Here's a shot to the beer gut: Governmentbodies across America are looking to increase taxes on beer. According to ABC News, states from Connecticut to Arkansas have been "eyeing higher taxes on cigarettes and booze" to make up for budget shortfalls caused by the recession. Now, I'm not against paying taxes to fund government programs.   Full Story

Chances are thatTracy Greene, Magalis Filson and Dick Frantz are not well known within the Bennington Community. However, they along with 217 of their colleagues, are not only well known to the 160 residents of the Vermont Veterans Home, they are indispensable. On November 11, Americans will pause to celebrate the contribution made by its military veterans.   Full Story

Jane McDay I am constantly surprised at the frequency with which I encounter people who have never heard of the Baha’i Faith. This in spite of regular news clips about the persecutions of the Baha’is in Iran by the Iranian government and the seven members of the faith held in Evin prison since March of 2008 because of their beliefs.   Full Story

David Sirota Trade and globalization -- when not referencing blockbuster sports transactions or raucousstreet protests,debates over these abstract terms can give Ambien and Jack Daniels a run for their money as a cure for insomnia. Of course, that's the problem -- the rules governing what we buy and sell are now playing such a decisive role in almost every major policy that we're   Full Story

Joe Bushika Exercise is a great tool for keeping one fit and healthy, and I must admit that I don't get enough of it, but I am still fairly active. Weather permitting, I play golf most days, and I will soon be in the great outdoors hunting the elusive whitetail deer. Winter traditionally has been a bad season for me.   Full Story

Alden Graves I suppose that I should be more upset by the elections last week. I've tried, I really have. I just can't summon up much despair over the loss of two governorships. After eight dreary years of James Douglas, it is small wonder that any fire that the word "governor" ignited in the spirit of most Vermonters has long since fallen to cold cinders.   Full Story

During the past several years, people have made millions of dollars creating financial products that, when they collapsed, left us -- taxpayers -- holding the bag. Meanwhile, high-flying finance people have gotten big bonuses not because they did a good job, but because the "bonus" was part of their contract.   Full Story

Clear your calendar for November 16th. There will be a community forum on the Bennington area's economic future. The discussion will start at 7 p.m. at the Bennington Firehouse. Stu Hurd, Bennington's town manager, has graciously accepted a request to moderate the event. Guest speakers will include Peter Odierna, executive director of the Bennington County Industrial Corp.   Full Story

As the nation entersits fourth month of waiting on PresidentBarack Obama's strategic directionin Afghanistan, echoes of comparison to the Vietnam War are resonating from the halls of academia to every TV and radio talking head. Yet, past the obvious quagmire potential, Vietnam's backdrop of Cold War realities are a far cry from the environment is which the current turmoil is   Full Story

Remember those old ads forsome brand of cigarette that the tobacco industry was pitching at women that crowed"You’ve come a long way, baby?" I suppose that the catch phrase was true enough, even if it was encouraging women to buy a product designed for their use that probably ended up killing a lot of them.   Full Story

One of the most intense concerns of theenviro-laden majority party in recent Legislature has been to find some invisible way of subsidizing its favorite corporate welfare recipient, "renewable energy." The 2005 Legislature created a Clean Energy Development Fund to make grants and loans to qualified wind, solar, biomass, methane, small hydro and other renewable energy promoters.   Full Story

Shelly Stiles If the organization I work for, the Bennington County Conservation District, is an outpost for good works (I hope we are!), it is mostly because we help other like-minded people and groups achieve their goals. Let this column be a kind of business card left on your desk. Maybe someday you’ll need help doing a good turn, conservation-wise.   Full Story

Martha Carr It’s so easy to look up in middle age and realize there are chores, there are obligations, there’s a job but there’s no hobby anywhere in sight. It’s kind of ironic that we load our kids up with extracurricular activities so that they’ll have a more well-rounded life but then we drop every one of them as marriage, kids and career eat away at all   Full Story

Bill Amos Looking out from the sun porch a few weeks ago, I noticed unusual activity near a sunlit corner of the house. Vespid wasps, better known as yellow jackets, were flying from a gap in the clapboards. Initially alarmed, I realized we had passed their nest entrance daily and not been attacked.   Full Story

Bob Stannard On the day you read this, it will be Halloween, a time when many dress up as ghosts and goblins, go door to door and request treats. The price for not offering up a treat is a trick. It’s an interesting non-holiday that with only a little thought seems to have other recent analogies.   Full Story