Just about 5 days left until Election Day in the insane Chittenden County Senate race , and so its crunch time. Votes must be gotten out, and not just in the three-dimensional world: if the netroots are to be respected in the political world, then the netroots also have to prove their muscle in getting out the vote. Which brings us to the Final Project: Pulsing The System. AKA Netting Out The Vote.

By pulsing the system, we mean every supporter of this State Senate campaign (and every supporter of every issue we support, from GMO labeling to single-payer to shuttering Vermont Yankee) reaching out to their own individual electronic network with a simple message: I plan to vote for Baruth, and hope you will too.

Thats it: a message just that brief if you like, but posted to your Facebook and Twitter pages, and then sent as a broadcast email to your address book. If you can throw in an extra 3 minutes, posting it to your Front Porch Forum list helps a lot.

But altogether that might take might, if you really type slowly and deliberately about 10 minutes. That 10 minutes, though, reaches maybe 1000 people. And if everyone who supports this campaign reaches their universe, were golden.

Think of it this way. Technology is woven into your life; you spend hours interfacing with it, and thats a scary thing if some of that time isnt spent accomplishing something real, tangible and of benefit to others. Politics is one way to do that, and here in Vermont were engaged in some truly exciting political developments.

A first-in-the-nation ban on fracking. The countrys first true single-payer healthcare system.

Reaching out to your network with a quick endorsement is, very literally speaking, the least any of us can do. And you know we here at VDB will appreciate it until our dying day.

Thanks in advance.

Look, were all ripshit about Vermonters First, and the unholy effects of $700,000 worth of campaign spending washing into the system campaign spending from one fabulously wealthy and spectacularly disgruntled individual. And I think all of us have been waiting for one of the campaigns, or one of the candidates, to fashion a truly effective response. Wait no longer: the Hoffer campaign has done it. Seriously.

from on .

In terms of production values and message, this is the best ad produced this cycle, bar none. And it couldnt come at a better moment. Watch it. Share it. Facebook it. Because its brilliant.

If youre lucky, every year you spend in the Legislature comes with a highlight. The high moment my first year was the successful attempt to dramatically expand Pre-Kindergarten education in Vermont. Before the Governor signed that bill, your community was probably limited to ten Pre-K slots, and it was even odds you drew out of a hat to see which kids lost. Then, at the Blooming Minds Pre-School in St. Albans, Peter Shumlin signed S.53, the first bill I ever reported on the floor of the Senate and one Id pushed hard since day one. And that all changed.

A year later, the Governor signed S.223, a bill I co-sponsored with Anthony Pollina, increasing coverage for autistic Vermonters from age 6 to age 21. That was an incredibly happy day in the Governors Ceremonial Office especially when one of the kids moved Shumlin along by grabbing the pen and offering to sign the legislation herself.

Days like those are why Im working every day to be re-elected to the State Senate. Making change like that, even though it doesnt come on every issue, even though it doesnt come without costs and compromises, is one of the greatest feelings going.

And right now, were just about $1000 shy of what we need to raise to have everything scheduled and paid for in this re-election bid: lawn signs, campaign literature, stickers, palm cards, social media, print ads, etc. and so on.

When weve raised that $1000, were done, all except for the honking and waving.

And the last reporting deadline is Monday.

So if you can help us now, on this last push, itll be very deeply appreciated. the safest and most progressive donation site out there. Or if online donation doesnt work for you, our address is the same as its always been: Baruth Senate, PO Box, 876, Burlington, VT, 05402.

Thanks in advance if you can help, folks. This forced march will only last three more weeks or so. Onward.

Couldnt be more proud to have the strong support of famed environmentalist Bill McKibben in my bid for re-election to the Vermont State Senate. Heres Bills video endorsement, and if by any chance you could share this in some way via social media or a link to your own blog VDB would be eternally grateful. Because with only 30 days left to go, November 6 is coming all too soon, with the winter snow.

from on .

We all have our favorite people and subjects and genres, and every so often a book comes out that seems made just for you. And because it seems so perfect for you specifically, you save it, and go through it slowly once you permit yourself to read it. Felt that way with David Maranisss masterful biography of Bill Clinton, First In His Class. Richard Ben Cramers epic tale of the 1988 Presidential race, What It Takes. And most recently, Richard Wattss Public Meltdown: The Story of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant. Because as you know, we love a good Yankee story here at VDB. And Watts tells a very good Yankee story indeed.

As a documentary resource, the book is invaluable, bringing together as it does all of the best, in-depth reporting done on Yankee over the years by journalists like Bob Audette, Paul Heintz, John Dillon, Terri Hallenbeck, and Kristin Carlson. It locates and references between two covers nearly all of the relevent resources and studies every fact one might need in order to judge the situation on the ground in Vernon, you will find in Public Meltdown.

Yet its the narrative the tale that catches and holds your attention.

