Gun control
I write to you on a very important topic, gun control, which I’ve focused on for my ninth grade project. I understand why most people would think that keeping guns away from the public would make the environment that much safer. But according to Gun Control Facts by Paul Harvey, studies show that a complete ban on guns happens to raise robberies, armed robberies, manslaughter, and kidnappings, even though murder decreased.
This is what happened to the Australians when they banned guns in 1996, it did more harm than good. Australia isn’t the only country where this has happened. Canada, France, and Japan have had problems banning guns in their country. High gun ownership countries have less suicide and homicide ratings per 100,000 people than countries with low gun ownership countries like Japan, Denmark, and France.
Vermont is one of the safest five states in the country. Vermont citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission, yet for 10 years in a row, Vermont has remained one of the top five safest states. Criminals will avoid gun-carrying citizens, stated by Gun Owners of America. Even when guns are banned and there is a home invasion and immediate help is needed, the police are minutes away.
Hunter Strauch
Lamoine
LePage spending habits
Governor LePage thinks the win in the Wisconsin recall election helps his anti-spending agenda. Wrong. That win helps the Koch brothers and other wealthy donors believe that if $60,000,000 can buy Wisconsin voters then $600,000,000 or more could buy presidential election voters too. And those rich donors are well on their way to spending that.
If LePage is so concerned about spending maybe he should focus on the campaign spending that is corrupting our democracy.
Nancy Allen
Brooksville
Great, happy family
Reading Pay it Forward about Miriam Kates-Goldman — I was married in Norman, Okla., Nov. 1, 1945, on furlough, then went to Okinawa to finish my 46-months with the military. I was on Eniwetok, Marshall Islands and Nagasaki and lived to come home. I am 90 years old now.
My wife Beth was in the Navy and stationed in Norman. After the war we settled in Winn. We had three daughters. Beth passed on two years ago. I have a great, happy family.
Hazen Trueworthy
Winn
R&D Bonding
Paul LePage has always claimed he was pro-business. Yet, he recently vetoed the R&D bond that would draw labs, researchers & new business to the state and build employment opportunities for the future. This appears extremely short-sighted to me. You have to wonder, just what is he doing to build the state, despite his claims of success?
All that I’ve seen is LePage tearing things apart that help people, harming kids, the elderly, the poor and the disabled. The richest of our citizens seem to be the only ones benefiting from his policies. The infrastructure is crumbling, the environment is being threatened, human services are cut, education funds are slashed, health care benefits are limited. How can Maine thrive under austerity measures? Austerity programs have been proven to do more harm than good.
Barbara Dietrich
Blue Hill
Dog-eat-dog
Ah, yes, two of my favorite subjects on one OpEd page! (Sunday, June 2-3, 2012) Daryl Dejoy’s stirring article on coyotes was compassionate and intelligent. I, too, am disgusted with Gov. LePage’s signing LD 372 into law, giving hunters a stipend to hunt, trap, burn, lynch, etc., coyotes. When hunters set “their dogs” on other dogs (coyotes) isn’t that “Dog Fighting”, and isn’t dog fighting against the law?
Then you have Bruce Poliquin being a “bump on a log” (probably from one of the trees in his mansion’s yard he doesn’t pay his share of taxes on) about the Housing Authority study. (Why is he on the Housing Authority Board anyway?) He disagrees with the study’s results, so he can’t help himself but jump on that log in his million-dollar yard. I am fascinated with the air of dishonesty being projected by Poliquin.
Do his supporters like dishonesty? I don’t. I guess dishonesty breeds dishonesty.
I suggest Poliquin open up his estate and offer refuge to the state’s coyotes (“allowed” to be hunted 24/7/365). I don’t believe states have the right to annihilate a predator species they wrongfully blame for killing more deer than ticks and human hunters. And the “deer herd hand wringing” goes on and on and on.
Jackie Freitas
Friendship
Conservation priorities
In “ Response to Conservation Priorities,” Sandy George paints a picture of Land Trusts in Maine as a corporate monster privatizing public land.
Born and raised in Montville, Maine, I have always admired the people who have protected our local lands from tacky and out-of-date development plans. Which is why, at 25 years old, I am the youngest person on the board of directors of the Sheepscot Wellspring Land Alliance (SWLA).
