Historical Legend in Lisbon Falls, is remembered

Submitted By : Pappy 

May 13, 2011 12:00 am

LEWISTON — Wilford "Bill" E. Barr, 84, of High Street, Lisbon Falls, died Tuesday, May 10, at Central Maine Medical Center.

He was born in Breedsville, Mich., Feb. 14, 1927, a son of the late Frank and Huldah (Wilber) Barr. He was educated in Indiana and graduated from LaGrange High School. Bill proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy from March 1945 until October 1946. He then went on to graduate from Purdue University, with a bachelor's degree in pharmaceutical in 1950.

He married the love of his life, Carolyn Rogers on Feb. 1, 1948. She predeceased him in March 2000. He owned and operated Robert's Pharmacy on Main Street in Lisbon Falls from 1977 to 1992. Bill was a member of the American Legion Post 66, serving as post adjutant from 1998 to present and post commander 1991 to 1992.

He served on a number of national committees including Distinguished Guests Committee, Children and Youth Regional Committee, serving as chairman and vice chairman and the National Americanism Council from 1986 to 1989, 2001 to 2007 and 2008 to present. For the Department (State) level of the American Legion he served as department chaplain 1986 to 1992, children and youth chairman 1988 to 1992, department Americanism chairman 1993 to 1994, constitution and bylaws chairman 1995 to 1996, department judge advocate 1995 to 1996, department oratorical committee chairman 2004 to present. He was also District 3, Androscoggin County adjutant 2005 to present and Androscoggin County commander 2004 to 2006.

Bill became a master Mason in 1958 at St. Joseph Lodge No. 45 in South Bend, Ind. In 1966, he affiliated with Council Oaks Lodge No. 745 in South Bend. After moving to Maine in 1971, he affiliated with Ancient York Lodge No. 155 in 1972, later serving as master in 1976, 1985 and 2004. He served as secretary in 1978 and marshal from 2005 to present. His many lodge activities included the Grand Lodge CHIP's Program serving as chairman from 2005 to 2009. He was presented with a 25-year membership pin in April 1983 and a 40-year membership pin in April 1998. The Grand Lodge of Maine presented him with an Honorary Fifty Year Veteran Medal in 2008. He and his wife, Carolyn joined the Pioneer Chapter, OES in 1972. In 1976, he served as associate patron and in 1977 as worthy patron. The chapter presented him with a 25-year membership pin in 1997 and a life membership in 2007.

He was in the Scottish and York Rights, the Kora Shriners, charter member of the Lisbon Historical Society, where he was president for 10 years and Maine Society Sons of the American Revolution. He was also on the Town of Lisbon Advisory Board, member of the Lisbon Board of Selectman, serving as chairman for one year. He was an avid genealogist, researching both his family and his wife's family history, along with the history of Lisbon and the surrounding area. He researched and published "Lisbon at its Birth, June 1799." He was a contributor to several genealogical publications. He worked on the Moxie Days committee from the beginning, was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and was the Business Man of the Year in 1984. He was also an avid Celtics fan — even through the rough years.

He leaves two daughters, Sheryl Berkley and her husband, Clay, of Indiana, and Mary Heald and her longtime companion, Dan Pinette, of Litchfield; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his four brothers, Ralph, Harold, Devon and Duane.
Family and friends are invited to offer condolences and share fond memories of Bill by visiting his guest book at www.crosmanfuneralhome.com

May 13, 2011 12:00 am

BARR — Wilford E., 84, of High Street, Lisbon Falls, died Tuesday, May 10. Visitation at the funeral home on Sunday, May 15, from 4 to 7 p.m. Funeral will be on Monday May 16, at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Committal will be held at a later date at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta. Donations may be made to American Legion Charities or the Lisbon Historical Society in lieu of flowers. A service of Crosman Funeral Home, Cremation & Monument Services, 40 Main St., Lisbon Falls, 353-4951.

Value what you have "Song of the Birds"

This is very moving video. So sit back and enjoy the pictures, music, and read the captions of each slide.

The Song of the Birds - Watch more amazing videos here

The Song of the Birds - The best bloopers are a click away

A time for Compassion for everyone

Am I a Fireman yet? This is BEAUTIFUL
Please read and share - what a beautiful story of a true gift and
compassion. . .



If you "tear
up" go ahead, who's watching?




In Calgary,
Alberta a 26-year-old mother stared down
at her 6 year old son, who was dying of
terminal leukemia.

Although her heart was filled with
sadness, she also had a strong feeling of
determination. Like any parent, she
wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all
his dreams. Now that was no longer
possible. The leukemia would see to that.
But she still wanted her son's dream to
come true.

She took her son's hand and asked,
'Billy, did you ever think about what you
wanted to be once you grew up? Did you
ever dream and wish what you would do with
your life?'

‘Mommy, I always wanted to be a
fireman.'

Mom smiled and said, 'Let's see if we can
make your wish come true.'

Later that day she went to her local fire
department in Calgary where
she met Fireman Bob who had a heart as big as Alberta.
She explained her son's final wish and
asked if it might be possible to give her
6 year-old son a ride around the block on
a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, 'Look, we can do better
than that. If you'll have your son ready
at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll
make him an honorary Fireman for the whole
day. He can come down to the fire
station, eat with us, go out on all the
fire calls, the whole nine yards!

And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll
get a real fire uniform for him, with a
real fire hat; one-with the emblem of the
Calgary Fire Department on it, and a
yellow slicker like we wear and rubber
boots.'
'They're all manufactured right here in
Calgary, so we can get them fast.'



Three days later Fireman Bob picked up
Billy, dressed him in his uniform and
escorted him from his hospital bed to the
waiting hook and ladder truck.

Billy got to sit on the back of the truck
and help steer it back to the fire
station. He was in heaven. There were
three fire calls in Calgary that day and
Billy got to go out on all three calls.

He rode in the different fire engines,
the Paramedics' van,
and even the Fire Chief's car.

He was also videotaped for the local news
program.

Having his dream come true, with all
the love and attention that was lavished upon
him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived
three months longer than any doctor
thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to
drop dramatically and the head nurse, who
believed in the hospice concept - that no
one should die alone, began to call the
family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had
spent
as a Fireman, so she called the Fire
Chief and
asked if it would be possible to send a
fireman in uniform
to the hospital to be with Billy as
he made his transition.

