It's been one hell of a week. The weekend is just a couple of hours away, and some fun times are on tap. After this week, it can't come soon enough. I've calmed down a little bit from my high stress of this morning, but I still have a few things on my mind that I would like to throw down on paper (assuming I was actually writing this in a notebook). Here goes...
The term "class warfare" has been tossed around a lot lately. Republicans are continuously accusing President Obama of class warfare due to his talk about the wealthiest American's paying their fair share in taxes. Now, that is not the subject of this post, though I would love to debate that whole issue at another time. My issue with that term is this. Nichole and I listen to WLOB (1310 AM) on the way to work just about every morning. We like to hear how host Ray Richardson sees the world through his eyes. It's most often completely different than the way we see things, but I love the local political talk. This morning Ray went on one of his usual rants. He wasn't as excited as he can get, but he was going on and on about how he is sick and tired of paying his tax dollars to people who don't work. He thinks it is insane that his hard earned money is going to people who aren't contributing to society. Quick question for you. How is this not class warfare? Unemployment is extremely high right now, and a record number of people are collecting benefits. That doesn't mean they haven't paid into the system themselves. That doesn't mean they aren't trying their hardest to find work, to no avail. Why is this sort of talk not considered class warfare?
Oh, Governor LePage. I didn't vote for you. If given another opportunity, I wouldn't vote for you. However, I want to support you. I want you to succeed, because the great State of Maine needs you to succeed. Let me tell you something though, any positive thing you do for the great people of this state will easily be lost and forgotten if you continue to lie and act like a buffoon. Back in April, you ordered that the labor mural be taken down because of an anonymous fax. I'm sorry, I'm not sure I believe that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Next thing we all know you are saying you removed it (and hid it in a "safe place") because it only spoke to one side, labor, and you wanted to see business represented as well. Now, fast forward to late September, on a stage in New York City, you told Brian Williams of NBC that you removed it because you didn't like how it was paid for?! Look, was that an out of left field question thrown at you during an education summit? Yes, that was unfair of Williams to do that, I'll give you that. However, you gave a new answer, one that you have not given previously. Have you been lying all along, or was this a new lie? And what union were you a part of? I mean, you said you "come up from organized labor through my whole life", so you must have belonged to a labor union at some point, right? Again, I want you to succeed, so please, do us all a favor. Work hard and keep your mouth closed. It's best for all of us, trust me.
As a rabid Red Sox fan, our baseball season ended the way it began, with a thud. After starting the season with a terrible 2-10 record, they were the hottest team in baseball for the better part of the summer. Then came September, where they compiled an embarrassing 5-20 record. Every team slumps at some point in the season, but the good teams don't usually slump for an entire month. What makes it worse is that they gave up both the division lead, as well as the Wild Card lead over the course of the month. It was a collapse for the record books. It is something that you do not want attached to your team. It hurts. However, I do not want to see the team overreact. Fans all over New England and beyond are going insane right now. Fire Francona, trade Crawford, feed Dice-K to sharks, put Lackey in a dunk tank filled with piranhas, etc.
Please, everyone calm down. JD Drew's contract is up. Dice-K won't be back from Tommy John surgery until late August or early September next season, and he won't ever pitch for Boston again (I don't think). Buchholz will be back from his injury and ready to dominate. I'll play the role of Theo Epstein and tell you exactly what you need to do. Sign a right fielder. Someone like Josh Willingham or Jason Kubel. Someone that will give you 20/80 and is a solid outfielder. Pick up Marco Scutaro's option. He was solid defensively and batted .300, and has been the best shortstop in the Theo era. Resign Papelbon and Ortiz. You will not find a better DH than Big Papi, and he is a fan favorite. Papelbon needs to stay, at least for another year or two. Bard is clearly not ready to close, and Pap has been one of the best since he came onto the scene. With those positions set, go after pitching. Get more pitching. Once you have more pitching, go after more pitching. You CANNOT have enough pitching, whether it's starters or bullpen guys. Go get them, they are out there. Pitching is what killed us, so let's do something about it. Unfortunately, Francona and the Sox decided to part ways. That makes me sad. He brought us our first World Series in 86 years. I can only hope the next guy can be mentioned in the same sentence years from now with Tito. I'm just saying...
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Oh Charlie, the only fraud here is you!
I'm not sure if you've all gotten the memo yet, but voter fraud is rampant in Maine. It's most prevalent on college campuses. Those darn kids are always messing things up. We just want to make sure informed people vote, why do those silly kids always think they know everything? See, it was different when I was in college, I knew about all the issues, and was able to vote because I fit into all the required criteria. Not like today, when kids just play Playstation and watch Family Guy. They have no idea what is going on around them. It's simply awful that we still allow them to disenfranchise the local townspeople by voting. I mean, that's what Charlie Webster, head of the Maine Republican Party says, so it must be correct, right?
