Vermont's one if those places that's difficult to grow things because of our short growing season. the one exception is the Banana Belt up in Grand Isle County. While the rest of northern Vermont has to struggle with zone 4 and zone 3, South Hero actually has about a 1 square mile area of zone 5a. The soil there needs a lot of work, but I was able to grow 100+ Habanero plants outside in containers, from the last week April through the first week in November.
It took a lot of work and ingenuity to grow something in any part of Vermont that takes 110 days to produce fruit. But it was a successful experiment that I should share with other people. What I did, was get some old ag bags that the farmer up the road was throwing in the trash. You know, the big plastic bags they put their silage in that are white on one side black on the other.
So I made a big square in the backyard with the white side up, and weighed it down with concrete blocks and some rocks. This reflected a lot of light back up into the plants for growth, though it did kill all the grass underneath. It worked out well though, because this is where I spread wildflower seed the following year. So I lined up all the containers in rows by size, using a soil mix of 1/3 sand, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost/soil. The key to peppers is sulphur and I had saved some rolled sulphur to grind into powder from my days as hazardous waste operator. Truth is paper matchbooks, 1 per plant work just as well.
Now because I was experimenting, I did half the peppers organic, and the other half with chemical fertilizer. The organic ones received crushed clam shells from the lake, fossilized seabird guano, greensand, and crushed rock phosphate. All the way up to blossoming, I weekly gave the organic batch liquid fish emulsion fertilizer. The chemical batch I mixed Green Mountain 10-10-10 into the soil, and fed weekly with Peters liquid 10-30-10. I put s sprinkler in the middle of all and daily waterings were at dawn and dusk.
All through the growing season the chemical plants had deeper green growth, but all plants maintained roughly the same size. It was blossom time that things became apparent, the organic plants outbloomed the chemical almost 2 to 1. This is where things got confusing for me though. I ended with about twice as many organic to chemical peppers, The difference was the organics had thicker walls, and were smaller. The chemical had thinner cell walls but were larger. As these were hot peppers though, that's where the real test was. My perception was the organics were hotter, but after the sample, honestly, who really knows!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Hot Tips On Buying Gas Everyone Should Know
crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
A friend sent me an e-mail with these helpful tips. He works a fuel company so I didn't want him to take flack at work for these hot tips. Some I'd heard before, some I hadn't.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mod e you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil. These companies import Middle Eastern oil: Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco........ 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway...117,740,000 barrels
Amoco...........................62,231,000 barrels
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel) Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco.................0 barrels
Conoco.................0 barrels
Sinclair................0 barrels
BP/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess......................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels
If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations near you. All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.
A friend sent me an e-mail with these helpful tips. He works a fuel company so I didn't want him to take flack at work for these hot tips. Some I'd heard before, some I hadn't.
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mod e you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor. An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil. These companies import Middle Eastern oil: Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco........ 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway...117,740,000 barrels
Amoco...........................62,231,000 barrels
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel) Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco.................0 barrels
Conoco.................0 barrels
Sinclair................0 barrels
BP/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess......................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels
If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations near you. All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Letter To Editor About Grand Isle Drawbridge
crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
So the long anticipated, short-term fix to the Grand Isle Drawbridge has been completed. Where once traffic traveled over rust, the metal is bare and bright. No longer do Islanders traveling north and south have to worry about dropping through into the lake. VTrans did a good job of facilitating a solution, but most of the credit belongs to Engineers Construction Inc.
The workers from ECI were diligent in their work in spite of all sorts of adverse weather conditions, from rain, wind, snow, and extreme cold to a mini ice storm. After the ice they had to break the whole bridge free, before restarting their work. All the while, cars trooped north and south only a few feet away. That crew certainly worked hard for the money they earned.
Now that this chapter has closed in the story of our drawbridge, I wonder what the next one holds. After all, this is still only a temporary fix, and I have yet to hear what the state plans to do next. For that matter has anyone in the Islands heard anything? Of course not!
