They represent who?
It’s no surprise that workers’ compensation insurance companies such as MEMIC and others are lobbying the Legislature to raise their profit levels while the benefit cost of workers’ comp has dropped by more than 60 percent over the last several years. Republicans love this and hate the idea of Maine workers having collective bargaining rights, so they worked against the DeCoster egg farm workers and day care workers.
The workers’ comp bill, LD 1913, was written by the insurance companies to provide a financial windfall for themselves by denying injured workers the benefits they deserve. Picking the pockets of injured workers by these insurance companies will hurt Maine’s economy and hurt Maine families who are already struggling.
Two other bills designed to attack Maine workers have also survived. LD 309, the wrongly named “right to work” bill, was written to attack the collective bargaining rights of Maine public employees. All Maine workers enjoy benefits such as workers’ comp, unemployment, overtime pay, family medical leave, workplace safety (OSHA), a 40-hour workweek and many more that were achieved through the collective bargaining process.
The Republicans also attacked workers’ abilities to get unemployment benefits when Maine’s companies leave or downsize because of Maine’s high tax rates. Workers didn’t crush the economy. Big corporations and politicians did. I hope all Maine workers remember in November at the ballot box, that the Republicans and LePage chose to attack all Maine workers while refusing to address the real problems.
LePage’s “Open for Business Only” sign should be on his office door.
Bruce Hixon
Bowdoin
Graduation vision
What a sad and cynical day graduation will be at Colby this year. Colleges are supposed to be in the business of exposing historical lies so that their students are not so easily manipulated by those forces that want the truth hidden. Unfortunately, Colby College has chosen to invite as graduation speaker one of the major prevaricators and promoters of the Iraq War, a man who is, by our own laws and treaties, a war criminal.
The prospect of a host of celebratory students and parents applauding Tony Blair is sickening. The audience the becomes complicit in historical whitewash, complicit in pretending that no crime was committed, complicit in the charade promoted by President Obama that we can only look forward by refusing to look back.
A society based on the rule of law that refuses to acknowledge and enforce its own most important laws bears an uncomfortable resemblance to … well, to what? Anything but a constitutional republic. What good can come for Colby by choosing to honor Tony Blair? Our times cry out for the voices of visionaries, not for the voices of those who would keep us blind.
Robert Shetterly
Brooksville
Allow Father Nadeau to return
I find it unconscionable that the attorney general’s office has been investigating Father James Nadeau, pastor of the St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Fort Kent, for weeks now yet no charges have been brought against him. Meanwhile, he hasn’t been allowed to continue to minister to his parishioners.
I’m sure they miss him and believe, like I do, that he did nothing wrong. He is their shepherd and should be allowed to return to his flock.
Paul C. Kelly
Lincoln
Safe and effective care
The Eastern Maine Medical Center nurses contract fight is about more than just winning a good contract for our members. When a nurse has 16 hours of work to complete in a 12 hour period of time, her work can’t be left for tomorrow. This is the struggle our nurses face on a day-to-day basis. As patients come to us sicker, with more needs, and as responsibilities increase, staffing levels remain inadequate and uncertain.
Management does not want to address these issues with even the discussion of resource nurses to alleviate some of the added burdens to staff, ensure safety of and augment the experience and outcomes of our patients. It’s our mandate to advocate for our patients.
Management refuses language addressing our acute concerns regarding safety in the emergency department; safety for our patients, community and staff. Management expressed their opinion that our most experienced nurses don’t warrant additional compensation for their advanced skills. We disagree. Many have worked years without any additional raise. Management has yet to respond to key language protecting nurses when deciding whether they are safe to work the shift after working long call hours.
This is language that management previously applied to one unit with burdensome call hours, and we believe that it should be universal as a measure of safety for all patients and staff. With the changes occurring in health care, it’s imperative that nurses retain the ability to advocate for the communities we serve and ensure safe and effective care.
Jessie Mellott
EMMC nurse
Brewer
Dunlap endorsement
It seems to me that all our senators over the years from both parties were able to work across the aisle with members of the other party. I don’t think belonging to a party is the problem. A lot of people thought Olympia Snowe was doing fine until a couple of years ago.
What we need in the U.S. Senate is someone who will act as independently as Margaret Chase Smith did, and who understood the needs of Maine’s working people like Ed Muskie and George Mitchell.
That’s why I am supporting Matt Dunlap for Senate. Matt was born and raised in Maine, schooled in Maine and has worked all his life in Maine. He knows the struggles of Maine people because he has lived them. He has served the Old Town-Orono area well, did a great job as secretary of state and knows the state better than any of the other candidates.
