Help our own first
Just before Christmas there was an article written by Christopher Burns about Maine not being as giving as other states, “ Maine ranks 49th for charitable giving” (BDN, Dec. 18).
I was with a crowd of supporters the day the mill closed down in Bucksport. I saw the look on the faces of all those Verso men and women who no longer have a job. They have given to every cause over the years, and now they have to take care of their own. If I was to help anyone it would be my own family members who worked at Verso.
Everyone likes to help others, but your own family needs do come first and so do your own town people. There are so many people out of jobs, it makes it very hard to help others.
Joyce Donnell
Verona Island
Internet regulation
The Internet is perhaps the single most important creation to date in the history of humanity. We often take it for granted, but one would be hard pressed to see a future without the Internet playing an integral part.
Consumers are beginning to realize the importance of a free and open Internet. We want to be able to experience the Internet in anyway we choose. If anything gets in our way, our reaction is like that of a white blood cell. We seek to eradicate it so that it doesn’t have a chance to propagate to the rest of our body.
Last year saw a battle being fought over network neutrality. Netflix and consumer advocates faced off with Internet Service Providers over the right of way needed to deliver content to the customer. The ISPs want both Netflix and the consumer to pay for use of that right of way, in a sense double dipping from both wallets.
As a result, Netflix is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to weigh in on the matter, and in February, they will be voting on the matter. This causes me great concern because while it’s a good thing that our government is slow and deliberate with it’s bureaucracy, it is not something that I wish upon our Internet.
I ask that all Mainers, along with our Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin, think long and hard about what is at stake by inviting the FCC to regulate the Internet as a utility.
Benjamin Hamilton
Biddeford
Fining for irresponsibility
I agree that some sort of penalty should be assessed on people who act irresponsibly, but it is a slippery slope, especially if you look at the whole picture. What about unhealthy stuff such as overeating? Would pie eating contests be banned?
A pollution tax on coal fired power plants to help pay for all the health problems they cause? The cost of sport injuries in our schools? Assess fines on people who refuse to get basic health prevention such as vaccinations? Put cameras in washrooms and fine people that don’t wash their hands after use?
Fred Gralenski
Pembroke