Dem-Controlled Senate Committee Axes Public Option: Well, I wish I was surprised. Hardly.

You can read all about today’s edition of “Dems see their shadows and run for cover” here.

I can’t wait to hear the Dem-faithful start spewing their excuses for their party’s continued failure when it comes to leading on essential political issues.

As we all recall, first they needed control of Congress. Then they needed a bigger majority in Congress. Then they needed to get rid of big-bad-Bush. Well, Dems, you got all your electoral wishes. And look what you’re doing with it: Nothing.

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Bankers Still Drunk on Derivatives: Yeah, you all remember derivatives, don’t you. Those were those nebulous trading schemes that were largely “credited” with last year’s global economic collapse. President Obama, while opening the public’s money vault to those very same corporate criminals in the early weeks of his presidency, declared that he wasn’t just “throwing money around” but trying to rein in the shady derivative dealings of the financial behemoths that were on the verge of falling like dominos.

Here’s Obama’s direct quote:

“We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess at the heart of this crisis.”

Well, technically, Obama was right: We will not go back. Because we never went forward.

Yep, after throwing more than a trillion dollars at the financial sinkhole of corrupt American capitalism, absolutely no regulations – or policing actions – have been put into place to stop the obscene reverse Robin Hood scenario that has been Wall Street’s norm.

And now we’re learning that those same financial institutions are beginning to step up their derivative trading practices once again. You can read about it here.

Quick, everyone go to the mirror and repeat after me: Sucker.

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When Right Wingers Had Brains: As we all know now, William Safire of Nixon and New York Times fame died last weekend. Strangely, I found myself getting a bit nostalgic over Safire’s death, only because in the context of today’s right-wing ninnies (read: tea-bagger hell), Safire seems like a total breath of fresh air in comparison.

Today’s right-wingers seem proud of their abuse of the English language and logic in general. Safire, on the other hand, was an English language master – not quite Chomsky, for sure, but a genius none-the-less. And, while I agreed with almost nothing Safire said, he could construct an argument that at least made for an interesting read.

In contrast, today we’ve got complete dopes and charlatans like Beck and Limbaugh who want nothing more than to be stupid and loud and damn proud of it. And, on the local scene, we’ve got the pathetic wannabe known as Paul Beaudry, a man who couldn’t put together a correct complete sentence even if he tried to copy it straight out of “Dick & Jane.” [Hint to Beaudry: “are” is the plural of “is.” Use it sometime. Please.]

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Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story”: Ever since “Roger & Me,” I haven’t really been a big fan of Michael Moore’s. Sure, he’s usually right-on when it comes to the issues he’s covering. But they’ve never sparked a movement or significant change. Worse, Moore himself has seemed more interested in his popularity (and profitability) than using his enormous clout amongst liberals to actually hold some feet to the fire (read: Democrats).

Okay, okay, I’m also holding a grudge against Moore for doing a complete 180-degree turn on Ralph Nader by touting him in 2000 and then all but burning him at the stake in 2008. Moore, as we’ll all recall, put his liberal clout fully behind Obama, even though Obama made it clear – then and now – that he wouldn’t be ending the wars, fighting for single-payer health care, or putting the clamp down upon gross corporate malfeasance.

Moore’s movies seem like another chance for liberals to giggle amongst themselves (a la John Stewart, Colbert, etc.), slap each other on the back about how right they are, and then do little more about it. Been there, done that.

But then I read this review by one of the best bloggers in existence, Louis Proyect, and he gave me pause to reconsider this latest Moore movie. Please, take a moment and read Proyect’s review.

Proyect convinced me to get in line at the Savoy this weekend and see it. But I’m hoping that – always the dreamer, you know – that the laughing liberals who emerge from this Moore movie will be willing to do more than giggle with him for a couple of hours and then return to their “the Dems are great” mantra upon their exit. Yawn.

It’s movement time. And I’m not talking about the great big shit the Dems took on the nation today by voting with the insurance industry and killing the already wimpy “public option.”

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You’ve gotten more than you deserve. Keep those comments coming – anonymous or otherwise.

The Boots Wardinski campaign for lieutenant governor of Vermont under the Progressive Party banner has apparently caused more than a few Prog Party control freaks to blow a mental gasket. Nothing new there, not when it comes to the uncomfortable – for them – notion of the “the people” colliding with their party “directives.”

Cue Hogan’s Heroes voice: “You can’t do ‘dat!”

Um, yes he can. Because it’s a democracy, silly Progressives.

