Schneck ballot
I was happy to see John Schneck on the primary ballot last week because I know that he will stand up for Bangor in the Maine House of Representatives. John has shown his dedication to the Bangor community for many years by living, working and raising his kids here. We need politicians in Augusta who have shown this type of commitment to the area they represent.
Unlike some politicians, John is not running to score partisan points or for political gain. He is running because he genuinely wants to help find common-sense solutions to pressing issues, the failing economy, the rising cost of health care, and declining access to high-quality public education. I hope that everyone in Bangor will join me in supporting John Schneck for state representative this November.
Christopher Urquhart
Bangor
Court ruling
I understand the United States Supreme Court’s decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I just don’t agree with it.
First, I can’t get past the concept that government has now made me a forced consumer, to buy a product, solely for my personal use, simply because I breathe. (Please do not try the car insurance comparison. Nobody makes you drive. But if you wish to live, you must literally breathe!) If I do not, then they “tax” me. Second, government attorneys argued that this tax at times was not a tax, but a penalty. Well, legally speaking, it cannot be both. Thus government decided that it would be a penalty.
But wait! Chief Justice John Roberts changed it back to a tax in his recent ruling. That creates another problem, which could still make the law unconstitutional. Per the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 7, “All Bills for raising Revenue [you know, TAXES] shall originate in the House of Representatives.” The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act originated in the U.S. Senate!
It seems the Supreme Court overlooked this point. Another point: When and what will government force me to buy next? Someday down the road, that door will get kicked wide open and the Affordable Care Act will be used as precedence. Fellow citizens, the incline on the slide to socialism just increased dramatically.
Greg Paquet
Smithfield
How many families are cheated
With Memorial Day behind us and July Fourth near it’s appropriate to consider our gratitude for our military and veterans. Our government determines who our enemies are; usually some country, its government and its military. Humans like ourselves suffer death, injury, absence from loved ones and financial loss.
On another level we are constantly fighting against poverty and injustice here. We have made progress because injustice stirs indignation to respond somehow. My grandfather burned to death in a paper mill in Maine at age 43. My father died of leukemia while working in that same mill at 45 (chemical exposures?).
A couple years ago I was forced to retire because of severe cervical spinal stenosis, a shoulder that needs joint replacement, severed nerve in my arm, etc. etc. I sought relief through workers’ compensation. The hearing officer ruled favorably on every point EXCEPT giving the company a total offset because of the pension I earned.
This is contrary to Maine law. I appealed to the Maine Supreme Court who declined to hear the case as they do in 96 percent of these cases. Workers’ compensation is going to reinstitute an appellate division someday. I wonder how many injured workers in Maine and their families have been cheated in the same manner. Robbing families makes it personal when justice is denied.
Jeff Wheeler
Westport Island
Taxpayer costs
Thank you to Maine Community Colleges for having the good sense to realize that schools cannot justifiably pass on state subsidy cuts to local taxpayers or students as was done recently by the board of RSU 19.
Raising school taxes or tuition is not the right way to cope with inflation or state subsidy cuts which should be absorbed within the school system and administration by cutting costs and positions as necessary instead of raising taxes or tuition during severe, prolonged recession.
Hadley Smith
Palmyra
Garden votes
A year ago the Bangor Community Garden began providing space for folks to plant flowers and produce for the table. It was an immediate success and had to expand to meet the demand. This summer it has grown again.
The garden is now in competition for a grant with 14 other communities around the country. The grant will help with improvements to better serve the public. Five of the 15 communities will split $20,000. The award will be based on the five who attain the most votes.You can vote at www.deloachcommunitygardens.com. The Bangor Garden is on the bottom row of photos, second from the right. Voting can be done every day until Aug. 6.
This is a chance for all of the BDN readers to pull together to help out a very worthy project. I hope you will all take the time to vote every day until the end of the contest.
Dusty Fisher
Brewer
Solitary confinement
Like the Maine Department of Corrections and the ACLU of Maine (BDN, June 19, 2012), the Maine Council of Churches submitted testimony to hearings on solitary confinement before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. Prolonged solitary confinement causes severe psychological harm and violates the inherent God-given dignity and worth of every person.
