WELCH AT HOME
I was left with more questions than answers after reading Ken Picard’s article that champions Peter Welch as an anti-war Democrat [“Welch in Washington,” April 23].

Did Peter Welch accept a $3500 donation from Burlington-based contractor General Dynamics or not? If so, is this consistent with Welch’s “crack down on war contractor fraud,” or his “antiwar” platform? If he did accept the General Dynamics donation, will he agree to do what the Coalition for a Peace Economy is asking of him — to publicly announce that he will no longer accept donations from the military-industrial complex, and return the $3500 to the people of Vermont by initiating a new Green, Just and Peaceful Economy Fund?

My last question is, why did Picard let Welch off the hook so easily and not ask him these very obvious questions that are not, as Welch claims, representative of simple “frustration,” but rather seem to be very clear and rational questions with equally clear yes or no answers?

Oh, yeah — on another note — way to go, Seven Days, for joining Welch’s hypocrisy by accepting money from Entergy and allowing them to misinform the people of Vermont about how clean and green VT Yankees’ nuclear waste is in their sexy green-washing campaign. It is OK to have principles (even as a business) and to just say NO to advertisements that lie.
Brendan O’Neill
BURLINGTON


DESPERATE DENIAL?
Jon Margolis simply cannot face the awkward fact that Vermont is the most heavily taxed state in the union [“What So Bad About Vermont?” April 23]. When in another publication he attacked the Tax Foundation report that declared this, he showed that he didn’t even understand the metric used. So now, in Seven Days, he just declares, without explanation, that “these [unnamed] reports” are “flat-out wrong.” So much for them!

The important metric here is how much Vermont governments claim in taxes in relation to Vermonters’ personal income. Economists refer to this as “tax burden.” In 2007, the Tax Foundation found that after crediting education property tax rebates and adjusting for incidence of taxes imported and exported among the states, Vermont state and local government claimed 14.1 percent of Vermonters’ income. That’s the highest of any state, 21 percent above the national average.

Others of Margolis’ political persuasion have argued that Vermont’s system is highly progressive, so the average Vermonter’s burden is shifted to the rich. They have also pointed out that it’s worth it: Vermonters get a lot for the taxes they pay. Gov. Douglas objected that other methodological choices wouldn’t have made Vermont look so bad. These are all respectable debating points.

But for Margolis, the inconvenient news is just “flat-out wrong.” This is not a useful contribution. It’s just desperate denial.
John McClaughry
KIRBY
McClaughry is president of the Ethan Allen Institute.


HOORAY FOR SHAY
Shay’s back in print! Terrific! I just read his first column, and he is certainly continuing Peter Freyne’s bird-dogging of Vermont Yankee and its attempts to get out from under its obligations to Vermonters who use their power [“Fair Game,” April 30].

And Shay’s comment on the upcoming gubernatorial race is right on. Gaye Symington may be the Dems’ choice to run against Jim Douglas, and it was very revealing that she got three standing ovations at the annual Curtis Awards a week or so ago.

But when, at that same meeting, the Dems failed to acknowledge the presence of Anthony Pollina sitting, as Shay said, to the far left of the podium, that was a glaring slight to a decent man. I think the state Dem leaders could have shown at least a little class. Shame on them.
Ted Tedford
UNDERHILL CENTER


PERSISTENT PEEVE
It’s been a couple weeks and I’m still appalled at the on-campus “interview” at Johnson State about how a bunch of idiots waste time around our town [“Campus Question,” April 9].

I keep thinking I should get over it, the whole thing was just so . . . stupid. Just get over it. But the guys interviewed looked bad, the college looked bad, the town looked bad, and Seven Days looked bad for putting it out there. Come on!

Johnson and JSC have so much to offer. I spend as much as I can afford to advertise my little shop (through Seven Days!), and publishing that kind of crap undoes the effort to encourage folks to visit Johnson.
Diana Osborn
JOHNSON


BARRE BEEF
Loved your article on the “ladies” of the road. It’s just a shame you didn’t notice that for the past two years, Wilkens Harley-Davidson in Barre has been holding the same event!

Maybe a little bit of mention of this would have been a plus. Wilkens is a great dealership, with a great family at the helm. Barbara Wilkens is still a present and active member of the business. I was extremely glad to see her at the event, April 24, where they collected “goodies” for our troops overseas. So sorry that Seven Days neglected this event also.

Maybe you need to start to look east for more information about the goings-on in our state. There are a lot of readers that live out of Chittenden County.

And, to all you ladies out there on two wheels (no matter what make or model) — keep rolling, keep smiling and show all those guys you can still be sexy with bugs in your teeth!
Cindy Barrows
EDEN
Editor’s Note: It’s a shame we didn’t receive a press release from Wilkens. That’s all it takes to get an event in the calendar.


NEIGHSAYING
The writer of this article came to “Everything Equine,” rated as one of the best events in Vermont, and proceeded to express her disgust and boredom with all things equine [“scene@,” April 30].

I attended the event with my family, some of whom are not even particularly interested in horses, and we all had a wonderful day. Horses have long been recognized as beautiful animals that have been immeasurably valuable companions and workers for the human race.

It’s strange and rather disturbing that your “reporter” came to this event and was so fixated on horse anuses and feces. Next time, send her to the Scatological Society Convention or something more in her line of expertise! This was an ignorant, disgusting and embarrassing little article!
Joan Goldsworthy
RANDOLPH


WATCH YOUR STEP
As a horse enthusiast and UVM English alum, I was deeply disappointed when the perverse article on “Everything Equine” confronted me [“scene@,” April 30].

Vermont’s largest horse event showcased numerous educational seminars, demonstrations, vendors and renowned equine experts, yet Alice Levitt settled on descriptions of horse by-product repeatedly. Her inappropriate focus led her to incorporate crude verbiage such as “turds” and “animals’ anuses,” leaving me disgusted and shocked.

Missing from this inane article were the countless faces (such as Betsy Greene, University of Vermont, and Jill Floyd, Guy’s Farm & Yard) behind the scene of “Everything Equine,” whose devotion to the industry have allowed equine enthusiasts the rare opportunity to hear from local and national experts.

Among the numerous special guests were Jane Savoie, an internationally respected author and clinician; Ellen Feld, author of a popular children’s book series about her Morgan, BlackJack; and equine stars such as screenwriter John Fusco’s Oscar, famous for his role in Hidalgo.

Horses (whether live or model) are not for everyone, but professional journalism refrains from the type of slanted opinion that spewed forth from Ms. Levitt. Immediately it was apparent that your “reporter” did not want to cover a horse expo. As a model-horse shower, I was upset that the media we welcomed decided to portray us with brutal inaccuracy. Our local horse industry is a valuable asset to this state’s economy as well as an integral part of many of your readers’ lives; this should not have been made into a mockery.
Karen Lloyd
WINOOSKI