For opinion pieces on any topic.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was a 22-year old college student when he and more than 200,000 other people descended on Washington 50 years ago to hear the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I have a dream” speech.
Sanders recently returned to the Lincoln Memorial to reflect on the march and on how America has changed, or not, during the past half century.
BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 19 – U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders today welcomed a Department of Veterans Affairs report that outlined significant progress in addressing an unacceptable backlog of claims for disability benefits.
There was a nearly 20 percent drop in the number of backlogged claims from a peak that was hit four months ago, according to a VA analysis released today.
“As chairman, I am pleased to see the VA making significant progress in reducing what everyone continues to recognize as an unacceptable backlog. No veteran should have to wait years to receive the benefits they have earned,” said Sanders (I-Vt.).
Listening to President Obama’s statements about the NSA and spying on Americans over the past few weeks, I began wondering if he was outright lying to us, or if he was woefully ignorant of the subjects of which he spoke.
I’m not alone. if the President that he had no idea what is going on. Some of the statements in question:
– the secret FISA court is “transparent” and that Congress has full oversight
– “We don’t have a domestic spying program.”
– “No one is listening to your phone calls.”
BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 12 – With revenue rebounding, the U.S. Postal Service would have posted a profit for the past three months without an unprecedented requirement that it sink $5.5 billion a year into future retiree health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today.
The latest quarterly report on Postal Service finances showed a $740 million loss, but all of that red ink would have been eliminated and a $660 million profit would have been posted had the Postal Service not been forced to sink money into a system that already has set aside enough to meet the health care needs of retirees for decades to come.
Although I am known for being opposed to medicalization of marijuana as prescriptive necessary for use, this article is worth noting because Dr. Sanjay Gupta is making his mea culpa for being wrong about marijuana’s therapeutic value. Whether he’ll come around to understanding and accepting social use of marijuana remains to be seen.
“The fact of the matter is, what we are seeing in both these cases is a tactical nuclear strike, probably by cruise missiles launched from aircrafts near the borders of Syria or right off the coast in the Mediterranean.”
– Greg Thielmann, arms control expert
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“Obama calls Korean War a victory” 7/27/2013
He studied through a PhD in law at Harvard. Yet doesn’t know, or pretends not to know US history.
US bombed to death more than two million Koreans, men, women and children in their own beloved country,
many as often as not in their very own homes, many especially gross US atrocities only recently apologized for.
Author promises such upside down history will not wash much longer
Congressman Peter Welch
United States House of Representatives
Official Appearance Schedule
Monday, August 5th, 2013
10:30 a.m.
Small Business Roundtable: Brattleboro
Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, 76 Cotton Mill Hill
After spending some time with the dictionary trying to find the terms that best describe me, progressive, radical, activist, I find that I do not wear any of these hats well. My mission is awareness, critical thinking, free speech and some personal ownership for the world we live in. In fact I founded a corporation in 2010 called The Awareness Initiative Inc., to do exactly that.
BURLINGTON, Vt., July 28 – Saying that “it’s time for new leadership at the Federal Reserve and a new approach to our troubled economy,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged President Obama to appoint a new central bank chairman who will “put the needs of the disappearing middle class ahead of the interests of Wall Street and the wealthy few.”
Sanders said Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz or former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich would be “excellent candidates” to replace Chairman Ben Bernanke when his term ends next January 31.
If you have ever attended a “First Wednesdays” program at the Library, please read the following appeal:
“Dear Friends,
We need your help — today — to protect funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Vermont Humanities Council. This week, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee sent a budget bill for FY 2014 to the full Appropriations Committee that includes only $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a drastic 49% cut, which would come on top of a 19% cut over the past three years.
WASHINGTON, July 24 – The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today approved a package of bills to improve benefits and health care services for veterans and their families.
Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the package includes a measure to bring the Department of Veterans Affairs in line with a Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. Other legislation approved by the Committee would improve the delivery of care and benefits for veterans who experienced sexual assault in the military. Another bill would make the VA provide detailed reports to Congress on its effort to eliminate a staggering claims backlog.
WASHINGTON, July 23 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said a White House report today masks a big boost in college loan interest rates that would be in store for students and parents under a White House-backed bill now before the Senate.
“The White House is being disingenuous and is trying to sweep under the rug big increases in interest rates for students and parents in the near future,” Sanders said. “Because college costs are out of control and interest rates are rising, students are leaving college deep in debt or in some cases choosing not to continue their education because they cannot afford it,” Sanders added.
Rep. Welch announces bipartisan coalition aimed at breaking Congressional gridlock
Washington, DC. (July 18th, 2013) At an outdoor rally on Capitol Hill this morning, Rep. Peter Welch joined in announcing a new bipartisan, bicameral coalition aimed at breaking Congressional gridlock. Welch is a co-founder of the coalition, known as “The Problem Solvers,” and serves as one of eight co-chairs.
The Problem Solvers coalition, which is affiliated with No Labels, is comprised of 37 Republicans, 43 Democrats, and 1 Independent. At the rally, the group unveiled its legislative agenda, which includes a Welch-authored energy efficiency initiative.
It was depressing, but not unexpected, to read this morning that George Zimmerman was found not guilty.
The “Stand Your Ground” law allows people to use deadly force on someone, then claim self defense. In an ideal sense, the concept applies to defending one’s home from an intruder.
In Florida, it means you can kill a young black man if you find him suspicious.
Zimmerman was not defending his home or his property. There was no threat to him.
Many readers here have probably read the viewpoint column I wrote and the Commons printed in their current issue. If not, here is the .
The basic gist is that if we can at all afford 14.1 million dollars for the police and fire facilities we can get much more for our money if we scale that project back some (but retain its most important features) and use the savings for economic development. The thrust of my views are that public safety is not a serious issue for now (tho it would be improved to a significant degree anyway under this plan) but the economy is. I will even argue that several million dollars poured into development and the creation of jobs will have greater and more salutary effect on public safety than an armored indoor loading dock for handling prisoners.
Burlington, VT. (July 12th, 2013)- This morning, on the steps of the Chittenden County Courthouse, Rep. Peter Welch unveiled legislation that would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to inform Americans and protect their privacy as the agency issues operating licenses for unmanned aerial vehicles flying over the United States. The FAA estimates that 30,000 drones will be operating in the U.S. over the next 20 years.
Welch will introduce the legislation in the House of Representatives next week when he returns to Washington. He was joined at the press conference by ACLU of Vermont Executive Director Allen Gilbert.
There is a political battle going on at the northern end of Vermont that could have an impact on those of us down here. The Air Force would like to use South Burlington as a base for an expensive, loud new plane: the F-35.
How loud? 400% as loud as the F-16.
Just about all the bad things our governments do are defended with the claim that they are legal. But just because it is legal to do something, is it necessarily right? Anything can be made legal, after all.
We usually think of murder as being fundamentally wrong and almost certainly illegal, but it can be made legal in certain circumstances — as, for instance, when a drone kills dozens of innocents along with its alleged terrorist targets.
WASHINGTON, July 10 – Skeptical of a bid to overhaul the tax code by corporate-friendly congressional tax writers, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today laid out his own specific proposals to raise revenue by closing loopholes that let multi-national corporations and oil companies avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, this summer launched a nationwide tour to hear what corporations want in a revamped tax code. Sanders said the tax code should be reformed to address the needs of the middle class and working families, reduce deficits and make profitable corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.
