The leaves are down, and the snowmobile trails aren’t ready. How do we attract tourists to Maine in November? Let’s offer a “Labor Mural Scavenger Hunt” lottery game.
We’re being facetious, but please play along. This isn’t meant to disrespect mural artist Judy Taylor or dismiss any of the free-speech arguments associated with ongoing legal proceedings related to Gov. Paul LePage’s decision to remove the mural from the lobby of the Maine Department of Labor office in March 2011.
Let’s use what Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern labeled “the most famous art in the state of Maine” to promote more art and market the state to the cultural tourism crowd.
The LePage administration has declined to disclose the mural ’s current whereabouts, but it could offer clues placed at strategic locations. Players would pay to scour the Maine landscape in search of the hints as to the mural’s hiding place.
The mural consists of 11 panels, so it makes sense to hide clues at 11 destinations throughout Maine. Here are a few suggestions:
• Given Gov. Paul LePage’s apparent desire to place as much distance as possible between himself and the mural, it would be appropriate to hide a clue somewhere among the scale models of the sun, planets and satellites along Route 1 in Aroostook County.
• The drama associated with the mural’s removal and LePage’s past service as mayor of Waterville make the Waterville Opera House a logical place.
• Somehow Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Notch State Park seems aptly named.
• While waiting for LePage to sign the 2010 voter-approved bond for infrastructure upgrades at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority could stash a clue in one of the many buildings awaiting civilian reuse there.
• The former railway freight shed in Bath, which historic preservation buffs hope to save as a community gathering place and a workshop to create a replica of the first ship built by European settlers in Maine, stands within walking distance of the headquarters of one of the state’s most powerful unions, Local S6 of the Machinists union at Bath Iron Works.
• Burying a clue in a field of lupines along the midcoast would pay proper homage to Barbara Cooney’s “Miss Rumphius.” Hiding one on Mount Katahdin would give visitors with a literary bent a taste for what Donn Fendler felt when he was lost on a mountain in Maine.
• Placing a clue in a field outside the Olson House in Cushing might allow scavenger hunters to re-enact their own version of Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World.”
• Hiding a clue in a bottle at Maine’s coast would simultaneously show off the state’s beaches and highlight the local film industry by summoning memories of the 1999 “ Message in a Bottle.”
• Sticking a clue in an earmuff on Chester Greenwood Day this Dec. 1 in Farmington might prevent scavenger hunters from hearing harsh words exchanged by disputants in the mural controversy. At the very least, it would serve the dual purpose of paying tribute to a Maine inventor and warming one’s outer lobes.
Instead of listening to Maine Office of Tourism radio advertisements touting the state’s attractions between innings of Boston Red Sox broadcasts, tourists would be here, visiting Maine’s cultural sites and spending their money, while engaged in a local version of the “Amazing Race.” They could hear how Mainers really talk — unlike the fraudulent “ Down East Sweden” accents perpetrated by Bill Hader and Fred Armisen in a recent Saturday Night Live skit.
OK, we’re being silly. But hasn’t an air of silliness tinged this whole mural removal controversy since the beginning?
Please, step away from your computer. Do not hit save, send or other keys. Turn in your “journalism” badge and go home.
Thanks for that,David.
I think this is a great editorial. It is creative and literary and somehow winds a difficult path between the two ossified positions the right and left take on the mural. Not easy to write–and informative and thought-provoking.
I also think it appropriately shows the power of art to draw attention and, yes, generate tourism and money for the State. It jibes the foolishness of powerful men who misuse their power.
The irony of it is that LePage, by censoring, did more for the arts, and business related to the arts, than he has done for any other sort of business. But to give him credit for that is like giving a bully credit for the resilience and strength of those he targets.
Many conservatives don’t seem to appreciate art unless it falls into some small circumscribed box….which is not what art is about. Remember, Mitt and some of his cronies wanted to dismantle PBS right away (PBS features many cultural shows, besides nature, political discussions,etc.) . Well, Mitt you aren’t going to be able to do that. Happy days!
Very good point. Tonight and tomorrow night–Sun. and Mon–the eminent Ken Burns is presenting a four-hour program on America’s Dust Bowl in the wonderful American Experience history series. No doubt Mitt and Paul Ryan would condemn the victims of the Dust Bowl as “takers” who deserved no govt. assistance.
Yes, that should be great. Thanks. I had seen the previews for it. My older son was going to see the movie “Lincoln” last night. Looking forward to that as well…..great stuff.
PBS is fantastic. Where else do you get such wide and rich educational offerings.! And not all those inane horrible ads as on those other stations. Sick already of all the “holiday” ones……including that truck one with that same guy they have had doing those ads for a few yrs now. Phony and tiresome. So glad to have PBS!
Glad you and/or your son might watch “Dust Bowl.” Most of the American Experience programs are done by different sets of writers, producers, etc. There is no one series director. Only once has a program been challenged for inaccuracy, and that was years ago. Many of the past programs can now be viewed online. Even if they’re not available on line, pbs.org has fantastic info. available about every one of these programs. A wonderful way to learn more about American history.
They would probably claim the Dust Bowl was made up and never really happened.
Or that it was caused by ignorant and/or lazy farmers who were probably Communists at heart anyway.
Oddly, the Dust Bowl was in part the result of large-scale farming (wheat).
And there are some who think it can’t happen again…
And a fine example human activity triggering ecological disasters – sort of like global warming triggered by human utilization of excessive hydrocarbons.
And Gov. Paulie will probably have it removed from showing on PBS and hide it in a storage room!
Of import is that many artists from that time received commissions via the New Deal. Thousands of murals were painted in post offices and other Federal buildings across the nation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas_Post_Office_Murals
Here are two in Maine – there are many others:
http://www.pressherald.com/archive/deal_2009-03-27.html
another good series about the history of amerca by oliver stone on show time..I was switching back and forth between the 2 last night
reducing federal funding is a long way from “dismantle PBS”….please do some real research
interesting that you seem to know that “Many conservatives don’t seem to appreciate art unless……….”
it must be nice being so smart and superior?
If they don’t appreciate art then why are they slamming the mural? The mural is art no matter what a person thinks about it.
Defensive, aren’t you!
The clueless and ineffectual Romney always said that one of the first things he would do if elected (thankfully he was not) would be to cut all federal funding for PBS. Not “reduce” but “cut all.” No, that does not mean that PBS would have gone off the air.