Let’s face it, the Progressive Party has been a fine idea that has been sullied by a group of insiders who hate, hate, hate, the notion of – um, well, — democracy. Yo, it’s not a club once you make it a public party. Deal with it.

I’m reminded of the first time I attended a Progressive Party state convention meeting in the Fall of 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. A group of true progressives went to the meeting in the hopes of finding some sanity amidst the war-happy nation that was cheering wildly at Bush’s ill-conceived war on Afghanistan. As in: The same war we’re still waging.

Unfortunately, the Prog hierarchy wanted nothing to do with the red-hot issue since they had determined that it might interfere with whatever campaign Anthony Pollina was scheming at the time (hey, it’s hard to keep track). So, like clockwork, the Prog Party insiders maneuvered to cut off the debate on a resolution that would have opposed the war on Afghanistan, declaring that they “didn’t see it as a Vermont issue.” So much for leadership — or courage, for that matter.

Besides, I’d like to see them trot out that line today after, of course, the so-called “non-issue” has cost Vermonters hundreds of millions of dollars and dozens of lives.

But I digress. Kind of.

Because today, after the news of Wardinski’s candidacy rolled across Vermont’s tiny media landscape, the Progressive Party hierarchy reverted back to their controlling ways by dissing Wardinski’s announcement with nonsensical language that would have made their post-9/11 nonsense seem (almost) sane.

Specifically, in a fine piece by Seven Days’ Shay Totten (see, I can offer a carrot AND a stick – it’s all part of my horse training world, I guess) the Prog Party’s top banana, Martha Abbott, spilled forth with this wildly confusing statement that, upon further reflection, seems to only indicate a latent fondness for Bush, Jr.’s clumsy flare with reason. Here, taste the quote for yourself and see if you can make sense out of it:

“Our challenge is to maintain our identity as a party that represents the interests of working Vermonters of middle and low income (including farmers), as distinct from the big-tent Democratic Party (where those interests get compromised away in an attempt to be on all sides of an issue), but also to cooperate with the Democratic Party when the stakes are significant. At the same time, we must not marginalize ourselves — as many third parties have and as Mr. Wardinski and others would have us do — by running in every race regardless of the stakes or the other candidates.”

Wow. I’m dizzy. Not to mention confused, worried, bothered and simply pissed (as a progressive, of course).

Sorry, Martha, but with quotes like that it sounds like your party needs Boots. Because Boots knows where he’s walking.

No, really, I’m housecleaning. It’s a long story. But it goes something like this: My excavator friend (I always think if I call them “friends” they’ll charge less – good luck with that) told me that he’d be here today to replace my frost-free hydrant in the barn.

Why is it being replaced? Well, because it froze, of course. In fact, it’s the third one in seven years that has frozen up on me. But that won’t stop them from marketing the stupid hunks of metal with a handle as “frost free.” No justice, no running water. Or something like that.

Being the anxious type, I decided to augment my peering out the window for his arrival with a little housecleaning. I like to imagine the glee from the family when they arrive to a pre-weekend-cleaned house. It erases that all too familiar Saturday morning spat that erupts, if you know what I mean.

But now the house is clean – sans mopping (I hate mopping) – and the excavator guy has still not arrived. And your life is apparently even more boring than mine because you’re reading about my day. Poor thing. But, don’t worry, I don’t keep track of visitors. Don’t know how and don’t care.

I’ve been mildly entertained by the reaction from yesterday’s “Broadsides Exclusive.” Yeah, the Wardinski thing. Sometimes I forget just how small this state is. As in: You fart and everyone seems to smell it – and quickly. It does, however, allow a couple of fellas a chance to interject themselves into the madness from time to time. And while we’re quite serious about the issues, we seem to laugh our asses off throughout the process.

I was alone in my office laughing hysterically when our daughter, Isabel, came home from school yesterday. Yes, she walks home – just like the good old days. I think I scared her a bit, in fact. I had been in Walden cutting firewood for the first half of the day and then returned to make political trouble in the afternoon. I was filthy. I was laughing while writing. And I couldn’t quite explain it.

“I get it, I get it,” she said. “You and Boots are up to something again.”

Bingo. And thanks for not making me explain further. Because it’s just kind of an organic process that needs to play itself out from time to time.

And now I’m still waiting for the excavator — in my clean house. So I’ve got time to surf the web. Look what I found:

My first reaction? Well, what would happen if you put a stupid, white guy in the boiling water? Go, Glenn, go. It would be for science and all…

I don’t know about you, but when I see Beck’s shtick, I can’t stop from thinking about the tele-evangelists from yesteryear who all went belly-up after their fraudulent ways were exposed. Basically, we’re looking at really good (and cheesy) actors, knowing that all they have to do is appeal to the lowest common denominator of intelligence. And that, my friends, is quite the vast audience in America.

