tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213532992024-03-07T13:57:31.822-05:00BurlingtonPol.com
.Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.comBlogger855125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-8374204089652322822024-03-05T21:22:00.001-05:002024-03-05T21:25:48.856-05:00Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Elected Mayor of Burlington<p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mulvaney-Stanak Rolls to Victory Ending 159 Years of Male Rule in City Hall<br /></span></b></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Breaking News:</u></span></b></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;"> </b></i><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Landslide: </b></i><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Progressive Emma Mulvaney-Stanak </b></i><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Defeats </b></i><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Democrat Joan Shannon in Mayoral Election</b></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Majority in First Round of Vote Counting. "Instant Runoff" Averted <br /></b></span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Burlington to finally get </b></i><i><b style="font-family: courier;">"Fresh Start"</b></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Developing Story...</b></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;"></b></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBGjdpqrC8rq1DREdNhA73vvzzTYHsxaf5M0T-4uDxOevjOeXBTfaJDCvufCWX12yuTLFvY7WKWPQt_8HOehv0DnPBJWk0h5J1PtpDFspyfjqyR7PueK0hrG9r_5QEYXtsEsfOeIdaXTXyGqA_H4N8AZddLpZRMHWXT9NK4wW-QR55f4680dQ/s648/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%209.13.27%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="648" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBGjdpqrC8rq1DREdNhA73vvzzTYHsxaf5M0T-4uDxOevjOeXBTfaJDCvufCWX12yuTLFvY7WKWPQt_8HOehv0DnPBJWk0h5J1PtpDFspyfjqyR7PueK0hrG9r_5QEYXtsEsfOeIdaXTXyGqA_H4N8AZddLpZRMHWXT9NK4wW-QR55f4680dQ/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%209.13.27%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;">Mayor-elect Emma Mulvaney-Stanak</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b style="font-family: courier;">(Congratulations Emma!) </b></i></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-72927627278028045912022-03-14T22:37:00.009-04:002022-03-15T00:13:45.400-04:00World War II and The Prison Camp<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> From my dad's book <i>My Life: A Story of Survival, An Autobiography of Grischa Bedrosian</i></span>
</p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">World War II</span></u></b><span style="layout-grid-mode: line;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In
1940 the Germans attacked Russia. They did a lot of damage and took a lot of
towns and cities. In 1941 the government recalled former soldiers to fight.
They called me too. For three months we trained, going on maneuvers. In
October, all Armenian soldiers were brought to Yerevan to the train station, and
loaded into train cars. The train traveled two days and nights. Suddenly the
train stopped. Armenian officers came and told our battalions the Germans had
cut the train line. Almost half an hour we walked along the track past empty
railroad cars. The officers told us all these cars had brought soldiers to go
fight. Then all the soldiers stood in the line. Each soldier got 35 bullets for
his gun, and four pieces of stale bread. The officer told us this track led to
a town where the Germans were. </span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We
were ordered to take town that night. Almost half of the night we walked
through fields to the town. After four hours the Germans sent up bright flares.
The whole army lay down and waited for the lights to go out. When the lights
went out it was almost daylight. We were by then close to the Germans. The
Germans began to shoot big artillery, big cannons and lots of different guns.
The bullets rained down like hail. We couldn't stand up and escape without
being killed. About a block away from me a big bomb exploded. The flying dirt
covered me. I was not wounded. I crawled into a bomb hole. It was deep. I
waited but the shooting didn't stop all day. Finally, the sun went down. After
the shooting stopped, I crawled out of the hole, cold and hungry and looked
around. I saw one man walking toward me. I was afraid he was a German but when
he came close I saw he was a Russian soldier. We recognized each other. He was
from the same battalion He was crying. He said the Germans had killed all the
army.</span><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This
Russian told me, " I know this territory. Its my neighborhood." <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was relieved to see him. We started walking
back, until we saw our battalion. Hundreds and hundreds were dead and wounded.
We walked ten or fifteen minutes past the dead. Then we walked half the night.
We saw a lot of big haystacks. We saw more dead and wounded around these
haystacks. The Russian told me we were close to a Russian town and we should go
there. For almost an hour we went from door to door.</span><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">At last,
one old lady opened her door. She was alone. We asked for bread. She said she
hadn't had bread all week and was hungry too. It was good we had a dry place to
stay the night and rest. In the morning we went back to the haystacks. We saw
more and more dead and wounded; thousands and thousands! We looked around and
found sixteen Russian soldiers alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">They
said, "We don't know where to go. That's why we stayed here." The
sixteen soldiers said they were from Georgia. Nothing to do with the Armenian
group. They had been there two days. The hundreds and hundreds of dead soldiers
were from their army. After that we saw a car coming. It was two Russian
officers. They said the truck was coming to bring food. We stood in line for
food and bread. Then they said, "You wait here." The officers and the
truck left. All the Russians sat down somewhat away from the dead soldiers. I
took my food and sat near the wounded soldiers because I didn't trust the
officers. After half an hour a big truck came and picked up all the Russians.</span><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">All
day I sat among the wounded hearing their cries. When the sun went down I stood
up and looked around. I saw four or five Russians running toward the town. I
waited a while and I saw a lot more Russians also heading toward the town. Then
I joined them and ran toward the town too. When I got close to town I looked
back and saw a lot of German tanks in pursuit. I began running very fast. In
front of the second house I saw a big hole and hid inside. It was half full of
sunflower seeds. I heard the German soldiers and tanks come into the town. I
was so frightened my whole body began to tremble. </span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Half an
hour later I saw a flashlight on a stick and two rifles sticking down into the
hole. I came out with my hands up and saw four German soldiers. They put my
hands behind my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They brought me to
a barn, opened the door and pushed me inside. There was no light inside. Then I
heard a lot of people talking in different languages. A few hours later four
German soldiers with flashlights came inside the barn. We all came outside.
Twenty or twenty five soldiers were waiting with rifles. They made us line up
in rows of six, one behind the other. </span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">There
were about two hundred prisoners. These were what was left of the Russian army
after most were killed or wounded. The sixteen soldiers picked up by the truck
were among the soldiers who ran back to town. They were brought together by the
Russian officers to fight the Germans but were frightened back into town by the
artillery.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Germans took us out of town. We walked all night with not a minute to sit down.
Then we came to another town. We sat down under some trees. The Germans didn't
want to move prisoners in the daylight when they could be seen by Russian
airplanes. </span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">For
almost three days I had nothing to eat. I was hungry and tired. Only two days
before I had been in Armenia, a free citizen. I could go any place I wanted.