He’s a hunter and sportsman and knows how to balance the needs of different groups within the state. He’d be the unique voice in the Senate because he’s a working person, not a millionaire.
We don’t need another millionaire in the Senate. We need Matt Dunlap.
Colleen Bridges
Orono
Paul’s place
There have been letters to the editor expressing concern over the Paul Bunyan statue being overshadowed by the new Bangor Auditorium. And I admit to sharing some of that concern. But after looking at the progress on the Cianbro website in the rain recently, I think Paul is going to give the site just the right amount of panache. You look great, Paul.
Bob Woodbury
Winslow
Bruce Hixon and Robert Shetterly–Great letters! The paradigm that the ownership class has foisted upon us over the past few decades is flawed in innumerable ways. Our glorification of war for profit and our marginalization of increasing numbers of our people are two of the major flaws. Thanks for keeping the flame of truth and freedom alive.
Oh yes, calling Tony Blair a war criminal because he supported the Iraq war is “keeping truth and freedom alive”. And you wonder why those of us in the middle can’t take the left seriously. (or the right for that matter).
Mr. Blair’s Downing Street Memo declaring his support for “fixing the facts around the policy” is a good example of contempt for “truth and freedom.” Hats off to you Mr. Shetterly.
Well said. To call Tony Blair a poodle was to insult a very noble, gentle and intelligent breed.
The invasion of Iraq can very easily be construed as an act of aggression under the Geneva Accords. Who would you assign culpability to for this illegal incursion?
Sorry, by calling him a war criminal, you lose all credibility in my mind. Like a liberal Glenn Beck: all hyperbole, no rational argument.
The Geneva Convention defines instituting a war of aggression as a war crime. Blair consciously chose to fix the facts to justify the war, as HonkytonkBob correctly points out below. The Iraq War was a war of aggression. Blair needs to be careful of where he travels, as some countries take their duties as signatories more seriously than does the USA.
Well, when he is brought to trial in The Hague, I’ll buy it.
Fine then. Lump Blair in with Milosevic and the other “ethnic cleansers” who deliberately lined up and shot men and boys from villages and sent women and girls off to massive rape camps. Lump him with Nazis and perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide. Guess what: the term “war criminal” then ceases to have any useful meaning.
That you and the others can’t hear the shrill liberal mirror to Glenn Beck in your post is sad. Is there no reasonableness left in the world? Is your only debate tool hyperbole? Do I like Blair? No. Is he a war criminal in the REAL sense of the term? Of course not.
The word criminal has a broad sweep, reaching those guilty of criminal speeding as well as triple homicide. I have never seen you post to complain about this fact of the English language.
I would love to give Tony Blair a chance to win an acquittal. Sadly, too many on the right no longer believe in accountability.
Well, I think “war criminal” has (and should have) a more weighty meaning than our vernacular use of “criminal” for civilian crimes.
I see I’m in the clear minority for thinking “war criminal” should be reserved for historically heinous crimes during a war. I stand by my claim that broadening to include the likes of Tony Blair diminishes the meaning…
I can only gather from your post that you’re good with less dramatic, more insidious forms of murder. It seems that the needless deaths of more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians and thousands of soldiers, plus tens of thousands more maimed and wounded, doesn’t constitute “war crimes” for you. It is shameful that Americans were so far removed from the slaughter and weren’t even asked to pay increased taxes to support it.
Well thank you for putting words into my mouth. I’m not “good” with any form of murder, just against the willy nilly use of the term “war criminal”. When I was in college, ultra liberals used to scream “facist” at everyone who disagreed with them. Same deal here.
Sorry hophead, Bush, Blair and Cheney went a long way to removing reasonableness in the world when they invaded a sovereign country based on a pack of lies, killed hundreds of thousands, and then were held to account by absolutely no one. You want reasonable…. where the heck were you asking for reasonable when the war drums were whipping up the hysteria to invade Iraq?
Would you also likewise condemn the leaders of all the other United Nations countries that supported that war for freedom?
No on three counts.
(i) The precedent at Nuremberg for trying those involved in a war of aggression was limited to the architects of the war. I would support indictments of Bush, Cheney, and Blair. If they won an acquittal it would be proof that the system worked.
(ii) No countries supported the war through the UN, as the UN never authorized the war; the invading forces were almost entirely British and American with some Australian and Polish troops thrown in by the conservative governments of both nations.
(iii) The war was initially billed as one to save us from a nuclear-armed Iraq, then a war to make Iraq democratic and now you bill it as a war for freedom. There are still thousands of Iraqi refugees outside the country who don’t feel free to return. The wars for freedom I have read about, such as the liberation of France, involved us being greeted with flowers and parades, not IEDs.
