Eminent Domain

After a half hour debate session, a town in Vermont called for the impeachment of President Bush. Some viewed this as democracy in action...

"In the U.S. presently there are only a few places where citizens can act in this fashion and have a say in our nation," said select board member Dan DeWalt...

Others saw it as a waste of time...

Greg Record, a justice of the peace, said in an interview after the meeting that the town is made up of people from the "far-left," and he criticized the amount of time and attention such advisory votes get.

Personally, this seems like legislative masturbation. As Greg Record points out, important budget items don't get this kind of treatment. One would think that an elected body would want to take part in sound deliberation when deciding on important public policy issues and budgetary matters. However, this is Vermont.

I actually have a soft spot in my heart for the Old Left folks like those in Vermont. By Old Left, I mean the true believers, the ice cream making hippies, the anthropology professors, the people who believe that government can be big enough and powerful enough to get rid of poverty, hunger, discrimination, and bad breath. I admire them kind of like I admire anyone over the age of ten who still believes in Santa Claus. Don't stop believin'...