Commentary Series

Vonnegut’s Book

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When Kurt Vonnegut died in April, something died in Commentator Philip Baruth too. But the other night he discovered a rare Vonnegut paperback at his local supermarket, and that has made all the difference.
Commentary Series

Traumatic Turkey Memories

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These days Commentator Philip Baruth spends Thanksgiving in a big dining room full of food and family. But, when he was growing up, his Thanksgivings didn’t always come so easy. Sometimes he had to fight for his turkey.
Commentary Series

New Pair of Shoes

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Commentator Philip Baruth’s daughter loves pizza arcades, but over the last five years Philip has seen quite a few of them go through a slow transformation – and not for the better.
Commentary Series

Enhanced

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Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff came to Burlington recently, to tout a new form of identification known as the “enhanced driver’s license.” Chertoff’s visit inspired commentator Philip Baruth to imagine what it would be like to be among the first to receive one of the new licenses.
Commentary Series

Yankee Speak

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While the collapse of a water cooling tower at Vermont Yankee last month produced riveting news images, commentator Philip Baruth has been far more interested in the language arising from the event.
Commentary Series

Miranda

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Commentator Philip Baruth’s youngest daughter Miranda returned from an extended trip to Sweden about a week ago – and somewhere along the way, she had lost every word of English. And Philip isn’t entirely happy about it.
Commentary Series

Robots

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Recenty, the Army announced that it will be sending 18 fully armed robots to the war zone in Iraq. For various reasons, commentator Philip Baruth is aghast.
Commentary Series

Ratatouille

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For various reasons, it’s unusual for Commentator Philip Baruth to take his daughters out to a movie. But recently they saw Pixar’s Ratatouille, and it was more or less a life-changing experience.
Commentary Series

Quinn & Tarleton

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Recent news of a brutal attack on a Thetford woman reminded commentator Philip Baruth of the murder last year of UVM student Michelle Gardner-Quinn, and left him trying to make sense of the senseless.