Tag Archives: Governor LePage

Mar 27 2013

There’s Reality, Then There’s Democrats

 

 

Democrats have passed their first budget in four years and they’re positively giddy about it.  The celebratory swoon in Washington may have contributed to the collective swelling of the cranial area in the Democrat Party, for they often find so great pride in accomplishing what many Americans consider every day necessary tasks.  For this reason, thinking caps have been relegated to the dustbins of history in the District of Columbia because, well, they just don’t fit anyone there any more.

Then on to the shimmering horizon comes our President.  He assures the Israelis that he can empathize with their struggles with the Palestinians because we, here in the United States, have struggles with our neighbor to the north, Canada…ummm Canada?…what the….whaa…wow!!  From what nether did he pluck that? Maine is a few hours from the Canadian border and we aren’t ducking any rockets here.  The U.S./Canadian border is the most peaceful border in the world, and that’s even taking into account those crazy truck drivers from Quebec.  To equate the relationship between the United States and Canada to the terror inflicted by Palestine on Israel is sheer lunacy.

Ah, but now we come home to our very own Alfond Democrats, who have taught us new and creative ways to pay debts.  Just don’t do it!  Ignore it!  Move on to bigger and…and….bigger government!

And while they are ignoring the debt, they sure are focused on the Governor, fixated.  They’ve proposed bills to take away his pension, just his, not theirs.   The latest Democrat homage to their feelings for the Governor is a bill to sell The Blaine House.  They want to put the Governor out on the street!  That’s not very nice…oh, and the hospitals still would like to get paid, if you could fit that in somewhere in between selling the Governor’s luggage and kidnapping Baxter to hold for ransom.

The Alfond Democrats have passed some bills.  They made it easier to buy beer on St. Patrick’s Day.  Just recently, they passed a bill to ban minors from tanning beds.  Now, if only they were as concerned about the hospital debt as they are about beer and your daughter’s tan lines.

Mar 19 2013

The Two Faces of Dexter

 

 

 

The Governor has experienced a partial victory in the battle over the hospital debt.  The Democrats have conceded that it is a good idea to pay back their debts.  In most circles, this would not be viewed as any great accomplishment, as most regard this declaration as everyday common sense.  But for the Justin Alfond Democrats, such a statement of even a small admittance of a need for responsibility has sent shock tremors through the very core of the Eastern Seaboard causing even “Punxsutawney Phil” to completely foul up his forecast.

Now we must realize these are baby steps for Democrats.  They still don’t want to pay the whole debt. Just a portion, then raise your taxes and promise to pay the rest off with the new the tax revenue.  I’m sure the hospitals of Maine are confident, in light of the past track record and Justin Alfond’s comments that we shouldn’t even pay the hospital debt, that the Democrats will keep their word.  If you believe that, I’ve got some other stuff I can sell you….

Yet to this we have come as a State and as a Nation: when the Democrats can have some smug satisfaction in a partial promise to pay a portion of their debt, nearly 40 years in the making, and Republicans find a victory in forcing Democrats to admit they must pay their debts.  This leaves many of the frugal Maine residents scratching their heads in dismay.  How can so many of those elected to represent Maine become so detached from the Maine they represent?  The answer may lie in the study of two political faces from a town called Dexter.

Justin Alfond grew up on Acadia Street in the affluent side of Dexter, when Dexter had an affluent side.  His family owned the famous Dexter Shoe Company.  The Alfond family sold Dexter Shoe to Warren Buffet and one of his conglomerates. Consequently, the company moved out of Dexter costing the small town some 1500 jobs.

Another political figure also has his roots in the little town of Dexter.  Paul Davis grew up on the corner of Lincoln and Water Street, which Dexter residents will tell you are a decidedly different part of town, the other side of the tracks, if you will, or, in the case of Dexter, the other side of the stream.  Paul Davis grew up learning the value of a hard earned dollar.  He also learned from experience how hard it is to keep a dollar and how devastating debt can be.

Now the lessons of thriftiness and frugality are not exclusive to poverty nor are they exclusive to wealth for that matter.   But as a wise man once said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”  And there is plenty of fruit from both these individuals to see the standards of their fundamental core.

Justin Alfond has most infamously stated that we should ignore the hospital debt and treat it as a “meaningful cut”. He has also led the Democrats in a dogged obstruction of the Governor hoping to keep him from paying the hospital debt.  Now they have capitulated to the Governor, but only in part, still maneuvering for an opportunity to raise taxes off the backs of Maine residents.  The only candidate that the Justin Alfond Democrats have put forward to run for Governor states that, since the 40 years of mandated regulatory hell that Augusta has placed on rural Maine has pushed many towns to “insolvency”, the answer is just to shut them down and move the people like cattle to more urban locals.  This smacks of young men, who are used to having someone else’s money covering the mistakes of their poor decisions.

On the other side of the stream, we have Paul Davis along with Ray Wallace, who grew up in the same part of town in Dexter, along with many other conservative Republicans who have held the line beside the Governor demanding that debts be paid.  This columnist knows from personal experience that Davis has a dim view of debt and has lived his life by the “owe no man anything” precept.  He refuses to purchase anything unless he can pay for it.  Wallace and many of his comrades share Paul Davis’ disdain of the slipshod accounting practices of the Alfond Democrats.  They stand along with the Governor with their backs to the edge desperately trying to hold Alfond and his Democrats from pushing Maine off into the fiscal abyss.

