Author Archives: George Putnam

What Killed Michael Brown?

Posted on June 27, 2021 by George Putnam

Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, on August 9, 2014. He was shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Michael Brown was black. Darren Wilson is white. The shooting led to widespread protests, some … Continue reading →

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Proposition 16

Posted on June 23, 2021 by George Putnam

This post is about California’s Proposition 16 of 2020. (Background information about California’s ballot proposition process may be found here.) Proposition 16 of 2020 (which failed) sought to undo Proposition 209 of 1996 (which passed), so let’s first examine that … Continue reading →

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Great Awakenings

Posted on April 19, 2021 by George Putnam

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld wrote the following in the Wall Street Journal on April 15, 2021: American religious history produced four Great Awakenings—and now American business is sparking a fifth spiritual awakening. Source: CEOs Lead America’s New Great Awakening Professor Sonnenfeld is … Continue reading →

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Is Town Meeting Obsolete?

Posted on March 22, 2021 by George Putnam

Is Town Meeting Obsolete? That was the question of an online debate sponsored by the Moore Free Library of Newfane, Vermont, on March 16, 2021, two weeks after Town Meeting Day. Arguing for the question were: Richard Watts, Ph.D., a … Continue reading →

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Town Meeting 2021

Posted on March 21, 2021 by George Putnam

There was no traditional town meeting in my town of Cambridge, Vermont, this year. Like the majority of Vermont towns, we voted all items by Australian ballot because of the pandemic lockdown. In-person voting took place on Town Meeting Day, … Continue reading →

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Vermont’s superpower

Posted on February 15, 2021 by George Putnam

The following commentary in VTDigger by Susan Clark on 2/05/2021 is excellent: Vermont’s superpower, revealed: The ability to practice local democracy Susan’s thesis is that: a) civic skills acquired by actively practicing local democracy, especially in Vermont’s town meetings, are … Continue reading →

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Rumble Strip: Town Meeting

Posted on February 7, 2021 by George Putnam

The Rumble Strip podcast by Erica Heilman on 2/05/2021 titled “Town Meeting” is excellent! It is well worth 30 minutes of your time. [Town meeting] is the most civilized and surprising social gathering of the year, every year. [Erica at … Continue reading →

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Movie Recommendation

Posted on December 24, 2020 by George Putnam

This is a good time of year for watching movies. My movie recommendation for 2020 is Hamilton: An American Musical. What a year this has been! Impeachment, covid, lockdowns, George Floyd riots, the 2020 election. Hamilton is an important story … Continue reading →

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Town Agents in Cambridge

Posted on December 6, 2020 by George Putnam

This post is part of a series of posts on “Learning about town government” in my town of Cambridge, Vermont. Please see the link for context, a disclaimer, and a list of posts in this series. The 2019 annual report … Continue reading →

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The Day After the Election

Posted on November 4, 2020 by George Putnam

It’s the day after the election. Ballots are still being counted in some states. Where are we? There are 538 electoral votes in the election for president. It takes 270 votes to win. As of about 4 PM ET today, … Continue reading →

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