Vote Haines Nov. 6
As a retired teacher, (Skyway Middle and Presque Isle High School), I write to proudly support one of my favorite former students, Democrat Troy Haines of Mapleton, as he seeks a seat in the Maine House of Representatives as the member from District 7. Early on, I recognized
Haines’ intellect, creativity and potential.
We need Haines’ strong, articulate voice in Augusta where he will advocate for the people of rural Maine. A lifelong County resident, Haines is one of us. He gets it! As a small business owner, he knows what our problems are because he lives them every day: how to balance a budget, meet a payroll, provide healthcare and pay ever-increasing tax bills. In addition, Haines actively promotes sustainable farming and community revitalization through small family farms, the historical backbone of Aroostook County.
Haines will work across party lines because he believes that the real benefit for his constituents will come from reasonable folks sitting down together and working out solutions to the problems facing Mainers.
I urge voters in District 7 to send Haines to Augusta with his smarts, energy, integrity, compassion and vision for prosperity in Aroostook County. It’s his voice, loud and clear, that Aroostook County and District 7 farmers and small businessmen need.
Stanley Maynard
Woodland
Vote for Romney/Ryan
There is a saying that I think should be shared more often with the public at large. I hope to God there’s enough time left before this election for it to sink in. It allows us to focus on President Barack Obama’s rise to the top of the Democrat party: “To err is human. To blame it on someone else shows management potential.” Obama has always displayed an enormous amount of management potential and continues to strut his stuff even to this day. Former President George W. Bush caused all of this?
I thought four entire years of Democrat autocracy would have been enough to turn the ship of state around and set sail for prosperity. Are you feeling prosperous? This man and his administration are an abject failure and re-electing him is just like begging to be beaten to a pulp and robbed penniless. OK, this nation gave him a chance after falling for his smooth manner, the lack of an earnest opponent and maybe even out of a sense of guilt for what in the 60s became affirmative action.
We, as a nation, are in dire need of help and deserve leadership out of this crisis, not a panderer of social and racial division and a time-tested failure. Remember the past, contemplate the present and dream of the future.
Jerry Bono
Norridgewock
Vote Campbell
I support Republican Dick Campbell for District 40 of the Maine House of Representatives. The towns of Bucksport and Orrington are filled with hard-working men and women who are fighting their way through this recession. I believe Campbell’s hard work in the private sector and his experience as a business owner make him an ideal representative for these two towns in today’s economy.
Many of today’s economic woes stem from legislation enacted with little or no personal context of how the law will impact the “real world.” What looks good on paper to a legislator has little value to the worker or business owner living paycheck to paycheck or contract to contract.
Campbell owned a solar construction company for 39 years. He also owned and managed the Riverside Inn at EMMC for 11 years. Campbell has fought to make an honest living for himself. He understands the importance that everyone, from the laborer to the CEO, has a voice in our state government.
I urge everyone who will vote in District 40 this year to cast their vote for Campbell.
Kyle Killip
Orrington
Why we must vote no on Question 1
Question 1: Do you want to allow the state of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?
You, as a Christian, should not be interested in my opinion, but you should, as followers of Christ, be extremely interested in what He has to say regarding homosexual behavior. For whether it be in the Old or New Testament, since God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost are all one and the same God, what is said anywhere in His book is God’s word.
Starting in Genesis 13:13, we see God commenting on the men of Sodom: But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. In Genesis 18:20, we read, “And the Lord said, ‘Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very
grievous.’”
In Genesis, chapter 19, we find that the wickedness God referred to was the wickedness of male-on-male homosexuality, male-with-male sodomy. It is for that behavior that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
In Leviticus, chapters 18 and 19, God makes it absolutely clear that sex is only to be between man and woman and once again condemns, in the strongest terms, male-on-male sex of any kind.
So, why must Christians vote no on question 1? We must vote no because God Almighty has condemned the act of male-on-male sodomy.
