Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

Christ’s Birthday in an America That Kills Jesus Multiple Times in Multiple Countries Daily

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
Jesus warns harming God’s children is equivalent to harming the Lord. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” This principle of a common humanity is basic to the Nuremberg Principles of Int’l Law, written to prosecute anyone, who would ever do what the Nazis did, which included bombing, invading and occupying innocent nations as Christian Americans have done since end of World War Two

What Happened to The “3 White Guys” ?

by tomaidh | Rumors

With the intense focus on the supposed Islamic Bonnie and Clyde team of Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a lot of people seem to have forgotten that the initial reports of the tragedy fingered 3 white guys.  Cops on KTLA reported that witnesses said as much. 

Indeed, the Fox affiliate in Los Angeles tweeted that police were seeking 3 white males in relation to the shooting, in this tweet helpfully screen-capped at patheos.com in a story by Lilandra Ra.

Forbidding Entry

by tomaidh | Politics

So the Donald wants to forbid entry to the US by Muslims? So much for the First Amendment.

Hardly an original proposal.

Did you know that Jews are forbidden entry to Saudi Arabia by the laws of the Kingdom? Foreigners wishing to work in the kingdom have to sign an affidavit stating that they are not Jewish. I was required to furnish a letter from a clergyman corroborating that fact.

Green Party Caucuses

by Will Stomp | Politics

Dear Friends,

With the Paris Climate conference finally setting the stage for concerted action on behalf of the Earth and Nature, it may very well be time for our local politics to reflect this sea change.   Neil Johnson has written an urgent appeal to help get the Green party registered as a statewide party in Vermont.  Its time has come.  He needs four more town to caucus.  It needs to be done by tomorrow (Monday, 12/14).  Emily Peyton will be organizing the caucus in Putney.

Who said life can’t be exciting, if you wait until the last minute!

“We Choose To Go To The Moon”

by Vidda | Op/Ed

 3:42 minutes
Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon in 1969. There have been six manned U.S. landings between 1969 and 1972. A cursory trolling of the Internet will bring a trove of manned moon landings hoax claims and debunkers of the hoax theory. Did man walk on the moon or not?

One strong indicator against man walking on the moon hoax is that if the 1969 landing was a hoax, then all six manned missions to the moon were a hoax, as well as all of the unmanned vehicles landings and all the manned orbits around the moon. If a hoax is in order, then it would not make sense to create a hoax for just the first manned mission but to create a hoax for the entire array of Apollo missions.

In fact, there are too many indications that the manned landings were for real.

Externalities

by tomaidh | Opinion

I awoke this morning, and turned on the radio. It was the ending of the Thom Hartman show on KVT.

A caller was discussing what he called “externalities”

 [Factors whose costs are not reflected in the market price of goods and services. Externalities are a loss in the welfare of one party resulting from an activity of another party, without there being any compensation for the losing party. Externalities are an important consideration in cost-benefit analysis.   (businessdictionary.com)]

Hartmann commented that the American business model calls for privatizing the profits and socializing the externalities.

He cited two examples:

I Miss the Reformer Christmas Stocking

by Tego | Op/Ed

I miss reading all the comments and good wishes in the donation column. I miss having a local charity that gave 100 percent of the proceeds to its intended beneficiaries.

I miss Pat Smith running the newspaper campaign. I miss how people would write: In lieu of local Christmas cards. I miss how you could write anything you wanted and make it as long as you wanted and it would get printed.

A Nuremberg Trial for US Funding Slaughter of Syrians Destruction of Libya Iraq Afghanistan

by jay janson | Op/Ed

TITLE:
A Nuremberg Trial for US Funding Slaughter of Syrians Destruction of Libya Iraq Afghanistan by jay janson

DESCRIPTION:
“Assad killed his own people peacefully protesting!” Sound familiar? Substitute ‘Gaddafi’ for ‘Assad,’ and one is on one’s way to bring to mind so many other similarities made to be forgotten in TV, radio and printed news and entertainment in Western media, media owned by corporations profitably investing in the illegal and unconstitutional use of US Armed Forces and CIA. CIA creation and use of ‘Islamic’ terror is reviewed.

TEXT:

158 Families

by tomaidh | Politics

158 families are trying to buy our government.. . .

A handful of super-wealthy Americans is in the process of buying our government.

If you want to know how, and how to stop them, let explain:

Vermont Delegation Calls for More Public Scrutiny, Meetings in Vermont on Decommissioning Regulations

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 – The Vermont congressional delegation – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) – announced Tuesday that they have called upon the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to improve public input on proposed changes to nuclear plant decommissioning regulations.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who serves on the Senate energy and environment committees, led the effort which urged the NRC to hold public meetings in each state where a nuclear power plant is currently being decommissioned and to extend the deadline for public comments.

Ted Cruz, Immigrant

by tomaidh | Politics

Ted Cruz has taken a hard line on immigration. Cruz was born on December 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta. Therefore, Cruz is himself an immigrant. Huh?

House Honors Cheney

by tomaidh | Politics

On December 3rd, the House of Representatives unveiled a marble bust of former Vice President Cheney, which will reside in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol. At the unveiling ceremony, Cheney was, in the playful words of NPR, “lightly roasted” — as though he’s some sort of grumpy though beloved avuncular stand-up comic. Courtesy, Glenn Greenwald.

Sanders Announces $1.1 Billion For Vermont in Transportation Bill

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced today that a five-year, $305 billion transportation bill agreement reached Tuesday by House and Senate negotiators will deliver nearly $1.1 billion to Vermont to improve the state’s roadways.

“While this legislation does not have everything I would have hoped for, I am pleased it includes more than $1 billion for Vermont’s roads and bridges in the coming years,” Sanders said.

As a member of the committee with primary jurisdiction over federal road and bridge programs, Sanders successfully fought for a funding formula that helps Vermont. The final agreement includes a 5 percent increase in funding for Vermont in the first year and a total increase of 15 percent over five years.

Occupy Wall Street

by Not Signed In | Op/Ed

. I have always been a keen supporter of the movement. I joined two Wall St local groups and an offshoot work group of one of them and the movement is dear to my heart. However, I think it’s futile this idea of demonstrating. It merely keeps us in the position of hamsters on the wheel. As long as we supplicate anyone or any entity, we are essentially saying that we need permission.

A Story For Bill Hicks

by cgrotke | Politics

Those of you who like the comedy of Bill Hicks will like this one.

Hicks had a routine about how wide-eyed, good-meaning presidents get elected with all sorts of great plans, then they get led to a little room by a small group of powerful people and shown a film of the Kennedy assassination from another angle . They ask the new president “Any questions? and the new president falls right into line.

ISIL and Us

by Lise | Op/Ed

The Middle East has been America’s military playground for over 30 years. Starting with the first Gulf War, the US has gone beyond the installation of dictatorial puppets and into the realm of constant warfare, with drone strikes only a part of our present involvement in that region. Up until now, not much of this has touched the average American, who lives thousands of miles away from the carnage. Unless you or a someone you knew was in the military and deployed there, it didn’t feel real. Or at least it didn’t, until recently. Paris changed all that. Suddenly, the battlefield was no longer just the Middle East, where we could safely ignore it, but potentially here, where we live.

Sanders Announces Annual State of the Union Essay Contest

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has launched his sixth annual State of the Union essay contest, calling upon Vermont’s high school students to address what they view as the major issues facing the United States.

The U.S. Constitution calls for the president to “give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” As President Barack Obama prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress in January, Sanders is again asking Vermont’s high school students to consider writing an essay of 250 to 500 words detailing their own view of the state of the union.