What’s up with Sen. Susan Collins? She voted for the Dodd Frank bill to increase regulation and protect consumers from the abuses which occurred within the financial community.

Now, all of a sudden, she won’t vote for confirmation of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, not because he isn’t qualified, but because she feels there are ” structural changes” in the bill she voted for which she feels need to be corrected first.

So does that mean she didn’t read the bill she voted in favor of in the first place?

Or is she buckling under pressure from others like Richard Shelby who consistently sides with the Wall Street lobbies.

Her arguments about accountability seem particularly hollow to me since the bureau has a limited budget and the director must report to Congress twice a year.

So senator, which way is it? Are you now against something you were once in favor of ?

Ann Marie Briggs

Kennebunkport

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have clearly forgotten their oaths of office.

The proof is their vote to deny the appointment of Richard Cordray, a Republican, as head of the new Consumer Protection Agency.

Republicans used the filibuster to prevent a majority of senators from confirming Mr. Cordray.

Their objection was not to Mr. Cordray but to the idea of the agency he would head.

What they are doing is objecting to a law which was duly created according to the Constitution of the United States.

That is not how the system was designed to work. When a law is enacted it should be honored, and if the minority wants to change it they need to become the majority.

Sens. Snowe and Collins once objected to this anti-constitutional gamesmanship when they were part of a group of moderate senators called the “gang of 14.” It is sad to see them now joining the ranks of the extreme right.

They are no longer our moderate senators. They have used this filibuster tactic many times over the past two years.

This instance is for me the most egregious since the consumer protection agency would protect me from the excesses of the financial industry.

Tom Mikulka

Cape Elizabeth

Wind industry is listening and willing to hear all views

I have a long history in the energy industry, and have personal experience working on wind energy projects throughout Maine.

My company’s people have engineering skills that are in demand by an industry that is growing because the need for clean electricity is growing.

While many people and companies are desperate for enough work to stay afloat, we have hired additional people to stay ahead of our steady workflow.

It feels like a win-win-win to all of us because we are providing employment opportunities for Maine citizens while helping with clean sources of energy and improving the region’s energy security.

We also live in Maine and have been paying attention to the controversy surrounding so many of these projects.

There are some people opposed to wind power who are so angry and their arguments so far-fetched that we just shake our heads. For the loud angry opposition, we have found that information has been taken out of context or skewed in some way that makes the point or argument inaccurate.

The silent majority of those opposed to projects have valid concerns which cause us to look carefully at the details and modify projects to address these concerns.

The important thing is, we are listening and willing to consider that our viewpoint is not the only one.

Can wind opponents honestly say the same thing?

Doug Morrell

SGC Engineering, LLC,

part of Senergy Westbrook

As columnist suggested, religion is losing influence

M.D. Harmon is right. Religion has been losing its control over our lives for years.

They can no longer use the rack or thumb screws to weed out nonbelievers.

Burning an “A” on the forehead of an adulteress is no longer legal. And now there are those who want to decide for themselves who they marry and if they will have a child.

This country is going to hell in a hand basket and going soon!

R. E. Marsh

Sanford

Correction needed a correction of its own

Latin teacher Morton G. Soule makes an excellent point lamenting contemporary spelling blunders in his Dec. 16 letter to the editor.

However, he has blundered himself with regard to describing the War of 1812 decorative panel on Portland’s Eastern Promenade as commemorating “the battle between the Hood and the Enterprise.”

The HMS Hood, of course, was a British battle-cruiser in World War II sunk by the German battleship Bismarck.

It was the HMS Boxer that the USS Enterprise captured in that long ago hard-fought battle.

Charles Ipcar

Richmond

New Jetport a welcome addition for visitors

I have just returned from a wonderful visit with my parents in North Yarmouth.

We spent a few days walking by the sea and shopping in the exciting Old Port and it was hard to leave yesterday.

On the night before our departure, I kept waking up with images of the jetport security line in my head, picturing that cramped space at the top of those stairs.

When we entered the beautiful new atrium where they do security now I was stunned.

The entire facility looks great. With its high-tech 21st century vibe, natural lighting and cathedral ceilings of wood, it seems more like a salon than a jetport. Our plane even departed early!

We are looking forward to the next visit.

Edie Ambrose

New Orleans

 

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