Kudos to local hospitals
I am writing to express my admiration of two area hospitals: Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln and Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
On June 29, 2011, I brought my 8-year-old daughter, Gigi, to PVH. A few days into our summer vacation at Cold Stream Pond, Gigi became ill and was showing signs of dehydration.
Gigi appeared to be suffering from a burst appendix. However, I believe our doctor was guided by his intuition. Given that PVH does not have a pediatric surgeon, he sent us by ambulance to EMMC.
At EMMC, Dr. Josh Caresky, the only pediatric surgeon north of Portland, was set to begin his vacation when we showed up. Assuming she was a routine appendectomy, he was ready to pass her off to the emergency department surgeon. I’m still amazed at his last-minute decision to do the surgery himself.
When the operation finished, we heard the news that changed our lives. Gigi’s small intestines had somehow twisted around themselves and died. Dr. Caresky removed half of them. We were shocked.
The surgeons saved Gigi. The nurses and pediatric support team saved me and my husband.
They presented us with enough information to make informed decisions. They encouraged us to reach out to our doctors at home in Massachusetts. They provided shoulders to cry on. They made arrangements so we could take our daughter back to Cold Stream, her favorite place in the world, and receive home health care there.
Words cannot express the gratitude our family feels for these two hospitals.
Julie Cyr Gibowicz
Enfield
Average American
After years of trying to keep up my belief that I am a mainstream, patriotic and dare I say average American, I give up! Thanks to the Associated Press article printed in the BDN, announcing that the former Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) was being awarded the Liberty Medal, I finally realize that I am just too outdated, out-voted and traditional to be a good American. I can’t remember who he was fighting when he announced “every time I hit [?] in the face, I am punching the American Flag,” but that was said in face-to-face interviews before and after the bout.
I remember as he was due to be drafted, it was announced that Clay was converting to Islam. Right around that same time my husband decided to re-up, because America had an “obligation to fulfill.”
As the succeeding governments continued to honor Clay, I watched my husband, both my sons, two of my granddaughters, three in-laws and two cousins do their American duty without changing their names or religions.
As old and passe as I am and in the reverse sentiment of the current first lady, this is not the first time I am ashamed of my country, it is the latest time, for honoring a person who changed his name and beliefs to gain a reprieve, title or award and apparently being revered for that duplicity. I give up. The former Cassius Clay is a wonderful example of a mainstream, patriotic, average American — more so everyday.
Jan. I. Blanchard
Portland
Article buried
I found it interesting that a recent article on governors, legislators and other politicians using crude language was buried on page three. If it had been our own governor you would have blasted it to the front page in large print. Your dislike for the governor we elected has never been hidden.
Sandi Brennan
Linneus
Laden misfits
Your front page of uly 9 was a gratifyingly prominent depiction of those intrepid freedom fighters, Gov. LePage and Howie Carr. Most photos of freedom fighters are of scruffy, bandoleer-laden misfits.
So reassuring to see the aforementioned laden with shapely bellies and adorned with polo shirts.
David Calder
Canaan
Fairness dialogue
I read with interest Chris Busby’s OpEd about Charlie Summers’ opposition to Maine law banning discrimination against people on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation. According to Busby, Summers believes that homosexuality is a choice, so legislation to protect the rights of homosexuals is unnecessary. Perhaps that is why Summers seems reluctant to offer Maine voters wording for the same-sex marriage initiative that includes mention of the fact that religious liberties will be protected should same-sex marriage become law.
The petition that more than 100,000 Maine residents signed in order to bring this question to referendum was very clear about the protection of the freedom of Maine clergy in regards to performing gay marriages.
I asked Summers at the Bangor 4th of July parade about the process for receiving comments about the proposed wording for this referendum and how he would be using these comments to finalize the wording. His reply: “If comments seemed ‘canned,’ they would not make a difference, but if they were personalized, [he’d] pay attention to them.”
While I find it hard to understand why Summers, as our secretary of state, would not pay attention to every comment from Maine voters on this important issue, I hope he holds true to his word that anyone who sends “personalized” comments will be heard and their comments will direct his thinking as he determines whether there is fairness in this dialogue or whether it is driven by what appears to be his own agenda concerning homosexuality.
