tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205241962024-03-07T12:47:45.073-05:00Tom McLaughlinA former history teacher, Tom is a columnist who lives in Lovell, Maine. His column is published in Maine and New Hampshire newspapers and on numerous web sites.
Email: tomthemick@gmail.comTom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.comBlogger868125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-40817521159119351652023-01-27T06:52:00.001-05:002023-01-27T06:52:25.868-05:00Left & Right Wednesday, January 23, 2023<iframe class="BLOG_video_class" allowfullscreen="" youtube-src-id="SSfEu7O-xFo" width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SSfEu7O-xFo"></iframe>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-47900591561662636042023-01-23T11:10:00.001-05:002023-01-23T11:10:42.490-05:00WILLARD BEACH IN JANUARY<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I don't usually get a chance to photograph winter scenes in South Portland because I need to be in Lovell to clean up the snow, but here are a couple:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdSw0NqUfNZo1hReiA9XzbTphtYBzgT-F3HO0EJb5v2meJKtUz8ceQwVYCerFvOE5LIpZCjzXsZZTdqg2_EPWe77WPJ3jq_KEwX3ejryzsw3Mm76i_gbUJ0n_iiqMq7UEMIJ-WlDK65M1s4SkshsBM1gdpT2aWl9rU1EDo9qoLt-IW4btvCGI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdSw0NqUfNZo1hReiA9XzbTphtYBzgT-F3HO0EJb5v2meJKtUz8ceQwVYCerFvOE5LIpZCjzXsZZTdqg2_EPWe77WPJ3jq_KEwX3ejryzsw3Mm76i_gbUJ0n_iiqMq7UEMIJ-WlDK65M1s4SkshsBM1gdpT2aWl9rU1EDo9qoLt-IW4btvCGI=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The old man in the photo would see these old fish houses if he looked slightly to his left:</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDKXVwyGKRVDU4E9hyEJ_zT4Idq6n08k_DZSGHOx6y0CZ-tP5ngkBZa9TcsewSxsHzmf1wNOWwtE1GOj0328S2JmeXpS0KEAgjgK8hhn-pH-TYti6xffD5a1jpWwVH55q2Lc5gOFFzZsnYddXXDfb3kqKtO9I6s3u60JEJEU6quvbYTZ6z7LU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDKXVwyGKRVDU4E9hyEJ_zT4Idq6n08k_DZSGHOx6y0CZ-tP5ngkBZa9TcsewSxsHzmf1wNOWwtE1GOj0328S2JmeXpS0KEAgjgK8hhn-pH-TYti6xffD5a1jpWwVH55q2Lc5gOFFzZsnYddXXDfb3kqKtO9I6s3u60JEJEU6quvbYTZ6z7LU=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This is from Willard Beach about a mile from our South Portland house. I think I like the beach even better in winter than in summer. Very few people around.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-60660137984092381062023-01-23T09:35:00.006-05:002023-01-23T09:38:51.585-05:00DO YOU FEEL SAFE NOW?<p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Were you worried about Monkeypox? The vast majority of cases in the USA are among homosexual men, so meet Dr Demetre Daskalakis, the man President Biden appointed to spearhead the fight against it:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL2NjNZsjVuBhRMp7fLxnwJN2QTaCCS1FB8dQQcEtGd59Ds7xCuJA19Jaoa_CRuhWaJ9Jquo3fdsa-wWmPsLz7o93zGdAb06DNvajFPrWAVvriIRxnvwVKksK1K2rvEr01zfoGWsN6mChcNHqmM3YVb-DHsdabKB_Irj5eL7YYIkXcx7uVaO8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="588" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL2NjNZsjVuBhRMp7fLxnwJN2QTaCCS1FB8dQQcEtGd59Ds7xCuJA19Jaoa_CRuhWaJ9Jquo3fdsa-wWmPsLz7o93zGdAb06DNvajFPrWAVvriIRxnvwVKksK1K2rvEr01zfoGWsN6mChcNHqmM3YVb-DHsdabKB_Irj5eL7YYIkXcx7uVaO8=w400-h299" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I wish I were making this up, but I'm not.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">What could go wrong?</span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-48627955135694015992023-01-12T13:09:00.000-05:002023-01-12T13:09:39.225-05:00Left & Right Show Wednesday, January 4, 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GEkekNqpy6g" width="320" youtube-src-id="GEkekNqpy6g"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Again, newspaper publisher Mark Guerringue sits in the left chair. <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0d0d0d;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); white-space: pre-wrap;">We discuss Congressman McCarthy running for House Speaker, Trump's candidacy for president, and the possibility of Ron DeSantis running against him for the Republican nomination. We discuss the immigration debacle, that millions have snuck into our country or have just been allowed to cross over and are then shipped to cities all over the country for local taxpayers to support.</span></span></span></span><p></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-78589733350448939102022-10-28T11:30:00.002-04:002022-10-28T11:30:52.971-04:00DEMOCRAT DISASTER NOVEMBER 8 Left & Right Show 10-26-22<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P4I4UpkJcbs" width="320" youtube-src-id="P4I4UpkJcbs"></iframe></div><br />Newspaper publisher Mark Guerringue again sits in the left chair for this episode as we discuss the forthcoming midterm elections and other issues of the day. I predict a Republican sweep and a skeptical Mark asks why. I cite a recent town hall meeting by mask-wearing Democrat Congressman Tim Ryan who is campaigning for the US Senate against Republican JD Vance at which only 19 people showed up!<p></p><p>Democrats like Ryan can't let go of Covid because they have nothing else in their quiver. Trump is bad! They shout, but that's getting old. Voters have moved on but Democrats like Ryan have not. Thus they will get blown away on November 8th. The only question is how badly they will lose.</p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-92001123378933821462022-08-30T12:26:00.000-04:002022-08-30T12:26:33.333-04:00AMERICA UNDER THE DEMOCRATS<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is Sam Brinton, the person in charge of dealing with high-level nuclear waste for our country.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgviUWQ7J5T__qyYGWu4eCo0gnNU9kscQtHa1Hc9U-GG-jJ6-zDFvHW7h15VyOTN1MeYmTHF6epPqO4Fii0_y-Qrc6wGbNzefAp2elBm5xI4dsYhNdyNjLTaVPCrBuC1kF1Sn-gOQK3nrx-MWwluDLxKjlIUgxUXwri1Sx5SgOPyfGTFC1hiA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgviUWQ7J5T__qyYGWu4eCo0gnNU9kscQtHa1Hc9U-GG-jJ6-zDFvHW7h15VyOTN1MeYmTHF6epPqO4Fii0_y-Qrc6wGbNzefAp2elBm5xI4dsYhNdyNjLTaVPCrBuC1kF1Sn-gOQK3nrx-MWwluDLxKjlIUgxUXwri1Sx5SgOPyfGTFC1hiA=w267-h400" width="267" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/new-biden-dept-energy-appointee-part-time-drag-queen-queer-activists-145352610.html">As announced on Yahoo</a></span>: “It seems President Joe Biden made history last month: That's <a href="https://twitter.com/sbrinton/status/1480600201782083592"><span style="color: #0023ae;">when Sam Brinton</span></a> announced the administration had hired them as deputy assistant secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition in the office of nuclear energy for the Department of Energy.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Brinton wants everyone to use the pronouns “They” and “Them” when referring to him — although he is one person, not many as “they” is understood by us non-woke Americans out here in rural America. This is our world now as long as Democrats control our country.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1986, I was thoroughly engaged in a grassroots political fight to prevent the US Department of Energy from disposing of spent fuel rods under the ground here from Lovell to Westbrook, Maine. We declared victory only when Chernobyl melted down the Ural Mountains of Russia. That incident caused the US DOE to scrap their plans for burying spent fuel rods in Maine and instead plan to hollow out Yucca Mountain in Nevada for a nuclear waste repository.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">That was thirty-six years ago, but nothing has been done in Nevada or anywhere else yet. That’s because the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada prevented that from happening in his state. As of today, the nation’s highly-radioactive spent fuel rods are still kept in pools at our remaining nuclear power plants all over America until either Sam Brinton or his successor determines what to do with them. Don’t worry though: spent fuel rods are only dangerous for a few thousand years.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/undercover-mom-discovers-pandoras-box-of-depravity-in-trans-organizations-chatroom/?bypass_key=SkFyamhhWklHZXpzU1dQU0p0Yk5YQT09OjpTV3BaUVdjMGVsQnhOME5QTkVOeGIweHpjWE5aWnowOQ%3D%3D?utm_source%3Demail&utm_medium=breaking&utm_campaign=newstrack&utm_term=28890590&utm_source=Sailthru">According to National Review</a>: “[Brinton] has bragged about participating in kink relationships as a ‘pup handler’ — a person, typically a gay man, who enjoys taking care of other typically gay men who pretend to be dogs.” Sam Brinton doesn’t seem to know he’s a man, yet President Biden thinks Brinton knows what to do with America’s most dangerous nuclear waste.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is America under the Democrats. Think about that when you go to the polls in November.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-59023494029249867732022-02-25T15:28:00.002-05:002022-02-25T15:45:48.097-05:00BACKLASH FROM SOLAR PROPONENTS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijHv6pErJlhOUSZCB_09ufdv47nlDis0gOOJPdEQn_wUWvxyJwnptRL_QBnNbQETDSDzNVYnqpPLNoVvNPThmfIHR9UWSYieF7WMQOpv4GH_mKxbvWxU_PGix3d_px3etJWH1dmcV_rph1JlxkxNC5MK3enT9zIkafeyEUyKC6nJodMCSssqE=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijHv6pErJlhOUSZCB_09ufdv47nlDis0gOOJPdEQn_wUWvxyJwnptRL_QBnNbQETDSDzNVYnqpPLNoVvNPThmfIHR9UWSYieF7WMQOpv4GH_mKxbvWxU_PGix3d_px3etJWH1dmcV_rph1JlxkxNC5MK3enT9zIkafeyEUyKC6nJodMCSssqE=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Those for and against the proposed solar fields in Lovell, Maine do not reflect traditional party lines. Not all left-leaning people who support renewable energy in principle support the local solar fields project, recognizing that multinational corporations profit from them and don’t always care what ancillary effects they have on a little town like Lovell. Not all the conservative-leaning citizens are against commercial solar projects either, recognizing that, while landowners should be free to lease their land to huge solar companies, they want zoning ordinances to regulate it.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0xyPJHuXcfWuTwwLTTXfzXedcfzEEqW3lbzK-LUS44Wpk7RL4f3ZfneHr0OOW8czdSf2V_lFWQNih4q-xMCcpYccgWXl4d0JzZ7X54a4vtl95EqcNm1JobGfbZ8hD2t35y6Fd8WVsAVMCtdczL6ex9TPso5ZQLiFNaR3R0Jj5Dx5sJ66kol0=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0xyPJHuXcfWuTwwLTTXfzXedcfzEEqW3lbzK-LUS44Wpk7RL4f3ZfneHr0OOW8czdSf2V_lFWQNih4q-xMCcpYccgWXl4d0JzZ7X54a4vtl95EqcNm1JobGfbZ8hD2t35y6Fd8WVsAVMCtdczL6ex9TPso5ZQLiFNaR3R0Jj5Dx5sJ66kol0=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p>As a fairly well-known local conservative who has publicly opposed the huge solar development proposed by Walden Renewables for Lovell, I’ve been criticized for going against conservative principles. After all, don’t conservatives believe landowners should be free to do what they like with their property? One critic emailed me recently claiming: “[A]n unexpected disappointment was to see you apparently lose your compass. I expect hypocrisy and false outrage from the left but not from a conservative [who] would want to own other people’s property communally.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv4D-GI-IVBRlWdYu_dsAHCpoh1FuDnaKhsPVzcDZQNRAjaHJROY13yGuV5KSdXzVv8yZY6XFZj1FveoODpnfXZaIMzZyHvtHhajDaYHnfqZ91A5N-Fq3JrpSmd_1S8XsyaGdWoYoWV9U1EZs8m3x9PCehzyWMIgR-28Dtaoqkvr3L5bQIVaQ=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv4D-GI-IVBRlWdYu_dsAHCpoh1FuDnaKhsPVzcDZQNRAjaHJROY13yGuV5KSdXzVv8yZY6XFZj1FveoODpnfXZaIMzZyHvtHhajDaYHnfqZ91A5N-Fq3JrpSmd_1S8XsyaGdWoYoWV9U1EZs8m3x9PCehzyWMIgR-28Dtaoqkvr3L5bQIVaQ=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><p>Richard inherited a good-sized piece of land near me and agreed to lease it to Walden Renewables for about half of their proposed solar project — some tens of thousands of solar panels. I don’t know how much Walden promised to pay him but it must be a good chunk of change because he’s pissed at me for helping organize Lovell’s opposition to the project “[I]t appears you got fearful that your view would be impacted and you were off to the races . . . spreading mis-information and publishing fake news like you were a Rachel Maddow staffer. … You’re waist deep in with the mob as a hero of the revolution.”</p></span>
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpoTiAwOWfrwHlCGbaXw8nliHFbJcfaOajDjtjMH0-vJbDMmYbX5w_9iLdG0gFCk-p0WOxujK3EshrcS2_VN-y9_JmcCm1OzAHhK0aK_GjOxuVQp3KagJ_fJp5D_Ne442v0VnvqgO7RyaNJ_x21EAi2OhtyEbaD-6qdIsAoPV0qq03-sF-GCw=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpoTiAwOWfrwHlCGbaXw8nliHFbJcfaOajDjtjMH0-vJbDMmYbX5w_9iLdG0gFCk-p0WOxujK3EshrcS2_VN-y9_JmcCm1OzAHhK0aK_GjOxuVQp3KagJ_fJp5D_Ne442v0VnvqgO7RyaNJ_x21EAi2OhtyEbaD-6qdIsAoPV0qq03-sF-GCw=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a board member of Our Eden Association, the principal organization opposing the project, I helped get a proposed ordinance onto an upcoming Lovell Town Meeting ballot that would discourage multinational companies from building large scale solar developments in Lovell while encouraging projects for a homeowner or a small business. Richard compares that to Bolshevism, writing: “</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_8OX41KjhLTrsG9L8RbNMdFnIqdXAXxVPcPcP7rdSgWGV7VlBnpqLeMJaXP3UrdKyJJTpVZLprCtOsp9j0sJyU72uu_S8HdTs1Qgjgm89kCtllEUXDasI2Ig9ZknK1UYQ3U6gCHD-2yuVYynpg0bB3OVBUBKXIdpNckXAYQIYzGDMWHA15l0=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_8OX41KjhLTrsG9L8RbNMdFnIqdXAXxVPcPcP7rdSgWGV7VlBnpqLeMJaXP3UrdKyJJTpVZLprCtOsp9j0sJyU72uu_S8HdTs1Qgjgm89kCtllEUXDasI2Ig9ZknK1UYQ3U6gCHD-2yuVYynpg0bB3OVBUBKXIdpNckXAYQIYzGDMWHA15l0=w400-h225" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It is truly scary what is happening in Lovell. The phenomenon of how social media can be used in a malicious way to gather support to trounce on landowners’ rights. Mobs don’t need to walk the street with torches now, they just use Facebook. Anything this group wants to do from seeding the boards to putting in new ordinances they are able to do with their apparatus in place.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiYJ0lWav-UVIicuzMZbZhVuT8YCN608QYtInPP8-Bob3YR1VwsIlzLrxCQb22TRlqqlzW-_kp_t64ZVOjBHVmzi6XwK34pCH-iotAtjt_OPzFsTh9StpgkDU_FwGFI8OaKaeyGZPnRzbVLG81rEsjOwJ68UmCX64CYtSxC8MG9U-_s3VQGWY=s350" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="350" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiYJ0lWav-UVIicuzMZbZhVuT8YCN608QYtInPP8-Bob3YR1VwsIlzLrxCQb22TRlqqlzW-_kp_t64ZVOjBHVmzi6XwK34pCH-iotAtjt_OPzFsTh9StpgkDU_FwGFI8OaKaeyGZPnRzbVLG81rEsjOwJ68UmCX64CYtSxC8MG9U-_s3VQGWY=w400-h285" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well yeah, those are some of the things we’re encouraging through the Our Eden Association, but isn’t that constitutional democracy at work? Not in Richard’s mind apparently: “Lovell has gone full on socialist and heading for communism and you’re in there leading the movement,” he wrote. “Republican leaning folks focus a lot on big government at the state and federal level but the absolute tyranny comes from towns and neighbors. Are you working on the 5 year plan?”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9llmZ_RnFf0j14__PpIyt0Qc_-nLKv6Wl7p3R0BFGkIYtQmEaPLtTrHMNXKycA7Iie6P1_hnPUUpy26WB00_t4B9ZmYxmYpiY7wqkzUUAyn3Iq5U_quuOk92_EH76MJ75i5FNezgHFIrgzfjs9We_9Pr1SNtkM9cFYo3RNk-uPEtn4PRIoFE=s630" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="630" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9llmZ_RnFf0j14__PpIyt0Qc_-nLKv6Wl7p3R0BFGkIYtQmEaPLtTrHMNXKycA7Iie6P1_hnPUUpy26WB00_t4B9ZmYxmYpiY7wqkzUUAyn3Iq5U_quuOk92_EH76MJ75i5FNezgHFIrgzfjs9We_9Pr1SNtkM9cFYo3RNk-uPEtn4PRIoFE=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, sort of. I know Richard was referring to Lenin’s and Stalin’s five-year plans for the Soviet Union, but it so happens that Lovell is preparing to update its Comprehensive Plan and recently canvassed citizens about what direction they want Lovell to go in. State law requires towns to do that but evidently Richard considers it tyranny.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyIOOg5zMxajwwqZXiE5MlsY5oXTjReNVT0nl4u3118Tfv2Udq4WYO0PZrpAJvl_zCcGsHI8p2Rs6uCqJ18l3z_ncF4KlLVv6AxKEqM_91ClCyPqLeM2Nk3NPV9w0YgIkAW0yII_syOu9w8RLWQRuhpJfCI9FcI0f2tARo_usDRo6DzFibkQ4=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="640" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyIOOg5zMxajwwqZXiE5MlsY5oXTjReNVT0nl4u3118Tfv2Udq4WYO0PZrpAJvl_zCcGsHI8p2Rs6uCqJ18l3z_ncF4KlLVv6AxKEqM_91ClCyPqLeM2Nk3NPV9w0YgIkAW0yII_syOu9w8RLWQRuhpJfCI9FcI0f2tARo_usDRo6DzFibkQ4=w400-h254" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Within days after word got out about the Walden Solar project, Richard contacted me, evidently to feel me out about my position on it. I knew who Richard was at the time, but didn’t know him well. I was still researching it and hadn’t made up my mind and I told him so. Now I’m wondering if Walden had asked him to contact me. Did the company consider me a potential adversary who writes newspaper columns? I don’t know.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHfempF0Z_ys1qosIpuU040JcwLxVlhBN8YCmy2OZuvOdvdZyAju1kRcDc0r0ec89lz8noTAK0Gk938G6D5QGjnbzTB96z-hJrCNRXeCmDUzPU0hzdmy640IT3YFDfT2RN1czK0wI4WcRAH1AQMFCrENwBEgNbwiA_B2CThSt4ZaBPt5WiaDo=s3872" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3872" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHfempF0Z_ys1qosIpuU040JcwLxVlhBN8YCmy2OZuvOdvdZyAju1kRcDc0r0ec89lz8noTAK0Gk938G6D5QGjnbzTB96z-hJrCNRXeCmDUzPU0hzdmy640IT3YFDfT2RN1czK0wI4WcRAH1AQMFCrENwBEgNbwiA_B2CThSt4ZaBPt5WiaDo=w400-h268" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">My wife, Roseann in the yard</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“This was a good if not great project for Lovell, the country, and the world,” he wrote last week. “It never even got a hearing because a mob sprung into action that could be compared to all the great dangerous mobs of history.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mobs led by me I guess.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Lovell is lost to me,” he continued. “It gave me a great childhood but with Berta’s passing my last emotional tie to the town is gone. Good luck with whoever buys all my land. I won’t tell them that they have many co-owners that will not share in the taxes. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Richard was referring to Roberta Chandler, a mutual friend about whom I recently wrote a tribute for the Lovell Historical Society Newsletter. Roberta was a great lady who loved Lovell.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-86802624256456339532021-12-27T07:12:00.008-05:002021-12-27T07:33:44.273-05:00INDUSTRIAL WOLVES IN ENVIRONMENTALIST SHEEP'S CLOTHING?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixKY65esmHOBFDGr3b2NAn9DN5leVAytRcEw1-L-ySl__gZCv1wWUeZ1dGD4fkm_nbQw0sZXaSjufGy67ynMWN7rIfj_Y92DCWg3_SNZmm-O-2jmPc5falsmhqO9kgLxVrIZbjS4uNaWTgPycZf5rzrid-6MVp21hZFBSJvDPIL_Gbe4KaSMw=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="474" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixKY65esmHOBFDGr3b2NAn9DN5leVAytRcEw1-L-ySl__gZCv1wWUeZ1dGD4fkm_nbQw0sZXaSjufGy67ynMWN7rIfj_Y92DCWg3_SNZmm-O-2jmPc5falsmhqO9kgLxVrIZbjS4uNaWTgPycZf5rzrid-6MVp21hZFBSJvDPIL_Gbe4KaSMw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Too cheap to meter” was a claim made by proponents of nuclear power plants to generate electricity in the 1950s. We’ve since learned that was wildly optimistic. Since then we’ve heard similar pie-in-the-sky claims made by proponents of “renewable energy” touting wind and solar electric generating projects in Maine and just about everywhere else. “It’s free; it’s limitless; it’s clean," and so forth.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFU4Z47vTsaMVf9MzUeUvk2y6HhLkbt5i6p_ZuD0S-4ylP4OrSVyMLhkFmsP6MTrgP_CCsHzUwv-05tulae2UfHWw4VEqzt2bZcBNGVhQL6ps48tIGrKGz-aEEHCxIQH_lC5-qLdLh1EGWdzukurmCQNaeeZKp0od3S1bjlVSstUlJUveUris=s3542" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1667" data-original-width="3542" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFU4Z47vTsaMVf9MzUeUvk2y6HhLkbt5i6p_ZuD0S-4ylP4OrSVyMLhkFmsP6MTrgP_CCsHzUwv-05tulae2UfHWw4VEqzt2bZcBNGVhQL6ps48tIGrKGz-aEEHCxIQH_lC5-qLdLh1EGWdzukurmCQNaeeZKp0od3S1bjlVSstUlJUveUris=w400-h189" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those power sources can work so long as the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. They don’t generate anything during calm, still nights, however, when people still need electricity. The old-fashioned, nuclear and fossil-fuel generators have to back up production of electricity at these times. Wind farms can also be very noisy, kill a lot of birds, and they can be unsightly as well protruding up to 650 feet above the hilltops on which they’re usually sited. The same people who enjoy looking at paintings of quaint, Dutch windmills can be put off seeing hills covered by enormous, modern windmills.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc3lwffp9e3X1RwVmwfZYz5d7mbY7LwZNT7XRi_fj4gWZibr6NJr7G4pyp7KmfiEK8ihEFbUxuKRvIRYpTqaUFMW_Z-2U0P7EMUE2b1-rVxyUvmvkl8Dud2XIHVKH05chJDMbS3cGD4kOmRt1iNQXzc5T35qzcbv9AW8TEKixDLkSW46mN4D8=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="474" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc3lwffp9e3X1RwVmwfZYz5d7mbY7LwZNT7XRi_fj4gWZibr6NJr7G4pyp7KmfiEK8ihEFbUxuKRvIRYpTqaUFMW_Z-2U0P7EMUE2b1-rVxyUvmvkl8Dud2XIHVKH05chJDMbS3cGD4kOmRt1iNQXzc5T35qzcbv9AW8TEKixDLkSW46mN4D8=w400-h240" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lately we’re learning the drawbacks of industrial solar farms already built, under construction, and proposed in Maine. They’re noisy. They’re huge: The one proposed for Lovell would cover and area twice the size of the one in Fryeburg. Walden Renewables, the firm that got the enormous Fryeburg project approved, has sold it to a Canadian firm while it’s still being built. They promise, however, they wouldn’t do that to Lovell and we can trust them, right?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHo0TOUr6b_tTD6s6VfWypjmjqoBwTcsKbjpmc-h07cbe3Am-H9Gm5NeQ66ZWzkPIkxM1lQCGttXOvcV4vevazp7zYnZHZkBy1nZK0Li6hUa4zww3NaYCehsyv7QwfhZDHJOYDYHdJcz3cDTLEz43ySWPYXsZPqRi5G4Kwh1tr2Ug-y9jwyeQ=s1080" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1080" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHo0TOUr6b_tTD6s6VfWypjmjqoBwTcsKbjpmc-h07cbe3Am-H9Gm5NeQ66ZWzkPIkxM1lQCGttXOvcV4vevazp7zYnZHZkBy1nZK0Li6hUa4zww3NaYCehsyv7QwfhZDHJOYDYHdJcz3cDTLEz43ySWPYXsZPqRi5G4Kwh1tr2Ug-y9jwyeQ=w400-h249" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lately we’re learning that solar panels are built in China using slaves. Even those built in Vietnam and elsewhere have in them key components like polysilicon produced in Xinjiang Province using Uyghur Muslim forced labor. Just this week, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/24/biden-uyghur-bill-apple-nike/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2360&tpcc==newsletter&pnespid=r6hhEjtINK9Fh6Lfqmm0H4_C4Az.Cosqdbi.wOlppwZmKaRThHb9X5CLCZTWFfkBb_s15DWuag">President Biden signed a bipartisan bill banning imports from Xinjiang Province</a> that was opposed by Apple and Nike. Good for him. Does that ban include solar panels? I certainly hope so.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2m3vUOB-_SFNfxtWScGhrMeIKQFtuXJEQYcUQresqy3mCt2GWoidEpZtr4eQ39sKYMcQ5zjxnBvNEG-OKB8m43KvW0X5nXhMBmKbVBRHuQjM8N7a366dB7kch6GChBi9mFRXCr7iO0b-rSWM_CK6v1FyRcpXUdPpPxUleTalAsDg92pi96Rw=s485" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="485" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2m3vUOB-_SFNfxtWScGhrMeIKQFtuXJEQYcUQresqy3mCt2GWoidEpZtr4eQ39sKYMcQ5zjxnBvNEG-OKB8m43KvW0X5nXhMBmKbVBRHuQjM8N7a366dB7kch6GChBi9mFRXCr7iO0b-rSWM_CK6v1FyRcpXUdPpPxUleTalAsDg92pi96Rw=w400-h331" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back in 1986 we here in Lovell learned about one of the downsides of nuclear power when the US Department of Energy proposed burying highly radioactive spent fuel rods in the granite “batholith” that underlies southern Maine between Lovell and the City of Westbrook. However, within three months of the DOE’s proposal the Chernobyl nuclear power plant melted down in Russia’s Ural Mountains. That was only seven years after the Three Mile Island meltdown in Pennsylvania and the nuclear industry took a big hit. Within weeks, the US Department of Energy scrapped their plans for a nuclear waste dump in Maine.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ_gigKEvKJh0g6aebnN-vMsS6Tzrn9RhSaMIDpc2Gf4yLj9czI6aCTVCn4Lxdu37ZHC_TJs2BvWLhT-NqNVS7M3IHupFd-UIQw-u0ufyjLx0EFeTsoWzh3QO-x8mSw8OJpQC60wGiKEbs2c1VLgWyH-xuWZLq6pc2g8UIDhN0fv2_Ue0N018=s800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ_gigKEvKJh0g6aebnN-vMsS6Tzrn9RhSaMIDpc2Gf4yLj9czI6aCTVCn4Lxdu37ZHC_TJs2BvWLhT-NqNVS7M3IHupFd-UIQw-u0ufyjLx0EFeTsoWzh3QO-x8mSw8OJpQC60wGiKEbs2c1VLgWyH-xuWZLq6pc2g8UIDhN0fv2_Ue0N018=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">One thing I don’t understand about Maine leftists is their opposition to the Clean Energy Corridor and their orchestration of its defeat on a recent referendum. The now-defunct corridor proposal would use an already-existing passageway for its power lines over most of its route and bring surplus hydroelectricity from a facility on Canada’s Hudson Bay. Quebec Hydro is a renewable power source. Yes, some additional trees would be cut to expand the corridor, but the operation produces no emissions. Isn’t zero emissions what the left wants?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVrUmCf6mm4t649oGQ-7JGdFeqvgFWkby_nSVoxPNXq77iIHc9XXd6dMX-o09yfwJPo5u6ItPSpf1RETZ5NetHnifQgJTDotRUEa1YKXWDH0ZqYYgVZmjUbRaBarLudVZdMvVz9wsmfYk1QwL8Bqngl9DGhve3F6uM-qvBGROFFbxasN87IBE=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="474" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVrUmCf6mm4t649oGQ-7JGdFeqvgFWkby_nSVoxPNXq77iIHc9XXd6dMX-o09yfwJPo5u6ItPSpf1RETZ5NetHnifQgJTDotRUEa1YKXWDH0ZqYYgVZmjUbRaBarLudVZdMvVz9wsmfYk1QwL8Bqngl9DGhve3F6uM-qvBGROFFbxasN87IBE=w400-h209" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We all depend on a reliable supply of electricity and we’re rudely reminded of that every time there is a power failure. It is in our interest to keep the supply steady and we should understand that renewable sources, with the possible exception of hydroelectricity, are not reliable. They’re intermittent and we need back-up sources. Nuclear power is close to 100% reliable and while it too has its drawbacks, like how to safely dispose of the waste, but it may well be our best choice at this point.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj23Szfyluy4hmC3xWAjFCvcIFuHhrMLPbuG2ax6OuEvUcVTcAQs34NsZeaNtwHBZ4kEef-oJIBRhO6gU5YKzvRYTYNVMFpZt2mFmQNt07ATWoGoYMptGDo37a1lKnN2E8GI1i2c3rizUULfX0yYvsQBXoFd64WHCxL9JEIBwYxJRc46diLJLw=s474" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="474" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj23Szfyluy4hmC3xWAjFCvcIFuHhrMLPbuG2ax6OuEvUcVTcAQs34NsZeaNtwHBZ4kEef-oJIBRhO6gU5YKzvRYTYNVMFpZt2mFmQNt07ATWoGoYMptGDo37a1lKnN2E8GI1i2c3rizUULfX0yYvsQBXoFd64WHCxL9JEIBwYxJRc46diLJLw=w400-h304" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile we have Walden Renewables LLC posing as Lovell’s best choice. It will produce no emissions; it will reduce our electric bills; it will provide tax revenue. But we have so ask ourselves: Is Walden really an industrial wolf in environmentalist sheep’s clothing?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbbOrUjUCLieJb-cQ724SMKijLRHiWe9Tmpm92b9MaFeuHXRzqrfWSr26FGbb1vUcAaeEKxFEIj44rxTRF9G2J1r0kGowfAmwe4sPIvwN4gCzx_7vKfBTqLd3tN1qWDjj-nf_zJJUF6jG-vHcVPPVcCYcxjkry6ZZyzcD4ziIj0bm3LkxBsEQ=s300" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbbOrUjUCLieJb-cQ724SMKijLRHiWe9Tmpm92b9MaFeuHXRzqrfWSr26FGbb1vUcAaeEKxFEIj44rxTRF9G2J1r0kGowfAmwe4sPIvwN4gCzx_7vKfBTqLd3tN1qWDjj-nf_zJJUF6jG-vHcVPPVcCYcxjkry6ZZyzcD4ziIj0bm3LkxBsEQ=w400-h400" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“My, what big fields of solar panels you have,” we say. “The better to serve you with,” says Walden. “How ugly they are,” we say. “They’re only visible from 0.14% of the town,” says Walden. “What huge piles of waste you’ll leave when you’re gone,” we say. “We’ve included decommissioning costs in our proposal,” says Walden. But we don’t know what those costs will be in thirty years,” we say. “We’ve planned for that,” says Walden. “But there are toxic materials in your panels,” we say. “We’ll take care of those,” says Walden.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRM5YnpXGQkQSYmaBJ6gtDjzQ1-v9Q1NXIJyG3I7CU43-u1HaHgvoY-3f_FiCAqYDCRN_pgm7lwlqvYbwtH66aosgqrLo3yLy7idVStVyZWMvwwQ68IEB3xsKQ5EaO_FUCUObAP6bGNeK5U-UF_THtajfn-6xiET8-ToobYpN4mr2Xr8lR2XQ=s1278" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1278" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRM5YnpXGQkQSYmaBJ6gtDjzQ1-v9Q1NXIJyG3I7CU43-u1HaHgvoY-3f_FiCAqYDCRN_pgm7lwlqvYbwtH66aosgqrLo3yLy7idVStVyZWMvwwQ68IEB3xsKQ5EaO_FUCUObAP6bGNeK5U-UF_THtajfn-6xiET8-ToobYpN4mr2Xr8lR2XQ=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“And then three’s this,” says Walden. “Sheep can graze under our solar panels. We’ll even plant special, nutritious grass for them! It’s all in our proposal.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizC1cSeYfUxLfi1IJDo7QNAIXmpT8UYDMofZnqE2SWVMVEdMc1pJnEd2ZE7JVk4UL0AsWkYO-mcz_7kNyGxYVU82eKiEO7WE2_Cn_wthUhp3r9WhCwDMx5EP91Fai5l8LazMkaMQxt7R-VitxBC0mdKYi0kdx8r8LNRT9uxDsbqQIXlL7RXiM=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizC1cSeYfUxLfi1IJDo7QNAIXmpT8UYDMofZnqE2SWVMVEdMc1pJnEd2ZE7JVk4UL0AsWkYO-mcz_7kNyGxYVU82eKiEO7WE2_Cn_wthUhp3r9WhCwDMx5EP91Fai5l8LazMkaMQxt7R-VitxBC0mdKYi0kdx8r8LNRT9uxDsbqQIXlL7RXiM=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Walden Renewables. It sounds so Thoreau-like, doesn’t it? With a name like that, we can trust them, right?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><br />Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-69135010685153972702021-12-13T07:12:00.000-05:002021-12-13T07:12:24.785-05:00DOWNSIDE OF SOLAR ENERGY<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9yrLPoaIe1LuhWweBJF7R-h-04tEFeFJZYjB3iqI4b9JvpconjeDwqQyhOBYx6k9pdlamKpkjwAZyX8goO6E-Eo6fn1QbYluLs8II0MYUEpwnpV9dBzZsKYBp7cOqGIa7LuvGdayaEgbqnZ6XAWkr0iQhteb4oWf-O8BuQhuYd0usFnlECc8=s307" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="307" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9yrLPoaIe1LuhWweBJF7R-h-04tEFeFJZYjB3iqI4b9JvpconjeDwqQyhOBYx6k9pdlamKpkjwAZyX8goO6E-Eo6fn1QbYluLs8II0MYUEpwnpV9dBzZsKYBp7cOqGIa7LuvGdayaEgbqnZ6XAWkr0iQhteb4oWf-O8BuQhuYd0usFnlECc8=w400-h248" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lovell’s old Town Hall was packed, standing room only. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived but energy permeated the room. If any present supported the proposed location of 170,000 solar panels in rural Lovell, Maine by Walden Renewables LLC, they were silent. Five people representing the company were the only ones to utter anything positive, but then they were paid to do that. No one spoke in favor. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35rnypDYeUJZo_jp66Q2H054bEEKYIGHn4kSGLPmmiqrcJ5DUOVgmFiTnAeB3dvRYx0CTJQY3vmidSrlqXZQJ0hIKVzFynboPIR9VTfhh8-oS7p-siXDpK8je9eKInnyLmndB2w/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1506" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35rnypDYeUJZo_jp66Q2H054bEEKYIGHn4kSGLPmmiqrcJ5DUOVgmFiTnAeB3dvRYx0CTJQY3vmidSrlqXZQJ0hIKVzFynboPIR9VTfhh8-oS7p-siXDpK8je9eKInnyLmndB2w/w400-h299/Screen+Shot+2021-12-12+at+5.40.34+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">From the Portland Press Herald</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">No one spoke against solar energy either. Rather, they objected to where Walden Renewables wanted to put row after row of their big, ugly, black panels. In the 100 square miles of Lovell, the company chose a venue that would ruin one of the nicest mountain views in our picturesque town. One hundred eighty acres of carbon-consuming trees would be clearcut and replaced with 170,000 solar panels, ostensibly to mitigate climate change. It would also mar the vista along Christian Hill Road where I happen to live. The photo above depicts only 30,000 panels. The one proposed for Lovell would be five or six times that.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnJ_MSgT8EjwhmjvVZ1KpSYXxLr3T8YoWs9JN8Iq8ikgcOdb2Jh_1hKcSFuwSeUahffozrgfI1JoQSKNtgeCeOwwbW_3O_VeGN6bv7cgzslc0-88YoZr-odOuLohGfZVmleA9Vw/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1978" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnJ_MSgT8EjwhmjvVZ1KpSYXxLr3T8YoWs9JN8Iq8ikgcOdb2Jh_1hKcSFuwSeUahffozrgfI1JoQSKNtgeCeOwwbW_3O_VeGN6bv7cgzslc0-88YoZr-odOuLohGfZVmleA9Vw/w400-h268/This+view+wiould+be+ruined.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>My backyard - Solar panels would fill the hillside below the mountains</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was gratifying to hear how many people describe how beautiful the views are from Christian Hill — how when traveling north or south through Lovell, they choose to drive our road instead of Route 5, the main north/south thoroughfare through town. It’s a slower, less-direct path but more scenic and relaxing. That path would also would take one over Hatch’s Hill, which is part of the old “‘Scoggin Trail,” an ancient north/south path used for centuries by the Pequawket Indians to go from the Saco River Valley to the Androscoggin River Valley. The views from Hatch’s Hill have not been tended and are being gradually obscured by vegetative growth.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbBxXeSGRtisZapkS2x2QQWbGO4Tpu24AiGman1ZKrSQR4XKp6c_n2XSWcot2kIeeJOnxmjyLOdD4ceOfHV1HfiIKYVI26qjrXHiMUsV0F4DnAST6TJ8YrcY1rehA46JsyW74ICxiMZWLuOctQK69LiKNdu9t1qbAumM6neIqFHO569EBoypg=s468" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="468" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbBxXeSGRtisZapkS2x2QQWbGO4Tpu24AiGman1ZKrSQR4XKp6c_n2XSWcot2kIeeJOnxmjyLOdD4ceOfHV1HfiIKYVI26qjrXHiMUsV0F4DnAST6TJ8YrcY1rehA46JsyW74ICxiMZWLuOctQK69LiKNdu9t1qbAumM6neIqFHO569EBoypg=w400-h179" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking at 180 acres of hillside covered by 170,000 solar panels would render the viewer an entirely different feeling than what it would replace — hillsides of forest that change with the seasons and with the time of day. Walden Renewables tries hard to balance that with hollow verbiage about forestalling global warming and providing clean energy, but it doesn’t wash. Aside from the visual ugliness there are other issues. An acquaintance recently sent this along:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40.5px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The main problem with solar arrays is the chemicals needed to process silicate into the silicon used in the panels. To make pure enough silicon requires processing it with hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen fluoride, trichloroethane, and acetone. In addition, they also need gallium, arsenide, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide, and cadmium-telluride, which also are highly toxic. Silicon dust is a hazard to the workers, and the panels cannot be recycled.</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Posting the above paragraph in a web search produced several links. Typical was a link called: <a href="https://andrewtobias.com/debunking-the-debunkers/">“Debunking the debunkers/Andrew Tobias”</a> in which Tobias contended that some of the article from which the paragraph came contained errors. The errors he cited, however, were minor and he was forced to let most of the article’s claims stand on their own merit.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBweGpNOltGpO9lw9MQ9HVlfqiPfHSV6DaJTAyYyeE-UcDZACzazq8VAaqf9NIcJSQcZhar3sQhTDl2RRV_JJMBwwpRDgfcvRX0SXqYgeSs1cQmslnTho7D6vQ4X0S45WxhlYVUjDk8kvnPAOrhyoDpRsfl7UxHDCLRrIoj_31W5zZCraZIEg=s251" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="251" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBweGpNOltGpO9lw9MQ9HVlfqiPfHSV6DaJTAyYyeE-UcDZACzazq8VAaqf9NIcJSQcZhar3sQhTDl2RRV_JJMBwwpRDgfcvRX0SXqYgeSs1cQmslnTho7D6vQ4X0S45WxhlYVUjDk8kvnPAOrhyoDpRsfl7UxHDCLRrIoj_31W5zZCraZIEg=w400-h268" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">All 170,000 solar panels Walden Renewables would erect here would be made in China, America’s biggest enemy. Although Walden promises to fund the decommissioning of their panels after they’re obsolete in 20-30 years, what happens of they go bankrupt in the meantime? Would the landowners who leased their land to Walden be stuck with them? Would the Town of Lovell be? Would China take them back? Fat chance. According to an <a href="http://it%20often%20costs%20companies%20more%20to%20recycle%20a%20solar%20panel%20than%20to%20produce%20a%20solar%20panel.">article in Discover Magazine</a>: “It often costs companies more to recycle a solar panel than to produce a solar panel.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAyNqz8z-9tqRaqjBoItdHF4VGv7JA9KOjMt0YeNFTb4lMWrKeCTSx2z4t0WsdaPnZqBPEsTRK3zQfeRsHbG0hCgeiELChKb28crq8rIgwGZYMYVv8ri63jULC9JeVZNatU0KzKRTZqk_2fBRQ0LsFfhCmrTLKy4MRgcm_VQu8W-C2TgcZJ9A=s376" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="376" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAyNqz8z-9tqRaqjBoItdHF4VGv7JA9KOjMt0YeNFTb4lMWrKeCTSx2z4t0WsdaPnZqBPEsTRK3zQfeRsHbG0hCgeiELChKb28crq8rIgwGZYMYVv8ri63jULC9JeVZNatU0KzKRTZqk_2fBRQ0LsFfhCmrTLKy4MRgcm_VQu8W-C2TgcZJ9A=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>Particularly grating on me is that I’m involuntarily paying for the solar panels that Walden would install to destroy my view. The solar industry is heavily subsidized by state and federal tax credits, tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions, rebates, and grants. Do you pay taxes? Then your money goes into these things whether you like it or not. If it didn’t, Walden Renewables wouldn’t exist. Without taxpayer subsidies, solar arrays like this wouldn’t be viable business ventures.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_Ad0WBy7Ta_iqEwgOj641ziZWfhKEF3vbUz_XUWJ6ZTz4JIst69pBu9E8OrZhQpJtsQ5EhjDv_3kLJFCoIE1l3pqQYxOpEekjCDJbVH1nt6UGq6QP3iax6h_sbAXzBxTwYF8uysqLD3dJCHzY68bftTP9lOBPpn_Dj2m1Om7w172Vh7EV8Ho=s286" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="286" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_Ad0WBy7Ta_iqEwgOj641ziZWfhKEF3vbUz_XUWJ6ZTz4JIst69pBu9E8OrZhQpJtsQ5EhjDv_3kLJFCoIE1l3pqQYxOpEekjCDJbVH1nt6UGq6QP3iax6h_sbAXzBxTwYF8uysqLD3dJCHzY68bftTP9lOBPpn_Dj2m1Om7w172Vh7EV8Ho=w400-h250" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">People testifying at the Lovell Planning Board meeting overwhelmingly said they were blindsided by this project. Many, including me, were angry about that. When a moratorium was called for to give citizens more time to consider the 600-page application however, the board voted 3-2 against recommending the moratorium — not on its merits, but because the board lacks legal counsel at this time. Citizens in opposition to the siting of the solar project are afraid the Planning Board will vote to accept the 600-page application and thereby commit itself to a specific timetable for acting on it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_WKtgPNOxpc4rEGxRY0wf9noX0bTxwiJ8ASjlpg_XBv1feMZawqwUO6dzReZCkaoGLBntr_MR0ud8uvgXZbRid8_3JKvyYBuwlSxO_otPjgn-OzqMYVKDPXoPORzLPvV2h6fYqiT1C8vVa-yWcNgQ8213A36ml28i9KEnaVJ1SfnRiWOEoiQ=s268" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="268" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_WKtgPNOxpc4rEGxRY0wf9noX0bTxwiJ8ASjlpg_XBv1feMZawqwUO6dzReZCkaoGLBntr_MR0ud8uvgXZbRid8_3JKvyYBuwlSxO_otPjgn-OzqMYVKDPXoPORzLPvV2h6fYqiT1C8vVa-yWcNgQ8213A36ml28i9KEnaVJ1SfnRiWOEoiQ=w400-h267" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Lovell citizens felt blindsided by this huge, Walden Renewables application and declared they need much more time to consider it. Commensurately, Lovell’s Planning Board seemed taken aback by the vociferous citizen reaction.</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Now we'll have to see what they do at their next meeting January 5th.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-79798056049223917452021-11-24T16:12:00.001-05:002021-11-24T16:12:27.218-05:00 WALDEN RENEWABLES SNEAKS INTO LOVELL<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZCm-4SyMxKRzKEqQcjEVpDdCeJWkj3y-nm0i4hgtHk1RqMLztYurNSDg9F12phu-EPJ8ozsrFP7sGVuyywbTFjm-WeuOOMODSiDDwfTvs1588s2sYpVKqmB4GmDjpiSJfKej-A/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZCm-4SyMxKRzKEqQcjEVpDdCeJWkj3y-nm0i4hgtHk1RqMLztYurNSDg9F12phu-EPJ8ozsrFP7sGVuyywbTFjm-WeuOOMODSiDDwfTvs1588s2sYpVKqmB4GmDjpiSJfKej-A/w302-h400/258724420_3043217392614131_3394688247066117145_n.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Flyer going around town</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Solar energy is disturbing the peace here on Christian Hill in Lovell, Maine. Residents are angry because they didn’t know anything about a huge, multi-million-dollar, 171 acre, solar-panel project that will be visible from our hill. What really ticks them off is that, by the time they found out about it, it was already too late to do anything about it. Locals have been calling me and knocking on my door wanting to know what to do. According to what I have been able to learn so far, not much, because Lovell doesn’t have an ordinance to regulate these things and I suspect the solar company knew that.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr972xde9abCn4kLgVrtcc1C190AUQPUZOgfSIPEPrkxVW5aIeXBgJuVr_Ylc9Zv9yyTgxbnhO_PN6IQjC-jqbDFEid10ilA4JUThfJOUKnELZD1TVAEw7nJDqalK0CcjhDLEgg/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1349" data-original-width="2048" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxr972xde9abCn4kLgVrtcc1C190AUQPUZOgfSIPEPrkxVW5aIeXBgJuVr_Ylc9Zv9yyTgxbnhO_PN6IQjC-jqbDFEid10ilA4JUThfJOUKnELZD1TVAEw7nJDqalK0CcjhDLEgg/w400-h264/Solar+panels+just+to+the+left+of+the+birdhouse.png" width="400" /></a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">I'll be seeing solar panels just to the left of the birdhouse</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: x-large;">I knew nothing either until about two weeks ago. Even though the site abuts my property, I was never notified. To say that annoys me is understatement. A friend and I purchased 30 acres of overgrown former apple orchard enclosed by stone walls on Christian Hill over forty years ago. The land slopes down from the road, which is a big disadvantage in every way but one: there’s a beautiful view westward toward the White Mountain National Forest in neighboring New Hampshire. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWB6nTWlRYN3ykp39-lBTO1wvFK7y3rMypvSVBL6AYdkUmEajadEtXm7czp-TM-qFROWgGzhpJrZFCokN0LZGXIb-W97BoETE-g4026zj_SMT8SEOiMY-CqK2Kh1qHPLDrrsiiBg/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1310" data-original-width="1984" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWB6nTWlRYN3ykp39-lBTO1wvFK7y3rMypvSVBL6AYdkUmEajadEtXm7czp-TM-qFROWgGzhpJrZFCokN0LZGXIb-W97BoETE-g4026zj_SMT8SEOiMY-CqK2Kh1qHPLDrrsiiBg/w400-h264/Kearsarge+.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />From my back porch<br /></i><i>Solar panels would replace pines & hardwoods on the bottom</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After splitting the thirty acres down the middle, my wife and I built a home on our half and moved into it in 1988. For the next several years, I personally reopened the view by cutting down enough trees for eight cords of wood every summer. I split it by hand and burned it to keep us warm each winter until I had cleared my half of the overgrown apple orchard.