News That Affects You!
Well intentioned legislation can have unexpected, costly results. The current session of the Vermont Legislature features several sweeping environmental and land-use bills and proposals. Most notably are H.926 – Act 250: The Next 50 Years (Act 250 2.0), H.688 – the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) and PR.9 – Read More…
Last time I offered a sobering New Year’s assessment of the inevitable effects on our currency of steadily increasing national debt, and how this will cause inflation and increased interest rates. These twin mathematical villains care not for human comfort, let alone for the crushing blow this will inflict on struggling Americans. America is not Read More…
There is a push in Vermont to “decarcerate” in the name of “Restorative Justice.” Even some prosecutors argue that most people should never be incarcerated. This effort originates from the Left, which concurrently seeks to criminalize new categories of behaviors, and thereby threaten law-abiding citizens who have done no wrong with incarceration. Last fall in Read More…
Of course I wish that Americans will become more loving and tolerant toward one another in this new year’s time of renewal. But given the ongoing toxicity of our nation’s (and state’s) political environment, that hope — and it’s inherent optimism — may be unrealistic. Similarly, the reality of our current plight as human beings Read More…
Vermont aspires to be the first in the nation to try new things, even if it means turning common sense upside-down. Recent Vermont proposals to impose a carbon tax and legalize gambling, like legalizing cannabis, are unapologetically driven by thirst for more tax revenue, even as the state’s economy flounders under the crushing burden of… Read More…
It’s official: Vermont’s government has been usurped by elitist bureaucrats who have decided that Constitutions, and voting, are annoying impediments to their enlightened oversight. This is not an exaggeration. Bureaucratic agencies have swollen in costs (salaries) and powers in all areas of Vermonters’ lives: farms close, but the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Read More…
Most have heard the iconic threat (usually by a weakling, or braggart, in a comedy film) that “these hands are registered as deadly weapons.” As Vermont’s legislature moves to impose still more restrictions on firearms, citizens should pause to consider just how out-of-touch (though not at all comedic) are endeavors to take away their freedoms. Read More…
Among Vermont’s current plethora of new gun laws, is H 610. Masked in “domestic violence” language, this trash legislation is visibly unconstitutional. After watching initial House Judiciary Committee hearings on this bill, I was stunned that Vermont’s Office of Legislative Counsel (represented at the House Judiciary Committee by Attorney Erik Fitzpatrick) did not even address Read More…
VTDigger (Vermont Journalism Trust) is Vermont’s largest media outlet, and benefits from tax-exempt status (and solicits donations as tax deductible) as a qualified Sec. 501(c)(3) organization, stating yearly on its Form 990 that : “THE MISSION OF VERMONT JOURNALISM TRUST AND VTDIGGER IS TO PRODUCE RIGOROUS JOURNALISM THAT EXPLAINS COMPLEX ISSUES, HOLDS THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE Read More…
An article on vtdigger by Grace Ellitson on January 21 was entitled “Halquist calls for Agri-publicans to condemn candidate’s ‘transphobic’ comments.” In response, Agripublican leader John Klar has requested that H Brooke Paige, the author of these facebook posts from his previous run(s) for office, disassociate from the agripublican campaign, and Mr. Paige has complied. Read More…
History reflects an inherent tension between human efforts to socialize, and the government enslavement that often ensues. “Society” is defined as “the community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and organizations.” The evolving American “state” which now dominates Americans’ lives increasingly lacks shared customs and laws. Customs Read More…
Vermont has nearly twice as many state workers per capita than neighboring New Hampshire. Those now governing wish to add many more.
The times are strange, when ideological passions surge to embrace government as the vehicle to impose an evolving, nebulous “morality” on one and all. Notably absent from moral passions such as the Black Lives Matter, #Metoo, and Antifa movements are personal responsibility, or policy proposals. Implementing Constitutional laws to protect women, blacks, or individuals has Read More…
Ongoing protests in Hong Kong contrast starkly with the conditions surrounding the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China in 1989, in which some 10,000 protesters were arrested, and some disappeared. The famous individual who stood in front of a tank at Tiananmen created an unforgettable iconic image, but his identity has never been known (other than Read More…
John Klar will announce his Republican candidacy for Vermont Governor at noon on Monday, October 28, at the State House. John seeks the support of true Vermonters (whether born here or not) to pursue an innovative, detailed agenda which will address our state’s most challenging and complex problems, to the benefit of all. Vermont has Read More…
In confronting directly the question of whether Vermont has higher arrest and incarceration rates for blacks because of fentanyl/heroin trafficking rather than innate racial bias in Vermont’s police and judiciary, I sought to challenge Attorney General TJ Donovan’s campaign rhetoric. I submitted an article (“Collective Guilt in Vermont”) to vtdigger on November 26, 2018. Six Read More…
