Opinion

Humanitarian America Takes Out Venezuela

February 3, 2019 by Lise | Op/Ed

Refinería_El_Palito,_Carabobo,_Venezuela

Ever since Trump was elected president, people have been casting aspersions at Russia for their alleged interference in that election. With the attempted coup now underway in Venezuela, we have an example of how the United States does interference — when they don’t like the result of another country’s elections, they just destabilize the government and install their own guy. In the case of Venezuela, the U.S. has been trying to take out their government since at least the time of Hugo Chavez in the early 2000s, going so far as to pull a military maneuver in which Chavez was briefly kidnapped. Chavez survived that attempt. Now it’s Maduro’s turn.

VT AFL-CIO Welcomes YPG Vet, Holds Political Convention

February 1, 2019 by Not Signed In | Politics

Over this past weekend [1/26/19], the Vermont AFL-CIO held its annual COPE Convention at the Old Socialist Labor Hall in the granite City of Barre. The day was spent strategizing Labor’s approaches to seeing a $15 an hour livable wage, paid family medical leave, and card check recognition becoming Vermont law in 2019. By passing card check recognition (S36), anytime a majority of public sector workers in a single shop sign Union cards, they would immediately be recognized as a Union without having to go through a drawn out and bureaucratic Labor Board election process (a process that provides anti-Union employers an unfair advantage and time to use scare tactics against employees). Passing card check in Vermont is a concrete way that Labor can begin to go back on the offensive here in the Green Mountains.

Brattleboro Selectboard Candidates 2019

January 29, 2019 by cgrotke | Politics

Brattleboro voters get a choice this year for all open Selectboard seats.

For the 3 year term, new candidate Ben Coplan will be running against incumbant Tim Wessel. Voters will be able to pick one.

For the 1 year term, four candidates have declared. Oscar Heller, Elizabeth McLoughlin, Daniel Quipp, and Franz Reichsman are the options. Voters can pick two.

Petitions for March Elections – Deadline Monday, 1/28

January 25, 2019 by Not Signed In | Politics

As a reminder, petitions for Brattleboro Town and Town School District Officers and Town Meeting Members are now available at the Town Clerk’s office. Town elections will be Tuesday, March 5 at the American Legion, and the Annual Representatives Town Meeting, Saturday, March 23 at Brattleboro Union High School.

Rooms & Meals Promotion Competition A Good Idea

January 25, 2019 by cgrotke | Op/Ed

The raiding of the Rooms & Meals tax revenue has begun. Two private organizations in town have asked for 10% of the annual Rooms & Meals local option tax revenue to be given to them. They’d like nearly $40,000 and in return they offer a vague promise to promote Brattleboro. It’s not a terrible idea, but it hasn’t been thought out much beyond asking for money.

King Damned US Wars Was Vilified in Media Shunned by Friends & Church & Murdered by Gov. Agencies

January 20, 2019 by jay janson | Op/Ed

Martin Luther King deserves being the only American whose birthday is celebrated with a three day holiday, but not only as the successful US civil rights movement’s leader, but even more for having been martyred confronting the American killing machine at its source, investors in military atrocities, covert violence and predatory finance.

Can Immigration Be Fixed? — A Ten Point Plan

January 13, 2019 by Lise | Op/Ed

After listening to Trump’s speech on immigration on Monday night and the Democrats’ response to it, I got to wondering what a humane and effective immigration policy might be. Many people seem to think immigration can’t be fixed. I believe it can. Here are my thoughts, in the form of a convenient, ten point program

Trump’s Betrayal of YPG – Paris Commune Falls Again?

December 23, 2018 by Not Signed In | Op/Ed

As an American, as a Vermonter, and as a Labor leader I have marched many times against US lead wars. However, I do not oppose wars and US military action because I assert war as always unjust and always unnecessary. I am not philosophically a Kantian; this is not a moral imperative for me. I am also no liberal. If truth be told it was only through war and armed conflict that Vermont and the United States became republics free from the British Empire.

Suggested Representative Town Meeting Improvements

December 12, 2018 by cgrotke | Op/Ed

I’ve been watching Brattleboro budgets for quite a while, through multiple selectboards, three Town Managers and one Interim Town Manager. I’ve watched many Representative Town Meetings as well and participated in a few. That’s a lot of meetings.

While I’ve come to the conclusion that Representative Town Meeting doesn’t really work, I know that it has become cherished and it is unlikely that abolishing it will be on the ballot anytime soon. Therefore, it should be improved.

Pictures of Bush?

December 6, 2018 by tomaidh | Rumors

Today, a friend sent me a set of photos taken on the day of President Kennedy’s assassination. I have seen them before.

