The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is the state entity charged with writing the rules for and overseeing the Clean Heat Standard (S.5/Act 18). Their first main task in this role was to create a registry of all fuel dealers in Vermont, collecting data on exactly how much fossil fuel is used in the thermal sector, where it comes from, and where it ends up.
State Senator Melts Down After Learning She Can Only Vote Herself a 42% Pay Raise.
Voter anger over the VT Democrats 2023 bill to double their own pay and give themselves a generous benefits package on top has led to some backpedaling here in 2024. The latest version of the new pay raise bill would only give lawmakers a 42% pay raise (about $6000).
Bananas: Journalism Lay-off-Pandemic Sweeps Across America to Vermont
Investigative journalists are dropping like a congressional aide’s pants across the U.S. as main stream media lays-off thousands. Fake news powerhouse the L.A. Times has nearly emptied its Washington D.C. bureau just months before what many consider the biggest election year in American history. This shocking move has many of the journalists questioning the real … Read more
The Glittering Carbon Solution – Could Synthetic Diamonds Save the World
Can the industrial-scale carbon sequestration required to rescue humanity from its alleged environmental ruin be achieved by the mass production of synthetic diamonds? Lab-grown diamonds — composed of pure carbon crystallized in an isotropic 3D form — can sequester the carbon employed forever, converting it from a planet-destroying liability to a sparkling asset.
An Amish Farmer’s Food Rights Battle
The January 4th raid on Amish farmer Amos Miller’s Pennsylvania establishment reflects a growing tension between government regulation of food safety and liberty-minded individualists distrusting industrial food production.
Democrats Drove the Putney Paper Mill Out of Business
Wherever you have a majority of Democrats, you will hear lots of words about supporting various demographics: women, minorities, blue-collar workers, and small business owners. Talk, as they say, is cheap, while everything else under Democrat rule is expensive.
Night Cap: Hartford, VT Board Meeting – Hot Views Exchanged Over Drag Story Hour
Every other Tuesday evening in Hartford/White River Junction, the town holds its Select Board meeting, with the first few minutes open to public comments. This week’s meeting saw several members of the town chiding Board Member Lannie Collins for his statement made regarding the controversial event sweeping the nation – Drag Queen Story Hour.
The Last Democrat Pay Raise Bill Was Greedy. This One’s Also Corrupt.
Last year, Vermont Democrats and Progressives put forward a bill (S.39) to raise legislative pay by over double, plus a generous benefits package that regular Vermonters working a similar part-time job would not qualify for. Governor Scott vetoed the bill, which passed the House 102-44 and the Senate 19-10 largely along party lines.
Latest Climate Conundrum: Bad Beavers or Good?
Climate “science” has long claimed that the hard-working beaver plays an essential role in sequestering carbon by corralling sediments in dams. A recent scientific study asserts that beavers colonizing the Arctic tundra are doing the exact opposite, releasing methane when their warming ponds thaw vast areas of permafrost.
Nuclear Power Is Back?
Until recently, it appeared that nuclear power was simply off the energy table for climate activists and environmentalists — but they are now embracing its possibilities.
Night Cap: Kennedy’s ‘Giant Sucking Sound’ Threatens Biden
Harrowing predictions of national political division for 2024 have heightened as polls show Joe Biden’s approval ratings plummet. Haters of Donald Trump are froth-mouthed over his clear and growing lead, notwithstanding a pull-out-all-ethical-stops legal and propaganda campaign by Democrats to discredit him and even knock him out of the race.
Night Cap: Food Inflation for 2024 – Understanding the Government’s Shell Game
A meme recently raised eyebrows by comparing the cost of groceries purchased for twenty dollars in 1990’s Home Alone movie by child actor Macaulay Culkin with what that basket of goods would cost today. US food inflation has spiked in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and substantial federal spending.
Bananas: CBS Newest “Survivor: Burlington”
The Emmy Award-winning television show Survivor will be headed to the Green Mountain state to film their latest installment, “Survivor: Burlington,” this month. Airing its forty-second series since it debuted in 2000. The producers were looking for a location that could provide a unique set of challenges not yet faced by previous contestants.
My Constituents Want School Choice and Must Be Stopped!
On January 10th, Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover) introduced H.634 – An act relating to school closures and the designation of a public school to serve as the public school of the district. It is another salvo against Vermont’s 150-year-old school choice system, “tuitioning,” and the independent schools that thrive – along with their students – as a result of this highly popular and effective program.
Stop Forcing EVs Down Our Throats
VT Digger recently posted an article lamenting that we Vermonters are not heeling to the mandate to transition our vehicles to electric. Alas, “As of October 2023, there were just under 11,000 plug-in EVs registered in the state, David Roberts, a consultant for the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, told the House Transportation Committee.
The Corn Ethanol and Water Pollution Boondoggle
Climate change activists increasingly target agriculture as a primary source of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Too often, this translates into condemnation of gentle cows or the pleasures of meat-eating instead of drawing attention to proper farming practices and land management. This is especially true with respect to water use and the ethanol industry. Water … Read more
Ten Years Ago, Vermont Said Is Was Going to Do Something About Overdose Deaths and it Did – They’ve Quadrupled
A decade past, then-Governor Peter Shumlin, overwhelmed by the Obama open-borders-driven opioid crisis, promised to implement a plan to address this rising scourge. No, he didn’t demand Obama close the border and stop the drugs pouring in. He did what Democrats always do.
VT GOP – Call Me Crazy but….
Saturday afternoon at “the Aud” in Barre I attended the Republican Party of Vermont’s committee meeting. My reasons for attending were twofold, namely to get a sense of the party (I am a lifelong Independent) and listen for their pitch to me as a potential candidate for the Senate or House from my progressive stronghold in Windsor County.
House Democrats Pass BYOD State Supported Drug Dens
Democrats in the Vermont House voted on Wednesday to spend $2 million to set up a pilot program establishing “safe injection sites” for addicts (H.72) – a misnomer, as it turns out as floor testimony revealed there are multiple ways users ingest their drugs at these facilities.