If you really want to lower “global emissions”…
MacDonald: The emissionary position
Haines: Iran influencing Gaza campus protests
Statement from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on recent Iranian influence efforts.
Ellis: Biden’s conflict of interest
Many stalwart Democrats consider Biden a liability: The good of the country is at stake, and Biden’s age is endangering us all.
Dame: Smaller paychecks start this week
One estimate indicates we are garnishing the wages of Vermonters to the order of nearly $120 million per year.
Roper: What “Paying Just a Little More” really means
An analysis of the new payroll tax that hit this month.
Fernandez: Pondering Pascal’s Wager in secular Vermont
“Old time religion” practitioners are now the odd souls in the Green Mountain State’s nouveau humanist-pagan zeitgeist. Social vengeance replaced divine mercy.
Lee: The ATF has resumed openly murdering Americans
It seems the ATF intends to confuse the public and exercise increasingly arbitrary power to terrorize and prosecute American gun owners. Abolish the ATF.
Ellis: Turmoil in the West Wing
In a nationally televised debate seen by 50 million-plus people, we saw an 81-year-old president struggle to string words together for 90 minutes.
Ehlers: Beware blue-green algae – check before you swim
Blue-green algae produces neurotoxins and liver toxins. The problem is growing rapidly as politicians accelerate development and fail to regulate polluters.
Malloy: Read the 1972 article about taking over Vermont
In 1970, Blumstein and Phelan proposed political migration to a single state for the purpose of gaining political control and then establishing a living laboratory for experimentation. Pollak takes that idea and applies it to Vermont.
Dame: VTGOP calls DNC plans to circumvent convention a true “threat to democracy”
After last week’s unsettling performance at the Presidential Debate, Democrats have been in full panic mode.
Dawson: How to stop politics from dividing families in Vermont
With the arrival of summer, one in which families tend to spend more time together, experts are recommending avoiding political chats to keep the peace.
Klar: The First Amendment odyssey of Julian Assange
An icon of whistleblower journalism tastes freedom.
Bufka: to revive dying America, let us “mutually pledge to each other”
Our country seems to be dying. We can help it to be reborn. But we can only do that together.
Despathy: Scott Campbell’s Astounding Delusion
This demented irony is sadly lost on many legislators with tunnel vision who choose their favored industries and agendas over the people in Vermont.
MacDonald: Fossil-fuel companies won’t pay for “climate change” – Vermonters will
Fuel companies should stop doing business in Vermont. The State is, after all, in a huge hurry to get to its all-electric, no-fossil-fuel paradise.
Roper: The Property Tax gaslighting has begun!
No, a 14% property tax increase is not a decrease.
Klar: Industry fraud brings down Boeing planes
Senate subcommittee grants whistleblowers a platform.
Angwin: Stasi come home
The rise of the Informer State.
Banzhaf: Obama for Vice President?
Constitutionally OK, some legal experts say
Keelan: “Extend and pretend”
Has the Vermont Legislature lost its compass?
Jablow: Vermont’s bear hunt exposed
The data that F&W published in their report was incomplete, likely because the public would be unhappy to know hunters killed cubs, yearlings, and many females.
Evslin: Equal educational opportunity in Vermont requires school choice
The current educational funding formula is not constitutional, effective, or equitable.
Roper: This massive Property Tax increase may be unconstitutional
How’s that for adding insult to injury!
Bean: Biden and Trump golf match?
All in all, the real winner of the debate was not Trump or Biden, but it was CNN.
Klar: Fake meats for US troops
Corporations to use American soldiers as guinea pigs for cell-grown meats.
Bossange: Montpelier needs transparency
When lawmakers are trusted with their own ethical oversight, corruption and self-interest take over.
Wells: A Vermont we can afford
Urgent reform is needed, and it’s time to get to work.
Dawson: Volunteer litter pickers clean up local towns
Green Up Day — an annual litter pick-up event held in over 250 towns in Vermont since 1970 — has so far eradicated over 24 million pounds of litter and 450,000 tires from the streets.
Roper: Whither goes the Office of Racial Equity?
According to the Racial Equity Office’s state website, the last public meeting it held took place July 26, 2023. Since then: NOTHING.
Sturgess: Big Pharma courting Trump?
Susie Wiles is a lobbyist for Big Pharma. She’s also a key advisor to President Trump. That’s a problem.
Higley: A perspective on the session
Talk in Montpelier is about how we don’t have nearly enough time to consider all the bills we should, and how we need a doubling of our pay.
Harrison: Overridden!
Clearly the Democratic supermajority in the legislature and Governor Scott are not on the same page and see such issues as affordability differently.
Bufka: Why be a Critical Thinker?
What is critical thinking? What are the obstacles to critical thinking? Why be a critical thinker?
Klar: Have fake meats exceeded their shelf life?
Faux meats battle market realities.
MacDonald: Who made Vermont use fossil fuels in the first place?
