The Lisbon Reporter

WELCOME TO THE LISBON REPORTER. In an effort to keep our community informed of what is going on at local and Federal levels of government, we decided to create this on-line newspaper. It is our hope that this on-line newspaper will help you stay informed so that you can get involved and take action for the benefit of our ENTIRE community. Thank you for visiting and please check back frequently for information about what is happening in LISBON/LISBON FALLS, MAINE USA

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Study Shows Maine’s “Rich” are Working Couples, Small Business Owners‏

Families and Entrepreneurs make up top earners, income tax hits them hardest

PORTLAND – A report released today by the Maine Heritage Policy Center shows that Maine’s high-earning individuals are working married couples with dual incomes and risk-taking entrepreneurs who create jobs. This is in stark contrast to recent cries denouncing supposed “tax cuts for the rich” in response to modest income tax relief passed last year.

The report, "Who are Maine’s “Rich?” profiles various levels of income tax filers, and shows that those earners who are in the higher categories are primarily families and small business owners. Mainers who earn $200,000 or more are primarily married (86.6%) and many are business owners (45.2%). Because of the higher income, often a result of business income that is held to cover liabilities and make business investments, these so-called “rich” pay higher effective tax rates than filers who earn less.

“This report shows how important a reduced income tax burden is to hard-working Maine families and small businesses,” said Scott Moody, the Chief Economist for the Maine Heritage Policy Center. “The big government advocates on the left are yelling about tax cuts for the “rich” but what they don’t seem to understand is that the people helped most by income tax reductions are entrepreneurs who create jobs.”

The study uses a hypothetical situation of two different taxpayers – one is single and makes $50,000 and the other is a family of four who has two incomes, some business income, and some capital gains totaling $175,000. In this scenario, the “rich” taxpayer is taxed on $50,000 in business “profits” that won’t actually be received by the individual, but will instead be invested back into the company. Still, this business income, combined with the dual incomes of husband and wife, leave the “high-income” taxpayer with a 9.9% tax burden as percent of actual income, while the single taxpayer, earning $50,000, has a tax burden of just 5.7%.

“What we see consistently is that folks who are taxed at higher rates for their earnings are the very people we rely on to create jobs and move our economy forward,” said Moody. “When the Governor and Legislature did the smart thing and gave these job creators much needed tax relief, the calls came out from the left to “tax the rich” – well I have news for them, the “rich” are Maine small businesses and hard working families.”

Download full report here (PDF)

Ayuh, Censorship Right Here In Maine; MHPC: FIGHT BACK against anti-conservative censorship‏

April 11, 2012

Friends,

It’s happening sooner than we thought.

Chellie Pingree’s MaineToday Media papers have already started censoring conservative voices by refusing to run a column by Maine House of Representatives Majority Leader Phil Curtis.

Click here to read more about this story >>

When Pingree’s billionaire husband bought the biggest newspapers in the state, we knew it was bad news for conservatives. But we didn’t expect the purge to start this quick. Rep. Curtis is the second in charge in the Maine House, and if the MaineToday papers are going to keep him from voicing his opinion, you can be sure the rest of us don’t stand a chance.

That’s why we need to take action now. We need your help to make sure the conservative voice is not silenced in Maine – please click here to make a contribution to support The Maine Wire.

We started The Maine Wire in December exactly for this reason. We’ve had a huge impact already, and because of your support, we were there to publish the column Sussman and Pingree refused to publish, and make sure conservatives have a voice in Maine’s political discussion.

The Maine Wire is our chance to get the truth out about Maine government. And it faces a harder and harder climb every time limousine liberals like Pingree and Sussman take over another media outlet. Conservatives can’t be left without a voice, and we’re determined to spread the word about free markets and individual liberty far and wide – but we can’t do it alone.

We need your help today to stand our ground against the onslaught of liberal media. Please click here to donate today to make sure conservatives have a strong voice in Maine.

