Green Mountain Meandering Missives

  P hoto: Person living unhoused outdoors resting on a bench in Montpelier, the capital city of Vermont (photo shared with the direct consent of the person pictured; image credit: Morgan W. Brown). Thoughts on Political Leadership: Safeguarding The Bottom Line Screenshot, via Google Search (term: safeguarding meaning). Screenshot, via Merriam Webster Dictionary (term: bottom line; click onto image to view enlargement). When it comes to governing and providing sorely needed political leadership, particularly during times of financial troubles as well as when there is a serious humanitarian and social crisis, at least to my way of thinking as a layperson, the main concerns as well as top priorities of an elected politician or otherwise a candidate seeking political office should not merely be about the administration and management of government, but rather be toward providing proper leadership, particularly and most importantly when balancing competing as well as diverse interests a...

  Nearly every Friday afternoon, beginning around Noontime, there is an anti-war vigil held by one or more protesters in front of the federal building on State Street in downtown Montpelier. This afternoon, one gentleman -- who had mentioned that he is 100-years-old -- held vigil alone with a large dual-sided sign with two messages, despite the heat, in order to call attention to the plight of Palestinians at the hands of the government of Israel. Text of sign (side 1): TO MY FELLOW JEWS  IN ISRAEL- HOW COULD THE NAZI  GENOCIDE OF JEWS  1933-45 BE FOLLOWED BY  THE ISRAELI  GENOCIDE OF PALESTINIANS  TODAY? Text of sign (side 2): KILLING & STARVING: WHAT NAZIS  DID TO JEWS  80 YEARS AGO,  MY FELLOW JEWS  IN ISRAEL  DO TO PALESTINIANS  TODAY _____________________ I DON'T HEAR GOD CRYING Update 1 : Had come across the gentleman around 12:30 PM, after briefly attending the community meal held at Christ Episcopal Church ...

P hoto: Person living unhoused outdoors resting on a bench in Montpelier, the capital city of Vermont (photo shared with the direct consent of the person pictured; image credit: Morgan W. Brown).   Illegitimi Non Carborundum (mock-Latin aphorism; aka Dog Latin) (Mock Translated: “Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down”) Somewhat related quote (for the purposes of this particular essay): In human rights and peacemaking, it's really about having a solid concrete goal - the reduction of human suffering somewhere in the world - and then doing what is required to get that goal achieved.      – John Prendergast For those who are living unhoused outdoors (aka living homeless outdoors), as well as those who will soon be evicted from the state hotel/motel program or already have been, whether it is recognized and then acknowledged or not, a state of emergency has existed, with most having nowhere else to go for shelter (save for congregate shelters...

Photo: Vermont State House, in Winter (taken by Morgan W. Brown; circa: Sunday, February 10, 2013) Had read in Friday's vtdigger Final Reading column about how the Vermont House of Representatives recently passed H.132 , a vastly amended version of the homeless bill of rights legislation (compared to what had been originally introduced), which is now in the hands of the state Senate (fourth item down page; related excerpts of column), here : [...] As Vermont continues to struggle with rising rates of homelessness , lawmakers are trying to ensure that people without permanent shelter aren’t discriminated against because of their housing status.   On Friday, the House passed H.132 , a bill that would essentially add homelessness as a protected class to the state’s various anti-discrimination laws, including Vermont’s Fair Housing Act and Fair Employment Practices Act . Under the latter law, an employer can’t refuse to hire someone based on their race, for example, or the...