No sympathy for McCabe
Did anyone take note that former FBI deputy director, Andrew McCabe, will not be able to draw his pension and retire with full benefits at age 49. One can understand military personnel, policemen and firemen or women, who are in harm’s way, being able to receive a pension after 20 years. But someone sitting at a desk?
It’s hard to feel sorry for McCabe and several hundred thousand other federal employees who work for agencies with a special designation that allows retirement with 20 years of service at any age. After all, any federal government employee can retire at age 55 with 30 years of service.
This is perhaps even harder to take when most people cannot draw their full Social Security benefit until age 66, and they are usually wrongfully encouraged to wait till age 70 to apply for benefits to get more money.
Peter Clifford
Northport
No corporate welfare
I hope Maine legislators can see clearly through the big push by General Dynamics, parent company of Bath Iron Works, for a huge tax break. General Dynamics is one of the richest corporations in the world. It does not need a tax break.
The people of Maine would lose a lot of money if this tax break goes through. This money could be used to help repair the dangerous bridges in Maine, and it could be used to help children in Maine who are at risk of being abused and neglected.
General Dynamics and BIW have been given millions of dollars in tax breaks by the state of Maine and by the city of Bath since the 1990s. Why does one of the richest corporations in the world keep asking for tax breaks from poor Maine? And why are a few state legislators so intent on getting this passed?
The voters of Maine are smart. They are able to see through smoke and mirrors.
Brian Noyes Pulling
Cornville
Farmers know best
“[S]ome really selfish people” are leading the movement for food sovereignty in Maine, Agricultural Commissioner Walter Whitcomb told the BDN recently.
Really? Is that why they get up by dawn seven days a week to do the morning milking and work at least until dark to do what it takes to feed people the best-tasting, healthiest and safest food we can get? If anyone is selfish in the relationship between small farmers and those they feed, it is those of us who enjoy a trip to the farm to get food more than a trip to the supermarket.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says we eaters of food have no fundamental right to our own bodily and physical health and, therefore, no right to buy the food of our own choosing. Those of us who disagree are lucky to have local farmers who, with great care and concern for their customers, their animals and their soil, are willing to work hard to give us what we want.
Fear was the only weapon the USDA had when the first local food and community self-governance ordinances passed in 2011. Now that the state has recognized the ordinances, returning farming to practices that have existed for centuries before the Maine Department of Agriculture put onerous new facilities requirements in place in 2009, lighting the spark for the ordinance idea, they have added loathing to their repertoire. Very sad.
Bonnie Preston
Blue Hill
Protect gray wolves
Right now, negotiations are taking place on an appropriation rider that delists the wolf in the western Great Lakes region. Not only one federal judge, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with Bush-appointed judges, found that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated delisting rules for wolves, and now, this rider takes away our legal challenge to keep agencies accountable. We certainly need that more than ever.
The Northeast region has potential wolf habitat, but we have no confirmed wild wolves living here. Restoring wolves to this landscape is really a way to complete and perfect the ecologic order. By resolving the public’s concerns, showing the economic, environmental and social benefits, and carrying out the purpose of the Endangered Species Act in a strategic and effective manner, the gray wolf could be a success story.
But here’s the catch. If wolves are delisted by this rider, it virtually eliminates the chances of natural recovery because of the violent and aggressive wolf hunting seasons. Wisconsin wolves have the highest probability of getting to New England, but they certainly can’t do it if two-thirds of the population is killed off by trophy hunters.
Wolves don’t know state lines, and that’s not how populations are to recover.
Until wolves recolonize suitable habitat nationally, we must stop delisting attempts. And Congress shouldn’t be in the business of picking off species to delist. Western Great Lakes wolves are everyone’s wolves, no matter where you live in the United States. Please contact your senator and ask that wolves remain protected.
Barbara Quimby
Brewer
Abortion restrictions
Legal access to abortion was established in America in 1973. Since then, those with ethical or moral objections have worked to change attitudes and add restrictions to legal access. The effect of those restrictions (mandatory waiting periods, ultrasounds) have had largely unrecognized consequences on women’s experiences.
The documentary film “Birthright, the War on Women” highlights the collateral damage the effect these increasing restrictions have on women’s lives. These consequences are experienced by many Americans, because one in four women before age 45 have had an abortion.
The Belfast Area Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights in cooperation with Maine ACLU, Maine Family Planning and the Maine Women’s Lobby will be showing the 90-minute film “Birthright, the War on Women” 6 to 8:30 p.m. April 4 at the Belfast Free Library with a discussion to follow.
Those interested in widening their perception of the meaning of abortion for women and their families are invited.
Lisa Kushner
Belfast