Politics

Washington, DC – This morning, President Obama sent Congress a plan to authorize the use of force against ISIS. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) gave the following response after reviewing the proposal:

“Congress has been ducking its Constitutional responsibility to authorize this war so I am pleased that the President is now forcing Congress to do its job. However, I cannot support this authorization as written. It leaves in place the Bush-era open ended authorization that led to so much harm.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after President Barack Obama formally asked Congress to authorize a military campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group:

“The Islamic State is a brutal and dangerous terrorist organization which has murdered thousands of innocent men, women and children, including Americans. It must be defeated.

“I voted against the war in Iraq because I feared very much the destabilizing impact it would have on the region. Today, after 13 years in Afghanistan and 12 years in Iraq, after the loss of almost 7,000 troops and the expenditure of trillions of dollars, I very much fear U.S. involvement in an expanding and never-ending quagmire in that region of the world.

From the BBC

US senator questions forcing food workers to wash hands:

A US senator has suggested that restaurants should not have to make their employees wash their hands after toilet visits.

Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, made the comments on Monday during a speech criticising business regulations.

“Let them decide” such issues, the newly elected lawmaker said.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 24 – Potential Republican presidential candidates are hobnobbing this weekend with politically potent billionaires at an invitation-only gathering in Palm Springs, California, that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and others have called “the Koch brothers primary.”

Four Republican hopefuls – looking to line up benefactors to bankroll their campaigns – are participating in mostly closed-door meetings of millionaires and billionaires assembled by Charles and David Koch, the industrial tycoons who control the second largest family fortune in the United States.

No one on the political horizon can stir my voting allegiance. And, no one ever has. My vote like so many other voters goes to the lesser evil. Too often the greatest pull is to not vote at all.Now that 2016 presidential hopefuls are at stage left or right, no one captures my undivided interest.

Take Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s Senator who is dancing on the edge of the presidential hat ring. At first glance, his recent 12-point national economic program enumerates what many in our state would expect from him: job creation, wages, unions, in-sourcing, climate and fossil fuel concerns, trade policies, equal pay, break up big banks, wealth disparity, Medicare-for-all, Social Security and tax reform – all quintessential Bernie.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 19 – With President Barack Obama set to deliver his State of the Union address tomorrow, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced the winner and top finalists in his annual State of the Union essay contest for Vermont high school students.

Leo Lehrer-Small, a sophomore at Mount Mansfield Union High School, was named the winner of the contest, which was judged by a panel of four Vermont teachers. Sanders called to congratulate Lehrer-Small on Friday.

Ryan Taggard of Brattleboro Union High School finished in second place. Two students – Craig Pelsor of Milton High School and Hadley Menk of Champlain Valley Union High School – tied for third place. (The full list of finalists is below.)

I read an interesting article in an older NY Times about ancient terrorism.

The author, Robert Harris is talking about the year 68 BC. He begins: “the world’s only military superpower was dealt a profound psychological blow by a daring terrorist attack on its very heart. Rome’s port at Ostia was set on fire, the consular war fleet destroyed, and two prominent senators, together with their bodyguards and staff, kidnapped.”

He continues: “ in the panicky aftermath of the attack, the Roman people made decisions that set them on the path to the destruction of their Constitution, their democracy and their liberty.”

Here is what the Brattleboro Town Charter Article III, titled “Powers of the People”, section 2 says regarding petitioned articles.

> advisory articles (also called resolutions)

pre-2012

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today will file that would put the Senate on record acknowledging that climate change is being caused by humans and is a major threat to the planet.

Sanders plans to offer the amendment to a bill that would force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The controversial project would ship oil from Canada’s tar sands region in Alberta to refineries in Texas along the Gulf of Mexico.

“The American people need to know whether Congress is listening to the overwhelming majority of scientists when it comes to climate change,” Sanders said.

At a surf break, when the line-up is crowded, and competition becomes heated for precious few waves, scenes of hostility are not uncommon. Violence and threat are the ugliest manifestations, but they do happen surprisingly often for something so chill and harmonious as surfing. Localism is the term for brutish behavior stemming from protective ownership of a spot.

