In response to the June 7 column by Sheldon Wheeler, director of the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services:
I would like to point out a couple of issues with his alternate reality.
He opens his argument by using the same tired attacks on “the left-leaning media” and wasteful government spending.
This is the first line of defense this administration trots out every time they get called on the carpet for some mistake: that is, to first blame the media and wasteful liberals. That, folks, is straight out of the Gov. LePage playbook, and it’s not working anymore (see “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”).
He then proceeds to justify the malfeasance and foot dragging of his department by claiming that, if they don’t “measure twice” before constructing the right program, the whole thing will fail. This is pure nonsense, and everything that follows in his piece is misdirection, smoke and mirrors.
The addiction crisis is a five-alarm fire and, under Mr. Wheeler’s plan, the fire department is going to construct a strong framework while the house burns down. Let’s not worry about it, though. Look at the wonderful job they’ve done with the Riverview Psychiatric Center as a result of the DHHS’ strong framework and planning.
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