After two days I was a German prisoner. What would happen to me?</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Then
the German soldiers went to town and brought back a truck with round Russian
bread. Every prisoner was given a piece of bread. After dark the prisoners
started walking again. We walked all night through fields, not on the road. We
found another town and stopped there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
had a little bit of bread at this town too.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When
we got closer to the front we had to walk day and night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day we would have bread, the next day
none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked like that for a week.</span><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
second week the prisoners began to get weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When they couldn’t stand up the Germans tried beating them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they still couldn’t stand up they were
shot in the head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw nine men killed
this way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Prison Camp</span></u></b></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We
walked day and night this way - one day food-one day none, for two weeks until
we come to a city called Mariupol in Ukraine. There was a big prison camp
there.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">They
opened the gate and brought us into a huge prison yard. We stayed there all
night. In the morning all the other prisoners came out. When I saw these prisoners,
I couldn't believe my eyes! I never believed people could became like this. All
those who were there a long time had swollen stomachs - and were just bone and
skin. Their hair was long and they hadn't showered or bathed for months. Their
clothes were dirty and torn.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">One
time a day everyone was given a spoonful of cold hard porridge. There was no
clean water to drink. </span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Around
the prison camp were two ten foot high fences, one around the other so if you
escaped one you would fall down into the other.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
building used to be a college. It was three stories high. There were sixty
rooms.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I
looked around the camp for other Armenian prisoners. I found 32 Armenian people
there. Some of them were friends of mine. Some were from Yerevan and some were
from town. We hugged each other. They said, " You came to this death place
too!"</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I'll
never tell anyone the names of people I saw there. It is just between me and
God.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When
fresh prisoners came, they were stronger than the others. The Germans would use
them to put the dead and dying into the trucks to be taken and buried. During
my first three weeks there I had to help do this five times. Three times I had
to help place corpses on a ramp which went down from windows on the second and
third floors to waiting trucks below. Twice we loaded those who had died in the
prison yard. Some days more might die; some days less, but every day they died
by the hundreds. All the time new prisoners were brought in.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In the
sixty rooms there were no windows or doors. Prisoners had broken them up for
firewood.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: medium; layout-grid-mode: line; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-74041192687793870682021-07-04T10:15:00.003-04:002021-07-04T10:15:44.624-04:00Roddy O'Neil Cleary 1932-2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOOwUUvmFseqcXN2bP-5vTtzhznWJEs1rIOraRq-shBvEBh8MzhDHqnzfD1HUWZbm0bADwgjrDG6MWgkJPBopdPlhHC-o0F8ipDBI7N413S8lPwzbmjRtS-m_3SNaSVPHe4uC/s596/Roddy+Cleary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="596" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOOwUUvmFseqcXN2bP-5vTtzhznWJEs1rIOraRq-shBvEBh8MzhDHqnzfD1HUWZbm0bADwgjrDG6MWgkJPBopdPlhHC-o0F8ipDBI7N413S8lPwzbmjRtS-m_3SNaSVPHe4uC/w400-h318/Roddy+Cleary.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-4484235545761281292021-04-13T21:12:00.006-04:002021-04-13T21:24:40.446-04:00Jonny Wanzer Wins the Election<p>After multiple recounts, several fiercely contested legal hearings, and over 5 weeks of delay, the "people's mayor" Jonny Wanzer has finally been declared the winner of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Burlington_mayoral_election" target="_blank">2021 Burlington mayoral election</a>. </p><p> <b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://linktr.ee/Jonnywanzer" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wPqJDHxudRAdqZlfdjkZbunX32Mh8pfDPAaLyNWTP26qRwUBIQTU44H3Rm-XNGEmZ7bYME7lrdUbtTn6r6fx8TtYh1MHCsY7KWYMCf6V7HKaBHbJBspRBGKsHPK_s_x3HxxX/w320-h320/Jonny+Wanzer.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Jonny Wanzer</b></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"The People's Mayor."</span></span></b></b></span></b></span></p><p><a href="https://linktr.ee/Jonnywanzer" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">https://linktr.ee/Jonnywanzer</span></span></b></b></span></b></span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></b> <br /></b></span></b></span></p><p><br /></p><br />Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-82392223273767666582021-02-15T20:58:00.004-05:002021-02-15T21:06:10.454-05:00More to Come...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgCv1qUUoG_2M8Z93H-kuaPCxQJGjUis_d1F5l_DoJ2w_axb6t7F-UTjaq0vgiW06Uq17tFo8dNvBxzTrVIfYQhNQ-45HjZ9X83A3MeAHxkYh1JIRJAXRznnIIsvC59rpIRrnwQ/s636/CowboyEddie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="636" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgCv1qUUoG_2M8Z93H-kuaPCxQJGjUis_d1F5l_DoJ2w_axb6t7F-UTjaq0vgiW06Uq17tFo8dNvBxzTrVIfYQhNQ-45HjZ9X83A3MeAHxkYh1JIRJAXRznnIIsvC59rpIRrnwQ/w421-h289/CowboyEddie.jpg" width="421" /></a></div>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-7963865784685733242021-01-27T22:26:00.004-05:002021-02-09T13:15:51.980-05:005150 Mayoral Election III<p>My name will appear on the ballot in the mayoral election on March 2. I believe I have the same chance of winning as any of the other challengers, which of course is zero. Miro's going to win re-election.</p><p>I won't be raising or spending any money or trying to "win votes." I don't care who you vote for, and I won't be campaigning very much. I've already accepted invitations to go on Kurt Wright's radio show this Friday, and to join the Zoom forum hosted by Seven Days and Channel 17 on February 5, but I may not do much else. These things already feel like a lot.</p><p>I will use the campaign to share some thoughts and ideas. Here are a few of them.<br /></p><p>I would like to see a large project engineered into the hill between Battery Park and Waterfront Park that connects the two by stairways and ramps, with places along the way to sit and watch the sunset from.</p><p>I would like Burlington to buy a large kinetic sculpture by the artist <a href="https://www.howeart.net/" target="_blank">Anthony Howe</a> similar to <a href="https://www.howeart.net/azlon" target="_blank">this one</a> in place it at Waterfront Park for the public to enjoy.</p><p>I would like to see the steel skeleton of the former Moran Plant glassed-in and turned into a large, multi-level, year round indoor botanical gardens.</p><p>I would look for ways to create other large indoor communal space where people can stretch their legs year round. The mall was more than retail space, it was a place for people to walk around in the winter and we need places for that, whether or not it's related to commerce.</p><p>I would like the city to get rid of its parking meters and stop charging money to park on public streets. </p><p>I would encourage a rule that says police can't stop people from filming them.</p><p>I would order the return of the old police patch with the Ethan Allen tower on it. The new one does not present a friendly image.</p><p>I would prioritize expanded wastewater capacity, to stop sewage spills in the lake.</p><p>I would restore an office in city hall where kids are always welcome.</p><p>I would prioritize restoration of Memorial Auditorium and the teen center at 242 Main Street.</p><p>I would prioritize creating rail service opportunities for Burlington.</p><p>I would prioritize creating a smoother and more uniform online bill paying experience across departments. Right now it's easy to pay your electric bill, but it's cumbersome to pay your water bill. </p><p>I'd like to work with the owners of the shopping mall
parking lots at the mouth of route 7 to allow for GMT park and ride
parking. Current park and ride on Lakeside ave is awful for
commuting south and more awful on return trip.</p>
<p>The Coalition for a Livable City sent me a candidate questionnaire today, Once I fill it out, I may use my answers to that for the next post.<br /></p><p>Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often!</p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-6757279097561393442021-01-25T21:54:00.021-05:002021-02-13T09:14:55.268-05:005150 Mayoral Election<p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: courier;">DECEMBER 6, 2020 </span></span></b><br /></p><p>I cherish the exquisite freedom I allow myself with this blog. It's a
nirvana of absolute apathy. I like just having it. I don't need to do
anything with it for months, or years, or <b>ever </b>if I don't want to. See
the original <a href="http://www.burlingtonpol.com/2019/12/burlingtonpolcom-disclaimer.html" target="_blank">disclaimer</a> from 2006. Still awesome.</p><p>A couple of my more hardcore readers have asked me to write about the upcoming 2021 Burlington mayoral election. Okay, sure, but...</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>When
it comes to Burlington politics, I am a blind dinosaur. I lost track
of things when they changed the city council to the stupid configuration
it's in now where "district" counselors represent twice the number of
people as "ward" counselors, but they all still get one vote. I can't
countenance such baloney and as a result the local politics part of my
brain has partially shut down.<br /></p><p>Nevertheless, I'll persist in
writing something. It may not have much substance, and the facts may be
wrong. As per my disclaimer, I may correct or otherwise
change the essay after it's published.<br /></p><p>Finally for context the
reader must understand that at the time of this writing, it has
only been two months since the death of Edward Lodewijk van Halen. Every known
human paradigm is churning in his wake, and the world is still grappling
with how to move forward without the singular driving genius of our age. By contrast Burlington politics are meaningless.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The 2021 Burlington Mayoral Election</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">You'll notice I said "election" instead of "race." Let's dispense with the pleasantries and start from the premise that Miro Weinberger is going to be re-elected, and reverse-engineer the rest of this post from there.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I mean the reason it's taken me so long to write this, and why I'm doing such a bad job with it, is that this election is incredibly predicable. One might say boring. Just like <a href="http://www.burlingtonpol.com/2017/12/progressive-fissure.html" target="_blank">last time</a>, the leftern opposition to Miro will be split, except this time the <a href="https://www.maxformayorbtv.com/about" target="_blank">Prog-endorsed candidate</a> is weaker, and <a href="https://alidieng.com/">the Independent</a> stronger. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Force majeure notwithstanding, there is a <a href="https://youtu.be/C-3b3TPgkOQ" target="_blank">zero</a> chance anyone other than <a href="http://miroformayor.com/" target="_blank">Miro Weinberger</a> will win this election. He only needs a plurality of at least 40%. and he's never done worse than 48% so...So what is there to write about? You think it's going to go to a runoff? It's not. For all the bluster about it from IRV/RCV proponents, it's never happened in the history of Burlington, and it ain't gonna happen this year either. Why is this interesting?<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1Ro6eu-PXJ2yI8e6FktXhtwhG-PrWMIjnu3ZLbPW1CU8nOK1D2Ytk65uK7dTk558GZ3gLE0fq08GX3CQcbITP8p3R1cl8iTX59kc6-Kx5gp6fvGxqtl_F_Eu8zDV1BQm8Ecj/s694/drooling.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="602" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1Ro6eu-PXJ2yI8e6FktXhtwhG-PrWMIjnu3ZLbPW1CU8nOK1D2Ytk65uK7dTk558GZ3gLE0fq08GX3CQcbITP8p3R1cl8iTX59kc6-Kx5gp6fvGxqtl_F_Eu8zDV1BQm8Ecj/w133-h153/drooling.webp" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"OMFG wake me up when it's over."</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>When it comes to Miro Weinberger vs. Progressive nominee Max Tracy, it won't be the excitement of a race that draws the crowd this year, it will be the spectacle of a gruesome political slaughter. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGC9hvND6x6M-QlkPYotwkV-iK_lXYf7FQg73PZCFMfDgWaO2N8X56Lqrz5bQrJ9yMNHF2UArzV8zLsnpx6uGYpQI8lhSs31B-o3oi1j2lawnuUbrLhYHLKo0n5lrGlbkn4V0/s508/destroy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGC9hvND6x6M-QlkPYotwkV-iK_lXYf7FQg73PZCFMfDgWaO2N8X56Lqrz5bQrJ9yMNHF2UArzV8zLsnpx6uGYpQI8lhSs31B-o3oi1j2lawnuUbrLhYHLKo0n5lrGlbkn4V0/s320/destroy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"I felt like destroying something beautiful."</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Let's start with the deeply flawed incumbent mayor Miro Weinberger, who probably should not be re-elected, but absolutely will be. His record is target-rich with legitimate things to attack, many of which can be categorized as either <a href="https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2019/12/16/brandon-del-pozo-timeline-burlington-police-chief/2664515001/" target="_blank">Del Pozo-related</a>, or <a href="https://www.vpr.org/post/proposal-present-timeline-burlingtons-cityplace-project#stream/0" target="_blank">City Place-related</a>. </p><p>In a world where Burlington had a deeper bench of stronger leaders, someone could exploit those weaknesses and make this a real race. But that's not the world we live in. So far in the 2021 mayoral election, there is no candidate in a position to do that.</p><p>It's an <a href="http://www.burlingtonpol.com/2016/02/endorsement-photo-1995.html" target="_blank">old story</a>, but I don't consider myself to be part of any political party. I tend to vote lefty but not always. I keep my options open. This year <a href="https://www.pineformayor.com/meet-brian" target="_blank">Brian Pine</a> came knocking at my door offering me some old black and white photo prints and contact sheets from my campaign for his city council seat 25 years ago, and asking for my vote in the progressive caucus. </p><p>If Brian hadn't convinced me to register for the Prog primary, I would not have received the phone call from <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/max-tracy-burlingtons-most-outspoken-prog-pulls-no-punches/Content?oid=8971320" target="_blank">Max Tracy</a> that made me realize Tracy has no path to becoming mayor.<br /></p><p>Max didn't ask that anything he said to me to be off the record, so I think it's legit to paraphrase our conversation for you. I knew I would probably support Brian, but I took Max's call with an open mind and gave him a fair hearing. This was on November 21.</p><p>It was not a very long call. I asked Max if he was part of the protests that stalked the <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/17/racial-justice-protesters-march-to-burlington-mayors-house" target="_blank">mayor</a> and city councilor <a href="https://www.wcax.com/2020/10/09/protesters-gather-outside-city-councilors-home-in-burlington/" target="_blank">Joan Shannon</a> to their personal homes- and I think sensing the tone of my question, he attempted to take credit for not having personally joined those protests. "I did not participate in that" he said in such a way as would make one think he opposed "that." But then I asked if he spoke out against those protests and the conversation changed. </p><p>Max began attacking those who never having spoken out about racial justice or police violence, would now "get uppity to protect the white mayor." I associate "uppity" with the racist way its been used historically, so I thought that was an unfortunate choice of words.</p><p>It occurred to me that Max is white. It occurred to me Miro is Jewish. It occurred to me there is a Black, Muslim new American with a kick-ass Afro-pop campaign jingle running for mayor too. <br /></p><p>Again Max seemed to remember he was trying to win my vote, and basically said "not you" citing my public criticisms of <a href="http://www.burlingtonpol.com/2017/07/dont-bring-gun-to-flame-war.html" target="_blank">cyber-bullying</a> by Miro's <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/16/del-pozo-didnt-disclose-fake-twitter-account-in-legal-filings" target="_blank">perjurious</a> former police chief as appropriate bone fides for *me* to get uppity, I guess. Just not those other uppity hypocrites or their white mayor. <br /></p><p>I did my best to explain to Max why it's wrong to target public officials at their homes, how it's uncivil and antithetical to democracy to practice intimidation that drags in a person's family and neighbors. I said it seemed to me that considering what many women go though with stalkers, following politicians to their homes was a decidedly anti-feminist and anti-progressive thing to do.</p><p>He wasn't buying it. "If it were me I'd just go out and talk to them" he blithely proclaimed. To not understand the level of privilege imbued in this answer is disqualifying. As I said in a text to Max the following day, that was an able-bodied, white man's confidence talking when he said "I'd just go out and talk to them." I advised him to drop out of the race for the Progressive nomination and endorse Brian Pine, which he did not do.</p><p>So that was the first time I really talked to Max Tracy. He seems like a nice enough person, and I respect his service, but he is trapped between the constituency who nominated him, who largely support the uncivil protests at Miro's house, and the rest of the city who find that sort of tactic way out of bounds. If he does the right thing and denounces the tactic, he risks alienating his base. He's stuck.</p><p>Max will also be a lighting rod attracting people's resentment about way the <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/30/burlington-city-council-votes-to-cut-police-force-through-attrition" target="_blank">police budget and staff were cut</a>, and for those who have negative sentiments about the City Hall Park protests last summer. I went to one of the first organized Black Lives Matter rallies at Battery Park and heard a young black woman at the microphone saying fiercely and expressly to other black people that when the shit went down, the white people there would not still be with them. That they could only count on themselves. That stuck with me.<br /></p><p>I support Black Lives Matter, just like I support feminism. I believe in equality. Police brutality exists. We can't stop looking for ways to reform, improve, and enlighten ourselves. And it's also true that not everything is cut and dried. Some of the Battery Park protesters <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/09/25/protesters-round-up-copies-of-seven-days-for-evening-demonstration" target="_blank">burned</a> many copies of Seven Days newspaper. That wasn't right. Later the city council voted to allow some members of the protest into an executive session just to make them feel special, which was a <a href="https://vtdigger.org/2020/09/15/burlington-city-council-agrees-it-violated-open-meeting-law/" target="_blank">violation </a>of the Vermont open records law- a law that should have protected the right of the majority of the protesters in that park to know what was being said on their behalf. </p><p>On both the left and the right, the danger of becoming exactly what you hate is ever-present.<br /></p><p>The Battery Park protests were good because they called attention to a real problem, but of course we knew it would disperse when it got cold. And they succeeded in making one of the three cops they hated rich, but at least they can say they <a href="https://vtdigger.org/2020/09/22/city-council-authorizes-separation-agreement-with-burlington-cop/" target="_blank">effected his removal</a>. </p><p>We knew they had to poop somewhere and as far as I know the city provided them with Porto-potties. But that means the same Mayor Weinberger they were directing their ire at was not only tolerating the civil disobedience, he was even sponsoring it, providing the protesters the grounds from which they attacked him. That's magnanimous. And the way he handled the obnoxious protests at his house was graceful and tolerant. I have to give him a lot of credit for that.</p><p>Miro has dealt with the pandemic responsibly and he did eventually fire Del Pozo, I have to give him credit for these things too. </p><p>I know I haven't said enough about Ali Dieng, my friend and neighbor and the main Independent in the election. I honestly just don't know enough about his policy positions. Know he's a super friendly and positive, and his campaign seems to have momentum. I know he's one of the few people who ever stops by my house for a cup of coffee and some chit chat. I believe many Republicans and Independents who can't bring themselves to vote for the Progressive or the Democrat, will support Ali Dieng. </p><p>The idea that most profuse and vociferous supporters of racial justice will be voting for the white candidate from suburban Illinois, while the Black candidate from Senegal will draw substantial support from the party of Trump reminds us to never underestimate the irony of fate. The frequently counter-intuitive nature of local politics is why we love it.<br /></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-45061998982082363142021-01-25T02:43:00.002-05:002021-01-25T02:45:51.071-05:00Trump Impeached II<p style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Democratic Party continues Heavy Lifting of Keeping Our Republic</span></span></span></span></i></b>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Republican Traitors Betray Constitution in Craven Abdication of Duty, but 10 Republicans break with party to support democracy<br /></span></span></span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Article I. Incitement of<i> </i>Insurrection</span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">, carries 232-197</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">God Save The Constitution And</span></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The United States of America</span> </span></span></b></div>
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</div>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-34992383097759749872021-01-09T16:37:00.001-05:002021-01-09T16:37:14.000-05:00More to Come... <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Hw0fV2kqhbpRMnyMmzCfrEuJHFQczzJpLtL9C1-7CYepXsx0Uj9mOlI_H5Z9EPiTr2YjQhjBdvFZViUnTRwwKwk52MVpyq9h0i-m5_xbJuLe-pEOByPxLyruFulR_RcxxdF/s680/Pelosi+and+JFK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="590" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Hw0fV2kqhbpRMnyMmzCfrEuJHFQczzJpLtL9C1-7CYepXsx0Uj9mOlI_H5Z9EPiTr2YjQhjBdvFZViUnTRwwKwk52MVpyq9h0i-m5_xbJuLe-pEOByPxLyruFulR_RcxxdF/w348-h400/Pelosi+and+JFK.jpg" width="348" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-28220207824026229752020-12-21T00:23:00.006-05:002020-12-21T09:27:36.415-05:005150 Mayoral Election II<p></p><p><u><b>Part II: The Candidates</b></u><b><br /></b><u><b></b></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SFitbcg7JdGU4DQOGPfjwROf_aCPjPoZEBrcmf7A6a0D6Z-htQuI5OoBuIqpm12AYHvw_GAuyY12cr7mGXQWD646ml2AA_6Kxv-dwVooHlFloLFMxiwKIfHI_h5QtrPdDWkV/s395/Miro+Weinberger.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SFitbcg7JdGU4DQOGPfjwROf_aCPjPoZEBrcmf7A6a0D6Z-htQuI5OoBuIqpm12AYHvw_GAuyY12cr7mGXQWD646ml2AA_6Kxv-dwVooHlFloLFMxiwKIfHI_h5QtrPdDWkV/s320/Miro+Weinberger.png" /></a></div><p><b>Miro Weinberger (D) </b><br /></p><p><a href="http://miroformayor.com/">http://miroformayor.com/</a></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Incumbent Mayor of Burlington and Jack Tripper's upstairs neighbor. </span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Elected in 2012 (57%), 2015 (68%), 2018 (48%).</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Hired Brandon del Pozo as police chief in 2015. Was strongly advised to fire him in 2016. Finally fired him in late 2019.</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Turned Burlington Square Mall into a pit.</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Provided port-o-potties for Battery Park protesters.</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Probably shouldn't be re-elected, but absolutely </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">will </span></b></span>be re-elected.</span></b></span><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9UoF4V01do2HvZkYY7XWDYr_PK2IbtbLkW8CY2rnDfUKftDnO_fONv8CXE2HO3ZeBtFclOibJA0VPiELyMm1YsHmxIVwkVLQikENnFfXdp1ai7c3WXuv_DyyAm5x4iKQ6v_Z/s262/max+tracy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9UoF4V01do2HvZkYY7XWDYr_PK2IbtbLkW8CY2rnDfUKftDnO_fONv8CXE2HO3ZeBtFclOibJA0VPiELyMm1YsHmxIVwkVLQikENnFfXdp1ai7c3WXuv_DyyAm5x4iKQ6v_Z/s0/max+tracy.JPG" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Max Tracy (P)</b></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.maxformayorbtv.com/">https://www.maxformayorbtv.com/</a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Elected Ward 2 City Councilor 2012 (62%), 2015 (97%), 2018 (97%).</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Progressive nominee and Bolshevik bred in your washroom. </span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Comfortable
with the word "uppity." </span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Voted for the confirmation of Brandon del Pozo
as police chief in 2015.</span></b></span></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv_bO-51SdB_hBHgDG4cmM0fh3Dtc3nYaOPWxjtTQjwSlHW9UqYfS1yAlNp_lV6yukQzW8l5dNwKvIrmZurVCDZjzxnqK_qasPM2hVcMeLU8RSMQoEoaaikzf77saQCH2oYnJ/s389/Ali+Dieng.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv_bO-51SdB_hBHgDG4cmM0fh3Dtc3nYaOPWxjtTQjwSlHW9UqYfS1yAlNp_lV6yukQzW8l5dNwKvIrmZurVCDZjzxnqK_qasPM2hVcMeLU8RSMQoEoaaikzf77saQCH2oYnJ/s320/Ali+Dieng.png" /></a></div><p><b>Ali Dieng (I)</b><br /></p><p><a href="https://alidieng.com/">https://alidieng.com/</a></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Elected Ward 7 City Councilor in a special election 2017 (61%), re-elected 2018 (59%).</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">Always upbeat and positive. I got a bike helmet because he told me to.</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">May come in 2nd place. </span></b></span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><b> </b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7qyF7GEUU4-iG6UDnSnf1aBbVwQOLpwZhS3kdc3ARIAli6Js20oXBjoKKKj973XoSCQrZVelPbVQRvnXQxLuQM9M7q8V9fRVc1qF-5R08FROLXnR5dTkGfSwo9BrlbUEXujC/s435/Patrick+White.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB7qyF7GEUU4-iG6UDnSnf1aBbVwQOLpwZhS3kdc3ARIAli6Js20oXBjoKKKj973XoSCQrZVelPbVQRvnXQxLuQM9M7q8V9fRVc1qF-5R08FROLXnR5dTkGfSwo9BrlbUEXujC/s320/Patrick+White.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></b><p></p><p><b>Patrick White</b></p><p><a href="https://patrick4mayor.com/">https://patrick4mayor.com</a></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I interviewed this candidate in the comment section of a picture on Black Market-U on 12/9/20:</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Haik Bedrosian: Are you to the right or the left of the mayor?<br /><br />Patrick White: it really depends on the subject honestly. Are there any issues in particular you’re concerned about?<br /><br />Haik Bedrosian: nah. I just wanted to see how you’d handle the question. Not bad! <br /></span></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wPqJDHxudRAdqZlfdjkZbunX32Mh8pfDPAaLyNWTP26qRwUBIQTU44H3Rm-XNGEmZ7bYME7lrdUbtTn6r6fx8TtYh1MHCsY7KWYMCf6V7HKaBHbJBspRBGKsHPK_s_x3HxxX/s625/Jonny+Wanzer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wPqJDHxudRAdqZlfdjkZbunX32Mh8pfDPAaLyNWTP26qRwUBIQTU44H3Rm-XNGEmZ7bYME7lrdUbtTn6r6fx8TtYh1MHCsY7KWYMCf6V7HKaBHbJBspRBGKsHPK_s_x3HxxX/s320/Jonny+Wanzer.jpg" /></a></span></span></b></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Jonny Wanzer</b></span></span></span></b></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://jonnywanzer.com/">https://jonnywanzer.com/</a></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"The People's Mayor."</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Talented entertaining genius. <br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Wants to [redacted] Miro.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Poster boy for performative allyship.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Supports Max Tracy for Mayor.</span></span></b><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2kRZ6hIYdArcNOToJ_NIIC9OByD_lAUq73nPweonDcLAs64YlXG3pnmNyT3bzdtIx5OYE3ZQoKG8nPOyWe1cW0uYQ0arL69kPD_m0VCRiVSSgmP6G41RuBIlx9NCMNbQVUf9/s312/pepe.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2kRZ6hIYdArcNOToJ_NIIC9OByD_lAUq73nPweonDcLAs64YlXG3pnmNyT3bzdtIx5OYE3ZQoKG8nPOyWe1cW0uYQ0arL69kPD_m0VCRiVSSgmP6G41RuBIlx9NCMNbQVUf9/s0/pepe.jpg" /></a></div><p><b>Pepe</b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>"I am an oppressed [redacted]. I am sick of multi-culti [redacted] of injustice. And I'm coming for [redacted] Jimmy Cliff style."</i><br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="footer-bottom__colophon">Anti-Defamation League watch list.</span></span></span></b></p><p><span class="footer-bottom__colophon"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;">May not appear on ballot.</span></span></b><br /></span></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-33238112149206004192020-12-15T00:33:00.007-05:002020-12-15T10:47:58.825-05:00Winning with 36%<p>I'm working on a post about the 2021 mayoral election but it's harder than I thought it would be. It took the whole day yesterday just to put <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstrat" target="_blank">Frankenstrat</a> stripes at the top of the blog, but I must do things in the right order, of course.</p><p>Next, a little warm up post.<br /><span></span></p><p></p><p>It appears <a href="https://www.codepublishing.com/VT/Burlington/#!/html/BurlingtonCH/BurlingtonCH02.html" target="_blank">the city charter</a> requires a candidate for school commissioner to win at least 40% of "all votes cast" to avoid a run-off....</p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><i>"5 Election to be by ballot; method of election; runoff elections.Share
The election of the mayor, all city councilors and <b>school commissioners</b> shall be by ballot, and the person or persons receiving a plurality of all votes cast for any office aforesaid shall, except as hereinafter provided, be declared elected thereto. <b>However, if no person receives at least 40 percent of all votes cast for any office aforesaid, no one shall be declared elected and a runoff election shall be held</b>" [Emphasis added.]</i></blockquote><p>Yet in <a href="https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/sites/default/files/CT/ElectionResults/20100302/election_summary_report_20100302.pdf" target="_blank">2010 </a>I was declared the winner of the Ward 7 election for school commissioner with only 36% of the total votes cast. That's weird. I don't know if this got overlooked or what.</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/sites/default/files/CT/ElectionResults/20100302/election_summary_report_20100302.pdf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="505" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnV3JMsX5wbqDcaE30-2TQjqj6dSkQnkXAmqsmpleMl9cuBiJQQYcrc1m3H5pTBHl2eAmfsmGQbUp1tvgBP-MHbSRXlEUYV4Vt8YR1cNarjYYf5QPEBu2VxBYq7Z-aq3FTtT4/w489-h177/2010+Ward+7.png" width="489" /></a></div><p>Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often!</p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-17215787144613806232020-12-08T14:33:00.000-05:002020-12-08T14:33:30.110-05:00Eddie Van Halen 1955-2020<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3TfOsBm1_ox7sqrlotz4ZyimFVMKJdMwYCbRP1TNi17IP1_TFih7VK-T5o5jF_eO_AaJnuGfFTNuW-RFDQTPTW3or8z645DxD42ajB5wb0U144ldWQ9G9Q3SeNz0nwNTyWzx/s2048/eddie-van-halen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3TfOsBm1_ox7sqrlotz4ZyimFVMKJdMwYCbRP1TNi17IP1_TFih7VK-T5o5jF_eO_AaJnuGfFTNuW-RFDQTPTW3or8z645DxD42ajB5wb0U144ldWQ9G9Q3SeNz0nwNTyWzx/w510-h340/eddie-van-halen.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-41930242324255080792020-07-28T22:14:00.004-04:002020-07-28T22:22:13.184-04:00Coronavirus Destroys the World<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><i>Breaking News</i></font><font size="2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier";"></span></i></font></h3></div></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Three Stooges out-of-character (1930's) | The three stooges, Short ..." class="n3VNCb" data-noaft="1" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/36/ff/59/36ff590d6fa880741ff8907fca51037a.jpg" style="height: 332px; margin: 0px; width: 488px;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><h3><font size="2"><i><span style="font-family: "courier";"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><font size="3">Many say the Beastie Boys predicted this over 400 years ago.