Actually, voter fraud is anything but rampant in Maine. This whole game that Mr. Webster has been playing this summer has been a farce, and we all knew it. Heck, even those that supported Webster knew, deep down, that he was full of crap. As I'm sure you remember, Charlie came out earlier this summer with his list of 206 names of out of state college students that he felt committed fraud (here's a link to the press conference if you haven't seen it). He handed his list of "offenders" off to the Maine Secretary of State, Charlie Summers, and just yesterday, Summers came back with the results of his research. After two months, and much digging and prodding, it turns out, not a single one of the students on the list had committed any type of fraud. See, the problem for Webster, and the Republicans that believe there is massive amounts of fraud going on here, is that college students aren't the problem. In fact, there isn't a problem at all. The elimination of Same Day Registration by the Maine Legislature was a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
See, college students were the targets of Webster's attack. They have every right, by law, to vote where they go to school. They voted once, in the town that they live in, just as college students have done for years, and will continue to do for years to come. The real issue, as far as I can tell, is that Webster, and I'm sure others too, don't like that college students have the ability to possibly sway an election, and the perception is that college students tend to lean to the left. It's pretty clear to me that this scares our friend Charlie Webster. So, instead of engaging college students in a positive manner, he accuses them of cheating. I'm not sure that will go very far to convincing them to support the Republican's agenda. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see college students come out, in droves, to vote this November, especially for Question 1, which looks to reinstate same day voter registration.
In the end, I'm glad Secretary of State Summers looked into potential fraud. It proves that there was no funny business going on, and that our town officials are doing their jobs. It proves that our system works, despite the cries of many on the right. It also should put an end to this nonsense about college students and voting. We want to encourage everyone to vote, to be involved in their community, and to be a part of something bigger than themselves. We especially want college students to feel that way, as we want them to stay after graduation and contribute to Maine's economy by living, working and playing here. I am proud that Maine has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country, and hope to see that continue. I want to thank all of our town officials for all the hard work they do, and I want to encourage everyone to get out and vote on Question 1 on November 8 to reinstate same day voter registration. I'm just saying...
Actually, voter fraud is anything but rampant in Maine. This whole game that Mr. Webster has been playing this summer has been a farce, and we all knew it. Heck, even those that supported Webster knew, deep down, that he was full of crap. As I'm sure you remember, Charlie came out earlier this summer with his list of 206 names of out of state college students that he felt committed fraud (here's a link to the press conference if you haven't seen it). He handed his list of "offenders" off to the Maine Secretary of State, Charlie Summers, and just yesterday, Summers came back with the results of his research. After two months, and much digging and prodding, it turns out, not a single one of the students on the list had committed any type of fraud. See, the problem for Webster, and the Republicans that believe there is massive amounts of fraud going on here, is that college students aren't the problem. In fact, there isn't a problem at all. The elimination of Same Day Registration by the Maine Legislature was a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
See, college students were the targets of Webster's attack. They have every right, by law, to vote where they go to school. They voted once, in the town that they live in, just as college students have done for years, and will continue to do for years to come. The real issue, as far as I can tell, is that Webster, and I'm sure others too, don't like that college students have the ability to possibly sway an election, and the perception is that college students tend to lean to the left. It's pretty clear to me that this scares our friend Charlie Webster. So, instead of engaging college students in a positive manner, he accuses them of cheating. I'm not sure that will go very far to convincing them to support the Republican's agenda. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see college students come out, in droves, to vote this November, especially for Question 1, which looks to reinstate same day voter registration.
In the end, I'm glad Secretary of State Summers looked into potential fraud. It proves that there was no funny business going on, and that our town officials are doing their jobs. It proves that our system works, despite the cries of many on the right. It also should put an end to this nonsense about college students and voting. We want to encourage everyone to vote, to be involved in their community, and to be a part of something bigger than themselves. We especially want college students to feel that way, as we want them to stay after graduation and contribute to Maine's economy by living, working and playing here. I am proud that Maine has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country, and hope to see that continue. I want to thank all of our town officials for all the hard work they do, and I want to encourage everyone to get out and vote on Question 1 on November 8 to reinstate same day voter registration. I'm just saying...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Rot roh, I'm at it again...
There are two things I'm very passionate about in life. One is peanut butter M&M's, the other is same sex marriage. OK, I'm passionate about more than that, but these damn M&M's are just so good, I can't stop eating them! For real though, the issue of same sex marriage is extremely important to me. Obviously, I'm not gay. I am happily married to my absolute best friend, Nichole. No, my reasoning is because I believe in equal rights, no matter what color your skin is, what religion you follow, what year you were born, or who you sleep beside at night. We are all equal. Sure, some have better athletic abilities, or superior public speaking skills, or the ability to do math without a calculator, but at the end of the day, we are all human beings, and deserve the same love and respect as everyone else.
This week, the Maine Attorney General, Charlie Summers, approved the language of the citizen's initiative to allow same sex marriage in Maine. I know, we've been down that road before, just a couple of years ago, with the effort falling short at the hands of the Maine voters. Well, I think it's time to try it again. New York just passed a law allowing same sex marriages to be legal, and I'm hopeful Maine will be able to do the same thing. This much I know for sure, I'll do my part to help collect signatures and spread the word.
Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking ill thoughts right now. That's fine, I know not everyone feels the same way as me on this subject. That being said, let me just toss some ideas out there for you to chew on. How does the marriage of two people you do not know have any bearing on your life? According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2005, 2.23 million people were married. How many of them did you know about? You should be outraged, all those weddings really affected you 6 years ago, right? What's that? It had no bearing on you whatsoever? Oh, that's right. So, why is it that two people of the same sex bothers you?
One argument I've heard is, what happens next? If we allow two women to marry, what's to stop someone from marrying their dog or their truck. They love their truck, why can't they marry their truck? OK, besides the fact that this is just ludicrous, I'll offer you this. When your dog, or your truck can sign their name on the marriage certificate, you feel free to marry your dog or your truck. Until then, that is just a nonsensical argument, and I am not able to take you seriously.