There have been no public meetings on the future of the bridge. The state and VTrans are having their little meetings down in Montpelier, behind closed doors, without any input from islanders. It's apparent that they only care to do what they want, not what we want. Where is our senator, where are our representatives?
Islanders please let you voices be heard! Talk to Senator Mazza, and Representatives Trombley and Johnson, voice your concerns. Don't stop there! Contact the governor, VTrans, your local selectboard, your neighbors! Islanders need to be heard on a subject near and dear to their hearts, their drawbridge, our input is important!!
So the long anticipated, short-term fix to the Grand Isle Drawbridge has been completed. Where once traffic traveled over rust, the metal is bare and bright. No longer do Islanders traveling north and south have to worry about dropping through into the lake. VTrans did a good job of facilitating a solution, but most of the credit belongs to Engineers Construction Inc.
The workers from ECI were diligent in their work in spite of all sorts of adverse weather conditions, from rain, wind, snow, and extreme cold to a mini ice storm. After the ice they had to break the whole bridge free, before restarting their work. All the while, cars trooped north and south only a few feet away. That crew certainly worked hard for the money they earned.
Now that this chapter has closed in the story of our drawbridge, I wonder what the next one holds. After all, this is still only a temporary fix, and I have yet to hear what the state plans to do next. For that matter has anyone in the Islands heard anything? Of course not!
There have been no public meetings on the future of the bridge. The state and VTrans are having their little meetings down in Montpelier, behind closed doors, without any input from islanders. It's apparent that they only care to do what they want, not what we want. Where is our senator, where are our representatives?
Islanders please let you voices be heard! Talk to Senator Mazza, and Representatives Trombley and Johnson, voice your concerns. Don't stop there! Contact the governor, VTrans, your local selectboard, your neighbors! Islanders need to be heard on a subject near and dear to their hearts, their drawbridge, our input is important!!
Vermont Rednecks Early Spring Three
For rednecks in Vermont these are the days for fun, with three big seasons overlapping.
The first part of Vermont's annual crow season is now open. Challenging game, crows are hard to hunt because they are wary and don't fly in a straight line. Not only do they challenge hunters skills, but apparently they're good eating. Just breast them out, and marinate. It's a dark meat that works well in stews or chili. Fiar warning though, I've never tried it, that's just what I've heard.
Muskrat season also just opened. They're abundant, and aren't too brite. Hunters can bag their days limit with a .22 rimfire rifle. The hardest part is retrieving them afterwards, that's where waiting for a good shot can pay off. Native americans called the muskrat "marsh rabbit", and it's another of natures wild creatures that's supposedly good eating. A lot of the muskrats taken are for their pelts, the hair of which can be used to tie flies.
Lastly spearing and shooting for Northern Pike just opened. Unfortunately it doesn't offer a good chance at catch and release, but you get to pick and choose the fish you take. Shooting is done mostly in marshes along Lake Champlain, on days when pike bask in the warm waters. Spearing is usually done at night where Pike swim up into marshes, by the light of a lantern. It's your best chance to pick and choose a trophy pike to mount on the wall.
Vermont is good to rednecks who retain their hunting and fishing licenses!!
The first part of Vermont's annual crow season is now open. Challenging game, crows are hard to hunt because they are wary and don't fly in a straight line. Not only do they challenge hunters skills, but apparently they're good eating. Just breast them out, and marinate. It's a dark meat that works well in stews or chili. Fiar warning though, I've never tried it, that's just what I've heard.
Muskrat season also just opened. They're abundant, and aren't too brite. Hunters can bag their days limit with a .22 rimfire rifle. The hardest part is retrieving them afterwards, that's where waiting for a good shot can pay off. Native americans called the muskrat "marsh rabbit", and it's another of natures wild creatures that's supposedly good eating. A lot of the muskrats taken are for their pelts, the hair of which can be used to tie flies.
