Discover More from This Category: Commentaries

The chilling assault on our constitutional republic 

January 13, 2021
By U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Jan. 6, 2021, will forever mark a day of infamy for our nation. It will be remembered because our beloved Capitol building — the very heart of our democracy — was stormed and laid under siege. Rioters broke through windows, doors, and security barriers in both the Senate and…

Domestic terrorism in the Capitol

January 13, 2021
By Haviland Smith Editor’s note: Haviland Smith is a retired CIA operations officer who was the CIA’s first chief of counterterrorism. Since his retirement in 1980, he has lived in Vermont. It is a fact that the best, noblest political movements often attract the worst kind of violent participants. These people barge in and commit the…

Covid recovery and renewal – building a proposition for the future of Vermont

January 6, 2021
By Paul Costello As we come out of the crucible of the pandemic and look to a new year, we need more than recovery, we need to work together to advance renewal and resilience for our communities and economy. The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has been asking Vermonters what recovery will look like.…

Focus on recovery

January 6, 2021
An open letter to Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Legislature from industry leaders We appreciate the challenge of governing during a global pandemic. Instead of meeting with colleagues and constituents, we now rely on video chat, texts, emails, and phone calls. We are in an extraordinary time, where safety requires us to maintain physical distance from one…

The tip of the iceberg: Nature and the pandemic

December 30, 2020
How our disregard for nature is making us sick By Tom Rogers On a warm summer evening this past July, I arrived home feeling unusually worn down. I’d been exhausted all day, and I was soon overcome with waves of crippling chills, my fever spiked, and I spent the night sweating through my sheets. I…

Broadband is essential for the health and wellbeing of our communities

December 23, 2020
By Molly Gray, lieutenant governor-elect Editor's note: this commentary was originally written as an open letter to the Biden-Harris Administration. Over the last year, rural Vermont much like rural America has been hit hard by this pandemic. While our small rural state has much to be proud of in terms of the collective sacrifice of…

A first-generation story

December 2, 2020
By Haley Frechette In all the chaos of the election, it would be easy to lose track of the fact that Nov. 8 was National First-Generation Student Day. This day was meant to highlight and celebrate those who are the first in their family to attend college. I am proud to be one of those…

Scott takes tough approach to Covid spike, justifiably so

November 25, 2020
By Angelo Lynn Gov. Phil Scott’s decision to ban inter-household gatherings, while allowing schools to remain open and limited access to restaurants and bars, prompted rare public pushback among Vermonters who have been model citizens in obeying the dictates Vermont has successfully imposed since the pandemic’s outbreak in March. Numerous letters across the state’s media outlets attest…

Covidsgiving

November 18, 2020
By Dr. Joshua White “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips and shows itself in deeds,” Theodore Roosevelt said. And so, the second wave of Covid is upon us. As I write…

Tribute to Joe

November 11, 2020
By Marguerite Jill Dye, Killington I never knew I craved normalcy To such an extent, to such a degree. But suddenly, I’m finding myself Heaving sigh after sigh of needed relief. Your calm, steady voice and healing words, Spoken directly from your heart, Soothe my soul, calm my nerves, Alleviate headaches, lower blood pressure. I…

Court could deal set-back to women’s right, forcing conservative choice

November 4, 2020
By Leo Pond The Supreme Court case titled Roe v. Wade was decided on Jan. 22, 1973, the primary holding in summary was that a person may choose to have an abortion until a fetus becomes viable, based on the right to privacy contained in the “due process” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Viability means…

Count every vote

October 28, 2020
By James Duff Lyall In an unprecedented year, perhaps it’s only natural that we have an unprecedented election—the first in our lifetimes to occur during a global pandemic, and one in which an astounding number of votes will be cast after being mailed to voters. While many of us are used to staying up late…

Threats over Rutland mascot change must stop

October 28, 2020
By Alison Notte As chair of the Rutland City Public Schools Board of Commissioners, my safety and family’s well-being has been threatened due to my role in facilitating discussion around changing the racist Raider mascot. It is hard to ignore the pattern (in Vermont and nationally) of threats against elected officials and/or people speaking up for…

Voters should not be intimidated

October 21, 2020
There are strict limits on what “poll watchers” can do As Election Day nears, President Trump has increasingly threatened to instigate voter intimidation. First, he has insinuated that he will deploy law enforcement officers to root out election-related crimes at the polls or call up the National Guard. (Spoiler alert: voter fraud is vanishingly rare).…

Band together for broadband

October 7, 2020
By Dr. Michael Shank Many things in life are easier when done together. Whether it’s education, economic development, everyday chores or even emergency response, when you have more hands and more help, the work is more efficiently executed and more effectively implemented. It takes a village to lighten the load and leverage our power. And…