My fellow readers:

We have a serious leadership crisis in Washington.  Instead of leaders, we have men and women in power…both Republicans and Democrats, who are there for personal gain and/or lawlessness.  They put profit and power before the people. 

After the arrest of an El Salvador Presidential Commissioner for influence peddling, President Bukele called a cabinet meeting.  He said one thing he fears is leaving a bad legacy and cited a predecessor who was not a thief but will be remembered by the corrupt people in his government.  President Bukele wanted to prevent that from happening to his administration.  He asked the Attorney General, who is independent of the President, to investigate everyone sitting in the cabinet room…. retroactively and into the future.  This is how you lead. 

There is evidence we have politicians who became multi-millionaires on a public salary with large stock portfolios, gold bars/cash/cars and real estate holdings.  We also have a dual justice system that extends charges of criminal activity beyond the statute of limitations and uses the judicial system to squash political opposition.  So much time is wasted with partisan investigating that focus is lost through bickering rather than cooperatively seeking justice.  There are Inspector General and Special Council reports as well as public records that prove it too. 

Leadership is required to protect our national security and democracy itself.  It starts at the top like President Bukele demonstrated.  Increasing transparency, rewarding whistleblowers, and implementing term limits would help restore public trust and confidence in our political system.

-Frank Mazur, South Burlington

To the Editor:

Governor Scott is due a hearty THANKS from Montpelier businesses for all his veto tantrums.

Montpelier’s bars and restaurants really need the bump in revenues resulting from all the legislators and staff reconvening in Montpelier to buy meals and drinks and to override all but one of the vetoed bills.

The Governor might consider walking his own talk with regard to listening to “the other sides’ points of view,” and holding his own dysfunctional cabinet members to account for adhering strictly to statute and cost effectiveness in the same way he claims local school officials are expected to do.

Those simple acts might serve to demonstrate some genuine integrity and compromise!

-Stephen Whitaker, Montpelier

From Reddit: