Preserving The American Political Philosophy

This editorial ‘Conservation Priorities’ response makes some important points that are not often discussed in our Maine main stream media. It describes the land trust interests which have been acquiring land on a tax exempt status as a united network of corporatons, and ties the effect of the tax exempt status to the economic burden of rural communities. Quote: For the past 30 years, preservationists have aggressively pursued land acquisition — sometimes at the expense of the taxpayer, sometimes with the support of private funding. The $126 million borrowed by Maine taxpayers, to be repaid by future generations, has been used to acquire 530,000 acres of the total 1.8 million, or roughly 30 percent. The remaining 70 percent was acquired through collaborative efforts with Maine’s land trust community. With Governor LePage's veto of the research & development  bonds and refusal to sign off on the other bonds, igniting a debate between those who claim that the bonds

A Guest Op Ed By Roger Ek , Republican Town Chairman for the Town of Lee LURK LEGISLATION UNDER DISCUSSION                                                 Paintings by Michael Blaze Petan Bigger Stronger Meaner Over 40 years ago, the Maine legislature decided that the residents of the Unorganized Territories should not be allowed to govern themselves. They would be better off if they were controlled by seven appointed members of a commission. At the time, a legislator from Aroostook County said that such a bill would cause poverty throughout Northern Maine. He was right. The bill creating LURC passed by one vote.  Two years ago during a television interview of the seven Republican candidate for governor, the moderator asked if the candidate were to significantly cut back or eliminate a state agency which one it would be. Paul LePage answered, "LURC." Last year Rep. Jeff Gifford introduced legislation to do just that. The legislature did what it us

There is legislation currently under consideration in our state legislation that as a strange similarity in name to the report commissioned by GrowSmartMaine from EnvisionMaine- both nonprofits started by Alan Caron. The EnvisionMaine report is " Reinventing Maine Government " The name of the legislation is  LR 1981 An Act To Implement Recommendations on Reinventing Governmen t GrowSmartmaine just testified favorably for the passage of this bill - This is the current status of the bill Sponsored by Senator Richard Woodbury Status Summary Reference Committee Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Last House Action 6/29/2011 - Carried over to any special and/or regular session of the 125th Legislature pursuant to Joint Order HP 1190. Last Senate Action 6/29/2011 - CARRIED OVER TO ANY SPECIAL OR REGULAR SESSION OF THE 125th LEGISLATURE PURSUANT TO JOINT ORDER HP 1190, IN CONCURRENCE D 1437 (SP 444) "An Act To Implement Recommendatio

There is so much to write about that I can't keep up with it. Sometimes I think I should start my own non-profit organization but I always meet that huge roadblock that is my own visceral feeling about what non-profits have become in this day and age and so I wonder if by doing so, I would have to sacrifice everything that is worth while. I like the freedom of being non-affiliated, in part because all my attempts at affiliation have been a confrontation with those who would censor the expression of my views. But when I see something such as "Envision Maine", which as far as I can tell is an organization devoted to the election of Elliot Cutler, and which publishes and sells their manifesto called "Reinventing Maine Government" , I think that someone should start and organization called "Reclaiming Maine" and publish a manifesto called "Reclaiming Maine Government", which would be a map for deconstructing all the government business develo

Getting Back to the Kestrel Line of this story. There was a story with an active comment discussion on the Portland Press Herald today at the link below but you will not find it there now, although last I checked on Google it is listed and dated 13 hours ago.  http://www.pressherald.com/news/Wisconsin-says-Brunswick-aircraftc-company-to-expand-there.html  Currently the latest Kestrel story at The Portland Press Herald is dated January 14th. I commented on the disappeared page and was not the only one questioning our government's activities in venture capitalism. The first comments opined that there is something about this story that really stinks- to which I responded that what stinks is the charter of the MRRA. I mentioned the government regulation I had come across that stated that local government disqualifies a project for federal funds and the disappearance of that link from my blog post and the internet. Now the whole conversation in which I made this statement has a

 Into The Belly Of Maine State Socialism Part One I have gotten on to a side track here on the University of Maine, which is a major recipient of  funds from the legislature's redistribution of wealth programs. As mentioned previously Peter Pitegoff, the current Dean of The University of Maine Law School,  is on the board of the Coastal Enterprises Incorporated whose mission statement  includes the words " … all to achieve social and economic justice within sustainable communities." Peter Pitegoff's bio contains a similar statement, stating that his focus is on social and economic justice In Maine, Pitegoff is advancing the Law School through new program development and engagement with diverse institutions. He has positioned the Law School to expand upon its pivotal role in law, policy, and economic development regionally and in Maine and to achieve a higher profile on a global stage. Curricular innovation is bolstering a historically stellar teaching

The Kestrel de-financing mystery.  Two articles, one from CEI Capital Management LLC, in April 2011 and another from Areo News on January 03 2012 , report that it $20.7 Million from the New Markets Tax Credit Program fell through.  The New Markets Tax Credit is a federal program designated low-income areas. It can be used for any kind of business.   CEI Capital Management, LLC (CCML) is a for-profit subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) that furthers CEI's mission to help create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential by working to help attract capital to low-income areas using the U.S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. The New Market Tax Credits program targets low-income areas and applies to any kind of business, not only those in the Maine legislature's "targeted sector".  However, the state agencies that I have looked at