Maine is leading the way in drastically reducing the use of segregation and using better alternatives to modify prisoner behavior. As Commissioner Joseph Ponte explained in a video interview with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, “The … data we’re pulling is showing that what we’re doing now is safer than what we were doing before.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, who convened last week’s hearing, said: “We can no longer slam the cell door and turn our backs on the impact our policies have on those incarcerated and the safety of our nation.”
As people of faith, we agree. Paying attention to what happens behind the prison walls is part of our moral responsibility toward the common good. Corrections professionals here and elsewhere have moved beyond the antiquated “lock them up and throw away the key” attitude and we as citizens ought to support them. Mississippi, which reduced its use of solitary by 75 percent, saw a marked decrease in prison violence. We believe the alternatives being used here will benefit all of Maine in years to come.
Jill Saxby
Portland
Greg Paquet, it is not socialism when you buy your health insurance from PRIVATE insurance companies. Socialized medicine is getting your healthcare FROM the govt.
Like the VA hospitals.
As a veteran who lost my insurance at retirement I used the VA benefits I earned by serving my country to help me until I turned 65 and got on Medicare. Call it socialism if you want but it works and it saves many lives. Socialism is not a bad thing and Capitalism isn’t a bad thing. A combination of the two is what is needed. If people don’t want to buy insurance then they should not go to the emergancy room for care and if they get in an accident and the ambulance shows up they should feel free to turn them back,after all ,they didn’t ask for the help . My bet is that they will take advantage of both.
Agreed.
Under Obomneycare(ACA) if you are among the predicted 1% who choose not to buy insurance, you will pay a penalty(tax). You are not required to buy insurance but you will pay a penalty as a free rider.
Under ACA you will pay another penalty whether you buy insurance or not. The penalty will amount to a huge loss of freedom. Obamacare was 2700 pages long. The federal regulations to implement the law might be 10 times lengthier just like all federal regulations are compared to the laws they implement. This massive amount of new federal regulations will impact everyone, but not in a good way as the government grows both in size and power considerably. An Act or a combination of legislative acts far smaller and simpler in scope would have addressed the shortcomings of the current healthcare system. Past attempts to enact such measure failed because legislative supporters of a national healthcare system were afraid simpler and smaller measures would delay their quest of a national healthcare system.
If ACA is not repealed or drastically cut, I’m afraid this country is headed for some serious problems involving both the federal budget and a loss of personal freedoms like we have never seen before.
The CBO has predicted that Obomneycare will lower the deficit.
It is the law of the land as judged by the SCOTUS.
It is the end of the beginning. Improvements will be made as needed.
I don’t think you bothered to check out your facts. Here is CBO’s latest prediction:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/1175831
As you can see the projected cost has doubled since the Obamacare was signed into law. Usually CBO initial projections are low. Watch what happens two years from now when CBO releases new estimates. The projected cost will probably double again.
Good thing you found a source that only provides part of the “CBO’s latest prediction” right?
The CBO finds that Obamacare will lower the deficit, the repeal of it would increase the deficit.
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/03-13-Coverage%20Estimates.pdf
The CBO is a Federal government agency. Nothing they can be trusted.
Then don’t quote them. If you’re going to quote them when it’s convenient and then dismiss them when it’s not, you’re nothing but a hypocrite.
I don’t believe that I have ever quoted the CBO.
The only thing that I WOULD quote the CBO for is to prove that they can not be trusted and that they are wrong as often as they are right.
I was going to post a dozen links that support the increase in the deficit, but in my research I found there are just as many that say the opposite. Even the CBO doesn’t have a clue about what Obamacare is going to do, but most of the actual economists agree that it’s going to be a burden and will definitely raise the deficit if taxes aren’t raised considerably. As the news keeps coming out, it is sure that starting in January taxes will be going up, especially on the middle class. And these taxes will increase every year for the first few years until they reach an unsustainable rate. In other words, without the massive tax hikes already written into the bill, it will increase the deficit. With the massive tax hikes already written into the bill, it will be such a burden on the middle class that it will bankrupt most of us.
Repeal this monstrosity now. Vote for America in November.
I’m afraid you are all too correct in your assessment of Obamacare. Instead of fixing the flaws and deficiencies of the healthcare system that conservatives in Congress repeatedly tried to address, it goes way, way overboard. The liberal arm of Congress refused past proposals by conservatives merely because it was “not sufficiently comprehensive” for them, like what they believe a government controlled healthcare system ought to be.
