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[nickelplate]

Saw this today on national review's blog...apparantly Jonah Goldberg was on vacation and had some interesting VT vs. NH observations.

LEAVING MAKES YOU FREE [Jonah Goldberg]
When we finally crossed the border into New Hampshire, it was like we’d passed through the Brandenberg Gate. We were free. In fact, the licenses plates even insist on it. New Hampshire is beautiful too, but you can tell they actually believe in things like freedom and commerce there. There was just something a bit less managed, planned, directed about the Granite State when compared to the Green Mountain State. Jessica insists that Vermont is the East Coast’s version of Oregon. Since Vermont came first, I think it should be the other way around. Nevertheless, I think she’s right. Both states subscribe to scenic socialism, a desire to keep things pretty by keeping the undesirables out. As Jess kept saying, “there’s got to be a reason so few people live in a state this pretty.” (She’s right barely a half million people live in Vermont, which means that Howard Dean wants to run a country with less experience than that afforded to most mayors of mid-size cities.). I’m sure I’m being unfair to literally dozens of Vermonters, but with very few exceptions they strike me as Canadians, only mean. In fact, all the time I drove through Vermont I kept thinking of that old Star Trek with the space hippies who were searching for a mythical Eden planet. They found their beautiful Eden world, but the spectacular fruit and flowers were all poisonous and anyone who bit into them died. I don’t think that holds true for Vermont, but I’ll use New Hampshire maple syrup all the same.


From: http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/03_08_17_corner-archive.asp#012456

...and there are a few other posts he makes below that with more impressions of VT.

Meh, anyway, perhaps not the most profound statements, but I found them interesting.

-Ian

[502chestnut]

< That any state in America could be perceived as "Free" only testifies to the ignorance of the perceiver.  >

let's not make it worse than it is.  america is still the most free, least socialistic developed nation.  of course, it could be a lot better...

[Kelton]

Last month, commentator George Will took an unusually silly jab at Vermont politics in this article, calling it a left-leaning commune, "a commune whose flag should have the shape of an ice cream cone"  

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/ThisWeek/Politics/george_will030706.html

I think its a good read, but I think George Will is at his best when he's being serious.

[LeRuineur6]

The political difference between Vermont and New Hampshire is the difference between night and day.

New Hampshire proves that freedom can retain the natural beauty of a state without compromising economic growth.

Vermont proves that socialism can retain the natural beauty of a state but only at the cost of economic growth.

That's my view on the beauty of the states.  I have opinions on many other differences between the states but will keep them to myself for now.  

[Tony Stelik]

< That any state in America could be perceived as "Free" only testifies to the ignorance of the perceiver.  >

let's not make it worse than it is.  america is still the most free, least socialistic developed nation.  of course, it could be a lot better...

Agree 100%! As former European I've seen much worse.
Still why shoul be any freedom surrended?
We have to fight for it and get it back! NH is the place of the batle.

[Mike Lorrey]

Last month, commentator George Will took an unusually silly jab at Vermont politics in this article, calling it a left-leaning commune, "a commune whose flag should have the shape of an ice cream cone"  

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/ThisWeek/Politics/george_will030706.html

I think its a good read, but I think George Will is at his best when he's being serious.

I don't think you appreciate how much the founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are involved in financing left wing politics in Vermont (as well as across the rest of the country). They have a rather HUGE war chest that they've put into an activist organization that backs many different left wing causes with significant money, grassroots campaigns, etc.

Much as I like their ice cream, I won't buy it anymore.

[LeRuineur6]

I don't think you appreciate how much the founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are involved in financing left wing politics in Vermont (as well as across the rest of the country). They have a rather HUGE war chest that they've put into an activist organization that backs many different left wing causes with significant money, grassroots campaigns, etc.

Much as I like their ice cream, I won't buy it anymore.

A few months ago I was a member of a local anti-war group in Burlington, VT.  This group was about 10% ISO socialists (International Socialist Organization), but those few socialists tried like hell to control the entire group's direction, to the anger of all others involved.

Mike is right, Ben & Jerry's funds leftism.  They gave us a $1,000 grant for one single anti-war event, although the event wasn't too "leftist" (I was involved and wouldn't allow that to happen! hehehe).  Without Ben Cohen's money, we would have failed to raise enough money for our event.

As a matter of fact, Ben Cohen was cited by the police a few weeks before that event when my group pulled off an act of Civil Disobedience and took over the headquarters of the Burlington Free Press with a Die-In one evening.  Someone in the group even has pictures of it.

It was all for a good cause as the war was clearly wrong, but I'm willing to bet a lot more money goes to anti-freedom causes than we could ever know.