Look, this issue appears to be very left vs. right. Democrats, for the most part, want this to pass. Republicans, for the most part, want this to fail. Based on that, I have a question. Republicans continuously claim that they want government to get out of their way and stop restricting them. Then, in the same breath, want the government to ensure that marriage equality is outlawed. So, which is it? Less government restrictions, or just certain government restrictions? I love the argument for smaller government. All that means is smaller government for things you don't want. It'll be status quo or larger government in areas you are concerned with though.
Why do we care what ANYONE does behind closed doors? Seems to me, this would be for each individual to decide for themselves. If two people are happy, who am I to tell them they can't have everything that I have? With a divorce rate of 1 out of every 2 marriages, who the hell are we to say that two loving, consenting adults can't marry? No, let's not let that happen, but if Newt Gingrich, mister family values himself want to get married again, that's totally fine. Come on, this is a silly argument. We are all equal members of society, regardless of who we lay our head next to at the end of the day. It's time that we treat each other equally.
I'm going to close by quoting two musicians, with much different backgrounds. I've got a very diverse music collection, and this will prove that. My first quote is from the song "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. In it, he says the following:
"You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today"
while the other line is from "Changes" by Tupac:
"I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other.
We gotta start makin' changes, learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers."
See, the point of each song is to point out that there is no difference between you and me. We need to stop demonizing people because they don't act or look like us, and remember that we are all humans, and at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters. Deep down, we all want the same things, and you know what, we deserve the same things. I'm just saying...
This week, the Maine Attorney General, Charlie Summers, approved the language of the citizen's initiative to allow same sex marriage in Maine. I know, we've been down that road before, just a couple of years ago, with the effort falling short at the hands of the Maine voters. Well, I think it's time to try it again. New York just passed a law allowing same sex marriages to be legal, and I'm hopeful Maine will be able to do the same thing. This much I know for sure, I'll do my part to help collect signatures and spread the word.
Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking ill thoughts right now. That's fine, I know not everyone feels the same way as me on this subject. That being said, let me just toss some ideas out there for you to chew on. How does the marriage of two people you do not know have any bearing on your life? According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2005, 2.23 million people were married. How many of them did you know about? You should be outraged, all those weddings really affected you 6 years ago, right? What's that? It had no bearing on you whatsoever? Oh, that's right. So, why is it that two people of the same sex bothers you?
One argument I've heard is, what happens next? If we allow two women to marry, what's to stop someone from marrying their dog or their truck. They love their truck, why can't they marry their truck? OK, besides the fact that this is just ludicrous, I'll offer you this. When your dog, or your truck can sign their name on the marriage certificate, you feel free to marry your dog or your truck. Until then, that is just a nonsensical argument, and I am not able to take you seriously.
Look, this issue appears to be very left vs. right. Democrats, for the most part, want this to pass. Republicans, for the most part, want this to fail. Based on that, I have a question. Republicans continuously claim that they want government to get out of their way and stop restricting them. Then, in the same breath, want the government to ensure that marriage equality is outlawed. So, which is it? Less government restrictions, or just certain government restrictions? I love the argument for smaller government. All that means is smaller government for things you don't want. It'll be status quo or larger government in areas you are concerned with though.
Why do we care what ANYONE does behind closed doors? Seems to me, this would be for each individual to decide for themselves. If two people are happy, who am I to tell them they can't have everything that I have? With a divorce rate of 1 out of every 2 marriages, who the hell are we to say that two loving, consenting adults can't marry? No, let's not let that happen, but if Newt Gingrich, mister family values himself want to get married again, that's totally fine. Come on, this is a silly argument. We are all equal members of society, regardless of who we lay our head next to at the end of the day. It's time that we treat each other equally.
I'm going to close by quoting two musicians, with much different backgrounds. I've got a very diverse music collection, and this will prove that. My first quote is from the song "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. In it, he says the following:
"You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today"
while the other line is from "Changes" by Tupac:
"I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other.
We gotta start makin' changes, learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers."
See, the point of each song is to point out that there is no difference between you and me. We need to stop demonizing people because they don't act or look like us, and remember that we are all humans, and at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters. Deep down, we all want the same things, and you know what, we deserve the same things. I'm just saying...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Crisis averted, sort of...
As you have certainly heard by now, the debt ceiling was raised on Tuesday, avoiding a potentially catastrophic situation. Talking heads across the country have been giving their thoughts, and depending on which side of the aisle you are on, the deal was either really good or really bad. I'm far from a pundit, or a talking head, but I've got a few thoughts on the "deal". Here goes...
First of all, to call it a deal means that each side at the negotiating table got something they wanted, while having to give up something else they may have wanted. With that in mind, this was NOT a deal. Sure, President Obama won't have to go through another debt ceiling debate in his first term (assuming he gets re-elected), but to quote Speaker of the House John Boehner, "I'm pretty happy" because he got "98 percent of what he wanted" in the legislation. In short, one side of the debate getting 98% of what it wanted seems to be about as far away from a compromise as possible, especially considering how far apart the two sides were in the negotiations.
