If Jim Fossel can rant, why not me? His June 30 column in the Maine Sunday Telegram was heavy on conservative buzzwords and cliches, such as “big-government tax and spenders,” and “nanny state” to describe Democrats, and “individual liberty and personal responsibility” to describe conservative values. Predictable, but I don’t buy his supporting arguments.

If personal responsibility worked in this case, why are plastic bags, Styrofoam containers, and even balloons polluting our environment with no hope or improvement? This is an infringement of my right to live in a healthy natural world. Not to mention that those convenient one use bags cost money, too, a lot more than reusable bags. It is frustratingly disingenuous.

Using “nanny state” to describe the banning of vaping in schools implies we have no need or responsibility to regulate dangerous practices that harm children. His suggestion that school districts and parents should control this also admits their freedom to not regulate, and let harm be done from what? Lack of attention, time, caring?

He concludes with his criticism of the balanced budget, citing that it could become unbalanced in a downturn. Good point, but not a justification for the state to not address the plethora of deficiencies and problems presented by Paul LePage’s legacy. Jim Fossel should try to present constructive and thoughtful arguments if he is interested in improving our government, not simply to use buzz words to elicit a response which is unsupported by reality.