Free range cows, Sarah George, and murder for profit lead the Vermont media headlines.
Water Cooler: free range cows, murder for profit, Sarah George & “her own brand of justice”
Evslin: Without nuclear power, subsidizing electric cars might hurt environment
What greenhouse-gas-good is electric transportation if the power comes from burning fossil fuels?
Bananas: MASTER CLASS – The Art of the Cancel
If you’re ready to join the vanguard, Red Guard or just can’t stand the thought of other people thinking they get to think their own thoughts, Johnny Bananas has a Master Class for you.
West Rutland man arrested in undercover police sting
An adult male from West Rutland who self-identified as a lesbian teenager was arrested on charges of attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity.
Lobby groups push ranked-choice ‘instant runoff’ voting
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans in the Legislature appear very interested, but the Progs and two influential lobby groups are pushing hard for Ranked Choice Voting.
With pregnancy centers under fire, 40 Days for Life kicks off Feb. 27
With non-abortion pregnancy centers under fire from the Vermont Legislature, 40 Days for Life prepares its spring prayer and vigil at the Barre Planned Parenthood.
Vermont, the Beckoning Country
Vermont, the Beckoning Country. Cartoon by JB.
How Vermont was born, in three paragraphs
A retired schoolteacher explains the birthday of Vermont in three easy paragraphs.
Trudeau invokes Emergency Powers over truckers
Government overreach in Canada and in U.S. Pushback, too.
House to take up Scott veto of contractor registration
Gov. Scott says creating a state contractor registry will harm small businesses. The House will consider his veto of H157 tomorrow.
Gunfire riddles Burlington home with children inside
The first ‘gunfire incident’ in Burlington this year left holes in exterior walls and a window of an occupied Riverside Avenue home.
Atheist speaker defends Christianity against the new ‘woke’ religion
The new ‘woke’ movement is just a counterfeit religion, an atheist scholar told a White River Junction crowd Saturday night.
Water Cooler: tipping point for restaurants / Super Bowl party for homeless / SB protesters support Canadian truckers
Protesters rally in South Burlington to support Canadian truckers. And restaurant owners are looking at the tipping point of long-term affordability.
Keelan: the first black American saint, maybe
Now that MLB great Jim Kaat of Manchester is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it’s time to consider a candidate for sainthood, Don Keelan says.
Your Letters: Stop China / Pass ranked choice voting
A former lawmakers wonders why Congress won’t do more to stop the existential threat of the Chinese government. And the Vermont League of Women Voters wants Ranked Choice Voting.
Out-of-staters busted for mischief in Addison County
A jilted lover from Maine and a Connecticut couple are cited for crimes committed in Addison County.
Ram demands ban on police ‘no knock’ warrant
A state senator running for Congress wants to take away the court-approved ability of Vermont police to execute ‘no knock’ arrest warrants.
Legislature gives non-taxpaying Brattleboro teens power to tax adults
The Legislature is poised to give Brattleboro teens the right to vote, run for office and levy taxes. The voting margins appear veto-proof.
Biden’s Inflation Problem is everyone’s problem
Joe Biden may be blowing up the cost of living. But it’s more than just his party’s problem. It’s affecting everyone.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Fri, Feb 11
South Burlington abandons municipal mask mandate. Vermonters are planning a freedom convoy. More federal dough for electric cars. These headlines and more from VT media.
Threats over mask mandate carry three-year prison sentence
The Senate is considering a law giving three years in prison for threats made during mask arguments in stores – among other situations.
Petition: End required masking in schools
A mask freedom advocacy group is asking other Vermonters to petition the Agency of Education to end its ‘guidance’ requiring masks in schools.
Marxism vs. Americanism subject of symposium Saturday
A symposium on Americanism & Marxism will meet Saturday morning in Rutland.
Meg Hansen podcast ‘drops’ Feb. 21
A free-market think tank has launched a new podcast featuring host Meg Hansen interviewing informed guests about vital Vermont policy issues.
American truck convoy coming?
The Department of Homeland Security, ever-vigilant for domestic ‘threats,’ is tracking reports of a Canada-style truck convoy through these not-so-United States.
Bald eagle removed from VT endangered species list, bumblebee added
Bald eagle sightings are no longer uncommon in Vermont. They’ve been taken off the endangered species list, but the American Bumblebee has been added.
Smuggs ski patrol member dies in car crash
Two men died in separate highway accidents this week. And a starving dog has been rescued from her owner, who is charged with animal cruelty.
