The Bernie Buzz

A free and democratic society, which is what America is supposed to be about, depends upon the basic premise that people can speak out, organize and take part in public life without fear — without worrying that they might be killed, injured or humiliated for expressing their political views. In fact, that is the essence of what freedom is about and what democracy is about.

Earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote an op-ed claiming that, under his leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is “Restoring Public Trust in the CDC”. That would be laughable if it weren’t dangerously wrong. In my view, Mr. Kennedy is waging a war against science and the well-being of the American people that is founded in politics and personal enrichment.

On Sunday, nearly 400 Vermont seniors from across Chittenden County joined me in Burlington to share a meal, listen to music from local musician Allison Fay and participate in conversation. It’s no surprise that the issues these Vermonters are focused on are the same that I hear from working people about every day — the skyrocketing cost of our broken health care system, cuts to Medicaid, threats to Social Security, access to veterans’ benefits, the environment and much more.

Ninety years ago this week, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating the most popular government program in our nation’s history. For nearly nine decades, through good times and bad, Social Security has paid out every benefit owed to every eligible American on time and without delay.

This past weekend, more than 5,000 Vermonters packed in and around Virtue Field in Burlington to watch the Vermont Green take on Seattle’s Ballard FC for the USL League Two national championship.