The chief replied, 'We can do better than
that.
We'll be there in five minutes.. Will you
please do me a favor?
When you hear the sirens
screaming and see the lights flashing,
will you announce over the PA system that
there is not a fire? It's the department
coming to see one of its finest members
one more time. And will you open
the window to his room?'

About five minutes later a hook and
ladder truck arrived at the hospital and
extended its ladder up to Billy's third
floor open window-16 fire-fighters climbed
up the ladder into Billy's room.

With his mother's permission, they hugged
him and held him and told him how much
they LOVED him.

With his dying breath, Billy
looked up at the fire chief and asked, 'Chief, am
I really a fireman now?'

'Billy, you are, and The Head Chief,
Jesus, is holding your hand,' the chief
said.

With those words, Billy smiled and said,
'I know, He's
been holding my hand all day, and the
angels have been
singing.'

He closed his eyes one last time.


My instructions were to send this to at
least four
people that I wanted God
to bless and I picked you.

Please pass this to at least four people
you want to be blessed.
This story is powerful and there is
nothing attached.

PLEASE do not break this pattern.
Uplifting stories are one of the best
gifts we receive.
There is no cost, but a lot of rewards.
Let's continue to uplift one
another!

This is a true story

Town Manager's Managerial's Skills‏

TOWN MANAGER DISPLAYS MANAGERIAL SKILLS

I have been trying to open the eyes of the Lisbon Town Council since 8 November 2010 about the lack of professionalism, knowledge and managerial skills of the Town Manager. I believe Mr. Eldridge violated approximately twelve (12) portions of the Town of Lisbon Charter. This was insufficient for the Town Council to remove him as the Town Manager.

The Town Manager demanded under the Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) Mrs. Fitzgerald produce the public records which were the bases for the Recall Petition filed against Councilor Bowie. This was done AFTER the Town Council had accepted the petition as legally sufficient and established a date for a Special Election. If Mr. Eldridge was truly interested in obtaining this information, he should have done it PRIOR to the Town Council setting an Election date. The only thing which could possible be gained by the information at this point was to intimated Mrs. Fitzgerald and interfere with the voting process. Once the Town Council had established the Election Date, it was up to the voters. BY THE WAY, THE INFORMATION MR. ELDRIDGE REQUESTED HE ALREADY HAD BECAUSE HE IS THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS MINUTES. IN OTHER WORDS, HIS LETTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN TO HIMSELF AND NOT MRS. FITZGERALD. Again, this clearly demonstrations the Town Manager has no knowledge of Maine laws.

To further demonstrate this, let’s look at last year’s tax screw-up. According to the Town Charter Mr. Eldridge is responsible for the direct supervision of the Tax Assessor, who by the way, he hires. The Town Manager stated at the Town Council meeting “once a valid commitment is in place nothing can be done to change it.” The only problem with this is once again Stephen Eldridge had absolutely no clue what constitutes a “valid commitment” which I believe is his responsibility under the charter and his employment agreement to know. The Town Manager of any municipality is required to know Maine law and a valid commitment. This MINOR screw-up cost the taxpayer in excess of $10,000 dollars to fix.

KEEP IN MIND; THESE TRANSGRESSIONS BY THE TOWN MANAGER WERE TOTALLY IGNORED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL. THE TOWN COUNCIL REFUSED TO TAKE ANY ACTION AGAINST THE TOWN MANAGER.

Today, Mr. Stephen Eldridge is demonstrating his managerial skills again. The Town Manager wants to place the Town Engineer in charge of the Public Works Department, Transfer Station, and the Sewer Treatment Plant in order to justify giving the Town Engineer an increase in his already inflated salary. Mr. Button Beal and Mr. Wayne Ricker have worked for the town of Lisbon their entire careers. These gentlemen have devoted long hours and many years of service to this community. These individuals have been cited on numerous occasions for their outstanding service to this town. Now as a reward for their meritorious service, they are being asked to step down as director (I am sure on paper only because the Town Engineer has no clue what goes on in these two departments) to allow the Town Manager to increase the pay of “ONE OF THE GOOD OLD BOYS”. The Town Manager is doing this consolidation in order to save money. The problem with this is each of these two individuals will continue to receive the very same pay and will be eligible for over-time. This demonstrated his managerial skills.

The Town of Lisbon was once a great community to live in. This is prior to Stephen Eldridge becoming the Town Manager. Now, under his guidance the Town of Lisbon is deteriorating rapidly. I personally do not agree with the treatment of individuals who have dedicated their careers and sacrifices to this community. I feel ashamed to be a member of a community who treat individuals in this manner. We need to support their dedication to this town and its residents.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TOWN COUNCIL TO PUT A STOP TO THIS SHAMEFUL, AND IRRESPONSIBILITY ACTS OF STEPHEN ELDRIDGE. EACH AND EVERY COUNCILOR WHO SIDES WITH MR. ELDRIDGE IS JUST AS GUILTY AS HE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Larry A. Fillmore
Concerned Citizen

Lisbon, Me.

Cats and kittens

I assume the owner of this home is an animal lover. He meant well. But, this is what happens when things get out of control.

Cats can breed twice a year if not altered. It does not take long for it to get out of control, no matter how well meaning.  

The price of cat food and litter to feed and care for so many is unimaginable.

And, no one, no neighbor saw? knew? had any idea what was happening? right under their noses? literally?

Mrs. Morgan is right. The town wanted the Thiboutot property for the fire department, and took it. Claiming it

unsafe. Well, the _ _ _ _ has hit the fan, literally.  What goes around, comes around. It has come back to

bite them.

It would seem the extra officer Chief Brooks and Town Manager Eldridge are adding to this year's budget will be a fix-all.

YOU THINK?

Dot Fitzgerald

Top Headline Viewed by Readers of TLR: Hey Brooks, With all your pussy chasing experience, how come you weren't there catching the cats?

Cat neglect leads to finger-pointing

A day after a private animal control specialist removed six kittens, three of them trapped inside a washing machine, from a house filled with carcasses, feces and fleas, area law enforcement and animal control workers argued over jurisdiction, pointed fingers and debated whether the local animal control officer — who had known about the house for nearly three weeks — did his job.
Burton's tale of the house made front-page news in the Sun Journal on Thursday, angering Brooks, the Lisbon police chief, who said Cooper was doing his job and Burton shouldn't have interfered.



http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/1029087

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/13/news/officials-point-fingers-in-cat-horror-show-at-bowdoin-house/

 http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/159176/314/Cats-seized-in-horrible-neglect-case

 

Disgusting plight on Burrough Road‏

Editor:  I am thoroughly disgusted with what I had to read in the Sun-Journal this morning.  The conditions of this house were unbelievable and so many cats dead or dying.


