Reckless with reputations
Innocent until proven guilty is a basic American principle. There must be sufficient evidence presented to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Recently we have seen two charges being made without any evidence presented by either accuser. Charlie Webster indicated that the Democrats steal elections, but did not present any evidence of the theft nor did he even state what elections the Democrats stole.
Mr. Webster should have taken his concerns to the proper authorities. In reality, elections are not stolen by a political party, but by people who are unethical and dishonest.
Susan Cook, secretary of the Maine Democratic Party, accused Senate President Kevin Raye of secretly taping a phone call Ms. Cook made to Raye’s office. Again, no evidence was offered, but Ms. Cook could not go to the proper authorities because it is not illegal in Maine to tape a phone call. She should have never made such an accusation without backing it up with evidence.
It is easy to harm the reputation of person and should not be done lightly. I find her actions to be extremely unethical. Senate President Raye is a man of integrity and I will continue to believe that until someone presents proper evidence to the contrary. I am proud to be a Democrat, but not proud of her actions.
Rep. Emily Cain, minority leader of the House Democrats, has called for Ms. Cook to resign. I emphatically agree. We all need to think before we say something that can hurt a person’s reputation.
Richard A. Gould
Greenville
Let public view steel
All across the country there are pieces of steel from the World Trade Centers. The city of Brewer Fire Department is fortunate to have two pieces (behind locked doors), one in the apparatus bay and one in the future museum.
On upcoming anniversaries, it would be nice for the public to view these items as a remembrance to the 343 firemen, police, rescue personnel and the thousands of people who sacrificed their lives on this unfortunate day.
Paul E. Tower
Brewer
Not second-class citizens
I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have been employed as a university academic (computer science) and as a skilled tradesperson (electronics). I can report that many academics, especially tenured university professors, have a condescending attitude toward skilled tradespeople: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, auto mechanics, computer technicians, dental hygienists and others.
Academics, and lawyers serving in government, have had a much greater, longstanding influence on both secondary and higher education than skilled trades. As a result we have an educational system in Maine geared to earning four-year college degrees which may be of little or no help in getting a well-paying job.
I know lots of skilled tradespeople and most have all the work they can handle and make a very good living; plus, they are just as intellectual as my friends with advanced degrees. Gov. LePage is right to focus our educational system on having our young people learn marketable skills just as much as them earning a four-year college degree, a degree which may not help in getting a decent job here in Maine.
People who have the technical skills to create things, fix things and make them work in our increasingly complex society are certainly not second-class citizens.
Richard de Grasse
Islesboro
Home of the brave
Watching the memorial events for the tenth anniversary of 9/11, one phrase struck me which best tells of what we owe to those who died in those disasters. At the end of The Star Spangled Banner the words “The home of the brave” describes clearly what those victims mean to all of us.
Certainly, those words apply to the firefighters who died trying to save people trapped in the Twin Towers, and those on Flight 93 who forced the plane down in a Pennsylvania field. It’s also true of the 2,500-plus in the two skyscrapers and workers at the Pentagon. They perished bravely too, each striving in their own way to make this “land of the free,” a nation of liberty for all their fellows — a kind of love for mankind, an ideal all of us should follow.
By contrast, the perpetrators of that plot, and by extension other radicals of al-Qaida and the Taliban, will go down in history as ego-driven individuals who are the farthest from and divinity.
For those of us who remain, we can best commemorate their sacrifice by carrying on the ideal of those five words, “the home of the brave,” doing what we can in our personal lives to promote freedom and happiness for all our fellow beings everywhere.
Steve Colhoun
Addison
Personal attack disappointing
A Sept. 12 OpEd in the BDN from a top Republican legislator, Sen. Deborah Plowman, personally attacked Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, the Democratic leader in the Maine House of Representatives. As the assistant Democratic leader, I was disappointed and embarrassed by Sen. Plowman’s snide column calling for the “real house minority leader to please stand up.”
Rep. Cain fights for Democratic principles when we are far apart from the Republicans and compromises for the good of Maine people when it is possible to find common ground. In the minority, Democrats have worked hard to moderate extreme proposals from Republicans. Never during that process has Rep. Cain been disingenuous about where Democrats stand. She stands up everyday on behalf of our values.
Her integrity is second to none. She often says that “the best work we do, we do together.” The Republican health insurance law was pushed through the Legislature with no opportunity for compromise in the House. It was not a measure we worked on together.
I’ve been honored to serve among a group of elected leaders in Augusta who have been praised time and again for our bipartisanship and our civility toward one another in recent years. I strongly believe civility in politics is the key to bridging the gap between our policy differences.
Despite our disagreements on the issues, we still find a way to come together through a fair process. Unfortunately, Sen. Plowman’s column broke with that tradition.
Let’s agree to disagree on the policy and leave the personal attacks aside.
Terry Hayes
Buckfield