Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Representative Jill Krowinski, Speaker of the House]: Will the house please come to order and members kindly take their seats? The, pledge of allegiance today will be led by, the clerk of the house, Betsy Ann Rask. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. The devotional today will be done by Conor Casey of Montpelier.

[Representative Conor Casey]: Thank you very much, everybody. I'd like to recite just a brief excerpt from a play I've been working on called Binge Drinking with My Dog. It's still in development, so bear with me, but I hope it's a lesson for us today. Oh, him? I know. It's a dog in a bar. He's my designated driver. Or maybe I should say I'm his designated driver. You should see this guy lap up some Guinness. No. In all seriousness, he's a therapy drug dog. It's true. I've never in my life needed therapy until the day I met him. I'm kidding. God, who gives a damn if I bring my dog to the pub? He's cleaner and better behaved than half the customers here. Seriously, he's very refined. Took him to the groomer the other day, and they asked if I wanted the spa package. Sure, I said, only to find myself $80 poorer with a peck yard pooch reeking of lavender. Yeah, it's a blow to the masculinity for sure. But you'll never come across a finer dog. People will poke fun and inquire whether I crocheted him myself. And that's fair enough. He is a handsome wee hound. It's because he's half Bichon, which gives him that natural puff. Everyone thinks they're girly dogs, but you might be surprised to learn they were actually the gutter rats of post revolutionary war Paris. When the guillotine came down, they opened the doors to Versailles and a stampede of these posh pampered dogs ran for their lives. They took to the streets, hustling for baguettes, savaging pigeons, basically doing anything it took to survive. That's why Linus here is so scrappy. He said, sorry, Marie Antoinette, you're a real nice lady and all, but I'm not going down with you. You won't see these floppy ears sitting atop a pike. So maybe people should chill out about me taking my dog to the pub. He comes from a very fine lineage. And besides, pub should be a place for dogs. It's a public house. Bring your wives, bring your kids, bring your dogs. It's a place to congregate. Civilization, that's what this is. Maybe you've heard of it. That was an excerpt from a play in development called Binge Drinking With My Dog. It touches on a theme of isolation, which I think is appropriate in the chamber today, a bit lonely. So thank you very much speaker and back to you. Alright. Seeing no quorum pursuant to house rule nine, the house will stand in adjournment until tomorrow, Friday, 06/06/2025 at 09:30AM.