In other words, Democrats lost in this deal, and that would be due to President Obama completely caving in and allowing the Tea Party to dictate what would happen. As a Democrat, this whole process sickened me. Do we spend too much money? You bet. Do we bring in too little revenue? Sure thing. There is absolutely wasteful spending going on in Washington, but to sit here and say we only have a spending problem is absolutely untrue. The one example that has come up a lot lately is that of General Electric. They made $14.2 billion in profits in 2010, yet they received a $3.2 billion tax credit! If you find nothing wrong with this picture, I don't even want to talk to you. You are so wrong I don't even want to waste my time arguing with you. Look, I'm not one to punish success. However, there is no reason that me and my puny salary should have to pay taxes every year and GE, a giant corporation making billions of dollars walks away with a fat check from the government. That is a giant problem!
Now, I know what some of you are thinking, that I want to punish success. Not true, not even a little. Truth is, I hope to make $14.2 billion in profits someday, and when that happens, I would fully expect to pay taxes on that profit, not get a check. Asking those that make $250,000 and above to pay their fair share is not a lot to ask. Again, I know what you are going to say. The top 20% are already paying the bulk of the total tax burden while the bottom 40% pay little to no taxes. I've heard that line from so many people over the past few weeks. First of all, that is a complete lie. Second of all, poor people pay less in taxes than rich people, as they should, but it's very far from zero. Low incomes account for many that pay little to no taxes. Senior citizens receiving SSI don't pay taxes because it is exempt from federal taxes. Plus, the tax code provides benefits to low income earners with children (child tax credit, earned income tax credit). Also, to say that Joe, who works at McDonalds for minimum wage, bringing home $15,000 a year should be paying more in taxes is just insane. Joe can barely feed himself, let alone pay for housing, feed a family and pay for reliable transportation. Meanwhile, Johnny Hedge Fund Manager is bringing home $500 million a year, and is able to pay just a small portion of that money due to loopholes. Johnny HFM is certainly paying a higher amount than Joe, but paying more would impact him much less.
Anyway, while I think that the Democrats lost this battle, the real loser in all of this is the American people. We took this one on the chin. We may have avoided a default, which would have hurt us even worse, but the cuts that have been agreed upon are going to hurt average, every day Americans like you and me. Add to that the loss of faith we have in our elected officials, and the fact that they are really only concerned about their next election, not doing right by us, and we came out on the losing end, big time. Good news is, in just a few months, the new Super Congress will start the next argument of what will get cut next, all while refusing to include any revenue in the argument. Maybe Canada isn't looking so bad after all. I'm just saying...
First of all, to call it a deal means that each side at the negotiating table got something they wanted, while having to give up something else they may have wanted. With that in mind, this was NOT a deal. Sure, President Obama won't have to go through another debt ceiling debate in his first term (assuming he gets re-elected), but to quote Speaker of the House John Boehner, "I'm pretty happy" because he got "98 percent of what he wanted" in the legislation. In short, one side of the debate getting 98% of what it wanted seems to be about as far away from a compromise as possible, especially considering how far apart the two sides were in the negotiations.
In other words, Democrats lost in this deal, and that would be due to President Obama completely caving in and allowing the Tea Party to dictate what would happen. As a Democrat, this whole process sickened me. Do we spend too much money? You bet. Do we bring in too little revenue? Sure thing. There is absolutely wasteful spending going on in Washington, but to sit here and say we only have a spending problem is absolutely untrue. The one example that has come up a lot lately is that of General Electric. They made $14.2 billion in profits in 2010, yet they received a $3.2 billion tax credit! If you find nothing wrong with this picture, I don't even want to talk to you. You are so wrong I don't even want to waste my time arguing with you. Look, I'm not one to punish success. However, there is no reason that me and my puny salary should have to pay taxes every year and GE, a giant corporation making billions of dollars walks away with a fat check from the government. That is a giant problem!
Now, I know what some of you are thinking, that I want to punish success. Not true, not even a little. Truth is, I hope to make $14.2 billion in profits someday, and when that happens, I would fully expect to pay taxes on that profit, not get a check. Asking those that make $250,000 and above to pay their fair share is not a lot to ask. Again, I know what you are going to say. The top 20% are already paying the bulk of the total tax burden while the bottom 40% pay little to no taxes. I've heard that line from so many people over the past few weeks. First of all, that is a complete lie. Second of all, poor people pay less in taxes than rich people, as they should, but it's very far from zero. Low incomes account for many that pay little to no taxes. Senior citizens receiving SSI don't pay taxes because it is exempt from federal taxes. Plus, the tax code provides benefits to low income earners with children (child tax credit, earned income tax credit). Also, to say that Joe, who works at McDonalds for minimum wage, bringing home $15,000 a year should be paying more in taxes is just insane. Joe can barely feed himself, let alone pay for housing, feed a family and pay for reliable transportation. Meanwhile, Johnny Hedge Fund Manager is bringing home $500 million a year, and is able to pay just a small portion of that money due to loopholes. Johnny HFM is certainly paying a higher amount than Joe, but paying more would impact him much less.
Anyway, while I think that the Democrats lost this battle, the real loser in all of this is the American people. We took this one on the chin. We may have avoided a default, which would have hurt us even worse, but the cuts that have been agreed upon are going to hurt average, every day Americans like you and me. Add to that the loss of faith we have in our elected officials, and the fact that they are really only concerned about their next election, not doing right by us, and we came out on the losing end, big time. Good news is, in just a few months, the new Super Congress will start the next argument of what will get cut next, all while refusing to include any revenue in the argument. Maybe Canada isn't looking so bad after all. I'm just saying...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Same Day Voter Registration, problem or not?
