Thank the DEP
As reported in the BDN on Nov.10, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has just turned down an application by a billion-dollar Texas energy investor to install industrial-scale wind
turbines on Passadumkeag Mountain, in rural Penobscot County.
This decision will protect the surrounding lakes and hills from visual pollution and the mountain itself from blasting, new road construction, long-term ecosystem damage and increased fire danger.
Courageously, the DEP decided to protect Maine’s invaluable quality of place, notwithstanding what must have been strong pressure from local and out-of-state business interests.
Some may think that NIMBY was the winner in this contest, the “not in my backyard” mentality. However, I think this represents an opportunity to move toward an energy policy that’s “right-sized” for Maine. For example, what if, instead of depending on mega-million-dollar energy initiatives, we invested in smaller, diversified projects that would train more energy auditors and employ more workers to insulate and retrofit Maine’s large stock of older homes? The result would be reduced use of fossil fuels, fewer people shivering in cold houses in the winter, less need for LIHEAP and years of jobs in virtually every community — far more than short-lived wind construction offers.
So let’s thank Maine’s DEP for the chance to catch our breath, rethink our energy priorities and move our state in a direction that can meet a multitude of energy-related objectives without sacrificing the incomparable quality of place on which we all depend.
Elizabeth Johns
Orono
Church on wrong side of history
I recently learned that the Stockton Springs Community Church and Pastor Steve DeGroft publicly encouraged a no on Question 1. DeGroft gave permission to the Maine Christian Civic League to speak on the church’s behalf. Carroll Conley, executive director of the CCL, stated that “Pastor Steve spoke from the pulpit against Question 1, posted signs urging voters to oppose the measure and sent emails to members of the congregation opposing same-sex marriage.”
The Stockton Springs church may have been the most politically active church in the state of Maine this campaign season. This was a serious breach of our constitutional separation of church and state.
While I do not condone the acts of those who defaced the church with swastikas, DeGroft’s implication that those of us who believe in equality are somehow “bullies” who use “intimidation” tactics to get our way was very hurtful. I have spent many hours and days assisting the Stockton Springs church in its activities, including the design of the website and steeple fundraisers. I was disappointed and personally hurt when I learned of its public position opposing basic human rights for people such as myself, only because of who I love.
If you are a member of this church or have supported the steeple reconstruction, I hope you will reconsider your position and realize that standing with this church means standing on the wrong side of history.
Adam Flanders
Belfast
Reimbursement system, not cardiologists, at fault
Living in a state that has the nation’s second-oldest population burdens the health-care system in a way not completely understood by the community, apparently not even by Dr. Paul Shapero, M.D., whose letter appeared in the BDN on Nov. 8. Similar to so many practices across the nation, Eastern Maine Medical Center is forming a joint venture with Northeast Cardiology, which could no longer afford the increasing costs of caring for their elderly and, often, indigent patient load.
The pattern of hospitals buying private practices has become a nationwide phenomenon. In short, the population is living longer, and the huge medical costs that occur during the last 20 years of life are straining Medicare’s finances. Out of necessity, Medicare has decreased reimbursements, while MaineCare pays even less, leaving many cardiology practices unable to pay their employees even with reductions in physician salaries. In the case of Northeast Cardiology, the large number of continuously lowered reimbursements has rendered them noncompetitive with the national market and, therefore, unable to find physicians who will practice in our rural community.
I take issue with Dr. Shapero’s accusation that NECA cardiologists will somehow put the patient second and financial incentives first.
Northeast Cardiology, where my husband works, has always placed patient care first, just as they will continue to do under EMMC’s system. We are fortunate they will be working for a hospital that is willing to provide superb services to our aging population.
Patricia Stowell
Bangor
Silence by leaders on Carlson disturbing
Robert Carlson committed suicide on Nov. 13, 2011. He was accused of being a serial sexual predator who abused the children of our communities for decades. It took nine months for the police to release a report. The report, heavily redacted, says little about what happened or how.
For one year now, many people have asked for an additional investigation. Letters to the editors, articles by Renee Ordway and Dr. Erik Steele and several editorials and articles in the BDN have all pointed to the need for more information and for action.
