MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2010

The Casey Hill Hooligans

SMITTY BUTTERS UP SHUMMY
Entergy/Vermont Yankee/ World Tritium Headquarters PR stooge Larry Smith playing nice with Peter Shumlin saying, "Certainly having discussions with the Governor-elect was fruitful."
Sure, Larry. Whatever you say.
Now, whaddya want!?

Well, we know what they want. 20 more years of Tritium expulsion.

Anyway, Entergy agreed to get back in and start scooping out the Trit from the groundwater.
Shummy's not even Gov yet and he's getting it done. Not bad, eh?

AKWANOSENSE CASINO BUYS SOUTH BURLINGTON!
CITY'S FUTURE MUCH BRIGHTER NOW
In a stunning development, the casino giant paid cash for the bankrupt city of South Burlington, which has recently suffered from "unconventional accounting practices." Laugh out loud.
When asked what in the devil's name were they going to do with South Burlington, a casino official said, "Shoot, we're gonna dump a casino on Williston Road and another on Shelburne Road.
There you go.

Five Corners Update 
Got to the Essex Junction Five Corners just as the light went red. Dang!
I started to hunker down for a long nap when...SHAZAM! I heard something very interesting on the radio. They were saying we can all go to our town offices and look at everyone's property tax rebate data. Natch!
It seems that because of the prebate funds going to the town and property tax records being public stuff, we can go find out, with some simple math, what everyone makes. Nice!

So I got out of the car and went to the town office, 'cuz I wanted to know what Hal down the street brought home for payola. Wow! He's doin' okay! Time to hit him up for a loan!

Anyway, it was a fine time figuring out all the earnings in Essex, but before I knew it, two hours had passed, Yikes! I had to back to the car! What if the light changed? Naw. Didn't have to worry about that!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2010

ONEROUS, ODIOUS, ODOROUS, ODUMISH ORDEAL
The normally dependable Vermont Edition drops the ball with its gov Douglas retro looksie today, with the inclusion of wannabee journalist/blogger from Green Mountain Buffoonery, John Odum, and corporate lemming from FairCast and former Montpelier B-lister, Sabina Haskel as " ANALYSTS." LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

We, and many others, were looking for expert analysis from the likes of Nelson, or Graff, or even, YES, the Logger.
But instead, we were fed a steady diet of guffaws, gurgling, stammering and lightweight comments.

 I knew I should have switched over to WJOY for some Barry Manilow Christmas chansons.
Oh well.

BLOG FOG
A little sparse on the Vermont blog front these days.
One of our favorites, Vermont View, the Vermont Press Bureau site, hasn't posted since October.
We haven't seen much from Michael Colby's Broadsides lately, and Blazing Indiscretions is taking a break.
Our beloved Vermont News Guy has said farewell, and we're waiting for good stuff from Charity.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2010

CEMENT MIXER ALMOST CREAMS BICYCLIST
On a snowy Colchester Ave in Burlington, the bike and the cement mixer were vying for the same lane. Luckily the mixer slowed, 'cuz the bicyclist wasn't giving up the lane!

MARKOWITZ AND ANR, JIM DOUGLAS AND NASCAR
Just seems that the above mentioned pairs don't fit, eh?
Johnny on the street thinks The Logger is more qualified to be secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources than Deb Markowitz. He thinks The Logger is smart, funny and he sure "knows the woods." When we rebut with Markowitz's leadership and legal skills, Johnny just guffaws and asks, " Yeah, but can she field dress a caribou like Sarah?" We don't know.

GOVERNOR-ELECT HIRES 28 COMMUNICATIONS PEOPLE
Peter Shumlin hasn't quite brought in that many, but he's got a good start. Bianca Slota will PS, and Sue Allen will be "Special Assistant". how many more will "help" with communications?
Weren't the Dems unhappy with Jim Douglas and all of his PR parrots. Hmmm.

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE 
Arrived at the Essex Junction Five Corners light just as it turned red. Oh boy! It was going to be a long one.
So I shut the car off and trucked on over to the Essex senior center, hoping to wile away the hours gabbing with the good ole folks. I proceeded to get my butt spanked, losing six straight games of bridge, but recovered, and kicked some geriatric behind in cribbage, winning three in a row. I then gulped down a couple shots of Mango Ensure, and headed back to the intersection just as light went green. It was perfect!

P.S - Here's a joke that is circulating at the center:

My memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory is not as sharp as it used to be!

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010

MEDIA WANTS 2 YEAR TERMS FOR GOVERNOR
Think about it, folks. With candidates spending more and more, it's a no-brainer to understand why media outlets prefer the deux ans term, and we wonder how much they have fought insidiously to ensure it stays that way. Has anyone noticed particular coverage, or lack thereof, when the issue has surfaced. Please let us know.

A SWEET TASTING DROPLET OF IRONY
Juicy tidbit from Shay Totten's splendid "Fair Game" column, spotlighting Will Kinzel, who is a top aide to Speaker-elect John Boehner, REPUBLICAN from Ohio.
You see - Will's dad is Bob Kinzel, the sturdy news dude from VPR, which I think we can all agree leans slightly (ahem) left, much loved by many DEMOCRATS.
Hmmm.

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE
Speaking of Bob Kinzel, I was at the Essex Junction Five Corners light this afternoon, listening to Kinzel's last interview with Governor Jim Douglas. The light was taking extra long to change, which I didn't mind, since I was enjoying the show immensely. Gov Smoothpants was his usual eloquent self, and various callers showed smoochy radio love, urging JD to run for Senator or President or lauding him on his knowledge of our fine state. BK even thanked him for rating high on the accessability scale; the good Governor was everywhere, all at the same time.
Right when the interview ended, the light changed. It was perfect.
Essex Junction Five Corners light - I love you!

Publishers note - look in our archives for more Five Corners Updates.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010

FIVE CORNERS UPDATE
Industrious day at the Essex Junction Five Corners light. The wait was so excrutiatingly long I was able to walk to Big Lots, pick out a pack of embarrassingly inexpensive Christmas cards, return to the car and sign, seal and stamp each one, with time left over.
I walked them over to the village post office, mailed them and scampered back to the intersection. The light still hadn't changed.
So, I had a few tugs of eggnog and...

When I came to, the cell phone was ringing. It was a friend from Montana who had received the card and was calling to extend the best of the season. We were in the midst of a vigorous back and forth on the true meaning of Christmas when the light finally changed. I wished my pal "all the best", and drove to the dollar store, where I was able to start, and finish, my Christmas shopping. Thanks to the Essex Junction Five Corners light, I truly had found the'spirit of Christmas'.


Dust of Snow
by Robert Frost (1923)

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.