Tag: Rob Roper - Page 4

When A School Board Member Actually Puts Kids First

September 2, 2023

by 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

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

August 25, 2023

by 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.

trump_smug_smile-1200x800-c-default UTexas

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

August 23, 2023

by 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

by 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.

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

August 23, 2023August 16, 2023

by 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.

Are Some on the Left Realizing VT Climate Policy Is a Useless Waste?

August 23, 2023August 11, 2023

by Rob Roper

A couple of left-wing columnists recently penned articles lamenting the fact that Montpelier keeps flooding every decade or so, yet local and state governments don’t do anything about it and aren’t prepared for it when it happens. A keen observation.

Let Health Insurance Be Insurance Again

August 23, 2023August 8, 2023

by Rob Roper

In what has become an annual story with the predictability of the seasons, Vermonters are about to get whacked with a huge increase in their health insurance premiums.

Want a Balanced Checkbook? Yes, It DOES Have to Be Republicans.

August 23, 2023August 3, 2023

by Rob Roper

At the end of June, shortly after the Democrat supermajority overrode almost every veto Phil Scott issued, including that of the budget, in what seemed like less time than it takes to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks, a reporter asked the governor, “What are you going to do to get more Republicans in office?”

Copeland-Hanzas’ and Her Party’s Climate Policy Sets Up More Disasters

August 23, 2023July 28, 2023

by Rob Roper

Vermonters just witnessed the worst flooding since Irene in 2011, which was the worst flooding since the summer of 1998, which was the worst flooding since 1976, which was the worst flooding since 1938, which was the worst flooding since the most famous of all floods, the one in 1927.

Climate Change and Gravity Are Kind of Different

August 23, 2023July 24, 2023

by Rob Roper

In the wake of the recent floods in Vermont, it is no surprise that the climate change activists have gone into “See! See! See!” mode and are labeling anyone who disagrees with their conclusions as a “denier.” In two separate op-eds, two state senators, Dick McCormack (D-Windsor) and Tanya Vyhovsky (D/P-Chittenden Central), tried to equate … Read more

VT State Rep Hosts Event Resulting in Multiple ODs and One Death

August 23, 2023July 19, 2023

by Rob Roper

Every year State Representative Kirk White (D/P-Windsor-Addison) hosts the Firefly Arts Collective on his property in Bethel, VT. The festival is described as a New England version of Burning Man. Its website says, “This event operates under the 10 Principles of Burning Man: not to dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it has organically developed.”

Rain rainfall precipitation Photo by reza shayestehpour on Unsplash

Biggest Flood Related Scam: The Global Warming Solutions Act

August 23, 2023July 17, 2023

by Rob Roper

The headline in VT Digger read, “Officials issue warnings about flood-related scams,” and, “Natural disasters make people more vulnerable to scams.” Surely, they do, and Vermonters should indeed be on the lookout for those praying on people’s fears and emotions in the wake of the tragic flooding so many areas of our state are experiencing.

Ben and Jerry VW van Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Ben & Jerry’s Says, “Hold My Bud Light!”

August 23, 2023July 8, 2023

by Rob Roper

Okay… So, by now you have probably heard that Ben & Jerry’s, in a “Hold my Bud Light” attempt to see who can alienate the most customers with one Tweet, kicked off July 4th with the statement, “It’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it.”

Who’s Responsible for Failing Schools? … Parents who Notice and Complain, says Columnist.

August 23, 2023July 5, 2023

by Rob Roper

Bill Schubart, a regular columnist for VT Digger among his many hats, never ceases to amaze me with his writing. He always provides an intriguing, insightful menu of facts and discoveries followed by a totally incongruous, twistedly partisan conclusion that makes absolutely no sense.