Preserving The American Political Philosophy

The dispute between Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens INC  and the Town of Boothbay entered a new chapter as 2017 came to an end. Lawyers for CMBG filed a lawsuit on Dec. 20 in U.S. District Court in Portland, claiming the Town of Boothbay denied CMBG its constitutional right to due process. The Coastal Gardens Inc thereby places the dispute in a constitutional context, which is where it needs to be, but for other reasons than those for which the Garden's lawyers have filed suit.  I submit, as a citizen of Maine, that if the Maine Constitution is honored, the town ordinances cannot give special treatment to one type of organization over another, based on whether the developer is codified as an educational facility, a museum, a big box store, or whatever. The premise of my argument is found in the preamble of the Maine Constitutions which articulates the objects of government, one of which is to "promote our common welfare". The adjective "common", as us

In a recent blog post , I promised to continue the investigation into whether or not Andersen Design, a ceramic art, design and hand crafted production company , established as a free enterprise in 1952, can fit  NEA guidelines as part of the new "creative ecosytem"which connects the "arts" with the non-arts".and " investigates how support systems for the arts are changing, explores how the arts can connect with other sectors that want and utilize creativity, and invests in innovative projects to spark new, collaborative ideas " Of course not, because eligibility requirements for a NEA grant have remained unchanged for decades. National Endowment for the Arts’  " Legal Requirements " including nonprofit, tax-exempt status at the time of application. (All organizations must apply directly on their own behalf. Applications through a fiscal sponsor are not allowed.  See more information on fiscal sponsors .) ART WORKS Guidelines As the Nat

The first in a collection of iconic wild life sculptures, The Andersen Design Floating Gull was created in the early sixties and has maintained its marketability ever since, establishing Andersen Design's work as genuine classics in their field. #GivingTuesday is NOVEMBER 21- Please consider this: I started this blog as an alternative voice, long absent in Maine's media, particularly since the Longley Doctrine of "a centrally managed economy by public private relationships" was established over and above our constitutional form of government in the mid seventies. In the tradition in which this blog was created, preserving the American political philosophy, which by its commitment to individual liberty, can be none other than a free enterprise system, I am defining one of the missions of the Andersen Design Museum of American Designer Craftsmen as shining light on the character of a  free enterprise system. While The Andersen Design Museum of American Designer

First the News! THE OFF TOPIC NEWS !  This summer was a strange season for the garden. The field of poppies, a perennial subject of local social conversation, did not make its appearance. In the front garden, poppy pods dried up and fell to the ground without blooming. This fall there were hardly any fresh new poppy leaves in the front hill side garden. I foresee a scant display next spring. If the property falls into the hand of someone who will nurture the poppies, they will return. It is our hopeful dream that the Andersen Design flagship location can be bought back from the bank and made into a historically preserved location for The Andersen Design Museum of American Designer Craftsmen, similar to what has been done with Russel Wright's former home, Manitoga.org , preserving the memory of a culture receding from the Boothbay Peninsula to make way for the plans of new and well financed centralized development groups. Otherwise the house and garden may be torn down to be

Refundable tax credits (redistribution of wealth) came into use in the USA in the mid seventies. Look what happened. Is it time to start letting the economy manage its self? Quote from a Facebook conversation about the New Boothbay Round About : Here's the deal. I don't care one way or another whether there is a frigging roundabout or not but i do think we need to look twenty or thirty years forward when we plan because growth is coming whether we like it or not. I'm not pushing it but i accept that it is coming. A threat? No just just that we haven't even begun to see the changes that will come. Apparently you all have mistaken me for someone who actually gives a shit what happens on the peninsular . as long as my property increases in value I'm good- local Boothbay person on Facebook Many people and politicians conflate economic development with increasing property values. In that case the town is nothing more than a business investment for its stock ho

The most honest statement to come out of the ringleaders of the Joint Economic Community Development Group in their first workshop program was "none of us are experts on economic development", which in my most humble opinion is evident in the fact that the JECD begins with the premise that economic development can be master minded by central management. The article in the Boothbay Register begins with this paragraph: The Joint Economic Development Committee master plan workshop on Thursday, Oct. 12 discuss findings from stakeholder interviews conducted early last month. The interviews centered around building an overall economic development strategy for Edgecomb, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport. Who are the stakeholders?  A search for articles in the Boothbay Register comes up short. Why is the public not told who the stakeholders are. Since the taxpayers of Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor footed the bill for the JECD's consultants, why are they not the stakeh