Judy Williams
Belfast
Gunther praise
The Hon. Jessie Briggs Gunther has a long and accurate memory ( BDN, July 2). Indeed, The Piscataquis Observer did testify in opposition to her nomination before the Executive Council, which approved gubernatorial appointments 36 years ago. Rural Mainers, the newspaper also argued editorially, deserved exactly the same quality of justice enjoyed by folks in Portland and the appointment of a very young lawyer to the District Court 13 bench did not augur well for the quality of justice available to Piscataquis County people.
As it turned out, Judge Briggs provided very high-quality judicial services to all who appeared before her court in Dover-Foxcroft, Milo and Lincoln. A year or so after her appointment, the newspaper published an editorial titled “Eating Judicial Crow.” The newspaper restated its concerns and demonstrated that Judge Briggs more than satisfied any early doubters, including me, of her judicial capabilities. Today, Maine is a better place for her long service. We both were young.
Jim Thompson
Former editor and publisher, The Piscataquis Observer
Calais
Judy Williams–Charlie Summers is a two trick pony
1. Whatever Grover Norquist says
2. Whatever ALEC says
End of story.
Blanchard — that’s silly. The entire idea of America is rebellion. We reject the idea of exclusivity and celebrate our diversity. That is one of the biggest reasons why we are the greatest country on earth. You’re free to be and to determine what is right for you. There is no “typical American” beyond the American who celebrates his or her freedoms and allows others to do the same.
You can hinge on individuals and out of context statements all you want, but the fact is that America is the greatest because we have the freedom to be something other than what our neighbors would like us to be and to do that without persecution.
Here’s a perfect example of the twisted lexicon of the left.
A draft dodger is no different than someone who met their obligation and honorably served their country, all under the guise of “diversity”.
Give me a break, I wasn’t speaking to the point of draft dodge. If you really want to get into that though, I can highlight some pretty prominent examples of it on the right for you.
A liberal equates a draft dodger to a veteran and the conversation moves to the political persuasion of the draft dodger. Liberal logic.
Bush=AWOL
Bush was never AWOL. Obama never showed up.
EJ, I’m sure Mr. Obama, did what all 18 year old men have to do. You went in to the Air Force, good for you. Mr. Obama, life is in danger everyday, you may not like the fact that he’s President, but it’s service to our country just the same.
Obama was a young child during Vietnam. They usually don’t let children fight in wars.
He could have volunteered to serve. After all, it’s the right thing to do.
He was smart enough not to need the military, it was he right not to join, just like it was yours to join. Why did you pick the Air Force EJ, because it was safer?
So, now you’re going to belittle my military service? No wonder you support Obama. He detest the military, too.
No, they just let them suffer, until they find out Isaiah 11:6 is a little scarier than they thought. http://www.aztlan.net/iraqichildrenhorror.htm
LOL Obama was about 10 at the beginning of the Vietnam war. Your indignation is hysterically funny.
His indignation just shows his total disregard for facts.
He could have helped with Desert Storm.
Bush has 18 months when he did not show up for any of his mandatory TANG meetings and was disqualified from flight training because he refused to take a drug test, all during a time of war.
President Obama came of age the same time I did and did the same thing I did, register for Selective Service. There was no war going on and no drafting of troops.
Comparing Obama to Bush as far as military service is like comparing apples to oranges.
it’s possible to hide using legal means. the national guard was often used to hide from the vietnam war. flying around texas in outdated fighters doesn’t count as service to me. there are many people who join the military just for the check. and after 20 years of being a desk jockey, can start collecting. as someone once said to me” the guy that makes the box lunches in the kitchen gets paid the same pay as the A&P certified mechanic working on an F-4Phantom. sounds quite socialist to me.
And what does Clinton equal?
A dog’s bottom.
You’d know, Milo.
If you’re saying that I am qualified to identify a dog’s bottom, consider yourself identified.
Clinton is a Rhode Scholar. so what, he could have been drafted after school. it’s not like he ran to Canada.
Last President with a surplus?
A rapist
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/how-could-romney-not-remember-cutting-a-kids-hair/
So Mitt Romney’s a hairstylist?
www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2446/did-george-w-bush-go-awol-during-his-time-in-the-national-guard
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-lamarche/paul-lepage-gop_b_1192275.html
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/lepage-mullswelfare-abuse_2011-10-20.html
“Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.” – Albert Einstien
What do those website, have to do with Bush being Awol, I never said or implied, that Paul LePage was a draft dodger
Wow. The Straight Dope, written by the self-proclaimed smartest man in the world, Cecil Adams. You can do better than that. Adams is a complete left-wing nut-job.
