Scattered Acres

With the death of Roe v. Wade , the reactionaries who call the Republican Party home have launched two campaigns. One is to extend the prohibition of abortion nationwide, as articulated by former Vice President Pence. Much more ominous is the view of Justice Clarence Thomas who in his concurring opinion on Roe suggested that other rights established by precedent should be revisited. Overturning Roe means that anything is possible - no rights are safe.  Specifically, Justice Thomas questions the validity of the decision in Griswold vs Connecticut which buttressed the right of privacy and decriminalized contraception. The same is true of Lawrence v. Texas which threw out the states sodomy laws that prohibited same sex sexual relations. Another is Obergefell v. Hodges that recognize the legality of  same sex marriage nationwide.  Notably absent from Justice Thomas hit list is Loving v. Virginia , the 1967 case that legalized interracial marriage. Little is said aloud...

I opened up a bottle of Poland Spring water and had a drink on a hot day at an outdoor party. Not meaning to litter the landscape, I brought it home for recycling. I was in Massachusetts at the time, a state that requires a deposit when buying a plastic bottle so as to encourage recycling. On reading the label in search of “deposit” states, I read, “Not for sale in bottle deposit states”. So where did the bottle of Poland Spring water come from? So here we have a “No deposit” bottle of water that comes from Maine and finds its way to Massachusetts, a  "deposit state”. I’ve driven through Poland Spring and mining water there is a great, big operation. It used to be part of the global corporate giant Nestlé, but they sold out and a series of financial transactions followed. Some in Maine protest the mine.   But what am I to do with the plastic bottle? Put it in the land fill? 

Congressman Jared Golden, a back bencher, has distinguished himself once again by being the sole Democrat to vote against the “Build Back Better” bill in the House. Golden has a habit of voting against Democrats, starting with his vote against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker.  Golden is catering to “know-nothing” Trump voters of the Second District. He finds fault a provision favoring well-to-do homeowners and has taken the stance of a deficit hawk. Instead of explaining as a leader how “Build Back Better” addresses the serious needs of the rural Second District, Golden has prioritized his perfect over the good.  If some Maine Democrat doesn’t mount a primary challenge to Golden, then the party is moribund and devoid of leadership and imagination. In spite of his incumbency, it is hard to see how Golden can win reelection, having alienated a significant number of Democratic voters. A primary fight will make the division even more apparent.  Meanwhile, Bruce Poliquin, his li...

After my last post about 2nd District Maine Congressman Jared Golden, I contacted his office to let him know about my posts on March 11 and August 19, 2021. Neither of them were complimentary or supportive. Using my Maine address, since I am a Damariscotta property owner, I got a email back from his office thanking me for contacting him and advising me to seek help from Chellie Pingree of the First District if I needed any assistance.  Next, I received an envelope from Jared Golden seeking a campaign contribution. The cover letter states that three Republicans are set to run against him in ’22, including Bruce Poliquin whom Golden defeated in 2018, thanks to ranked choice voting. Golden claims he’s a victim of special interests, Super PACs and disinformation. It says nothing about what Golden stands for, his platform or his voting record. We do  know that as a Blue Dog Democrat, he is placing Biden's extensive second infrastructure bill in jeopardy.  Golden’s singula...

Thanks to ranked-choice voting, Jared Golden, a Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine’s Second District in 2018, beating the incumbent, Bruce Poliquin, by a hair when votes were redistributed. Golden was an attractive candidate with Marine Corps service in Iran and Afghanistan and as a graduate from one of Maine’s fine liberal arts colleges. He was reelected in 2020; but with fewer votes than polling had predicted. The District, however, was carried by Donald Trump which provided him with an electoral vote under Maine election law.   Wise to his constituency, Golden chose to show that he was no garden variety Democrat. The first thing he did upon arrival in Congress was to cast a vote for  Speaker of the House other than for Nancy Pelosi . I haven’t been following his voting record closely until he emerged this week as one of nine Blue Dog Democrats. This group insists that the House vote on the “hard” infrastructure bill and uncouple it from t...

Here, in the People’s Republic of Amherst, we had a revolution a few years ago. Or was it a counter-revolution. The broad based Representative Town Meeting of 240 members was thought to be cumbersome and inefficient, with some even saying that it wasn’t representative at all. In the name of efficiency and effectiveness, the voters of Amherst agreed to a charter that called for a city council type government for the Town of Amherst. The legislative agenda for the town would now be set by 13 Councilors who would elect a Chairperson and hire the City Manager.  The town has a hefty capital improvements program on the table. At the head of the list is a $36 million improvement to the beloved Jone Library. The argument goes that the library needs $15 million in improvements, so if you can stitch together a grant from the state and some contributions from those who can afford it, that leaves only about $14 million in bonds to be paid off by the town’s taxpayers. So what the heck, the town...