Depending on who you talk to, this is either a huge deal, or no big deal at all. One thing is certain, it has quickly morphed from something nobody talked about to one of the most contentious laws our new Governor has signed into law. The issue at hand is whether or not Maine citizens should be allowed to register to vote on Election Day. Mainer's have had the ability to register at their local polls for 38 years, after the Republicans originally passed it into law. Now, nearly four decades later, the same Republican party is trying hard to convince us all that this is the worst thing in the world. Is it the worst thing in the world? Heck no, not even close. Let's look at both sides of the issue...
The majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate would tell you that there is plenty of time throughout the year to get into your local town office and register. They would tell you that this will prevent potential voter fraud. They will tell you that 42 others states have the same law, so they must be doing something right. They would tell you that town employees are overwhelmed with all the work to register people on Election Day.
The majority of Democrats will claim that this law will disenfranchise a number of citizens. They will tell you that this will reduce our overall number of participating voters, which is near the top nationally. They will tell you that there have only been 2 documented cases of voter fraud in the last 30 years. They will tell you that this is an unnecessary roadblock to one of our most sacred rights as citizens.
So, who should we believe? What are we to think? Well, here are my thoughts on the subject. First of all, I don't really care what 42 other states are doing. That's like telling me that 42 guys at work are wearing a dress and high heels, and that I should too. I don't care what 42 other people, or in this case, states, are doing. That is completely irrelevant to what Maine does. Maine consistently has one of the highest voter turnouts, and this will have an impact on those numbers. What we should be doing is ensuring that we make certain that each and every citizen be afforded every opportunity to cast a ballot on Election Day, not set up barriers to make it potentially more difficult.
Some are arguing that there are about 250 business days a year in which a person can get to their town office to register. Sure, that is absolutely true. However, that doesn't take into consideration a multitude of stumbling blocks. If I were to move on November 1st, it is very likely that I would not have a chance to register to vote in time. Heck, if I moved October 29th, I may not have time. Is this a very common problem? Probably not, but why take away that person's right to vote simply because they moved so close to Election Day? What if you live in a small town, and have to travel 20+ miles to and from work? Is it possible that you are not able to make it to your town office during business hours? Should you have to take a day off to register to vote, when you could so on election day to register?
One thing I think we can be proud of is the low percentage of documented voter fraud we experience in Maine. 2 cases in 30 years is great. Should we do what we can to ensure that number stays low? Absolutely. In fact, we just passed a law that requires citizens present a photo ID proving who they are before they are allowed to vote. Seems to me that should prevent dead people from voting, or those pesky people that vote multiple times. Once your name is checked off the list, you are done. Also, there have been no complaints from town employees about this process. They work their butts off, and have a smile on their face. I spent a good portion of my day at my local polls for our last election in June, and our town officials do a fantastic job.
At the end of the day, this was a solution to a problem that does not exist. I'm not going to claim racism, like many have. I won't go that far. However, I will say that this is clearly an attempt to disenfranchise potential voters, and that is really too bad. Voting is a right that we all have, and any attempt to make it more difficult is simply unnecessary. Our voices are meant to be heard by way of the ballot box, and any attempt to silence that is undemocratic. I don't care if you are a high school freshman, a college senior, or a senior citizen, we should be doing everything possible to encourage you to speak your voice on Election Day, not tell you that you are too lazy for not coming to the town office sooner to register. I would like to see us be more helpful to others, not be quick to bring them down. I would also like to see Maine stand on its own, not worry about what any other state does. Maine is nationally known as "The Way Life Should Be", not the copycat state. I'm just saying...
The majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate would tell you that there is plenty of time throughout the year to get into your local town office and register. They would tell you that this will prevent potential voter fraud. They will tell you that 42 others states have the same law, so they must be doing something right. They would tell you that town employees are overwhelmed with all the work to register people on Election Day.
The majority of Democrats will claim that this law will disenfranchise a number of citizens. They will tell you that this will reduce our overall number of participating voters, which is near the top nationally. They will tell you that there have only been 2 documented cases of voter fraud in the last 30 years. They will tell you that this is an unnecessary roadblock to one of our most sacred rights as citizens.
So, who should we believe? What are we to think? Well, here are my thoughts on the subject. First of all, I don't really care what 42 other states are doing. That's like telling me that 42 guys at work are wearing a dress and high heels, and that I should too. I don't care what 42 other people, or in this case, states, are doing. That is completely irrelevant to what Maine does. Maine consistently has one of the highest voter turnouts, and this will have an impact on those numbers. What we should be doing is ensuring that we make certain that each and every citizen be afforded every opportunity to cast a ballot on Election Day, not set up barriers to make it potentially more difficult.
Some are arguing that there are about 250 business days a year in which a person can get to their town office to register. Sure, that is absolutely true. However, that doesn't take into consideration a multitude of stumbling blocks. If I were to move on November 1st, it is very likely that I would not have a chance to register to vote in time. Heck, if I moved October 29th, I may not have time. Is this a very common problem? Probably not, but why take away that person's right to vote simply because they moved so close to Election Day? What if you live in a small town, and have to travel 20+ miles to and from work? Is it possible that you are not able to make it to your town office during business hours? Should you have to take a day off to register to vote, when you could so on election day to register?
