Progress Trumps Fear

It’s really too bad that the skate park in Crowell Lot was shot down. Elm Street simply won’t have the same character, if it ever happens. We should learn to have faith in our youth. Otherwise fear trumps progress.


The Great American Drug War: “A Problem That Will Not Go Away”

Getting inebriated is an intentional human behavior — it is not a mistake or an accident. Neither is it a mental health crisis. It is, in fact, perfectly normal human behavior well within the range of good mental health. Just like the drugs themselves, it is a question of degree (or percentage) of usage and effect.

Deeply ingrained in the desired effects of drug use is another perfectly normal human behavior: Moderation. In fact, moderation is the largest component of drug use behavior. It represents the behavior of up to 85-95% of all human drug use (…with one glaring exception – cigarettes, which run roughly at a 98-100% addiction rate).


The Worst Nuisance – Ziz, Ziz

Today in Brattleboro, in 1881, the Phoenix reported:

Again we are reminded that one of the worst nuisances is the man who is up at early dawn, making his lawn mower ziz, ziz, rasping the whiskers off the lawn.

I found this interesting, in that it seems to be a frequent, modern-day occurrence as well.


“Caste” = Distinct Social Class, Exclusion From Social Dealings With Others

June 16, 2014 Emily Peyton on VPR Vermont Public Radio is famous for its political caste system, the worst discrimination in Vermont, denying political candidates equal participation in debates, and putting them in “castes” such as the major party “caste” and the minor party “caste” and the independent candidates with little money “caste”, and then  the indpendent candidate with millions of dollars “caste” which includes only U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders who receives his money from Democrats and then suddenly switches,  as if false labelling a product, to “independent” after the  Democratic Primary.


It’s 2022! US Military’s Worldwide Genocidal Crimes Against Humanity Special Trial

by jay janson published widely in its initial version.

BACKGROUND of EVENTS LEADING to the ESTABLISHMENT in 2020, of the SPECIAL COURT to TRY US CITIZENS and CITIZENS of NATO NATIONS for GENOCIDE

It’s now the year 2022. Major world events during the last eight years have altered the economic, political, military balance of power in the world. As expected, emerging economies led by China, India, and Brazil experienced the greatest productivity and financial growth.


Left Forum Conference Betrays MLKjr Ignores US-NATO Genocide

DESCRIPTION:
Left Forum, “largest annual conference of left and progressive intellectuals, activists, academics, organizations and interested public.” This year’s theme seems to have been: MLK was Wrong!: Americans CAN make a better USA, WHILE continuing to kill the poor overseas in spite of cost in human and financial resources. Harry Belafonte, Angela Davis, Cornel West, others focused on injustice to Americans, ignored US-NATO genocide

TEXT:


Anti-Free Speech Legislation in Brattleboro

Government to people: be quiet!

Over that last few years town government has voted too often against the people.  In 2010 there was a
referendum on Pay-As-You-Throw trash collection.  The police-Fire Project (PFP) and the parking garage were approved by the RTM after being rejected by the people.  In April the people rejected the 2015 budget
by referendum because of high taxes and the PFP, and on Monday (June 2) the selectboard and the RTM adopted it.  (Well, the budget had been approximately $16 million and now it’s ALMOST $16 million.)  After the budget referendum Mr. Gartenstein admitted that the referendum was largely about the PFP, but at recent hearings and at the RTM on Monday the board threatened that anyone discussing the PFP would be declared out-of-order.


Who Are “They” ?

In yesterdays Reformer there was an article about the Police/Fire project and its future.  It talked about the Police & Fire Facilities Oversight Committee.  The article goes on to state that it is unacceptable to the PFFOC to simply repair what needs to be repaired.  They apparantly want a project that will last for the next 50 years rather than a band-aid approach that has been discussed.


Futures Commission Proposal

I am going to be making the following motion under Other Business at the Special Representative Town Meeting

Motion to establish an ad hoc committee of Representative Town Meeting for the purpose of bringing forth proposal for the establishment of a “Futures Committee.”

Brattleboro has been in slow but generally steady decline for the last fifty or so years.  There have been a few mitigating developments such as C&S, Yankee and the growth of the hospital and the Retreat but these have not been enough to stem the tide.  Now they, too, as a whole, are diminishing.  The town has been able to sustain itself only because of an expanding social safety net that includes a huge federally subsidized affordable housing sector (primarily the Brattleboro Housing Authority and the Windham and Windsor Trust).


Third-Worlders! Americans Funding Atrocities in Syria Must Face Trial

DESCRIPTION: Don’t cry can’t be done, imperialists own the courts! Syrians grieving their dead and normal people everywhere have already prosecuted them in their hearts. When enough people demand justice, a way is found. Special courts are created when the court of public opinion is strong! Nuremberg Principles and other laws await use! Only accessories report prosecutable crimes against humanity as mistaken foreign policy-Realpolitik!


