 |
| Total Page Views | |
We received
8516483
page views since Nov 2004 | |
| Login | |
| Shop Amazon | |
| Scifillian, Inc. | |
| SPOXTalk | |
| Stories By Topic | |
| Exploration | |
| Who's Online | |
|
There are currently, 20 guest(s) and 0 member(s) that are online.
| |
| Monthly Quote | |
"Scum always rises to the top, but instead of scraping it off and discarding it, most people follow it!?!"
--Sherlyn Meinz, 2008
| |
| Link to us! | |
| Anti-War Webs | |
| |
 | Politics: Governor’s race update: Democratic candidates debate marijuana penalties |
 From: Marijuana Policy Project www.mpp.org
For years those of us advocating for reform of our nation’s marijuana laws have said repeatedly that we need to have a frank, open, and honest discussion about the consequences of our bitter war to maintain marijuana prohibition. Last week’s debate among Vermont’s Democratic candidates for governor was a great example of just that. When asked about ways to begin work on closing Vermont’s gaping budget shortfall, Senate President Pro Tempore Pete Shumlin had this to say: "I believe it's a mistake to be sending young people on second, third, fourth offenses to prison on marijuana-related charges. That's where we could make a difference."
He’s right, by the way. Our analysis shows that there were 788 individuals arrested in Vermont in 2008 on stand-alone, single counts of misdemeanor marijuana possession. Taking into account the cost of arresting, booking, processing, prosecuting, and in many cases defending them, together with post-conviction monitoring, the conservative estimate of the cost of Vermont’s harsh marijuana penalties is $2-3 million dollars per year. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Tuesday, June 15 @ 20:15:12 EDT (99 reads)
(Read More... | 3835 bytes more | Comments? | Politics | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Politics: Let Them Eat Cake |
By Rosemarie Jackowski
Marie Antoinette lives. She is alive and well in Vermont. The Vermont House has voted to place a sales tax on dietary supplements and vitamins. The March 25, 2010 vote came in at 92 to 49.
Ironically, at the same time, in Washington politicians were promising 'preventive care'. Seems to be a failure to communicate?
In recent years, the medical community has finally, in a better- late- than- never move, recommended increased dosages of vitamin D. For decades anyone could track the higher rates of MS, breast cancer, colon cancer, osteoporosis, and other diseases in areas of the northern US where there is less exposure to sunlight. There are some fascinating theories that explain the disease-resistance of the Inuit people who inhabit the far northern regions of the globe. One theory states that what they lack in sun exposure they make up with ample doses of vitamin D in their diet which consists mainly of fatty fish. The value of sun exposure and the resultant vitamin D have been well documented. Now, will vitamin D be taxed in Vermont? Should sitting in the sun also be taxed? ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Tuesday, March 30 @ 14:35:33 EDT (132 reads)
(Read More... | 6200 bytes more | Comments? | Politics | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Politics: A day for democracy, Vermont style |
From: Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
Last week's vote in the Vermont State Senate to close Vermont Yankee on schedule was a remarkable thing. When our Senators voted on Wednesday, instead of bending to the will of the multi-billion dollar corporation lobbying them, they acted on behalf of the Vermont citizens that they are there to represent.
That vote was a great example of Vermont's representative democracy. Tomorrow is your chance to take part in Vermont's tradition of truly direct democracy - Town Meeting Day.
Town meeting is a rare instance of real, face-to-face democracy that only happens in special places like Vermont. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Monday, March 01 @ 20:11:47 EST (141 reads)
(Read More... | 1940 bytes more | Comments? | Politics | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Action Alert: YOU vs. VT Yankee! |
From: Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
The Vermont Senate Finance committee voted late Thursday to send the Vermont Yankee relicensing bill to the full Senate! This means that the Senate will vote, next Wednesday, on whether or not to close Vermont Yankee on schedule in 2012. We are doing everything we can to win, from getting hundreds of calls into Senators to airing a TV ad starting on Saturday, and that means we need as many people as possible to be at the Vermont State House for this vote on Wednesday.
Join us for the vote next Wednesday: RSVP here.