</font></b> </span></span></i></font></h3></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-29941870881623346712020-03-07T08:52:00.001-05:002020-03-07T08:52:51.094-05:00Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.FYI- This blog's "ever-changing tagline" is broken. It's stuck on "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." I can't update my settings for BurlingtonPol.com in Blogger. I still can for ArlenaBlog, so I don't know what the problem is. It's not the best tagline to be stuck with but it's not the worst I could think of either. I don't care much about this problem right now, or this blog ever for that matter. That's the whole premise of this thing. I can ignore and disrespect it and it's still always here for me, like a ringing in my head that won't go away. Of course if I were a little smarter or cared a little bit more I could figure it out and change the tagline. Meh. Not dealing with it right now. It will resolve itself when the world is eviscerated by nuclear weapons. Just keeping my loyal readers in the loop. Thanks for reading BurlingtonPol.com. Visit often.Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-81692979788545899592020-03-05T20:19:00.001-05:002020-03-05T20:19:06.002-05:00More to Come...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4l2cxA7k5sQyvDNs5uug0kDHvJLxTNSvLxvCfDyBI8FLVdEX7HY73qJgtNV3ocYQfHmqIM-tstr9ejt_P82e_CJDthprvKo7WGlqB-0qw1rXIRZVfTOLWjqeb39pkQWLMAFZ/s1600/GorillaBrain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4l2cxA7k5sQyvDNs5uug0kDHvJLxTNSvLxvCfDyBI8FLVdEX7HY73qJgtNV3ocYQfHmqIM-tstr9ejt_P82e_CJDthprvKo7WGlqB-0qw1rXIRZVfTOLWjqeb39pkQWLMAFZ/s1600/GorillaBrain.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-45114613662750463812019-12-28T13:34:00.001-05:002019-12-28T23:18:39.539-05:00The Trail of Breadcrumbs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rF0JpfV4oa64tgpE0y51fVL-7QmlqFsGqb71rvlfYZbutt132szOp-vNxV_zQrhHJ5Y5Me1EnKbtBHzkJCPkkMHGlu4Y7jE-XZcBepKRzNNfoSQZ9-0E8tgeGIo1ZFaVC6JU/s1600/zoeBdeep.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rF0JpfV4oa64tgpE0y51fVL-7QmlqFsGqb71rvlfYZbutt132szOp-vNxV_zQrhHJ5Y5Me1EnKbtBHzkJCPkkMHGlu4Y7jE-XZcBepKRzNNfoSQZ9-0E8tgeGIo1ZFaVC6JU/s1600/zoeBdeep.png" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Zoe Barnes meets Deep Throat at the intersection of the subway and the parking garage to discuss the future of mayor Miro Weinberger.</span></b><br />
<br />
ZB: The Democrats are circling the wagons to protect Miro and do damage control. PR efforts are in full force. They released a feel-good story about <a href="https://www.wcax.com/content/news/How-Burlington-Public-Works-helped-save-the-holidays-566386771.html" target="_blank">city employees doing work for Amazon for free</a>, and another about BPD's "<a href="https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Burlington-Police-offer-behind-the-scenes-academy-566457161.html" target="_blank">Citizens on Patrol</a>" training program.<br />
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DT: It's not the crime, it's the cover up. <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">On Vermont Public Radio Weinberger said that after he put Brandon del Pozo on administrative leave, he huddled up with the <a href="https://vermontbiz.com/news/2019/march/20/weinberger-appoints-deanna-paluba-burlington-hr-director" target="_blank">City's HR Director Deanna Paluba</a> and <a href="https://vtdigger.org/tag/eileen-blackwood/" target="_blank">City Attorney Eileen Blackwood</a> to discuss what to do next. </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">He said Paluba had handled “800 of these types of cases." Now what does that mean?</span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">ZB: What <i>does </i>that mean? These are questions anyone could ask.</span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">DT: But no one is except you. Miro tells these two what happened. He says that on 7/4/19 del Pozo trolled Winkleman with the @WinkleWatchers twitter handle, then destroyed that public record lied about it to a reporter on 7/23/19. Then on 7/28/19 the chief showed up at his house to tell him all this, and that this creepy stalker shit was the last straw. He told them he took del Pozo's badge and gun. Then he asked his team how to limit the damage.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">ZB: Tell me again why you asked me to delete our texts and the contact for you in my phone...?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">DT: So this conversation took place sometime in the five or six days between 7/28/19 when del Pozo was on administrative leave and 8/2/19 when he went out on medical leave. </span></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Paluba, who had "800 cases" of this type said that if this were deemed a "health" or "mental health" issue, they could avoid informing the city council and public of del Pozo's lies and bad behavior. The City Attorney said that they would need medical documentation and buy-in from del Pozo himself, but it should work because health information is protected.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">ZB: But what about "<a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/16/acting-chief-had-her-own-fake-social-media-account-and-has-been-replaced" target="_blank">Lori Spicer?</a>"</span></span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">DT: </span></span></span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Miro <a href="https://www.vpr.org/post/burlington-mayor-miro-weinberger-police-scandals-stalled-redevelopment-and-state-city#stream/0" target="_blank">admitted on VPR</a> there had never been suspicion of the chief acting impulsively or with lack of judgement due to his injury. A caller asked the mayor if he reviewed other previous actions of the chief with consideration of the brain injury they're blaming this on, and he fumbled badly. He had no real answer. It's highly unlikely that he acted this way due to the injury in ONLY this ONE particular case, and not when he wrote his <a href="https://vtdigger.org/2019/11/15/del-pozo-urges-shift-in-way-officers-view-use-of-guns/" target="_blank">NYT Op-Ed in November</a>, for example. In fact, it defies belief.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">ZB: Now it's worse. <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/16/del-pozo-didnt-disclose-fake-twitter-account-in-legal-filings" target="_blank">Del Pozo lied under oath.</a> But Miro will never let go of power. He knows he's damaged, but he also knows you can't beat someone with no one. What if the Progs can't find a strong candidate? He doesn't want his legacy to be a giant pit.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">DT: <b><i>Get </i></b></span></span></span></span><b><i><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">the emails or notes between Paluba and Miro between 7/28 and 8/2. To do that Winkleman will have to sue on a civil rights violation. Talk to other reporters about this....</span></span></span></span></span></i></b><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Deep Throat recedes silently into the darkness and is gone.</span></span></b><br />
<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><br /></span>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-1155594681694138212019-12-21T19:49:00.001-05:002019-12-21T19:49:24.911-05:00More to Come...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv_DSyJO2plxQOQZXAa9Aul7_ywrIjrv-qDrGcFQ4QnOt7eK1n1arCti6vTGQhWBnIKPLcYOJA9PwYYN-rYfAu0rsLU_0gwFAlsNSrJcksxKW0n_Zl5j3-e3Wn2lj1dIWmuwU/s1600/resdogs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv_DSyJO2plxQOQZXAa9Aul7_ywrIjrv-qDrGcFQ4QnOt7eK1n1arCti6vTGQhWBnIKPLcYOJA9PwYYN-rYfAu0rsLU_0gwFAlsNSrJcksxKW0n_Zl5j3-e3Wn2lj1dIWmuwU/s1600/resdogs.png" /></a></div>
Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-56778443909582778042019-12-18T21:17:00.002-05:002019-12-18T21:18:23.842-05:00Trump Impeached<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Article I. Abuse of Power, carries 230-197, </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Article II. Obstruction of Congress, carries 229-198</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">God Save The Constitution And</span></span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The United States of America</span> </span></span></b></div>
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Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-6152560899996726092019-12-17T21:38:00.003-05:002019-12-17T21:38:33.951-05:00Lead Found in Hunt School Drinking Water<div class="o_h D_F em_0 E_fq7 ek_BB" data-test-id="address-info">
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<span class="u_b en_0 C4_Z2aVTcY" data-test-id="message-from"><span><span class="D_F rtlI_dz_sSg" data-test-id="email-pill"><span>Burlington School District<span class="u_N C_Z1VRpVF"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="em_N en_N"></span><div class="D_F en_0 M_3gJOe A_6Eb4 C_Z1VRpVF" data-test-id="message-date">
