By Elizabeth Fitzgerald Vermonters recognize that one of our most important public responsibilities is the education of our children. Not only is it a moral and legal imperative, but it is also critical for the economic future of our state. Providing a high-quality education for Vermont children means that we must make sure that those who choose to work in our schools are fairly compensated for the work they do. A large and growing share of that compensation is the high quality, generous health insurance that is provided by school districts to teachers and other education employees. As is the case for many Vermont employers, health insurance and other benefits can help attract, recruit and…

By G. E. Shuman Okay, so, today I want to talk to you about what I think is mankind’s greatest invention. If asked what that invention might be, most people would probably mention penicillin or computers, medicine or manned flight, the internal combustion engine or artificial intelligence, or some other invention that is great, but in my mind still not the greatest invention of them all. Others would mention fire, which was not invented, but rather, discovered, or the wheel, that old circular standby when talking about man’s greatest inventions. In the case of the wheel, it was a good idea, but the greatest invention? I think not. Without keeping you in further suspense, as if you have bee…

By Stilton Jarlsberg The recent rash of mass shootings has left the nation stunned but, sadly, not speechless. The usual media and political suspects are saying the usual things, using the bodies of the innocent as a sickening ideological soapbox. We’re not going to do that here. These gruesome murders are not about, nor caused by, politics. Rather, they are the unavoidable and perhaps unstoppable product of a deeply diseased culture. A culture which has become the perfect growth medium for psychopathy. “Loners” are no longer alone when in their online worlds. They can communicate without actual human contact. They can find reinforcement for their darkest and most twisted thoughts and fan…

A program long championed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will invest $98,918 in bolstering efforts to bring local agriculture into the classrooms and cafeterias of Vermont schools.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced Farm to School grants to connect child nutrition programs with local farmers. Leahy said:  “Tying local agriculture to our schools not only provides our children with healthy meals and improved nutrition, it encourages a long standing connection to the farms that define our Green Mountain State.  Every student deserves equal access to healthy meals, and I’m proud that our school nutrition leaders will use these funds to help all children gain a better und…

Health industry lobbyists keep claiming to wonder why we need Medicare for All when, they insist, we have such a wonderful system already. Well, here are 12 reasons: • 9/11 first responders wouldn’t have to beg for health care • People in horrible accidents wouldn’t have to resort to online begging • People with diabetes wouldn’t have to risk amputation to save money on insulin • People with huge medical bills wouldn’t have to file for bankruptcy • Poor people wouldn’t have to search for a doctor who takes Medicaid • Doctors, hospitals, etc., wouldn’t have to spend millions of hours dealing with insurance companies • Americans wouldn’t have to spend millions of hours trying to choose…

President Trump has promised to fight for the forgotten men and women of America—those whose needs and suffering have been too often unheeded by their government. One forgotten group in healthcare is the millions of Americans with some stage of kidney disease—especially the more than 700,000 Americans suffering from the final, deadly stage of the disease, kidney failure. That includes 826 patients here in Vermont, most of whom must go through the incredibly draining experience of receiving kidney dialysis several times a week, for several hours each time. But there is good news. President Trump recently signed an executive order launching a revolutionary initiative at the U.S. Department of…