Activism

The U.S. Department of Justice has an opportunity to show the world that this country has an understanding of how not to repeat the worst events in human history. Jack Smith has been appointed to oversee the case against the most evil President ever to sit in the oval office. I hope that he is a student of history and that he understands how it is possible for a tide of fascism and human cruelty to sweep through a society if unchecked in its early stages.

If Trump is not punished for his attempt to overthrow the government of the United States then the door will be left open for others, such as the far right wing of the Republican party, to build a movement to continue to subvert the rule of law and open the door to not only minority rule but a new brand of fascism.

This is the time of year when politicians at all levels make the rest of us realize that there are promises more unrealistic than New Year’s resolutions.

We hear statements about how they are going to work to close the gap between the left and the right. We hear about ambitious agendas to make life better for everyone.

Then reality sets in and those politicians pander to special interests and they make it clear that their highest priority is getting re-elected. The public statements rarely match the results of political wrangling.

There is one issue in particular that has been pushed to the back burner for a number of years. In the mid-nineties and into about 2010 there was a lot of talk about health care reform. States such as Vermont tried to make bold moves to set up model systems and it started to look like meaningful reform might happen.

Even though the atrocities of World War II happened nearly 80 years ago, the stories of what happened must continue to be told. We still face threats from the rising power of authoritarian regimes and that makes the recounting of history more important. Accounts of the Holocaust and the Nazi efforts to eliminate Jews and other people they considered undesirable for inclusion in the master race must continue to be presented.

There have been movies and books on these subjects. Anne Frank’s diary is well-known and the attempts of her family to stay alive have been burned into the consciousness of anyone trying to understand what happened in Europe during World War II. There is another diary, written by Leo Berman, when he was 14 years old and living in northern Italy. His first entry was an account of September 8, 1943.

The best news that came out of the recent mid-term elections is the deflation of the gasbag that has had too much influence over our lives for the past 10 years. A creature of the media such as he has had the ability the cast a large dark shadow over this country, and much of the world, because of the way that information is disseminated.

One would hope that the current information age would be a vehicle for good, but it is impossible to prevent evil people from doing evil things. A man with such a large ego understands that he can promote himself by manipulating all of the tools that social media has to offer and he and his team have masterfully done that.

I run a non-profit that provides a small amount of home heating fuel assistance to local people. The organization has been operating for almost 20 years. The reason we created the Windham County Heat Fund was to provide a short-term temporary fix to high fuel prices. We thought we would spend a year or two helping people and then move on.

Didn’t happen.

We deal with local fuel dealers on a nearly daily basis during the home heating season in New England so it seemed reasonable that we should try to understand why fuel prices are so high. After some research I still have no idea why fuel prices are so high. I do know that 125 gallons of oil in 2012 cost $216 and today costs over $700.

Should Abortion Be Legal

NOT the usual “debate”, but a public discussion by people around Brattleboro who believe in public discourse.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES, you will soon witness an electrifying display of daring and resolve as our heroic orators endure each others’ contradictions and risk criticism and ignominy in the public eye while relying for their protection solely on the mutual respect and dignity of their impassioned rivals

It is frustrating to watch the political process play out in this country and hold out hope that things will improve. Lies, corruption and every imaginable form of deceit rule the day. Some might say that this is the way it has always has been and they point to scandals and scoundrels that have ruled the day since the birth of the republic.

One can give up on the political process completely and not vote and not engage in any activity of a political nature and try to ignore the mess of the current political state. Others may work to change things and look to a brighter future where common sense and decency prevail. I don’t see a lot of hope for optimism when it comes to politics.

On the other hand, an argument might be made that politics has always been a messy business and that all of the bad that comes of political work is the price we have to pay in order to accomplish the work of government. If we buy that argument then we give a pass to a lot of bad people doing bad things and I just can’t accept that kind of thinking because it only makes it harder for many of us to engage in the world.

If you want to see an institution out of step with the world in 2022 then look to the British monarchy. It was created in the 10th century when Anglo Saxon England moved from an elective monarchy to a primogeniture system after England was conquered by the Normans in 1066.

That means that British citizens have accepted this family business over the centuries and they have done little to stop one family from accumulating massive wealth while strutting around like peacocks. The royal family has had some power to alter history over the years but in 2022 they do little but bolster some of their pet causes and promulgate a lifestyle of pomp and circumstance.

If you want some insight into the problems that current campaign finance laws create, the Vermont Democratic primary for the U.S. House may prove instructive. Windham County Senator Becca Balint and Lt. Governor Mollie Gray squared off in what proved to be a lopsided race. Balint handily defeated Gray. If Balint wins the general election she will be the first woman and first openly gay member of Vermont’s congressional delegation.

According to VT Digger, ” …LGBTQ Victory Fund, which spent just shy of $1 million on Balint’s behalf in the race, had recently benefited from a $1.1 million donation from Nishad Singh, a top executive at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The political action committee’s financial disclosures make clear that the lion’s share of the outside spending supporting Balint’s run came from Singh’s donation.”

The legislation just passed by the Senate, the Inflation Reduction Act, has been sold by Democrats as something that will save seniors a lot of money for prescription drugs. They are all puffed up about how the Medicare program will finally be able to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. It is too little too late and worse than putting lipstick on a pig.

Forty nine million Medicare beneficiaries have bought into the flawed Medicare D program that provides coverage for prescription drugs. The program was created to support the drug and insurance industries. Medicare is only a middleman because enrollees have to pay premiums to insurance companies just for the privilege of being able to buy drugs at outrageous prices.

If someone does not sign up for the program as they initially enroll in Medicare they are forced to pay a penalty. There are many other punitive aspects to the program but, for some people who take more than five or six medications daily, it may save them a little money.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to come to the conclusion that there is enough evidence to convict Donald Trump on a number of charges. If he were a less prominent citizen he would have been found guilty by now and would be sitting in a jail cell.

But our criminal justice system does not provide a great deal of equality when it comes to prosecuting and punishing people who break the law. The more money and influence you have the less likely you are to be punished.

The hearings being conducted by the January 6 committee are providing the findings of fact that are needed to prosecute Trump. The committee is doing much of the work that the justice department needs to be done to move forward with a case. They are doing a good job of showing how Trump and his allies planned an insurrection to seize control of the government in an attempt to subvert the constitution and the rule of law.

The current U.S. Supreme Court majority has created an institution that has little regard for the world we live in. Recent decisions by the court make it clear that they want to reconstruct a world that existed in 1788 rather than provide guidance for a world in the year 2022.

When supreme court justices hide behind the original wording and intent of the constitution they deny all of us the possibility of living in a world that has evolved since the founding of this country.

In a recent article in The Nation Louis Michael Seideman provides a perspective on the supreme court that makes it clear just how flawed the court is as well as pointing out that the U.S. Constitution has become irrelevant to the way we live today.