<span>Dec 17 at 9:26 PM</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">December 17, 2019</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dear Parents, Guardians and our Staff:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The State of Vermont passed a new law
in 2019 that requires all schools and child care providers to test
their drinking water for lead. Samples of water from every tap at </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hunt Middle School</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
that is reasonably expected to be used for drinking or cooking were
collected and sent to the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory for
analysis. </span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Results for HMS:</span></strong><br />
<ul>
<li style="color: black;"><strong><span style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">One or more of the taps had a lead level AT OR ABOVE the 4 parts per billion (ppb) action level.</span></span></strong></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We take our responsibility to provide a safe and healthy environment for the children and staff seriously. </span><strong><em><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Any tap that tested at or above 4 ppb was immediately taken out of service for drinking or cooking.</span></em></strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We are working on fixes to permanently lower levels of lead in the water. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lead exposure poses a special risk to
children because they absorb lead into their systems more easily than
adults do. Lead can slow down growth, impair development and learning,
and can cause behavior problems. While the major source of lead
poisoning in Vermont children is paint, lead in plumbing pipes and
fixtures can add to a person’s overall exposure. Drinking water in
schools and homes may contain lead from old pipes, plumbing fixtures
(such as fountains and faucets), or the solder that joins pipe sections
together. </span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">More Information</span></strong><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For questions about the water testing process, or about the law and its requirements, please dial 2-1-1.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You can view school and child care results, remediation and any follow-up testing at </span><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/QdY6x-6yYIfzTHjkwYfiog~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRf2sHiP0QfaHR0cDovL2xlYWRyZXN1bHRzLnZlcm1vbnQuZ292L1cHc2Nob29sbUIKAABijvldcJoP9lIXaGFpa2JlZHJvc2lhbkB5YWhvby5jb21YBAAAAAE~" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">leadresults.vermont.gov</a>.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">NOTE:
If your child’s preschool or after school program is located at a
school, the results will be listed under the school’s name.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">) For more information visit:</span>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Schools: </span><a href="http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/kleNBbecSbgipqkKRoaOgw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRf2sHiP0QyaHR0cDovL3d3dy5oZWFsdGh2ZXJtb250Lmdvdi9zY2hvb2wtZHJpbmtpbmctd2F0ZXJXB3NjaG9vbG1CCgAAYo75XXCaD_ZSF2hhaWtiZWRyb3NpYW5AeWFob28uY29tWAQAAAAB" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">healthvermont.gov/school-drinking-water</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Child Care Programs: </span><a href="http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/bFLPuAq6PV_zC-5kpFkC0A~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRf2sHiP0Q1aHR0cDovL3d3dy5oZWFsdGh2ZXJtb250Lmdvdi9jaGlsZGNhcmUtZHJpbmtpbmctd2F0ZXJXB3NjaG9vbG1CCgAAYo75XXCaD_ZSF2hhaWtiZWRyb3NpYW5AeWFob28uY29tWAQAAAAB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">healthvermont.gov/childcare-drinking-water</span></a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If you have questions or concerns
about our facility and the actions we are taking, please contact
Elizabeth Brosseau, (802) 864-8453.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To learn more about lead hazards and lead poisoning prevention, visit </span><a href="http://track.spe.schoolmessenger.com/f/a/4hAj8NUnghohqXNpNJJ-GA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRf2sHiP0QyaHR0cDovL3d3dy5oZWFsdGh2ZXJtb250Lmdvdi9lbnZpcm9ubWVudC9ob21lL2xlYWRXB3NjaG9vbG1CCgAAYo75XXCaD_ZSF2hhaWtiZWRyb3NpYW5AeWFob28uY29tWAQAAAAB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">healthvermont.gov/lead</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If you want to test your home
drinking water for lead, contact the Health Department Laboratory to
order a $12 first draw lead test kit. Call 802-338-4736 or 800-660-9997
(toll free in Vermont).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sincerely,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Burlington School District</span>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-40434961486680516692019-12-16T22:45:00.000-05:002019-12-16T22:45:13.342-05:00Deputy Police Chief Jan Wright Exposed as "Lori Spicer"From Seven Days: <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/16/acting-chief-had-her-own-fake-social-media-account-and-has-been-replaced" target="_blank">Acting Chief Had Her Own Fake Social Media Account — and Has Been Replaced </a>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-30077804536857741632019-12-16T19:30:00.001-05:002020-07-28T22:43:43.765-04:00del Pozo ResignsIt's hard to take an inventory of how much psychic energy I've spent ruminating on this direct twitter message from former chief del Pozo and its aftermath in my life, or how much fear it's caused me, but I feel like I've been holding my breath between August 12, 2016 and today. That was the day I tweeted about his patch, and he wrote back to me within 10 minutes with a message intended to intimidate me out of my opinion or at least my expression of it.<br />
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I have not felt safe in the city of my birth since the moment I received it. I have not felt free to speak my mind. Maybe today I can start to heal, and Burlington can start to heal. Miro's legacy will still be tainted, but maybe the taint can fade a bit. I hope no Burlington Police Officer ever behaves the way Brandon del Pozo did again.<br />
<br />
Thank you <a href="http://charleswinkleman.com/" target="_blank">Charles Winkleman</a>. Thank you <a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/12/burlington-police-chief-admits-he-used-an-anonymous-twitter-account-to-taunt-a-critic" target="_blank">Courtney Lamdin</a>.<br />
<br />
I have written on this subject for the past three years, and I have spoken to many of you about it. I have campaigned against the mayor as hard as I could since then because of it, especially as del Pozo repeated the behavior again and again. I spoke to the city council and to Seven Days. At the same time I have tried to explain this to the mayor. I know I am not expressing myself well enough, and I'm groping for the words to explain why what del Pozo did by bothering people on social media is an abuse of power and so very wrong. <br />
<br />
I feel exhausted. Today is a great day for the rule of law and for
justice but it's not a day for celebration. It's a day for picking up
the pieces, and getting back to regular order.<br />
<br />
I want to get back to what I was talking about on August 12, 2016 before I was interrupted by the former chief demanding that I answer to him for <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Amendment_1.jpg" target="_blank">what I choose to say</a>.<br />
<br />
The new police patch del Pozo gave us, currently worn by Burlington's finest, is ugly. It's dark, foreboding, and overly simplistic. It seems designed to create fear, and that isn't nice. Unlike the old bright and colorful patch we had for forty years, which depicts the Adirondacks from the view of a Burlingtonian, the new patch depicts the Green Mountains, from the view of a New Yorker. I don't like it. I said it belongs on a robot soldier in a future dystopian police state, and del Pozo responded quickly and viscerally. That's not 21st century policing.<br />
<br />