Richardson: Allow early, off-label Covid-19 treatment
Let doctors prescribe the medicine they think their patients need.
Bananas: Church shopping in Vermont
Fake news reporter Johnny Bananas goes church-shopping in Vermont.
Fernandez: President Lincoln’s great sense of humor
While Lincoln had his critics, his sense of humor disarmed even the most serious of antagonists.
Vermont’s Lincoln legacy
He never visited Vermont, but Lincoln did visit compassion on her soldiers. Vermont gave Lincoln votes, elections, stone for many monuments, and – finally – a home for three generations of descendants.
House honors Tuskegee Airman, 95
The Vermont House of Representatives today honored Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Woody Woodhouse.
Senate presses pause on police lawsuit bill
It’s not about systemic racism, Sen. Joe Benning told fellow senators during discussion of a bill to allow the public to sue police officers.
Water Cooler: what if PCBs are found in Vermont schools? / Miro on suing cops / Burlington man gets Super Bowl ad spot
The State of Vermont will look for PCBs in its schools. What happens if they find them? And, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger weighs in on a controversial issue: should the public be allowed to sue police?
Flag wave for truckers today, new show debuts tomorrow
Vermonters supporting Canadian and American truckers will hold a flag and sign wave this afternoon in Stowe 3-5 pm. Tomorrow morning, Barre flag raiser Brian Judd will debut a new radio show on Facebook.
McCoy: Tax break for $203,000 earners, but not military retirees? No way
The Legislature has a choice: help military retirees, debt-loaded college grads, and the poor – or give a tax break to people earning $203,000.
Judiciary bill downplays drug-dealer amount of cocaine, heroin as ‘personal use’
30 grams is a lot of coke. But the Vermont House Judiciary Committee wants to treat it as a ‘personal use’ misdemeanor. Not so fast, law enforcement officials say.
Yvan Plouffe, a friend to everybody
His intelligence and curiosity was unmatched, even though he never finished middle school. He was famous for his greenhouse full of richly colored roses, yet he was color blind.
Roper: Potentially deadly consequence of Clean Heat Standard
Driving small fuel dealers out of business with no immediate replacements could have deadly consequences.
Prop 5 serves interest groups, not parents, kids or taxpayers
Prop 5 is sweeping and vague – fodder for interest groups to get the courts to do whatever they want, bypassing the good of parents, children, and taxpayers.
Scott: new housing IS workforce development
The worker shortage and the economy won’t get better until we get serious about building new housing, Phil Scott said.
State moving towards lifting school mask mandate – but for all schools?
On February 28, the State of Vermont will announce its new ‘direction’ for school masking.
SJW exposer James Lindsay to speak in White River Jct.
A veteran exposer of the Social Justice Warriors will speak in White River Junction Thursday.
Another Cochran medals at Olympics / Long Covid a threat after Omicron? / Homeless ‘shelter pods’ in Burlington / Self-driving cars
The legacy of the skiing Cochran family of Richmond continues. Coming soon to Vermont metro areas near you: shelter pods for the homeless, and self-driving cars.
Peterson: Would Prop 5 legalize CNN producer’s alleged sexual ‘training’ of minor?
Why wouldn’t a nine-year-old with Prop 5’s constitutionally protected right of ‘reproductive autonomy’ have the right to be ‘trained’ to have sex? A legislator asked the question on floor of the House yesterday.
Bomb squad handles old nitro / Horse dies in crash
Some dangerous old sticks of nitroglycerin could have been someone’s final problem. But the state police bomb squad took are of it.
Burlington Progs unsafe, unreasonable
The central complaint against Progressives on the Burlington City Council is that they have become completely unreasonable, which is making the city unsafe.
Newport Planned Parenthood clinic to close
Newport’s Planned Parenthood clinic will close Feb. 23. A spokesman for Vermont’s largest abortion provider blames the workforce shortage, fiscal woes, Covid-19, and the ‘national crisis for reproductive health access.’
“Are these folks blind to the irony?”
Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger didn’t think ‘black lives matter.’ Not the woman who once wrote ‘we don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.’ and who addressed meetings of the Ku Klux Klan.
Parental consent can be parental coercion, teen marriage ban sponsor says
Children deserve to be free of marriage, says the sponsor of a bill being discussed today in a House committee.
