“Vermont is the best state in America” — the Washington Post

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That’s the headline on a recent post on the WaPo’s “GovBeat” blog. And no, they’re not making a blanket statement, but a focused judgment on one very important measurable: the health of our children.

Across a range of metrics, the Green Mountain State excels, according to the latest data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fewer than one in four Vermont children are overweight or obese. More than 81 percent have access to medical and dental care . Nearly 99 percent have health insurance. And one-third of all Vermont children report exercising at least 20 minutes a day.

The Post cites a variety of policies and programs for putting Vermont at the very top for children’s health, from 1989’s Dr. Dynasaur to UVM’s Vermont Child Health Improvement Program to efforts by the Department of Children and Families (which has received a torrent of criticism over the deaths of three young children) to integrate the delivery of services, to 2006’s Blueprint for Health.

Maybe there’s something to this idea of liberal government actually being able to accomplish positive things for its citizens.

Me, on the radio

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Guest hosting The Mark Johnson Show on WDEV Radio, Wednesday June 18 from 9-11 a.m. First hour guest: Paul Burns of VPIRG, talking about the group’s new push for campaign finance reform, its recent successes on GMO food labeling and toxics in children’s products, plus a new poll showing broad support for renewable energy in Vermont.

Second hour: Historian Rachel Hope Cleves of the University of Victoria, author of “Charity & Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America.” It’s the story of two women who lived openly as a couple in a small Vermont town in the early 19th Century. They were married in all but title, and were widely accepted in their community. They were even buried in the same plot with a single headstone. In the book, Cleves tells the story of these two women, and what it has to say to the America of today and our current debates over marriage equality. The book is published by the Oxford University Press; Dr. Cleves’ blog is  here.

Lipstickin’ that pig

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Vermont Republicans are desperate for some good news these days. And when they don’t get it, well, they kinda-sorta make it up. Or at least embellish it as needed.

From the VTGOP’s Twitter feed:

“A new day,” hmm? The link is to an article by the Mitchell Family Organ’s Neal Goswami, which assessed the troubled state of the VTGOP. Here’s the actual title:

 

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Goswami reports that the Republicans are reduced to hoping for minor pickups in the House and Senate. So I suppose you could say it’s the dawn of a new day… but it’s still awfully damn dark.