On My Mind 
By Pete Behr 

I don’t get it. Madeleine Albright proclaimed us "the only remaining superpower," as I recall. Yet our media and politicians are yelping that we must get out of Iraq, posturing about our young soldiers who are at risk. Is this the land of the brave and the home of the free? No, it’s the land of the craven and the home of political opportunists, from both parties. 

I did not favor the war, because we had inadequate international support, and because I did not trust Donald Rumsfeld and his cabal of neocons - Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, et al. I was right, but now that we have screwed up the country, as Colin Powell said, "You break it, you own it." I repeat, many politicians and many in the media are running scared, a sad commentary on America. 

Congress authorized this war, and we cannot walk away from it. Bush and Rumsfeld made many mistakes prosecuting it, and the Iraqis are incompetent- what did we expect? Every human life is sacred - American, Iraqi, Israeli, Palestinian - but until we achieve peace in the Middle East the killing will go on, and we must not shirk our responsibility. Statistics are a liar’s game - I can cite numbers from World War II that make Iraq look like a walk in the park. I’m not advocating giving the Iraqis a blank check; they must get their act together, and need to be given a deadline to do so. Somehow we have to stop the exodus of the best and brightest Iraqis, who are leaving the country in droves.

So tell our representatives in Congress to get real, and back our armed forces with patriotism, not cowardice. And tell the nuts who are pushing resolutions to impeach George Bush at Vermont town meetings to buzz off. This is not the time to showcase your petty grievances - what have you done for America lately?

Some of our most unrealistic politicians (Murtha and Webb, and even Warner spring to mind) and their press abettors make much of their military service. For the record, I too served, in the Pacific, in World War II. I don’t dwell on my service, but I haven’t forgotten it either. America needs to shape up and take its place as the world’s leader, which starts with leaving Iraq as a functioning country, not a ruin. Cowardice is not American.

Global Warming Department: I see Peter Shumlin is still flogging his global warming agenda, to the detriment of state business. I heard Shumlin has the whole Legislature taking days off from their duties to listen to "experts" educate them on the global warming problem. As long as Peter can keep VPR bleating about the atmosphere, he can avoid facing up to the promises he and every other legislator, Democrat or Republican, made to deal with the out-of-control property tax/education cost situation. A smokescreen pure and simple. Don’t count on the media to remind Mr. Shumlin of his promises; for some reason he has their number.

A Burlington resident asks citizens to write their legislators, saying "…THEY DON’T GET IT! Why else would they be focused on global warming when they’re taxing us to death…and putting us in the biggest financial mess since Madeleine Kunin?" 

As the Republicans feebly try to get the Legislature to deal with the cost of education, Act 68, etc. there seems to be a movement to "study" things rather than face up to the problem. No doubt analyses are needed - in fact there are plenty of them out there - but the first thing that is needed is recognition of the problem - which was so very evident at election time, but now relegated to the back burner. 

As to global warming, there are plenty of opportunists lurking in the wings - proponents of the so-called "clean energy industry" in Vermont. These are promoters who have wind, solar and other technology for sale, but would like our Legislature to give them a generous subsidy to assure that they can profit handsomely and live the good life at the expense of Vermont taxpayers. They already benefit from federal subsidies which too often are questionable (ask a Vermont farmer how he feels about the skyrocketing price of corn as a result of the wrongheaded ethanol subsidy). Renewable energy is a global and national need, and should be dealt with at the federal level. Vermont, as a tiny state, cannot do anything of significance by further subsidizing clean technologies, so our Legislature should look to things we can do. 

For example, set all the thermostats in state offices and schools to 65 degrees. This simple act would save great quantities of fuel and eliminate the consequent greenhouse gases. And they should call their President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin to account. He is wasting their time and our money by his diversionist tactics. Isn’t there anyone in the media to get on his case?

--Pete Behr writes a regular column for the Vermont Standard