Free Republic

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont's highest court is being asked to decide what a dog's love is worth. The state Supreme Court on Thursday began hearing a case that started in July 2003, when Denis and Sarah Scheele, who were visiting relatives, let their mixed-breed dog wander into Lewis Dustin's yard and he fatally shot it. Now the Scheeles, of Annapolis, Md., are asking the court to carve out a new legal doctrine that a dog's owners can sue for emotional distress and loss of companionship, just like parents can when they lose children.

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont's highest court is being asked to decide what a dog's love is worth. The state Supreme Court on Thursday was to hear a case that began in July 2003, when Denis and Sarah Scheele, who were visiting relatives, let their mixed-breed dog wander into Lewis Dustin's yard and he fatally shot it. Now the Scheeles are asking the court to carve out a new legal doctrine that a dog's owners can sue for emotional distress and loss of companionship, just like parents can when they lose children. "We're still working toward having the courts recognizing the...

On Wednesday, Liberty Counsel lawyers appeared in court to defend Lisa Miller. Last month a Vermont court ordered the custody of Miller's biological daughter transferred to her former lesbian lover. The ACLU and Lambda Legal Defense Fund are seeking to transfer custody of 7-year-old Isabella to Janet Jenkins, a Vermont resident who lived with Miller in that state before the latter's conversion from the homosexual lifestyle. Miller met with the ire of a Vermont judge after she refused to send her daughter to scheduled visitations with Jenkins because, she says, Isabella has been traumatized by past visits. The Virginia Court...

A Vermont court ordered a Christian child taken away from her mother and given to a lesbian ex-partner, setting up, according to a lawyer for the Christian family, a dispute that the U.S. Supreme Court likely will have to resolve. Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, told WND the recent order from the Vermont judge that Lisa Miller turn over her young daughter, Isabella, to the lesbian ex-partner, Janet Jenkins, on New Year's Day is being appealed. In the interim, a separate court hearing on the dispute is scheduled to be heard in a Virginia court during this coming week....

Governor and Administration Secretary Announce Contract Agreement with State Employees Union Two-year contract calls for 3% wage reduction with no automatic yearly wage adjustments or step increases Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Jim Douglas and Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville today announced that agreement on a new two-year contract has been reached with the Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA). The contract, which was signed by both parties earlier today, includes a 3% wage reduction as well as no automatic yearly wage adjustments or step increases for the duration of the contract. This settlement is very good news for the taxpayers of...

Senator Phil Scott Announces His Candidacy for Lieutenant Governor

A Vermont judge rules Lisa Miller must turn over her daughter to her former lesbian partner. Superior Judge William Cohen ruled last week that Lisa Miller, a former lesbian who is now a Christian, must hand her daughter, Isabelle, over to her former partner, Janet Jenkins by Jan. 1. Miller conceived Isabella through artificial insemination while she was in a civil union with Jenkins. About a year later, Miller left homosexuality. Jenkins sued for custody, even though she has no biological tie to the child. Miller admits she made mistakes, like signing a custody agreement while still in the relationship...

The day started just like any other for life-time dairy farmer Clement Gervais. But that all changed at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, when an immigration official and two state troopers walked into his barn and handed him a subpoena. "I've read about it in magazines in different parts of the country but I didn't really expect them to pull into my yard," Gervais said. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency-- otherwise known as ICE-- is now asking him to hand over documents and financial records proving all his workers are here legally. Gervais has 22 workers-- nine of them are Mexican....

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Rutland resident Allan Edward Patrick, 58, was sentenced on November 18, 2009 to 151 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to charges that he produced child pornography at his residence, located at 21 Royce Street in Rutland. Because he used his residence to facilitate his criminal conduct, the District Court ordered the defendant to forfeit that residence to the United States. The property is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Judge Murtha also ordered the defendant to pay his four minor...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

States in New England top a new set of rankings, while the South still lags. If you want to be healthy, live in Vermont--or at least act like you do. It is the healthiest state in the country, according to a new report from the nonprofit United Health Foundation.