One thing I think we can be proud of is the low percentage of documented voter fraud we experience in Maine. 2 cases in 30 years is great. Should we do what we can to ensure that number stays low? Absolutely. In fact, we just passed a law that requires citizens present a photo ID proving who they are before they are allowed to vote. Seems to me that should prevent dead people from voting, or those pesky people that vote multiple times. Once your name is checked off the list, you are done. Also, there have been no complaints from town employees about this process. They work their butts off, and have a smile on their face. I spent a good portion of my day at my local polls for our last election in June, and our town officials do a fantastic job.
At the end of the day, this was a solution to a problem that does not exist. I'm not going to claim racism, like many have. I won't go that far. However, I will say that this is clearly an attempt to disenfranchise potential voters, and that is really too bad. Voting is a right that we all have, and any attempt to make it more difficult is simply unnecessary. Our voices are meant to be heard by way of the ballot box, and any attempt to silence that is undemocratic. I don't care if you are a high school freshman, a college senior, or a senior citizen, we should be doing everything possible to encourage you to speak your voice on Election Day, not tell you that you are too lazy for not coming to the town office sooner to register. I would like to see us be more helpful to others, not be quick to bring them down. I would also like to see Maine stand on its own, not worry about what any other state does. Maine is nationally known as "The Way Life Should Be", not the copycat state. I'm just saying...
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Double standard for dispicable acts...
To start, New York Representative Anthony Weiner was my favorite politician. I love his passion. I love his interviews. I love his sarcasm. However, finding out about his growing list of indiscretions has been a bit sad for me. Do I think politicians are perfect? No, I know better than that. Too many of these elected officials feel they are invincible. That being said, I'm really bummed out by all this news. I'm sure this is far from over, as more women are coming forward, detailing Twitter, Facebook and text message conversations they have had with my (former) favorite Democrat.
Now, I am not going to sit here and defend anything Rep Weiner has done, these actions are not cool. However, what I am going to do is point out something I find fascinating, and I'm anxious to hear from you out there. According to Rep Weiner, he never had any physical relationships, just a lot of sex talk via various social media outlets. This may turn out to be a lie, as he has already lied, so this could get much worse. Rightfully so, many Democrats, and I'm pretty sure all Republicans, are calling on Rep Weiner to step down. I'm not here to say whether he should or not, I feel that is up to him. If I were him, I'd do a poll of my constituents and see where they stand on it. If a majority of them still support him, I'd say stick with it. If it turns out they don't support him, I'd walk away.
Where am I going with all of this? Let me start by pointing something out, as it seems many people have short term memory. David Vitter, a Republican Senator from Louisiana, got himself in all sorts of trouble back in 2007 when he got caught up in a prostitution ring. He had himself a madam in both DC as well as back in New Orleans. When it all went down, Republicans offered nationwide support for him, mainly because they feared that the Democratic Governor of LA at that time would appoint a Democrat in his place. Let me say that again, Senator David Vitter, married with 4 children, actually got caught having sexual relationships with prostitutes, and he was not pressured to resign. He was supported. I need help understanding how this works.
So I ask this, why the double standard? If one is wrong, they both are wrong, right? Or, if one man who committed horrible acts against his wife and family is not pressured to resign, why should another, just because they are from a different political party? I do not condone what either man has done, and I'm anxious for the day when these fools stop thinking they are above everyone else and leave their private parts covered up. If I'm a Republican, I can have sex with a hooker and it's totally fine, but god forbid I send a pic of my junk if I'm a Democrat?! Let's try something here. From now on, let's ignore what party they are from and be consistent with our judgement, whether it's support or anger. I am well aware that with the two party system, politicians will fight like cats and dogs, but let's not forget that the rules are the same for everyone. I'm just saying...
Now, I am not going to sit here and defend anything Rep Weiner has done, these actions are not cool. However, what I am going to do is point out something I find fascinating, and I'm anxious to hear from you out there. According to Rep Weiner, he never had any physical relationships, just a lot of sex talk via various social media outlets. This may turn out to be a lie, as he has already lied, so this could get much worse. Rightfully so, many Democrats, and I'm pretty sure all Republicans, are calling on Rep Weiner to step down. I'm not here to say whether he should or not, I feel that is up to him. If I were him, I'd do a poll of my constituents and see where they stand on it. If a majority of them still support him, I'd say stick with it. If it turns out they don't support him, I'd walk away.
Where am I going with all of this? Let me start by pointing something out, as it seems many people have short term memory. David Vitter, a Republican Senator from Louisiana, got himself in all sorts of trouble back in 2007 when he got caught up in a prostitution ring. He had himself a madam in both DC as well as back in New Orleans. When it all went down, Republicans offered nationwide support for him, mainly because they feared that the Democratic Governor of LA at that time would appoint a Democrat in his place. Let me say that again, Senator David Vitter, married with 4 children, actually got caught having sexual relationships with prostitutes, and he was not pressured to resign. He was supported. I need help understanding how this works.
So I ask this, why the double standard? If one is wrong, they both are wrong, right? Or, if one man who committed horrible acts against his wife and family is not pressured to resign, why should another, just because they are from a different political party? I do not condone what either man has done, and I'm anxious for the day when these fools stop thinking they are above everyone else and leave their private parts covered up. If I'm a Republican, I can have sex with a hooker and it's totally fine, but god forbid I send a pic of my junk if I'm a Democrat?! Let's try something here. From now on, let's ignore what party they are from and be consistent with our judgement, whether it's support or anger. I am well aware that with the two party system, politicians will fight like cats and dogs, but let's not forget that the rules are the same for everyone. I'm just saying...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Can't we all just get along? No, seriously...
