Subject: Re: Bonds
Yes. Specifically for US government bonds, Vanguard just came out with VTG, to compete with State Street's SPTB. Both are fine IMHO.
BND has industrials (ie private sector bonds) in addition to US government.
If you are comfortable with international investing, maybe consider BNDW/BNDX/WIP.

Bonds are at their middle ground, historically speaking. Not too cheap, not terribly expensive. My wild guess (worth absolutely nothing) is they will get cheaper overall due to higher inflation in the next 1-3 years. But you truly do not have to base your investment decision on that at all. Nobody, but nobody knows where interest rates will go from now, and never have at any point in time in history. Not even the Fed.
If you do think like me, buy short duration government bonds, like SPTS, or VGSH, or even shorter duration like VBIL or TFLO. Or short duration TIPS ETFs like VTIP or STIP.

Comparing bonds to stocks is silly. They serve completely different purposes in one's portfolio. If one doesn't know that, one should not invest in bonds. Or invest, period.