Barack Says " Hey Again "

I am on Barack Obama's mailing list. It's ok with me. I do not really mind receiving emails from the President of the United States.

Our email relationship began back in 2008 when I made inquiries to attend an event here in Maine and had to provide my email address. Since that time during the campaign and as President Barack has been a faithful correspondent. He actually, for a Democrat supposedly concerned about privacy, has been quite promiscuous with my mailing address. I have received emails from Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and even, a little awkwardly, from the President's wife Michelle.

All in all getting an occasional email from the President to let me know what he is up to, what the big agenda item is at that time, and of course what atrociousness the Republicans are up to is a good thing.

I think however that we might be getting into a little too informal relationship. Recently I have received emails from The President that have subject lines such as It's Barack, or Remember When and today the subject said simply " Hey Again."

To me emails sent supposedly from The President of the United States or of course those acting on his behalf should have less in common with someone drunk texting at 2 AM and more in keeping with the dignity of the Presidency. Now of course most of this column has been tongue in cheek but on this point I am serious.

If you are the President, the most powerful man in the most powerful nation on Earth, should you really be sending emails out that have a tagline of " Hey Again."

For me I think the answer is clear. I do not answer drunk texts and I don't like My President to pretend we are buddies who are just catching up with each other after a busy couple of weeks.

I am reading a book currently called The President's Club. It describes the relationships that have developed over the years between former and current Presidents and speaks of how each member of " the club" holds the Presidency and the office above partisan politics that can diminish the office itself.

Simply put, even as a fundraising tool I think " Hey again" emails can do nothing to maintain the respect of the office.

Joe Scarborough Shows That Common Sense Resides in the Center

Joe Scarborough will never be confused with a Democrat. Wait, I should temper that, in these days where Richard Lugar is considered too centrist I guess it is possible that somewhere there is someone who might not agree with that assertion. I still stand by it however.

Joe has a column that he writes for the Politico website that is well worth your time. One of the best things about Scarborough is that he has an affinity for the center, if not in all things at least in those that require nothing more than common decency and common sense.

A couple of weeks ago in back to back articles Mr. Scarborough showed this very clearly.

On April 25th he wrote about George Bush and his unlikely admirers on the left. The subject came about as a result of a recent interview Bono had with Jon Stewart in which he extolled the former President as a hero to the cause of African aids relief saying that as a direct result of Bush the younger's leadership over 5 million people are alive and living profitable lives. Sir Bob Geldof of Live Aid fame has also said that he is " pissed off" that Bush as the subject of much ridicule of the left does not the credit he deserves and states unequivocally that Bush " has done far more than any President" to help.

Does that mean that Bush was a good President. Does it mean he is a good man. I cannot say. I never thought he was a bad man, I just thought he was a bad President. Even so even bad Presidents make good choices. Jimmy Carter was a bad President but most agree that the Camp David accords he achieved with Anwar Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Begin were an achievement beyond compare at the time.

What it does mean is that when we stick to the prescribed course of opinion we miss much of the intricacies of character that these men have, that we all have.

In his next article he spoke of the recent book The President's Club, a book which I am currently reading. He spoke of the relationship Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover developed. Hoover, in the wilderness in the Roosevelt years, was a confidante of Truman and in fact did help Truman negate the right's attacks on him.

Scarborough specifically mentioned Mitt Romney's recent attack on ex President Jimmy Carter when he asserted that " even Jimmy Carter would have ordered the attack ( on Bin Laden.) Scarborough admits to being critical of Carter for the last forty years but wonders if the statute of limitations might well have expired on attacking the octogenarian former President. And coincidentally or not he praised the recent Bush's respect for the Presidency by remaining muted in his criticisms of the present administration.

Both of these are common sense opinions from the center. We need more of them. One can be from the left or the right without being in contempt of members of the opposite party.

We need more people like Joe Scarborough and perish the thought perhaps like ex President's Bush and Carter.

Of Nurses and Teachers

The nurses at the Eastern Maine Medical Center voted Tuesday to ratify a contract offer from the administration of the hospital. In this offer they will over the next three years receive incremental pay raises that will total seven percent.

As with almost any public negotiation I see many comments and hear many folks asking why they should get a raise when the economy is so bad, when they themselves are lucky to keep their jobs.

The Bangor School Department faced with a significant shortfall from the state on their education funds have proposed a budget that actually is lower than the budget passed last year. The taxpayers of Bangor will be asked to pay an increase of about fifteen dollars per $100,000 dollars in value but this is a result of that aforementioned shortfall in funding. And, as I guess should be expected, people are complaining. I am not a fan of the tyrannical way that Betsy Webb runs her meetings but the budgetary side is run in a way that is superior considering the challenges faced in funding and programs expected by the diverse population.

It seems to me that we have a continual problem of misdirected anger. Governor LePage as his first act cuts taxes for the wealthiest Mainers. Over the next eighteen months he cries poor mouth and cuts any social program, including education. Cities and towns not receiving enough money to maintain their schools are forced to make cuts and raise taxes. Who complains the loudest? The same people who voted for the Governor and applauded his tax cuts. The fact is this, education has to be paid for. LePage and his cronies just do a bait and switch and let your local officials be the bad guys.

My wife is a teacher. She is a wonderful teacher. The children she has made a difference for, a real difference, a life changing difference are many. My daughter has dreamed of being a teacher since she was in kindergarten. She now is 13 and is just as sure. She helps my wife out sometimes at school, loves little children and asks my wife in all innocence " How could somebody not want to be a teacher?" I hope that by the time she is done college that things have changed and she never has to learn the answer to that question. When we were children teachers were respected, now it seems they are public enemy number one. Classified in the same bucket as all bureaucrats that work for the government. You know the ones that every one thinks should be fired until they have to wait on hold for an hour when they make an inquiry or have to spend an afternoon at the DMV.

A pattern develops. Teachers, State Workers and Nurses are just some examples. Any group of employees that are unionized and thus have some ability to possibly level the playing field between the powers that be and workers are lumped into one group an called greedy.

Really? Would you want your children to go to school, become a nurse, and then fore-go a raise for five years. After all others who do not have the benefit of a strong union are not getting raises.

Do you want a raise. Do you want better benefits. Ask yourself this? Do you really think your boss or your company cares about you? Do you really think they have your best interests at heart? Ask yourself this my friend? Why aren't you in a union.

Syria: The Tragedy Continues, A Massacre of Children

President Obama, has for the most part continued the foreign policy of his predecessor. It should not be much of a surprise. The United States foreign relations and security apparatus is so large and unwieldy that it is very difficult that it is very diffucult for any President to do more than just modify around the edges.

