Letters to the Editor (11/6/24)

Smoking Guns

I heartily thank Seven Days for [“The Straw Man: Over 18 Months, Dylan Russell Bought 15 Firearms in Vermont, Exposing the Intense Drugs-for-Guns Trade,” October 16]. It is difficult to grasp the enormity of this piece, and the bloody fraud perpetuated on us by the special interests and their political allies, that has led to the ability of people like Dylan Russell being able to go on these little shopping sprees.

I am a survivor of a random shooting (not in Vermont). I have also lost two friends, both female, to shootings (in Vermont and New Hampshire) and almost lost a third (in Las Vegas). That Russell’s shopping habits raised the eyebrows of only one gun purveyor interviewed in the article angers me beyond the capacity of words to describe it. As usual in America, this is simply a business transaction, about the money and an “Oh, well” shrug about the lives.

There is much blame to go around for this. Maybe it’s finally time to put the business, cultural, social and political leadership associated with this culture of guns and drugs on trial for murder. We should also prosecute them for enhancing and maintaining the grinding poverty that forces people like Dylan Russell into heroin to try and escape it.

I know that this will never happen, of course, because these people have bought adequate insurance policies against it. I like to think about it anyway.

Walter Carpenter

Montpelier

Try Law Enforcement

Soft-on-crime prosecutors are responsible for straw purchases for drugs [“The Straw Man,” October 16]. If users such as Dylan Russell had been convicted of drug crimes and the state had reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Russell would not have passed the National Instant Criminal Background Check System check. States are required to report felonies to the FBI, but some do not.

It sounds as if state Sen. Phil Baruth needs to closely read the Constitution. A license is required for privileges, not rights.

Gun owners do understand, hating violence of all kinds. Taking away guns will not solve the problem. If gun bans are the answer, please explain why Chicago has the most murders in the country.

John Houston

Milton

Eight Years Later

Seven Days shines an important light on an issue with Joe Sexton’s story on the guns-for-drugs trade [“The Straw Man,” October 16].

Sadly, however, this is not a new story. A 2016 story in The Trace documented the same issues of guns for drugs fueling the opioid addiction crisis in Vermont. The headline: “Criminals Are Heading to Gun-Friendly Vermont to Trade Heroin for Firearms.”

Eight years on, we are no closer to our governor taking or supporting action to address the issues of guns or drug addiction in any meaningful way.

Barbara Felitti

Huntington

Remember: It’s a ‘Right’

It’s almost funny to see state Sen. Phil Baruth’s panties in a bunch regarding his pipe dreams of gun control [“The Straw Man,” October 16]. “You can open-carry an AK-47,” he screeches! Well, Senator, you can also hunt with one using three rounds in a five-round clip; its 7.62mm bullet is roughly the same as a .30-30 Winchester, and, being short, it’s a fine brush hunting rifle. Baruth also says he’d like to “ban the sale of assault rifles,” which are already banned, as an assault rifle has a selector switch for off/safe, semiauto and full auto firing. Hello?

But it’s not about hunting; it’s about our rights listed in the federal Bill of Rights and this state’s Article 16 and our ancestors’ willingness to die — yes, die — for them, and we need no one’s permission to exercise any of them.

I would suggest that Baruth drive down to Lexington, Mass., next April 19 and get a spot to observe near the town common. Then, as the “British” reenactors arrive with the rising sun, the sound of their fifes and drums will send shivers through the crowd as Captain John Parker’s militia assembles on the common, scared yet determined to “Stand your ground! Don’t fire unless fired upon! But if they want a war, let it begin here!”

Then drive to Concord and watch its militias turn the tide on Old North Bridge. It is unforgettable and had nothing to do with “gun control,” as the tyrants wanted our guns and we determined to keep them. Simple, no?

We have plenty of laws, state and federal, to incarcerate drug-dealing gun runners, and had they been behind bars, they could have neither dealt drugs nor bought guns.

Steve Merrill

North Troy

Some Insurance

[Re “UVM to Raise Tuition for Undergraduates Next Year,” October 25, online; “With a $10 Million Budget Deficit, UVM Considers Tuition Hike,” October 22, online]: Your coverage quotes University of Vermont finance VP Richard Cate saying that climbing health insurance costs are to blame for the shortfall. Costs will continue to climb indefinitely because inflation is a fixture of our economy. Islamic economists argue that the root cause of inflation is lending money at interest. Be that as it may, the U.S. economy has an inflation rate of 2 to 3 percent annually even in the best of times. But when inflation rates are broken out by economic sector, health care inflation is always double the general rate and never less than 5 to 6 percent. Our health care system is one of the main drivers of inflation.

My suggestion to the UVM trustees is to no longer offer health care insurance to their employees as a benefit. Let them purchase their own private plans or Obamacare. When the reality of their situation sets in, perhaps people will rouse from their complacency and demand Medicare for All. Why should your employment status determine your access to health care?

Gregory Kruszewski

South Burlington

Iliad Still Timely

Thank you for your review of the theater performance of An Iliad [“The Fig Tree Committee Brings a Greek Epic to Vermont Prisons,” October 9]. I was able to view the play outside of a prison, at O.N.E. Community Center in Burlington. I wish more of the public could have seen it. An Iliad, as with The Iliad, is about the destruction of the city of Troy, the first documented destruction of a center of civilization. An Iliad goes further and lists the many wars and cities that have been destroyed since then. We can remember (though few of us do) in recent years: Mosul, Iraq (2016-17), and Aleppo, the largest city and UNESCO world heritage site in Syria (2012-2016). These were wisdom centers and trading routes for centuries, both largely destroyed in the past decade. And now Gaza, reduced to rubble before our eyes.

Paul Susi was brilliant as the Poet. I remarked during the discussion after the play that the warrior Agamemnon built up storehouses of swords and shields to destroy the city of Troy. Now “we” are filling storehouses and silos with nuclear weapons. Is it possible we will not use them, considering the current passionate inclination for war? Given the history of war making portrayed in An Iliad, I weep for our future.

Robin Lloyd

Burlington

Drugs, Not Dogs

“Moose has seemingly received more media attention than almost any violent crime in Burlington,” your reporter quotes Franklin County prosecutor Diane Wheeler in [“‘Vicious’ Burlington Dog Is Moved, Must Undergo Training,” October 25, online]. “Instead of focusing on a dog who needs services, the media could focus on how to support victims of child abuse, sexual abuse, abuse of vulnerable people, domestic violence and victims of other violent crimes.”

This is embarrassing that it is happening in a city with this level of homelessness and drugs.

Tamar Howson

Burlington

Phone-Free Is Better

[Re “No Phone Zones: To Limit Distractions and Encourage Student Interaction, More Vermont Schools Are Restricting the Use of Digital Devices,” September 4]: I want to thank Alison Novak for writing this article, which I believe should be continuously brought to the public eye. I understand the importance of engaging in the classroom; it not only brings joy to teachers but also helps students retain information and disconnect from the constant presence of technology. Locking phones away may seem excessive and invasive, but perhaps consequences like grading based on phone usage could be effective. “I think that every student in the school does know they’re addicted to their phone,” student Cashel Higgins said, “but at the same time, they don’t want to change because it’s easier not to.”

As a college student, I have tried to use my phone less in class, but it is definitely easier to use it since professors often don’t say anything. In contrast, during middle and high school, teachers would simply take phones away for the rest of the class or call parents, which I believe was effective. To be honest, as someone with a short attention span who recently deleted social media, I have found that reducing my phone use has made it easier to complete assignments and pay attention in class.

Rosleidy Falcon

Burlington