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-HQa6wZdqWlrBosZ-1QwhcfAfZPswxshEPx0Q5nYjX-KS5GNXux6z9XYH4BtOo8l3fye7JZcXNKHod1g5uSscOUD15VE_rSWROEemyez5nR9B80bVgS7CnGI9SuXKll0dZk_qA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1978" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-HQa6wZdqWlrBosZ-1QwhcfAfZPswxshEPx0Q5nYjX-KS5GNXux6z9XYH4BtOo8l3fye7JZcXNKHod1g5uSscOUD15VE_rSWROEemyez5nR9B80bVgS7CnGI9SuXKll0dZk_qA/w400-h268/Solar+panels+would+go+where+the+cloud+is.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Solar Panels would be under the cloud in the center</i></span></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I had stabilized the disturbed soil around our new house with a conservation mix but our gravel driveway remained a challenge. Thunderstorms opened gullies every summer until we figured out where to install ditches and culverts. Then I hired an excavator to remove the stumps left in the former orchard and stabilized the disturbed soil with more conservation mix. I get it bush-hogged each year now to maintain the field and preserve our vista. It’s been a lot of work and expense, but the scenery always made it worthwhile.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQNT36Bhm0Z1mYpKLckw_KN0EPi6oW08J1JxSpRYCkyqHcqC0Gjclrb7WbwO-VCNq0zw0A6xQ2u9mhnkIgDb2jWimqBkcQEIiMNBMJwcIvNKX0EYzL97iP2VNDir16IebSvp3yg/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1373" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQNT36Bhm0Z1mYpKLckw_KN0EPi6oW08J1JxSpRYCkyqHcqC0Gjclrb7WbwO-VCNq0zw0A6xQ2u9mhnkIgDb2jWimqBkcQEIiMNBMJwcIvNKX0EYzL97iP2VNDir16IebSvp3yg/w400-h269/Claire+and+Lila+on+swings.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My granddaughters Solar panels would dominate the view to the left of the birch tree</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">Lovell’s proposed solar project, however, will ruin that view. If it goes through as proposed, about half our panorama will be of hundreds black solar panels. My forty years of hard work has increased the value of our property, but whatever it’s worth will be considerably diminished if our view is spoiled by acre after acre of ugly black solar panels.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1K1UMXppJmjbw5iQpJfeMzkzZZB7pnEyFFlbfx2ePm1SFnsAH5o4h6UkwaNNZB2wY92QfYKd9R1UkmCPABXHeBWX-rDyh8Pkt-vbgJ1r1s617Gt6Vl0wAbkTqDpzpZUnT268mw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1K1UMXppJmjbw5iQpJfeMzkzZZB7pnEyFFlbfx2ePm1SFnsAH5o4h6UkwaNNZB2wY92QfYKd9R1UkmCPABXHeBWX-rDyh8Pkt-vbgJ1r1s617Gt6Vl0wAbkTqDpzpZUnT268mw/w368-h400/logo-walden.png" width="368" /></a></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The solar company that would destroy my vista calls itself “Walden Renewables,” probably to conjure bucolic images a la Henry David Thoreau. However, row after parallel row of fifteen-foot-high, black solar solar panels is anything but bucolic. The 600-page Walden Renewables application to the Town of Lovell suggests we visualize sheep grazing beneath their black monstrosities and promises to decommission them after thirty years. Then, they say, the land would be open pasture. But if I live that long, I’ll be a hundred years old. Maybe I’ll get to watch them finally disassemble the monstrous things from a rocking chair on my back porch.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwBQFC74Jn0Ya0YOnpZLLhaORkUQVUMvG4EIR9UI5NPsrsvOlB0bnhKSynMKtZjv6YJGl9SfoQWSw6mRdXo4ErcJzt8iv9Ef9HvqNnqxF4Ri2l-rL_Bem0hgwb4TpVCTZhZxO4g/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1978" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwBQFC74Jn0Ya0YOnpZLLhaORkUQVUMvG4EIR9UI5NPsrsvOlB0bnhKSynMKtZjv6YJGl9SfoQWSw6mRdXo4ErcJzt8iv9Ef9HvqNnqxF4Ri2l-rL_Bem0hgwb4TpVCTZhZxO4g/w400-h268/This+view+wiould+be+ruined.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">This view would be ruined</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">These huge collections of panels not only look ugly, but their transformers are noisy. It’s not a loud noise, but it can be annoying because it’s a “Pure Tone.” According to </span><a href="https://www.acentech.com/resources/2019/05/the-commonwealths-pure-tone-requirement/"><span style="color: #094fd1;"><span style="font-size: large;">Michael Bahtiarian, a sound engineer at Acentech</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">: “In my opinion, when a person is bothered by sound, it is more likely the presence of a Pure Tone that is bothering them rather than just the sound level. At the wrong frequencies, a Pure Tone can be a highly annoying sound” It’s about as loud as a vacuum cleaner.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppSKyTb_Xh6WdI-uW0_Hnsy9KThyWSJVBkcwj8_t34rylxs7JnxGu4sayh633bx-W8Z9F1do6cRzFo2AscUG_hXJvEReirznPjZbQOpvHGkvhxXrpVuuqCpSaB_HDboOr-jEACA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1980" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppSKyTb_Xh6WdI-uW0_Hnsy9KThyWSJVBkcwj8_t34rylxs7JnxGu4sayh633bx-W8Z9F1do6cRzFo2AscUG_hXJvEReirznPjZbQOpvHGkvhxXrpVuuqCpSaB_HDboOr-jEACA/w400-h266/snow+covered+pines.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;">Solar panels would replace the snow-covered pines</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Lest you think this is just a local problem we’re dealing with, check out a </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/business/solar-farms-resistance.html"><span style="color: #094fd1;"><span style="font-size: large;">November 2nd New York Times account</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">: “Approximately 0.5 percent of U.S. land would need to be covered with </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/business/energy-environment/biden-solar-energy-climate-change.html"><span style="color: #1e416b;"><span style="font-size: large;">solar panels</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> to achieve the </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/08/business/energy-environment/biden-solar-energy-climate-change.html"><span style="color: #1e416b;"><span style="font-size: large;">decarbonization goals</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> proposed by the Biden administration in April, according to </span><a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/Solar%20Futures%20Study.pdf"><span style="color: #1e416b;"><span style="font-size: large;">a study by the Energy Department</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">." That’s 190,000 square miles, folks, and they’re not going to be built in cities. Expect to see them just about everywhere you look when you go for that nice, peaceful ride in the country.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsEeQnzv7E1UceuVLp0iasJU4BNkCurB3BG7bOfw1xFNtimS8cmLuySECQC8tf-s7PGNfO-Y-oBst3iSMet54dUKgkVSi_qTk1NFbDN188rOL5QzSuR_D3Y-1ohDXh5VxkVWUsA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1982" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsEeQnzv7E1UceuVLp0iasJU4BNkCurB3BG7bOfw1xFNtimS8cmLuySECQC8tf-s7PGNfO-Y-oBst3iSMet54dUKgkVSi_qTk1NFbDN188rOL5QzSuR_D3Y-1ohDXh5VxkVWUsA/w400-h266/Trees+in+the+mist.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Solar panels would replace the pines in the mist</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Walden Renewables started quietly buying up leases in Lovell last February, but didn’t submit their application until October after all the summer people went home. Sneaky, huh? From what I can gather, the project will be visible from Kezar Lake where most of them own property. They have deeper pockets than us locals and have always helped enormously during previous fights against a nuclear-waste dump, a series of GWEN towers the Pentagon proposed to help generals communicate after a nuclear attack had killed the rest of us, and several other battles against huge projects by outsiders.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEnyw98Awtw_IxF96GmjRdvd8hqGSq-A9RjQ_4ltQzGG40q46npmOfvHR24LkZidFFncBQdUQt_U0CXlAF9SpkxCIVMXm2h1ek1GyOOfco0lwY3_BSb2qRwv3h0-lqT3Tc-lV3g/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1994" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEnyw98Awtw_IxF96GmjRdvd8hqGSq-A9RjQ_4ltQzGG40q46npmOfvHR24LkZidFFncBQdUQt_U0CXlAF9SpkxCIVMXm2h1ek1GyOOfco0lwY3_BSb2qRwv3h0-lqT3Tc-lV3g/w400-h264/Sunlight+.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The area lit up would be all solar panels</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Lovell’s Planning Board will consider the Walden Renewables application at its regular meeting Wednesday, December 1st. It will be at the Lovell Town Hall because they expect a lot of people.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> I hope they’re right.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-87915929751157722102021-11-13T17:31:00.000-05:002021-11-13T17:31:11.469-05:00IS OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ON LIFE SUPPORT?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NXItA0rc3w8h18n_tfrOqt0L5ux2yNENVy-lVuBDqHyWcu3cp8ipwCCRyJYady0AafS2Wte5uRarro4tFupGF6YHSYMcAE_FpL1DDcXKmUwsN2Ku0E81doGWz02VItPyeHrZ3g/s500/nursing+shortage.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="500" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NXItA0rc3w8h18n_tfrOqt0L5ux2yNENVy-lVuBDqHyWcu3cp8ipwCCRyJYady0AafS2Wte5uRarro4tFupGF6YHSYMcAE_FpL1DDcXKmUwsN2Ku0E81doGWz02VItPyeHrZ3g/w400-h321/nursing+shortage.gif" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">How long before you call 911 and hear elevator music interspersed with a robot voice saying: “Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line and an operator will be with you shortly.”</span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgettDYBdgYTrux7SCpp_qrJlQ_G3Nf26anVGrJOY4GgHL363eSgPTKPjbxTIXzF0BycBVJdZmwQO2cVafCQqlSFifuLvIoviirMri11ywEP-EmNx5Zzbu_g0XfsYNQku8hNLmdmA/s300/th-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="199" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgettDYBdgYTrux7SCpp_qrJlQ_G3Nf26anVGrJOY4GgHL363eSgPTKPjbxTIXzF0BycBVJdZmwQO2cVafCQqlSFifuLvIoviirMri11ywEP-EmNx5Zzbu_g0XfsYNQku8hNLmdmA/w265-h400/th-2.jpeg" width="265" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">That’s what we’re coming to. Some places are there already. Next time you have a medical emergency, you may not get the treatment you need. After waiting for your 911 call to be answered, you might wait a long time for an ambulance. A health care professional who worked in hospitals around the country for the past few years is telling me that our emergency rooms are so jammed, patients they used to be able to save are dying.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGutBVgZkWNnBNeqBge2gXTghCNJ2uxb7lrgtwwnZLD_W3Dkmk8y9pmMDfDlILR_3xNm9LNrcyfBwdqFIn8IgFrj18ampFt3Imw72PdR_og4LsKIFEmhlfctb_mnjLWNmXLLYMA/s289/th-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="289" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGutBVgZkWNnBNeqBge2gXTghCNJ2uxb7lrgtwwnZLD_W3Dkmk8y9pmMDfDlILR_3xNm9LNrcyfBwdqFIn8IgFrj18ampFt3Imw72PdR_og4LsKIFEmhlfctb_mnjLWNmXLLYMA/w400-h226/th-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There aren’t enough nurses. There aren’t enough doctors There aren’t enough aides. There aren’t enough EMTs. It was a critical situation almost everywhere prior to onset of Covid. Writing <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-10-19/er-crowding-threatens-a-health-care-house-of-cards">three weeks ago in US News & World Report</a>, ER physician Sharon Anoush Chekijian said: “Even before the pandemic, it felt like the emergency department was shouldering the lion's share of primary care: We'd provide treatment for hypertension, refill prescriptions when calls to the doctor's office went unanswered and manage chronically elevated blood sugar. Behavioral health patients with nowhere else to go would arrive one after the other by ambulance… Now COVID-19 has laid bare medicine's house of cards.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ch8MReSbVlw5IXBUpgfbs5CWNPc7uYTdJYXAOYQefyKOJvVddQNCOUhoa6xwJvhNjjbbYxdJTIS93J-TNt1iu_3JPGBvGCy9wnZif4eLesiO1DwMYMRg7QbHsMEmszVDl806sA/s326/th-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="326" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ch8MReSbVlw5IXBUpgfbs5CWNPc7uYTdJYXAOYQefyKOJvVddQNCOUhoa6xwJvhNjjbbYxdJTIS93J-TNt1iu_3JPGBvGCy9wnZif4eLesiO1DwMYMRg7QbHsMEmszVDl806sA/w400-h245/th-4.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our ERs are teetering on the edge. The recent vaccination mandate from Maine Governor Janet Mills caused a surge of staff resignations, as have similar mandates across the country. According to the October 1st Lewiston Sun-Journal: “‘It has a huge impact on the existing labor shortage,’ said Dr. John Alexander. Central Maine Healthcare is the parent organization of Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston, Bridgton Hospital and Rumford Hospital, as well as Maine Urgent Care and a primary care network. ‘In addition, to be honest, a lot of the people, a lot of frontline caregivers who have worked through this pandemic are tired,’ he said.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF3wblp4GAz5dLDt6CRj2ShTPmcGQWrfOlrebE5UEVoF-Jg0sB9CC-gLS0mX9XHG2jMoPjH5E3-Edn-pHAUom2fCCeSKbcFx16YCvL-xIF1_5nWBgs8aO-VcyJllHYJh8obtw-w/s354/th-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="354" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF3wblp4GAz5dLDt6CRj2ShTPmcGQWrfOlrebE5UEVoF-Jg0sB9CC-gLS0mX9XHG2jMoPjH5E3-Edn-pHAUom2fCCeSKbcFx16YCvL-xIF1_5nWBgs8aO-VcyJllHYJh8obtw-w/w400-h216/th-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I asked the health care professional who first alerted me to the problem why hospitals don’t just hire more staff. She said they’re just not out there and nursing schools aren’t graduating them fast enough either. Neither is there enough staff qualified to teach nursing students. Salaries at all levels are way too low. Hospital administrators. However, are paid well. Ten years ago the CMMC CEO was paid over $857,000 for fiscal 2011. What is it today? I wasn’t able to find data. My guess would be over a million per annum.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXU3pqmb7XRGBgcH0o_i0ne8rKP7JhyNocmbvj2jvKiGyz84mDzr03SIVBJNpXyeLd0lnC_L3shC57WEsTGdrNr42IGhPAuIebhxE6an2zM6gaIQMTpq329rZcFrxxJ4u29adhlA/s480/13sept-economist-reinhardt2-blog480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="480" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXU3pqmb7XRGBgcH0o_i0ne8rKP7JhyNocmbvj2jvKiGyz84mDzr03SIVBJNpXyeLd0lnC_L3shC57WEsTGdrNr42IGhPAuIebhxE6an2zM6gaIQMTpq329rZcFrxxJ4u29adhlA/w400-h239/13sept-economist-reinhardt2-blog480.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) passed in 1986 mandating that emergency rooms treat everyone who shows up. They must be screened, stabilized, then passed on to an appropriate hospital or they stay in the ER.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXgR1_kBiom-MagLk9RB8qVrIiTSNPIncMqaAuxKtlghh6u1-J48EwGYIcMwstGDq7JMH7M49ubvV4SWhZwAYQJ3-eZzwPYd9RiuUk8cxX0xWNVEdtn7n8gywNCVBHrFMI50Oug/s293/th-13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="293" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXgR1_kBiom-MagLk9RB8qVrIiTSNPIncMqaAuxKtlghh6u1-J48EwGYIcMwstGDq7JMH7M49ubvV4SWhZwAYQJ3-eZzwPYd9RiuUk8cxX0xWNVEdtn7n8gywNCVBHrFMI50Oug/w400-h225/th-13.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">ER staff see patients suffering and dying every shift for lack of care. They see loved ones grieving too. CEOs do not see these things. They see spreadsheets of profit and loss. <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/hospital-emergency-rooms-swamped-seriously-ill-non-covid-patients/">Kate Wells of Michigan Radio writes</a>: “Inside the emergency department at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, staff members are struggling to care for patients showing up much sicker than they’ve ever seen.Tiffani Dusang, the ER’s nursing director, practically vibrates with pent-up anxiety, looking at patients lying on a long line of stretchers pushed up against the beige walls of the hospital hallways. “It’s hard to watch,” she said in a warm Texas twang. But there’s nothing she can do. The ER’s 72 rooms are already filled. “I always feel very, very bad when I walk down the hallway and see that people are in pain, or needing to sleep, or needing quiet. But they have to be in the hallway with, as you can see, 10 or 15 people walking by every minute,” Dusang said. …“I cannot tell you how many of them [the nurses] tell me they went home crying” after their shifts.” </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzHQt7VdRdcXxXwqrieC-yC3VIRTpFi7bdQ-U20kEBXRyZMClUOSwbhvqsCziiuPzTyNkoIHs0ZHVQMqKH9QiPWZZYPfxFRBZNf_4qnrj0I-d-oChBc6P8vCbnc0Fs0yYxtqlxw/s294/th-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="294" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzHQt7VdRdcXxXwqrieC-yC3VIRTpFi7bdQ-U20kEBXRyZMClUOSwbhvqsCziiuPzTyNkoIHs0ZHVQMqKH9QiPWZZYPfxFRBZNf_4qnrj0I-d-oChBc6P8vCbnc0Fs0yYxtqlxw/w400-h267/th-5.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Chekijian in US News says: “The bottom line is this: The house of medicine in the U.S. is a house of cards that has already started its crashing descent into collapse.” </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-4781Z3eqFmsH1Vl2gAWpi9tV1eH2BGubNYsnq3VONRzBP80XCHRKUALZ1wGeviCWXtvifg0pJAikoTrCEjHDytTZ-x8O_99TI_AsVYgoaQPtZv6Deig1BMISlmgCc6Dpa8nvg/s735/198551834022ad117edda38271693ea0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="735" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja-4781Z3eqFmsH1Vl2gAWpi9tV1eH2BGubNYsnq3VONRzBP80XCHRKUALZ1wGeviCWXtvifg0pJAikoTrCEjHDytTZ-x8O_99TI_AsVYgoaQPtZv6Deig1BMISlmgCc6Dpa8nvg/w400-h240/198551834022ad117edda38271693ea0.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I just turned seventy last spring and this is a disconcerting scenario for my demographic, the cohort most likely to need health care. Prone to chronic blood clots, I’ve spent many hours in emergency rooms over the past thirty years, the last few times on a stretcher in a hallway because the ER was overcrowded. I watched nurses scurrying about trying to tend to us all and hated to add to their stress by asking any more of them.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkemkw9yqS864FejSUIDzNpwg0MjhCa-VyX6g4I-3CZ8tJMEk51RHVWc1ocURulXwG1NzV1lr_kj6JBZH-jDobxHpxPR1PJBC4YW39snEU_vm3mbYcXGCKULq4AHRpuOKuM0BqyQ/s289/th-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="289" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkemkw9yqS864FejSUIDzNpwg0MjhCa-VyX6g4I-3CZ8tJMEk51RHVWc1ocURulXwG1NzV1lr_kj6JBZH-jDobxHpxPR1PJBC4YW39snEU_vm3mbYcXGCKULq4AHRpuOKuM0BqyQ/w400-h226/th-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The last time I did that was three years ago. What will it be like the next time? I hate to think.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-11882249336364331042021-09-26T07:21:00.002-04:002021-09-26T07:21:14.795-04:00LEFT & RIGHT SEPTEMBER 15, 2021<p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c0xvIsbRReE" width="320" youtube-src-id="c0xvIsbRReE"></iframe></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Newspaper publisher Mark Guerringue sits in the left chair.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Covid dominates our discussion. Mark believes everyone should be vaccinated. I don't agree that government should force it. We have both been vaccinated for Covid. Mark points to George Washington mandating that all his soldiers be given smallpox vaccine. I point out that he was a general then and not the president. I question whether a president has constitutional authority to force citizens to get the jab.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Mark says this covid vaccine is different from traditional ones like smallpox in that it doesn't transfer weak virus but there's a change in its molecular structure, so it's new. He insists that most nearly all new infections occur in the unvaccinated. I point out that Israel's population is more than 85% vaccinated but also has the most new infections.
I point to studies indicating that natural antibodies in someone who got Covid and didn't get sick are several times stronger than those from a vaccine. He thinks it's just the opposite.</span>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-68437188816633053402021-08-13T13:16:00.006-04:002021-08-13T13:16:56.926-04:00LEFT & RIGHT SHOW AUGUST 4TH, 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yYPVkTET0pY" width="481" youtube-src-id="yYPVkTET0pY"></iframe></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>Newspaper publisher Mark Guerringue sits in the left chair for this show. First question from the producer asks our opinion of the CDC renewing a ban on evictions by landlords of tenants who don't pay rent. Mark defers to me and I claim it's unconstitutional for the federal gfuovernment to exercise this power, and Biden admits it. Nonetheless, he did it. Governors may have such power depending on what state constitutions might have granted.</span><p></p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(13, 13, 13); color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I bring back a question Mark asked on a previous show about why Republicans were going after Anthony Fauci. I said it was because he lied under oath at a Senate hearing when he denied using US tax dollars to fund "gain of function" research at the Wuhan Lab. Mark said it was only a small amount and no big deal. He didn't address lying under oath. From there was discuss where the virus might have originated. Mark insisted there was no evidence it was anywhere but from animals. I said evidence was emerging that it possibly started in a laboratory in Wuhan. After first insisting strenuously there was no evidence, Mark acknowledged it was possible.
Mark asked me about Governor Cuomo, who at that point had not yet resigned. I cited enormous discrepancies in mainstream media coverage of similar accusations against conservatives Brett Kavanaugh and Donald Trump. Media was extremely aggressive against Trump and Kavanaugh but played down accusations against liberal Democrat Andrew Cuomo until they simply couldn't anymore.
