Opinion

Reports are that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is engaged in a massive, military buildup.

An article by the Associated Press () confirmed an open purchase order by DHS for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.  

This has been confirmed elsewhere by (a private marketing news service).

This is a response to the letter in the Oct, 12th Reformer in regards to the demise of the wild beaver in the West River next to the corn field. Mr. Hamilton refers to killing a “few” beaver when in actuality a whole community was annihilated . Mr. Hamilton refers to killing scavengers such as coyotes, and vermin such as rats, Beaver are neither.

Here’s Fukushima Industries Corp.’s new mascot whose name has been humorously lost in translation.

The Japanese freezer company debuted the smiling, winged-egg creature on Monday.

It would be a more fitting mascot for TEPCO.

Is empathy making a comeback? In Brattleboro and the surrounding area, we have well-established evidence that it is. Since 2005, Daryl Pillsbury and Richard Davis have been running the Windham County Heat Fund, created to help families in financial crisis to heat their homes during the unforgiving, often brutal Vermont winters. Even after applying for fuel assistance from the State of Vermont, many families fall through the cracks, either over-qualifying for sufficient aid or receiving too little fuel to make it through the winter. Luckily, even in our era of government shutdown and drastic economic cuts to almost every social service, vulnerable populations in Windham County can still receive crucial assistance through the caring generosity of their neighbors.

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Equivalent shock for Kenyans as 9/11 was for Americans. Background of these two massacres are pathetically similar. Both were blowback on US genocidal foreign policy. Osama bin Laden in his 2002 Letter to Americans, included “attacks on Muslims in Somalia” in his list of reasons for the al Qaeda 9/11 attack. Synopsis, chronology of US genocide in Somalia given. Every American should consider his or her possible involvement.

For over 10 years I designed and sold Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory control systems. Payment for these systems was justified by reducing the carrying costs of inventory. JIT meant only having on hand (in the warehouse) what you needed to meet sales and nothing more. If you added shelf life to the equation it was further complicated. The best JIT inventory control systems were typically found at our giant grocery stores chains. Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters clearly demonstrated the principles of JIT and just how vulnerable the public is to a disruption in the flow of goods. Usually 3 days was all it took to go from fully stocked grocery store shelves to empty. Guess who is the backbone of this distribution system?

The Brattleboro Selectboard is working at a steady pace to hire a new Town Manager for Brattleboro. The list of applicants has been narrowed over the last month or so, and we’re approaching time for final interviews and a decision. We could be welcoming someone on board within a month.

What skills and attributes do we want in our next Town Manager? What could we do without?

The Brattleboro team that our new Town Manager would be joining is at the top of their proverbial game, having dealt with major infrastructure improvements, fires, floods, and FEMA in recent years. They are very capable, well-trained, and will be an excellent resource for whomever is hired. It takes a bit of the pressure off the new recruit.

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The government may shut down in a few days.

Unlike previous almost-shut-downs, this time no one seems to care.

Perhaps The White House and Congress have cried “wolf” too many times. It could be that the fear has worn off. (“Yawn.”)

Perchance we’ve been taken to the edge of the fiscal cliff too many times. It’s possible that we used to worry that we could go over, but now the edge doesn’t bother us. (“Oh, you again.”)

Kudos to the Tea Party and other Republicans in the House for their heroic efforts to limit food stamps.

They are a waste of money, and really don’t help anybody. The poor are poor before they receive food stamps, and they are still poor afterwards, though they might be a bit less hungry.

Besides, a lot of them squander the aid on unhealthy food like milk and bread.

We can learn a lot from India which has a lot of poor people. They don’t provide a lot of assistance, relying instead on the magic of the free market to solve the problem. (Chris Hedges)

For example, in Mumbai, a whole new hierarchy of entrepreneurial enterprisers has sprung up.