Romney dodged the draft due to his ‘religion’- but that’s alright apparently. LePage hid in Canada and that’s ok…..give me a break.
Yeah. Romney was doing missionary work in Paris. Good gig if you can get it.
Thanks then for admitting that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Mitt Romney were all draft dodgers.
There’s a lot more R’s that can be added to that list(Ted Nugent)This will be the first election in many years where neither Presidential candidate served.
The percentage of African Americans who served in Vietnam was more than double their representation in U.S. society. African Americans accounted for 32% of fighting forces in 1968. They were 15% of society here at home.
I suggest he had good reason to be angry. ALSO there were a whole bunch of white angry people who DID serve. I remember John Kerry throwing his medals on to the White House front lawn during a protest rally.
Jan. I. Blanchard, not to defend Casius Clay/Muhammed Ali.
At the time there were thousands of professional baseball, basketball, football, etc. athletes. I don’t recall any of them being drafted. I don’t know of any draft deferment that would have prevented them from being drafted to serve in the Army and go to Vietnam. In fact I don’t recall any professional boxers being drafted other than Ali. I may be wrong but this is to the best of my memory.
Because of his brash, self promoting manner, he made himself a target of those who highly resented him. Which IMO resulted in the Louisville draft board drafting him. He had for whatever reason converted to Islam and changed his name. That is neither here nor there as that is the right of all American citizens.
I did at the time and still do find it odd that he was singled out among all these people with athletic ability that far outstriped mine. Yet I was accepted for military service. Go figure.
Julie Gibowicz, Jan Blanchard, David Calder, Judy Williams: good letters.
Ms. Williams – I want to make a couple of comments about your letter and the 100,000 who signed the petition. First, to many of us, the issue is whether we as a society will grant same sex couples the right to marry. It is that simple and the question as drafted is not confusing, deceptive or otherwise misleading. The issue is not who will perform the ceremony but should the state grant status to the relationships
Next, you should not equate a signature on the petition as vote in favor. I signed the petition because I believe that it is an important issue and of such dimension that it should be answered by the people and not the legislature. I’m leaning in favor but you should not count my vote or my wife’s vote. I bring this up here as it appears time and again in letters and postings. Agreeing that the democratic process should go forward should not be construed as a statement on the ultimate outcome.
My comment to you is that it is a very sad day indeed when any citizen’s civil rights
need to be put to a vote.
Self important much?
I have no idea what you mean by “self important much.” If you are asking if I feel self important, the answer is no. Nothing in my post suggests it. I am a citizen and I do get a vote and I will cast it. It is no more and no less important than any other vote.
What you see as a “sad day” is not. First, marriage between same sex couples has not been a “right” in the United States in our 236 year history. Marriage itself is highly regulated, it is not uniform between states and while it is of Constitutional dimension, there is no indication that the Supreme Court will find in favor of same sex couples.
That being said, I’m leaning in favor because, while the relationships are contrary to my religious beliefs, as a civil institution it is the right thing to do. These relationships exist, are common, produce children and come with the challenges that heterosexual couples face.
Society must have an orderly way to deal with these relationships when they go bad. The process we have that takes care of property issues, support issues and child parent contact issues is divorce. Those are the arguments that will win the day if it is to be won. I don’t think you win by calling it a “right”. If that were a valid argument, these couples have had 236 years to vindicate that right in court.
In any event, imputing a feeling of “self importance” to me because I point out what should be obvious, that is, some of us signed the petition because we believe in the democratic process is churlish. The proponents of same sex marriage asked me to sign, why would you attempt to chastise me for giving them what they wanted, my signature? Now they are asking for my vote, they may get it.
Cassius Clay had the courage to stand up against a war policy that was WRONG. The US debacle in Vietnam is surprisingly similiar to Iraq & Afghanistan, we are there for all the wrong reasons, and when we leave those countries will revert to their original form (except there are now several hundred thousand fewer citizens). American blood and coin has been squandered in all 3 of these conflicts for nothing, none of these countries posed any existential threat to the US.
We are now drawing down the Afghan forces, yet we continue to lose soldiers daily. Imagine losing a loved one in a conflict we have already given up on, and plan to pull out of–Just a waste of life–
We need more brave souls like Cassius Clay to stand up and tell the gov’t that we will not fight unjust illegal wars. How many congressmen and senators children are overseas? Very few.
