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A national embarrassment
The 2016 presidential election was held on Nov. 8, 2016. Although Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, Donald Trump was projected to have won the Electoral College vote based on the states where he drew the majority. Clinton conceded on Nov. 9. President Barack Obama invited presumptive President-elect Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to the White House on Nov. 10.
Obama and Trump met together and Biden and Pence met separately on that day and again on Nov. 16. These initial transition meetings took place long before states had certified their election results. According to Trump, Obama and Clinton are dangerously corrupt and should be locked up and yet they “handed the keys” of our government to him without protest to honor the election result.
President Trump’s hope that a state or federal court will overturn a state’s election result and further confuse the final decision has led to what a prominent Republican, Chris Christie, calls “a national embarrassment.” It is time to move on, accept defeat, and give up on a victory at any cost, including a lasting stain on our election process.
Patrick Walsh
Belfast
Grateful for economic recovery grant
I’m writing to express my gratitude for the Maine Economic Recovery Grant Program. I run a seasonal landscaping business. The lockdown occurred in March just as we usually begin our busy spring season. The pandemic had numerous negative impacts on my small business despite the fact that my business, and the landscaping industry in general, were busy this past summer.
We had about a two month delay to the season and everything was slower, more complicated, and much less profitable. As a result, our sales were down by about 40 percent this year. When I applied for the Maine Economic Recovery Grant, I thought that perhaps I would be awarded a small amount to help cover some of my losses. Much to my surprise, the amount of the grant covered nearly 100 percent of my losses.
This will, in turn, allow me to pay off the debts that I incurred this past season. It will give me the financial stability to continue to pay myself, and my design staff, throughout the lean winter months. It will also give me the opportunity to invest in some new tools and other crucial items.
All to say, that the grant has made a huge difference for my employees, and myself. I’m not sure how I would have recovered without this money and I am deeply grateful.
Seana Cullinan
Portland
The good old days
I remember when hunting deer in Allagash was quite an adventure. Along the way we saw deer hanging from all the sporting camps, which were full of hunters trying to get their big buck. On our destination to Northern Maine Woods we would stop at Kelly’s Restaurant and have breakfast. I ordered a pancake and didn’t have to eat lunch. It was the biggest pancake ever. The place was packed with hunters telling stories about their hunting experiences in Allagash.
There were plenty of stories to go around. After breakfast, it was time to go into the woods. It took us anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to get through the gates. I’ve never seen so many pickups and fluorescent orange. It was quite the sight. After a great day of hunting you could see a caravan of pickups heading back home, and half of these pickups had a deer in the back of their truck. Deer were very plentiful back then.
My understanding is that as of Nov. 13, 2020, there was only one deer tagged at Dickey gate. There were no deer hanging at the sporting camps and a handful of hunters in the Allagash. I wonder what the biologists think of our lack of deer in the North Maine Woods. I hope they don’t blame COVID because this has been going on for quite some time now. If only we could turn the clock back when the hunting was prime. The good old days.
Pat Labbe
Fort Kent