Strange that is was always the right wing conservatives on here who were always so happy at the idea of cutting off funding for PBS. Perhaps they don’t watch it…..too busy over on Fox news. I know of this one right wing conservative for instance and he could not be bothered with PBS but just loves Fox
“news.” It is all very clear.
There are plenty of funding sources for PBS, cutting federal funds is only a small part.
It’s called the PUBLIC Broadcasting station for a reason.It’s creation has an interesting historry. It has alot to do with all the FREEDOMS the rights “say’s they embrace.
ah yes ” very clear”…………you “know of this one…..”, so you label all ? talk about “clueless and ineffectual”
i know of one left wing liberal who…….give me a break
Yet, another reason to be thankful for the election results.. BIG bird is safe… for now .
Yes, what so-called “conservatives” want to limit art to looks a lot like what the USSR used to call “socialist realism” – especially in that it has to conform to their politics before they’ll accept its legitimacy.
So if it were done in a more conventional, traditional style, there would have been no issue? Come on now, the style isn’t the point of contention, it’s the content.
I have no idea what that poster was trying to say or her/his stance on it. I think it was unclear.
You apparently didn’t read the part after the dash.
Socialist realism wasn’t just about style. It was also about the content. The labor mural would have been no more acceptable under Stalin than it is under Maine’s current would-be dictator, because it depicts workers taking matters into their own hands rather than just accepting what their superiors deign to dole out to them.
I understand, though what you’re talking about is well above the heads of both LePage and the gang. It is pro-union. That is enough to put it on the S list. The distinction you’re making might be correct, though it is simply not relevant, because the facts are secondary. ;)
It seems to be more about Labor (and hard work) and perhaps the NEED for union . Few panels are actually about Unions
“the style” was just one more “excuse” to justify it’s removal.
Or Jesus eating an apple pie before an American flag.
Excellent reply, SpruceDweller.
Just a basic handler working for the Green Shirts:)
It’s not so silly if one comes from a working class family…Wood cutters, paper mill workers, farmers like I do. Workers built the country….John D. Rockefeller was a billionaire in the beginning of the last century…He denied there were any poor people…because he had never seen any…
Good point. The only ones who seem to back Poor Paul’s hatred for labor are people who have never had a callous or a sore back. Guys that daddy left the business and a hatred of employees to. I hope that pat on the head from the Koch brothers was worth it to our governor. He will be forever remembered as a petty and childish hater of men and women who work for a living. Nice legacy.
Plus Clown LePage will go down in Maine history at the “Worst” Governor ever elected for the State of Maine. Clown Lepage is a Shame to the office, i doubt even Marden’s would take him back as based on employees that I know who worked at Mardens tell me he treated employees like slave and he was hated by all that worked under him. Ask a former employee that worked at Marden’s back then – ask about how they were treated by LePage.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that it would have been a loooooong day working for this tyrant at the junk store. I have worked in the past for people who became bosses for reasons other than ability or merit. You have to work very hard to avoid them, or you will end up punching them in the mouth and getting fired.
It’s a miracle overstock didn’t fall on him … by accident of course.
On the contrary, my brother in law was a manager under him, respected him and voted for him for governor.
You can fool some of the people some of the time…
Well said G.O… Power Paul’s mural incident was just the first indication to many, good, hard working, Maine people and many honorable Republicans, that they had elected an absolute, unmanageable, tyrannical buffoon; and regardless of how hard they worked on LePage’s damage control from then on…oh well, count the votes!
Where’s the Mural? We may never know. One thing every politician (especially the conservative ones) should have learned is that a whole lot of people were probably thinking about it and a few other atrocities by Mr. LePage when they went into the voting booth. An intelligent person never would have taken it down. A person of average intelligence would have put it back and apologized. Only a complete dolt would have taken it down, lied about why, and hid it away like a childhood bully who steals Halloween candy. Guess old habits really do die hard.
http://www.alternet.org/story/150392/the_8_worst_governors_in_america
My, MY, “Atrocities by Mr. LePage”! Did he commit mass murder? How about rape and plunder? Did he commit people to concentration camps or gulags? Guess who is lying here? I doubt it’s Mr. LePage. That said, I think you’re a bit too relaxed and inflammatory with your rhetoric. Your accusations directed at Mr. LePage seem to mirror you more than Mr. LePage.
Wow, you’re off topic personal attack on me had me worried for a second there so I checked this website again.
http://www.alternet.org/story/150392/the_8_worst_governors_in_america
Nope, don’t see my name here. “Atrocious” Mr. LePage seems to still have pretty much everyone on the planet beat. Given two more years he may even beat out Rick Scott! It’s also pretty clear that in terms of outlandish use of language, “The IRS is just like the Gestapo” LePage will likely have little old me beat by a 100 miles.
I read your link reference. Undoubtedly it was put out by the political left. It’s essentially an opinion piece, not much else. Read it again and you’ll see. For your information, I’m a Tea Party backer. I don’t support the left agenda for the most part. It’s totally the wrong path for this country. Big Government, socialism, pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia, pro gay marriage, anti-Christian, anti-First Amendment, etc. It’s trying to change all that made this a great country with the exception of slavery and the lack of women’s voting rights.
I’ll give you credit for having the guts (?) to come here to wave a Tea Party flag even though pretty much everything they stand for was just rejected by the voting public. People shoudn’t “neg” you here for expressing “that” but I suspect they will. “Starting” fights by insulting other commenters is another matter. I certainly won’t neg you for this comment. Don’t feel the need since as you might suspect, I already expressed my opinion of the Teas in the voting booth and am feeling quite good that so many others felt the same way as myself.
Keep beating the drum, I am a little upset you didn’t mention how awful on kids the Dems are. You feeling ok, or did you finally learn a little humility after the last election?
Speaking of humility, guess who’s gloating? Had the election results turned out in my favor, I doubt I’d be gloating. It’s not in my nature to rub others the wrong way for the sake of causing grief. Let me leave you with a word and a piece of advice for good living:
Peace. And don’t let anger get in your way.
Peace as long as it is the way you want things. I desire a peace where all people are treated equally both under the law and in society. You strive to keep people down simply because they are different than you and believe differently than your Christian point of view. Christianity has brought more war, death, and destruction than same sex marriage, legalized pot, or abortion combined, times a million.