Homeland Security declares Covid, election ‘misinformation’ a terror threat
According to DHS, the real threat is ‘the proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine distrust in U.S. government institutions.”
Staats: caring deeply for the animals you hunt
A wildlife biologist and avid hunter and trapper tries to explain why these practices benefit nature. But will the critics listen?
Prop 5 passes House, goes to voters Nov. 8
41 lawmakers voted today against Prop 5 and its proposal to add unrestricted abortion to the Vermont Constitution. It wasn’t enough. Now the question goes to voters on November 8.
Scott, Levine unaware of any Pfizer vax reaction deaths
Both Phil Scott and Mark Levine say they don’t know if anyone in the U.S. has died of a reaction from the Pfizer vaccine. And, consideration of requiring Covid-19 vaccination for school children is “on the table” – but not right now, Levine says.
Klar: Roe balanced lives of mother & child – not so Prop 5
John Klar says Roe V. Wade at least tried to balance the needs of both mother and child, and Prop 5 leaves the child totally unprotected.
Finnie: Public hearing bills part of plan to end hunting and trapping in Vermont
The senators pushing three bills at Thursday’s public hearing are trying to slowly but surely stop hunting and fishing in Vermont.
Under ‘Clean Heat Standard,’ Vermonters in old homes will pay extra to stay warm
Many low to moderate income Vermonters – especially those living in older homes – will find it very difficult to pay for the higher cost of heating fuel.
GoFundMe caves on convoy threat after DeSantis threatens fraud investigation
GoFundMe decided to not follow through on its threat to redirect millions donated to help the Ottawa truckers after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to investigate for fraud.
Water Cooler: Planned Parenthood clinic closes
Planned Parenthood says the pandemic is to blame for the closure of its Newport clinic.
Advisory board speechless on requiring Covid-19 vax of preschoolers, K-12
A state advisory board meeting met today to discuss requiring Covid-19 vaccination of preschoolers and schoolage children. But no-one did.
Final Prop 5 vote today; opponents rally at at noon
A group opposing Prop 5, the constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion, will be gather today at noon at the Vermont State House.
Teen marriage a ‘human rights abuse,’ Legislature told
Is a 16 or 17 year old marrying an adult a human rights abuse? Supporters of a bill scheduled for a committee vote Wednesday say it is.
Senate committee would expand right to sue police
A bill receiving extensive, prolonged attention from the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee would remove legal protections for police from lawsuits brought by perps, ‘social justice’ groups, and everyone else.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Mon, Feb 07
Headlines from Vermont media.
Homeschooling up 50%, public school choice in limbo
Home schooling is up 50% over pre-pandemic levels, and true school choice is down – as shown by the Agency of Education is fighting the dissolution of unified school districts.
MUST-READ! Krauss: Young soldiers and the false narrative of racial division
MUST READ: A flight to an Army graduation ceremony shows the author that America’s ‘terrible racial divide’ is a false narrative.
“No one deserves what Covid does” – Dartmouth ICU chief promises equal care
The ICU director at a New Hampshire hospital promises the best of care for Covid-19 patients – vaccinated or not.
UVM abandons Classics majors, adds School of the Arts
UVM Board of Trustees voted to establish a School of the Arts, eliminate majors in Greek and Latin, and combine physical science and human behavior in Earth Sciences.
Second fatal shooting last week also a young Massachusetts man
Two Massachusetts men died last week in Vermont of gunshots to the torso. State police see no link at present.
Benning: has public vitriol “crossed a line,” making new law necessary?
A Caledonia County Republican wonders if the current level of vitriol justifies passing a new law protecting public officials and employees from threats.
Green lobby targets Act 250 housing loophole
Most of the new housing built without stifling Act 250 review were tiny projects of just a handful of homes. Now an influential slow-growth lobby is criticizing that loophole.
Jeffries: The voice of his generation
It’s all a matter of perspective.
And because it’s Friday….
Because Bernie’s in it. Because it’s Friday. Five Times August updates an old 60’s protest song with “The Anti-Fascist Blues.”
Farm animals suffer barn fires, neglect
Winter can be tough on Vermont farm animals.
Water Cooler: Animal welfare bills / teacher sex assault of student / Toll to run for Lt. Governor /
The former chair of House Appropriations and sister of Sen. Jane Kitchell has thrown her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
Lawmaker asks if Prop 5 gives men equal right to stop abortion. No answer
A recent exchange between a Vermont lawmaker and an ACLU lawyer suggests that if Prop 5 is approved, men may be allowed to sue on a case-by-case basis to keep their unborn child alive.