The President has disappointed liberals by his refusal to get out of Afghanistan quick enough. Others were concerned at his approach to the events in Libya last summer.

Surprisingly there has been very little pressure placed on The President about the position he has taken on the events in Syria. Syria, the northeast neighbor of Israel and neighbor to Iraq, as well as longtime troublemaker in Lebanon has since last years Arab Spring been embroiled in an undeclared Civil War. The United States and most of the other Western Countries have issued hand wringing statments and went to the U N to attempt to have sanctions put in place.

This has been to no avail. Russia has used in veto to stop any efforts of this type. And the killing and atrocities go on. This weekend a grisly event with 109 killed, butchered, throats cut, of those over 40 were small children. One wonders what purpose this serves for the government coalition.

What this illustrates is that in American foreign policy there will always be winners and losers, much of the time the winning and losing will be because of reasons that have little to do with the welfare of the oppressed or injured who seek our help. The United States stayed out of Ireland's squabbles for years to placate the British,stayed out of South Africa and supported apartheid policies, backed dictators from Pinochet, Trujillo and Batista in our own hemisphere and then expressed surprise when the regimes thaf follow did not trust us.

We cannot interfere everywhere, we cannot save everyone. Perhaps we cannot aid the rebels in Syria. We did, however in Libya, some might ask what the difference is. This is where our foreign policy always falls apart. Decisions and entries into conflict are often placed at the feet of human rights violations and abuses but it is rarely if ever the real cause. If it were we would have been in Syria long ago.

I am not saying we should be in Syria. I am saying that we ought to have a discernible pattern in our foreign policy that would make clear what the prerequisites for U S involvement in a civil war are. Perhaps the rebels should put down their guns for awhile and dig for oil. This might make us much more interested in 40 dead children.

Why I Love Joe Biden

For those of us who feel that politicians today are weather-vanes with no personal core there is a remedy. Watching Mitt Romney change his opinions over the course of the last few years, or months, or in some cases weeks, depending on who he is speaking to one has to miss a politician who knows who he is.

Watching a smooth, some say cold and calculating man like President Obama run everything up the flagpole three times before he forms an opinion on it can be distasteful.

And then.....you have Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a politician from a different age. Biden says things the wrong way sometime. He has become a bit of a caricature of himself, contrasted against the bloodless and smooth President the contrast has been too sharp. From getting ahead of the message on gay rights,( enough trial balloons had not gone up) to his laughable moments like being picked up on a microphone telling the President that his healthcare bill was a " big F***ing deal Biden makes mistakes.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves this. Are mistakes that come from intellectually honesty and passion for a belief, a sincere belief, a negative.

In 2008 there is no question that of the Democratic Candidates for President only Hillary Clinton had a resume that made her as credible a candidate for President as Joe Biden. Indeed most observers, from the right and the left, have stated over and over that in the early contests Biden won debate after debate. He was a generation too late. Being the most experienced, the most ready to be President means little now.

Joe Biden was a 29 year old just elected United States Senator when his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident. Now a single father Biden stayed in his career and returned home each night by train to be a father, an active father.

Biden ran for President twice, in 1988 his plagiarism issue in a speech derailed him. This was more a question of getting ahead of himself and not attributing than anything else but it again shows how are off we often are. Think about the things we have forgiven candidates for in recent years, and this was enough to derail Joe Biden.

Joe Biden is an old school politician. Pressing the flesh, bonhomie and back slapping. A union guy.

Vice President Biden gave a speech last Friday at an event for the families of fallen soldiers that perhaps no other politician could give. He spoke of the loss of a loved one, about his own experience, and while honoring and sharing these families grief he spoke to the survivors about the rest of his life. If you have not read the speech you should find it and do so. It was heartfelt and it demonstrated the heart, compassion, and goodness of this man who gets not enough respect and appreciation.

A man we all should be proud to know is our Vice President. Incidentally when the campaigning is over, a man that his colleagues from across the aisle respect others in his party. The respect you have from those who differ with you often is a strong reflection on your ethics and abilities.

Joe Biden is a politician I respect. About how many can you say that?

Utah Senator Mike Lee Shows Us What Contemptible Is

You might not have seen the news blurb that appeared last week that said that Tea Party Favorite Senator Mike Lee of Utah had his dream home foreclosed by J P Morgan. Having a home foreclosed on is something no one wants to go thru and it is of course possible that even our Government representatives have financial difficulties.

A deeper dive on the story provides some facts that should disturb anyone. Mike Lee, you might remember was the Tea Party favorite that ousted evidently not conservative enough Senator Bennett a couple of years ago. Being a Tea Party favorite Mr. Lee is strongly against most government programs and certainly against such programs as the bank bailout, homeowner bailouts and the like.

A strong part of the programs that have been rejected and held up in the Senate regarding the sub-prime mortgage crisis involved making accommodations with homeowners who were underwater on their properties. Incentives would be given to banks to write down mortgages, lower payments, as well as as host of other options to aid homeowners. Senator Lee you can be sure with the Tea Party backing has not been in favor of these programs. It should be noted that the banking industry itself, and certainly J P Morgan has not been in favor of these programs either.

Therefore having a sitting Senator who has voted against these type of aid and incentive packages accept a short sale where the bank eats over $400,000 dollars in reduced value as a loss is so far beyond the pale as to be hard to comprehend. The fact that Senator Lee thinks banks should not be forced or urged to help homeowners but that he, as a sitting United States Senator, who votes on these issues that the banks do not favor, accepts this kind of favoritism from J P Morgan raises so many red flags that there should be no way that he can accept widespread scrutiny of his activities.

Thus far this has not happened. Short stories in friendly local papers with no outrage following. Strange indeed.

For me this is one of the worst examples of hypocricy I have seen .

Off the Reservation With Elizabeth Warren

Wanted : An example of why knee jerk liberals have trouble keeping Middle America in their corner. The fact is often times even when people agree with a majority of the opinions some liberals have they often cannot bring themselves to vote for them because they are so personally unlikable.

In Massachusetts we now have another example of this. Elizabeth Warren is a very smart woman. Handpicked to be the Director of the new Consumer Protection Agency, Warren never got confirmed by the divided Senate. Soon it became suggested that Warren might be a strong candidate for the Massachusetts Senate seat currently being held by Republican Scott Brown.

With the election still almost six months away a great deal of attention and money has been spent in Massachussets. Warren and Brown are both popular figures. Brown struggles a bit convincing the far right that he is Conservative enough. Of course if one tries to win the hard right Conservatives in Massachusetts exclusively then they will not win any elections.

Warren on the other hand had energized the left in Massachusetts but the fact is that the state is not the liberal bastion that it used to be. Democrats still get elected but it is not foreign territory for Republicans anymore. Warren is nothing like a shoo in. She will have to win Independents to have a chance in a statewide election and this past few weeks she has made that much harder for herself.

