AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s recent statement that Maine students are “looked down upon” by people in other parts of the country derives from “life experience,” not any specific incidents or data, according to Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the governor.
“He is a business man. It’s from his life experience of talking to people,” Bennett told the Bangor Daily News on Monday. “While it’s anecdotal, he believes it.”
“I don’t care where you go in this country. If you come from Maine you’re looked down upon,” LePage said during a July 25 press conference at which he and Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen announced an outline for their new education reform initiatives. “Twenty years ago if you came from Maine, they couldn’t wait to get you into their school.”
Bennett said Monday that the administration does not have any documents or specific anecdotes to substantiate that statement.
“It’s clear that the governor’s intentions are in the students’ best interests,” Bennett said. “It’s a reflection that Maine is a lot less competitive than it was 20 years ago. The governor told me in a conversation that we have lost an edge and that our students are falling behind.”
During that same press event, LePage said Maine students needed to take a special test to be admitted to William & Mary, a public college in Virginia. A spokeswoman at the school said that is not true.
According to Bennett, the governor also based his “looked down upon” statement on his assessment of a recent study by Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance & Education Next, which ranked Maine 40th among 41 participating states in terms of its rate of improvement on standardized tests between 1992 and 2011.
“The Harvard study is a clear indication that we’ve become less competitive, and when you are less competitive, you become less marketable,” Bennett said.
Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, Senate assistant minority leader and a member of the Legislature’s Education Committee, took issue with LePage’s interpretation of the Harvard study.
“He told half the story of what half that study found,” Alfond said Monday, citing Maine’s high national ranking for fourth grade math test scores and eighth grade reading and writing test scores.
“The governor’s comment that everyone looks down on the state of Maine was another embarrassing moment for the state and does not reflect the great entrepreneurs, students and teachers we have in Maine,” Alfond said Monday. “It puts Maine in the wrong light. Coming from the chief marketer of the state, it’s exactly the wrong message we want to be sending.”
Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine, said Monday that, although LePage’s statement “probably wasn’t the best way to use the [political] capital that the Harvard study provided him,” it might help him achieve his goal of educational reform.
“I do get the argument he’s trying to make,” said Brewer, who acknowledged that it’s more common for political leaders to rely on documentation rather than “life experience” to make their case for policy changes.
However, during his tenure as governor, LePage has demonstrated that “he makes these kind of statements on a regular basis,” Brewer said. “He does and says things that the average politician wouldn’t do.”
“Regardless of what he said, who’s to say it wasn’t effective?” Brewer said.
LePage’s style makes him unconventional, Brewer said, but “he’s getting policy wins. That’s what counts. You don’t award beauty points. You reward significant policy accomplishments, and he’s getting them.”
“Different people have differing experiences,” Amy Fried, a University of Maine political science professor who also writes a blog for the Bangor Daily News, wrote in an email. “It is common for governors to propose policies that target education, the economy, health care, and quality of life. However, it is unusual for a state’s chief executive, who is interested in attracting businesses and individuals to the state, to discuss the state’s population in a negative way.”
He should know. This guy couldn’t get past the college admission test until they allowed him to take the exam in his native French. He knows a thing or two about needing a helping hand.
you got me laughing… not in a good way really, because you speak the truth
Everyone is laughing at bangorian.
Not everyone.
I think its you who are the joke, djoj. Liepage has been a painful boil on this state’s butt since he took office and you think he’s a beauty mark. The joke is definetely on you.
Truth be told I doubt the governor was tested in his native French. Maybe you can find out for sure if he was.
For the record, Paul LePage war raised in a French speaking home until age 11 when his father beat him up and broke his nose. He was homeless for 2 years until he found menial jobs – his first was shining shoes – to support himself.
He was initially rejected at Husson College due to a poor verbal score on the SAT as a result of English being his secondary language. When given the opportunity to show his written English comprehension skills, he was admitted and eventually became editor of the college newspaper.
His was a story of success from an underprivileged upbringing, newspaper editor, college degree, mayor of Waterville, CEO of a statewide retail store, to governor of the State. Ridicule him all you want but he worked and proved himself unlike many Mainers today who suffer from “poor me” syndrome. This governor knows a thing or two about life’s struggles, unlike the prior liberal self-serving governors of the past 40 years or so. The world needs more people like him who understand what life can be like for those who have to struggle for a living. President Abe Lincoln was someone like him in many respects. Both deserve our admiration, least of all our ridicule.
PS: WOW, 2 HOURS LATER I’VE REAPED 8 NEGATIVE COMMENTS FOR COMPARING GOVERNOR PAUL LEPAGE TO ABE LINCOLN “IN MANY RESPECTS.” WHY CAN’T THEY GIVE RESPECT WHERE RESPECT IS DUE? I WONDER IF ANY OF THESE POSTERS KNOW THE REALITY OF BEING POOR, UNDERPRIVILEGED IN THE TRUEST SENSE, AND PART OF A MINORITY THAT STRUGGLED DESPERATELY FOR A LIVING, ALL COMBINED. WHAT WOULD ABE LINCOLN THINK OF THIS SHOW OF DEMAGOGUERY? ONE THING FOR CERTAIN HE WOULD AGREE WITH, FOR TRYING TO BE TRUTHFUL HE WAS REPEATEDLY CALLED A LIAR. SOUNDS FAMILIAR DOESN’T IT? FINALLY, WHY IS IT SO MANY LIBERALS LIKE TO LABEL THEIR OPPOSITION LIARS AND DO ALL THEY CAN TO DISCREDIT THEM?
You CANNOT compare LePage to Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was an extremely well educated (mostly self-educated), cultured, and compassionate individual. LePage’s values lie elsewhere, in the money pit. Your comparison does not reflect well upon you.
Perhaps in your mind you believe the comparison to Abe Lincoln was not a good choice. As did 20 LIKES who replied to you. I see more of the continued dislike of Gov. LePage and nothing more here. He worked hard to get where he is today and I am thankful for his dedication. If people would be more positive about Maine govt., then perhaps there would be a greater good for all.
If Paul LePage would be more positive about the people of Maine then perhaps there would be more people being positive about him.
The gov. is positive about the people of Maine, often it is difficult to see that in a negative tunnel vision.
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No, Poster hammockbear did not lie. Rather, an opinion obviously not shared by all was aired. No offense here, but many posters use the term “lie” very loosely to serve their own purpose of discrediting anyone who disagree with them. I hope you didn’t mean to insult the governor.
Lie? And just who are the ‘Real People of Maine’?
I must have missed those occasions, please, point them out. Keep in mind that the majority of his comments (pre-Bennett spin) about Maine & her people need to be positive in order for his attitude towards Mainers to be considered positive. Feel free to copy & paste links to your evidence of his positive attitude.
If I may, to some extent I share the governor’s opinion and concern about how Maine education is viewed from the outside. For instance, Maine has been considered one of the worse states in which to do business for more than a few years. Don’t you think that part of the reason for that has to do with the perception of inferior education as well?
Actually, as a business person, that’s probably a little further down the ladder than energy costs, distance from market and business taxes/regulation.
From a personal perspective my entire family (self, husband, adult children) deal with people from around the country and around the world on a professional and personal basis and have never run into this perception of an inferior Maine education. I suspect that if this perception actually exists its on an isolated basis and perhaps is influenced more by specific encounters than as a general perception.
We all have different experiences. I’ve heard some negative remarks about Maine schools before primarily on account of the fact Maine is largely rural (Btw, this is not my shared view). By and large however most views from outside the state are neutral. I suspect most people are primarily concerned about what is going on in their own state and at the national level. I take the governor’s statement concerning the perception of Maine education as a mere opinion. That said, I believe it would benefit Maine if the educational system was considered superior. For that reason I don’t oppose any move to increase that perception if it is matched with reality.
Each day that Governor Le Page goes to work, is a positive . First he sets an example of work ethics, when he goes to his job. I need not bother to copy and paste to links of his positive attitude from the BDN as there is never any positive articles written about the Gov. Nothing is accomplished in the BDN about the Gov. except to stir a hornets next.
I’m glad to learn about this. I’ll be checking it out on the web. Also, my view about this paper has dimmed over the years. Your last statement only confirms my ongoing suspicion.
Healing, you’re absolutely right! LePage’s mind is in the money pit. This state has become one. So you don’t like how he expresses himself. Fine. I don’t like that you’re taking potshots at whawell. Oh well. No one cares how we feel about each other personally. This state has become a money pit. If you can get onto welfare or disability, you’re set for life. Because LePage wants to change this he’s a bad person. I live in a town where 90% of the population is on foodstamps, TANF, MaineCare, etc. If you have to rely on the state to make your living for you, can you really afford an Iphone or steaks and lobster? Most of them, yes. Here’s an example of how bad things have gotten. The local grocery store was training a new person on register. When I went to pay, she didn’t know how to ring in cash. She’d only had to use the EBT machine for 4 hours! My husband went to the ER for a piece of metal in his eye. He had to wait behind a young girl waiting for a pregnancy test. Why pay for it if the state will give it to you for nothing. MaineCare is paying for weightloss surgery for people. Instead of exercising and not eating frozen pizzas everyday, they’ll get the taxpayers (me) to pay for their laziness. But hey, when you can get name brand goodies from the grocery store with foodstamps and you don’t have to work for a living, why not?
90%? Hmmm…where is your data to back that up? ER…people in the ER are seen on first come, first serve basis, unless a bigger emergency occurs, then they (the bigger emergency) are given priority. EBT, having been on foodstamps while I was going through cancer treatments, I can say that EBT only covers FOOD. So, if you need to purchase other incidentals, say toliet paper, tooth paste, laundry soap etc…, you need to use an alternative method of payment. Are you telling me that in FOUR HOURS not a single person purchased non-food items? Puhhhllleeezzz. MaineCare does not pay for any weight loss procedures, I just read the handbook online. If you are gonna BS, at least attempt to make it BELIEVABLE BS. You must be one of LePage’s cronies, and THIS was a proper smackdown – based on fact. See the difference?
Oh I see it. I saw it first hand. In the ER. Waiting for 90 minutes on the results of a blood pregnancy test. Puhhhllleeezzz. Not exactly what I was saying at the time. And yeah, they’re, or rather, I’m paying for lap-band. Because she’s considered morbidly obese. Because she never leaves her apartment except to go to the grocery store and literally buy frozen pizzas, cola and chicken nuggets. I know this because I was behind her in line. And yes, in four hours not a single green bill passed over the counter. I know this because I was filling in for someone who was out sick and was checking out after I clocked out. EBT also has a cash option called TANF. You can buy non food items on this portion of the card. I’ve personally ran the card through the machine for people this way. Ok, so maybe I was exagerating on the 90% part. It might be more like 85%. Sorry about that Heather……..Consider this not a smackdown as you call it. But fact based on PERSONAL experience. And yes, I remember this stuff because it can tick me off like nothing else. Ever seen someone use an entire month’s worth of foodstamps to buy lobster for a feed? Work in a grocery store for a while. Or what about the guy two blocks down who’s bragging that the state just bought 4 new tires for his truck so he could look for a job. Who needs $300 a pop tires to fill out applications? I don’t have them on mine. And I haven’t been on unemployment and foodstamps for close to 2 years either. See the difference between people who abuse it and people who pay for it? This stuff tends to bother the ones who are paying for it.
Actually, I would say this was a pretty effective smackdown. You lost all credibility with your anecdotal evidence. You say you SAW this, so this is the way it is across the board. Additionally, I did work at Shaw’s supermarket, and you are right some people did use their EBT cards for things that weren’t essential. Those people were very few and far between. The majority of people that made EBT purchases were using them appropriately. LePage has been on this witch hunt from the get-go. Don’t you think that if there were wide-spread abuse, his own peeps would have uncovered it by now? They have been rooting about like hogs for truffles, and haven’t come up with more then a few random abuses of EBT. I would love to see proof of the DHHS covering the cost of a $300 tire. Your rant is in the same vein as LePage “so-and-so said that HE saw/heard that so-and-so did this. Keep talking baediab, you are just driving my point home. Thanks for that.:)
Heather, I was simply stating what my town is like. I didn’t say 90% of Maine is on welfare. I don’t live in your town, so I don’t know what your Shaw’s store sees in EBT purchases. Never claimed to. You don’t think that there are way too many people on welfare that shouldn’t be? Maybe MaineCare will pay for glasses for me as apparently I can’t see what’s in front of my face. Bet it won’t be too hard to get on. All I have to say is someone on BDN said I’m not seeing things correctly, or to their way of thinking at least. Or maybe I could just get on disability because apparently I’m completely crazy. Much better reason than the guy in town that is on it because of emphazima. Doesn’t matter that he grows and smokes so much pot that he has stock in Cheetos. But you’re right, Heather. There’s next to no abuse of the welfare and disability system in my town. Thanks for visiting and checking it out though so you know what I’m talking about. I’ll get right on getting that receipt for tires for you.
Wow! Lobster? 4 new tires? Man, I’m missing out. Some of us are getting robbed! I know some people that abuse the system, too. It made me mad to hear them state that they shouldn’t get married bc they’d get more from the state. And here me and my husband are, trying to get off of it. It’s unbelievable what people will do to have more. I always say be happy with what you have. If you want more, GO GET IT! But that’s just me, and that’s just my opinion.