You've gotten countless emails on Vermont Yankee. You've probably sent a few to your elected officials too. Maybe you even made a call or wrote a letter calling for Vermont Yankee to be closed. Unfortunately, all of that work could be undone in the next few days. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Saturday, February 20 @ 16:25:25 EST (172 reads)
(Read More... | 2888 bytes more | 1 comment | Action Alert | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Opinion: Tritium |
From: Jane Newton
To the editor,
In a country tottering on the brink of destroying itself by dreaming up better and better ways in which to kill people; by spending money that is needed to care for people on the military and a tottering empire; by making the air force into a computer game that bombs defenseless people; and by using the age-old method of fear to take us on this perilous journey; clearly one ought not be upset by one more bit of dismal information.
But I was when I found that tritium, which is in the headlines each day and is now leaking into the Connecticut River, has, according to the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, both “commercial and military applications.” ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Wednesday, February 10 @ 20:10:48 EST (143 reads)
(Read More... | 1522 bytes more | Comments? | Opinion | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Business/Economy: VT Yankee Lied! |
Action Alert from:
Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
VPIRG has learned that the Department of Public service is looking into fining Entergy for hiding the existence of underground pipes that now may be leaking radioactive waste into the groundwater around their plant.
Yankee lobbyists were in the statehouse today trying to spin their way out of this mess.
Your legislators have to hear from you on this one.
We can't let Entergy weasel their way out of this.
There are reports that top Vermont Yankee executives may have lied under oath about the existence of these pipes. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Thursday, January 14 @ 22:01:47 EST (168 reads)
(Read More... | 1861 bytes more | Comments? | Business/Economy | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| History/Culture: Freya von Moltke: Anti-Nazi Heroine |
By Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Freya von Miltke, a leading figure in the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany during the Great Patriotic War (WW2) died in the USA today [January 1, 2010], aged 98. In her struggle to defeat the scourge of Fascism, she had to flee her home with her children and saw her husband executed. Those who prize freedom and abhor racism must remember her legacy.
Freya von Miltke did not need to get involved in politics. Born in Cologne to the family of a wealthy banker, she married Count (Graf) Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, who set up a practice as an international lawyer and who began documenting Human Rights abuses by the Nazis.
Von Moltke lent the family estate in Kreisau, Schlesien (now Polish Silesia) on numerous occasions for discussion among anti-Nazi intellectuals and activists, during which time the “Principles for the New Order” were drawn up for post-Nazi Germany. Arrested by the Gestapo in January 1944, he was tried by the Gestapo People’s Court in January 1945 and executed for treason. During the period in which the Nazis were in power, Freya von Moltke actively supported her husband as a member of the Kreisau Circle, which was behind the Bomb Plot to kill Hitler in 1944. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Monday, January 04 @ 20:01:12 EST (164 reads)
(Read More... | 4387 bytes more | Comments? | History/Culture | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Peace News: Get on the Bus to DC for 12/12 Anti-Escalation Rally at the White House |
EMERGENCY ANTI-ESCALATION RALLY
Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 • 11am-4pm • Washington DC
Tell Obama & Congress: "NO, YOU CAN'T!"
No Escalation of the Afghan War
Lafayette Square | White House
Metro: Farragut West or Farragut North
Cynthia McKinney, Sen. Mike Gravel, Kathy Kelly, Chris Hedges, David Swanson, Rev. Graylan Hagler, Gael Murphy, Coy McKinney, Debra Sweet, Brian Becker, Mathis Chiroux, Lynne Williams, Hon. Betty Hall, Elaine Brower, Marian Douglas, Dr. Michael Knox, Ralph Lopez, Cpt. Ron Fisher.
Plus statements from Col. Ann Wright, Kevin Zeese, Dr. Stephen Zunes, Granny D (turning 100), and others.* http://www.enduswars.org/
Vermonters: Please join us on the BUS to the EMERGENCY Anti-Escalation RALLY at the White House on Saturday, December 12th. ...
Note: Bus Schedule Inside
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Saturday, December 05 @ 21:02:11 EST (231 reads)
(Read More... | 2813 bytes more | Comments? | Peace News | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Environment: Your Guide to a Clean Energy Future |
From: Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG)
Vermonters,
Have you ever thought about installing your own renewable energy system? The good news is there are many funding resources available to help you invest in renewable energy and efficiency. To make it easier for you to find the incentives and rebates that are right for you, VPIRG has created an easy-to-use guidebook.
