Discover More from This Category: Opinions

Why is it so hard to say Black Lives Matter?

July 8, 2020
By Leo Pond The Black Lives Matter movement has driven another political “wedge” between the left and the right. The Black Lives Matter movement has advocated against police brutality and for equality, so why is it so hard for the right to support it? The right thinks that this movement forgets about all other races,…

The search for truth is endless

July 8, 2020
By David F. Kelley If we cut the distance between two points in half, no matter how often, it brings them closer together, but they never meet. When I was practicing law I came to the conclusion that finding the “truth” was, very often, the same way. We rarely got to “the whole truth and nothing…

What kind of America do we want to be?

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, In a recent opinion piece Windsor County State Senator Alison Clarkson, asks, “What kind of America do we want to be?” It is an important question. The causes that Senator Clarkson supports and how she votes is not the America or Vermont that I envision. It is not an America of compassion, liberty or equality. Alison…

Holcombe should be nominated to face Scott

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, As I watched the Gubernatorial Candidate Forum on Environmental and Social Justice sponsored by the Sierra Club on June 17 it became abundantly clear that Rebecca Holcombe should be the Democratic nominee to square off against Gov. Scott in November. On the one hand Holcombe was well versed, assertive, and yet humble in her style…

The ‘Black Cloud’ over America

July 1, 2020
Vermont was a leader in the abolition of slavery By Bill Clark May 25, 2020, was Memorial Day. A day set aside to pause and remember and pay tribute to all the brave Americans who have given their lives over the years so that this great American democracy can continue to live on. A time…

Whom should healthcare benefit most?

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, Remember how Democratic candidates told us again and again during the presidential primaries that Americans love their private health insurance, love their employer-sponsored plan, and it shouldn’t be taken away from them? Well, the “radical left” didn’t take away health insurance, and health care, from as many as 27 million Americans. Mass unemployment from…

A commonsense path forward

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, I’m running for governor to bring a much-needed outsider’s perspective to a fundamentally broken political system. We don’t need people with decades of state house experience. We don’t need people who are beholden to PACs, lobbyists or deep-pocketed influencers. We need people like you and me, who bring common sense solutions and real…

Pulling announces candidacy for Rutland Town’s House seat

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, When I talk to people who know I’m running for Rutland Town’s House seat (Rutland-4) in the Vermont Legislature, their initial responses are largely the same. “That’s great news,” they say. Then a pause. “But why run now? There’s the coronavirus pandemic, the economic fallout, the social justice issues. Nothing will be easy.”…

Terenzini announces re-election campaign

July 1, 2020
Dear Editor, As I pen this letter directed to the citizens of Rutland Town, the Legislature is still in session, working well past our normal adjournment date. For many weeks now, we have been working remotely from our homes. Due to the pandemic, “Zoom” and conference calls are a reality for all of your elected…

The opportunity of crisis: A time to creatively reimagine Vermont

July 1, 2020
By Eric Booth and Paul Gambill Look at a particular artwork with others and personal opinions and positions arise; join in making an artwork with others and connections bloom. The state of our union is jumbled, tense with differing opinions and opposed positions—our strengths disoriented, our consciousness of unacceptable systemic oppressions rising. But the power…

Cut the Pentagon budget by 10% while investing in national security

July 1, 2020
By Sen. Bernie Sanders Editor’s note: The following is Sen. Sanders prepared remarks June 25, ahead of the Senate’s consideration of a proposed $740.5 billion military budget authorization. Sanders’ amendment to the National Defense Authorization. Mr. President, if there was ever a moment in American history when we needed to fundamentally alter our national priorities,…

Road changes seem to be progressively insidious

June 24, 2020
Dear Editor, I was really peeved to see this proposal “…to eliminate the ‘slip lane’ at the intersection of West Hill Road and replace the intersection with a roundabout,”  rehashed in the Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) “Killington Road Master Plan” as reported last week. Creating a “roundabout” or “rotary” has been proposed before with…

Killington Fund can help those in need

June 24, 2020
Dear Editor, I was one of the many Killington employees abruptly laid off. I have fallen behind on my rent, electric what little money I’ve had goes towards food. I feel as if the walls are closing in. My family lives in Killington...My husband and I have both been out of work due to the…

Thank you officers

June 24, 2020
Dear Editor, Here’s to a big “thank you!” to all the officers. Not only have you been on the front lines with Covid-19, but now rallies want to dismantle you. Black Lives Do Matter. Police Lives Matter. Our own liberty and justice matters, too. Our nation aspires to liberty and justice for all; that comes…

Voters should repeal Killington’s short-term rental bylaw

June 24, 2020
Dear Editor, Many of us who rent property in town are not opposed to a registration or permit process, including certification to the rules. There are 930 properties listed on the stort-term rental (STR) sites and over 300 more rentals which are not. Nearly 50% of the town budget is subsidized by rentals, through the…