Peaceful Protest Over Tar Sands Takes a Violent Turn in Burlington, Vt.
by Common Dreams staff
July 30, 2012

A Sunday tar sands protest in Burlington, Vermont turned violent when riot police shot protesters with pepper spray and rubber bullets.

Hundreds of activists demonstrating against a proposed tar sands oil pipeline that would extend across northern New England gathered at the Burlington Hilton where the 36th annual conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers was being held.

Protesters created a "human oil spill" over the possibility that tar sands oil from western Canada might be shipped across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine...

 

 miamizsun wrote: 


The way to pay for it, I guess, is just a shift in priorities...  more great news—

Maryland bill to create single-payer system excludes insurance agents 

 

 romeotuma wrote: 
Sounds great, now if they can get someone to loan them the money to pay for it. Vermont has debt, already a little over $8200 per citizen.

Politicians are full of great ideas, and they'll sell your soul and bury your ass financially to borrow and fund it.

 Zep wrote: 

I wish Ohio had that many house seats.  With that many, it would be difficult to gerrymander and we'd keep people like our current jerk of a governor in check.

 Jack_Jefferson wrote: 
The Vermont house 150 members and about 110 districts; some districts have two representatives, while most have only 1.  It does come out to about 1 rep for every 4000 citizens. The Vermont Senate is much more restrained, with 30 members.

Yes, New Englanders like their representative form of government.   

Very good news for the people of Vermont.

Did I read that right?  It passed with a 92-49 vote?  So there are, at least, 141 house seats in a state the size of Vermont?  I don't mean to ridicule, but is that one seat for every neighborhood?  Someone please explain or post a link explaining this.

This is quite exciting...  some good news...

Vt. House passes single-payer health care bill

MONTPELIER, Vt.-Every Vermonter could sign up for state-financed health insurance under a bill passed by the House on Thursday that would put the state on a path to a single-payer health care system by the middle of this decade.

"This bill takes our state one step closer to a system that ensures that all Vermonters have access to the care they deserve and contains costs," House Speaker Shap Smith said shortly after the House passed the bill 92-49.

The measure now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, but with some possible changes.

Gov. Peter Shumlin, who made single-payer health care a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign last year, also praised the legislation. He said it would make Vermont "the first state in the country to make the first substantive step to deliver a health care system where health care will be a right and not a privilege, where health care will follow the individual, not be a requirement of the employer, and where we'll have an affordable system that contains costs."