The police have the only legitimate use of force. He was the chief of him. He's a guy I didn't know and never met. I didn't have a good feeling about him from what I had heard. His message scared me. There is no possible way he didn't know it would and intend it to. There isn't an equivalency between us when we have a disagreement. There shouldn't be a disagreement. There shouldn't be an interaction. This is America. I'm allowed to say what I want.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=621021284722041&set=a.111165135707661&type=3&theater" target="_blank">I've had the facebook post hidden all this time too. I guess I can put that back now, but for friends only.</a> Del Pozo taught me to change my privacy settings.<br />
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Later that morning on facebook, after he commented on my post, and kept commenting even after I asked him to stop. Then he sent me a friend request and I wrote this.<br />
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Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-89131568980766448712019-12-16T17:11:00.002-05:002019-12-16T17:11:50.471-05:00BurlingtonPol.com Disclaimer<div align="CENTER">
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Haik Bedrosian<br />
Owner<br />
BurlingtonPol.com</b>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-53531742149932461842019-12-15T22:29:00.000-05:002019-12-15T22:29:54.581-05:00Promissory Estoppel<div class="description clearfix">
From the comment section of this article:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/12/13/on-tape-burlington-police-chief-lied-repeatedly-about-twitter-account-in-july-call" target="_blank">On Tape: Burlington Police Chief Lied Repeatedly About Twitter Account in July CallPosted By Courtney Lamdin on Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 9:56 PM</a> </div>
<div class="description clearfix">
<br /></div>
<div class="description clearfix">
The
outrageousness of this cannot be overstated. The Vermont Supreme Court
has repeatedly ruled that any employee dishonesty is just cause for
immediate termination even in cases of minor misrepresentations. Here
the dishonesty is fourfold, ongoing, and profound:<br />
<br />
1) The Chief twitter-bullied Mr. Winkleman without revealing his true identity.<br />
<br />
2) The Chief's repeated and purposeful lies in the SevenDays interview of July 23rd.<br />
<br />
3) The coverup by the Chief and the Mayor to the public, the City
Council, and the Police Commission of the real context of his "leave of
absence" until it was outed 5 months later by WCAX TV News. This was
misrepresentation by omission, not "self-reporting."<br />
<br />
4) The misrepresentation by omission by the Mayor and the Chief by
failing to disclose that the Chief had been relieved of his gun and his
badge.</div>
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Posted by
<b><a href="https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/Profile?oid=2547809"><span class="reviewer">John Franco</span></a></b>
on <span class="dtreviewed">12/14/2019 at 7:55 AM</span>Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-30102572025531639382019-12-15T11:37:00.000-05:002019-12-15T11:45:13.775-05:00Full Text: Remarks to the Burlington City Council 06.26.17 <div style="text-align: left;">
Full Text: Remarks to the Burlington City Council 06.26.17</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm Haik Bedrosian. I'm a former
Burlington city councilor and a former school commissioner. I live
in Ward 7. My message to you is that it is inappropriate for the
chief of police, or any police officer to leave comments in the
social media of individual citizens. I am here to testify that it
happened to me last year when the chief left comments on one of my
Facebook posts and I found it very intimidating. I let him and the
mayor know that I found it intimidating. I told Jay Diaz of the
Vermont ACLU about it and he said ACLU had already received a number
of complaints from others about the chief making them uncomfortable on
their social media. On June 23 WCAX.com reported about BPD's arrest
of a South Burlington teenager who had posted on her Facebook page
pictures of bruises she said the police gave her. Quote:
“Burlington's police chief is firing back with a strongly worded
statement he posted to Huysman's Facebook page.” Huysman has now
taken that post down and I am certain it was because the chief
commented on her Facebook page and she found it intimidating. I know
the mayor is certain of this as well.<br/><p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is no legitimate business purpose
for the chief of police to have gone to this person's personal Facebook page, and leave a comment there contradicting her. The
police have a special responsibility to not unnecessarily intimidate
people. By personally commenting on an individual's Facebook post
the chief sends a message that he is personally watching you, and
when he visits your page and argues against you, the asymmetrical
power dynamic tends to result in the post itself being taken down.
Freedom of speech is just a concept and it's a very fragile thing in
real life.</div><p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If he wants to put his side of the
story out, then he has any number of his own social media platforms
to do it on, and it's important that he stick to them because what he
says and writes should be a matter of public record. Whatever his
comments were on my post last year, and what he posted on Logan
Huysman's page is no longer available to the public, at least as
primary sources.</div><p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In August of last year I sent the
following 3 recommendations to police commissioner Sarah Kenny for
the police vis-a-vis social media and I urge the city council to
really think about them:</div><p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First: the police should always
remember that any tweet, comment, message or emoji they send from a
police email or social media platform carries the full authority and
power of their position and that they represent not just their own
point of view, but that of the police department and the city of
Burlington. Any officer , including and especially the chief carries
his badge and his gun into any online social media debate he gets
into, and as such it should be *assumed* approaching a stranger
online for any reason can be intimidating to that person.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Second: to the extent possible the
police should avoid getting into online debates with people about
anything. The police exist to protect people's freedom of speech, not
argue with them about it from their own personal point of view or
even from the point of view of the department.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><p>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Third: based on the premise that an
officer of the department, speaks for that department and the city
when engaging in social media, the preservation of what that officer
says and posts for the record becomes a matter of public interest. It
is therefore advisable that to the extent possible the police limit
their online engagement to the media platforms they control and can
preserve for the record, such as their own Twitter, Facebook and web
pages... Or perhaps to those connected to a commercial media entity
with a physical address like the free press or Seven Days... But avoid
engaging on citizens personal Facebook, Twitter etc, because that
person will be free to change or delete what was said. That person
may also not welcome it and find it extremely impolite and
intimidating.
</div>
Haik Bedrosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00418177749567270571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21353299.post-25969677667112754572019-12-11T22:57:00.000-05:002019-12-11T22:57:03.227-05:00Who is Lori Spicer?After studying <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lori.spicer.5836" target="_blank">this Facebook profile,</a> and after studying <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lspicer420/?hl=en" target="_blank">this Instagram profile</a>, including its followers and especially those it's following, and after reading <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/820427658327167/permalink/822649508104982/" target="_blank">this post's comment thread</a>, I think it's obvious. <br />
<br />
There is no "Lori Spicer." This is a fake identity, invented for a purpose.<br />
<br />
Hiding behind fake profiles is dishonorable and dishonest. It's not clever, and it's no way to improve your organization's image. This is deplorable, and absolutely disqualifying behavior for any public official.<br />
<br />
Burlington will be better off when Lori eases on down the road.<br />
<br />
<br />
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