As we approach the 2011 new year, we are pleased to welcome two more independent-minded Vermont bloggers to our growing blogroll ranks.

Pete Garritano ran for lieutenant governor as an independent this last election, and will be blogging with us under the VERMONT UNCENSORED moniker. Simha Bode is a 7th generation Vermonter who works on issues of peace and justice, and will be blogging with usunder the HAVEN OF VERMONT moniker.

Welcome, gentlemen, and thanks for sharing your wisdom with us.

Free Vermont, and long live the UNtied States!

We'll be posting infrequently through January 3, 2011.

Happy holidays to all - free Vermont, and long live the UNtied States!

Editor's Note: Imagining the Federal Reserve as a "tool in the service of the people" may seem laughable to many, including this secessionist, on even-numbered days. But let's just say for a minute that Bernanke and Co. could be convinced...

We’ve seen behind the curtain, as the Fed waved its magic liquidity wand over Wall Street. Now it’s time to enlist this tool in the service of the people.

(Read more at Ellen Brown's blog.)

The Fed’s invisible hand first really became visible with the bailout of AIG. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in June 2009:

"Many of us were, shall we say, if not surprised,...

Net Neutrality is a defining issue of our time. It's essential to keep the Internet free and open, letting users access all content without restrictions, limitations, or discrimination, maintaining an online level playing field for everyone.

Three earlier articles addressed the issue, the most recent accessed here.

It's the essence of democratic free speech. Without it, the Internet will resemble cable TV, letting corporate predators game the system, deciding what web sites, content and applications...

You know you are in trouble when you make a full-length Hollywood feature film, and your entire story hinges on the activities of an animatronic talking mouse.

 Let me explain.

 I loved C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" as a kid. I remember, when I first learned that Fox and Walden Media were planning...

 Before dying, Richard Holbrooke admitted it, saying "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan." The Washington Post reinterpreted it, saying:

"Holbrooke's death is the latest complication in an effort plagued by unreliable partners, reluctant allies and an increasingly skeptical American public."

They're not alone. Include noted analysts, administration officials, the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Pentagon top brass. An earlier article discussed it,...

Think about how you'd feel if you had an invitation from the New York Times, putting you among "experts" offered to contribute 300 words.

12/9 6:45 p.m. From New York Times to Susan Ohanian: We are putting together a discussion on our online opinion forum, Room for Debate, about stress among high school students. These discussions are meant to be mini op-eds (about 300 words by a variety of experts addressing a specific question.

Here's the question: A new documentary, "Race to Nowhere," is hitting a nerve among parents across the country who are worried about the levels of stress that...

There have been a lot of posts about the end of the empire lately. This one is dedicated to the memory of Chalmers Johnson.

"PEAK EMPIRE" Predicting Collapse
In February, 2009 Dmitry Orlov said the following about predicting the collapse of the US empire: “I have learned from experience – luckily, from other people’s experience – that being a superpower collapse predictor is not a good career choice. I learned that by observing what happened to the people who successfully predicted the collapse of the USSR. Do you know who Andrei Amalrik is? See, my point exactly. He successfully predicted the collapse of the USSR. He was off by just half a decade. That was another valuable lesson for me,...