Hartland writeup & regime kidnappings

  ...a few days ago actually, here.

Another one of the serendipitous occurences I keep running into, this one poignant and somber. I’d been following the case of Mohsen Mahwdawi, who was kidnapped by ICE agents just five days earlier and is being held in violation of his first amendment rights; the protest demonstration for his upcoming court appearance in Burlington was in my calendar. But we drove down to Hartland not knowing it was home to Mohsen’s church. 

And the concert, rescheduled from a couple weeks earlier because of weather. was on the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, fought to free the colonies from a mad king restricting civil liberties (and imposing unfavorable trade policies...)

When we arrived, our sponsor, Chiho Kaneko, told us the church had just hosted a 300-person vigil where, she said, the fear was palpable. 

On the spot, we added Woody Guthrie’s classic “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” to the program. The entire audience joined in, and I think drew some courage from the music and the special solidarity that comes from singing together.

The speed and effectiveness with which the current regime has been wrecking our government and norms  is breathtaking. But the pushback is having a manifest effect.  I suspect it is not a coincidence that two of the three currently most high-profile immigration cases  are being heard in Vermont, home to just 0.2% f the US population but to 50% of the team  (Bernie and AOC) that has been barnstorming the red states with their message of resistance. If it was intentional, it will prove to be another instance of overreach. Vermont has a strong and deep tradition of independence and libertarianism. Just saying.