It has come to light that, and I confess I do not know all the details, that on some application at some point in her professional career Elizabeth Warren checked the box that listed her as holding minority status. Minority Status as a partial Cherokee Indian. The proof of that is now being researched and has been hard to confirm. Even were her status as a partial Native American easily confirmed the fact that she claimed such a status for preferential treatment could and should trouble many people.

This was not a woman of disadvantage. This was not an African American person pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

It rankles, it is an example of why even moderate Democrats and certainly Independents become uncomfortable with preference programs. Many people who do for some reason or another qualify but who do not need the assistance use it just because they can. This is a problem.

Elizabeth Warren may or may not be one eighth American Indian. One thing that is safe to say I believe is that come November she will be a one eighth American Indian who is not a Senator Elect.

Baseball The Way It Is Supposed To Be

This weekend has been an inter league weekend in that the American and National league teams have been playing each other. Just watching the games this Sunday makes ever apparent what I have believed for quite sometime. That is that baseball in The National League is so much more enjoyable to watch.

For me a person who loves the strategy of the National League game the choice is clear. Double switches are a great part of the strategy of the late innings of a National League game. Deciding if you should try to leave a pitcher in for one more batter so that you can pinch hit the next inning without wasting two relievers. We should also not forget watching pitchers hit. Just today Steven Strasburg homered, Colby Lewis had two hits as did Zach Grienke. Many pitchers are solid hitters. Josh Beckett put a ball up on the wall today in Philly, if he had hit it a few more feet he would have hit three homeruns in Philadelphia in three years. That is pretty remarkable.

For anyone who complains about the pace of the American League game, particularly those of the Yankees and Red Sox, they should know that it is the designated hitter which adds significantly to this.

When discussion turns to having one system for both leagues and it is noted how the American League is at a severe disadvantage playing in National League parks one should also note that National League teams are not designed with a DH in mind and thus they are at a disadvantage in American League parks.

It is said that the DH provides a home for older players who can no longer play the field. I understand this. In no other sport however do we find a spot for a player who can no longer handle the physical requirements of the game. It should also be noted that the most successful designated hitters such as David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez have been nothing more than Designated Hitters for almost their whole careers, in other words long before they were of an age to need to be.

It is highly unlikely change will occur. I think Major League Baseball likes the contrast, moreover the Players Association will never want to give up what next year will be 15 high paying positions which is what would happen were the Designated Hitter to be eliminated.

Still watching the games this weekend it made me wish that the Red Sox were in The National League . What a much more challenging game to watch and love.

Bill Maher on Facebook

You all know how I feel about Facebook. For those who don't let just say I am not a fan.

Bill Maher on Friday night in talking about Facebook's IPO yesterday said that Facebook was, and I paraphrase, an example of Americans propensity to always find a way to goof off.

Better yet he said " Before Facebook we all had to wonder what our slight acquaintances from high school had for lunch. "

Great commentary

Another Red State/Blue State Divide

Can we agree on anything? One begins to doubt it more and more each day. This week the Social Security Administration released it's yearly report on baby names. Sophia now is the most popular name for girls and Jacob remains the most popular name for boys. The big news however was that the name Mason has now rocketed ten spots to # 2 on the list of boys names.

What does it mean. I guess I am not sure. I also saw that Jaden is one of the most popular names for boys. One thing I am sure of, there were no Jaden's when I was a kid.

Once you got past the basic top ten lists some very interesting information is present deeper down the report. It seems that certain names are much more popular in Red States than in Blue ones and vice versa. I am not sure why this is a surprise but it was.

So here is a question. Traditional names are much more popular in Red or Blue States? If your like me you felt that would e an easy question. And like me you would be wrong. It seems that, counter to what we might expect it is the Blue States such as Vermont, California and Connecticut in which the more traditional names are popular. Red States seem to be home of the more original or new style names.

There are demographic patterns at work here. It seems that in traditionally Red States that young people marry younger and hence have children sooner. It seems that when you are younger one thing you are more prone to do is be influenced by television and media which of course do not encourage traditional names.

Why do Blue State parents choose traditional names. It seems that they are more likely to be older, and as we know the older you get the more likely you are to be traditionally minded.

Names have often been regionally different. Southern names have often been different than other regions. Certainly African American children in the last twenty years have had an increase in names that you would rarely see in non minority children. This regionally or racially makes some sense. However to see now that we have a significant difference in the popularity of baby names that can be traced, at least partially, to the political leanings of the citizens of the state gives one pause.

I will ask it again. Is there anything we can agree on?

Boone Pickens on Energy Independence

You might remember a year or two ago Boone Pickens was on television talking about natural gas and making America energy independent. You also might remember that eight years ago Boone Pickens paid for a great deal of the Swift Boat campaign against then Presidential Candidate John Kerry.

The Swift Boat campaign was a travesty. If I was writing about that I would say that. I would, though, to be fair, ask how it was that a decorated War hero such as Kerry allowed that issue to be taken away from him. A strong response would have solved that issue.

So while I do not agree with what Pickens did in 2004 I have to say that what he said two years ago and what he is now saying again bears listening.

Is there anything that would be more beneficial to this country that being energy independent. Think of all of our involvements in the Middle East. The money spent, the wars, and on an on it goes. Now suspend your foolish belief that our actions have anything to do with altruistically making these countries free. If these countries had no oil you can rest assured our interest in them would be minimal to non existent. We always dress up our motives but we all know the truth.

So when T Boone Pickens talks of huge natural gas deposits and the chance of being energy independent we should listen. Pickens is a rich man. He does not bet on losers. Does he have a huge financial stake in natural gas. Of course he does. That should not matter if there is a legitimate truth and possibility of disengaging ourselves from the Middle East.

Can you think of any better picture than the Sheiks in Saudi Arabia being unable to sell the oil they have.

One thing we must know. The whole energy industry is corrupt. It is laced with money, subsidies and kickbacks. These people make the Mafia look the boy scouts.

Even if we have to follow the mafioso that wants us to buy native natural gas that is a better proposition than paying those Americans that facilitate the transfer of our wealth overseas, accepting the dirty riches they do in the process.

If ever there was a cause for a populist cause the Americanization of our energy would be it. From the left we would hear that we were being xenophobic and jingoistic. From the right the established interests in what exists today would see their spot at the troth disappearing and fight it tooth and nail. Still in the wide swath of the middle of the American citizenry we all know that anything we do not have to buy abroad makes us a stronger country. I am waiting for a populist candidate to rise and speak on this issue.

