Oct 31 Letters to the Editor
10/31/08 | 10 comments
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Oct 31 Letters to the Editor


‘Tax us more’

I see the “please tax us more” crowd is at it again, “Fed up with services? (BDN letters, Oct. 22). “Fed up with good schools?” the writer asks. No, just fed up with the “do it for the kids” mantra that has gotten us into paying teachers far more than 90 percent of what most Mainers make and which, among other government costs, has driven business right out of Maine.

Just who is going to pay the taxes when the last enterprise moves on to another state or country? The “shut up and pay up” mentality has to change or we will have no income and no money for any of the things government thinks we so desperately need.

John Hubbard

Bangor

• • •

Lee is right for Belfast

During these trying economic times, it is important that we have a person with a strong financial background to ensure that we are getting the most from our taxes in Belfast. Roger Lee is a person with these qualifications. He has worked with the city manager and others on the council to provide us with a budget with no increases to the public and that is still providing the services we all want and need.

It is important that we vote for Lee on Nov. 4. He has shown that although he did not support big box stores in Belfast, he changed his mind and supported the proposed development on Route 3, which allows for a large retail store. We must have people on the council who are not single-minded and are able to change their position when it supports the majority of the public. They must not be looking out for their own interests, but should provide for the greater good for the community. Lee is this type of person, and I urge you to vote for him.

Cary Bradford

Belfast

Cary Bradford

Belfast

• • •

Cashwell knows business

The current makeup of the Maine House of Representatives has a goodly number of teachers, social workers and promising young people in the early stages of their working careers, bringing valuable backgrounds and experiences to our Legislature as it shapes Maine’s future. What we are in short supply of are those with proven success in business.

John Cashwell has had 15 years as president of Seven Islands Land Company, managing nearly a million acres of timberland, supplying wood to some 50 different mills and providing work for around 200 loggers and truckers. He led the forest industry in certification of forest land worldwide and managed the Maine Forest Service for five years. His public service includes terms on the Bangor and Calais city councils (he was also mayor in both cities) and multiple appointments to governmental committees by Govs. Angus King and John Baldacci.

A Vietnam and Desert Storm veteran (his decorations for valor include 43 Air Medals, a Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Soldier’s Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Silver Stars), his distinguished military career attests to his willingness to commit his time, his limbs and his life to our country. His unique combination of background, experience and proven accomplishment will help bring us the balance we need in Augusta.

Frank Farrington

Bangor

• • •

Liberal arrogance

Robert Klose, in his nasty little hit-piece, “John McCain is no George Washington” (BDN, Oct. 22) is as careless with his facts as he is with his language. George Washington died in 1799, not 1797 (ref. “His Excellency George Washington,” Joseph J. Ellis, Knopf, 2004, p.268). But what’s an important fact when your main point in writing is to spew political vitriol?

As to Klose’s language, describing Gov. Sarah Palin as “that silly cluck” is as careless and mean-spirited as anything someone might have said at a McCain “town meeting” about Hillary Clinton. Palin, unlike the former, gained high office entirely through her own effort and talent, and rose to national prominence by successfully battling special interests.

Klose’s piece could be “Exhibit A” in an indictment of today’s liberal and often sloppy academic arrogance.

Alan W. Boone

Bangor

• • •

Allain is best choice

Jayson Allain is the best choice for state representative in House District 26. His opponent, the popular Paul Davis, has served in the past using “common sense” to solve problems, but that approach is not enough to address the complex, interconnected issues of the future.

Jayson Allain has the education and experience to understand and manage the difficult social, economic and technical issues that we are now forced to confront. As a father, business owner, National Guard officer and Maine Guide with a master’s degree in business administration, Jayson has all the attributes you expect and demand in a representative. Talk with Jayson to find out how he can make the positive connection that has been missing between this region and Augusta.

William Welsh

Sebec

William Welsh

Sebec

• • •

God and politics

Those of us who embrace an inclusive, care-for-the-downtrodden Christian faith are accustomed to being admonished for our manifold sins and wickedness by our brethren on the Christian Right. After the 9-11 terrorist attack, the Rev. Jerry Falwell blamed feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU, People for the American Way and unspecified “others” for creating an environment “which possibly has caused God to lift the veil of protection which has allowed no one to attack America on our soil since 1812.”

When Hurricane Katrina savaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, pious voices of the right pronounced this was God’s punishment for the sinful ways of the populace. (Inexplicably, God’s wrath did not seem to include the millions who had visited New Orleans for a few days of decadent abandon and then returned to their proper homes elsewhere.)

Now, in the closing days of this presidential campaign, we have been hearing cries of “Terrorist!” and “Off with his head” from some people of faith who seem to believe the Democratic candidate’s name alone is reason to suspect him as a patriotic American and the professing Christian he is.

Have they not noticed that great economic misery has been visited like a plague upon our land, seeping into every single home, causing wailing over lost income and gnashing of teeth at disappearing retirement dreams? Might this be God’s judgment on all of us for inflicting eight years of the Bush administration on a suffering world? Or is it simply his way of making sure that Barack Obama will be elected our next president on Nov. 4?

Patricia Griffith

Belfast

• • •

The Bangor Daily News is no longer accepting election-related letters and commentary. The newspaper will continue to publish such letters and commentary through the Nov. 1-2 issue. Not all submissions can be published.

