If It’s a Losing Proposition, Count Pollina In.

October 15, 2007 By Michael Colby Leave a Comment

I guess there’s no end to the tragic comedy known as Vermont liberals. I mean, even in what should be a moment of shining opportunity for them, they still keep trying to lose. Take, for example, all the talk recently over yet another run for statewide office by the poster-boy for the losing left, Anthony Pollina. And if it feels like you’ve already lived this nightmare…well….you have. Several times over.

As we all should know by now, Pollina-the-placeholder is being called upon once again to step up and lose for a coalition of Progressives and Democrats who apparently can’t find the energy, creativity or vision to find anyone with a real chance of taking on Republican Governor Jim Douglas. Cue the laugh track. Or, if you’re in the Governor’s office, cue the “Hail to the Chief” music for another two years.

While Pollina is certainly loving all the attention he’s getting of late, I’d recommend he not get too used to it. Because the real Democratic Party players aren’t going to let this story go on for much longer. Why? They still despise Pollina for his clumsy romp upon the political landscape for the past twenty-plus years, a romp that has him either snuggling or bashing the Dems depending on what’s best for one person: Himself. Principles? Forgetaboutit.

You’ve got to hand it to Pollina, though, because he’s certainly made a nice political career out of losing. I mean, think about it, the guy has lost every political campaign he’s run since 1984 and he’s still considered a viable candidate in 2008. But I think that says as much about Pollina’s acceptance of losing as it does about the political culture in Vermont – especially the way the mainstream media – and now the blogosphere — covers it.

Take, for example, this most recent round of Pollina babble. It is truly being fueled by a media in Vermont that is dying for an easy political story. And if Pollina knows how to win anything it’s media attention. So, in he stepped into a void that guaranteed lots and lots of ink and airtime that prattled on and on about – you guessed it – himself. Hey, losers need to feel like they’re loved once in awhile and, sadly, for Pollina that’s always a good year or so BEFORE an election.

Pollina, however, is only a tiny part of the problem here. The bigger problem is the timidity and near-complete lack of compassion by Vermont’s liberals to find and rally behind a real opponent for Jim Douglas. As I said at the beginning, this should be a mighty heady time for liberals – both in Vermont and nationally. But instead of seizing the opportunity, they’re wringing their hands and making themselves dizzy with every kind of political calculation and re-calculation until they’ve all but lost sight of the main ingredients: passion and principles. And then they call Pollina-the-placeholder.

Yep, they deserve to lose.

P.S. I went over to the increasingly entertaining political blog over at the Burlington Free Press – Vermont Buzz – and read some of the comments regarding Terri Hallenbeck’s piece on the governor’s race. My favorite was this anonymous missive about Pollina:

Pollina’s campaign headquarters will be at Capital Grounds in Montpeculiar, where Anthony sits most every day and waxes poetic about his strong work ethic. What a sham this guy is.

Now that’s funny.

Filed Under: blog, vt media, vt politics

Hold Everything! The Dems are Nervous!

October 11, 2007 By Michael Colby 1 Comment

I don’t know about you but I’m fed up with hearing about how “nervous” the Democrats are of late. They’re nervous about ending the war. They’re nervous about opposing Bush’s eavesdropping proposal. They’re nervous about taxing the rich. They’re nervous about losing their majority status in Congress. And, here in Vermont, they’re nervous about supporting same-sex marriage. Enough already. Please, could someone pass them some valium?

Frankly, all this Dem nervousness is just insulting. It’s as if they can’t even fathom the things that are really causing people’s nerves to flare up. You know, little things like dodging bullets in an illegal war, being strapped to Bush’s favorite water board for a little “questioning,” facing institutional discrimination on a daily basis, sweating over how to make the minimum payments on a credit card and/or wondering if you’ve got enough cash to see a doctor. Now that stuff is nerve racking.  But voting to de-fund Bush’s programs? Piece of cake.

It’s just weird, but somehow it seems like when Dems gain public office they immediately start with their nervousness. Vermont’s Peter Welch became a nervous wreck from the get go, for example. The tough-talking Welch-as-campaigner let his nervousness get the best of him after he took his oath of office, leading him to nervously vote for several war-funding bills, seek the Bush’s autograph at the State of the Union address like some kind of star-crossed groupie, and, most recently, to vote in favor of the absurd condemnation of MoveOn’s anti-war ad.