Hook, meet mouth, indeed.

Thanks for playing. And don’t forget to laugh.

While Vermont’s current Lieutenant Governor, Brian Dubie, dithers to and fro about his re-election plans and other oft-mentioned possible candidates like Rep. David Zuckerman put out political feelers by asking questions about themselves in the third-person (i.e. “What should David Zuckerman do?”), Newbury’s Boots Wardinski is cutting to the chase: He’s in. Period.

But wait. There is one wrinkle.

In an exclusive phone call with Broadsides.org, Wardinski announced that he’d be seeking the office of Vermont’s number two job in the Progressive Party’s primary in September 2010.

“I know what I want. I know where I stand. And I know how to use first-person pronouns, as in: I’m running for lieutenant governor of Vermont in the Progressive Party’s primary because I firmly believe in alternative parties and my stand on the issues.”

When asked for specifics, Wardinski rattled off a list of political stands that included the immediate shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, universal health care coverage for all Vermonters in a publicly-funded system, a halt to public employee layoffs, and an immediate withdrawal of all Vermont service members currently fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and “who the hell knows where else.”

“See, being specific isn’t hard,” declared Wardinski. “I just wish my opponents would do the same by stopping their media games and starting a substantive debate on the issues. If Brian Dubie and David Zuckerman don’t know what to do, they should step aside and let those who believe in what they’re doing – and thinking – lead.”

Wardinski is a horse logger, landscaper, farmer, maple sugar maker, and political activist in Vermont, where he’s lived for nearly thirty years. He currently serves as the president of the Capital City Farmers’ Market in Montpelier, the founding co-director of Horse Loggers for Peace in an undisclosed location, and a member of Veterans for Peace.

Wardinski has been arrested on numerous occasions in acts of civil disobedience, including actions against continued funding of the Iraq War (before it was popular), against the use of genetic-modified organisms (GMO’s), and against military recruitment of Vermont’s citizens.

Political observers may wonder why Wardinski is entering the Progressive Party’s primary after being a key historical figure – along with Bernie Sanders — in Vermont’s Liberty Union Party. The answer, according to Wardinski, is simple:

“I truly believe in alternatives – many alternatives! – to the two-party duopoly that has a stranglehold on our state and national political system. And when I saw that the Progressive Party’s Zuckerman was beginning his game of footsie with the Democrats, I knew someone had to step up and demonstrate that those alternatives have to be celebrated, not co-opted. Unlike Zuckerman, I believe what I say about the two-party hegemony that has led to wars, a lack of health care, and the gross inequality between the rich and poor.”

Wardinski is referring, of course, to the reports being circulated by Zuckerman himself that he is considering a complete abandonment of his previously held positions regarding alternative parties by entering the lt. governor’s race as a Democrat.

“Zuckerman’s basically issuing one, big ‘nevermind’ to his constituents,” said Wardinski. “I guess that’s what it takes to be a Democrat or Republican. You know, just like Obama was going to ‘stop the wars.’ Nevermind, indeed.”

Broadsides attempted to contact uber-Vermont political commentators Eric Davis and Garrison Nelson for a comment on Wardinski’s announcement but we were informed that they “were napping.” [Editor’s note: Poor fellas, they must be tired from trying to make the bland seem so relevant for all these years.]

Wardinski promised to be making an announcement about his campaign staff in the very near future. Stay tuned.

Shay Totten of Seven Days has been known to document the shady revolving door that goes from political job to journalism job (and vice versa) in our small town known as Vermont. I guess he should know about the phenomena from experience since he has, after all, gone from journalist to employee of former Auditor Liz Ready and then back to journalism. Dizzying, I know.

Totten appears to be keeping the revolving door between covering politicians and working for them well-greased if you consider his recent sloppy kiss of an article that he wrote about Vermont’s lone congressman, Peter Welch (“The Man of The House.”).

The headline should give you a hint about how far over Totten bent to supply Welch with nothing but accolades and applause lines. But the article is worse if, like me, you find yourself hoping that Totten and Seven Days would deliver on their “alternative media” tagline. No such luck here.