As I posted elsewhere, it is in a storeroom adjacent to the office of the Commissioner of Labor.
Who really cares about the mural except for a few posters in this venue and in other liberal commentary sections? It’s a dead issue. Mainers could not care any less about it. More than before in recent years, people want more jobs and are not interested in promoting workers unions like this mural does. If you’re not persuaded, then just think about what the baker’s union did last week to take away jobs from nearly 600 Maine workers in one fell swoop. Maine is going to suffer consequences from this job loss event for years to come. Let’s support the governor’s effort to make Maine a business friendly state so that jobs can return to Maine.
Noteworthy is a recent article concerning town’s people in Fort Kent voting to eliminate a street to order make room for a new business facility to replace one that was razed by a fire this fall. Unless Mainers throughout the state adopt the same willing attitude of welcoming businesses, Maine will less likely attract new businesses and jobs for the future.
“Who really cares about the mural except for a few posters in this venue and in other liberal commentary sections? It’s a dead issue. Mainers could not care any less about it.”
Had you made that statement two years ago about what has now come to be known as “The Mural” I would have agreed with you. But not now. Up until that fateful Friday night when LePage , like a thief in the night, removed “The Mural” from the offices of The Maine Department of Labor I would guess that only a handful of Mainers actually knew it existed. I have been in business in this State for the better part of 30 years and never had occasion to visit the offices of MDOL. I am pretty sure most business operators would say the same thing. Politicians are known for what they say and also for what they do. John Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” , George HW Bush’s ” read my lips, no new taxes”, are sayings that they will forever be remembered for. In LePage’s case it is “The Mural”. It was the first insight that Paul Richard LePage gave to Mainers about the type of person he really was. By removing “The Mural” and hiding it away showed us all his defiant, bullying and mean spirited side. LePage has already won his legal case in US District court, he most probably will win at The First Circuit Court of Appeals. However no one will remember those victories. What Mainers will remember is the way he removed what until that night was a virtually unknown work by a mostly unheard of artist and the manner he conducted himself in the days, weeks and months after. . He called Mainers who opposed the removal “Idiots”. You say “The Mural” is a dead issue. To you it maybe a dead issue. I am sure you wish it was. But it isn’t. It has become a symbol to Maine People, one that will forever be associated with the name Paul Richard LePage. I am sure it was in the minds of Maine voters when they entered the voting booths on November 6th and delivered one of the worst blood baths to Republicans in the history of The State of Maine.
Yes, Republicans suffered a serious loss in this state. It’s really a stretch however to maintain the mural was in their minds when they voted. The mural is a symbol only to those who were angry when disaffected voters two years ago ceded the gubernatorial reins to a conservative. Mural or no mural, his detractors would surely have found another alibi to discredit him. If you’re not persuaded, then just consider how Romney was discredited by the opposition party for being an honest and successful businessman. Criticizing one’s political views is one thing. Tearing one’s good reputation is another thing for which I don’t have much stomach. Their strategy worked. Obama was re-elected and the voters were left more polarized than ever. Not a good start for any president.
Okay let’s get first things first. I not only voted for LePage I contributed to his campaign with not only cash but also by working the phones on his behalf. What is little known and hardly talked about is the way that LePage acted soon after his election and before he actually took office. He basically abandoned those who had worked on his behalf and by turning over the reins of his transition team to then Grand Wizard Bragdon of the Maine Heritage Policy Center. He even failed to invited some of his hardest workers to his inauguration. I received an invitation, but because I was by that time in Florida for the winter did not attend. The LePage that we had worked so hard to elect and the one who stood at the podium to give his inaugural address were two different people. In the first sentence of his inaugural address he started lying to us. “People Before Politics” turned into special interest and wealthy people before anyone else. The very first bill he signed with great fanfare benefited one single company, a hotel firm who wanted to add a few more rooms on environmentally sensitive areas on Maine’s coast. It had nothing to do with the JOBS, JOBS, JOBS he had promised during the campaign, but paying back a campaign contributor. His detractors, which I am sure you number me among, did not have to look very far for reasons to discredit him. He did an excellent job of doing that all by himself. From what I know of Mitt Romney he is most certainly a good man, the type of man we could be proud to number among our friends. But to say that his opposition discredited him as a person you have to remember that the first to engage in those tactics was Newt Gingrich and not President Obama. Romney knew before he entered the Presidential sweepstakes that politics is a dirty business. Anyone that has picked up a newspaper or watched TV news could tell you that. Running for President of the United States is not like running for class President of the Third grade where you have to be nice to your opponent and not vote for yourself. The fact of the matter is your side lost, and lost big not only in Maine but Nationally as well. Last spring I said that Paul Richard LePage was the Democrats “secret weapon”. His antics, policies and the way he insulted just about every group of people in this state, hell he even told jokes to his Tea Party Friends in Washington about pregnant nuns, is the reason the Republicans suffered a crushing bloodbath in this State and “The Mural ” was on the minds of a lot more voters then you think. You don’t win elections by pissing off large blocks of voters and that is exactly what narrow minded Republicans did. For proof of that all you had to do was read the morning newspaper on Nov. 7th.
Fantastic post, truly well said!!
Most people in this country are positive and don’t sit around bemoaning things as that poster does. It almost seems like that person and those like her want to see things go badly, except when a tea party Republican is in power. Be thankful most people have a brighter and more realistic outlook and see the good things that are achieved. (no matter who is in power.) I am not a Republican but saw how Bush did excellent work with AIDS as one example. However, there are those who post here who would not see anything good about our President no matter what he did. You have to feel sorry for such people.
I find lots of folks on here have some profound insights regardless of their political leanings which gives me hope that we can heal this divide that seems unbridgeable. For me things go south quickly when we allow social and religious issues to become part of our political discussion. Worse is the extreme faction which has become part of our normal political landscape. I’m willing to listen to reason unless it drifts into the extreme which includes forms of religion. On top of this it seems about half of us unknowingly prefer to be ruled rather than lead, a conundrum I’m not sure I’ll ever understand.
I wouldn’t expect “the morning newspaper” to say anything nice about a conservative governor. Really, I don’t pay too much attention to them because they’ve taken sides in the cultural war rather than remain neutral. The coverage in this news item attached to this post is just one example. The recent coverage of the baker’s union responsibility for the loss of nearly 600 jobs in Maine is beyond the pale of responsible journalism. This union is being paraded as a heroic organization when it in fact abandoned its workers for ideological reasons. You should read the responses from posters in that BDN coverage.
