Pot and Politics

Four leaders (Matt Dunne, Deb Markowitz, Peter Shumlin, and Doug Racine) vying to be the Democratic candidate for Governor declared support for deciminalizing small amounts of marijuana possession. That means they're calling for tickets rather than jail time. Doing so would also eliminate or vastly reduce the costs in our current system that go to judges, police, lawyers, and others with the current criminalization for people caught with pot.

That news follows a forum that I participated in at UVM, sponsored by Marijuana Resolve. Two TV stations covered the event, with news reports found here:

WCAX-TV: http://bit.ly/cSvVR9

WPTZ-TV: http://www.wptz.com/r/24587835/detail.html

.

Get out & push!

On June 2, 2009, history was made.

It was the first time that the governor of the state of Vermont ever vetoed a budget. It was quite a disappointment. Negotiations broke down, and a compromise couldn't be reached.

But I joined with more than 2/3 of the House and Senate in over-riding the Governor's veto.

The way I see it, we're all in the family car, out of gas, and we must make it up the hill. Everyone pushes, even Grandma. That's what the budget we passed does.

Some opponents of this approach say that Buddy, the strongest person in the car, shouldn't be asked to help, because he might defect to New Hampshire.

I say that the rule is, "Less whining, more pushing."

Governor Proposes Harmful Cuts

When times get tough, we need to stick together. As the State of Vermont faces an enormous budget crisis (like the rest of the nation) we need to remember our commitment to the most vulnerable Vermonters.

Do you think it's time to dip into the Rainy Day Fund? Or should we go ahead and make real cuts right now that will have multiplier effects to our economy and that may have long-lasting damaging effects, and will likely immediately work to raise college tuition, hurt working Vermonters, and cut vital services to children, the elderly, the poor, and so many of our environmental, forestry, and other vital projects.