We’re in this fight for the long haul, and we thank you so much for your support. Together, we’ll turn the tide on the crushing growth of government, and make sure censorship like we saw this week doesn’t continue unchallenged.

Sincerely,

Lance Dutson
Chief Executive Officer
The Maine Heritage Policy Center

PS- Even the liberal New York Times has called out Sussman and Pingree on their media buyout:
"Mr. Sussman is now wed to both a member of Congress and one of the largest newspapers in Maine, so the conflict there is manifest. "

Please click here today to make sure The Maine Wire has the resources to fight Sussman and Pingree’s propaganda machine

About MHPC

The Maine Heritage Policy Center is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization based in Portland, Maine. The Maine Heritage Policy Center formulates and promotes free-market, conservative public policies in the areas of economic growth, fiscal matters, health care, education, constitutional law and government transparency - providing solutions that will benefit all the people of Maine. Contributions to MHPC are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

You Have To Love Mainer's And Their Passion About Trucks

Submitted by: A Lisbon Concerned Citizen

It's Not What You Know But Who You Know in Maine Politics;The Maine WIRE: Maine’s wealthy elite profit from political connections

Op-Ed: Maine’s wealthy elite profit from political connections

Pictured at right with President Obama is Bobby Monks, minority owner of Maine Today Media and a "bundler" for the President

But hey, what are friends for?

By J Dwight

Distrust of—and anger toward—the politically connected elite is one of the primary drivers of electoral politics in the last two election cycles. In fact, it is nothing new. Throughout American history, these revolts happen periodically.

That distrust proved to be warranted with the recession in 2008-09. It helped elect Paul LePage and a Republican Legislature in 2010, and it is one of the important motivations in 2012.

The revolt led to an historic upset in Maine with conservatives being elected in numbers that changed the State House in dramatic ways. The Tea Party movement exemplifies the revolt that has evolved into a movement that strongly continues.

The politically connected in business, media and government colluded to enrich themselves in ways that infuriated voters and taxpayers. In Maine a small number of powerful and rich people who can be named are at the center of this.

Exposure of gift cards scandals, lavish junkets and sweat-heart grants and finance deals have only confirmed that distrust and emboldened reformers.

This work has been difficult and at times marked by vituperative attacks from both sides. The work of cleaning up Maine’s house has just started. The elites are fighting back.

Four politically connected groups had control and got the “spoils” in Maine: the environmental elite; the mainstream media; the politicians; and the politically connected wealthy elite. All four have profited handsomely from their political influence.

Just consider in Maine how several prominent politically connected individuals got wealthy—or wealthier—at the voters and taxpayers expense.

Let’s start with two recent egregious examples that lead to more “hidden” ones.
By now everyone knows that Dale McCormick (former director of the Maine State Housing Authority) and Paul Violette (former director of the Maine Turnpike Authority) used their positions to dispense favors and money at the expense of the taxpayer. But few know how other political insiders have personally profited.

Remember that Dale McCormick was treasurer of the State of Maine while Angus King and John Baldacci were governor. One has to wonder what kind of deals were made during that time?
By now everyone knows that former governor Angus King and his business partner Robert Gardiner used their political connections and friends (Congresswoman Chellie Pingree) to help get an unnecessary Federal Loan Guarantee for the Record Hill Wind Power Project, as reported by The Maine Wire.

That loan guarantee immediately added some $4 million to $5 million to the bottom line for King and Gardiner by enabling them to sell the debt at below-market interest rates. This kind of advantage comes at the expense of the ratepayer and taxpayer. The means by which that federal loan guarantee was obtained is now under investigation by the Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, as also reported by The Maine Wire.

One could argue that Angus King took the recent step to distance himself from his project as a civic duty and that he “is smart, not clairvoyant,” as his handler said. But that argument is weak in the light of the letter effectively subpoenaing all communications sent before King announced his “divestiture,” which was dated before his announcement.