Agree.
Oy. I will restate again for the benefit of hypersensitive board members and/or BDN staff. This post is patently silly. Agree or not (I don’t!) with the lead up to the Iraq war, to suggest that we should try Bush and Blair using the same criteria as the Nazi architects of WW2 is intellectually dishonest and downright insulting to those who’s families suffered through the Nazi atrocities.
To the BDN and those who might flag my post: I have deliberately not mentioned or referenced the poster, with whom I have no gripe. Please, allow my level headed and fair critique to stand.
Robert H. Jackson, a former U.S. Supreme Court justice and the lead prosecutor at Nuremberg, said in his opening statement at the Nuremberg trials: “We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow.”
We intended at Nuremberg to set a precedent for the prosecution of those who instigated a war of aggression. Our membership in the UN binds us to respect the defined ways in which war is justified. The treaty confirming that membership is part of the supreme law of the land under the Constitution.
Many of those convicted at Nuremberg had nothing to do with the Holocaust. It was their role in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc., which led to their conviction.
For the leaders who send soldiers to die, often for phony reasons, there are seldom any consequences. Nuremberg began a history of imposing consequences. Over time we will only see a decrease in wars of aggression when we actively condemn, and perhaps prosecute, those who pursue them.
If we reserve prosecution of war crimes to Nazis we will have broken Justice Jackson’s promise that the standard we applied to others was one by which we would be judged.
You say: “There are still thousands of Iraqi refugees outside the country who don’t feel free to return.”How would you do that?
Bravo Bruce. All ALEC inspired bills. Not an original thought among them. Certainly not one that is good for Maine workers.
ALEC inspired? No reality inspired. Where do you moonbats get this stuff?
And LD 309 is about “fair share” not “right to work.”
This is just another labor union-written letter attempting to defend their long-time and ongoing robbery of businesses and taxpayers in Maine. To fix the economy in Maine and this country, the first thing that has to be done is to tame these union bosses, thugs and their pawns.
LD309 is about breaking the unions. All unions. Not just public sector. Once they get that accomplished Mexico will have to put up a fence of their own to keep Americans from going there for work, because we won’t be able to afford the costs of living in a colder climate.
Hmmm. Given the small percentage of private employees that currently belong to a union, I’m curious why this hasn’t happened yet. As is typical on this board, hyperbole is the prime debate ammunition.
Fox news tripe. The monies the unions get goes to the workers, who happen to be the taxpayers. You conservatives would have us all working for minimum wage. What’s with the name calling? “Moonbats”? I think those who call names do so because they have no truth in their position so they must call names.
How much do union bosses get paid? Don’t tell me ALL of my tax dollars (for public unions) makes it back to the workers. I can tell you it does nothing for the delivery of services to the needy…
Goes to the workers…how is that? When I’m paying union dues and it goes for advocating political causes I don’t support, that comes back to me?
Would you like me to post the model bills for you? You can find them all at http://www.alecexpoed.org . Do your homework before you post. I do not belong to a union, have never belonged to a union and only support a union when workers are not treated with the dignity of a living wage and decent working conditions. And, I applaud those who work to make that happen. So you are wrong on all counts. And, a bit of a bully.
So then you don’t support public sector unions? State workers already make a living wage and have decent work conditions.
In all likelyhood with out unions, state workers would lose whatever job security they now have. Look to the southern states to see how it works there. Right to work and fire at will states use public sector jobs to pay off political debts.
And now Democrats pay off state unions with public sector jobs in exchange for votes.
Btw Maine is an “at-will” state.
We may be an at-will state but you just can’t do that with a union contract. You need to show just cause. That cause can’t be just because the boss has a new girlfriend and needs to give her a job.
BTW that is a real case scenario that helped bring a union into a Calais business about 20 years ago.
Thank you! How rich is the claim that public sector jobs would be used to pay off political debts! Good grief…
Yes, I would agree with you IF state workers were not at the mercy of legislators. I have talked with too many state workers who during the unpaid days off required by Baldacci cutbacks had to find part-time work to fill in the gaps. I kind of wonder why my dad was able to take care of his wife and 4 children on one government job and today it takes two parents working and most often one of them picking up a part-time job. Something is wrong with the way we are doing business, public and private.
If I’m a bully, what do you call the union bosses and thugs?
Well, if they are calling you a thug then they too would be guilty of bullying. Name calling is what bullies do. And taunting. And threatening. And….. shall I go on?
There is nothing wrong with a think tank writing model legislation. ALEC is doing a good job.
Hradly a good job, more like the opposite.
