Category Archives: Civil Liberty

Christmas in Prison

12/20/2012 – 4:01 pm

I suppose you want to hear a Christmas story.  “It was Christmas in prison and the food was real good, we had turkey and pistols carved out of wood… ”  That John Prine song will be 40 in the New Year. Twenty years ago this month I wandered through parts of the Midwest humming that […]

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Betrayed by a Trusted Caregiver

11/29/2012 – 10:23 am

Attention sociologists: How would you like the rare opportunity to study what happens when 400 vulnerable children in seven states are taken from what is universally acknowledged to be the most supportive foster-care program in the country and placed into the care of already-overburdened government agencies in their respective states?  Track their outcomes five, ten […]

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Gratitude for Here and Now

11/22/2012 – 11:49 am

Happy Thanksgiving.  It’s a bright sunny morning in northwest Vermont and if we had huge balloons shaped like cartoon characters, we would absolutely have them inflated and crashing into trees and traffic lights, so I’m grateful for my municipality’s modesty. I’m grateful my state was prepared for this year’s big storm and even more grateful […]

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Through the Watershed

11/8/2012 – 1:54 pm

I imagine you’re as sick of political campaigns as I am, so I want to make a few last points about what happened Tuesday and then I hope we can stop thinking about politics for a few months at least. Maybe it was exhaustion, but by the time Mitt Romney conceded early Wednesday, I had […]

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Can You Recommend Journalism as a Career?

9/27/2012 – 3:27 pm

Later this evening, I’m supposed to speak to a class of college students.  My topic is “environmental journalism.”  I suspect one reason I received this invitation is a similar talk I gave to journalism students last year, in which my topic was “how to make money selling out as a journalist.”  What I said then […]

By floegel | Also posted in Commentary, Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Most Typical Political Event

9/20/2012 – 2:06 pm

If you follow the presidential election and have a pulse, you know Vermont is one of the least battleground states in the country.  Mitt Romney was here recently, not to campaign, but to prep, at the home of former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, for his debates vs. President Barack Obama.  His motorcade got stuck […]

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Undignified, Discourteous

8/23/2012 – 7:58 pm

Two months ago I wrote about the only political race of interest in Vermont – the Democratic primary for attorney general.  Primary day is Tuesday and a race I described as “dignified and courteous” eight weeks ago is now anything but. Fifteen-year incumbent Attorney General Bill Sorrell, 65 and Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan, […]

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