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Comments
10 comments on this item
On 10/31/08 at 8:32 AM, Tikitorch wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

PLEASE ANYONE WHO IS CASTING A VOTE TUESDAY PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO FROM A VETERAN OF THE IRAQ WAR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8

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On 10/31/08 at 8:47 AM, MrBeane wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"gotten us into paying teachers far more than 90 percent of what most Mainers make"

How do teachers salaries compare to other professionals that have bachelors or master's degrees? I am not a teacher, but I don't think they are over paid. I have a M.S. degree and would not work for a teachers salary. Their job is extremely important, and it is important to attract and retain quality educators. Comments such as this reinforce the fact that this country no longer values education.

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On 10/31/08 at 9:04 AM, jgordon wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

John Hubbard is right, we are paying too much in taxes. He is also right about education being a “sacred cow” which no one dares to criticize. According to 2004 U.S. Census results the average personal income in Maine is $17,275. I suspect most teachers do in fact have a higher salary than that. That said, I don’t think it’s teachers salaries which are bankrupting taxpayers here but rather it is the endless civil works projects that get funded on borrowed money. Voters in Maine continue to pass bond bills for hundreds of millions of dollars as though the money tree had an endless supply. $59,000,000 for a school in Hampden when the existing building could have been rehabbed for a small portion of that. They make no bones about it in Hampden, they’ve been trying to get this school for 15 years. Imagine if they had maintained the school over this time! In addition to a new “public safety building” Brewer is spending $39,000,000 for a middle school with a dang performance center! Geez I guess the golden parachute for all those laid off mill workers was better than we thought. Ellsworth closed their industrial arts program to fund a school. Heaven forbid students learn skills that actually qualify them for jobs in coastal Maine. New jails have been on the ballot for years and now we have a new state board made up of the very people who wanted the new jails. With sheriff Story on the board this will fly well in Waldo County which voted down a new jail just a few years ago. Hundreds of millions spent on new roads with the legislated effort spearheaded by the very companies which get the contracts! Remember “Keepmainemoving.org”? This organization was actually part of another organization called, "Maine Better Transportation Association" or MBTA for short. They were/are made up of the companies which build our roads and bridges and public safety buildings and prisons. Then to illustrate the absurdity of it all we have one of my favorites, spending $5000 in state money to trim tree’s in Rockland. Our property taxes have literally doubled in the last 6 years as have our county taxes here in Waldo County (thank you Waldo County Commissioners). It’s time for this to stop. Regardless of where they say the money is coming from, town, county, state, or federal, it ultimately comes out of our pockets and my pockets are empty!

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On 10/31/08 at 9:40 AM, JJacob wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Like clockwork, every year the cost of education goes up. If education were a business instead of a government monopoly, the customer should expect some increase in services, but all they actually get is more bloated administrative salaries.

It’s a vicious cycle: the college graduate needs to pay off his exorbitant college loans, so he seeks asylum in the government sector which in turn, yearly raises the rates for incoming future teachers.

And many graduates can barely balance a checkbook or perform long division without a calculator.

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On 10/31/08 at 9:43 AM, billmoores wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Patricia Griffith: If God has manipulated our economy to get Barack Obama elected, what did he do to get George Bush elected? If we have a bad President, it's our fault and if we get a good President it's God's doing? I think we have free choice by way of our free agency. We elect our officials on our own and then reap the consequences and hopefully learn from our mistakes. Let us now sow according to our best wisdom and prepare to reap the harvest of our wisest choices. And may we be wise enough to recognize our errors and strong enough to reshape our futures.

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On 10/31/08 at 12:30 PM, Bangorean wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I agree with John Hubbard about taxes in general, but disagree vehemently with the balance of his statement. I remember when, back in the '90's, with a bachelor's degree, getting paid half of what a guy working at the Bucksport Mill without a high school diploma was paid. Relevant? No, but instructive.

Attacking teachers, and the attitude of people like Hubbard, is why the U.S. is behind nearly every modern country in the world in education. How about simply cutting government waste, administrative expense (administrators who also have an administrative assistant who have a deputy administrative assistant) for people that do little or nothing substantive? Money should be going into school TEACHING and not ADMINISTRATION. Money should be going into getting things DONE, not planning and talking about getting things done. Your government is stealing from you, and arguing that teacher's salaries are too high because "the average Mainer," not possessing a college degree, master's degree or the patience to deal with students all day every day, is a pretty sorry position.

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On 10/31/08 at 3:51 PM, Joshua wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

people in Maine seem to bitch constantly about the pay of teachers...the thing that's funny about it is that teaching is one of the lowest-paying professions out there. The only reason it looks like they're making out well here is because this state is full of backwoods hick morons whose only occupation is drinking allen's and making it down to the post office on the first of the month, they drag the median wage down more than anything. Show me another career that requires a Bachelor's degree in which the average income is so low...better yet, tell me what we're supposed to do without teachers. Then we'd all be as stupid as Mr. Hubbard...

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On 11/4/08 at 2:31 PM, kazman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Patricia Griffith: I see your point, the religious right appears to have a patent on the definition and distribution of Sin (unless of course its one of their own romping around with a lady- or guy- or whatever-for-hire). Fortunately, patents last only 7 years (apparently 8 in politics) so we're done with that for the time being (barring a huge upset today).

Billmoores: Right on brothah! I think God has a few more important things on his mind than manipulating the DOW.

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On 11/5/08 at 11:01 AM, MervynEmrys1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Once more MrBeane says "let's hear it for the greed vote!"

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On 11/5/08 at 11:04 AM, MervynEmrys1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Once more MrBeane says "let's hear it for the greed vote."

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