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Obvious spin and propaganda increase skepticism. Two stories published on the eve of COP16, the 16th edition of Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, are good illustrations of how NOT to be convincing about climate change or its possible anthropo More...
People are dropping their pay TV subscriptions. According to an article in The New York Times, cable, satellite and telecommunications subscriptions for entertainment More...
"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." – Quote often attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville.
Earmarks are only about one-half of More...
Power in the executive branch of Vermont state government radiates from the governor's office on the fifth floor of the Pavilion. Yesterday Governor-elect Peter Shumlin named some very good people to key fifth floor positions. They will replace Governor Jim Douglas' excellent outgoing te More...
Congress doesn't have to pay any attention at all to the report of the Deficit Commission, even when it's presented in its final form on December 1 and even assuming it gets the requisite approval of 14 of the 18 commission members. The original plan was to require an up or down vote by C More...
If the "Draft Proposal from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" were adopted straight from the PowerPoint slides, there More...
I was Vermont's "Stimulus czar", a fascinating position to have after retiring from a career as a high-tech entrepreneur. As Chief Recovery Officer, I had an excellent inside view of the working and non-workings of the Stimulus Bill (formally "American Reinvestment and Recover More...
Grumbys caused the flash crash of the American stock market on May 6th. Readers of Andy Kessler's Grumby knew this as early as June 11th when the More...
Democrats were decidedly NOT shellacked in Vermont. Our lone House member, Peter Welch (D), and our senior Senator, Pat Leahy (D), were considered shoo-ins – and they were. The governorship being vacated by Jim Douglas (R), was won by Peter Shumlin (D). Republicans picked up one seat in the State More...
TARP was initially proposed and passed during the Bush administration; ironically, TARP is the cause of much of the anger that led to yesterday's stunning defeat for Democrats and "second chance" for Republicans. Sure, if he economy had come roaring back, things would've been di More...
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