In The Maine News

Perhaps you should send our "Beloved Governor" an email. I know that a while back he sent out a directive to the general Maine population, that he was looking for any and all cuts to trim the budget/services. Having been Mayor of my fair city, I personally know Paul as an individual, and I would bet he would welcome some suggestions from Joe and Joan Public. Worth a shot a least ... I know I have done so in the past.

JUST lost my healthcare....I'm FUCKED!

Biological Graffity said:

JUST lost my healthcare....I'm FUCKED!

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If you are talking about the recent posts BG, fear not just yet. I firmly believe that even with the current Legislature and Senate being on the Republican side, I don't think that they have enough votes to pass such a cut. As more and more Republican and Democrat members hear from their constituents, they are hearing the very same message as you posted. And then in 2012 (Presidential Vote), I strongly feel that Maine will then go back in being held by the Dem's.

Also, If Paul starts with MaineCare and his sweeping cuts ... Do you really think that will be the end? I say NO as then He will go after Education and make some drastic cuts there as well. We def need to "Stop the Bleed", but do not throw out all of the apples because of a few bad ones.

We need to take Government back to the Kitchen Table. I know personally that when we discuss cuts here at home, we sit down calmly and discuss what can we do to save a dollar. It may sound crude and far fetched, but we need to do the very same thing with Paul.

*Note ~ I saw Paul on Tuesday here in Waterville and He assured me that people like You and I would not be cut. I know that as a politician, one can usually talk out of both sides of his mouth, and Paul can ... But I could sense something real about this conversation with him ... All as I just stated.

Keep Positive, and think of ways that WE CAN trim the Budget.
MaineYankee

maineyankee said:

Paul.

*Note ~ I saw Paul on Tuesday here in Waterville and He assured me that people like You and I would not be cut. I know that as a politician, one can usually talk out of both sides of his mouth, and Paul can ... But I could sense something real about this conversation with him ... All as I just stated.

Keep Positive, and think of ways that WE CAN trim the Budget.
MaineYankee

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just because he believes his lies, or more importantly just doesnt understand what he is really doing doesn't make it ok. don't be a sucker.. are gov. is a thug.

There is no way that I am a Sucker when it comes to Politics. I just know Paul (For appx 10 years now) as a Mayor and as a friend who had it also rough growing up.

He is not going to be well liked by a lot of people. He knew that going in. What He will do for us, is to give us a shot at balancing the budget. We cannot keep on going the way that we have for so many years. No one individual is to blame here. We had it good for too long, and now we must pay Peter. (Addage: Rob Peter to Pay Paul).

Mr. LePage was great for Marden's ... No? Mr. LePage was great for Waterville. No? and I am sure as my last dollar that Mr. LePage will do the very same for this State that I love so very much. Yes?

maineyankee said:

We cannot keep on going the way that we have for so many years.

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In what sense? The concept that the nation is broke is completely ludicrous - corporations are sitting on record amounts of cash and the incomes of the top 1% individual earners are increasing at an alarming rate. There is plenty of money to pay the bills if the government chooses to chase it.

90% of Congress are millionaires. The 10% that isn't a millionaire already when they enter office know that they will become one after leaving due to cronyism. Think about that when you hear politicians giving the reasons that taxes should not be raised on the wealthy. The money is there but it is more politically expedient (and a fuck of a lot easier) to try to balance the budget on the backs of those with no political strength.

I totally agree. When I stated that "We cannot keep on going the way that we have for so many years", I meant that every time someone needed some help, We sent millions of dollars to them. When someone needed something done, who did they call ? Us.

We constantly stick our nose where it does not belong, and it ends up costing our Sons and Daughters lives. Do you really think that Iraq and Afghanistan will stop when we leave? No. How much money did that cost us, and did it out way capturing Saddam? No. There was never any evidence that he had anything going on.

We need to stop dishing out, and keeping our money here in the United States. Then we would not be in the mess that we are in with the many ills that we have.

My bad, i misinterpreted what you were getting at. I totally agree with you about ending the stupid wars. We could take care of 75% of our of our projected debt (which is really what the politicians are worried about) by bringing ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and letting the Bush Tax Cuts expire. Our politicians are making a calculated decision to let poor Americans starve so their campaign contributors can continue to feast.

I'm with you guys....

Usually I post from either a local newspaper, or sometimes a Television clip. I don't think I need to in this case ...

Now that We, as a Country, have ended the Iraq War ... How do you feel after nine years? Did we accomplish anything? Was it worth the cost of Our Sons and Daughters lives? Now that "It" is over, what do you think will be next on the "Agenda" of Our Leaders?

The MaineYankee

I think the next agenda needs to be to clean up the mess we have at home. We've spent so much time with the affairs of others that our own country has gone feral and we need to snap to and pay attention at home now.