While I agree that him standing up to the wars and foreign policies which precipitated all the bad publicity was a good thing, the way in which he did it was totally backwards.
Cassius Clay was his slave name. He is Mohammed Ali.
No, Cassius Clay was the name his parents gave him. My grandfather (a huge boxing fan) refused to call him Muhammed Ali, and was torn about supporting him after he refused the draft (my grandfather served in the pacific in WW2). But eventually he realized that Vietnam was a waste of men and material, and he admired Ali giving up his belt to stand by his convictions.
Clay (the surname) was the name of the people who owned the plantation where his Great grandmother was a slave.
And Smith was the job my Great, great, great, great did. Your point is?
Mitt will send all his boys to the front lines if elected. AT THE BANK THAT IS!!!!!
Jan, hate to break the news to you, but this is America. Many thanks for your family’s service and we deeply honor all of those Americans who served in the Vietnam War and all of our wars. But Vietnam was also a political war in which 59,000 Americans died and many thousands more came home broken and mentally ill, and all for what? For what? Many PATRIOTIC Americans said NO to that UNCHRISTIAN and needless war by protesting it and even refusing to participate in it. GOOD for them for standing up for their beliefs! Muhammed Ali said that he at times was discriminated against for being black in his own country, but that no Vietnamese person ever did anything to him so why should he go over there and kill them.(?) In America, we have a first amendment to our Constitution that allows for freedom of religion, and anyone has the right to choose whatever religion he or she wants and no one should second guess anyone’s religious choice. Doing THAT is what is UNPATRIOTIC. This condemnation by some of Islam, a very peaceful religion on the whole shared by over a billion people around the world, is nothing short of sheer bigotry and ignorance. Good for Ali for standing up for what he thought was right. He was a terrific athlete who fought his way back into boxing and re-won the championship title after having been barred for standing by his conscience, and he has also been a great spokesperson and advocate, along with Michael J. Fox, for those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. Ali has earned national respect and recognition.
PS: Did Dick Cheney serve in Vietnam? NO. Did George W. Bush? NO. Did Mitt Romney? NO.
Where was THEIR “duty”?
Did Bill Clinton, Joe Biden,
Politicians are a separate class. We fight for them, not vice-versa.
Joe Biden’s son is serving or served recently.And Ms. Obama and Ms.Biden have worked for military families.Not GWB.He sent them off to die in Halliburton showers.
Biden’s son is not Biden. George Bush senior served in WW II if family service is an out. Be fair or admit that it is OK when Democrat draft dodgers like Clinton send service people to Bosnia (a Muslim nation ) but it is not OK when Republican ex National Guard Presidents send service people off to Iraq (a Muslim nation) for the same reason. That being to “spread freedom”. Seems to me that rrick NEVER works no matter who tries it.
I’m no fan of a lot of our military adventures no matter who’s President.Wasted blood and treasure.
Re: Sandi Brennen’s complaint that the BDN reports LePage’s crude language the front page.
Have you considered the possibility that the problem is not the BDN but a governor that chooses to use crude language and bullying ways?
To Jan Blanchard; I grew up with Muhammed Ali and actually met him when he was training in NYC for one of the Liston fights. Muhammed was the most gracious of men imaginable as he teased my friend and I, a couple of teenaged fight fans, the only two white guys in the room and at the end of his sparring session he called us over and put his huge arms around us and told us we were great sports. I am 73 years old, still love the guy and will never forget his gift. You need to look at Ali in context of the time, racism in the US, and how his courageous act of refusal to be inducted to fight a bogus war against people of color ruined his career temporarily. He was willing to take a stand, change his religion which you must agree was his right, change his name as millions of other black Americans have and say whatever he was feeling at the time. I believe the man a hero of our generation and one of the most generous people of our time. I am sure that his anger has abated over time. Don’t forget that many whites, christians, jews, aetheists also saw the truth about the war and were angry at our country over it. Some of those people that I knew personally would be welcome in my foxhole. I thank your relatives for their service and bravery but to compare them to Ali and others at the time is talking apples and oranges.
To Ms. Brennan:
“Buried on Page 3?”
Do you really have nothing better to complain about up there?
Ask why the BDN doesn’t cover clinic bombings and arson.They are anti choice like the rest of the media and choose to ignore women’s rights being trampled.
Your family members were the true heros Mrs. Blanchard, courage born of duty not of convenience.