Author Archives: John S. Walters

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About John S. Walters

Writer, editor, sometime radio personality, author of "Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives."

About Los Angeles and Our Growing Police State

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I’m departing from my usual focus on Vermont politics because the scenes from Trump’s Battle Los Angeles cosplay adventure* in MacArthur Park really hit me, and made the Big Brutalist Bill’s funding of a massive immigration enforcement regime feel like the most fascistic element of a broadly fascist administration. I was in Los Angeles just a couple of months ago. One of my stops was MacArthur Park. And to see heavily-armed stormtroopers marching, for no particular reason, through a place I had recently visited was a real smack in the face.

*The movie, which features a gritty band of soldiers fighting an alien invasion, appears to be the narrative inspiration for Trump’s florid fantasy of an L.A. under attack. Looking at clips from the film makes me think Stephen Miller probably jerks off to it late at night after he can’t get it up in bed with his wife:

Ooh yeah, that’s the stuff.

I went to L.A. because Loyal Spouse was attending a conference there, so I could stay in the hotel room for free and bomb around the city. It was a fascinating, enlightening, fun, and occasionally frustrating experience.

For purposes of this blog, I won’t cover the Broad Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits, a great bike trail along the L.A. beaches, the Griffith Observatory, or a wonderful store in Los Feliz called Wacko that specializes in fringe culture of all kinds. I will write about how refreshing it was to be in a truly diverse space where I was often in the minority and I never quite knew which language I might hear on the street, on the train, or at a restaurant.

Also how I never felt personally in danger, even though there was a LOT of poverty and homelessness. I walked along streets lined with tents, tarps, and other ad hoc shelters. There were plenty of sketchy characters on the streets and on mass transit. I kept my eyes open and my wallet secured, but even so I liked the overall experience. There are things in big cities — food, retail, museums, parks, botanical gardens, etc. — that you can’t find anywhere else. I don’t want to live in a big city, but I really like visiting them.

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That Military Pension Tax Exemption is Largely a Giveaway to the Affluent

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I know some people are going to read this — or read the title and nothing more — and jump to the conclusion that I’m just a liberal bashing the troops. Nothing could be further from the truth. My dad served in World War II and came home with undiagnosed PTSD that derailed his life for several years. One of my uncles lied about his age, enlisted in the Navy at 15, and died on board a submarine in WWII. My grandfather-in-law died leading his unit through a French farm field in World War I without ever getting to see or hold his infant son (who eventually became my father-in-law). I respect the people who serve in the armed forces.

But this tax exemption for military pensions that just became law in Vermont has nothing to do with the troops. It’s the officer class who will reap most of the benefits, and most of them are quite comfortable already. I don’t recall anyone bringing this up during the years-long debate over the exemption, which has been strongly pushed by Gov. Phil Scott.

Hell, I wouldn’t know about this if not for political cartoonist and Vietnam vet Jeff Danziger, who emailed me about the military pension system — in particular, who qualifies and who doesn’t.

In order to earn a military pension, you have to serve 20 years in the military. This includes most officers and some NCOs. It excludes the grunts, the people who do the fighting and shoulder most of the risk. It would not have included my dad or my grandfather-in-law’s surviving widow and son — or former Lt. Danziger, who “only” served four years in the Big Muddy. (His Vietnam memoir, Lieutenant Dangerous, is highly recommended.)

In other words, the military pension exemption is largely a giveaway to the affluent.

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I’m Not Ready to Say Scott Beck is the Smartest Person in the Legislature, But He’s in the Conversation (Updated)

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Score another one for Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck. After his star turn manipulating the education reform process, he managed to wangle his way onto the School District Redistricting Task Force* established by H.454 (now Act 73). He’s one of five Senate appointees, and the sole Republican. Throughout the education reform debate, he was the most prominent Republican voice — and arguably the single most influential senator of any party.

*A name only a legislative body could concoct.