Evidence? Did you record your experience in the ER and at the grocery store?
What town has 90% of it’s population on food stamps? Sounds like a figure you came up with not real facts.
My thoughts exactly
WBT…..see above. The little mailbox debit cards also have a cash function on them. FYI. (after you call me a liar, none of it is hearsay) Live in a small town and see a lot hun.
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You need to start reading…….. I work where the foodstamps get used. If you’re going to comment, please reply to what is actually said. Thanks. Nowhere did I say that “everyone who receives help isn’t worthy or is somehow abusing the system”. And just to clarify, I’m not a busybody. I’m around town a lot. I work. I volunteer with town activities, businesses. You can call me observant, but don’t call me a liar please. You don’t know me. There are some people who genuinely need help. That’s great, fine and dandy. But A LOT of people in THIS town. Stop here…..note I said this town, not your town or the entire state. A LOT of people in THIS town don’t see government help as just that, help. It’s gone beyond a helping hand up from rock bottom. It’s now become a paycheck and a way of life. As for being morbidly obese. I realize that there are legitimate health issues that could cause someone to be this way. But when someone sits, watches tv all day and eats, and gets no exercise other than driving to the grocery store, I don’t think the taxpayers should be footing the bill. And when that person brags that they scammed DHHS to get this paid for by claiming family history, I’m sorry, but I do take that personally. I would gladly pay for a gym membership or personally go for walks or whatever with this person. So please, again, don’t tell me I’m lying and that my “story” is just a “story”. Until you come here and live here, don’t tell me what goes on in my own town.
You do of course remember that Mr. Lincoln was referred to as “Honest Abe” don’t you? Have you heard a lot of people referring to LePage as “Honest Paul”?
I have read mostly nasty comments about our governor in the BDN comments. I am in the dark about our governor being dishonest. Give Facts please.
I am sorry to hear that you are in the dark about Governor LePage being as you put it dishonest. I suggest you start with his inaugural speech and go from there. Good luck.
Actually I do read other papers, I read BDN for amusement.
no doubt that he did alot on his own and that’s where he should have left it. He is nothing more than a tool for the conservative right wing of this country.
Baloney. He is no tool nor a Puppet. Get that straight. He is a man who stands for his beliefs and is doing his Job.
If his” job” is pushing legislation written by ALEC to further the national conservative agenda, then I guess would be right.
There’s a brown ring around your nose ,and it grows and grows and grows.
If LePage was a “tool” for anyone, we wouldn’t be having this nice lively conversation, now would we?
A tool for the conservative agenda” Absolutely not. OOPS, this was meant to reply to givmeabrake.
Your argument: LePage had a tough childhood, so we should ignore the wrongs and lies he commits now.
Counterargument: That’s not how accountability of elected leaders works in a democracy. Therefore, you’re wrong.
Counterargument Two: If only Republicans were as empathetic when it came to the tough childhoods of poor people as you are to the viperous LePage.
Pulleeeze……………List his Lies. This is NOT about the usual horse poop of Libs vs. GOP…………. This governor has risen from a poor life to a better life for him and his family and wanting that for all Mainers. Time to take off your blinders.
William and Mary has separate entrance exams for Maine students, big lie there. That’s a mighty big lie to support his lie about Maine students being looked down on.
Except that Abe Lincoln was a decent, articulate, intelligent, disciplined and worthy leader. Penguin happens to be none of those things.
And Lincoln was not a barstool lout.
You just spit on Abe Lincoln’s grave. Lepage would be more comparable to Nixon, a crook and liar.
I’m figuring whawell’s last name is either LePage, Bennett, or Palin……….
If that was supposed to be funny, I forgot to laugh.
Working hard and being a bully to get your way is two different things, I am sure he did a lot of bullying hence his “personal experiences” such as being looked down upon because he is from Maine. Out of state people take Mainers, not the bullys
I am not really sure I will classify as a liberal or not. But I do know that my calling LePage a liar has nothing to do with being a liberal, conservative or independent. It has everything to do with the fact that Mr. LePage has been proven over and over and over again to tell lies.
A liar is one who intentionally deceives with falsehoods. Proving someone is a liar is very difficult thing to do. I suspect the President whom I disagree with on most major policies to lie a lot but I am not going to call him a liar. That accusation is a mere value judgement in 99 percent of the cases. Besides calling someone a liar is demeaning.
You can make all the excuses you want for LePage’s behavior which apparently you approve of and that’s your right. Personally I have no use for liars and consider them to be dishonest. I find it strange when people will excuse certain types of behaviors from someone just because they happen to share the same ideology as the person. And yes I agree that calling someone a liar is demeaning. To the liar.
Hmmm. Sounds like some name calling is going on. I didn’t mean to get your goat, though it sounds like I did.
Screaming doesn’t make your point anymore truthful. As you can see by the number of ‘likes’ your post has received, very few people agree with you. Screaming won’t change that.
I don’t care how many “likes” or “dislikes” I get. Besides I know I’m basically in “enemy” territory.
Oh, by the way, what makes you think I’m screaming? No, I’m a very calm person by nature, so my friends tell me. I’ve learned over the years not to get excited easily.
Finally, I agree with you. Screaming doesn’t make one’s point any truer.
In netiquette, when you use all caps as you did in your original post, you appear to be shouting, or screaming.
The use of capital letters was to get readers’ attention. Apparently it worked. If I were doing the equivalent of shouting or screaming I would probably be flavoring my statement with some invectives as well. You won’t find any invectives in my tread because screaming and shouting is not my style.
Alot of sick, narcissistic people from abused backgrounds become leaders that foist misery and even genocide on the very people they represent. In terms of our little king I would think he might be more sensitive to the needs of people who need help to pull themselves out of difficult straits in life. But with our gubner, the opposite is true. He callously singles out the needy to bear the brunt of his ridicule and budget cuts. Putting aside his ignorance and buffoonish stupidity, the man is a rebel without a clue. From what I and most other people see so far, he is like Abe Lincoln like a canoe is like the Titanic.
Here’s the problem I have with your opinion. It is replete with opinion and derogatory terms, and lacks objectivity : “our little king”, “needs to be more sensitive”, “gubner”, “callously singles out”, “Putting aside his ignorance”, “buffoonish stupidity”, “rebel without a clue”. Besides, there is not one iota of factual information in it.
If you move away from this post and perhaps even your environment you will discover that a lot of Mainers have a high regard for him. One thing I often hear about him is this: “I know where he stands on the issues.” He is consistently conservative, which doesn’t mean he is insensitive, autocratic (certainly I haven’t heard any serious accusation he doesn’t abide by the law), and clueless (but like all people he is not always fully informed). Much of the frustration I hear concerning him understandably comes from people who hold liberal values. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, liberals should now understand by now how conservatives used to feel towards prior leaderships of Baldacci and others before him in the past three decades.
Your assumption about people who disagree with you are liberals (now a term of disdain from your view) does nothing to bolster your point.
LePage has quite a story of his life but just because he struggled and and made it to governor (hardly by an overwhelming mandate) does not give him carte blanche for the endless statements he makes which are far less than diplomatic.
LePage impresses me as someone with some self-esteem issues. When I tell people I am from Maine (now that I live & work in DC), I receive nothing but positive reactions, mostly due to the geography and the scenery and so forth. I never hear anything negative about the people or the students. In fact, I worked quite coincidentally with an intern from Colby a few years back. Again, nothing but praise. Perhaps, the governor should hang around with a more polite group of people, and do something about that self-esteem problem, and even learn about diplomacy and tact.
Where did I make the assumption that people who disagree with me are liberals? Yes, certainly many in this post are but not everyone. Do I need to name them?
Yes, he was homeless, but not alone. He had several people in town who he stayed with who helped him out. That does not take away from his story, but people need to understand that he wasn’t sleeping under a bridge somewhere either.
It’s funny that you should say, ” he wasn’t sleeping under a bridge somewhere either”, when in fact he may have.
Mr. LePage’s Horatio Alger story is compelling and inspiring. The last two years are far from either.
That’s depends on one’s political views.
I WONDER IF ANY OF THESE POSTERS KNOW THE REALITY OF BEING POOR, UNDERPRIVILEGED IN THE TRUEST SENSE, AND PART OF A MINORITY THAT STRUGGLED DESPERATELY FOR A LIVING-
You do realize this describes President Obama as well. Just throwing that out there.
I doubt that. Obama was not homeless at any point in his life I know of. Furthermore he did not face the type of abuse LePage had in his family.
Just take the section I selected as is. Did not know his father, mother on foodstamps (who then died young), part of a minority….I mean, if you think that growing up underprivileged and achieving dispite that is a noble personal trait, then it either is or it isn’t. You compared Paul LePage to Abe Lincoln…. Not exactly a point by point perfect comparison there either.
My comparison was not intended to be a point by point comparison or analysis. I said, “Abe Lincoln was like him (the governor) in many respects”. Of course such a statement triggered a reaction from a lot of LePage haters who can’t seem to give credit where credit is due.
Abe Lincoln would not approve of LePage and his tactics.
What tactics are you talking about? So LePage made a few statements that offended some people like the NAACP that was cruising for a bruising. The NAACP doesn’t own the Maine State government, and the governor rightfully reminded the organization heads of that. Yes, there were a few questionable statements the press didn’t let go unnoticed. Too bad they don’t hold up liberals to the same standard of scrutiny.
Let me get this straight.. he felt people looked down on him and therefor, by extension, people looked down on the whole state of Maine.. That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?
Gives a little insight into the governor’s thought process. In this case he seems to be channeling King Louis XIV to whom is attributed the quote” l’etat,c’est Moi” loosely the state is me.
love it – if only it was a great governor, who actually knew his state and its people
Or to quote someone a little more recent, “When the President does it, that means that it’s NOT illegal.”
LePage does not rule by decree. He might be feisty ( or passionate) at times, but that is very different.
Everything this guy says and does seems to be based on his own inadequacy. I don’t know if it’s just his background, or a physical thing (hint, hint) or whatever. I know people will reflexively jump to his defense and blame previous administrations as an excuse for every damaging thing that comes out of his trap, but it’s got to be tiring for them at some point.
The people who defend him are the people who just won’t admit they were wrong in voting for him in the first place. Stubborn, irresponsible…hmmm just like our ‘esteemed’ gov!
Hey, I voted for him and I don’t think it was wrong. So, far someone has lit a fire in the Maine people. Not that I agree with everything he says or does, but he does have the best intrest for hard working Mainers. Not rich implants, good for nothing welfare sucking leeches, or waste spending. Look at it this way parents don’t always say or do the best thing, but if you give your kid everything they exspect it. So, no to your kid the next time they want an ipad, and tell they to earn it. If they want it bad enough they will get a job, do chores around the house, etc etc. Now they did it for themselves and feel and respect all that they have done to earn it. Don’t any of you bleeding hearts get it? If not and you feel that I may be wrong. Take your next paycheck. Cash it, and then go give it to a soup kitchen. Do this for the next six weeks and see how long before you go into debt.
I don’t know why you’re resorting to name-calling just because most people don’t approve of their governor being caught in such a stupid, easily-debunked lie. What does your rant have to do with what Governor LePage said? Am I a “bleeding heart” because I want our governor not to make stuff up?
You might want to look up teacher. Stubborn, irresponsible,self-centered, ill-informed, and susceptible. This came from cnncomment and stillrelaxin. But hey, they don’t support the gov so their name calling can slide, even though they’re talking about the general population.
So in essence you’re saying that it was OK for the governor to tell lies. What other lies are OK? On what other topics or issues are you willing to be deceived?
Lepage is a sadist and a liar. During the election he said he would kick all the bums off of welfare but instead he is forcing a bunch of sick and elderly people to choose between food, heat or medicine.
Did you vote for Obama?
I guess I can’t blame you for wanting to run as far away from Lepage as you can get. All the other Republican politicians are doing it.
LOLS. thanks
It’s impolite to ask people who they voted for.
Not at BDN comment site. The comments here are as rude as can be.
This is about LePage not Obama.You keep wanting to point us away from the subject at hand.WE need to be concerned about MAINE,because we have a Gov.who keeps telling lies,and bullying people.Maine is at issue,The lies LePage tells,and the misinformation he sends out.Worry about Obama when the column is about him.
You are just WRONG! I know because I am a caregiver to my elderly folks and they are still in their own home! They’ve had nothing taken away from them in fact they have gotten more. I just don’t like it when you don’t know your FACTS!
You’ve been luck so far.
Lepage wanted to put out 65,000 of Maine’s elderly and sick people but the liberals and the RINO’s on the budget committee forced Lepage to settle for only 28,000 Mainers. Lepage did threaten our children if the legislature didn’t give him his 65000 elderly folks but lucky as it turned out Lepage doesn’t have the power to close our schools and harm our children directly. http://www.pressherald.com/news/LePage-defends-DHHS-cuts-in-Lewiston.html
Some fire. It’s destructive and out of control.
At least its alot better than the goofy warm and fuzzy speeches that Baldacci gives to unemployed workers then leaving after he’s done. After him picking up the pieces of numerous businesses that has left Maine under his time in office. Eliot Cutler criticized Baldacci and King for doing this type of behavior as part of their economic policy when Cutler ran for Gov in 2010. You might not like LePage for trying to change the Welfare Culture in Maine but it’s way overdue.