The pictures depict the Texas Book Depository, and purport to show GHW Bush standing in front.

Local Option Tax Increases Brattleboro Revenue, But Property Taxes Will Still Rise

November 29, 2018 by cgrotke | Op/Ed

At Tuesday’s special meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard discussed adding a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) to items purchased in the ‘boro. Adding this additional revenue stream to the Town coffers has been attempted before. Most recently it barely passed as an advisory vote, but was ultimately rejected.

The main argument in favor of the tax usually involves the expected revenue. In 2015, the estimate was $600,000. This, in theory, could offset property taxes by that amount.

But, taxpayers have seen these property tax reducing “deals” many times before, and property taxes do not go down. Spending rises to meet the new income.

SoVermont Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2018 Draft

November 13, 2018 by cgrotke | Economics

BDCC and SeVEDS have released a draft version of the 2018 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Below you’ll find the full text of what is being suggested for improvements to this part of the state. It is currently a draft, and you can get involved to help improve it.

Note some of issues relate to having a regional community web site with a calendar and such. Too bad we don’t have one of those around here!

Brattleboro Unofficial Election Results

November 7, 2018 by Not Signed In | Politics

Please see the attached for the “unofficial results” for Brattleboro Mid-Term Elections. These are the results from the ballot tallies, not including write-in votes, and not including other towns’ results for the State races.

Thanks to the amazing poll workers and the American Legion who made today possible! We had a lot of voters coming through the doors, and the day was smooth!

Either Way They Vote Americans Remain Suckered Into Being a Worldwide Genocidal Killing Machine

November 6, 2018 by jay janson | Op/Ed

Americans being suckered into focusing on voting for one of the two parties of the ruling genocidal Wall St. plutocracy, US CIA controlled media informs of Yemeni children dying from bombs & starvation knowing its captive audience will not turn against the American killing machine. Once USA-EU loses hegemony, the many nations that have seen their children murdered by USA and European empires will demand justice.

Free Speech on Campus To Be Discussed at Landmark College, November 13

November 4, 2018 by landmarkcollege | Politics

The final presentation of the Fall 2018 Landmark College Academic Speaker Series is by Linus Owens of Middlebury College, on Tuesday, November 13 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks M. O’Brien Auditorium, located in the East Academic Building.

Entitled “Divisiveness is Not Diversity—Academic Freedom and Free Speech on Campus,” the talk will touch on Owens’s first-hand experience with challenges faced by Middlebury College during the March 2017 visit by controversial author Charles Murray, which was disrupted by hundreds of student protestors.

Outrageous Conspiracy Theories

November 4, 2018 by tomaidh | Politics

Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories…G.W. Bush (to United Nations, 11/10/01)

Everybody’s heard the term “conspiracy theory”. In fact, conspiracy theories abound, but that’s only because actual conspiracies really do exist. If you study History, and eliminate natural events, what’s left almost surely involves some sort of conspiracy.

Extraordinary

November 2, 2018 by tomaidh | Op/Ed

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” was a phrase made popular by Carl Sagan.

We need to modify this phrase to suit our current situation: “Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary action”

Demonstrations alone are insufficient. We need a mass civil disobedience campaign. We need to shut down the operations of the government in order to gain their attention.

An American Team Won a World Series Another American Team Helps Saudis Slay Yemeni Children for $

October 29, 2018 by jay janson | Op/Ed

For three and half years, the Saudi’s have waged a horrendous war on Yemen. They have slaughtered tens of thousands of Yemenis – according to the UN Human Rights Commission more than 50,000 children died by Saudi air raids with UK supplied bombs, and US supplied war planes – through lack of sanitation and drinking water induced diseases, like cholera – and an even worse crime, through extreme famine, the worst famine in recent history – as per UNICEF / WHO – imposed by force, as the Saudi’s with the consent of the European allies closed down all ports of entry, including the moist important Red Sea Port of Hodeida. Khashoggi versus 50,000 Slaughtered Yemeni Children

No To Out-Of-State Political Donations

October 14, 2018 by Lise | Politics

This week, I got an email from David Zuckerman complaining that an out-of-state organization is supporting his opponent in the Lt. Governor’s race here in Vermont. The organization is the National Association of Realtors and they are supporting his opponent because he is in favor of Act 250 which regulates development. Now, I don’t blame Zuckerman for being annoyed by out-of-state people trying to influence our elections. It never seems fair when people with no direct interest in our politics try to use their money to affect the people we elect and the issues we support. But it’s also disappointing to see people on the left doing exactly the same thing.