I've been gone for a bit, and with good reason. With the weather warming, albeit just slightly, we've been trying to get the house presentable for the summer. The gardens are cleaned out and ready for planting, assuming this rain ever stops, and I've been mowing in between downpours. We've got our big, annual Memorial Day / my birthday party coming up in about a week and a half, so we are plugging away. In addition to all that, I've got my name on the ballot for the Board of Selectmen in New Gloucester. With this has come lots of meetings and reading, in an effort to prepare myself for the election in mid June. As is fairly obvious, I'm pretty passionate about a variety of political issues, and I've expressed my opinion on a pretty regular basis. Some people tend to think I'm extremely left wing, and I guess that may be true on some issues that I find very important. However, I feel there are some issues that I'm very down the middle, and that is what brought me back to these pages today.
There is a lot going on in politics, not just in Maine, but in the United States. Budget talks are taking up most of the time, but many other subjects of interest are popping up every day. Two of the bigger hot button issues in Maine over the past couple of weeks have been the health care overhaul that was just signed into law by Governor Paul LePage, and the defunding of Maine Public Broadcasting. I'll start by discussing the health care overhaul, move on to MPBN, and then close with some over arching issues I have with people, at least the loudest ones.
The Obama administration, not all that long ago, signed into law a landmark piece of legislation regarding a health care overall for this country. This has been hotly contested by those on the right as a "gigantic failure that was rammed down our throats without any input from Republicans". First of all, this may be true, or, more likely, it's partially true. It was done quickly, with very little input from Republicans, that much I agree with. However, I think it is too early to tell if it is a gigantic failure. Most of it hasn't even gone into affect yet. That being said, I'm not encouraged by the growing number of companies that are being exempted from the plan. However, I'm willing to give it time to be successful, or flop, before I pass too much judgement. Now, in Maine, over the course of just a few days, Republicans have passed a landmark piece of legislation regarding a corresponding overhaul. In much the same manner that was highly scrutinized when they did it in Washington, this was done with very little input, and very quickly. First of all, I'm not sure why it was alright this time, but not the first time. Again, I'm hearing very different stories from each side of the aisle, but I'm willing to wait until it is all up and running before I deem it good or bad for Mainers. The idea of more companies offering insurance, competition if you will, sounds like a good idea, at least on paper. I do fear that people in rural areas will be adversely affected by this, and with Maine being so large and spread out, that could be very bad. Either way, let's all wait and see what happens before passing too much judgement.
The other item being discussed all over the state is the defunding of MPBN. The idea of this bothers me for several reasons. Governor LePage wants to stop the $2 million a year payment to subsidize MPBN in an attempt to balance the budget. The $2 million represents 20% of MPBN's overall budget. This change would not make MPBN cease to exist, but lets look at the facts. By Federal law, MPBN is not allowed to have advertisers in the same way private radio stations are. They are allowed to have support in the form of "underwriters". Therefore, you aren't going to have a flood of small business owners looking to throw money at them, since they won't get the same bang for their buck as the do on private television and radio. Another thing about this that bothers me is that it was framed as "we either need to stop funding MPBN or get rid of the Clean Elections". This is silly and untrue. In a $6.1 BILLION budget, $2 million is nothing, it's a drop in a bucket. This money could easily be made up by, gasp, not giving tax breaks, or even just giving a smaller tax break. I think that this is another freshman Republican governor going after public broadcasting, which we have seen in other states, and nationally in the past 6 months or so. I'm hopeful that Governor LePage reconsiders this, but I don't expect him too. I would hate to see any of the programming change at MPBN. My daughter enjoyed a number of the programs when she was younger, and the High School Basketball Tournament coverage is incredible, not to mention the many great programs on the radio station that I listen to every day, from Maine Things Considered to Car Talk on Saturday mornings.
My last point today is about people that comment on stories posted on the Portland Press Herald, and other online editions of local newspapers. You people, for the most part, are vile. This doesn't mean everyone that comments, as there do appear to be some level headed folks out there. However, there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle that have lost their collective minds. I'd like to offer some advice to right wing commenters, if any of you are listening. If you thing that the Portland Press Herald is so biased and unreadable, simply stop reading and move on with your lives. I would also like to mention that when Governor LePage does something negative, it isn't the PPH spinning it to fit their narrative, it is actually that the governor did something negative. Also, you don't always have to defend him, nobody is going to think less of you. Now, for the folks on the left, I am not letting you off the hook. Please stop crying racism any time you don't agree, it's not a one size fits all thing. I know that we are bummed that LePage won the election, but we are stuck with him for 4 years. Let's practice a little patience and do the right thing in the next election cycle. Now, a note to both sides. Please, do me, you and everyone else a favor, and stick to the topic. You spend half of your energy, and apparently your day (at least with some frequent posters), ripping on each other. Please stop using the words socialist and moonbat. Please stop accusing fellow posters of not working, since you are all spending half of your day commenting. I know, deep down, you are all better than that.
Ultimately, I would love to see people try on a little civility, just to see how it fits. On Monday night, Nichole and I watched Jon Stewart on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. Jon and Bill were debating the invite of rapper Common to the White House for a poetry reading event. They had a nice, civil debate on the subject. I would like to see more of this sort of thing. Too often on these "news" shows invite only people that agree with them, but it's nice to see a good back and forth, allowing equal time to both sides of a particular issue. Heck, that is one of the reasons I so love to talk about politics on this blog, knowing it will spark some back and forth with some people. I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me, that isn't possible. I mean, I wish everyone did, but seeing different answers to these situations helps the world go around, and I'm hopeful that we can some day tone down the hate and the anger to those that disagree with us. At the end of the day, we all want a better state, country and ultimately, world. Let's all come to the table and offer something positive to the debate about how to get there. I'm just saying...
