Media shirks their duty
On Tuesday, a Bangor Daily News headline read: “Probe clears Obama in debacle on Senate seat.” Whew. But wait. The probe was done by Obama’s lawyer. How ridiculous is that?
Every lawyer says her or his client is innocent. There was no credible probe. Why does the BDN print such a silly storyline?
Everyone knows that Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, was in direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. It’s undisputed. Does anyone really believe that Emanuel spoke with Blagojevich without Obama’s knowledge and consent? David Axelrod, Obama’s chief adviser, told us weeks ago that Obama had already spoken with the governor about acceptable names for appointment to the Senate. When you elect a Chicago machine politician, you have to expect Chicago machine politics.
The scurrying by the media to clear Obama and his staff from the scandal in Illinois is remarkable. There was a time when newspapers reported the results of real investigations as factual “news”; they once looked for and reported truth.
Gerrard Rudmin
Dexter
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Who killed bill?
Judging by the coverage in the print media and Internet news, a major story now is the Associated Press exposure of Freddie Mac’s success in getting certain Republican senators to kill a bill that would have created regulations. This involved a 2005 Senate bill that would have imposed regulations on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and ostensibly would have averted or softened the home mortgage problems that precipitated the current financial situation.
The AP story exposed lobbying efforts conducted by Freddie Mac that “covertly” targeted several Republican senators. The end result was that the regulator bill died due to lack of support by these senators. After reading this story, one can only wag a finger at the Republicans for failing to take action that may have averted some of our current problems.
The truth is, that bill, S109, was sponsored by Republicans. It was opposed by all Democratic senators, and supported by most Republicans, just not enough to override the Democrats’ opposition. So who’s to blame for its demise? Well, it was a nice try by the AP to misdirect blame.
For additional reading I recommend an Internet search of the Federal Election Commission reporting of campaign contributions by Freddie Mac. Seems our president-elect is near the top of the list along with other prominent Democratic senators.
Dale Sprinkle
Surry
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Heading off disasters
While the economic crisis has dominated headlines the past few months, it should be pointed out that 2008 was the year Maine took the lead in correcting major flaws in our ability to respond to disasters. This hurricane season, Hurricanes Ike and Gustav were devastating. But their toll on human lives could have been worse if not for the foresight and commitment of Sen. Susan Collins, who was instrumental in harnessing the resources of the American Red Cross, academia and new technology in a way that has revolutionized disaster relief operations.
Under Sen. Collins’ leadership and vision, the University of Maine has entered into a partnership with Global Relief Technologies to develop highly sophisticated Geographic Information Systems, or GIS capabilities.
Utilizing Global Relief Technologies’ rapid data collection and internet analysis software and new, developed-in-Maine, cutting-edge “SmartPhone” and satellite imagery technology, teams of American Red Cross volunteers were able to provide 17,000 damage assessments from across Louisiana immediately following Hurricane Gustav and more than 10,000 immediately following Hurricane Ike in Texas. These were collected by those determined Red Cross volunteers in record time and in formats that allowed the Red Cross to accelerate its internal and external relief processes. The damage assessments helped decision makers decide how best to respond and speed relief to those most in need.
Sen. Collins saw the potential benefits of this advanced technology for the Red Cross, for Homeland Security and for the many types of complex relief situations our nation will face in the future.
Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson (USAF ret.)
chairman, Global Relief Technologies
Portsmouth, NH