On Monday, the Senate’s Committee on Committees announced its five appointees to the panel tasked with redrawing school district lines. Beck will be joined by Democratic Sens. Martine Larocque Gulick and Wendy Harrison, retired Kingdom East Supervisory Union superintendent Jennifer Botzojourns, and Chris Locarno, retired director of finance and facilities for the Central Vermont Supervisory Union. (The House announced its five appointees on Tuesday morning; details below.)

Beck’s appointment capped off a remarkable rookie campaign as Minority Leader — in his first year as a senator. And in the “Way Too Early” parlor game of gubernatorial speculation, Beck has to be taken seriously as a potential Republican candidate whenever Phil Scott decides to step aside. More so, I believe, than everybody’s favorite maverick, Lt. Gov. John Rodgers.

You may think this a rash judgment, but let’s step back for a moment and describe the trajectory of Beck’s political fortunes.

I should make clear that this post considers Beck as a political actor without regard for whether I agree with him or, more often, not. He has shown himself to be a savvy operator, a respected member of the House who ran as kind of a centrist in his bid for the Senate, but has been a reliable spokesperson for Republican orthodoxy as Minority Leader.

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News You Should View: What Podcasts Are For

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The gaggle of 50s throwbacks pictured above, tightly bunched around a single print newspaper, would have no idea what a podcast is. But in these days, when The Burlington Free Press‘ readership is not much more than the… 14?… avid readers in this image, podcasts have become a vital part of the Vermont media scene. We have two worthy entries atop this week’s roundup, followed by some worthwhile stories from Vermont’s doughty local outlets.

Liberal lawmakers speak out against H.454. The latest edition of “There’s No ‘A’ in Creemee*,” the newish podcast from former state senator Andy Julow and Joanna Grossman, chair of the Chittenden County Democrats, is an insightful interview with two Democratic lawmakers who voted “No” on H.454, the education reform bill that split the Dem caucuses and won the support of almost every Republican. Rep. Erin Brady and Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick, both professional educators, barred no holds as they spoke of their disappointment bordering on betrayal. “A gut punch” is how Brady described the maneuverings on the House floor that left many lawmakers feeling hornswoggled by leadership. Gulick’s verdict: “Some serious harm has been done with the public education community.” My only disappointment is that the hosts didn’t take my suggestion that they ask Gulick why she got swindled out of chairing the Senate Education Committee. So maybe a few holds were barred, after all.

*The podcast issues new episodes on Mondays, so there’s likely a new edition available by the time you read this. But I close the books on this feature every Sunday night. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Four perspectives on civil unions. David Goodman of The Vermont Conversation devoted the latest episode of his weekly pod to the 25th anniversary of the passage of civil unions in Vermont. He had previously interviewed former state representative Bill Lippert, who played a key role in getting civil unions through the Legislature. This time, Goodman wrapped three interviews into a single program. Most memorable were Stacy Jolles and Nina Beck, two of the six plaintiffs in the court case that prompted the enactment of civil unions. Goodman asked them if they feared for their safety during the overheated Statehouse debate, and Jolles replied “Okay, well, we’re both martial artists,” and laughed.

Other moments weren’t so funny. Both women said that when civil unions became law they felt defeated, because it was a halfway measure that didn’t provide anywhere near the full legal protections of marriage. They didn’t celebrate until full marriage equality became state law nine years later. And Jolles believes her rights are unlikely to survive the Trump presidency. “I think it’s going to get very bad, and I’m going to be active until the very last minute I can be active,” she said. “We’re going to have to fight harder than we have before.”

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What the Hell, Vermont

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Man, VTDigger couldn’t have picked a worse possible day to literally slap a smiley face on a map of Vermont. Because it happened on the very day that “over 800 people — including nearly 300 children” were deliberately unsheltered, on one of the hottest days of the year so far, by an uncaring Scott administration. That’s on top of another 138 unsheltered in late June because they had timed out their administration-ordained eligibility limits for motel vouchers. (Further evidence, says I, that the governor doesn’t give a fuck about the homeless.)

This latest offense against humanity was triggered by an administration decision in early June to impose those limits on an extension of winter eligibility into the spring. The decision came as a surprise to helping agencies, advocates, and more than a few members of the Legislature. And it meant that a whole bunch of recipients suddenly found themselves S.O.L. at the end of June.