I’ve been wondering lately about this in light of discussion of RTM, and questions of involvement vs. ownership.

With  Peter re-elected, how much more over-taxation  suffering can people take before they pack up and move away?

I will run for U.S. Senator or  Representative to Congress, and Governor of Vermont; at least one state and one federal office in 2016.

I will fight for our right to have peace and quiet, and that means telling the U.S. Air Force to base the  F-35 strike fighter jets somewhere else!  Can you imagine having to edit out the “peace and quiet” statement in most of the tourist brochures for Vermont?

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) welcomed President Barack Obama’s announcement today that the Federal Housing Administration will cut mortgage-insurance premiums as part of an effort to expand opportunities for first-time homebuyers.

Annual fees the agency charges to guarantee mortgages will be cut by 0.5 percentage points from the current rate of 1.35 percent.

Sanders and 17 other senators had signed a letter asking the Obama administration to take the action that the White House announced.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 5 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today asked the chief trade representative for the United States to turn over the full text of a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

The 12-nation pact, which could soon come before Congress, has been negotiated in secret but with input from corporations that stand to profit on the deal.

In , Sanders called it “troubling” and “unacceptable” that the only sources for Congress to assess what would be the largest global trade deal in history are a few leaked documents.

Who will win January 8, 2015 for Governor? Will Astrology and Astronomy combined,  tell us?

Astrological analysis of the top 2 voter getters, keeping in mind that the 3rd, Dan Feliciano,  might win – a meteor may fly over Montpelier,  a falling star could hit the Capital Dome, so don’t discount Dan;  after all, I think he and his wife are definitely the friendliest of the bunch!  

PETER
Looking first at Peter Shumlin, he was born on March 24, 1956 in Brattleboro, Vermont with his natal Jupiter in 22 degrees Leo.

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 3 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today he will introduce legislation when the new session of Congress convenes this month to authorize a $1 trillion, multi-year program to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges and invest in other infrastructure modernization projects.

The investment not only would begin to address a growing backlog of badly-needed repairs, it also would put 13 million Americans to work at decent-paying jobs, according to Sanders, who will take over this month as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee.

Rick Perry is the governor of Texas and will be Until January 21, 2015. He was a Republican candidate for President in 2012 and has been mentioned as a possible candidate in  2016 (Sorry, Jeb).

On August 15, 2014, Perry was indicted by a grand jury on felony charges for abuse of power. He was accused threatening a Democratic District Attorney who had been convicted of drunk driving.  The indictment received some support and also wide criticism from all sides of the political spectrum, and editorial criticism from major US newspapers.  He has not been convicted to date.

BURLINGTON, Dec.22 – U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed a Department of Veterans Affairs announcement that the state-run Vermont Veterans’ Home in Bennington is in line for a nearly $1 million federal matching grant.

The Bennington facility is on the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs’ priority list for construction grants during the coming year.

“I am committed to working with the state and the VA to ensure the veterans’ home can make these much-needed repairs,” said Sanders. “The men and women who have served our country in uniform deserve quality care in a safe home.”

You’re not alone.

Pew Research has just published a report that shows Public Trust in Government plummeting between 1958-2014

See more here:

BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 18 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after FairPoint Communications CEO Paul Sunu snubbed a request from the Vermont congressional delegation for the North Carolina company to negotiate an end to a two-month strike by about 1,700 New England workers:

“I am deeply disappointed, but not surprised, with the response from Mr. Sunu. His letter confirms what I have long suspected. FairPoint wants to slash wages and benefits for Vermont workers and it refuses to negotiate in good faith. In essence his letter says FairPoint’s bargaining posture is ‘take it or leave it, we want it our way, and we’re not going to make any compromises.’

Official Appearance Schedule for Congressman Welch
Tuesday, December 16th, 2014

9:15 a.m.
WTSA Radio Food Drive: Brattleboro
Rep. Welch will join WTSA radio for the Project Feed the Thousands food drive to benefit local area food pantries.
WTSA-AM Studio, 464 Putney Road