Invest your stimulus check wisely

Surprise!  I checked my bank account this morning and found my $1,400 stimulus check from Joe O’Biden.  Guess what…I’m going to donate it all to the NRA-ILA, Judicial Watch, Vermont Daily, the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, and buy a year subscription of Epoch Times.   

Tale of two cities, and non-citizen voting

The Montpelier charter change allowing non-citizen voting passed the House with little difficulty, 103-39. One expected Winooski, with this precedent set, to sail through as well. But it didn’t. There’s a catch – one that should also inspire some second thoughts about Montpelier as that bill goes to the Senate.

New farm report is “Ceres in Wonderland”

The report recites some obvious challenges, such as “development pressure on farmland, generational transfer of farm assets, [and] changing consumer preferences and markets”. But in its Vision Statement for 2030 the report wanders off into what might be called “Ceres in Wonderland.” That’s a collection of correct and happy outcomes, an exercise noticeably infused with political correctness.      

Heather is alive

Heather was a force of biblical proportions. She knew she was “fearfully and wonderfully made” in her mother’s womb by the Hand of God. He endowed her with the gift of speaking His word, His truth. She gave us a glimpse of what it will be like to sit in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

Vax refusers may need to mask up in public

Asked point-blank today by a reporter whether unvaccinated Vermonters will be denied service at restaurants and stores as the Covid-19 vaccination campaign gathers steam, Scott and senior administration officials refused to answer directly. However, they promised information next month. Later in the press conference, Scott suggested unvaccinated Vermonters would be required to wear masks in public places. 

Williams: H167 threatens Fish & Wildlife Board

Currently, the Fish and Wildlife board is made up of ordinary Vermonters who are considered practitioners of wildlife management by their peers. They represent a grassroots level of control of a Vermont tradition.  They are not necessarily schooled in the sciences, but represent local, public opinion and their practical views and experience add to the decision making process-not emotion or politics.  The current system of the Fish and Wildlife board is working, so why do we need to fix it?  

How YOUR representative voted on gun seizure bill

Those voting YES believe H133 and court-ordered gun seizure is a reasonable protection for victims of domestic abuse. Those voting NO believe this is a violation of the Second Amendment the US and Article 16 of the Vermont Constitutions, by taking away rights to bear arms without due process of law, noting that the subject of the order is not required to be informed of the hearing and the order can be granted without the defendant having an opportunity to be present, present evidence or have any representation.

Klar: free speech opponents say liberal UVM prof must go

Americans once regarded themselves as sharing agreement on most goals, just differing in desired means.  But “social justice ideology” does not broach dissent: it negates traditional liberalism and free speech protections.  Thus, “liberal” professors will be silenced as readily as conservative speakers such as those at Middlebury College.  “Social justice” ideology behaves much like an institutionalized cult. 

Miro’s Mea Culpa

Yesterday’s announcement that Burlington racial equity director Tyeastia Green would oversee the policing study comes just two days after Mayor Miro Weinberger said it would be conducted by another city official. The decision to perform the assessment was made last summer, in the midst of civic unrest that began with the killing of George Floyd. Weinberger announced his decision to reinstate Green in a public mea culpa.

Spotlight: pandemic, fraud caused $300 mil plunge in unemployment fund

Heading into 2020, Vermont had one of the most solvent unemployment insurance (UI) trust funds in the country. Indeed, Vermont’s unemployment rate was the lowest in the nation, and there were far more people paying into the fund drawing down from it. However, that all changed with the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, policymakers are scrambling to determine how to get out of their current predicament.

House ponders Dr. Dynasaur for illegal immigrants, licensing contractors, Winooski non-citizen voting

the READABLE Tuesday, March 16 Journal of the House of the Vermont House of Representatives, edited, abbreviated, and faithfully translated from the original Parliamentary, includes information about Dr. Dynasaur health care for illegal immigrant children, non-citizen voting in Winooski, and allowing child care as a campaign expense, and registering and licensing contractors.

Vermont high school students say remote learning lonely, stressful

Dustin Beloin from North Country Career Center spoke at a ‘town meeting’ Monday night about the challenges he experienced with online learning. “One of the biggest struggles for me was staying connected. At home I struggled with Wi-Fi, living in rural Vermont. I have always been a straight ‘A’ student, but missing the connection to teachers took a toll on me. As a hands-on-worker, sitting behind a computer for 8 hours a day with no physical connection to teachers and classmates was really hard.”

Fernandez: Boys will be girls

Six Dr. Seuss books are now blacklisted, probably never to be published again in the Uptight States of America. It seems that Dr. Seuss, tennis great Martina Navratilova and Vermont female athletes may soon have something uncommon in common.

