<!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H1 { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H1.western { font-family: “Times New Roman”, serif } H1.cjk { font-family: “Lucida Sans Unicode”, sans-serif } H1.ctl { font-family: “Tahoma” } –>

Freeman grateful for 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, Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor 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 childhood sexual abuse, 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 lawmakers for assuming a role of responsibility in the protection of children, we also need to 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 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, 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 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.

—

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

# # #

David Gram's AP article, “Missing brackets blamed in Vermont nuke mishap,” puts the nail in the coffin for Vermont Yankee and Public Service Commissioner O'Brien's oversight of the old, worn out, falling down plant.  

Gram reports:

A top official with the federaNuclear Regulatory Commission, director of operations William Borchardt, traveled from Washington to meet Tuesday with Entergy Corp.-owned plant and state officials and participate in a conference call with Vermont's three congressional offices.

Borchardt told reporters after that meeting that a cooling tower leak discovered last Friday resulted from an inadequate fix to a much bigger leak that struck one of the towers' 22 sections, or cells, last August.

The bold, underlined phrase can't be empasized enough.  The inadequate fix?  Let's just call it the “two will do” repair special.

O'Brien and Williams said another weakening of supports and a leak in a pipe appeared to have been caused by the fix installed since last year. Two support brackets were attached to the beams where three should have been, they said.

At this point, even proponents of “cheap” nuclear energy must realize that Vermont Yankee is an old jalopy struggling to make it through the backstretch.  If a race car driver can decide it's time to pull into the pits and call it a day, then you might think the decision makers overseeing a nuclear power plant can do the same.  

The end of Vermont Yankee will only be the end of Vermont Yankee, and the questions about how badly the plant is being operated have been answered.

It's time begin start winding it down and begin the hard work of creating new energy sources.

Nate Freeman

DNC head Howard Dean is heading on a bus to tour of the South .Crawford ,Tx. the location for start of the trip is a nice touch.I just like the idea of Howard Dean on red,white and blue bus motoring through Crawford waving out the window at Bush’s Prairie Chapel Ranch.Not quite certain why exactly.  

Dean’s trip begins Thursday in President Bush’s hometown of Crawford, Texas, riding an eye-catching bus wrapped in the red, white and blue of presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign logo.”I think the big reason is we haven’t tried,” Dean said. “If you don’t show up, you can’t win. And that’s not going to happen this time. We are going to show up everywhere.” Dean said the voter registration drive is focused on boosting Obama’s standing in the states, but local candidates will join the tour when it comes their way and he hopes it can help them, too.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/…