As with most land trusts, SWLA is run by a group of dedicated and local volunteers whose mission is to preserve local land and ecosystems in Maine in order for it to be protected for generations to come. All of the land we have protected is open to the public at no cost — and we provide trails to boot. A hundred years from now, it will continue to be free from fast food chains, strip malls, and private vacation home properties.
I believe we need to continue to encourage community volunteerism, engagement, and foster a commitment to preserving our local and natural heritage in Maine.
Emily Horton
Washington
Applauding MEA
I write in response to Harriet Real of Eastport’s questioning of the relevance or benefits of the Maine Education Association’s support of gay marriage. Gay marriage is an issue that has progressed to civil rights stature in our country like slavery, women’s suffrage and desegregation.
It is no longer acceptable to view homosexuality as deviant or unacceptable under the laws of our nation. The First Amendment gives one the right to believe so and, therefore, not practice homosexuality. It does not, however, give one the right to force their view on others. Teachers are the front line in seeing that public education teaches our children the difference between right and wrong. Discrimination against gay couples and their children, bullying and tacit approval of such by teachers is wrong. I applaud the MEA’s as well as President Obama’s position.
Robert Richard
Belfast
Bravo Emily. I applaud those who put their property in land trusts. Someone has to keep big business from grabbing up all of our resources. And, I do want some portion of my taxes to go into the Land for Maine’s Future future for that very reason. I do not have enough money to buy land to put into a trust, but combining my dollars with those of other taxpayers means more of Maine is reserved for us. I am looking forward to kayaking Donnell Pond which has acreage protected by LMF.
Hunter,
Good effort. To write convincingly in support of one position over another is a great way to begin learning how to think critically about what is going on in the world around you. But…your arguments will be far more convincing with better sources. I am not an expert on gun control, but it seems that the information you have used is frequently from biased sources. Try finding empirical studies from which to present your facts and start by thinking about, then questioning the information sources. Similarly, try to think beyond the statistics. If Vermont really does have high rates of gun ownership and low rates of gun violence, then why is this different from another place that has one of these conditions but not the other? What about places that have both high gun ownership and high rates of gun violence? Imagine making your argument to people from both of these places. What would they say to you about this topic? What would you say to them in response?
Hunter may not have given much to support his facts but you have given none to support calling his “biased”.
And lets remember. You only 250 words to make your case here guys.
Here ya go Hunter. Maybe this info will help out. Dunno if it can be classified as empirical, but it seems more official that a shady email citation.
http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
Just google “US crime statistics vs gun control” and you should get plenty of reliable sources.
Its obvious if you take time to look at the sources. Oh, and I am not writing a position paper like Hunter is. Advice is different from politics. Most learn that in school.
Hunter Strauch says it is a bad idea to ban all firearms — but nobody has proposed banning all firearms. He is complaining about something nobody is proposing. Okay, it’s his ninth grade project, and so I should give him some slack. But let’s not worry too much about something that nobody is proposing. Somebody is leading him astray if they are telling him that banning firearms is any kind of real possibility.
Excellent advice.
Bravo! More Mainers should watch Rachel Maddow. It has been proven through statistic that Washington Lobbies bought the vote for the Citizens-United case, which was wholly supported by the Republican Party – that of our dogmatic-and-unquestioning governor – and the same who are actively seeking to prevent minority, Democratic and Independent voters from being able to vote in November.
Beware Dark Money. Believe No Marketing. Overturn Citizens United.
Get all the money out of elections…federally fund them today.
Like they did in the former USSR?
Rality check, please. In the former USSR you could vote for the Communist Party candidate or … nobody. That’s quite a bit different from our system. They didn’t actually have election campaigns. The Communist Party candidate got all of the press coverage, and there was no opposition. There was no actual election campaign, and nobody needed to fund it.
Why do right-wingers have to brainlessly compare everything to socialism or communism? Have you run out of insults?
Federally fund them with what? The cupboard is bare…
“dogmatic-and-unquestioning governor – and the same person actively seeking to prevent, Democratic and Independent voters from being able to vote in November”.
This sounds like a maketing ad, a pure emotional appeal that has no basis in reality. Folks beware of that nasty, nasty governor and all that dark money, money and marketing ads that causes people to respond against the good and pure Democrats who have it all together unlike their opponents.
