For opinion pieces on any topic.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after Senate Republicans on a party-line vote blocked consideration of a measure to raise the federal debt ceiling:
“I find it incredible that every Republican voted against a motion to even let the Senate consider legislation to pay our bills and prevent a default. We are entering very dangerous territory.
Join in a community workshop October 18th in Bennington to help build the first state-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
What will Vermont’s economy look like in 2015 or 2025? How do we increase the economic well-being of all Vermonters?
This is a listing of agency-by-agency contingency plans. This outlines exactly what each agency is allowed to do, and all the things which… during the shutdown… they are NOT allowed to do.
Agency Contingency Plans http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans
“Below are the links to contingency plans for agencies across the Federal Government. The page will be updated as more plans are posted.”
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court in a case that justices could use to throw out some legal limits on contributions by individual donors to political campaigns.
“Freedom of speech, in my view, does not mean the freedom to buy the United States government,” Sanders told a rally outside the Supreme Court after the one-hour oral argument.
The court’s ruling later this term in McCutcheon vs. FEC could further erode campaign finance laws and extend the controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling which opened the floodgates on campaign spending by corporations and wealthy individuals.
A reader made this comment at the end of a news story about the government shutdown:
Ted Testerson
Republicans – Can I burn down your house?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Just the 2nd floor?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Garage?
Democrats – No
Republicans – Let’s talk about what I can burn down.
Democrats – No
Republicans – YOU AREN’T COMPROMISING!
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 next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday, October 18, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.
We plan to hear from Ann Braden of Gun Sense Vermont ~ ~ The presentation will include the current state of Vermont gun laws and proposals for change.
Is there a need for a change? Here are some statistics to think about and explore:
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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WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cosponsored a bill to compensate federal workers furloughed because most of the United States government is shut down.
“Federal workers in Vermont and around the country should not have to pay the price for the House Republicans’ refusal to keep the government open,” Sanders said. “These dedicated workers have families to feed and bills to pay and we must make it clear that when this is over they are going to get paid.”
Many federal employees in Vermont are among the 800,000 federal workers furloughed since the government ran out of funds on Tuesday to operate most agencies.
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) has voted to change the date for the public release of the federally recognized Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) from October 24th to December 5th.
The six week delay was approved in order to ensure adequate time to accurately research and articulate short term impacts and development strategies in light of a date certain closure of Vermont Yankee.
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.
Montpelier, VT. (September 16th, 2013)- Joined by higher education leaders from across Vermont, Representative Peter Welch announced legislation this morning at the Community College of Vermont in Montpelier that addresses the nation’s sky rocketing college costs. Across the nation, college costs have risen 1,120 percent over the last 30 years, with outstanding student debt now at $1.2 trillion.
“A college education, the gateway to the American middle class, is slipping further and further from the reach of working families. Federal loans and grants are a lifeline for college students. But students continue to lose ground because financial aid increases are being eaten up by college tuition increases,” Welch said. “This legislation creates a partnership between the federal government and our college administrators to cut unnecessary federal regulatory costs and encourage cost saving innovations.”
BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today issued the following statement after Lawrence Summers withdrew from consideration to succeed Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman:
“I applaud Larry Summers for withdrawing his name from consideration. The truth is that it was unlikely he would have been confirmed by the Senate. What the American people want now is a Fed chairman prepared to stand up to the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, not a Wall Street insider whose deregulation efforts helped pave the way for a horrendous financial crisis and the worst economic downturn in the country since the Great Depression. The Fed now must help develop policies which create millions of decent-paying jobs and rebuild the middle class.”
BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 15 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that the Senate must call the bluff of House Republicans demanding deeper cuts in Head Start, Meals on Wheels and other programs for working families.
A proposal set for a House vote this week includes the deeper spending cuts in a continuing resolution to keep the government from shutting down after the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The proposal would lock in across-the-board cuts known as sequestration but carve out an exception for the Pentagon, which would get a $20-billion boost.
For well over a decade now I’ve enjoyed regular strolls along the West River Trail just past the Marina. The trail is written up in the Audubon Society due to the wide variety of wild birds. In the spring, and early Summer the path is often crossed by turtles off to lay their eggs, until recently a very common sight. Unfortunately I only saw two turtles this year, and both had been run over by the utility trucks working on the I-91 bridge. Over the last few years (probably for a number of reasons) there seems to be a lot less animal , and insect life. Hurricane Irene ,while not entirely, certainly had a hand in the lower numbers of wild life.
September 12, 2013
“I’ve always felt that the multiple billions spent on missile defense are a monumental waste of money, on technologically challenged systems, and I am emphatically against putting one of these sites in Vermont.”
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[Text of letter to Senator Leahy, below:]
A lot of really crazy, loony, kooky individuals have a hard time accepting the official government explanation of the events of 9/11. (I count myself among them). We are called “Conspiracy Theorists” and that’s supposed to be the end of it.
Works pretty well!
But many sane, intelligent patriotic Americans have no trouble accepting the government’s theory that a group of young disaffected Arab men conspired with a disaffected scion of a wealthy Arab family, suffering from kidney disease and living in an elaborate cave in Afghanistan, to defy the nation’s defense systems and allow 4 hijacked airliners to dance around our skies for a few hours until they managed to crash 3 of them into iconic structures, killing thousands.
Well, that’s a “Conspiracy Theory”, too!
Washington, DC – Congressman Peter Welch will hold a telephone town hall meeting this evening with Vermonters regarding the President’s plan to respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
To join the call, dial (toll-free) 877-229-8493 and enter PIN code 13785.