The irony in all this nervousness is that it all turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They get nervous because they don’t want to take a stand that might offend voters. But by not taking a stand they offend voters. Worse, the voters they are offending by their nerve-inspired backtracking and blandness are the voters they most need for their own political careers. Sorry, but there is absolutely no political – or moral – logic behind Welch’s votes to hand Bush all the money he wants to fight the war that Welch opposes – rhetorically, at least. And the great schism between Welch’s rhetoric and Welch’s action with regards to the war is made to look even more bizarre when seen through the lens of Vermonters – a populace that overwhelming opposes all things Bush, especially the war. There’s a reason, you know, that Vermont is the only state the Prez hasn’t visited while in office.

For the Dems it seems as though you have to wait to get out of office before your nervousness subsides. Don’t believe me? Look at Howard Dean. Once relieved of his gubernatorial duties, Dean morphed from a nervous right-leaning Dem to a screaming (sorry about that) progressive Dem.

And on the national scene, look at the change in Al Gore once he left office. While the second most powerful person in the nation for eight years, Gore was too nervous to fundamentally address global warming. Eight years of power! Poof! Funny, huh, that once his power was gone his passion kicked in and his nervousness was gone. Too late, Al.

You know things are bad with the Dems when people start getting all nostalgic about the Carter administration. Carter, of course, was a ball of nerves as the president but, lucky for him, things have gotten so much worse since he left office that he’s beginning to look like a roaring lion of justice rather than the Georgia mouse he was at the time. Carter is in the news today talking tough like most ex-office-holding Dems do. Carter, in case you haven’t heard, told the BBC that Dick Cheney was “a disaster” and that the Bush regime was doing a lot to undermine the credibility of the nation, especially when it comes to their insistence on using illegal torture – yes, Carter said “illegal” torture.

Unfortunately, the tougher the ex-office-holders talk, the more nervous elected Dems like Peter Welch get. It should, however, create just the opposite reaction. I mean, how much more do the Welch’s of the Dem-world need to have behind them before they get bold?

So please, Dems, get over your nervousness already. Either pop a valium or take a trip to Iraq and pose as an Iraqi and face down a Blackwater thug – that should put things in perspective for you. Because it’s time for some leadership.

Filed Under: blog, essays & columns, us politics, vt politics, war & peace

Compost Happens

October 10, 2007 By Michael Colby 4 Comments

What’s with the Douglas administration’s fixation of late on the business of composting? As we all know by now, the Pee Wee Herman of Vermont politics, Rob Roper, who officially goes by the title of Executive Director of the Republican Party, has been making an ass of himself by trying to fling compost on anyone and everyone he doesn’t like. Specifically, Roper has been doing a terrible job of trying to pin the regulatory problems of the Intervale’s composting business on House Speaking Gaye Symington – who fundraises for the Intervale – and Rep. David Zuckerman – who farms at the Intervale. The problem, of course, is that neither one of them have anything to do with the Intervale’s composting business.

But at the same time Roper’s getting a few of his precious hairs out of place over this, the Douglas team at the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is also putting the regulatory clampdown on other compost sites in the state, including Montpelier’s Vermont Compost Company. The ANR is claiming that the compost facilities are not “agricultural” in nature, but “industrial.” Hmm, ever seen the hundreds of chickens over there? Sure looks agricultural to me.

But, for now, let’s leave Roper’s kindergarten-like compost slinging and the ANR’s wacky definition of “agriculture” behind and, instead, take a gander at the bigger picture here. Sure, regulatory infractions like those the Intervale is being accused of need to be addressed. But do they require that the head of the state’s Republican Party come screaming out of his office to spread the news about the infractions? Goodness, if you didn’t know any better you would have thought Roper would have found Osama at the Intervale.

Let’s get back to that bigger picture. Given the amount of attention Roper and the Douglas team are giving to the Intervale infractions and the role composting plays in the definition of “agriculture,” you would have to assume that these are what they consider to be the most pressing issues facing Vermont’s agricultural community. Worse, they also seem to think that these are the agricultural issues that Vermonters in general are most concerned about.

Sorry, but that’s just absurd. Think about it, they’d rather put the spotlight on some compost run-off at the site where some of their political enemies are employed than on the tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals – especially the carcinogen Atrazine — used on Vermont’s industrial farms. You know, like the farm owned by Douglas’ in-laws in Middlebury, the Foster Farm. And they’d rather wring their hands about the definition of composting than crack down on the continued use of artificial hormones like rBGH in the state’s milk supply.