I pivoted to teachers's union support of teaching Critical Race Theory in our public schools. Teachers' unions being the biggest contributors to the Democrat Party after the Trial Lawyers Association. I quoted from a National Association statement at their convention the month before in which they criticize capitalism, claims "White Supremacy" as being inherent in white people, that they're anti-black, and against indigenous peoples as well -- and more.
I reiterated Mark's claims that my columns were "anti-black," but he again insisted that didn't mean I was anti-black. I said I stand by what I wrote and would write them again, that they reflect what I believe, that they were not "anti-black" but anti-Black Lives Matter, and other such radical leftist groups.</span>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-10181339493817185802021-06-22T11:20:00.004-04:002021-06-22T11:20:44.743-04:00Left & Right June 6, 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OtjMC6NJnq4" width="320" youtube-src-id="OtjMC6NJnq4"></iframe></div><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mark Guerringue sits the left chair for this program. We discuss the national debt and how much Trump added to it as well as how much Biden's proposals will add if they're passed. That leads to discussion of what is infrastructure and how much should the federal government get involved. Should it be done with private capital instead. I raise historical precedents like the Erie Canal which New York State paid for entirely.
We discussed comparisons between last summer's riots in cities across the country and the events of January 6th in Washington DC. I see parallels, but Mark says they're "apples and oranges."
We discussed Mark calling my columns "anti-black" but he denies calling me "racist."</span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-68010450203842246972021-05-17T17:28:00.014-04:002021-05-17T17:55:17.215-04:00WAS IT ALL UNNECESSARY?<p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARMRu1z1cqdNwSR18ZqqE7foyOTkiFNRb3r99x86hak3wUYWOZsSSPY7UflWc21Hc30YZSXBh_n8zc7fVuSA6BgruiaBFfEUOYigkBeUjnyc7hti56hNjbepSkouKARFQQupC-g/s614/iu-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARMRu1z1cqdNwSR18ZqqE7foyOTkiFNRb3r99x86hak3wUYWOZsSSPY7UflWc21Hc30YZSXBh_n8zc7fVuSA6BgruiaBFfEUOYigkBeUjnyc7hti56hNjbepSkouKARFQQupC-g/w309-h400/iu-1.jpeg" width="309" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I ran errands in Fryeburg today, businesses still had their mask mandate signs up. I carried a mask but didn’t put it on. I was waiting for someone to tell me to but that didn’t happen. Fryeburg business owners all know me as a conservative so perhaps that was it. When I asked a few why they still had the mask signs up, proprietors told me our beloved </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: line-through;">mother</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">, I mean governor, Janet Mills said we can stop wearing masks on May 24th.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAd4Jl-sUss4GSNRnN_o0JfoJcOjfb3xKHtV2-iSnsoNNIWtYAkOO4MShWPlJ7zl7W3I9Sp2MPoZUwTPXBSPP97Yj4gRj1J-EcatZ9gIhnaX0mBDWpcf5mgOEjwe4arLdaUcuSw/s474/iu-10.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="474" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAd4Jl-sUss4GSNRnN_o0JfoJcOjfb3xKHtV2-iSnsoNNIWtYAkOO4MShWPlJ7zl7W3I9Sp2MPoZUwTPXBSPP97Yj4gRj1J-EcatZ9gIhnaX0mBDWpcf5mgOEjwe4arLdaUcuSw/w320-h179/iu-10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: x-large;">“I assume she informed all the Covid virus particles that May 23rd is the absolute last day they’re allowed to infect us. Am I right?” I asked one woman. She and a clerk who overheard burst out laughing. Everyone I saw in that store had masks on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAyYFl6O5ScifFujuKoYqL6OGhWGAx9uB0eheYY8rSVgPUMlk6CGGpWVD_3zrTZKcCTil-eLxHqDLng4S5IZECLrY6G-qik_fNkiwhhyP7OwOMQGCIAvQXw2xcsjRzJYra9DZbQ/s474/iu-13.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="474" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAyYFl6O5ScifFujuKoYqL6OGhWGAx9uB0eheYY8rSVgPUMlk6CGGpWVD_3zrTZKcCTil-eLxHqDLng4S5IZECLrY6G-qik_fNkiwhhyP7OwOMQGCIAvQXw2xcsjRzJYra9DZbQ/w400-h160/iu-13.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">My daughter and grandson arrived in Maine last week after driving across the country from Portland, Oregon. They reported that no one was wearing masks in the midwest except for the Chicago area. It’s only on the coasts that people wear them. Should we expect people in middle America to start dying now?</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E4Jq8bcKYILmQ2wV7E88sNgoTenxG75Rwynz06dOfk8fWCGU6XlyfO-blaOv_6fMdQr7CWA4mqlhd7Mi128pRzRp2RujFJyHWjE_1snXQ6zSw61zTnWhkEwVJr-4hG57CkYw1A/s474/iu-6.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="474" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6E4Jq8bcKYILmQ2wV7E88sNgoTenxG75Rwynz06dOfk8fWCGU6XlyfO-blaOv_6fMdQr7CWA4mqlhd7Mi128pRzRp2RujFJyHWjE_1snXQ6zSw61zTnWhkEwVJr-4hG57CkYw1A/w400-h290/iu-6.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">A woman from the CDC told us we can use our own judgement now about whether to mask up, socially distance, wash hands every ten minutes, and all that. What’s changed? How come government now trusts ordinary citizens to make up their own minds? They have no clue how many of us have been doing that right along.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO9KXgdOxdAmHPnQNgph-8KDF_s-TXzJPHCLiSttv9zW8JA23YQKOtosz9jQeMlmLpUEYW9svO9GYX0aq203ADH08sxNI1EJ5o2wZNplkhKrgrZ2vr5hyphenhyphenVHS0ry9REVM1Se3ztA/s342/iu-14.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="342" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO9KXgdOxdAmHPnQNgph-8KDF_s-TXzJPHCLiSttv9zW8JA23YQKOtosz9jQeMlmLpUEYW9svO9GYX0aq203ADH08sxNI1EJ5o2wZNplkhKrgrZ2vr5hyphenhyphenVHS0ry9REVM1Se3ztA/w400-h370/iu-14.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">People on the coasts have obviously decided for themselves before the guidance from the CDC. Coastal blue people, when asked why they continue wearing masks respond that they don’t want to be mistaken for conservatives. I’m not kidding. They actually say that when interviewed by reporters. Others say they keep wearing a mask because they want to show how much they care for others. These people are so virtuous! I feel like a sinner in their presence.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3ZZbm6MRodKNdN4CqPrbvSkXA_xM28bX9cVKRicgS-j6fqsYGPpFfryPsYCV2H2s7IyIL7LMQwrgU7EJFcgSM5fnPaeh0Ih3TsGp5-I8N7pBpDoLvAnGgFGZUQd3HKC-sOAiRg/s900/iu-11.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="900" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3ZZbm6MRodKNdN4CqPrbvSkXA_xM28bX9cVKRicgS-j6fqsYGPpFfryPsYCV2H2s7IyIL7LMQwrgU7EJFcgSM5fnPaeh0Ih3TsGp5-I8N7pBpDoLvAnGgFGZUQd3HKC-sOAiRg/w400-h223/iu-11.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Covering up half my face for the past year has improved my looks, I’ll admit, and the elastics that pull my ears forward has improved my hearing. Although that aural gain is offset when other people’s words are muffled from being spoken through cloth and from behind plexiglass.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SS0T8y9rUAlDAagoc72e7t8eYtfQPSrVauMFw2kmdopmelLqzSrK8glCBkV-Bgb4Kz3lGiBpejDu_54saD49odmkKla_Tal5vtBpvow-ZIJ9PU4xtD3ivnF6Xc3e40vxncJFMA/s1200/iu-17.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SS0T8y9rUAlDAagoc72e7t8eYtfQPSrVauMFw2kmdopmelLqzSrK8glCBkV-Bgb4Kz3lGiBpejDu_54saD49odmkKla_Tal5vtBpvow-ZIJ9PU4xtD3ivnF6Xc3e40vxncJFMA/w400-h266/iu-17.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was so nice to watch Senator Rand Paul expose the lying Anthony Fauci in a senate hearing room. The previously-sainted Fauci denied funding “gain of function” research during his lifelong career with our government — and said Senator Rand Paul’s accusations to the contrary were completely incorrect. As it came out over the next few days however, that Fauci approved our tax money be given to an NGA that, in turn, gave it to the Chinese in Wuhan, China for that research. So he didn’t fund the “gain of function” research. They did.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSSVgJX11xKvPElOR1mNOogXN9iR5djj46YhbVRZJytb-azgiGP5h6025qbvNFduZMfo1msKQ5ThMruPk_4MfPX58Izpfk3Z-DTrio9V-0bDU4WKw3LxrfxOKlatF-xeSBw0lGw/s474/iu-20.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSSVgJX11xKvPElOR1mNOogXN9iR5djj46YhbVRZJytb-azgiGP5h6025qbvNFduZMfo1msKQ5ThMruPk_4MfPX58Izpfk3Z-DTrio9V-0bDU4WKw3LxrfxOKlatF-xeSBw0lGw/w400-h225/iu-20.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have to look up “gain of function” research to learn that meant scientists were researching how to enable viruses to infect humans. Why in God’s name would they ever want to do that, I wondered. Then I learned that President Obama had banned such research years ago. Well, how about that? Something Obama did that I can actually applaud. Fauci and another scientist, however, found a loophole that enabled them to continue funding it, although indirectly. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjvrsuzng8mdZ33RhxiiO9-vDa_gJoOCsCZry6zpcM7xGM-crLBzs44AsuE3ariAPxrL2WFmdnRrpGVTajgkMGkHnkmXxJb9l7q_JEi_Nv2pG9YomVcZRq1u8IPtB47Y5ZekB1Q/s474/iu-23.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="474" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyjvrsuzng8mdZ33RhxiiO9-vDa_gJoOCsCZry6zpcM7xGM-crLBzs44AsuE3ariAPxrL2WFmdnRrpGVTajgkMGkHnkmXxJb9l7q_JEi_Nv2pG9YomVcZRq1u8IPtB47Y5ZekB1Q/w400-h281/iu-23.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Have you noticed that Fauci’s halo has been removed? He’s not on television every day anymore either. Do you miss him? I sure don’t.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDygjkbiVMRxNRsK4dPAECWPyRZ8vMxA3ZaXV_G7w5r6y4ffEhE7G-eg6zlBxd7rQLwWiBCdA84SFx5m3s_E2lo9ZSSfdk-53QcKNwSGzQexwMo95W50LaismG3plZL6kgw1H-BQ/s474/iu-8.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDygjkbiVMRxNRsK4dPAECWPyRZ8vMxA3ZaXV_G7w5r6y4ffEhE7G-eg6zlBxd7rQLwWiBCdA84SFx5m3s_E2lo9ZSSfdk-53QcKNwSGzQexwMo95W50LaismG3plZL6kgw1H-BQ/w400-h200/iu-8.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>Another thing: it’s no longer racist to call this “The Wuhan Virus” or “The China Virus.” The former head of the CDC told us he believes the virus escaped from lab in Wuhan that got money through the formerly-sainted Doctor Fauci to do that “gain of function” research. Apparently it didn’t come from some Chinese person eating a bat purchased from a wet market. Will anyone who called me racist now apologize? Probably not.</span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD6hIozl3ghGKLKHP5rMpmwuRedoW3SMh1bgaDL2IHBcYuYgYaHhmxekyQLO9k5LN2yEGnx8Jd4NUSsNsp-cdc-oznZYv6JusXmwvtNIVgTBgYBEibbMEpJ0FIdLBy0afnjh-JQ/s474/iu-16.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD6hIozl3ghGKLKHP5rMpmwuRedoW3SMh1bgaDL2IHBcYuYgYaHhmxekyQLO9k5LN2yEGnx8Jd4NUSsNsp-cdc-oznZYv6JusXmwvtNIVgTBgYBEibbMEpJ0FIdLBy0afnjh-JQ/w400-h225/iu-16.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve read where a few brave scientists are suggesting that all the economic shutdowns, the social distancing, the mask-wearing — none of it had any effect. The virus was going to do what it did regardless of all that. We could have avoided all that misery. All the businesses that closed didn’t have to. All the schools that closed didn’t have to. Imagine. Are they right? I suspect they are. If so, will our political leaders ever admit it? You know the answer.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw83AfG9J56tzaxh9XuBUPjm5vnzgmE_6HPLDLb4ucU4xG2Ou6t9lKohnXc1YffLRBurs4FCzKIZp4563aqiuxZDE8mMIzxNNA5soQTbaUHQgi1MJOIf1XMV1FRtGYxL8zxVUXIQ/s600/iu-22.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw83AfG9J56tzaxh9XuBUPjm5vnzgmE_6HPLDLb4ucU4xG2Ou6t9lKohnXc1YffLRBurs4FCzKIZp4563aqiuxZDE8mMIzxNNA5soQTbaUHQgi1MJOIf1XMV1FRtGYxL8zxVUXIQ/w400-h256/iu-22.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many Catholic schools remained open throughout, and not a single infection can be traced to a student. Were Catholics immune? Were they holier than Dr. Fauci? Or was it all unnecessary? It sure was necessary according to the teachers’ unions and their Democrat allies — and they’re determined to continue with it all. Have the teachers’ unions ever gotten anything right? Not that I can remember. I should have quit the National Education Association much sooner than I did. I actually paid them dues for over ten years. What a fool I was.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPc9OPjztdKABa1cui10r06z-vUol827-eZEQEuZSGBj9-29_9FoyqLwDOQTKuzhMPqgWPYPWYJJzHCKAt4e-ZmMNi5Anivutv_p5qu7A-3UzBRHm5Ari0XXSUvHWvupg61w0Nxg/s900/iu-28.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="900" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPc9OPjztdKABa1cui10r06z-vUol827-eZEQEuZSGBj9-29_9FoyqLwDOQTKuzhMPqgWPYPWYJJzHCKAt4e-ZmMNi5Anivutv_p5qu7A-3UzBRHm5Ari0XXSUvHWvupg61w0Nxg/w400-h300/iu-28.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The main road through Fryeburg has been choked by construction for almost two years now. I know the back roads so I can avoid it during my errands, but I don’t see road construction projects taking nearly so long over the New Hampshire border a few miles away. Why is that? Let’s see: Democrats have been running Maine for the entire forty-five years I’ve lived here. Republicans have run New Hampshire for almost all of that time.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Could that have something to do with it?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-79067089872573297922021-05-11T10:30:00.004-04:002021-06-07T16:06:39.532-04:00Left & Right Show Wednesday, February 3, 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W8zixcv7D_I" width="320" youtube-src-id="W8zixcv7D_I"></iframe></div><br /><br /><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, Noto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here I confront Conway Sun publisher Mark Guerringue about his decision to spike one of the last columns I submitted to his paper. He claims it was because of inaccuracies and misinformation. I claim it was because of his leftist political bias and I challenge him to cite the alleged misinformation.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87)" face="Roboto, Noto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-44034331174966738602021-04-05T16:19:00.087-04:002021-04-05T16:46:05.145-04:00THE FINAL DEADLINE<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujss-p60kCgtrh4Xhf2siySPR8REUQ8sLLAT8-taTxmsZWUa4plj-Y62JSl-XVxhFRS3ejuYVucjpcjwQinmTK_ilgaEn83QAYkGlB3NiPgUkX0XagBVPq7nIVCK-CjRy1byGQg/s1000/TMC_8898.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujss-p60kCgtrh4Xhf2siySPR8REUQ8sLLAT8-taTxmsZWUa4plj-Y62JSl-XVxhFRS3ejuYVucjpcjwQinmTK_ilgaEn83QAYkGlB3NiPgUkX0XagBVPq7nIVCK-CjRy1byGQg/w400-h266/TMC_8898.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Sunrise at Spring Point, South Portland Maine</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The days of our years are threescore years and ten,” according to Psalm 90, and I reached that milestone yesterday, April 7th. We live longer here in the 21st century United States than people did in ancient Israel when Psalm 90 was written, but not much longer. Because of a circulatory condition I didn’t think I’d make it even this far because I haven’t been able to purchase life insurance since I was thirty-three. Yet here I am, still sucking oxygen.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9-C_wHVq4FQW6ojtsDfvurvB0IUR5FvJULw34UawG4tHfB2RirG6PBLo_cq0EPKGQP2iDY3dr-II2KZ8Oosb63RVj9eKAIy-i-lt7KLkSHEK2YhiHCll3_GcCV2fjU1G6-3tzw/s474/iu-5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="474" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9-C_wHVq4FQW6ojtsDfvurvB0IUR5FvJULw34UawG4tHfB2RirG6PBLo_cq0EPKGQP2iDY3dr-II2KZ8Oosb63RVj9eKAIy-i-lt7KLkSHEK2YhiHCll3_GcCV2fjU1G6-3tzw/w400-h209/iu-5.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reaching seventy seems like a good time to take stock and make some changes. I began writing for publication sometime during the Carter Administration. My pieces were occasional until sometime late in the George H. W. Bush Administration when I committed to writing a regular, weekly column for various newspapers. With advent of the internet, several web sites picked it up too, and up to now about 1500 columns have been published in hard copy. Deadlines for 800-word columns have crimped my weekly schedule ever since, and that has become tiresome.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgsWUvIa1ZsnVFzPIqK96Xe1E00IYKrg5k9gd6QXY-IuSEK5fw1TSgGwP7uorBO_5eIruALA5RpK69-OddPVx5Pz9T74oOejw1NorXoScYwVqiBPpsfMH2W3e47C_VrisLiaX4Q/s407/iu-3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="375" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrgsWUvIa1ZsnVFzPIqK96Xe1E00IYKrg5k9gd6QXY-IuSEK5fw1TSgGwP7uorBO_5eIruALA5RpK69-OddPVx5Pz9T74oOejw1NorXoScYwVqiBPpsfMH2W3e47C_VrisLiaX4Q/w369-h400/iu-3.jpeg" width="369" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I turned sixty, I retired from the classroom. Now, at seventy, I’m liberating myself from deadlines and returning to occasional-writer status. Why? Mostly because writing keeps me at my desk when I’d rather be outside taking pictures, especially now that spring is here. Photography is much more fun, and it scratches my creative itch more thoroughly than writing does. It’s also more lucrative.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyqFkE6KjmTIrjJa6NDh3lR2Je2Pek-0uPJMqHwYwpoHg6OKIzIPe85pBF6RKlAc_cawEK_i6F40K3WVRmrTLL8OEpWyngWMT5U8VGd2gNb3FVwpBYJ3pc-MCf3Mol89ttc6IKg/s1000/TMC_8917.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyqFkE6KjmTIrjJa6NDh3lR2Je2Pek-0uPJMqHwYwpoHg6OKIzIPe85pBF6RKlAc_cawEK_i6F40K3WVRmrTLL8OEpWyngWMT5U8VGd2gNb3FVwpBYJ3pc-MCf3Mol89ttc6IKg/w400-h266/TMC_8917.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Sunrise from Christian Hill last month</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: x-large;">After a day exploring my environs through the lens of my camera, I still find myself sitting in front of my computer, but I’m seeing beautiful color photos instead of words in dull black-and-white. It’s relaxing and energizing at the same time — and I listen to music while I edit— classical piano mostly. With income from sales, I purchased high-end cameras, lenses and other tools of the trade and I want to use them more. Already I’m waking up with excitement as I think about where I’ll go with my photo backpack after breakfast, or even before breakfast if I feel like it.</span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSn4IIlnaotXOFbyK89uFXPJ2Z5KOdXTaizPJI0z7Ejf5fzLm0U0phWIXB2ZxblGH0Lom5FVxYwVoNhMQC2eg6PwjPXDOFMxuiMXq3g1krtEmf49N7EBliU3w4AYG-6Le-q0KXrg/s474/iu-4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="474" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSn4IIlnaotXOFbyK89uFXPJ2Z5KOdXTaizPJI0z7Ejf5fzLm0U0phWIXB2ZxblGH0Lom5FVxYwVoNhMQC2eg6PwjPXDOFMxuiMXq3g1krtEmf49N7EBliU3w4AYG-6Le-q0KXrg/w400-h251/iu-4.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Going into my office now, I’m eager to see what my latest photos look like on the big monitor. Although I discard most, I like using an editing program to make the rest better, but even fewer of those make it onto my web site to be offered for sale. As I said, the whole process is much more fun than writing. Conscious that this is my final regular column, I’m feel liberated from deadlines already. I’ll be free all next week, and for however many more weeks my Creator wishes to give me. Only He knows what my final deadline will be — and about that I prefer to remain in ignorance.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZ_2OJBbQwzsRlbf9oOi9xmCRYpVWz_3EmGc4XXulflbB7IChDyKvDVWeKgKNUmB7yJPkn9FkWTssE5-7_SlOVtXWrdlLdnXn9iQrC-Ewz96WdQxCgHkRMPr2-upjYn7SLcHi8g/s474/iu-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="474" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZ_2OJBbQwzsRlbf9oOi9xmCRYpVWz_3EmGc4XXulflbB7IChDyKvDVWeKgKNUmB7yJPkn9FkWTssE5-7_SlOVtXWrdlLdnXn9iQrC-Ewz96WdQxCgHkRMPr2-upjYn7SLcHi8g/w400-h180/iu-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whatever occasional writing I may do will be published on my blog, and will likely be in the form of photo essays. Now, however, they can be less than 800 words, or more. I can write whatever comes to mind and go on for as long as I want. I can go off on tangents without feeling guilty for not sticking to the subject. Tangents are usually more creative than the intended script anyway. I never know where they’ll take me but the trip is always enjoyable.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvAOLEeZqlIR-hWjcmj4OzVp3lADKS0_807HWypueMhD45Bnx_McPwEGqCvy55vY5zRzMWC2mcf9m5jJJp2SL9Rz62HjuVuLXSZUuUjO1L7xWvEbD6SMCLMiHUXjtKrHibGbnKQ/s1000/TMC_6373.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvAOLEeZqlIR-hWjcmj4OzVp3lADKS0_807HWypueMhD45Bnx_McPwEGqCvy55vY5zRzMWC2mcf9m5jJJp2SL9Rz62HjuVuLXSZUuUjO1L7xWvEbD6SMCLMiHUXjtKrHibGbnKQ/w400-h266/TMC_6373.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Old Orchard Beach at dawn</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">My blog is a better medium than newspapers for photos and words and that’s where future pieces will go. If publications ever wishes to pick one up, they can, but I won’t be promoting them. I don’t enjoy marketing and have never done much of it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yxzP7RtcWLTP1uvYG3y3obVT-aQjX3dfjpJn9Z8h0bgm-m68bV0Lgw3hP5v10rD-ZZkl3FNQ0IYtJtAHGZEdljsZ313ir_Mu1DWzB2IMxW1uPaTlBqVJRnXRA9CeCDHSes4OAg/s1000/TMC_6419.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yxzP7RtcWLTP1uvYG3y3obVT-aQjX3dfjpJn9Z8h0bgm-m68bV0Lgw3hP5v10rD-ZZkl3FNQ0IYtJtAHGZEdljsZ313ir_Mu1DWzB2IMxW1uPaTlBqVJRnXRA9CeCDHSes4OAg/w400-h266/TMC_6419.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere in Kennebunk, Maine</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I intend to continue my TV show: “Left & Right,” because that’s only twice a month and it’s still fun. Whereas writing columns was a solitary endeavor, TV is interactive and I can invite anyone I wish. Show prep is easy because I’m always keeping up with news of the world anyway and I decide what the content will be. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7n9uoUlltycOkRWfDMh4-LbgcqZuNDgbA_vpaCrI5vMvb5nfeHL-78aK2QBvbWldHoEza2QmHjC_i0afOR0mg4DBtk2H3eX0j5zejnu_eBLKfRQI4a0PK7tgbwJUoPdgWBGOGw/s2048/iu.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7n9uoUlltycOkRWfDMh4-LbgcqZuNDgbA_vpaCrI5vMvb5nfeHL-78aK2QBvbWldHoEza2QmHjC_i0afOR0mg4DBtk2H3eX0j5zejnu_eBLKfRQI4a0PK7tgbwJUoPdgWBGOGw/w400-h225/iu.