Gay Marriage 2012

Two Sundays ago Vice President Biden got in the words of President Obama " over his ski's" in speaking on Meet the Press about the issue of gay marriage. This is another way of saying that Biden got out ahead of the President on the issue.

At the time I did not consider it to be a big deal. I think everyone knew the President was in favor of allowing gay folks to be married but the Obama administration subsequent focus on the process forcing Obama's hand to come out and speak on the issue prior to his original plan to do so makes the President look small.

If you are in favor of gay marriage the fact that you are admitting to the fact of there being political calculation that determines when you say so does not help you. I understand it. We all " understand " why he might have been waiting to make a grand pronouncement. Still if I had a partner that wanted to be married to me before he, for example, died of cancer I would be less than thrilled with the President's equivocating.

The fact is that the President's pronouncement, for all the subsequent media firestorm, means nothing. If the Presidency has a bully pulpit Obama has thus far shown no ability to use it. What happens in the California same sex marriage case working it's way through the Supreme Court will have a much more important role to play.

Here in Maine we too will be in the mix this fall. A referendum to allow for gay citizens to marry will again be on the ballot. It is hard to say if it will pass. I believe that the change in opinion on the issue is changing palpably by the month. Some state, soon, is going to pass a referendum allowing gay marriage. To date no referendum has passed in any state.

My own opinion on the issue is cloudy. I do not begrudge people who are uncomfortable with the idea. For those of my generation and older this is something that is an incredible change. Still those who state that I can accept civil unions but not marriage are this time in history's equivalent of white folks in the sixties saying I like black folks, I have black friends, I just do not know if they need to be totally integrated.

As long as you hold marriage out as a practice gay folks cannot share you are stating that you feel they should not be equal in society. Now for the record I am the first to admit that I do not know if they should be equal.

I consider myself a lay scholar of the Bible, I have read it many times, study it, and always have a book in my active reading pile that actively studies religion in some way. I think that Biblical references to homosexuality are present but it takes a pretty significant tunnel vision to not recognize that many issues are addressed much more strongly by Jesus and we, including those that are against gay marriage the most strongly, choose to ignore. Jesus gave us a pretty good idea of what was the qualification for divorce. Did you know that evangelicals have the highest rate of divorce in the country and it is safe to say that in most of those cases the requirements for divorce Jesus listed are not present.

The point is that everything is open to interpretation. I am a black and white person. I like things spelled out. I am not a fan of modernism. Everyone who knows me knows that.

Therefore I feel I understand how uncomfortable a changing world is to people. The idea of men marrying men and women marrying women is pretty foreign to a great deal of people.

I appreciate that. I just feel that so many of the most virulent folks on this issue are just so far from the message of Jesus that GPS might not be able to save them. Jesus was clear, hate the sin, not the sinner. Even if you believe that someone is sinning the hate you see some folks spew on gay people is a sign of fear or anger over more than just the fact that two people in love want to get married. It is a sign of uncomfortableness with the modern world.

That too I can appreciate. We must remember, however, that the leading indicator of a person's position on gay rights is the exposure they have had to gay people. I have to say that for me too that has been the case. I also try to ask myself if my son or daughter came to me and was gay. Would I want them to feel second class, like they were somehow dirty and thus could not be married in society.


I would not. I do not have to be totally comfortable with the modern world to understand that for most folks who want to be married all they want to is to proclaim their love for someone. To be gay is not a choice. I do not believe anyone thinks that anymore.


Love is Love. Or as Bill Maher said last week..." Let gay people get married, They should be as miserable as the rest of us."


That was a joke by the way. I love my wife more each and every day. Being married to her is a joy of my life. Should not gay folks have the same ability to love and feel blessed.

The Moderate Party To Come

Watching Morning Joe this morning Maine Senator Olympia Snowe was a guest. Discussing her reasons for leaving the Senate nothing she said was surprising. Agreement between her and Joe Scarborough was to be expected and was forthcoming. What was more unexpected was the lovefest of agreement between Senator Snowe and Mike Barnicle.

Barnicle, the former Boston Globe colulmnist is certainly a liberal, perhaps not a Massachussts Kennedy liberal but certainly a liberal. What he and Senator Snowe agreed on was that nothing is being done in the Senate and that they system is broken.

Snowe talked about how Senators are miserable, being forced to spend too much time fundraising and, in her case, wondering why she was working so hard to retain a Senate Seat from which she was able to accomplish so little. Barnicle talked about how in his youth, his generation, to be a United States Senator was an incredible goal. Senators were to be respected, they were men to be admired. In today's environment Senators are rarely respected and often not deserving of admiration.

You could make an All Star team of Senators who have left the Senate in recent years. Jim Jeffords in Vermont, Arlen Spector in Pennsylvania, Jim Webb in Virginia, the aforementioned Olympia Snowe in Maine, and Dick Lugar in Indiana have all failed to win reelection or decided that it was just not worth it.

It is not just the Republicans who are discarding these fine public servants. Democrats do the same thing. There are examples on both sides that should make those on the left and the right wonder about the direction their parties are going.

Ben Nelson the moderate Democrat, he should have been listed above, has also chosen not to seek reelection in Nebraska. Speaking of Nebraska, another recent Senate refugee Chuck Hagel could join the team mentioned above. With Nebraska being a strongly red state Democrats were struggling to find a candidate in an attempt to retain Nelson's seat. With considerable prodding former Nebraska Governor and Senator, as well as former Presidential candidate, Bob Kerrey entered the race and will be the Democratic nominee for Senate. It is not expected that he will win. It was a generation ago that Kerrey was a political force in Nebraska. The state now is one of the most Conservative in the nation. Bob Kerrey running was not his pursuit of his dream. Bob Kerrey does need to be a Senator again for his legacy and he did not enter the race expecting to win. He as much as anyone knows the realities of his efforts and chance for success.

For this reason Kerrey should be admired and respected. So what occured directly after his choice to enter the race, liberal blogs around the country attacked Kerrey and his positions for being too Conservative. On the surface it was ridiculous.

Why would anyone submit himself to this if he is to be attacked by the liberal left?

Mirroring this is what is occurring in Utah right now. Orrin Hatch the longtime Conservative Senator from Utah did not win the Republican nomination for Senate at the state convention. Because he did not win sixty percent of the vote he now will face a runoff primary. While it is assumed that Hatch will win the mere fact that he even faces a challenge from a substantial segment of his party for being NOT Conservative enough is ludicrous.

When what is happening in Utah to Hatch and in Utah to Kerrey occurs it becomes clearer and clearer that the vast portion of Americans are not served by either party.

Sooner or later the middle needs to get involved. When they do they must get involved in the Center. Perhaps they need to bring some of these respected men back to the forefront of their efforts.