[h=1]Conflict of Interest? Six-Figure Salaries and Social Services Funding[/h]By Leif Parsell
Rallies in Augusta this week organized by an alliance of Progressive organizations and so-called Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGS) to push back against the Governor’s supplemental Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) budget have raised the specter of a serious conflict of interest. Some in Maine have begun to raise the question: do organizations who receive state money, some of whom are even instrumentalities of the state, have a conflict of interest in lobbying against funding cuts?
A consortium of non-profit liberal advocacy groups, under the banner of the organization Maine Can Do Better (MCDB), have mobilized to oppose the proposed budget cuts. However, many of these organizations have a vested interest in ensuring continue state funding of the programs that provide the bulk of their operational budgets. The staff and services of these organizations rely on the state budget as much as the poor, elderly, and disabled that they serve.
An example of a Maine-based PAG is the Disability Rights Council (DRC), who received 1.6 million dollars in state and federal aid in 2010, out of an operational budget of 1.8 million, to provide legal aid to disabled Mainers. Lobbying and advocacy activity by groups like DRC creates a scenario where a group funded by the taxpayers is utilizing these very funds to ensure the maintenance of these payments, and even to procure more government money.
Another MCDB group that follows this path is Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE). PPNNE received more than 3 million dollars in government funds in 2009. This appears to be a model for many of the MCDB affiliates, and like others, DRC uses its government funds to provide high-paying positions for its principles – two of its executives make more than $200,000 a year.
Patient Advocacy Groups, whether serving the elderly, disabled, the poor, the unemployed, or a variety of other Maine groups, seem intent on participating in the public policy debate regarding funding for their organizations. However, high salaries, lobbying, the creation of a bureaucratic infrastructure which is self-reinforcing, and millions in government funds raises the question: who are these organizations advocating for?
Carol Weston of the Maine branch of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group, is concerned about this dynamic.
Some of the salary information about these groups can be found through the organizations’ IRS Form 990s. Limited to the salaries of CEOs, the information gleaned from the 990s shows that leadership of government-funded non-profit agencies can be a lucrative career path.
Below is a sampling of the CEO salaries for some of the Maine Can Do Better groups:

• Avesta Housing – $128,811 ($11 million in government funding)
• Disability Rights Center – $95,955 ($1.6 million in government funding)
• Family Planning Association – $102,454 ($3.8 million in government funding)
• Preble Street – $88,109 ($2.5 million in government funding)

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England ($3 million in government funding) lists four executives on its 990 form:

• Nancy Mosher – $201,888
• Thomas Frank – $170,213
• Cheryl Gibson – $204,955
• Susan Smith – $150,845

Maine Can Do Better, an organization run by veteran Democrat political operatives Ben Dudley and David Farmer, has been orchestrating a concerted advocacy program to sustain funding for these groups. According to sources, a recent series of conference calls between Farmer and the MCDB groups have been used to consolidate messaging and strategy for opposition to Governor LePage’s DHHS budget. The calls have featured a who’s who of social services executives, lobbyists, and operatives, including Ben Chin from the Maine People’s Alliance, representatives from Maine labor unions, and advocates for Maine’s Head Start program.
Descriptions of theses conference calls paint a picture of a sophisticated political operation, that includes the orchestrated use of children, the poor, and disabled to help sustain a multi-hundred million dollar industry. During the calls, a strategy for the transportation of social services recipients was even discussed, with a Head Start advocate offering to bring as many as 50 participants to the state house for the budget hearings.
The impact of these efforts remains to be seen, as the Appropriations Committee continues to work on the supplemental budget. Hearings will continue on Friday, and a work session is expected early next week.

This is actually one of the big (unreported) concerns of the Occupy movement although the concern is generally directed at the banking and defense industries. It should also be pointed out that those are incredibly low salaries for American CEOs at multi-million dollar corporations. I mean, it's definitely good money, but once you consider that a CEO is essentially at work when he's not asleep the hourly wage drops considerably. Take the CEO of Preble Street - $88,109/year is $1,695/week. Sound good, so far.... but if he, like most CEO's, works 70-80hrs/week the hourly wage drops to the low 20's/hr. I was making $16/hour managing a group home. I'm not sure i would have taken the resulting increase in responsibilities for $5-$10/hr.

In The Maine News ....
I am blessed to have such friends on here ... some that only post ... and some that we have met face to face

There are many times during the course of the day, that I sit here in pain, and then read a post or two, and that pain is just released for those minutes that I acquire a good laugh, or some knowledge concerning the meds that I am growing to get a better quality of life.

There are some on here that gift to one another, in hopes that the receiver of the gift will acquire a "better nights sleep" knowing that the carbon filter unit will take care of smellyz that would surly raise a stink with the other apartment dwellers. And then there are the ones that gift to one another, a "gift of life" in sharing a clipping or two, so that the gift recipient gets a "better selection" of meds.

To All of You ... I want to Thank Each of You
For the Many, Many Gifts that You have Shared with My Family

A Grateful MaineYankee

this is a horrible story. my hopes go with this young man. as an ex-emt I know first hand how dangerous it is on the side of a road.. flashing lights don't help much, as a civy without that, its boarder line suicide..

That is some fucked up shit. How the fuck do you not see two cars stopped in a travel lane?

Excuse my language, but that is some fucked up shit.

yeah he lost both legs....

Wow. Unbelievable.

maineyankee I am so sorry to hear this. Jeremy & his family will be in my prayers & all the best thoughts & wishes will head that way too. The way he was hit (between the vehicles) is the way my son died. He was a tow truck driver & was at an accident....hooking the one car up a 16yr old hit the car & crushed Jimmy (son) Same as this accident, no one knows how somebody doesn't see the cars on side of the road. With Jimmy there was a police car & ambulance with lights flashing.
Words can not express how I feel about this. How is he doing so far? I know it's still too early to tell anything for sure, but wondering how he is so far. Did he really lose both legs?
Again all my thoughts & prayers are with him & his family. Only positive energy will be sent that way.