Opinion

For opinion pieces on any topic.

Return To Humanity

by ChrisPratt | Op/Ed

Our inaction, our passivity, our naivety and the ease with which we can be manipulated has fueled the forces of fear, power, greed and suppression. Most U.S. citizens now walk around in self-induced comas, too ignorant to question, too afraid to ask and too numb to feel.

Is our government capable of killing its own people? Look … at what we have done to the environment and the poor for oil. Look … at the brutal dictators we have brought to power and continue to fund. Look … at the wars we have manufactured. The U.S. has become the 21st Century’s “Death Star.” We do not prevent war, we make war. We do not protect humanity and prevent atrocities, we kill people and commit atrocities whenever our multinationals are affected. Let’s-be-clear PROFIT defines our “national interests” and our foreign policy not free thinking and not free speech.

Rep. Welch Questions Agency Officials On Border Wait Times, Stressing Economic Impact On Vermont

by Not Signed In | Politics

Washington, D.C. (November 14th, 2013)— At a Congressional oversight hearing today, Rep. Peter Welch questioned agency officials in charge of border crossings about the NEXUS program that allows for expedited processing for Vermonters and Canadian visitors. Vermonters have contacted Rep. Welch to tell him that it can still take up to 30-45 minutes to get across the border even after they have paid out-of-pocket and gone through the trouble to get a NEXUS card. Rep. Welch emphasized that long wait times at the Canadian border do real economic harm to our state’s economy. :

Veterans Day Lament

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

I was just listening to a song that literally brought tears to my eyes. It’s about a different war, and a different country, but the message is the same: War Sucks. And it’s the little guy that pays the biggest price, while the 1% profits enormously and hides those profits in tax shelters.

Nearly 100 years later, the “poverty draft” still takes our youngsters and subjects them to unspeakable horror. Very few of them come back unaffected. For some, they suffer for a very long time. A good friend of mine just succumbed to cancer resulting from Agent Orange in ‘Nam.

Chairman Sanders on Veterans Day

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., – Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement in advance of Monday’s observance of Veterans Day:

“As we honor our nation’s veterans, we must realize the important debt we owe them, a debt we can never truly repay. We must not forget that the true cost of war goes far beyond dollars and cents. Since World War II, more than 500,000 Americans have lost their lives in war. Millions more have received disability ratings by the VA. As a nation, we have a moral obligation to provide for the wounded and ensure that all veterans receive every benefit they have earned and deserve.

UN Day Films – Gloating Faces, Libya Syria Destroyed, Somalian Korean Genocides Augur Nuremberg UN Trial

by jay janson | Op/Ed

A devious, abhorrent UN film is described to emphasize how the UN hasbeen continually used as the handmaiden of genocidal military interventions arranged when predatory investments of the powerful private usurious amoral speculative investment banking industry politically referred to euphemistically as the ‘international community of nations’ read investors controlling the Neo-colonial Powers are threatened or inhibited.

Senate Passes Employment Non-Discrimination Act

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) welcomed today’s 64-32 Senate vote in favor of a bill to prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

“I am very pleased that the Senate has taken this important step toward making America the democratic and inclusive society it should be,” Sanders said. “Today’s vote was a long-overdue victory in the struggle to end workplace discrimination against gay and transgender Americans.”

Sanders Hails Dramatic Expansion of Community Health Centers in Vermont

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that the federal government designated three new community health centers in Vermont to increase from eight to 11 the number of health centers that will provide primary care for some 163,000 patients throughout the state.

“This is a huge step forward for health care in Vermont in providing high-quality, affordable primary care, dental care, low-cost prescription drugs and mental health counseling to people throughout Vermont,” said Sanders, chairman of a Senate subcommittee that oversees primary health care.

Americans Assassinating 1 to Create 4 Conterproductive? No! A Ruling War Investors Strategy

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION:

Investors in war, dominant on Wall St. almost since the birth of the US, must be calculating that it be convenient to have more, not less, people ready to die fighting  a cruel and genocidal desperate American super empire of amoral senseless greedy speculative investment banking governance.
Likely stratagem of investors interested in big wars, not skirmishes. Their trial must happen before the 3rd world conflagration being invested in

To Understand TPP, Watch TBYP

by stopsmeters.org | Op/Ed

It’s difficult to square the sentiments of the author, tomaidh, in “TPP: What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You/ibrattleboro”, November 4, 2013, with the .  

Those pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agenda aim to enshrine corporate pillaging and weaken legislative safeguards that protect public interests and the environment. 

We see the same modus operandi at work with smart meters; proponents have introduced legislation to “make ‘smart’ meters mandatory for the entire nation”.

My God, How The Money Rolls In!

by tomaidh | Opinion

Back in college we used to sing this bawdy song. One of the more presentable verses went:

My brother’s a poor missionary,

He saves fallen women from sin;

He’ll save you a blonde for ten dollars,

My God, how the money rolls in!