Silly boys, don’t they know that we weren’t all born yesterday.

While the Intervale will be addressing its infractions and composters like the Vermont Compost Company will be waging their regulatory battles with the state, I’m betting that Roper and Douglas will be stepping back from their Rove-like involvement. They clearly got stung in the media for being such fools.

The problem for the rest of us is that you know Roper is getting his hair back in place and meeting with the Douglas re-election team to try and figure out who to attack next. Hmm, maybe they could attack the state’s farmers’ markets over the overcrowding issue? Yeah, that’s it. Go for it, Rob….

Filed Under: blog, food & forest, vt politics

Columbus & Blackwater

October 8, 2007 By Michael Colby Leave a Comment

Sorry, but it’s Columbus Day and I can’t stop thinking about Blackwater. And I finally figured out why: They’re one in the same. Columbus was the original rogue mercenary and Blackwater is simply the modern perfection of what he started: bullies running roughshod on foreign soil in the pursuit of obscene profits and the complete subjugation of the native people. So, Happy Blackwater Day!

But, don’t worry, the Bush administration has got the whole Blackwater thing under control. With a straight face and all the confidence in the world that the American public remains in a deep slumber, the Bush team announced on Saturday that they would be sending members of the State Department to monitor the activities of the Blackwater thugs. And the mainstream media ran with the story – sans laugh track – as if it really was a solution.

What the Bush team – and the media — forgot to tell you was that the State Department and Blackwater are about as synchronized and connected as your right hand is to your left hand. And boy do they love to clap together: Go team, go!

Blackwater receives, for example, most of its nearly billion dollar governmental income from…drum roll please…the State Department. So, when Bush announces that the State Deparment will be monitoring Blackwater, he’s basically announcing that the fox will be guarding the chicken coop.

It’s also not surprising that the Democrats don’t have much of a solution for the Blackwater mess, either. The best they’ve got so far is to propose that the total legal amnesty these Rambo-wannabes are acting under while in Iraq should be lifted. Well,  duh. But the Democratic proposals for lifting the amnesty remain mired in a Columbus-like mercenary haze, whereby the Blackwater thugs would be subject to U.S. law while serving in Iraq. Sorry, but that’s nothing but yet another slap to the face of the Iraqi people and the so-called sovereignty the U.S. government is pretending to give them.

Sure, lifting the legal amnesty for all mercenaries in Iraq is a must. It should be done today – if not yesterday. But if the Democratic-controlled Congress isn’t going to completely do away with the mercenaries all together, they need to make sure that these hired loose cannons are subject to IRAQI laws. That way, if they want to do the Iraqi crime, they can do the Iraqi crime. And I’ll bet the thought of sitting before an Iraqi judge and jury and the threat of a Baghdad prison will do a lot more to rein these folks in than the current so-called solutions to the Blackwater mess.

If, as the Bush administration and the Democratic enablers claim, things in Iraq are getting better, why not prove it by either letting the U.S. visitors being guarded by Blackwater security agents go unguarded or let the law-breaking mercenaries be among the first to test Iraq’s new judicial system?

Imagine if one of those Democratic presidential candidates would come out with something like that on Columbus Day? It would almost be like they were opponents to this war and the Bush administration’s nonsense. Imagine that.

Filed Under: blog, national media, us politics, war & peace

Thursday Morning Grab Bag

October 4, 2007 By Michael Colby 2 Comments

Here, my friends, are some quick hits before getting behind the horse. I thought I had timed the advent of this little adventure with the kind of wet and miserable weather that normally accompanies this season – thus keeping me out of the woods. Instead, we seem to be living in Northern California-like summer weather. Nice. But weird. I feel like I’ve got an extra two hours in my day now that I can’t complain about the weather.

It must suck to be a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. It’s the gang that can’t shoot straight, for sure. If you could sneak a look at their internal playbook I swear it would read something like this: Find out what the Republicans are doing and then imitate it without the passion. Or the principles, I might add.

Take, for example, this new nonsense revolving around Rush Limbaugh. In what is clearly a “me too” move by the Democrats, 42 of the Senate ninnies signed onto a letter that condemned the big, fat blowhard for – what? – exercising his right to free speech. Take that!

It was, of course, a silly little payback for what both houses of Congress did to MoveOn last week when they actually PASSED resolutions to condemn that group for – yep – exercising its rights to free speech. Fine times we live in, my friends.

