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In recent debates, Gov. Jim Douglas has implied that the improper use of public-relations positions pre-date his taking office.

He’s done nothing wrong, he claims. He claims previous administrations have done the same.... Read more

This week Congress will debate the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of the high-flying Wall Street financiers who made some really, really bad decisions.

Taxpayers will likely be asked to buy up more than a half-trillion dollars in bad debt — and, consequently, the Wall Street types will get to keep making bad decisions.

I love my country, but I really loathe my gummint sometimes.

Vermont’s congressional delegation isn’t taking kindly to the Bush administration’s plan. Surprised?... Read more

The issue of race in the 2008 presidential election will either be a toxin that infects the body politic, or a tonic that heals centuries-old wounds. But once the votes have been tallied, it’ll be difficult to determine whether the “toxin” or “tonic” prevailed, because many Americans won’t own up to how racial bias influenced their votes.... Read more

The recent kerfuffle over the Douglas administration’s effort to hide aspects of its plan to cut state jobs is keeping tensions high between union members, key lawmakers and the governor.

State employees made public hundreds of emails, in some of which key aides to Gov. Jim Douglas called lawmakers “whiners.” Other emails showed Douglas aides looking for ways to hide the true titles of the jobs they were cutting. You know, change a job title to “clerk” when it’s really “social worker.”... Read more

Since graduating from the University of Vermont in May, Sam Maron has run afoul of the law on two continents for his political activism.... Read more

After three days sequestered in a media-free room, Sarah Palin emerged to deliver what the AP called “a star-turning performance.” Katie Couric pronounced her “feisty, folksy, fiery and emotional.” A delegate from Wisconsin gave the bumper-sticker makers the slogan they should be copyrighting now: “She is one kick-ass lady.”... Read more

A leading Burlington Progressive says he is running for the Vermont Senate in the Democratic primary partly out of frustration with what he considers the sectarian attitudes of the two parties’ top officials.... Read more

With the Democratic National Convention underway, and the Republicans gearing up for Minneapolis next week, local political races are increasingly on Vermonters’ minds.

That explains the persistent questions I’ve been getting from readers: Will the Progressives fade as a party? Does Gaye Symington really know how to run a statewide campaign? What the hell is Anthony Pollina thinking?... Read more

It’s all about the Democrats this week, as the national convention presses toward its purpose: officially anointing Sen. Barack Obama as the party’s candidate to become, as politicians like to put it, the President of the United States of America! It remains to be seen, in November, whether the junior senator from Illinois will bag the national election as well. But meanwhile, one Vermont company is making sure Obama is on a bag, so to speak, and its product has accompanied the state’s official delegation to Denver.... Read more

The already thinning ranks of Vermont journalism will get a little thinner this week, thanks to newsroom cuts at The Burlington Free Press, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

In all, six staffers at the Gannett-owned broadsheet will get the axe. Among the first to go was columnist Ed Shamy, who joined the Freeps as a metro editor in 1999.... Read more