Vermont Wants Their Guard Troops Back

In what is hopefully the first salvo by the states against the power of the federal war-making machine, Vermont lawmakers from both houses of the legislature are pushing bills to pull the state’s national guard troops from Iraq.

State Rep. Michael Fisher, D-Lincoln, said the authority to call up Guard members for Iraq duty has expired because that country no longer poses a threat to U.S. national security.

“The mission authorized in 2002 does not exist,” said Fisher, who plans to introduce a bill backed by 30 colleagues Wednesday that calls on Gov. Jim Douglas to join the effort. “Unless Congress grants a new authorization, the Vermont Guard should revert back to state control.”

Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin said the Senate would take up similar legislation.

“Bottom line is, if the politicians in Washington aren’t going to do the right thing for our troops, let’s do the right thing by bringing our Vermont Guard members home,” he said. “If Vermont can make one small step forward, I believe others will follow.”

Similar proposals are being considered by lawmakers in Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Let’s take their proposals to the other states and make this an issue in state legislative election this year.

Three Cheers for Three Percent?

I was disappointed that Ron Paul only got 3% of the votes in yesterday’s Florida primary.  The trendline for his vote  percentages in most of elections since Iowa has been downward. 

I think Ron Paul is doing great in the debates and in broadcast interviews.  But his campaign seems gun-shy about stressing Paul’s stalwart position on the Iraq war.   Some of the ads the campaign is paying to run  have the punching power of wet noodles.   The Paul campaign has lately made far more effort stressing Paul’s devotion to veterans than his opposition to the Iraq war.

Did the dropout of Dennis Kucinich from the presidential race end any chance for a fervent delivery of the antiwar message to the American people?

Roadside Bomb Hits Coffin on Way to Funeral

When searching for photos, I often run across some very sad stories that don’t make it into the regular news articles.

An Iraqi man gestures next to a coffin in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 28, 2008. The coffin was on top a mini bus for a funeral ceremony when a roadside bomb missed a police patrol in eastern Baghdad but hit the mini bus, killing three passengers and injuring five others, police said.
(AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

According to Reuters, there are now 10 people reported injured (in addition to the three killed) in the minibus bombing.

AntiWar in FLA Primary?

Are any of the candidates in tomorrow’s presidential primaries in Florida running advertisements criticizing the Iraq war?  Are any of the candidates making opposition to the Iraq war their premier issue?

Is the antiwar issue being raised in the media or in Q & A with candidates?

Has anybody seen polls on which candidates are favored by voters who opposed the war?

The Washington Post yesterday made the GOP race sound like a contest on who could be most bellicose on Iraq. Is that how the race looks on the ground in FLA?

Medics on Armed Patrol in Iraq

I ran across this photo and was surprised at the caption. I may be naive but I was genuinely surprised at a medic leading an armed patrol in Baghdad.

U.S. Army Spc. Kris
Hostetler, 21, from Nashville, Tenn., a medic with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion,
30th Infantry Regiment patrols in Arab Jabour during Operation Coliseum
south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)