WEEKLY HUM ( 07-31-06 )

MEL TIPS 'EM
Here we go again. Yet another celeb busted for driving under the influence. Mel Gibson was pulled over for speeding and was found to have a BAL over .10, which is a no-no in this day and age. Mel, Mel, Mel.
To the countless other rich and famous people who read this blog, remember our advice from last week.
WHY DRINK AND DRIVE WHEN YOU CAN AFFORD TO DRINK AND BE DRIVEN!

BETTER LETTER
Our Humdrum award for letter to the editor of the week goes to primary care physician Deborah Richter for her biased yet careful summation of the differences between Sanders and Tarrant with regard to health care. In a nutshell she submits:

• Tarrant wants to provide insurance to everyone, yet does not state how it will be paid for. Sanders wants insurance for all, but states that it must be publicly funded.
• Richter points out that every industrialized nation in the world has a publicly funded budget for health care coverage, spend less than we do, and live longer, which is certainly debatable.
• "Rich Tarrant's heart may be in the right place," she says. "But what we need now are clear-eyed, realistic answers to a problem spinning out of control. Bernie Sanders has the right handle on this. We need public financing of medical care, public control of overall health care costs, and above all we need a real functioning health care system."

Sure, the letter sounds like standard Sanders supporter stock, but it also smacks of a frustrated practicing primary doc, trying to navigate the swirling and chilly waters of Vt. health care.
This letter appears in the July 26 issue of the Vermont Times.

BLOG DAYS OF SUMMER
The halcyon days of July and August are also the calm days of the Vermont blogosphere. A vacation here, a wayward post there; it seems like our local blog friends relish the cessation of hyperactivity and are regrouping in preparation for a lively and stimulating September. Hall Monitor, a Hum fave, is taking some time in August to chill, and other blogs are taking it easy.
Conversely, a newer blog seems to be posting and tinkering furiously; here is the link for Green Mountain Hard Right.

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE
Skidded up to the Essex Junction Five Corners Light and received bad news from a fellow idler. The red light was going to be a long one, he told me, cuz a village official was in a really bad mood and decided to take it out on motorists, programming the light so it would change only every six hours. I shrugged and didn't much care because I had just come from the Brownell Library and was clutching a brand new copy of 'In the Land of the Wild Onion', written by Dummerston's Charles Fish. The book outlines Fish's journey on the Winooski River from Cabot to Lake Champlain. I was able to read the entire book AND walk it back over to library before the six hour light changed. Real relaxing.