MONTPELIER, Vt., Feb. 2, 2008
Vt. Lawmakers Want Nat'l Guard Back Home
Bill Says President's Authority To Send Guard Members To Iraq Has Expired
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Vermont National Guard Cpl. J.J. Bixby says goodbye to his daughter, Megan, Jan. 19, 2005, in Essex Junction, Vt., before spending nearly a year in Anbar Province in Iraq. Vermont lawmakers say the federal government's authority to send National Guard troops overseas has expired, and they want Guard members home now. (AP Photo/Alden Pellett)
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State Rep. Michael Fisher said the authority to call up Guard members for Iraq duty has expired because that country no longer poses a threat to U.S. national security.
"The mission authorized in 2002 does not exist," said Fisher. "Unless Congress grants a new authorization, the Vermont Guard should revert back to state control."
Fisher introduced a bill Wednesday, backed by 30 colleagues, that called on Gov. Jim Douglas to join the effort.
"Most of us standing here, maybe all of us, have made objections in the past about the morality or wisdom of this war. Today we are limiting ourselves to one vital principle: the rule of law," Fisher said.
"Questions about whether the war is going well or the surge is going well should be left for other days. We have a special interest in the welfare of the Vermont National Guard," said Fisher.
Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin said the Senate would take up similar legislation.
"Bottom line is, if the politicians in Washington aren't going to do the right thing for our troops, let's do the right thing by bringing our Vermont Guard members home," he said.
"If Vermont can make one small step forward, I believe others will follow," Shumlin said.
Several other states, including Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are looking at similar legislation.
There are currently 25 Vermont guard members in Iraq, but the bill would also prevent future deployments of the state's Guard members to Iraq.
A spokesman for Gov. Jim Douglas said Douglas can't stop the use of Guard troops in the war.
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"It's clear that's there's no legal basis for stopping the federalization of the National Guard when Congress has authorized and continues to fund a war," said Douglas' spokesman Jason Gibbs. "The bottom line is, this a federal issue.""The mission authorized in 2002 does not exist. Unless Congress grants a new authorization, the Vermont Guard should revert back to state control.
State Rep. Michael FisherHe said Douglas would rather see Congress develop an exit strategy to bring the troops home as soon as possible.
Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, head of the Vermont National Guard, refused to comment until he could read the bill.
Shortly after the bill was introduced in the Vermont legislature, a commission on the Army National Guard and Reserves issued a report saying that, in part because of the deployments of guard members and equipment overseas and insufficient training, the U.S. military is ill-prepared to handle a catastrophic event (such as a biological or nuclear attack) within the U.S. homeland.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 964 CommentsSeveral other states, including Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are looking at similar legislation.
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Good for these states. I hope they do it. It is about time someone really "supported our troops"
He spoke truth to power and engaged in active resistance to injustice. In my opinion, Jesus would have intervened to defend someone being violently mistreated, and I believe we must do the same. But he would never have engaged in violence as the means to an end.
When Jesus said %u201CBlessed are the peacemakers,%u201D exhorting his followers to turn the other cheek and give freely, he was telling us that active peacemaking is the way to end war. Can you imagine what the world would be like if every church adopted that attitude and focused its energies on active peacemaking?
Seems the Church and the Christians have lost their way from peacemakers to warmongers.......and hypocrites that support a corrupt and warmongering President.
The so-called Roman peace (Pax Romana) was made possible by the cross. That is, people so feared crucifixion that many opted not to challenge the emperor rather than face the possibility of death on the cross. Why then would early Christians choose the cross %u2013 an instrument of torture, domination, fear, intimidation and death %u2013 as their primary symbol? What could this possibly mean?
For early Christians, %u201Cit apparently meant that the kingdom of God would triumph not by inflicting violence but by enduring it,%u201D %u201Cnot by making others suffer but by willingly enduring suffering for the sake of justice %u2013 not by coercing or humiliating others but by enduring their humiliation with gentle dignity.%u201D Jesus, they believed, had taken the empire%u2019s instrument of torture and transformed it into God%u2019s symbol of the repudiation of violence. The message? Love, not violence, is the most powerful force in the universe.
Jesus%u2019 apostles never advocated violence. Rather, they urged their followers to suffer, forgive and trust God for the outcome rather than take matters into their own hands. And while they may have talked about warfare and fighting, it was not through the use of conventional weapons. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote: %u201CFor though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.%u201D
The best way to keep this people shut is to ignore them. By paying attention to them you''re guaranteeing these neanderthals will come back for more of it.
Thank you again, Vermont!!!
Ephesians 6:11-15:
11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil''''s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ...
Posted by singinrick at 10:59 PM : Feb 03, 2008
Precisely--now that you quoted the scripture, understand the meaning: Your fight is not with any person--so stop trying to fight them--the fight is bigger than calling names or baiting or making accusations--all you do is alienate and with that, Satan has the final victory as you do not cause many to second guess their position but only to resist and repudiate yours. One part of that armour is to have the gifts of the Spirit. If you had those, you''d realize that by entering into debates like this--you play right into the Devil''s hands by depicting yourself as a proselytizer intent on forcing your version of God and your interpretation of His word down everyone else''s throat. Not the way to win over anyone.
It is clear that the three branches of the federal government are making too much money form the blood sacrifice to stop it.
In fact, during that thread he confirmed his denial by repeating it, adding "I won''t change that", so the denial he again made earlier in this thread makes it the third time he has denied his religion.
Rick should be hearing the rooster crow anytime now...; )
Agreed, but in these two cases we discuss, I believe they don''t actually have faith in any deity, like many they use out of context quotes from religious text to justify their agenda, then when you show them the true context from which their quote was twisted, they find another, finally when they run out, they will simply resort to name calling, as you have seen. After waiting for a few days, they start the same postings again.
I saved rick''s quote "-I don''''t follow a religion brian" Posted by singinrick, from a thread where he got so frustrated with my refuting every one of his points, with references, that he gave up, and denied his religion, in order to gainsay.
I saved it in notepad, and remind him of it when he comes here to proselytize his version of Christianity as justification for the mass murder being committed in the name of the US.
Not to be arrogant, but neither one of us need you to find Christ, we already found him.
Goodnight, blessed be.
Well, I don''t claim to have all the answers. A persons faith is a highly personal decision. Not sure why some people need to be so confrontational about it, maybe they feel threatened if everyone does not believe what they believe......
Posted by faithinhim2
I am at heart a music composer and bassist, but I have been blessed to be able use my gifts in many countries around the world for the pursuit of peace, and further blessed in that because of my gifts, I have been able to sit and exchange ideas with some of the world''s most powerful people.
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