What is up with the city of Bangor. Maine seems to have much violence. Is it drugs or unemployment or some other combination of factors. The murders themselves, little old ladies being killed during home invasions. People killed and thrown out the window and the murder on Ohio Street that was shocking in it's brutality.
Tonight here at One AM as I write this I feel like I should stay up to make sure no one comes walking through. The first time I have felt unsettled.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Barack and the Supremes.
With the 2012 election the issue that becomes more and more important in any potential election is that the next President might well get to place two to three people on the Supreme Court.
It is an ironic twist that judges elected to be constructionist such as Roberts and Alito have led the way to some of the most precedent reversing decisions of the last century.
Recently we found that now corporations can give as much money as they wish to candidates, a huge boon for Republicans. Today they decided that an Arizona law that gives government funds to balance out contributions in races where one side outspends the other is unconstitutional. I do not know what is right. I do not think the government should be putting money in at all but nor do I think that it should be a case of who has the most money always wins. In no way can this ever help the average citizen.
Last week a class action suit against Walmart was thrown out.
The point is this. Should Obama lose you will see a flood of justices retire when his Republican successor takes office. These will be replaced by young ( so that they can serve more years ) conservatives which will mean that in the next twenty years we will face the spectre of a widening gap between the Court and the country it serves. This is because it is clear that the demographics of this country show where we are headed.
Still an Obama victory is not all good news. He seems to have been an uneffective President appearing to try to fix things in small bites rather than anything brave and big picture.
It becomes more apparent that with the exception of Bush the second there has been no President since Reagan who had a very broad affect on the lives of Americans. And his was clearly a bad affect. Supreme Court justices may well have more long term effect on the lives of Americans. This is a fact we need to remember and consider in 2012 no matter which side of the political aisle we fall on.
It is an ironic twist that judges elected to be constructionist such as Roberts and Alito have led the way to some of the most precedent reversing decisions of the last century.
Recently we found that now corporations can give as much money as they wish to candidates, a huge boon for Republicans. Today they decided that an Arizona law that gives government funds to balance out contributions in races where one side outspends the other is unconstitutional. I do not know what is right. I do not think the government should be putting money in at all but nor do I think that it should be a case of who has the most money always wins. In no way can this ever help the average citizen.
Last week a class action suit against Walmart was thrown out.
The point is this. Should Obama lose you will see a flood of justices retire when his Republican successor takes office. These will be replaced by young ( so that they can serve more years ) conservatives which will mean that in the next twenty years we will face the spectre of a widening gap between the Court and the country it serves. This is because it is clear that the demographics of this country show where we are headed.
Still an Obama victory is not all good news. He seems to have been an uneffective President appearing to try to fix things in small bites rather than anything brave and big picture.
It becomes more apparent that with the exception of Bush the second there has been no President since Reagan who had a very broad affect on the lives of Americans. And his was clearly a bad affect. Supreme Court justices may well have more long term effect on the lives of Americans. This is a fact we need to remember and consider in 2012 no matter which side of the political aisle we fall on.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Catching Up With the News
Sometimes the news is bad and sometimes the news is good but the one thing one can count on is that if you allow your eyes to sink to the bottom of the page in any online article in The BDN ( and assumingly any other paper that allows comments) you will become disheartened. I hope that I am not so forcefully unintelligent as the people who seemingly spend thier whole day commenting on every article.
The story in Dexter, Maine last week was horrible. The man was clearly troubled, the system of protecting domestic violence victims needs to be improved but perhaps the truest statement made was that if someone does not care about his own life then many of the safeguards that are put in place are useless. One does wonder why based on the information provided in earlier complaints a mental evaluation was not completed but I am not here to second guess anybody. This is beyond my comprehension but also beyond my right to second guess anyone.
Paul LePage continues to stumble through his first year. He does have some acknowleged successes in getting his program through his tame legislature. The shame of it is that he has not governed as far to the right as one might have worried but the sideshow atmosphere of his administration takes focus from that fact.
