Figures don’t lie

I’m no Trump fan, but the timing of the reported indictment against him can only be called suspicious, given the Stormy Daniels issue has been lying fallow for years. It’s all about theatrics. Just like the Jan. 6 Committee prior to the midterms, this is going to be used by the left and thei…

Library legislation

Have you ever been amazed that you missed the obvious? I mean, like the time you forgot to put money in the parking meter, for which a ticket on your windshield reminded you of such an obvious omission.

It's my understanding that weekend columnist Walt Amses is considered to be controversial in some parts of The Times Argus reader land, but I find him to be the most readable of the weekend commentators (especially now that my other favorite seems to be obsessed with his infirmities).

Protection of vulnerable adults needs to be strengthened, except a bill being pushed through the Legislature removes the jurisdiction of Adult Protective Services from being able to investigate complaints of "agency" and "facility" neglect of vulnerable adults. It provides no alternative mec…

Barre Values

I'm worried about the prices of food and clothing going up. The next thing you know, the price for just a box of cereal could be $100 or more. It's hard on my family because we live in a tiny apartment, and we need to save money for rent. It's insane how much the prices have gone up. Sometim…

“The Music of Chance” is the title of a novel by Paul Auster. I didn’t understand the aimless peregrinating of its protagonist, but I was charmed by it in 1990 and am still. Its meaning for me can be illustrated by an incident I’ve never forgotten that was quite ordinary and happened in the …

Don Keelan's piece published on March 5 still irks me. In it, he blames Sen. Bernie Sanders for creating and perpetuating the social and political polarization that now exists. He claims the senator is out to get the rich and that he "despises wealthy people." Tangled neurons must keep Mr. K…

Fox threat

Library books

We won’t have a real democracy until we eradicate private financing from all candidates. The state should set moneys aside and set strict rules for candidates to qualify for such public financing — no private dollars at all.

I admit, when I was younger, I wasn't much of a reader of books — with the exception of the Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley series. Ironically, during this period, having a set of encyclopedias in my parents' and grandmother's residences made me "glued" to them. Sometimes, if I became interested…

I’ve just finished reading about the Barre Town Council denying the Girl Scouts a chance to sell cookies at the polling place, and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. While it seems all of the neighboring communities have been navigating this “slippery slope” successfully for years, for so…

With Tuesday’s Town Meeting vote, Barre City residents rejected the Trump-style politics that infected this year’s races for City Council. All three progressive incumbent councilors were reelected.

This last Town Meeting Day, Williamstown decided to keep our traditional floor voting for town municipal issues by voting down an article that would have moved Williamstown's money issues to Australian ballot. The vote, 52 on the prevailing side and only 14 on the not-prevailing, speaks for …

Is it just me, or does pretty much everyone hate the new Vermont vehicle inspection stickers? I just had my Mini Cooper inspected, and the dealer actually apologized for having to put the sticker on my cute little car. They are just painfully, undisputedly ugly.

Last week, a freight train bound for Vernon derailed. Fortunately, it was empty. The train was on its way to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to pick up a load of radioactive waste bound for Andrews County, Texas.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, of Florida, wants to prohibit AP courses in African American History from Florida classrooms, along with banning some books deemed, by him, unsuitable for young minds, purportedly to improve education. I sure would like to know what his classmates and present enrollees at …

I just learned Walgreens will no longer sell the abortion pill at its pharmacies in more than 20 states. These red states oppose a woman's bodily autonomy and have made abortion illegal. I will never shop at Walgreens again. I urge women everywhere to reconsider their choice of pharmacy. Wal…

The bureaucrats running the new Vermont State University plan to get rid of books in their libraries to save money. These people would get rid of nurses in a hospital.

What used to be called “catastrophic” has been rebranded “high deductible” insurance. It used to be on the cheaper side because the insurance company’s liability didn’t kick in until you had already paid a large amount. That encouraged you to avoid seeing a doctor for day-to-day complaints b…

Several years ago, I contracted a life-altering and debilitating case of Lyme disease. You may see me post about prevention because I care about others. I’m better, older, maybe a bit wiser now. I have learned to value participation in life and my community.

Let’s dial back to February 2022 when the school administration promoted an expense budget with a 1.95% increase or $901,817. Appearing in the 2022 annual school report, “… an increase of 1.95% over the current year’s spending plan.” In the one-page flyer, “Our expenses are only increasing b…

Is it fair to pay a counter person a 20% mandatory "service charge" on top of a $15 wage? What about the hard-working server making $6.55 per hour and hoping for a 20% tip? How is this fair to them? If the former is going to be the model, the latter will cease to exist.