The Rev. Robert M. Celeste
Harrison
Vote Jones
Let’s look at the 125th Maine Legislature’s record. In 2011, the leaders promised to open Maine for business, create jobs, improve our education system and increase opportunities for training and education after high school. That didn’t happen.
Rep. Ryan Harmon, D- Palermo, of House District 45, voted against an act to promote school attendance that would use new methods to increase high school graduation rates and address other policy issues from expulsions to truancy. The Legislature also voted to reduce school district funding, including a $465,000 cut to our school’s budget. We’ll pay for that loss in less-equitable, higher local property taxes.
Currently Maine has an average high school graduation rate of 87 percent, leaving 13 percent of the next generation facing unemployment and poverty.
Democratic candidate Brian Jones has been a school board member of RSU 3, a teacher at Mount View High School and at Unity College. He will defend Maine’s youth because jobs are available now for educated people.
I also appreciate Jones’ openness to citizens’ ideas. No party tool, Jones chooses to represent our full community. Vote for Jones, and dilute the Legislature’s tea with ideas for our future.
Leslie Woods
Montville
Above all else, VOTE.
Mythology does not drive civil law.
Keep using it though… It insures your ultimate loss in court.
Funny the “reverend” focuses on males… It says a lot.
Dear Rev. Celeste:
Like so many others who oppose same-sex marriage, you believe that your faith should govern the laws of the state of Maine and, presumably, the entire country. The Founding Fathers respected the separation of church and state–and Pres. Washington famously wrote the pioneering synagogue in Newport, RI, in favor of religious tolerance in the new republic. If you want a different country, try those where the Taliban rule and see how you, as a good Christian, fare. And, by the way, you say nothing about lesbians in your scriptural references. Are you sexist? Surely you want to condemn that.
The Founding Fathers would not have supported SSM, are you so devoid of history to actually think homosexuality is something new? Kudos to the Reverend for being a Reverend and supporting Biblical principles.
We don’t know what the Founding Fathers would have said about SSM today. My point was about the separation of church and state–and that we DO know about. Citing the Bible as the source for law isn’t the American way.
yes, it IS the American way. This IS a Christian country. Fight it all you want!
Treaty of Tripoli, 1797:
“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”
What was that about a “christian country”? Seems like some of the founders disagree…
Sore loser…
Your mythology ain’t civil law toots.
we shall see on Tuesday who is the sore loser
The loser will be Romney, then what?
I don't expect the vote to go in my favor.
But I dont expect the court to find in yours.
well, no we are not. Don’t you find it funny that your say God wants us to ban abortion, yet killed his only son?
are you really that stupid?
Seems you are…
Also, He told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit, told it was wrong. However the only way they would have known right from wrong was by eatting the fruit! Did God kill his only son? Yes he did!
This is NOT a christian country, and I will fight tooth, and nail, to keep it from becoming one.
you poor thing
I’m not a poor thing, I hate religion, it has done more harm to this world, then good.
Well thankfully, it’s just your opinion, and you are a minority. I’ll pray for you though. God Bless.
Well, I’ll think for you and call it even.
I never said I don’t believe in god did I? I hate religion, that’s a whole different thing. You can believe in God and not religion.
Nothing “poor” about wanting a secular government.
BDN
Because yesihaveanopinion doesn’t understand history or the Constitution.
BDN
I know. Mental gymnastics are my favorite type of gymnastics.
I don’t know what you mean by “the American way” , but I do understand American people have a history of expressing their opinions freely from whatever perspective they express it. This to me is part of the American way. For that reason I don’t understand why you consider the Reverend’s biblical citation not the American way.
Because violating the civil rights of other citizens shouldn’t be the “American way”. But for you, civil rights aren’t as important as your religious dogma.
You can own a gun, but you can not use that gun to take from others. You can have religion, but you can not use religion to take from others.
The founders kept women from voting and allowed slavery.
Things have changed from their views… Changed for the better.
And they supported Slavery, your point? Whether or not they would support it is irrelevant.
They wouldn’t have supported any kind of mixed-race marriages, either.
