Gun control coming next session, Global Foundries signals lousy economy, and more

With well-known gun control advocate Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, taking on the role of  president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate, the Green Mountain State can expect a renewed push for restrictions on guns.

As president of the Senate, Baruth will wield increased influence over the agenda of the upper chamber. He will be replacing Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, who has won U.S. Rep. Peter Welch’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives

According to reported public statements following the Nov. 8 election Democratic Party victories, Baruth does intend to bring new gun-control bills to the Statehouse beginning in January.

Global Foundries suggests layoffs, Wall Street predicts an economic downturn

The chip manufacturer Global Foundries, which employs at least 2,000 Vermonters in Essex Junction, has announced the need for downsizing in the current economic slump.

“We face rapidly developing uncertainties of the global economy, including inflation, continued elevated energy costs, and rapid interest rate increases that are impacting our industry,” a spokesperson recently told MSN.com.

The chip maker’s warnings come on the heels of predictions for a continued economic downturn on Wall Street. Experts in banking suggest that the recent negative trends are a response to the Democrats continuing to hold significant power after the midterm election.

“Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 2.1% as investors watched vote-counting from Tuesday’s congressional elections to see whether Republicans take control, possibly leading to changes that can unsettle markets,” reports RapidCityJournal.com.

Welch joins a U.S. Senate majority instead of a minority

While many political pundits and pollsters predicted a massive political red wave would flip both the U.S. House and Senate for the GOP, it appears the Senate will remain in Democrat control and the House will be run by Republicans.

Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, said the surprising outcome of the general election has increased distrust among the American public about election security.

“Our electoral process suffers from a credibility crisis with many citizens harboring grave doubts about the legitimacy of future elections,” he wrote in a commentary for The Daily Signal. “States can ignore that, or they can follow Georgia’s lead and make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”

Burlington’s new high school bond approved

Burlington voters approved a $165 million bond for a new high school, after the old building was investigated for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. There was initially some controversy over a rule change by the Vermont Department of Health in what would be considered safe PCB levels for the public, but officials decided to seek the construction of a new high school.

NY Times covers bike thefts in Burlington

Much has been written about an increase in serious crimes such as shootings in recent years in Burlington, but one article in The New York Time suggests that bike thefts are on the rise as well.

“Bikes were disappearing from front porches, garages and bike racks. Mountain bikes, carbon-fiber race bikes, children’s bikes — all gone. The university warned students returning to campus that about 220 bikes, valued at $267,000, had been stolen in and around the city since June,” the outlet reported.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

Image courtesy of Public domain

4 thoughts on “Gun control coming next session, Global Foundries signals lousy economy, and more

  1. This guy, Mr. Baruth…Progressive…is an agendized dope :)….go ahead and enact such strict gun purchase laws that the honest population finds it harder, but they will comply. All he is doing is creating the NEXT largest “black market” item…..Gun Running – will become safer than selling hard drugs… and as profitable ….400 million guns in USA.. Drug dealers are already VERY adept at purchasing & marketing any illegal gun they want. So if there is money to be made….criminals will just start importing whatever hard-to- get-gun you want….from “Out-Of-State”..into Vermont. “Interstate Commerce”, with large profit margins, will fill in whatever gaps for demand of guns…and sell freely not only to VT criminals & drug dealers….but likely to average citizens as well.

    • Mr. Green makes an excellent point. More ‘gun control’ will only increase black-market values.

      But the progressive paradoxical endgame may be more likely. For example, our legislators legalized POT in order to take the cartel drug money out of the supply chain and funnel it, through taxation and regulatory fees, to supportive special interest groups. I suspect that Mr. Baruth and his minions are already scheming to profit from their gun regulations, to feather their own nests – which is typically how these legislators operate.

      Again, an excellent point, Mr. Green.

  2. The ‘gun control’ debate is a ‘tell’. It’s a behavior or demeanor that gives us a clue as to the debater’s own assessment of the strength of their logic, and their willingness to accept responsibility for it. In other words, the more the ‘gun control’ issue is thrown about, the more certain we can be that those throwing it haven’t a clue as to what is actually modifying the social norms we happen to be addressing at the time.

    Five people were murdered in a Colorado Springs bar with guns two days ago. The week before, four students were knifed to death in Idaho. Which incident is receiving the most coverage? After all, ‘knife control’ makes little sense… for now at least. And privileged students don’t have the political prowess of the LGTBQ community.

    Never mind that a 15-year-old was among 3 killed, and 2 teens were among 17 others injured, in Chicago shootings just over the past weekend. Or that more than 20 police recruits were injured last Thursday when a driver intentionally plowed into them while on their morning run.

    Why the diversion from these legislative social ordinances? Because the people proposing and implementing them are incompetent. They have no idea what they’re doing or whether or not what they do helps anyone. Worse, what they are doing now is exacerbating our social malaise. They are what C. S. Lewis described as ‘omnipotent moral busybodies’. And they ‘will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience’.

    As responsible people we must hold these tyrants to account. Call their bluff. Make them explain, in detail, not only why they do what they do, but whether or not they will accept responsibility for their actions.

    Are these ‘busybodies’ responsible? Your damn right they are. That guy who plowed into the police recruits just last Thursday is already out of jail, in large part because of the many similar ‘woke’ legislative social ordinances that are already on the books and destroying our society.

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