Disqus - Latest Comments for dusher

Re: Three Toxic Phrases

David Usher — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 21:22:46 -0000

Correct, Tom. Personal freedom, responsibility and accountability are requirements for a society to thrive. Victimhood takes us nowhere and erodes the underpinning of our Republic.

Re: Free Speech Should Still Be Protected

David Usher — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:53:31 -0000

Correct, Tom. Colleges and Universities whether public or private, must insist on equal treatment of opposing opinions. Advocating violence whether personal, societal, cultural or ethnic cannot be tolerated.

Re: Vermont Should Not Try to Change the Climate

David Usher — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 19:19:41 -0000

How can we assure that Tom's sensible approach to spending climate dollars finds its way into Vermont Legislative policy? My remedy is to elect people who understand the realities of climate change mitigation and deal with the controllable elements here at home.
Thanks, Tom, for your insights!

Re: There’s a Bot in the Sandbox.

David Usher — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:27:47 -0000

If this future of AI is not regulated, the world will change radically when these bots gain traction with common folks. The problem with the current bots is they hallucinate and frequently provide bad and just plain wrong information, but in very excellent prose. For example, when I first asked ChatGPT for the rules of bocce, it gave me the rules for croquet! subsequently, it finally got it right. Until the misinformation problem is remedied, they are dangerous for common usage. They will get better with time, and feedback, but not soon be perfect. Meanwhile, they are fun to play with as long as we recognize their shortcomings.

Re: Roper: VT Climate Council is unraveling | Vermont Business Magazine

David Usher — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:45:33 -0000

If Rob Roper's analysis is correct, this Council is dead.
If on the other hand, the $billions appropriated recently by Congress to fight climate change begin to flow toward Vermont, the council may stagger forward to the detriment of our economy.

Re: Tracking the beverage industry: Vermont Information Processing

David Usher — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 13:25:42 -0000

Excellent story about a great company I never heard of before! Kudos.

Re: Keeping Our Republic

David Usher — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 16:22:50 -0000

Pundits, politicians, and those paying attention to national affairs are consumed with the Supreme Court's recent decisions.

Our society has become so complex that many believe the issues we face, particularly concerning safety, health and the environment can only be solved by governments or Presidents. Many claim that the Constitution is an outmoded framework for governance in this complex world. But the Constitution rightly sets boundaries and separates powers such that our government, particularly with ineffective or overly ambitious leaders does not impede the free exercise of our rights.

Laws and rules are established to create an orderly, safe and secure society where life liberty and the pursuit of happiness can thrive.

When legislative bodies overreach or fail to act, citizens must elect different people. When Congress fails to act, bureaucracies should not be expected or allowed to govern by regulation, in effect becoming shadow legislators. When this happens, the courts must intervene to prevent excesses in the Executive beyond congressional authority. And the courts have no business enacting policy in their rulings.

Failure of the Congress to act does not permit Executive overreach and the courts must always act to prevent this. The recent decision in the EPA case was correct.

Re: Pandemic Lesson #2 – Experts Are Too Narrow to Make Policy

David Usher — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:20:48 -0000

I thoroughly agree, Tom. Life, society and the economy are too complex and intertwined to leave hard decisions affecting all to well-meaning but narrowly focused experts. True leadership is hard and always subject to second guessing, particularly when partisanship and ideology rather than common sense sway so many people.

Re: Pandemic Lesson #1: “The Science” Must Always be Challenged

David Usher — Thu, 05 May 2022 09:42:35 -0000

Critical thinking underlies all science and your summary of what we knew or were told about Covid captures the notion that 'science' is theoretical until reality provides a better answer.

Re: Subsidizing Electric Cars Might Even Hurt the Environment

David Usher — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:06:25 -0000

Thanks, Tom! Excellent presentation of the factual issues involved in this often lopsided narrative about electricity replacing fossil fuels. You are doing a real service for those willing to listen to reality rather than be swayed by emotion on the subject of renewables, electric vehicles and the health of the grid.

Re: Tuesday’s Elections Were Depolarizing

David Usher — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 08:13:17 -0000

Spot on, Tom!