Vermont citizens will need to come together and agree that whatever the deal may be, their current crop of “leaders” does not have their best interests at heart
Schulz: Memo to anti-cop politicians
In New York City and beyond, some public officials need a refresher on the sacrifices police make for public safety.
Keelan: Could oil and gas deliveries be cut off?
It is too bad Vermont and New York legislators can’t be honest. Their states need money to address years of neglect of their infrastructure.
Banzhaf: DoJ refuses to prosecute AG, but an SC could
GOP should ask Court to appoint a non-statutory Special Counsel
Klar: Furor over fake-meat bans?
Banning and labeling cell-cultured meats take a political controversy to boiling point.
Husock: Can local journalism be saved?
A promising approach uses local philanthropy and know-how to offer trustworthy coverage not driven by fashionable political trends.
Roper: Equity Advisory committee members souring on Clean Heat Standard
“A boondoggle that really is designed to support entrenched interests.”
Page: Property tax relief dies in petty act of arrogance
Krowinski blamed the governor for the coming train wreck of unaffordability, because – wait for it – Gov. Scott Didn’t Attend The Meeting In Person.
Ellis: The Old Guard has departed, political realignment looms
The Vermont Democratic Party has decided not to send established figures like Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Instead, they are sending a group of very young delegates that includes a host of next-generation political activists.
MacDonald: Of course, Vermont has an unconstitutional religious test
The religious test is not a fluke. It is evidence that the patients are running the asylum. You can see the results. Higher taxes. Declining services. Dumber students. Increased lawlessness. Drug crimes. Drug deaths. And the only answer the inmates can think of is for you to give them more money and power.
Despathy: Details matter
Plain and simple, the supermajority chose REV and VPIRG, special interest groups, and their high cost, impulsive Renewable Energy Standard.
Despathy: Advice from a Vermont environmentalist
The RES Series, Part II: The advice of Annette Smith, Executive Director, Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE).
Thurston: Vermont’s largest solar company on verge of collapse. Time to rethink energy policy
With iSun filing for bankruptcy, one might wonder if legislators will think twice about overriding the Governor’s veto of H.289.
LaMarche: Decency in decay
Mayor Stanak is knowingly eliciting another eventual confrontation and dispersant of at least one if not many, encampments.
Despathy: Steamrolling Vermonters one law at a time
The RES Series Part I: The interests of renewable energy industrialists versus those of Vermont and the the environment.
Roper: Who wins “Biggest Dunce” award for the Biennium?
To celebrate BTL’s 150th post, cast your vote for who made the biggest ass of themselves in the 2023-4 legislative session.
Klar: Black Christian Nationalism?
Black voices about Christian America.
Hillary-backing California mogul just donated $300k to Trump
There’s a real chance President Trump is convicted of felony charges and sentenced to prison. Bluntly, that’s part of why I’m supporting him. I believe our justice system is being weaponized against him.
Candidate Brown: “So concerned about our state that I could no longer sit on the sidelines”
How is it that our legislature is passing bills that will double your home heating and electric bills when so many Vermonters are struggling to make ends meet?
Roper: How does New Hampshire spend half the money for better results?
Unlike Vermont, their legislators spend taxpayer money wisely.
Warner: Trump verdict crosses the Rubicon
The trans-justice case against Trump.
Harrison: Back to State House for veto session!
The full legislature will return to Montpelier on June 17 to take up any bills the Governor has vetoed.
Roper: Gemma destroys the Clean Heat Standard
This gem from Gemma: “My electric bill [plus rent increase] could go up ninety dollars a month…. Now I’m willing to pay a little bit more if it means a cleaner environment. But the reality is I don’t want to pay THAT much more.”
Smith: Held captive by carbon capture
Forget about birds, bees, bats and bears. All public policy must be laser focused on reducing carbon emissions, no matter the cost.
Keelan: Vermont non-profits competitive, proprietary, and secretive
What has evolved is the building of ‘silos’ by NGOs and the avoidance of collaboration.
Klar: Social Justice ideology compromises “real” science
Scientific inquiry jeopardized by ideological taint
Breaux: Vermont tries and fails to tax unrealized gains
There’s a compelling reason that even the most progressive states can’t generate any momentum for taxing unrealized gains: it’s pure guesswork.
Klar: Tyson Foods and water pollution
The environmental costs of food production. Biden’s “Social Justice” undermines food supplies
Evslin: Tale of two districts
What has the legislature done?
Angwin: Memorial Day thoughts
Mostly about productivity
Roper: Welcome to the VT Republican Party, John Rodgers!
Lifelong Dem says his old party taken over by Progressives/ Socialists.
Collins: Vermont State College administration fails to engage stakeholders
Current and future students, faculty, staff, and the greater community are left to grapple with the appallingly bad decisions that are being forced upon them.
Banzhaf: Some pro-Hamas campus protests violate IRS Code – others don’t
Aid illegal Palestine protests, lose tax exemption
Langer: Vermont’s energy affordability conundrum
When it comes to energy affordability, 2024 may be the year Vermonters look back on as the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Fernandez: Pro-HAMAS activities at UVM and Middlebury
Many of these impressionable imps of ignorance hide their entities behind keffiyehs and hijabs, but remain oblivious to this conflict’s facts.