Want to put solar panels up or improve the efficiency of your home? Own a small business? VPIRG's new guide is a resource for individuals, communities and businesses to help find the incentives, rebates, providers and programs that are available to help you be part of Vermont's clean energy future.
See how you can be part of the clean energy future: ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Tuesday, November 24 @ 21:13:13 EST (215 reads)
(Read More... | 2843 bytes more | Comments? | Environment | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Health News: Maine approves medical marijuana dispensaries; let’s make Vermont next |
From: Marijuana Policy Project www.mpp.org
If you haven’t heard the news, last week 59% of Maine voters made their state the third in the country to authorize state-registered and regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, and the first to do so by a vote of the people.
Please take a moment to write your legislators to ask them to follow Maine’s lead and allow Vermont patients to have safe access to their medicine.
Support for medical marijuana has long been strong in New England, and we’re now seeing a surge of momentum in favor of creating an effective means of access for patients. Earlier this year, Rhode Island legislators overwhelmingly approved a law adding non-profit “compassion centers” to their medical marijuana law. Rather than forcing sick and disabled patients to grow their own marijuana, or worse, leaving them to purchase their medicine from drug dealers on the street, well-regulated dispensaries provide a safe and reliable means for patients to receive compassionate care. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Tuesday, November 17 @ 20:56:14 EST (230 reads)
(Read More... | 2490 bytes more | Comments? | Health News | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Politics: Commission Rejects 40 Years of Judicial Development |
Windsor County Courthouse News
By William Boardman, Assistant Judge
MONTPELIER – In a document long on generalizations and short on detail, the Vermont Commission on Judicial Operations has issued a unanimous report that amounts to a scathing rejection of four decades of collaborative court-restructuring by Vermont state government.
Last week, the 15-member Commission, a third of whose members are Supreme Court justices who largely controlled the process, concluded unanimously that: “The current four-courts-per-county construct of the Judicial Branch is duplicative, overly expensive, and inefficient.”
That is the first “key finding” in the Commission’s report, tantamount to concluding that changes in the Vermont judiciary since the creation of the Vermont District Court in 1967, have been ill conceived. The finding suggests that the state’s governor, legislature, and high court, who all worked together on these changes, have not only produced a flawed system, but they have run it badly.
That plain reading of the report is not likely what the Commission intended, although its 42 page report has few specific examples of inefficiencies, duplications, or extravagance. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Wednesday, November 11 @ 17:27:30 EST (191 reads)
(Read More... | 4538 bytes more | Comments? | Politics | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Environment: Replace Vermont Yankee Town Meeting Campaign 2010 |
From: Dan DeWalt
When the Vermont legislature convenes for the second year of its 2009-10 session in January, it will be poised to make a historic decision regarding the future of Vermonters facing the risks and costs of living with the Vermont Yankee (VY) nuclear reactor in Vernon.
If the legislature does not give its explicit approval, Entergy Nuclear, the Louisiana corporation that runs VY will not be able to extend the operation of plant beyond the original shut-down down date in 2012.
Last year 36 Vermont town meetings voted to approve a resolution calling: for Vermont Yankee to not continue operating past 2012, for Entergy Nuclear to fully fund the decommissioning costs, and for the state legislature to embrace clean and safe power production using non-nuclear sources like hydro, wind, solar or bio-mass.
Even though the resolution passed with large majorities in almost every town where it was warned, and even though polls conducted by Vermont news organizations show that Vermonters do want to see VY safely shut down at the end of its design life, Entergy Nuclear has a small army of lobbyists working hard to convince our representatives that by allowing Entergy Nuclear to profit from a license extension, they somehow will be acting in our interests as well. We know better. And it is especially important that during this year of decision, our representatives hear the voices of Vermonters as much as they are hearing from Entergy. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Wednesday, October 14 @ 21:21:38 EDT (204 reads)
(Read More... | 4521 bytes more | Comments? | Environment | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Environment: What To Do About Burping Bovines |
By Jim Hightower
Here's something you might not have known: cows belch. A lot. Great Big Buuuuuuurps.