After referencing the disastrous 2011 multiple melt-down at Fukushima, Watts begins, This book is about another kind of meltdown, a public meltdown that took place over an eight-year period as Vermont citizens and political leaders became increasingly concerned about the management of a nuclear plant within state borders.

And of course thats what drives any story told by humans human failings, human sacrifice and perserverence in the face of long odds.

And Watts brings it all into sharp relief: how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was born in a conflict of interest between promotion and regulation; how lax oversight allowed safety to take a back seat from the beginning; how nuclear activists in the state particularly the New England Coalition and the Clamshell Alliance began their opposition fully forty years ago; how spectacular malfunctions captured the attention of the state; and finally how a certain, undeniable corporate mendacity eventually caused Entergys last support network in the state to quickly unravel.

Watts is at his best when he gets to the best and juiciest moments in the story. Case in point: when nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen and others catch Entergy higher-ups in a highly public lie about the plants extensive underground pipe system, and the nuclear material it carries.

Entergys lead witness, Jay Thayer, testified on May 20, starting with the traditional oath to tell the truth. The room was silent except for the tapping of the stenographer, whispers from onlookers and people shifting in the blue-cushioned, curved metal chairs. DPS lawyer John Cotter started the cross-examination . . . . He then asked Thayer, Does Vermont Yankee have any underground piping that carries radionuclides? Burke peered over his glasses from his seat on the dais.

There was a long pause 12 seconds before Thayer responded: The reason I hesitate is I dont believe there is active piping in service today carrying radionuclides underground . . . . But I dont I can do some research on that and get back to you, but I dont believe there are active piping systems underground containing contaminated fluids today.

This was the precise moment when Entergy finally slipped over the line between corporate fudging and corporate perjury, and Watt captures the moment brilliantly.

Of course the story doesnt end as VDB would like: the plant continues in operation today, due in large part to a single, dismissive ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha. But as anyone who has ever followed this particular tale knows, the opposition to Yankee has shown an amazing ability to regenerate and strengthen over time.

Which is to say that time and history especially with fine books like Wattss are not on Yankees side.

So yes, were still apparently locked in mortal combat nationally speaking over the right of women to control their own reproductive destinies. And the emphasis has been on Planned Parenthood, and rightly so, given the very high-profile attempts to slash their funding. But other organizations are out there fighting the good fight too. To wit: VARF (Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom). And every year, VARF challenges you to show your level of commitment by, you know, bowling. And drinking.

As politically serious events go, its not so serious. But while everyone has an extremely good time, money finds its way to a very worthwhile cause. VDB, not too many people know, developed mad bowling skills back in the 70s in Rome, NY (true story). These skills we will be coolly demonstrating with Bill Simmons award-winning team, The Ovary Achievers.

When and where will this go down? October 6th, from 7 to 9 pm at Spare Time in Colchester, Vermont. And believe us, itll get real on the lanes.

If you want to know more, or want to sign up your own team, go here for more info. If you want to simply donate directly to event organizer Selene Colburns team so that she can rub it later in Bill Simmons face, go here. And if you want to know the deeper reason why people do this event year after year, look more closely at that last photograph.

See you on the lanes. In your cool rented shoes.

Maybe you thought that the days of sustained protest against Vermont Yankee were over. Maybe you thought that this was a land campaign only. Wrong, on both counts. Because this Saturday, SAGE Alliance goes at the Yankee problem by sea, in the form of a coordinated flotilla, designed to draw attention to the plants harmful warming of the Connecticut River. Are you free Saturday? Have boat? Will paddle? It isnt often that you can enjoy the glories of the river and fight the good fight at one and the same time. Details below:

Just about one week left until the contested Chittenden Democrat primary, and so its crunch time. Votes must be gotten out, and not just in the three-dimensional world: if the netroots are to be respected in the political world, then the netroots also have to prove their muscle in getting out the vote. Which brings us to the weeks project: Pulsing The System. AKA Netting Out The Vote.

By pulsing the system, we mean every supporter of this State Senate campaign (and every supporter of every issue we support, from GMO labeling to single-payer to shuttering Vermont Yankee) reaching out to their own individual electronic network with a simple message: I plan to vote for Baruth, and hope you will too.

Thats it: a message just that brief if you like, but posted to your Facebook and Twitter pages, and then sent as a broadcast email to your address book. If you can throw in an extra 3 minutes, posting it to your Front Porch Forum list helps a lot.

But altogether that might take might, if you really type slowly and deliberately about 10 minutes. That 10 minutes, though, reaches maybe 1000 people. And if everyone who supports this campaign reaches their universe, were golden.

Think of it this way. Technology is woven into your life; you spend hours interfacing with it, and thats a scary thing if some of that time isnt spent accomplishing something real, tangible and of benefit to others. Politics is one way to do that, and here in Vermont were engaged in some truly exciting political developments.

A first-in-the-nation ban on fracking. The countrys first true single-payer healthcare system.

Reaching out to your network with a quick endorsement is, very literally speaking, the least any of us can do. And you know we here at VDB will appreciate it until our dying day.

Thanks in advance.