Lastly spearing and shooting for Northern Pike just opened. Unfortunately it doesn't offer a good chance at catch and release, but you get to pick and choose the fish you take. Shooting is done mostly in marshes along Lake Champlain, on days when pike bask in the warm waters. Spearing is usually done at night where Pike swim up into marshes, by the light of a lantern. It's your best chance to pick and choose a trophy pike to mount on the wall.
Vermont is good to rednecks who retain their hunting and fishing licenses!!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Getting Ready For Spring
A short trip outside will tell you all the signs are pointing to spring. The birds are returning, the pussywillows are blooming, and tulips are begining to poke through their beds. Water is pooling on top of the ice on the lake, the snow is starting to dissappear. Spring is in the air.
Well almost. The air is still maintaining around the freezing mark, so much so the maple sap is flowing very slowly. Kind of natures own way of doing a hatchet job on the global warming everyone's been talking about. Or has it? Seems like the we're losing more of the inbetween days, and dealing with more extremes.
All told though, it's been a long winter. We started getting dumped on with the white stuff in early December, and it came down steady after that. I'm ready for warm temps, and green leaves. I talked with a guy yesterday who made a good point though. With everything white, you don't have to swat mosquitoes. Everything with a grain of salt here in Vermont!
Well almost. The air is still maintaining around the freezing mark, so much so the maple sap is flowing very slowly. Kind of natures own way of doing a hatchet job on the global warming everyone's been talking about. Or has it? Seems like the we're losing more of the inbetween days, and dealing with more extremes.
All told though, it's been a long winter. We started getting dumped on with the white stuff in early December, and it came down steady after that. I'm ready for warm temps, and green leaves. I talked with a guy yesterday who made a good point though. With everything white, you don't have to swat mosquitoes. Everything with a grain of salt here in Vermont!
Why Is Jim Douglas Such A Bad Governor?
crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
I'll tell you why, what's the single most greatest thing Jim Douglas has done attaining the governorship? (Cue crickets chirping) Anything? Anyone? That's right, Douglas's greatest accomplishment thus far has been to continually fly under the radar and avoid any real issues.
Talk, now this is something that Douglas is good at! Talk about affordability, talk about lowering taxes. Has he helped make any of it happen? He talks and talks, and finds a whole host of reasons to blame his inability to do something on everybody else.
How about the people he surrounds himself with? Cronies. So far three of his appointments to the Fish and Wildlife board have had to resign for breaking fish and game laws, some example to set. Then there's Lunderville, the Governors campaign manager turned Secretary of Transportation. How about the Secretary of Agriculture, former WCAX reporter Anson Tebbits?
Our current governor has made a profession of sitting on the fence, while shooting down either side. He won't come swinging on any real issues of substance because he's afraid he might alienate voters. The problem in this day and age, is Vermont needs a governor who stands up for us. Douglas however, chooses to sit behind his desk.
We need a governor who's not afraid to make themself unpopular. Someone who will take on real issues of substance and reach out to help working Vermonters. That will never be Jim Douglas! He spends to much time being afraid of his own shadow to ever be an effective governor.
I'll tell you why, what's the single most greatest thing Jim Douglas has done attaining the governorship? (Cue crickets chirping) Anything? Anyone? That's right, Douglas's greatest accomplishment thus far has been to continually fly under the radar and avoid any real issues.
Talk, now this is something that Douglas is good at! Talk about affordability, talk about lowering taxes. Has he helped make any of it happen? He talks and talks, and finds a whole host of reasons to blame his inability to do something on everybody else.
How about the people he surrounds himself with? Cronies. So far three of his appointments to the Fish and Wildlife board have had to resign for breaking fish and game laws, some example to set. Then there's Lunderville, the Governors campaign manager turned Secretary of Transportation. How about the Secretary of Agriculture, former WCAX reporter Anson Tebbits?
Our current governor has made a profession of sitting on the fence, while shooting down either side. He won't come swinging on any real issues of substance because he's afraid he might alienate voters. The problem in this day and age, is Vermont needs a governor who stands up for us. Douglas however, chooses to sit behind his desk.