People voted for LePage because they were sick of smug, elite politicians. Three or four consecutive generations of them left our state economy in shambles. Yes, LePage is rough around the edges, but that quality is what attracted a lot of voters to him. They wanted someone who was unpretentious and would use common sense approaches to solving Maine’s problems. Regrettably it takes someone like him or Governor Christy from N.J. to make needed cuts in social programs that don’t work and create dependency, not to mention a burden on the working class. It takes someone like him to insist the rich and the wealthy are not necessarily the enemy. But what I am hearing in Maine politics is that the rich are the cause for all concern. Never mind those who lay back and criticize, those who spent and wasted with credit at Walmart like there’s no tomorrow, those who cheat on their income tax returns by not reporting income, etc. You see, there’s plenty of blame to go around. But keep in mind, except for Summer vacationers with island homes, there are very few rich people in Maine if any. One more thing, if I were rich and enterprising I would not invest in Maine simply because of the negative mentality implanted in Mainers whose sole source of information is a corrupt, biased media like this one.
“One more thing, if I were rich and enterprising I would not invest in Maine simply because of the negative mentality implanted in Mainers whose sole source of information is a corrupt, biased media like this one.”
Your last sentence pretty much says it all. You claim that even if you were rich you wouldn’t invest in Maine. That , my friend, is where you and I are different. I have invested in Maine and will continue to do so. I started a company from nothing almost 30 years ago and have watched it grow and prosper through hard work and putting people, our employees and our customers first. Today my company, actually I should say it is my family’s company now, employs 18. All are long term employees who , with the exception of the person we hired a little over a year ago to replace a retiring employee, have been with us for over 10 years. I could have moved our base of operations out of Maine, we service clients from Maine to Maryland, but chose not to because Maine is my home, our family’s home and it is also home to our employees. I find your statement indicating that you think that Mainers have a negative mentality to be a total insult to the good , hard working people of the State of Maine. Do you actually think that Mainers only get their information from the BDN or the PPH? You may not be aware but a wonderful thing called the internet is available in Maine now-a-days and since Angus King was Governor kids have been and still are being taught in our schools how to use computers. You really need to come to terms about the fact that your way of thinking lost on November 6th and lost big. Place the blame on the real culprit, your failed ideology, mean spiritedness and constantly pointing the finger of blame at others. Maine is a great place and is made up of hardworking, caring people and I for one am sick and tired of you and people like you constantly putting my State, my friends and my neighbors down.
“Yes, LePage is rough around the edges, but that quality is what
attracted a lot of voters to him. They wanted someone who was
unpretentious and would use common sense approaches to solving Maine’s
problems.” He was handed cookie cutter pre-written legislation from ALEC ( that ALL new GUVs were handed )and told to submit them. that isn’t working for Maine or Mainers That is putting party and party ideology first. NONE of his leglslation had ANYTHING to do with Maine.
Voter laws —national poltical strategy: to try to win in 2012, by suppressing the vote ; charter schools national political strategy to privatize education ; .Insuarance “reform”–pay back for contributors that makes them money while Mainers pay MORE .Pension “reform” — national strategy to pay for tax cuts..”Right to work” NATIONAL strategy to “break the unions”. T I could go on and one .There was NO legislation that was unique to Maine or addressed MAINE ‘problems” The guy was bamboozled!!
Let me address the issues you presented.
Voter laws:
No attempt was made to suppress the vote. That charge is a big, big lie, mere propaganda intended needlessly to spread the alarm. The attempt was intended to promote clean elections. I’ve been supporting that effort to clean elections for over 20 years. Right now just about anybody can vote without regard to lawfulness. Anyone can vote in someone’s stead and get away with it. Now, what if I made the charge that Democrats are encouraging cheating at the polls? Would you be happy if I made the charge stick? Of course not. But the charge the Republicans are trying to suppress the vote is just as ludicrous and pernicious. Besides, it’s totally untrue and unfair. But this is what we have come to expect in politics these days. That’s why people are fed up with the system that has become corrupt beyond recognition and where the-end-justifies-the-means mentality prevails.
That charter schools are an attempt to privatize education is another spurious charge. The implication here is that conservatives are trying to wipe out public education. Nothing, I mean, nothing could be further from the truth. How can real competition be introduced in a playing field when there is essentially only one player allowed? That is exactly what is going on with a monopoly by the public educational system. The government wants to be able to dictate the content of education and dismiss private citizen’s concerns. After a short while, government always ends up being self-serving and dictatorial when given free rein. We conservative want to change that situation in order to keep the government propaganda machine in check and giving children the best educational opportunity possible.
Another false charge being leveled is that insurance reform by the LePage admin. is payback time to election contributors. This allegation has no merit. Insurance reform was and continues to be needed on account of ever increasing costs of healthcare insurance. The latest reforms in Maine occurred a year and a half ago. In the last 12 months the rate of increase has gone down drastically to 1.7% (while the national average has increased by over 6%) and is expected to go down in negative territory within the next twelve months. Do you remember the last time this has happen?
As to pension reform: various attempts to reform pensions have been made by each and every administration in the past 4 decades. So, as you can see, both parties are aware the current system will not survive unless something is done to improve it. I see no problem trying to find a long-term solution. So what’s the problem here that you are having besides an apparent inability to implement an effective solution(s)?
Finally, right to work laws are not designed to break the back of unions. Work to earn a living is the moral right of each and every citizen. No one should be force to join a union to get a job especially at a time when unions have become self-serving. The latest case of the bakers union’s action causing nearly 600 Mainers – and 18,000 workers nationwide – to lose their jobs is a clear illustration of union excess. The company that employed these workers could no longer afford to lose money. The union refused to make concessions that might have ensured the company’s long-term survival. But no, they chose instead to protect their turf at the expense of their members’ livelihoods. Right now Maine needs jobs, more than ever in the past four decades. The loss of those nearly 600 jobs will no doubt have a profound negative impact on the Maine economy not to mention the blow to the families directly impacted and their communities.
Plenty of legislation has been introduced to help Maine, including, among other measures, insurance and state retirement reforms, lower taxes, spending cutbacks, some deregulation, and attempts to improve education. We still have a long way to go, but those very efforts need to be kept up. If they don’t pay off, then Mainers will be free to choose another governor in the next election cycle.