Including Samantha Burnett, whose shocking story is recounted by Keith Whitcomb Jr. of the Times Argus and Rutland Herald.

“I’m eight-months pregnant. I’m literally due any day,” said Samantha Burnett, 23, during a downpour outside the Econo Lodge in Rutland City.

She said she has been living at the hotel since November. Burnett said she’s from Addison County and lost her job two months ago because her employer wouldn’t approve maternity leave. She has a friend who will let her cook food at her place, but is relying on another friend to find her a rundown vehicle she can sleep in.

Despite her own troubles, she’s most concerned with what will happen to her baby. She’s afraid the state will put the newborn out for adoption because, well, she’s homeless. It wouldn’t matter that she’s homeless because of the state’s own policy choices.

What the hell, Vermont. Is this who we are? Letting an expectant mother sleep in an abandoned car?

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The Latest News on the 2026 Gubernatorial Race is… No News

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No one besides us pathological Vermont Political Observers will have noticed, but July 1 was not just Bobby Bonilla Day, it was also a milestone in the 2026 gubernatorial campaign: the only campaign finance filing deadline in the year 2025. In fact, the next deadline isn’t until March 15, 2026 — not much more than two months shy of the filing deadline for major party candidates. But then, we do love our myth that nobody runs for office until June of an election year.

In other words, it’s going to get late early. Which makes it especially disappointing for campaign finance sickos (raises hand with pride) that Tuesday’s deadline produced no hints whatsoever about the race for governor in 2026.

Going into the day, I was expecting that Treasurer Mike Pieciak might report a decent-sized pile, like in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if only to pre-empt a potential flood of Democratic candidates and an unpredictable dogpile primary á la 2010, when Jim Douglas was retiring and an entire generation of Democrats entered the race. Well, five Democrats, anyway. Four of ’em finished within four percentage points of each other, and Peter Shumlin won (by two-tenths of a percent over Doug Racine) with less than one-quarter of the vote. And we all know how that turned out (cough) EB-5, single payer health care, Scott Milne (cough).

I’m allowing myself a little historical tangent because it’s much more interesting than the great big nothing we got in Tuesday’s filings. The details follow. If you like disappointment, read on.

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News You Should View: A Double Pair

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Well hey, not one but TWO of our local newspapers landed a pair of entries each in this week’s news roundup. Some serious stuff, some not so serious, a healthy serving of meat and potatoes. Kind of a well-rounded buffet.

Turns out, short-term rental registries are good for something. The Legislature has tried and failed to enact a registry of short-term rentals, mostly due to opposition from, you will be shocked to hear, the short-term rental industry itself. But the town of Stowe enacted a registry of its own, perhaps because there are roughly 1,000 short-term rental properties in a town of 5,000. Seems like a lot.

Reporters Aaron Calvin and Patrick Bilow of The Stowe Reporter used the registry as a research tool. Their story reveals that the vast majority of Stowe’s short-term rental properties are owned by people who don’t live in town — and more than half are owned by out-of-staters. The story is sure to feed into an ongoing discussion of short-term rentals as part of a broader examination of housing issues in the resort community.

“Internal wrangling” continues to plague southern Vermont school board. The eye-rolling continues for Shawn Cunningham of The Chester Telegraph, whose duties include covering the Green Mountain Union School Board. It has been a great source of unintentional humor of late, or tragedy if you prefer your governmental bodies to serve the interests of the people. The Board is deeply divided on appointing a new trustee to fill a vacancy. If you read between the lines, it seems obvious that there’s a partisan divide on the putatively nonpartisan board. The apparent conservatives are throwing out all kinds of entertaining objections to a nominee who seems to be of the liberal persuasion. The result is a lot of wasted time, and a portion of the district that doesn’t enjoy its full measure of representation.

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We’re About to Find Out, Yet Again, How Terrible the Legislature’s Ethics Regime Truly Is

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Hey, look: Somebody filed an ethics complaint against two state senators!