We need a governor who's not afraid to make themself unpopular. Someone who will take on real issues of substance and reach out to help working Vermonters. That will never be Jim Douglas! He spends to much time being afraid of his own shadow to ever be an effective governor.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Forget Carbon Neutral, Time To Grow Hemp
Of all the stupid bone-headed ideas I've seen carbon-neutral takes the cake. No need to create a new process by which carbon credits are created and exchanged to offset pollution. It's unnecessary. Growing plants capture and sequester the excess CO2 in the air, we all just need to grow more plants.
What better way to clean the air than fields of industrial hemp. It is probably the worlds fasted growing annual plant, and an acre of hemp yields 4 times more biomass than an acre of forest. We don't need pesticides to grow it, or fertilizers. The products are many, varied, and can lead to even more sustainable practices/products.
Using Du Pont's patented paper making process from trees, all sorts of chlorines, dioxins, and emissions are used or created in the paper-pulp making process. It also uses trees of which only 30% is roughly available to be made into paper. That compares to 80% of a hemp plant, and no nasty chemical or by-products are needed/created.
So we've got fields of industrial hemp growing, acting like big scrubbers for the atmosphere. They take in all sorts of CO2 the number 1 greenhouse gas, so why aren't we growing it by the hectare? Oh, that's right, it's not legal here in the US. Everyone confuses industrial hemp with the drug Marijuana because of a very long misinfomation campaign by corporations and the US government. The sad truth of the matter it Marijuana advocates aren't hemp advocates because industrial hemp lacks the Tetra-Hydro-Cannibinol to get one "high". People who grow Marijuana are against hemp, because the two would cross pollenate, and their drugs wouldn't get them high anymore.
But it's not just the Marijuana growers against industrial hemp. It's the cotton industry who is the number one user of pesticides, it's the US Department of Justice who needed something to do after they lost the fight against prohibition. They actually brought back hemp during WWII to win the war, and the USDA produced a bulletin about it.
In Canada the farmers currently clear, after costs are figured in $200 and acre for the industrial hemp they grow. They make $200 an acre, without using any pesticides, or chemical fertilizers! No wonder the US government fears the plant so, it undoes everything they tell the farmers to use!!
What better way to clean the air than fields of industrial hemp. It is probably the worlds fasted growing annual plant, and an acre of hemp yields 4 times more biomass than an acre of forest. We don't need pesticides to grow it, or fertilizers. The products are many, varied, and can lead to even more sustainable practices/products.
Using Du Pont's patented paper making process from trees, all sorts of chlorines, dioxins, and emissions are used or created in the paper-pulp making process. It also uses trees of which only 30% is roughly available to be made into paper. That compares to 80% of a hemp plant, and no nasty chemical or by-products are needed/created.
So we've got fields of industrial hemp growing, acting like big scrubbers for the atmosphere. They take in all sorts of CO2 the number 1 greenhouse gas, so why aren't we growing it by the hectare? Oh, that's right, it's not legal here in the US. Everyone confuses industrial hemp with the drug Marijuana because of a very long misinfomation campaign by corporations and the US government. The sad truth of the matter it Marijuana advocates aren't hemp advocates because industrial hemp lacks the Tetra-Hydro-Cannibinol to get one "high". People who grow Marijuana are against hemp, because the two would cross pollenate, and their drugs wouldn't get them high anymore.
But it's not just the Marijuana growers against industrial hemp. It's the cotton industry who is the number one user of pesticides, it's the US Department of Justice who needed something to do after they lost the fight against prohibition. They actually brought back hemp during WWII to win the war, and the USDA produced a bulletin about it.
In Canada the farmers currently clear, after costs are figured in $200 and acre for the industrial hemp they grow. They make $200 an acre, without using any pesticides, or chemical fertilizers! No wonder the US government fears the plant so, it undoes everything they tell the farmers to use!!
Friday, March 21, 2008
VTrans Does Have Successes
crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
Today, 3/21/08 the Grand Isle Drawbridge was reopened to two-way traffic, no more one way! This was a VTrans success as the bridge is the heart of Grand Isle County, the connection between all 5 towns. Finished well before the navigational season on Lake Champlain begins, with north and south of the bridge still frozen.