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Positive and negative feedback from my columns have come in newspapers, online, over the telephone, through email, via snail-mail, and in person. It was nice to get it, negative included, and I want to thank the many people who sent it over the years in spite of, or because of, the controversy my columns engendered. I’ve saved most of the hard copy letters to the editor, opposing columns, and snail-mail letters along with digital copies of emails. Comments on my blog will be preserved as long as Google allows.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkLJeq2E0PY4wZWiRNgqldeIdGi1HmcoWJ5lVBnJp-X4djwwXpyCEPu7QiV1_AbSAm8lUjQIVU8LHYXUZeVPxWY1z5drqfJ4ocSP7_uiNjD_oRdyfpMolVeGLIw_Ri49mh2jogA/s1000/TMC_6291.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkLJeq2E0PY4wZWiRNgqldeIdGi1HmcoWJ5lVBnJp-X4djwwXpyCEPu7QiV1_AbSAm8lUjQIVU8LHYXUZeVPxWY1z5drqfJ4ocSP7_uiNjD_oRdyfpMolVeGLIw_Ri49mh2jogA/w400-h266/TMC_6291.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Sunrise at Old Orchard Beach, Maine</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Psalm 90:10 goes on to say, “…and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2j1Yhkm-uvbvJF99pdoC2Unc9YyJhvoG2LnMvXzodb9uzG6Mq6VNq7T_i9m6ibu4xNVBsdH0b5rp4w0fANod6mlBluWvV-ygPA-VShJgFq-9_q_eu_OfDqc9cAD9AfLoHvJRSA/w400-h266/TMC_8809.jpeg" width="400" /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Although there’s been no shortage of labor and sorrow during my 70 years, joy has been thoroughly interspersed as well, and I hope will continue to be before I fly away.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-47395112691006789252021-03-23T12:25:00.000-04:002021-03-23T12:25:12.123-04:00"HOCKEY STICK MANN" LOSES AGAIN<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyymKXF12c08O1_hREjRsFWC6o_zSTGFp0bMfrzK4g41zafrsBiU2bPiMWQJ0i0HeukmiMxaORCuTK_6_ZXPEEfDN2BgKr4t6Opb0siXCUpknOSif25ifBtgBzeFsZEvPwzimqWg/s400/2i7mfex.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="400" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyymKXF12c08O1_hREjRsFWC6o_zSTGFp0bMfrzK4g41zafrsBiU2bPiMWQJ0i0HeukmiMxaORCuTK_6_ZXPEEfDN2BgKr4t6Opb0siXCUpknOSif25ifBtgBzeFsZEvPwzimqWg/w400-h248/2i7mfex.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">Was it wrong for me to feel schadenfreude last week after infamous climatologist Michael Mann’s second court defeat? Maybe, but I savored it anyway.</span></span><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMENpLSOWV3bFdbLd5ZQ5FtOQsbIi8OyqAa2VxQvDLJOGkufY6CKaUOkDcU2kF28CS4wEfDnPxfTIevcCa-XGtBDEIwYxWaHHl3JqGXGSBiF7vKkiPOBgjtQhOjJHX6JlGw47AFQ/s370/3747.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="370" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMENpLSOWV3bFdbLd5ZQ5FtOQsbIi8OyqAa2VxQvDLJOGkufY6CKaUOkDcU2kF28CS4wEfDnPxfTIevcCa-XGtBDEIwYxWaHHl3JqGXGSBiF7vKkiPOBgjtQhOjJHX6JlGw47AFQ/w400-h364/3747.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was only five years ago that the litigious, pretentious, and hypersensitive climatologist signed his <a href="https://www.conwaydailysun.com/opinion/michael-e-mann-mclaughlin-misleads-on-climate-change/article_bffee559-f79f-5f85-be9f-34cfdcc59708.html">April 29, 2016 letter to the Conway Daily Sun</a><i> </i>as<i>:</i> “Michael E. Mann, Distinguished professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center, Penn State University.” After Mann had sued multiple critics over the previous ten years, it looked as though he would add me to his list of defendants which included <i>The National Review</i>, New Hampshire columnist Mark Steyn, Canada’s Dr. Timothy Ball, The Competitive Enterprise Institute, and others.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0Z44gu71lruj_-NbYM8vNoIT7XYUA9UpKH1wqlz2ZfzRyBjKjrNChGFN9Da5zn7hhB4RjhAEVf6VVaMcVpksR3ntzmm6zdUqKCAFckwwKmEuGEivlOXgvbexn99vfh7-zMeSmQ/s370/iu.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="370" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0Z44gu71lruj_-NbYM8vNoIT7XYUA9UpKH1wqlz2ZfzRyBjKjrNChGFN9Da5zn7hhB4RjhAEVf6VVaMcVpksR3ntzmm6zdUqKCAFckwwKmEuGEivlOXgvbexn99vfh7-zMeSmQ/w400-h268/iu.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mann’s 500-word screed against me began with: “An individual named Tom McLaughlin did a tremendous disservice to your readership by spreading falsehoods about the topic of human-caused climate change, and about my scientific work specifically, in his misguided recent commentary (“Campus craziness” published April 28).”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB_LYZcy6OmSsyGdBQDtEb8yy_9sxixutxeFCgsEDdHz9zD-sYZvvIgbA8M3j-z7NclzrWbY_LZiorOC_Hof_Bv0c6mUoNamk3W7J6XhLjZ7fWjVhilPI8XCrZ5hLuGhdwgEs9g/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB_LYZcy6OmSsyGdBQDtEb8yy_9sxixutxeFCgsEDdHz9zD-sYZvvIgbA8M3j-z7NclzrWbY_LZiorOC_Hof_Bv0c6mUoNamk3W7J6XhLjZ7fWjVhilPI8XCrZ5hLuGhdwgEs9g/w272-h640/Michael+Mann+letter+4-30-16+CDS.jpg" width="272" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">That column was about loopy developments on American college campuses in general. I mentioned Michael Mann in only one paragraph but he immediately fired off his letter to the <i>Sun</i>. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_N7CAirNCmi2kGPLUg4t2mDAC90wT0QRrWKIc2ZFCcWO4McLNGkInukRQGMZI7FdqRcBVvu62Qno-00n2BNCzjEbmkHcfjz1SqX2wfmS6PHaJo9blBqKiZkGnlqNALgRwRp2UQ/s619/guardian.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="494" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_N7CAirNCmi2kGPLUg4t2mDAC90wT0QRrWKIc2ZFCcWO4McLNGkInukRQGMZI7FdqRcBVvu62Qno-00n2BNCzjEbmkHcfjz1SqX2wfmS6PHaJo9blBqKiZkGnlqNALgRwRp2UQ/w319-h400/guardian.jpg" width="319" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mann is the creator of the now-debunked “hockey-stick graph” first <a href="https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-hockey-stick-lives/">made famous by former Vice President Al Gore’s film: “Inconvenient Truth</a>” and then <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4349133.stm">cited by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>. Whenever anyone publicly criticized Mann for his faulty scientific reasoning, he sued them. The suits dragged on almost ten years costing defendants millions, but they’re finally being settled.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYeDTdZeUVLpdZjllOKG0WawZlvz2rGtj6nklJVkhIsmC0AfSF7nSwmRrxftXk_wJpFQjbihVgg1PVy4jhAIq-eSA80NtpYViGRb0KdbEGj66ZPkOszK1jMdnjYrmhD0GmaeaNw/s488/homer-end-is-near1_shadow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="488" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYeDTdZeUVLpdZjllOKG0WawZlvz2rGtj6nklJVkhIsmC0AfSF7nSwmRrxftXk_wJpFQjbihVgg1PVy4jhAIq-eSA80NtpYViGRb0KdbEGj66ZPkOszK1jMdnjYrmhD0GmaeaNw/w400-h309/homer-end-is-near1_shadow.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Last week, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/national-review-prevails-against-michael-mann/">Mann’s suit against National Review was dismissed</a>. In 2019, a <a href="https://www.climatedepot.com/2019/08/24/climatologist-dr-tim-ball-defeats-michael-manns-climate-lawsuit/">Supreme Court judge in British Columbia dismissed Mann’s suit against Dr. Timothy Ball with prejudice</a>.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> That judge also ordered Mann to pay Ball’s court costs which run into the millions. It’s possible Mann will have to pay National Review’s court costs as well, but that hasn’t been decided at this writing. His suits against Mark Steyn and the Competitive Enterprise Institute will likely be dismissed soon with similar results.</span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8fR5bCfin8hydJ05TxshxEB-B9JNk09g-pijNcDDGOKoNr3UnQyhBMTawlQReChu-4neD2kSOBCqKzXP1zxq7nNbubUm-Bw0TKMyVaYHet5HHeC_FRORtG5vaf7AaZV0VObUfQ/s800/iu-11.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8fR5bCfin8hydJ05TxshxEB-B9JNk09g-pijNcDDGOKoNr3UnQyhBMTawlQReChu-4neD2kSOBCqKzXP1zxq7nNbubUm-Bw0TKMyVaYHet5HHeC_FRORtG5vaf7AaZV0VObUfQ/w400-h300/iu-11.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">David Suzuki</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t know how deep Mann’s pockets are, but I think wealthy climate Cassandras like Canada’s David Suzuki who backed him will have to pay Mann’s victims now. I’m no lawyer, but I think that’s how it works. Suzuki said politicians skeptical of anthropogenic climate change “should be thrown in the slammer.” <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/senator-use-rico-laws-to-prosecute-global-warming-skeptics">Democrat politicians in the United States have also called for jailing climate skeptics</a>. These court defeats would seem to indicate that if anyone is going to the slammer, it’s more likely to be Michael Mann. Dr. Timothy Ball was right when he said: “Mann belongs in the state pen, not Penn State.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKBlJiPZ-09v_DHss-0D8cCWGkZUlgGfYMp65uK9OiJV4EbRuDvvhw1T4qLAI3MOcW2j5ulZS-q0KHnbRok1oiXRfblyjWhkRoNYCoi0hgPJpAv9tcSk7-5z_LHCleafXaJhvQw/s580/iu-9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="580" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKBlJiPZ-09v_DHss-0D8cCWGkZUlgGfYMp65uK9OiJV4EbRuDvvhw1T4qLAI3MOcW2j5ulZS-q0KHnbRok1oiXRfblyjWhkRoNYCoi0hgPJpAv9tcSk7-5z_LHCleafXaJhvQw/w400-h241/iu-9.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There’s little doubt that our climate is warming. Portland [Maine] Harbor used to freeze regularly but it rarely does now. The question is whether human activity [burning fossil fuels] is causing it. The left believes it is while conservatives generally do not. Conservatives see the left using the issue to justify expanded government control over the energy sector of our economy. The new Biden Administration is populating the federal bureaucracy with officials who believe they can prevent global warming by phasing out coal and petroleum products in America and substituting expensive alternative energy sources like wind and solar for them.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasVd0rz8OZbpr3be4mHQmOy6QaQVKcucVl2Ysu9uPpRRII3BkzXVucVfNepsnbA25j0snCDw488IH7LXPSTF0waQy7Mfr0IIlB50T2-fhiQ399DPDKNwHFElq4mbPmIRm65JtIg/s600/6amercias_edit.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasVd0rz8OZbpr3be4mHQmOy6QaQVKcucVl2Ysu9uPpRRII3BkzXVucVfNepsnbA25j0snCDw488IH7LXPSTF0waQy7Mfr0IIlB50T2-fhiQ399DPDKNwHFElq4mbPmIRm65JtIg/w400-h266/6amercias_edit.gif" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Public concern about alleged anthropogenic climate change has waxed and waned over the years since Columbia University’s James Hansen predicted doom back in 1988. When scientists like Mann are challenged, mainstream media goes after skeptics. On <i>60 Minutes</i> last year, Mann said: “There’s about as much scientific consensus about human-caused climate change as there is about gravity.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRw1PAmaN0sJwk7jFDSMEy534PxPmVk527YbSoIekLydi4heCMn06DMtPYRY5fLxRwakPcQ29KHJjLdBXqoHJM-F9OmDt1BeqH4jeXcbIzSVwm7z-n4rEoKYdmAxWnxaCX9Jh2A/s1600/Flow-chart-method.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1600" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieRw1PAmaN0sJwk7jFDSMEy534PxPmVk527YbSoIekLydi4heCMn06DMtPYRY5fLxRwakPcQ29KHJjLdBXqoHJM-F9OmDt1BeqH4jeXcbIzSVwm7z-n4rEoKYdmAxWnxaCX9Jh2A/w400-h278/Flow-chart-method.jpeg" width="400" /></a><br /><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Mann's hockey stick cannot be reproduced without his data</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">If Mann is that confident in his position, why has he refused for more than a decade to turn over the data he used to compose his hockey stick? The scientific method requires that for a theory to become scientific fact, hypothetical experiments must be reproducible with the same results. That, of course, would be impossible because Mann won’t release his data despite court orders to do so. His refusal was cited by both judges in his two recent court defeats.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SW4DHkxi3k8" width="320" youtube-src-id="SW4DHkxi3k8"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even though neither the polar ice caps nor the Himalayan glaciers have disappeared as predicted by green Chicken Littles, mainstream media habitually trumpet climate Cassandras like Mann and <a href="https://climatechangedispatch.com/a-fact-based-rebuttal-to-nprs-attack-of-climatologist-david-legates/">attack his skeptics</a>. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that media have ignored Mann’s legal defeat versus Dr. Timothy Ball in British Columbia. They’ve been ignoring Mann’s loss against National Review so far as well. Both contradict media’s “We’re all gonna die from catastrophic climate change!” narrative.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0gQKAmN9T41E917vYppZLX1GEPOKW3RrnFiEKG8K4Z43JqRSK731dWuEoJ4bqiJ0-4bhaHbXFpSj2Yf8Qk0zGgWJezOedUAOlqbe8QJAeoLrCDK6-L-R1RDIk-GW2FO6N64XDA/s481/iu-15.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="481" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0gQKAmN9T41E917vYppZLX1GEPOKW3RrnFiEKG8K4Z43JqRSK731dWuEoJ4bqiJ0-4bhaHbXFpSj2Yf8Qk0zGgWJezOedUAOlqbe8QJAeoLrCDK6-L-R1RDIk-GW2FO6N64XDA/w400-h270/iu-15.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When Mann’s remaining suits against Mark Steyn and the Competitive Enterprise Institute are also thrown out, should I try to suppress my inevitable resurgence of schadenfreude?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCqhrRiKwk0m6kVhXGXAorykJJq9bGgUDqYtmwhEOerKuK_Y-GlHOg2u3au5jieaez8VB4NnDxILGb6e8p7Z7JRCYB2SesFICYy59_JlIVWfxQIsoduNQySpNnnhAPMA91slyww/s474/iu-8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="474" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCqhrRiKwk0m6kVhXGXAorykJJq9bGgUDqYtmwhEOerKuK_Y-GlHOg2u3au5jieaez8VB4NnDxILGb6e8p7Z7JRCYB2SesFICYy59_JlIVWfxQIsoduNQySpNnnhAPMA91slyww/w400-h231/iu-8.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Greta Thunberg</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nah. I’m going to savor it.</span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-34115213007218839442021-03-16T16:31:00.007-04:002021-03-16T16:34:20.028-04:00Speech to Carroll County New Hampshire Republicans Monday, 3-15-21<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBp4_P4gu9UoV8ohdd8ZVhtJFaZWlgKRBB6t6V__RIRTRBmg4-ldxWuFf4C8AFwNOb_HtuEAPTEduYsZ_-dPdV8YlLMXEQ95tlYROOeybXf0cdmDo1aTSjh_flMhbkt4SQFhtL9A/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBp4_P4gu9UoV8ohdd8ZVhtJFaZWlgKRBB6t6V__RIRTRBmg4-ldxWuFf4C8AFwNOb_HtuEAPTEduYsZ_-dPdV8YlLMXEQ95tlYROOeybXf0cdmDo1aTSjh_flMhbkt4SQFhtL9A/w400-h320/McLaughlin+Family+1962.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Only seven at this point</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Way back in the 20th century I was born into a family of Boston-Irish-Catholic-Democrats, the fourth of eight children. We were taught that Protestants and Republicans were different from us and not to be trusted. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My parents were politically active at the town level and some of my earliest memories are of our mother driving us kids around town to deliver fliers door-to-door encouraging people to vote for either my father running for local office, or a family friend. Politics of all kinds were discussed most nights around our supper table beginning at 5:45 pm. If I showed up late because I was fishing, playing baseball, or finishing my paper route, there would be consequences.</span></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVslZ6af9beGZrS-Ei1ozByMZ2c1SCkO1X__UyA4Jgy5ymrrArvyBVacVpp0FjHWTjjyKmvSvr6WYmzcSIMbm5LX5KO1ef741Td_ihybHf2akCedzJ9tkSOZqqpT7fVaeq7CBy4Q/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1570" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVslZ6af9beGZrS-Ei1ozByMZ2c1SCkO1X__UyA4Jgy5ymrrArvyBVacVpp0FjHWTjjyKmvSvr6WYmzcSIMbm5LX5KO1ef741Td_ihybHf2akCedzJ9tkSOZqqpT7fVaeq7CBy4Q/w310-h400/Ma+and+Dad+in+Maine.jpeg" width="310" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">My mother and father</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After supper I would sit in front of the television while my father watched the news. John F. Kennedy was our hero and my father proudly displayed a photo of him and Congressman JFK standing next to each other at a meeting to organize a public-employee union called NAGE — the National Association of Government Employees. That union later morphed into today’s SEIU, which functions as an army of Democrat poll workers and thugs. On weekends my father watched 30-minute episodes of “World at War” or “Victory at Sea” When a flotilla was crossing the English Channel on D-Day he would say, “I was there.” When the Battle of Okinawa was depicted with kamikazes crashing in to US ships he would say, “I was there.” </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJpgVHdEiH2qu6wJlMy-a2TTrmg-Mvo8Jdh513VDbm0YOuxEPFMnPIkS3BinAczGzMyEOREfSQyRuWILX70_5MctpCtW-s04VpAuNcGg6lScmTwJvbUf6wFAtOOwHKa-mWBh74A/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="446" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJpgVHdEiH2qu6wJlMy-a2TTrmg-Mvo8Jdh513VDbm0YOuxEPFMnPIkS3BinAczGzMyEOREfSQyRuWILX70_5MctpCtW-s04VpAuNcGg6lScmTwJvbUf6wFAtOOwHKa-mWBh74A/w400-h291/iu.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Okinawa</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br />But then most other fathers on our street were WWII veterans. That’s how it was in suburban Massachusetts in the 1950s and 60s. Every kid was proud of his father and that shaped our world view. In the late sixties and early seventies, however, things changed. Baby boomers grew up, went to college. Many challenged the values of the Greatest Generation. They used drugs. They ignored sexual norms, and opposed the Vietnam War. Heroes like JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King were assassinated. Cities burned in riots. Protests divided the country. President Johnson chose not to run again. Nixon resigned. My older brother started using drugs and left home. Those previously edifying conversations around our supper table became acrimonious.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TUY0wF-N8_XBccojuAfrcJw6cMhEIqvLKxxklC5Agb6tMoFE-_gyZ4ZOA86oeIzdW0VWvQuBTm3uk22448XVLjwUAaHStkhWZSzJCaFI24iL4dikCIjEYvlQRxdLY02SHOFuZw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="474" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6TUY0wF-N8_XBccojuAfrcJw6cMhEIqvLKxxklC5Agb6tMoFE-_gyZ4ZOA86oeIzdW0VWvQuBTm3uk22448XVLjwUAaHStkhWZSzJCaFI24iL4dikCIjEYvlQRxdLY02SHOFuZw/w400-h336/iu-2.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Similar things were happening up and down my street and across the country. American culture was fraying. Respect for the Greatest Generation was replaced by: “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” </span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P0QwAajMIopXv2-mH1HondGpHs08e5160LCaBdqMG519UNDLTJEc4nrTCHRsxHF2e_U4jYzAMiNTmfsS3EYRInRh8f27sJOJ5v20gRlH40uQDtOPMJvGsUn60Lhl22jFI9B-7Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="474" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0P0QwAajMIopXv2-mH1HondGpHs08e5160LCaBdqMG519UNDLTJEc4nrTCHRsxHF2e_U4jYzAMiNTmfsS3EYRInRh8f27sJOJ5v20gRlH40uQDtOPMJvGsUn60Lhl22jFI9B-7Q/w400-h283/iu-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />That unraveling of American pride then paused during eight years of the Reagan Administration, but began anew under the Obama Administration. Last summer cities were again burning in the riots following the George Floyd’s death. America has started shaking again. Today, after only two months of the Biden Administration, political polarization in America is worse than at anytime since the Civil War.</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5f2kGvWpa_AvpIF2czbaggLIcCvOaprBTiMTsKXnq1UubKOkpMHgKlmAK_k1fV0P7HaI1KajYsrsH4zDNJCLKZ8JPnOB2zBqyaaQvkcq46FbpRfej5wsc_xnIXWdAUHNfRnkaw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="474" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5f2kGvWpa_AvpIF2czbaggLIcCvOaprBTiMTsKXnq1UubKOkpMHgKlmAK_k1fV0P7HaI1KajYsrsH4zDNJCLKZ8JPnOB2zBqyaaQvkcq46FbpRfej5wsc_xnIXWdAUHNfRnkaw/w400-h300/iu-6.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />And racism is back in the form of <i>Critical Race Theory.</i> Although banned by President Trump, it has become dominant in public school classrooms just since the November election. If you look at sample curricula virtually anywhere in our country now you’ll see students being taught to categorize themselves by the color of their skin, not the content of their character. White people are born “privileged.” They’re inherently racist against all other people. White people perpetuate “institutional racism” the theory claims, consciously or unconsciously. </span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35LdR1NiBp4TbXzWcALb-TKdfjAtuKsndt9J-4xg7l_psCjoGZ_Zt6q6QUAj9k3V6ZCqsXYoQjJUpb77dEgvHMUVaw8_MaRe94GMjghVdOk_YSrUfzYGOmPePDjBR9eWnprrXUQ/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="728" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35LdR1NiBp4TbXzWcALb-TKdfjAtuKsndt9J-4xg7l_psCjoGZ_Zt6q6QUAj9k3V6ZCqsXYoQjJUpb77dEgvHMUVaw8_MaRe94GMjghVdOk_YSrUfzYGOmPePDjBR9eWnprrXUQ/w400-h300/iu-5.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Such BS</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Curricula like “The 1619 Project” which purports the United States was built on slavery — and not on notions of liberty and freedom spelled out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The 1619 Project is being adopted in public schools across several states and a new acronym has emerged: “BIPOC.” If you haven’t seen it yet, you will. It stands for: Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Our country is divided in two now: whites and BIPOCs. This is not good and it’s gaining momentum. Ask your children and grandchildren if they’re hearing it.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzehOZkD4bIG8DSBXpVjJV7ehRCoHN38dr6zNzoIuEx1oXTnDXh3MahpDb1aas7TFoPsKdDk2dft4W3UQzSuNus4UGnCCPgmuFqzBV-yJjn40408ZHRAOsQzLKnR7_9mV_ijJIg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="474" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzehOZkD4bIG8DSBXpVjJV7ehRCoHN38dr6zNzoIuEx1oXTnDXh3MahpDb1aas7TFoPsKdDk2dft4W3UQzSuNus4UGnCCPgmuFqzBV-yJjn40408ZHRAOsQzLKnR7_9mV_ijJIg/w400-h215/iu-9.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />And it’s not just in schools. Coca Cola and many other mainstream corporations today train their employees to first acknowledge, then renounce their alleged “White Privilege” and learn to “Be Less White.” The training is mandatory and they must admit being racists.</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaN_00KuFymjGQptHEqJNEyTmANphEATufbBev_D3jzJTuAo7RxUc4UFG4bJlQRjJbyN9ZS-rMT9gaDTSOVwpvTEQYupGMfPz9_PzdkrhLH4UYBpfN3cz-UltDKk8zXhR9r7c1xw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaN_00KuFymjGQptHEqJNEyTmANphEATufbBev_D3jzJTuAo7RxUc4UFG4bJlQRjJbyN9ZS-rMT9gaDTSOVwpvTEQYupGMfPz9_PzdkrhLH4UYBpfN3cz-UltDKk8zXhR9r7c1xw/w400-h225/iu-7.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />My teaching career began in the 1970s after I was influenced by the craziness of the 60s and 70s. The first US History textbook I used was one of the most widely-used at the time. Today, however, it would banned. In the chapters leading up the Civil War, it summarized debates between between members of Congress from northern and southern states on slavery. Here’s what it says on page 274 of <i>American History:</i></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Southerners justified slavery as a good thing because:</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<ol>