The Animal Control agent put out a call for help, yet where in the hell were the Lisbon police??
Don't we pay for Animal control?  This is a huge disgrace for the Town of Lisbon and Police chief Brooks.  He didn't even respond to this Agent's call for help.

The Town took Reggie Thiboutot's house and burned it down for being a hazard and unpaid taxes.  This was MUCH WORSE.  I wonder if this house had unpaid taxes.  This incident is a very telling moment for Lisbon and the Police department.

This is what happens when the Town manager and Police chief are derelict in their duties.  Yet they receive raises and the chief remains in power although he retired many years ago.

WHAT A DISGRACE!

Mary-Ann Morgan, Lisbon


 About this Horrible Tragedy,

Note:  When this story first broke, it was plasted as being in Lisbon Falls.  Technically it is just over the line on a road shared with Bowdoin.  But the really significant fact is, Lisbon Police,  championed by none other then a hollywood wannabe, David T. Brooks, Police Chief of the only place he has worked for some 30 plus years.  And Lisbon's Animal Control Officer is shared with Bowdoin and some other surrounding towns.   Plus, Lisbon Police has a check on the elderly program, and  the highly paid under qualified  Town Engineer has been known to reside on this road or still does.

So How Come this all happened?  

Well you can't believe what the Chief says cause he has quite a reputation for not exactly telling things as they really are. No Chief Brooks embellishes the facts to suit his audience of specifically invited guests.   He'll say anything to put a feather in his cap, or a notch on the back of the cruiser's steering wheel.

The Tax payers of Lisbon should all be scratching there heads and asking questions and demanding answers.   Yet another fine example of the leadership In Lisbon.

Signed,
BSP 
Bowdoin, Maine

In 'sad' case, a house of horrors in Bowdoin

BOWDOIN — Three live kittens were pulled out of a washing machine Wednesday night in a Burrough Road house filled with feces, carcasses, fleas and ticks.
An animal control worker was attempting to corral as many as four dozen cats and kittens running free inside the crumbling house at the end of the road. He was also contending with a slew of health hazards, including a tub filled with cat waste, buckets filled with human feces and animal carcasses scattered across the property.

http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/1028936


WGME 13 Top Stories - Cats Rescued in Animal Hoarding Case in Bowdoin

 

Lisbon's troubles summed up with a National Comparison

Why democracy is failing America & Lisbon

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
by Mike Adams

(NaturalNews) Democracy is the worst form of government, Sir Winston Churchill once said... except for every other form of government. In other words, all forms of government are atrociously bad, and democracy may merely be the least bad of the bunch. I certainly wouldn't want to live under a dictatorship, socialism or communism. So I like the idea of democracy, and I wish it would work better for America. But it isn't working. That much is clear. Democracy is failing America, and we can't just blame it on the politicians and the corporations. People actually vote for their own self-destruction by electing professional liars to represent them.

That's where this article begins.

Why democracy isn't working for America

At its core, the democratic process of electing representatives is a popularity contest. The voters inevitably end up supporting whichever lawmakers offer the best handouts right now, regardless of the long-term consequences to the nation. Voting, in other words, is a contest based on short-term rewards rather than long-term vision. Not surprisingly, when the voters go to the polls, they tend to elect the person who promises them the most right now.

Now, it's crucial to recognize this simple economic fact: No government can offer something to one person without first taking it from another. So the more handouts, entitlements and benefits any government offers, the more it must confiscate from others in order to meet its "obligations" to the voters.

This creates a downward spiral of entitlements leading to inescapable debt. Because sooner or later, governments always run out of other people's money.

But that doesn't stop the voting action which still boils down to a popularity contest to decide the leader who tells the best lies. When given a choice between a realistic candidate who says America is deep in debt (Ron Paul) and a fantasy-land candidate who says there's nothing to worry about (almost everybody else), most voters will choose the fantasy candidate... especially if it means more money in their pockets.

The right course of action is too unpopular

What's desperately lacking in all this, of course, is the far more important truth that when a nation is in financial trouble (and environmental trouble, health care trouble, etc.), only tough decisions will ever turn it around. And those tough decisions are, by definition, unpopular decisions.

Huh? We have to consume less? Receive fewer benefits? Pay higher taxes? Make the wealthy corporations pay their fair share? Say it isn't so...

Not surprisingly, in a free and open democracy, tough, unpopular decisions will almost never be supported by the majority of voters. That's because most people are simply selfish. They are far more concerned about their own immediate benefits than the future they might be handing down to their children or grandchildren. So there is zero willingness to make the tough decisions necessary to save the country. The voters, in other words, tend to vote out of their own short-term interests rather than the long-term viability of the nation as a whole.

That's why democracy is failing America. And that's partly why America is headed toward a near-certain collapse in the not-too-distant future. A President who tells the truth and says we have to cut government by 80% to balance the budget is simply not electable. Too many people have their hands in the cookie jar. Too many voters depend on the government to send them checks, and far too many wealthy corporations are entirely dependent on government enforcement of monopolies and subsidies for their own survival. Big Pharma, for example, would shrink by at least 90% if not for the government's support of the industry.

So electing a President who will actually halt the financial bleeding of America will never happen.

Sure, it might happen in a nation with a highly educated population. That's why education is so important to the long-term survival of any nation. But America isn't a highly-educated nation. Probably half of America's high school graduates can't do basic math. So the concept of compounded interest on the national debt is simply beyond their understanding and doesn't seem real to them. They are short-term consumers because that's the way they've been trained. That's the way they think. That's the way they calculate. And that's the way they vote.

Think about it: Your average consumer will spend $4 on a pack of two AA batteries when they could spend $10 and get 8 AA batteries of the exact same brand and capacity. To most consumers, $4 is cheaper than $10, so they just spend the $4 and don't consider the cost per battery. People don't do the math! And when they vote, they don't think it through. They vote based on popularity, not rational thought.

As a result, America today is a cesspool of lawmakers, Presidents and bureaucrats who merely weave elaborate lies to feed the public for as long as they can get away with it. There is hardly a shred of truth left in anything coming out of Washington D.C. these days. We are so far beyond the point of actually fixing the problems and turning this country around that most of the intelligent people are now focused on getting ready to "ride out the reset."

