This week’s edition!
Columns
Enough is Enough: Vietnam veterans have not forgotten John Kerry
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
“I would like to talk on behalf of all those veterans and say that several months ago in Detroit we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged, and many very highly decorated, veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia.” Thus John Kerry began his testimony before the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations on April 23, 1971.
Kerry had returned home from Vietnam a highly decorated officer (as opposed to enlisted men, who serve on the same battlefields but arrive home with far fewer decorations). His goal was to get into politics by running for office and following the footsteps of his hero, John F. Kennedy.
But in 1971 the “fruit salad” (rows of colorful military ribbons and medals) adorning one’s uniform had now became a liability. Unlike during World War II and Korea, where this type of display identified a person as a warrior and patriot, these decorations now identified one as a war criminal, baby killer and psychopath. These accusations were leveled at law-abiding, selfless, patriotic young men (and women) by those trying to defend their lack of intestinal fortitude.
Enough is Enough: Emotions run high over redistricting Lewiston schools
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
Well, I made the news again! Not just locally, but around New England, too.
Last Wednesday evening, I went to a meeting at the Geiger School hosted by school Superintendent Bill Webster to discuss and explain the upcoming Lewiston redistricting. I was drawn to the meeting after hearing in various coffee shops over the week that the parents of the Geiger School students were very upset about the redistricting.
For over two hours I listened to parents, their emotions running high, expressing their concerns about the upcoming redistricting. Their remarks and criticism towards the program were straightforward; politically correct be damned.
When speakers expressed a position criticizing the program, many parents would show their support by banging on the tables. They were going to fight for their schools and neighborhoods. They were my kind of people.
23 states opt out of Obamacare’s insurance exchanges
By Sally C. Pipes
Pacific Research Institute
The next act in the Obamacare saga is about to begin—and it’s going to be tragic. Friday, December 14 marks the deadline for states to reveal their plans for constructing insurance exchanges in line with the healthcare law’s dictates.
Many (including Maine) are opting out—leaving the federal government to set up exchanges for them. Others simply aren’t ready to establish their own.
And so these central components of Obamacare will soon stand as the latest examples of the president’s failure to make health insurance more accessible or affordable.
Obamacare’s insurance exchanges were intended to be state-based marketplaces where individuals and small businesses could choose from an array of coverage options. In theory, this structure would encourage states to experiment and to tailor their offerings to the unique needs of their populations.
But in reality, the exchanges are burdened with so many rules that experimentation and competition have been stifled. Given the cost of setting up an exchange—and of complying with all the federal regulations—it’s no surprise that many states are refusing to participate.
Enough is Enough: Hospitals must be reimbursed; Democrats hire tracker
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
In this Christmas and Hanukkah Season, a time when we celebrate the miracles of two great religions, we are sadly confronted by the fact that one of Lewiston’s largest employers, St. Mary’s Regional Hospital, is being forced to lay off 25 of our friends, neighbors and family members.
What once was a bright outlook for the holiday season and the future has turned to darkness and anxiety for these neighbors and their families.
The administration at St. Mary’s—and other hospitals throughout the state—have performed fiscal miracles to keep their staffs employed. But St. Mary’s, like every other hospital in Maine, has been forced to carry a debt, in this case $23 million. This debt was accrued because of the deadbeat policies of past State of Maine legislators when dealing with our hospitals.
In their race to promote themselves in Maine as benevolent benefactors, they made it easier to qualify for our state’s welfare programs, creating a promise land for the idle and a Dante’s Inferno for those expected to pay the bills.
Enough is Enough: DHHS shortfall, constitutional officers and holiday greetings
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
What a state we live in!
Take the Department of Health and Human Services—please! A glitch in the department’s computer resulted in paying several million dollars to individuals who had no claim to the money.
Now, because it was a State of Maine error, those individuals who were mistakenly given the money are being allowed to keep it. They’ll probably have a very Merry Christmas.
Now let’s look at the policies of our financial institutions. If they made a similar error, the recipient would be asked (actually, told) to rectify the mistake and return the money. Failing to do so would guarantee an expensive trip to either criminal or civil court. Contrary to the State of Maine’s policies, you would be required to return the money.