Emily Horton – Where do you live? Do you not live in a house on a piece of land. Would you deny those who want the same thing you have? How selfish of you. Your attitude is “I have mine. Too bad for the rest of you.”
No it isn’t. you’re trying to manipulate the content of her argument…and not doing it well.
Ms. Dietrich, you have nailed the governor for being wedded to ideology and divorced from reality. He wishes to lower Maine to the poverty level of Mississippi by his failure to invest in our people and our industries.
Some parts of Maine would love to reach the level of wealth that Mississippi enjoys.
Mississippi is dead last in per capita income as of 2009. Mainers earn 25% more, per capita, than Mississippians.
I wonder what it costs to heat a home in Mississippi. What is the cost of living there? Taxes, utilities etc.?
Can you google? Why should I continue to educate you if you can’t be bothered to educate yourself?
Oh that nasty, nasty governor! He hates people. He wants all the people to be poor for the sake of the rich. He doesn’t want you to vote. He wants to deny you all your rights. He is killing the unions because he doesn’t want working people to make a decent wage. He wants to starve you by taking away food stamps. He wants to take away your medicine. Now he wants to impoverish this state to become dirt poor like Mississippi. He doesn’t want you to pursue happiness, etc. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, he is divorced from reality.
PS: Maybe the liberals on this page could supply more information to “enlighten” all of us.
So true and due to the fact of all the pious baloney sandwiches he has eaten, he is well fed in those aspects.
Might sound like it, but my comments are based in fact, not rhetoric. Educate your self. I did.
Might sound like it, but my comments are based in fact, not rhetoric. Educate your self. I did.
Do you really believe that it is LePage’s goal to impoverish the fine citizens of Maine?
Do they belive it, Yes. The only way to support the citizens according to them is to lower the quality of life for everyone except for those that agree with them. Because you can not possibly bring everyone upo to average without lowering at least as many.
It is the result of his policies, whether it is his wish. Understand that the rich in Mississippi do quite well.
Hunter Strauch–You have learned a very important lesson. With the right “facts”. one can prove anything.
Barbara Dietrich: very good letter. Senators Collins and Snowe have apparently agreed, with enthusiasm, to co-chair Gov. LePage’s re-election campaign. In terms of loyalty to the richest Americans, the three of them are virtually identical.
Nancy; we live in a representitive republic, not a democracy. The two are distinctly differernt.
Ben Franklin said “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what’s for lunch. A Republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.”
It’s true that, although they were great men, our Founding Fathers were not perfect men. They created a republic that was to be ruled by elites — property-owning white males, who would elect state legislatures that would, in turn, elect a higher elite, the Electoral College. This more elite group, the Electoral College, would elect the president. The people were not to be trusted.
But over time, we decided that even white men who did not own property should be given the vote. Later, we freed the slaves, and gave the vote to “colored” men, and then to women, and then ended the discriminatory laws that kept most blacks from voting. We also started electing presidential Electors directly, and electing Senators directly. In other words, we are no longer just a “representative republic,” we are now a democratic representative republic — or, for short, a democracy.
North Korea is a representative republic. How are we different from them? We’re a democracy, and they’re not.
Cuba, Syria, China, and North Korea are also representative republics. What makes us different from them? We are a democratic representative republic, which is also know as a democracy.
New England town meetings are “direct democracy.” That is, all the voters who wish to participate gather in one room and vote directly on such things as the town budget. You can’t do this on a national scale, so we have representative democracy — we elect people to Congress, and they vote on the budget.
So we are a representative republican democracy, or a democratic representative republic. That’s a long name, so for short, we are a democracy. That’s what makes us different from other representative republics like North Korea.
Hunter, I’m a gun owner and I am not too concerned about gun control. Guns are private property and cannot be outright seized by the U.S. Government, thanks to the constitution. People can worry all they want, it will never happen.
I agree with you all the way outdoor. Almost. While its true that the right to keep and bear arms is a Constitutional right it did not stop the US Army from disarming peaceful, law abiding citizens in New Orleans in the days following Katrina. The Army violated the Posse Comitatus Act by even being there and then they violated the 2nd Amendment by seizing all the guns in town. If you read the 2nd Amendment you won’t find any “except in the case of…” wording.