RICHMOND, Va. – Voters cast their ballots Tuesday for a new Virginia governor in a closely watched race that has focused on promises of jobs and critiques of President Barack Obama's policies a year after he won the state. Interviews with voters leaving polling stations in Virginia showed that independents broke heavily for Republican Bob McDonnell, fleeing Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. Independents are considered the crown jewel of elections because they often determine outcomes.

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A group of dairy farmers is suing four milk marketing firms, saying they've engaged in monopolizing the market into which farmers have had to sell milk, fixed prices and created an economic crisis in the Northeast dairy industry. The Washington-based law firm Cohen Milstein says it expects many farmers will join a class action suit against Kansas City-based Dairy Farmers of America and Dallas-based Dean Foods Co. The suit alleges DFA and Dean have seized effective control of the region's dairy industry and are forcing farmers to join DFA or its marketing affiliate Dairy Marketing Services to...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms. Kyle Giard-Chase, 16, asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission on Thursday to endorse the effort. He said that before he came out last year as transgendered, he was a three-sport athlete and the co-captain of the field hockey team, a girls' sport, at South Burlington High School.

Orlando, the vacation destination for millions of families worldwide, is getting a bit of a smackdown: Children's Health magazine, in an issue on newsstands Tuesday, has ranked the 100 best and worst cities to raise a family -- and Orlando finished almost last. Burlington, Vt., came in first, while Orlando finished 98th, ranking just above Miami and last-place Detroit. What doesn't Orlando have? Editors at the magazine dinged the City Beautiful for its relatively low per-pupil spending, high crime rates, low homeownership rate, high unemployment and the number of sex offenders and missing children per capita. Burlington, by contrast, was...

THE DEMOCRATIC National Committee won't officially elect its next chairman until Feb. 12, so Howard Dean doesn't have the job wrapped up just yet. But the Association of State Democratic Chairs endorsed him this week, and two of the five other candidates for the position have since dropped out. Clearly, the Democratic chairmanship is now Dean's to lose. And that should have reasonable Democrats worried, because their party's ills aren't going to get better with the medicine Dr. Dean is prescribing. As governor of Vermont, Dean was regarded as a budget-balancing, gun-owner-friendly centrist. As a candidate for president, he turned...

Oversight: As the Senate votes to de-fund Acorn, add pimping, tax evasion and human trafficking to voter fraud paid for with taxpayer dollars and you have an organized criminal enterprise. It's time to investigate.After Acorn workers were caught on tape in three cities allegedly abetting what they believed was a fraudulent-mortgage and sex-trafficking scheme, the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to strip the group of funding in the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. The amendment, offered by Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, passed by an 83-to-7 margin and marked the third time this year that Republicans have tried to block...

MONTPELIER — Democratic Vermont Auditor Tom Salmon is switching parties to the GOP. Salmon announced his plans today, saying he is frustrated with the Democrats’ handling of the budget, and says the party has moved too far to the left. Salmon says he plans to run for auditor next year, but says if Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie does not run for governor, there’s a very slim chance he might. Salmon says he’s been considering switching parties for some time and says the Republican party is the closest to accepting the realities of the times. He says when he returned...

This is a great day! New York State’s first 9/12 Candidate has already been attracting attention, and this announcement is the result of him attracting our attention. Aaron Blake, a contributor for “The Hill” recently wrote: Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman is beginning to look like he might be a force in the upcoming New York special election. DeRoy Murdock of the “Washington Times” had this to say: Appropriately for a Lake Placid resident, Mr. Hoffman is rather low-key and soft-spoken. However, his voice urgently rises when he addresses the ways in which Washington pins down so many of his...

As of this week- Stimulus Spending is at: $20,726,309,285.22 At the link on the upper right will be a listing: *American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Report* Updated as of 9/4/2009. New contracts signed this week are for design and construction of 10 land port of entry buildings for customs and border protection. 6 In North Dakota,1 in Vermont, New Mexico and Montana (The one in Vermont isn't even near the border, in Killingly.)

