PUTNEY-The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a chilling start to what will likely be more and more efforts to curtail free speech, free association, and a host of civil rights enshrined in our Constitution.
Troy Edgar, deputy secretary of the DHS, told NPR host Michel Martin that Khalil was arrested because he had "put himself in the middle of the process of basically pro-Palestinian activity" while a graduate student at Columbia University.
Khalil has so far not been charged with any crime. But his activities organizing protests, speaking out in support of Palestinians and negotiating with the Columbia administration on behalf of other students, are couched as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on antisemitism on college campuses.
Antisemitism is real, terrifying, and on the rise. And some Columbia protesters likely did engage in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students. This should be condemned and those individuals held accountable.
Due to an editing error, there is now a mistake in the letter I wrote about the “wild” parsnip. I had written, “In the Midwest, where the wild parsnip is abundant, land managers say that it is unlikely to 'invade' well established prairie - i.e. it is land disturbed...
Randolph T. Holhut describes the wild, or “poison,” parsnip as “a new invasive species for Vermonters to be worried about,” and also as a “genetic mutation of garden parsnip.” However, in reviewing the literature, I could not find evidence that this is true. A recent study published in the...
The first Westminster West Festival of Squashes, a fundraiser for the Westminster West Public Library, held Oct 16 in Westminster West village, was a great success. Festival-goers enjoyed a wide range of dishes at the squash café. The squash identification treasure hunt introduced children and adults to the diversity of squash that can be grown in our region, and children also got to exercise their creativity in designing intriguing squash sculptures. Neil Taylor provided festival-goers and organizers with much needed...
Gardening season is upon us, and as I scrutinize my various garden maps, trying to decide where to plant what, I have been pondering the relationship between insects and gardeners. Most gardeners I know like bugs, to a degree. They like to see interesting spiders in the garden, for example, because they know spiders feast on a lot of the “pest” species that might otherwise ravage our crops. But gardeners can be a savage lot when it comes to many...