I blogged this yesterday, and I expected some negative reaction, but not this soon.  The story and reactions have come from around the world, thanks to the power of the internet.  Of note is the Tehran Times in Iran which parroted the original article.

Hmm, what kind of message about unity in America is Brattleboro giving, and what impact could that have on foreign policy?

The Boston Globe has also noticed the story.

The blowback on the story involves something I personally find distasteful: Harassment and threats.

In my original post I chose not to treat the matter in such fashion, I went with scorn, ridicule and derision.  Harassment makes martyrs of the people whose hatred drives them to such ideological foolishness, ridicule and exposure merely shows it as the foolishness it is.

LSU condemns any threats against the officials.  A lot of them are only doing their jobs.

I will post some highlights from several articles

WCAX TV:

Officials in Brattleboro say they have been inundated with threats after word broke about a controversial item that will appear on the Town Meeting Day ballot. It calls for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to be arrested for war crimes if either of them steps foot in Brattleboro.

Workers at the town offices had to stop answering their phones Monday due to numerous threats. Local and federal authorities say they will prosecute anyone whose messages cross the line and harass town officials.

WPTZ:

Town officials in Brattleboro are being inundated with complaints from across the country about a decision to let voters decide whether arrest warrants should be issued for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Town Clerk Annette Cappy said the “nastiness” of the calls prompted the town office to stop answering its phones Monday.

One message from a Minnesota man said he’d like to see terrorists cut off the heads of some Brattleboro officials.

The Times Argus:

He may be a lame duck, but never think that stops people from letting their irrational hatred lead them into gross stupidity.

Bush Derangement lives, in Vermont:

Brattleboro to vote on arresting Bush, Cheney

Brattleboro residents will vote at town meeting on whether President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont.

Sigh.  The same old lie.  The liberals have been preaching this BS Bush lied mantra ceaselessly despite never having shown one single lie.  The rest of it shows they know little of how prisoners of war are actually supposed to be treated.

The Brattleboro Select Board voted 3-2 Friday to put the controversial item on the Town Meeting Day warning.

According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy, organizers of the Bush-Cheney issue gathered enough signatures, and it was up to the Select Board whether Brattleboro voters would consider the issue in March.

Cappy said residents will get to vote on the matter by paper balloting March 4.

Kurt Daims, 54, of Brattleboro, the organizer of the petition drive, said Friday the debate to get the issue on the ballot was a good one. Opposition to the vote focused on whether the town had any power to endorse the matter.

Which it really doesn’t.  If he has done something illegal, that’s a matter for Congress.  That’s in the Constitution and everything.

“It is an advisory thing,” said Daims, a retired prototype machinist and stay-at-home dad of three daughters.

Otherwise known as a useless waste of time, and pandering to the nutroots.

So far, Vermont is the only state Bush hasn’t visited since he became president in 2001.

I’m sure it’s high on his list now…

Daims said the most grievous crime committed by Bush  and Cheney was perjury — lying to Congress and U.S. citizens about the basis of a war in Iraq.

One of my all time favorite TV shows is the 80’s and 90’s sitcom Roseanne.

Roseanne when it came out could have been a portrait of my life.  At the time I was not well off financially, and was dealing with a lot of stress and unhappiness with laughter and sarcasm.

It was one of the first sitcoms to portray what life for most working class people was like:  A struggle with highs and lows. It also, as Roseanne Barr notes in her DVD commentary, clearly showcases the disconnect in class in America.

But.  One of the things I do struggle with is Roseanne herself, the actress, the comedienne and the activist.

I perused her blog and was shocked at how she can flip from crazy to wacky in no time at all.

Here are some examples from Roseanne World.   WARNING:  EXTREME LANGUAGE AHEAD

On Anne Coulter:

Ann Coulter

She serves a purpose, and a part of that is disturbing. When any woman with opinions speaks up - including Anne (the mouthpiece for Aryan womanhood) - she is the victim of verbal sexual assault. Her genitals and sexuality are gleefully insulted: she has an Adam’s apple, she likes getting fucked in the ass… This is wrong in any case, even hers. It demeans all women to do it. She can be debated intelligently, and if she would allow me that, I would be honored to do it, as I think she makes some valid points about the failures of the left in this country.

http://www.roseanneworld.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5192

A clear thinking, fair rational piece.  Now flip to:

Ann Coulter’s Anti-Semitism

The ultimate state of the perfection of Jews: they are all dead.