This isn’t the first time Robert Gardiner and Angus King used the taxpayer and voter gullibility to their advantage. The Maine taxpayer is still paying principal and interest (some $700,000 annually) on the bonds issued to pay for Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s upgrade. The bonds were issued under King’s signature. Gardiner is the former president of MPBN.

Not to forget that MPBN still receives an annual subsidy of almost $2 million. How that became part of the General Fund budget is being looked into. One could say that it was a debt of friendship for 20 years of working at MPBN hosting “Maine Watch” or just payback for helping Angus get elected. Hey, what are friends for?

One of King’s first jobs in Maine was lobbying for the Natural Resources Council of Maine at the State House. He later made millions by taking advantage of laws he lobbied at the State House for while employed by NRCM.

After being governor, he returned to the NRCM as a board member, along with other highly prominent political figures, such as Obama Bundler Robert “Bobby” Monks and long-time friend and political ally Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (who is still an advisory board member).

Though Chellie Pingree likes to take credit for shepherding through the Legislature “Maine’s largest land-bill initiative, Land for Maine’s Future”, Angus King signed the $50 million bond. It also saddled Maine citizens with heavy bond payments. Dale McCormick was state treasurer then.

Let’s get to the “or wealthier” part of this narrative
Robert Monks, Jr., one of the wealthiest individuals in Maine, is also owner (10%) and director of Maine Today Media, along with Chellie Pingree and her husband Donald Sussman (75%) and the Guild Union (15%).

Bobby Monks is known to own or have owned close to a billion dollars of real estate. He was campaign manager and chief money-man for Obama Maine 2008. His wife is Obama’s money-bundler for 2012.

He also owns some of the most prominent properties in Portland: One City Center (new home for Maine Today Media’s staff) and One Portland Square (Maine Headquarters for TD Banknorth). He also rents luxury apartments in Portland for $950 to $1,400 per month at three locations in Portland. Amazingly, he received low- or no-interest loans and no principal payment for 30 years from Maine State Housing Authority. Guess who was state treasurer and later executive director at Maine State Housing? Dale McCormick.

The sweetheart-financed Monk’s properties, 53 Danforth Street, Casco Terrace and Walker Terrace, are renting out as luxury apartments. Ostensibly these properties are “subsidized housing for low-income people”, but we, the taxpayers and citizens, are the ones paying one of the richest men in Maine the subsidies. He is pocketing the profit.

When the Democrats say, “The Maine State Housing Authority is an economic engine for the State of Maine,” they were being truthful—to a point. It was an engine of profit for one of the richest men in the state.

What is ironic and infuriating is that all of these rich, powerful, politically connected elite know that virtually none of this is illegal. Well, except for the gift card thing. And doubly ironic in that as it is not corruption, and that they do all of this “in the name of the people”.

Well, we the citizens and voters of Maine have the last say about that. We can elect reformers to continue to clean up Maine. Or we can let this group continue to profit at our expense.

J Dwight is founder and President of Dwight Investment Counsel and is on the Board of Advisors at the Maine Heritage Policy Center

http://www.themainewire.com/2012/04/op-ed-maine%E2%80%99s-wealthy-elite-profit-political-connections/

Did Bobby Monks jump the 'Political Fence' from noted Republican Patriarch Robert A.G. Monks?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Now there's a story for Maine's Elite media fodder.

noun

coarse food for livestock, composed of entire plants, including leaves, stalks, and grain, of such forages as corn and sorghum.

people considered as readily available and of little value: cannon fodder.

raw material: fodder for a comedian's routine.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

H E L L O

Jerry Lee Lewis - Boogie Woogie Country Man

HELLO Like Before By Bill Withers

Did you know that a simple "HELLO" can be a sweet one? I received one recently from a friend through an e-mail. Here's what it said:

The word "HELLO" means:

H = How are you?
E = Everything all right?
L = Like to hear from you.
L = Love to see you soon.
O = Oh, and don't forget to write......
So, HELLO ............! It has made me smile every time I say hello since then... So send this message to the people you care about and say HELLO to them!