Rich: send freedom-threatening legislators to prison, instead
A new Senate bill would intimidate Vermonters from expressing their views to their ‘public servants.’ How about prison for freedom-infringing lawmakers?
National debt tops $30 trillion as Biden continues borrowing and printing
Americans will be saddled with national debt of $30 trillion (and growing) for decades to come. ‘Long Covid’ indeed.
12 countries roll back all Covid restrictions/ Army to kick out those who refuse Covid shot/ Phil sees his shadow
All over Europe, the lights of health care freedom are coming back on.
Coyote, leghold, governance bills meant to disrupt and reduce hunting, VT Traditions says
A supporter of three hunting & trapping bills up for public hearing next week says Vermonters are moving beyond a ‘dominance mindset.’ A critic says the bills would disrupt and reduce hunting.
Scott supports re-opening prisons to family, recovery, church volunteer visits
Gov. Phil Scott says he wants prison inmates to enjoy visits from family and other visitors for the first time since the early days of the pandemic. But will his administrators in the Dept. of Corrections agree?
Swanton shooting victim was Massachusetts gang member
A 22-year-old Haverhill, MA man found shot to death in Swanton was a longtime gang member, according to his hometown newpaper.
Roper: Why all single-member legislative districts?
Single-member legislative districts best promote the representation of the voter by the elected lawmaker.
Scott: eliminate military retirement pay tax
Gov. Phil Scott and a bipartisan group of lawmakers want to eliminate the income tax on military retirement pay. Will their support be enough?
Water Cooler: Medical delay report delayed by Omicron / Cameras monitor highways for road safety / Foggy memory afflicts Covid sufferers
That report promised on how Covid-19 delayed much-needed medical attention? Delayed by Omicron.
Coming to post office near you…..
Vermont Daily Chronicle political cartoonist Dan Jeffries imagines a Wanted poster. Meanwhile, the Vermont Senate is considering a bill giving up to five years in jail for threatening (among others) school boards and other government officials.
Senate bill: up to 5 years in prison for threats to public officials
A Senate committee is taking a long look at a bill to expand criminal penalties to Vermonters who threaten school boards and other government officials. The ACLU says it could chill political speech.
Hartford CT drug dealer sentenced / MA man dies suspicious death in Swanton / Thieves stole Escalade catalytic converters
VT Crime update: catalytic converter thieves, Bay State man found dead in Swanton, (another) Hartford CT drug dealer busted.
Moore: Coming in from the left
A traditional Vermont liberal finds herself suddenly agreeing with people from the “other” side.
Rape culture at UVM
A social media site dedicated to exposing rape culture at UVM lists 340 reports of sexual assault.
Delta six times more viral load than Alpha: UVM study
UVM researchers found the deadly Delta variant has six times the ‘viral load’ of the original Alpha Covid-19 variant.
Burned out from lingering pandemic, frontline workers find faith an antidote
Frontline workers cope with panic attacks and compassion fatigue with faith, rest, and connections.
Correction: Prop 5 goes to House vote Tuesday
The Vermont House on Tuesday will vote on a constitutional amendment to enshrine unrestricted abortion.
Water withdrawal registry bill passes house
A bill to create a registry for anyone withdrawing 5000 gallons a water of day from Vermont surface waters has passed the House. The Senate’s been busy, too.
Water Cooler: Renters forced out / Burlington mayor hopes voters resolve police chief standoff / debt $30 trillion
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger thinks – or at least hopes – city voters will toss out a few ‘soft on crime’ city councilors in March.
Small explains birth certificate gender change bill
A Winooski lawmaker who identifies as transgender explains getting into politics and the bill to changing gender ID on birth certificates.
Out-of-state nurses no longer face red tape to work here
Vermont has joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows nurses from out of state to practice in Vermont without additional licensing.
Bow-hunting beauty queen, former clean water lawmaker named to VT Fish & Wildlife Board
A lawmaker known for preserving water quality and a bow-hunting former Miss Vermont have been named to represent their counties on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board.
Thayer: Hard look at the Vermont House and Senate
The Vermont House and Senate continue to pile laws upon the people, resulting in inflated government and massive overreach.
Keelan: Nonprofits control taxpayer money, without much oversight
Vermont’s nonprofit sector is bigger than manufacturing, construction and tourism. For which it can thank the taxpayers.
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