Maine people need to decide which face of Dexter they prefer to see to their State’s affairs.  The face of accountability, honesty and “pay as you go” approach to life that you see in Paul Davis and his allies, or the make promises, accumulate debt and then “cut and run” approach of Justin Alfond and his allies.  The edge for Maine inches closer, while the Governor, Paul Davis and their allies can only hold for so long.  We must lend our voices to theirs, for be assured, that if Maine falls over the edge, Alfond will not go with us.  He will cut and run.

Feb 19 2013

Stating The Obvious: A Shot In The Dark

 

 

Last week, we started a series on the lies by silence, the sins of omission, which runs rampant through the media of this State.  Right on cue, the Bangor Daily News was found embroiled in an information and misinformation campaign this past week.  The revelations that came from an over reach of freedoms came under the glaring light of public scrutiny when Maine residents became enraged at the revelations Bangor Daily News had abused the Freedom of Information Act.

The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) is legislation, which allows any American to request information that is in the public record.  The caveat being that if the information is deemed to pose a threat to the well being of the citizenry the public entity can refuse on those grounds.  Often times when documents are released under FOIA, they will have portions blotted out because the information is too dangerous to be released.

This past week Bangor Daily News, citing FOIA, sent a letter to the Maine State Police and all the local town and city precincts demanding the names and addresses of all individuals who have Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permits be sent to their newspaper.  This ignited a firestorm of protest within the State and within two days Bangor Daily had rescinded their request.  Readers will recall a similar situation in New York where a paper posted a list and map of gun owners in their readership area.  Subsequently, robberies began to happen at the homes from the map targeting their guns.  The perpetrators were caught with the list and map in hand.

What is most curious is the explanation Bangor Daily gave for the inquiry into the CCW’s.  The editor attempted to calm the situation by citing the reasons as the pending legislation by Representative Cory Wilson (R), which would block access to the CCW list, and their ongoing investigation into sex offenders and drug dealers.  This leads this columnist to wonder how the paper expects the residents of Maine to have their anger pacified by the knowledge that those employed by the Bangor Daily equate gun ownership   with sex offenders, drug dealers or are at least trying to establish a connection and quickly before Rep. Wilson’s bill passes, most curious indeed.

As stated, Bangor Daily News has rescinded its request.  But a new group has issued a request immediately after Bangor Daily pulled its request, a group called CelebrationsConnect.  They are rumored to have ties to the Portland Press Herald.  A shadow group?  Plausible deniability? Just a shot in the dark but it smells.  At any rate, the battle against your privacy and safety is far from over.  The Governor has put forth emergency legislation that would block the media or any other organizations from getting to the CCW lists.  The roll call vote is set for the 19th of February.  Be assured that this columnist will let you know who votes for and who votes against your right to privacy and safety.

To this point, all the Republicans are on board in support of the Governor. The only statement from Democrats is one Seth Berry acknowledging Mainers are angry…..cue sound of crickets.  So I guess we know where this is going.

The Portland Press Herald made a clumsy attempt at a distraction from the issue by trying to attack the Governor for a $32,000 expense bill for the meals at the Blaine House.  What they forgot to include is this Governor has made it a point to entertain many of the military veterans, business people, and just plain hard working people in Maine making this the most accessible Blaine House perhaps in the history of the State of Maine.  Now the Portland Press Herald is hastily trying to wipe the proverbial egg off of their collective faces.  And, yes, they also forgot to mention that Governor Baldacci had at least eight aides who did…well, nobody knows what they did, but they did whatever they did to the tune of a $100,000 a year.  I can guarantee the Blaine House was not so accessible to the taxpayers footing that bill during that administration.  Stay tuned!  More to come!

Feb 13 2013

Stating the Obvious

The truth has to be told. The truth deserves an audience. Much has been made of the Governor’s recent comments referring to newspapers as his greatest fear. While most in the media have mocked this statement with much derision, it would be wise for us as citizens to pause and take stock in the message the Governor is trying to convey to the State. The media has a vested interest in their disdain for the Governor but the residents should take a much more unfiltered and less prejudice view of his words.
Even a grade school study of history renders many stories of such great civilizations that have fallen by the manipulation of knowledge. Oftentimes what is told to the populace is not so dangerous as what is not. There is a great ideological battle waging for the freedom of information we take for granted. Truth and knowledge is the pivot on which this battle turns.
The 1960’s and 1970’s saw rise to great social turmoil. The “establishment” was questioned and reviled at every level. Our capitalistic society was demonized by the youth on many of America’s college campuses. Many of those youth now hold the power in our country. Many now control the print and visual media of our Nation. Much of their intent in legislative work and through the media is to tear down the capitalist framework of our nation. It is a framework most of us hold dear, but something that the “me generation” despises.
So, ironically, these that now hold power over information have become guilty of committing the very sins against their fellow man that they accused the so-called establishment of during riotous 60’s and 70’s. The media blocks anything in print and in video that could cause disruption to an established agenda set by the Democrat Party. There is much evidence to prove this, too much in fact, to fit into one column.
This is simply the introduction into what will be a several week series on the many blatant omissions by the major media outlets in Maine and nationally. The Governor was merely stating the obvious and soon it will be clear to any that read these subsequent columns, that many in the media have put their own political interests above the futures of the people of Maine. And, yes, Mr. Governor, that is indeed something to fear, not what we do know, what we don’t know.