Freyne Land

Many I've run into of the last few days have acknowledged the depression. You're not alone.

Honest.

Especially those following George "WMD" Bush's apparent winning drive to keep our troops in Iraq, the blood flowing and the cash registers ringing for Haliburton and the rest of 'em, while everything else is falling apart!

The Democrats may have a majority in House and Senate, but they do not have enough votes to win. Perhaps one can take brief comfort in the voices of Vermont's Capitol Hill threesome: Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch.

**********************************************
Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
On The Testimony Of General Petraeus And Ambassador Crocker
On The Continued Deployment Of U.S. Troops In Iraq
September 10, 2007

The Bush Administration misled the nation into one of the costliest blunders in our history, wrongly connecting Iraq to the attacks of September 11.  Ever since then they have attacked anyone who has dared to question their poor judgment, their lack of a coherent strategy and their incompetence.

Six years ago our troops had cornered Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.  Then the Bush Administration diverted our military resources to Iraq, and he slipped away.  He remains on the loose today, and terrorism has increased worldwide.  Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has lasted longer than World War II, squandering hundreds of billions of U.S. tax dollars.  The President wants to keep the pedal to the floor in this war, dumping the Iraq mess onto the next President’s doorstep.

The inescapable reality remains that the Iraqis are no closer today to any kind of political settlement to end this conflict.  No surge of additional military force will change the situation when the Iraqis themselves are not willing to make these hard choices.  In the meantime, our presence discourages the Iraqis from taking responsibility for their own future.

With no light at the end of the tunnel after more than five years of war, the answer is not to keep lengthening the tunnel.  The answer is to begin bringing our troops home from the middle of Iraq’s civil war.

*********************************************** 
Senator Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on the war in Iraq:

“In 2003 President Bush misled us into an unnecessary war with Iraq and today, four and a half years later, he is still misleading us.

“The goal of the ‘surge,’ as stated by Mr. Bush on December 9, 2006 as he announced the troop expansion was ‘an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself.’   It was to give the Iraqi government the time and space it needed to bring about political reconciliation and long-term stability.   Yet according to such nonpartisan observers as the Government Accountability Office, that has not happened.  Despite the extraordinary efforts and sacrifice of American soldiers, the Iraqi government remains divided and dysfunctional.  Of the 18 benchmarks that they were supposed to have achieved by now, only three have been met, four have been partially met and 11 have been outright failures.

“The Iraqis themselves know the ‘surge’ has not worked.  According to a recent ABC/BBC poll, more Iraqis say security in their local area has gotten worse since the ‘surge’ has begun, than say it has gotten better.  Most dishearteningly, a majority of Iraqis now believe that it is acceptable for attacks to take place against American troops—with 57 percent now holding that view, which bodes badly for American forces stationed in Iraq.

“After the deaths of more than 3,700 American soldiers, the wounding of over 27,000 more, and the expenditure of over $500 billion, it is not acceptable that the Bush administration still has no exit strategy.  We are caught in a morass:  General Petraeus has said the Iraqi situation would not be resolved "in a year or even two years," and this summer referenced the “at least nine or 10 years” it took Britain to resolve the violence in Northern Ireland.   This sort of long-term occupation is totally unacceptable.

“The United States needs to move in a new direction in Iraq.  It must also find a new direction for fighting the growth of international terrorism.

“I will continue to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops, a withdrawal which should be completed within the next year.  Although we must continue to support the Iraqi government and their military so that they can defend themselves, the time to begin bringing home our American troops is now.”

************************************

Congressman Peter Welch
United States House of Representatives

“Iraq is in the middle of a civil war that cannot be resolved by the United States military.  The uneven progress reported by General Petraeus is tactical progress in service of what is the President’s failed military policy.  While our soldiers have bravely and characteristically done the job they have been asked to do, they cannot continue to referee a civil war or bring about the political and economic reforms necessary for stability in Iraq.