The kids are out of school and summer begins. It seems a very short term for kids these days, when I was a child summers seemed endless but I suspect it is a question of perspective.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is considering a run for President. After Bush the second one cannot laugh off any candidate that if successful could be dangerous. This fellow makes Bush seem intelligent. Really!
Bill Clinton is on the cover of Newsweek explaining 14 ideas to fix the economy. Republicans always want to run the country like a business, tell me what successful business would not allow a successful CEO to come back to help the country when it hits hard times. That seemed to work pretty well for Apple when Steve Jobs returned. Clinton is the best politician of the times and he is being wasted.
Barack Obama continues to lose Liberal and Labor support but the question remains where will they go. Of course they could stay home.
Looking at the demographics of the country this might be one of the last elections for President that the Republicans can win without significantly altering their views on immigration. With the Hispanic population exploding it is just a matter of time before they will not be able to win with the views they espouse now.
I love my dog. He will play fetch for as long as you can throw it, and still smile at you with his toungue hanging out the side of his mouth. He snores in his kennel at night and loves to sit in the shade and chew his bones. I watched him outside today..it is a very calming thing to watch a satisfied dog.
My wife put up some bird feeders for Fathers Day. We are getting plenty of company already but none yet from the birds we want to see, the cardinals and orioles that we see in the neighborhood. Hopefully they will visit soon.
Clarence Clemons died over the weekend. Having seen Springsteen a few times it is hard to imagine how you replace Clemons Sax solos in all the classic hits.
My Mom's funeral was last week. She had always been adamant that she wanted to be cremated. She did not want bugs crawling on her. We got her a non bio degradable urn so she does not have to worry about that. I trust her soul is not with her body and that whatever heaven is she is there with Dad with my two brothers and they are all whole and healthy again. I hope so. I miss them all but feel better about them being together. It is a strange feeling being an orphan no matter what age you are.
The Red Sox continue to win and we feel a long fall of baseball coming on.
The Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup might be the best example of team that you will see. Watching the cup being passed from Chara to Recci to Bergeron and Thomas and then a cast of who is thats made you realize that a hot goalie can take you along way. Still hockey has a problem. The rate of concussions is growing every year and hits where the hitters are moving up or launching themselves need to be stopped.
As with football the athletes are just too big and too strong.
Summer is filling up with sports for the kids, a few projects around the house and a hope to get away to the lake a few times. Let's hope the weather is warm and the summer is dry.
I purchased tickets to take my son to see Bob Dylan late in the summer. His voice is shaky now but it will be an experience for him to see him.
My Mom loved lilac trees. I think we are going to get one.
The story in Dexter, Maine last week was horrible. The man was clearly troubled, the system of protecting domestic violence victims needs to be improved but perhaps the truest statement made was that if someone does not care about his own life then many of the safeguards that are put in place are useless. One does wonder why based on the information provided in earlier complaints a mental evaluation was not completed but I am not here to second guess anybody. This is beyond my comprehension but also beyond my right to second guess anyone.
Paul LePage continues to stumble through his first year. He does have some acknowleged successes in getting his program through his tame legislature. The shame of it is that he has not governed as far to the right as one might have worried but the sideshow atmosphere of his administration takes focus from that fact.
The kids are out of school and summer begins. It seems a very short term for kids these days, when I was a child summers seemed endless but I suspect it is a question of perspective.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is considering a run for President. After Bush the second one cannot laugh off any candidate that if successful could be dangerous. This fellow makes Bush seem intelligent. Really!
Bill Clinton is on the cover of Newsweek explaining 14 ideas to fix the economy. Republicans always want to run the country like a business, tell me what successful business would not allow a successful CEO to come back to help the country when it hits hard times. That seemed to work pretty well for Apple when Steve Jobs returned. Clinton is the best politician of the times and he is being wasted.
Barack Obama continues to lose Liberal and Labor support but the question remains where will they go. Of course they could stay home.
Looking at the demographics of the country this might be one of the last elections for President that the Republicans can win without significantly altering their views on immigration. With the Hispanic population exploding it is just a matter of time before they will not be able to win with the views they espouse now.