The ACA is the conservative plan. The mandate comes from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The President said again and again that he would entertain all Republican suggestions and actually signed onto some, like tort reform. Nothing was good enough for the Republicans because they do not care about the less fortunate among us. I am sorry to see that you continue to publish falsehoods.
It does not matter who proposed this abortion, it is wrong.
You’re full of garbage. Quit making stuff up.
You don’t like the facts so you just create your own. When you don’t like what someone more credible than you has to say, you just dismiss it and then cite imaginary sources. It’s so ridiculous.
Also, voting for Obama isn’t a vote against America. What a disgusting assertion that is.
The link below will give you the actual projections by the CBO. The deficit is projected to be lower with ACA than without it.
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43080
How will expanding Federal spending lower the deficit. It is not logical.
What freedoms are we losing?
Here are 5 freedoms we will lose, and it’s from CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/health_care_reform_obama.fortune/
None of those are freedoms we will lose according to the article. there was a lot of “could mean”, “may mean” or “might mean” in that article. Typical RW article to scare people with what might be.
Right Wing article? On CNN? I think not.
CNN is Fox light.
Yes it was a typical RW hit piece.
The freedom to select your doctor, to choose the type of healthcare you and your doctor want for yourself, the freedom to purchase the type of health insurance suitable for you without having to violate your religious conscience. These are some examples of the freedoms lost. There will certainly be more lost ones as regulations for Obamacare are being written and implemented. We have only seen the tip of the iceberg so far.
The freedom to choose your doctor unless said doctor is not in your network freedom?
The freedom for you and your doctor to chose the tests you need, as long as the insurance company says it’s ok?
As for making you chose a healthcare plan that violates your religious conscience would require you to either take things you don’t want or provide for otheres things you don’t want. No one is forcing you to take something you don’t want and it is not upto you to decide what others take for meds based on your religious conscience.
If one is not happy with one’s insurance plan, he or she can always find another one. That availability will not be there once the government plan is fully implemented.
Under Obamacare all plans will cover contraceptives. You won’t be given any choice but to BUY one with such coverage even if paying for this coverage is against your conscience. The issue that is causing angst therefore IS NOT ABOUT BEING FORCED TO USE CONTRACEPTIVES as you framed it. Rather it is about PAYING FOR contraceptive coverage against one’s conscience. Look, I won’t argue this point any further because my argument is very straight forward: Many Americans including myself strongly object to paying for coverage we don’t want for ourselves or for anybody else. We don’t want to be an accessory to something we consider evil especially when innocent human life in its most nascent form is at issue.
So if I am a Jehovah’s Witness I should be able to buy an insurance pan that does not allow blood transfusions?
Not everyone who works at a Catholic institutionis a Catholic so why should they not be able to have coverage for contraception. Besides the FACT that CONTRACEPTIVE COVERAGE REDUCES THE INSURANCE PREMIUMS for the patients so you ARE NOT PAYING MORE FOR CONTRACEPTION COVERAGE.
This weird new angle of “religious freedom” is going to result in less freedom and more divisiveness if it continues.
“Religious freedom” is so intangible that one could simply say that something is “against my religion” and be allowed to discriminate.
“Sex before marriage is against my religion” will affect unwed mothers.
“Interracial mixing is against my religion” will affect couples of different races.
“Homosexuality is against my religion” will affect gays and lesbians and their families.
The list goes on. Could this also apply to companies that have religious employees who feel that coverage offered by the company is “against” the employee’s religion? Should Betty work to end coverage of birth control at the store where she works because she thinks it’s wrong? Is it really going to be better once pharmacists, doctors, therapists, florists, bus drivers, teachers, counselors, town clerks, and everyone else can decide that they don’t have to do their job or that they must change policies for everyone if it involves “being an accessory to something they consider evil”?
Well said, much better than me.
I’ve also notice when someone speaks of “Religious Freedoms” they mean their religious freedom not all religion’s freedoms.
People who work at Catholic institutions are not obligated to work there. If they don’t like the insurance coverage being offered by their employer they are free to seek and secure employment elsewhere. After all, isn’t employment a contract between an employer and employee?