Very soon, very soon indeed the roster of talent discarded in the middle by the kooks from the left and the right will be enough to start a party that might well be the party that saves this country.

We can only hope.

Can Romney Win

It is hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago we were hearing of Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney's terrible poll numbers. When it came to likability ratings and the " gender gap " we were told that Mr. Romney had some deficits that might not be repairable in just the six months before the election.

Demonstrating how little the pundits know today a CBS poll showed that Romney now has a 3 point lead nationally, has a favorable rating that matches or betters Obama's, and now leads The President in the women's vote.

How does this happen. I have no idea. Neither do the so called experts.

One thing to keep in mind is that early in the election year most potential voters are not paying attention. It is hard to remember that when you are a political junkie like me but a great part of the electorate spends very little energy on the Presidential race until the fall.

I believe that Romney can win. Actually I believe that Romney will win. When you look at the it logically anytime an incumbent is up for reelection to the Presidency the voting is in large part a referendum on the incumbent. If that is so then the President is in real trouble.

I have read how much the President has accomplished. Health Care Reform, Financial Reform in the case of Dodd-Frank, Bin Laden, GM, Libya, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and now his support for Gay Marriage.

Ask yourself what on that list will make the twenty percent in the middle, that decide elections, vote for him. His biggest accomplishment, Health Care Reform is a success he runs away from due to it's unpopularity. Why is it unpopular? This President, theoretically the Great Communicator, never took ownership. What he has now is a plan that no one understands, thus one that is easily caricatured by the right, that even his base is tepid about at best. In fact many on the left hope the Supreme Court rules to void the bill. Why? They feel it might be one of the only ways to energize the base and that it leaves open the possibility of the Holy Grail, single payer as an alternative.

For Independents though this is not a large issue. Financial Reform could have been but again Obama communicated poorly and allowed his bill to be watered down to the point of being toothless. He could not even get his choice as the first director through the Senate.

Most folks will assume that any President would have made the choice to get " Bin Laden, and Gay Marriage like Abortion is not an issue that switches votes. If your vote will be decided by those issues than your decision is likely made long before Obama or Romney for that matter speaks.

What this means is that the President cannot win a referendum on his performance. The answer, Obama will have to demonize Romney or at least portray him as out of touch. This might be possible. Romney certainly provides fodder for the out of touch argument. Demonizing a devout Mormon with a loving wife and five picture-book sons might be a tough sell.

Electorally Obama could be saved by Ohio and states like New Mexico and Colorado. It will be close. I think that Romney wins the popular vote. The debacle in the West Virginia Democratic primary last week portends one thing. Where Obama loses in red states he is going to lose by record breaking numbers.

Should Obama win the Electoral College and lose the Popular it will be interesting to see how our friends on the right feel about that.

Maine State Senate and Legislature Elections in the Fall

This fall Paul LePage will not be on the ballot. Happily for him he has two years to continue to try to reshape Maine's state government. I will not comment on his plans, I have before. Instead Maine voters will be faced with the choice of reelecting the representatives that have by nature of a Republican Majority allowed LePage's successes.

Voting on the local level for Representative is always difficult. Poll after poll shows that most American have very low approval ratings of Congress as a whole but usually think their Congressman is better. I am sure that many folks who vote for Republican State Senators and Legislators in the fall will do so by thinking that most of those clowns in Augusta are not to be trusted, but my guy, I know him, I trust him, I like him.

In many cases they are right to have these opinions. In many individual cases the Republicans in the Senate and House are fine people who I believe are doing what they believe is right and are to be admired. Ken Fredette in Newport and Nicki Farnham in Bangor are two examples. These are fine, wonderful people, trying to contribute to society and make things better. Now I believe this because I am familiar with them. On the other hand a Senator or Representative from another area that I have no familiarity with I will call a toady for LePage or a clown but the folks who know him will think differently and vote accordingly.

This is how we end up with a Governor who garnered 39 percent of the vote, has low approval ratings, and constant foot in mouth disease getting much of his Conservative agenda through. These Republican folks that on the local level are individually admired ,and in most cases should be, as fine citizens have gone to Augusta and put the plans and policies of Paul LePage in place.

It is very simple. This fall when you vote just know this. If you approve of what Governor LePage is doing vote Republican in the legislative races. If, however, you are inclined to vote for your local person who happens to be a Republican, but, that you are sure is a sane alternative to the Governor's excesses, remember this. It is those Republican Legislators and Senators who have and will continue to enable the Governor's war on the poor, education, civility, unions, and as just one example the scandal in Millinocket. Without their support he would be neutered.

Admire your friendly Republican. Like him. Have him over for dinner. Do not, however, expect him to go to Augusta and put up a firewall of sanity in front of LePage's plans. It has been proven in the last two years that LePage's agenda is their agenda. They are just nicer about it when they come to your door to ask for your vote.

Dad I Lost 2 Billion, Can I Have My Allowance

Picture yourself asking your Dad for your allowance after you wrecked the car. Or better yet asking Dad for the money he owes you after you burn the house down.

In ways that I do not understand Jamie Dimon admitted that thru errors, mistakes, bad oversight and perhaps worse judgement J P Morgan took a 2 billion dollar loss on a trade recently.

Dimon said he accepted responsibility for the mistake happening. I believe the company's Chief Financial Officer has since tendered his resignation.

Jamie Dimon, what has he done to accept responsibility and provide accountability, he certainly did not tender or offer his resignation. No instead yesterday the J P Morgan board voted to grant the pay package Dimon had previously negotiated amounting to at least 23 million for this year.

Now that is accountability we all can be proud to emulate.

Seriously what is wrong with these people? As John Lennon sang years ago " How Do You Sleep "

David Letterman Talking About Mitt Romney's Wealth

Last night David Letterman was in rare form. Commenting on the J P Morgan hedge error that caused a 2, yes two billion dollar loss Dave said

" Mitt Romney lost 2 billions dollars once. Then he found it in his other pants."

Is it just me or do you think comedians are secretly routing for Romney

Dining Out Friday Night

My wife and I were so busy late yesterday afternoon getting our kids where they needed to be, running errands, and the normal late week routine that at seven we realized we were hungry. So with a desire for some seafood, no lines, and some good bread we took off for a local seafood reseraunt that I won't name but that starts with Weather and ends with Vane.

Arriving after seven at this resteraunt assures no lines, the average clientele is, shall we say, an older demographic.

Now it must be stated that I am a germophobe. For honesty's sake it should be noted that this condition seems to be worse now than it used to be. Still I do not think what happened Friday evening would make anyone comfortable.

