LePage on Corruption: Only Mine is OK

Everytime I try to give the Governor the slightest benefit of the doubt he does it again. This past week the Governor did it again.

Speaking in Newport Maine at one of his Capital in Your Town Promotions, LePage, in answering a question commented that " middle managers in State Government were about as corrupt as you could be".

Really? Seriously? I think I have figured out the whole mindset of our esteemed Governor. If you do not agree with the Governor you are someone to be bullied, called corrupt, or otherwise ridiculed.

Of course corruption might be a word for the nepotism that LePage has practiced in state government. His daughter might be very bright but I think her hiring, with her resume and experience, could be called into question. I believe a son in law or brother in law has recently gained a position as well that has been called into question. I might be wrong but I do not think Governor Baldacci had any of his siblings on the payroll. Corruption, I guess, is in the eye of the beholder.

In the last months the Governor and the State Employee Unions have been laying the groundwork for a battle that is yet to come. The Governor clearly is looking to the November elections to bring him more soldiers in his fight against the state employees. I certainly hope that he finds that those reinforcements do not come.

Statements like those made last week calling state worker middle managers corrupt will only serve as a shot across the bow to what is coming. LePage, like his brethren Kasich, Walker,Scott and Sister Brewer in Arizona, is determined to leave state employees as Sherman left Georgia.

It is hard to understand why? This man is a sea of contradictions. Growing up poor he wishes he did not have to help the poor, and while claiming a mission of his administration is to curb domestic violence he picks a fight over General Assistance funding. Evidently he fails to understand that in towns like Bangor this funding often helps women who have fled abusive situations.

My faith tells me to love my neighbor. I will continue to try to give the Governor the benefit of the doubt. Doubt the wise of us realize is God's way of giving us time to be sure of our actions. LePage has no doubt but one sometimes wishes he did.

Two Republican State Senators rebuked the Governor over his comments last week. This is a good thing, he may even mumble some sort of apology in the next few days. The Governor appears to be unable to make changes to who he is.

It seems inconceivable this man can get reelected. It seems likely that a good portion of Republicans would like to find a way to depose him before the next election. This would take an act of bravery we should not expect. As soon as November is over one suspects the biggest funding by Republicans will be for whatever Democrat challenges Elliott Cutler for the anybody but LePage vote. One suspects you might never see another election like the next one.

When You Felt Alone Who Was Their For You

We all have had times where we felt alone. Often times we have not been physically alone, rather we have just felt like their were few people who cared about us in our time of need.

When my first wife and I got divorced I had shared custody of my children. I was glad of it, our split was mostly amicable, I had my children half the time, they were good kids, I had a good job, I would never lay claim to having it bad.

Never, Ever. It could have been much worse.

Still sometimes things happen which do not seem like they would matter. About six years ago, before I met the wonderful woman who would become my wife I was having a normal week. A normal week for me was a pretty busy existence. I was working 50 to 60 hours a week, getting my son to little league, my daughter to ballet, trying to maintain a house and a normal life schedule as a single Dad. Finances were tight but again we were getting by, I would never have complained.

I have some good friends but when you are a single man you have men friends. Male friendships are great and I was blessed and continue to blessed with having some wonderful friends. Still it is different than friendships that women have. We rarely have deep conversations and even more rarely do we have a silent understanding of what would mean a lot to someone without being given a diagram explaining it beforehand.

That spring as I got my son ready for little league, and he now approaching twelve throwing the ball exceptionally hard I commented to my friend that he was hurting my hand. My glove was easily twenty five years old.

A couple of days later we were at work and he asked me to come into his office. I went in, it was late afternoon, normal shoot the breeze time and as I went in he threw a bag at me. When I opened it I saw a new Rawlings Black Baseball Glove. He told me did not want to have to listen to me whine about my hand hurting or some such thing.

Now I could have bought the glove. I am however a make due kind of guy, it was not a purchase I would have made. The previous Christmas I had of course focused on the kids and being single there were really no presents for me. It was fine, if I want something, I get it, just as most of us at our do.

Still receiving that glove, out of the blue, was a gift that changed my day, my week, my month, my life. For me I did not know how alone I felt. I was doing the best I could, " going to work, taking care of the family,doing the right thing as best I could" as my Dad used to say. I did not really have time to think about my inner feelings.

Receiving that glove made me feel a human connection that was not based on what I could give to someone else in terms of support and caring but that someone actually cared about me, recognized where I was in the world at that time, and wanted to show they cared in a way that to me meant more than words can say.

I of course thanked my friend, I think I may have choked up, but being men we did not speak of it. We remain friends, he is like a brother to me. This experience bonded us in a way that is hard to describe.

We are all alone in this world in one way or another. If you get a chance to make a difference in someone's life you should. I learned that day that what might seem small to you in terms of effort expended can be a life changing event for the beneficiary. I was the beneficiary.

Recognizing how alone I felt only after a gift showed me that I was not opened me up to realizing that I could not just live for and through my children and be a fulfilled person and parent. I soon thereafter met my wife to be. I do not think it is a stretch to say that the baseball glove that I received that spring day changed my whole outlook on my life and my future.

We should never underestimate what ripples flow from our kind acts.

Maine State Senate Sells Soul, Gives Away Spine

Imagine if you are a Democrat in the Maine State Senate. You are in the minority. You have to work with a Governor who is, to put it in the best possible words, one that you have little to agree with on.

However your fellow Senators from the right are working hard to be respectful and senatorial. For the most part the relationship between the two sides is one that is more cordial than anyone had a right to respect. Even as Republicans try to work with the Governor they remind me of when I had a boss that was a bit blustery and prone to overstatement. After he would make a pronouncement at a meeting, as soon as he would leave the room, I would issue a clarification as to what he meant to say. And because he had a personal one on one charisma that we all would like to have he got away with his off the cuff mistakes.

