Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast Invitation

by RobertOeser | Politics

 Brattleboro State Representatives Forum

 

The next Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast will be held  Friday, September 16,  2016 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

All State Representatives are up for this November 8th. All of the Brattleboro candidates for the House have agreed to attend this Breakfast, give brief presentations and be available for questions. (Come prepared with questions; I will supply index cards to help organize the question and answer section.)

Doggie Doo’s and Don’ts

by DWard | Opinion

Municipalities pass ordinances that require dog owners to pick up their doggie doos with a plastic bag and then throw it into the trash.  Now who the heck thought of this?  It’s actually much worse for the environment than leaving the poop where it is because microbes break down the poop and it’s good for the soil.  That is where poop is supposed to go. That’s the way nature intended. 

Enclosing that natural fertilizer in plastic and disposing it in the trash will prevent it from breaking down and puts more plastic into the waste stream. Dumb, dumb, dumb.  If anything, dog walkers need to have access to a garden trowel and simply scoop up some soil to cover the doo.  Or simply use a piece of a branch or stone that has the right shape for the job.  There is no need to go against nature.  It is easier if we go in harmony with it.  Stupidity is hammering the environment and we all bear the consequences because of someone’s ignorance in office. “Selectmen” – please think before making stupid ordinances. 

Bacon & Eggs – Festival Promotion Underwhelms

by cgrotke | Op/Ed

Kevin Bacon.

Why, oh why, does the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce persist in its effort to entice this actor to come to Brattleboro for a bacon festival? What demographic is this supposed to draw?

Quite possibly, dear reader, you are completely unaware of this marketing effort. That would be forgivable, given that the target of the marketing effort is one potential tourist — Kevin Bacon.

Rather than direct mail, or cold calling, the Chamber seems to be banking on a stealthier approach: social media nagging.

With Joking Russian TV the Best Source of Electronic News and Information Available – Woe Is Us!

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:

In 1950, Einstein explained why our civilization continues to be “like an axe in the had of the pathological criminal,”: “Under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control the main sources of information (press, radio, education). Mysteriously, our best independent journalists, top intellectuals and historians, are of no help. Even on RT’s ten more serious shows there is no urging of prosecution for international crimes

Amazing! Cris Ericson Got Over 10% of the Vote for US Senator!

by CrisEricson2016 | Politics

Amazing! Cris Ericson got over 10% of the Vote for US Senator!

P. Leahy (i) 89.1% 61,111
C. Ericson 10.9% 7,476

I, Cris Ericson, am so happy to thank Vermonters for giving me over 10% of the vote for United States Senator  competing against U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy,  especially considering that he refused to debate me or meet me in any forum, showing his utter disregard for low income widow women, of which I am one. Just another example of rich people squashing poor people like bugs.

Government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, including low income widow women.

Chess.com Interviews Trump, Clinton, Johnson, Stein

by SK-B | Politics

Chess.com was able to sit down with each of the four major presidential candidates last week as they turned their attention to courting the ever-important chess demographic. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein were all interviewed by Chess.com as they look for votes on the 64 squares.

https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-com-interviews-trump-clinton-johnson-stein

A Presidential Candidate – Evan McMullin, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson

by cgrotke | Politics

There are choices beyond Trump and Clinton.

Evan McMullin says  “I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for president.”

“I am running with the only national party that does not take corporate funding,”  says Jill Stein.

“I do believe that crony capitalism is alive and well. It’s Democrats and Republicans that contribute to that. I’d like to be that choice that is not going to succumb to that,” says Gary Johnson

Patriotic Muslim Dad Hails Dead Son’s Participation in US Crime Against Humanity in Muslim Iraq

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
Sen. Clinton voted for an obvious International Crime Against Humanity in Iraq. Prez Candidate Clinton features at her nominating convention a Muslin father, whose son died participating in US crime against Muslim people ranting about what a bad guy her opponent Donald Trump is, though Trump had spoken out against the illegal and criminal invasion of Iraq. Trump also faulted for non-participation in earlier genocidal crime in Vietnam.

Free Spaghetti Supper with Matt Dunne & PFFV

by ScottCMcCarty | Politics

The Professional Firefighters of Vermont (PFFV) have endorsed Matt Dunne for Governor. Matt is a lifelong resident of Hartland, Vermont. He is an experienced leader with a deep commitment to making Vermont’s economy work for all Vermonters. In addition to PFFV, he has earned the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, Rights & Democracy, and the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA). 

End of the Line for Bernie Sanders

by Lise | Politics

After many months of fighting the good fight, and losing, we’ve come to the end of the line for Bernie Sanders.  He was our last best hope, but for whatever reason, people opted for the “safe,” status quo candidate Hillary Clinton.  This may have been engineered, to a large degree, by a party apparatus that opposed his candidacy — the DNC email leak last week made it clear that they were out to get him, and it’s likely the party’s animosity toward Sanders trickled down to local party people across the country.  No wonder people thought there was voter suppression and shenanigans — the Democratic party was at war with its own progressive wing.  But so be it.  