I am proud not to have worked/volunteered for LePage. And as for Romney….I don’t agree with you. He has made way too many demeaning remarks (as recently as a few days ago) about many Americans. It is disgraceful. There aren’t many Republican leaders now who speak of him in positive terms. Who the heck does he think he is!
well said.. lepage was not prepared to win or to lead He took on those who ” showed up ” and could easily see his vulnerabilities , exploit them and lead him by the nose The Maine Heritage Center showed up , offered him their cookie cutter services and he took the bait . HE needed “consultants” because he was in way over his head and chose absolutely the wrong ones. . BUT it meant he didn’t have to do any actual work. He was handed cookie cutter legislation form ALEC, told to submit them and he could “enioy “himself” going off on junkets to fancy luxurious resorts get indoctrinated. with the other “newbie” Govs ,— Where they all could give each other atta boys ,trying to one up each other with outrageous bills and statements. Fun time is over boys , because voters weren’ having much fun with it..
Well-written. Extremely. Thanks.
There you go again…..very well expressed. The poster you reply to illustrates why her views lost and why so many leaders in the Republican party, including Gingrich, are shaking their heads…..they know they have to do something or that party will continue to not speak for most people in this country. That poster has it all wrong about what is wrong with this country. Actually, there is so much good about this country. We strive to treat all citizens with equality, sometimes falling short, but striving nonetheless. The wonderful passing of gay marriage rights in this past election is an example of that.
Dead issue?
LePage’s issues are what’s dead.
He cannot be gone soon enough I wish he would resign or go away for two years.
And would you replace him with another governor like the past four whose policies brought Maine to its knees in debt and lack jobs?
I would replace him with a ham sandwich if I could.
In the interim the state legislature ought to create a 2 year only lieutenant governorship. there’s probably enough of them to override any veto. then Mister le page can go golf in Florida for 2 years.
if they cannot do that some wise legislator ought to pass a recall statute so we don’t get this nonsense again and have to put up with it for 4 years
The national crash during the Bush Presidency, fomented by Wall Street greed, is really off your radar? Wow!
Don’t you mean the majority Democrat Congressional legislation during Bush’s last two years?
No, I mean Wall Street’s unethical trading binge in junk derivatives rated (deceitfully) as AAA. See the Oscar-winning documentary: Inside Job.
“Who really cares about the mural?” That’s a lot like saying, “Who really cares about the American flag? After all, it’s just a piece of cloth.
Sorry, but symbols do matter — and for many, many people in this state, the mural has taken on huge symbolic value. The day the mural is restored to its rightful place at the Department of Labor will be a good day for the people of Maine.
The mural represents a way of life led by union bosses. Need I say anything more? Mr. LePage was entitled to create an image of Maine he campaigned for, one that is business friendly for a change.
LePage has failed. He has not made this state more business-friendly. Many people appreciated the mural. You didn’t….but you don’t speak for a lot of people. Witness this last election, in Maine and elsewhere.
So the mural disappeared? Where are the JOBS?
Just ask the baker’s union where are the jobs. Certainly not at Hostess where they just killed nearly 600 Maine jobs, not to mention 18,000 nationwide. Haven’t you heard? As far as the mural goes, that piece of leftist propaganda, I hope the governor trashed it. :)
More evidence that it is an absolute impossibility for a democrat to let anything go. The mural cost $60,000 right out of the unemployment fund, imagine that, and has no place hanging on any Maine owned property. If the union wants to own it and bow to it daily, LePage ought to let them have it to worship. That painting was offensive and I for one am glad that its gone.
Kudos! Yes, it’s a symbol liberals latched on to on account of their election loss two years ago. It’s a symbol of what is gone wrong in America with union power exceeding its breeches. One would think the latest fiasco involving the loss of nearly 600 jobs to save the image a baker’s union would teach us all a lesson. Instead, the liberals in this paper and elsewhere are championing the loss of those jobs. What irony! I always thought hell was hell. But now they want us to think hell is heaven!
It’s history. You can’t change history be hiding it.
I think you are offensive to hard working people with that comment.
Not that you care, but you are wrong. $60,000 for the mural came from the Percent for Art program. You can find the entire contract between the Department of Labor and Judy Taylor here:
http://www.dirigoblue.com/2011/03/complete-contract-between-maine-dept-of-labor-and-judy-taylor-for-history-of-labor-in-maine-mural/
Thank you! That’s the source I wanted to find! :-)
What is offensive is that the mural portrayed what used to be considered acceptable working conditions.
Correct. That is why it is important not to forget that part of our history and how labor and work conditions were improved…..because people were brave enough to stand up against unsafe and even dangerous working conditions. It seems some want to dismiss that time and struggle. You have to wonder what they are afraid of.
it is absolutely impossible for an R to let anything go…..It is absolutely appropriate for a mural celebrating LABOR to be hanging on the wall of the LABOR department. Busienss can come up with their own MURAL: for the ECONOMIC DEVELOPMEMT DEPT, if you like and NO ONE will object. or send an anonymous fax in protest !!!
I think you are incorrect when you state that the funds for the mural came “right out of the unemployment fund”, but I cannot find a source that says otherwise. Can anyone help?
Gerald… Work did make this country. But not ALL of the very hard workers needed a union to do it. How many wood cutters and farmers do you know have a union boss? I have many many calluses from many years of working the land, raising livestock, etc, and never once have I been tempted to stand around and strike like the pictures in those murals depict. In fact, only once in my memory do I remember dairy farmers “protesting”, and that was when they were dumping milk to protest pricing from the processors.
It’s not a zero sum game – not every shop has to be unionized. And even in union shops, employees do not have to join.
Incorrect; state employees are forced to join the union and pay union wages courtesy of the Baldacci administration.
YUP and they are “FORCED” to accept the benefits the union gained.I listened to the the hearing on this last year it was quite interesting to hear the testmony . At least ONE member of management spoke on behalf of unions . Guess why ? He said working with the unions in a collaborative way helped them SAVE money!!!. He said the front line people were the ones to have the BEST ideas to reduce costs and create efficiencies.They actually VALUED their union employees. Go figure.
It was interesting to hear some of the R majority on the committee ask red meat questions too. I’ll bet that woman is one who lost her seat this time around, too.