<li style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The African slave was an inferior human being. As an inferior, he was suited only to special kinds of work. This work was best done under a system of slavery.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<ol start="2">
<li style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Slavery was approved by the Bible. Many southerners pointed out that slavery had existed in Biblical times. The Bible did not condemn slavery. Therefore, they added, it could not be bad or sinful.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<ol start="3">
<li style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The slave was treated better than many white factory workers in the north … who worked 12 snd 14 hours a day often in poorly-lighted and unhealthy factories. The slave did most of his work in outdoor in an area that was much warmer and healthier than a northern city.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<ol start="4">
<li style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Slavery was important in helping the South develop its leaders… The use of slaves made it possible for southern leaders to devote themselves to law, politics, and government service.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There were commensurate northern arguments against slavery with which you would already be familiar. My students would study, then role-play as ante-bellum northern and southern senators and members of Congress and debate just as Congress did in those years leading up to the Civil War. If a teacher were to try that today he’d be suspended immediately. On end-of-the-year evaluations, though, my students cited that debate as the lesson they learned the most from.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f6UtLIZkjKYT9WwtIZXtkymHK1o9EaKAdwEMalt0MtZmKkfWSY-AwDuuuSNDKy9tZ1p0fHziJYGLm97DE6XTTdB4iG8L9h93prko-GTXRPYxIcoY9qVmBq8P5sBJtMky798dNA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="474" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6f6UtLIZkjKYT9WwtIZXtkymHK1o9EaKAdwEMalt0MtZmKkfWSY-AwDuuuSNDKy9tZ1p0fHziJYGLm97DE6XTTdB4iG8L9h93prko-GTXRPYxIcoY9qVmBq8P5sBJtMky798dNA/w400-h217/iu-10.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />They learned also that slavery was practiced in every other civilization throughout human history — including in black Africa from which American slaves either purchased or captured. Many of our students today, however, believe slavery was unique to America.</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNy2No6KqN2AutGf35bKc3_xWA_I9UdPQdmcaaNs5eE1N0bVY3GryOogiilk5_RXS6mtxfCLnqrM1e6fg64AEIyB62R8j90J_Ut4RJbc1DJykF1M7dGKu2Rjt-xvEQVM0Lxa2VA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="474" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNy2No6KqN2AutGf35bKc3_xWA_I9UdPQdmcaaNs5eE1N0bVY3GryOogiilk5_RXS6mtxfCLnqrM1e6fg64AEIyB62R8j90J_Ut4RJbc1DJykF1M7dGKu2Rjt-xvEQVM0Lxa2VA/w400-h226/iu-8.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Allegedly Reverend Al Sharpton</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those southern senators and congressmen my students role-played were all Democrats. After WWII they were called Dixiecrats. Today’s Democrats, however, like to put on historical blinders when viewing their party's racist history. They claim that racist southern Democrats all became Republicans when Richard Nixon implemented his “Southern Strategy.” It’s classic projection. Trouble is, there’s little evidence for it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyaXE0YaNJxasHK0lOL8qHiLkIyDmVYueUnAQdC_qgbifbXu-iFqG_plFhC5Yi1DuYhDoE0vNOC9O1JpTVoF2S9hqrQBlUPxRab4jCSJueSMr6ETmwQhbxcOqR4bToZOkLw-bhg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="200" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyaXE0YaNJxasHK0lOL8qHiLkIyDmVYueUnAQdC_qgbifbXu-iFqG_plFhC5Yi1DuYhDoE0vNOC9O1JpTVoF2S9hqrQBlUPxRab4jCSJueSMr6ETmwQhbxcOqR4bToZOkLw-bhg/w400-h378/iu-11.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Nixon said nothing remotely racist over a very long career from 1940s to the 1970s, but Democrats claim he used “racist dog whistles” like “law and order” and “states rights.” Really? Like a secret code? Only one senator — Strom Thurmond — became Republican and only one congressman — Albert Watson of South Carolina. Nearly all Dixiecrats supported Alabama Governor George Wallace, a Democrat, not Nixon. Though John Tower, Jesse Helms and Trent Lott joined the Republicans too, they hadn’t been Dixiecrats. The South became Republican in the 1980s and 90s because of Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, not because of Nixon.</span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqiMD6_zcCWDe3Kjxy6TssHdIDQSTKh0mbBj44agqiN24jLrOONCChwLKHt9pn01reHPLABflkZeNp8bYw9EsKTlUzOJ1yuAAlO6er-3ghyphenhyphenY0v2cRwxMLEr_G0j90mjheU32gxA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqiMD6_zcCWDe3Kjxy6TssHdIDQSTKh0mbBj44agqiN24jLrOONCChwLKHt9pn01reHPLABflkZeNp8bYw9EsKTlUzOJ1yuAAlO6er-3ghyphenhyphenY0v2cRwxMLEr_G0j90mjheU32gxA/w400-h191/iu-12.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Few people know that a greater percentage of Republicans voted for the 1964 Civil Rights bill than Democrats and Nixon was one of them. He also supported the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Tom Wicker of the New York Times wrote: “There’s no doubt about it — the Nixon administration accomplished more in 1970 to desegregate Southern school systems than had been done in the 16 previous years or probably since. There’s no doubt either that it was Richard Nixon personally who conceived and led the administration’s desegregation effort.”</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAAlmPd8rKFUUATa4WrETZun_hckJme8aD2CphycSCoB1XDIXl2XJlELoN92kKv8gOhCThXBT22gIPC1nKvD8xZHopCoetllR0-qGzrcuGcRO7irOYjllqW_JYQKum4jqbe04Tug/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="251" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAAlmPd8rKFUUATa4WrETZun_hckJme8aD2CphycSCoB1XDIXl2XJlELoN92kKv8gOhCThXBT22gIPC1nKvD8xZHopCoetllR0-qGzrcuGcRO7irOYjllqW_JYQKum4jqbe04Tug/w255-h400/iu-13.jpeg" width="255" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Nixon is the president who actually got Affirmative Action going which discriminated against whites in favor of blacks and women. The south became Republican not because of any strategy of Richard Nixon’s. The south became Republican because the south became conservative. It had little to do with racism.</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS7uN4Euw3U0aKP39-gwLPiYDVElEeJQ_pJm4JrGzwhg0RBoQyoGsgt-BSE1EHLgamLRbYNx_vg_PnPSHTc5fl2v6Gy49loWb2E_eGrkvvA59Sn6eQbIE8nLZf0ACkS1OdsKzNA/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="680" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS7uN4Euw3U0aKP39-gwLPiYDVElEeJQ_pJm4JrGzwhg0RBoQyoGsgt-BSE1EHLgamLRbYNx_vg_PnPSHTc5fl2v6Gy49loWb2E_eGrkvvA59Sn6eQbIE8nLZf0ACkS1OdsKzNA/w400-h183/iu-14.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Republicans all</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br />So here we are in 2021. The Democrats run the country again and they just enacted a $1.9 trillion “Covid Relief” bill which has very little to do with COVID. Rather, it has everything to do with Democrat agendas, like $350 billion for bailing out cities like Chicago and Los Angeles and states like Illinois, California, New York and others. Decades of Democrat mayors and governors have brought them to the brink of bankruptcy. They did this by negotiating overly-generous pension and benefit packages they knew they couldn’t afford for public employee unions like the above mentioned SEIU, AFS/CME, and others.</span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWnMECrjUEGMeiekE8Ma2JwA93sIzUB_mjiinw9GxTf1cwOV45WNBN2Agcp3qMwkKJUmJjEbGKrYASksQsbFEsXr2W5VvsQU0UgViwYaEgzCWCSUlKuaK-RKD_Q3mEkQpJZ6BYA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWnMECrjUEGMeiekE8Ma2JwA93sIzUB_mjiinw9GxTf1cwOV45WNBN2Agcp3qMwkKJUmJjEbGKrYASksQsbFEsXr2W5VvsQU0UgViwYaEgzCWCSUlKuaK-RKD_Q3mEkQpJZ6BYA/w293-h400/iu-1.jpeg" width="293" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democrat leaders knew these contracts were unsustainable. They also knew they’d be out of office when the bill came due. The so-called COVID Relief Bill also gives Democrat teachers’ unions tens of billions more to open the schools they’ve kept closed. Money isn’t the problem. They still have billions they haven’t spent from the last relief bill. Maybe some of you are old enough to remember Illinois Republican Senator Everett Dirksen’s remark from earlier times in that state: “A million here, a million there — pretty soon you’re talking real money.” If only it were still a million here and a million there. Now it’s a trillion here and a trillion there — and that’s still not enough for the Democrats!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJa5L2pSh97C73_V_Xj_coiXayEUZHHFQ1P3NuBQHWPteNDHjMp6DTqHuk61ZQW_zMSs4Kh1IRfgGzwocxDhbEepDIER7xGPo-Ph0TMlGnPI77zHZIwExD13xdvM9GYPnB9sB7xg/s800/iu-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="800" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJa5L2pSh97C73_V_Xj_coiXayEUZHHFQ1P3NuBQHWPteNDHjMp6DTqHuk61ZQW_zMSs4Kh1IRfgGzwocxDhbEepDIER7xGPo-Ph0TMlGnPI77zHZIwExD13xdvM9GYPnB9sB7xg/w400-h203/iu-4.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Next will come still another multi-trillion-dollar piece of legislation — ostensibly for rebuilding infrastructure. Remember President Obama’s $800 billion in “shovel ready projects”? I challenge any of you to point to one of those shovel-ready projects we spent hundreds of billions on. I can’t point to any.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6IgVQgtxb_zNpL2d1RnzNKllEK4QiBozQRU2P2VfgDA8Ec-kZptPsIIk5uzlds4VUOo-XY9aqT7O-1UsjLNvlmcnm8i2TqNlfPi3hSecChm_8i27Uh5z1wES7V2fxcIYEKCbCQ/s608/iu-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6IgVQgtxb_zNpL2d1RnzNKllEK4QiBozQRU2P2VfgDA8Ec-kZptPsIIk5uzlds4VUOo-XY9aqT7O-1UsjLNvlmcnm8i2TqNlfPi3hSecChm_8i27Uh5z1wES7V2fxcIYEKCbCQ/w311-h400/iu-5.jpeg" width="311" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was different with Republican public works projects over the years. We can point to the Hoover Dam in the twenties. Hoover was a Republican. We can point to Eisenhower’s interstate highways in the fifties. Eisenhower was a Republican. Where are Obama’s shovel ready projects from the 2000s? I give up.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We Republicans have our work cut out for us, don’t we? And so it goes…</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-79041454901610100972021-03-16T09:57:00.000-04:002021-03-16T09:57:21.041-04:00BREITBART AND LIMBAUGH<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Xn6K5Hb95PDq8OOei8tfrK34nQur-EGa3-37CtHWC_BEr4b7kUk_WGe3QITIgdlb8Kil6vfeTLFbeZ6sYfRFvWyscYAFz95GptXpPPhAlBfNHHTHMn1DZlmN4SAh0pkyqw-E-g/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Xn6K5Hb95PDq8OOei8tfrK34nQur-EGa3-37CtHWC_BEr4b7kUk_WGe3QITIgdlb8Kil6vfeTLFbeZ6sYfRFvWyscYAFz95GptXpPPhAlBfNHHTHMn1DZlmN4SAh0pkyqw-E-g/w400-h225/images.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now that Rush Limbaugh is dead, who might replace him as the popular leader of the conservative movement? I’m not sure anyone could, given Limbaugh’s unique blend of high intelligence, prodigious memory, and analytical skills. It might have been Andrew Breitbart if he hadn’t died of a heart attack nine years ago last week when he was only 42. In his largely autobiographical 2011 book “</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Indignation-Excuse-While-World/dp/0446572837/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PY7073XOJRBY&dchild=1&keywords=andrew+breitbart+book&qid=1615133801&sprefix=Andrew+Breitbart,aps,166&sr=8-1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Righteous Indignation</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">,” Breitbart said Limbaugh shaped his world view.</span></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxh4kRnI9UCrfOhq6-GkgquO8_fErx5V_9iDDTS1Bg8L2Su2IK-K5SMrIxLVofihrWFgbkKcxOOFZd9wAS_tilIYZiAYK3RRJfVzapB4lt60SHY8tZ4I7BLv0LXTwdQaC1rT3SA/s499/51o8iDkMOAL._SX322_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="324" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxh4kRnI9UCrfOhq6-GkgquO8_fErx5V_9iDDTS1Bg8L2Su2IK-K5SMrIxLVofihrWFgbkKcxOOFZd9wAS_tilIYZiAYK3RRJfVzapB4lt60SHY8tZ4I7BLv0LXTwdQaC1rT3SA/w260-h400/51o8iDkMOAL._SX322_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="260" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Raised in Brentwood, California by upper-middle-class Jewish parents who adopted him as an infant, Breitbart had been quite liberal. After he married stage/screen/TV actor Orson Bean’s daughter, he was surprised when seeing a Limbaugh book on Bean’s shelf. He declared that Limbaugh was a fascist and a racist so why the book? Bean asked if Andrew had ever read or listened to Rush and Breitbart admitted he had not, but everyone said so. Bean suggested he give Limbaugh a try. After listening to Rush’s show while driving around LA for a week, Breitbart realized how wrong he had been. He continued listening and became a conservative for the rest of his life.</span></span><p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfNLrt7bU-RQLtdm1LTCK5jpX9C6E9VP6RQojeDCf19Rzt6VrPuxD8p0SFAZ4h9t-Iv7L4S5vSWL7R2l8Iqnn6bw0RLehMnmPBgCTAvZkpZ1jMgRgQR23GT2uDN6u2ydsYyP0yg/s477/beanbreit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="477" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfNLrt7bU-RQLtdm1LTCK5jpX9C6E9VP6RQojeDCf19Rzt6VrPuxD8p0SFAZ4h9t-Iv7L4S5vSWL7R2l8Iqnn6bw0RLehMnmPBgCTAvZkpZ1jMgRgQR23GT2uDN6u2ydsYyP0yg/w400-h300/beanbreit2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Bean and Breitbart</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), both Breitbart and Limbaugh were presenters. It was the first year I attended with a press pass that gave me much more access. I could kneel down onstage alongside the main podium and take photos of big-name speakers. I could set up on Bloggers Row with my laptop. Breitbart and others dropped in there several times but we were not introduced at that point.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJpR_f4P0Q6ygWkviS2i5zrwmB-BDK0fj6rswFbP4jqgKrFZoXFIShk2k2DedJmMtSDeriYqffm4eaCciaVsq98Xk0nvX30FuxCxOPVURSwnlvTlYsdilvDsuoN2Vf6Wkm66Kyw/s2048/DSC_0433.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJpR_f4P0Q6ygWkviS2i5zrwmB-BDK0fj6rswFbP4jqgKrFZoXFIShk2k2DedJmMtSDeriYqffm4eaCciaVsq98Xk0nvX30FuxCxOPVURSwnlvTlYsdilvDsuoN2Vf6Wkm66Kyw/w400-h268/DSC_0433.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had listened to Limbaugh for more than a decade by then. During his, 90-minute talk he said nothing I hadn’t heard before so I wandered through the lobby into other function rooms where other presentations were going on. It was there that I bumped into Breitbart and we chatted a bit. The previous two days I had become intrigued watching his facial expressions while he was seated alongside the main podium listening to Ann Coulter and other big-name speakers. Because whatever he was thinking or feeling was displayed on his face, it was very interesting to watch him through my telephoto lens.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg2DCyg23fu16fVazFn2E95INsENAhq_Q3TlVkDtByROw0n4yTR5xrM2Qk6d1xwTHFoU0ALorK3i-nz__gG8QvXIp7vfN1SvQW9oA1RfTEQYmeUBIx80uWDPo_lunzMEfFP_wSg/s741/DSC_0335.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="740" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg2DCyg23fu16fVazFn2E95INsENAhq_Q3TlVkDtByROw0n4yTR5xrM2Qk6d1xwTHFoU0ALorK3i-nz__gG8QvXIp7vfN1SvQW9oA1RfTEQYmeUBIx80uWDPo_lunzMEfFP_wSg/w400-h400/DSC_0335.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">His presentation at the big podium was unpretentious. He spoke extemporaneously as though everyone in the audience were his friend and they seemed to reciprocate. CPAC’s dress code was “business casual,” so I and everyone else wore a jacket and tie throughout the three-day conference but Breitbart would discard his tie and open his shirt collar whenever he could. Like his many friends growing up in the Hollywood entertainment industry growing up, he had been very liberal by default. After becoming a conservative, however, he developed his mantra: “Politics is downstream from culture.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXs9spF7nRSqLUlmdISqGUtHHmvQ0kjAwgA5zXHehaCCQ9IgFqnOpFbqqCMuk3cTvTqfRnB2_gWQBrdO6TWYbFcsocvPO5eRJh4-La4lQ8FYYPfrllVgvQY1JcUej4ApVdpSrvA/s850/iu.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXs9spF7nRSqLUlmdISqGUtHHmvQ0kjAwgA5zXHehaCCQ9IgFqnOpFbqqCMuk3cTvTqfRnB2_gWQBrdO6TWYbFcsocvPO5eRJh4-La4lQ8FYYPfrllVgvQY1JcUej4ApVdpSrvA/w400-h190/iu.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Breitbart became convinced that conservatism will continue losing ground so long as the left controls Hollywood, academia, and media — especially mainstream media. Three years in a row at CPAC I heard him declare war on mainstream media. I’ve since come to believe firmly that he was right. The left controls what people perceive and Breitbart understood better than most the aphorism, “In Politics, perception is reality.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7Coy4JTjJGdO1-8rGDr17b-zXvuAyIiuNL-3_bvlYpDnEy4A491Mxdrf12UyhDo0fbjHgVrsWdUqAu-FVUUy0qdiR3PkaccXIDqimr-jOhBs-9H8pZ7eSFbwUvoFrk1eAggLng/s354/iu-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="354" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7Coy4JTjJGdO1-8rGDr17b-zXvuAyIiuNL-3_bvlYpDnEy4A491Mxdrf12UyhDo0fbjHgVrsWdUqAu-FVUUy0qdiR3PkaccXIDqimr-jOhBs-9H8pZ7eSFbwUvoFrk1eAggLng/w400-h400/iu-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rush Limbaugh became influential because he was on the radio three hours a day for over thirty years. Fifteen million people listened to his analysis whenever anything big happened, cultural or political. Limbaugh had a profound influence on American perception and that’s why the left hated him so much. He peeled off a chunk of their territory and they attacked him desperately trying to retrieve it from him.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnDYdXCzdccKT8IR9UwEO0ODb92VlKvf8oV_1cUB503YacRqUipjRjV-2U1kqtbfxzEI258GM81iTkpZIlNhB7UaabdNmKY2sRuYywkBKldehNo4k-DAugHUxd77jTL9Wqk0Gdw/s1600/iu-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnDYdXCzdccKT8IR9UwEO0ODb92VlKvf8oV_1cUB503YacRqUipjRjV-2U1kqtbfxzEI258GM81iTkpZIlNhB7UaabdNmKY2sRuYywkBKldehNo4k-DAugHUxd77jTL9Wqk0Gdw/w400-h225/iu-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Andrew Breitbart’s skill lay in shrewdly forcing mainstream media to cover stories they were studiously ignoring, like the ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) scandal in the fall of 2009. Posing as a pimp, undercover journalist James O’Keefe had collected video from publicly funded ACORN offices in various cities across the country agreeing to help him open whorehouses in which underaged, illegal alien hookers would be hired. O’Keefe offered his videos to mainstream networks but they turned him down. They knew ACORN was a Democrat/Obama-affiliated organization.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4JJhUqagqVOlyxdCCQXJwbzjScXVccjdeqsEX94XWFejieDEgfY_WIIMXH-Sw_AoqFm8bgrkx6uMPjl88q163CwaRdujoJml7RqnzWryl12S4qWM8kyborMB9XlZbSQi5_lGDg/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="474" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4JJhUqagqVOlyxdCCQXJwbzjScXVccjdeqsEX94XWFejieDEgfY_WIIMXH-Sw_AoqFm8bgrkx6uMPjl88q163CwaRdujoJml7RqnzWryl12S4qWM8kyborMB9XlZbSQi5_lGDg/w400-h300/iu.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">James O'Keefe</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Through a contact, Breitbart got Fox News to run one video from Baltimore and after a huge outcry mainstream networks were forced to pick up the story. When Democrats then declared it an anomaly in Baltimore, Breitbart then played out more videos once city at a time. Democrats called the second video anomalous too, but then Breitbart continued releasing them from other cities one at a time until it became a huge, very embarrassing story for the new community-organizer-President Obama and the Democrat Party.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHi5yx_xkA_KeQ1C_ZFTrerbufQQ1QXBV-73e4iKe7rq348EYLNk5TFU2yTmmo1lB751FzocldPooSVb6WhG4z8S_cipYnQ0YCGvfcy5TftoxllXd3zxGDEDvmNlz1EuDZA6diew/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="474" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHi5yx_xkA_KeQ1C_ZFTrerbufQQ1QXBV-73e4iKe7rq348EYLNk5TFU2yTmmo1lB751FzocldPooSVb6WhG4z8S_cipYnQ0YCGvfcy5TftoxllXd3zxGDEDvmNlz1EuDZA6diew/w400-h400/iu-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />In 2011, Breitbart used similar tactics with the unfortunately-named Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner after learning that Weiner was sending out obscene photos of himself to young women (and later underage girls). Weiner denied everything until Breitbart’s strategy forced him to admit it. He resigned in disgrace soon after.