An online petition is urging Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie to run for governor now that Jim Douglas says he plans to retire. At the same time, state Auditor Tom Salmon is debating whether to get into the race to support Douglas' fiscal policies. VPR's Bob Kinzel reports. (Kinzel) Joe Sinagra is the executive director of the Vermont Homebuilders Association, and over the past few years, he's been a strong supporter of Lt. Governor Brian Dubie. Sinagra has launched a Facebook page to encourage Vermonters to post their public support for Dubie. The three announced Democratic candidates, state senators Doug Racine...

Some of my best friends are gay. Suspiciously large numbers, it has sometimes been suggested to me. But that’s OK, I’m cool with that. What my friends get up to in the privacy of their own homes - or, indeed, the scary back room of their local boite - is very much their own affair. And if they want to get married (Hell-ooo! Why sacrifice the single greatest benefit of being gay?), well I’m probably OK with that too. I don’t believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice so I guess it’s only fair that gay men and women too...

Vanilla Creme Packed Fudge coming soon!............

Same-gender marriage is now legal in The Green Mountain State, and Ben & Jerry's has announced that it will temporarily change its "Chubby Hubby" ice cream to "Hubby Hubby" in honor of homosexual marriage. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality tells OneNewsNow that companies like Ben & Jerry's neglect to talk about the dangers of the lifestyle. "Besides the health aspects, there's also the fact that homosexual behavior is opposed by God, and that's something that we should take seriously," he contends. "All homosexual behavior is sinful, and regardless of what liberals say or what Ben & Jerry's...

A New England-based pro-family organization is concerned about a situation in Vermont involving bathroom arrangements at schools. Brian Camenker of MassResistance says the homosexual movement in Vermont is using a transgender-rights law to force middle schools and high schools to provide unisex bathrooms. He notes that a 16-year-old transgendered teen has asked the Vermont Human Rights Commission to lend its support to the effort. According to an Associated Press report, the student claims that she and others like her need the unisex bathrooms in order to avoid bullying and ridicule. A homosexual activist with Outright Vermont is quoted in the...

Several weeks ago an important report commissioned by the Vermont Health Care Commission was quietly posted on the Legislative Council Web site. No fanfare, no press conferences, no attention given. Media ignored it. The committee that ordered it ignored it. The Legislature ignored it. The administration ignored it. The report's findings tumbled into the political abyss... What it says ought to be engraved in the thinking of every legislator and every administration member... The Kavet-Rockler report ordered by the Legislature, and apparently dust-binned by it, carries a very disturbing "inconvenient truth." That is that ...

Ben and Jerry's renames ice cream Hubby Hubby in celebration of gay marriage Ben and Jerry's has changed the name of one of its best-selling ice creams to Hubby Hubby, in celebration of the legalisation of gay marriage in its home state of Vermont.

DUXBURY, Vt. -- Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage on Tuesday at midnight, but anticipated demand has been low. Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan waited 17 years before finally tying the knot in a midnight ceremony at a lodge in Duxbury. The couple, who planned the ceremony for late Monday, were pronounced married long before the sun rose Tuesday, when a new law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect. "I didn't think it was even going to be possible," Slimback said. "We've waited so long to do it, but there are many other people behind us." Justice of...

After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn't wait another minute to get married. So they didn't. With Vermont's new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday. Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who's also a Justice...

Would that changing people's attitudes were as easy as changing the name of a popular ice cream flavor! Ben & Jerry's (www.benjerry.com) is showing its support for the historic legalization of gay and lesbian marriage in its home state of Vermont, and marriage equality for everyone (www.freedomtomarry.org) by changing the name of its popular Chubby Hubby ice cream to "Hubby Hubby" throughout September, featuring Hubby Hubby sundaes at all its ice cream shoppes in Vermont. Chubby Hubby/"Hubby Hubby" features fudge covered peanut butter-filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream rippled with fudge and peanut butter.

Same-Sex Marriages Begin In Vermont JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, September 1, 2009 After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn't wait another minute to get married. So they didn't. With Vermont's new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday. Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during...

The homosexual movement in Vermont is using a new transgender-rights law to force schools to recognize "transgender" students and provide unisex restrooms for them in middle schools and high schools-- a beginning of expanded demands in the future and the forced legitimization of transgender behavior targeting children. The homosexual movement is using their familiar tactics: (1) They've identified a "tansgender" victim - a 16-year-old girl who dresses so convincingly as a boy that she sometimes gets nasty comments when she enters a female restroom. (2) The put in place a legal tribunal - the Vermont Human Rights Commission (similar to...