A Distillation of DOD Funding Priorities for June 2016

by DWard | Op/Ed

Even though money is an abstract and arbitrary construct, the product of which is created from nothing and therefore can be created (again, from nothing) to provide whatever we need or desire, the money people earn and work for is stolen from them to pay for the adventures of lunatics.

Yes this stolen money provides jobs but we need infrastructure upgrades and that would provide jobs too.  Why doesn’t it go to something that benefits the funders (ie: the  taxpayers?)  The likelihood of being killed by a terrorist is equal to being killed by furntiure. Yet we are allowing the money that comes from our toil to go to destructive purposes, since we (erroneously) think that the money has to come from limited revenues. This money is stolen out of the pockets of everyday workers.

Economic Hegemony Loss to China Looming! Powerful Investors Have Trump Call for an About Face

by jay janson | Op/Ed

TITLE:
Economic Hegemony Loss to China Looming! Powerful Investors Have Trump Call for an About Face
by jay janson

DESCRIPTION:
The willingness of humanity to continue to accept the white world’s profitable investments in genocide will end in 25 years when world economic power shifts from Europeans, and their descendant nations, to the six sevenths of humanity they plundered. Realizing this, leaders of 1/10th of 1% who rule America have Trump demanding investment in the US instead of in the low wage 3rd World that China will soon lead.

TEXT:
Our Sick World

Two Sides of the Coin

by KAlden | Op/Ed

I was so proud of our town last night when I saw how many people turned out for the Black Lives Matter rally and march. It was the most diverse group I’ve evr seen gathered in one place in Brattleboro; white people; black people, asian people, students, retirees, families with kids in tow, business owners, farmers, librarians…it was an impressive sight. It was a peaceful and powerful event and the police officers present seemed to understand that it was not – in any way an indictment of them but rather a unified attempt to stop the never ending violence in this country.

Reading the comments in the  article about the same event on the Reformer’s FB page this morning elicited a very differnt feeling in me. While some of the comments were positive, most were displays of blatant, in your face racism, hatred and ignorance. Many commenters called BLM a “terrorist group” like ISIS and said the rally was only meant to be anti police. Horrible cartoons and memes were posted- people seeming quite proud about openly racist and, of course, the inevitable “terrorist” cartoons about our President.

Gubernatorial Candidate Meet, Greet & Lunch

by RobertOeser | Politics

Gubernatorial Candidate Meet, Greet & Lunch

Where: Senior Meals – Gibson-Aiken Center – 207 Main St., Brattleboro, VT  05301

When: Friday, July 22, 2016 at 12 Noon

Who:  , Vermont’s former Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Irene Recovery Officer, and State Representative, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor in the upcoming .

Q&A:

Will there be lunch?

Black GIs Killing Blacks Overseas a Problem for ‘Black Lives Matter’ Leaders Betraying MLKjr

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:
Unless Martin Luther King is wrong, the movement to protect US Blacks from White people will go nowhere while Black GIs help white people kill Africans in Africa and other non-Caucasian people all around the globe. Slogan ‘Black Lives Matter’ is ignominious, humiliating, undignified, embarrassing, pleading, definitely not noble, not appropriate to repeated murdering of innocent folks and children and other inhuman behavior.

Which Four Year Show To Watch?

by cgrotke | Politics

Summer is a time for TV execs to preview fall programming. So it is in politics, too. Conventions are previews for presidencies. What shall we watch for four years? Let’s look at the choices.

Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton today, marking the official end of his campaign to become President and the beginning of his more-powerful-than-this-time-last-year campaign for major changes. This leaves us a Coke-Pepsi type of choice. Sorry, we’re out of root beer.

Clinton has been laying somewhat low, presumably preparing for the convention and general campaign. It’s certainly hers to lose. She’s got more money, she’s been through the election cycle many times before and has the connections and “ground game” to pull it off. The Clinton network has reach and power.

Sanders Defends Vermont’s GMO Labeling Law

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, July 6 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday said legislation that could soon come to the floor of the U.S. Senate would undermine efforts in states around the country to help Americans stay informed about what goes into their food.

“The American people have a right to know what they’re eating,” Sanders said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “That is why states like Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and Alaska have adopted laws to label goods containing GMOs and why many other states are interested and on the path to do that.”

Celebrate 260 Years Profitable Genocide – African Slaves Native Americans Mexicans Filipinos etc.

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:

Independence Holiday in the USA becomes a time when citizens tend to reflect on the nations two hundred forty year history. It is a history typical of six European empires in the areas of genocide and plunder. US genocides perpetrated after 1945 will be prosecuted once economic power shifts to a China led plundered world. A plethora of lawsuits for restitution will make past illegal wars woefully unprofitable.