When did Maine move, Carson?
Presidential contender Dr. Ben Carson released a map of the continental United States showing all 31 states that are “saying no to Syrian refugees.” It doesn’t surprise me that Gov. Paul LePage has painted the state of Maine red again in a sea of blue, but I was shocked to find that, according to Carson, Maine is now part of Canada. Did the governor move Maine when no one was looking and while the Legislature was in recess?
If so, my former prediction is 180 degrees off the mark. I had predicted that LePage would move Maine by ferry from Portland to the Deep South, where he would change its name from Maine to Mainissippi in order to find southern comfort amongst fellow confederates. But Carson knows best, especially because this man holds an advanced medical degree as a neurosurgeon.
Then again, does Carson or is it just more jive?
Michael T. Bucci
Damariscotta
Fear and ignorance
How stupid is it that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says “ any one of [the Syrian refugees] could be connected to terrorism”? Abbott, Gov. Paul LePage and other governors across the U.S. who want to slam the door on Syrian asylum seekers speak from fear and ignorance.
Could the dead toddler on the Turkish beach be a terrorist? A pregnant mother? The boy pushing a wheelchair? Calm down, governors. Don’t lose your humanity and let the terrorists win. The U.S. has avoided a second 9/11 for a long time and has the technologies to sort the bad apples from the good.
Sure, it does appear that at least one of the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Paris slipped in among refugees. If so, that doesn’t call for an international scapegoating of a whole suffering people. To be truly more secure, we need to think rationally and look for humane ways forward in this dangerous world — to stop terrorist attacks and care for victims of war and terrorism.
We should step up cooperation with countries where radicalized young people have slipped away to join Islamic State. Pool surveillance information to identify phony passports and people connected to suspected terror cells already in the West, capture their fingerprints and faces and develop quick and thorough protocols to clear the thousands of innocents through immigration.
Hire more agents to manage this, and adequately fund humane care for asylum seekers pending immigration processing across Europe and North America. It won’t cost as much as a fantasy wall between us and Mexico, and it’s a humane and rational way to proceed.
Virginia Nees-Hatlen
Old Town
Jones Act fails merchant mariners
I’ve been serving proudly as a member of the U.S. Merchant Marine since 1999. During that time, I have braved the pirate-infested waters off Somalia and the dangerous ports of Iraq. I have endured huge winter storms in the North Atlantic to deliver the war-fighting goods wherever they were needed to support the U.S.
This August, while repairing a vessel, I was injured while at work. Upon returning home to seek medical help and the surgery I need to repair the damage to my hand, I was flabbergasted to learn that unlike every other worker in the U.S. I was not entitled to the rights afforded to everyone else under workers’ compensation laws.
The Jones Act is what applies to the Merchant Marine fleet. This outdated law says that because no one was at fault for my accident — a shattered cutting tool head — I am only entitled to $15 per day and coverage of my medical bills. I am the sole income earner for my household of four, so I face mounting bills, possible bankruptcy all because of an accident that was not my fault working on a job where I thought would be protected.
Shannon Smith
East Machias