The dictatorship we definitely don't want

At this point, the only real way to save America's future is to force a set of tough decisions upon the people by way of a strong dictatorship -- and I am absolutely opposed to such a thing because it would destroy the few remaining freedoms we still enjoy today.

You could, of course, try to educate the populace about freedom, fiscal responsibility and the value of long-term strategic thinking rather than short-term rewards, but that would require an entire cultural shift spanning at least two generations. Because let's face it, Americans have been trained in the philosophy of "instant gratification" for at least two generations. It's all about having more and having it now. You can't reverse that kind of thinking overnight. You can't reverse instant gratification thinking instantly, in other words.

The end result will be collapse

So what are we left with? There's no way out of this except collapse. Michael Ruppert gets it (www.collapsenet.com). Gerald Celente gets it (www.TrendsResearch.com) . Alex Jones gets it (www.InfoWars.com). But most people don't get it.

In fact, the mainstream short-term thinkers and voters don't get it at all. And the reason they don't get it is because they are the problem from the start! They're the ones who voted without thinking and elected professional liars rather than problem solvers. John F. Kennedy was probably the last President who attempted to actually tell the truth, and they shot him in the head for asking too many questions about the Federal Reserve (and other topics). After that moment in history, it has all been a series of escalating lies to the point where all the presidents in recent memory are now little more than staged public relations fictional characters playing a role in the hit comedy TV series called "America, The Leader of the Free World!"

It's a comedy series, however... not a reality show. And the mainstream media is playing the role of the comedy news source in the comedy TV series. Virtually nothing the media prints about health, the economy or world news has any basis in fact whatsoever. It is merely the regurgitation of crafted spin pieces and official deceptions designed to keep the voters entertained a while longer while the money commanders loot the economy before the coming collapse.

Lessons to be learned from recent history

Why does any of this matter? At one level, it doesn't. The collapse of America has been set in motion, and there's actually very little you or I can do to stop it. Emailing your congressman or signing a petition is futile. Even the act of voting is essentially an exercise in supporting a system of government that's already on life support and nearing its expiration date. It doesn't really make much difference at this point, except for local and state elections, of course.

Because the bigger picture here is that the experiment of Democracy has failed on a grand scale. It's not obvious to everyone yet (because few people are long-term thinkers), but it soon will be. Democracy doesn't work if your voters are mostly short-term thinkers who can't do math and whose selfishness outweighs any sense of leaving something of value for the next generation.

The American democracy experiment will soon crash land, and when we're sorting through the wreckage, all the shocked and bewildered people will be asking, "How could this have happened? Everything was going along just fine..." But it wasn't just fine. Most of it was all a Big Lie, and lies have a way of catching up with you.

America's democracy was a noble concept. And it could have worked if the population had been better educated and the corporations less greedy (and the lawmakers less whore-like, I suppose). But today it has failed, and now it's only a matter of watching it implode and then figuring out a better solution for creating a more sustainable nation for our collective future.

Perhaps it's time we threw away the idea of voters electing "representatives" in its totality and instead created a nation of sovereign citizens who operate from a completely different mindset. Who says we need a federal government at all? Wouldn't most of us be freer, healthier, wealthier and happier if the federal government didn't even exist? Sure, we need a national defense but even that could be coordinated by the states.

Remember, the "United States" means a group of states who are united in their intentions. It does not mean a federal tyrant that overrules the states. The "United States" of America is supposed to be a system of agreement and open trade among fifty sovereign geopolitical entities, not one oppressive system that demands compliance with its corrupt, power-hungry agenda.

These are some of the issues people will no doubt be pondering when the current experiment in democracy implodes.

Don't be surprised when that day comes, of course. It's already past the point of no return. Be ready to take part in the discussions of what I call The Next Society that will inevitably be born out of the coming collapse. And hopefully we can figure out a way to improve on the concept of "democracy" for a brighter (and freer) future.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032346_democracy_America.html#ixzz1LwDxDXqP

More Insight for Lisbon's residents to ponder over

FRAUD, WASTE & ABUSE

The town of Lisbon and the “Good Old Boys” refuse to correct an injustice done to the residents of the Town of Lisbon. The Town Council and the Town Manager were both informed by me at a town council meeting; the Town Engineer was NOT a Licensed Professional Engineer but receiving a salary ($69,310) equivalent to a License Professional Engineer in the State of Maine.

At the Town Council meeting, the Town Manager informed the audience the Town Engineer did not have to be a License Professional Engineer and the Town Manager was very satisfied with the Town Engineer’s performance. As usual, the Town Manager did not understand the point I was trying to make. The critical point is the salary for an unlicensed individual was excessive for this town. I was not questioning his performance.

It is true the Town Engineer does not have to be a Licensed Professional Engineer to hold the position as Town Engineer. However, the Town Engineer can ONLY work on projects under $100,000. Once there is a project over $100,000, the Town of Lisbon has to hire a Licensed Professional Engineer to perform the duties. This has occurred several times in the past ten years. This means the Town of Lisbon is paying an additional engineer. Why should the residents support two engineers when we have been paying the Town Engineer the salary equivalent to the Licensed Professional Engineer? This is extremely expensive and a total waste of taxpayer funds.

At the time the current Town Engineer was hired, a stipulation of his employment was he becomes a Licensed Professional Engineer. The Town Engineer has not become a Licensed Professional Engineer and therefore should not be receiving the salary equivalent to a Licensed Professional Engineer. Why hasn’t the Town Council or Town Manager written a letter to the Town Engineer stating if he does not become a Licensed Professional Engineer in twelve (12) months his salary will be reduced by 50%? After ten years, twelve months is a gift. This should have been done years ago but the “Good Old Boys” protect one of their own; in fact instead of addressing the situation, the Town Manager is proposing to give the Town Engineer an 8% increase in pay for additional duties.

Paying an individual a salary equivalent to a Licensed Profession Engineer for which he is not capable of performing the duties of a Licensed Professional Engineer is fraud. The fact the town has to hire an additional Licensed Professional Engineer for projects over $100,000 is a waste of taxpayer’s dollars. And finally, the Town Council and Town Manager, once aware of the situation and not taking any steps to correct this situation, is abuse of their responsibility.

I urge all residents of the Town of Lisbon to contact their Town Councilor and the Town Manager to correct this fraud, waste and abuse immediately.