So when the Democrats and the Republicans came to an agreement on how to handle the state budget, in particular the controversial General Assistance budget, one had to feel good. After all the final vote was 35 to 0, unanimous, how often is anything unanimous in today's world of politics.

The Governor when he received the budget said he would not sign it. Most assumed he would just let it become law by not signing or vetoing it within ten days. That way he could claim he did not approve, but would not set himself up for an embarrassing override of his veto in the Republican run State Senate.

What happened from here is anyone's guess. LePage used the line item veto on the General Assistance portion of the budget. The Republicans who run the Senate declined to reconvene to act on the veto. Worse yet the vote on if they should reconvene was held by secret ballot. So we went in the space of a short few days from a 35 to 0 approved compromise on General Assistance to a a line item veto upheld by secret ballot of the Republican majority.

As a Democrat what have you learned. You have learned that any compromise agreement if not worth the paper it is written on.

If you are a Democrat in the State Legislature you should and can dislike Paul LePage, or at least his policies. Do not however make the mistake of blaming him for this one. We know what LePage is. The problem is that last week in their cowardly caving in to the Governor and their betrayal of their compromise we also learned alot about what the Republicans in the State Senate are.

Cowardly and lacking scruples would be a good place to start a description.

Catching Up With the News

I have been under the weather more often than not lately and have fallen behind on my comments. I am going to try to catch up with this post. Certainly there has been much to comment on.

Taking the kids to school this morning it is raining very hard, we are told that some snow is falling deep in the mountains, this is not fun weather for the end of April.

Spain, they of the 25 percent unemployment, is officially in a recession. Greece and Italy teetered and continue to do so but if Spain's economy fails, if they default then you could see the entire Euro-zone go down in flames.

Somebody need to ask if at some point the upheaval in the European economy will soon lead to political changes. Usually when economies fail, when societies stratify, the next thing to happen is political upheaval with a sharp turn to the far right or left being very possible.

This just in. President of France Sarkozy gained 28 Percent of the vote in this weekend's election. The Socialist candidate gained 28 percent. A runoff election is scheduled. Who will then decide the next President. How about the eighteen, that is eighteen just ten points less than the sitting President, percent of the electorate who voted for the Far Right anti immigrant party. Social upheaval, couldn't happen. Do not believe it.

Chuck Colson died this past weekend. Colson, known as a member of President Nixon's dirty tricks squad spent seven months in prison as a result of his Watergate crimes. During that time Colson had a conversion to Christianity. More importantly he never forgot it. He founded Prison Fellowship, an organization that has served both prisoners and their families over the last forty years. The outreach program that he founded has made a difference in countless lives. Colson made this his life's mission for the rest of his life. He was a genuine hero. History is littered with those whose lives were changed by a midlife conversion beginning with Paul himself. Look into what Charles Colson did over the last forty years, then realize that heroes do still exist.

Orrin Hatch could not gain his party's nomination free and clear in the state of Utah this weekend. He will face a challenger from his right in a primary next month. While it is considered that he might well gain the victory it is a worry for the Republicans that a man of Hatch's stature can be reduced this way. In Indiana Richard Lugar faces the same potential fate. What does this mean? It means that moderation and the ability to work across the aisle becomes even more in danger. Why? It becomes dangerous to your career.

John Cassidy wrote a comment recently talking about income equality. In so many ways the numbers are staggering. Not since the Gilded Age of the 1890's and the Roaring Twenties have we been at the point we are now. The article is long and the similarities are astounding but if one takes anything one thing away from the article they should take this one illustration. In those times and in our current generation if one was to chart the growth in income amongst the different income classes they would see a stepladder. That is they would see that the wealthiest people's income grew exponentially in comparison with the stagnant or negative growth of the lower and middle classes. Comparing this with the period from the mid thirties to the mid seventies, what is known as the Golden Age of the American Economy and a comparison of income growth would look like a picket fence. Everyone's income was growing at close to the same rate. How was this done, with a consistent, progressive tax system.

Stratification of society in the extreme does lead to social turbulence. We have been fortunate in the past to have reformers like Teddy Roosevelt and FDR appear at the right times. Is there one waiting in the wings right now? One thing we know for certain. Obama is not him.

Walmart, known in my home as the Evil Empire, is caught in a scandal in Mexico. It appears that they bribed their way top to bottom to expand in Mexico. The kicker is that Wal Mart executives found out in 2005 about the wide scale corruption in their Mexican operations they ordered an internal investigation. When the investigation proved that the problems were real Walmart stopped and stifled the investigation and attempted a cover up. This is going to be a very bad story for Walmart. Should we be surprised at anything this company does. I think not.


Mitt Romney in a long article this weekend reviewed his health care plan. The admitted truth is scarier than the fiction. He would do away with employer based health insurance making instead tax credits available for the purchases of health care. Raise your hand if you think that the savings businesses get from not contributing to health care costs of their employees will find their way in any meaningful measure to their employees.

Romney also believes that Medicare should become a voucher system much like the Ryan plan. Worse yet he would give all Nedicaid money to the states in block grants. The states could then spend the money as they determine best. This sounds good in practice but when a Republican administration is granting the federal waivers to the states where this Medicaid money is spent becomes a true question.


In Maine Governor LePage said something right this weekend. As the state government starts to consider budget issues and potential bond issues LePage said the state should pass a budget before considering bond issues. He is correct. I always feel that bond issues are an abrogation of the responsibilities we elect our legislators to perform.

That seems to catch us up.

Miami, Cuba and American Politics

As so often happens sometimes you need to hear a ridiculous play on the truth of a situation to see how silly the truth is. Cuba, 90 miles to the Southeast of Florida still suffers under an American embargo.

Fidel Castro who now must be 110 years old and is as menacing as your Uncle Earl still haunts the dreams of American Presidents. What is the deal with this.

