Dan DeWalt

Our founders’ racist principles

In the Groundhog Day edition of The Commons, columnist Elayne Clift bemoans “circumstances grounded in the principles of our country's founders are slipping away.” She then goes on to write about voting rights and voter suppression.

Our founders saw fit to own slaves and protect slavery. They suppressed the vote for everyone except propertied white men.

There were some principles mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, but no one in power has bothered to live up to them yet.

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Peter Welch is no longer the man for the job

Our U.S. representative still has faith in congressional institutions that are broken, but his $2 million war chest will likely make him Patrick Leahy’s successor in the U.S. Senate. It’s time for a new generation of politicians who understand current trends and who are prepared to act, not dither.

St. Patrick - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy - is resigning, and the great realignment has now begun. The question is: Do we want to continue the current model of feckless, middle-ground maneuvering that is laying the groundwork for a radical right-wing takeover of national politics? Or is it time...

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We loved our country so much that we changed it

We have a Constitution that allows for aligning our laws with our ideals. But if you try to correct mistakes and repair harm, a choir of furious ‘patriots’ will cry out that you hate your country or, if the criticism is about Israel, that you are anti-Semitic.

If you were at the supermarket with your 6-year-old child, and you saw them take a candy bar off of the rack and start to eat it, would you simply shrug and pretend you didn't notice? Or would you stop them and explain why that is wrong? And would...

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Our collective trauma response

We keep hearing a recurring refrain these days: How can people not accept facts? How can people believe that the government is lying about the election being fair? Why can't people just accept reality? Why indeed? While the current crop of “denied truths” seem incomprehensible to most Americans, it is just the latest preferred fiction that we use to guide our conduct and social organization. Let's start at the beginning and close to home. When predominantly British settlers expanded inland...

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The pre-Trump normal is the last thing we want

Despite the pathetic and dangerous antics of the Sore Loser, the United States will soon have a President Biden. As the false and damaging obstacles laid in the path of this election are falling one by one, many Americans seem to be looking forward to it “just being normal.” But if “normal” means returning to pre-Trump norms and outcomes, then this is the last thing we want. It's easy to forget that four years ago, even under a relatively moral...

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Funds available in case of election crisis

Across the nation and the state of Vermont, people are organizing in preparation for a possible coup or illegal nullification of the upcoming election. In response to a recent commentary published in the Brattleboro Reformer and The Commons calling for Vermonters to prepare for such a scenario, a Brattleboro resident responded to the author, saying in part: “Thank you for warning us of the 'unthinkable.' I'm age 88 and in a wheelchair, so I won't be out blocking roads and...

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Better safe than sorry

Are you ready for action? Because action might be ready for you. President Trump may be temporarily slowed by his foolish self exposure to the coronavirus, but the Republican party's plans to disrupt, dispute, and steal the election are continuing at full speed. Stirring up fears by making false claims about mail-in voting and “crooked Democrats,” they are fabricating a crisis that they then hope to step in and “solve” with the help of the courts, including the Supreme Court,

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Vermont’s embrace of prisons-for-profit is a travesty and a disgrace

The reckless disregard for Vermont prisoners by the Scott administration not only is a travesty and disgrace, it is also a sign of systemic white supremacy that is at play - apparently, without the administration even noticing. Core Civic, with which the state has contracted to imprison Vermonters convicted of crimes, has failed miserably to do due diligence in its custodial care of human beings. COVID-19 has swept through its facility in Mississippi and poses a grave risk to scores...

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