Enough is Enough: Federal funds should be used to tear down vacant buildings
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
They arrived wearing tailored suits and well-coiffed hair, carrying expensive designer briefcases. To us simple folks in the room, they presented an air of stature, an air of importance. An air of superiority—airs found solely in representatives of the United States Government.
Present in the room were the mayors of Lewiston-Auburn and the economic development staffs of both cities.
Each representative from the federal government introduced himself or herself, informing those present of their individual expertise. Each explained how the magical mystical drug they had brought, known as taxpayers’ money, could be used to elevate our cities into a modern low- to no-income metropolis even more desirable for those wishing to live as recipients of Maine’s generous entitlement programs.
Mayor LaBonté and I thanked them for their concerns, but opted out of any federal funds designed to build additional low- to moderate-income housing. They were thanked for their concerns. It was pointed out that although this perennial gift of money was well intended, it has destroyed the character of our once-thriving working-class neighborhoods, turning them into a warren of abandoned buildings, drugs and filth, creating pockets of crime-ridden areas throughout our cities.
Collins: Congress and President must work to avert the Fiscal Cliff
By U.S. Senator Susan Collins
(R-Maine)
Now that the elections are behind us, it is time for the campaigning to stop and the governing to begin. One of the most pressing issues that Congress and the President must address immediately is the approaching “fiscal cliff,” the combination of deep, indiscriminate spending cuts and huge tax increases set to take effect in January.
Time is running short. That is why I am deeply disappointed that the Majority Leader has decided to recess for the entire week at Thanksgiving. Americans want us to be working to find a responsible way to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
Our national debt now tops $16 trillion dollars, and it threatens our future prosperity. With each American’s share of the debt totaling more than $50,000, it is imperative that we act soon to get our nation’s fiscal house in order and avoid the economic calamity that is spreading through Europe.
Enough is Enough: Putting differences aside to make L-A a leader in Maine
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
I ran for mayor focused on welfare reform. Being retired and not being—nor will I ever be—politically correct, I was aggravated at our local tax rate. But having a governor who was not afraid to speak his mind and what I thought (obviously in error) was a Republican Legislature of the same ilk, I felt pretty confident change was around the corner.
It was not what I had imagined: the Democrats regaining both the House and the Senate in Augusta. I felt as though I had run into a brick wall. Instead of giving up, I took two steps back and saw the possibility of Lewiston-Auburn going from the state’s redheaded stepchild to a power to be reckoned with—a leader, not a follower.
Issues upcoming in the next few months will focus on paying our hospitals the millions they are owed, welfare reform, schools and public transportation between Lewiston and other parts of our state.
Enough is Enough: Republicans, Tea Party defeated themselves on November 6
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
The election is over. Candidates in my party, the Republican Party, got their rear ends kicked so bad that they won’t be able to sit down until after the New Year.
But the Democrats did not beat us—the Republicans beat themselves.
Senator Olympia Snowe let our country, our state and those that believed in her down. I disagreed with her more than 50 percent of the time, but admired her for being a calming voice of reason. I believe that her decisions were carefully formulated after she examined all the facts. She appears to have done what was right, not what would get her reelected.
In her last months, she revealed a major flaw: she lost the will to fight. When the times get tough, the tough get going. They don’t throw up their hands and give up. We crave elected officials who, when they run into a brick wall, don’t throw up their hands in frustration. Instead, they take two steps back and figure out a way over it.
Enough is Enough: Reflect upon the sacrifices made by all who have worn an American uniform
By Robert E. Macdonald
Mayor of Lewiston
“In Flander’s Field the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row”—thus wrote Lt. Col. John McCrea shortly after performing the burial service of a friend.
Alexis Helmer had been killed on May 2, 1915 during the second battle of Ypres, located in the Flander’s Region of Belgium. During the service, Lt. Col. McCrea noted how quickly poppies had grown around the graves of those who had recently died.
His grief, expressed through his poem, went on to become the most popular poem of the era.
Following the end of World War I, a professor from the University of Georgia, Moina Michael, affectionately known as the “Poppy Lady,” vowed to always wear a red poppy, symbolizing remembrance of those who had died in the First World War.
