It’s a continual source of amazement -- though not amusement -- that members of Congress have clawed and ripped one another just to produce the current weak-tea, overly complex "health care reform" plan, when a simple, cost-effective system is already on the books. That would be Medicare, which far more easily could be extended to cover everyone.   Full Story

If President Obama has learned one thing in the year since his election, we hope it is that if a politician fails to show his supporters tangible results, their initial ardor will soon cool, leading to a lack of enthusiasm at the polls. Republican victories in two gubernatorial elections (New Jersey and Virginia) on Tuesday might be a bad sign for the president and the Democrats as we move   Full Story

As many states debate or pass timid laws to combat widespread texting and cell phone use while driving a motor vehicle, the British have taken a more effective next step that is as serious as a jail sentence. That nation now treats texting while driving and being involved in a fatal crash as a serious contributing factor to the accident -- similar to the way driving while intoxicated with   Full Story

No one would ever call filmmaker Michael Moore bias-free. In fact, his documentaries are really 90-minute arguments in favor of a cause -- or against one -- replete with visceral images for emotional impact, with some manipulated special effects for comic relief. It is fortunate then that Mr. Moore's targets are always the rich, the powerful, the arrogant and the corrupt -- the elitists   Full Story

Much is being discussed among school officials concerning possible consolidations or realignments among area school districts. This is promising, because the current overly complex governance format in the Southshire needs streamlining. But isn’t it time for stronger efforts to involve the public and gather input in this issue and on the various proposals?   Full Story

If Barack Obama called this fourth-quarter play, it has the look of a game changer on health care reform. Or was it Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- or, more likely, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has pushed hardest for true reform as the clock winds down? With a late Hail Mary play -- or was it a flea flicker or a faked field goal?   Full Story

The MooseFest 2009 figures have "galloped" off to their prospective new homes, and their stolid yet festive presence in Bennington's downtown is a fading memory. As with the previous MooseFest, in 2005, and with the J. Seward Johnson figures in 2008, area residents came to expect seeing them whenever they came downtown.   Full Story

With the insurance industry throwing out one last scare tactic salvo as Congress heads toward a decision on health care reform, it is useful to recall that several simple changes would accomplish significant cost savings immediately -- yet none of these proposals would be em-braced by the industry. All would be the target of vicious industry lobbying.   Full Story

Rush Limbaugh does not hide his egomania, and we understand it is part of his blustering pundit act, but there are times when even his ditto-headed fans should tune him out. The radio show bloviator, as most know by now, attempted to join a group of investors interested in purchasing the St. Louis Rams National Football League team.   Full Story

Does anyone feel comfortable with the pace at which jobs are returning to the economy? Well, no one should. We should be asking ourselves the question, what will happen after the traditional buying spree that is the holiday season abruptly ends in January? It could be a long, cold winter from that point.   Full Story

Well, the Europeans who hated President George W. Bush and his cowboy mentality and unilateralism in Iraq and elsewhere, now seem to be leaping overboard in anointing his successor for sainthood before he has served a full year in office. Sentiments of an "Old Europe," as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sneeringly called it, may have had something to do with the decision to award   Full Story

Let an explosive issue simmer to a boil behind the scenes, out of public view, and usually the pot will boil over and blow up in someone's face. That's the current predicament of the Southwest Vermont Career Development Center Board, which has been pressed by one of its members to do more about criminal background checks for adults taking courses during the day with teenage   Full Story

Playoffs? Playoffs? You wanna talk about playoffs? Actually, we do. It is time. This crisp October, the Lords of Baseball are once again working their black magic on the National Pastime -- the absurdly long regular season and playoffs that only start about the time the traditional Fall Classic once ended, not to mention the night games in near-freezing weather to pacify television, and naked   Full Story

A column by E.J. Dionne Jr. of The Washington Post, which argues there is no reason to rush a decision on deploying more troops to Afghanistan, also highlights the disastrous effects wars historically have had on a president's domestic agenda. Historian Robert Dallek, who has studied the administrations of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, among other presidencies, is quoted by Mr.   Full Story

During the campaign of 2008, Barack Obama was considered the new Jack Kennedy, the inheritor of the Camelot gene. JFK's brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, said as much and was an early backer of the current president. Later, when the thoughtful, serious President Obama ran into a buzzsaw of Republican opposition and round-the-clock right-wing assault, he began to look like an overwhelmed   Full Story