Castro is a Communist. Last I checked so is China. We do not seem to have any large scale problem with China. Oh of course we make noises about human rights in China but the fact is we do not care. As long as Walmart buys more stuff from China than nost countries own GDP The United States will make nothing but noise about China's internal politics.

Castro however is a different animal. He is a threat to the National Security of this country. It is in the surface the most ridiculous of claims.

Of course much of the problem with Castro is like the American problem in many things, getting out of Afghanistan for example, in that no one wants to be the one to sign the peace treaty or in this case lift the embargo. Because the opposition party would crucify whoever finishes these missions, thereby admitting an earlier policy was at fault, rarely does anyone have any the courage to make a change.

Perhaps electoral politics are the biggest concern. Florida, being a state, that often has a disproportionally large amount of influence in our national elections, has a large Cuban American population. No one can take a chance on losing this group in total in an election. Thus our politicians continue this foolish policy.

If the Cuban population of Miami was in the state of Texas or Mississippi, that is a state that the blue state-red state divide is well established, electoral politics would be out of the Cuba issue and we might well have established a better policy.

It is time for America to grow up in regards to Cuba. There are 20 countries we do business with that have human rights records and abuses that make Cuba look like the Vatican. This makes us look stupid.

Paul LePage's Spring Fling

Our Governor has had a great spring. While the winter was light in Maine and the spring has given us some great warm days the wind has been blowing cold from Augusta.

It is hard to know where to start. First the Governor decided that he would pick a fight with Millinocket. Millinocket a town that has had it's share of budget issues and hard luck. The Governor decided to withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency aid from the town. Why? Evidently a year or two ago when a new owner was being sought to save the mills LePage claimed a handshake agreement was made that would have had the town contributing to a landfill cleanup cost.

Clearly there is no paper agreement. If there was then this would have been resolved. The question is why is LePage doing this. What is the gain. I, for the life of me, cannot understand it.

Then the Governor let his petulance show when he had a veto overridden on a funding measure having to do with school districts and disabled children. I do not know the full details. What I do know is that his veto was overridden by a Republican controlled legislature. So what did the Governor do? He attacked in a statement Democrat Justin Alfond of Portland calling him " a spoiled brat" and making reference to how he was glad that the young Alfond's " grandad ( Harold Alfond) was not around to see him behaving this way. " This is a ridiculous fight to pick, a personal attack that gains nothing. One has to wonder if LePage is anything more than a bully.

The most concerning issue was his line item veto of the funding relating to General Assistance in the budget. Now it should be remembered that this being the most contentious issue in the budget this year that the Republican controlled legislature approved the budget including the General Assistance Funding. What was most shocking has been the Republican's in the legislature decision to NOT reconvene the legislature to deal with this veto.

One could or should wonder why it is that a budget approved by the State Senate, the Republican controlled Senate, would not vote to reconvene to address a line item veto of that budget. What kind of deal has been struck between LePage and the leadership. Certainly the Governor has had a rocky road with his leadership in the legislature, what has he offered them for this face saving gesture.

I have at times praised LePage, and certainly have felt that he was trying. He is however just not to be trusted. He is the walking example of why we need a runoff rule in statewide elections. Those on the right would say Governor Baldacci was an example and they would raise a valid point as well.

No one believes that with this rule in place that LePage would be Governor. We would be much better off for it.

He is a buffoon and a bully and should the Democrats gain seats in the fall election on the President's coattails the next session of the legislature should make this one seem like it was mild.

Is the Kansas Theory Condescending to The Poor

I read a book a few years ago by Thomas Frank called What's the Matter With Kansas. In the book Frank examines why it is that the Republicans are able to convince so many people to vote against what are perceived as their economic interests.

The theory being that for those in the lower middle class and even the working poor voting for the Republican side would seem to be adverse to their own well being. Certainly no one can say that the average Republican economic plan benefits those people in the middle and lower income brackets.

I will freely admit this is a theory that I have often believed and spoken as if I was right and could not understand why folks would do this.

To be perfectly honest I still struggle with it. A couple weeks ago however I read a differing viewpoint that also struck a chord with me.

It accused those on the left and those who agreed with the Frank theory such as me of being condescending. I think they may have a point. It postulated that those who agree with the theory were making the assumption that those folks in the lower income brackets could not vote on cultural issues. One could say they could not afford it.

When one sees wealthy East Coast liberals voting against their own economic interests in the form of higher taxes for example one never questions their sincerity. In fact they are often held up as role models. Look at this, a man willing to pay more in taxes to stand on principle.

So you have to ask yourself why is it that we view those folks in Kansas, or Tennessee, or in Washington County, Maine who vote for Republicans, and hence those economic plans that might well hurt their bottom line, do so because of a belief in self sufficiency or cultural issues as making the wrong choice. Why are they not noble.

This is a complex issue but I think that the first thing we have to realize that the left loses men in every election. One way to fix this is to stop making assumptions that make you seem like you are an elitist.

It is totally fine to say that folks in Kansas or anywhere else vote against their economic interests. It is a valid point. At the same time however perhaps those on the left need to ask themselves why that is? What positions of theirs are so extreme to create this gap.

The next time we praise Warren Buffett for wanting to pay more in taxes perhaps we should consider that the folks down the street who struggle to get by and vote on a strong belief in a cultural issue are in their own way just as noble.

Is Good Christian Bitches an Acceptable Name For a Show?

ABC has a new television series called Good Christian Bitches. It stars the very talented Kristen Chenowerth who I think is great.

I have not seen the show and if I had and was commenting on the show itself and it's merits I would be writing on my media blog.

What I want to talk about here is if it is acceptable to have a show called Good Christian Bitches. Now, ABC has for the most part referred to it as GCB but the name of the show is well known.

I am not a big fan of censorship but I do think that we are at a point in this country where the only acceptable form of religeous discrimination is against Christianity.

