Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

What If UNICEF’s Djokovic-Novak Said Survivors of US Bombings Deserve Justice and the Guilty Punished?

by jay janson | Op/Ed

What a bombshell it was when Martin Luther King called his government “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world!” – large bold headlines in every newspaper all around the world. Now, nearly a half century later, and tens of millions of additional innocent human beings, a third of them children, slaughtered to protect the super wealthy’s mostly white capitalism, as it continues profitable exploitation of all humanity, what If a few world famous celebrities listened to their conscience and spoke up as King did?

In Support of Panda North

by JohnWilmerding | Op/Ed

A variation of my letter shown below appeared in the Brattleboro Reformer on Thursday. I was responding to a local resident calling for a boycott of Panda North. I would like to ask my friends and neighbors to show support for this fine family-owned restaurant whose owners and staff have been respectful of us and served us for 27 years, and have not been “disrespectful” as the previous letter-writer had suggested. These folks should not suffer because of mis-information.

Please continue to patronize Panda North … after more than a quarter-century here, they deserve our support.

Pulverization! Sept. 11 Was An ‘Inside’ Job

by Vidda | Op/Ed

Fifteen years later I still have the same thoughts about the events of 9/11 I’ve had from the beginning.Since I lived in New York City most of my adult life, I have an intimate view of the original Trade Towers. The immensity of them was something you had to see in person. Photos can give you an idea of their size, but not as well as standing under them, being inside of them or on the observation deck of the South Tower.

Towers 1 and 2 were built to withstand multiple Boeing 707 impacts. By 1973 both towers were fully constructed.

Progressive Party Organizing Meeting

by spoon | Politics

Official warning:  All Progressive Party voters in the town of Brattleboro, in the county of Windham, are hereby notified, in accordance with 17 VSA # 2303, to meet in caucus on Monday, September 21, 2015 at 145 Green Street, Brattleboro at 6 PM.

     The agenda is:

         1.  Election of the Town of Brattleboro Committee

         2.  Election of Officers by the Town Committee

Supporting Iran Nuclear Deal, Sanders Cites Lessons from War in Iraq

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 – In a Senate floor speech later today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will detail his support for an agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. In prepared remarks, Sanders likened critics of the agreement to those in Congress who voted to take the United States to war in Iraq in 2003.

“Those who have made every effort to thwart the diplomatic process and have spoken out against the Iran agreement, including many in this chamber, are the same people who spoke out forcefully on the need to go to war with Iraq,” Sanders said.

“I voted against the war in Iraq. Sadly, much of what I feared in fact did happen. I do not want to see it happen again.”

Candidates For Vermont Governor

by cgrotke | Politics

I’ve been noting presidential candidates, but we also have an upcoming race for Vermont Governor. So far as I can tell, six people have annouced their intention of running for the state’s highest office. It is your challenge to learn about them and report what you learn here so others can benefit. Become a local correspondent for the VT race.

In alphabetical order, to get you started:

Stock Market Volatility and The Little Guy

by Lise | Economics

About six weeks ago, even those of us who are barely paying attention started to hear ominous reports out of China. The stock markets in the world’s second largest economy had taken a turn for the worse and were shedding value to an alarming degree – 7% one day, 8% another, to the tune of a whopping 35% by the time Black Tuesday rolled around. This occurred despite continual action on the part of the Chinese government since May to shore them back up or at least stop the bleeding. Market turbulence had set in and the central banks of that country seemed powerless to stop it. Watching all this from half a world away, the big question on everyone’s mind became: when is this going to hit us? On August 21, 2015, it did.

Gotcha Questions

by cgrotke | Politics

Hi, I’m here for a job interview. I’d like to be a doctor.

Do you have experience being a doctor?

No, but I’m a quick study. You’ll be impressed after I start operating.

Do you know anything about radiocarpal articulation?

That’s a “gotcha question.” I’m not a specialist

Matt Dunne Hosting Community Meeting in Brattleboro

by ScottCMcCarty | Politics

Matt Dunne has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2016.

As Matt begins his bid for governor, he is eager to meet with Vermonters and listen to their concerns about the challenges facing Vermont, and their ideas for the future.

Matt’s campaign is scheduled meetings in every county of our state including two in Windham County — one in Bellows Falls and the other in Brattleboro.

Southern Vermont Projects Funded to Mitigate the Economic Impacts of VY Closure

by Not Signed In | Economics

Green Building Cluster, Business Acceleration and Tri State region CEDS alignment

Windham County, VT – On Monday August 31st, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) has been awarded $265K by the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. The federal award was the final piece of funding needed for a $530K project which will launch two major initiatives outlined in the Windham Region S.M.A.R.T. CEDS: Development of a Green Building Cluster Study and the initiation and operation of the Southern Vermont Business Innovation Accelerator.

