Uninvited Palestine group to crash ‘Indivisible’ party/ Fed layoffs hamper VT history work/ UVM proverbs prof gets nation’s highest civilian award

by Guy Page

Vermont swiftwater rescue team Task Force 1 is en route to the state of Kentucky to assist with the response to anticipated floods, Vermont Emergency Management announced this morning. 

The request for the team was made late Wednesday evening, and the team of 18 personnel and one Search K9 left early Thursday morning. The team is taking with it four boats and eight land vehicles to allow for water rescues and land searches.

The team is scheduled to return in two weeks.

Palestinian activists feeling left out at ‘Indivisible’ rally – A whole bevy of interest groups have been invited to be part of the left-leaning Indivisible rally this Saturday on the State House lawn. 

One group that (it says) that has not been invited is the also left-leaning Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation. But it’s going anyway – invite or no, according to a recent announcement to its supporters:

“‘All out in Vermont!’ organizers in Indivisible have announced Hands Off! protests in cities and towns throughout Vermont on midday on April 5. 

“Organizers are calling for the Trump administration to take their hands off everything from Social Security to unions and immigrants. Palestine, however, is not included in their list of demands. That is a mistake.

“Why? Because Trump is using the attack on Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists to carry out his war on higher education, unions, and our first amendment rights to speech, assembly and protest. The new resistance must stand up for all under attack and without exception, especially Palestine. If we leave any chink in our armor of solidarity, Trump will exploit it to all our detriment.

“We are calling on all supporters of Palestinian liberation to join VCPL contingents, bring Palestinian flags, and make signs saying, “Hands Off Palestine!,” “Hands Off Palestine Solidarity Activists!,” and “Hands Off the First Amendment!” While the organizers have excluded Palestine, we know that the people support our slogans! The votes throughout the state against Israeli apartheid prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

A friend of VDC will be at the State House rally, camera in hand. We’ll keep you posted….

Federal layoffs hamper Vermont history 21st century initiative, but not Covid-19 project – The Vermont Historical Society reported this week that a 90-day administrative leave for some federal workers will slow down work on 21st century local history project. 

VHS Director Steve Perkins wrote to his email listserve: “We learned yesterday that almost all staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) have been put on 90-day administrative leave. As many of you know, the IMLS is an independent federal agency whose mission is ‘to advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.’ This move is not a surprise, as an executive order earlier this month called IMLS ‘unnecessary.’

“The sidelining of the IMLS threatens some of our plans. We have been reimbursed for all expenses for the Collecting COVID-19 project. However, we are dependent upon IMLS to continue our Activating 21st Century Local History program, and there are no IMLS employees to process reimbursement requests. We anticipated this problem and have been exploring options, but so far have not found a private funder to make up for the $137,000 remaining on this grant.

“Unfortunately, unless we find some alternate source of funding, we will not be able to continue the Activating 21st Century Local History program after this month. This program has had a great start with an excellent staff member funded by IMLS. While we continue to seek some solution to fund the program through its completion, we are also aware of the reality of the current administration.”

UVM Proverbs Prof to receive Germany’s top civilian honor – Wolfgang Mieder, the University of Vermont’s Distinguished Professor of German and Folklore, Emeritus, will be awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany today, April 3, at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony at UVM. The award will be presented by Dr. Sonja Kreibich, Consul General of Germany to the New England states.

The Order of Merit—Bundesverdienstkreuz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German—was established in 1951 and is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany. It is given to recognize outstanding political, economic, social, and intellectual achievements, as well as exceptional social, charitable, and philanthropic work. Over the years, recipients have included both Germans and those from outside the country.

Mieder taught at UVM for 50 years, including 31 years as the chair of the former Department of German and Russian (now the Program in German, Russian, and Hebrew in the School of World Languages and Cultures). He retired from UVM in 2021. During his career, he has written and edited over 200 books and over 500 articles in his primary areas of expertise: proverbs, fairy tales, and international folklore. Between 1984 and 2021, he edited 38 volumes of proverb criticism in an annual collection entitled Proverbium, published at UVM. (He now serves on the editorial board for the online publication.) 

In 2019, Mieder donated his personal collection of 9,000 books to UVM, leading to the establishment of the International Proverb Library in Billings Library.