Electricity grid expert: Vermont not so different from Texas

Everyone should winterize their electrical power grids. But each grid will encounter winter conditions that are extreme compared to the usual winters. For that, what you need is a robust grid with (for example) some nuclear plants with fuel stored on site, so the problems of winter do not become grid-wide catastrophes. Just-in-time renewables plus Just-in-Time natural gas is a recipe for the kind of disaster Texas had, and the kind that is embedded in many of ISO-NE’s future scenarios.

China’s human rights values OK with Biden

Chinese Communists Party (CCP) has developed massive detention centers for Uyghur and Turkish Muslim population where forced labor, rape, sterilization, starvation, torture and mutualization occurs. Human organs are harvested and eugenics is practiced to decrease the minority and physically impaired population.

Calais girl missing

The Vermont State Police is asking for the public’s assistance locating a missing teenager, Leilani Olive of Calais, who was last seen Wednesday, March 10 in Montpelier.

CDC Science Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Control the Spread of SARS-CoV-2

hands with latex gloves holding a globe with a face mask

CDC position on masks: SARS-CoV-2 infection is transmitted predominately by respiratory droplets generated when people cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe. CDC recommends community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth masks, to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Masks are primarily intended to reduce the emission of virus-laden droplets (“source control”), which is especially relevant for asymptomatic or presymptomatic infected wearers who feel well and may be unaware of their infectiousness to others, and who are estimated to account for more than 50% of transmissions.

Masked to Death

woman in brown dress holding white plastic bottle painting

Early on in my research, back in March 2020, as the virus began to spread, I sought the most reputable sources of information for which masks were most effective if any. Any good scientist knows the Random Controlled Trial (RCT) is the gold standard for deriving scientific evidence for determining efficacy or lack thereof. As I poured over the research it was abundantly clear – masks do not work for stopping viral transmission. Neither in hospitals, nor in communities – nowhere could I find even one study that concluded masks available to the public could help prevent the spread of any virus, including this new one.

Keelan: My apple pie will now be taxed

The Commission contends that broadening the tax base could reduce the sales tax rate from its present amount of 6% to 3.6%. As a long-time student of taxes, I don’t believe the rate of 3.6% will be around long before it is raised to 4% and higher in the not-too-distant future.

Condos backs “For The People” bill

We are seeing an unprecedented, all-out assault on voting rights in states around the country. According to the Brennan Center, there are 165 bills in 33 states aimed at making it harder for eligible Americans to vote, grounded in baseless and disproven claims of widespread voter fraud. It’s my understanding this number has grown since their data collection, now surpassing 250 bills. This opportunistic gambit is cause for alarm.

Meteor flashes over northern Vermont sky

A loud, fiery 10 lb. six-inch wide meteor flashed over Northeastern Vermont Sunday evening, according to NASA Meteor Watch. It took about 5-6 seconds to burn up, which made it easy to see. Its passing sounded “like big trucks crashing,” according to young eyewitnesses in Johnson.

Open Letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy on Equality Act – and his response

black mother taking baby sitting near father

Heterosexual marriage must not be denigrated as a “stereotype.” Both human history and modern academic studies show us that heterosexual marriage is not only the most enduring bond between adults, it is by far the most beneficial to children. By any meaningful standard – emotional security, educational and employment achievement, freedom from substance abuse, future family happiness – heterosexual marriage benefits children the most. While government should not discriminate against parents who do not fit this mold, government should unapologetically support the heterosexual family – not denigrate or dismantle it.

Heather Sheppard

Today, as I prepare to write about crossover in the Vermont Legislature and a meteor that flashed across the Vermont sky Sunday night, my heart is with the family of a dear friend, Heather Sheppard, who blazed her own beautiful path until Sunday morning at 11:55 when she crossed over into eternity.

Gun carry ban limited to hospitals

A new version of the S30, Chittenden Sen. Phil Baruth’s proposed ban on carrying firearms in many public places, strikes all the previous wording and establishes a single new criminal punishment for carrying a gun inside a hospital. It also includes a study to determine if the policy prohibiting firearms at the Statehouse is sufficient or if it needs to be “strengthened” through legislation.

Maria von Trapp: A place called Vermont

The story of the music-filled lives of the von Trapp Family Singers, their performance at the Salzburg Music Festival, how Maria met Capt. Georg von Trapp and his children, and the family’s escape from Nazi-annexed Austria in 1938 (just before war erupted), is well known. The family’s eventual relocation to the USA is also frequently recounted. But what few know is how the Von Trapps came to call Stowe, Vermont, their new home.