A big kudos to the diligent crew from Engineers Construction Inc, who was contracted for the repair. They worked through extreme cold, wind, snow, driving rain, and a mini-ice storm. After the ice they had to break apart everything that had frozen to the bridge before they could recommence their work. Everyone is now safer who travels over the bridge, even is it is only a temporary fix. A more permanent replacement will be needed in the future.
Without this drawbridge Grand Isle County would literally be divided into a north and south. VTrans did a hell of a job formulating a plan and enacting it. People no longer have to worry about dropping through into the lake when they pass over the bridge!!
Today, 3/21/08 the Grand Isle Drawbridge was reopened to two-way traffic, no more one way! This was a VTrans success as the bridge is the heart of Grand Isle County, the connection between all 5 towns. Finished well before the navigational season on Lake Champlain begins, with north and south of the bridge still frozen.
A big kudos to the diligent crew from Engineers Construction Inc, who was contracted for the repair. They worked through extreme cold, wind, snow, driving rain, and a mini-ice storm. After the ice they had to break apart everything that had frozen to the bridge before they could recommence their work. Everyone is now safer who travels over the bridge, even is it is only a temporary fix. A more permanent replacement will be needed in the future.
Without this drawbridge Grand Isle County would literally be divided into a north and south. VTrans did a hell of a job formulating a plan and enacting it. People no longer have to worry about dropping through into the lake when they pass over the bridge!!
If You're Smart You'll Grow A Garden This Year
The best way to save money in a downturned economy is anyway you can. Often the most productive and healthful is gardening. Don't worry though if you don't have a spare quarter acre you can tear up and plant. Container gardening can be just as great.
A couple buckets filled with soil on your porch will do the job. You can even plant more then one crop in a bucket! Lettuce can be planted on top of the soil underneath tomatoes or peppers, even spices or herbs. The other helpful hint is that plants can also be grown on structure. Cukes and melons can be supported with mini trellis's, and beans/peas on poles. Lots of possibility.
The only thing limiting your ability to container garden is your imagination and access to materials. Hydroponics has also become popular in recent years. Small home built systems that use a nutrient solution to feed and grow plants can be highly successful. Though with hydroponics it is easier to grow crops with low nutrient requirements, anything can be grown. The best part is, it automatically waters the plants, so you don't have to remember to do it.
So when food prices skyrocket, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Some seeds, a bit of soil and ingenuity can go a long ways. A little research on the internet will help you find all you need to know.
A couple buckets filled with soil on your porch will do the job. You can even plant more then one crop in a bucket! Lettuce can be planted on top of the soil underneath tomatoes or peppers, even spices or herbs. The other helpful hint is that plants can also be grown on structure. Cukes and melons can be supported with mini trellis's, and beans/peas on poles. Lots of possibility.
The only thing limiting your ability to container garden is your imagination and access to materials. Hydroponics has also become popular in recent years. Small home built systems that use a nutrient solution to feed and grow plants can be highly successful. Though with hydroponics it is easier to grow crops with low nutrient requirements, anything can be grown. The best part is, it automatically waters the plants, so you don't have to remember to do it.
So when food prices skyrocket, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Some seeds, a bit of soil and ingenuity can go a long ways. A little research on the internet will help you find all you need to know.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Time To Shit Or Get Off The Pot
Crossposted at www.greenmountaindaily.com
For the Vermont State Police, the Vermont State Auditor's Office, and the Vermont Attorney General's office. It's been over a year since the town clerk in the island hamlet of Isle La Motte confessed to embezzling money. Shazaam!! In swoops the press, and state agencies who confiscate records and vow to get to the bottom.
NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE! The poor town has not had any closure, or the benefit of knowing what really happened to their money. Are Vermont's state agencies incapable of this investigation? Who's dropping the ball here? Why on earth is it taking so long? She confessed to taking the money!!