The US Court system had ruled that parents may not deny their children life-saving blood transfusions. Here the courts have made a decision based on where the overwhelming interests lie between the parents’ 1st Amendment Right to freedom of religion and the children’s more basic Right to life itself. It has not made a similar determination with regard to contraceptives intended to prevent conception or end an early pregnancy. That determination I believe will be made sometime in the not-too-distant future.
We are not talking about parents here we are talking about organizations enforcing their beliefs on non-believers.
So what about adults who need a blood transfusion or organ transplant and their provider has a “religious conscience” not to provide these services? Or maybe a religious organization has a problem with female doctors because they are “unclean” one week out of four? Slippery slope, you know.
But with the exchanges that are supposed to be created, the consumer will have one stop shopping to find a better insurance plan, if they wish, and which we don’t currently have.
And, again, insurance policies that include coverage for contraception not only cost less (saving you money) but cut down on unwanted pregnancies, therefore reducing the number of abortions (which Iwould think you would be in favor of).
Like the Republicans, you are concerned not one wit about the 30 million americans who will now receive health coverage from the ACA.
That accusation by you of not being concerned about uninsured Americans is an unfounded and unjust. I have felt all along the system needed fixing to keep costs down and affordable to more Americans. Although Obamacare does that to some extend, I believe it goes way,way overboard. Now why would you accuse me of being unconcerned for others? Are you trying to squelch my voice?
Not at all, I am responding to your opinion with my opinion..
I see that even here you say ‘affordable to ‘more’ Americans, not to ‘all’ Americans..
I have listened to interview after interview with Republican after Republican and it is obvious that unfortunately they have zero interest in insuring the uninsured. Where is their plan ?
They have no plan other then the ‘no tax plan’ and to repeal the ACA. President Obama has said over and over , to the Republicans, please give us your ideas, we welcome them. And what did the Republicans do, they obstructed and obstructed at every turn. They did this and continue to do this so that our President will fail. Well, he has not failed and while there is much in this bill that could and should be better, there is much that is very good. It is a beginning and will only get better. It would be nice if the Republicans would put country before party. I will not be holding my breath.
Actually, while Socialism sounds reasonable, it destroys the society that practices it.
If society guarantees me a living then I have no reason to become self supporting. If everyone has this attitude then nobody will be supported.
Socialism guarantees that everyone will have nothing, except for a royal class.
Destroyed like Sweden? From the CIA World Factbook: “Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a highly skilled labor force.
If Sweeden is so freaking perfect, you can move to that world wide bastion of world progress.
Progress in peace, medicine, science, technology, helping the poor worldwide …
So, are you saying that Sweden ISN’T destroyed, then…?
And why the outrage? Those were the CIA’s words, not mine!
Sweden can not be destroyed, there is very little about the mighty country of Sweden that can be envied.
I am sorry. VA medical coverage IS NOT SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.
By definition socialized medicine, or any other service or benefit, is yours because you exist. Whereas VA medical service is EARNED, by service done by those that earn it for the benefit of the citizens of the US.
To say otherwise is incorect. To repeat that incorect statement when shown it’s falicy is lying.
That’s what I was thinking. I still have very mixed feelings about this decision, but yes, I would think that a plan that would make something like Medicare mandatory for everybody in the country would be Socialized medicine.
Then again, so what? Is this the Darwin States of America where only the fittest survive, or are we not allowed to take care of everyone? As pointed out by other commenters, there are PLENTY of examples of socialism-style programs.
While I think that Communism is still something that we need to be very mindful of (no matter how wonderful China’s Ministry of Propaganda makes that country seem), socialism-style programs aren’t going to lead us to become the USSR circa 1954.
Jill-
Prisons have become little more than “crime school” in a day spa environment. Prisoners get three squares, heated/cooled quarters, access to recreational opportunities, cable tv, and internet access. All these amenities are given to them free of charge.
Not only do we as law abiding citizens have to pay if we want these things for ourselves, but we are forced to pay for them to be given to somebody who has broken our laws.
To make prisons truly a punishment, prisoners should be kept in solitary 24 hours a day from the moment they are processed in until the week before their release, give them time to re-acclimate to light and human contact.
I have little sympathy for prisoners, there is a very simple way to avoid being one, don’t break the law.
Ever been in prison? No? Then you have absolutely no credibility referring to prison as a “spa.”
We need to decide as a community whether the purpose of incarceration is punishment or rehabilitation.