Submitted by: 'Ol Rufe'

Lisbon HS Dancing with Staff Finale 4.12‏

LISBON DANCING WITH THE STAFF FINALE THURSDAY, APRIL 12!

Lisbon – They won your hearts and your votes at Lisbon's Dancing with the Staff semi-final round held in March. Mark your calendars to attend the finale of Lisbon High School's Drama Club and Class of 2013 fundraiser on Thursday, April 12. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. show starts at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds from the event benefit LHS students. Pictured (l-r) are dancing partners Andy Knox and Melissa Martin; current champions Randy Ridley and Julie Wescott; and Zachary Longyear and Katie Dodge. Audience participation will determine the winners of the coveted gold ball this year. FMI visit us on Facebook at Community Resource News in Lisbon Schools. Photo courtesy of Sandy Orr.

Our Government Is The Problem With America Today;BrasscheckTV: The 'War on Terror' is a Fraud Iranian terrorists were trained in the U.S. by the U.S.‏ (Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, false flag, hypocrisy , Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, US trained Iranian terrorist)

Lisbon,

They took our privacy, our rights, our dignity in the name of
security, they fight their phony 'War on Terror' at our expense,
and they threaten to indefinitely detain without charges anyone
'associated' with terrorists.

Yet, repeatedly, our own government IS terror.

Seymour Hersh has revealed that during the Bush Administration the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) trained members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, a dissident Iranian opposition group known in the West as the M.E.K.

M.E.K. is to this day on the State Department's list of terrorist
organizations and was responsible for the killing of six Americans
in Iran in the 1970s.

Goodman Green
- Brasscheck

Seymour Hersh: U.S. trained Iranian terrorist group

Our Men in Iran?

by Seymour M. Hersh
The New Yorker

From the air, the terrain of the Department of Energyï¿½s Nevada National Security Site, with its arid high plains and remote mountain peaks, has the look of northwest Iran. The site, some sixty-five miles northwest of Las Vegas, was once used for nuclear testing, and now includes a counterintelligence training facility and a private airport capable of handling Boeing 737 aircraft. Itï¿½s a restricted area, and inhospitableï¿½in certain sections, the curious are warned that the siteï¿½s security personnel are authorized to use deadly force, if necessary, against intruders.

It was here that the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducted training, beginning in 2005, for members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, a dissident Iranian opposition group known in the West as the M.E.K. The M.E.K. had its beginnings as a Marxist-Islamist student-led group and, in the nineteen-seventies, it was linked to the assassination of six American citizens. It was initially part of the broad-based revolution that led to the 1979 overthrow of the Shah of Iran. But, within a few years, the group was waging a bloody internal war with the ruling clerics, and, in 1997, it was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. In 2002, the M.E.K. earned some international credibility by publicly revealingï¿½accuratelyï¿½that Iran had begun enriching uranium at a secret underground location. Mohamed ElBaradei, who at the time was the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nationsï¿½ nuclear monitoring agency, told me later that he had been informed that the information was supplied by the Mossad. The M.E.K.ï¿½s ties with Western intelligence deepened after the fall of the Iraqi regime in 2003, and JSOC began operating inside Iran in an effort to substantiate the Bush Administrationï¿½s fears that Iran was building the bomb at one or more secret underground locations. Funds were covertly passed to a number of dissident organizations, for intelligence collection and, ultimately, for anti-regime terrorist activities. Directly, or indirectly, the M.E.K. ended up with resources like arms and intelligence. Some American-supported covert operations continue in Iran today, according to past and present intelligence officials and military consultants.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/04/mek.html#ixzz1rXirWPMi

Government Tyranny Is Out Of Control; NaturalNews: City officials of Roswell, Georgia abuse backyard chicken farmer, drive him to violent suicide‏

Dear NaturalNews & Lisbon Reporter readers,

The abuse of government power against local citizens has taken a turn for the worse in Roswell, Georgia, where city officials there abused, arrested and threatened a backyard chicken farmer named Andrew Wordes.

