February 2009

Senator Patrick Leahy made waves this month when he suggested that a “Truth Commission” should be formed to examine some policies of the Bush presidency. Leahy says some members of the Bush administration were willing to “trade away the people’s rights as if they were written in sand” in the name of national security. Congressional inquiries into potential abuses of power aren’t new, but critics question the value of the proceedings and often dismiss them as political theater.

What could be gained from a Truth Commission on the Bush years, and what would Congress do with the information?VPR’s Jane Lindholm talks with Middlebury College political science professor Matthew Dickinson about how commissions like the one Leahy proposes reflect the balance of power between two branches of government.

[ Listen to the interview ... ]

[ See Matt Dickinson's blog, Presidential Power ... ]

Middlebury College’s $11-million biomass plant was fired up this week. The plant will burn around 20,000 tons of wood chips each year, replacing one million gallons of fuel oil, or half the college’s consumption. The plant, which will provide both electricity and steam for heat, will reduce the college’s annual carbon emissions by 12,500 tons; wood ashes from the plant, which are high in nutrients like potassium and calcium, will go to a fertilizer company. The whole project will pay for itself in 11 years.

College officials put the plant in a central location on the campus to symbolize the college’s quest for climate neutrality by 2016. They say it has generated interest from students and visitors and will be used as an educational opportunity for the campus.

[ Read more ... ]

[ See the YouTube video ... ]

By JAY PARINI

I spent a week in Germany during the filming of The Last Station, which is based on my 1990 novel of the same title. It’s about the final year in the life of Leo Tolstoy — a time of turmoil, when the Russian author was torn between Sofya, his wife of 48 years, and his chief disciple, Vladimir Chertkov, who represented his spiritual and ascetic side. Tolstoy had, by 1910, become something of a prophet, surrounded by acolytes, many of whom lived in a nearby commune and devoted themselves to Tolstoyan ideals, which included chastity and poverty — not ideals the master himself embodied with any constancy, as he well understood.

[ Read more ... ]

MIDDLEBURY (AP) – The Rev. Al Sharpton criticized Democrats on Wednesday for “diluting” education portions of the economic stimulus bill in order to get re-elected.

In a speech at Middlebury College, the civil rights leader also encouraged collegians to become vocal advocates for change.

“I am a civil rights activist and advocate,” he told a packed house of 675 people. “I do not seek, as many who seek political office, to be appreciated or liked. I do not seek approval as opposed to clarity, unlike some politicians. I was concerned to see that some of the Democratic members of the Senate took out the portions that gave real vision and strength to President (Barack) Obama’s stimulus plan and diluted educational funding. It seems they were more concerned about midterm elections than vision.”

In addition to those who got into the campus chapel to hear him, another 700 students crowded satellite venues on campus to watch him speak on a closed-circuit video feed.

[ Read more ... ]

[ Listen to Xander Manshel '09 on Vermont Public Radio ... ]

In some ways, it’s hard to understand why Vermont is feeling the fallout from the burst of a housing bubble the state largely avoided.

Foreclosure signs have not littered lawns from Burlington to Bennington in the kind of frightening numbers seen in states like Florida, Michigan, and Arizona.

But with more layoff announcements happening weekly, Middlebury College economics professor Dr. David Colander says the reality is hitting home that Vermont is not an economic island.

[ Read more and listen to the interview ... ]

When Pete Johnson, a leader among New England’s organic farmers [and a Middlebury graduate, from the Class of 1997], set out one day last fall to pull an 18,000-pound greenhouse, in fits and starts, over a field-grown plot of lettuce, he inched forward an idea that could help make fresh local produce available year-round, even in Vermont.It was late October. For most of his fellow farmers, harvest time was over until spring. But Mr. Johnson was just revving up his tractor – and his dream.

He wants to extend the growing season into winter, and to start spring crops in late winter, in ground protected temporarily by movable greenhouses. Johnson had seen this done experimentally elsewhere. But he was trying it on a commercial scale, with greenhouses 200 feet long – twice the length of a basketball court and two-thirds as wide.

He had been warned the project could be risky with such big structures. But Johnson – a young, well-educated trendsetter – was willing to take that risk.

[ Read more ... ]

[ Check out the Pete's Greens Web site, or Pete's blog ... ]

From UVM to Middlebury, colleges across the state are facing financial woes.

“There is definitely an atmosphere of fear here, I think,” said Emily Asher, a Middlebury College Student.

At Middlebury, school officials are thinking outside the box by looking within. They’ve created an online suggestion box seeking input from students, alumni and staff.

“So we knew right out of the box we weren’t going to be able to solve it with just a few people, but that it was going to be a community-wide effort because it’s a community-wide issue,” explained Patrick Norton, the Chief Financial Officer at Middlebury College.

[ Read more or watch the video ... ]

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College will scale back financial aid and cut or cap pay for a number of ranking employees as the school grapples with economic woes.

College President Ronald Liebowitz outlined the cuts in a letter to the college community last week. Liebowitz said he would personally take a 10 percent pay cut as part of the overall effort.

Employees making $50,000 or less will see a 2 percent raise, while those making more will have their salaries held flat. The president’s staff will take a 2.5 percent cut and the college vice presidents will take a 5 percent cut.

The college will “adjust” what the families of students on financial aid are expected to pay and reduce the amount of aid set aside for international students, starting with the class of 2013.

Fewer professors will be released from teaching duties to pursue research or committee work, which Liebowitz said will eliminate the need to fill seven replacement faculty positions.

[ Read more ... ]