BillCosby

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — A town petition making President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney subject to arrest for crimes against the Constitution has triggered a barrage of criticism from people who say residents are "wackjobs" and "nuts."

In e-mail messages, voicemail messages and telephone calls, outraged people are calling the measure the equivalent of treason and vowing never to visit Vermont.

"Has everyone up there been out in the cold too long?" said one.

"I would like to know how I could get some water from your town," said another. "It's obvious that there is something special in it."

The petition — with more than 436 signatures, or at least the 5 percent of voters necessary to be considered — was submitted Thursday and the town Select Board voted 3-2 Friday to put it on the ballot. It goes to a town-wide vote March 4.

It reads: "Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictments for consideration by other authorities and shall it be the law of the Town of Brattleboro that the Brattleboro Police, pursuant to the above-mentioned indictments, arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro if they are not duly impeached, and prosecute or extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them?"

News of the measure made the rounds on the Internet, and soon people started calling and writing. The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce got about 60 e-mails Monday, all of them negative, said Executive Director Jerry Goldberg.

A day later, he said, "we had three or four calls in a row that were very positive. One even volunteered to help."

The petition has no legal standing, since the town attorney has no authority to write an indictment and the police have no authority to arrest Bush or Cheney if either visits Brattleboro.

Bush has not visited Vermont during his presidency; Cheney visited Burlington in 2002, but has not been to Brattleboro.

Anger at the Bush administration is hardly new in Vermont. The state Senate voted last year to support impeaching the president. Anti-war rallies are regular occurrences, and "Impeach Bush" bumper stickers are common.

The petition prompted Brent Caflisch to go to his computer in Rosemount, Minn. "Maybe the terrorists will do us all a favor and attack your town next, our country would be much safer with several thousand dead wackjobs in Vermont," he wrote.

It went on to say terrorists could kidnap the three Select Board members who voted in favor, "cut their heads off, video tape it and put it on the internet."

Caflisch, who confirmed sending the e-mail, said Tuesday he did it out of disgust after reading about the measure on The Drudge Report.

A few messages were positive ("Arrest Bush and Cheney? You go, Brattleboro!" wrote one man) but most were critical.

"Be American, not a sniffeling liberal town that sleeps under the shield of safety provided to you by your President," said another e-mail. "Vacation to VT CANCELLED!"

The reaction caught town officials off guard, and left some workers on edge.

"We have some concerns about safety," said Town Clerk Annette Cappy. "After reading some of these e-mails, you can't help it."

Acting Police Chief Eugene Wrinn said any threats would be taken seriously and possibly prosecuted. So far, no threats have been made, he said.

"If someone is concerned for their safety, if there's a threat of harm, we will look at that seriously," he said.

Resident Kurt Daims, who submitted the petition, said late Tuesday he was chagrined that the town and its employees were subject to ridicule.

"I feel bad for people who are loyal to Bush who have lost a son or had one in the service and it's hard for them to admit the utter waste of it, and that it was caused by this man in the White House," he said.

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

BillCosby

Well I think you are full of shit.........

You either have no children or are just a liar..... & I don't really care which........

You now have zero credibility IMO & anything you say will be taken as a bad joke or worse............

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Iraq was responsible for how many "bombings" again? Zero.

Taliban? The same Taliban that visited with Governor Bush in Houston after said bombings? The same Taliban that protected OBL, whom Clinton broke with tradition and allowed to be targeted for assassination?

Chickenshit President who had more troops actively deployed than Bush I? Kosovo?

Could you post anything more clueless?

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

BillCosby

Well now he may have a point here.... Afterall had clinton used the premeptive clause like bush this could of all been prevented....... If say carpet bombed IraQ on say a tuesday & on Friday carpet bombed all of opiumstan.......... Hey maybe bush can do that now in wackistan so we can see if it would work..........

Afterall dead men can't harm us....... The good oil companies & fixer up companies can go in & make money. THis is good for america.. We just don't get it... It's our fault..............

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

PursuitOfHappinessParty

It just gets old, the old GOP two-step. OBLs beef with the US is over foreign policy, something all recent presidents have had a hand in. Specific beef against Bush I. Attacked us during a sleeping Bush II administration. Prior to 9/11, the only President who did anything was Clinton and if Jr. had continued with what Clinton was doing then 9/11 might not have happened. Either way, both Bush's bear more culpability than Clinton in the terrorism game yet these pinhead Bush cheerleaders still drag out the same tired anti-Clinton rhetoric.
And I don't even really like Clinton, seeing as he's a corporatist and all.

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

TrueBlueAmerican

Bush better avoid Brattleboro like the plauge. Although it would be intresting to see Bush and his security team getting into a gunfight with local law enforcement. TAKE THE MOTORCADE!

BillCosby

Well then you have been failing in your duty to rub my nose in it. Please feel free to take this challenge when you are up to it........... Starting w/ that post about Nader running might be a good start.....

Or how about this one Do you agree: military industrial complex does as much good as it does bad : military industrial complex does as much good as it does bad. The USA as the current military super-power does have it's privileges.


I won't defend bill........... I will leave that up to the clinton luvers.....

Just who was he to invade for doing those bad things?????

Lets see now..... From what we have been told those bad ppl were from saudi arabia & Egypt. Which of those should he have invaded or carpet bombed first???

Although there are many men w/ bounties on their heads: wanted dead or alive I have yet to read a arrest warrant for the likes of the suadi binladen??? Two nations were invaded & hundreds of thousands if not close to a million or more have died............ & this one man has yet to be charged..........

There now.......... I even gave you some material to work w/.... Have fun......

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

BillCosby

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

BillCosby

binalden has specific issues w/ the usa/west........ Some of which are hardly exclusive to him or his ilk..........

I would agree that bush has fucked things up more than clinton but I disagree that had he just followed the clinton policy 9/11 would not have occurred...

The seeds for that event had been sown long before... binladen has often stated the presence in his "holy land" of americans as well as other american/western policies were the reason for his jihad..........

That had not changed when our elected kings did.......


I totally agree that the clintons are corporate democrats in the truest sense of the term........... IMO that fact would seem to invalidate your argument for a different outcome under almost any circumstances.....

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Yes, but don't forget that during Reagan's admin, OBL was just hunky-dory with the U.S.. We armed and trained him and his ilk, and they loved us. Then Bush I with his Oil Cartel ties comes in at the behest of SA, his obvious buds, and defends arab from arab and then stuck around. This wasn't acceptable to OBL, and so he started f'n with us at any and every opportunity. If Bush II had continued the careful eye on OBL that Clinton had instigated as well as heed the warnings that Clinton's CIA had begun on then indeed I DO believe 9/11 probably wouldn't have happened. Something would've at sometime to be sure as OBL was rather persistent. The difference between Clinton's corporate ties and Bush's corporate ties make for the different outcome. Clinton was NAFTA, MSM conglomeration, and Wal-Mart. Bush is Oil and MIC.

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'