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#vtpol

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If #Vermont gets a new flag, then like other states where woodlands and waters are significant, green and blue are the most obvious symbolic colors. I think it should have a 14-point star made from two overlapping 7-point stars with differing minor radii for visual interest, to reflect the motto "Stella Quarta Decima", because Vermont was the 14th state.

One would tend to think sugar maples are far more associated with Vermont life than pine trees. #VTpol

vermontpublic.org/podcast/brav

An image of the Vermont state flag.
Vermont Public · Other states are redesigning their flags. Is it Vermont's turn?By Mikaela Lefrak

I don't think I mentioned this before, but the #Vermont legislature recently passed S.109, which amends 13 V.S.A. § 4013 to repeal the illegality of switchblade #knives and directs the state to expunge all prior convictions under the repealed statue. This is a good thing, as the law was irrational, inconsistent with other Vermont statutes, and unconstitutional. Governor Scott is expected to sign the bill, which will go into effect July 1, 2025. #rtkba #VTpol

I do not have a problem with people disagreeing with my #politics. What I do have a problem with is people who blatantly misrepresent my politics.

One thing that I have noticed about my political opponents in this town is that they frequently claim to speak for "the majority". This is something that I very specifically do NOT do.

I do not *ever* claim to speak for the majority when I take up an opposing position. Neither or us has any legitimate basis for claiming to do so. #VTpol

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In other words, the federal government is requiring us to submit a certification, but as far as we are concerned, we are already in compliance with the law (as opposed to the Trump Administration's novel interpretation of the law), so we just need the pro forma signatures so we can tell them to effectively go pound sand.

That being said, I still have not seen a plausibly verifiable copy of Secretary Saunders' email from any news source. #VTpol

My reading of the supposed email from #Vermont #AoE is the operative phrase is this: ' We do not view this Certification to be announcing any new interpretation of Title VI or requiring us to certify to anything other than the current Title VI law as it stands. Based on our initial legal review, the certification requires us to reaffirm our compliance with existing law that AOE has always followed in our administration of federal funds. '

The furor would seem to be unwarranted. #VTpol

Dear state and local governments: STOP using Google Drive as your only means to disseminate public information.

Private systems are not public, they are subject to arbitrary access controls with no public oversight or appeals process, and therefore they do NOT meet your responsibility to provide information via public means.

This means you, #Brattleboro and #Vermont. #VTpol

As someone who has been living #carfree in #Vermont for over 3.5 years—I am now in my 4th Winter with no car—it's very important to me to have better #bicycle #infrastructure, and I am not alone.

#Brattleboro needs to do much better in this regard. We need to find ways to divert motor vehicle traffic from our downtown. We need protected bicycle paths to replace on-street parking. We need more and better places to park and secure bicycles with weather protection, and we need snow removal. #VTpol

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My name is Gemma Seymour, and I am running for Representative Town Meeting Member, Brattleboro District 8. My motto is "Let's Grow Brattleboro", and my values are "Equality, Liberty, and Justice for All". Election Day is Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Find more info about me at Vote411.org and read my Voter Information Statement in PDF format at gcvrsa.wordpress.com/wp-conten

My name is Gemma Seymour, and I am running for Representative Town Meeting Member, Brattleboro District 8. My motto is "Let's Grow Brattleboro", and my values are "Equality, Liberty, and Justice for All". Election Day is Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Find more info about me at Vote411.org and read my Voter Information Statement in PDF format at gcvrsa.wordpress.com/wp-conten

From Apr 2023, but still relevant:

' While nearly 30% of all VT households rent their homes, only 2 out of 30 state senators do so. Tenants are just as rare in the House as they are in the Senate. An analysis of property and business records found that at least 94% in the lower chamber own their home.

Landlords can easily afford to take time out of their day to testify before the Legislature, and don’t risk being kicked out of their home for speaking out. ' #VTpol

vtdigger.org/2023/04/20/full-d

VTDigger · Full Disclosure: The ‘people’s house’ or the ‘house of landlords’?By Lola Duffort
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What needs to happen in #Vermont is radical upheaval, and that is precisely why nothing of substance is going to be done by Democrats or Progressives, because they are heavily invested in the status quo.

Much of #Montpelier as it is clearly needs to be abandoned to Nature, because it is going to flood over and over again. And the same is true of towns all over #VT.

The places Vermonters settled hundreds of years ago are now floodplains. But VTers will continue to drive hither and yon. #VTpol

The past 13 yrs since #HurricaneIrene decimated #Vermont—especially recent years of continued #flooding—show beyond all reasonable doubt #VT must radically change #LandPolicy, our relationship to #Nature and #development #redevelopment of our built #environment.

#Vermonters must immediately, rapidly consolidate #population into existing town and city centers. We must deconstruct newly flood prone areas. We must abandon rural #infrastructure entirely.

The problem with Joe Biden, aside from his support for and complicity in the #genocide of the Palestinian people, is that he's quite evidently so diminished by age that he should not be President any longer. Aging is an individual process. Bernie Sanders' performance on The Late Show the other night is a stark contrast to Biden's swindling capacity.

But the problem with Bernie is, he doesn't really listen to other people. If he sounds like he's listening to you, it's only because you already agreed with him. But I promise you, Bernie Sanders is marching to the beat of his own drum, damn the torpedoes, it's full steam ahead with his equivocation of "capitalism" and "democratic socialism". He means well, I'll grant him that, but as they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Sanders needs to retire, sooner rather than later. The only problem is, Vermont isn't sufficiently prepared to replace him.

Peter Welch looks good in pictures, but in person, you have to wonder if he's "all there". At whatever point Sanders retires, Welch becomes the senior Senator, and the most likely scenario is Becca Balint, freshman Congresswoman, gets tagged to be the junior Senator, possibly only a year into her first term in Congress, which frankly isn't ideal. It would be better if she gets through a full two years, at least, before moving up to the Senate.

But that then raises the question of who replaces Becca, and from where I'm sitting, I'm not seeing a Democrat in Vermont who has enough statewide support to be the obvious choice. I have a few favorites, of course, but they have yet to decide whether or not they want to get in the game.

The next gubernatorial election in Vermont is going to be important, because it may determine who serves out the remainder of Sanders' next term, if he wins re-election this year, and retires sometime in the next few years. As he has not yet announced, no one else has announced a run for his seat. The longer he waits, the more turmoil it causes, but no one is really talking about it, yet.

Becca is a good bet for President...eventually; it's very likely she could be the first female President. She needs to build a record and build credibility, and as a Jewish lesbian, she's in the hot seat right now, with the situation in Palestine. A misstep here could easily sideline her.

And don't discount the possibility of Sanders and Welch retiring at the same time, possibly not by their own choices. I expect Phil Scott to make a bid, possibly Miro Weinberger, but whether or not either of them would make a strong showing at the polls is unknown.

#USpol #VTpol #Vermont #VT #elections

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As the report notes, the two largest sectors of consumption of fossil fuels in #Vermont are #climate control of buildings and #transportation.

Public policy that incentivizes #redevelopment of our population centers to support higher #density of settlement is a double-acting remedy which not only puts people and businesses into newer, more energy-efficient building stock, it dramatically reduces or even eliminates entirely the need for #transportation outlays. #uspol #vtpol