“Just last week the nonpartisan GAO reported that the Iraqi government has failed to deliver on nearly every benchmark of success put forth by President Bush.  The Iraqi Parliament has not passed needed legislation to promote Sunni-Shiite reconciliation, Iraqi security forces remain dominated by sectarian militias, and reconstruction funds are still sitting idle in Iraqi bank accounts.  Only in the Bush administration can a failing grade be considered a success.

“It is long past time to end this war and bring our troops home.  Regrettably, the President continues to cling stubbornly to his failed policy and appears intent on running out the clock on his presidency rather than admitting the need for a change in course.  Congress must use the power of the purse to force a change of policy and end this war.”

Comments?

Ran into these two dudes grocery-shopping at the Price Chopper on Shelburne Road late Sunday afternoon.

That's Burlington City Treasurer Jonathan Leopold, on the left, and Ward Six City Councilor, and unsuccessful Democratic mayoral candidate, Andy Montroll on the right.

Everybody's got to eat, including yours truly.

Nice to see the city-hall types in a completely different mode, eh?

A cloudy dark start this Monday morning in Burlap to what looks like a cloudy dark week in Washington. The spotlight will be on Capitol Hill where, at the moment,  George "WMD" Bush looks likely to get enough Democrats to cave-in and keep the money flowing to continue funding his "Big Lie" in Iraq.

It's a bloody Vietnam flashback.

Deja-vu all over again, eh?

Before heading back to Washington, our junior senator, Independent Bernie Sanders, said it's time for the Democratic leadership to draw the line. Time to use the filibuster and keep the debate on war-funding going all day and all night.

No signs of that happening, eh?

These guys and the cities and towns they work for and represent could sure use those billions of dollars the Bush-Cheney team has poured down the sewer in Iraq, and wants to continue pouring down the sewer in Iraq....maybe add in some more for Iran, too?

Good for business. Well, some businesses, anyway. 

Don't think I can take the talk shows this Sunday morning. Watching John McCain or the ex-generals or the same old talking-head bs'ers coming up with some more twisted reasons to continue our Iraq War is simply too depressing.

And, may I say, my Sunday online edition of The Burlington Free Press is the perfect antidote.

Seriously, folks.

It's been my local daily newspaper since Jimmy Carter was president. And yes, indeed, there's been plenty to criticize over the years at the Gannett-chain's Vermont outlet...plenty.

But this dark and damp Sunday morning in beautiful Burlap, the local daily's packing four or five good long Vermont news stories. The special effort is both noticed and appreciated. After all, I've been newspaper junkie since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

Freeps Courthouse Reporter Adam Silverman's front-pager on the young Iraq War veteran back home in Winooski and in trouble with the law is top shelf. It's a side of Bush-Cheney Iraq War the Administration, no doubt, would prefer we did not see.

Another beauty is veteran writer Candy Page's feature on how Gov. Jim Douglas is NOT measuring up to his 2003 goal of cleaning-up Lake Champlain's toxic algae blooms.

Oopsie!

And that older guy with the white hair who covers Burlington City Hall has a tasty, long tale that ought to satisfy the appetites of those wondering where the big zoning-reform struggle lies.  Many a good line in John Briggs' piece, such as:

Several councilors faulted Progressive Mayor Bob Kiss for his silence on the rewrite, with one observing that Kiss told the council at its last meeting about the hurricane damage to Burlington's Nicaraguan sister city, Puerto Cabezas, but said nothing about the rewrite.

"A weather report," said Keogh. "Why he's not there (on the rewrite), I don't know. If (former Mayor Peter) Clavelle were in there, he'd be leading the charge. The council's well ahead of Kiss on this. I think he's still catching up on his job description. I don't think he's exercised much leadership on this whole thing."

"He needs to communicate with councilors at the meeting," Gutchell said. "And he doesn't come across forcefully enough in saying we as a council aren't doing our job."

"I think there's a role for the mayor in making his vision known," said Montroll, adding he didn't understand Kiss' vision "completely, at this point."

Who does, eh?

Enjoy.

So I dropped into Speeder & Earl’s down on Pine Street around 4 O’Clock Thursday afternoon. The coffee and the NY Times-in-hand ritual. Better late than never.