In front of statewide leaders, allies and enemies alike, Governor Jim Douglas made one of the biggest announcements in his long political career. "With what will be eight years as governor-- fifteen statewide elections-- I will have held center stage long enough for any leader. I will not seek another term as governor of Vermont," said Douglas, R-Vermont. An emotional bombshell dropped by a typically steady politician. Fresh out of college Douglas ran for the Vermont House and won, he then went to work for Governor Dick Snelling, eventually winning election to become Secretary of State and Treasurer. Partway through...

Vermont GOP Gov. Jim Douglas announced at a press conference Thursday that he will not seek a fifth term in 2010. “It’s been the great privilege of my life to serve the people of this state whom I know so well,” said Douglas, who won reelection to a fourth two-year term in 2008. “I am ready to write a new chapter in my life.” Douglas did not elaborate on his future plans, but said he will not be running for any elective office next year. “I am not running for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House or any other statewide office...

The United States Attorney announced today that the United States will seek the death penalty for Michael Jacques, 43, of Randolph, Vermont, if he is convicted of kidnapping resulting in the death of Brooke Bennett, as alleged in Count 1 of the October, 2008 federal Indictment. Today the United States filed a “Notice of Intent to Seek a Sentence of Death” in the Jacques case, stating that the Government believes that the circumstances of the offense are such that, if Jacques is convicted of kidnapping resulting in Brooke Bennett’s death as charged, a sentence of death is justified under the...

ACLU’s Request to Jail Lisa Miller Fails in Virginia Court August 25, 2009 www.LC.org Winchester, VA – Earlier today, Liberty Counsel appeared in court to defend Lisa Miller from a complaint filed by the ACLU of Virginia on behalf of Janet Jenkins. The ACLU asked the judge to order Lisa to jail for not delivering her own daughter, Isabella, to Vermont for unsupervised visitation with Janet. The ACLU also requested Lisa to pay attorneys fees and costs. No jail time was ordered and the court rejected the ACLU’s request for money. Although the court ruled that Lisa had violated a...

Chittenden County State's Attorney Thomas Donovan said the allegation that Flanagan was seen masturbating in a men's fitness area at the Y has been referred to a police sex-crimes unit. Sources inside the YMCA told Totten of several instances that concerned them, including one incident where Flanagan allegedly was running on a YMCA treadmill wearing only shoes, socks and a watch. Totten also outlines a previous story published by Seven Days in December. That story outlined some of Flanagan's statehouse behavior

Opponents of same-sex marriage reject it on religious and moral grounds but also on practical ones. If we let homosexuals marry, they believe, a parade of horribles will follow -- the weakening of marriage as an institution, children at increased risk of broken homes, the eventual legalization of polygamy and who knows what all. Well, guess what? We're about to find out if they're right. Unlike most public policy debates, this one is the subject of a gigantic experiment, which should definitively answer whether same-sex marriage will have a broad, destructive social impact. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New...

It's not enough that much of the mainstream media cheered on Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008 or browbeat former President George W. Bush on Iraq and Afghanistan to force Republicans from control of Congress. No, it's time for a "progressive television network" and for left-wingers to support radio hosts that are sympathetic to liberal causes according to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. You may have thought there already was a "progressive" cable network in MSNBC and left-wingers sort of had an opportunity to support Air America, but that didn't quite pan out as anticipated - though it's still hanging...

The most important thing to remember about health-care reform is that it gives you more choices. You can choose a Medicare-like system or you can keep what you have and get help paying for it if you don't make enough money to afford health insurance. There have been an enormous number of things said about health-care reform which are not true. Among them, that the bill promotes euthanasia, abortion and government rationing. There are two reasons for this. The first is that people who oppose President Obama are trying to undermine him -- Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is an example....

BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE—It's Bill Owens. Nearly 12 hours after they first convened at the Minnowbrook Conference Center on the shore of this Adirondack gem, the 11 county party chairs comprising the 23rd Congressional District picked Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh attorney, as the Democratic Party's candidate to replace John McHugh in Congress. He will face Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the Republican designee, and Doug Hoffman, the pick of the Conservative Party. A special election to replace McHugh has not yet been set, but it is expected to fall on Election Day in November.