Why should we care? Because, these cow belches are a threat to Earth. Emanating from deep within one or more of the four tummies that cows have, the belches are essentially little explosions of methane - the potent, greenhouse gas that's contributing to climate change. Oh, come on, you might think, those docile, sweet-faced, cud-chewers can't really pose a serious problem... can they? Yes, and the danger has been documented. By putting cows in air-tight tents and using some sort of device we probably don't want to know about, ag researchers have found that your average burping bovine expels some 400 pounds of methane a year. There are 400 million cows in the U.S. alone, so those "eruptions" add up.
This gaseous reality has prompted the good folks at Stonyfield Farm, the organic yogurt company, to launch a methane-reduction program for cows on 15 farms in Vermont. The most promising method turns out to be something simple: diet. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Wednesday, July 08 @ 17:17:43 EDT (217 reads)
(Read More... | 2309 bytes more | Comments? | Environment | Score: 0)
|
|
|
| Spirituality: An Important Moral Question |
By Rosemarie Jackowski
The Department of Offense has awarded a 1.05 billion-dollar contract to the Oshkosh Corporation of Wisconsin. Oshkosh is associated with Plasan North America, which operates a manufacturing site in Bennington, Vermont. The parent company of Plasan NA is Plasan Sasa. It is located in Israel.
The new government contract calls for the production of more than 2000 military vehicles which will be fitted with mine resistant armor. The obvious benefit of contracts such as this one is the creation of jobs in a failing economy.
Senator Patrick Leahy was instrumental in securing the contract. The Senator has recently announced his plan for re-election. This contract will guarantee his re-election.
The chief selling point of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is that it will provide added protection for the troops. Flag wavers can celebrate. The production of this new vehicle is on the fast track and it will be used to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
In spite of those two advantages - the boost to the economy and the protection of military personnel, there are some issues. ...
|
|
|
Posted by Blue1moon on Friday, July 03 @ 22:19:09 EDT (232 reads)
(Read More... | 4327 bytes more | Comments? | Spirituality | Score: 0)
|
|
| |
| Survey | |
| Please Visit | |
| Shop AlienLove | |
| The Fine Print | |
| Stone Tarot | |
| File Photo | |
| Things To Do | |
| The Forums | |
| Old Articles | |
| Tuesday, March 10 | | · | Obama Regional Healthcare Meeting in Burlington, Vermont |
| Monday, March 02 | | · | A Morning for Democracy, Vermont Style |
| Saturday, February 21 | | · | Points to review about Vermont Yankee before town meeting |
| Wednesday, February 18 | | · | Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant |
| Tuesday, February 03 | | · | Entergy Nuclear Unwilling to Face Public to Make Case for Relicensing |
| Monday, January 12 | | · | Two Accidents Too Many |
| Monday, December 15 | | · | Haven’t Been Around Much Last Few Days |
| Tuesday, December 02 | | · | The Backstory of the Vermont Election |
| Monday, November 03 | | · | Clueless at Campaign Headquarters |
| Monday, October 20 | | · | Help Vermont Do What Congress Won't |
| Friday, September 19 | | · | Do As I Teach But Not As I Do. Vermont TeachersUnion Fails Democracy |
| Thursday, September 04 | | · | Peter Diamondstone, Candidate for Governor of Vermont |
| Monday, August 25 | | · | LibertyUnion Colors |
| Saturday, August 09 | | · | Ducking Responsibility: Entergy Spins Its Nukes |
| Wednesday, July 30 | | · | Democracy? Where? |
| Friday, July 11 | | · | The “Wasted Vote” Myth |
| Tuesday, July 08 | | · | I Think I Saw Tom Paine on the 4th of July |
| Monday, July 07 | | · | A 'Thank You' to a Great President |
| Monday, May 19 | | · | Possible Suspension of Judge Could Punish County Courts |
| Friday, May 16 | | · | “Normalizing the Unthinkable” |
Older Articles
| |
|
|
Welcome
AlienLove Forums