In his two-page feature, Totten waxes poetically about Welch’s great accomplishments with regards to the health care debate and his (cue laugh track) anti-war stance. But when Totten isn’t serving up his own chapped-lips for more Welch kisses, he serves up one quote after another from Welch’s friends and colleagues who (guess what?) have nothing but praise for Welch’s “skill, temperament, experience, and interpersonal skills.”

Please, get a room.

Quoting all this praise isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. It only becomes a glaring problem when you realize by the end of his article that Totten hasn’t quoted one, single person who has anything critical to say of Welch and/or his record. Not from the right. Not from the left. No one.

But let’s step back and look once again at the issues Totten-via-Welch are declaring to be Welch’s great successes.

First up: health care. How is it that Welch can be “succeeding” in the health care debate when it’s so obvious that real health care reform (read: single-payer and even the so-called public option) is off the table? Smells like a failure to me.

And how about the wars? Totten gushes about how Welch “was a vocal critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when he ran, and won, in 2006.” But then Totten refuses to report how Welch has voted repeatedly since being elected to fund BOTH wars.

Laughingly, Totten lets Welch off the hook by serving up his old and tired claim that he supports “timelines” for withdrawal of troops when he votes to appropriate more money for the wars. But how’s that strategy working out for him? Well, in 2007, Welch insisted that his vote for more Iraq war money at the time would lead to an end to the war by September 2008. Yes, September 2008.

But Totten doesn’t bother to trot out these kinds of facts or take a minute or two to contact someone who could provide him with an alternative view. Instead, Totten declares Welch victorious with his war stance – never mind the facts.

Worse, Totten lets Welch spit this line out without any opposing view: “The major thing in electing Barack Obama was to bring our troops home.”

Who amongst the sane – let alone the “alternative media” – believes that Obama is trying to “bring the troops home”? None that I know of. In fact, nearly two thousand Vermont National Guard troops are about to be deployed for Obama’s wars in the next couple of months, a deployment that is the largest in the state’s history. Moreover, there’s talk of a troop surge in Afghanistan and hemming and hawing amongst the Obama Defense Department about meeting the absurdly slow (and largely mythical) troop withdrawals from Iraq.

So how is it that Welch is succeeding here? Because, once again, it sure smells like failure to me.

Totten’s article on Welch should be considered “exhibit A” on how members of Congress can continue to be popular while the Congress itself is detested by the populace. It’s because members of the local media – alternative or otherwise – serve up nonsense about “their” congressman succeeding despite the obvious facts to the contrary.

If Congress is so clearly bungling health care and the wars, how can Welch be succeeding? When Welch delivers on his campaign pledges to provide single-payer health care and END the wars, then we’ll trot out the “success” word. But, for now, Welch is little more than a political loser.

Tottten won’t say that – not if he wants that revolving door to keep spinning in his favor. Too bad.

Wow. Check this video out of last weekend’s tea party march in D.C. Hat tip to Jay at Blazing Indiscretions for bringing this to my attention.

The silence of this site is being interrupted to offer a sad wish of “rest in peace” to the great poet, musician and – yes – basketball player, Jim Carroll. He died of a heart attack last Friday.

If you don’t know his work, get to know it now. If you know it, celebrate it now.

Start with his autobiography, “The Basketball Diaries.” Read his poems from “Living at the Movies.” And read them all while listening to his album, “Catholic Boy.” You won’t be sorry.

Jim Carroll’s ex-wife, Rosemary, was instrumental in getting our band, Drunken Boat, signed to a label in 1990. She’s currently married to a founding member of Food & Water’s board of directors, Danny Goldberg

Below is video/trailer of Carroll’s “People Who Died,” that, unfortunately, includes far too many images of Leonardo DiCaprio – the fellow who got to play Carroll in the movie about his early years as a New York City livewire.

And below that is one of my favorite Carroll poems, entitled simply enough: Poem (from “Living at the Movies”). I can still remember the intense discussion it started when I read it from memory in my University of Iowa English class in 1984.

And, finally, a video excerpt of Carroll reading his work. The dude could write.

Poem (by Jim Carroll)

The tea is boiling
sun in morning shade

my eyes squint on a red sofa
my teeth brushed electrically in the bath room
the rest of me does yoga on the lawn

your wife is turning pale, she is sick
of the hindu next door, sparkling lice
nest in her hair…I see

water flowers shoot up on thin layers of ocean fog

your son is in the corner tossing an epileptic fit…

we start to feel enclosed
like mannequins in storage start
to shiver, figure out someway to occupy our minds

start to knit or something

Sorry neighbors, but I’ll beating my drums this afternoon. For Jim. And my sorrow.

To something like this: