Concealed guns need permits
LD 652, which would allow the carrying of concealed weapons without a permit, is a bad bill. I have owned guns for over 70 years and served on the battalion rifle team in the Army.
This winter, I was involved in a road rage incident. I don’t know if the other driver was having a bad day, on drugs or mentally unbalanced, but he was a wild and scary man. The woman with him looked very browbeaten and nervous. I was on my way to the post office. If a gun was mixed into the situation, I might not be here today.
Guns are fine, providing responsible people own them. It is not in the public safety or interest of the state of Maine to enact this bill. Allowing anyone to pack heat anyplace, anytime is dangerous for children, domestic disputes the general public and law enforcement.
If lawmakers can’t be part of the solution, they should, please, not be be part of the problem. LD 652 is a bad bill and shouldn’t become law
Bob Tweedie
Westfield
Not Emily Cain
The recent news that Emily Cain will once again run for Congress is very troubling. So far, Rep. Bruce Poliquin has attacked the environment, women’s rights, and has been nothing but a peachy keen friend to his buddies on Wall Street. In other words, it is imperative that he not win in 2016. Cain is not the candidate to stop him. All we have to do is look at 2014’s results to see that she does not have what it takes.
Stale candidates and stale ideas are not how us Democrats are going to retake Congress next year. Instead, we must refresh and put forth new candidates with new ideas. Instead, we must nominate new people who have both the chutzpah and determination to take on the abomination that is Poliquin.
Eamonn Dundon
Portland
Support for seniors
The city of Bangor is, for us, the hub where the majority of our activities take place: shopping, dining, attending movies, theater or special events or receiving medical care. Even though we live in Bucksport, Bangor is my husband’s hometown and that of generations before him. We are often in the city daily. Bangor is, as Bonnie Marble said in her Feb. 18 letter, a retirement community. But it is not just for those retirees who live in Bangor, it also is for the retirees who live in the many surrounding communities.
One of the most appealing facilities that draws us into Bangor is the Hammond Street Senior Center. Even though Bucksport and other towns have some senior activity centers, none provides access to the Silver Sneakers program. Because Hammond Street Senior Center has been approved for the Silver Sneakers exercise program, many insurance companies reimburse this cost to seniors. This opportunity to exercise in a gym is key to our continued good health.
The city of Bangor and the City Council need to support this facility and recognize its value in marketing itself as an ideal place to retire. In addition, if there is not a Senior Advisory Committee, we would strongly urge the council to establish one. The number of seniors in Bangor is significant, and they need to be heard and supported. Active seniors contribute to their community.
Rosemary Bamford
Bucksport
Keep estate tax
I laughed when I saw that the governor’s budget planned to eliminate the estate tax, and I was curious to see who it actually helped, so I checked. It turns out that right now, unless your net worth is over $2 million, your heirs don’t have to pay a nickel in taxes. And if you have more than that, taxes are only paid on the amount that’s above the $2 million.
So, if the governor succeeds in eliminating the tax entirely, out of the 1.3 million people in Maine, only 120 to 150 people would benefit. It also would mean that the rest of us would lose over $30 million in tax revenue, money that could help pay for our roads and schools.
I’m guessing that there might be one or two family farms or small businesses that could be adversely affected by the estate tax, but it surely must be possible to provide the tweaks in the law so that they would be protected and then the rest of us wouldn’t have to lose the $30 million.
I surely will urge my legislators to vote to keep the estate tax as it is.
Arthur Davis
Woolwich
Wimpy language
I am one of those terrible grammar grouses who deplore the sapping of strength from the English language. I note that in political utterances, local, state, federal, even global, the highest praise we can give our countrymen, that is, the expression of greatest virtue and worth, is “hard-working.” Hard-working American middle class, hard-working Maine families, etc., etc.
At the opposite pole, when we discuss wrong-doing, corruption, even outright evil, the worst word we can come up with is “unacceptable.”
Whatever became of vile, odious, contemptible, infamous (which seems to be misused as a synonym for “famous”), horrendous, horrific, obscene?
I fear wimpy language signals to others a wimpy nation.
Jo Cameron
Edgecomb
Oppose mining rules
I am writing to represent Carr Pond and its surrounding waters. My family has owned property on these shores since the early 1900s. This area has a special place in my heart, so I am doing my part to stand in opposition to the proposed metallic mining rules, LD 146.
I have actively watched the Maine mining revision process since the beginning. I wrote letters and spoke at the previous public hearings and testified against these flawed rules. Over this period of time, I have thankfully witnessed overwhelming opposition to the flawed revisions and unfortunately witnessed the mining industry representatives advise and amend these laws with only their needs in mind and not the long term effects they would have on the environment.
The proposed rules in LD 146 are written to relax the current rules and only cater to the metallic mineral mining industry.
Betsy Terrell
Chaplin
“Free” trade
When will the American people wake up and demand change?
We allow the wealthiest elite to get huge tax cuts and massive subsidies (corporate welfare), move good jobs overseas where they pay miniscule wages in unsafe working conditions, pollute the planet and send us dangerous products. Just the latest example of this is Lumber Liquidators flooring.
In the name of national security, we must insist that every importer has their imports subjected, at their expense, to strict inspection for safety, by federal inspectors.
If that makes their goods too expensive then perhaps they should think about making them here at home with American workers.
The American people deserve to know products being sold to them are safe!
John Albertini
Charleston