A few days ago, after enduring years of torturous abuse by city officials, Mr. Wordes set fire to his house with himself inside it. He died in minutes, and now the city is moving to take over his land as part of their "green zone" efforts.

This devastating story of total government abuse of a local farmer is fully covered in today's feature story by Ethan Huff:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035524_Andrew_Wordes_Roswell_chickens.html

We've also published the Andrew Wordes timeline infograph laying out the timeline of escalating threats, intimidation and abuse of government power that led to his sudden and violent death:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Andrew-Wordes-vs-Roswell-GA.html

This event is just the latest example of runaway government bullying of local residents. This is all part of what I was talking about when I coined the term "trickle-down tyranny" in November of last year. When the federal government abuses the rights of American citizens, local tyrants play copycat and start abusing their own citizens just to keep up.

In other news about oppressive government, a new health bill in New Zealand threatens to criminalize the simple steeping of herbal tea, charging residents fines of up to $50,000 for making their own "unapproved" medicine at home:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035523_New_Zealand_natural_health_Codex.html

Here are six powerful tips on surviving a global crisis of almost any kind:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035520_crisis_survival_tips.html

I've just posted my video review of Fenix survival flashlights. If you're looking for a reliable, rugged flashlight for preparedness and survival, watch this video by the Health Ranger:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035522_Fenix_flashlights_LED_lights_reviews.html

Confirmed yet again in two more studies: Honey bees are being decimated by synthetic pesticides!
http://www.naturalnews.com/035518_honey_bees_pesticides_science.html

Revealed: The five best natural antibiotics to help you survive a pandemic or infection:
http://www.naturalnews.com/035516_natural_antibiotics_superbugs.html

P.S. I'm hosting the Alex Jones Show today beginning at 11 am central time (12 noon Eastern / 9am Pacific). The topic? The government's attack on America's farms and food supply. It's a hard-hitting show with an amazing lineup of guests. This is LIVE and extremely important to your freedom. Listen in at: www.PrisonPlanet.com

Today's Feature Stories:

City of Roswell, GA, bullies Andrew Wordes to death over his backyard chickens
(NaturalNews) An innocent man who had legally been raising a few dozen chickens and other small birds in the backyard of his suburban Atlanta home is now dead, following a crusade of terror perpetrated against him by the City of Roswell in Georgia. Andrew...

Proposed 'Natural Health Products Bill' in New Zealand would fine individuals $50,000 for making a cup of unapproved herbal tea
(NaturalNews) The health freedom of New Zealanders is under very serious threat, as the federal government there pushes to pass a bill known as the Natural Health Products Bill (NHPB), or Bill 324-1, that will bring the nation into compliance with...

Health Ranger reviews Fenix survival flashlights for SupplySource.com - rugged, reliable and available now
(NaturalNews) In the quest for finding the perfect preparedness and survival gear, I've become something of a gear head. Especially when it comes to flashlights: I've bought and testing probably fifty lights over the last three years, and most of them...

The anti-cancer medicine in broccoli (DIM nutrients) isn't released until you chew them to combine two phytochemicals
(NaturalNews) Broccoli and related vegetables such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts naturally contain a chemical known as glucobrassicin. When these vegetables are crushed by chewing, a chemical reaction transforms glucobrassicin into

Six tips on surviving the modern world in the event of a crisis
(NaturalNews) Modern, urban life is a minefield of toxic chemicals and health-sapping pollutants that can cause serious, long-term health damage if not carefully avoided or at least properly and regularly mitigated. But surviving the modern world requires...

Ron Paul admits in speech to public that the FDA And Big Pharma 'are in bed together'
(NaturalNews) Ron Paul makes a groundbreaking admission to the public on tape - that the FDA and Big Pharma are indeed "in bed together," both building up their monopolies and only interested in making more money. The Republican presidential candidate...