This is what is actually in the minds of Bush/Cheney and all Christians of the right who run this country, and ironically, are the major supporters of the state of Israel’s ride to ruin which is coming very quickly.

Come on liberals, you despise the man, you want him to die.  Here is your chance to pray for it again:

Tests Reveal Blood Clot in Cheney’s Leg

Doctors discovered a blood clot in Vice President Dick Cheney’s left leg Monday, a condition that could be fatal if left untreated.

The 66-year-old Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, will be treated with blood-thinning medication for several months, said spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride.

She said Cheney visited his doctor’s office in Washington after feeling minor discomfort in his calf. An ultrasound showed the blood clot - called a deep venous thrombosis - in his left lower leg.

Blood clots that form deep in the legs can become killers if they break off and float into the lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism. Deep vein thrombosis strikes an estimated 2 million Americans each year, killing 60,000.

OK, let’s hear the hate. 

Wait….

Ah, I should have known.  A quick check at the nutroots hangouts showed me the wack jobs were way ahead of me.

Of course, it is not all that bad.  One commenter fervently hoped he would not just survive, but recover fully….so he can stand trial for war crimes on two good legs.

How compassionate.

So there he was, Dick Cheney, the Vice President, in a surprise visit to Afghanistan.  Suddenly there was a bombing attack at the base he was at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2907390

 A suicide bomber struck at the main entrance to Bagram air base in Afghanistan today, as Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting.

Immediately after the attack, a red alert traveled throughout the base — a red alert that we heard saying that the base was under direct attack.

At least nine people were killed, officials tell ABC News. Associated Press reporters at the scene said that they had seen the bodies of at least 12 people, and that they had been carried in black body bags and wooden coffins from near the base into a market area where hundreds of Afghans had gathered to mourn.

A Taliban spokesperson has claimed responsibility, saying the intended target was in fact Cheney. The bomber never got near Cheney.

Conservatives are outraged, as they should.  This was an assassination attempt against our government, if the Taliban reports are to be believed.  Had that been Al Gore in 1996 in Bosnia or somewhere, the left would have reacted with similar and understandable outrage.  In Cheney’s case, the response was predictable:  Disappointment.

The nutroots at Kos and Democrat Underground were awash with commentary expressing their unhappiness he was still alive.

Now, let me be clear.  This is not a new trend, and is not a surprise.  But it is still a sad state of affairs for Liberal America that the second highest rankling political leader could have such a close call, and all they can do is lament the ineptitude of the bomber.

But there was a slightly unique response at HuffPo.  The web masters first closed the comments after the barrage of hate spewing diatribes, and they they went as far as to delete the worst comments altogether.  See the details at Michelle Malkin.

This is unheard of.   They left has never shrinked from its outrageous rhetoric.  If anything it glorified in it, the more outrageous the better.

Let me state for the record, Cheney is not my favorite guy in Washington DC.  I think he deserves a lot of the criticism he gets.

But one of the things I do like about him is that he not afraid to say what he thinks, and he rarely pulls punches.  Take this for example:¹

Cheney: Moves by Pelosi, Murtha would ‘validate the al Qaeda strategy’

In an interview with ABC News today, Vice President Dick Cheney called the announcement that the British will begin withdrawing their troops in the spring “good news,” described the situation in southern Iraq as “dramatically improved,” and lambasted House Democrats for pursuing a course that will “validate the al Qaeda strategy.”

Cheney told ABC that the troop shuffle is evidence of improvement, “I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.”

In the ABC interview, Cheney mostly confined his criticism of war opponents to House Democrats, who recently passed a resolution expressing disapproval of President Bush’s plans to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq.

“Jack Murtha is an old friend of mine,” Cheney said of the powerful Pennsylvania Democrat. “We’ve done a lot of business together over the years. When I was Secretary of Defense, he was perhaps my closest ally on Capitol Hill. Jack clearly has a different perspective. With respect to Iraq, I think he’s dead wrong. I think, in fact, if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we’ll do is validate the al Qaeda strategy.”

Can you say slam?  I added a video clip of Cheney below.²

And the really painful part is that he 100% correct.  That is exactly how AQ would read a rapid reduction or withdrawal.

