fictional Blog by Vermont plumbers.

- It's also President Bush's last full day in office. I'm working on a story about what Vermont Republicans think his legacy might be. And truth be told, I'm having a hard time to find Republicans to say anything about him - let alone anything nice.

-Dan Barlow 

Poll: Douglas still popular

For a fourth-term Republican in a Democratic state, Gov. James Douglas sure is popular.

Research 2000, hired by the liberal Blog Daily Kos, polled Vermonters this month on their feelings for Douglas and U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. 

More than half of Vermonters have a favorable view of Douglas - 52 percent. Another 41 percent don't like the guy and 7 percent had no opinion. That doesn't seem too different than the results of November's election, when Vermonters easily gave Douglas a fourth term.

Leahy does better - he has a 63 percent favorability and a 33 percent unfavorability. 

Not surprisingly, the poll also found that Douglas probably shouldn't even consider running against Leahy for the U.S. Senate in 2010. Leahy would trump him with 58 percent of the vote compared with Douglas' 36 percent. Only 6 percent would be undecided - not nearly enough people to make up that 22-point spread between the two men.

Hat tip to Green Mountain Daily for breaking the news of the poll this afternoon.

-Dan Barlow 

"Rally for Life" has controversial speaker

Pro-life Vermonters will gather at the Statehouse tomorrow for a rally in opposition to abortion.

But their main speaker - Steven Mosher, a self-described expert in China and "coercive population control programs" was expelled from Stanford University for publishing semi-nude photographs of Chinese woman preparing to have abortions.

Apparently, these photos - which were published in Asian newspapers - exposed the faces of these women and therefore also their identity.

Here's what Mosher said in 2003 as the United States  prepared to go to war with Iraq:

"If we Americans behave in Iraq as we behave in other countries, upon Baghdad's surrender we will fly in teams of population controllers and 'gender advisors.' They will inaugurate programs which will subject Iraqi children, especially girls, to graphic sex education programs. They will stock Iraqi medical clinics with condoms and contraceptives...It gets worse. The gender advisors (this is what they are really called), will provide assertiveness training to Iraqi women, urging them out of the home into the marketplace. They will organize special courses (reserved for women of course) in which they are urged to run for public office and start their own businesses."

I bet Mosher will have some interesting things to say at the Statehouse rally Saturday. Apparently, he will be speaking on the House floor. The rally begins at 10:45 a.m. behind Montpelier's City Hall for a march to the Statehouse.

-Dan Barlow

Waterboarding is torture

Eric Holder Jr. continued his confirmation hearings as the new U.S. Attorney General before Sen. Patrick Leahy's Judiciary Committee Thursday. And there were several moments when it was clear that the office would operate a lot differently than it did under President Bush.

But the main moment was when Holder declared that waterboarding is torture and that the president cannot authorize it.

How refreshing! 

That seemed to be the question than many other AG nominees could never give a straight answer for.

-Dan Barlow 

Racine vs. Dept. of Health

Did the Vermont Department of Health cut jobs that were fully funded by the federal government?

Sen. Doug Racine, the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and a possible Democratic candidate for governor in 2010, believes they did.

Racine, a Democrat from Chittenden County, met with Health Commissioner Wendy Davis Tuesday to look at the cuts made to the state budget in August and December last year - cuts that were made when the full legislature was not in session.

The senator said information he received from the Joint Fiscal Office shows that the department cut at least six jobs last summer that were funded completely by the federal government. Vermont taxpayers weren't paying a dime for them, he said (except, of course, through our federal taxes).

Racine said the cuts were made because the department was told to cut a certain number of positions from its budget, but not a specific amount of money.

This morning in the Senate Economic Development Committee, Racine noted that these workers are probably now receiving unemployment benefits through the state.

"This is actually costing us more," he said.

-Dan Barlow

VTA Board Chair resigns

When the Vermont Telecommunications Authority began its work more than a year ago, it had a key leader who many believed would greatly increase the chances of seeing universal cell phone coverage and broadband Internet access in the state by the end of 2010.

That person - VTA Board Chair Mary Evslin - has resigned, the Vermont Press Bureau learned Tuesday.

Members of the VTA, including Executive Director Bill Shuttleworth, met with lawmakers at the Statehouse this morning to update them on their expansion plans. Evslin's absence was obvious and lawmakers quickly started buzzing as to what happened to the woman who was the public face of this effort.

Evslin confirmed in an e-mail (how appropriate!) this afternoon that she had resigned. No reason was given. She said she decided to explore retirement (again).

What does this mean for the VTA? That's not clear yet. Certainly Shuttleworth is a talented guy. But Evslin had a lot of goodwill with lawmakers and state officials and it's hard to imagine that her absence can be anything but a blow to the VTA.

-Dan Barlow

The view of US from the House floor

 

When the Legislature is in session, Vermont's media can usually be found in the balcony of the House chambers. Thanks to Sen. Vincent Illuzzi for the photo.

Weekend news round-up

Lots of news this weekend! Here are a few items that caught my eye.

- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., objects to language linking the Sept. 11 attacks to the Iraq War that accompanies President Bush's official portrait.

- Ben & Jerry's unveils an ice cream honoring President-elect Barack Obama. 

- Martha Rainville is getting married to a former defense department official. She must have got the marriage bug from U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, who beat her for the House seat in 2006. Welch just got married last month.  

- Conflicting economic news about Entergy Nuclear, the parent company of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. First, the company dropped plans for two new facilities. Meanwhile, financial newspaper Barron's suggests the company's stock may rise if the new Obama administration invests in nuclear technology.  

-Dan Barlow