How does lying about the Maine education system and insulting thousands of Mainers who worked hard enough to go to college “change the welfare culture?”
Actually, Lepage is understating the sorry condition of Maine schools. Anytime nearly 30% of those graduating aren’t proficient in essential skills it’s time for action. Angus said the LAPTOPS would save Maine schools from 3rd class status..Never happened, did it?
I’ve proved how low scoring Maine’s public school students are on the only test of record taken by nearly every student—NAEPS are only taken by a small sample and at that only at 4th and 8th grade , while the SAT’s reveal the sum total of 12 years of schooling.
Unfortunately, these scores are well below the mean scores for the rest of the U.S.; attempting to put a ‘rosy face’ on the public schools using anecdotes about the success of the top quartile is disingenuous.
I disagree with your entire premise. Maine schools are not “3rd” class. I have not seen where you proved that Maine scores are “well below the mean”, so you will have to show me. As a former member of Maine’s top quartile who left Maine’s schools more than proficient in anything I needed to succeed in college, I wonder if those who normally preach personal responsibility are missing the point on this one.
Read the SAT scores and do the comparisons.
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2011 Pick apart the nationals, then go to the State of Maine. No matter how you slice it; Maine’s graduates are well below mean.
Now go to the NEWSWEEK ranking of colleges and you’ll find most of the career tracks at UMS are in the third tier. The University of S. Maine was ranked #118 by US NEWS regionally, right behind Philadelphia Biblical University; while the U. of Maine ranked #152, just ahead of the U. of Wyoming.
What you can’t find are the numbers of students at UMS who need remediation on subjects they should have mastered in high school….that’s simply additional evidence of the low quality of graduating students who get a diploma based on ‘seat time’ and not content mastery.
71 points below the national mean on Math for White males! now tell me that isn’t cause for alarm.
SAT scores are a very poor measure of Maine’s educational system. First of all, the SAT’s are not meant to be a measure of proficiencies. The SAT’s are designed to predict how well a student will do in college. In addition, in most states, only those high school students intending to pursue further education take them. However, it is my understanding that almost all Maine students take them, including those who have no aspirations toward college. Therefore, you are comparing two very different groups of students. Apples and oranges.
Sounds like a soul mate for the gov. He needs one.
might be a soulmate, if the gov had a soul to being with!
Very good point when you forget that families with disabled children that need life long expected surgeries, Gota say go you another supporter of heartless people~ THNX :/
You left out self-centered, ill-informed, and susceptible to believing rumor as truth whenever it fits their own “perceptions.” The worst kind of leader is one that doesn’t (Or can’t) think, pits people against people, and tends to say hateful things to or about most everyone. That’s what we have now. There’s no need to suffer any more than we have to till 2014. Vote Democratic in November and take as much power and influence this man may have away as soon as possible.
Are you by any chance running for governor? Wow. VOTE DEMOCRATIC. Let me think about it…….um, no. Slam ads on the comments section of the BDN. Never thought I’d see it.
You never thought you’d see simple solutions (Voting wisely) to long term big fat problems (Four years with a horrible politician)? Wow!
People need to know that it not necessary to suffer through the next two years with this fool having any more power or given any more voice than necessary. No, we can’t recall him but come November we can cripple him politically just as much as his lack of intelligence and grace currently cripples him socially. Simply VOTE in Democratic House and Senate majorities (In the same way and at the same levels we see folks voting on this little issue on the BDN) and much of our current pain and level of embarrassment will vanish overnight.
Keep Relaxin…….. I never thought I’d see a democratic slam campaign run through the BDN comments section. You CAN read, correct? Because never once did I mention simple solutions = voting wisely, or long term big fat problems = 4 years with a horrible politician. Is this not a free nation where people can vote how they please? And yet here you’re saying that if people vote for LePage, they’re not voting wisely. But you’re right about one thing. This is a long term problem. Maine isn’t known as the Vacationland state any longer. We’re known as the welfare state. But golly gosh, I’m just a Republican, so I must not be very bright right? The sad shape of our state has absolutely nothing to do with past government. It’s all LePage’s fault. It has to be, no one else is in office to take the blame. What a convenient target.
You appear to have read but not comprehended what I‘ve actually stated. Did I say anything about “Republicans” being “Not very bright.” Nope! I could go into a discussion about them not behaving in ways that are congruent with what they propose to be their religious beliefs (Would Jesus support today‘s GOP/Tea Party?), but this isn’t the time or place for that discussion.
My point here and for the last two years has clearly been that having an obvious fool sitting the highest state office is a very bad thing but having GOP/Tea Party House and Senate majorities supporting most everything such a fool puts forward is an even bigger problem. Nations have fallen under similar circumstances. Since we can’t remove HIM via recall, the only logical way to dull the “Pain of Paul Problem” (PPP) would be to remove THEM via our votes as soon as possible. That will be November 6th.
Please go VOTE folks.
Yes Vote!!! Vote in droves to keep the democrats out. Give Lepage more power to turn Maine around.
Sure… like the current “drove” (17.6%) seen supporting LePage on this ridiculous issue of his own creation. I can and will live happy with that. GO GOP/TEA PARTY! No, I really mean it. Take what you can grab on your way out and go anywhere but here.
You were describing Pres. Obama for sure. We all lost hope and have no change remaining in our bank accounts.
Is President Obama saying hateful things about Maine students and Mainers in general? Oh wait, you’re deflecting from this story and our problem (LePage) to repeat something you concluded about an entirely different subject. Sorry, sometimes LePage defenders catch us folks with focus off guard. Now back to the real story. LePage needs to be made powerless as soon as possible. We can and will do this with our votes on November 6th.
No, the President to my knowledge is not saying hateful things about Maine students and Maine residents in general. Personally I saw only President Obama in your comment.
No, Obama did not have enough time to set that up. It was the Bushs who set it all in motion and most likely benefited largely then people lost their houses and jobs (and they still are).
So now we play the blame game. Kindly add former Pres. Bill Clinton to your list of those to lay the blame. I recall when he was president and one of many days on the golf course, he was at the 3rd hole and the intelligence informed him they had Bin Laden in satellite sight. Bill told them he would get back to them at the end of his match. By that time, Bin Laden was out of satellite range so no chance to get him then. It will always make me wonder that if Pres. Clinton had taken the time from his golf and given the okay to target Bin Laden, I wonder if 911 would ever have happened. No president is perfect and will never please all the people all the time. The same goes for governors. I suggest you investigate Soros and Rothchilds and Morgans to start. Perhaps that will open your eyes.
Stillrelaxin said it perfectly.
I am glad that he is Governor. The Whiners in the BDN comments are basically poor losers due to Fact that their candidate Lost. past time to get Over it . One day you will Thank Gov. LePage for doing his job. It is not an easy job to keep a state economy in shape after neglient spending spree from the former administration in Maine.
This isn’t like the Yankees beating the Sox. You don’t pick a side based on arbitrary values (I like the color blue better than red so therefore the Yanks should win). The gubernatorial race is about carefully choosing a candidate to lead and represent our state. Unfortunately, the vote was split three ways with about 66% of Maine voters voting against Mr. LePage. When this happened, we all hoped Mr. LePage could prove us wrong and turn out to be an acceptable governor. Nope. Also, your grammar/capitalization is atrocious.
Thanks for the education. Also, that is a fine reminder to try harder with use of grammar and capitalization.
Oh my. You attacked his endowment. That was a nice point. Although I’ve never heard big mouth, small junk, you may have a point. Who knows? Is that going to be the next thing he’s criticized for? I’m sure BDN will do an article about it………
That is why LePage has achieved the ranking as the “Worst” Governor ever elected in Maine history. The WORST!
Worse than the failed Baldacci administration that flushed $80 million down the proverbial toilet trying to build the Mainecare billing system? Their project is used in business schools…
AS AN EXAMPLE OF EVERYTHING NOT TO DO!!!
When it comes to ineptitude the Baldacci administration wrote the book.
I hope the instructors in business school using Baldacci are not as subjective as you are, but I have a sad feeling they are.
Desperate to change the subject, aren’t you?
I’m sure you’ve no interest in talking about the $80 million (in direct costs and probably twice that in total costs) in tax dollars wasted. I see that you don’t dispute the ineptitude of the Baldacci administration. Don’t worry though, they can always serve as a warning to others. So they have that going for them.
Your strategy: be stubborn, be loud, provide no evidence, and desperately try to change the subject, because you know you can’t defend LePage, totally ignoring the article and the issue at hand.
Do you have anything to say about LePage at all? What do you think of his behavior? I’m asking you. Or are you afraid to say?
Did I mention you provide no evidence for your claim?
Ya’ll are asking oldmainer for evidence? Since when does ANYONE on here use actual evidence to back anything up? Or for that matter, when does anyone stay on subject? You make me giggle. Our politicians are elected based largely on how much people like them, not facts, yet you expect folks on here to use solely facts and not their personal opinion to express themselves about a subject.
I understand why you say people do not think reasonably when it comes to politics, but I think you’re being too cynical. For instance, it’s well established that LePage was wrong about the special test for Mainers at William & Mary. Don’t you agree? There’s plenty of evidence.
See below for the evidence. Apparently you live in a cave with sprucedweller when you aren’t posting here and never heard of Baldacci’s failed Mainecare billing system. It explains so much.
See below for my response to the supposed evidence.
You can pretend that the Bladacci Mainecare fiasco didn’t happen, but unless you HAVE been living in a cave you know it did, and you also know that it adversely impacted just about every medical provider in the state.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/37204984/From-CIO-Magazine—Project-Management-%28Chief
You can be as pigheaded stubborn as you want. Your own reference (given below) focuses on Mayhew and LePage as a significant part of the MaineCare problem.
And you just keep saying the same thing over and over and over. Trying to distract us from the article at hand and the issue at hand.
What do you have to say about LePage? Nothing?
oldmainer…….i was actually kinda trying to stick up for you a little bit….but oh well. No, I don’t live in a cave with sprucedweller, Spruce is two rocks over. But we do wave when we see each other lol. Spruce has also been trying to teach me how to read and write, but I just can’t seem to understand. I so dumb I let others think for me. But we like our caves, don’t we Spruce?
I guess.
I didn’t think that anyone in Maine hadn’t heard of Baldacci’s colossal Mainecare billing system failure (one among many failures), but since you apparently live in a cave when you aren’t posting here. Here you go…
http://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/maine-manages-to-mangle-medicaid-payments-again
“If you ever want to do a case study on state government IT failure, a state’s Medicaide information management and billing system would likely prove to be fertile ground for research (e.g., see Risk Factor posts here, here, and here). If you want an
example that exemplifies every way to screw up, you would have a hard time
finding one better than the Medicaid IT systems of the state of Maine.”
I appreciate the link. Unfortunately (for you), the article focuses primarily on Mayhew and LePage and how they have lied or been deceptive. For instance, the article ends this way, after paragraphs of discussing Mayhew:
—————-
Governor LePage maintains that he has “complete confidence” in Mayhew, even while rushing out new legislation to restructure her department. News of the glitch and the restructuring are not related, he claims.
Uh-huh.
————-
Got anything to say about LePage yet? Or are you still afraid to discuss him?
I’m sure you’re not interested in the fact that Baldaccis last state budget was 1/2 a billion dollars less then Lepage’s.
You should be as interested in the truth as I am. Apparently you are not.
http://www.maine.gov/legis/ofpr/total_state_budget/history/index.htm
and
http://www.maine.gov/legis/ofpr/total_state_budget/approps_alloc/1213_Approps_Alloc.pdf
Total State Spending
2009 $7,533,320,229
2010 $7,725,547,863
2011 $7,595,151,209
2012 $7,609,146,578 (budgeted)
Where did you get your misinformation from???
Your comparing Balldaci’s total state spending to Lepage’s budget spending numbers.
If I use your numbers Lepage is spending $8.9 billion compared to Baldacci’s $7.14. The Republican’s and Paul Lepage approved a total state spending for 2012-13 of $8.9 billion including Lepage’s deficit
spending.
The Republican’s total two year budget is $6.1 billion with
more spending added in supplemental spending.
http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Maine_state_budget
The Democrats and Gov. Baldacci’s last two-year
budget totaled $5.6 billion or $7.14 billion if you include his deficit spending.
http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Maine_2010_State_Budget
So you see I was
being very genius when I said the Republican’s and Paul Lepage are only spending 1/2 a billion more on state government then the Democrats did.
In reality Lepage is spending almost a billion more then the Democrats did.
Well put.
Baldaccis’ last budget was 5.8 billion. Lepage’s current state budget is 6.3 billion and it’s full of accounting gimmicks and out right lies.
Sticks and stones may break your bones but ignorance will still show through.
Is that a fact or just among certian circles of libs.
I checked the Husson University Website. They don’t seem to be taking any ownership of this pompus fool. As a matter of fact -one of our esteemed Governor’s cronies and Conservation Department head, Mr. William Beardsley is more than likely not all that popular on campus any more either in light of handling of the Bob Carlson situation. He won’t quit though-where would he go?
Not when you see yourself as the center of the universe.
He sounds paranoid…
As someone who was raised out of state, the people of Maine are viewed as a complete joke. We call it the deep south of the far north. You’re like New England’s Alabama.
I have lived in several different states,and I have never felt,looked down upon,disrespected,or like a lesser person,because I am from Maine.
An indication of the enormity of the man’s ego!
Maybe this is the Governor’s experience, but as one who has lived in other states, I can certainly say that this was NOT my experience. Could this have more to do with the way he presents himself than the state from which he comes?
Absolutely Patrice. I’ve lived and worked in other states – I was never looked down on for being from Maine; “Joking around” is one thing (always concerning the “Maine accent”) but was never looked down upon – why else would I have been promoted over others native to the state – certainly wasn’t because I was looked down upon. People are much more likely to judge you based on your appearance than on where you are from. PLUS: As a student at UMO currently, probably about a fifth to a quarter of my classes are from other states or countries, which also does not support the Governor’s claim.
Well said.
We’re not necessarily looked down upon – I went to one of the best schools in the state of Maine (Foxcroft Academy) and have traveled extensively around the country – been to about 40 states, and I don’t know how many people I’ve met and said “I’m from Maine” and have been met with curiosity. Most of the people from Maine don’t make it very far because of the way we are raised – in fact I still have my own fear about going to certain cities even in Maine (Lewiston/Auburn specifically). We aren’t known for much besides “Stephen King, Moose, and Lobster”. The sad reality is that we don’t achieve much else in the way of notoriety in the country except for our King, Moose and Lobster, and occasionally television shows that lampoon our fearless Governor.
If you want to not look down upon lets start achieving stuff rather than letting it slide.
Maine has plenty to be proud of … our way of life for one… we are a proud independent people and have always been respected for our work ethic. We have had statespersons such as Edmond Muskie, Margaret Chase Smith, Bill Cohen, George Mitchell all native sons and represented Maine with incredible integrity. Our outdoor heritage is second to none…. we have much diversity in the Maine woods.. hunting , fishing hiking and camping.. Our scenery is unrivaled on the East coast…. We are Mainers….. and thats enough.
Now we can claim that we have the “Worst” Governor ever elected in Maine history to the list of achievements – that is a jokeeee:)
And Paul Lepage is NOT the notoriety we need!
Amtrak runs south. You still got time to make it.
Again, after you.
Every time someone says “if you don’t like it, then get out”; I assume I must have won the argument. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of “I’m taking my ball and going home.”
Edna St. Vincent Millay, E.B. White, Longfellow
Yikes! This reminds me of Stephen Colbert’s word: “truthiness.” If you FEEL something is the truth, then it must be? Why didn’t Ms. Bennett explain the William and Mary gaffe – or more to the point, why won’t a reporter confront LePage or Bennett directly about this lie? In the meantime, Maine students are being denigrated by their own governor, who should be promoting them as the folks who will keep Maine “open for business.”
I’d like to know why a reporter didn’t ask the governor about his William and Mary claim as well. Worse, the BDN also published a blog by a self-proclaimed political junkie in which she cited the quote, said the governor was either lying or misinformed, then said she was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Is this what passes for journalism at the BDN these days? Confront the governor, please. Do your job.
You cannot ask someone who avoids the media.
Actually, lobsterbait, the governor’s remarks that are now in question were made in a public setting some time ago — and the media didn’t question them when they had the opportunity. The BDN didn’t question the governor’s spokeswoman when they had the chance, either. So it really doesn’t matter whether the governor avoids the media, does it? If a reporter really wanted to confront the governor, he/she would at least make the effort. It’s pretty clear that no one has. It’s even more pathetic that the BDN picked up the story from a blog — a blog not even written by one of its own reporters — in which someone who presents herself as politically knowledgeable decides that she won’t ask the question, either. And then the BDN links to it as part of its lead story.
This man has never once since being sworn into office said one positive thing about Maine or her people. He does the same thing to Maine and her people that he claims his father did to him.
Bingo..
Abuse is cyclic. Most people cannot get out of the cycle. Maybe he does not abuse physically as he went through. But, his words are abusive regarding our state.
They did approach Bennett/LePage on the W&M lie. It turns out he relied on “old information” from 2005. Either somebody sent him an anonymous fax back then or Lauren told him she couldn’t get into W&M because they wanted her to take a pre-admission test.
Thanks for posting. Where can we read this?
It was in the Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/news/lepage-inaccuracy-based-on-2005-info_2012-08-04.html
Thanks. I just read it. Unfortunately, it only makes the BDN’s performance look worse.
I totally treasure my 32 year career as an elementary school teacher!! Among the hundreds of students whose lives I was privileged to touch I can name doctors, teachers, nurses, homemakers, small business owners, and on and on. When I travel south I hear that our northern Maine people are willing and able and devoted employees and professionals. I have never heard that our students are looked down upon by anyone. That’s absurd in my opinion. The opposite is what I have experienced. Let’s keep our glass half full Mr. LePage.
His comments have made Maine look much worst then any student any where. I have been lucky enough to do some traveling and I have never once ever been looked down on. People that have traveled here tell me how wonderful Maine is and how great the people are. People who have not travel here ask if I have ever seen and moose and is the lobster really that much better, of course the answer to both questions is without a doubt yes. However recently we are more know for the things our governor says then for anything else. Maine provides a lot of states with well educated, hard working individuals. The only reason we would be look down on would be because we are “from the Sticks” But this is the same when people think of people from the south as “the hicks”.
Is the lobster better if it is caught in Maine waters instead of other new england or canadian waters? I don’t think so. Maine is famous for lobster because the fishery is well-regulated and superbly marketed. Never mind that a good chunk of the catch is sent to canada for processing. If only those dopes in Augusta could apply that know-how to other segments of the maine economy. Instead we have toxic waste dumps at derelict paper mills, accepting all sorts of gunk from out of state, and destruction of the interior landscape with dubious wind-mill farms. What a cluster. I don’t think maine students are looked-down upon but there’s not much to be proud of in the way the state is run.
It appears that LeBuffoon is constantly projecting his obvious inadequate education (how on earth did he graduate from Husson??), low intelligence, self-hatred of his poor family/background, and tendency to despise weakness and vulnerability, unless he can consciously identify with it. This man is so uncultured and speaks in a moronic fashion. Who among you voted for him knowing what he represents????
Just another ridiculous headline from our ridiculous governor.
The problem is that LePage’s life experience is limited and influenced by his own pyschological problems. He appears to interpret everything from his viewpoint instead of interpreting data with an open mind.
Why is he even bringing this fumble up again? He has no data to support his comments, yet he still has to show he is right. That is his opinion and nothing else.
the man is ignorant, some how he thinks if he spews words they will come true…
This guy is disgusting and SHAME on those who voted for this pus gut…. It is a damned shame that his ignorance reigns over us all…. Put his face on every republican bumper sticker as a reminder of the ignorance of that party
It is common for human beings to stick their heads in the sand and ‘follow the leader’. We can’t afford to do this with LePage. He is too destructive and dangerous. Those of you who endorsed this man for governor, giving him your 100% approval, just admit you were wrong now, and save us all a lot of pain.
Funny, a lot of people say that about the magnificent president we currently have in office.
The man has issues and should not be governor of this proud state..
You don’t like it. One word. MOVE
After you. Oh, right. You wouldn’t be well regarded. How sad.
Oooohhhh……..personal hits? Witty, one-liner comment. Wait for it, it’s going to get you. And there it is. Followed up by an afterthough that they wouldn’t be well regarded. Nicely done. Classic online slam. But then you show some sympathy to the plight of others. Being so sensitive is a blessing to some. Your grasp of the subtle nuances of the written word amaze me. Do you give lessons? That’s not something you learn in a Maine classroom. But take heart, I’m sure nmjester was deeply wounded by your comment.
You just made the online slam.
Or, four words: VOTE DEMOCRATIC IN NOVEMBER.
It seems that once again our Governor has been caught in a lie (What a shocker that was). This one was about William and Mary giving a special test to applicants from Maine which was what Paul Richard LePage said a few days ago when he tried to convince us that “People From Maine are Looked Down Upon.” It is all part of his “I want to destroy Public Education in Maine” initiative. Only one problem, Officials at William and Mary say it never happened. Having been shown to be a liar once again LePage is spinning things saying that it was from his own personal experience that he felt that “People From Maine are Looked Down Upon.” He is probably being truthful by saying that. I am sure that most people would look down upon an ignorant, loud mouthed, lying know-it-all, who likes to bully other people and who thinks he is always right and calls people who disagree with him idiots and then tells them to “kiss my butt” or in the case of the President of the United States “go to hell” You see Mr. LePage it isn’t all Mainers that are looked down upon, just you.
the problem is everytime he opens his mouth he say something stupid, he should just shut the heck up
This sums up my thinking perfectly! I am not a native Mainer but I have lived here over half my life and I’ve always been proud of our state. When I travel elsewhere and people learn I’m from Maine, the reaction is universally positive. People generally praise our beautiful state and say it’s a place they either love to visit or would like to visit. And my three daughters, who have gone to college at Columbia University, Macalester College and Yale University, have found that they were well prepared in Maine’s public schools and could hold their own with students from everywhere.
The only Maine people out-of-staters look down on are people who voted for this guy.
His experience means nothing, given that he failed out of college.
We can thank Snowe for pulling strings to get him back in to take his tests in French.
Irony, his approach has it.
I am not sure about students but as a working adult from maine who has lived out of state now for 15 year I have done pretty good for myself. Making between $45,000 and $50,000 on a two year degree as a single mom. One of the reasons I dont move back is the fact I could never make that kind of money in maine. I couldnt find a job in Maine is the original reason why I moved away. I have applied for two jobs in 15 years and got both of them. Pretty sure they didnt look down on me here in South Carolina. I am now the assistant to the president of a finance company. The problems in Maine I dont believe are with the education but the lack of jobs for these educated people to remain in their state of birth.
Bingo. That is why he is firing people up. Get business here, and get people back to work.
That was not how I took it. Sounded more like he was saying mainers were undereducated which I dont find correct. People from other states do not look down on people from Maine. I agree with a lot of things he has done but falsifying facts is a little far to go just to get people “fired up”. Tax breaks and incentives for new business get jobs for the hard working smart people of Maine. Gas is high because of taxes, tobacco products are high because of taxes, property taxes are high….. the cost of living in Maine is higher because of heating bills and all these extra taxes other states dont have. Give people a reason to live and work in Maine other than its natural beauty. I have lived in both worlds and neither is perfect but at least here I can afford to be a single mom and not live on welfare. That is the values I was taught growing up in Maine. Its a shame its impossible to do that there.
Nice try at spinning. You could give lessons to Ms. Bennet on being a better apologist for the Governor. Too bad all the negative press he is generating is achieving just the opposite of what you suggest.
So, where’s the business he’s allegedly trying to attract? Oh yeah, we’re so undesirable, right?
Adrienne Bennett’s spin is worse than LePage’s attempt to clarify his statement. Since the Harvard study came out less than two weeks ago, no one knew what was in it before then. How could people from away possibly have looked down on Mainers before then?
And of course the Harvard study simply stated that Maine schools are not improving as fast as some others. LePage and Bowen are purposefully misrepresenting the data in the hopes that others think that Maine’s public schools are performing poorly when compared to other states – they’re not.
LePage and Bowen have a solution (privatize education) that needs a problem, so they are trying to create one. It’s the Maine Heritage Policy Center way.
‘purposefully misrepresenting’ is another word for lying. Penguin is lying. Again.
Things must have drastically changed because there was a time if you said you were from Maine they’d hire you in a minute. I believe it’s statements like his that hurt us. You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem.
“Speaking from life experience”? I guess that makes sense. Mr. LePage is probably getting used to people looking down on him by now (i.e. 2/3 of the people in this state), but I don’t think it’s because he went to school in Maine.
Looks like the hole he is digging for himself keeps getting deeper. As a practicing teacher, we are no longer allowed to make claims of student’s progress based on our opinion. We are required to use data, from multiple sources. Too bad our governor doesn’t have enough common sense to do the same thing.
No matter how big of a hole he digs, he still won’t fit in it.
Absolutely, politics has been reduced to “harm the other guy” or “make ridiculous claims based in BS” and among all the rhetoric no facts and for most no plan. It avoids the “This is who I am and what I will do” – they remain hidden among the roadside mulberry bushes.
You do not get votes slinging mud, or perhaps you do, as those who are elected seem to chant “we won, you lost” – as we march toward the cliff oblivious to what we are about to experience. Yes, local, county, state and national politics, a shambles!
Today’s candidate promotes NOT what they will do, but walk along with their head 180 degrees backward. Looking behind is a total waste of time.
I care a fig about the trash talk, I want to know what IS being or WILL BE done. Our political system is shabby, but it does allow every nay-Sayer to club to death some poor sap who wishes for an intelligent and clear message, not barrels of fish heads. It stinks!!
I stopped getting a slow burn over the useless trivia from political mouths (it is a camouflage tactic) and simply think, “yakky yak, yakky yak” – simply meaningless. We have boarded the train to nowhere and seem to enjoy the ride. All aboard!!!
The only reason people from Maine would be looked down upon is because the governor denigrates them/us in order to push his regressive, ideological agenda. I am from away but have lived in Maine over 20 years and have friends, from away-far away-who love to visit Maine and have nothing but respect and admiration for people and institutions of Maine and the Maine way of lie.
While I have been accused of growing up with squirrels as friends, I have never been “looked down upon” in any meaningful way as a recent college grad from Maine. I think what LePage is trying to say (but probably doesn’t want to) is that we need to focus more state resources on improving our education system, which is absolutely true. I would say that less than half of the potential of my high school graduating class will ever be fully tapped. We saw mediocrity and expected to achieve the same. That can and should be changed.
Actually the Governor has said directly exactly the opposite of what you suggest “we need to focus more state resources on improving our education system,” He instead has said that as a state we spend to much on education, he has opined that class sizes are to small, He is advocating charter schools as the solution for our educational system although there is no evidence that this has happened in states that aggressively pursued charter schools.
Hi I am a big fat buffoon representing Mardens. What your not impressed. Wait till you see me eat.
Geez Gov ya don’t need to be a shrink to know maybe that growing up homeless and all that might have played a little role in your insecurity. Man ya can’t make this stuff up!! WOW
Ah, now it comes out. No one told him, there was no data, it just came out of his head, through his life. How long has it been since you appied to college, Governor? My daughter seemed to have no problem getting multiple acceptances into very good schools. I have never seen or heard of Maine being looked down on.
I’m sure if anyone made LePage feel “looked down upon” it was because of his personality. He speaks like a drop out, lies like a little child and is a bully. Fact is we can only hope that other’s don’t see LePage as representative of Maine people in general.
i grew up out of state, i can assure you, mainers are looked down upon.
last time i posted and gave examples on the topic,Bdn deleted my post, 6 grade graduates
google “men from maine” ~~~~or~~~~
“maine barbie dolls’
I grew up out of state too and they are NOT looked down down upon. This is insanity.
My daughter graduated from UMO in the top 2% of her class. At Mass College of Pharmacy she competed with kids from all over the world and graduated in the top 10 percent. Not bad for being looked down upon. Where does he get this stuff?
I wouldnt say we are looked down upon as much as most people dont even know Maine is a state and when you saay you are from Maine Lobster always gomes up. Example when my son was in the Navy the lobsters they were gonna have for supper. were accidently dumped on deck. They asked my son “hey your from Maine how do you catch them” He said I havent a clue throw some taters down and I will show you how to pick those up. So i would say It is others ignorant of the state not Mainers. Our schools are behind in the times. I bought my children up here and they were taught things they had learned 2 years earlier in N.C. and they still have kindergarten go half a day. Most schools switched to a full day over 20 years ago.
I’ve heard the exact opposite for comparative education, especially for shcools in the South. I guess they know about us now thanks to LePage’s notoriety.
Congrats to your daughter!!!
PitBull is just a troll. This is the 100th time he’d told people to Google that. Part of me wonders if he’s trying to drive traffic to his own website(s).
In the same breath, he complains about having his insipid posts deleted. Gee whiz I can’t IMAGINE why that would happen.
I bet if the BDN admin did an IP check on him, they’d find that PitBull isnt coming from a network connection based in Maine. Probably find him on the Maine “rants and raves” on craigslist (PS don’t go there. Its a cesspool)
Oh look…his ‘men from maine’ show is from a radio station in….you’ll never guess where….
“WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts”
where did you grow up you didnt laugh at maine, Alaska or Mississippi?
Man, did you grow up in a backwater.
I moved here from Jacksonville Fl. ( schools were the worst) When we moved up here I felt the principal at the middle school was looking down at us, being from the south.
I checked the searches you suggested the first is from a radio jock who does deprecating humor of all sorts including a riff on Harvard and on The bourne bridge for just starts. On that evidence then Harvard must also be looked down on everywhere. The second the maine barbies is actually a spoof on barbies and barbie fans by a Maine spoof blog. The Blog was apparently so popular that its most recent post is from 2009. It makes me wonder how long you had to search for this “evidence” to try to rescue the Governor’s position.
“I don’t care where you go in this country. If you come from Maine you’re looked down upon,”
I’ve been to 26 states so far. Every time I tell someone I’m from Maine, they always have some cool Maine-related family-vacation-esque story to tell.
People look down on LePage because hes stupid, not because hes from Maine. If he wasn’t stupid, he would have figured that out by now.
A few years back I went to Texas for a Quarterhorse conferenc. After i spoke and the meeting was over I had someone come running up to me saying Miss Maine, Miss Maine I love your accent. She was from Louisianna and we had a great laugh. There were people from all over the United States and I felt that everyone treated each other the same no looking down on anyone.
The closest thing to being ‘looked down on’ by someone while I was out-of-state were a couple of people that just wouldn’t believe Moose existed. It was actually pretty funny.
We recently took a trip through 23 states and I added my 50th. Nobody looked down on us, in fact were glad to meet us. Met a few other Mainers too.
My friends envy me for living in Maine and pity me that we have LePage as governor. No one has ever assessed me by where I live.
The Governor from the state of Maine is the only looked down upon. He has been the joke of late night TV
if you are in the top 25 % , it is a statistical reality that your percent improvement will be much lower than someone starting from the bottom. Perhaps the Gov should take a statistics course. Of course he always puts “students first” . It’s like saying he is for fiscal responsibility and continues to let DHHS hemorrage tax payer money.
Lepage is just showing us all that he is indeed a ONE term governor!
I have to admit that I liked some of LePages’ cost cutting ideas. But his statements about being looked down upon and his made up stories about special testing at William and Mary College blow his credibility right out the window. Then to try and back peddle and say it’s from “life experiences”. Well I would have only one question for the Governor. Did you recently apply to William and Mary and ” experience ” being told to take a special test before addmission ? I was wrong to think this guy may be good for Maine. He is nothing more than an embarrasment to the State, it’s people and himself.
The “life experience” of a lot of Maine people tells us that we need a new governor.
Did someone forget to take their meds this week , or is the govener having some selfworth issues ?
Thanks for the invite to your personal PITY PARTY , But im busy… why is he still here ?
I’ll take a small wager that our Governor is on the verge of losing many more of his closest advisors very soon. You really have to feel for these folks that have to wait for the next grenade to roll on the floor. They can’t stick the pin back in on many more of these explosive devices.
The governor is a fool…..I taught in Maine for 30 years…Some of the students at our schools became clerks to US Supreme Court Justices…others became doctors, lawyers, professor, CEOs of businesses, others are just real hardworking individuals…We still have the work ethic in Maine…and if a Mainer applies for a job in the south or the west, he/she’ll be first in line to get the job……Years ago my later father was at a legislative conference in Texas…The Texan said, “In Texas we teach them how to play football; in New England you teach them how to read and write.”
If rev stands for reverend I’d be careful you guys are getting alot of neg. media time also.
For what reasons, oh stereotyping one? Know the person before you slander.
How about instead of painting an entire profession based on the conduct of some of the members we hold each accountable for their own conduct. BTW maybe you would want to apply that same idea to the governor. As a conservative I have always believed in personal responsibility. That begins with taking responsibility for our own statements and not trying to wriggle out of that responsibility by laying it off on others. I freely admit that I am a bit of a sexist old guy. That said I will lay it out there ,time for the Governor to be a man and take responsibility for his own conduct and statements instead of a child who hides behind the skirts of his press secretary.
Of course people look down on him.. Right now Lettertman, Leno and even Dave Chappell are probably trying to get his name and actions in their opening act.. He is a buffoon and people look down on him cause the way he acts is not proper representation of a statesman..
William & Mary is a public university. As for the governor’s life experiences, that people would look down on him comes as no surprise.
Who in the heck does this Slug represent and do we actually pay this pimp to abuse us?
“While it’s anecdotal, he believes it.” That’s his defense for insulting every student in Maine? Pathetic.
Our Governor would not know the what the truth was if it slapped him the face, I hope and pray for a recall amendment out of our next legislature.
The being looked down upon LePage says he has experienced during his life does not stem from the fact that he is from Maine. It is because of what comes out of his mouth. LePage is not representative of Maine people. His crass manner and bullying tone are rarely found in the people of this great state. He is so intent on privatizing education that he will say whatever pops into that pea brain of his that he thinks will advance his destructive agenda. Even this tap dance by Adrienne falls way short of being an adequate explanation of the lack of veracity by someone whose words we are expected to believe. His rant was intended to set up his education reform agenda and he needed some ammo. He chose to look at it as a negative because our students were so near the top that it was difficult to continue to climb. He also blatantly lied about about the educational community not having or working on any ideas for improving student achievement. All this hot air so that he can give education of our children over to those who can turn a buck at it. His idea of reform is to disrupt the public trust that educated each of us and that we are now expected to maintain and improve for our children.
I beg to differ, Governor. When I was in basic training in the army, my drill sergeant said that every recruit he had ever had from Maine had the best work ethic he’d ever seen, and that was the only state he could say that about. Considering that most of the other remarks out of his mouth were along the lines of “push” or “maggot” or “let’s double fire watch coverage tonight,” I think that’s quite a compliment to Maine.
We are talking about education, not work ethic. You are absolutely right about work ethic, though.
Lots of personal testimony on that area as well on here and of course the colleges confirm that Maine students are not looked down upon in the admission process either so the same is true for education as work ethic.
Maybe he was looked down upon… That would explain a lot about his bull headed approach to anyone that doesn’t agree with him. We really, really, really should have Ranked Choice voting in this state. Poor candidates would not likely be elected to such an important office as Governor if we did.
There is absolutely no question that Mainers are perceived by others as being poorly educated.
I agree and think that most folks who commented no have not lived in other states to experience the perception first hand.
Well, I have lived in other states, and while my “personal experience” tells me you’re wrong, statistics and data (something the Governor either willfully or knowingly misread) also tell me you’re wrong. Is our educational system perfect? Heck, no. We definitely have work to do. But no one, from LePage and Bennett to some of the commenters here, can provide statistical evidence that we are not regarded as highly as students in the rest of the country. So respectfully, Clamcove1 and Temperate, there absolutely IS a question about whether Mainers are perceived as being poorly educated. Until you can cite data to support your claim, you sound just like the Governor.
Hi proud actually there is plenty of evidence from the Harvard report Showing Maine students above national average, to admission officers testimony attesting Maine students not discriminated against and the success rate of Maine students in terms of college completion rates that clamcove1 and temperate are actually wrong. But neither personal testimony nor documented evidence will convince those who have made up their mind based on ideology.
I’ve lived in 6 states and visited all 50. No such experiences.
I’ll always remember a Cornell Professor (and dear family friend) who; had a hard time figuring out how doorknobs work, thought set lobster traps floated in the same spot as they were suspended on a rope by just the buoy!, or another who asked if deer “Den up” for the winter. It may be true Mainers aren’t the highest educated, but most have more common sense and know when to come in out of the rain than many of our visitors (or in this case Governors).
I went to high school and ran cross country with Bill Kayatta, who is up for nomination to a high court, if the damn republicans would stop trying to block everything this admin does, whether good or bad. I’d say Bill did pretty well for himself…
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/03/14/news/portland/cape-elizabeth-trial-lawyer-on-way-to-federal-circuit-court-judgeship/
Any way you slice it a quarter of the students from Maine attending a four year institution need remedial work in college and half of those attending a two year institution need remedial work. This does not bode well for the state of Maine. In addition it has been found that even with remediation in college the majority of those students drop out anyway without graduating with more debt because not only do they owe borrowed money but also also owe for the ineffective remediation. We as a state need to do something about this
yes we do. The first easy step would be for the colleges to stick to their admission standards and not admit those students. This would send a message to kids in high school that they can’t just blow off high school and expect to get in to college. The current system says to them don’t bother to study or work hard we will admit you anyway. As far as kids graduating high school unprepared for college. Well the Governor himself keeps saying that college is not for everyone and that more kids need to pursue technical education/training after high school. If that is true then by definition the high school diploma is not the credential that guarantees college readiness. the Hig school diploma has always been a minimum requirement for applying for college not a credential of college readiness. Lets stop pretending all high school graduates are ready for or should be enrolling in college. If colleges admit kids with high liklihood of failure and take their money and issue them debt isn’t that similar to the predatory lenders pushing adjustable rate mortgages on people who couldn’t really afford them.
The first step is for Maine to incorporate better strategies for teaching children to read. These are not stupid children, they simply have not learned effective strategies to read independently in the early grades where reading is taught and they never catch up. Maine is not the only state that went down the wrong path twenty years ago and started relying wholly, in many systems ,on “whole language” as a teaching strategy, discounting the importance of other strategies such as phonics. This is not the fault of the teachers but rather a wide ranging mistake in teaching philosophy that has crippled many children in attaining proficiency in reading ability. Thus they are not equipped to succeed in college.
As noted elsewhere I happen to agree with you on the issue of whole language instruction. Researching the research on reading instruction demonstrates clearly that instruction that contains a strong phonics component and direct instruction is more effective. This does not change the analysis of colleges admitting students who are unprepared for college work.
………
My life experience tells me that Maine people and their qualifications are highly regarded by people from away and near. I have one son who now lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and his employers were very well versed in the positive reputation that Mainers enjoy. Mainers are known for a hard work ethic and general good character. He has worked in the ski industry as a coach, instructor, and mountain bike technician. He is a graduate from the University of Maine with a BA degree in New Media and an AS in Computer Technology. My other son is now in Chile serving an internship with the American Embassy in Santiago. He is currently working on a Masters Degree in International Affairs and graduated with a dual degree in Economics and Spanish from UMO. They were well taught in our town elementary school by fine caring teachers. Both boys excelled in high school and had a very positive mentoring from all teachers. The Governor was caught in misinformation and should apologize. I sure wish they could have stayed here in Maine. We do not live in the simple times of the 1950’s. My children are part of the global workforce sadly, and go where the work is. It would be nice to roll back the clock but that is not possible. As far as the Governor is concerned if he and the rest of the tea party get their way we will all have to move somewhere else. I am thinking Ecuador would be nice. Oh, they also did not do it on their own, we all built it.
Jeff Foxworthy should get Governor LePage on his show “Are you smarter than a 5th grader”. I have a feeling that he wouldn’t last long.
He is self centered, insecure, and rude. He feels inadequate in himself therefore he believes the entire state of Maine is also inadequate, why if he feels this way about the beautiful state of Maine and the wonderful Mainers is he the Governor?
Let’s remember that in his initial comment about Mainers being looked down upon, he added a very telling “now” to it. Probably the only time he’s told the truth in his life.
So, let me see now, he is comparing HIS experience to ALL Maine students? Please, give me a break….
wow this guy does not know when or how to shut up!!! I didn’t vote for him and won’t ever think of voting for him!
I find it ironic that Mr. LePage is whining about his childhood and yet setting many children up for the same experience; living in poverty and through hard times with parents who have issues for one reason or another. He wants to take away health care, education, parental support and monitoring for those that need it, nutrition for kids that would otherwise go without, etc. Marden’s pays $8 an hour and I believe after one year you make $8.25, IF you’ve been a model employee. Tell me how anybody (esp a single parent) can afford to live on $320 a week before taxes…. it can be possible to do so if you are getting assistance… oh, and Marden’s does offer health insurance; for one person (not a family plan), and it’s over $50 a week w/a high deductible, etc.
Gov. Paul LePage’s recent statement that Maine students are “looked down upon” by people in other parts of the country derives from “life experience,” not any specific incidents or data, according to Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the governor.
This first paragraph is all I need to read. LePage thinks because he has had a problem everyone else does, especially something he needs to reference from years ago. Who is to say that he was looked down upon because they didn’t like his personality and not that he was from Maine? As arrogant and as much crap that come out of his mouth, you bet I would be looking down on him!
So, he made it up! Well, that’s what he does and no-one should be surprised. He owes the state an apology.
Great ….. nice going all who voted for a junk store manager and all that salt of the earth experience.
This article sure does have some people stirred up…
I think the governor is right on. I moved here from out of state and he’s right, the rest of the country does look down on Mainers. People from other parts of the country assume Mainers are backwards, unsophisticated, and ignorant, this is just a fact, it’s not pleasant but at least he’s willing to state the truth that he sees. How can a problem be addressed if it’s swept under the carpet. He’s trying to change this and he’s right, it NEEDS to be changed. This used to be a kick@ss state with people here that were respected, especially right after the civil war, when we had some pretty decent and courageous people. We had promising business people at one time, good education. Things have gone downhill. Let’s remedy this, not balk at the governor for admitting the truth. Let’s back him up and turn this around.
This is “fact” or just an opinion from someone from away who wants to mess our state up as much as the one you left? If we’re so backwards (traditional), unsophisticated (not full of falsehoods), and ignorant (at least of what others may think is important), then return to your uptight, short-sighted, narcissistic place you formerly called home. Mainers are still sought after in many work places. We are becoming more diverse, but still have strong core values that emphasize hard work, self-reliance, and honesty. I wish our gov’nah would stand on these issues and not just seek to “Mardenize” our state. I am from away, but am happy to call Maine home.
You state ” I moved here from out of state” as a means of establishing your credentials that you know what those “from away” think of Maine. You then state ” especially right after the civil war, when we had some pretty decent and courageous people.” If you are not a native then where do you get the “we had some pretty decent and courageous people” this is what investigators call an inconsistency tell. It is indicative of deception. That issue aside I am concerned for your health if you have personal memories of the reputation of the state “right after the civil war”. Actually we have had some pretty decent and courageous folks in living memory. People like Margaret Chase Smith, Bill Cohen, and while I did not agree with many of his politics George Mitchell (work in Ireland come to mind). More recently I would add Peter Mills (MTA clean up) and Olympia Snowe (the courage and integrity to give up a senator seat rather than become the tool of radicals). I would not balk if the Governor were telling the truth but he is a documented spreader of falsehoods and misinformation. You are certainly right that “things have gone down hill” our current governor doewn’t hold a candle to any of those bright lights of Maine. We will not turn around any problem or issue by telling lies. Here is a quote from another decent and courageous person “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The governor could profit from not just this quote but also from the other words of this fellow.
This governor isn’t helping Maine at all.
The people in other states only started looking down on us about 19 months ago.
Shouldn’t the governor try to instill team spirit among the state’s citizens? LePage doesn’t seem to have a high regard for the very people he will be calling upon to re-elect him. I guess this latest quip will just wind up being one more sound bite that’s going to come back to haunt him.
Our so-called governor has done more to denigrate the people (including students, seniors, teachers, the physically and mentally handicapped) of Maine than anyone I have ever heard. I can’t believe this imbecile represents our state in the public arena. He has managed to spout lies and disparaging remarks about just about everyone. How in the world did his daughter get such an impressive job right out of college if she indeed attended state schools?
You know I don’t agree at all that all students from Maine are looked down on. I have definitely heard from other people that individuals don’t reflect their alma maters well, but those are individuals and not representative of all students from this state. I’d bet that any school will have their dipsticks and that includes any school out there, but it certainly is not representative of a whole state when an individual here and there are seen as dubbers.
I believe that when public schools start in the fall, the students should tell the governor they want a public apology. Storm Augusta from every part of the state from the Allagash to York. We really do need an uprising. Perhaps the students will be the ones to make it happen.
Paul Lepage is a sadist. That’s why the Canadians and those southerners hired him to run Maine into the ground. The less we have in Maine the better Canada the boys in Dixie like it.
Test.
i wonder why people didn’t take to him when he was younger?…..for a state on the federal dole and with a lot of low income folks Maine should be proud of how the people looked out for one another, for instance, at one point, the lowest infant mortality rate in the nation. having good values in tough times sometimes call for the ole, two steps forward, one step back. he is the one step back. just like g.bush, sarah palin, etc, he’ll fade away and keep a very low profile.
Several giant steps back …
So he felt looked down upon so he in turn should do the same to the state and the education system as a whole?!?
what is the one of thee top druggies state college in the united states
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
http://willbarnesonline.com/wordpress/2011/01/04/top-50-colleges-in-america-for-drug-abuse/
Nope. no one looking down on mainers
wtf is willbarnes?
howie carr: ” at any given time, 1 out of every 3 mainers is high”
nope. no one looking down on mainers
Howie Carr? That’s like looking to Daffy Duck for sound advice.
Howie Carr claims to be from Maine. Howie is just an angry, fat bald guy, who wears orthopedic shoes.
bold or bald?
Wow Howie Carr’s shock jock riff and some unknown geek on a blog with no source identified for his supposed rankings. This is your new source. No better than your earlier one.
I think that people often reveal their own inner thoughts when they ascribe motivations to others. Maybe Paul LePage has spent his whole life thinking that he is being looked down upon by others, which actually would be understandable. Part of his story is being looked down upon because of his French and underprivileged background. He had to take his SAT in French, according to him anyway, to get into college. So maybe Governor LePage is simply projecting onto Maine in general the way he sees himself.
LEPAGE IS RIGHT. ‘maine students are looked down upon’
here is a great example:
If you went to your local Maine public school,if you mention maine kids should have required homework over the summer. the maine kids would laugh at you. the maine teachers would laugh at you. the maine parents would laugh at you. Mainers would think it is one big joke, giving homework for the summer.
But SURPRISE! in the other 49 states, public schools have been giving required reading home work assignments for 10 years now.
google “”required summer reading lists”” Look at all the public schools in the other 49 states in the country, that give required reading assignment to kids over the summer.
You need to check RSU 25 (i’ll bet there are others as well). Our daughter was assigned summer reading as an assignment. She usually reads a book a week, so it’s no big deal.
Do you have kids? My kids have had summer reading lists since they were in elementary school!
You are wrong on all accounts. What a bunch of lies.
Having lived in NYC I was told how much Mainer’s were respected for their work ethic. Now this state has become a welfare state and very few respect Maine. It’s not rocket science! Tough love is needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
maine’s respectable work ethic ended about 45 years ago. hard working mainers are in their 70s ,80s,90s. or dead
when the war on poverty programs began,maine,overnight, became
the white welfare capitol of the country. mainers and welfare was love at first site
William & Mary is not a private college; it is state supported. I guess the author of the article has the same problem as the Governor in getting facts straight. It is the 2nd oldest college; the first unversity; the first to have an honor code and a multitude of other firsts.
Hammockbear is a rat fink for the Lepage administration. Notice how he always shows up when the populace do not agree with Lepage.
Floridians always jump at hiring Mainers! May not be college, but it’s a job!
You have not been to Florida lately. Jobs are scarce down there no matter where you are from.
FL and the South in general(excepting ATL and the Research Triangle)have some of the dumbest laziest people on this earth.ME should be happy for what they have.
Oh. Well, see, that’s not everybody from Maine, Paul. That’s just you.
Tomorrow or Wed. he will have his usual press release in these matters (usually caused by his poorly chosen words) to explain to the rest of us minions what he “meant to say”. I wish my Governor would help us all by keeping his mouth shut ……….he can’t go two weeks without saying something hurtful, ignorant, and stupid. I can’t recall any positive comments from him. He’s got issues, mostly foot in mouth disease! And saying he’s a “businessman” as justification for his views is embarrassing to businessmen……he’s watched The Godfather movies one too many times.
He’s the biggest reason other states “look down” on Maine. How does he rate among the other 49?
Interesting. I’m visiting some family out of state at the moment and when I talk to people and tell them I’m from Maine they all talk about the work ethic, honest, and integrity that we have. Guess the Gov and I have been talking to different people…
Did any one of you whining liberals just stop and think that Gov Lepage might be referring to the fact that Maine is second in the nation for percent of households receiving food stamps, second in the nation for percent of households receiving cash assistance, and second in the nation for population of households receiving Medicaid. also, that welfare system enrollment in Maine grew 70 percent between 2003 and 2010.
These facts were found in the Maine sun journal,by Pattie Reaves,Web Editior. But i suppose that most liberals on here will respond to facts with name calling and lame excuses.
Appears to me that Gov Lepage is trying to get people off of the state welfare systems and back to work,and i think that’s why you people hate him so much,you are afraid you will loose your free ride !
All of which has nothing to do with what colleges think of our students. This has absolutely nothing to do with this story. Sounds like you are whining to me. Not to mention the Governor, whining because he is certain people in other states do not like us. Sounds like a personal problem to me.
This proud Maine conservative paid attention to the fact that the Governor’s statements were specifically about how Maine students are viewed when they apply for college admission out of state.
However if we are looking at the issues you raise. I also note that the Governor is with holding bond authorization for voter approved projects that would provide jobs to Mainers that would to some degree reduce all of the issues you name. So in fact hes is part of the problem in that area as well.
It’s amazing how he just makes it up as he goes along. Keep it up, Guv. Your example is ultimately bound to confirm your claim.
My wife is from Aroostook County.She has traveled across this country. All she ever heard was Maine people are honest hard workers. The scores she got in college is due to the hard working teachers she had all 12 years in Presque Isle .
If you Mr. Lepage believes only Maine is suffering from a lax education system then you better go back to school.Teachers are not as they used to be.
The constraints on their teaching, the crowded classroom, and the students that are not given enough attention as the teachers are so pressed for time
.Some students do not come from english speaking families.Not all immigrants are as they were in past generations.
The child is only exposed to english in school, and sometimes does not start to school in this country until 7 or 8 years of age.
The teachers are not able to spend the needed time for these students to catch up.
All states are suffering.
I am certain you Mr. Governor want better for Maine education.
I have never been in another State where people from Maine are looked down upon. I think the State of Maine’s Governor and bureaucracy have it wrong. There are many college grads who just can not find a good job in Maine…so they leave. LePage left and went to Canada when he graduated…not for a job but to avoid going to Vietnam because his student deferment was gone. How can any Mainer look this guy in the face when he does nothing but denigrate Maine.
LePage is an INSULT to the people of Maine… Time to replace this crude Vietnam era draft dodger…
Never has any governor, in any state, said so many dumb comments about education…
LePage: You are ignorant…
Possibly using LePage as an example of the Maine educational system.
It would seem from the many comments LePage has made since becoming governor that HE’s the one who looks down on the people of Maine … which begs the question why did he run for governor?
I could not agree with you more. He has been especially negative toward all of Maine right from the beginning. He has mocked and portrayed Maine’s educators, scientists, organizations, business people, women, children, and all other citizens, educators, etc… in a very negative light right from the beginning of his term.
It appears that it wasn’t just government that LePage was angry with. He doesn’t seem to like anything about Maine at all. And, as usual, his most recent negative statement about Maine is not based on any fact nor is it in any way “constructive” criticism – it’s just criticism. Like his assistant pointed out, his comment is just his personal opinion of the people and educators in Maine.
So he could get paid and manipulated by the powers that be.Electing morons works for R’s (Reagan,both Bushes,Palin,many more)
They look down on him because he is an uneducated bully, despite his schooling. He is an oaf and that comes through to all he meets! No wonder they consider him a lowlife.
As a non-Mainer who just finished up her 6 year double degree stint at UM, I can’t wait to get the heck out of this state.
And yet you chose to come here to spend those 6 years. Does this post imply you are one of those the Governor described who look down on Maine and Maine residents. If so I hope you advise potential future employers of your view of the state where you received your degrees. It would seem only fair that they know your feelings about the place where you were educated.
The Piscataqua River Bridge is there for you.
So why did you choose UM if you think it’s inferior? I totally agree with the other person who said that if you feel this way about your education than you owe it to your future employers to tell them that you believe you received an inferior education and that your degree is not as good as other candidates who received their educational degrees in any other state. No matter how you look at it you aren’t presenting YOURSELF in a good light. Seriously, an employer would be sitting there scratching their head wondering what kind of person continues attending an educational institution AFTER they believe the education they are receiving is inferior? Perhaps not the sharpest tack in the box.
It’s not about the education, its about the state leadership. I didn’t say anything about the education. Whoa now!
It IS about the education. This article is about LePage saying that Maine students are looked down upon. Graduates of U-Maine are getting a Maine education.
thanks for your clarification guest. your original post was somewhat vague and brief so it was difficult to know your rationale for wanting to leave. That is why in my response post I framed by comments as a question to you. As an alternative if you find the state (not the current leadership) a good place and can find career prospects I would encourage you to stay and help change that leadership through the electoral process.
Goodbye and Good Riddance to you.
If that’s the way you feel then by all means leave ASAP.
Why on earth did you decide to study here?
It’s no wonder this person wants to leave our state…listen to yourselves. You are filled with hate, it’s shameful and disgusting. To me this comment is more a comment on the lack of a future for a young graduate for any sort of descent well paying job. Going to work at some retail outlet won’t payback 6 years of student debt.
I cringe when I think of what people in other states must think when they hear Lepage talk. My god what an ignoramous, and a liar to boot. I have never heard anyone from Maine say they were looked down on when applying for a job. Exactly the opposite is true. I even question whether Lepage was “looked down on”. He makes stuff up as he goes. If he said, “this is what I want to do to improve education in Maine” that would be one thing, but making things up is foolish. I hate to wish time away but I can’t wait for this guy to be gone in 2014.
Out of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Maryland
achieved the highest percentage (23.4) of public school students scoring
at least a 3 on an AP Exam. Maine attained the largest single-year
increase in the percentage of high school graduates who scored a 3 or
higher on an AP Exam while Vermont realized the largest five-year gain.
The report highlights the six states with the highest five-year gains:
in addition to Vermont, these include Maine, Maryland, Arkansas,
Washington and Oregon. (See “States with the Greatest Expansion of AP
Scores of 3+ Since 2003,” page 6.
http://press.collegeboard.org/releases/2009/college-board-announces-2008-ap174-results-more-us-students-succeed-ap-exams-predictors-succ
Yep its performance like this from college boards 2009 study that must have convinced William and Mary to implement that special test for Maine students.
Does this mean that we can’t do better? No. Does this show more evidence that the Governor and others are just plain wrong when they claim Maine students are low performing and that Maine education is going down hill? Yes it does. The fact is as shown in the Harvard study that Maine student performance has been improving not declining over the past 20 years.
LePage is a liar and a bully and a spoiled brat who will say whatever he thinks he needs to to get what he wants. He reminds me of the old joke, “How can you tell when a politician is lying?” Answer: His mouth is moving. He’s a great example of what’s wrong with politics today, I’ll give him that.
Narcissism, meet your maker !
A dual-turbocharged V-8 mouth connected to a single-cylinder 1/2 horsepower brain.
Obviously his experience of being looked down upon may reflect on his “character” rather than his being (sort of) a mainer. The rest of us and our kids are just fine.
What a wimpy comment from the HPC “professor” at UMaine. I’ve rarely heard of a UMaine Poly Sci major finding work anywhere, let alone, Maine.
The only one who required a special entrance test was him – why? because he couldn’t speak English!
Obviously you don’t speak French. How does it feel to be dumber than a Frenchman?
He should just keep his lips sealed….
What a self aggrandizing assumption for the pompous derriere to make, the entire State of Maine is not guilty by association, just because Paul La Pudge is Governor.
There are always snobs who look down on any rural area, but typically when I say I am from Maine I am greeted with a smile and a statement that professes love for the state and its beauty.
“LePage’s
style makes him unconventional, Brewer said, but “he’s getting policy wins.
That’s what counts.” No, Mr. Brewer, that is not what counts. Beating
your opponents may be an entertaining form of adversarial competition
in the wide world of political sports. The “winning” politician can celebrate a
momentary victory while the loser suffers the agony of defeat (as they used to
say on TV). But there is no clear connection between getting a policy win and
good public policy. In fact, policy decisions that harm the pubic are
often the result of political scrimmaging. As for Mr. LePage, yes, he has had a few so-called political wins. But even a broken
clock tells the correct time twice a day. That does not make it a good clock.
I would like to thank all the people that towed the party line and voted for this piece of work.
This guy has done nothing positive since he took over.
Maine people are know as hard working and honest people. Mr. LePage is the exact opposite of honest. This state is a joke.
This state is “not” a joke, LePage is the sad comedic issue at hand.
I have a question indirectly related to this article. I have heard our fearless leader make several references to his upbringing and I am confused, as it seems, he too is. Can someone please clear this up. 1. He talks of growing up an orphan on the streets of Lewiston. 2. He claims to have spoken only French. 3. He spoke of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father growing up. 4. He spoke of his Parochial education growing up. So my question is – How could he be an orphan on the streets of Lewiston living with an abusive father while going to Parochial school (very expensive tuition) and not have any hint of an accent?
What a Tool…
Maine is looked upon as a back-water, back-woods, backward place. My daughter went to UMassAmherst and got that ‘Maine hick’ treatment. She was a good student, did well in high school and college. She used to point out that she in southern Maine lived closer to Boston than her Amherst friends. But, like it or not, people think we live far, far away from civilization. The fact that they are wrong does not change their perception.
He is using his own life experience? Maybe it’s not people from Maine in general, but just you who is looked down upon.
Politics
I’ll echo the statement made by others — maybe his memories are people looking down on *him* personally, rather than Maine students or Maine in general.
Our students are “looked down upon”? What a load of crap from the mouth of the bull crapper himself! He needs to quit reflecting his own inadequacies on our state’s youth. Just because he didn’t feel “good enough” when he was young does NOT give him the right to insinuate our youth is less educated than the rest of the country. I think this state has produced some very intelligent minds and if he wants to cast such a poor light on the state of Maine, why doesn’t he just move the heck out of Maine? I am so sick of him and his stupid inadequacies of himself, it makes my blood boil every time I read yet another article about something he has said or done. I can’t stand him anymore and I’m surprised that any political party would lay claim to him or is asinine policies. I can’t wait to vote him out!
Not even an analyst’s findings will stem the distrust the citizens of Maine have in Le Page.
Interviewing Adrienne Bennett, Le Page’s -“tell ’em what I meant” resounds like an echo chamber, each time Le Page trips over his tongue.
He lied about his reasons for removing the mural. He lied about Maine students being required to take a special test in order to be admitted to William & Mary. His more recent major flub has been to decry Mainers as being looked down upon, or, scorned in other states.
But he is doing the job that the Koch brothers- the tea party bosses – bought him. We just have to stomach this man and his cold, brash impudence for two more years. Unless, someone elected to save us from such distastefulness -decides to impeach him.
He is moody, cranky, and just plain nasty. We’re to blame for a father who beat him, and the fact he had to work as a child. No one else – in Maine, or, anyplace else – ever had to experience such cruelties.
Maine can’t bear the weight of this fool much longer.
This guy has to be the most negative governor ever. I have never seen anything like it. He is using his own bad experiences as a scare tactic for reform.
JimmyRow that is why the man is rank the “Worst” Governor ever elected in the history of Maine. No one can out rank him – he is the “Worst” Governor and a shame to our proud state till he came here.
I’m the owner of a small local business, but I belong to several national trade organizations and have colleagues/friends all over the country. When I am at conferences and trade shows I have never had anyone imply that they feel Maine is backward or that our citizens are poorly educated. In fact, many seem to envy the fact that I am located here in Maine (even those with children to educate!). I have, however, run into a number of people (more and more frequently) who comment on the buffoon we have in the governor’s mansion. The poorly educated embarrassment he claims Maine students have become? …..it seems that is an honor he alone holds.
Again, the issue is clarity of message. Stop throwing grenades like you’re still campaigning, Governor…turn on the “adult, elected official” filter. And where is his staff?!
Well LePage did make in onto a top ten list…………
The 10 Worst GOP Governors 2012:
7. Paul LePage, Maine
“To all you able-bodied people out there: Get off the couch and get yourself a job,” Maine Governor Paul LePage told the Republican State Convention in May .
The governor wants to impose his own form of welfare “reform” on the
state in the middle of an ongoing jobs crisis—and he’s even willing to make up stories and fudge numbers
to get his way. And what does he consider “welfare”? Everything from
disability benefits to MaineCare (the state’s version of Medicaid —
healthcare for low-income people). His Medicaid cuts alone could hit
65,000 people.
How LePage can complain that Maine has more people receiving benefits
than paying taxes, and then say he wants to eliminate the personal
income tax is a bit of a mystery, but he doesn’t seem to see the conflict . Maine
collects over half of its total revenue from the personal income
tax—but LePage wants to lower tax rates on the top earners. Next year
the rate will fall from 8.5 percent to 7.95, and the governor wanted to
drop it to 4 percent but couldn’t get away with that and keep the state
functioning.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/the-10-worst-gop-governor_n_1590569.html
Update: his latest faux pas will get him moved up to at least #3
The lack of diversity in Maine ignores the patience of Maine businessmen and citizens who must put up with folks from Boston,Hartford,and New York.It’s hard to imagine a more difficult task of diplomacy.
People of Maine can migrate to Florida to see the merits of diversity in America.This is a great example of the melting pot and pot production facilities.
Um,sorry Paul,it wasnt “all of Maine students” that was being looked down upon..Um,it was you…
And Mr. LePage brings more negativity to the state !! When is this going to end ?!!!
And Mr. LePage brings more negativity to the state . When is this going to end ?!!!
If you want business as usual go democrat. lepage is right on with this one. I know first hand. But hey, if you want to bury your head in the sand and live off welfare, thats your business. I never found that appealing…Now I see why people do not like the penguin, he is actually making some challenging statements that the libs do not want to hear. Hey, Johnny needs an A in spelling but is posting nonesense on Twitter…
We do want business.Seems there hasn’t been much since the great sign(made out of state)was put up.
When I travel and talk to people, I have only heard good things about Maine people and especially their work ethic.
>>>#<<<
I wonder why.
WILLIAM & MARY admission’s officer: Mr. Alfond, we’ve reviewed your SAT scores, which as you probably know, are identical to the avg. score for a male student graduating from a Maine public school.
The avg.(mean) score for male & female students nationally are 494 in Reading, 506 in Math, and 483 in Writing.
The avg. (mean) score for Maine’s male & female students were 29 points (-) below the National Reading score; 44 points (-) below in Math; and 35 (-) below in Writing.
To be fair, I seperated out your scores as a male student and compared them against those nationally and found that your Reading score was 35 points (-) below the national average; 55 points below (-) in Math, and 46 points below(-)in Writing.
To be fairer still, I compared your scores against white male students nationally and found your Reading score was 57 points below (-) the national avg.; 71 points below (-) the national Math. score; and 62 points below(-) the national Writing score for while males.
These are way below the threshold we’ve set for admissions; so I reviewed your other test submissions and regret telling you those 4th and 8th grade NAEP scores are only a small statistical sample of all students in those grades, not you specifically.
Besides we want the sum total of 12 years of public schooling, which is what is provided us by the SAT scores.
Do you have any thing else to offer for our consideration?
ALFOND….My family was expecting to contribute enough money to replace your hockey arena or any other comparable facility.
WILLIAM & MARY admission’s officer: WELCOME TO THE CLASS OF 2017!
WILLIAM & MARY Admission Officer: Since we recognize that in 2011 the national SAT participation rate was 50% compared to Maine at 93% (first in the nation), it is certainly understandable that your scores would be lower than the national average. Taking that into account would indicate that Organicgardener needs a refresher course in data analysis and that you are, indeed, William and Mary material.
Scores were just as bad 20 years ago, long before that legendary 92% participation rate kicked in. If you want, I’ll use Massachusetts scores since their participation rate is 86% and you’ll see a much larger gap. Take out the minority scores and do a real ‘apples to apples’ comparison and you’ll see how far behind the rest of the U.S. Maine really is.
My data analysis skills are excellent; yours appear to have a strong political bias.
I see you’ve edited your original response to read “legendary” instead of “mythical” participation rate so, apparently, you now accept the validity of Maine’s close to universal testing.
So please explain how in 1990 when Maine’s participation rate was 60% our students did as well or better than they do today (Verbal 423 vs. 465 and Math 463 vs. 462). There should be an inverse correlation between participation and performance since it should be axiomatic that lower performing students would opt out of the tests. Analysis of 2007 data (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-08-28-sat-table_N.htm) confirms this. In fact, from the same source, “The College Board cautions against ranking states by scores. The reason: Scores vary greatly by how many students take the exam. The more who take it, the lower the state’s score is likely to be.”
Could it be that despite universal testing, students have done better? Or is your strong political bias dictating otherwise?
Here’s support of my “strong political bias,” as reported by the College Board:
However, it is important to note that many College Board tests are taken only
by particular groups of self-selected students. Therefore, aggregate results of
their performance on these tests usually do not reflect the educational
attainment of all students in a school, district or state. Useful comparisons of
students’ performance are possible only if all students take the same test.
Average SAT scores are not appropriate for state comparisons because the
percentage of SAT takers varies widely among states. In some states, a very
small percentage of the college-bound seniors take the SAT. Typically, in a
state with a very small percentage of the college-bound population taking the
SAT, these students have strong academic backgrounds and are applicants to the
nation’s most selective colleges and scholarship programs. Therefore, it is
expected that the SAT critical reading, mathematics and writing averages
reported for these states will be higher than the national averages. In states
where a greater proportion of students with a wide range of academic backgrounds
take the SAT, the scores are closer to the national averages.
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2011/aggregate-scores
See, all Maine high schoolers take the SAT, not the college-prep 40-50%, so you cannot compare Maine kids to the college prep kids from other states. Duh.
Sure you can, college admission’s officers do it all the time on an individual basis. It’s when you start to aggregate them, that the disparities become obvious.
Hi Gardener ,
Finally and intelligent statement form the Garden “college admission’s officers do it all the time on an individual basis” Of course that is exactly the opposite of what the Governor claimed and you supported that being that colleges in general and W&M in particular treat Maine candidates differently as a group. So when the top SAT scoring students from Maine compete against the top SAT students from other states they do just fine When the next tier of Maine Students compete against the next tier of other states they also do just fine. Your use in an earlier post of mean Maine scores vs. national means does exactly the opposite of what you claim here. If you want to do any kind of a comparitive analysis between states (which the College Board authors and owners of the test repeatedly and firmly state is invalid and has no meaning) then you would need to use comparable samples. That would mean either a random sample of all students in those states (not available) or you could do a matched sample analysis between the two data sets. To do this you would need to have access to the identity cleansed background data on the students in each state. You would then cross match students from the two states based on known independent variables to create a proper matched set of comparative samples. You could then begin to do what you have attempted to do in comparing states. Until then your analysis is the equivalent of saying that Florida’s mean temperature is lower than Maine’s by counting the temperature on all days in Florida (i.e. all Maine students taking the SAT) and counting only June, July and August for Maine (i.e. other states only college bound students taking test). Next time I’ll think of an appropriate gardening analogy if that would be more helpful.
Hi Gardener,
I assume your source for this admission officer analysis of Maine students is the same as the Governor’s. In other words completely fabricated and unrelated to reality.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/LePage-defends-DHHS-cuts-in-Lewiston.html
Right on Amy Fried….it is the negativity which is ruffling feathers and makes the state look ignorant.
The article references a “Harvard” study, but that’s incorrect. The study was NOT made by Harvard, but by a right wing think tank. I’m sure that Harvard would not condone the slanted contents of the study or the way that the study is being mis-used.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! All of you people are funny! Why do you write comments about what everyone does wrong? And why do you write about who you think everyone should vote for? You like who you like, others like who they like. It’s as simple as that. People have been arguing over who is the better politician, and who would be better in those special seats. But the sad truth, is no matter who is put there. People are never happy. Democrats hate Replubicans, and vice versa. It’s been that way since the very beginning, and it will continue to be that way. Whatever happened to putting our country first? I’m not going to say who you should vote for, or if Govenor LePage is wrong. I will say this: we are human, we are not perfect. And if you expect perfection, then you will be disappointed. If you want someone, who doesn’t make mistakes to run this state, or our country. Then build a robot. Or, you can accept that people are human, and do mess up. Are you perfect? Do you not make mistakes in your everyday life? It shouldn’t be vote for this one because they’re Democrate, or vote for this one because they’re republican. It should be vote for this one, because they have the country’s best interests at heart. But I know what you’re probably thinking. That Democrats are the one’s who have the country’s best interest at heart, or vice versa. When did we start separating ourselves as people? When you’re in a crowded area, look around you. Can you tell if someone is Democrat, or Republican, or Independent? Can you? Then it shouldn’t matter when you vote. When you walk up to someone, meeting them for the first time. Do you ask them if they vote either/or? OR do you ask them what they like to do, what’s their favorite food? Granted to you, this probably doesn’t make a lick of sense, but I’m hoping that someday it just might. The moral is: It doesn’t matter what party they are from, it matters what they can do for MY COUNTRY. It doesn’t matter if they make verbal mistakes, it matters how they overcome those mistakes, and fix the problems they caused. So, think about that when you vote.
Your right Christine. I have been a registered republican for several decades primarily because of my admiration for persons like Senator Smith, Senator Cohen and my generally conservative views but I try to vote based on who I see as who will best serve the country or states best interest. In the last Governor’s race I voted in the primary for a republican competitor of the Governors and in the general election reluctantly for Mr. Cutler as the least bad alternative. Once the Governor was elected I gave him the benefit of the doubt and hoped for the best. You are also right that everyone makes mistakes and as you say “it matters how they overcome those mistakes and fix the problems they cause”. My problem with the Governor is just that. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was honestly repeating bad information that he had gotten from somewhere in 2005. While this would show poor judgement in trusting hearsay to form the basis of state policy it could be forgivable if he would just do the right thing and admit and apologize for his error and then adjust his policy based on true and correct information. Unfortunately this governor seems incapable of taking responsibility for his errors. Every time he is caught out in one of these situations his consistent reaction is to blow up at the person(s) who point out his error, to deny he made any mistake, to blame others for his mistake, to offer a lame justification or revision of his original claim and then to cry victim that people are picking on him. I don’t insist on a Governor who is perfect and never makes mistakes but I do insist on one who admits and takes responsibility for his mistakes and then shifts his course based on truth rather than fabrication. That is what my old Republican party used to call integrity.
Oh, and another thing. Some people in other states think we get our mail by sled dog. Others don’t even know where Maine is. They think it’s in Canada. Then there’s people that don’t think we have electricity. So, do you think other people look down on Maine? I think they do, because I traveled to other states. And when I mention that I’m from Maine. I will sometimes here the statement of ‘wow, you don’t look like how I pictured Maine people to look.’ And how is that? Scruffy, rundown, teeth missing……pretty much a dressed up sasquatch. There’s your answer to Mr. LePage’s remarks. I’ve been looked down on too, and my husband has as well.
The redneck games being on national TV tonight won’t help.The worst of ME getting publicity while hardworking students get ignored.SIGH.
What does that have to do with Maine’s education system? If you ask me, it shows that there are uneducated/ignorant people in other states too.
People look down upon you as the Penguin, not a Maine student. You are Paranoid and Obese so what do you expect. When you lived in Canada they looked at you as a Draft Dodger. Better see some help. By the way you part of the Act, “Penguin Prison” , coming to Maine ?
I have found that mainers do pretty well at finding jobs in their field of study.People need a rank card or study of the elected officals to find out how many of them are looked down on by others or how many have a free membership in brucies club
No, you buffoon…they looked down on you because you are an ignorant jerk.
As for your (well, the Heritage Policy Center’s) claim that Maine kids are at some sort of disadvantage because of our supposedly shoddy educational system…Well, aren’t you the Governor…and also a product of that supposedly shoddy educational system?????
People everywhere, no matter their educational system, will be looked down upon if they are ignorant jerks.
Wow..Over 300 comments..Must be another slam LePage hit piece..Where will all the ankle biters hang out once the BDN finishes going under..They already have defaulted on their pension plan..Bankruptcy is next…Unless Pingreedy’s husband buys it for her like he did the PPH..Oops this is the 2nd district..Mikey got a rich boyfriend or girlfriend ?? LOL…
Do you notice that nobody but nobody, not even the usual LePage sycophants, supports your comments. Must be kinda lonely out there on the Fringe, huh?
….
—-
Why does LePage bother to say anything? He spends more time with both his feet in his mouth than he does walking on them….talk about an embarrassment.
What a goober!!
The superintendent of schools in Brunswick had the highest regard for Navy kids from JAX…they tended to do very well in the local schools.
Were you NAVY?
Sorry Paul, they weren’t looking down on people from Maine, they were simply looking down on you as an individual.
On a side note, the placement of the question mark in the title drives me insane.
So if it’s based on his personal experience… He applied to a school or schools at some point in the past and felt that the school was eager to admit him solely because he was from Maine. Later in life he applied to another school or schools and felt that he was “looked down upon” because he was from Maine. When did this happen exactly?
Oh, but wait… it says: Gov. Paul LePage’s recent statement that Maine students are “looked down upon” by people in other parts of the country derives from “life experience,” not any specific incidents or data, according to Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the governor.
HELLO!! “Specific incidents” are what “life experience” is.
Just admit you pulled some made up non-information out of your behind for the purpose of demagoguery and try to be a better leader by being less wrong next time.
snip, snip. ‘self-selected’ vs. 92% vs. 86% for Mass. Scores are still individual and you are in competition with the rest of the U.S. Nothing has changed.
So, to get back to the topic at hand, is it true that W&M requires a pre-test for Maine applicants? Is it indeed a widely held perception that “if you come from Maine, you’re looked down upon?”
Is the Governor speaking truthfully?
No pre-test for Maine applicants. No, it is not . No, he is not. Re. the last question, he is not speaking truthfully because he is a liar and liars wouldn’t know the truth if it hit them in the face.
Yeah, I kinda thought so.
Really?His ”life experience”. When I read the original article it said ”someone from William and Mary had told him this.Theres always,someone telling him something.He just cant remember who.I dont care if every person in Maine ends up with a job,I still dont want my governor to lie.
USTODAY….is a second source, if you want to be credible you must source the data. here is your starting point:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/cb-seniors-2011
The 2001 scores were 506 VERBAL and 514 Math under the old testing breakdown; only 11,355 took the test vs. 14,975 in 2011. The Maine scores in 2001 were at Mean in Verbal and 14 points BELOW mean in Math. The drop in scores was predicted when they converted to the SAT’s but the drop was not expected to be this large. I think it also reflects how much better other states have become….there is a glaring contrast with the Mass. scores which has large participation rate and also a large number of lower scoring Hispanic and Black students.
You said twenty years ago. I gave you twenty years ago. Source: http://mathforum.org/workshops/sum96/data.collections/datalibrary/SAT.2004.xls
But just to be clear (AGAIN), I quote from your source: “A Word About Comparing States and Schools
“The SAT is a strong indicator of trends in the college-bound population, but
it should never be used alone for such comparisons because demographics and
other nonschool factors can have a strong effect on scores.”
“He is a business man. It’s from his life experience of talking to people,” Bennett told the Bangor Daily News on Monday. “While it’s anecdotal, he believes it.” and we all know that ANECDOTAL evidence is the best evidence to go by……the governor is a complete JOKE.
I truthfully look forward to what he is going to say next! For the same reason I choose to watch Looney Tunes in the morning now instead of the news. Entertainment value…
REALITY CHECK!
MAINE IS GOING TO BE MORE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN 3 MONTHS
LEPAGE WILL BE ELECTED FOR A SECOND TERM
because the
democrats have NO BODY
I have noticed just about everyone I meet that finds out I’m from Maine likes Maine, and have never experienced a negative anti-Maine feeling anywhere, I think it actually is an advantage. I have got jobs based on the perception that “Mainers are hard workers.” This guy has got to go…. The only negative things I hear about Maine is Lepage, mosquitos and a long winter.
I wonder what the percentage rate of engineers from Maine are versus the rest of the country? I bet it is extremely lopsided.
Maine students should not read what the governor says about them. Present (tense). The Bennet remark makes no sense.
I think it’s shameful that we have to apologize for our governer’s gaffs. He has a major problem with foot in mouth disease!
I am guessing most people who meet him and talk to him for a few minutes look down on him it has nothing to do with his education
I’ve lived in several different states and countries, and when people find out I’m from Maine they almost always react positively, saying how beautiful our state is and how wonderful its people are. This was true in for me at out-of-state grad school as well as countless other settings. I attended a very highly-ranked graduate program and felt more than adequately prepared, having only attended Bangor public schools and UMaine. My professors and colleagues generally agreed, and I never once felt looked down upon because I was the product of public education in Maine.
One thing they did teach me at UMaine is that anecdotal evidence is suspect unless you can back it up with more evidence. If Gov. LePage had negative experiences when introducing himself as a Mainer while out of state, unless he has other evidence to back him up, that’s simply HIS experience and nothing more. It’s certainly not something anyone should be basing educational policy on, or attempting to score political points with. For Gov. LePage to make disparaging remarks about Mainers – and Maine students in particular – sends a terrible message to Mainers and non-Mainers alike, and is the height of pettiness, irresponsibility, and disrespect. Nothing good will come of it.