 So the esteemed speaker went crying to daddy.³

Pelosi Calls Bush to Complain of Cheney’s Comments on Democrats’ Iraq Strategy

NEW YORK � Vice President Dick Cheney told FOX News on Wednesday that he alone is responsible for a weekend hunting accidennt in which he shot Austin attorney Harry Whittington. "Ultimately I’m the guy who pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney said in his first interview since the incident. "I’m the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend, and that’s something I’ll never forget." Cheney’s first public response following the shooting comes more than 72 hours after the accident. His silence has been met with bewilderment and anger by some in Washington, D.C. But on Wednesday, the vice president seemed to express deep remorse. "The image of him falling is something I will never be able to get out my mind," Cheney said, somberly. "It was one of the worst days of my life." Whittington, whom Cheney described as an acquaintance even though he’s known him for more than 30 years, was hit with more than 200 birdshot pellets from an estimated 30 yards away. Thee accident took place at Armstrong Ranch, a 50,000-acre property in south Texas that is known as one of the best quail-hunting sites in the state. Not aware that his hunting partner had returned from retrieving a bird he had shot, Cheney turned right to shoot a covey of quail and instead sprayed Whittington with pellets from the 28-gauge shotgun. Earlier this week, the White House and Katharine Armstrong, the owner of the ranch and an eye witness to the accident, implied that Whittington did not follow hunting protocol because he didn’t announce to Cheney and the other hunter that he had returned from retrieving his kill. On Wednesday, the vice president made clear that Harry wasn’t responsible for being hit. "It was not Harry’s fault," he said. "You cannot blame anybody else."

Democrats in Congress accused Vice President Dick Cheney of a pattern of secrecy, and demanded that he "level" with the public, after keeping mum about accidentally shooting an associate over the weekend. Cheney has been criticized for waiting a day before disclosing a hunting mishap Saturday in which he shot his 78-year-old hunting companion, Harry Whittington, in the neck, chest, and face. Asked at a press conference for her reaction about how the White House has handled the incident, US Senator Hillary Clinton called the Bush administration’s failure to be more forthcoming "troubling." "A tendency of this administration — from the top all the way to the bottom — is to withhold information … To refuse to be forthcoming about information that is of significance and relevance to the jobs that all of you do, and the interests of the American people," Clinton said. "Putting it all together, going back years now, there’s a pattern and it’s a pattern that should be troubling," she said at a press conference calling for a more robust federal response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The former first lady continued: "The refusal of this administration to level with the American people on matters large and small is very disturbing, because it goes counter to the way our constitutional democracy … Is supposed to work."

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48825 A North Carolina coluumnist claimed today Dick Cheney’s shooting of friend Harry Whittington was not an accident, but was meant to be a message to his former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, not to testify against the vice president in the Valerie Plame leak investigation. "Accident my eye. Or rather, Harry Whittington’s eye," writes Barry Saunders in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer. "If you believe it was just an accident that Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting companion last weekend, you obviously have never seen ‘The Godfather’ movies." Continued Saunders in his column: "Just as surely as a fish wrapped in a bulletproof vest means ‘Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes,’ that shotgun blast to Whittington’s face was meant to convey that I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby had better bite his tongue and forget about testifying against Cheney, his former boss, in the Valerie Plame spy case." Libby has been indicted on federal charges he lied to investigators probing the leak of Plame’s identity to the media. Last week, prosecutors reported he told a grand jury that superiors authorized him to disclose classified information to reporters because they were angered about Plame’s husband’s opposition to the Iraq war. "A vice president who’ll shoot an ally to get across his message of omerta � that’s mobspeak for ‘hush up’ � may be considered a national disgrace by some," writes Saunders. "Not by me. I embrace the prospect of a lead-slingin’ veep. Think of the impact Cheney’s shot heard ’round the world will have on America’s diplomatic efforts. Whhen obstinate countries declare their unwillingness to negotiate with Secretary of State Condi Rice, all we have to do is roll out Deadeye Dick." Whittington, Cheney’s hunting buddy who was shot, had a mild heart attack today in the hospital where he is recovering from pellet wounds. "Some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart in what we would say is a minor heart attack," Peter Banko, the administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial in Texas. told a news conference outside the hospital today.