Governor’s hit list: 

As a grandparent of three young children living in Maine, I am appalled that the Kid-Safe Products Act is on Gov. Paul LePage’s hit list.

Why would he want to eliminate a law that uses sound science to identify the most dangerous chemicals used in children’s products; collects and shares information with families and businesses; and replaces the most toxic chemicals with safer alternatives when feasible?

He realized that including the Kid-Safe Products Act as one of the rollbacks in L.D. 1 wasn’t the smartest move, so he’s deleted it from that package.

But make no mistake. His staff has stated that the Kid-Safe Products Act will be back on the chopping block in future legislation coming from the governor’s office or in bills that will be presented by individual members of the Legislature.

This strategy might work. I hope everyone will stay focused on what’s happening in Augusta and will contact their state representatives with their concerns over this potential and egregious threat to the health of Maine’s children.

Eleanor Steele

Falmouth

Dismissed state worker:

I read with special interest Susan M. Cover’s piece (Feb. 21), “State worker puts human face on cuts,” which dealt with the pending cut of child abuse investigators. How can our governor justify such a drastic elimination in this unit? Her (Lisa Fitzgerald’s) job is to investigate child abuse that occurs in a child’s home and as such, as you state, her job is funded by tobacco settlement money.

The five persons in Fitzgerald’s unit “investigate possible sexual abuse in foster homes. They investigate when there’s a child death in a foster home. They look into medical neglect if a teacher or someone else expresses a concern. On occasion, they go to hospitals or nursing homes if a child happens to be placed there.”

Ms. Fitzgerald earns in the neighborhood of $38,000 per year. It is interesting to note that Lauren LePage, daughter of Gov. Paul LePage, was hired right out of college by the state at $41,000 a year, plus the taxpayer-paid room and board she’ll receive living in the Blaine House.

Which position would you prefer your state tax dollars to fund?

Guy Bourrie

Washington

The difficult issue of painfully and (hopefully) wisely addressing the state financial crisis was well illustrated in the article about the loss of Lisa Fitzgerald’s job.

This, I believe most would agree, is work and advocacy that is necessary and critical. I do not pretend to have the answers, but I couldn’t help but notice that the soon-to-be-eliminated salary of this very seasoned, licensed, 20-year veteran of her vocation was less than the $41,000 salary the governor awarded in his “kitchen spoils” appointment of his daughter to his staff.

Bill Nevins

Falmouth

I was disheartened and just a little bit angry to read about the shift of money from the Fund for a Healthy Maine that will result in the loss of jobs for those who investigate abuse and neglect in foster homes, group homes and day care centers.

I have been a middle school guidance counselor in Maine for 31 years — five in Aroostook County and 26 in southern Maine. I have seen what happens when abuse and neglect occur.

I have also met many dedicated and overworked caseworkers who have to go into heartbreaking situations and pull together whatever available resources they can find to protect children and find help for parents.

DHHS involvement is not just about removing children from dangerous situations, it is also about preventing abuse from occurring.

If Gov. Paul LePage is so concerned about saving money, perhaps he could eliminate his nepotism-fueled job for his daughter, who is making $41,000 a year as an assistant to his assistant.

Now, what exactly was her prior experience in governmental administrative positions? It seems a no-brainer — a $38,000 employee who investigates situations of child abuse or a $41,000 employee who does what, exactly?

Carol Forbess

Springvale

Requiring voter ID: 

In response to the Press Herald’s opinion, that just because there has been little recorded difficulty with voter identification to this point, so why require voter ID going forward, I’d like to offer a contrary view.

Because the potential voter demographics are changing in Maine, especially in southern Maine and Portland, in particular, one can assume that we’ll be faced with potential legislation and candidate choices that could have far-reaching consequences for decades to come.

Some of those choices could be for expansion of entitlement programs, which would affect taxpayers.

That said, it has become increasingly apparent that Portland, in particular, has become a destination for low-income individuals and families.

For years, welfare directors in other Maine cities and towns would routinely relocate individuals and families to the Portland area, with directions to City Hall and other local and state agencies, from the local bus terminals. Some of my former clients were those people.

Now, these folks come to Portland from all over New England and beyond. Recently, Portland considered a ballot initiative which would have allowed non-citizens the right to vote in local elections. Portland citizens were correct in sending this lame idea to defeat. So, why wouldn’t it be justified to require proper ID in order to vote?

I’m sure any thoughtful legislation can be crafted to reflect those legal citizens who may not have drivers licenses and other similar forms of photo ID.

In the future, the potential for voter fraud will be too great to minimize this issue.

Dennis Gervais

Portland

On Wisconsin’s turmoil: 

When I think about the attempt to foment a communist insurrection in Wisconsin, I ask myself, “What would Ronald Reagan do?”