After we were seated our waitress came over. She was I am sure a fine person and this might be a generational thing but she had a full arm sleeve of tattoos. I just do not associate that with someone I want near my food. i know, I know, that is unreasonable but I want to be in the tattoo removal business for the next 20 years. When these people get out in the real world and want to wear short sleeves one assumes they might need those things removed. Looking at her arms I felt like I was ordering a hamburger from Blotto on Popeye.

Now the tattoos were bad enough but this, this was the kicker. My wife ordered the scallops and I asked her to get the large so that I could have the leftovers for lunch. When the waitress arrived with our meals on the serving tray as she was placing our meals before us a couple of my wife's scallops escaped the plate onto the serving tray.

Can you guess what happened next. The film of the next event in my mind is like the Zapruder film of The Kennedy Assasination. " Oh a couple got away" she says as I watch her hand attached that tattood arm pick up the loose scallops off the tray and plop them on my wife's plate with a " there you go."

I was amused and horrified. I felt like I had been watching a three card monte game but instead of the card I needed now to locate the contaminated scallops. Too late I soon realized.

Saturday's lunch plan just changed.

My wife says I am extreme on these matters but what she does not realize is that the whole purchasing food at a resteraunt is based on the predicate of the illusion of cleanliness. When that barrier of illusion is broken, even for a brief moment as my friend Brad says " Cross them off your list"

That noise you just heard is WeatherVane falling off the acceptable restaurant list.

Indiana Rejects Richard Lugar

Over the course of the last few weeks we had been seeing polls that showed that longtime Indiana Senator Richard Lugar was facing a very serious challenge for the Republican nomination for Senator. Why would Indiana choose to not nominate a Senator who had served them as well as the country well for the last 36 years. For the same reason several other folks have been removed recently.

The tea party. While the Tea Party has been less vocal this time around in the elections and where the Tea Party group has become more the object of derision and distrust one thing must be clear. The Tea Party, especially in primary elections can have an inordinate amount of influence on an election.

Politicians always want their base to be excited. Primaries often, especially at the state level, do not create excitement. As happened in Delaware in 2008 a passionate wing of the party can flood the polls and defeat a candidate whose supporters who are not energized and voting in high numbers. Complacency sets in.

We do not yet know the turnout in Indiana. And perhaps as Indiana is a conservative state we should not draw too much from this example. Still it is disheartening. Richard Lugar was no liberal. By my rights he was not really even a moderate. He was an internationalist. He was very respected by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

That in itself is the problem. Being even respected by the other side is reason to have suspicion cast on you. In Lugar's case the death knell might have rung when he chose to vote to confirm Sonja Sotomayer. Lugar believed in the advise and consent portion of the Senate's role in the confirmation process. He beleived that the President should be able to choose a candidate and as long as the candidate was ethical and qualified the President should be extended the privilege of being confirmed. In short there was no litmus test for Dick Lugar. This made him a pariah to the Tea Party. The fact that Democrats such as John Kerry and President Obama expressed statements of respect for Lugar's career would create smug expressions of satisfaction from Tea Party members who doubted his Republican loyalties.

Still what it says about the future of our country is concerning. This sounds like a broken record but with no moderates, and conciliation and negotiation considered a weakness how can anything be accomplished in Washington. With our country facing choices that might well affect our long term future and economy very soon the prospect for gridlock is much more real than we have faced even in this, historic for it's animosity, session.

Dick Lugar was an admirable public servant. He deserved much better than the Republicans of Indiana gave him.

Paul LePage Sinks to a New Low

I give up. I cannot pretend to find the good intent in this man. Paul LePage is a bully. He is a baiter. If he had been around in the fifties he would have been one of Joe McCarthy's cronies. Whoever is the boogeyman of the moment is who you will find Paul LePage taking shots at.

We could sit here and ask why a person who came from his background would be feel such anger and hatred toward those who are poor and disadvantaged. Maybe he is like some of the Jewish folks who when they fled Europe at one time or another for America when they arrived here Americanized their name and left and denied their faith and heritage. As if to deny it would make their past go away. Or maybe Paul LePage is just hateful.

For a sitting Governor on a Stage at a Convention to say " Get off the couch and get a job" is akin to talking about n****rs getting on the back of the bus in the South in the sixties. It is easy to understand the anger folks who work hard and feel themselves losing ground feel to those on welfare. I have felt those feelings myself. The problem is we all know folks who have gamed the system at one time or another and that can make us forget the countless people that are legitimately helped by these programs everyday.

It is strange to me that many of the people angriest at those who receive help of one kind or another proclaim to be faithful Christians. If I remember my Bible Jesus was clear, " When I was hungry you fed me, when I was naked you clothed me."

Anger is everywhere in our society and for a sitting Governor to give voice to anger such as this, to make such baiting statements that can only be divisive is wrong, unprincipled and inflammatory.

Preaching to the choir I am sure he was but just because people clap at what you say does not mean it should always be said.

Paul LePage crossed the line this weekend. His true prejudices and motivations were on display for all to see. It is not a sight that should make anyone feel proud of our Governor.

EMMC Nurses Contract to Expire

We read today that the one year contract that the EMMC nurses had signed last year is expiring. As the two sides begin to negotiate for another contract it is evident that the animosity between the two sides has not gone away.

The administration of the hospital of course has to look at the big picture and nurses are, although very important, just one of the many costs the hospital has. That said we should be clear that the hospitals are not losing money at least not a hospital such as EMMC.

What always strikes me about situations like this is not the battle between the administration and the nurses union, that is, in today's world to be expected I guess. What surprises me each and every time it occurs is the absolute vitriol that a good part of the population express about the unions. Now I do understand that the posters to websites like The Bangor Daily News are as a matter of course usually more right wing but I do feel surprise at how much these people spew hate and discontent toward these nurses.

The nurses are asking for a 3 percent raise and some negotiations on work rules. What seems to bring the anger out is that many folks feel that they could not get a 3 percent raise right now. These same folks are non unionized. There is a benefit to being in a union.

Over and over again these folks on the right express anger at those who are in a union and negotiate for benefits rather than wishing to improve their own station by unionizing.

I clearly am out of step with our culture on this issue. I simply cannot fathom that antipathy that people feel towards a nurse asking for a three percent raise.

Values We Pass Down

What values are the most important to you, that is what values do you want to pass to your children the most. We like to think that our children learn good things from us and for the most part we are correct. We know that they also learn bad things from us, be it to be quick tempered, disorganized or worse yet.

Today I want to talk about the most important values. What would they be. Honesty, Hard Work, Responsibility I think would be three that I would want to teach my children.

I think that one of the qualities that we see so many adults lacking and that we all should strive to teach our children is contentment. Now I do not mean contentment in place of aspiring and ambition. These two qualities are perhaps the most important to career success.