First things first, the amenities need to go away. Prison is most definitely for punishment. We don’t “owe” prisoners rehabilitation, they are their because of their own actions.
The anemities like 3 meals a day and heat in the winter and cooling in the summer?
Unless you want prison to be even more violent than it already is, both for the prisoners and the prison staff, you do not take away TV, recreational activities (such as they are) or even internet access (some prisoners are going to college or getting their GED’s on line). Idle hands are the Devil’s tools, remember.
And it does not cost that much for a prison to provide TV and internet. That is a small percentage of the costs of keeping a prison safe and runnign. the vast majority of the costs is in keeping the building running (utilities, maintenance and insurances) and the cost of the employees.
Plus you are forgetting the most important thing 95% of all prisoners eventually get released back into society. Do you want them to be even more violent then they were when they went in?
all Im saying is that if I have to pay my hard earned money to heat/cool my house, to have more than two channels, or to be able to post on this site, then why should criminals get these things for FREE?
I dont care that the cost to the prisons is low, it costs me good money to have these things for myself.
Prisons are not going to get more violent if the heat is set at 55 or the ac is set to 80. Remember, there were prisons before TV and internet and society got along just fine if not better than we do today.
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your money is no better than any ones, we all have to pay into the system,
get over it.
We should be rehablitating prisoners because 95% of them get released back into society and if they do not have better life skills when they leave they will revert back to what they know (and be more violent at it).
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No, we “owe” prisoners rehabilitation for the good of society as a whole.
Have a great 4th of July, everyone. Celebrate our freedom, and remember the sacrifices that were made in order for us to enjoy those freedoms. And, fly your colors, be proud of the most beautiful flag on the planet, and be proud to be an American.
God bless America.
Hadley Smith, is there any tax you like out there? You seem to have a vengance against RSU 19 in every shape and form.
When–not last week but several weeks ago, Mr. Urquhart–I voted at the Civic Center someone stood outside like a statue and refused to disclose his identity, much less his party. My polite inquiry was met with silence. Walking away from this weird guy, I asked someone else who he was. It was John Schenck, whose party affiliation isn’t in your letter. You might tell your man that if he wishes to remain silent on voting day, what’s the point of standing there? I would not vote for someone who doesn’t grasp the rather basic point about identifying oneself to potential voters.
Jeff Wheeler; good letter.
Greg Paquet: get over it. Take two aspirin and call Romney in the morning. Be sure to ask him why what’s good for MA is not good for the country.
Intersting stats in Monday’s USA Today. Maine has one of the lowest percentages of uninsured in the nation. The lowest, Mass. (with RomneyCare) of course.
Bravo Jill and Bravo Maine. If we as a society decide we do not these people in our midst we have an obligation to see that they are treated humanely.
Greg, you definitely are unhappy about the Supreme Court decision and that is your right. To have your own opinion and to express it. Happy Birthday America! But you really undermined your own argument when you went down the slippery slope of the socialism rant. Lost your footing and slid right into hyperbole. Someone argued that you are taxed for making no charitable contributions which I thought was an interesting little twist in the argument. An example for being taxed for not doing something. But I do not want to have my premiums higher because there are those using the health care system who do not carry insurance. It is that simple. And, that is the argument that won…… although it did have to be supported constitutionally once is was challenged. And, personally I think penalty is a better word for the fee assessed.
Watch the video produced by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture on solitary confinement at http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=591&Itemid=418 . What many don’t consider is that most people held in solitary will be released back into our communities at some point so it just makes sense to focus on how to support incarcerated men and women to improve their behavior, not do more harm. I applaud Commissioner Ponte and the MDOC’s efforts to use research and data to change an outdated, ineffective system of incarceration.
Greg Paquet, it would prove pretty difficult to “slide towards socialism” on an inclining slope.
@Greg Paquet….Oh Greggie……ever hear of Social Security and Medicare and Income Taxes ? ALL federally mandated. ALL making us forced consumers, to buy mandated nationalized products (SS and Medicare) and we ALL have mandated income taxes to pay (which pay for socialized services like public schools, fire, police, libraries, etc., etc.) solely for our personal use, simply because we breathe…….Welcome to America Greg……did you actually think SCOTUS was NOT going to find National Healthcare anything but Constitutional?