To the Editor:

We love our country; it’s dear to us and should be—it was dearly purchased through revolution and maintained ever since by the sacrifice of patriots. But our government, conceived through the imagination and compromises of the leading politicians of their time, has changed.

Individuals and corporations have found ways to shape government to their benefit. This shouldn’t be a surprise; it’s a human characteristic. We see attempts to circumvent the rules even in our children.

My adult granddaughter interrupted her conversation to admonish my 12- and five-year-old great-grandchildren not to eat snacks while sitting on the couch. My great-granddaughter, already imaginative and showing early promise for a later career as a tax attorney, leaned far forward so that her snacking was actually taking place not on the couch, but over the living room floor.

Her younger brother, just another member of the chorus, immediately joined her in this uncomfortable position, whose concerted purpose was to circumvent their mother’s rule.

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To the Editor:

We have arrived once more to that time and place where we delude ourselves into believing we can cast our single vote and change government.

We try to select the best candidates, but in moments of honesty, we have to admit that we are truly uninformed voters. We don’t know the details of the issues; we don’t truly know the candidates.  And, although we may have seen them in the flesh, may have made eye contact as they, with what appeared to be sincerity, spoke the words we desperately wanted to hear, we don’t truly know them.

But we know from long experience that those that would seek public office have all been invested with the same magical phrases necessary for an incantation to gain the public trust. We hear this litany of phrases: reduce taxes, provide help for the needy, improve education, create jobs, help veterans. Like sheep following a Judas goat, we are comfortably—but wrongly—reassured.

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To the Editor:

This is an open letter to Mayor Macdonald.

Dear Mayor,

I write in response to your column last week, “Lewiston needs legislators who represent tax payers.” I cannot recall a single meeting where you asked us for a list of programs—or any other question, for that matter.

It was surprising to read that I had a “political” motivation in suggesting that we meet weekly. In that first meeting on August 15, the only time the word was uttered was when you said, “No more politics. I will focus my column on the work Chief Bussiere is doing to eliminate fraud downtown.”

We each have deeply held principles, which sometimes conflict. There is no reason that that should prevent us from working together. We serve the same citizens and taxpayers, and we do that more effectively when we work together.

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To the Editor:

Desperate to take back the Maine Legislature, the Democrats have decided the best argument is to make you believe the changes in Augusta this past year would hurt Maine’s poorest and only help the wealthy.

A parade of liberal-spending legislators has gone on radio, in multiple newspapers and the Internet to tell you Maine’s lowest-income earners pay more than 17% of their income in Maine taxes each year, while the wealthiest only pay 10%. Our citizens deserve to fully understand the argument, to have all the facts presented and to then decide for themselves who is telling the truth.

Rep. Seth Berry of Bowdoinham (with echoes from Craven, Rotundo, Bryant and others) seems to be the flag bearer for the argument. When I questioned the numbers, he arrogantly suggested I check with Dr. Michael Allen of the Maine Revenue Service. Unfortunately for him, I did so.

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To the Editor:

Over the last couple of years, I’ve canvassed the Lewiston-Auburn area several times to promote change. It’s really all I can do to help my community because I don’t have money. I’m a man of average means.

But as hard as it is to go door to door, it is rewarding. I’ve had a chance meet so many wonderful people from all walks of life.  And I’ve found that the vast majority of folks share the same concerns and values.  The citizens of the Twin Cities are sick and tired of the tax-and-spend, welfare mentality that has crippled us.

This year we have a great group of candidates running to change how Augusta operates. If elected, we the people will finally have legislators that will work to expand liberty and promote limited government.

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To the Editor:

What is wrong with the citizens of Lewiston for allowing a handful of individuals to attack the integrity of Mayor Bob Macdonald? Where is the democracy that is the foundation of our country?

What has happened so that people cannot express themselves without being afraid to be labeled?

Mr. Macdonald is working extremely hard to address issues such as welfare reform and economic development. He is definitely not a racist, though certain individuals would like him to be identified as such.

People need to stop putting so much energy into micromanaging and complaining about his every move. Instead, they should get to know him. They would realize that he has everyone’s best interest in mind. He is not a racist, but a politician who owes no favors and marches to his own agenda, as promised during his campaign.

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To the Editor:

After listening to, and reading about, Mayor Robert Macdonald’s recent comments regarding the culture of our Somali neighbors, I can’t help but ask, “Haven’t we made it past this yet?”

How many times does the L-A community have to repeat past mistakes? How many times do we need to go through the exercise of having a new group of people move here, be at first scared of them and aggressive toward them, and then realize the value they can give us and finally accept them?

Years ago, French Canadian migrant workers settled in Lewiston. Many native-born Mainers discriminated against the French Canadians. One basis of the discrimination was their language. In 1891, an amendment to Maine’s Constitution was passed that restricted Maine voters from voting in Maine State elections unless you  “were able to read the Constitution in the English language.”

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To the Editor:

I am sick and tired of the attacks on Lewiston Mayor Bob Macdonald, and I had to stand up and say something about it.

When I met Mayor Macdonald, he was a class act. He really did judge me by “the content of my character and not the color of my skin.” Bob was pleasant and respectful, and I have no doubt about his sincerity and commitment to the people of Lewiston.

This outrageous attack on Mayor Macdonald for being a racist is out of line. Mayor Macdonald wants to cut back on extreme welfare spending. Welfare is not a black-versus-white issue.

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To the Editor:

We know the welfare system is faulted, and we each have our own reasons or experiences for knowing it.  Mine began 50 years ago.  I was working weekends digging bloodworms.

A digger I occasionally saw on the mud flats told several of us an unusual story. He and his wife had amicably divorced and his only further obligation to her was the child support he paid for his two children.  He told us about a string of strange coincidences.

The woman he was seeing (living with) was also divorced, she also had two small children and by the strangest coincidence of all, her former husband was the new man in his ex-wife’s life. Both women were receiving Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC).

The two divorces changed the lives of the two families in the following ways: The women had unintentionally swapped mates; the two men, also unintentionally, had swapped families; they were all pleased with the new arrangements; and the standard of living for both families had increased by the exact amount of the AFDC checks. The two men, amicable toward each other, met periodically over coffee to pass each other child-support receipts, but no money.

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To the Editor:

When gasoline went to $2.25, I can remember exactly where I was: coaching my son’s football team. I remember because my fellow coaches and the parents of other players were extremely concerned about the outrageous run-up in prices.

Now, most people don’t have that seared-in-my-mind moment for something as mundane as a high gasoline price. But, since I’m the face of the retail gasoline marketers, it was a big deal at the time. I was further deluged with media calls and requests for interviews and, ultimately, the TV crews came directly to my house.

As long as they did not show the front of the house, I was fine with that. I expected the questions; the high prices were deserving of an answer. There were good reasons for the run-up, and the people should know why. So I was happy to tell them—as long as they did not know where I lived.

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