I do not consider myself to be a politician, but I do abide by the unwritten rule of not speaking ill of an opponent. That said I must express my disgust with both state and federal government:

• Lawmakers have enacted a health care bill federally that purports to compel folks to purchase health insurance to be funded by others, unlike Medicare which is available only to people who have paid for their social security. It is pretty clear that the scheme will drive out many practicing doctors and no law can force them to practice medicine. What kind of nonsense is federal legislation and the state knock off of that legislation? Doctors may refuse to treat such patients lacking either regular insurance or Medicare. That is useless a division of the people as senior citizens are denied Medicare benefits they paid for and younger folks are taxed more heavily to support the schemes of the lawmakers.

 

• When Mexican President Calderon spoke to a joint session of Congress roundly condemning Arizona for passing a law to help protect their citizens, I was appalled to see my president and most of the congressional members applaud him. It particularly upset me to discover that all three of our congressional members were among those rising to applaud. It is outrageous that any member of congress would applaud a foreign leader attacking one of our united states. While it is not treason, and might be tough to make a case that it is seditious, it is certainly in very bad taste not befitting a Vermonter as well as unethical.

 

• The energy bill congress is currently considering will cause a dramatic increase in costs to all of us for heating, transportation, and electric power. And then, we have the current off shore well in the Gulf with the oil spewing from the sunken drill rig. Shockingly, those very deep well rigs are not being allowed to explore in the shallower off shore areas because environmental groups oppose such safer drilling. Clearly, the environmental groups deserve a share of the blame. In Vermont the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is denied an operating license renewal by renegade legislators. Why, when that will increase the cost of electricity for Vermonters? Would it not be smarter to continue using Yankee until there are inexpensive alternatives? In fact, there are at least two viable alternative small scale nukes that would comport with distributed generation, thus reducing the need for high voltage power lines running over the mountains while providing GREEN energy for communities seeking lower costs.

 

• Vermont has a swarm of unelected boards, commissions, and advisory entities that seem to stand athwart any opportunities for businesses to provide opportunities. Indeed, the courts seem to support these groups when they block any development. In the early 1960’s there was only one book of Vermont Statutes, but today there are three bookshelves of “Vermont Statutes Annotated”. The annotations are the comments of unknown editors citing Supreme Court decisions as if they were law, (case law the lawyers call it). In fact, the court does not make law for that is the job of the legislators, yet reading court documents one finds them peppered with citations to court rulings on the thin claim that they are persuasive. That is patently false. The founders accepted the court having the power to declare a statute unconstitutional, but that is the extent of their law making and unmaking powers. Why should Vermont accept this nonsense which flies in the face of a government of, for and by the people? It is our government, not belonging to the lawyers union, but to the people and it is causing terrible hardship in the Green Mountains.

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