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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Activists in Vermont town want Bush, Cheney subject to arrest |
| 2007-12-29 |
| President Bush may soon have a new reason to avoid left-leaning Vermont: In one town, activists want him subject to arrest for war crimes. Reason #1 being that the water supply is apparently contaminated by lead. A group in Brattleboro is petitioning to put an item on a town meeting agenda in March that would make Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney subject to arrest and indictment if they visit the southeastern Vermont community. Dang. How's he going to get his work done now? "This petition is as radical as the Declaration of Independence, and it draws on that tradition in claiming a universal jurisdiction when governments fail to do what they're supposed to do," said Kurt Daims, 54, a retired machinist leading the drive. It may be as radical, but it is not as sane. As president, Bush has visited every state except Vermont. He's not ignoring you. In fact, upon hearing this news, he has just directed the Navy to design a new inflatable warship, the Vermont Class Dinghy, the magnitude of which will surely stun any sane observer. The town meeting, an annual exercise in which residents gather to vote on everything from fire department budgets to municipal policy, requires about 1,000 signatures to place a binding item on the agenda. With this kind of notoriety, it should fetch a pretty good size bid on ebay. The measure asks: "Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictment for consideration by other municipalities?" Careful, the federal government might counter by making stupidity a crime. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. The press office did not immediately respond to an e-mail. Yeah, the press secretary is still trying to compose a straight face. Support for the measure is far from universal, even in Vermont, where the state Senate voted earlier this year to support impeaching the president. Anti-war rallies are regular occurrences here, and "Impeach Bush" bumper stickers are common. Must not have cable TV. "I would not be supportive of it," said Stephen Steidle, a member of the town's Selectboard, which oversees its government. Hmm. Must have graduated from high school. "It's well outside of our ability. From my perspective, the Brattleboro Selectboard needs to focus on the town and the things that need to be done here." Now there's some radical thinking. Daims has been circulating documents that claim the community acquires a "universal jurisdiction" to take such steps "when governments breach their highest duties." Huh? Did you mean to say radical, or LSD-induced? "We have the full power to issue indictments, conduct trials, incarcerate offenders and do all other acts which Independent jurisdictions may of right do," the statement says. And if your landlord pi$$es you off by knocking on your door, do you declare yourself to be an Independent jurisdiction and go after him, too? Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell, a Democrat whose office has repeatedly sued the Bush administration over environmental issues, said the move was "of very dubious legality." Note Vermonters: This is diplo-speak for "you have lost your last marble". "I have not seen the proposal, and I've done no legal research on any of the issues Besides, they'd have to deal with the wrath of the Black Presidential SUVs, which could very well lay waste to the town's entire law enforcement system without much trouble. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #15 D.V. I'll pull what strings I can to get you on the firing squad. Then you'll have several rounds on me, 'kay? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2007-12-29 22:02 |
| #14 If Kurt Daims is named a traitor, I can still shoot him legally because of the oath I swore. Oh sweet happiness. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-12-29 20:12 |
| #13 The population of VT has shifted from manure shovelers to manure packers in a single generation. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2007-12-29 15:54 |
| #12 The measure asks: "Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictment for consideration by other municipalities?" The hippies need to read the Constitution themselves. Note that they do not ask the Selectboard to instruct its attorneys to seek an indictment from a legitimate court, they ask it to draft an indictment and present it other municipalities, that is, other legislative bodies. The measure they request is a Bill of Attainder, a declaration of guilt by a legislative body, and specifically forbidden by Article I, Section 9; Clause 3: "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." The Constitution of every state also forbids bills of attainder. |
| Posted by: Gromomble Oppressor of the Iowans8916 2007-12-29 15:52 |
| #11 AlanC: Yes, I think you're probably right. Kind of an influx from Amherst, Greenfield and North Hampton at a guess. Same types. There are some good people in western Mass, but the commie-types tend to flock together. I like the idea of the "right back at'cha", they'll be dumbfounded. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2007-12-29 15:47 |
| #10 "I'll get a similar law passed here in Vidalia, but naming Kurt Daims as a traitor to the United States. " Citizen's arrest? |
| Posted by: doc 2007-12-29 14:37 |
| #9 Fine. I'll get a similar law passed here in Vidalia, but naming Kurt Daims as a traitor to the United States. We'll award ourselves universal jurisdiction too, then go out there, arrest the bastard, and all 1000 co-signers as co-conspirators, haul their pimply yankee asses back here, and get to work. I am sick and tired of jackass SOBs who think they can change the rules of the game while thinking we'll abide by the old rules. Betcha they'll whine "it's not fair!" quicker than a second grader when faced with a 20 gauge "Back At'cha!". Sauce. Goose. Gander. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2007-12-29 13:30 |
| #8 "We hold these Troofs to be self-evident..." |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-12-29 11:52 |
| #7 Getting bad in Southern New Hampshire, too. Take this earnest query from a self-described "potter" from Exeter: "I've had a U.N. flag flying from my front porch since the beginning of the war. It pains me to think of how our respect for the United Nations has been drained away in these years under the current administration. I want to know what you would do to restore our respect as a country for the United Nations and the United Nations' respect for America?" New Hampshire Blues |
| Posted by: KBK 2007-12-29 11:50 |
| #6 Hey WM didn't B'boro get overrun by the dregs to the south? I'm down in MA and this sounds like something out of Amherst or the PRoC. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-12-29 11:22 |
| #5 Vermont is my home state. I live here by choice. That said, Vermont is odd. In the parking lot of the company I work for, it is not uncommon to see bumper stickers like the one noted above sharing bumper space with an NRA decal. Dichotomies abound. At the range, apparent rednecks swap load data with apparent hippies. It is a free carry, concealed carry state, so radical in its gun laws (there basically aren't any to speak of, other than "don't do bad things" and "no silencers" and "no loaded shotguns or rifles in the front seat") that no other state (except maybe Alaska) has any reciprocity with Vermont. You want to talk to the head of the State Police? Call him, he'll answer immediately. Nice guy too. You can call the State Attorney General as well, and he will answer; nice guy, too. Dichotomies. Really, really old Yankee. Brattleboro is a looney bin, IMHO. Most of the rest of the state would agree. The Brattleboro police suffer (somewhat) silently. Pity them. Or, buy them a beer when you can (my preferred course of action). They will accept. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2007-12-29 10:31 |
| #4 If I was up there I would vote for this. Then I would demand that it be made mandatory that every dime of the city's budget be thrown in to the effort. No cops, no teachers, no trash pickup, no fire protection, NOTHING until the evil scourge of Bush/Cheney is eliminated from the face of the earth. Put your money where ya mouths are, ya fuckin dirty hippies... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-12-29 10:30 |
| #3 just for grins, we need a squadron of unmarked black helicopters to make a couple runs over the town, hovering over Daims' home with spotlights.... just a couple days of that should really knot their panties |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-12-29 10:14 |
| #2 they'd have really uphill sledding Not gonna be much sledding (or any hills, for that matter!) after the evil Chainey sends his personal fleet of bulldozers and war zeppelins to straighten this out. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-12-29 10:05 |
| #1 so they don't even have the 1,000 signatures yet and it is CNN Headline News. What will be next? When little Molly puts out a petition with her classmates to have the teacher arrested for denying them recess? How the mighty have fallen. |
| Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 2007-12-29 09:30 |