Can you imagine if one of the networks aired a show called Muslim Bitches or Jewish Bitches. They would not and they should not. One can argue if a name for a show is acceptable and I will respect your opinion but I think that we do need to examine why the only religion that could even remotely be accepted in a series title like this is Good Christian Bitches.

One has to accept that most media and entertainment types have a liberal bias. That is ok most golfers are conservatives. Some groups of people gravitate to different opinions. Still why is it that as one who considers himself a Democrat I am more aggrieved at the kneejerk liberals than the fascist right wingers.

Simply put we need to examine why those on the left think it is acceptable to practice a kind of discrimination of the majority that they would never practice against those of other faiths and minority viewpoints.

, Kris

North Korea's Rocket Trouble

When we heard that North Korea's rocket launch failed last week our initial response was to be pleased. After all no one wants North Korea to be armed with anything that resembles a long distance weapon.

Still quickly we were advised that this might not be the good news that we are in our snickering laughing might have thought it was. We are told that we should think of North Korea like any we would about a kid in school that shows off to get attention. When one of their efforts backfires do they stop making efforts. No they, as in the proverbial movie, say " I'll show you, you will be sorry you laughed at me."

Now throw in the fact that the leader of the country is a recent replacement of his Daddy who has to convince the Generals in his country that he is a worthwhile successor and worth supporting and you have a dangerous situation.

One more thing that you might want to consider when you vote for President. Overall I think Obama has done a good job on our foreign policy, using a little more subtlety than the Bush administration. The fact is that being tough and issuing ultimatums fees good, but it does not always work. Listening to some of Romney's foreign policy pronouncements makes me think he suffers from some serious overcompensation issues. I wonder just how big his pickup truck that he drives has to be.

Poor Mitt. Poor us. Jeb Bush, Chris Christie could be a candidate. For us Democrats lets quietly admit that while Obama is better than Romney than Hillary would have been ten times the President he would have. Talk of replacing Biden with Hillary misses the point. If this were football the team would have benched the rookie long ago and gone with the veteran. It is unfortunate we have to wait until 2016 for the best candidates to be running.

And Then Your Children Know...and You Wish They Did Not

When you have teenagers life is a precarious balance. You want them to have fun, to be active, and yet especially as they get to the ages of 16 and 17 and start driving every time they leave the house you hold your breath.

Part of you wants to keep them home all the time. You would like to send them to their room, play board games with the family, and have that be enough. It never is. In truth you would not want it to be. You want them to have friends, you want them to have a social life and if you know their friends and trust them you give as much freedom as you can.

Yet no matter what you hold your breath. I think I am pretty strict. My son tells me I am. I set a curfew and woe to the son who does not follow it. Fortunately mine does. It has not been perfect. There was an incident at Bangor High last winter, most know about it. You do not want that call. Dad please come claim me from the police. Even in the moment however I was aware of how much worse that call could have been.

So you don't sleep. You worry. If your someone like me it is complicated more because I well remember what teenagers do. I feel like I was one yesterday. I have never talked or glamorized the things I did that involved alcohol and the temptations of youth. I just try to let my son know that the one thing we never know is that we never know.

When you tell your kids to be careful they say of course. When you tell them to not text and drive they listen and you hope they hear. When you remind them of all the accidents that have been in the news the last six months involving teenagers and young people you know they feel invincible. And you know why. Because you cannot be a teenager and feel the dangers of life.

So you wish you could make them understand the dangers that are involved in life everyday. It is a hopeless exercise.

And then. Your son comes home from work on a Saturday and says " Did you hear the news?". You have not, it is a Saturday, you have been doing things around the house and your heart skips. He tells you that a young man who was a couple years ahead of him in school died in a car accident last night. He was a passenger in a car and he was the only one killed, three others were hurt but not in a life threatening way.

He asks you how that can happen? How can one person die and the others be ok? How can someone be alive one minute, on Facebook posting, and then do whatever it is young men do on a Friday night and then....be gone.

You see him struggling with it. And you hurt. You remember the young man. You did not know him. You remember his Senior Night in Basketball. You remember him greeting his Dad as he came across the floor not with a hug and a handshake like most of the boys but by patting his chest and he and his Father bumping chests. You saw the energy. You admired the way he played basketball. All energy, garbage buckets all over the place. The kinds of baskets that come with bruises and ice packs after the game and you can just tell there were no complaints about any of it from him.

So you take your son for Pizza. He is hungry. Pizza makes us all feel better. While he is in picking it up you look up the clear blue sky. You think about the fact that your son is going to college in sixteen months. You think about what this fine young man's parents are going through right now, how the same blue sky is shining over them right now but it is not a sunny day at their house.

Your son comes out with the pizza. He gets in the car. You know that he will be getting in cars with his friends just like this young man did. No matter if he goes to college in Michigan, Pennsylvania, U Maine or Husson in sixteen months he will be on his own. He will make choices in the most innocent way. " Hey, we are going to get Pizza in town" some boys will say at ten on a Friday night." Do you want to go " they will ask. He will go.

If God is not looking the other way he will come back to the dorm, go to bed, and this will be one of a million adventures in his life that I will never know about.

We do not know what those boys were doing but there is no reason to think they were doing anything less innocent than that. Any thoughts or speculation of what happened is not the right of those of us who did not know them personally. In the end a fine young man is dead, a family is ripped apart and it was all an accident.

The same knowledge that you wanted your child to understand that accidents are called accidents for a reason is now firmly implanted in your son's brain. You look at him holding the pizza, you see the thoughts he cannot speak, the questions you cannot answer, and you wish that you could go back to that morning when he went to work and as he left you told him to be careful and he said " C'mon Dad I am always safe, " like you are the biggest worrier in the world.

You wish that he could still be innocent enough of death to feel that way again.

