Local Letters to the Editor
Getting back
to the Constitution
To the Editor:
Here’s the rub. We have returning vets selling their hard-earned medals so that they can buy food and housing. We have a president that feels it more prudent to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods while the family of the most decorated military sniper in history is laid to rest — permanently. Obama has no problem putting people in harm’s way, yet hasn’t the respect to pay tribute to our fallen soldiers. The Newtown shooting was a horrific crime carried out by one severely disturbed individual. After the deed was done, all we heard about was the children. Little was mentioned about the fact the mother of the shooter was shot while trying to prevent her son from leaving the home. Obama then decides to surround himself with “the little children” while giving a news conference on his proposed gun legislation.
Let’s look at the real facts. Gun sales have sky rocketed since his election. Ammo sales have quadrupled, concealed carry applications have gone through the roof and ATF has had to alter their procedures as a result of the volume of purchases. Whenever there is a Diane Feinstein type wanting to blame the weapon, gun and ammo sales peak. It will always be that way. Why? The media doesn’t even use the proper language when it comes to weapons.
Hi cap magazines that hold too many bullets. The bullet is just one part of the cartridge. The so-called automatic assault weapons are not automatic, but it sure sounds scary. Machine guns are full automatic weapons and there is a separate and expensive procedure to license and own one. You probably didn’t hear about the would-be shooter in a Chicago school who was stopped by an armed guard in the school. Mainstream media doesn’t like those stories.
Liberal media is as much to blame for these shootings as the shooter. Last night Joe Biden suggested for everyone to go and purchase a double-barreled shotgun, and did so on the evening news! I feel much safer now.
Stopping gun violence is easy. You use a weapon in the commission of a crime and we publicly put you to death, within say, seven days. No excuses, no exclusions. It wouldn’t take long to cure the problem. Eliminate so-called “gun free zones.” Those are places for dysfunctional cowards with weapons looking for immortality. Do not make that available to them. Socially unacceptable, you ask?
Getting back to our Constitution and away from the slippery slide to Socialism is where this country needs to go, unless, of course, you desire a government that will care for you — and if that’s the case, try Russia, Cuba or any number of Communist countries. These steps along with not allowing welfare recipients to vote will be a step in bringing the Constitution back as the document that has stood the test of time, pre Obama, Pelosi, Reed and Feinstein.
Concerned about the number of gun sales taking place? Obama is the number-one reason and the best gun salesman of all time. As far as presidents go, that’s not much of a legacy, but it is a great thing for the citizens of this country.
Paul Fichtner
Charleston
Radical environmentalists among us
To the Editor:
Once again Senator Doug Thomas sees “radical environmentalists” lurking behind every bush and tree in Piscataquis County, or at least behind the bushes and trees along the route of the proposed East-West Corridor. He spoke about this recently on TV 13 in Portland. But what must really amaze him is how many “radical environmentalists” there are in Monson and Sangerville!
Monson passed a moratorium to allow time for its citizens to consider the impact of any construction of highways, pipelines and utility corridors and Sangerville is considering a similar moratorium. “Radical environmentalists!” They walk among us! Who knew!
It’s frightening to think there may be even more of them lurking in Garland, Dexter, Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Guilford, Abbot, Parkman, etc. — all of them with the strange idea that they should be listened to by their senator when a major construction project affecting their lives and environment is proposed.
Some very strange things going on around here …
David P. Frasz
Dover-Foxcroft
March is
Red Cross Month
By Patricia Murtagh
During Red Cross Month, the American Red Cross recognizes the nation’s Everyday Heroes who give of themselves and in some way help their community.
Please remember those who help all of us here in Maine by giving their time to help their neighbor. We want to thank our heroes during Red Cross Month – our volunteers, blood donors, class takers, and financial supporters who help us assist those in need.
March was first proclaimed as Red Cross Month 70 years ago by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since 1943, every president, including President Obama, has designated March as Red Cross Month. The American Red Cross is synonymous with helping people, and has been doing so for more than 130 years.
The Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters a year in this country, providing shelter, food, emotional support and other necessities to those affected. It provides 24-hour support to members of the military, veterans and their families – in war zones, military hospitals and on military installations around the world; collects and distributes about 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply and trains more than seven million people in first aid, water safety and other life-saving skills every year.
In FY 2012 right here in the Maine your Red Cross responded to 271 local emergencies that affected 1,096 individuals, assisted 989 military families and trained 19,345 people in lifesaving skills. And, people from the Pine Tree State donated 82,369 units of blood products.
