Regarding the June 8 article, “Season’s big issue coloring cup final,” about the season-ending hit on the Boston Bruins’ Nathan Horton: Yes, I agree, as stated in the article, “The NHL is a volatile cocktail of big men with sticks skating swiftly over a confined ice surface.”
However, the media and hockey fans are part of that “volatile cocktail” because game highlights more often than not glamorize bone-crushing hits and fans cheer with delight when an opponent is taken out.
Additional Photos
Precision passes, excellent defensive moves and terrific saves by goalies are rarely included in highlights. That’s what hockey should be about!
Judy Watson Ingram
Parsonsfield
Republicans receive both cheers and jeers
Augh! This is so hard to write, you have no idea. I can’t stand it. I agree with Gov. LePage.
As described in “LePage: Gambling proposals must be approved by voters” (June 8), our governor will likely veto two gambling bills currently before lawmakers, creating yet another statewide citizens’ vote in November.
As this issue affects every one of us, I agree absolutely with Gov. LePage. The voters must have their say. Again. By my count, Maine could more than double the number of racinos/casinos in the state by adding sites in Calais and Biddeford and then Lewiston.
Legislative approval would allow Maine’s doors to open to employ out-of-state gaming executives and their salivating cronies, create a social service nightmare, and destroy finite natural resources. Who would want legislators to decide this?
Go, Gov. LePage! I’m with ya. Ouch.
Susan A. Bloomfield
West Kennebunk
Watching live streaming of floor discussion on Republican proposals to repress voting rights in my Maine Legislature this past week, I am still incredulous at the outcome. The bills were, respectively, for eliminating the ability to register and vote on the same day — 18,000 did so in 2010, about 50,000 in 2008; and to require photo ID for all voters.
How many seniors or disabled may have given up drivers’ licenses and would be unable to vote easily? For the hours the discussion droned on, I counted, maybe, two very lame arguments on behalf of trashing long-term, existing voter rights.
Almost all speakers spoke against these bills. Ample testimony was given that the majority of Maine town clerks, despite the extra work this might be for them, were pretty much in favor of keeping such reasonable civil liberties.
Everyone, it seems, except all the Republicans who, despite having absolutely no acceptable arguments on their behalf to dismantle the 38-year old tradition, voted as Gov. LePage’s blind block to simply do away with our long-standing voter rights.
How many bullies does it take to keep eroding democracy in Maine? This week it took only the 74 House puppets controlled by the head bully.
Carol Selsberg
Eliot
The Republican Party seems to be devolving into a morass of silliness, prejudice and hate at all levels. On the national level the declared and undeclared candidates for president are playing the zero sum game of “I’m worse than you are.”
Even Mitt Romney is trying to deny his accomplishments as governor, which gave Massachusetts a health care bill. Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin are revising American history by blithely creating their own versions of the American Revolution.
Their leadership in the so-called “tea party” has nothing to do with the real historic Tea Party. Rick Santorum doesn’t know an American hero, such as John McCain, when he sees him. How sad they all are.
On the state level Gov. LePage is crude and ham-fisted. The Republicans who were swept into the Legislature on a reaction to the Democrats are wasting the opportunity to do good by legislation such as L.D. 1046, which tried to take hard-won rights away from gay and transgendered people.
They passed an insurance reform bill then repudiated it when Gov. LePage and the insurance lobby objected. The budget before them now will hurt the most vulnerable people of Maine, and take decades to correct. L.D. 199 will impose a draconian solution on a non-existent problem. There are no bus loads of Canadians registering to vote illegally.
At age 70, I will refuse to “show my papers” at the polls. I will continue to work for justice and fairness for poor and vulnerable people. My biblical heritage gives me that imperative.
The 2012 and 2014 elections may be a rude awakening for the Republicans everywhere, as they find that they misread what the voters were saying in 2010.
Rev. Carleton Gunn
Sanford
I’m appalled at the treatment of Darryl Brown by Maine’s Senate Democrats. Brown is the most qualified person, by virtue of education, intelligence, experience and character, to hold the post of commissioner of environmental protection.
Seizing on an obscure law, Senate Democrats charged “conflict of interest” even though Brown had arranged to place the management of his firm in the hands of an independent board of directors, and to recuse himself from any involvement in matters concerning his company, or its clients, that might come before the DEP.
DEP’s federal counterpart, EPA, had no problem with the procedures Brown had set up to avoid conflict, But Democrat leadership demanded an attorney general’s opinion, and environmental extremists sued putting several economic projects at risk even if the suit had no merit.
Gov. LePage approached GOP leadership about changing the law. They, in a moment of political cowardice, and in that same “moderate” spirit in which they killed their own “right to work” bill, refused.
Gov. LePage, believing “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” wrote a letter telling Baldacci appointees to submit disclosure forms showing they didn’t have the same “conflict” as Brown.
Suddenly, appointees were huddling with Democrat leaders about changing the law. GOP leaders who said “no” to Gov. LePage are “courageously” saying “yes” to Senate Democrats. Enough of this nonsense! Enough of headlines that say “unqualified” instead of “ineligible.”
Are we only to have political hacks who’ve accomplished nothing real in life as appointees?
That has been Brown’s lifelong vocation, that is, designing and engineering the systems that allow mankind to co-exist successfully with his environment.
Porter D. Leighton
Falmouth
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.