As far as I know, there has been no response from the leaders of the justice, education, health and religious institutions who employed Carlson. Their silence does not bode well. Hopefully, it does not indicate a cover-up similar to what happened at Penn State. Still, their silence suggests a lack of interest on their part in protecting children from abuse and a lack of concern about the suffering of victims and their families.
Robert M. Gossart
Salisbury Cove
Laws contrary to God’s word
It was a sad day on Nov. 7 to awake and learn that the majority of Maine voters are in favor of a civil law that opposes the word of God.
Romans 1:26-32 makes it very clear that the homosexual lifestyle is a sin. Men and women living as man and wife and not married is just as much a sin, as is murder and gossip (I Corinthians 6:9-10).
God hates the act of sin, not the actor. But He is just and does not make any exceptions. He does forgive when He is asked, but it is our personal decision where we spend eternity.
There was another law passed in 1974 that made it legal to murder babies, which was sadder than the vote I speak of today. Since 1974, we have murdered babies on an average of 1 million a year.
How can we expect God to bless a country that passes laws like these?
Joel Weaver
Bucks Harbor
aboyle:
BYLINE: NONE
Joel Weaver~ It is mind boggling that here in the 21st century people still believe in such myth. It’s your personal choice one I believe you have the right to believe in and be passionate about.
Many folks are willing to acknowledge and agree with SSM, along with a woman’s right to choose what she wishes to do with her own body, without passing judgement. I have the right to believe as I do as well as you have yours.
Mind your own business when it comes to the private lives of others and what they do in the privacy of their own homes or with their own body.
Joel my dear… your religion is not our civil law.
I’m dumbfounded why people have such a hard time understanding that.
You got faith, and that’s great… it can do wonderful things in one’s life. Just don’t expect the tenets of your faith to be forced onto the people via civil law.
It ain’t gonna happen (thankfully).
rAMEN!
Joel, When you follow the bible word for word, I will also. Be still and know that I love you, God loves you, and I prayed for you today. The Bible was written by man and has no bearing on God.
Well said!
The Bible was written by humans, in the language of humans, and for humans. It is the great religious classic of the Jewish and Christian religions. It tells of the various authors’ search for God and their attempts to understand “the Holy” or “the divine” in our world. It is “the Good Book,” not the perfect book.
There are also laws that allow women to vote and black Americans to be free.
where in the bible does it ban Abortion? Ezekiel 37: 5&6- “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I shall lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord” This is saying that life actually beings when the first breath is drawn. Aka, out side of the womb. Heck even causing a women to miscarry by hitting her isn’t even punished as bad as killing someone or even as bad as praying to another god.
Agreed — the Bible never uses the word “abortion” and never describes an abortion. It would be hard for the Bible to have a clear doctrine on something it doesn’t mention.
Robert M. Gossart, Carlson is dead. He can no longer molest anyone. I think there are in all likelyhood others out there who are alive that are acting as sexual predators. The limited budgets should be spent trying to nail the living threats to our children.
I think that’s what he’s getting at, is it not? Carlson is dead, though the silent enablers who enabled him could be enabling others to do the same thing as we speak.
Maybe Joel can help him work on it?
Mr. Weaver, where can we sign the petition that seeks to outlaw men and women living together in sin? Or the one that outlaws eating lobster? Or the one that requires certain rape victims to marry their attacker?
Well said, Ms. Johns.
A. Flanders, P. Stowell: good letters.
J. Weaver: this is not and hopefully will not be a theocracy. God does not and has not uniformly blessed chruch/state combines throughout history.
Mr Flanders- would you still have said that there was a serious breach of our constitutional separation of church and state if they did all these things supporting gay marriage?
I will say that I am uncomfortable when one side condemns the other side for their position on SSM. My church supported Question One and was somewhat involved in the campaign on various levels. I cannot fault another church for doing work for the other side of the issue.
I will say, though, that the second plate passing on Fathers’ Day in the Catholic Church was nasty. There are hundreds of gay fathers in this state who love their children very much and that second plate collection to help prevent them from marrying the man they love was a slap in the face to all fathers, in my opinion.
Here’s a comparison I find interesting:
1) The Stockton Springs Church was once a Universalist Church (the Universalists built the building in the 1800s) but it became a non-denominational church somewhere along the way. Their pastor vocally opposed same-sex marriage, and the church was vandalized (maybe connected to the fact that they opposed same-sex marriage, but we don’t know for sure).
2) The Pittsfield, Maine, Universalist Church went on record supporting same-sex marriage, and their minister publicly supported “Yes on 1”. Their church was also vandalized. They had a rainbow flag that someone ripped down and broke the flagpole, and someone put more than a dozen “No on 1” signs on their property. This incident received far less press coverage than the incident in Stockton Springs.
Two churches — one a Universalist church, the other a former Universalist church — on opposite sides of the debate, both vandalized. Vandalism is wrong, no matter who does it or for what cause.
3) That said, Adam Flanders misunderstands separation of church and state. Churches have a right to speak out on ethical/moral issues such as referendum questions. Churches cannot endorse political parties or candidates, but they can speak out on referendum questions.
Churches can speak out on issues, and use biblical teachings to support their stance, but they can’t TELL you how to vote on any of them. But you are correct about the difference between issues and candidates.
Yes, churches can speak out on issues (like referendum questions) but can’t endorse candidates. They may recommend or endorse a “Yes” or “No” vote on a referendum question, but of course you make the final decision.
Please… Churches CAN and often DO support political candidates. They must conform to the law if they plan to raise money for those candidates, but they are free to preach candidicy from the pulpit if they choose.
YOU please!!!!
No, you are simply wrong. For a church to endorse a candidate or party is a violation of separation of church and state. Any church that does so risks losing their tax-exempt status as a not-for-profit religious institution.
If they want to establish a political action committee (PAC) like the Christian Coalition they can do that, but it must be kept separate from the church if the church wishes to remain tax-exempt.
Preachers can talk about issues from the pulpit — and some come close to the line by saying, “this candidate supports all of the right issues,” but they cross a legal line if they actually endorse a candidate or party. (A preacher can even say, “I will vote for John Doe of the Opportunist Party,” but he can’t legally say to his congregation, “You should vote for John Doe.”)
Referendum questions are non-partisan (at least technically) and touch on moral issues (such as poverty, marriage, abortion, etc.) and so churches are free to speak out on such issues.
Joel Weaver, I look forward to your signature-gathering effort to make gossip illegal in Maine.
Joel, Joel, Joel- *Sigh* …Roe V. Wade was decided on 22 January 1973 by SCOTUS. not in 1974. Try again….and while you are trying.. do try and at least make a feeble attempt to get your facts straight. Speaking of straight- not everyone is straight in this country and what business is it of yours ? Why do you care ? I suggest you spend more time worrying about if ‘god’ will be blessing you anytime soon and worry less about what other people are doing in their lives which does not affect you. Try again Joel. Oy
That reminds me of the letter the other day that discussed how DOMA made gay marriage illegal in 1996. People gotta get their facts right!!
Thank You Patricia Aho of DEP and Mrs. Johns for publicly thanking the commissioner of DEP.
Joel Weaver
How many unwanted older children have you adopted? I’ve adopted six, and I strongly favor a woman’s right to choose an abortion.
If you are an adoptive parent, good for you. if not I suggest you try a volunteer job in a juvenile corrections facility. Maybe facts and reason will change your mind…Maybe not, but at least your opinion would have more weight.
Joel Weaver, the usual conservative drivel about sin and your closed minds did not shock me. After all we’ve had to listen to it for several decades already. Most of us know it and can quote it word for word. What shocked me was that you think god is as mindless, bigoted and uncaring as you are.
“How can we expect God to bless a country that passes laws like these? Pfft
Joel Weaver – America took a turn away from God in the early 60s when prayer and Bible reading were banned in our public schools. Just about all of our good stats, like education, honesty, pride, and patriotism, have declined since then. And almost all of our bad stats, such as rape, incest, murder, violence, drugs, and disrespect for each other have risen.
We, as a nation, have turned our backs on the God that lead us into greatness. We, as a nation, have grown increasingly selfish, lazy, and dependent, and have repeatedly voted in those that would continue to feed our selfishness, laziness, and keep us in a state of government dependency. We, as a nation, have ruined the greatest nation on earth. Very soon, we, as a nation, will be a broken people. That is, unless we, as a nation, wake up and run the progressives out of their leadership positions and put in Godly, respectful, honest leaders to rule. Of course, we may already be beyond the point-of-no-return. If so, then God help us when we fall. And we will fall.
We, as a nation, don’t need a specific deity.
