This is good; Captain Phillips' family asked Gov. Douglas to send a letter to Obama

[cali]

thanking him for his decisive action, and I love the very Vermontish way in which Phillips and his family and the residents of the state are handling all the media crap.

<snip>

No formal plans are yet in place to celebrate Phillips' return.

Bacigalupo said no one has advised him to prepare for anything other than the arrival and departure from the terminal.

Underhill Town Administrator Chris Murphy said Thursday the town is waiting for a signal from family members about what sort of event, if any, they would like to honor the sea captain. Gov. Jim Douglas and the state's congressional delegation are waiting, too.

"I want to respect their privacy, their wishes as to how to structure an opportunity for Vermonters to properly thank Capt. Phillips," Douglas said Thursday at his weekly news conference in Montpelier. "But I also made it clear to them that there has to be some opportunity because so many people across this state are excited about having him as a fellow Vermonter. They're so proud of what he accomplished and the example that he set."

Douglas also said that, at the family's request, he sent a letter to President Obama to thank him and the military for their handling of the Maersk Alabama piracy incident and for Phillips' rescue.

"I want to express my sincere appreciation for your decisive actions to assure the release of Captain Richard Phillips," the letter said in part. "This ordeal has underscored the lawlessness of that region ... I urge you to continue to make this a top priority."

<snip>

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-17-underhill-phillips_N.htm

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. This man and his crew have CLASS written all over them.

These people are the real backbone 0f American - everyday hard working folks that just want to be left alone to live their lives.

[Renew Deal]

2. I think Obama likes Douglas

He invited him to the White House a couple months ago.



I remember when Obama met Douglas. It was after the election at the Governors meeting in Philadelphia. Obama said something like: "You're the governor of Vermont. You must be good."

[cali]

4. Then Obama doesn't know him well. Douglas sucks, sucks, sucks.

He's a wingnut in moderate clothing because that's the only way he'd ever have gotten elected here and keeps getting elected here. The only thing he's not terrible on is the environment- on that he gets a C.

[SPedigrees]

8. Amen to that. He's a disgrace to our state. nt

[redqueen]

12. I thought he got elected cause there was an independent / progressive on the ticket,

splitting the vote.

But maybe there was a libertarian on there too... I dunno.

[JayMusgrove]

3. I am loving this, The VT Governor is a Republican, and

he's doing what he was asked to do by the family, thanking President Obama.

[cali]

5. exactly. And he was a big Palin fan.

And this makes clear how the family feels about Obama.

[JayMusgrove]

6. He was a Palin fan? How did Vermont elect such a

dolt?

I guess no one good was running on the Dem side?

[cali]

7. In 2002, A dem named Doug Racine ran against him.

Doug's a good guy, but nearly as bland as Governor Milquetoast. And this was just 2 years after the civil union battles. Doug voted for civil unions. Also an independent named Con Hogan was running. Douglas won by a very slim margin.

Governor Milquetoast is also known as Governor Scissorhands due to his showing up at every ribbon cutting event everywhere. The guy is ubiquitous.

He hasn't had strong challengers, and the progs almost always run someone. IN fact, last year, I voted for the prog candidate, perennial runner, Anthony Pollina. The dem candidate, Gaye Symington, former speaker of the VT house, ran one of the worst campaigns I've ever had the misfortune to witness. Anthony and Gaye split the vote, with Pollina actually garnering more votes than Symington, but Governor Milquetoast Scissorhands still got over 50%.

I'm pretty sure he'll be voted out next year. Deb Markowitz, our SoS is probably running. If she does, he's history.

Now you know more about it than you ever wanted to.

[SPedigrees]

9. I hope you're right.

Markowitz will be the first strong candidate to run against Douglas.

[JayMusgrove]

10. Thanks for all that. No, I love Vermont, and

have loved Vermont's progressive politics for years.

Obviously I don't live there, and only visit a couple times a year.

[cali]

13. aw, thanks. this is for you; my absolute favorite vermont political story

Fred H. Tuttle (July 18, 1919–October 4, 2003) was an American dairy farmer, film actor and one-time candidate for the U.S. Senate from the state of Vermont. He was born in Tunbridge, Vermont, and lived there all his life, except for his service in the United States Army during World War II.

Tuttle left high school in his sophomore year to work on his family's farm. He married his wife Dorothy in 1961, and later retired from farming in 1984. (He should not be confused with the Frederick H. Tuttle of Vermont who was Superintendent of the South Burlington School District in the 1980s and early 1990s, and whom the South Burlington middle school was renamed after shortly before his death in 1992)

After his retirement, he appeared in several movies directed by Vermont filmmaker John O'Brien, including Nosey Parker and Man with a Plan. He starred in the latter, playing a retired farmer who decides to run for U.S. Representative from Vermont.

In 1998 Tuttle was persuaded to run in the Republican US Senate primary. His opponent was Jack McMullen, a multi-millionaire who had lived in Massachusetts for most of his life. McMullen faced opposition from some Vermont Republicans who felt that he was a carpetbagger who apparently moved to Vermont for the sole purpose of establishing residency for a Senate run. The Vermont primary structure allows Democrats and Independents to vote in the Republican primary, and many people foresaw the possibility that Tuttle would beat McMullen by drawing votes across party lines. In addition, some may have hoped that a Tuttle campaign would help to publicize the film Man with a Plan.

The ensuing campaign was remarkable in many ways. Tuttle campaigned on a platform that seemed absurdist by the standards of contemporary politics. McMullen and the state Republican Party challenged Tuttle's ballot petition and got 95 of his signatures invalidated. Tuttle needed 23 more to stay on the ballot and he received 2,309 more signatures. McMullen then gave flowers to Tuttle in the hospital while Tuttle was there for knee surgery.

During the televised debate, Tuttle asked a series of humorous local knowledge questions rather than political questions. McMullen was unable to correctly pronounce the names of several Vermont towns, or correctly answer Fred's question "How many teats a Holstein got?," answering "Six", instead of the correct "Four". In the primary, Tuttle defeated McMullen by ten percentage points. Winning the primary with 55 percent of the vote, Tuttle promptly endorsed the incumbent Democrat, Patrick Leahy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Tuttle

[Mopar151]

16. I remember watching the interview (VPTV)

When Fred asked the question, the next few seconds were the epitomie of "Epic Fail". It took Mc Mullen a few seconds to even get Fred's pronunciation of "cow" - then pure incredulity registers on everyone's face - not excepting Fred, tho he'd be a good poker player..
Then McMullen answers "Six", and you could hear crickets clear from Hardwick!
Til' that point, Fred was just funnin', and everybody knew it. Vermont cherishes eccentrics, especially old farmers, so we were in on the joke. That answer, and the rest of the interview, got his dander up!
His subsequent questions for McMullen absolutely destroyed his political career in VT - watch the clip, and you'll see - Fred went after him hard!

[cali]

17. oh, I watched the debate clear from

Newark- Vermont that is. Loved that campaign. Remember how he asked McMullen how Calais is pronounced?

[Mopar151]

19. That's when I knew Fred was on "Kill" n/t

[JayMusgrove]

18. Oh yes, I remember THAT story! It's wonderful. n/t

[Bluerthanblue]

11. they're good people-

I admire them all- including the CIC.

:hi:

[mikiturner]

14. Great story

K&R!

[Cha]

15. Captain Phillips is from Vermont

How cool is that!

There was a OP on here yesterday about the President working with officials on land in Somalia to freeze assets.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090415/ap_on_re_af/piracy