Freeman thankful of bipartisan approach

Working together to address sexual violence important

NORTHFIELD – In response to news of bipartisan efforts to meet and address the difficult issue of sexual violence in the wake of the Brooke Bennett tragedy, Nate Freeman weighed in today with appreciation of the new direction in this difficult discussion.

“Every Vermonter must respond to the tragedy in Randolph because the specter of sexual violence is epidemic. In addition to a review of what happened and how we approach the punishment of predators, we need to also work on the best ways to prevent sexual violence, or at the very least, intervene and rescue children immediately after they suffer this tragedy.

Freeman revealed this week his personal experience as one who suffered childhood rape.

“I am one of thousands of Vermonters who have suffered a similar experience, and yet I am extremely fortunate as I was rescued almost immediately after the event occurred. I am proud of my parents and my family for saving me from repeated sexual abuse. The sad fact is that my single-time experience and the protection my family provided is not the norm in this phenomenon. While I applaud Brian Dubie for assuming a role of responsibility in the protection of children, every Vermonter should consider the responsibility of parents, grandparents, and extended family members in protecting and rescuing children from predators. Every family needs to overcome the shame of sexual violence happening perpetrated by another family member or a person of trust in the community.

Freeman stresses the importance of working both on preventative measures as well as punitive measures in response to sexual violence.

“In challenging Brian Dubie and Jim Douglas on the politicization of this issue earlier this week, my intent was to help move the conversation in a more productive direction. Vermont's legislature, judiciary, and governor and political parties need to come together at this time to work hard and fast on the best possible measures to protect our children. We should not enter this process with immediate disagreement about what measures will be the best solutions, but we must we must work hard and fast to look at comprehensive models in other states to find the best possible protection for Vermont children.

Freeman is also clear about how he considers his own experience.

“I was rescued. I do not consider myself a survivor or a victim, but one who was rescued and later in life learned about how my single experience affected my approach to life.”

Nate Freeman is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor from the Democratic Party. He is the owner of Freeman's Upholstery Shop and Green Mountain Kitty Litter in Northfield. He is also a male survivor of early childhood sexual abuse by a female perpetrator.

—

For information on the Freeman campaign, see www.NateFreeman.com or call 802-485-4428.

# # #

Word finally got into the papers about the push-poll, but it wasn’t a reporter delivering the news:

Jim Douglas and Brian Dubie have taken the strategy to a new low. Word is out that Gov. Douglas is doing a push poll using Brooke Bennett’s death. Can even diehard Douglas supporters stomach that level of cynicism?

That’s from an op-ed by Assistant House Majority Leader Floyd Nease, and it’s a rather salient piece of information against the backdrop of the Governor’s brazen statement in Douglas’s own piece immediately preceding it:

There has been a great deal of talk, finger-pointing and grandstanding in recent days regarding the tragedy of Brooke Bennett’s death. This does nothing to serve Brooke’s memory.

Nease also had this heretofore unknown tidbit:

At his press conference last week, a reporter asked Gov. Douglas repeatedly if either Jessica’s Law or civil commitment would have prevented the horrific tragedy in Randolph. Each time, the governor avoided answering. The reporter finally said, “I hate to keep harping on this, but …” to which the governor responded, smiling, “That’s all right, I’ll keep avoiding it.”

Fascinating, isn’t it? Someone in the press corps found the question important enough to ask, but didn’t find Douglas’s response to their important question important enough to actually report. And again, that response from Governor The-buck-never-stops-anywhere-NEAR-me was“That’s all right, I’ll keep avoiding it.”.

What this tells us is that Nease is only about 70% right when he says in the piece:

Every election year, Jim Douglas exploits tragic events to push reactionary and emotional solutions to real Vermont problems. He doesn’t seem to care so much about whether the solutions work, only that they ensure his re-election.

What he left out is the other part of his standard re-election strategy; depending on the Vermont media to bend over backwards not to make him look bad. Oh sure, there’ll be the occasional report – like the latest pieces about the failure of the Corrections Department – but there will never be any follow through, follow-up, or holding of the Governor’s feet to the fire. Why? Because Douglas’s answers, when actually reported, always make him look and sound bad. And he’s Mr. Nice Guy. The press has long committed to that narrative. As to the reporters that may be inclined to push, they’ll likely be shut down by editorial, or by the eye-rolling condescension of their more seasoned peers.

And in return, Douglas runs the Reporters Benevolent Society, providing nice, well-paying, superfluous jobs on the public dime. Just ask former Brattleboro Reformer editor Sabina Haskell, now the highly paid spokesperson for the Agency of Natural Resources. According to an insider, it was exclusively at her insistence that the Reformer endorsed Douglas over Scudder Parker last go-round. Looks like it paid off.

And so it goes and goes and goes and goes…

Ugh. I’m off on a family trip. See y’all when I get back.

One third of Vermont’s power source is still down due to the second round of cooling tower problems in less than one year .NRC officials deem it important enough to show up at the aging plant in person and remain here for a week .Acting out of character regarding anything Yankee Gov.Douglas has had no comment .Sometimes the appearance of something is as important as what actually is the case .Given the Vermont Yankee events these past several days the appearance certainly is that the Gov. welcomed a program of diversion from his troubles.No ribbons here just a big problem that might require the leadership of a Governor willing to do more rather than less.Or in this case perhaps appear to do more rather than less

Quoted in the paper today Commissioner of Public Service O’Brien

while saying he was not satisfied with Entergy’s performance  stressed that Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, the company that owns and operates the Vernon reactor, is not bound by law to contact his office when there are non-safety related issue.

Honor system,no legal controlling authority to require this .

How can the public have confidence if state officials are not informed?

he asked.Good very good question .

This from the man that last week who warned us in an op-ed not to look at Entergy’s $750 million unexpected profit as a “windfall”or use the term “cash cow” as these are slanted terms that serve no purpose other than to cloud the discussion.

Mr.O’Brien  added that  

The failure to inform his office and the long string of incidents the company has faced over the past few years reflects a corporate culture that demands close scrutiny. He promised to talk to Entergy corporate officials about the state’s ongoing concerns.

http://www.reformer.com/ci_989…

Nothing to see hear keep moving

Citizen panel begins review of Vt. Yankee

The panel, which includes representatives picked by Republican Gov. James Douglas and the Democratic leaders of the Vermont Legislature, met for more than three hours Thursday morning in a closed-door session.

“This is not a public body so it does not have to adhere to public meeting requirements,” explained David O’Brien, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service. “There is a need to keep some of this information private.”

http://www.timesargus.com/apps…