I felt for Joe Biden when referring to the attempted coup and he said, “This is not who we are.” The newly elected president was trying to offer a stunned majority of Americans some false hope of normality.
But, this dark side, this destructive fascistic impulse, has always been with us. Of course it's who we are.
The historical evils of the past that now define our political present in the form of sedition and treason we saw in the fascist mob that attacked Congress. A fascist mob sits in Congress as well. And we saw the combined forces of criminal thuggish fascism and the more-genteel fascist Republicans in Congress trying to overturn an election.
This is fascism.
When I was in high school, I witnessed a vicious fist fight between two male classmates, and it shook me to my core. The violence and the cheering of the crowd horrified me. I managed to hold it together until I got home, but the minute I saw my...
Once upon a time, if you asked a member of the Republican Party to tell you what their party stands for, they would likely say they are a party that supports small government, maintaining a strong military, and upholding the rule of law; a party that supports individual responsibility,
College news • Kim Amidon, an environmental studies major from Vernon, was recently named to the President's List at The State University of New York at Potsdam for the fall 2020 semester. • Cassandra Dunn, a theater major from Brattleboro, was named to the Dean's List at the University of Evansville (Indiana) for the fall 2020 semester. Transitions • Youth Services announced that Lana Dever has joined the Youth Development team as the new Youth Homelessness Coordinator and Brattleboro Case...
I am very sorry to learn of the death of the Honorable Ethel R. Brosnahan. Judge Brosnahan was a strong advocate for the citizens of Windham County. She was also a longtime mentor to me and other Windham County justice workers. I first met Judge Brosnahan when she was a Windham County deputy sheriff in charge of jurors in Windham District Court. Petite and powerful, she cut an impressive figure in her perfect uniform and beautifully coiffed hair. She was...
Volunteers sought for town boards BRATTLEBORO - The town seeks people to serve on the following committees and boards: Agricultural Advisory Board; ADA Advisory Board; Arts Committee; Conservation Commission; Development Review Board; Energy Committee; Inspector, Lumber, Shingles & Wood; Senior Solutions Advisory Council; and Planning Commission. Applications and more information about various committees and boards can be found at brattleboro.org or by calling the town manager's office at 802-251-8151. If you are a resident and interested in serving on a...
Elections for town offices and the Windham Southeast School District will take place on Tuesday, March 2. The three-year Selectboard seat now held by Brandie Starr will be on the ballot, as will the two one-year seats currently held by Ian Goodnow and Daniel Quipp. Starr, who has served since 2018, told The Commons on Monday that she has not yet decided about whether to seek another term. Quipp, a board member since 2019, announced his intent to seek reelection...
Consent of Candidate forms for municipal elections on Town Meeting Day, Tuesday, March 2, are now available from town clerks around Windham County. Because of a one-year change in Vermont state law due to the COVID-19 pandemic, petition requirements have been waived for candidates to have their names placed on the ballots for this election. Instead, a Consent of Candidate form (bit.ly/595-consent-of-candidate) must be filed by 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25. Forms can be mailed or emailed to your...
As of Jan. 6, 2021, the United States of America is certifiably insane and in a coma in need of critical care. There is no quick remedy; no drug will do the trick. Maybe surgery is the best option. But surgery by itself is not the answer. Therapy, centuries of therapy, might dig us out of the diagnosis hole of insanity and bring us back to the real world of democracy as expressed in our hallowed Constitution. As it is...
The Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble presents “In Search of Beethoven” on Friday, Jan. 22. Two limited-seating concerts - at 5 and 7:30 p.m. - will be held at the Brattleboro Music Center. Tickets are $20 for general admission and seniors, $10 for students, and free for those under 12 years of age. The performances will trace the teachers and influential composers who inspired and pushed Ludwig van Beethoven's innovations. The program will include Haydn's String Quartet, Op. 103; Beethoven's String...
On Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. Get Thee to the Funnery Shakespeare Camps present the documentary, Qualities of “Mercy?” It will be streamed on YouTube at bit.ly/595-shakespeare. In 2020, the Vermont youth camp took on actors from India and tackled the problematic Shakespeare play Merchant of Venice. Campers used the text to confront prejudice, violence, and hate speech. They dealt with the pandemic lockdown, responded to the Black Lives Matter movement, and put on a play. From distances spanning...
Vermont officials are hopeful that more of the state's population will be getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in the coming weeks. According to the Vermont Department of Health's data dashboard at healthvermont.gov/covid-19/vaccine/covid-19-vaccine-dashboard, about 26,600 Vermonters had received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as of Jan. 12, with 1,430 doses administered in Windham County as of Jan. 7. In a Jan. 8 news briefing in Montpelier, Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said Vermont is the second fastest state...
There has been much speculation on what would have happened had a mob of Black Lives Matter activists invaded the capital demanding an end to this country's systemic and institutional racism and a more equitable nation. Much of this speculation comes to the conclusion that a bloodbath would have been inevitable. What might have happened had an unruly mob of liberal activists descended upon our “temple of Democracy,” demanding the resignation of the fascist enabler Mitch McConnell and his cadre...
I'm writing as a member of the Community Safety Review Committee that worked to create a report and recommendations recently shared with the Selectboard. I found my work on this committee to be both collaborative and committed to uplifting the voices of people in our community who experience the most harm from the current way our systems operate. The incredible work that facilitators Emily Megas-Russell and Shea Witzberger put into this process is a gift to our community. The facilitators...
