On Life & Civil Disobedience

Oops. Sorry about that. The screen getting all static with the same information and all. But don’t worry, I’ve got excuses. Lots and lots of excuses.

The public schools in Vermont have decided to kick the kids out over the last several days. Why? I’m not sure. But, in our case, it’s meant that I get to play the stay-at-home-dad role. No complaints here. On Wednesday, my daughter and her friend dressed up as devils and ran around the pasture and hillside (see photo). It provided some entertainment for me as I did what Gary Snyder called the “real work”: harvesting carrots, potatoes and the cherry tomatoes that just keep coming. The horses, however, were a bit confused.

Time’s Up (again) for Welch: Okay folks, if you’ve had enough of Congressman Peter Welch doing little more than talk, talk and talk about how much he opposes the war but yet keep voting, voting and voting to give Bush more time and money to continue it, let’s talk. There’s a call out by several folks to make a visit to Welch’s Burlington office on Monday to let him know that we’re not falling for the rhetoric.

In the last month, Welch has voted in favor of the “emergency” federal budget bill that included billions more for the war and voted in favor congressional resolution condemning the now infamous MoveOn advertisement. So let me simply that for you: Welch voted to give more money for war and to condemn the anti-war movement. But – almost laughably – he continues to declare that “no one is more opposed to the war” than he is. Sorry, Peter, but talk is cheap. And, as you should know by now, the votes are what matter.

So, if you’re interested in finding out more about the proposed show of democracy in Congressman Welch’s office on Monday, drop me an email at: mcolby@broadsides.org. Or, if you don’t want to chat with me, contact Boots Wardinski at: greenreaper@fairpoint.net.

Speaking of Civil Disobedience: Last Summer, on the advice of my lawyer, the fabulous David Sleigh, I entered a plea of “no contest” to the charges of “attempted disorderly conduct” and “trespassing” for my protest of the speech of then-National Intelligence Czar, John Negroponte at the St. Johnsbury Academy’s graduation in 2006.

Sleigh advised me to enter the no-contest plea and then appeal the case to the Vermont Supreme Court – a course of action I agreed to and which continues to this day as the appeal currently awaits court action. It is our hope that the appeal will succeed and we will prove that my brief protest of Negroponte’s speech – thanks to the federal agents who swarmed me – was nothing more than an exercise of my right to free speech.

My fellow defendant in the matter, Boots Wardinski, decided to seek a jury trial instead of pursuing the Supreme Court-appeal route. Ironically, as his trial was about to begin last month, the judge ruled that a motion submitted by his attorney – also David Sleigh – needed to be addressed by the Supreme Court before the trial could take place. Thus, it now could be more than a year before either of us will know how (or if) the Supreme Court will proceed.

One thing is clear: It is time to stand up and be heard. Join us.