Interesting stories of the day, from rrnd

27) The Once and Future Republic of Vermont
Washington Post
by Ian Baldwin and Frank Bryan

"The winds of secession are blowing in the Green Mountain State. Vermont
was once an independent republic, and it can be one again. We think the
time to make that happen is now. Over the past 50 years, the U.S.
government has grown too big, too corrupt and too aggressive toward the
world, toward its own citizens and toward local democratic institutions.
It has abandoned the democratic vision of its founders and eroded
Americans' fundamental freedoms. Vermont did not join the Union to
become part of an empire." (04/01/07)

http://tinyurl.com/2mnnn7

58) The right seeks to rein in presidential power
Truthout
by William Fisher

"Leading voices in the conservative movement are demanding that the
Democrat-controlled Congress restore checks and balances within the
government and rein in the power of President George W. Bush. But their
point of view is consistently being drowned out by the 'Ann Coulter
wing' of the Republican Party, fed by the 'ignorance of members of
Congress about the principles of a constitutional democracy.' This is
the view expressed by Bruce Fein in an exclusive Truthout interview.
Fein served as associate deputy attorney general under President Ronald
Reagan and is a founder of a conservative movement known as the Liberty
Coalition. ... The Liberty Coalition includes such organizations as the
American Civil Liberties Union, American Families United, Americans for
Tax Reform, Amnesty International, the Arab American Institute,
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Bill of Rights
Defense Committee, Common Cause, Concerned Foreign Service Officers, the
Drug Policy Alliance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Government
Accountability Project, MoveOn.org, the National Security Whistleblowers
Coalition, People for the American Way, the Veterans Affairs
Whistleblowers Coalition and many others." (04/04/07)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040407J.shtml

[Look at who's in this "conservative" movement!]