TUESDAY'S HUM (4-11-06 )

GOOD SHEPARD
Big step this morn for House candidate Mark Shepard, bagging time on WVMT's Charlie and Ernie Show. The Good Shepard is up against Martha Rainville in the Republican primary; the winner faces Peter Welch. Rainville has been declared the frontrunner and the guys on the radio this morning were trying to figure out why. We know why. She's a GENERAL, which has afforded her many media moments, good and bad. And whoever says she has zero political experience hasn't been a General lately. Imagine the inside politicking that goes on in that world!
Meanwhile, Shepard, a Bennington Senator, has an impressive resume. Farmboy turned engineer, he is well known in southern Vermont and has done a lot of volunteer youth work. He's a native Vermonter who left town for a while to study at some schools you might know. MIT, RPI and the University of Florida. Oh, and don't forget Hartford High School.
We predict that Shepard's campaign will gain momentum, slowly and logically (he's an engineer, remember) and Rainville's campaign will falter. Shepard will then upset Welch in the general election, albeit by a narrow margin.
I f you check the archives, our predictions are usually correct. The last one had Decelles upsetting Blais in Burlington.

WHAT'S IN A NAME
Hum on the street suggests people are confused about the whole immigration terminolgy. Are they:

• Undocumented workers
• Nonresident workers
• Immigrants
• Illegal aliens
• Illegal immigrants

Well, try to notice and remember how each newspaper, TV station, etc. frames the story, along with the term they use for the illegal immigrant, which is technically correct. An individual crossing the border into this country without proper documention and authorization is breaking the law, therefore making that individual an illegal entrant. If they are focusing on living in the states, they are an immigrant. Hence, they are an illegal immigrant. Whether one believes in the current immigration policy, well, that's another ball of wax.

HOT COCO
Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp off to a great start and then - BANG! - he gets injured. Crisp expected to miss a few games with a painful index finger.
Big Papi making mucho dinero. He's pretty much getting the same deal Damon got with the Yanks.
Sox home opener today against Toronto.

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE
The Essex Junction Five Corners Light took so long to change this morning, I was able to get out of the car, run to the high school, vote, run back to the car and adjust my tie with seconds to spare. The light finally turned green and I went on my merry way, excited that I had fulfilled my civic duty. Five Corners Light - I love you!