Interesting Political Analysis

by tomaidh | Politics

From “The Pen” (People’s email network) Today at 7:15 AM (edited)

The Beltway pundits remain condescending and dismissive, which is all the more reason why we need to keep cranking up the people power, to continue to raise the visibility of Bernie Sanders, as he continues to rise in the polls.This week on Meet The Press, they trotted out the big guns, so-called “senior” campaign advisers to pre-emptively and forcefully declare that Donald Trump was NOT going to be the Republican nominee. Chuck Todd has been wrong so many times already, we suppose he needed some faux authoritative reinforcement.

Broadband Choices in Brattleboro?

by TechFan | Opinion

My $39.99/month Comcast internet promo ends this month. Normal price is $67/month, so I need an alternative. I scoured the web for DSL and fiber optic availability and pricing. Unfortunately, that info is published no where, so I contacted potential companies directly and compared services.

There’s three residential broadband providers in town- 2 DSL, 1 Cable Internet. Only 1 out of 3 companies offers transparant pricing online. Ironically, it happens to be the most hated company in America, Comcast. Instead of capitalizing on that, the two relatively small, local DSL companies maintain a website circa 1995- no way to register for service, check prices, corresponding speeds, verify coverage area. Basically useless, secretive, uninformative websites.

Windham County for Bernie

by Not Signed In | Politics

It’s a safe bet that Bernie Sanders will carry Vermont in our presidential primary. For folks itching to help the national campaign, “Windham County for Bernie” is organizing to help our neighbors in New Hampshire ensure that Bernie Sanders wins the all-important NH primary in February.

We will hold our first public organizing meeting of “Windham County for Bernie” on August 27. NH campaign staff from Concord & Keene will attend to update us on the NH campaign. Sign up for phone banking, canvassing, helping out at NH Bernie events, writing letters to editors, bird-dogging other candidates’ and more.

The Wrong Guy – Sanders and the Democrats

by Lise | Politics

Somehow I thought that when you ran as say, a Democrat, that Democrats would at least acknowledge that you exist instead of stealing all your platform planks, (watering them down), and then trying to find people to run on them.  But that is exactly what the Democrats are doing in the face of Bernie Sanders’ unexpected popularity.  First it was Hillary, with her student loan program and her sudden concern for the middle class.  Then she got in trouble, so the party players decided to float Biden.  Biden seems to be nibbling, so we may see him in the race.  Then this weekend, the Guardian ran a story saying people wanted Gore to run.  Somehow I don’t think that’s likely but really?  You want to run Gore?  Anyone?

By Never Calling For Prosecution ‘Left’ Journalism Protects Investments In Continuous Genocide

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Thesis: Western society’s progressive writers leave their readers with the impression that citizens of the US and allied nations will never be prosecuted for their mega massive crimes against humanity. Legal and moral implications and future ramifications are discussed and contrasted with ongoing litigation and warnings Martin Luther King gave.

Sanders Supports Iran Nuclear Deal

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that he will support an agreement that the United States and other nations negotiated with Iran to limit its nuclear program.

Sanders issued a statement after a telephone conversation on Friday with President Barack Obama, who addressed some of Sanders’ concerns. The senator first publicly discussed his intention to vote for the agreement in an interview with John Dickerson of CBS News, which will be broadcast Sunday on “Face the Nation.”

“The test of a great nation is not how many wars it can engage in, but how it can resolve international conflicts in a peaceful manner,” Sanders said in the statement.

Slogan ‘Black Lives Matter!’ Not Intended to Include Black Lives Taken by GI’s Overseas

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement work in blatant disbelief of Martin Luther Kings moral and entirely logical warning; ‘There will be no progress on social justice issues at home while we go on denying the very right to live of the poor overseas at a such an enormous expenditure of social and financial resources that make such progress at home impossible.’ Read King’s Beyond Vietnam and Why I Am Against the War.

Sanders Proposes Public Funding of Elections to Replace ‘Corrupt’ System of ‘Legalized Bribery’

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 – In a Senate floor speech today, Sen. Bernie Sanders said he will introduce legislation to provide public funding of elections to replace a “corrupt” system of “legalized bribery’ with candidates “begging for contributions from the wealthy and the powerful.”

“We are talking about a rapid movement in this country toward oligarchy, toward a government owned and controlled by a handful of extremely wealthy families,” Sanders said.