Vermont Archives - Page 38 of 41

Another Example of Climate Hysteria Leading to Dumb, Misguided Policy

September 6, 2023 Rob Roper

Wasting money on electric buses when what we need is school bus drivers. Vermont has a school bus driver shortage. We have for years. Google “Vermont School Bus Driver Shortage” (as I did for this story), and the number of news hits you get is astounding. I was looking for “a” story I recently read … Read more

A Populist Slogan Obscures Bad Policy

September 5, 2023 John Klar

In the aftermath of recent record flooding in Vermont, Republican Governor Phil Scott announced a state program to sell uplifting license plates, bearing the simple message “Vermont Strong” to affix to the front of vehicles. Vermonters soon will be able to purchase these plates to express solidarity and a rebuilding spirit. But does the messaging mask awful policy?

Vermont’s Culture – Or What’s Left of It.

July 16, 2024September 4, 2023 Steve MacDonald

Vermont once had, at least in my Normal Rockwell-esque memory, a sense of independence and a toe-hold on sanity. That place Calvin Coolidge called home. It is an image long since painted over by the political Left, replaced with a fawning portrait of Mao.

Climate Committee Says Don’t Run Electric Heat Pumps at Night

September 2, 2023 Steve MacDonald

Climate Change isn’t just about changing the climate outside. It is about you changing the climate inside becasue of their claims about the climate outside. It is undoubtedly a mental disorder, but the inmates running the asylum will not be persuaded to stop the madness.

When A School Board Member Actually Puts Kids First

September 2, 2023 Rob Roper

Curt Hier, a public school history teacher and debate coach for thirty-five years who now runs a business helping students get into college, was elected to the Slate Valley School Board this past March. Hier’s background gives him more insight into the actual workings of the public school system than the average school board member … Read more

America’s Farmerless Farming Future?

September 2, 2023 John Klar

Farmers have steadily declined as a share of the American workforce since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, undermined by technological advances, regulatory strictures, and industry consolidation in farming.

Weed is Still Illegal in New Hampshire so Why is Bud Barn in Vermont Advertising on Keene Radio [Update]

July 16, 2024September 1, 2023 Steve MacDonald

A reader alerted me to this bit of news—Bud Barn, a purveyor of ‘Premium Cannabis Products Made (and taxed) in Vermont,’ is advertising on Keene, NH, radio. Even if they are trying to capture the ears of Vermonters who work in Western New Hampshire, to quote a different local, weed ain’t legal here.

Empty glass jar Image by ha11ok from Pixabay

Business Group Wants 802,000 Vermonters by 2035 – (Ignores Reasons Why People Don’t Move There)

July 16, 2024August 31, 2023 Rob Roper

The Vermont Futures Project (VFP), a spinoff of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, is conducting a statewide tour of what they call “community conversations, and … strategic stakeholder visits in all fourteen counties” to gather input for their 2024 Economic Plan for Vermont.

Does California’s Proposition 12 Threaten States’ Rights?

August 26, 2023 John Klar

The constitutional and economic ramifications of California’s Proposition 12, which banned the sale in California of pork from pigs held in tight confinement, are profound for the American swine industry.

You Haven’t Decarbonized a Damn Thing

August 25, 2023 Steve MacDonald

Vermont Public is playing with words again. A recent piece titled, “Vermont farmers say they need more gov’t help as climate change causes more extreme weather,” almost sounds like Vermont Farmers are saying they need help because of climate change.

Candlelight candle flame Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash

Vermont’s Energy Burden Report is .. Well, Burdensome

July 16, 2024August 25, 2023 Steve MacDonald

Vermont is a wink and a nod away from erecting statues of Lenin and Trotsky next to the Marx Museum of Modern Democrat Socialism. It’s just down and to the Left on Engles Ave. The place is loony with leftism. So this report about energy burden is a real hoot.

Does Paying Flood Victims to Get Cars That Explode When Wet Make Sense?

August 25, 2023 Rob Roper

Following the recent flooding throughout Vermont this summer, the state very proudly touted a response program that offers victims who lost or suffered damage to their cars the opportunity to replace them with an electric vehicle. Not an internal combustion engine vehicle, just an electric vehicle.

Cow original Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash

Cow and Horse Flatulence: A Farmer’s Comparative Environmental Assessment

August 24, 2023 John Klar

The problem of horse flatulence is not often discussed, yet there are important lessons to be learned from equine methane gas (via flatulence or burp), particularly to demonstrate the fraudulent claims leveled against cows as major polluters.

If You Really Care About Donald Trump, Don’t Let Him Be the Republican Nominee

August 23, 2023 Rob Roper

Many Donald Trump supporters I have had conversations and interactions with share an intense feeling of being cheated over what took place in 2020 that can only be assuaged by running – and this time winning – a Trump/Biden rematch in 2024.

“Gold Standard” Study Shows Charter Schools Outperform Public Schools

August 23, 2023August 21, 2023 Rob Roper

Ten years ago, I took part in a series of debates on school choice opposite Paul Cillo of the Public Assets Institute and Bill Mathis of the National Education Policy Center and the Vermont State Board of Education. I was for school choice; they were opposed.

Vermont Doesn’t Have a Sales Tax Holiday Because …

July 16, 2024August 19, 2023 Steve MacDonald

With a few exceptions, there’s no sales tax in New Hampshire, so states like Massachusetts pretend for a weekend to try and recover some of the commerce lost to the Granite State. But Vermont doesn’t have one (Maine either), and here’s why?

Hey, Burlington, VT: Prostitution was “Legal” in Rhode Island for 29 Years – It DID NOT Go Well For the “Sex Workers”

August 16, 2023 Steve MacDonald

People who profit from prostitution are typically its boosters. They call it sex work, describe it as a right, and dress it up as a noble calling. That sounds great, but what legalized sex work actually looks like is slavery, trafficking, and sexual assault.

Biden Won’t, and Was Never Going to, Be the Democrats’ Nominee

August 23, 2023August 16, 2023 Rob Roper

We are just over a week away from the first Republican primary debate, and Donald Trump was out there bragging how he’ll thrash Joe Biden this time. Candidate Nikki Haley is waving the flag that the real opponent they’re all running against is Vice President Kamala Harris, as Biden is likely to drop dead early-second term.

Vermont Biologists and Foresters Pretend There Will be Room Left for “Forests” in Our Net Zero Future

July 16, 2024August 15, 2023 Steve MacDonald

WCAX has this cute little piece about biologists and foresters colluding “to understand and manage a forest in a changing climate.” This is just a suggestion, but you may want to focus on the reality of what Climate Change politics will do to Vermont’s forests.