I'm so sickened and shocked that our default answer to lawmakers breaking the law is 'gosh, I hope they resign'. How about we stop 'pressuring' them to quit, and work to take the choice out of their hands?

I don't see a problem with the vast majority of this. We need to stop living in the days gone by where Vermont can be majority single-family homes and wide open spaces. More people live here now, and we need to be realistic about how to house them.

The people complaining about government control here are off-base. State control of housing is literally the opposite of what caused this problem; a hands-off approach led to developers choosing over and over again to only build luxury properties, leaving the majority of residents with little to no affordable options.

I don't want to sound pejorative, but I'm genuinely impressed by how you managed to accurately perceive a glimpse of such a higher-order being and retain your sense of self. That shows rare fortitude.

This experience will likely aid you in two ways. First, it will likely lend a sense of relativity to beings such as the Leshy, allowing you to be less disquieted by them. Second, and perhaps more importantly: once you see something like that, you become able to more easily find it again. You may be able to detect something similar even if it's in hiding. Even if it's back on Earth.

May you fare well in your endeavor. My thoughts be with you, noble steward.

I fear your soul won't return to you so long as you're bound by pledge to one such as the Leshi.

Do you mean convict or acquit? Or can a judge just say ‘you’re stuck here until you say guilty’

But how do juries so consistently avoid the problem of one random person just not being convinced of guilt while everyone else is sure the crime was committed?

First offense: sizable fine

Second offense: jail time.

Station a cop right at the beginning if the manpower is available.