Korean War Marine veteran writes about current Commander in Chief

https://www.journaltribune.com/articles/letters-to-the-editor/commander-in-chief/

Salute to Senator John McCain - (He's a hero. Current CIC is not!)

Echo letter to the editor of the Biddeford Maine Journal Tribune:

I’m an old U.S. Marine who proudly served this wonderful country of ours, during and after the Korean War, and if I were a young Marine today, and had to salute the present Commander-in-Chief, after doing so I would throw up my guts in disgust.

People that think there is nothing lower than whale doo-doo, well think again.

I, with a tear in my eye, salute Senator John McCain for his heroism, patriotism, and true grit.

Senator McCain, all your brother and sister veterans know you are at peace in heaven, for you served your hell on earth in the Hanoi Hilton.

R.I.P., our hero.
Semper Fi,

Toby Koles, Saco, Maine

End World Poverty ~ The Borgen Project

Increase funding to the extreme poor

Echo letter to the editor published in the Biddeford Maine Journal Tribune newspaper

Dear Editor,
I am a proud, privileged and hardworking citizen of the state of Maine and the United States of America.

I want to remind my fellow citizens that that they have a duty to the starving, sick and unsheltered all around the world. There is a misconception that the U.S. gives much more than the 1 percent it gives in foreign aid each year. This isn’t enough and it isn’t nearly as much as we could be contributing.

I urge you to contact your congressman and women in support of the International Affairs budget and ask them to increase funding to the extreme poor. Organizations like The Borgen Project are incredibly important and prominent in helping the needy all around the world by fighting for legislation that will help build these poor communities.

I have been contacting Senator Angus King, and Senator Susan Collins and Representative Chellie Pingree encouraging them to support The Borgen Project and The International Affairs budget to which they have been interested and knowledgeable on the issue, but they need our support.

Building up the poor around the world will create future markets that the U.S. can trade with while at the same time increasing national security and helping the overpopulation problem. When the extreme poor’s economy grows and the have more money, they have less children which significantly reduces the population. There is also less chance for extremism and crime. These are problems that affect all of us and they need your attention.

Christopher Steward Saco, Maine

Maine Governor LePage calls bill "pandering to grieving families"

Maine Governor LePage received a decisive veto override of a bill he found to be wasteful because it pandered to grieving families of children who were victims of homocide.

Maine Senator Linda Valentino- D of Saco

Sadly, I could blog everyday about the cruel, unsubstantiatiated and convuluted reasoning claimed by Governor LePage, in his inability to provide compassionate leadership for Maine citizens. 

Thank God, the Maine legislature and the state's judiciary are able to challenge the Governor when he executes his wrong minded authority. 


Nevertheless, in the process of screwing things up, the Governor creates enormous angst, ill will and obstructionism within his administration and in his own Republican party, before the legislative branch can fix or mitigate his brash actions.

Today is another page in an "as LePage turns" day, but accompanied by a startling outcome  

WCSH6 in Portland Maine reports:

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The Maine Senate on Monday voted unanimously to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of LD 1605, “An Act to Extend the Time for Commencing an Action Relating to Death Caused by Homicide.”

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, on behalf of the families of cold case victims, who were present in the Senate Gallery to witness the veto override.

Governor LePage called the bill nothing more than pandering to grieved families.

“I want to thank these families,” Sen. Valentino said. “This is their bill, not mine. They have advocated strongly for this its passage even though it won’t help any of them. This bill isn’t for their benefit — it’s for the benefit of future victim’s families, who should never be denied justice because of an arbitrary statute of limitations.”

The bill would will give families of homicide victims up to six years to file civil actions related to their loved one’s deaths. The current statute of limitations is just two years. Advocates have argued that two years is not enough time for the families of victims of cold-case homicides to assemble a wrongful death case in civil court.

The bill had earned the unanimous support of the Judiciary Committee, and has the support of Attorney General Janet Mills.

The House also voted to override LePage's veto of the cold case bill. 

LD 1605- An Act to Extendn the Time for Commencing an Action Relating to a Death Caused by Homicide

“I want to thank these families,” Sen. Valentino said. “This is their bill, not mine. They have advocated strongly for this its passage even though it won’t help any of them. This bill isn’t for their benefit — it’s for the benefit of future victim’s families, who should never be denied justice because of an arbitrary statute of limitations.”

The bill would will give families of homicide victims up to six years to file civil actions related to their loved one’s deaths. The current statute of limitations is just two years. Advocates have argued that two years is not enough time for the families of victims of cold-case homicides to assemble a wrongful death case in civil court.

The bill had earned the unanimous support of the Judiciary Committee, and has the support of Attorney General Janet Mills. It now goes to the House of Representatives for a final veto override vote.

Ashley Ouelette was a teenager in Saco who is among the cold case victims who's death will continue to be an open investigation, as a result of the Maine legislature's override of Governor LePage's veto. Thank you Senator Valentino.