Larry A. Fillmore

Concerned Citizen

"Open Mike" Tomorrow night 7pm Town Council Meeting

AGENDA
TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2011
LISBON TOWN OFFICE
7:00 P.M.
1. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE TO FLAG
2. ROLL CALL
___Councilor Bickford
___ Councilor Bowie
___ Councilor Cote
___ Councilor Larochelle
___Councilor Lunt
___ Councilor Mason
___ Councilor Pomelow
Town Clerk reading of meeting rules
3. WORKSHOP
A. Council Working Rules
B. Budget

Happy Mother's Day 2011

Can you help spread this important message? Honor Flight, Thanks WWII Veterans

This story is incredible. Send this touching two-minute video about World War II veterans to FIVE friends and family to remind them that every day alive in this great, free country is truly a bonus. Let’s get 50,000 views for the video by Memorial Day (May 30th) to show these living heroes, one last time, just how grateful we are for their unbelievable sacrifice. The video is a trailer to a documentary that will come out in November. The more we can show interest in the trailer (i.e. views), the more Americans will get to see the film. Time is running out: 1,000 WWII vets die every day. We are free today because of these men and women. The least we can do is watch a web video and send it to five people. Let’s get this mission done!

Water, highest and best use of aquifer needs to be considered

  WATER,  WATER ,  EVERYWHERE  -----  AND NOT A DROP TO DRINK?

I am the first, or maybe the second or third, to stress that the Town of Lisbon needs more viable businesses.

We will possibly be facing a loss of tax revenue next year when the owners of the former Knight Celotex Mill demolish the buildings. We will be collecting taxes on the land only. As it is, most or all of the equipment has been removed with a loss of personal property taxes. The former Worumbo Mill property is still for sale, and awaiting a developer. How many other businesses will be closing and/or leaving due to the poor economy?

Why do I mention this?

I have been a REALTOR since 1979, One of the first things we learn when listing and selling real estate is

                                    "Highest and Best Use". 

The former Dragon property in Lisbon is over a wellhead, . Not too many years ago the city of Lewiston asked if they could connect to our water supply and purchase water from us. It would seen that the Highest and Best use of the former Dragon property would be to develop the water supply, sell water to the City of Lewiston, perhaps even to the Town of Lisbon?

Have you ever drunk Lewiston water?  The taste is so bad I would not drink it when visiting family in Lewiston. Many Lewiston residents do not even drink it.

What better way to develop the former Dragon property than to put it to it's HIGHEST AND BEST USE?

It would create an environmentally friendly business, create green tax income for the Town of Lisbon, and for the owners of the property.

                                               From where I sit, it would be a great opportunity  

                                                                WITH WIN, WIN RESULTS

Dot Fitzgerald

A Very Concerned Lisbon Citizen

More on Lisbon's Water Supply, "It's not just another drop in the bucket..

Lisbon's Water Supply

 

 

The facts presented in Mr. Samson's recent letter to the Reporter are correct.  The well head protection ordinance has been sitting around for better than two years and does need to be passed. I have expressed my concerns about the Moody Avenue well protection to local government officials and individuals over the Dragon Pit Property in person and in e-mails. 

 

I am not standing in the way of the development of the Dragon Pit property.  The town does need the tax revenue.  However, our water resources do need protection through the passage of the proposed well head protection ordinance.  If the Moody Avenue well is contaminated it will cost all residents (due to fire protection) a great deal of money. 

 

 What can Lisbon residents do?  Talk or call your councilors and urge them to pass the well head protection ordinance as soon as possible to save guard our public water supply. 

 

If you have further questions attend a water board meeting on the second and fourth Monday of each month, or call me @ 353-2780 or e-mail me at b_bauer62@yahoo.com

This is a very serious matter but it is workable once the ordinance has been passed. 

Bill Bauer

How about some Hope & Change for Lisbon Residents?

Newburgh town employees resign en masse

 

By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff

NEWBURGH, Maine — Turmoil and controversy that have gripped this small Penobscot County town continued Thursday with the sudden resignations of all but one of the town office’s employees.

A routine Board of Selectmen workshop ceded to drama when Town Manager Rick Briggs, Assistant Town Clerk Jill Gilman and Town Clerk Lois Libby, who has worked in the Newburgh town office for 32 years, all resigned effective immediately. Part-time Deputy Treasurer Sue Lessard, who took her position on an interim basis several months ago, did not resign but is also technically no longer an employee because she was Briggs’ appointee.

Like former selectmen Belcher and Leona Smith, the three employees who stepped down Thursday cited a caustic atmosphere created by a group of concerned citizens called the Fixers. Burns is one of the founding members of the Fixers, a loosely affiliated cadre who have been combing through town finances for more than a year and challenging elected and appointed town officials on a range of issues. Their scrutiny intensified after the revelation in March 2010 that former Deputy Treasurer Cindy Dunton had embezzled $200,000 from town coffers beginning in 2006. Dunton, who discussed her crimes during an interview with the BDN last month, has pleaded guilty to felony theft by unauthorized taking and faces a prison term of up to 10 years. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 1 at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.

“There has been a recent change in the tone of government in Newburgh, therefore I must regrettably submit this resignation,” wrote Assistant Clerk Gilman, who was hired a few months ago.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/05/news/newburgh-employees-resign-en-masse/?ref=mostReadBox

 

A note from a local reader & supporter

• From Pappy.‏

5/05/11

 

Good afternoon. Just want to mention that your Newsletter is very, very, informative I sure wish everyone in Town had a PC and could receive it.

AND.

An 'Atta boy & Atta girl" to Dot Fitzgerald & Larry Fillmore for all their contributions. They do their homework and what they say/write is Gospel. I do realize they and all of us have our own opinions BUT the Statistics they present, you can take to the bank. I thank you both, and also the Lisbon Reporter for making this all possible!!

Naturally I thank you also Todd for all the hours you put in to make all this happen!

Sincerely,

Pappy

(aka Rufe)

Some More Insight Into The Happening's in Lisbon from former Codes Officer

Don't wait until it's gone

By Gerald Samson

 

May 05, 2011

 

It has come to my attention that a developer is proposing an industrial park on the former Dragon pit property in Lisbon. On the surface, that sounds like a reasonable idea until you know the rest of the story.

The property is located between 250 and 300 feet from the primary source of water for the town of Lisbon. The town manager and six of the seven town councilors do not get their water from that source; maybe that's why that is not a priority for them.

Prior to leaving my position as codes officer in Lisbon two years ago, the Planning Board, with the help of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, had written a wellhead protection ordinance, had public hearings on it, etc., and was about to implement it, when the town manager handed it over to the town attorney for review.

