Scott Gessler was the Secretary of State of Colorado over the period when that state transitioned to mail-in-voting system. He’s done an analysis of the plans and procedures our own Secretary of State Jim Condos has put in place for Vermont’s 2020 general election and finds it, to be charitable, lacking.

Vermont has had the highest number of protests per capita in America since late May. Most of those were affiliated with Black Lives Matter, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Yesterday the Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), sending the controversial legislation to the Governor’s desk for either his signature or a veto stamp.

For years, public demonstrations on issues ranging from abortion to climate change have been commonplace in Vermont, signs of a healthy civil discourse. But some demonstrations have taken a more sinister tone of late, undermining the foundations of our democracy.

Reporter Natalie Escobar offered an interesting news report for National Public Radio on August 31. It went like this: “In the past months of demonstrations for Black lives, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about looting...Just this week, rioters have burned buildings and looted stores in Kenosha, Wisconsin., following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, to which Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has said: ‘Peaceful protesting is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Rioting is not.’ “

The legislature returned in late August to tie up the loose ends of the 2020 session, and one of those loose ends is the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA).

According to a recent Gallup poll, climate change is far down the list of America’s "most important problem" we're facing.

In April, 45% Americans believed – “Coronavirus/Diseases” was the biggest problem facing the country, followed by “the Government/Poor Leadership” at 20%.  In June, Government/Poor Leadership edged out Coronavirus/Disease 21% to 20%. Then Government/Poor Leadership returned to second place in July, taking in 23% of the vote, exceeded again by Coronavirus/Disease at 30%.