Leahy's Vote Sparks Protests in Burlington

Vermont residents protest outside of Senator Patrick Leahy's Burlington office

BURLINGTON: On the heels of Senator Patrick Leahy's vote in support of the National Defense Authorization Act residents of Burlington as well as Ferrisburg, Bristol, and other surrounding towns arrived outside Leahy's Main St. office building to protest his vote that supported, among other things, the codifying into law, the indefinite detention, without charge or trial, of American citizens.

Feeding off the national debate that the NDAA has stirred up, Vermonters demanded a meeting with Leahy's staff in order to air their grievances. Meeting yesterday at 4pm with Leahy's Chief of Staff John Tracey, the Vermonters expressed grave disappointment with their Senator. "Apparently the tradeoff of getting National Guard Representation on the Joint Chiefs of Staff was worth it to nullify our Constitution. Even with the signing statement, who's to say what interpretation the next President will have when they come into office?" said Jonathan Leavitt, a Burlington resident who attended the meeting.

John Tracy, Sen. Leahy's Chief of Staff speaks with Burlington residents in his Main St. office on Tuesday afternoon

"Senator Patrick Leahy has a long history of defending the Constitution and will continue to do so in the future" said Tracy who repeatedly, if somewhat robotically, articulated his admiration and dedication to Leahy despite the recent vote for NDAA which was subsequently signed into law by President Obama.

Meanwhile, the protest continued down on Main St. as various members of the press arrived to conduct interviews and photograph various protesters, some of whom concealed their faces, citing distortion of their words by the local corporate media in the past.

A Burlington protestor speaks anonymously with a journalist not far from Leahy's office

For more photographs by Dylan Kelley please visit his photo-blog here.

Occupy Movement Confronts "Public Debate" of GOP Primary Pt. 2

BURLINGTON: Picking up from my post from yesterday, following a group of Occupiers from Burlington as they confront the GOP candidates and highlight the inequality of the corporate funded election system in America. The intrepid crew of Vermonters began the day by waking up at 5am and traveling to Concord to begin planning for the morning's GOP debate in that city. After scouting several buildings surrounding the debate hall, the Vermonters assisted in unfurling an Occupy banner proclaiming "THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN" that immediately captured the attention of the national press corps.

Throughout the morning, Occupiers were stationed at a variety of locations outside the debate hall and armed themselves with songs and chants such as "Solidarity Forever", "Get up, get down, Concord is a Union town!" (which was subsequently echoed by a crowd of union workers across the street), as well as "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!", as well as many thunderous repetitions of "WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT!"

At approximately 9:15, a group of Occupiers from various parts of the country attempted to gain access into what was billed as public debate. Their stated reasons for wishing to attend the debate were that the if the candidates were holding a public forum on public property then they should therefore be open to any questions put to them by those who could potentially by their constituents by this time next year. Unsurprisingly, both the political security forces for each candidate as well as the Concord municipal police department refused to grant entry into the supposedly public forum and debate.

Approximately 15 minutes after the initial attempt to gain entry into the public forum and debate, an Occupier who insisted on speaking to the candidates re-attempted to gain access to the public forum and was subsequently restrained, thrown to the ground, and arrested.

Following this event and the conclusion of the debate, Occupiers (including those from Vermont) gathered at the various exits of the building and protested several positions stated by the respective candidates as they exited the building. Among the positions protested against were Newt Gingrich's proposition to overturn child labor laws as well as his characterization of African-American men, Rick Santorum's statement that equated homosexual relationships with bestiality, and Ron Paul's opposition to a woman's right to choose.

For more photographs by Dylan Kelley please visit his photography blog here.

Occupy Movement Confronts "Public Debate" of GOP Primary Pt. 1

An Occupier from New Hampshire is identified and stared down by Rick Santorum's security force

BURLINGTON: This weekend a group of Vermonters and others from around the country journeyed to the series camps and locations that make up Occupy the Primary in an effort to both confront the GOP candidates about their positions, as well as highlight the tragic farse that the corporate funded election system has created and continues to perpetrate upon the American people.

The first action of the weekend for Vermonters was to "bird-dog" (the asking of probing and pointed questions about candidates posititions) the former Senator Rick Santorum as he spoke to supporters in the town of Hollis, NH. Despite being out of the legislature for some time Santorum still managed to provide the Occupiers (who had discreetly sprinkled themselves throughout the crowd) with all the necessary evidence of his inadequacy for any public office.

After articulating his preposterously boot-strapping position that all that is required of Americans to avoid the affects of hard times is to graduate high school and have a traditional hetero-sexual marriage. This act of "boot-strapping" (that of perpetuating the myth that anybody can pull themselves up by their boot-straps, therefore, if you're poor it's your own fault) was not lost on the Occupiers who asked about his stripping away of social support programs, the NDAA, and his position on going to war with Iran. In response, Santorum fumbled and shuffled through his various platitudes with so little skill that after making what sounded (to him) like a strong point he had to ask the audience to clap for him.

Shortly after his remarks he was interrupted by the echoes of "MIC CHECK!-MIC CHECK!" that has become one of the hallmarks of the Occupy movement. They were summarily escorted off the premises by police and security personnel and threatened with arrest.

A Burlington Occupier Mic-Checks former Senator Rick Santorum while being conronted by his personal security force

Another member of Occupy Burlington addresses the national media about getting money out of politics

With Santorum throughly informed of Occupy's presence, the Vermonters moved on to the St. Anselm College campus to rally and hold a mock funeral for the "Death of the American Dream" outside the candidates' debate hall.

Occupiers light candles and hold vigil for the Death of the American Dream outside S. Anselm's College

An Occupier from Providence, Rhode Island captures the scene via smartphone

Occupiers prepare to move up the road toward the designated "free speech zone" as defined by the Police

Occupiers sing and chant by candle-light as they are confronted by GOP supporters

Occupiers kneel at a draped casked as they mourn for the American Dream

For more photographs by Dylan Kelley visit his photogaphy blog here.

Day 1 of Legislative Session, Beyond the Chamber

Vermonters gather at the State Capitol to remind their legislature of it's duties to work the well-being and Human Rights of all Vermonters

MONTPELIER- Yesterday marked the beginning of Vermont's 2012 Legislative Session. In addition the usual and expected activities going on in the chambers the State Reprentatives and Senate, this year's opening day witnessed a remarkable number of consituents as they journeyed through single digit temperatures to make their voice heard in the Capitol.

Coming from northern; central; and southern Vermont, the constituents came to personally lobby their elected officials to remember the fundemental needs of Vermonters. In addition to the omni-present red "PUT PEOPLE FIRST" t-shirts of the Vermont Workers' Center, there were also members of the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Professionals, Migrant Justice (formerly the Vermont Migrant Farmworkers Solidarity Project), as well as Mobile Home Park Residents for Equality and Fairness and AFT United Professionals of Vermont standing in solidarity with Early Childhood Educators. The Cedar Creek room based rally ended in an emphatic chant of "PUT PEOPLE FIRST! PUT PEOPLE FIRST!" that echoed through the halls of the Capitol.

Danilo Lopez of Migrant Justice speaks out for the migrant workers living in Vermont

Also on hand for day 1 of the Legislature was Staci Pomeroy of The DEC River Management Program to demonstate a River Process Simulator to lawmakers. Since Tropical Storm Irene devasted communities in Vermont last year, Pomeroy has been educating road crews and municipalties about proper river management and the dangers of being inadequately prepared for Irene-like events.

Staci Pomeroy of the DEC River Management Program explains flood events and erosion to a lawmaker in Montpelier before the official start of the session