A gentleman was hanging his new art show. They change monthly. Plus this is the big South End Art Hop Weekend.

The brick walls at Speeder’s are huge and usually the monthly art show comes off as tiny...lost in space. This stuff was different. Oil paintings. Big ones for a change. And these paintings were an eyeful - double-take material. Heck, triple-take and more!

Definitely an eye-catching and thought-provoking collection of a dozen or so warmly-textured, intensely-colored oils that subject-wise spanned a range from Vincent Van Gogh, to George Bush & 9/11, the Buddha and much more.

As he hung his works, Philip Hagopian, 48, of Montpelier, explained one as being “about living on a planet where we’re held hostage where we’re all enslaved by the cost of living, meanwhile I’m trying to make a living doing artwork and so the golden calf is false religion. This gold Buddha symbolizes wealth.”

Wealth?

“Oftentimes people trade happiness for wealth,” he explained, “but for me it would be just having enough so I don’t have to stress out making a living and doing what I love to do.”

Hagopian has lived in Vermont more than 20 years. He’s been painting since childhood. And he was particularly delighted that yours truly had picked up right-off on the variety of subject matter and style in his work. [Told him about the artist sweetheart who led me to Vermont back in 1979. Jeannine’s gone, but her paintings will always be in my eyes.]

“I’m glad you appreciate the diversity,” said Philip with a sigh of relief. “In the art industry they oftentimes try to pigeonhole artists to one style that can be identified as the thumbprint signature style.

“I’ve run into a lot of closed doors and obstacles because I refuse to do that. But I’m going to continue to refuse to do that,” said Hagopian. “A person’s richness of self-expression should not be limited by what’s commercially marketable.”

Amen, brother.

Over on the Freeps Blog, Terri Hallenbeck has credited yours truly for the Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie FAA scoop in today's edition of “Inside Track” in Seven Days.

And she kindly pointed out we’d gotten the job he’s in the running for wrong. It’s FAA Administrator not FAA Chief Operating Officer. The top post, not #2.

Mea culpa.

Thanks, Terri.

What I didn't have room to squeeze into the "Track" column was the fact that should Doobie-Doo get picked by President George "WMD" Bush for the top FAA post [the deadline is September 13], the Lite-Gov job would remain vacant. The Vermont Senate's president pro tem would fill in as the presiding officer.

That's what happened when Gov. Richard Snelling died in office in 1991 and Lt. Gov. Howard Dean M.D. moved up.

Go Brian!

P.S. Fantasy Land.

Just imagine:

George Bush actually taps Brian Dubie for the #1 FAA Administrator job.

Here at home, Vermont Democrats and Vermont Progressives actually "cut a deal," and "forge an historic compromise."

Vermont Progs back former Democratic State Sen. Matt Dunne for Governor, the up-and-comer who was closing against Incumbent Dubie in the 2006 Lite-Gov race.

Vermont Democrats get behind  Progressive Anthony Pollina for Lieutenant Governor.

The Vermont "Left" actually unites at the state-politics level the way they do for former Independent Congressman, now Independent Senator, Bernie Sanders at the federal level.

Maybe, Ol' Bernardo could break the ice, eh?

The governor of Vermont usually holds his or her “weekly” presser on a Wednesday or a Thursday. Usually at 1 pm. It’s a “Fifth Floor” of the Pavilion Building or Statehouse Ceremonial Office event. [That's a pic from last winter.] Yours truly's been going to them since 1983.

The Guv normally opens with a “dog & pony,” i.e. a sales pitch for a pet project or issue - something along those lines. The press politely listens and then gets to ask questions on that topic or any they choose. It is America, after all, and one appreciates deeply being able to exercise  the “All men are created equal” part of the Constitution and ask the Big Cheese anything one wants to ask the Big Cheese. Right out in the open, cameras and tape rolling!

This week, contrary to form, Gov. Jim Douglas scheduled his “weekly” for Tuesday.

Damn. Must be ‘cause he’s busy?

Tuesday, you see, is my regular “Inside Track” writing day. C'est la vie. Last thing in the paper. Surely Gov. Scissorhands doesn’t want to discourage my attendance?