Confirmed: Common pesticide crashing honeybee populations around the world
(NaturalNews) Two new studies published in the journal Science have once again confirmed what several previous studies, including one compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), have found concerning the epidemic of colony collapse...

Ammonium hydroxide, health effects of "pink slime"
(NaturalNews) Awareness of "pink slime" in the schools, restaurants, and supermarkets has caused quite a stir in recent days. BPI, a leading manufacturer of the stuff has subsequently shut down all but 1 of their factories. There are still slime burgers...

The 5 best natural antibiotics and anti-virals that destroy superbugs and just about everything else
(NaturalNews) Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial power of the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928. Even though it was a natural healing agent effective in destroying Staphylococcus aureus and other noxious bacteria, the pharmaceutical industry...

An Open Letter to President Obama (opinion)
(NaturalNews)Dear President Obama: We the people have stated resolutely that we reject your vision for our country. You claim you have not heard us. We, the people, have assembled across America resisting your efforts to subvert our Constitution...

Prominent heart doctor exposes the myths about cholesterol, statins and low fat diets
(NaturalNews) Renowned heart surgeon Dr. Dwight Lundell recently stepped forward to expose how embracing the high cholesterol myth has been wrong and the harm that has resulted, stating that the recommendations to lower cholesterol and severely restrict...

Dr. Andrew Wakefield reveals real story behind vaccines, autism and more
(NaturalNews) In an interview on The Robert Scott Bell Show, Dr. Andrew Wakefield talks about vaccines and autism, the MMR vaccine, the General Medical Council's case against John Walker Smith and many other important issues pertaining to vaccines...

The 5 best springtime detox diets
(NaturalNews) The road to wellness is a journey. And like all undertakings, it is subject to the demands of time and place. Not very long ago, spring announced its arrival. Nature has since then been in a frenzy of change. Flowers started blooming again...

Study: EPA-approved GMO insecticide responsible for killing off bees, contaminating entire food chain
(NaturalNews) Early last year, leaked documents obtained by a Colorado beekeeper exposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) illegitimate approval of clothianidin, a highly-toxic pesticide manufactured by Bayer CropScience that the...

Register Today For MHPC's April Luncheon Events - "Getting To Zero"‏

Please Reserve Your Space Today

If You Have Not Already Registered

The Maine Heritage Policy Center

invites you to attend

“Getting To Zero:

Beginning The Discussion On

Eliminating Maine’s Income Tax”

with

The Honorable H. Sawin Millett, Jr.