Real Clear Politics

In this day of divided everything in American Culture news content and editorial content is the same. Still with the right and red watching Fox and the left and blue watching MSNBC and frankly both sides snickering at the appalling disintegration of CNN as an actual news organization the website Real Clear Politics is invaluable.

Why? For one simple reason. As a website they act as a clearing house. For example as I write this I am opening the website on my phone and this is what I have the opportunity to read.

Articles from Fox News, Huffington Post, Salon, Robert Samuelson from the Washington Post, Conservative Michelle Malkin, The Daily Beast and Alan Dershowitz. That is the afternoon edition. This morning one could read, and still read Karl Rove, George Will,articles from The Nation, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and the New York Times.

Similarly each morning a selection of editorials from publications around the country are published both from the left leaning and the right leaning. Today sources included Investor's Business Daily, The New York Times, The San Fransisco Chronicle, and the Washington Examiner.

This is an incredible resource. With so much of us getting our news and information from the slant that appeals to us this site at least provides a resource to hear different opinions. Because we are a divided country there still are not a great deal of moderates even on this site, still more than you will find anywhere else.

The most important thing to being an intelligent and active member of your society is to be informed. Taking ten minutes a day to reading a couple of differing viewpoints on this site will make us all smarter, more understanding of those with different opinions, and better citizens.

You can read it on your phone. Stop helping the Angry Birds for just a few moments each day. Learn something. Be informed. This site is wonderful.

Catching Up With the News

I have been out of print for a bit. About a ten day span of some serious symptoms of my affliction, that is my arms and legs went on strike. Then I had a cold that sat me down for a couple of days, my wife's Dad was in the hospital and then just when I was starting to feel better my wife reminded me my colonoscopy was today.

So yesterday was spent prepping, which means not eating all day and then " well you know " all night. Still when it was over it was good to have done and to receive a clean bill of health. At least for that part of me. It's great to be told your colon is the healthiest part of you. Seriously though, if you are at the age of have a family history get it done. It is not that bad, I promise you. The worst part for me was not eating.

So in this time frame, because the world does not stop spinning, there has been lots going on in the world.

Tiger Woods, he of the refined temperament and new attitude, showed that he is just not that person who can play golf like a gentleman. I do not think it is a big deal in the big scheme of things but maybe he should stop telling us he has turned over a new leaf. Look people love John Daly, he gets married and divorced once a year, drinks and eats too much and certainly has a colorful history on the course. For Tiger it is not so much what he does, it is how he treats people. He is just not very nice to officials, fans, people who serve him and who are, as some would say, less than him. Some people do not suffer fools. Tiger does not suffer anyone. So if Tiger wants to throw his clubs and be a jerk, maybe some self effacing comments after, an apology or a joke would make it go down smoother. Look we cannot all be Phil Mickelson. He of the chance to win, the triple bogey on Sunday, the top 10 finish but not the attainable victory. For some collecting a six figure paycheck in a week, making your living playing golf, having a former cheerleader for a wife, who has thankfully, apparently beaten cancer, and has some beautiful children who he loves, for some that is not enough. Tiger is what Tiger is but as I tell my son for Gods sake just be nice. It is easy, it does not hurt and it does not cost a thing.

Rick Santorum today has suspended his campaign for the Presidency. I have written often about Santorum and my admiration for his drive and commitment to what he believes whichever way the wind blows. I still feel that way. His little girl is likely terminal and his dedication to her is heartfelt, genuine and hard to see knowing the outcome which is foretold. Now we are left with Mitt Romney and in many ways this is a good thing.

What Romney believes in is a far cry from what The President does. If both candidates tout their positions, and do not misrepresent the others we can have a clear referendum on what we want for this country. This is a good thing. Of course we know the campaign will degenerate on both sides to mud slinging, misrepresentations, and fear politics.

In the end for me it's easy. Romney when asked his opinion of a bill offered by the President to Congress that would have cut ten dollars out of the federal budget for every dollar in revenue that Republicans would concede to raise said he would not consent to that. Romney supports the Romney plan, which as I have stated is a brave statement of belief by Ryan, however misguided it is. This plan amounts to a tax increase on the poor and middle class and amounts to a large tax break for the wealthiest of Americans. It is not class warfare, it is the truth and if there is any warfare it is from the top down. Romney was a vulture capitalist.

There is a clear divide in this country. If it were me I think each candidate should fill out a questionnaire of fifty questions on his positions. No equivocating just yes or no and here is why. And each voter should get one when he goes in the booth and we should vote. Isn't that really what matters. I will go back to Utopia now.

Paul LePage must have decided that he was not in the news enough lately. First he decided to go after the Town of Millinocket and withhold emergency funds from them due ot a problem with the landfill that the state took over. It would seem to me that there is a piece of paper or there is not. LePage claims a handshake agreement but that, as he knows, will not stand up in court. So one should ask themselves what is he trying to prove, what constituency is he trying to serve. One wonders.

LePage had a veto overridden when he needlessly picked a fight over the funding of school programs for disabled students. I do not pretend to know what the whole story was here. Still if his veto is overridden by a Republican majority House and Senate LePage should fear they may grow more comfortable contradicting him.

Then last week LePage in some debate goes after State Senator Justin Alfond calling him a spoiled brat and claiming it was good his Granddad, Harold Alfond, was not around to see this. I will say it again, what is wrong with this guy. There are those that are going to applaud his each and every move but it is never going to be above the 39 percent that got him elected last time. Depending on a three way split in the electorate to getting reelected is a very tricky proposition.

Speaking of moronic Governors we have our friend Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Now this is where some of my Conservative freinds and I part ways, not a rhetorical comment a truth. Union rights is where I am deemed least sensible by some of my friends that I agree to disagree with. Still a recall election happens in June. It should be pointed out that the judiciary has already claimed that parts of his bill that caused all this trouble do not hold up to scrutiny. My guess is that Walker is going to win this race. He is going to have a great deal of money. And the truth is the National Democratic party is scared of getting involved heavily and then losing. If this had been on the ballot in November it would have been a whole different story. Still one can hope.