The testimony was SO compelling to the R majority that they TABLED the issue. They knew even with a majority on the committee.,they weren’ going to get the majority of the needed votes. That “right to work issue ” is dead in Maine . I’d say for the foreseeable future. You can keep throwing out the red meat though if you like .
I have been watching the show on the History channel called The Men Who Built America and if the show is accurate he was well aware of the poor, he just didn’t care about them.
No clue’s needed, it’s at the Blue Hill Library, I saw it there on Thursday when I returned a book!
Stop the presses, i think it can be found at the empty Hostess plant in Biddeford
The Labor Mural is a storeroom adjacent to the office of the Commissioner of Labor.
do we get to replace the labor commisioner with the election results??
No, only the constitutional officers (Attorney General, Auditor, Sec of State, Treasurer). Of course, the next Attorney General may find some legal reason why the Labor Mural must be taken from the storeroom and put back up for public display.
Did you get a job with Angus? And are you still a registered Democrat?
What is your real name? Why are you fixated on who I work for? My political party registration is a matter of public record – look it up yourself.
A name Democrat who campaigned for Angus surely got a Quid Pro Quo.
Nosy much?
He is one who puts himself into the public life. Fair questions for a Democrat apparatchik who by his own admission worked for King. .
And how would you describe Lance Dunston and Joel Allumbaugh. Or Rush Limbaugh and Fox?
Public figures that you have the right to ask questions of.
You have the right to ask questions of public figures while maintaining your anonymity? Really? Why is that?
So very brave you are.
You have the right to not answer the questions, which I see you didn’t.
That’s rich.
One man’s apparatchik is another man’s public figure.
chessecak no one cares. naran is that you under a new name?? . Did you work for anyone this campaign season?? PS No I don’t care if you did .I’d care less if you didn’t.
darn!!
Was anything ever hung up in the place where the mural used to be? Is it just a bare white wall as in the photo taken soon after the removal? If any artwork was put up to replace the mural, what was the cost, and who paid for it?
I believe it was not replaced with anything. I can only imagine the sort of pictorial tribute to capital and management that the governor would have deemed suitable…
Often forgotten in this episode is that Gov. LePage ordered the renaming of eight meeting rooms. Here’s a list of the meeting room names LePage ordered changed:
Able ME Room
César Chávez Room
William Looney Room
Marianne Martin Room
Frances Perkins Room
Rose Schneiderman Room
Charles Scontras Room
Sarah Wilson Room
About those names:
* Able ME is named after a program of the Department of Labor.
* César Chávez is the well known labor leader who organized farm workers in California in the 1960′s.
* William Looney, also known as W.H. Looney, was a Republican legislator from Portland who chaired the House Committee on Labor in the late 19th Century. Looney sponsored a bill limiting the number of hours that women and children could work in factories.
* Marion Martin was Commissioner of Labor from 1947 to 1972, a
Republican who helped advance the cause of women and was known for her “innovative approach to labor problems.”
* Frances Perkins was the first woman to head a department of the Federal government when she became Secretary of Labor for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. You can find much more about this remarkable woman – and Maine native – at the Frances Perkins Center.
* Rose Schneiderman was a labor activist who began her career in the early 20th century, later held positions in FDR’s administration working on the New Deal.
* Charles Scontras was a professor at the University of Maine and author of the book. He is the uncle of Dean Scontras, who ran for Congress in 2010.
Silly editorial, yes. Silly reality, definitely not.
LePage’s removal of the mural was another step towards the dystopia that George Orwell tried to warn us about over sixty years ago. LePage’s ‘Ministry of Truth’ is an alternate reality that denies the struggle that millions of workers endured to gain fair treatment and plant the seed for our rapidly dying middle class. His handlers at the USCoC expect this nefarious behavior from their chosen one. We, the citizens of Maine should refuse to accept it and fight his buffoonish tyranny with every breath.
Others can just as well argue that the Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” here is the bureaucratic machinery that resulted in the commissioning, creation and installation of the mural.
Indeed. History is written by the winners and traditionally that is the aristocracy or the mighty. Perhaps it was just an historical anomaly that allowed our working ancestors to secure a small amount of security for many of us. It certainly behooves the interests of the wealthy to remove the memories of solidarity from our collective consciousness.
The Arts Commission initiated a competition with money assigned to them. What’s wrong with that?
You don’t supply any argument, and all you seem to be saying is: Art is a waste of money–which is just sad
LePage, on the other hand, did something worthy of an arrogant King, Based on anonymous sources, which he has never revealed, he created an unnecessary stir, breaking his vow to work across the aisle, and showing his autocratic stripes.
It is right here at the BDN website. Every once in a while they get it out and dust it off!
The next governor will put the mural back within a week of taking office. Anyone who does not have their head up the Koch brothers butts will realize what a foolish and petty thing removing the mural was. Most Mainers were not even aware it existed until Poor Paul tried to use it to drive a knife in the back of the working men and women of Maine. LePage’s legacy will be licking the boots of a couple of labor hating trust fund babies, and a complete lack of the ability to keep his foot out of his mouth.
Unless Paul himself did a midnight heist, I’m sure there is someone else out there knows where it is, it may just take a bit of ransom money to leak the hiding place…
The Mural is stored at the Maine State Police building on Civic Ctr. Drive. not a secret.
Dumpstah material. Or recycled as toilet papah.
I would prefer a copy of the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution be displayed rather than that socialist crap that belongs in the dumpster! Maybe we could serve free twinkles….oh wait….the unions destroyed that company….sorry!
You lost the election, get over it. Only 4 more years, oops then another 8 after that. :}
Thanks for continuing to demonstrate why you lost.
We all lost the last election! Just wait until you do your income tax next April (if you have any income at all)!
If the Bush cuts are extended to all but the wealthiest (a compromise the GOP should take), it won’t effect most of us. We’re not all independently wealthy like you Bill. ;)
I know plenty of people who are comfortable financially who voted for Obama. They are not one issue voters many times. Many low income voted for Romney (as well as wealthy people).
Oh no doubt. Though according to Bill (and people like Bill), anyone who votes Democratic is on the dole and anyone who votes GOP is an honest, god loving, hard worker. You know how it is.
wait til you do …. so are you suggesting the R’s are going to stay entrenched dispite the election??They have one heck of a deliema in front of them, of their OWN making, by the way. Time to pay the piper . gee maybe they should have just raised the debt ceiling like they had 6 million times before .It was all political theater , too bad it has a price .