Then I remember. He stood by the law, and fired any air traffic controller who did not obey the law. He broke the PATCO organization, because it was a threat to national security as it challenged our constitutional system.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker should do the same. We are not Greece! The American people can distinguish between a union that acts in good faith and a union that treats the wider society as a parasite treats a host.

I am a proud, unionized, public school teacher. I will remain so, as long as Maine’s teachers’ union remembers that we are all Mainers, teachers and taxpayers alike, struggling to endure through this economic downturn. We need to be honest and fair with one another.

To me, this means partnering with governors like Walker and Chris Christie of New Jersey. Maine shares a budgetary crisis that must be faced, without flinching from unpleasant realities. If we fail to act now, with steely resolve, then our cowardice and selfishness will damn future Mainers to needless suffering.

I hope that Gov. Paul LePage, and fair-minded Mainers of all professions, will put our own full-belly interests aside for the sake of the common good.

Most of all, I hope that enemies of freedom will not be allowed to co-opt our public sector unions and use them as pawns in a broader attack on the American way of life. That is now happening in Wisconsin. I hope we all prevent it from happening here.

Ralph K. Ginorio

Limington

I have often wondered whatever happened to Beavis and Butthead. After reading your papers of Feb. 21 and 22, I discovered that all 186 of them were elected to the Maine Legislature.

I am so glad that they are hard at work either deciding to boost the sales of whoopie pies, supporting state workers in Wisconsin or putting another barrier on those of us who love to vote for our country. It makes me wonder what is next, a state shutdown like the morons in Washington are about to do with the federal government?

Here’s a few suggestions just in case anyone in the State House can read. First read what’s in a whoopie pie. I certainly won’t tell them it’s a heart attack about to happen. Maybe we should start a citizens’ petition drive that will require each member of the Legislature to eat two every day.

As for the piece of legislation requiring drivers to clear snow from their car windows or face a fine, do us all a favor and require a death penalty for those idiots instead of them killing us, but don’t waste 20 years of taxpayers’ money in order to carry out the sentence.

As far as state Rep. Diane Russell and her trip to Wisconsin to support state workers out there, I would have pleaded with her to make it a one-way trip.

She was elected to represent Maine citizens, not workers from Wisconsin. She stated in an interview with Sean Hannity she doesn’t have any plans when she gets to Wisconsin. Here’s one I like. How about becoming a resident out there?

Gov. Paul LePage made a statement about someone kissing his butt. It’s about time he starts kicking some butts in Augusta. Excuse me, I mean buttheads.

Lane Hiltunen

Windham

I was happy to see that Rep. Diane Russell made the long trip to Wisconsin to add support to the people who are fighting to maintain collective bargaining.

Being from the Great Lakes area, I understand the importance of unions and collective bargaining. If you have not experienced it, please don’t judge the importance of their fight to keep it. The generations before us went through a lot of sorrow to get and keep what they have now. Growing up in a union family gave me the understanding of what it was all about.

I have a grandson who just returned to the States. He is a Marine who fought on the front lines in Afganistan. I was a social worker who helped fight for a union, since my pay was so low I collected food stamps. Freedom is not free. You just have to stand up for your rights and the rights of others.

Margo Lodge-Seven Oakes

Peaks Island

Where do the union-led leftists think all the rioting throughout this country will lead them? Why do they want to destroy the greatest country in the world? Why has President Obama thrown his support behind the unions in Wisconsin? Isn’t he “the president of all the people”?

Let no one be confused, the stakes in Wisconsin are high and could turn into the crucial battleground between progressivism and what this country was founded on — individual rights and liberties for all. Issues as important as public sector compensation, bulging state deficits, union power, federalism, education, federal entitlements are being fought over.

Obama has federalized the issue, throwing the full weight of the White House, the Democratic National Committee, and his own Organizing for America operation behind government unions, with the assistance of the SEIU and AFSCME unions.

Like all government unions, Madison Teachers, Inc., does not care about teaching the children. Former American Federation of Teachers’ President Al Shanker put it bluntly: “When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”

Is this what America has sunk to? Why shouldn’t our elected officials be able to try to save our states and cities? The fight in Wisconsin, and across the country, is really about money to save America, not money for government employees or money for government unions.

The government unions themselves are admitting this every day the fight drags on. The average teacher salary in Wisconsin is $89,500 with benefits, while the average taxpayer’s salary with benefits is $55,500 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Will this happen here in Maine when the battle begins on retirement cuts? Even Washington has noted that current spending levels are “unsustainable.” This is about common sense and the survival of our great country.

Sally Vose

Bath

 

Copy the Story Link