The Supreme Court has reached its ruling on health care and we will know the answer in June. It amuses me to see the right embracing a potential repeal by unelected Justices while should the Wisconsin law that Scott Walker passed be thrown out it will be a disgrace that unelected judges thwart the will of the people.

This is just not Republicans. Democrats do the same thing. We are all hypocrites and change our attitudes depending on how it effects us.


My son now has a job. This was big news. Working at the grocery store, bagging and carting he comes home after five hours he says wow he is tired. Welcome to the world son. Still I am proud of him. He has so much on his plate these days he cannot keep up. I wish I could help him learn to organize but as we all know, it is a rare sixteen year old who will listen to Dad tell him how to prioritize his tasks.

My youngest, my daughter turns 13 this weekend. I am officially against this. When she needs us as little as the boys do now we will officially be on our way to being obsolete. I have many interests, my wife does too. We enjoy each others company. Still if she stops kissing me good night and calling me Daddy a little piece of my existence one of the best parts will cease to be.

Turns out that the fellow who wrote the one many play about working conditions in factories in China that make Apple products did not source all his facts and some of them may have been assumed more than truthful. That is good to hear, Apple's sales were falling through the floor with all those concerned Americans about the working conditions of the Chinese. Not.

Baseball has started. I love baseball. It contributes to the rhythm of my day. Baseball is Summer, it is our youth, it is hot nights and listening to a game on the radio when the Sox play on the West Coast. Now, at my age, it is the sadness of knowing that my oldest is not playing baseball this year. The first time in 12 years he is not on a team. I understand, His arm never recovered from the last time his elbow was sore. When the Doctor mentions that Tommy John might be necessary at some time in the near future to continue your 14 year old's pitching career you know that said career is about over. Still a house with no baseball players is a gloomier place in the spring. He is on the tennis team. One of our good friends saw me picking him up the other night as he picked his son up from baseball. He asked him why his bat had strings on it. He is having fun though, he has accepted that it is over for him in baseball so I guess I have too as well.

I play fantasy baseball with my friends. This is a great way to stay involved. We have folks from here to Arizona in our league and we have a great time.

Ozzie Guillen gets suspended in his first week as the Miami manger for being....well Ozzie Guillen. I think that this is another example of the stupidity of people. Look Ozzie said something outrageous. Who exactly did you think you were hiring.

Think About This

One of the problems we have in our political system is that very few of us are intellectually honest. Our opinion on issues flips too often based on what party we are and what party is in control. In effect what is important and what is a good idea changes based on who is in power and whose idea it becomes.

Much of this goes back to our good friend Bill Clinton. When he recovered from his 1994 Midterm pasting he did so by the art of triangulation. That is using some of his Republican friends ideas, embracing them as his own, and then taking credit for the passage.

This convinced the right and Senator McConnell that a Republican idea embraced by the left is no longer a good idea. Over the Obama Presidency we have seen this time and time again. However, let us be clear, those on the left are guilty too.

Try this question? How many folks who were ready to convict Bush the second over his Iraq and Afghanistan policy are now quiet while Obama dithers in Afghanistan.

Or this. Knowing that all nine Justices ruled against their ideological perspective, that is federal rights or states rights, in the case of Bush V Gore how would Republicans have felt if the situation was reversed and the court handed the Presidency to Gore.

How about his? Mandating individuals to get health insurance was a Republican talking point for years, a matter of personal responsibility. Until Obama embraced it, then it became a reproach to personal liberty and freedom.

Seriously you can go on and on and on. These clowns must think we are stupid to not notice the sleight of hand tricks they use. The truth is each day we prove them right.

I will embrace any serious person with an opinion different than mine. I expect the same. What both sides should expect however is that each side will have the integrity to maintain their opinions, that is as we were all taught when we were young, " you have to stand for something or you will fall for anything." I think we might well be in the Anything phase right now.

Religion or the Church

The more I read the more I think I know. However when the subject is God and Religion thinking we know something is not the same as knowing. I, therefore, cannot pretend to know anything. I have opinions and I like to think they are educated but in the end none of us knows anything when it comes to religion.

When those that criticize religion state that religion has been the reason for war and death from the beginning of time they are right. That is however not so much a mark against religion but the interpretation of religion by the ever fallible man.


It seems that the more I learn, the more I read and thus the more I at least think I know it becomes easier and easier to have the opinion that church is to religion like makeup is to a woman. It might dress it up, it might make it look prettier. But only to those that are looking for beauty in the wrong places. A woman without makeup can have an aura of loveliness that a woman with makeup can never match. The same is true for religion.

The Bible and religious writings can be interpreted a thousand different ways. We all feel good about the interpretation that makes us feel good about ourselves and shines us in the best light. I am no different.

By what I read Jesus was pretty clear on his teachings. He felt that the church was corrupt. We have seen the stories, tax collectors and usurers in the temple. Jesus did not believe in all the layers that had been placed between a man and his God.

Today it is much the same. Reading Gary Wills and his treaties on religion he is consistent and clear in the corruption of the church.

Why is this so? Surely most men and women who become priests, ministers and rabbi's do not start off intending to hurt religion and faith. They all have visions of doing the right thing and being God's instrument.

I do believe however that when religion becomes about the size of the building, the glamor of the chandelier or the many, many programs offered for members it becomes less and less about religion and more about a club,

Years ago I attended a small church in a small town. As the Congregation grew they were doing double services. Soon enough the desire to build a new church was fulfilled. It was not a bad thing, but the question could be asked was it needed. What efforts could those monies have gone to other than gratifying a desire to have a bigger, better church.