We wouldn’t know this, of course, except that the complainant announced the action in a press release. You’d never hear anything about it from official sources, because the Senate’s ethics process is a black hole from which no light can ever escape. Likewise the House’s process, but that’s another story.

The complaint was filed by Geo Honigford of Friends of Vermont Public Education. The targets, familiar to devotees of this here blog, are Sens. Seth Bongartz and Scott Beck. Honigford points out that both men have strong affiliations with private schools receiving public tuition dollars, and both lobbied aggressively for the interests of those schools in recent negotiations over public education reform.

I suppose you could think of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth as an unnamed co-conspirator, since it was Senate leadership that chose to install Bongartz and Beck on the House-Senate conference committee on education reform. Or maybe his right hand, Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale, could be included as well. She must have had a role in choosing two pro-private school senators to the committee.

Oh wait, Ram Hinsdale is chair of the Senate Ethics Panel, which will consider Honigford’s complaint. Right, right, probably best to leave her name out of it.

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Turns Out, Legislative Bodies Are Political. I Know, I Was Shocked, Too.

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The phrase “labored mightily and brought forth a mouse,” which I thought was Shakespeare but turns out to be from Aesop’s Fables, crossed my mind while reading the latest cover story in Seven Days. It chronicles the experiences of two rookie lawmakers in their first session in office, not a bad idea in itself. But the longer I went on reading (it’s long), the more I realized that this story was a mile wide and an inch deep. It traded in the obvious, provided little context, indulged the outsized expectations of the two lawmakers, and did little to justify its length or the sheer quantity of reporting that went into it.

And reporting time, in these days of diminished media outlets, is an extremely precious resource.

The story is the latest installment in “Ways and Means,” billed as “a deeper read on the Vermont Legislature.” It’s been heavily promoted by Seven Days, which secured special funding from “Vermont philanthropists”(see below) to hire reporter Hannah Bassett to explore the Legislature’s competence, efficiency, or lack thereof. It’s been an underwhelming effort so far; Bassett’s been on the case for six months and produced a mere five stories, most of which trafficked in the obvious (Lobbyists have influence! Legislative disclosure rules are weak! The Legislature’s lawyers work really hard!). Still waiting for an in-depth look at The Marble Palace.

A lot of Bassett’s time was invested in this latest effort. She followed the two lawmakers throughout the session, from early January to adjournment in mid-June. The story is rich with detail about their hopes, dreams, and blow-by-blow experiences. But that’s what it is: a compendium of details, a prime example of what editors disdainfully call a “notebook dump.” There was no effort to provide perspective or other points of view. Everything is seen through the eyes of the two principals.

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News You Should View: We Need Our Local Weeklies

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A whole bunch of community journalism in this week’s media roundup, which is great to see. No matter how strong our statewide outlets are (Narrator: They aren’t), our local weeklies are a vital link in the chain. They provide on-the-ground news and information that no one else will. Got some great stories from the local press to tell you about, but first let’s dip a toe into community access television, shall we?

Becca Balint didn’t have to do this. U.S. Rep. Becca Balint did a half-hour interview with All Things LGBTQ, a weekly news/interview show that airs on community access television outlets around the state (and is posted on YouTube). The interview is a couple weeks old, but (a) I only saw it last week and (b) it’s well worth your time. Balint talks about maintaining sanity in Trump’s Washington, the importance of reading books, and even performs a song. Our Congresscritters have plenty of fish to fry, and Balint didn’t have to take time for community access TV, but I’m glad she did.

A grassroots look at the Copley closure. Last Friday evening, Copley Hospital in Morrisville announced it would close its birthing center. I have decidedly mixed feelings about the move — we’re going to see cuts in our community hospitals, and some will be painful — but it’s a real sign of cowardice to announce it after hours on a Friday. Which just meant that ace News & Citizen reporter Aaron Calvin had to give up part of his weekend to turn out a report on the decision. The story was covered by several larger outlets, but only a local paper will focus on what the move will mean for the community it serves.

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