You get the idea.

Sanders Statement on Employment Non-Discrimination Act

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement tonight after the Senate voted 61-30 to advance a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans:

“I am very pleased that the Senate took a step closer to protecting gays from workplace discrimination. Vermont has prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1992. It’s been illegal to discriminate against transgender Vermonters since 2007.

Rethinking the Police/Fire Facilities Project

by spoon | Op/Ed

I have distributed the following proposal to Town Meeting Members. It should be noted that any town meeting action that may come about can only deal with the bonding amount. All other aspects of this proposal must be considered separately. Voting to change the bonding does not automatically put anything else into effect. The purpose of holding back on the second bond is to open the scope of the project to far greater possibilities and benefits.

Rethinking the Police/Fire Facilities Project

Do You Want F-35 Test Bombs Dropping On Vermont?

by crisericson | Op/Ed

Do you want F-35 test bombs droping on Vermont? Ten years ago I lived in northern Vermont. My mother’s house and yard was adjacent to the Ethan Allen U.S. Army National Guard Firing Range on Bolton Mountain, the other side of the Mtn. From Bolton Ski Resort. 3.9 miles up a dirt road to get to Mom’s house, and when the Army was doing off M 155s the ground shook and the house shool, Now, even if the F-35 jets only drop 2,000 pound test bombs, the ground is going to shake and your house is going to shake – and they will most likely chose a rural area to drop them, not the city of Burlington.

Prosecutors, Panhandlers, and Politicians

by rjackowski | Op/Ed

Prosecutors, Panhandlers, and Politicians
 
Town officials spoke first. Then just like a scene from the movie, up to the mike, came one lone citizen. Central casting could not have been better at selecting just the right person to speak. He looked like every man you see every day, everywhere. Dark hair, about 5′ 7″, a blue T-shirt, denim jeans with a small hole on one knee.
 
 

Senate Panel Advances Older Americans Act

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 – A Senate committee today advanced legislation by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which supports Meals on Wheels and other services for the country’s rapidly-growing population of seniors.

The 5-year reauthorization sent to the Senate floor by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was cosponsored by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman, and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the ranking member. Sanders chairs the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

First passed by Congress in 1965, the Older Americans Act provides essential services for seniors like nutrition programs, job training, caregiver support, transportation, preventive health services and protection from abuse and financial exploitation.

Sanders: Listen to the American People

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that a special congressional committee meeting for the first time on Wednesday should do what Americans clearly want and come up with a budget to promote jobs and the economy without cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits for working families.

“At a time when less than 10 percent of the American people approve of the job that Congress is doing, I believe it’s time that we started to listen to what the American people want us to do,” Sanders said.

A member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders was appointed to the joint Senate and House conference committee that is assigned to come up with a long-term budget plan by Dec. 13 in order to avert another government shutdown.

The Wailing Wail

by spinoza | Op/Ed

I once visited the Western Wall in the holy city where notes are stuffed into the cracks, the in-box of God. Imagine, the standing ruins of Roman Jerusalem, and a procession of unique wordsmiths each hand-delivering the edited essence of their ultimate skinny.

In that crumbling courtyard, under protective eye of Uzi-packing soldiers and who-knows-what-else, I remember scribbling my note, eyeing my spot. Can’t remember what I put on paper. Nor do I recall whether my missive was responded to or not, time just washed it away.

1984 – 30 Years Too Late

by tomaidh | Opinion

About a week ago, I was speaking with an old college buddy. He was reminiscing about a time when we both read George Orwell’s 1984 (everybody was reading it at the time). He sent me a You Tube link to a
film version released in 1956.

In the classic novel, Orwell describes a then-not-too-distant future where an oppressive totalitarian elite has perfected a system of social control based on perpetual warfare, manipulation of perceived reality, and total surveillance of the population. The servile obedience of the bureaucracy and the mindless poverty of the masses keeps them in power. (MHP)

Leahy Co-Introduces Act to Curb Unwarranted Spying on Citizens

by Not Signed In | Politics

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On Introduction of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2013

October 29, 2013

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, was enacted 35 years ago to limit the government’s ability to engage in domestic surveillance operations. In the years since September 11, 2001, Congress has repeatedly expanded the scope of this law to provide the government with broad new powers to gather information about law-abiding Americans. No one underestimates the threat this country continues to face, and we can all agree that the intelligence community should be given necessary and appropriate tools to help keep us safe. But we should also agree that there must be reasonable limits on the surveillance powers we give to the government. That is why I have consistently fought to curtail the sweeping powers contained in the USA PATRIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act, while also bolstering privacy protections and strengthening oversight. And that is why I continue my efforts today by joining with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, as well as members of Congress from both political parties, to introduce the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act of 2013.