Commentary Series
7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. Weekdays
Displaying February Archive «prev next»
Friday February 29, 2008
Russian Bear
Russian Life magazine has been published from Vermont since 1995 by commentator Paul Richardson, who says that, when Russians go to the polls on this Sunday, they will be thinking about bears...
Friday February 29, 2008
Getting By: Harold Jones
Harold "Hoss" Jones is a part time driver for the Green Mountain
Express, the bus that runs between Bennington and Manchester. He used
to have a higher paying job in manufacturing. Now, like many of the
workers he transports, he's just "getting by."
Thursday February 28, 2008
3 Views: Republican primary- Rob Roper on John McCain, Craig Bensen on Mike Huckabee, and Lincoln White on Ron Paul
Why are Vermonters getting behind different presidential candidates? We're exploring the reasons in several essays. Yesterday we heard different views of the Democratic primary, and today we hear from three people with thoughts on the Republican side of the presidential ticket. First up is Rob Roper, Chairman of the Vermont Republican State Committee.
Thursday February 28, 2008
Getting By: Kevin Gallagher
Kevin Gallagher is 26 years old and delivers pizza in Burlington. He
makes most of his money through tips. However, the pizza boxes say
"free delivery",
so many people assume they don't need to tip. It makes it impossible to
predict the amount of money he will earn.
Wednesday February 27, 2008
Getting By: Amanda Calhoun
Amanda Calhoun is a senior in
high school, working part time as a waitress to save money for college. She
said it's her first job, that it was hard to find a job with no prior
experience. But
she also said that tips are critical, that she's been working a lot of morning
shifts, where tips are low.
Tuesday February 26, 2008
Basking
For complex reasons having to do with frontloaded primaries and competing slates of superdelegates, Vermont’s Democratic Primary seems certain to actually matter, this time around. Commentator Philip Baruth is a novelist who teaches at the University of Vermont, and he's loving it, so much so that he'd like to offer a modest proposal for keeping this new feeling alive.
Tuesday February 26, 2008
Getting By: Steve Leonard
Steve Leonard is a 24-year-old bottle sorter at the Beer King in Rutland, and he says he's satisfied - at least for now - with
the work and the compensation.
Monday February 25, 2008
Pundits
Commentator David Moats is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who has been thinking about the word "pundit", and about the importance of what they do.
Monday February 25, 2008
Getting By-Donna Olsen
Donna Olsen, of Fairfax,
is a "para professional" at a middle school. Her husband is an auto mechanic. They have two children - both now in college.
She drives an old car and wishes she
could help her kids more with college costs.
But she says they're really just "getting by".
Monday February 25, 2008
Getting By-Donna Olsen
All this week on Morning Edition, we hear stories from Vermonters who are GETTING BY in minimum or low wage jobs. We'll hear about their work, their hopes for the future, and how they manage to make ends meet. We go first to Donna Olsen of Fairfax, who works as a "para professional" in the Milton school system.
Friday February 22, 2008
The Academy Awards
Commentator Jay Craven is a filmmaker, teacher and producer who's looking forward to the Academy Awards this weekend. He thinks a dose of tinseltown nonsense and occasional magic might be welcome right about now - especially as mud season approaches.
Friday February 22, 2008
Lost Again
Commentator Willem Lange is a contractor, writer and storyteller who swore it never would happen again, but recently it did; he got lost.
Thursday February 21, 2008
Personal Responsibility
Commentator Bill Schubart writes about life in Vermont from his home in Hinesburg and he has struggled with obesity for much of his life. Speaking from his own experience, he warns us not to overplay "personal responsibility" as a reason to deny healthcare
Wednesday February 20, 2008
Community Store
Commentator Deborah Luskin teaches writing and literature in libraries, hospitals and prisons throughout Vermont. A general store near her home closed down last year, leaving her village without a place to meet, greet and buy milk. So, when she walked into a thriving general store up north, recently, she set about discovering the secret of its success.
Wednesday February 20, 2008
Between Rounds
Veteran A-B-C News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans has been thinking about the recent exchanges between the two leading democratic presidential candidates - and what they're most likely to do next.
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Hate Crimes
Commentator John Scagliotti is a documentary filmmaker dedicated to the exploration of issues important to the gay community. He says that since Vermont was one of the first states to pass hate crime legislation that covered gays and lesbians as a special category - it comes as something of a surprise to learn that such attacks continue in our state..
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Brattleboro War Crimes Vote
Commentator Bill Arkin is a Pomfret-based military analyst who's been thinking about the Brattleboro proposal to indict President Bush and Vice President Cheney for war crimes. He thinks the idea misses a critical point.