PRINCETON, NJ -- From the time Barack Obama took office as president until the end of June, 63% of Americans, on average, approved of the job he was doing. The breakdown of his half-year approval ratings at the state level shows that Obama's approval rating was above 50% in all but two states, Wyoming and Alaska. His highest approval ratings were in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Vermont, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Since June, Obama's approval rating has descended into the 50s, sinking as low as 52% in late July before recovering somewhat and settling back in the mid- to upper...

President Obama is coming to Portsmouth NH on Tuesday, August 11th to do a town hall style meeting. We are organizing a protest group and need everyone to show up outside the venue and along the streets with our signs. I do not yet know the time and exact location yet, but I will post it here as soon as I know. It will also be posted on my website, www.mainepatriots.com Amy ******* Founder, Maine Patriots

President Obama will bring his healthcare-stimulus road tour to New Hampshire next week, the White House just announced. The town hall will be in the Portsmouth area on Tuesday. More details to come.

VERMONT PRESS BUREAU MONTPELIER – New York's far-reaching investigation into allegations that wind developers paid local officials to approve their energy projects moved into the state of Vermont this week. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that his office issued a subpoena to Reunion Power, a wind energy developer with offices in Manchester Center and Hackensack, N.J., as part of its ongoing investigation. Announced last summer, the investigation alleges that wind executives at several companies received land-use agreements for their projects from public officials and residents using cash bribes and other illegal gifts. It's not clear whether Reunion...

Next to a Chinese restaurant in Burlington, Vt., lurks a quiet guardian of Wall Street — an obscure insurance company that is supposed to protect big-money investors in the event of a catastrophic failure of a major brokerage firm. A failure, for instance, like the one that brought down Lehman Brothers nearly 11 months ago. Now, after years in the shadows, the insurer, the Customer Asset Protection Company, could finally be put to the test, and questions are starting to swirl. The worry is that the company, which has never paid out a claim, might be unable to cope with...

A longtime state lawmaker and current candidate for Vermont lieutenant governor has been accused of masturbating in the locker room at the Burlington YMCA. Archambeau said he and another patron saw Flanagan masturbating Friday on a bench between the YMCA sauna and nearby showers. According to Flanagan, the accusation is completely false and on Wednesday, he dismissed the claim but did offer an apology. "If I did anything to offend anybody, I'm very sorry," said Flanagan. The Chittenden County Democrat denies the allegations and told NewsChannel 5 he will not be returning to the YMCA. YMCA President Mary Burns would...

Dairy farmers in Northeast Wisconsin are feeling the pain at the pump...the milk pump that is. Mark Petersen, a third generation farmer ... tells that prices for his milk have plummeted on the market, and he's really feeling the pinch. Petersen says he's only getting around ten dollars per hundred pounds of milk produced right now. He was getting 20 dollars per hundred pounds not too long ago. And his operational costs exceed his revenue. Not good, of course. consumers have seen milk prices at the store come down, but it's not proportionate to what farmers are losing.

Oh boy, Congress is upset.... Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, have called for action to avoid a repeat of last year’s run-up in crude oil prices to a record $147.21 a barrel, which they blame on speculators. Oil has climbed 44 percent this year in New York Mercantile Exchange trading, even amid a drop in demand and high levels of fuel in storage. “Our first hearing will focus on whether federal speculative limits should be set by the CFTC to all commodities of finite supply, in particular energy commodities, such as crude...

Wednesday, July 1 BRATTLEBORO -- The jury began deliberations Tuesday in the second-degree murder trial of David Boglioli. After closing statements by Deputy State's Attorney David Gartenstein and defense attorney Matthew Harnett, the jury must decide whether to find Boglioli guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his neighbor, George Riccitelli, or if he was defending himself from being beaten with an ax handle. If convicted of second-degree murder, Boglioli will face a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Prior to the closing statements, Harnett called Scott Kriger, a toxicology expert, to the stand. Kriger testified...