And I should remind my fellow Vermonters that Senator Leahy and Rep. Welch voted in favor of the MoveOn scolding. Shame on them. But, lucky for them, the Vermont media sits in their laps like well-manicured poodles, drooling over their every move and completely unwilling and/or unable to challenge them (and that goes for the so-called alternative publication, too). Ain’t incumbency grand!

But let’s get back to the he said/she said free speech condemnations. Pretend for a moment that you’re one of those party hack ninnies who likes this kind of stuff. If so, it must really suck to be on the Dem side of the aisle. I mean, come on, the Republicans managed to actually PASS a resolution in both houses of (Dem-controlled) Congress while the Dem response was a measly little letter. It’s embarrassing.

Worse, look at how the “victims” of this nonsense responded. MoveOn basically cowered while playing the victim – well, that and powering up their fundraising machine. But Limbaugh reveled in the attention, throwing haymakers to the chins of the Dems that made a hell of a lot of sense: “The Democrats are only attacking me to take the attention off of their complete failure to stop the war in Iraq.” By golly, the fat bastard’s got a point.

Notice, too, that when the Republicans got their panties in a knot about MoveOn, many Dems joined them in both the official votes and the smarmy rhetoric against the group. But when the Dems attacked Limbaugh, the Republicans DEFENDED Limbaugh. Imagine that.

Like I said at the beginning, it must suck to be a card-carrying member of the Dems.

Now let’s dispense with the sporting news. Here’s the correction of the week from the New York Times online edition:

“An earlier version of this article misstated the location of a 2005 sexual encounter between Stephon Marbury of the Knicks and a team intern. Marbury testified that it took place in his truck, not in the trunk of his car.”

Whew. Thanks for clearing that up. Because sex with an intern in a trunk is clearly unacceptable. But the truck? Go for it.

And since we’re on the topic of sports, let’s get my baseball playoff predictions out of the way: Anybody but the Yankees. Red Sox? Sure, they fit the criteria.

Headline of the week: “Bush Vetoes Children’s Health Bill” (N.Y. Times). Interesting, isn’t it, that when the Cro-Magnons in the White House finally decided to rein in federal spending, they targeted children’s health. There is apparently no end to their evil ways. Now if the Dems just had control of Congress they might be able to counter some of this nonsense. Oh wait, they do. Never mind.

Have you been to the Blackwater “Pro Shop” yet? Check it out here. Unbelievable. Well, make that: Creepy. But I’m going to order up my Blackwater t-shirts and caps soon for Halloween. You’ve been warned Montpelier…

VPR vs. WDEV: I wonder if the new changes at VPR – dumping the afternoon classical music in favor of news and talk programs has the folks at WDEV a bit nervous. I know my dial has been wandering away from the 550 AM slot this week as I peruse the new options. Mark Johnson should be safe in the morning. He is – well – Mark Johnson. And if you like pure comedy masquerading as politics, Beaudry should be okay, too. Let’s face it, the guy is hysterical. Sure, he doesn’t mean to be but he just is. The left in Vermont should thank their lucky stars that Beaudry is all the right has to offer up in the form of an hour-long commentary show. But, then again, the right wing is thanking their lucky stars that the left keeps dragging Pollina to the microphone. Of course, Beaudry and Pollina are both paying for their airtime so, as we all know by now, the only one really benefiting from these two meandering mouthpieces is WDEV owner Ken Squier. He’s no dummy. But given the fact that both shows now have some actual competition at VPR (from people who can actually complete sentences, too!), I’ll bet old Ken will be looking for some program upgrades of his own. Just a hunch.

Oops, I’m out of time. I’ll be back.

[Housecleaning news: I’ll be working on some of the links, tabs and pages that remain unworkable over the weekend. I’m all ears when it comes to feedback and suggestions. As you’ll notice, I’m allowing comments. So go for it. But if you can also write me directly by using the “contact” button at the top. All private correspondence (and tips!) will remain private and confidential unless I’m told otherwise.]

Filed Under: blog, us politics, vt media, vt politics

Welcome

October 2, 2007 By Michael Colby 2 Comments

Let’s get started. I could fidget and fuss about every little button and option on this new blogging machine until – well – it would be time to create a whole new character. Did I say “character”? Yep. Many of you dear readers will be migrating over from the site known as “Snarky Boy.” For those still unaware, I created that character a little over a year ago while playing around with a concept for a novel. Snarky Boy was the nickname for the main character and, in a late night whim accommodated by the ease of Blogger, I let him come alive as an Internet fella. Oh, what fun – well, for most of us anyway. There were, as Snarky fans will know, several targets of Snarky’s sharpened barbs who didn’t quite revel in the fun of it all. Whatever.