Prosecutable ‘International Community’ Funds Terror in Democracies Ukraine Syria Venezuela


DESCRIPTION: Funding creation or bloody appearance of civil wars has been the weapon of choice for post Second World War US imperialism. 32 such US promoted civil wars are listed. US backs fascist terror in Ukraine; makes the Venezuelan economy scream; Obama mouths a CIA fed imperial edit, ” Assad must go!” never mind Assad has overwhelming support. 23 presidents overthrown,18 dictators+ put in office. Why Americans will be prosecuted!


Buttheads – The Most Dangerous Animals on Earth

Are you in mortal danger from a cigarette smoker? Do you think cigarette smokers are drug addicts? Are they weapons of mass destruction? However you perceive cigarette smokers they are not exactly benign harmless creatures of habit, are they? The odd thing is that some cigarette smokers agree and admit they endanger themselves and others, with less concern for their fellow man, woman and child than I like to know.


Agenda 21 in Brattleboro

The Town of Brattleboro is deceiving its people.

Specifically, I note that, next week, the town will host a couple of “visioning” sessions for residents.

The lie is that these sessions are to hear what the people of Brattleboro want their town to look like years from now, so that this common “vision” can be implemented.

The truth is that Brattleboro is a member of ICLEI, the executive arm of the United Nations’ Agenda 21, Blueprint for Humanity, a self-described UN effort to control all human behavior and to impose “universal design” on what it refers to as all “human settlements.”


PAYT Concerns

I have a few concerns about Pay As You Thow  implementation for our town. Although I completely agree that we all need to be responsible for our own waste, I hope we can be very careful about how we choose to create this program. Some of the selectboard members have made comments that indicate an interest in possibly removing this line item from our budget completely and passing those costs directly to our townspeople. In other posts on this site there have been comments about how this is a cost shift and that is true in a number of different ways that we really need to pay attention to. 

Currently, our municipal taxes pay for our trash pickup. It is a line item in our municipal budget, and all of the grand list is assessed the tax. That means that businesses contribute to this cost even though our businesses are responsible for providing their own waste disposal. If we go to a PAYT program that is not part of our municipal budget, we will see a reduction of our municipal tax but each homeowner will most likely be paying more since there is no subsidy from our businesses on the grand list. Businesses will have a tax reduction with no corresponding increase in costs. 


Don’t Cut Services People Rely On

This is the unedited version on the letter that I wrote to the Reformer. (They always seem to cut a handful of sentences.) I don’t usually get involved with politics, write letters, or post things on ibrattleboro, but this issue of cutting services that will especially hurt those with limited income or disabilities was too upsetting for me to ignore.

In reconfiguring the Brattleboro budget, I think that it is imperative to not cut services that will engender more hardship for middle and low income people. I am especially concerned about the funding for our library.


A Simple Plan For Solving Brattleboro’s Budget Problems

There is a simple way to solve all of Brattleboro’s current financial problems.

We can solve our budget problem. We can solve our problems of being a hub town providing services to surrounding towns,. We can raise our Grand List and add new jobs and businesses. We can support local farmers. We can pay for the Police and Fire facilities.

It’s not even that difficult.


Please Help Me Figure Out This Riddle

Please help me solve this riddle.  If the U.S. Air Force wants to base F-35 fighter jets in Burlington, Vermont because they will be close enough to New York City and Boston to protect them in the event of and attack, then HOW does bombing New York City or Boston with nuclear bombs deployed by F-35 strike fighter jets help NYC or Boston? If you bomb a terrorist in NYC or Boston with a nuclear bomb, aren’t you doing more harm than the terrorist?


Did Citizens Awaken A Hibernating Open Town Meeting?

Something unusual seems to be happening. Through an odd combination of circumstances, what amounts to an open town meeting on the FY15 budget is breaking out.

How? A necessary number of Town Meeting representatives petitioned to have a town-wide referendum on the budget. Informational meetings prior to the vote had low turnout. The budget was voted down. 

The Selectboard then held a special meeting and proposed cuts that provoked the citizenry into turning out in great number at a second special meeting, causing one of the best attended Selectboard meetings in years. 


Clueless

Tonight I attended both the library trustee meeting regarding the proposed budget cuts and the Selectboard meeting.

Well, I tried to attend the Selectboard meeting but apparently  -even though the 2015 budget and the proposed cuts to the library and parks and recreation -not to mention the police/fire bond- have been discussed endlessly and passionately and even though ibrattleboro and the Reformer FB page have been filled with discussions and comments for 2 weeks and even though the Selectboard has received numerous letters from voters wanting to share their opinions and displeasure…even with all of that going on-the Selectboard apparently never concluded that perhaps there would be a larger than usual crowd at the meeting tonight.