News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Rob Roper 
In my recent “Cage Match Conversation” with fellow WDEV radio host Kevin Ellis (Great debate, check out the podcast!), the subject of electric vehicles and the recent decision by Congress to end the EPA’s ability to regulate tailpipe CO2 emissions as pollutants came up. I pointed out the reason for this policy change is that … Read more
The Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) contains a provision that gives standing to anyone who wants to sue the state, at taxpayers’ expense, if we fail to meet that law’s unrealistic, unattainable greenhouse gas reduction mandates. It’s known as the “private right of action” clause. The first case brought under the private right of action … Read more
The financial website Wallet Hub just came out with state rankings for public education, and Vermont came in overall 19th out of the fifty states. Pretty “meh” on the surface. But the overall score was based on components of outcomes and safety, and purely on the outcomes side, Vermont ranks 25th. That’s more like a … Read more
There is an overwhelming psychology on the Left that if the government isn’t doing something, nothing is being done. It’s an expensive, inefficient, and often counterproductive mindset. However, sometimes reality and common sense prevail, as recently demonstrated in neighboring New Hampshire, where the state has eliminated its vehicle inspection mandate. According to the Josiah Bartlett … Read more
This week the online news outlet VT Digger hosted an event in Brookfield titled, “In Facts We Trust: Local Journalism in the ‘Fake News’ Era.” They described it thus, “In an era of misinformation, how do we know the news we’re seeing is accurate? Let’s talk about it together.” Uh huh. And, yes, let’s! Full … Read more
Elon Musk believes that the future of our Constitutional Republic is in danger due to an erosion of foundational values such as freedom of speech (the reason he bought Twitter) and governmental financial irresponsibility and the crushing debt resulting (the reason he entered the political arena, supported President Trump, and embarked on the DOGE project). … Read more
The so-described education reform law, Act 73, is in effect. Its first order of business, creating a Vermont Redistricting Task Force, is done, and now said Task Force is getting down to its task of drawing up at least three maps of new mega-school districts for the legislature to consider next year, scrapping our current … Read more
It’s the twenty-fifth anniversary of Vermont passing the first-in-the-nation civil unions law back in 2000. Not marriage, mind, you. Something separate but supposedly equal. But if that were true, there would have been no need to pass another law legalizing gay marriage in 2009. So, why are politicians, journalists, and social justice warriors celebrating an … Read more
State Sen. wants constituents to pay for her policy failures In a recent VT Digger article with the misleading headline, “Clean Heat Standard is Dead. What comes next?” (It’s not, it’s just temporarily dormant until it can be fully implemented), Senator Anne Watson (D/P -Washington) expressed her hope and desire that the state be sued … Read more
The state will start deducting 5% of some workers’ wages unless they actively opt out of VT Saves In 2023, the Vermont legislature passed a law spearheaded by Vermont State Treasurer Mike Piecack (D-VT), Act 43 – An act relating to the establishment of VT Saves. What it does is mandate that employers with more … Read more
I’ve spent a lot of time discussing the Clean Heat Standard and Cap & Invest proposals to meet the mandates of the Global Warming Solutions Act, and have noted often but perhaps too obscurely in passing that even these monumentally expensive and disruptive programs won’t, on their own, do the job. Other programs, each with … Read more
When the legislature was voting on H.454, I was, while painting my house (fun!), listening to an audiobook on the battle of Gettysburg. And I can’t help but notice some unfortunate parallels for Republicans with their vote on that bill and Pickett’s Charge, the infamous suicidal attack by the Army of Northern Virginia over a … Read more
As the Vermont Climate Council punches away at a document that will, I assume, be heralded as “The Plan” (cue heavenly chorus) to meet the greenhouse gas reduction mandates of the Global Warming Solutions Act, I’m happy to say a few honest, semi-sane voices have emerged in their debate. Will the majority on the Council … Read more
In 2024, when Vermont property taxpayers were whacked with an average 14 percent year over year increase, with some communities seeing nearly 40 percent increases, nobody (or at least not enough) in the legislature asked if citizens could afford this. They just shrugged their shoulders and stuck us with the bill. Same as every year … Read more
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2020 established the Climate Council and tasked it with developing a plan to meet the greenhouse gas reduction mandates outlined in that law. That was five years ago. Their first “plan,” released in December 2021, was/is, as I pointed out at the time, not a plan. It was/is an … Read more
Ronald Reagan once quipped that government is like a baby, an endless appetite on one end, and no discipline on the other. No place lives up to – or down to as the case may be — that analogy more so than Vermont. In case you missed it amongst all the hubbub and controversy surrounding … Read more
Last week, Senate President Pro Tem, Philip Baruth (D/P-Chittenden Central) decided to pull the education reform bill, H.454, off of the calendar where it was scheduled for a floor vote. He did this not because it wasn’t going to pass, but because it was – but with both Republican and Democrat votes. That was too … Read more
I’m speaking primarily to Republicans because the Democrats are not going to pay attention or care, or, if they do, buck their party leadership – just a quick reminder that back in November 2024, your voters didn’t go into the polls screaming, “We have too many school districts!” They weren’t calling on you to close … Read more
H.461—An act expanding employee access to unpaid leave passed both the House and Senate, its fate now in the hands of Governor Scott. Having failed to pass a taxpayer-funded paid family leave program, lawmakers pivoted to this new mandate on Vermont businesses that they provide up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave to care for themselves … Read more
And then there were none. This week, Governor Phil Scott (R-VT) signed an executive order delaying the implementation of the California Clean Cars & Trucks policies in Vermont for a year. This essentially puts an end to the last standing significant GWSA greenhouse gas reduction scheme hatched up by the Democrats and Progressives in the … Read more