Despite all the slime and irradiated crap being thrown at him, Obama has stayed strong and true to his public statements regarding how we should be treating each other.

Lawmakers give broad support to bill that would allow growing hemp

May 2, 2008

By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau

<!– PHOTOS AND EXTRAS –><!– END EXTRAS –> MONTPELIER – The calls came into the Statehouse at a furious pace Thursday morning, inundating the Senate Judiciary pane's voicemail with ardent support for a bill stuck in committee.

“I had 73 calls this morning,” said Sen. Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

(Good story. It’s the Vermont connection that gets the promotion from me. – promoted by Jack McCullough)

According to the Burlington Free Press, 10 people were arrested today (May Day) inside the Lakeside Ave headquarters of military contractor General Dynamics.  The protesters had “locked down” in the building’s main reception area, a tactic whereby they chain themselves together in a manner that requires heavy duty equipment, including bolt cutters and sometimes industrial saws, to remove individuals.  Several dozen supporters demonstrated outside.

In all, it took almost six hours for police, firefighters, and other rescue personel to unchain the protesters.  They were brought to the BPD and cited for criminal trespassing.

According to a statement released by the protesters, they were there demanding General Dynamics “stop giving campaign contributions to the politicians responsible for regulating it, stop making Gatling guns, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction and give back the 3.6 million dollars in Vermont tax breaks General Dynamics  

received in 2007″.  I don’t know about you, but that last line sure caught my attention: $3.6 million in State subsidies and tax breaks?

“This corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks belongs to working Vermonters, not a war profiteer which made $27 billion last year, and who’s stocks have tripled while the Vermont economy has tanked,” said demonstrator Jonathan Leavitt. “While our state struggles with Jim Douglas’ budget cuts and layoffs, gas prices, affordable housing and lack of health coverage, war profiteers like General Dynamics steal tax breaks from working  

families. We’re here today as Vermonters to say no more handouts for war profiteers.”

For more info, check out:

http://stopgeneraldynamics.blo…

Resolution, of a sort, on the Governor’s “proposal” (read: subject-changing, electorally-minded impulse) to create a 2-day “sales tax holiday” as economic stimulus. As economists have been saying all week, it’s a pretty lame gimmick – even by Douglas standards. From VPR:

(Symington) “I don’t think it’s the best use of taxpayer resources. I do agree with our economist, who has stated this would have very little stimulative effect on the economy.

Yes! Standing up to the Governor – and with the same, newfound tone of confidence and authority on display during her proto-stump speech at the Curtis Awards!

(Symington) “It’s very clear to me that Governor Douglas is looking to make this the focus of the end of the session, and to turn our good work into an argument over the sales tax holiday. I will not let that happen…

Terrific! Refreshing! Calling it like it is without hesitation! Take us home, Madame Speaker!

…I will not stand in a way of a sales tax holiday.”

Uhhh….ahhhh… huh?

(Pausing for a moment while I put my face in my hands). Okay… so I’m clear. We have a strong statement on why a Douglas proposal is bad policy, followed by a statement that presents it (correctly) as cynical, election-year pandering… followed by a firm statement that we should not let this kind of nonsense stand… so, uh… so…

…so therefore, we’re just gonna hop up in record time and give him exactly what he wants.

Yeah, that’ll show him.

Shudder. So is the likely gubernatorial candidate’s assumption here that Douglas will just win any electoral argument he starts, so the only way to win is to avoid the argument by caving in as soon as possible? Maybe in the hopes that he’ll…uhh… run out of cheap electoral gimmicks? Cause you know, Jim Douglas has such a hard time coming up with such nonsense… right?

Oy. Y’know, it’s possible that this wasn’t a crazy move… I’m open to the argument. But even if that’s true, you’ll never be able to convince me that getting up and pronouncing it in this way, drawing maximum attention, wasn’t at best bizarre. If this was never about policy from the Governor – and you’ve just made a clear statement that your response isn’t about policy either – we’re supposed to be pleased that the Democratic response to a cynical election stunt, is their own cynical election stunt?

Does anybody in this discussion care about the merits of the… you know… the public policy?

Well, at least Anthony Pollina will be pleased.