Funny thing is a month after this stunning revelation, a town clerk over in New York was busted embezzling $150,000. Guess what? That case is all wrapped up and the guilty party is in jail. Why the heck is it taking Vermont so long to do the same? Does the state just not care because the crime it didn't occur in Chittenden county? Because now it's old news?
You'd think that one of the "gold towns" of Grand Isle County that sends so much revenue to the states coiffures would warrant a speedy and thorough investigation. It would appear that the issue has been backburnered indefinately. Why leave a whole town hanging? It may be a year later, but there are still some pretty hard feelings on the island.
Had this been Chittenden County, the investigation would have been concluded last summer.
For the Vermont State Police, the Vermont State Auditor's Office, and the Vermont Attorney General's office. It's been over a year since the town clerk in the island hamlet of Isle La Motte confessed to embezzling money. Shazaam!! In swoops the press, and state agencies who confiscate records and vow to get to the bottom.
NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE! The poor town has not had any closure, or the benefit of knowing what really happened to their money. Are Vermont's state agencies incapable of this investigation? Who's dropping the ball here? Why on earth is it taking so long? She confessed to taking the money!!
Funny thing is a month after this stunning revelation, a town clerk over in New York was busted embezzling $150,000. Guess what? That case is all wrapped up and the guilty party is in jail. Why the heck is it taking Vermont so long to do the same? Does the state just not care because the crime it didn't occur in Chittenden county? Because now it's old news?
You'd think that one of the "gold towns" of Grand Isle County that sends so much revenue to the states coiffures would warrant a speedy and thorough investigation. It would appear that the issue has been backburnered indefinately. Why leave a whole town hanging? It may be a year later, but there are still some pretty hard feelings on the island.
Had this been Chittenden County, the investigation would have been concluded last summer.
The Total Cost Of War
The total cost of war can never be figured in dollars and cents. Sure you need this many troops, guns, personell carriers, tanks, helicopters, planes, and the support mechanisms to keep them operational. But what about the hidden costs of war? The ones the government doesn't tell us about beforehand, the ones we find out about along the way?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real issue, but it doesn't just affect combat veterans. It affects their families and childeren as well. We may still not have lost 4,000 lives of Americans in Iraq yet, but number of wounded is staggering. Think of the families and childeren of those who have died, or been disabled. These are the beginings of the total cost of war.
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are on track to last longer than America's involvement in World War II. In this "great war" we also fought in two theaters, but look at the difference. In WWII rationing and conservation were not just patriotic, but a necessity. Our country asks what it can do in this war, Bush tells them to go shopping. Our govenment led us into wars that the people don't have the will to win.
The total cost of war will be found when we pull out, give up, and are no better off than we were to start with. All the years of sacrifices made by our troops will be for nothing.
In the end, we must not forget to honor them for their sacrifices. Nor blame them for the total cost of war.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real issue, but it doesn't just affect combat veterans. It affects their families and childeren as well. We may still not have lost 4,000 lives of Americans in Iraq yet, but number of wounded is staggering. Think of the families and childeren of those who have died, or been disabled. These are the beginings of the total cost of war.
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are on track to last longer than America's involvement in World War II. In this "great war" we also fought in two theaters, but look at the difference. In WWII rationing and conservation were not just patriotic, but a necessity. Our country asks what it can do in this war, Bush tells them to go shopping. Our govenment led us into wars that the people don't have the will to win.
The total cost of war will be found when we pull out, give up, and are no better off than we were to start with. All the years of sacrifices made by our troops will be for nothing.
In the end, we must not forget to honor them for their sacrifices. Nor blame them for the total cost of war.
GMP and WCAX
I'm a little late with this one. I've been fighing the flu for five days now. But now that I can think without feeling like my head will explode I need to revisit what I saw on WCAX's "You Can Quote Me" last Sunday. The guests were Chris Dutton and Mary Powell of Green Mountain Power. Across the table were Marselies Parsons and Andy Potter of WCAX.
