Not president-elect yet
In the Dec. 2 letter “Bush Should Resign,” the writer calls on President Bush to do the decent thing and resign so that President-elect Barack Obama and his team can take over the business of running the country. I am sure there are countless others who feel this way. This individual does not understand the presidential election process or the rules governing succession.
Should President Bush decide to resign tomorrow, then the next president of the United States would be Dick Cheney, not Barack Obama. If both Bush and Cheney resign, then we would have President Nancy Pelosi. The normal rules for the line of succession would be followed.
The Constitution spells out that the people cast votes for electors in a general election, who, in turn, cast their votes for the president on the Monday after the 2nd Wednesday in December — that would be Dec. 14 this year. You can find this in Article II Section I of the Constitution.
The final step is the counting of the electoral ballots by Congress on Jan. 6 and then, without objection, the person with the majority of the ballots is declared the president-elect.
When you see Barack Obama standing behind his presidential looking podium adorned with the title “Office of the President-Elect,” please realize that, first, there is no such office, and second, he isn’t even the president-elect as of yet. The nation will survive until Jan. 20.
Steve Rock
Hampden
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Not the total picture
I take exception to the Nov. 19 letter, “No friend of military,” about Sen. John McCain, which stated “surrendering is not something to brag about.” I’ve never heard, nor read Sen. McCain brag about it. He was captured; he did not surrender.
Taken from the POW Network: “As McCain rolled into his dive, his aircraft was observed by his wingman to take a direct hit from anti-aircraft fire and to burst into flames. McCain was able to eject from his crippled aircraft. He was captured immediately. McCain was severely injured, having broken both arms and his right leg.”
Additionally, the letter writer said he is part of a military family. He should be proud of that, but he is not truly a part of the military family BDN columnist Sarah Smiley writes about. That family lives and breathes it 24 hours a day, and moves every two years or so to accommodate transfers and suffers through the separation and anxiety those transfers generate. My wife and children were just such a military family for 20-plus years of my 28-year Navy career.
Although a lot of folks misunderstood what Ms. Smiley wrote, I did not. As military folks, our bosses change every four years or so. Policies shift and those shifts affect them much more directly than you or me. It is the unknown shift that is distressing. While I truly admire and respect Sen. McCain, his military service is only a part of who he is. After much thought, it was the totality of his platform that led me not to vote for him.
John Bruneel
Bangor
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An endless loop
I am writing in response to Anav Silverman’s hate-filled propaganda, “Israeli civilian expectations low when cease-fire ends” (BDN, Dec. 1). She writes that the Gazans are teaching their young Palestinian children to hate the U.S. and Israel.
I’m not denying that the Palestinians are probably very upset with decades of abuse from their Israeli occupiers. We tend to think of the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a sort of benevolent oversight of their neighbors when nothing could be further from the truth.
They managed the Palestinian territories like a giant internment camp, and whenever the Gazans would “misbehave” the Israelis would punish them, either by shutting off their electricity, their water or food supplies, or by guided missile attacks and military incursions.
Sliverman admits that the Israeli military invaded the Gaza Strip in early November. And they killed some Gazans, but she then blames Gaza for breaking the cease-fire by retaliating, firing over 60 ineffective rockets harmlessly into Israel during the 12-hour period following that Israeli attack.
Israel claims that they must occupy Palestine in order to put down the rebellion coming from there, and the Palestinians, in turn, are rebelling against Israel’s occupation of their land … It’s an endless loop.
Eliot J. Chandler
Bangor
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A sustainable future
The Forest Society of Maine thanks the Bangor Daily News for sharing with its readers the wonderful story of the Mills family installing renewable solar and wind power sources at Historic Pittston Farm, “Raising the wind” (BDN, Nov. 21).
Their foresight is inspiring to all at FSM and the many others with a vision for a sustainable future for Maine’s North Woods. As Jennifer Mills stated in the story, 329,000 acres surrounding Historic Pittston Farm were permanently conserved through the West Branch Project — an effort led by FSM, the Maine Department of Conservation and a private forestland owner. The result is hundreds of thousands of acres of woodlands sustainably managed for forest products, wildlife habitats, other ecological values and public access and recreational opportunities.
There are great changes underway in Maine’s forestlands, and the Forest Society of Maine is working with local communities and people like the Millses to ensure a sustainable future for Maine’s North Woods, one that builds upon Maine traditions and values. We send our compliments to Bob and Jennifer Mills and their family for helping lead the way.
Alan Hutchinson
executive director
Forest Society of Maine
Bangor
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Words and memories
I wish to thank everyone who participated in the writing of the article “Death Boat” (BDN, Dec. 2) regarding the drowning of 12 children at Gardiner Lake on June 19, 1936, and a special thanks to Miriam Doherty for telling the story.
For years, all I had were my mother’s (Kathleen Eaton Burns) and grandmother’s (Martha Eaton Grant) memories of that tragic day. I never knew my uncle, Roland Eaton, since I was born 10½ years later, but I remember my family never got over that day. All I have are pictures of Uncle Roland when he was 11 and 3.
Since my mother’s death in 1986, I have tried to find articles about this but didn’t know the date that it occurred. I was very moved to read this some 72 years later.
I would appreciate it if someone could steer me in the right direction to get a copy of the book “Remember the Children,” written by Vicki Reynolds Schad.
Pamela Burns King
Glenburn
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Real gentlemen
Another good reason to honor Dr. Sidney R. Block: My wife had been one of his patients for several years before her death due to various medical problems in early September 2002. A few weeks later I received a letter from the American College of Rheumatology stating that a donation in her memory had been made by Dr. Block, Dr. Gratwick and staff. Real gentlemen of the old school.
Henry D.M. Sherrerd
Dexter