That was two years ago and it is still being reviewed.

What they don't seem to realize is that there is a retroactive clause in the ordinance dating back at least three years. So whatever is done on the property will have to be undone if and when the ordinance sees the light of day again.

In the meantime, Lisbon residents should be prepared to deal with a potential water source problem.

As the line from the song goes, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

Gerald Samson, Buckfield

Lisbon's Town Council Antics Continue Read about it here

Reminder to watch tonight's cable broadcast of Tues's Public Budget Presentation.

No Increase In Taxes say Lisbon's Officials of budgets presented Oh Really?

All Lisbon Residents:

I had the pleasure and honor to witness a real live miracle last night at the Public Hearing on the 2011-2012 Budget. I could not believe it was possible but both the School and Town budgets are NOT going to raise our taxes this year according to the Town Manager.

First, I want to compliment Mr. Green for an excellent presentation outlining the School budget process and detailing what they had done to reach their goal of keeping the budget so there would be no increase in our taxes.

However, on the town side I can not say the same. The handout provided at the Public Hearing outlined the budget much better but still needs a lot of work like explaining when you transfer accounts from one line item to the other. It appears the town did some very “creative accounting”.

The Town Manager gave a presentation of the town budget but never mentioned whether or not the resident of Lisbon’s taxes would be increasing this year. I would think this might be a critical point in his presentation, however, he never mention the impact the budget would have on taxes. Included in the proposed budget is still a wage increase of 1.75% to ALL town employees; losses of jobs for four or five individuals, and an 8% increase to two individuals for taking on additional duties. Also, the Town Manager and his secretary’s professional development are still in the budget proposal.

After the Town Manager’s presentation I asked the Town Manager: “What was the bottom line on whether or not the residents of Lisbon will experience a tax increase this year.” The Town Manager’s response was “There will be NO tax increase this year.”

I want you to know the town must have done a lot of “creative accounting” to have so much increase in spending and not raise our taxes. Makes you wonder why it was not done before.

In all honesty, I have to tell you, all my dealing with the Town Manager he has never told me the truth. Remember last year, when the Town Manager stated there was nothing the town could do because we had a “valid commitment” and come to find out there was no “valid commitment”. This cost the town an additional $10,000 dollars to correct. The Town Manager stated the investigation into the $32,500 in the Economic Development Department was over and come to find out the State Attorney’s General office had to send a special letter to clarify the situation. There have been many more situations where the input received from the Town Manager was incorrect. If you attend the Town Council meetings, you will witness items come before the Town Council for a vote and some of the Councilors were never notified or provided any information prior to the meeting.

I can almost guarantee you your taxes will go up at least $.35 per thousand this year, if not more. The residents of Lisbon need to start paying more attention to what is going on in this town. I advise all residents to review the public hearing on Thursday, May 5, 2011 on Channel 7 at 7:00PM. I am sure you will find it as entertaining as I did.

Larry A. Fillmore

Concerned Citizen

Last Night's Town Council Meeting

All Residents of Lisbon

At the Public Hearing last night, a member of the council tried to slip an additional item on the agenda. Thank goodness Roger Cote was there to put a stop to it because it concerns all the residents of Lisbon.

The issue is the Town Council Working Rules. Councilor Pomelow has stated in a prior meeting, she wants to do away with the Audience Participation at council meetings. Councilor Pomelow believes this is not allowing the council to be as effective as it can be. I believe it is because some of the council members do not want the residents to know what is going in this town.

In the Town of Lisbon, it is the “Good Old Boys” controlling the town. Let’s take for example the Dragon Pit off Route 196. This area sits on the Town’s water supply and has been labeled a “Residential Area” for many years. Now someone is trying to change the Lisbon Comprehensive Plan to change this area to “Commercial”. This Dragon Pit has not been utilized for a while and yet now, without a change in status, is being developed without any permits. Do you think someone has a plan they are not telling the residents about? Do you think there are any underhand dealings going on with this property? Why would any one spend money developing an area unless they had a guarantee it was going to be rezoned?

There are members of the Town Council who do not want the residents to know what is going on in this town. Another example is the town owned property a 4 Campus Avenue (old school house) valued at $265,050.00 was sold by the town to the Brunswick Housing Authority (BHA) for $1.00. I am sure the town is getting its monies worth on this deal. Also, the name on the deed is Housing Associates of Lisbon, LP. I had no idea who this was so I called BHA to find out if it was true they purchased the property and sure enough it had and deeded it to Housing Associates of Lisbon, LP so Bath Savings could purchase Tax Credits on the property once it was renovated. Very strange dealings! I wonder what other deals are going on we do not know about?

I believe the problem is not with the audience participation but with the town not providing ALL available information being discussed at these meetings to the councilors and the public well in advance of the meeting so everyone can study up on the issue and talk about it intelligently without having to bring the public and some councilors up to date on what is going on. We have elected these councilors to represent us in town matters but they also have an obligation to keep us informed so we can render an opinion prior to them voting on any issue. This is not being done.

The pure fact the Town Council is trying to eliminate any interaction between residents and the council is outrageous. The residents of the town are the “people” and we need to have a say in what is going on at these council meetings.

Larry A. Fillmore

Concerned Citizen

Posted by Lisbon Concerned Citizens at 7:08 PM

Lisbon's Root Problem Explained Here see for yourself with this report

The gullible mind explained Thursday, May 05, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)

(NaturalNews) In light of the string of the blatant falsehoods being announced by the U.S. government these days (FDA, DHS, White House, etc.) it's interesting that so many people still believe whatever they are told by "official" sources. It brings up the question of the functioning of their brains: How could a person swallow official information so gullibly and so completely without even asking commonsense questions about the reliability or factual basis of that information?

These people, it turns out, are operating from what I called The Gullible Mind. It is a psychological processing malfunction that filters out information based on its source rather than its integrity. People who operate from The Gullible Mind tend to have misplaced trust in governments, institutions, mainstream news networks, doctors, scientists or anyone who wears the garb of apparent authority.

Whereas a normal, intelligent person would raise commonsense questions about information they receive from all sources, the Gullible Mind wholly accepts virtually any information from sources that occupy the role of apparent authority in society.

Governments never lie

But how does this work inside their heads? It's an interesting process. Gullible Mind people do believe it is possible for a government (or institution) to lie; but they believe that governments, institutions and doctors choose NOT to lie even when it would serve their own self interests to do so.