When my children were younger I think that I did a really good job in teaching them my values. I worked constantly, never missed a day of work. My children understood that work was a part of life, appreciation was a part of life.

In the past weeks as our older children start to contemplate life after high school we have been talking with them about their goals. It is not an easy process. Our children have been quite successful in high school and I think that in itself can create a cocoon that they perhaps are not bursting to break out of.

We have talked about professions with my oldest son. We have talked about the medical field, engineering, pharmacy and because we admire the profession teaching. My son at this point seems to have no real clear vision of what he wants to do. Here is what he does know he wants. He would like to make alot of money. I must admit I was surprised and perhaps even a little disappoited to hear that as the first goal. I like money. I wish we had a bigger house and my eyes rest often on new Camaro's and Mustang's that would make me look like I belonged in a Viagra commercial. Still I believe I have taught my son that it is essential to enjoy and find fulfilling what you do for a profession. I have suggested he find his passion and then find a way to make a good living doing that. In the same vein however I am not one who encourages a liberal arts education that could bring him out of college with no clearly defined skill set.

So when money is a first goal, defined by him as having a big house with lots of rooms and the ability to take lots of vacations and take lots of trips, it does take one aback. For my wife and I, if we are honest, it was a bit hurtful to hear. For us the two things, a big house and extravagant vacations, are things we have not provided.


I never lose sleep over what I have provided my children. I feel like I have done well by my children. I certainly have done my best as has my wife.

Tonight our middle son, my step son, my wife's son, who had not been present at the previous conversation with my oldest, told us much the same thing that he wants to make a great deal of money to have lots of stuff.

Now first off we should be glad our children are honest with us and we want them to have aspirations. I cannot help however feeling disappointed. Perhaps it is because I do not think their goals are defined, or attached in any great way to the ethics of hard work that in most cases must come with financial success. At least for those of us not born into wealth.

So have we done something wrong in our parenting. I am not sure. I have never defined success as having lots of things. Perhaps in some way it is a rebellion against my values. We are told that we often recognize our children least at this age. Perhaps that is the case.

I of course want them to be successful. I am not sure that their definition of success is one with a happy life.

When I think of my childhood my family had very few extra's. As the youngest, in my childhood, we had much more than my older siblings had, but we still were far from wealthy. I can remember being happy with my Christmas gifts and such and hearing of the presents that had been under the tree of friends and felt a bit jealous. It never ate me up. I think the reason was that I had several friends that were so much worse off, obviously so, knowing that perhaps gave me a feeling of perspective that my children do not have.

My wife and I were talking tonight as we both nursed a few hurt feelings over the honesty of our sons and I observed that our children had more than we would have ever imagined as children but unlike us they have no friends that have less. In fact as I think about their friends I cannot think of any that have clearly less than our family and in fact in most cases they live in bigger houses and have more " things."

Perhaps with that perspective, being a teenager susceptible to human feelings we as adults can rationalize away, it is not surprising that they place such value on wealth and material. If we as parents have made a mistake perhaps it is by living in an area where the social groups are stratified. When I was in high school some of the most popular kids came from poor families, one of my best friends lived in a house with no running water. I think this may have given me a grounding and a foundation that our children lack.

Even with this partial possible understanding of the feelings of our children we still fear that perhaps these lessons or feelings from their teenage years might set them up for a false understanding of happiness. We will keep talking of what we feel is important, we will keep trying to demonstrate what a happy household can be, in the end however as with most lessons we try to give, most lessons will have to be learned on their own.

And you cannot often buy the answers but they are far from free.

I Will Trade You One Military Grade Helicopter for Forty, yes that is 4 0, Forty Thousand Teachers

We went to my daughters spring concert earlier this week. Seeing all the students from colorfully dressed third graders to the Junior High chorus, my daughter's group, in their matching black and white to the phenomenally talented High School chorus and chamber choirs I was stuck by a thought. It has become a sad rite of passage each spring to hear of our school districts making cuts. These cuts year after year result in the removal of faculty and staff, the reduction in programs and other cuts.

My wife's sister is a music teacher and as we all know music and art are often the first items on the chopping block. I realize that of course now with No Child Left Behind teachers now must focus primarily if not only on the items to be tested but somewhere in our society we have to have a place for appreciation of the arts. I certainly remember having a music class and an art class each week. I had no talent in either area but I am sure that there were several students who got as much out of those classes as I did out of athletics.

In fact my daughter is one of those students. She is in the art club, does plays and sings in the chorus. Fortunately here in Bangor it does not appear that music will be on the chopping block soon.

My wife teaches Remedial Reading and is a gifted and talented teacher. I have known her five years and I could give you a very long list of students in just that time that she has helped and set on the path to being a good reader. Study after study shows that the number one most important key to success in today's world is if the person is able to read and write well. Further studies show that if a student is not on grade level in reading by Grade Three then the challenge to ever become a strong reader increases exponentially.

So of course it is obvious that in these tough budget times the program that is first crossed off the list of potential cuts are the literacy and remedial reading programs which help these not just at risk third graders but at risk citizens. I would think so. You would think so. Sadly this is not the case. School administrations are being placed in a terrible position. They are having increasingly limited resources and they need to spend every dollar wisely.

I believe that we should be hiring more help for these pre third grade students. The cost to society of a child that falls behind, potentially drops out of school and has a less successful life because we could not afford a full time reading specialist at his school would show what a short sighted answer these cuts are.

The fault is not the administrations. It is the choices being made in Augusta. Our state government is, to my understanding, bound to provide a certain percentage of funding to school districts. They make no bones about the fact that they do not do so.

State are receiving less money from the federal government because again we are broke.

There is no question that we are having financial difficulties from the top down. I do not pretend to know the answer.

Well actually that is not true. I do have an answer. It seems simplistic, it is simplistic, and so I am sure someone much smarter and more in the know than I could tell me why in this case simple is not better.

As I sat there watching my daughter sing last week I calculated in my head that at the cost of 2 billion dollars per one of these helicopters that the military has now contracted to build would pay for 40,000 teachers for one year. I know that helicopter project employs many people who might lose their jobs were the contract not to happen.

I know nothing is easy. The military however should not be a jobs program. We do not need these helicopters. Frankly anything which costs 2 billion to make that can crash and be gone is not worth the investment. Not for an enemy that does not exist.

I could go on and on about the cost of our effort in Afghanistan. Suffice to say it is a sewer hole.

The fact is this. When we say we do not have the money for health care or education or teachers or any other program that continually is on the chopping block we are wrong. Dead wrong. We have the money, what we do not have are the correct choices being made.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes. My guess is that if a defense contractor or a Congressman who is in their pocket had a child struggling to learn to read and write they would spare no expense to help them. Thankfully for them they would have the means to do so. The question is should having all opportunities to be a good reader, or develop an interest in music or art, should any of these be dependent on the wealth of the parents or the school district.