Whoa! Easy does it, Paranoid Pete. Jimbo loves having you there and you know it.

What did you miss?

Didn’t see anything in the Freeps’ online-edition, but Louis Porter’s piece in the Times Argus/Rutland Herald indicates Gov. Douglas certainly had to juggle a little of the current day’s unpleasant political reality.

Douglas: Feds dumping costs on states

By Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – The federal government is increasingly putting the burden for supporting programs like subsidized health insurance coverage for the poor onto states, including Vermont, Gov. James Douglas said Tuesday.

But Douglas stopped short of blaming spending on the Iraq War for the cuts or changes in such programs, however, and put responsibility for both on the Democrat-lead Congress and the Republican administration of President George Bush.

Bush is expected to request an additional $50 billion for the war in Iraq, which is now costing more than $3 billion a week by some estimates.

"It doesn't matter what causes the federal deficit, it is a reality," Douglas said at a press conference Tuesday. "They can't balance the federal budget on the backs of the states."

Wait a minute. Did he really say that "It doesn't matter what causes the federal budget deficit?"   

And WGOP, er, WCAX News ran a blurb off the presser on Gov. Douglas, VT Yankee Nuclear’s #1 cheerleader, commenting about how VT Yankee's been falling apart of late, eh?  Said our popular Guv:

“Economically it has been very beneficial. But safety is the most important. Two mechanical problems over the last week or two are certainly troubling and management needs to hold itself to a higher standards why something like that could happen shortly after an inspection.”

"State and plant officials," Ch. 3 told its viewers, "say the two mishaps did not threaten public or environmental safety. Vermont Yankee officials will soon meet before the nuclear advisory panel to discuss what went wrong. The nuclear plant provides a third of the state's power. And has kept Vermont's electric rates the lowest in New England."

Hey, who cares if it’s falling apart and dangerous and running short on space to store its radioactive waste, as long as Vermont’s electric rates are ”the lowest in New England”, eh?

So what was keeping the governor so busy?

Checked the official public appearance schedule. Only one other event on it:

7:15 a.m.         STAT (Set the Agenda Tour) Coffee Hour

                       Wayside Restaurant, Barre-Montpelier Road, Montpelier

Turns out, Time Argus Editor Sue Allen covered it and has a very sweet story in today’s TA. Guess how many regular folks turned out to catch Landslide Jim on his statewide “meet the people”  STAT tour and voice their concerns?

None. Nada. Zippo.

Just two Republican state representatives.

Thank you, Sweet Sue!

I tell ya, watching President George "WMD" Bush performing with CBS News star Katie Couric "on the ground" at a remote airbase in Iraq is literally "unbelievable."

Like shampoo, wars are marketed and sold, and America's disgraceful president is in full commercial mode these days.

"It's gonna take time," says Bush to the TV anchorwoman. "The question is whether the United States understands the consequences of failure in Iraq."

Well, we certainly understand the consequences of failure, total failure, in the White House, now don't we?

Congressman Peter Welch got an earful on Labor Day in Battery Park from a group of Vietnam War and Iraq War veterans and others who want Welchie to support a resolution that starts the process of impeaching this president. Like many other Vermonters they have been torn and outraged by the  "high crimes and misdemeanors"  of Mr. Bush. Their moral compasses demand action. "Truth" and "justice" are what America is supposed to be about, right?

"They’re threatening to expand the war to Iran," said Jimmy Leas [left]. "What more does he need to say, look, we’ve got to get this guy out of office?"

Democrat Welch [on the right holding the impeachment petitions they gave him], handled it coolly and calmly. He, like Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, think moving down the impeachment trail at this point would derail or delay other investigations. The Bush Bunch, they say, is already in flight, and a new president will be elected in 14 months.

Two other things before I dive into "Inside Track" Tuesday.

1. Former U.S. envoy and political point-man on the ground in Baghdad Paul Bremer (a Vermont resident these days, eh?) called the NY Times to dispute President Bush's claim in a new book out today that the plan was to keep the Iraqi Army intact after invasion and conquest.