Forecaster Report: Maine Governor LePage in Saco prefers Vasoline to guns

Maine's Mid-Coast Forecaster news opinion by Marian McCue reported how the state's Republican governor LePage is okay with having Vasoline thrown at him during a town hall meeting he led in Saco, "as long as it's not guns". 

Of course, I agree. I pray for the safety of all people to be protected from preventable gun violence.  

Nevertheless, Governor Paul LePage is a huge Second Amendment gun rights advocate. I assumed it would be okay with him to have people with concealed weapons permits to attend his public town hall meetings. Obviously, however, Governor LePage isn't at all okay with having people with guns attending his public meetings. It's certainly understandable. I agree with the Governor about "no guns". Nevertheless, Governor LePage is an advocate of gun owners rights.  How can Governor LePage support gun owners rights, including concealed weapons permits, but worry about people with guns attending his public meetings?

Obviously, our Maine governor understands how guns are the cause of all gun violence. In fact, it's indisputable. Gun violence would be eliminated if guns were regulated or ammunition taxed beyond its affordable value. 

So, let me get this right.  Guns are fine, just as long as the people who carry them are not allowed to be in the same room as our Maine governor.  Agreed.

Yup.  I certainly get that.  

But, Dear Governor LePage: What's good for the governor is also good for the rest of us.  I don't want people with guns to be in the same room as me, or anybody else, either.

Here's an idea.  

Let's put all guns and the ammunition needed to operate them into a big vat of Vasoline, to prevent using the weapons to inflict fear in innocent people, including you and me.

Here's Marian McCue's report:

Capitol Notebook: Maine, the way politics shouldn't be
Marian McCue Monday, April 6, 2015 at 11:10 am

The tone of Maine’s political conversation has reached a new low. A strange incident in Saco last week, and the bizarre reactions to it, paints a bleak picture of our rapidly sinking political dialogue.

(At a forum in Saco ME) Last Thursday, as Gov. Paul LePage spoke at a forum promoting his plan to cut the state income tax, a former legislator and Biddeford mayor began yelling and approached the dais where he was sitting. 

As she was removed by the governor’s police force, she tossed a jar of Vaseline onto the stage.

The reason she chose that particular item has to do with previous comments made by LePage, which are best forgotten.  (Julie's note - the Governor's remarks were profane.)

After the incident, which ended the forum, the jar-thrower, Joanne Twomey, chatted with supporters and videographers outside the Thornton Academy auditorium.

Within minutes, the story lit up Facebook and newspaper web sites ("Former legislator throws a jar of Vaseline") and her behavior was deeply analyzed, for and against (“Joanne you’re a hero, I’ll be right there with you.” “She’s crazier than a loon.”).

While Twomey’s actions were being disowned by some Democratic party officials and many Biddeford residents, comments on websites blamed LePage for the incident and urged people to bring the same projectile Twomey had used to future town hall meetings. The comments attacked Twomey, LePage, and everyone else it seemed. Many comments on the Bangor Daily News website were removed for their offensiveness, failing to meet what seems to be a very low standard.

Republicans, thrilled for a cheap shot, blamed the entire Democratic Party for this solo act of guerrilla theater.

Meanwhile, Twomey was restored to prominence, and remained on the front page of the newspaper two days later. The governor, happiest on the field of battle, any battle, pronounced himself “energized” by the encounter, and vowed to continue his statewide travels touting his income tax cut, and observed that any behavior, civil or uncivil, was fine “as long as they don’t bring guns.”
LePage blamed the incident on the Maine People’s Alliance, which he said had planted people in the audience. And it’s true that before “the incident” several people began shouting questions from the floor, attacking LePage’s plan to tax some nonprofit organizations. LePage engaged in a back-and-forth discussion with the questioners, and acknowledged that the plan to tax nonprofits would not pass the Legislature.

The governor is comfortable with the Twomey style of politics, which mirrors his own aggressive, name-calling style. He recently warned members of his own party that he would “rip them a new one” if they didn’t back his plan for reinforcements for Maine’s drug war. His strategy with the Legislature is to hold bills hostage if they don’t pass unrelated proposals (see Bonds, Land for Maine’s Future). As a result, Republican legislators walk a fine line these days.

His behavior can elicit equivalent reactions. And that’s unfortunate because there are some parts of the budget that merit support, and his town-hall meetings are a good-faith effort to present his proposal. Many of those on the opposing side are unwilling to give him any credit for positive aspects of the budget, like his plan to expand the sales tax. All of it deserves a reasonable discussion – absent the histrionics.

When the income tax was enacted in the early 1970s under Gov. Kenneth Curtis, it was a bipartisan group of legislators who passed it. They put the needs of the state above party politics. The hallmark of Maine politics has always been a reasonable civility; if that has vanished in this angry new world, too bad for us.

In my opinion, Marian McCue missed the lead in her opinion piece. In fact, Maine Governor LePage has sadly injected divisive partisan acrimony into Maine politics. This has created remorse with citizens like Twomey, who are mourning the state's loss of political collegiality.