Andrew Sullivan wrote yesterday a piece on religion. About how the Catholic Church has lost it's way through numerous scandals and that American Catholics have been moving steadily away from the Papal edict since the 1968 encyclical against the pill and birth control.

It does not mean that we do not have Catholics and that many of them are not wonderful, good folks, but the church itself is corrupt. The question is can any large organization be a force for good.

Roger Williams believed that the Catholic Church was set up on a bad precedent as the Apostolic Succession had been corrupted. I think it is, in looking at the line of Popes through the years after Christ, that this is so.

Roger Williams believed that the division of church and state was not so much an issue of protecting the state from the church as most liberals today struggle to do but to protect the church from the state. That is that any combination of the two forces will in the end corrupt the church.

It has proven to be the case. Ministers speaking from the pulpit offering advice on how to vote. It is not what should have been. Jesus said give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Surely who is President should not be a church issue. Would not it be good if the only message from the pulpit was to pray for the President no matter the party.

I feel like I am religious. I I try to be a good person. I am always trying to read something that helps me improve my mind as relates to spiritual thought. I want to better myself. It becomes clearer and clearer that religion, organized religion does more to turn people away everyday. Hopefully not from good faith, and faith in good but certainly from a belief in organized religion.

As politics is portrayed as a battle between the immoral and the moral it becomes less likely that folks of good will but differing opinion can work together. This has become the issue with religion being involved with politics. It becomes a divisive entry.


With men of goodwill it should not be.

Democrats With Weak Knees

Bill Maher made a valid point on his show the other night. Saving his strongest rhetoric for the night for the Democrats he pointed out that when the Democrats try to make a political statement as relates to guns and the right wing they should first look in the mirror.

Why? Because over the last ten years the Democratic Party has given more and more ground to the NRA and the right wing. If you ask why you will get a very simple answer. Self Preservation. The fact is that guns are popular and the NRA flush with enough cash to make life difficult for anyone who disagrees with them has gotten stronger and stronger.

What is remarkable is that we used to debate Assault Rifles and the like. However when that Clinton era bill expired no one made any real effort to renew. The Democrats knew the votes were not there and chose not to make any effort to gain the votes.

The question becomes this. When is an act one of political expediency and when is an act one of cowardice. Of course there is such a thing as waiting to fight another day. Or as we used to say at my office do you want to die on that hill.

Still one must admire the NRA. The same way one must admire the Republican machine. What is it that makes those on the right so much better at fighting for their cause. It is their passion? Is it their belief in their cause? Is it that they are always willing to die on that hill? I certainly do not know but the results are clear.

Think about it. Shootings at Schools, army bases, Gabby Giffords, and of course the new neighborhood watch case in Florida. Now instead of debating assault weapons we talk about the ability to bring guns into colleges, state parks and churches. Permits to carry weapons both openly and concealed are up exponentially.

Why? What is the fear? To me this is all part of a bigger problem that no one wants to talk about. We are a divided country. One cannot look at an electoral map and not see this. A great plurality of the states are in the bag for either the blue or the red. Politicians are rewarded for having extreme positions. This being the case it is easy to see that division leads to distrust. Distrust leads to fear. Fear leads to people of good motives and good hearts feeling that they need to arm oneself.

I do not blame a person for wanting a gun. I grew up with hunters. I honor those who hunt and hunt safely. I believe in the right to bear arms. I think more often than not, especially here in a state like Maine, the desire to have a gun is one that is legitimate and for the right reasons.

There are folks who believe that when everything falls apart one will need a gun to protect themselves and their loved ones. What seems like a foolish thought to some folks seems very valid to others. I myself as a moderate Democrat do not think that anyone that looks at the divisions in this country between rich and poor, black and white, south and north, right and left and so on and thinks that a break in the normal discourse of this country is not possible and in fact becoming more and more likely might well be practicing avoidance of the facts.

If I who consider myself a reasonable, articulate, fairly intelligent, non- reactionary individual have legitmate concerns about this then what must some folks who are more on one of above sides mentioned above feel.

Democrats who could, perhaps by being those that disagree with the proliferation of guns in society, could at least provide and alternative viewpoint. But as Maher said they have capitulated. They have given up their arguemnt on the issue, moral and otherwise.

Why does this matter. In the wake of the Martin shooting when folks could be discussing many of the underlying issues of this shooting, including the profliferation of guns in the hands of a neighborhood watch captain of dubious intent.

We are not hearing that however. Race is easier. The other reason however is that we cannot have that debate, because Democrats have given up the cause. By putting up no fight at all they have just emboldened the NRA to become more and more extreme. In this the Democrats have failed and failed miserably.

I believe in individual gun rights. I think it is just a shame that the debate is over.

Pro Players in College

When I was growing up College Basketball was just coming into it's own. I remember vividly the Larry Bird, Magic Johnson game. I think I remember that Ivy League Penn also made the Final Four led maybe by a player named Price?

Other Finals are easy to remember. Villanova shooting the lights out and upsetting Georgetown in the final. Of course the Lorenzo Charles put back that led NC State over Houston and Phi Slamma Jamma. I remember DePaul going into the tournament number 1 two years in a row and losing both times in the first round. Sorry Mark Aguire. Georgetown winning, Ewing with the t-shirts under the uniform, then after winning Micheal Graham making known in the post game interviews that Georgetown might have relaxed the entry standards just a wee bit for athletes. UNLV running like crazy, Laetner beating Kentucky, and even coming home from work in my early twenties, having tapes the Syracuse Indiana game and watching it on tape at one am not knowing who had won.