Exactly, who refused to raise the debt ceiling , killing our bond rating??
Do you people realize those sentiments are a major reason in the defeat you were handed…….
This by Louis Menand via the New Yorker has always been a favorite of mine:
Of the Bible’s Ten Commandments, only two (VI and VIII) proscribe activities that secular law regards as criminal. It is not illegal in the United States to: have another god before Yahweh; manufacture graven images (for instance, pieces of granite with Scriptural texts carved on them); say “God damn it” when you spill the ketchup; go to “Terminator 3” on Sunday; abuse (verbally) your parents; engage in extramarital sex; or (except under oath) tell untrue stories about your neighbor. And if it were a crime to covet the ass parked in the driveway of the people next door, it is hard to know how capitalism would survive. Coveting asses is the whole basis of our prosperity.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/09/08/030908ta_talk_menand#ixzz2CbbctYL5
Hostess went down because of poor management, not because of bad workers. How would you like a cut in your pension and a cut in pay after working for the same outfit for 40 years? Obviously the outfit was run by conservatives who think like you do. Greedy folks ruined that company and their name is republican.
Liberals attack this snack as an evil and as a result, sales have declined but they want the company to give its employees pay raises and increased benefits!
Can’t you people see what’s going on here? Liberals and their unions are the problem!
What a stupid uneducated response you have posted. I’ll be kind and refrain from calling you a liar who has manufactured his own facts and instead call you a misinformed Fox offspring. The workers at Hostess have made many concessions over the past couple of years. The workers were not looking for raises and increased benefits. That is an out right lie. “Liberals attack this snack as an evil and as a result, sales have declined…” What a load of crap you are peddling. Am I to take it that ALL liberals hate twinkies and ALL cvonvervatives love them? Maybe that’s what your issue is: you have maybe eaten one twinkie too many. Get educated.
I love mural stories, keepem’ coming BDN. They should do a new mural that immortalizes the likes of WallyWorld, PapaJohns, the anti-union crowd and the voter suppression goons so we never forget how American the right wing really is.
They should make a mural of the whiners that are crying about this mural, it would be 500 ft long…LOL
Don’t worry we’ll find it and put it back up where it was stolen from. Back in it’s rightful place….
Im sure it is some where….
Your glorious governor knows where. It will be found eventually. I bet you know where it’s at??? lol
He isnt my Gov, I didnt vote for him…
Neither did I.
I think it’s with the Continuity of Community sculpture.
Aw, still sour about the election results?
No……..You barking up wrong tree..
S’cuse me.
Speaking of evil labor. Has anyone else noticed how the all the coverage of the “striking” Walmart serfs has all but disappeared in the last couple of days? Do you suppose the media outlets got a call from Bentonville reminding them of which side their bread is buttered on?
Its being used as a big rug….LOL
So much hate and so little time to spread it.
Yes, LePage showed a lot of disdain for many workers, now and in past decades and centuries.
LePage does indeed hate. He hates most people.
Paulie is doing a good job of it though.
LePage has no idea where it is…he just barked orders at someone….I am sure he didn’t lift a finger….
Why is it that the governor can hide property owned by the citizens of Maine? Even if it is legal, and perhaps the new AG will find it is not legal, to remove the mural how does it follow that property belonging to the citizens of Maine can be hidden from it’s rightful owners?
Maybe someone should hide the Gov’s car “I am just hiding it, it is not theft”
I don’t want it displayed and since you claim its the peoples mural and not corporates, I choose to have the people mural burn’t as a symbol of solidatary, another gesture of strength like hostess union showed everyone the other day.
good ,so lets vote on it , and see what the MAJORITY of the people have to say about it.
And how much in legal fees has LePage’s anti-art stance cost the tax payers of the state of Maine??? What a TOOL.
Yes he is, and not a very useful tool either.
It shouldn’t have cost anyone anything. He had artwork removed, period.
Since having the art work removed there has been ongoing litigation regarding the removal of the art mural and now the case will be heard by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, where a three-judge panel will hear oral arguments in the case. Think the lawyers representing LePage and the State of Maine throughout this entire inane process work for free? I think not…. period.
It seems to me that removing the mural from the labor office has drawn a whole lot more sympathy to the labor movement (honestly, how many people would have seen or heard of it otherwise??) than if the governor had left things alone. No doubt, stirring up the masses has been a whole lot less friendly to business than the slim chance that somebody might have seen the painting where it was. Serious public relations FAIL!!
Glad to see that all of the mural worshippers are alive and well.
All right all ready, put the “Organized” Labor Mural in a museum (where it should have been in the first place) and be done with it, end of story.
By the way, The Maine Dept of Labor is for “ALL” workers, not just UNION Workers.
It is not museum quality,
Spoken by a “true” art critic!!! NOT Did you actually see this mural??
I enjoy art, I do know that art groups in Maine give themselves awards So I don’t much pay attention to their works. There are people in this State who are exceptional artist who are not known because these artist groups are a clique and used not to award the best, but themselves.. true story and if you are an artist you know it to be the truth. Sidewalk art shows are always fixed to award prizes to a group member or child of a member.. Non members have almost stopped showing up because the elites wives need to win. Sad times in the history of art..
Check out Don Robertson’s LePage art. That’s museum quality.
A major air of silliness indeed. LePage created the problem needlessly, though it’s obviously a molehill made into a mountain. Definitely the soap opera of least importance in Maine.
Yes, true, but sometimes it is also about the principle of the thing.
Calling him on it, yeah, no problem. Mounting a crusade to get a piece of art back up that 99% of Mainers have never and likely will never see in person? Major waste of time and effort.
It was about his arrogant attitude about it too. He had to make a big deal about removing a mural that depicted some history. He could have put up , in addition, another work of art depicting his version of history, business,etc. That would have been a much better approach instead of his usual bullying way.
it is a friggen union propaganda peice.. nothing else and everyone on both sides of the arguement knows it is… nobody is arguing that point. it is weather certain groups have the right to put it there. which I say no!
Oh he’s definitely the root of the problem. Though some (not all) have almost lowered themselves to his level by taking what was essentially troll bait.
We need to simply bide our time and vote him and his minions out as the opportunities arise. The joke will be on him soon enough.