Leslie Woods, I also have been undwhelmed with the Republican majority in our state legislature. They seemed to be more interested in fixing things that weren’t broken and trying to make it more difficult for workers to maintain any semblence of balance in the relationship between employers and employees.
I was willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt when they came into office. Their interest in the Tea Party/ALEC/MHPC agenda has confirmed my doubts that they have the people of Maines interests at heart.
Leslie, there’s an error in your letter, typographical I’m guessing. Ryan Harmon’s a Republican. In fact, he’s a Tea Party Republican, a member of ALEC, and a footsoldier of Paul LePage. He’s moving Maine backwards and has not earned another term in the Legislature.
Mr. Bono, consider that the non-partisan CBO opined last fall that the American Recovery Act of 2009 saved 3.3 million jobs. Consider that we will, as of tomorrow’s jobs report, have had 32 consecutive months of private sector job growth which has generated well over 5 million new jobs. Consider how President Obama rescued the auto industry and wants to re-industrialize America by ending tax breaks for outfits like Bain Capital which ship jobs overseas. Consider that the Dodd-Frank bill makes the reckless casino gambling that brought us the 2008 crash unlikely to re-occur. Consider that the Dow has risen from under 8,000 on President Obama’s first day in office to over 13,000. Then re-consider your letter.
Mr. Bono is spot on. The stimulus was huge failure, Obama said unemployment staying below 8% but went up to 10 (he lied). Still have about 30% underemployed or part timers. Obama said he would cut debt in half but doubled it (he failed). He doesn’t know how to create a budget, therefore 16 trillion in debt and climbing. Approaching a fiscal cliff he created and doesn’t know how to avoid. Kept GM going with free taxpayer money but they are starting to fail again with Toyota and Honda on rebound. Bad business investments in Solyndra and similar companies cost us billions. What do you do with someone that doesn’t do their job…fire them.
Hmm, do I believe Bonny or the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office about the success of the stimulus? This is not a hard choice.
In the English language I speak a failed prediction is not a lie. Reagan never thought that unemployment would exceed 10 % during his first term, but it hit 10.8%. Was the Gipper a liar?
You are referring to the U-6 rate when you write about the underemployed and part-timers. If you think it is 30% you are sadly mistaken. I won’t call you a liar, as I think you are simply too Faux News-besodden. The U-6 rate last month was 14.7%, the more frequently reported U-3 rate was 7.8%. That is not a whole lot higher than the U-3 rate when Reagan was re-elected (7.2%). The U-6 rate hit its all-time high under Reagan of 20%. It has never been that high under Obama. Bonny, I suspect you voted for the Gipper in 1984.
Your “fiscal cliff” of spending cuts was voted out of the Republican House in the debt ceiling hostage negotiations in the summer of 2011. The end of the Bush tax cuts was a budget gimmick created by Republicans when they enacted the tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. It is a “cliff” only for lemming-like Republicans who will go wherever Grover Norquist leads them.
Get as much Valium in stock as you can for Election Night. I will be celebrating the President’s re-election and you will be engaging in end of the world histrionics.
I think I will buy stock in valium For you my fantasizing fellow american will be eating them like M&Ms after Obamas defeat. America has finally woke up and Obama will be moving soon. What a shame it was the first real job he ever had and he has failed at it and will soon be fired by “the people” Maybe a farmer will hire him to fertilize his fields, he has surely proven that he can spread bullsh** with the best of them!!!!!!!!!!!
He is not even in the same game as reversible Mittens, that guy is a pro bull____ thrower.
Mittens has fertilized the whole country, we should have great crops next year, while Mitt is building the elevators for his cars.
No I won’t. I will hustle to pay my mortgage off, because when trickle down federal cuts impose on the state of Maine, who will in turn slash services, passing the burden down to local communitites citing ‘local control’ resulting increased local taxation through property taxes I won’t be able to afford to have a mortgage and pay the increased property taxes.