Money does not solve everything. Not even in the educuational system. The choices we make however do reflect our values as a country.

For my vote I think we can give up a few helicopters, maybe even a battleship, so that we can give our students all they need.

Or is that too simple an answer.

Afghanistan Forever and Ever

Watching Obama's speech on Afghanistan yesterday gave one a strong sense of deja vu. Hearing that we must give the Afghans time to get their feet under them or else any gains we have made would be lost.

What a terrible untruth. Gains. In Afghanistan. I do not know what movie the President is watching.

So now we are told we have made a commitment to a United States presence until 2024. This from a President who said he would get us out of Afghanistan. Someone clearly has messed up our foreign policy as I am quite sure there is no oil in Afghanistan.

Maybe what has been said in the past is true. Only a Republican can end the United States participation in armed conflicts. Democrats forever scarred by Vietnam cannot bare to be accused of being soft on anything therefore they cannot pull the plug. Republicans have the ability to do so as being the party more thought of as defense and foreign policy oriented there will be muted protest from their own party for any Republican that ends a conflict such as Vietnam, Korea, and perhaps Afghanistan.

Certainly this President has no intention of getting out of Afghanistan. Stunningly Stupid.

Osama's Bin Laden Ad---Part II

While it is true that one can question Obama's decision to use the Bin Laden mission in his campaign advertisements, one has to watch this Republican outrage with not just a grain of salt but a whole salt mine.

Jon Stewart tonight said much like me that perhaps Obama went a little over the top with the use of the ad. The hypococy from the right however is mind boggling. The same people claiming that Obama should not be using this ad need to just view a clip from Stewart's opening tonight comparing and contrasting folks such as George Pataki and Ed Gillespie then and now.

It is as I said. Nothing matters anymore except what uniform you are wearing. How do we teach our children right and wrong is right and wrong when it is clear that so little is right and wrong.

Do they think we are stupid. Clearly they do.

Bangor's Embarrasing City Council

In the past I have not often paid attention to the actions of the Bangor City Council. One would pay attention to the school budget passing and of course take notice of how the city's mill rate would be affected by the increases in expenditures.

Recent events however have made me only wish I was not paying attention.

Cary Weston has been one of the problems. Charles Longo has been the other. As these two represent different sides of the political spectrum it is safe to say that we have morons on a non partisan basis in Bangor.

Cary Weston has behaved often like a bully in his position as Council Chair or Mayor as some call him. In a meeting earlier this year he spoke in an unprofessional way to Longo. Longo never one evidently to be outshone then stormed out of the meeting in a huff because he did not get his apology. Like two spoiled children.

Longo then showed his true stripes at a meeting a couple of weeks ago. The council was debating how to deal with a very delinquent loan that the city had given to a homeowner. It is a long story but the end result is these folks have not made a payment to the city for years, as in multiple years, and thus have lived rent free. The council subcommittee was one which Weston sat on, Longo did not. The issue was dealt with and Weston, as he had to meet with some legislators about General Assistance had to leave the meeting. It was correct for him to do so. Longo asked and was allowed to sit in on the meeting in Weston's place. Once Weston had evidently cleared the building Longo asked if they could revisit the previously decided issue. While the City Solicitor advised that this was very out of the ordinary he did allow that it was allowed. With Longo replacing Weston the earlier vote was reversed.

Think about how improper this is. Think about the level of disrespect this requires for your fellow councilors. In fact the other councilors of the same viewpoint, that allowed the reversal, should not feel good about this event either.

Imagine at work if you did something like this to a co-worker. Changing an action after he left the room. I am sure this is just a measure of my respect for the process, and civility between those who disagree but Longo's actions here to me were reprehensible.

Cary Weston just by the nature of Longo's action could have emerged a sympathetic figure. Well he made sure that this was not going to be the case. At a meeting last week, in going over the Library Budget, Weston challenged Director Barbara McDade over the Library's allowing the Occupy Wall Street campers to stay on their grounds last fall. This was against the directive that the Council had made. Now one can disagree on issues of free speech and free assembly, one can disagree with the library's directors decisions. To bring up the questions, however, six months later at a budget meeting certainly implied and in fact Weston spoke of it that perhaps future budget decisions would be weighed against the directors compliance with the City Council's wishes.

The City of Bangor is blessed with a library that is one of the best in the state. For our family I cannot speak highly enough of the facility, it's services and it's employees. It is a wonderful experience to go to the Bangor Public Library.

Weston could have asked to speak to McDade or the Directors at any time in the last six months. That he waited and chose to do so in a budget forum so that his implied funding threat should not be mistaken for anything less than what it is. A bullying tactic.

I met Mr. Longo when I voted last November. He seemed enthusiastic and sincere. His lack of maturity and decorum however has shown itself quickly and often. Weston, on the other hand is just what he is. A bully, one who is all about making a show that makes him feel bigger than his adversary.

Both should be shown the door as soon as possible.

What an embarrassment.

Someone to Admire : Paul Rieckoff

With the cynicism in Washington going full bore from the left and the right it is nice, every once in awhile, to observe someone who deserves nothing but respect and admiration.

This gentleman's name is Paul Rieckoff. He is the founder and Executive Director of The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Witnessing him on Morning Joe late last week I was struck by his sincere, well spoken efforts to advocate for these soldiers, too often forgotten when they come home made one aware that there still are heroes among us.

If you get a chance to see him speak or advocate for these soldiers do yourself a favor and watch him.

Obama's Bin Laden Ad

Barack Obama has been making great use of the death of Bin Laden. As the first anniversary of the raid in Pakistan last year that ended with the death of the terrorist Bin Laden's killing has been used as a focal point in advertisements. Today the President made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, the fact that today is the one year anniversary should not surprise us with the timing of this visit.

In short if you are not aware and sufficiently impressed with the decisions the President made to capture and kill Bin Laden then he is going to do all he can to make sure you are. This is not wrong. After all Obama did give the green light to the mission and certainly if it had gone wrong he would have had to handle the criticism for those same decisions.

Still it is also a viable point to say that were Republicans in power and running similar ads lauding their decisions Democrats would be going crazy. Certainly the uproar over the Bush campaign in 2004 using 9/11 in their ads was not muted from the left.

Should he take loud and clear credit for the success. Sure, if he wants to that is fine. Let's just make sure that we understand that it is all politics and thus hypocritical. From the left for their previous criticisms of Bush and from the right from their previous defense of the same.

In our current political divide their is little right and wrong. It just depends on the source.