Keep yours EJ, but it will not be law.
Prayer is not banned in public schools, that’s ridiculous. No student is kept from praying if they want to.
Correct. Mandatory, organized prayer in public school is banned, but students regularly pray to themselves before tests, or say grace in the lunchroom. EJ is confusing “prayer” with “mandatory prayer.”
When I went to school, we started each day with Bible reading, prayer, and the Pledge. That was outlawed in the early 60s.
Wrong… when I was in school we did all those things (til middle school)… and it wasn’t in the ’60s.
I’m glad schools don’t sponsor any religion.
Was it in the ’40s???
What did the Jewish kids do?
But you were not prohibited from praying in school, the school was prohibited from making students pray. See the difference?
When I went to public school in the 1950s and ’60s (two different school districts) we never had Bible readings or said any organized prayers in school — so your experience is not universal.
We did say the pledge to the flag, and I remember clearly when “under God” was added to the pledge in 1954.
Are you claiming that saying the pledge was outlawed in the 1960s? I’ve never heard that claim.
I also know that in those days there was racial segregation in much of the nation, blacks weren’t allowed to vote or sit on juries in most of the South, it was legal for a man to beat his wife, interracial marriage was illegal in much of the nation, women were excluded from most jobs, and gay men were arrested, beaten, and publicly humiliated just for going to a bar and having a drink with other men. You say that was a more moral time. I disagree.
Some of the leaders who identify most strongly with Christianity, have been the most instrumental in the downward trajectory of the nation. Christian or not, we need pragmatists leading us, not ideologists.
Romney worshiped Mammon and paid lip service to some God.
The most conservative evangelical Christian states also tend to have the highest divorce rates and crime rates — they also take more from the federal government in programs and benefits than they pay in taxes — and they vote Republican. Go figure!
The states that have the lowest levels of church participation also tend to have lower divorce and crime rates, pay more into the federal government than they get back in programs and benefits, and vote Democratic.
Kind of turns your whole world upside down, doesn’t it EJ!
He won’t answer that… facts are pesky little things he finds easier to overlook.
Don’t change what I said or try and twist it into an argument. I was referring to America as a nation. my statements have been proven true already.
Really?
Exactly how?
Your statements were proven false, and you don’t like it when people give examples that interfere with your fantasy.
“Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person’s life, freedom of religion affects every individual. Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the “wall of separation between church and state,” therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.” — Thomas Jefferson
Your point?
That we don’t need your religion enforced through law.
Pretty obvious.
Adam Flanders – Separation of church and state is nowhere in the Constitution. And SSM is not a basic human right.
Thankfully in Maine, civil marriage is now indeed a civil right for ALL Maine couples!
What makes same sex marriage any different than your religion EJ?
I think Adam Flanders misunderstands the Separation of Church and State, but the principle of separation is in the Constitution in the Following ways:
1) The framers of the Constitution left out all mention of God (and Jesus, Christianity, etc.).
2) They said there shall be no religious test for holding office under the Constitution (Article VI Paragraph 3).
3) They made the oath of office for the President religiously neutral, allowing him to either “swear or affirm,” because some religions object to swearing an oath (Article II Section 1 Paragraph 8).
4) The first Amendment says that Congress shall make no law establishing a religion, nor interfering with the free exercise of religion.
5) Yes, they allowed states to have established churches (like the established Congregational Church in Massachusetts at the time), but they forbade the federal government from doing so. Eventually all of the states disestablished their churches, and the XIVth Amendment says that the states may not abridge any privileges or immunities of citizens that are guaranteed under the Constitution.
6) James Madison, “the father of the Constitution,” said that the Constitution had given us “a complete separation of all things governmental and ecclesiastical.” Thomas Jefferson said the result of all of this was “a wall of separation between church and state.”
So, yes, the principle of the separation of church and state is indeed in there. Adam Flanders, however, misinterprets how this affects churches (they do have the right to speak out on moral issues such as referendum questions, but they may not endorse candidates or parties).
Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting “Jesus Christ,” so that it would read “A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;” the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.
-Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom
Enforced christianity isn’t in the constitution either… and there’s good reasons for that.
Ms. Johns said: “Some may think that NIMBY was the winner in this contest,…” And she’s absolutely right. But you have to give these folks credit for inventing “visual pollution.”