I love my dog. He will play fetch for as long as you can throw it, and still smile at you with his toungue hanging out the side of his mouth. He snores in his kennel at night and loves to sit in the shade and chew his bones. I watched him outside today..it is a very calming thing to watch a satisfied dog.
My wife put up some bird feeders for Fathers Day. We are getting plenty of company already but none yet from the birds we want to see, the cardinals and orioles that we see in the neighborhood. Hopefully they will visit soon.
Clarence Clemons died over the weekend. Having seen Springsteen a few times it is hard to imagine how you replace Clemons Sax solos in all the classic hits.
My Mom's funeral was last week. She had always been adamant that she wanted to be cremated. She did not want bugs crawling on her. We got her a non bio degradable urn so she does not have to worry about that. I trust her soul is not with her body and that whatever heaven is she is there with Dad with my two brothers and they are all whole and healthy again. I hope so. I miss them all but feel better about them being together. It is a strange feeling being an orphan no matter what age you are.
The Red Sox continue to win and we feel a long fall of baseball coming on.
The Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup might be the best example of team that you will see. Watching the cup being passed from Chara to Recci to Bergeron and Thomas and then a cast of who is thats made you realize that a hot goalie can take you along way. Still hockey has a problem. The rate of concussions is growing every year and hits where the hitters are moving up or launching themselves need to be stopped.
As with football the athletes are just too big and too strong.
Summer is filling up with sports for the kids, a few projects around the house and a hope to get away to the lake a few times. Let's hope the weather is warm and the summer is dry.
I purchased tickets to take my son to see Bob Dylan late in the summer. His voice is shaky now but it will be an experience for him to see him.
My Mom loved lilac trees. I think we are going to get one.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Losing a Parent
My Mom passed away last week. I cannot call it a surprise as she had had some health issues that were becoming more and more pressing and she was in her late eighties however one is never prepared for the feelings this brings about.
My father died almost 30 years ago so my Mom had lived the last third of her life alone. When one looks at it that perspective it really is quite an amazing thing. Having been married for 45 years and then to have spent another 30 as years as a widow I cannot imagine what that must have been like.
One of my sisters mentioned that with all the health issues she had over the last decade of her life, issues that had severely limited her ability to enjoy the things she had often enjoyed, we had never heard her complain. She was not a complainer. She never was.
Her loss has affected me greatly. I have been finding myself realizing that I will not speak to her again, that I will not call her to check on her. That Mothers Day, Memorial Day, Christmas Day all these events that mean family will not mean seeing my Mom anymore.
I am glad she is at rest. I am glad that she is with my Dad. But I do not feel good about her not being in the same world I am.
A wonderful mother, a wonderful person. A selfless person. I love you Mom
My father died almost 30 years ago so my Mom had lived the last third of her life alone. When one looks at it that perspective it really is quite an amazing thing. Having been married for 45 years and then to have spent another 30 as years as a widow I cannot imagine what that must have been like.
One of my sisters mentioned that with all the health issues she had over the last decade of her life, issues that had severely limited her ability to enjoy the things she had often enjoyed, we had never heard her complain. She was not a complainer. She never was.
Her loss has affected me greatly. I have been finding myself realizing that I will not speak to her again, that I will not call her to check on her. That Mothers Day, Memorial Day, Christmas Day all these events that mean family will not mean seeing my Mom anymore.
I am glad she is at rest. I am glad that she is with my Dad. But I do not feel good about her not being in the same world I am.
A wonderful mother, a wonderful person. A selfless person. I love you Mom
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Arab Spring sinking into the Quagmire
A few months ago President Obama let NATO lead us into the what has become the Libyan civil war. This has turned into nothing so much as a standoff with neither side as currently constituted having the ability to emerge victorious. With an equivocating statement that regime change was not our immediate goal but to protect those against Khadaffi from being decimated by attacks on civilians the United States is in this untenable position of not knowing what the mission is or what success looks like.
I never thought getting involved in Libya was the right decision as I did not think we had anything at stake worth American lives and cost but now what is going on in Syria and Yemen is as bad if not worse as what was going on in Libya a few months ago. Perhaps we have learned a lesson that we do not want to commit too soon. Perhaps, more cyncially we consider the President of Yemen, a bad guy who works with us, and Assad in Syria, while a bad guy at least one who provides stability in a volatile region as people we want to stay in power versus the devil we do not know.