So it was a valid question the other day when my son who loves College Ball and had Kentucky beating Kansas in his bracket asked me " why don't you love college basketball like you used to? "

Watching the championship game tonight I thought about that. Honestly the tattoos do not help. Alan Iverson ruined much of the game for me with his thug markings that have become the norm. I know that is foolish and superficial but it is true. Still I enjoyed the game more well after that event than I do now. I think it is the rule about 18 year olds not being able to go pro and having to go to college for a year. I just think that is dumb. So Kentucky wins, because Calipari is becoming the King of bringing in pro players for one year. It is a talent but it is a joke, they do not even pretend to be student athletes. Most of them stop going to class in he second semester, it is just a charade I think we would be better off letting them go pro.

It just bugs me.

Uncle Pat Speaks the Truth

Pat Buchanan got kicked off MSNBC for having opinions that were " not worthy of being discussed" according to the networks leader. The issue with this sort of thinking is that by stating that someone's opinions are not worth discussing those opinions go behind the curtain. You cannot show the wrongness of someone's opinion if you do not listen to it.

So now that Uncle Pat is persona non grata at MSNBC he is speaking often to the faithful at Fox. What it would be helpful to understand is that having more people of diverse opinions interacting can only help the discourse and exchange of ideas. MSNBC and FOX have all but become the hallelujah chorus for the left and the right.

Joe Scarborough, who anyone knows that I love to hear, and respect a great deal, stated on his show that the other day that he did not know why the right was taking up the the Tranyon Martin issue. He has a point, there is no gain in this issue for them, they can be portrayed as racists for having a differing opinion.

If that be the case then Pat is a racist. If that is the case then I am as well. The problem for me is that I think that there are many issues surrounding the Martin case. It has been sensationalized to a point now that if you ask a legitimate question, if you express the vaguest sense of a differing opinion you see people not just disagreed with, but ridiculed and considered as someone playing to racial fears.

Perhaps in America we will never get this race issue fixed. It is just too sensitive. We must all accept however that the more we allow the media to sensationalize each issue we make things worse.

In an Op Ed written last week Uncle Pat talked about the Martin case. Certainly not defending Zimmerman he did point out that were alternate takes on the events that could or should at least be considered.

He, like I think many people should be, but aren't stayed away from the specifics of the case and talked about the overlying issues. Pat being on the right did not talk about why so many people are armed, if Stand your Ground is a good law, and why we have budget cuts causing a need for community policing. These are issues I would raise. I think they matter and had a real effect on the case.

Buchanan did talk about what caused Zimmerman to be suspicious. He talked about what are the causes that make a man who is on a "neighborhood patrol " suspicious when he sees a young black man. Are we all just by nature scared or unsure of what seems different. The answer is yes. If you were to go back to our primitive selves certainly coming across a group of people who did not look like us or dress like us would cause us to be wary.

In today's America there are many divides. Shared experience is becoming a thing of the past. It seems the only things that are a shared experience are things like this, where we are divided into two different camps about something we see, but see differently.

Can we not all agree that this shooting is a terrible tragedy? Can we agree that no matter what happened it should not have? Can we not agree that of the many underlying reasons an event like this takes place too often, one of them is that when it does all we talk about are the easily sensationalized issues. A sound bite is much easier to talk about than a long discussion over a complex issue.

In Buchanan's piece he talks about what Zimmerman saw. The fact is the numbers are the numbers. Like most things however statistics can be manipulated. In Sport's you can find a statistic that proves your point, even if it is taken out of context.

Talking about profiling in cities as relates to cabs and their sometimes refusal to pick up minority passengers he cited crime statistics that show that 49 out of 50 assaults and murders in New York City were committed by minorities. In other words 98 percent of these crimes are committed by non-white's. Can you blame a cab driver for profiling.

In that same vein close to fifty percent of crimes are committed by African Americans while they clearly make up a much smaller portion of the population. Is Pat a racist for talking about this. Is the argument that in this case the numbers do not matter a valid point.

They do not matter to the young man's family and friends and of course they should not. To all the rest of us however they should matter a great deal. This is the overlying cause of the suspicion that befalls young men of color. It is easy to say that people should not feel that way but the fact is the numbers are the numbers or as my old Sociology teacher used to say Stereotypes are created for a reason. They have a basis in truth.

Why don't the same activists for the minorities want to talk about what can be done to prevent these numbers. What social programs will work. Why don't we talk about why so many of the role models that young people in General but especially young minorities embrace are people who glorify the thug culture of bitches, drugs and ho's.


Pat Buchanon is not a racist for speaking valid points and legitimate numbers. Neither am I. I would think we could spend much more time and effort correcting the numbers than taking one case and sensationalizing it beyond all reason so that what should be two groups of people with common goals cannot even speak to each other.


Fox news has always been a joke. MSNBC now becomes closer and closer to being one with the rantings of their knee jerk liberals. Where does that leave us. More divided. More angry. More everything except closer together in common cause.

Liberal as a Dirty Word

It seems that these days the word liberal has become a loaded word. One can call themselves Conservative and they are usually understood not to be a flaming right winger. However if one calls themselves a Liberal they are usually quickly classified as what my friend calls a " Moonbat."

I took a test to determine if I was a liberal, conservative or moderate. I ended up with a 63 which with 50 being a moderate ended up with me to the left but not, at least I do not think in " Moonbat" range. Interestingly my wife took the same test and ended up with a 70. So it could be said that she is more of a Moonbat than me.


I am anti death penalty, believe in a single payer government run health care, pro alternative energy, anti Corporation, and anti American wars of intrusiveness.

Still I am not easy to put in a box. I am anti abortion, pro religion ( note I said pro religion,not pro church ), and on many issues such as English as the official language, issues of conformity and my belief in this country as a force for good I am a conservative.

I think it is safe to say that I am to the left but I still wonder why I find myself agreeing so often with Pat Buchanon on cultural issues.

Often we hear about someone being a liberal on cultural issues but a conservative on fiscal issues.

I think that I might be the opposite.

I beleive that we as a country would be much better off if we had more people who were difficult to put in a political box.