Follow this carefully, because this is the fascinating part. These Gullible Mind people effectively believe that even though a government official could lie about something, they would never actually do so. And why wouldn't they? Because, ultimately, the Gullible Mind crowd believes that governments, institutions and mainstream media outlets operate from a sort of honor code. So even if it were in the interests of our own government to lie to us, it would never happen because that would violate this imaginary honor code.

Where does this honor code exist? Where is it written down? Nowhere, of course. It is imaginary. But to The Gullible Mind, it seems real. Interestingly, even though this "honor code" only exists in the imagination of The Gullible Mind person, they project this honor code onto sources of authority, imagining that they abide by it.

Extreme gullibility

This is how The Gullible Mind person believes that network news always reports the truth. The news networks have a sense of "honor," they believe, and this sense of honor requires them to always report the truth and never manipulate the news for any nefarious purposes. So news networks never "shape" the news and they only report what is factually true without any consideration whatsoever of politics or advertiser profits.

This view of the world is, of course, laughably naive. And yet it is the core belief system of at least half the population -- the Gullible Mind half that believes everything it is told by its own government, media or authority figures.

Interestingly, the Gullible Mind is also inwardly gullible because it does not recognize its own gullibility. Instead, it believes it is operating as a Rational Mind. This false Rational Mind believes it functions as a critical filter of incoming information, but even this is self deception. In truth, this false Rational Mind is on "auto filter" so that it filters out any information that conflicts with the information it is receiving from official sources.

This is the key to understanding the Gullible Mind -- it isn't the quality of the information itself that matters; it is the confirmation of the story from official sources that "makes it real" in the Gullible Mind.

The Easter Bunny killed Bin Laden!

For example, let's say a Gullible Mind person comes across an announcement that says the Easter Bunny has killed Osama Bin Laden. The report claims that colored eggs were found near Bin Laden's body, and there was evidence of feathers being left at the scene, which proves the Easter Bunny was there.

Now, an intelligent, rational mind would have a lot of questions about this. For starters, rabbits don't have feathers. And the Easter Bunny is a piece of fiction, too. On top of that, how could the Easter Bunny kill Osama Bin Laden? An intelligent person would, upon reviewing the holes in the story, be forced to conclude the story is fiction. The only logical conclusion from that is that the government is lying to them.

A Gullible Mind person, however, would not ask whether rabbits have feathers, or whether the Easter Bunny is capable of conducting a military raid. Instead, the Gullible Mind person would first look to other confirming news sources in order to determine the reliability of the story. They would turn on the TV or surf the internet, looking for the news to be repeated through "official" sources.

Once they found CNN, or Fox News, or some other "official" source reporting that the Easter Bunny killed Osama Bin Laden, then that news report would instantly become "real" in their minds. Suddenly it has shifted from their mental processing queue to the "absolutely truth" part of their brain, and from that point forward, no one can question that reality in their heads.

Don't bother arguing with a Gullible Mind - they are immune to facts

At this point, their rational mind is completely shut off on the topic. No accumulation of facts can, at that point, rattle their "reality." For example, a person who believes the government's story of 9/11 has already embraced the Easter Bunny version of terrorists flying airplanes into the World Trade Center towers. So how did this act cause the WTC 7 building to collapse in a demolition-style free-fall a few hours later, when WTC 7 was never struck by airplanes? How can a steel and concrete building suddenly and magically collapse in perfect structural synchronicity merely from being on fire?

The answers don't matter to The Gullible Mind, you see. There is no room for facts inside their heads, because all the space has been taken up with what is essentially a cult-like belief in institutions of authority.

We saw this in the Heaven's Gate cult in California a few years back. The leader of that cult, a man named Applegate, positioned himself as the one and only source of authoritative information among the cult followers. So HE became the authoritative source whose information was wholly accepted without questioning or skepticism of any kind. At that point, he was able to quite easily convince his followers that an alien race was going to land a UFO on the far side of a comet, and that if they killed themselves, they would be transported onto the alien ship (or something like that).

The belief in such a story may seem silly... until you realize that the governments of the world use the exact same cult-like tactics to get their own "followers" to believe everything they say, without question. So if President Obama announced that an alien race was going to land a mother ship on the White House lawn, and that people who voted for him would have their consciousness transferred to an immortal alien body, the remarkable truth is that millions of people would believe that. Perhaps tens of millions. They would even worship him as an interstellar saint.

Remember Orson Welles' radio program that announced aliens had invaded the Earth and were destroying our cities? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wa...) Huge numbers of people believed it was really happening... and not because it made any sense, but because the information came from the source they trusted. To those people, the alien invasion was just as real back then as Bin Laden's official death is to government followers today.

Throughout history, many conspiracy theories have turned out to be true

Government lying, of course, has been going on for as long as governments have existed. Not all conspiracies theories are true, of course, but so many of them turn out to be true that the idea of "not believing" in conspiracies makes no rational sense.

To not believe in conspiracies means you don't believe two people have ever sat down and plotted to take advantage of others in some unethical and deceptive way. Well gee, that describes virtually every board meeting of every large corporation in the world! Conspiracies are not just commonplace; they're practically synonymous with modern-day capitalism! Even right now, Apple is being accused of a conspiracy to keep employee wages artificially low: http://www.appleinsider.com/article...

I wonder: Do the Gullible Mind people also not believe in that conspiracy theory? Are all conspiracy theories automatically tossed out merely because of the word "conspiracy?"

For those who don't know their history, here's a list of 33 conspiracy theories that turned out to be true: http://www.newworldorderreport.com/...

The Manhattan Project, of course, was a secret government conspiracy. The Tuskegee Syphilis experiments on African Americans was a secret medical conspiracy. Operation Northwoods was a conspiracy plot to create support for a war on Castro by staging terrorism events in U.S. cities.

These are all historical facts. They are indisputable. But to The Gullible Mind, none of this history exists. What's real is only what they are being told right now by the White House. When George Bush occupied the White House, the daily fibs were things like, "The Iraqis want us to occupy their land with military personnel because we are setting them free!" Oh yeah, that's a bit of twisted logic, for sure. But it's no different from Obama's version of the war fairytales, which includes such gems as, "We're only dropping humanitarian bombs on Libya." Or, "It's not actually war. It's only kinetic military action."