Afghanistan is a money pit. If we spend a bilion dollars a month or nothing from this point forward when we leave it will be a cesspool. We cannot affect long term change. We have no reason to be there. Perhaps we should just establish and empire in the Middle East. Our motives would be clearer, we would have a clearer vision and we would gain something for our , as it is put, blood and treasure.
It is not just Obama's fault but our whole Middle East policy is predicated on oil which is no surprise but also on a quicksand of double standards, supporting one dictator and declaring another the devil. It is hypicrocy in action. If we cannot proclam a holistic approach and a similar attitude to do what is right perhaps we should change our policies to reflect our own naked, unaltruistic, self interest at all times. As it is now we have a mish mash policy that pleases no one and helps no one.
Hopefully a real debate can take place in the next election. One doubts it however.
I never thought getting involved in Libya was the right decision as I did not think we had anything at stake worth American lives and cost but now what is going on in Syria and Yemen is as bad if not worse as what was going on in Libya a few months ago. Perhaps we have learned a lesson that we do not want to commit too soon. Perhaps, more cyncially we consider the President of Yemen, a bad guy who works with us, and Assad in Syria, while a bad guy at least one who provides stability in a volatile region as people we want to stay in power versus the devil we do not know.
Afghanistan is a money pit. If we spend a bilion dollars a month or nothing from this point forward when we leave it will be a cesspool. We cannot affect long term change. We have no reason to be there. Perhaps we should just establish and empire in the Middle East. Our motives would be clearer, we would have a clearer vision and we would gain something for our , as it is put, blood and treasure.
It is not just Obama's fault but our whole Middle East policy is predicated on oil which is no surprise but also on a quicksand of double standards, supporting one dictator and declaring another the devil. It is hypicrocy in action. If we cannot proclam a holistic approach and a similar attitude to do what is right perhaps we should change our policies to reflect our own naked, unaltruistic, self interest at all times. As it is now we have a mish mash policy that pleases no one and helps no one.
Hopefully a real debate can take place in the next election. One doubts it however.
Paul Lepage's Business Climate
Did you know that Maine was open for business. In Maine chemicals that are dangerous are not a real concern, kids can work long hours, insurance companies can discriminate against older and sicker individuals. This is just the beginning of LePage's pro business climate. A law limiting union rights will be coming but LePage may not have the support to push it through.
Teachers are being cut, public safety officials are losing their jobs but we should feel good to know that the top tax rate in Maine is being lowered. I sleep better knowing this.
The one thing LePage does is always have a distraction to how bad things are. This week his open for business sign was stolen. Having a sign that said Maine the way life should be defaced with a sign directly underneath that says Open for Business to me was vandalism of a different sort but as with most things LePage this one has gotten silly quickly. A ransom note reportedly was left at WZON offering the sign's return for the return of the Maine State Labor mural.
The issue comes back to this. Compromise is needed and as much as I think some Republicans in the State Senate are self serving I suspect most have good intent. LePage and his approach do nothing to bring about compromise. He has done nothing so far except prove that he is nothing more than a bully.
Three and half years left. The question is how much damage can he do.
Teachers are being cut, public safety officials are losing their jobs but we should feel good to know that the top tax rate in Maine is being lowered. I sleep better knowing this.
The one thing LePage does is always have a distraction to how bad things are. This week his open for business sign was stolen. Having a sign that said Maine the way life should be defaced with a sign directly underneath that says Open for Business to me was vandalism of a different sort but as with most things LePage this one has gotten silly quickly. A ransom note reportedly was left at WZON offering the sign's return for the return of the Maine State Labor mural.
The issue comes back to this. Compromise is needed and as much as I think some Republicans in the State Senate are self serving I suspect most have good intent. LePage and his approach do nothing to bring about compromise. He has done nothing so far except prove that he is nothing more than a bully.
Three and half years left. The question is how much damage can he do.
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