Despathy: Tap Trees. Not Vermonters!
Vermonters hold legitimate fears and anxiety about the decisions made by our Democratic supermajority.
LaMarche: The Progressive pass
Somehow it is OK when their former equity contractor, now mayor, who ran on equity, defunds the very equity initiatives they fought for.
Christopher Rufo peers inside Pritzker transgender empire
by Aaron Warner Christopher Rufo has emerged as one of the most strident opponents to woke culture. Raised by a family who embraced communist ideology, Rufo broke from his family’s way of […]
Klar: Police forces finally see a post-Floyd rebound
Hiring increases reported for first time since 2020.
Roper: Media Bias at NPR, the New York Times… and Vermont Media?
Will national mea culpas from Uri Berliner and Nellie Bowles be followed by anyone at, say, VTDigger?
Angwin: The unknowns of offshore wind power
It is clear to me that offshore is not as steady as the pro-wind rhetoric would have you believe.
Stack: Young people, you’re being punked
In layman’s terms, the Fed is going to keep the financial heroin in the system.
Roper: The Clean Heat Standard public engagement fiasco
No public show up; person hired to explain the program admits he doesn’t understand it; reveals chaos behind the scenes.
Klar: Vermonters strive to preserve their way of life against false charges of racism
Vermont is a culture of individualism, not government dependency; farming, not commuting; free speech, not stifling autocracy; of seeing all people as equal.
Ertelt: Lauren Handy thrown in prison for 57 months for protesting abortion
The Biden administration used the FACE Act to prosecute her for supposedly blocking access to abortion.
Despathy: Digging into the destructive Clean Heat Standard
While still in the design phase at the Public Utilities Commission, the economic devastation of Act 18 is already hitting home for small fuel dealers.
Keelan: Israel is not the problem; Iran is and has been
Washington, wake up. History should have taught us, particularly the history of the 1930s, the cost of waiting, of vacillating.
Woislaw: Snooping listers must follow Constitution
Snooping in the area close to the home, which courts call the “curtilage,” is flatly forbidden by the federal constitution.
Roper: Howard Dean Vs. Phil Scott? Yes, Please!
As a well-funded, big-name headliner, Howard Dean will force Phil Scott to campaign. For real.
Harrison: Veto session a safe bet
While I may have lost the adjournment pool, it is a very safe bet there will be gubernatorial vetoes over the next several weeks.
Roper: Supermajority votes for even higher health insurance costs
H.766 will add estimated 3-7% increase on top of “normal” annual premium increases.
McGuinness: Lawmakers play fast and loose with Prop 4 “equality of rights” constitutional amendment
Vermont lawmakers do not have the constitutional upper hand under Prop 4. Taxpayers can anticipate footing the bill for the State’s defense against anyone who dares to challenge them, if Proposition 4 is approved by voters in 2026.
Page: Howard Dean’s betrayal of the Abenaki
How Dean betrayed our first inhabitants, and the Republican who fought for them.
Galfetti: A legislature on a dangerous course
Vermonters will continue to pay for a mirage that promises effective climate change legislation but yields no discernible results.
Klar: Identity crisis at Middlebury
A backfired effort to cancel John Mead.
Harrison: Big Oil bill a big gamble for Vermont
Not only will Vermont need to front its own legal costs and hire various experts to back up its claims, but the State could also be on the hook for the defendants’ legal bills if it loses the case on constitutional grounds.
MacDonald: The ‘dome’ Winooski built
Years later, the town, more woke than ever, has achieved a different kind of dome, one that protects exorbitant public school spending at great expense.
Roper: The climate crusade that’s bankrupting Vermonters
This week Vermont Senate passed the Renewable Energy Standard bill (H.289) by a vote of 18-8.
Klar: Vermont’s virtue signaling Proposal 4
Here’s the rub – no advocate for Proposal 4 has actually furthered a need for the legislative change aside from a feel-good virtue-signal.
McGuinness: House committee rejects porn protections for young library users
Rep. Michael Mrowicki, who declined to accept a written copy of VFA’s testimony, stated that public libraries are sacred institutions. VFA told the Committee that families are sacred institutions that no individual, organization, or government entity has a right to undermine.
Warner: Anti-semitism Awareness bill in Congress stifles free speech
The FIrst Amendment reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” Does HR 6090 violate that right?
Bruner: CONS of S.258
Hunters have been the primary force for conservation since it’s inception in the US.
Jablow: PROS of S.258
Misinformation is a threat to our democracy, both nationally and as a state. At least here, being fact-based and credible is important to the bulk of advocates,
Sibilia: Looking for state accountability on education spending
State leaders aren’t acknowledging their role exacerbating these challenges while also repeatedly making expenditures out of the education fund without paying.
Roper: “Clean” heat mess gets even messier
It was neatly summed up by TAG member Christopher Trombly’s revelation, “We’re taxing the poor so that the rich can benefit.”