Commissioner

Department of Administrative and Financial Services

State of Maine

Mr. J. Scott Moody

Chief Economist

The Maine Heritage Policy Center

Portland

● 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ●

Thursday, April 26, 2012

DiMillo’s On the Water

25 Long Wharf, Portland

Click Here To Register

MHPC Member: $17 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
Non-Member: $22

~~~~~~

Bangor

● 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ●

Friday, April 27, 2012

Sea Dog Brewing Company

Banquet Center

26 Front Street, Bangor

Click Here To Register

MHPC Member: $17 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
Non-Member: $22

For more information, please contact Amanda Clark at aclark@mainepolicy.org

or by phone at 207-321-2550.

_________________________________________________________________

About MHPC

Lisbon Public Schools 2012-13 Revenue Sheet as of 04-06-2012‏

Click on and Print the above

Hope For Change, Well You Got It Now; The Maine WIRE: BREAKING: Sussman Bans GOP Leadership from Press Herald, Kennebec Journal

Don't Choke on your coffee with this one, it is for real people. You have had the same thing going on in Lisbon for how many year's now with your so called Leader's?

Intimidation, Deceit, Corruption, has been the norm for so long your leaders don't know anything different.

And their 'hypocritical' oath means exactly what?

By Rep. Phil Curtis

Maine House Majority Leader Phil Curtis originally submitted this piece to the Maine Today Media for publication. The papers refused to run it based on its criticism of the paper’s owner and his spouse. This is an amazing act of political censorship, and ironically reinforces the concerns Rep. Curtis outlines in this piece. The entire, unedited column is featured below.

What do you get for the congresswoman who has everything? Southern Maine’s Democratic congresswoman, Chellie Pingree, recently received the gift of a lifetime from her husband, hedge fund mogul Donald Sussman.

It wasn’t diamonds or pearls. It wasn’t a new jet, a yacht or any other favorite trinket of the “one percenters.” It wasn’t pretty, fun or even profitable, but it definitely helped her career.

It was her very own chain of newspapers.

Donald Sussman recently bought a 75-percent ownership stake in Maine Today Media, the company that owns the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal (Augusta) and the Morning Sentinel (Waterville). These are three of the five largest newspapers in the state.

Democrats routinely decry the influence that big corporations and big money hold over our political process. How hypocritical it is to see two of their standard-bearers—the congresswoman who is a leader in the “progressive caucus” and her husband who is one of the largest patrons of Democratic causes in the country—use their money to infiltrate the institutions that give Maine people their news.

Sussman pledges to stay out of any editorial decisions the newspapers make. I have news for Donald: buying a newspaper is an editorial decision. No matter how much Donald says outwardly that he wants his new media outlets to be unbiased, bias will be inherent and intractable. Journalism ethics expert Bob Steele called Sussman’s ownership a legitimate concern.

Whenever negative news about Congresswoman Pingree or the legion of liberal activist groups that Sussman bankrolls comes out, the editorial staff at Maine Today Media will undoubtedly ponder—even if only for a moment—the reception their reporting will receive when it reaches Sussman’s doorstep or his laptop screen.

In the 2010 election cycle, the Portland Press Herald endorsed Dean Scontras for Congress, the Republican challenger to Pingree. What would the result have been if Pingree and her husband owned 75 percent of the newspaper? A disclaimer would not have sufficed.

In recent news stories, the Maine Today papers have been sheepishly disclosing their new ownership. Instead of the customary disclaimer at the end of a story whenever a conflict exists, the writers have been surreptitiously slipping the fact that Sussman controls the paper into the body of the story. The “disclaimers” stand out as patchwork solutions to the massive conflict that can never go away as long as Sussman and Pingree own the newspapers. They are mere Band-Aids on the severed artery of honest reporting in Maine.

Furthermore, what does Sussman see in the ailing newspapers? Everyone knows that newspapers are a dying breed and that the Internet is quickly rendering them obsolete. Their stock, consequently, is going nowhere but down. In 1998, the Gannett family, longtime owners of the newspapers, sold them to the company that owns The Seattle Times for $213 million. Ten years later, they were sold to Maine Today Media for an undisclosed price. Sussman picked up his 75 percent stake for only $3.3 million, giving the chain a value of $4.4 million.

Maybe he sees something in the papers. But Sussman is not a Warren Buffett-style investor. He doesn’t follow a model of buying fundamentally sound companies at good bargains and turning them around over time. His style has been to earn fast money through complex financial deals, similar to the kind of seat-of-your-pants investing that crashed the housing market.