Re: McClaughry: Unsustainability crisis facing seniors

David Usher — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 16:00:43 -0000

Thanks, John for the update. No optimism today.
The current craziness in spending is beyond belief. There is no limit on the spendthrifts' thinking. I often wonder if there is any way back from this profligacy. No one is suggesting one yet.

Re: Don Turner: The pension mess | Vermont Business Magazine

David Usher — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 10:02:36 -0000

Sensible suggestions that should have been implemented a decade or more ago. Our Legislative leadership have been asleep at the switch for far too long.

Re: Schubart: It's time to reconsider our public school curriculum

David Usher — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:36:01 -0000

Lifelong learning for certain! Comprehensive, yes. Can our teachers and school governance respond?

Some past significant curriculum efforts such as Common Core attempted to get at this. Have they been abandoned? Or do they need updating?

Re: Tim Volk: Wither Vermont? | Vermont Business Magazine

David Usher — Fri, 01 May 2020 20:44:43 -0000

Yes, Tim. Vermont muddles along with 'feel good' policy action but the Legislature is not well run nor does it have the understanding or the will to deal with the fundamentals.

There is little vision and less planning to address the problems (they are not challenges) you aptly describe. Part of the problem is our best and brightest choose not to seek public office.

Re: 'We Could Transform This Country': Sanders Rallies The Youth

David Usher — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 21:34:39 -0000

I don't want this country transformed, certainly not as socialist Bernie proposes. He is way off the mark for keeping America healthy and prosperous.

Re: The NY Times Never Disappoints

David Usher — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 13:57:02 -0000

I will never forget that this atrocity was perpetrated by RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISTS.

Re: The NY Times Never Disappoints

David Usher — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 13:53:00 -0000

I will never forget that this atrocity was perpetrated by radical ISLAMIC terrorists.

Re: Rep. Welch: 'I Have Concluded That President Donald Trump Should Be Impeached'

David Usher — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 12:36:34 -0000

Go for it Mr. Welsh and waste more Congressional time and taxpayer dollars while getting nothing accomplished. Oh, and it will all but guarantee President Trump's reelection.

Re: Vermont Needs Broadband: Here's What It Would Take To Get It

David Usher — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 12:46:58 -0000

No guarantee at this point that 5G will come to rural VT in the near future.

Re: Coates: Guess what? Vermont has a negative net worth!

David Usher — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 09:12:00 -0000

David Coates has been sounding this alarm for more than a decade. The Legislature refuses to listen, doesn't understand, or sweeps be the problem under the rug.

Here's a big part of the problem:

"Finally, since 2009 the State’s population has essentially remained the same, the total workforce has decreased by around 15,000, however, the number of retired and active participants in the pension plans has increased by 17%."

We have increased the number of public employees with no action to cover their full retirement costs with a no-growth population and declining employment base.

Re: Schubart: Advice For State Legislators

David Usher — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 10:42:09 -0000

I don't agree with all of Bills recommendations, but his ideas are a good place to begin the discussion.

Re: Condos decries FCC overturning net neutrality rules

David Usher — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 09:40:04 -0000

'Net Neutrality' is a solution in search of a problem, an opportunity for it's supporters to make political and ideological statements on the pretense that the heavy hand of government is needed to fix something that isn't broken. Mr Condos is on the wrong side of the argument.

Re: Leahy, Sanders And Welch All Agree: Repealing Net Neutrality Will Damage The Internet

David Usher — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 13:56:18 -0000

Onerous net neutrality rules and regulations are a solution in search of a problem. The FCC's pending action to abolish them is the right policy in a volatile technological environment.

Re: Brian Ricca: Unconscious biases

David Usher — Sat, 25 Nov 2017 08:50:12 -0000

All biases are not negative. Teach positive biases such as patriotism, heroism, giving to help your fellow man, the value of the rule of law, the bias to integrate legal immigrants into the community, the bias toward the common good rather than selfishness and self-absorbed living and dozens more.

Navel gazing to make everyone bias free leads nowhere. Bias is rooted in values, something that too many educators attempt to root out of the classroom. Instead, positive and shared values should be taught and modeled.