</span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCngSZcZ6Wrq818Cs2ld9PGxZ8TvG20H7FbFXJqyvyv9_xumCgRZQzat3y2gQCD5ihLIRuPQv7doKdMm1d6ah1jgIQqiactO9YGsP5utIHkGEwt4cI0pGRCLTyiFs6uQZBJ51mrw/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="474" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCngSZcZ6Wrq818Cs2ld9PGxZ8TvG20H7FbFXJqyvyv9_xumCgRZQzat3y2gQCD5ihLIRuPQv7doKdMm1d6ah1jgIQqiactO9YGsP5utIHkGEwt4cI0pGRCLTyiFs6uQZBJ51mrw/w400-h266/iu-4.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Matt Drudge</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Among many other things, Breitbart helped both Arianna Huffington and Matt Drudge set up their highly-successful web sites — before each turned liberal.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-7718680924211292512021-03-04T07:24:00.004-05:002021-03-04T07:31:35.080-05:00THE WEIRD WORLD OF WOKE<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bw_3XfM5sq4a-UO9-SFnjenRfH0tEgjkoGuhCsbesw7oEMUbkDoUho8kJKty_ymjVI1KaAhJQdoXznRx5h5pgKBiEHOnm4V2ABuE1I4uTY1c92VOL6QfV2XE2XH9B8DrlGS_Fg/s260/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="194" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Bw_3XfM5sq4a-UO9-SFnjenRfH0tEgjkoGuhCsbesw7oEMUbkDoUho8kJKty_ymjVI1KaAhJQdoXznRx5h5pgKBiEHOnm4V2ABuE1I4uTY1c92VOL6QfV2XE2XH9B8DrlGS_Fg/w298-h400/images-3.jpeg" width="298" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">When teaching 20th century US History, I loved the subject, and I was given autonomy regarding how I taught it. One year, however, there was a bulge in students, and being a columnist, I was asked to pick up two writing classes in place of two US History classes, which went to another teacher. I supplied that teacher with materials and a syllabus, but she ignored them. Instead, she taught slavery based on the movie “Roots.” When I alerted the administration, nothing was done. She did what she wanted for the entire school year and fifty students didn’t learn 20th Century US History.</span></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FoxmAqpksmSLVBKQEvfW7bQy6h0sIMMKXfPpkFESw9x1U9NtvbEegTrkwOFhbozvFL0DxDjRiaqGMJEID2CIG_Vyks6PsLZGyeKBZmVjhS-QzArerr4LYPrTE9MzWX0wYc-vcQ/s810/iu-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FoxmAqpksmSLVBKQEvfW7bQy6h0sIMMKXfPpkFESw9x1U9NtvbEegTrkwOFhbozvFL0DxDjRiaqGMJEID2CIG_Vyks6PsLZGyeKBZmVjhS-QzArerr4LYPrTE9MzWX0wYc-vcQ/w400-h224/iu-2.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p>That experience made me wonder if anyone is really in charge of what gets taught in our schools. Then two weeks ago I read about David Flynn, who was the football coach at Dedham High School in Massachusetts until he was fired, but his firing had nothing to do with his coaching. He was let go because he complained about what his daughter was being taught in her World Geography and Ancient History class at Dedham Middle School. Flynn objected because what she was learning had nothing to do with World Geography or Ancient History.</span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPs08laQeAz4hr1cmBNtbjxJgTp3BY_Dn0thX2-bga4-PKql1YwapOvW7-0o_RMEgXoUywn-8EqLjL9oH8oP34J2vnVyCP3i7sweYV7bE7NW1sDjFfYlCu-QR80M-Y22K9D17ew/s960/207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="960" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPs08laQeAz4hr1cmBNtbjxJgTp3BY_Dn0thX2-bga4-PKql1YwapOvW7-0o_RMEgXoUywn-8EqLjL9oH8oP34J2vnVyCP3i7sweYV7bE7NW1sDjFfYlCu-QR80M-Y22K9D17ew/w400-h283/207.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Instead,” according to </span><a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Flynn-v.-Forrest-et.-al.-21-cv-10256.pdf" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">the lawsuit Flynn filed against the school district,</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “the instruction concerned issues of race, gender, stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination, and politics, among others. In one assignment, Plaintiff’s daughter was asked to consider various ‘risk factors’ and ‘mitigating factors’ that two people identified as ‘white’ and the other identified as ‘black’ – purportedly might use to assess each other on a city street. Included among the various factors were skin color, gender, age, physical appearance, and attire. ‘Black,’ ‘aggressive body language’ and ‘wrong neighborhood were among the ‘risk factors’ purportedly assessed by the person identified as ‘white.’ ‘White’ and ‘Police officer’ were among the ‘risk factors’ purportedly assessed by the person identified as ‘black.’”</span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8cFy1ziQTglOSLNfRDIhLopLrSoOTX-5JtoHjwbjdgsBq7o55osCZa2c0Z7OEPgvcG_Vk2zTEYD37a7rwKnAmknm0qtujtpaA40hjTIM_p3fZHIfkQNcx7pex6FAQeoOs7zQ1Q/s234/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8cFy1ziQTglOSLNfRDIhLopLrSoOTX-5JtoHjwbjdgsBq7o55osCZa2c0Z7OEPgvcG_Vk2zTEYD37a7rwKnAmknm0qtujtpaA40hjTIM_p3fZHIfkQNcx7pex6FAQeoOs7zQ1Q/w308-h400/images-1.jpeg" width="308" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Other parents whose children attended Dedham Middle School agreed with Flynn’s objections, but Flynn was summoned to meet with the district superintendent, middle school principal, and the athletic director to discuss his disapproval. They produced his letter to them, asked if he’d emailed it to other parents, then told him they would be taking the football program “in a different direction.” He only learned he was fired when the three officials released a letter to football players and parents stating:</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-zG9rLCQmjGHTJq1rNLbVvT_Rb3TyAS4iJuDgVUPDJGAoSj-4pJkRchLBerI5M2msunjduiziGdYO1cm5vMMt0ntHlKe4kJUP8LraXHQnq17xGiemhKWAUrJ_4vpf48AjhKsHw/s275/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-zG9rLCQmjGHTJq1rNLbVvT_Rb3TyAS4iJuDgVUPDJGAoSj-4pJkRchLBerI5M2msunjduiziGdYO1cm5vMMt0ntHlKe4kJUP8LraXHQnq17xGiemhKWAUrJ_4vpf48AjhKsHw/w400-h266/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dave Flynn</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">”We are writing today and are sorry to inform you that Dave Flynn will not be reappointed as the Head Coach of Dedham High School football. We met with Mr. Flynn today because he has expressed significant philosophical differences with the direction, goals, and values of the school district. Due to these differences, we felt it best to seek different leadership for the program at this time.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_e_ACu9MAoFNmFxmHDwr5oXjDF0jIxEmCAIAGwkQpY3j2pS5xlTyxJJSSCaLi2Q93QJdDTv0y0GgMomOPfwW11A5XGbBhf0x7vhVSM1jbsUBLw2liq0lz3q1wjm05pWBdW-ePQ/s259/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_e_ACu9MAoFNmFxmHDwr5oXjDF0jIxEmCAIAGwkQpY3j2pS5xlTyxJJSSCaLi2Q93QJdDTv0y0GgMomOPfwW11A5XGbBhf0x7vhVSM1jbsUBLw2liq0lz3q1wjm05pWBdW-ePQ/w298-h400/Unknown-2.jpeg" width="298" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Gregory Manco</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lest you think Dedham High School anomalous, last week I read about <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/university-suspends-professor-for-tweets-criticizing-slavery-reparations-racial-bias-training/">Professor Gregory Manco’s experience at St. Joseph’s University</a> in Philadelphia. On his private Twitter account on which he wrote: “Suppose your great-great-grandfather murdered someone. The victim’s great-great-grandson knocks on your door, shows you a newspaper clipping from 1905, and demands compensation from you. Your response? Now get this racist reparation bull**** out of your head for good.” Then he said racial bias training, now ubiquitous in education everywhere, “divides us and *worsens* race relations.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxvbSF5g4sBaK0J4qMjtTS9Z-PiRNdct1TGm-ZIcSFNDFBcs8sQ10_q908WykrzpQMJ6FEiCFLryiQuAibYSy3YJweYDEZsAcgde0KfX6_cv1zQFnNxq1MnaOEfsFiTTw0say_g/s235/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="214" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxvbSF5g4sBaK0J4qMjtTS9Z-PiRNdct1TGm-ZIcSFNDFBcs8sQ10_q908WykrzpQMJ6FEiCFLryiQuAibYSy3YJweYDEZsAcgde0KfX6_cv1zQFnNxq1MnaOEfsFiTTw0say_g/w364-h400/images-2.jpeg" width="364" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When some students found his tweets and reported him, the university responded saying: “We thank our students for bringing to our attention a possible violation of our values. The University launched an investigation into a report of bias. The faculty member will not be in the classroom or in a coaching role while the investigation is conducted.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tNFkV6vqiQ3D1fzQRKYknueQK_EK_lf6uxdvNCRfsthyphenhyphenk3sUy2yOFYKXEVwgqvTQpeNOY8Z3NlDuJockwmWz7GVQpibZoB8QAJnjKYyyIpASHLBad_K01QDtIEuIHKVGh7wT9Q/s290/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tNFkV6vqiQ3D1fzQRKYknueQK_EK_lf6uxdvNCRfsthyphenhyphenk3sUy2yOFYKXEVwgqvTQpeNOY8Z3NlDuJockwmWz7GVQpibZoB8QAJnjKYyyIpASHLBad_K01QDtIEuIHKVGh7wT9Q/w400-h239/images.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The university’s faculty handbook says extramural comments by professors should be “free from institutional censorship.” Not anymore I guess. I hope Manco sues.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwsBl-vYezhTsJxATfY7rQbpU1uBeGMl6dWNMWVDijRXHTMaCfVtGaOb2STzbTNV_x3usoWIE24x96eGy-IqbXyNJdUzWKBWqMrmU7NpbUFlhBoPeuFPDwjrhUrQFnhn5ECRb5g/s760/iu-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="760" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwsBl-vYezhTsJxATfY7rQbpU1uBeGMl6dWNMWVDijRXHTMaCfVtGaOb2STzbTNV_x3usoWIE24x96eGy-IqbXyNJdUzWKBWqMrmU7NpbUFlhBoPeuFPDwjrhUrQFnhn5ECRb5g/w400-h256/iu-4.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Charles Negy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then there is the unfortunate former <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/college-set-to-fire-professor-who-tweeted-black-privilege-is-real/">Professor Charles Negy who was fired by the University of Central Florida</a> in January for daring to tweet: “Black privilege is real: Besides affirm[ative] action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege. But as a group, they’re missing out on much needed feedback.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn_Be3I2Q00qr_UwiWpiINTZMyZUdRthE0eoNie5HKH-pvG21SQZ70PWHjPel_Z98s1Ca2KhaqO33d0b4LWH7ez2zx39rqMyFEvceSbBJw-PBGL9Deoinxr7mVU1m3VO1vnXC7Q/s460/200626134632-01-white-slience-poster-london-0621-large-169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="460" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyn_Be3I2Q00qr_UwiWpiINTZMyZUdRthE0eoNie5HKH-pvG21SQZ70PWHjPel_Z98s1Ca2KhaqO33d0b4LWH7ez2zx39rqMyFEvceSbBJw-PBGL9Deoinxr7mVU1m3VO1vnXC7Q/w400-h225/200626134632-01-white-slience-poster-london-0621-large-169.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">These three men are but a few of many around the country who are being fired, suspended, disciplined, and sentenced to months of “diversity training” for articulating what millions of Americans think, but are afraid to speak about openly. No wonder. Is the United States emulating <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/18/chinas-new-social-credit-system-turns-orwells-1984-into-reality/">China with its “social credit system,”</a> which which uses Big Tech to monitor citizens the way Big Brother monitored Winston Smith through a telescreen in George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnECfedq0jbAwqb3rS2dpBvJQQ5WusPm_THthW2L7WGCtmEEUwpxkfH3L2EV-5illidcQpQH6FkQefDQVuY3l5k2NGsvQ8ZUUTpvRbhWEmQj3hXBX2K413DjWd8n_EeWvS_uyNtw/s776/Race-Card-Racists1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="776" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnECfedq0jbAwqb3rS2dpBvJQQ5WusPm_THthW2L7WGCtmEEUwpxkfH3L2EV-5illidcQpQH6FkQefDQVuY3l5k2NGsvQ8ZUUTpvRbhWEmQj3hXBX2K413DjWd8n_EeWvS_uyNtw/w400-h283/Race-Card-Racists1.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the world of woke. If I were to teach US History today the way I did for the twenty years of my career up to 2011, I’d be facing the same discipline as the men cited above. The handwriting was on the wall for me, but that’s a subject for another column.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-22267804715158866862021-02-23T11:42:00.001-05:002021-02-23T11:42:21.900-05:00GOVERNMENT DRIVES UP COST OF COLLEGE<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8Qo0PE4oql8Ka_Rpr2u5rsohwhVaM1DLv3XFbRYAKM1sJnjNbAO5tmBHBm8vFZPS2gL-TdDLJoBzfpliEqoRmo-LhyphenhyphenKOFOs6Ba9A7ywdMQoBKHugLDXv45-mSMWu0Y8ECojl3g/s238/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="212" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8Qo0PE4oql8Ka_Rpr2u5rsohwhVaM1DLv3XFbRYAKM1sJnjNbAO5tmBHBm8vFZPS2gL-TdDLJoBzfpliEqoRmo-LhyphenhyphenKOFOs6Ba9A7ywdMQoBKHugLDXv45-mSMWu0Y8ECojl3g/w356-h400/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="356" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Having worked very hard to put myself through college and then taking out loans to help my wife and children do the same, and then working many years to pay them off, I surely do not want to pay on other people’s loans as well. If Democrats follow through with their promises to “forgive” $1.5 trillion in student debt, I’ll be very pissed — and I won’t be alone.</span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg5lfB7oBC-kjS_xok5lRSQCFpX8pnmPSrllUNiLpN7yhSdE76dxONminhqbZQHMzfumDd1j6lU7YoQc3IlaA8jhJBCbfLTnRGd5bh7ckGloS1OVtis4hbMEopp1HXuSSf229qQ/s787/5d141dbdc382f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="787" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg5lfB7oBC-kjS_xok5lRSQCFpX8pnmPSrllUNiLpN7yhSdE76dxONminhqbZQHMzfumDd1j6lU7YoQc3IlaA8jhJBCbfLTnRGd5bh7ckGloS1OVtis4hbMEopp1HXuSSf229qQ/w400-h391/5d141dbdc382f.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-newton/obituary.aspx?pid=144452617">A WWII vet I knew</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> told me he could work his way through the University of Iowa just by working summers. His summer jobs paid all his tuition, books, and fees just prior to Pearl Harbor — and then he joined the Army Air Corps as an officer. Then he finished graduate school on the GI Bill and finally retired as a Professor of English at Boston University.</span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1KIzfpjR4Nd1unLb4HL_-0ilzvelKeqenx20kqLTExei9AMAewRs7u3x0Xfmy9qzyjy5CdIJ1Cnl9rxDDPLyDBYCdk4JI4-V_WQx7pnwjmXDG-8aKMFs45hpf8YfW8LTLEIDTg/s270/images-7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="187" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1KIzfpjR4Nd1unLb4HL_-0ilzvelKeqenx20kqLTExei9AMAewRs7u3x0Xfmy9qzyjy5CdIJ1Cnl9rxDDPLyDBYCdk4JI4-V_WQx7pnwjmXDG-8aKMFs45hpf8YfW8LTLEIDTg/w276-h400/images-7.jpeg" width="276" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I too was able to pay my own way through college by working. My parents couldn’t afford to help me other than letting me live with them through my first year. After that I was on my own. I worked summers and also after school during the year, so it was harder for me than for my WWII friend. While my fellow students lived in frat houses and dorms, did sports and partied, I paid rent for a tenement apartment and worked full-time. Thus I finished undergraduate and graduate school with no debt.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl3gfSWyJEc1rhm2MnNMR_aA-cV9C3uyd4ngPc6cH_VthKtHlSOmTrfjpbqVZ6LOs4FvxWko2M4i5Uu54bgqMk_HlHfJmkwmbWJkitP4tuZibjotaaqRPNAanH2SPDW3RWxy_bA/s1116/zqmg6jvlutx21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl3gfSWyJEc1rhm2MnNMR_aA-cV9C3uyd4ngPc6cH_VthKtHlSOmTrfjpbqVZ6LOs4FvxWko2M4i5Uu54bgqMk_HlHfJmkwmbWJkitP4tuZibjotaaqRPNAanH2SPDW3RWxy_bA/w389-h400/zqmg6jvlutx21.jpg" width="389" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">By the time my own children were going to college, it had gotten more expensive. For many years I was writing checks for two daughters and my wife to earn degrees. I told the kids I could pay them what it cost for tuition, books, and fees at a state university in Maine but if they wanted to go somewhere else, they had to make up the difference. I worked three jobs; they all worked too, but it still wasn’t enough. I had to take out loans and so did they. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvfUx63BIxfR6yCt86y9SJkyYBM_R7-Hx-WNKYlNw33m49CV8ubkBcijxGA2uzo8oKAAnOpinD0Lw5oIc67kArMg6e_VRUJfrbYcTatSPphOlrU34c0j0PBXzKDpHCHPwN7O-tQ/s254/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="254" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvfUx63BIxfR6yCt86y9SJkyYBM_R7-Hx-WNKYlNw33m49CV8ubkBcijxGA2uzo8oKAAnOpinD0Lw5oIc67kArMg6e_VRUJfrbYcTatSPphOlrU34c0j0PBXzKDpHCHPwN7O-tQ/w400-h315/Unknown.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">For years after they had all finished I was still making payments — my last one about fifteen years ago I think. One daughter still has payments but then she chose to attend college out west. So, why have college costs gone up so much since my WWII friend and I went? Because they could. And why could they? Because government started “helping.” That began with Sputnik in 1957 when our federal government panicked and started lending money to promising STEM students to help Americans catch up to Soviet scientists. That program paid off all around, but subsequent student aid programs are what really drove up costs.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eOQDDGswqUeCccOjt41GJRiHRthjLHKVrRf7VrjzOirfm0ViM20qdApZdVpHBNixS5kPtMPmNPHKzCdUuMFkz3lVZclijoy3fAfXGtyIbNGa-DVfVaFKeD74x3ML6Bke9uDhyphenhypheng/s269/c5df4c68350bd4a36996c7fa73243c94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="269" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eOQDDGswqUeCccOjt41GJRiHRthjLHKVrRf7VrjzOirfm0ViM20qdApZdVpHBNixS5kPtMPmNPHKzCdUuMFkz3lVZclijoy3fAfXGtyIbNGa-DVfVaFKeD74x3ML6Bke9uDhyphenhypheng/w400-h278/c5df4c68350bd4a36996c7fa73243c94.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those programs started in 1965 with the <a href="http://www.pellinstitute.org/downloads/trio_clearinghouse-The_Early_History_of_the_HEA_of_1965.pdf">Higher Education Act</a>. <a href="https://lendedu.com/blog/history-of-student-loans">Other subsidies too numerous to mention piled on from there</a>. Before government got involved, college tuition had remained fairly stable for decades. Ordinary people could work their way through as I did, but when virtually every student could get federally subsidized loans, colleges could get away with jacking up tuition and fees. In competition with each other to attract students, they added expensive frills unrelated to learning. In the fifty years <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-cost-college-jumped-incredible-122000732.html">between 1969 to 2019, the price of a college education in America went up over 3000%</a>! Why? Because it could.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtA2Cvz6MOI22RqvJVEmDwJkmJot6ICIECZMf-wdjXVamRrQd6iACKWr0Qix-Vt8AjvKfdHV2uOCsNlc-qWovs2D0BuHeeOSwr4AioW-_a74Tug2zpy1vf-sTdppQ74xt6C6wx2g/s968/demillo_figure_9_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="808" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtA2Cvz6MOI22RqvJVEmDwJkmJot6ICIECZMf-wdjXVamRrQd6iACKWr0Qix-Vt8AjvKfdHV2uOCsNlc-qWovs2D0BuHeeOSwr4AioW-_a74Tug2zpy1vf-sTdppQ74xt6C6wx2g/w334-h400/demillo_figure_9_1.png" width="334" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maine is among the poorest states, usually competing with Alabama or Mississippi for the lowest per capita income in the country, yet the <a href="https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/college-president-salary/me">median salary for college president in Maine is almost $300,000 a year</a>. When Senator Elizabeth Warren of neighboring Massachusetts ran for president, she complained about college costs, yet she made over $400,000 for teaching part-time at Harvard. Some claim she taught only one class, but her apologists <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/sep/18/blog-posting/did-elizabeth-warren-get-400000-teaching-one-class/?_pmch=1589594324229">like those at Politifact say</a>: “[University] salaries are determined principally by research output and associated reputation, rather than the number of students the professor teaches,” and “she taught two classes, not one.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApfv-GoRvNQAOF5FHkgv_5mo4y145fpTlHb-E5DZ_PJe6EmDKoXgEqdUgLBZ5dviIKYt14oXEhGWiz1e68Q532JcxDBVJBRKy4btDFH6c6iOnZ87mECLcXzJgLPIM3_F4FaWvdg/s600/my-opinion-on-diversity-tolerance-and-cultural-sensitivity-its-all-bullshit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApfv-GoRvNQAOF5FHkgv_5mo4y145fpTlHb-E5DZ_PJe6EmDKoXgEqdUgLBZ5dviIKYt14oXEhGWiz1e68Q532JcxDBVJBRKy4btDFH6c6iOnZ87mECLcXzJgLPIM3_F4FaWvdg/w400-h266/my-opinion-on-diversity-tolerance-and-cultural-sensitivity-its-all-bullshit.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">While numbers for teaching staff have remained fairly stable over the past forty years, the number of university administrators has skyrocketed. So have their salaries — especially “diversity coordinators” <a href="https://www.salary.com/research/salary/listing/director-diversity-and-inclusion-salary">who average over $103,000</a>. There were no “diversity coordinators” when I went to college, but they’re everywhere now. <a href="https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/diversity-staff-university-michigan-nearly-100-full-time-employees/">The University of Michigan alone has nearly 100 working full time</a> and one has a salary higher than President Biden’s.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVSabuy8L9IvZBSV1h1KteClAFRNgKFhI83Yj5-siToIeWaD2IVOc0TjzxlFpUMd-pkgIGLEHkcTGB_T6kgmX9BhorjXMEtNW01ozJmfJvkP7fItXces4kmkhdOKRW5deb7cpRw/s273/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="273" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVSabuy8L9IvZBSV1h1KteClAFRNgKFhI83Yj5-siToIeWaD2IVOc0TjzxlFpUMd-pkgIGLEHkcTGB_T6kgmX9BhorjXMEtNW01ozJmfJvkP7fItXces4kmkhdOKRW5deb7cpRw/w400-h271/Unknown-2.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">With Covid 19 restrictions over the past year, few students actually attend classes, yet tuition charges have not gone down. I suspect salaries haven’t either. Academic rigor, however, has certainly been reduced from its already declining pre-Covid levels. As college costs have increased astronomically during my lifetime, academic standards has declined precipitously. As we pay more and get less, students, their parents, and taxpayers are suspecting college isn’t worth the cost anymore.