Red Cross Month is a great time for people to become part of the Red Cross and there are many different ways to do it. They can develop a preparedness plan for their household, become a Red Cross volunteer, give blood, or take a Red Cross class, just to name a few.
The Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work. An average of 91 cents of every dollar given to the Red Cross is invested in helping people in need.
Patricia Murtagh is CEO of the Red Cross of Maine. She can be reached at (207) 874-1192 ext. 119 or via e-mail at patricia.murtagh@redcross.org.
Children need
mothers and fathers
To the Editor:
We have background checks on buying a gun and passing more gun laws will not stop the violence. Look at Chicago; it has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation and last year it had over 400 people killed with guns. The problem is not with the gun but with the breakdown of the family with men and women who don’t honor their marriage vows. Children are the biggest losers and it’s no wonder we have millions of children struggling with depression and that leads to the use of drugs, alcohol, or they commit acts of violence.
Dan Quayle said it best when he delivered a speech on our poverty of values in May of 1992 where he said, when families fail, society fails; children need love and discipline; they need mothers and fathers; a welfare check is not a husband; the state is not a father. It is from parents that children learn how to behave in society; it is from parents, above all, that children come to understand values. We must renew our public commitment to our Judeo-Christian values in our churches, synagogues and most of all in our schools.
To cut back on domestic violence and child abuse we should have background checks for anyone who wants to subscribe to any porn channel on cable TV and put their names in the newspapers.
Joseph Riitano, Sr.
Sangerville
Mayor Bloomers
and the vacuum
To the Editor:
The other night I stopped at a local variety store to pick up a pizza that my wife had ordered. As I left the vehicle to enter the store, my wife requested that I grab a 2-liter soda while I was in there. It occurred to me, as I perused through the cooler in search of one that “everyone would like”, (which is code for “don’t get Dr. Pepper because you’re the only one that drinks it”) that if I lived in the State of New York I would be engaging in a criminal activity. Yes, the Empire State is living up to its name and by imperious order Mayor Bloomberg has decided that pizza coupled with a 2-liter soda is such a heinous combination that it should be outlawed in the Big Apple. (It’s rumored that the Mayor contemplated banning the large nickname until he was assured that the “big apple” weighs less than 32 ounces.) Thank God, I live in northern Maine!
Bloomberg’s sidekick, Governor Cuomo, has enacted some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the nation. He now has exempted Hollywood actors from his gun laws because we all know from watching the antics of Hollywood’s finest, that only they, not law abiding citizens, have the gravitas, mental stability and down home common sense to be entrusted with those bang-shooty thingys. Enter Lindsey Lohan … yes, the Big Apple has got a worm in it and the Empire State has fallen to the dark side. Another sigh of thanks that I live in Maine, a strong Second Amendment state (just ask the Bangor Daily News).
But how, you may ask, can such tomfoolery in leadership go on unquestioned? This dance of buffoons in New York is aided and abetted by the vacuum of silence, which is the media. Much of the chicanery that is liberal politics can only function under the cloak of silence afforded to them by the deceit of the modern-day agenda-driven media. They are well aware that common sense Americans have little tolerance for the idiocy-gone-to-seed behavior that many left wing politicians exhibit. So they just don’t report it.
Take the latest jewel from the gift that keeps on giving, Justin Alfond, Maine’s version of Joe Biden. He believes that Governor LePage’s biggest problem is that he is too truthful. Or then there is the fact that the White House has decided to use the Portland Press Herald to send its communications to Gov. LePage.
We knew the President has trouble balancing a budget, but no money for stamps? We do have problems. Well, I’m sure the Herald can keep a secret, don’t you? This has prompted the Governor to “advise” the President that, while they are aware that the U.S. Postal Service has some issues, it is still a preferred mail carrier over the Portland Press Herald.
Left-wing politicians have enjoyed the cover of silence for so long they don’t know quite what to do when the cover is blown. For so long when the few tried to warn the public about the shenanigans of these individuals, citizens were hard pressed to believe anyone could be so downright foolish. It flies in the face of all facets of wisdom, and there was no verification from the yawning silence of the media … until now. Some have grown tired of shirking their professional responsibilities and have begun to expose the poor behavior of these leaders, prompting severe backlash from even the White House.
The extreme measures of such imperious leaders as the ones in New York have caused a backlash from many of their constituents. This provides a certain warning to all those who pride themselves in strong-arming the American public. “Hang on to your ‘Bloombergs’ because you may have a revolution on your hands!”
Andy Torbett
Atkinson