Hunter, you did a fine job young man. Keep it up. Study and learn all you can. One thing though. That Australian thing? If you’re citing a widely circulated and often posted email from a LEO from Australia, you’ll find it in snopes listed as partially accurate. http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp Sorry mate. I do agree with you that there is no good reason to disarm law abiding citizens leaving them with no way to protect themselves or their families.
I’m not currently a gun owner though I have owned guns in the past. I am a believer in our Constitution however and will stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone else shares that view to support and defend it…so help me God.
Hunter Strauch did a nice job on his ninth grade project, I’m sure. But let’s be realistic. President Obama has made no proposals to take anyone’s guns away, but to the contrary he did sign legislation expanding the rights of gun owners, legislation that allows people to carry concealed weapons in National Parks.
I understand your concern about the New Orleans incident under the previous Republican Administration. That was, in my opinion, an isolated incident. There are no serious proposals out there to take people’s guns away. I know that the gun lobby likes to stir up fears, because every time they get themselves some publicity gun and ammunition sales go up, and they make more money. But realistically, nobody is going to take any guns away.
Hunter, I am very happy to hear that students of your age are aware of the facts on gun control. I am also suprised that a high school will allow such a report, where so many of them are anti gun liberal ruled. Keep up the good work, nice to see open minds and younger generations who know our rights and respect them
Education is not a Liberal endeavor. Hippies did not use their brain-power to produce the best aircraft in the world, for example. Hippies did not discover the vaccine for polio or design and dig the Erie Canal. Nor did Conservatives. Intelligent Americans of many different views did these things. Get over your dogmatic politics. You’re promoting ignorance.
So I guess you are ok with no more pledge of allegiance to the flag also, no more christmas, easter or halloween because of the liberal, oh no we may offend someone way of thinking
Robert Richard, you say “It is no longer acceptable to view homosexuality as deviant or unacceptable under the laws of our nation.” But what if homosexuality isn’t deviant behavior? Aren’t our children supposed to know the truth? In most schools right now children are not being taught whether homosexuality is deviant or acceptable. So what problem to do have with that? Do you want to interfere with parents’ First Amendment Right by teaching their children to take sides?
Teaching children to take sides is exactly what the MEA is proposing to do. The governor is absolutely correct in his criticism of this organization gone errant.
As usual you make no sense, but the more you write the more your personality comes through.
Judging from your 50 or so past replies including this one, it seems you have made it a mission to take me down with personal attacks at every turn. I wonder whose personality is really showing through, yours or mine.
Happy to have mine show and sorry to see yours. I am not the one campaigning against other’s civil liberties. You are, and when I see this I will always call you out, as I will when I see you write outright lies.
Since you are counting, that would be 50 or so times that you have spoken out specifically to deny the gay community their full human rights.
I have seen that your polite verbiage masks a very bigoted person. Sad to see.
But isn’t taking sides what this debate boils down to? By setting the standard of what is
considered deviant and what is considered so called normal draws that line. Many argue the natural order of the being is heterosexual, if that is the case then anyone other than those who maintain a heterosexual existence must be defined as deviant? By definition then, many others other than those considered LGBT would be classified as deviant, including those who abstain from sex?
This is an adult issue that should not involve anyone’s school-aged kids. But the MEA has no respect for parental rights unless it’s their own parental rights that are at issue. The organization even wants schools to teach kids to experiment with sex at an age when sex is not even on their radar screens. I’m with the governor on this: leave the kids alone.
Incidentally, the natural order definitely does favor heterosexual relationships. You need not look any further than the psychological, mental, and physical differences between the genders that promotes the human race. Those differences are complementary no less and don’t exist by accident.
It seems to me that our Victorian attitudes toward sex have brought us to this point and these issues. It also seems that the kids are much more accepting of others unlike themselves then the adults. I honestly believe children are more aware of what’s up then adults give them credit for. In addition I believe more kids are crippled by well meaning adults that try to fill their heads with adult level nonsense.
As far as the natural order things go it has been know for ages that ten percent of the population has always been and will always be not heterosexual, throughout history and across civilizations. The only conclusion one can come to is that there is a righteous bunch out there trying to alter the natural order of things. They are both subversive and underhanded in their approach to altering what the Creator has created.
The bottom line is and you know as well as I, this IS all an ideological agenda driven by the rightwing and a bird brained governor who is lead around by the nose and who can’t think or refuses to think for himself.
—-