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOGoxjXk8s-jsBsDAukdA2NA8qTfw9buzhfn0ZuBmoqbp6JO6vK95JlTeQb8Wg4C9HBJQvHQ7XCOmJewKdLYlpJ2rm4vm6yLrQYB19Js-1KvFreYuwQttrA22cj7xBimR4nFpuw/s511/4rikh9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOGoxjXk8s-jsBsDAukdA2NA8qTfw9buzhfn0ZuBmoqbp6JO6vK95JlTeQb8Wg4C9HBJQvHQ7XCOmJewKdLYlpJ2rm4vm6yLrQYB19Js-1KvFreYuwQttrA22cj7xBimR4nFpuw/w391-h400/4rikh9.jpg" width="391" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the exception of STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering & Math] programs, and perhaps law school, many conclude that it isn’t. Government should consider eliminating grants and loans to students who want to study anything else — and never even think about forgiving loans already made.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-42553587120201347712021-02-17T16:49:00.005-05:002021-02-17T16:49:58.878-05:00Left & Right February 17, 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gOceWf2PNh0" width="414" youtube-src-id="gOceWf2PNh0"></iframe></div><br /> New guest Jonna Carter of South Conway, NH sits in the left chair for this show. She describes herself a "left of liberal" but not a "leftist" which she considers radical. She's a writer and the owner of five rescue dogs. Her column appears in the The Conway Daily Sun on Wednesdays.<p></p><p>We discuss many things including division within the Republican Party, what a Trumpist (her word) is, preservation of historical buildings, my use of "pro-abortion" vs her recommendation of "pro-choice" instead.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-9678565743389186812021-02-15T14:56:00.001-05:002021-02-15T14:56:42.375-05:00EVOLUTION OF LEFT & RIGHT<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hzKrtSv85aen_Ly91s-jiGm2s5TkoeGSES7vYtjq72GPjiy59gqGI8NtvTn2EEBg8o4Pw6XJgfn3jM4Hg4rRNBvdfB66DOq5jv8RPLlqxK-_8aB8wpcJCsZuj7EQ72PZ_PHgpg/s522/what-if-i-told-you-that-the-left-wing-and-4586030.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hzKrtSv85aen_Ly91s-jiGm2s5TkoeGSES7vYtjq72GPjiy59gqGI8NtvTn2EEBg8o4Pw6XJgfn3jM4Hg4rRNBvdfB66DOq5jv8RPLlqxK-_8aB8wpcJCsZuj7EQ72PZ_PHgpg/w384-h400/what-if-i-told-you-that-the-left-wing-and-4586030.png" width="384" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">For several years now I’ve been doing a small, local TV show called “Left & Right” on Conway, New Hampshire’s “Valley Vision.” It evolved from of a previous show called “Taking Sides,” hosted by New Hampshire investment counselor Anthony Cloutier. I was a frequent guest there beginning about eleven years ago and was expected to argue for the conservative side because of views expressed in my newspaper column. Cloutier eventually lost interest however, and I sort of took over, inviting people to argue opposing viewpoints on issues of the day — and the show was renamed.</span></span><p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESj63vaV8M8JsRjYgqz8VOkkphPXb1Dz-raoqQpYhcPJqHcS-Soee5ehRAAiIZ0B22798kn-9BHqipyZlsJKLFcvAwkuoMJ-oTGPATEBR6TX7VFIf_LlNANQ1b9dN7mzoQVmCfw/s300/images.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjESj63vaV8M8JsRjYgqz8VOkkphPXb1Dz-raoqQpYhcPJqHcS-Soee5ehRAAiIZ0B22798kn-9BHqipyZlsJKLFcvAwkuoMJ-oTGPATEBR6TX7VFIf_LlNANQ1b9dN7mzoQVmCfw/w400-h224/images.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes, however, my invited guests are not completely comfortable being called leftists. While a few were, others consider themselves moderate, center-left, or libertarian even though I considered them liberal or leftist based on their writings. Consider also that President Joe Biden emerged from a large pool of leftist Democrat candidates as a moderate, although many pundits are questioning that characterization based on his recent executive orders. So, what exactly does it mean to be on the left in today’s parlance? And what characterizes someone on the right?</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdHeqodrZ5IIgvIfPZa5LL-0dJfZi_dFy1RSmVtOnXFnSm65Ct_t3oFV4_m9Tafyk5zx0mCm6o1iYIrM4bfcLCkSiUdcPMDfa_QgWxida2pvZ5rmbFiOv_sbtqWuCDBqb6xflAA/s299/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdHeqodrZ5IIgvIfPZa5LL-0dJfZi_dFy1RSmVtOnXFnSm65Ct_t3oFV4_m9Tafyk5zx0mCm6o1iYIrM4bfcLCkSiUdcPMDfa_QgWxida2pvZ5rmbFiOv_sbtqWuCDBqb6xflAA/w400-h224/images-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">One’s position on abortion is probably the over-arching criterion. Leftists today are overwhelmingly pro-abortion while those on the right are usually against it. All the Democrats who ran for president in the past several election cycles were pro-abortion while only a few Republicans were. The second-biggest issue would have to be the role of government. Right-wing conservatives consider government a necessary evil and would agree with a statement by Henry David Thoreau and John O’Sullivan: “That government is best which governs least.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlKuVDaqZ17WMCmXm-iwnqNtSKFHiUYza7nlRbamKFQqJom3xIi6VCKnqokgWK1iCrhmZ5dPHkcq54SoqoCUkfESxApy2kGTDrPWw-VWaK8gnC54oqDSpgQ8W41bB2xU24su1XQ/s850/quote-for-liberty-to-expand-government-must-shrink-for-the-economy-to-grow-government-must-rand-paul-88-23-93.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlKuVDaqZ17WMCmXm-iwnqNtSKFHiUYza7nlRbamKFQqJom3xIi6VCKnqokgWK1iCrhmZ5dPHkcq54SoqoCUkfESxApy2kGTDrPWw-VWaK8gnC54oqDSpgQ8W41bB2xU24su1XQ/w400-h190/quote-for-liberty-to-expand-government-must-shrink-for-the-economy-to-grow-government-must-rand-paul-88-23-93.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The left attempts to solve problems by instituting government programs. The right leaves it to private individuals acting alone or in concert. The left would see more power exercised by the central government in Washington, DC. The right would uphold Constitutional limits on federal government power and, when possible, devolve to states or to the people as the 10th Amendment states. The left believes in universal healthcare funded by the federal government. The right opposes that and believes competition between private health insurance companies would lower costs.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjBn0mkR3SDYXMUlOpjf9Yisn9LuUGtujY6IRpKNVgl7ZBYPUWSu_1FsmeYlslQcIeDR6X3QwjWv0g7bx_YoNQ0uBgIfBSfltr9nB2F_KBOXgplX2jBcTxI1WyIsbvbO8W0kSCQ/s650/6poverty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="650" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdjBn0mkR3SDYXMUlOpjf9Yisn9LuUGtujY6IRpKNVgl7ZBYPUWSu_1FsmeYlslQcIeDR6X3QwjWv0g7bx_YoNQ0uBgIfBSfltr9nB2F_KBOXgplX2jBcTxI1WyIsbvbO8W0kSCQ/w400-h150/6poverty.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The left pushes income equality. It would raise taxes on the rich and spend on social programs. However, despite trillions spent on social programs beginning with President Johnson’s “War on Poverty” over more than half a century, poverty seems to be winning. The right would reduce taxes, reduce government regulation of business, and balance the federal budget. However, Republican Presidents Reagan, the two Bushes, and Trump preached such principles and were considered “right,” but the size of government and the federal debt both expanded under their administrations.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARZjI4QMpXephgp_MuBaDgUYb206vadi6D_rhWzfVpI0Bzsaa4qXHqKamwg_mZ2CPDWHwDkUxlx14_fN09bfZFPbewQFlLmYM4BuDvjx1-dhh8MPSTA2SHhlmOdWlrx5TKknRiA/s671/DeE9-riWAAEJwGx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="671" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARZjI4QMpXephgp_MuBaDgUYb206vadi6D_rhWzfVpI0Bzsaa4qXHqKamwg_mZ2CPDWHwDkUxlx14_fN09bfZFPbewQFlLmYM4BuDvjx1-dhh8MPSTA2SHhlmOdWlrx5TKknRiA/w400-h358/DeE9-riWAAEJwGx.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Regarding education, the left would make public colleges and universities free and abolish existing student loan debt. It’s already changing K-12 public school curricula in Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and other states to accentuate “social justice” even in English, math and science. Literature by white men is being abolished. LGBT issues are broadly emphasized as well as a “non-binary gender spectrum” with more than two sexes. This week, <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ultra-woke-illinois-mandates-are-top-threat-to-u-s-education/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=native-evergreen&utm_term=fifth">Illinois is expected to rule outright</a> that teachers must: “embrace and encourage progressive viewpoints and perspectives.” </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TmFM7uLhnnC-xqR5_kjdTtPE6AeGD_bzqptuf0LoMhoL6JmJ6LHR6-XQBQDYjOTrC_wCtH-nhJCqrPNWDKv3Of9G8TU5Q2TSTZzGUksAQTdv2P6HXavrmH9Gm3Lt4RyAVPHYDQ/s273/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="273" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TmFM7uLhnnC-xqR5_kjdTtPE6AeGD_bzqptuf0LoMhoL6JmJ6LHR6-XQBQDYjOTrC_wCtH-nhJCqrPNWDKv3Of9G8TU5Q2TSTZzGUksAQTdv2P6HXavrmH9Gm3Lt4RyAVPHYDQ/w400-h273/images-3.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In history curricula, white men like Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and others are de-emphasized or ignored altogether and replaced by “people of color.” The right champions achievements of western civilization in science, math, and literature. It would teach those along with governing principles based on individual liberty and proposed by Founding Fathers like Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton. It stresses civics lessons portraying the US Constitution as the best plan for government ever designed in human history.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtbLArK6JIxXBkhI6Oh5mXIqUCdwCUZ_wh0yPeAImofPYtGmWEOJwZuXNRcjupv572_zXHaGQU8Qv2MNzzNLlVbRoI6LRAc3eemAcetrw9ho19uukSePoTusJakVG5OjUsvhe5A/s1060/ims23uus68o11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1060" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtbLArK6JIxXBkhI6Oh5mXIqUCdwCUZ_wh0yPeAImofPYtGmWEOJwZuXNRcjupv572_zXHaGQU8Qv2MNzzNLlVbRoI6LRAc3eemAcetrw9ho19uukSePoTusJakVG5OjUsvhe5A/w400-h294/ims23uus68o11.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Although I saw some of this coming when I was still teaching US History ten years ago, I never would have believed how far and how fast the left has been able to push its agenda in our schools.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dEX2xk47HEt6rstPZ4nfjQI_0Weqpna4ZL0i61JlLrxKVYS81xQbqosTlSH6q4X7QeS7CX2D2TEAWQV1NSzO3uhtVBn4y0gTegiMVh4oyQ4DrodoICixM9T_RyaVpkjUG2jp3g/s259/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dEX2xk47HEt6rstPZ4nfjQI_0Weqpna4ZL0i61JlLrxKVYS81xQbqosTlSH6q4X7QeS7CX2D2TEAWQV1NSzO3uhtVBn4y0gTegiMVh4oyQ4DrodoICixM9T_RyaVpkjUG2jp3g/w400-h298/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Regarding immigration, the left would virtually ignore illegal immigration, end deportations, and stop building a border wall. The right generally opposes illegal immigration and especially welfare for illegal immigrants, although some factions of the Republican Party do not. Aside from them, the right supports a border wall, deportations of illegals, and strictly limiting immigrants from terror-supporting countries like Iran and Syria.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7QONLnhbUgWLrNzZH7DnnyhTUUxEUnAM-2aCW6QUTs6FsZHfcjGOYNYdUhf5ON6ZQboH_uUfSaB0r1p0Kfifa1h7LOOH9ACkmkkdp3GTPdpZwRiDmYb4HgmMVWNjqlOqOhZmBg/s1440/UPF-112017-p6-GunControl-hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="1440" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7QONLnhbUgWLrNzZH7DnnyhTUUxEUnAM-2aCW6QUTs6FsZHfcjGOYNYdUhf5ON6ZQboH_uUfSaB0r1p0Kfifa1h7LOOH9ACkmkkdp3GTPdpZwRiDmYb4HgmMVWNjqlOqOhZmBg/w400-h151/UPF-112017-p6-GunControl-hero.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The left favors strict gun control. It would confiscate “assault rifles” without defining exactly what those are. It would limit ammunition sales, the size of gun clips, it would more strictly control concealed carry permits, and institute stringent background checks. The right stresses a literal interpretation of the second clause of the Second Amendment: “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1CgjFcSVQVx6GACnzUy92tQxEJeQGvtgxMutUNUz18_nC8QzMefC50oAAnoeBZRJfUehUd0Kx_JSpaILCh8jjdj3sCai7hpj-FXYOyr29JdEV62AEK9SAufi3i91aDRH1L3NHQ/s322/Unknown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="322" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1CgjFcSVQVx6GACnzUy92tQxEJeQGvtgxMutUNUz18_nC8QzMefC50oAAnoeBZRJfUehUd0Kx_JSpaILCh8jjdj3sCai7hpj-FXYOyr29JdEV62AEK9SAufi3i91aDRH1L3NHQ/w400-h194/Unknown.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">On future shows, I’ll ask my guests if they agree with the above outline of what comprises the left and the right in 2021 America.</span></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20524196.post-71590530169943555472021-02-11T08:58:00.002-05:002021-02-11T08:58:54.567-05:00OPEN THE SCHOOLS NOW<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraM5tCc6y_uNQ4iGlWfBx3DtQRfJvhBjlt3WoCtulAEUaK-sBmM8Wd-HZz3Ptu7PJPrXaz5KUBid0v9hH_jfx1ehiv49wer3Kfr_HdsnRJ7S6RTuMGh8SEE5beQ35r2KVwHQh3w/s915/5f88c29979fc4872a29d4a5de260af0af9ccba7ac5515693af448318a735b28b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="915" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraM5tCc6y_uNQ4iGlWfBx3DtQRfJvhBjlt3WoCtulAEUaK-sBmM8Wd-HZz3Ptu7PJPrXaz5KUBid0v9hH_jfx1ehiv49wer3Kfr_HdsnRJ7S6RTuMGh8SEE5beQ35r2KVwHQh3w/w400-h291/5f88c29979fc4872a29d4a5de260af0af9ccba7ac5515693af448318a735b28b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: large;">There’s a certain look on students’ faces when they’re learning. Behind that expression their brains are making connections, associations, projections. Their imaginations formulate questions: “If that’s true, then what about…?” And “What would happen if…?” and “Could it be that…?” A good teacher knows the lesson is working by the questions it generates. I wish I could have pulled out a camera and photographed them, but that would have ruined the moment.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDJ1441lT-P-QlIX-nvxP7LZMHfAZKxH-oulpHZ9NQXJK5eSqtBdCa1VcaoWqixlxn73BLF5xf3HhMzHVdxwF1q3GXp-ralBVFN2WxnJ23omCh28sFDYA7Pa_3R0cl12O-G2LNA/s540/First+day+of+online+school.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="431" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDJ1441lT-P-QlIX-nvxP7LZMHfAZKxH-oulpHZ9NQXJK5eSqtBdCa1VcaoWqixlxn73BLF5xf3HhMzHVdxwF1q3GXp-ralBVFN2WxnJ23omCh28sFDYA7Pa_3R0cl12O-G2LNA/w319-h400/First+day+of+online+school.jpeg" width="319" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><p>I always enjoyed seeing that look when I had a classroom and now I’m seeing it on the faces of my grandchildren. Not, however, when they’re doing “remote learning.” Because of continued overreaction to Covid, they seldom go into classrooms anymore and that’s too bad. Lately when the four belonging to my youngest daughter visit, they bring along their laptops to access their teachers through Zoom at certain designated times. Zoom learning is okay in an emergency but it’s a poor substitute for being in a classroom with a good teacher. I look for the telltale expression as they’re gazing at their screens but I’ve yet to see it.</p></span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xg5R_2BweOgDUTmAH23W1cCI9xE7zEFITBtaeuHJES7QkGUdvPMWKtofYvt2QXBgkG9vETXPmtZMKYcAH5Nf08xHJaHXSGRhSsQqkteKhVwgQRoee9L68vV1XdDf_8RSyCeEwA/s474/th.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="474" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xg5R_2BweOgDUTmAH23W1cCI9xE7zEFITBtaeuHJES7QkGUdvPMWKtofYvt2QXBgkG9vETXPmtZMKYcAH5Nf08xHJaHXSGRhSsQqkteKhVwgQRoee9L68vV1XdDf_8RSyCeEwA/w400-h266/th.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Another daughter asked me to teach U. S. History to her son this year and I’ve been doing that once a week for months. I’ve thus observed him accessing “remote learning” as well and I’m not encouraged. Public school systems are pretending that all is well but it’s not. While I was still in the public schools ten years ago, I saw steadily declining academic standards and wrote about it many times. That was depressing, but the recent school shutdowns have been disastrous for those standards. My only hope at this point is that teachers’s unions, who have for decades lobbied state and federal agencies to resist teacher accountability for student learning, are being exposed for the selfish, controlling bullies they are as they use their enormous clout to keep schools closed.</span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFUXtzhT69e-JK9YO5fjcbk9W3IvKe5pxrfD50rxROq7LSrrAhgwicXbPJ6jzO9Fo8TuGoJ55a8l7XlWb-8iHylB7_QOtWJXuDBo65AjM2ir3-EkgQ6lotBrqRYpFzDRdO3cZSg/s296/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="296" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFUXtzhT69e-JK9YO5fjcbk9W3IvKe5pxrfD50rxROq7LSrrAhgwicXbPJ6jzO9Fo8TuGoJ55a8l7XlWb-8iHylB7_QOtWJXuDBo65AjM2ir3-EkgQ6lotBrqRYpFzDRdO3cZSg/w400-h231/Unknown.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When first hearing about Covid, we all agreed to shut down schools along with everything else last winter. More recent evidence, however, indicates that school closures weren’t necessary because the chance of children dying from Covid were and are extremely remote. We didn’t know a year ago but we do now. To continue the school shutdowns, as the teachers’ unions are insisting, is madness. The unions claim they’re still at risk for Covid but there’s little evidence for that. Most studies published so far point in the opposite direction. Anthony Fauci has repeatedly recommended that schools reopen."<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO19fvYDO4OF9rwZoLDQqasRdwQ7qRQUqsPVAqATOHWr81iWiYpKYszqffmewRJLxvXkkbT3Pb_2L1oxTqa6_aTBDkjHMTJujEizXlegT4bd5_0ai6s9qsVoTXCrslfkFphLwpTQ/s594/JItdRJjC.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="594" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO19fvYDO4OF9rwZoLDQqasRdwQ7qRQUqsPVAqATOHWr81iWiYpKYszqffmewRJLxvXkkbT3Pb_2L1oxTqa6_aTBDkjHMTJujEizXlegT4bd5_0ai6s9qsVoTXCrslfkFphLwpTQ/w400-h283/JItdRJjC.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My first exposure to teachers’ unions was in 1979/80 when I left an administrative post and returned to the classroom. I signed a form to allow union dues to be deducted from my paycheck and soon found myself serving as chief negotiator for the local NEA affiliate. It troubled me that all classroom teachers got the same pay regardless of ability or performance. Every teacher was paid under a formula that only considered years served and number of degrees. Performance evaluations had nothing to do with salary. There were more than a few incompetent teachers who were veterans with advanced degrees and they were usually active in the union.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6WM6QhirqTR81QFqHarIbBZE-gIsKSU4fN7_EJj-QsEeDpd0e262XsCSLY872q17fggj2Vo4Jd-wx8-YzXgY-7N9F6QZnqmretTtPYXMpzQdgtJAVtUaGbn5C44BA-8ysu4Vsw/s450/she-has-tenure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="450" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6WM6QhirqTR81QFqHarIbBZE-gIsKSU4fN7_EJj-QsEeDpd0e262XsCSLY872q17fggj2Vo4Jd-wx8-YzXgY-7N9F6QZnqmretTtPYXMpzQdgtJAVtUaGbn5C44BA-8ysu4Vsw/w400-h288/she-has-tenure.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes intelligent, well-meaning people get teaching contracts but are not able to do the job for various reasons. They could be let go for any reason during their first two years, but after they signed a contract for the third year they could only be fired for “just cause.” That wording seemed okay with me during negotiations until I realized that if a lazy or otherwise incompetent teacher was protected by the union, it would cost the district $250,000 in legal fees to fire him, and that was in the 1980s. It would likely cost several times that now.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NJHxY3Mo2-H-L0-8ZJEk0h6ox84gCkFqG24k5E81vw7ywf2cKw00pwsdl7yWCi2AeiGOjBSGSFQzdsaU4DlGK_5gn8Xy_6i89fwAuBSH5CltxU6TVCFYWYSq2CiSZ2AsUGHG7g/s700/iu-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NJHxY3Mo2-H-L0-8ZJEk0h6ox84gCkFqG24k5E81vw7ywf2cKw00pwsdl7yWCi2AeiGOjBSGSFQzdsaU4DlGK_5gn8Xy_6i89fwAuBSH5CltxU6TVCFYWYSq2CiSZ2AsUGHG7g/w400-h320/iu-2.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Each year, a state union official with a fancy vehicle, a big expense account, and pushy personality would take the negotiating team out for a lavish dinner. He would tell us to demand nothing less than a certain starting salary for beginning teachers, how much to demand in annual increments, and how big a benefit package to insist on — all based on what other teachers in Maine and nationally were getting. When I inquired about merit pay, he looked at me like I had ten heads and strongly advised against it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3Q3hvOYLHbI3ZUzr7k47TnAqEOwKgKGbwbA93t7Ew7nX3TCy4_TMYaYdnVYHVyPWpT0AHy5EKWZW_OMK5lv4DNgoLa32-HMXgNBAgJluPmkmGX77YeAl0mtOYv5XN6oMvOQkQ/s1200/Chicago-Teachers-Union-strike-Reuters-John-Gress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="1200" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3Q3hvOYLHbI3ZUzr7k47TnAqEOwKgKGbwbA93t7Ew7nX3TCy4_TMYaYdnVYHVyPWpT0AHy5EKWZW_OMK5lv4DNgoLa32-HMXgNBAgJluPmkmGX77YeAl0mtOYv5XN6oMvOQkQ/w400-h173/Chicago-Teachers-Union-strike-Reuters-John-Gress.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later in the eighties my political views were moving rightward, but I noticed that virtually all my union dues and everyone else’s went to left-wing causes. When I tried to change that I got nowhere. In Maine I could resign from the union but it took a Supreme Court decision before teachers in other states could. In some states, they still pay the union to represent them in negotiations even if they don’t belong, because <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/should-teachers-be-able-to-negotiate-their-own-contracts/2019/04">they aren’t allowed to negotiate on their own</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTbRj7H_YpLDDJWbwdfQw82TKAs1RcbPSvWScFpF0Mhs6yBeUGnhWrDp753G8wDS_7x0RWJl8cbKICaCiWQQx_vcKojRQXgwNhiLObxqdgo_cwl9k9Z4zT_7Xfcjqx-5oXy4oCA/s600/iu-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="600" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTbRj7H_YpLDDJWbwdfQw82TKAs1RcbPSvWScFpF0Mhs6yBeUGnhWrDp753G8wDS_7x0RWJl8cbKICaCiWQQx_vcKojRQXgwNhiLObxqdgo_cwl9k9Z4zT_7Xfcjqx-5oXy4oCA/w400-h311/iu-1.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;">That was a long time ago, but teachers’ unions have become vastly more powerful since. Just look at who really runs our public schools now as President Biden avoids opposing them on reopening.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>Tom McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07691546351143209227noreply@blogger.com5