Dec 2 2011

Bismirch

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Besmirch

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery or so they say. But the clear lines between truth and perception have faded precipitously in recent weeks. Anarchy once again blindly assaults the very foundations that hold and gird the stalwart common man. While pure imitation remains still the purest form of flattery, the claim to imitation with vile intent holds no form of flattery and is by no means pure.

Americans have watched with no small consternation as the Democrat party has embraced with relish the anarchist tactics of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Our military has at times engaged their enemies with “shock and awe”. In the streets of our cities, Americans have been assaulted with “shock and recoil”. But the leaders of the Democrat party have embraced this behavior, championing the tantrums as legitimate.

The Democrat party does not need the offensive methods of the Defecate Wall Street movement as some new aggressive revolutionary campaign. The Party, whose symbol is an Ass, has a heinous bag full of tricks that would make the not so happy city campers’ duffels look paltry in comparison. There is a more sinister reason to why the Democrats have locked arms with these vagrants.

The constant theme threaded throughout the commentary used to describe these “protests” has been “like the Tea Party”. Other frequently used descriptive terms have been “tactics of the Tea Party” or “things in common with the Tea Party”. The Democrat Party, either by design or by crises seized, is attempting to smear the Tea Party with the misbehaviors of those who smear the streets of our cities with their refuse.

Americans are by nature law-abiding, God-fearing and peace-loving. With good reason and to maintain those standards, they will ignore and separate themselves from those who act out with delinquent behavior. It’s repulsive to honest people and they prefer to have nothing to do with the stench. What an effective political ploy! To encourage behavior that has all the intellectual integrity of a drunken hormone addled teenager and then label it, as the “tactics of the Tea Party”. This would be a very effective way to diffuse the energy of hard-working Americans. Now Democrats can smear the Tea Party the same way Occupy Wall Street’s movements have smeared the tops of law enforcement vehicles across the United States. Now the rights of freedom loving Americans to protest can be sullied in the same way as the rights of young women to safe nights sleep has been violated in their tents on the streets of our cities. One commentator said it best when he observed that there are only two places where there are “rape free zones”: prison and Occupy Wall Street. Yes, Americans are disgusted.

But there is no comparison. Tea Party rallies were usually one-day events, at the most a weekend, because the participants had to get back to….work. The Occupy groups have camped out, supported by the very “one percent” they protest. The media worked at a ferocious fever pitch trying to find deviants within the Tea Party to highlight. Now they are working with the same ferocity to cover up the disgusting behavior of the Occupy anarchists.

Leaders of the Tea Party have, perhaps out of good will, tried to acknowledge that there are some possible similarities between the two. This is playing directly into the hands of the groups who wish the Tea Party’s demise: the Democrat Party and their media allies. The Tea Party must stand resolute in its assertion that there is no similarity. The foundational motives are polar opposites. The Tea Party is calling for the restoration of a strong and vibrant America. The Occupy group is calling for its utter destruction. The Tea Party is calling for the chance that all Americans can work in freedom to pursue their dreams. The anarchist blocked streets so that Americans cannot get to work, children cannot pursue their education. This columnist was taught in my grade school social studies class that we were all entitled to our free rights until we infringed upon the rights of our fellow citizens. Just a thought to ponder from an 8^th grade Social Studies teacher.

Dec 2 2011

A Thanksgiving poem I wrote last week for the paper

The thanksgiving in me.

The thanksgiving in me

Looks forward to see

What blessings this season does bring

It’s more than the feast

The dough and the yeast

It’s freedoms we hale, we sing

We gaze misty eyed

At heroes who’ve died

To insure that we celebrate free

A child’s pleading eye

For a big piece of pie

In part is thanksgiving in me

To view nature’s charm

With my wife on my arm

Indeed, this is heaven on earth

The trees shed their leaves

Children play as they please

Oh, how I treasure their birth

This dinner of cheer

Heralds winter is near

Soon Dad, cut our big Christmas tree

Mom’s final say

Picks the tree that will stay

I love this thanksgiving in me

The land soon will bow

With snow covered boughs

We’re all warm and cozy inside

This land that I love

Blessings sent from above

Is why I still live here with pride

The things dear to me

The thanksgiving in me

Is why I will never refrain

To thank God above

For my family I love

This is Thanksgiving in ME

Nov 18 2011

Is your vote for sale?

This past election has brought some truths to light that the people of Maine must study in order to better understand the political motivations of those who wish to influence elections. The Republicans suffered a defeat in their quest to bring security and accountability to the Maine election process. Those who wished to keep our voting system vulnerable and easily manipulated, have reason to rejoice as the seedy cloak of deceit will, for now, remain to shroud the clear function of the most sacred rite of Maine’s Democratic process. It is telling that in the State of Mississippi a measure to require voter ID was overwhelmingly passed by the people with a two-thirds majority.

The true test of a group’s character and integrity is how well they can handle defeat. The people of Maine will wait and watch to see if the GOP can learn from their mistakes. Their opponents will revel in the defeat and watch expectantly for Republicans to implode and cannibalize each other. This will be a true test of the maturation to leadership for a party that has not been in power for over forty years.

Donald Sussman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, gave over $250,000 to the Yes on 1 campaign in order to try and influence the vote. He succeeded. There was no way the Republicans would spend that kind of money on a vote. Republicans refuse to buy votes. Mr. Sussman is the husband of U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree. This reveals to the people of Maine a systemic problem with the Democrat Party and their supporters. The Democrats view voters as commodities that can be bought and sold, bartered in the mercantile of ideas in exchange for freedoms.