The discussion was about the future of energy in Vermont as we currently pay less per kilowatt hour than most of the other states around us. 80% of our power comes from Vermont Yankee at 4 cents a kilowatt hour, and Hydroquebec at 7 cents a kilowatt hour. States around us pay between like 9 and 13 cents per kilowatt hour.
The whole conversation began cordially enough with the discussion of windpower, and problems citing it in Vermont. The folks from GMP seemed pretty on the ball and big fans of green energy. They talked about their two big drivers being energy affordability and sustainability. Then Parsons came out of nowhere.
He wanted to know, since GMP was just bought by the Canadian company Gas Metro if they could use their new contacts to get Vermont cheap natural gas. For of all things a gas fired electrical plant here in Vermont. The folks from GMP responded that not really, the price of gas is what it is, if we don't want to buy it for their price someone else will. They also went further though, in that because most of the energy consumption in Vermont is in Chittenden County, a plant like Parsons was talking about would have to be sited there or close by.
Did I miss something here? Are we not running out of fossil fuels? And WCAX wants us to continue with them? Time to move on to greener pastures, thinking like this got us where we are in the first place. by the time we build this facility we are then locked into using it, whatever the price of gas skyrockets to. Is this sound thinking? WCAX was way off base on this one, I'm glad the folks at GMP possess better foresight.
The discussion was about the future of energy in Vermont as we currently pay less per kilowatt hour than most of the other states around us. 80% of our power comes from Vermont Yankee at 4 cents a kilowatt hour, and Hydroquebec at 7 cents a kilowatt hour. States around us pay between like 9 and 13 cents per kilowatt hour.
The whole conversation began cordially enough with the discussion of windpower, and problems citing it in Vermont. The folks from GMP seemed pretty on the ball and big fans of green energy. They talked about their two big drivers being energy affordability and sustainability. Then Parsons came out of nowhere.
He wanted to know, since GMP was just bought by the Canadian company Gas Metro if they could use their new contacts to get Vermont cheap natural gas. For of all things a gas fired electrical plant here in Vermont. The folks from GMP responded that not really, the price of gas is what it is, if we don't want to buy it for their price someone else will. They also went further though, in that because most of the energy consumption in Vermont is in Chittenden County, a plant like Parsons was talking about would have to be sited there or close by.
Did I miss something here? Are we not running out of fossil fuels? And WCAX wants us to continue with them? Time to move on to greener pastures, thinking like this got us where we are in the first place. by the time we build this facility we are then locked into using it, whatever the price of gas skyrockets to. Is this sound thinking? WCAX was way off base on this one, I'm glad the folks at GMP possess better foresight.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Out Of The Closet Of Anonymity
So after a year of blogging under an alias, I decided to take a big step forward. The world has plenty of anonymous bloggers who have something to say about everything. I might as well give myself credit for my own words, even if doesn't make me very popular. If nothing else I can at least give myself credit for laying it all on the line, for not often do I pull punches.
I grew up in working man's Vermont, where a person's character was more important than the size of their bank account. Where soils sprouted crops not houses, and honesty and integrity were rewarded. I've never had a trust fund, and earned everything I have, which I admit isn't very much. Vermont is a land where the seasons indeed work for and against you. I could never live anywhere else and be happy.
I've been called a liberal Republican, and conservative Democrat, as well as a radical, and revolutionary. I call myself a Vermonter. One who feels with his heart and speaks what is on his mind, without fearing consequences. Brave or stupid I know not which, only time will tell.
I grew up in working man's Vermont, where a person's character was more important than the size of their bank account. Where soils sprouted crops not houses, and honesty and integrity were rewarded. I've never had a trust fund, and earned everything I have, which I admit isn't very much. Vermont is a land where the seasons indeed work for and against you. I could never live anywhere else and be happy.
I've been called a liberal Republican, and conservative Democrat, as well as a radical, and revolutionary. I call myself a Vermonter. One who feels with his heart and speaks what is on his mind, without fearing consequences. Brave or stupid I know not which, only time will tell.
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