But you see, it makes no difference whether anything they say is actually true... at least not to The Gullible Mind, which believes there is no such thing as a conspiracy theory. There is no such thing as a nefarious government, either. Heck, when Columbus landed in the New World, his entire crew shared food and wine with the Native American Indians, we're told. There was no raping, no murder, no genocide. That's why we continue to celebrate Columbus Day every year! Because the Gullible Mind wants a reason to get off work for a day, even if it requires a complete revision of actual historical facts.

The most popular issues of Gullible Mind people

Vaccines are good for you - Vaccines are "safe and effective" merely because doctors and the CDC say they are, not because of any reliable scientific evidence.

The economy is in great shape - Gullible Mind people are easily influenced to stop thinking about the $14 trillion national debt that's growing by the day and simply go along with whatever economic fictions are being woven in Washington.

Governments and corporations are looking out for your best interests - The drug companies only want to find cures and make everybody healthy. The government is here to help. We should all stop asking questions and just do what we're told.

Nothing will ever run out - There's no such thing as Peak Oil. Our world can continue its throwaway economy without end, they believe. We'll never run out of gas, water, soil or natural resources. Keep using stuff up and throwing it all away!

Food additives are good for you - Otherwise, the FDA wouldn't have approved them, would they?

There's no such thing as a cure for cancer - The ultimate pessimists, the Gullible Mind crowd believes cancer has never been cured! And if a cancer cure did exist, we would know about it by now, right? (Because our scientists already know everything that's worth knowing, you see...)

There are no other non-terrestrial civilizations or beings in our universe - Amazingly, we are the only intelligent forms of life that have ever existed, they believe. Any talk of non-Earth intelligence is just a bunch of "fringe" nonsense. There was never any life on Mars, either.

Herbs and plants have no medicinal value - That's right, only conventional medicine can "treat" you, because that's what the doctors say. Herbs and plants have zero biological value beyond their calories alone, they insist.

... and on it goes, one delusion after another. A Gullible Mind, it seems, will believe almost anything if it comes from a "trusted" source. But that same Gullible Mind will discount straight-up facts if they don't come from those same trusted sources.

How to stop being a Gullible Mind

Interestingly, most of the people who are intelligent, skeptical thinkers today used to be Gullible Mind people at one time or another. There was a point where they simply "awakened" and began to consciously question the world around them.

Intelligent, informed skeptics are the people asking questions like:

• Why do twenty different mainstream news sources all report the exact same news, using the exact same words, on the exact same day? (http://www.naturalnews.com/032022_m...) If they were all investigating and writing their own news, wouldn't their news be different?

• Why did Wall Street get a multi-trillion-dollar bailout from Washington while the American people are still required to pay taxes that involve sending money to Washington? If Washington can just magically create a trillion dollars overnight, why do we pay taxes, then?

• Why does the USDA now actively conspire with GMO seed companies to keep approving genetically modified seeds even without any scientific evidence of their long-term safety?

• If mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to modern science, why is it still being deliberately placed into the mouths of children in the form of "silver" fillings? And why are they called "silver" when they actually contain more mercury than silver?

• Where does the fluoride used to fluoridate the public water supplies really come from? (http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=42652...) And if fluoride is so good for people, then why is it so hazardous to handle, and why is it considered a hazardous chemical by the EPA?

• What really happened on 9/11? How did WTC 7 collapse if it was never hit by any airplanes? Why did they sweep away the rubble before a proper forensic analysis could be performed?

• Are vaccines really safe? Where's the study comparing vaccinated children with non-vaccinated children? Why won't the vaccine industry allow such studies to be conducted?

• Why does the cancer industry seem a lot more interested in treating cancer and recruiting cancer patients than actually curing cancer and ending the epidemic? Why does the industry refuse to talk about cancer-causing chemicals or the anti-cancer effects of vitamin D?

• Why are toxic food additives still allowed in the food supply? What's the real story on aspartame and the FDA? Why did the FDA oppress stevia for so many decades?

• Why is the medical police state now using guns to force parents to medicate their children? In what kind of medical system is it necessary to use the threat of violence to force compliance?

• Why did Clinton bomb the Sudan in the middle of the Monica Lewinsky crisis? Why did Obama suddenly announce the death of Bin Laden in the middle of his "birther" crisis?

• Why do we still have the DEA's "War on Drugs," especially since there is ample evidence that the war is a total failure that only increases the prison population while actually enriching the drug gangs with higher street prices?

• Why is the TSA still reaching down our pants at the airports if Bin Laden is now dead? Wasn't he the whole reason we created the TSA and hired on those 60,000 security agents in the first place? (http://www.naturalnews.com/032267_B...)

An intelligent, skeptical thinker would ask these questions (and many more) as a natural course of basic human curiosity. But a Gullible Mind, attacks the questioner for even daring to ask such questions.

Who are some of the awakened people?

That's why the Gullible Mind is more than merely gullible: It is a cowardly mind. It is afraid to ask questions on its own, and it simultaneously attacks those who have the courage to stand up and actually ask those questions (like Jesse Ventura).

Most members of the conventional press are, of course, cowardly minds. They almost universally buy the corporate spin (or the White House spin) and never ask any tough questions anymore. Some of the REAL heroes -- the people who are asking intelligent questions about our world -- include:

Alex Jones
Jeff Rense
Charlotte Gerson
Jonathan Landsman
David Icke
Jesse Ventura
Gerald Celente
Ron Paul
Robert Scott Bell
Dr. Andrew Wakefield
Suzanne Somers
Dr. James Forsythe
George Noorey

Do you see a pattern here? Each one of these individuals has been marginalized or viciously attacked and slandered simply because they chose to ask intelligent questions about the world around them. Now, I don't agree with every single thing said by each one of these people, but I admire each of them for having the courage to ask the questions that need to be asked if we are to move forward as a society (and civilization).

These kind of people represent the complete opposite of The Gullible Mind. They are, instead, the "true skeptics" of the world. The reason they are viciously attacked is because our world is so steeped in deceit and conspiracy that only Gullible Minds are tolerated. Those who question the status quo are not merely annoying to the powers that be, but actually dangerous because the most dangerous activity in which you can engage today is helping others awaken to what's really happening around them.

It is that "awakening" that is so utterly despised by the web of corporations, governments and media lackeys that they will do everything in their power to prevent any sort of awakening from taking place at all. The functioning of the Matrix, after all, depends on people believing in the illusion.

And it is so much easier to govern, of course, if people just believe whatever you tell them. Gullible Minds make great voters and willing slaves. But lousy company.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/032293_gullible_minds.html#ixzz1LUMJvOnB