I don’t spend much time in Barre, and I’ve never lived there, but you sure have to wonder. First we have the mayor pushing through a curfew that even the police chief gives only lukewarm support to, and now this:

Mayor wants death penalty for drug dealers

BARRE – Mayor Thomas Lauzon on Saturday said he hoped the Legislature would consider imposing the death penalty on convicted crack and heroin dealers, and to legalize marijuana.

Comments from anyone in Barre?

Cross-posted from Rational Resistance.

Both houses of the Vermont Legislature voted today to oppose Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq, and demanding that the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq commence immediately.

Montpelier, Vermont – February 13, 2007

“Enough is enough, its time to bring our troops home,” said Rep. Fisher.

All the legislators who sponsored this resolution, and especially lead sponsor Mike Fisher, deserve recognition for taking this strong stand for America and for peace.

Below the fold: House and Senate sponsors.

Representatives Fisher of Lincoln, Ancel of Calais, Aswad of Burlington, Atkins of Winooski, Bissonnette of Winooski, Botzow of Pownal, Bray of New Haven, Brooks of Montpelier, Cheney of Norwich, Clarkson of Woodstock, Condon of Colchester, Copeland-Hanzas of Bradford, Davis of Washington, Deen of Westminster, Donovan of Burlington, Dostis of Waterbury, Edwards of Brattleboro, Emmons of Springfield, Frank of Underhill, French of Randolph, Gilbert of Fairfax, Grad of Moretown, Haas of Rochester, Head of S. Burlington, Heath of Westford, Hosford of Waitsfield, Howard of Rutland City, Hunt of Essex, Hutchinson of Randolph, Jerman of Essex, Jewett of Ripton, Johnson of South Hero, Keenan of St. Albans City, Kitzmiller of Montpelier, Klein of East Montpelier, Larson of Burlington, Lippert of Hinesburg, Lorber of Burlington, Maier of Middlebury, Malcolm of Pawlet, Marek of Newfane, Martin of Springfield, Martin of Wolcott, Masland of Thetford, McCullough of Williston, Milkey of Brattleboro, Miller of Shaftsbury, Minter of Waterbury, Mitchell of Barnard, Moran of Wardsboro, Mrowicki of Putney, Nease of Johnson, Nuovo of Middlebury, Obuchowski of Rockingham, Ojibway of Hartford, Orr of Charlotte, Partridge of Windham, Pearson of Burlington, Pellett of Chester, Peltz of Woodbury, Pillsbury of Brattleboro, Potter of Clarendon, Pugh of S. Burlington, Randall of Troy, Rodgers of Glover, Shand of Weathersfield, Sharpe of Bristol, Spengler of Colchester, Sweaney of Windsor, Symington of Jericho, Trombley of Grand Isle, Weston of Burlington, Zenie of Colchester and Zuckerman of Burlington.

By Senator Lyons, White, Ayer, Bartlett, Campbell, Collins, Condos, Cummings, Flanagan, Giard, Hartwell, Kittell, MacDonald, McCormack, Miller, Racine, Sears and Shumlin,

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, which means it’s time for the V-Day Movement once again.

I learned about the V-Day Movement from my daughter-in-law, who’s an actress and V-Day activist, so, Leney, this post is for you.

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.

There are V-Day events all over the world, including here in Vermont.

The Vagina Monologues is also being presented at Montpelier’s own Lost Nation Theater.

Meanwhile, in Florida, a theater presenting the Vagina Monologues has succumbed to pressure and changed their sign, so that they’re now advertising the Hoo-Ha Monologues.

I guess some people are a little more willing to have their eyes opened than others.

The Grammys stood up for freedom of speech tonight.

You probably remember the big fights the Chicks have had the last few years: the death threats, the boycotts, the hostility. All because they aren’t big Bush fans, and had the temerity to say so.

This is from 2003:
Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London earlier this week that she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Station managers said their decisions were prompted by calls from irate listeners who thought criticism of the president was unpatriotic.

Thigs have turned around a little bit since then, but not necessarily in the world of country music. The Grammy awards are on tonight. A big, big night for commercial music of all kinds. And get this: the Dixie Chicks have won three awards–UPDATE–MAKE THAT FIVE–, including Record of the Year for their song Not Ready to Make Nice. A big ovation in the room, and Don Henley was visibly elated to announce their win, but as the cameras scanned the country music contingent the reactions seemed to range from stony silence to polite applause.

Here are some of the lyrics:

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don’t mind saying,
It’s a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice,
I’m not ready to back down,
I’m still mad as hell

Do you think it’s wishful thinking to say that this is politics at work? I sure don’t.

Some of the older lefties who read this may also have their musical roots in the big folk music scare of the 1960’s. If you’re like me, you were probably sad to hear about the death of Rick von Schmidt.

I’ve never been a prosecutor, and it’s a job I wouldn’t want to do, but I’ve been interested over the years in what prosecutors do when faced with political protests. More than twenty years ago activists took over Senator Stafford’s office in Winooski for a weekend to protest U.S. policy in Central America. When they were finally arrested they were charged with unlawful trespass. The case dragged on for over a year, the protesters went to trial before Judge Mahady, and the trial of the Winooski 44 became a show piece for the activists to demonstrate the crimes of the Reagan Administration in Central America.

In other cases where protesters block traffic or cause public inconvenience, police use their arrest powers to clear the area and remove the protesters, then, instead of prosecuting them and giving them an outlet for their beliefs, the chartes are quietly dropped. I think this is really the smartest way for a prosecutor to handle most of these cases.

That’s what’s happening now in Bennington. Rose Marie Jackowski was prosecuted, convicted, and got her conviction reversed in the Supreme Court and remanded to the Bennington District Court. The prosecutor was faced with having to retry a woman who has become a hero to antiwar activists all over the state. In this case, though, there is a new prosecutor who isn’t married to the case, and she made the smart decision to drop the charges.A grandmother whose conviction for standing in the road to protest the war in Iraq was overturned by the Vermont Supreme Court last year won’t be tried again, newly-sworn-in Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage has decided.

Go, Rose Marie!

Some of us remember Mike Gravel when he was a senator from Alaska and he took the bold step of reading the Pentagon Papers in his committee room to get the word out. He served two terms in the Senate but he’s been out of politics, or at least out of sight, for a long time.

Now he’s back, and the main thrust of his campaign seems to be to get the hell out of Iraq.

He calls himself a maverick, not a liberal, and there are tons of ideas that I would never sign on for (for instance, his tax plan looks like a Forbes-esque giveaway to the rich and seems to be supported by right-wing Republicans), but I bet there are GMD readers out there who will be receptive to what he’s saying.