To make a long story short, the novel morphed into a collection of short stories, “The Adventures of Snarky Boy,” which is currently being polished up and readied for the humbling process of publication. We shall see. And, hopefully, you shall see it, too, after plunking down some cash for it.

But when the stories were complete, I felt trapped by the character. And then the big gaps in posting became bigger and, with it, the growing sense of writer’s anxiety became palpable for nearly everyone around me. It was time for a new chapter. In short, it was time to be me again.

Let me be clear, there was a lot of Snarky Boy in me and a lot of me in Snarky Boy. That’s why it wasn’t really hard for those who knew me to figure out the little game from the beginning. So, for those out there who are about to play the “gotcha” game whereby you declare the similarities between Snarky and Michael, get over it.

Interestingly, this new site is really nothing new. It’s merely a rejuvenation of a previous writing vessel, one that began as the official site of Food & Water, Inc., the non-profit shop that I run. This new and improved Broadsides site aims to bring some of the old Food & Water goodies back to life – you know, the eco-warrior and political rabble-rousing stuff – and be the nesting site for my personal blog.

Soon enough, the options that appear at the bottom of the front page will come to life, offering a host of nuggets regarding the issues of the day, activism regarding those issues, links to other sources and venues that tickle my fancy, and a clearinghouse for my essays and columns.

Almost six years ago I walked away from the world of publishing (Food & Water Journal and Wild Matters) and running a national activist organization. I was fried. I was sore from slamming my head against the wall. And I was still reeling from the death of my mentor, Wally Burnstein – a reeling that I’ve now accepted will always be with me. I told subscribers and members at the time that I’d be back in six months. Oops.

jimmike2.jpgBlame it on horses. I fell in love with them. Yep, in a state of not believing in much of anything, I stumbled into the world of draft horses – thanks in no small measure to my comrade in troublemaking and horsemanship, Boots Wardinski. After tagging along with Boots and his fine Belgian mare, Liza Jane, for many winter days, I took the plunge and got my own Belgian – Big Jim. And since Wally taught me that there’s no such thing as overdoing it, we now have five horses (four drafts and a Quarter Horse).

Big Jim and his teammate, Big John, both very large Belgians, work with me in a small business venture known as “Landkind Draft Horse Works.” We – well, they do most of the work – mostly do small logging jobs for land owners in Central Vermont who want their woods thinned, sawlogs or firewood drawn out, blow-downs removed or trails created. We also provide sleigh and wagon rides on our farm in Worcester. [Warning: Shameless plug about to happen.] If you want to visit the farm or – better yet – inquire about the logging services, drop me a line at mcolby@broadsides.org.

So, the reincarnation of Broadsides is about to begin. And to the people who pushed, prodded and propelled me to this new venture, I say: Thanks, I needed that.

Let’s roll…

Filed Under: blog

We’re Getting Closer….

September 27, 2007 By Michael Colby Leave a Comment

Damn. We’re supposed to still be in the testing phase of this new site but several eager-beavers out there have already mentioned it and sent links around. Curses. No, make that: how rude. It’s like showing up early to a party. Yeah, that’s it. You, dear readers, have come to the Broadsides party and I’m still in the shower. Well, suit yourselves. But hold your tongues on any complaints regarding links that don’t work, place-holding visuals, or the various “text tests” going on while you’re browsing here. We’ll let you know when we’re really up and running and the beer and wine is being served. It should be very soon. And then we’ll get to talk about things like Peter Welch’s latest ridiculous scolding of the ant-war folks, Jenna Bush’s romantic early morning hikes (war? what war?), Jeremy Scahill’s fantastic book, “Blackwater,” the fantastic happenings at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds this weekend, and the absolutely silly Democratic Presidential debate last night (can you say, “there is no hope?). Stay tuned. But, better yet, stay patient.

Filed Under: blog

Welcome Resmer Fans

September 26, 2007 By Michael Colby 1 Comment

Hey. Thanks for the plug, Cathy. And welcome 802 Online readers. Yep. It’s a new site. But right now it’s only a work in progress, with random text and artwork being moved around while we finalize the look and feel of the new venture. Soon the blog portion of the site will be launched and – in the coming weeks and months – it will expand into a full-fledged online publication. Buckle your seatbelts…

Filed Under: blog, vt media