UndertaxedUnderObama, I am glad to see that you still stay as distant from reality as possible. The betting markets (Intrade) rate the President’s re-election chances at 66.6%. FiveThirtyEight.com rates his chances at 80.9%. RealClearPolitics rates the President as likely to earn 290 electoral votes with a chance to increase that in both Virginia and Florida. Only Dick Morris claims that R-Money will win; Dick Morris assured us four years ago that McCain would win.
polls are only appealing to liberals and strippers which one are you ?????
Until I finish stripping away all of your false beliefs, I will have to be both a liberal and a stripper. However, stripping away your false beliefs is a Sisyphean task: as soon as I have stripped away one coat of falsity from your hide you immerse yourself in Faux News coverage and acquire three more coats of lacquered ignorance!
The stripper who removes her clothes uses a pole for her performance, not a poll. Scientific polls have as much appeal for you as Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” or careful studies of climate change. You are far more comfortable immersed in the comforting Know Nothing world of Faux News.
Gee stop all these facts, the right has no idea how to handle them if they don’t fit into their little world. I think Romney’s ads and statements pretty much shows how they don’t know how to handle facts so they just lie.
To be a Republican is to believe six impossible things before breakfast, much like the White Queen in “Through the Looking Glass.”
So you are saying the stimulus was a huge failure, I disagree, but knowing that 40% of the stimulus was tax cuts I guess your saying that tax cuts don’t work. This would tell me that reversible Mittens idea of cutting taxes 20% will not work. Thanks for pointing that out. As luck would have it there were other things in the stimulus that did work. The fiscal cliff was not created by Obama, it was created by Congress for failing to come together.
GM’s money was not free, the gov. owns stock in place of that money.
Obama never said the unemployment would go below 8% it was projected by people in his cabinet, a projection going wrong is not a lie.
You should consider that the 8% projection came from Obama Council of Economic Advisers all of whom resigned before the start of the current electoral campaign.
Probably Obama fired them, oh wait that is Romney that likes to fire people, oh well they are gone.
And you too are in delusion land. The stimulus, by every economist who isn’t a TeaFool right winger, saved us from the BUSH Second Great Depression. Obama saved the auto industry whereas MittTwit the job killer wanted to destroy it. We have indeed had 32 months of job growth. And President Rove and his puppet Bushie entirely squandered the Clinton surplus, exported our companies, flattened our wages, and nearly destroyed the economy. But of course, that is what TeaPubs do. They are JOB KILLERS, they despise the middle class, and they spend every waking moment trying to figure out new and exciting ways to smooch their corporate masters’ toenails.
The rich and wealthy can always make their way always have always will. The chilling effect of Dodd-Frank is how it freezes capital for small business. It is not only by happenstance that small business growth and start-ups are at its lowest ever.
We should go Republican North Dakota’s way and have a state-owned bank.
Until we have mortgage relief (which the Rs have fought tooth and nail), demand for housing, the primary driver of small business growth, will not accelerate as it has in the past.
We don’t suffer from an absence of credit, but from an absence of demand. Tax cuts for the wealthy merely encourage more saving or investment overseas. Returning to tax cuts for the working class, like the “Making Work Pay” tax credit, will improve consumer demand and help drive growth.
I am afraid access to capital is limited. Despite having an 800 FICO I was recently denied credit for a new venture. I was told it was the funding mechanism I wanted to use to do it. When I pushed a bit for a clearer answer the banker mouthed the words… “Dodd-Frank”.
I’ve had no problem getting credit for my business and am suspicious of anecdotal evidence.
If you think your banker was being unfair, this is all the more reason for a state-owned bank. Republican North Dakota has done splendidly with its bank.
No, She is not being unfair. I have borrowed money before with this mechanism. There is nothing new about it, you just can’t use equity the same way you once could.
The key was it was to be used for a new venture.
You are making that state bank look better and better.
A state bank would have to follow Dodd-Frank also.