Much can be learned about a belief system by looking at the groups that propagate it. The Yes on 1 campaign was funded by a hedge fund, Wall Street manipulator. It was also supported with thousands of dollars and ground troops from MPA, SEIU, and Equality Maine -all of which have checkered pasts, to put it nicely, with regards to their handling of the voting process. Maine people will have to decide whether they appreciate having individuals buy the vote and whether they are ready to put their voting rights out to bid for whoever has the deepest pockets. I, for one, am uncomfortable with the defense that there is no voter fraud in Maine because you couldn’t prove it. It seems eerily reminiscent of the standard defense that every criminal at every level uses to beat the rap….you can’t prove it. For me it is not the burden of proof, it is the burden of possibility. We can’t leave Democracy to chance.

Congratulations to Ray Wallace for his great victory in District 24. There is a lesson for the Republican Party to take out of this election also. While Question 1 was utter defeat for the GOP, the Republican candidate was able to win. This flies in the face of the Democrats assertion that Mainers are rejecting the Governor’s policies. The Democrat campaigned on an Anti-LePage platform. The Green Party candidate, ironically, campaigned on a Pro-LePage/social conservative platform and was able to pull nearly 8% of the vote away from Ray Wallace. Mr. Wallace still won.

Mainers are still very loyal to the Governor. Some polls have him at over 50% popularity. One poll has his job approval rating higher than his likeability rating. This speaks to what commonsense people have always known: I don’t have to like you to want you to do the job. I just have to know you will get the job done and done right. Those in the Republican Party, which have played the obstructionist to the Governor, would do well to take heed.

During the Question 1 referendum, an out of state group came to do some ads for the No on 1 campaign. They refused to allow input from the Maine Republicans. Consequently, Mainers were confused and put off by the image these ads portrayed. Another lesson learned. The Maine Republican Party needs to speak directly to the people, like any good team learn from their mistakes and come back stronger, and join with their popular Governor to present to the people of Maine one strong coherent message. The Maine Conservative Voice is confident that they will. For the sake of Maine, they have to.

Nov 11 2011

John Martin’s pick-up

A few weeks ago, Representative Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan “wrote” an article published in this paper trying to affix blame for certain healthcare cost increases on the Governor’s reform legislation passed in the 125^th session of the legislature. It has taken this amount of time to respond to the good legislator because The Maine Conservative Voice had to do something Mr. McCabe failed to do in his “opinion” piece: research. It seems the “Honorable” Jeff McCabe’s view of research is more of the cut and paste variety.

As this columnist perused the web in search of material to substantiate the good representative’s “claims”, a curious discovery was unearthed from the strata of Maine’s political landscape. It seems Mr. McCabe’s “assertions” are really not his assertions at all. One can follow the puppet strings attached to young Mr. McCabe all the way up to the St. John Valley and find them attached to the fingers of the wily yet not so honorable John Martin.

It seems that prior to the aforementioned article’s printing another striking similar article was printed by John Martin. The similarity could be categorized in the “word for word” column. It is certainly evident that Jeff McCabe got the memo but failed to appropriate enough window dressing to hide the trail to the puppet master.

John Martin has never been shy about his use of deceit and subterfuge in accomplishment of his goals. The end justifies the means and Mr. Martin has a whole pick-up truckload of deceit to work with. This only serves to validate our belief that not only is dishonesty part of the Democrat platform but it is more likely the main support beam. Since the young Democrat from Skowhegan seems content to merely parrot the words of his more sinister elder, it falls to honest Maine people to decipher the truth for themselves.

It only takes a nominal understanding of economics and policy to understand that the effect of legislation when implemented takes months even years to be realized in an economy. The John Martin/Jeff McCabe article revealed its flawed argument from the beginning when it acknowledged that the Republican health insurance reform had only recently gone into effect. So can a law only a few weeks old already have this effect on the market?

But there is a healthcare reform that has been in place for some time now and is adversely affecting healthcare all over the nation. Yes, you guessed it. ObamaCare. Democrats are trying to hide the dismal track record of socialized medicine with the Republican efforts to reform it. So, we are back to John Martin’s pick-up truck. As has been said before, the Democrat tactic has always been, make a mess, and blame the Republicans. When the Republicans clean up the mess, steal the credit for it.

But Martin/McCabe have also failed to reveal that only one portion of the Maine insurance reform has been implemented, the rest is still pending. They also used a very small, targeted cross-section to obtain their “evidence”, breaking all rules of subjective study. But they are “honorable” men. It is part of their title.

I find it sadly ironic that these men will conjure images of abuse to the less fortunate while their Party cuts aid to LHEAP. Governor LePage needs funds from the bloated Efficiency Maine coffers to make up the difference so the needy don’t freeze this winter. The Democrats pledge to block this. It’s easy to see why. Democrats don’t want to see monies moved away from their sacred cow, green energy.

Mainers, like the rest of the nation, have watched in awe as millions and billions of dollars have been swallowed up by the swirling vortex of green energy never to be seen again. Green Energy and John Martin’s pick-up seem to be magical portals. Whatever gets near them disappears.

Let’s stop the slight of hand. Let’s stop parroting mantras. Let’s stay focused on turning Maine around from forty years of John Martin’s pick-up.