Today, while I am truly afraid for my country, I am also amazed at the utter stupidity of the American people who would re-elect Barack Obama.

They have re-elected a man who would stand by and let his own ambassador, along with other Americans, be slaughtered by terrorists and a man who has racked up more debt in four years than any other in history. They have re-elected a man who kowtows to foreign leaders and a man whose administration has virtually abandoned the stranded victims of New York and New Jersey.

The entire list of incompetence, deceit and mismanagement has been ignored by a complicit, completely biased media machine bent on pushing the liberal agenda of their anointed leader. Pathetic.

The next four years will be the most horrific disaster in our country’s history. In 2014, when the force-fed Obamacare kicks in, we will see the largest across-the-board tax increases known to man. Small businesses will continue to fail.

It is time to perform a bit of personal economic stimulus and stock up on emergency supplies, food, guns and ammunition because the economic collapse of America is coming. Hunker down and ride out the storm. I hope America survives. I will. Molon Labe.

Michael Frelk

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Bath

Candidate endorsement violated agency’s policy

I am writing to repudiate any connection between the Southern Maine Agency on Aging and a letter to the editor published in the Portland Press Herald on Oct. 13 that was written by Eileen Whynot endorsing a candidate for elected office in Gorham (“More letters to the editor: Readers speak up for, against legislative candidates”).

While Ms. Whynot was a staff member of our agency, the contents of her letter represent her personal views. Her letter was written without the knowledge of her superiors and is a violation of long-established agency policy prohibiting the use of the agency’s name in any partisan campaign.

The Southern Maine Agency on Aging has not, does not and never will endorse any candidate for public office. Doing so would be a violation of our nonprofit charter. We highly value our reputation as an objective and nonpartisan advocate for older adults and wish to make that point clear to your readers.

Laurence W. Gross

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executive director, Southern Maine Agency on Aging

Scarborough

Draw on nation’s resources to address nation’s needs

As a Sister of Mercy, I help provide care to all who need it, regardless of ability to pay. This should be the credo, not only of religious and charitable organizations, but of the most basic public programs established by government.

And yet, under the state of Maine’s recent “austerity” budgets, many needy are being turned away: from Medicaid, educational services, and a range of programs intended to protect our neighbors from poverty, sickness and want. And now, in its efforts to reduce debt, the federal government is contemplating similarly harsh budget choices.

Program budgets should only be cut when there’s inadequate revenue to fund them. But the revenue shortfalls we’re facing at the state, and now federal levels, are at least partially a matter of choice.

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Within Maine and – to a much greater degree, the United States – are extraordinarily wealthy individuals and extremely profitable corporations. The proportion of the tax load paid by these fortunate parties has declined over the decades, even as their wealth and income have grown.

Mainers and Americans tend not to begrudge the success of others, but they do expect everyone to do a fair share for the community. Our federal income tax system must better reflect both our nation’s needs and its resources.

A simple way to start that reform is to let tax cuts expire at the end of this year for the top 2 percent of American households – those making more than a quarter million dollars a year. (Middle-income cuts should be extended.) This would raise hundreds of billions of dollars to reduce debt and shore up human needs programs.

Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe should support this move toward more equitable taxation. We should all support a more humane society that provides for those in need.

Patricia Pora

Portland

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More landing restrictions will not revive cod fishery 

More absurd than a 10-year timeline for rebuilding fish stocks is the misapprehension that further cutbacks in landings will have any impact on the pace of cod’s recovery (“Critics: Scale back fisheries rules,” Oct. 8).

The fact is, if fishing as we know it in 2012 had much to do with the size of the cod biomass, the ocean would be close to full of them. Today’s groundfish fleet is piddling by historic standards, and its nets vent harmlessly much if not most of the cod they pass through.

Advocates for continued reductions in fishing pressure do cod a disservice.

To the extent that cod is rebuilding more slowly than we believe it should, we need to determine what is going on in the ecosystem that is causing this to be the case.

Our focus on groundfishing is taking our eyes off the ball.

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Jerry Fraser

Wells  

Kids can be role models for standing up to bullies

Bullying is wrong and mean, and it keeps getting worse and worse. The reason is kids have gotten headstrong. This means they believe they can get away with everything. What they need is to learn to respect different people.

I’ve met someone that stutters when she talks. She gets bullied, and I’m her only friend. This upsets me. Just because a person is different doesn’t mean they should be treated badly.

Kids that bully think they’re cool, but they’re not!

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Hundreds of kids get picked on every day. Ask yourself this: Is your friend next?

Stand up, stand out, don’t be afraid! Think positive and start standing up against bullying. It needs to end!

Cati Gaffen, age 10

Casco

 


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