Yes, it was such a good thing that the governor stuck his finger in thousands of folks eyes. Yup, that showed some intelligence.
I’m sorry, I forgot to be offended.
Good, because I meant no offense. I did get your attention. though, no? :-) Why would the governor of ‘all the people of this state’ alienate half the populace? What was his intention? What was the point he was making other than eff u? Is that a sign of intelligence? Is that a sign of a leader of men? You want to win someone to your way of thinking, you don’t stick your finger in their eye.
We do not live in a democacy, Offending people happens in a republic..
I’m nearly un-offendable (I don’t think that’s a word.) I like my fellow posters company, even the weirdos like Bill Peters. :D
His alienation of half the state didn’t really come from this incident in my opinion, though it was obviously a sign of things to come.
I am going to send the State for the department of Human services a mural of people sitting on a sofa playing video games with their hand out and a department employee counting cash out into their hands. To be displayed of course in the hall of the dept. of Human services.. I want this mural to be displayed for eternity. No governor shall have the right to take it down. OK??
X-box or playstation?
I think you’re mural idea could be improved by showing a fat chick in spandex buying scratch tickets and some smokes with her EBT card.
Wow!! people don’t understand how symbolic of the liberal party this painting would be.
Mural mojo cost 18,500 jobs this week, another panel should be added of union members in the unemployment and bread lines, I just upped the price of my box of twinkies. Thanks guys..
Ah, that explains it: you eat twinkies. Now I understand.
Now I’m wondering who is paying the bill for storing the mural? Is it coming from our taxes? Does LePage have the power to use taxes such a purpose? Who owns the mural? Who is being deprived their right to determine what happens to it?
oh can you not see that this is the Governor’s way of urging working people to vote repulican.
Great idea.
Instead of pouting and moping about the loss of this great work, we should all be on the trail of this missing painting – the Greatest Art Theft in the History of the State of Maine.
Once recovered, it should be displayed in one of the busiest pedestrian traffic areas which attracts tourists. A small entry fee could help those unemployed, and others in need.
We have two years to solve this case. After that, the incoming governor will do it for us. But why wait?
Liars sit in chairs, you know. Truth tellers just sort of hunker down
Unions are destroying the country while keeping Chicago style union bosses in big bucks. Give the mural back to the artist to hang in their house; if you must see it visit there.
The people of Maine should, through some private broker, buy the mural back from the state, take it from its undisclosed location, and place it somewhere where people could see it until such time as Mr. LePage is out of office, when it can be restored to its former place, at the Dept. of Labor.
BDN editorial staff, are you high? This is dumb and not funny.
It’s in the basement of the Department of Environmental Protection on the AMHI campus in Augusta.
The mural is in the same place as the “stolen” Open For Business sign.
We’ve always got those mad mural projections, if nothing else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuxSEvFkPiQ
Burn the damn thing and be done with it.
Often forgotten in this episode is that Gov. LePage ordered the renaming of eight meeting rooms. Here’s a list of the meeting room names LePage ordered changed:
Able ME Room
César Chávez Room
William Looney Room
Marianne Martin Room
Frances Perkins Room
Rose Schneiderman Room
Charles Scontras Room
Sarah Wilson Room
About those names:
* Able ME is named after a program of the Department of Labor.
* César Chávez is the well known labor leader who organized farm workers in California in the 1960′s.
* William Looney, also known as W.H. Looney, was a Republican legislator from Portland who chaired the House Committee on Labor in the late 19th Century. Looney sponsored a bill limiting the number of hours that women and children could work in factories.
* Marion Martin was Commissioner of Labor from 1947 to 1972, a Republican who helped advance the cause of women and was known for her “innovative approach to labor problems.”
* Frances Perkins was the first woman to head a department of the Federal government when she became Secretary of Labor for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. You can find much more about this remarkable woman – and Maine native – at the Frances Perkins Center.
* Rose Schneiderman was a labor activist who began her career in the early 20th century, later held positions in FDR’s administration working on the New Deal.
* Charles Scontras was a professor at the University of Maine and author of the book. He is the uncle of Dean Scontras, who ran for Congress in 2010.
I’m really not one to spread conspiracy theories, but I think it is very likely that the mural went up in flames with Dan Demeritt’s apartment building more than a year ago.
Watch as Gov. Paul LePage responds to a question about the Labor Mural in April 2011 at a Town Hall in Topsham:
http://youtu.be/je7dvp4YvKM
LePage still hasn’t figured out that it’s not the Department of Business, it’s the Department of Labor. How is a mural depicting the history of labor in the state inappropriate for the Department of Labor?
Yeah, let’s recap the stupid move where our Governor gets bent out of shape over a mural that less then 5 percent of Mainers even knew existed. If a business decided not to move to Maine due to a mural on the wall at a DOL building, no big loss, they can’t be very intelligent..Lepage’s first funniest folly.
Clues to who spent the money, amazing the waste we spend whent he National Deficit is so high
One claims the mural is located in a store room next to the Commissioner of Labor’s office. Another says it’s stored at the State Police Barracks.
Why doesn’t the press push Le Page to release the true location of the mural? Or, have Adrienne Bennett – his flack – issue another one of her classic interpretations of Le Page ‘s ritualistic stumble dums? This one detailing the ideological reasons behind the theft, and the level of contentment and popularity her boss has enjoyed from his clandestine operation?
Once found, it should be given a tour of the state, and other states wishing to see it. During tourist season it could be displayed at the tourist center in Southern Maine where visitors would willingly toss in a couple of bucks, or more, to bask in the power of its message, and, see what all the fuss was about. The art work should have an accompanying plaque detailing how Le Page stole the painting and hid it because he feared it.
Whatever happens in the interim, you can bet, candidates for governor will make restoration of the mural to its rightful abode, a part of their platform and condition for their election.
We have been censored, damned, and slandered daily, for the past two years. The next two won’t be any better, unless the Legislature tosses aside its labels and gives this man a lesson in Democracy.
Wait! Whatever happened to the anonymous fax? It wasn’t Mr. LePage who disagreed with the mural being in the labor office it was someone who faxed him about it! Remember? A single, anonymous fax started this. This isn’t Mr. LePage’s doing it’s anonymous’ doings. Oh, and wait, if the money that paid for that mural was the state’s money then shouldn’t we (as the state) know where our investment is?
The mural and the “stolen” Open For Business sign are in the same room. Find one, find the other.