Monday February 18, 2008
Tiktaalik
Commentator Ruth Page has been following environmental issues from her home in Vermont for many years, and she has a fondness for unusual creatures. Recently, she's been reading up on one that's as strange as it is important.
Monday February 18, 2008
The Impossible Presidency
Commentator Frank Bryan is a writer who teaches political science at UVM. And this President's Day, he's thinking about what we ask of those who serve in the Oval Office - and how we measure their success.
Friday February 15, 2008
A Foodie's Guide
Commentator Mary Barrosse Schwartz is a policy and communications consultant. She's also a part time farmer, who says that "doing it yourself" can be well worth the effort when it comes to producing many foods.
Friday February 15, 2008
Honorable Peace
After several months of relative quiet in Iraq, violence appears to be on the upswing again. This morning veteran ABC News foreign correspondent and commentator Barrie Dunsmore looks at how Iraq might affect this year's Presidential election outcome.
Thursday February 14, 2008
Vintage Valentines
Writer and commentator Leora Dowling has been thinking about Valentines - and how the messages they carry can sometimes transcend time.
Wednesday February 13, 2008
Northern Reservations
Commentator Willem Lange is a contractor, writer and storyteller, who sometimes visits a place where a simple question never gets a simple answer.
Tuesday February 12, 2008
New Commissioner
Commentator Elizabeth Ferry is a writer and photographer who has worked extensively in local food education. She says that, what with all the primary news coming out of New Hampshire in recent weeks, you might not have heard that New Hampshire has a new Commissioner of Agriculture.
Tuesday February 12, 2008
Lincoln's Birthday
Although we celebrate the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln this coming Monday on Presidents' Day, today is the actual birthday of Abraham Lincoln. And civil War historian and commentator Howard Coffin is observing the event with a story that has a Vermont connection.
Monday February 11, 2008
American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month, and commentator Dr. Rachel Johnson - Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UVM and an advisor to EatingWell magazine - tells how science is uncovering close connections among food, inflammation and heart disease.
Monday February 11, 2008
Diet
Commentator Helen Labun Jordan works for Vermont's Agency of Agriculture. And as Americans think about ways to take on our rising obesity epidemic, she's decided to put to the test the overlap between health advice and the local foods movement.
Friday February 8, 2008
Politics and Religion
Commentator Bill Mares is a writer, and former legislator and teacher, who thinks that candidates currently running for public office might benefit by taking a refresher course on the relationship between church and state.
Thursday February 7, 2008
Immigration
Commentator Olin Robison is a past president of both Middlebury College and the Salzburg Seminar. And he says that - taking the long view - it's interesting to see how our attitudes about global issues like immigration have changed.
Thursday February 7, 2008
Bureaucrats
Commentator Willem Lange is a contractor, writer and storyteller who occasionally thinks deep thoughts. Today he observes that there are bureaucrats - and then there are Bureaucrats.
Wednesday February 6, 2008
February
Some people like February only because it's short. Commentator Deborah Luskin teaches writing and literature in libraries, hospitals and prisons around the state so she's on the road a lot. But in spite of almost certain stretches of bad weather - this is one of her favorite months.
Wednesday February 6, 2008
Petraeus Redux
Veteran ABC News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans is predicting that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will soon make a come-back as the topic of greatest concern on the campaign trail.
Tuesday February 5, 2008
Love and Politics in France
Commentator Mike Martin writes about issues of culture and education and teaches French at Champlain Valley Union High School. Lately, he's been thinking about how love affairs have hurt the careers of many American politicians, while the French have always been fond of leaders who are great lovers. But that may be changing.
Monday February 4, 2008
Remembering "Sir Ed"
Commentator Brian Porto is an attorney, a free lance writer and a lifelong sports fan, who admired the late Sir Edmund Hillary for more than his conquest of Everest.
Monday February 4, 2008
The Hot Stove League
Civil War historian and commentator Howard Coffin is also a baseball fan whose love of the game spans at least fifty years.
Friday February 1, 2008
Prison Farm
Commentator Bill Schubart writes about life in Vermont from his home in Hinesburg. And lately he's been thinking and talking with friends about ways to make Vermont better and more efficient. Here is one good idea.
Friday February 1, 2008
Economy or National Security?
The conventional wisdom is that the economy has superseded the Iraq war as the Presidential campaign's major issue. However, this morning former ABC News diplomatic correspondent and commentator Barrie Dunsmore says that, come November, Iraq will again be dominant.
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