There is a lot going on in politics, not just in Maine, but in the United States. Budget talks are taking up most of the time, but many other subjects of interest are popping up every day. Two of the bigger hot button issues in Maine over the past couple of weeks have been the health care overhaul that was just signed into law by Governor Paul LePage, and the defunding of Maine Public Broadcasting. I'll start by discussing the health care overhaul, move on to MPBN, and then close with some over arching issues I have with people, at least the loudest ones.
The Obama administration, not all that long ago, signed into law a landmark piece of legislation regarding a health care overall for this country. This has been hotly contested by those on the right as a "gigantic failure that was rammed down our throats without any input from Republicans". First of all, this may be true, or, more likely, it's partially true. It was done quickly, with very little input from Republicans, that much I agree with. However, I think it is too early to tell if it is a gigantic failure. Most of it hasn't even gone into affect yet. That being said, I'm not encouraged by the growing number of companies that are being exempted from the plan. However, I'm willing to give it time to be successful, or flop, before I pass too much judgement. Now, in Maine, over the course of just a few days, Republicans have passed a landmark piece of legislation regarding a corresponding overhaul. In much the same manner that was highly scrutinized when they did it in Washington, this was done with very little input, and very quickly. First of all, I'm not sure why it was alright this time, but not the first time. Again, I'm hearing very different stories from each side of the aisle, but I'm willing to wait until it is all up and running before I deem it good or bad for Mainers. The idea of more companies offering insurance, competition if you will, sounds like a good idea, at least on paper. I do fear that people in rural areas will be adversely affected by this, and with Maine being so large and spread out, that could be very bad. Either way, let's all wait and see what happens before passing too much judgement.
The other item being discussed all over the state is the defunding of MPBN. The idea of this bothers me for several reasons. Governor LePage wants to stop the $2 million a year payment to subsidize MPBN in an attempt to balance the budget. The $2 million represents 20% of MPBN's overall budget. This change would not make MPBN cease to exist, but lets look at the facts. By Federal law, MPBN is not allowed to have advertisers in the same way private radio stations are. They are allowed to have support in the form of "underwriters". Therefore, you aren't going to have a flood of small business owners looking to throw money at them, since they won't get the same bang for their buck as the do on private television and radio. Another thing about this that bothers me is that it was framed as "we either need to stop funding MPBN or get rid of the Clean Elections". This is silly and untrue. In a $6.1 BILLION budget, $2 million is nothing, it's a drop in a bucket. This money could easily be made up by, gasp, not giving tax breaks, or even just giving a smaller tax break. I think that this is another freshman Republican governor going after public broadcasting, which we have seen in other states, and nationally in the past 6 months or so. I'm hopeful that Governor LePage reconsiders this, but I don't expect him too. I would hate to see any of the programming change at MPBN. My daughter enjoyed a number of the programs when she was younger, and the High School Basketball Tournament coverage is incredible, not to mention the many great programs on the radio station that I listen to every day, from Maine Things Considered to Car Talk on Saturday mornings.
My last point today is about people that comment on stories posted on the Portland Press Herald, and other online editions of local newspapers. You people, for the most part, are vile. This doesn't mean everyone that comments, as there do appear to be some level headed folks out there. However, there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle that have lost their collective minds. I'd like to offer some advice to right wing commenters, if any of you are listening. If you thing that the Portland Press Herald is so biased and unreadable, simply stop reading and move on with your lives. I would also like to mention that when Governor LePage does something negative, it isn't the PPH spinning it to fit their narrative, it is actually that the governor did something negative. Also, you don't always have to defend him, nobody is going to think less of you. Now, for the folks on the left, I am not letting you off the hook. Please stop crying racism any time you don't agree, it's not a one size fits all thing. I know that we are bummed that LePage won the election, but we are stuck with him for 4 years. Let's practice a little patience and do the right thing in the next election cycle. Now, a note to both sides. Please, do me, you and everyone else a favor, and stick to the topic. You spend half of your energy, and apparently your day (at least with some frequent posters), ripping on each other. Please stop using the words socialist and moonbat. Please stop accusing fellow posters of not working, since you are all spending half of your day commenting. I know, deep down, you are all better than that.
Ultimately, I would love to see people try on a little civility, just to see how it fits. On Monday night, Nichole and I watched Jon Stewart on the O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. Jon and Bill were debating the invite of rapper Common to the White House for a poetry reading event. They had a nice, civil debate on the subject. I would like to see more of this sort of thing. Too often on these "news" shows invite only people that agree with them, but it's nice to see a good back and forth, allowing equal time to both sides of a particular issue. Heck, that is one of the reasons I so love to talk about politics on this blog, knowing it will spark some back and forth with some people. I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me, that isn't possible. I mean, I wish everyone did, but seeing different answers to these situations helps the world go around, and I'm hopeful that we can some day tone down the hate and the anger to those that disagree with us. At the end of the day, we all want a better state, country and ultimately, world. Let's all come to the table and offer something positive to the debate about how to get there. I'm just saying...
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