Not true!

2. And NY Times tell-it-like-it-is columnist Paul Krugman's "Snow Job in Iraq" column from yesterday. A Krugman fan am I. A taste:

In February 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell, addressing the United Nations Security Council, claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He did not, in fact, present any actual evidence, just pictures of buildings with big arrows pointing at them saying things like “Chemical Munitions Bunker.” But many people in the political and media establishments swooned: they admired Mr. Powell, and because he said it, they believed it.

Mr. Powell’s masters got the war they wanted, and it soon became apparent that none of his assertions had been true.

Until recently I assumed that the failure to find W.M.D., followed by years of false claims of progress in Iraq, would make a repeat of the snow job that sold the war impossible. But I was wrong. The administration, this time relying on Gen. David Petraeus to play the Colin Powell role, has had remarkable success creating the perception that the “surge” is succeeding, even though there’s not a shred of verifiable evidence to suggest that it is.

The veteran senator, a former prosecutor, spoke in very serious and somber tones when asked by Host Chris Wallace who he thinks President George "WMD" Bush should nominate to fill the seat of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"I think he ought to select a real professional," answered the senator. "Somebody who understands the difference between being the president’s lawyer and being the chief law enforcement officer of the United States."

That's the key, isn't it? The Constitution makes us free and the Constitution is what each and every attorney general must put before the personal and political interests of the president.

"I think the President has made some very significant mistakes on legal issues," the senator said, "as far as he’s gone on signing statements, on his refusal to recognize the bold, clear-cut constitutional authority for habeas corpus... But there’s no doubt that the current Attorney General has only told the President what he wants to hear."

I should point out that the senator I'm quoting is not Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, but rather Republican Sen. Arlen Specter,  Judiciary Committee co-chair, who was also a guest on Fox News Sunday avec Chairman Leahy.

The sad fact is the Justice Department is a mess.

Who would St. Patrick like to see Mr. Bush nominate to replace Alberto?

"I’d like to see the President be a uniter and not a divider in his choice," replied Leahy. "He’s only got a little over year left in his term. We have a Department of Justice that’s in shambles. The morale is the lowest I’ve ever seen it, under either Republican or Democratic administrations. We have have some superb people there that we’d like to keep...

"I think if we were to do that you would hear a huge sign of relief from both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate," said St. Patrick, "and such a person would have the kind of support that was not there for Mr. Gonzales because he had angered so many Republicans and Democrats."

The tide is turning, eh?

Bigtime.

Ol' Bernardo, excuse me, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is in the groove this weekend.

It is, after all, Labor Day Weekend, and he is the only successful socialist I know of on America's national political stage. Sen. Sanders held a presser Friday to promote the Labor Day weekend events/parades etc.

Been a busy guy, too, during the August "recess."

As has Sen. Patrick Leahy, who's been presiding with dignity and determination over the downfall of our dishonest Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. This Sunday morning, St. Patrick, Chairman of Senate Judiciary, will appear on Fox News Sunday along with GOP Vice Chair Arlen Specter.

Sen. Socialist conceded in his prepared remarks that, "The richest people in our country are doing phenomenally well. But what the president has got to understand is that not everyone in America is a millionaire or a billionaire and that millions of working Americans are struggling hard to keep their heads above water."

Ol' Bernardo has been busy traveling around Vermont the last few weeks meeting folks up close and personal. What's he hearing at ground level, we asked?

The war is always out there. It is on the minds of so many people who are just sick and tired of pouring more and more money into a war where our soldiers are getting killed, the people if Iraq are being decimated. I think there’s a very strong sentiment, especially in this state to bring our troops home as soon as possible.

Andy picked up on a point that is also growing in sentiment every place I go. Walking down the street the other day, a young working class guy said, "Bernie, you got to do something about universal health care!"

A lot of working people are paying more and more for their healthcare or they can’t afford healthcare at all. Look around the world. Everybody else has a national healthcare program. We don’t. We spend so much money. So healthcare is a huge issue.

And global warming is also something on many people’s minds.