Like the Speaker of the House said, the past 36 hours have shaken us. And I know I speak for so many Vermonters when I say that I watched in sadness, alarm, and disgust at the scenes that unfolded in our nation's capital yesterday. The insurgency in D.C. took place just a few hours after Vermont Senators gathered at our own statehouse here in Montpelier to be officially sworn in. It was an event that was formal, civil, steeped in...
I was hoping to write a fairly short, simple and straightforward letter wholeheartedly supporting the report and recommendations of the Community Safety Review Committee (CSRC) that were shared at the Jan. 5 Selectboard meeting. I have never been so proud to be part of this town, part of the marginalized communities organizing for safety and well-being, as I was that night and the next morning. And then the horror and reality of the unending violence of white supremacy reared its...
Millions of Americans tuned in to the latest and greatest antics of those fun and principled Trumpsters at the Capitol on Jan. 6. To watch the entitled and moronic Trump family in the tent before the riot - too afraid to get their own hands dirty but pushing the mob of true believers to “get wild” - would be shocking if it were anyone else. However, Trump, his defective offspring, and the thousands of Republican enablers did nothing many of...
Congratulations on your reporting on antifa and white supremacy in southern Vermont. I appreciate the difficulty of reporting from sources that must remain anonymous. You courageously did not let that stop you, and you brought our community very important information. And you handled the delicate matter of the doxxed white supremacist well. It would have been easier, I am sure, to just not deal with this, but you chose to inform us of all you knew and to tell us...
I want to start a conversation about the Constitution, and I wonder how many folks have read it recently. Some folks believe the Supreme Court is the interpreter of the Constitution and so do not take the time to read it personally, to our collective detriment, I believe. It is easy to understand, short, and written in clear layman's English - a worthwhile and informative read. Amendment 14, section 3 is of particular importance and interest right now because it...
At over 200 pages, the “Final Report on the Community Safety Review Process” for Brattleboro is now out and it is massive to get one's arms and thoughts around. I have not read it all by any means, though I have read some sections in detail. I did (via Zoom) sit in on the Jan. 5 Selectboard meeting where co-coordinators Shea Witzberger and Emily Megas-Russell presented the report for two hours, which was followed by another hour of initial discussion.
What happened recently at our nation's Capitol is being commonly described as an assault on our democracy. But that characterization sounds as if it's something new and it fails to recognize the assaults that have been occurring in our country since its founding. Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), other historically marginalized people, and those of lower income have been and are continuously assaulted. Sometimes these assaults have been physical, but other times they've been in the form of systemic...
Facilitators of the Community Safety Review Committee and its members have released their recommendations to improve safety in town, especially for historically marginalized communities that, according to the report, are disproportionately and negatively affected by policing, state, and mental health systems. Committee member Lana Dever told the Selectboard that the work that went into the report “fills me with sadness and hope at the same time.” Still, Dever added, the town could have saved time and money if it had...
Conservatives often have a hard time distinguishing between bleeding heart liberals and anyone who is not a conservative. Now is a good time for them to learn the difference. The attacks on the Capitol building in D.C. have all of America, and indeed, most of the world, speaking. The bleeding heart liberals are the ones who are saying things like this: “You know, maybe these rioters that stormed the Capitol building are victims of President Trump's lies and manipulation -
As we learn the chilling details of an armed insurrection on our U.S. Capitol last week, some larger, deeper understandings come into focus. With similar threats looming on the horizon for the inauguration of President Elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, the events of Jan. 6 appear to be not the end of one chapter but the beginning of another. What on earth did we think the result would be? We could catalogue all the ways in which political discourse...
When an email signed by Northeast Antifa arrived at The Commons a couple of weeks ago, I agreed to look into it. I knew everyone else would be going on break for a week, and it was not clear in any case if there was a real story there or not. It seemed interesting and something to follow up. I didn't realize that I would spend the next two weeks thinking about this story - first, by reporting the piece...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) presents two online talks in January related to “Rachel Portesi: Hair Portraits,” an exhibit of tintype photographs on view through Feb. 14. Helen Sheumaker, Ph.D., author of Love Entwined: The Curious History of Hairwork in America, presents “Linking Us Fondly: Hairwork in 19th Century America” on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. Her talk will explore the practice of transforming hair into mementos, one of the inspirations for Portesi's photographs of women with...
Jan. 6, 2021, will forever mark a day of infamy for our nation. It will be remembered because our beloved Capitol building - the very heart of our democracy - was stormed and laid under siege. Rioters broke through windows, doors, and security barriers in both the Senate and House wings of the Capitol, assaulting Capitol Police officers, leaving a wake of destruction, and forcing me and other members of Congress to temporarily delay fulfilling our constitutional duty to certify...
SOLOs Episode 3 - a video montage of monologue and song by six area performers filmed by Brattleboro Community Television - premieres simultaneously on BCTV and on YouTube Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. The free opening showing is capped with an online session at 8:15 p.m., where audience members can chat with cast, directors, producers, and technical staff. Each episode of SOLOs is a co-production of the Rock River Players (RRP) and the Hooker-Dunham Theater, filmed on the stage...