Richard Witty

In Gaza, a response both rational and corrupt

‘Hamas will not be known as the heroes of the Palestinian people, but as its gross liability. Thankfully, the failures of the Netanyahu administration will also be seen.’


Richard Witty is a former CPA who worked in Brattleboro for many years. He served as treasurer on the board of Vermont Independent Media, which publishes this newspaper. He notes: "I personally don't have TV and have not seen daily video of the results, so I reason from words, stills, and a few videos posted on Facebook."


Why is all this happening?

Without question, the effects of the Israeli military efforts in Gaza have been very harsh, causing significant suffering, and promising much more (even if the bombing stopped).

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To gauge danger of COVID-19, look at the numbers. It’s serious.

COVID-19 - just how bad is it? “Really bad” - that tells me nothing. I need a number. And, I need to understand what the number(s) mean. Let's look at prevalence (the percentage of the population that is contagious) and growth (the ratio of new cases to active cases).

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‘I came to oppose the Wootton challenge’

A Marlboro College alum first saw the Marlboro/Emerson proposal as a potential gift, a bribe, or a theft. He has come to see it as a positive way forward for the college on the hill.

I am a 1978 Marlboro College alum and was caught off guard at the original announcement of the merger with the University of Bridgeport. At a public presentation at Marlboro town hall, I raised the prospect of reviving an “originalist” Marlboro, a neo-Luddite book-oriented college comprised of thin administration,

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Broken

Both the 2008 and the 2012 U.S. presidential elections seemed like a mark that the United States had distinctly changed direction. But even in the Democratic primaries, the discussion between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was of incidental tweaks on policy - nothing grand. Although the Obama presidency proposed to be an invitation to review new priorities, his presidency has turned out to be mostly Clintonesque “small ball.” Even the Affordable Care Act was incremental in effect - important, but...

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