The Rev. Robert M. Celeste–Again, there you go with your biblical condemnation for one small mention in your obsolete social manual. Hey, how about condemning the usurers and the pork and shellfish eaters, tattoos, astrology, etc….
Funny how these same people call it (rightfully) savagery and barbarism when Old Testament law is applied in Muslim countries.
Jerry Bono== history has shown recoveries of this magnitude take between 10 and 15 years to come back to full employment. GW Bush pushed this country into the ditch in a matter of 8 years and now you and the Republicans expect Pres. Obama to have this economy running at full speed in 3.5 years, it took at least 10 months to stop the bleeding of jobs say nothing of getting it turned around.
My suggestion is to stop following the R’s talking points and do a little thinking for yourself, do you really think anybody R or D could have done any better?
Rev. Celeste: we’re been through this before. Your Biblical interpretation has no applicability to civil law.
Jerry Bono: you may consider the current administration autocratic (what an imagination) but whatever it’s far preferable to the probable autocratic theocracy under R&R.
Rev. Robert M. Celeste is a hater. Look at yourself in the mirror and your congregation before you start quoting the bible. Furthermore what would your opinion be if we were a Muslim country? I think the shoe only fits for you when it is ONLY your size.
I think Rev. Celeste is not the hater. You seem to be a hater of Christian beliefs. What about religious tolerance?
Not a hater and I am a Christian. I just don’t believe that a religious leader should be casting stones.
I find I must tolerate lots of different sorts of bigots in this society. You christians don’t have a corner on the bigotry block.
No one should tolerate preaching harm against law abiding citizens.
Mr. Celeste, what is your crowds’ obsession with sodomy? Do you have some secret desire to indulge in it? That’s probably what is really going on with you people. And take your mythology back into the dark ages where it belongs.
Mr. Bono, you have crossed the bridge to delusion land. President Rove and his puppet Bushie almost destroyed the American economy and exploded the national debt, and thank goodness Obama has been there to clean up YOUR mess. The MittTwit is FINISHED. He is a cardboard phony who reinvents his pathetic pathological self by the minute. Anyone who would be taken in by the MittTwit and his endless raft of LIES and FLIPFLOPS is blind as a pathetic bat. Bye bye MittTwit. You are TOAST.
Hey Rev, what about male on female sodomy? Oh that’s right, you don’t care what straight couples do in their bedrooms. It’s just gay sex that seems to fascinate you people so much.
Hypocrites.
And only between guys. Gals seem to low on his totem pole to register concern.
because, men like to think about two women together, so that’s ok! (;0/
Jerry Bono, you might want to read Ken Rogoff’s book on the recession. Rogoff is a moderate republican economist often cited by the republican pundits. He explains that it normally takes an average of 10 years for a country to recover from the depths of a recession such as we experienced. It contradicts the claims of Rmoney, Rove, et al.
The republicans have a two pronged approach to this election;
#1 Vote republicans back into power so they can bring back the failed trickle down policies that got us into this mess to begin with.
#2 If you don’t vote republicans back into power, they will continue their obstructionist policies of the last 4 years and destroy the economy anyway.
Obama/Biden 2012
Clinton 2016
Well Mr. Bono, then I guess you should blame it all on yourself. People who refuse to acknowledge history are more likely to repeat it.
I’m wondering why there is no article in the BDN today on the live MPBN US Senate debate held in Bangor at Husson University last night. The debate crystalized for me (especially as an un-enrolled voter) why I have no interest in voting for either major party candidate. If we had ranked voting in Maine, I would vote Angus King 1st, Steve Woods 2nd, and leave the rest of the lines blank.
Hey Jerry… I am thinking of the future. Romney and Ryan are not good for my future or the future of many people in this country.
Obama 2012!
Where is our Yes on 1 letter?
18 people signed a letter to the editor over two weeks ago and you have failed to print it.
Why?
John Albertini
To Rev. Robert M. Celeste,, you are entitled to YOUR beliefs but in America you can NOT require others to LIVE your belief! Separation of church and state requires the state to recognize religious diversity.