So maybe he wants to finally settle down in Maine and build something for a change. Why then would he not want to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the business?

One thing I know about Mainers is that you won’t pull wool over their eyes. They know a shady deal when they see one, and this, ladies and gentlemen, is a shady deal if I ever saw one.

Representative Phil Curtis (R-Madison) is the Majority Leader in the Maine House of Representatives.

www.themainewire.com

Monday, April 9, 2012

The War On Drugs Is A Hoax; Brasscheck TV:US clings to 'Drug War' as Latin America considers change‏ (black market, cartels, Drug War, gangs, governments, Latin America, prohibition, Summit of the Americas, war on drug users)

Lisbon,
 
At the Summit of the Americas, this year, Latin American leaders
will be admitting that the 'War on Drugs' is a failure and that
they should be considering alternatives, such as ending prohibition.
 
Ending prohibition will all but destroy the black market on which
the violent drug cartels thrive.
 
Leading up to the Summit of the Americas, however, the Obama
Administration has indicated that they intend to cling steadfast to
old and failing policies, even as Latin American leaders consider
change.
 
Here's how the conversation is going...
 

 
Goodman Green
- Brasscheck

'War on drugs' has failed, say Latin American leaders

Watershed summit will admit that prohibition has failed, and call for more nuanced and liberalised tactics

by Jamie Doward
The Guardian

A historic meeting of Latin America's leaders, to be attended by Barack Obama, will hear serving heads of state admit that the war on drugs has been a failure and that alternatives to prohibition must now be found.

The Summit of the Americas, to be held in Cartagena, Colombia is being seen by foreign policy experts as a watershed moment in the redrafting of global drugs policy in favour of a more nuanced and liberalised approach.

Otto Pérez Molina, the president of Guatemala, who as former head of his country's military intelligence service experienced the power of drug cartels at close hand, is pushing his fellow Latin American leaders to use the summit to endorse a new regional security plan that would see an end to prohibition. In the Observer, Pérez Molina writes: "The prohibition paradigm that inspires mainstream global drug policy today is based on a false premise: that global drug markets can be eradicated."

Pérez Molina concedes that moving beyond prohibition is problematic. "To suggest liberalisation – allowing consumption, production and trafficking of drugs without any restriction whatsoever – would be, in my opinion, profoundly irresponsible. Even more, it is an absurd proposition. If we accept regulations for alcoholic drinks and tobacco consumption and production, why should we allow drugs to be consumed and produced without any restrictions?"

Read entire article here

U.S. clings to "Drug War" as
Latin American nations mull ending prohibition

For The Sake Of Our Children; Government Gone Wild: The Imperial Presidency & The "Supreme" Consequence‏

Do we no longer have a "Commander in Chief" in President Obama? Is it possible we now have an "Imperial President"? Check out the new article by GGW contributor Col. Don Myers (USMC, ret). A snippet of the article is below...

This past Monday President Obama challenged the Supreme Court by stating that in effect it did not have the authority to judge “ObamaCare”. His comments were quite specific and challenges arose from...Click HERE to read the rest of the article

In Case You Missed It...What will an Obama second term mean for the people of this nation? If our "Commander in Chief" gets re-elected, the national debt and record deficits may be the LEAST of our worries. This brand NEW GGW video show us a "Supreme" consequence of an Obama second term. This email and video should be forwarded to every voter in this nation! Click the picture below to wach the video.

What A Crazy, Ever Changing World...! Putting On The Ritz

If you want to start today with a smile, you will want to watch this one.

Moscow rocks ....

Well worth watching!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL

Who could have thought that in 2012 young people in Moscow would put on a "flash mob" happening, dancing to an 83 year old American song written by a Russian born American/Jew (Irving Berlin) whose last name is the capital of Germany...

http://youtu.be/KgoapkOo4vg

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

The first picture and the last picture are taken at the beach in Santa Barbara right next to the pier.

There is a veterans group that started putting a cross and candle for every death in Iraq and Afghanistan .

The amazing thing is that they only do it on the weekends. They put up this graveyard and take it down every weekend. Guys sleep in the sand next to it and keep watch over it at night so nobody messes with it.

Every cross has the name, rank and D.O.B. and D.O.D. on it.

Very moving, very powerful??? so many young volunteers. So many 30 to 40 year olds as well.

Amazing !

Monday Update: a follower of TLR has informed us of the ACLU claim not being true, so we stand corrected and thank them for the information.

"The beach memorials are erected every Sunday at Santa Barbara, and Santa Monica, California. However, the claims in the message about supposed lawsuits filed by the ACLU are untrue"