MEMORIAL WEEKEND HUM

RANK SMELL
Hard-hitting snippet on Darren Allen's excellent Hall Monitor. In a yearly Congressional rank roster, Pat Leahy ranked 13th most powerful in the Senate which is pretty darn powerful. On the other side, Bernard Sanders ranked 339th out of 435 members of the House, giving fodder to his critics, allowing them to comment on the relationship vis-a-vis power and effectiveness. Catch the rank and file report now.


REUTERS DOES VERMONT
Vermont in the national spotlight Thursday afternoon with health reform signing. See, it's not just the details of the plan, it's the plan itself. With leaders in Vermont and Massachusetts coming up with ways to insure most of their citizens, the outlook is changing state by state. Governors and legislators are saying, "Golly, we don't have to wait for the bickering bozos in Washington to help us with health care - we can do it ourselves. For more , check out this national Reuters story.

PROTESTERS PROTESTING A PROTESTOR
Oh no! Not Steve Ekberg again! That's what protestors are saying about free-lance protester Ekberg. Seems the guy with the pottymouth signs is being an irritant to his fellow demonstrators. They think his signs discredit their efforts but Ekky stands under the shade of the sturdy first amendment tree. For best coverage see WCAX.com.
By the way, did you notice the two different spellings of protestor? Which one is correct and which one was correct years ago but is now archaic?

BEYOND BADINAGE
Blogosphere HUM re: May 20 post on She's Right, a clean and compelling Vermont blog, about smilin' Laura Bush, her visit to Essex and the ensuing protest and its entrails. Actually, the buzz, er, HUM is regarding a nasty comment posted by a Haik Bedrosian (Is this a person or a site name?) stating that Smilin' Laura killed Michael Douglas in a car wreck years ago. (Talk about losing credibility instantaneously). Vicious attackers such as this don't seem to realize that credibility is clutch in a debate of any kind, and one irrational, sloppy, mean-spirited remark renders the speaker intellectually immobile, and prone to having his or her future comments summarily dismissed as passionate, yet groundless hogwash.
Anyway, this angry commentator was put in his,or her, or its, place by a couple of other commentators (Tirade 25 and Bob the Optimizer). Their knockout blows are the talk of the town and you can read the whole thing here.


FIVE CORNERS NON-UPDATE
Did not attend the Essex Junction Five Corners Lessons in Patience 101 class yesterday but I was there in spirit!

MAY YOUR MEMORIAL WEEKEND BE PEACEFUL , THOUGHTFUL AND FILLED WITH GOOD FOOD AND DELICIOUS BEVERAGES.
OUT.