I fully empathize with Rep. Ashely Bartley on losing her job and her health insurance after she became a legislator. This is reprehensible.

Have you noticed the new Coinstar machine in Shaw’s Market on Main Street? Apparently, you can insert cash into it and buy bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. The way I see it, this may as well be a vacuum cleaner sucking coins out of your pockets as you walk by.

Thank you, David Gram, for your commentary contrasting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Preamble of the Constitution in the Feb. 18-19 edition of The Times Argus. I found it very thoughtful, deeply patriotic and refreshingly cathartic.

What is "woke"? What does it mean to be "woke?" In recent years, the term "woke" has been thrown out as some sort of accusation from some Americans toward other Americans, but what does "woke" mean?

I managed the bookstore at Marlboro College from 2000 to 2016 and was responsible for providing students with the books they would need for their courses.

A library with no books?

Unhoused community, not homeless; one shows respect and the other shows fear and stigma. There's a lot of bias and prejudice against the word homeless. When we call it the unhoused community and both the social workers and the unhoused work together as a team, they can accomplish a lot, and …

How do gun manufacturers follow up after a 6-year-old shot his teacher at school? By advertising real guns for kids, like the JR-15 .22 Long Rifle made by Wee1 Tactical, that "looks, feels and operates just like Mom and Dad's gun." Only in America — where gun violence has become the number-o…

What's going on with the police department in Northfield? There have been ongoing problems there ever since I have lived in Vermont, going on 35 years. I remember, a while back, an officer was fired for shooting into buildings … It seems there's one thing after another with the police in tha…

I am not at all connected to Castleton, Lyndon, Johnson, Vermont Tech or any library in the state nor am I a student or a graduate of any college on the planet. I'm 87 years old, and I've learned a few things — keep your hands off the library. Have you no respect for books and the world they…

All the legal and other complaints about high school mascots in Vermont are an overkill and unjustified. I believe you can find something wrong with just about any mascot or logo if you try hard enough.

The Washington Post has written a scathing piece about the incomprehensible decision to do away with the books and the libraries at Vermont State Colleges, and the Associated Press is mining for information and will certainly publish a story.

Our representatives in Montpelier are trying to make Vermont a criminal state. Notable Senate bills include S.13 relating to referral of domestic and sexual violence cases to community justice centers; S.27 relating to reducing the imposition of cash bail; S.41 relating to eliminating life w…

The only way to support a healthy school budget in Barre is to vote "no" against it. This budget was proffered by school board members bent on defunding public schools in favor of privatizing them. Let’s hope this election brings us school board members who support public education and all o…

We all know of Mikaela Shiffrin's connection to Vermont by way of Burke Mountain Academy.

Last Sunday, Bernie Sanders was questioned by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan about the tour for his book, “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism.”

Americans truly enjoy drama — good, real drama, especially when depicted through their TV screen, presenting a characterization of reality itself that, for some, is entertaining.

What a wonderful, feel-good, news report to wake up to Monday morning. Volunteer pilots had flown three dogs from a "kill shelter" down south, to Lamoille County in caring Vermont. These dogs were rescued from immediate danger of death and given the opportunity to live through adoption.

As I glance at the calendar, I see it’s Presidents Day, a holiday created in 1968 by the Uniform Monday Holiday Law.

Gov. Scott has proposed shifting more than 6,000 Vermont State Employees' Association retirees from original Medicare to a new Medicare Advantage plan. This “could save the state $9 million, reduce premiums for retirees and lower the system’s long-term liabilities,” Scott said.

State Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson is chair of the Vermont State Colleges/Vermont State University (VSC/VSU) board of trustees. I was dismayed to read portions of her statement after faculty unions representing about 1,000 members voting “No confidence” in the VSC/VSU administration and boar…

Imagine trying to help your child but your options are limited, you don't know what else to do. Well, that’s what we have had to deal with all these years and it tears you up inside as a parent.

Let me start this letter off by admitting, yes, I am a dinosaur. I read actual newspapers, magazines and books, especially books. The only time I ever read a book on my Kindle Fire is when the book I want to read is out of print. I even used an actual dictionary and thesaurus to help compose…

After 50 years of a career in both private and public higher education in Vermont, I find it especially painful to watch as Vermont State University continues to ignore the demographics so clearly predicted by the former VSC provost, Jeb Spaulding. Jeb placed his career on the line to speak …