If you think corporations are constituents then you are correct; our representatives do not need to be concerned about THE PEOPLE they represent. If they represent corporations then you and I might as well not vote at all. All bills that are think tanked at ALEC are for the good of corporations, not THE PEOPLE. There is not one employee that has benefited from their ideas. There are many that have been harmed. And these employees? They are the ones making all those profits possible. Kind of puzzling don’t you think?
“All bills that are think tanked at ALEC are for the good of corporations, not THE PEOPLE.”
Simply not true.
Wow……valid arguement. Your rationale and oratory regarding your tangential reasoning is impressive. Not.
We can see that you have chosen raw emotion in lieu of intellect by virtue of your choice of the words “thugs” and “pawns.” It’s time to set down that tea party drink and ask yourself who brewed it. As KayakMomma points out, the evidence of Alec’s involvement is there for all to see.
You liberals are always calling us names – what’s good for the goose…
Don’t like it, stop the name calling yourselves.
Please point out any name-calling by me at any time. I live in a country where we judge people as individuals and don’t engage in guilt by association: welcome to America.
I observe that “moonbats” kicked oof this exchange of name-calling.
The name calling does nothing to change the fact that ALEC has initiated the same campaign to rob workers of their rights in states all across the country. this was not a home grown issue in Maine that needed addressing. This campaign if being imposed from afar by conservative zealots.
Bruce Hixon–The one and only purpose of the Republicans is to break the unions. This has been at the top of their list since the 2010 elections. They are at the corporation’s beckoned call and the companies want to make more money and if they can get rid of unions then bigger profits for these companies. Then the companies will fill the pockets of the Republicans, it is all about the money!!!!!!
Yes let’s return to the 90s when workman’s comp claims and benefits were so generous compared to state-mandated insurance premiums that insurance companies were refusing to insure anyone in Maine!
Good letter Jessie. Nurse, teachers, all front-line workers need to stand their ground. I am ready to say….. you want health care? Then you pay what it costs in real wages and decent working conditions. You want your child educated. Then you pay what it costs in real wages and decent working conditions. Otherwise you can’t have it. We will leave the sick in the streets to die and the children in the streets to pick pockets. Sounds a bit Dickensonian doesn’t it? He wrote beautifully about life in his times. I for one do not want to go back to that.
Nurses most certainly already make a living wage. Teachers not so much.
Funny how you’ll let the sick die in the street to support a nurses’ strike, but not for a middle class tax cut. What? Only nurses deserve enough money to live comfortably?
Teachers not so much? The average teacher in Bangor makes over $50,000 for 36 1/2 weeks of work with a full pension and retirement health care. How is that not a living wage?
Maybe they do in Bangor. Starting salary for teachers where I live is pretty crummy.
Every teacher in the state starts at a minimum of $30,000 for 36 1/2 weeks of work. There are guaranteed step raises for fogging a mirror every year and annual contractual raises that increase that more rapidly than most imagine. Performance is not a factor in teacher pay. Only education and years of service separates one teacher from another on the pay scale.
OK, I agree. They make a LIVING wage, but I still think they’re underpaid.
Some are underpaid and some are vastly overpaid. We pay them all the same no matter how dreadful or how good they are. The only criteria for a raise is that they continue to fog a mirror for another year.
And how much will this tax cut net you? They can keep my $4. Add it to all the others and do some good with it. The only people who will really benefit are those who have plenty already and at the expense of those who have next to nothing. Nurses are trained specialists and deserve to be treated by their employers as such. Doctors can have salaries frozen for a year or two, like those receiving a state pension, to cover the cost.
Regarding “Paul’s place”
Paul Bunyan’s place should be near the river where he can once again overlook the Penobscot instead of gazing into a parking garage. At the current location, his impressive 35-foot stance is minimized by the larger structures around him. Let Paul Bunyan be the giant that he is at the Bangor Waterfront. Sign the petition. Free Paul! http://www.bangorbytes.com/p/free-paul.html
It’s Dunlap for me – Angus can shove off, along with the GOP Clown Squad.
yessah
Okay, I will listen. Why Dunlap? I need a good reason to vote Democrat as I am very discouraged by the direction the leadership is not taking at this point in time.
Good-afternoon : http://youtu.be/l-yo9CYv1mM
So, Robert, does this mean that Tony Blair will not be in (non-)Americans who Tell The Truth -http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/
(aka Bob’s Homemade List of Lefties He Likes)?
Now that really is harsh!
And Cherie will be so hurt!
Bob – apparently we all missed the memo that the statue may be moved to the waterfront area at a huge cost – supposedly it won’t be staying at the new auditorium.
I’m not a Bangor taxpayer any more but I think that would be a mistake.
Bruce Hixon, Jesse Mellott: good letters.