Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wind Up!



This morning on the way to work I decided I should break from the compusory routine of tuning my radio to Talk/news radio. With the bright nature of this beautiful morn I simply wished to avoid becoming angry over the devilry that I was sure to be subjected to if any political news reached me.

Sometimes.... You just have to say no.

Instead I reached into my console and pulled out my old Aqualung CD by Jethro Tull. (yes I still have compact discs as well as an I-Pod) As the songs began to pound out of my poor speakers I noticed that the volume kept getting louder and louder. Unconciously I was reaching over and turning the knob with each new verse. By the time I reached the outskirts of my little town the pounding beats of Locomotive Breath and Aqualung were filling the air and ears of homeowners and pedestrians all along my route. I cant blame some of them for giving me, a middle aged man who should know better, dirty looks as I flew by them in the early summer morning creating all that noise.

Music is somewhat magical, for it has the power to dredge up memories, feelings, and thoughts forgotten long ago. So it was for me this morning.

This is my favorite song from the album, for it's rather heartfelt and straight forward lyrics. The presentation is not too shabby either!

Wind Up

When I was young, and they packed me off to school
And taught me how not to play the game,
I didn't mind, if they groomed me for success,
Or if they said that I was a fool.

So I left there in the morning,
With their god tucked underneath my arm --
Their half-assed smiles, and the book of rules.
So I asked this god a question
And by way of firm reply,
He said –“ I'm not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.”
So to my old headmaster (and to anyone who cares):
Before I'm through I'd like to say my prayers –

I don't believe you:
You have the whole damn thing all wrong --
He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.
Well you can excommunicate me, on my way to Sunday school
And have all the bishops harmonize these lines –

How do you dare tell me, that I'm my father's son
when that was just an accident of birth.
I'd rather look around me -- compose a better song
`cause that's the honest measure of my worth.
In your pomp and all your glory, you're a poorer man than me,
As you lick the boots of death born out of fear.

I don't believe you:
You had the whole damn thing all wrong --
He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.


Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)

Cheers
Allen R Butler

*the Photo is of Ian Anderson in 2004

Friday, May 21, 2010

Yes on one blues.



I stole this from As Maine Goes. The play on Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues video of the early sixties really made me laugh. I used to love that song, actually I still do.

Anyway this is a very creative and fun vid that gets part of the message across.

Cheers
Allen

Thursday, May 20, 2010

LePage puts life's hard lessons to work


LePage puts life's hard lessons to work
The Republican mayor and Marden's manager wants to help Mainers help themselves.By Susan M. Cover
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE — Republican Mayor Paul LePage isn't afraid to go directly to voters if Waterville's Democratic-controlled City Council disagrees with him.He threatens to veto budgets and knows how to use the bully pulpit.

However, he also answers letters from elementary schoolchildren, and speaks quietly when recalling his own difficult childhood
. Full PPH article....

After reading the above article in the PPH I have to say I am somewhat surprised. The paper's usual bias was dulled and dampened considerably and they did a nice job of presenting this most exciting of candidates.

I have tried to point many people towards Mayor LePage's campaign this past year. He is a man after my own heart. He came up the hard way yet didn't let that stop him striving for success, he has done the right thing by the citizens of Waterville time and time again.

Through the implementation of efficiencies Mayor LePage managed to not only create a surplus of revenue but also lower taxes for the citizenry. All the while not cutting back on the most needed services of the community. No wonder he keeps getting re-elected. I'm all in on this candidate, and if you are still undecided take a look at his campaign website here : LePage 2010

Cheers
Allen R Butler

This small endorsement is not paid for,I really like Paul LePage for our next Governor.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Yes on One



This gives a real great list of not only all the new taxes that we will be subject to if this law is put in place but also the deductions that we will lose as well.

I urge all of you to vote Yes on one!!!! this is not Tax reform but Tax Shifting.

Cheers
AL

Monday, May 17, 2010

The rest of the story?

U.S Rep. Chellie Pingree’s partner Donald Sussman……..

This very first line from an article in the Kennebec Journal last Friday 5/14/2009, which reported a $100,000 donation to the No Higher Taxes for Maine PAC by Mr. Sussman caught my attention. That opening statement, is quite telling indeed, Yet many people do not know much about Mr. Donald Sussman outside of his founding of Paloma Partners Management co. from Greenwich CT. So in the tradition of Paul Harvey I thought I would try to shed a little light “on the rest of the story”.

According to the article, Mr. Sussman has a “long love affair” with the state of Maine, and his altruism is a mere by product of these amorous feelings. I suppose, love is a many, splendid thing but I have to wonder how much this man really loves Maine over all.

One month before the citizens of Maine voted to reject a constitutional amendment to redefine the definition of marriage he contributed $250,000 to the supporters of Gay Marriage. Along with some other out of state investors (remember Sussman lives in Washington DC and CT) he created a campaign war chest of $2.7 million dollars to influence the Maine voter. All of that $2.7 Million came from cities like Boston and New York.

He gave money to keep the Dirigo Health plan, that financial sinkhole which Obama based his Health Care Reform on, alive and well. Regardless of the fact the program is one of the greatest wastes of Maine taxpayer dollars in the history of the state. A program, that not only cannot sustain itself but, which is unable to provide even the most basic of services with subsidies from the government.

Last but not least Donald Sussman and Paloma Partners contributed over $100,000 last year to his “Partner” Chellie Pingree’s campaign coffers to get her re-elected to the U.S. Congress.

Paloma Partner’s, are the very same hedge fund investors who were securities lending counterparties of AIG's. They lent securities to AIG, which it then in turn, lent out to others to be shorted. This business was famously catastrophic for AIG, causing monumental losses for the company. Not to worry though AIG was “too big to fail” so they received the much needed bailout monies from the federal government. As a bonus Paloma Partners received $200 million of those bailout funds for its stellar work in helping create one of the greatest economic crises since the great depression.

No wonder Sussman is willing to part with $50,000 for the Presidential inaugural ball here and $100,000 to help his “Partner” Chellie over there. With 200 Million taxpayer dollars to throw around such payouts/offs are but a pittance.

This love affair with Maine is rather difficult to sort out, but let’s try all the same.

First: If Donald Sussman really loved the people of Maine, why then would he invest so much time and money in the effort in changing its traditions by financing the redefinition of marriage? This seems strange to me, for if you love a place or a people in general then you have to understand and accept the culture and values of the people. If for some reason you cannot accept said culture then you most assuredly cannot respect or assimilate, nor can you profess a loyalty of some sort. How can one say I love Maine and in the next breath work hard to destroy its longest standing traditions? Is not love based on respect?

Second; Dirigo is a huge burden on the Maine taxpayer $5million a year and counting. How can Sussman honestly say that the “Tax and Shift” plan will “help build new economic opportunities so every family can thrive” when he also supports the existence of a program that does nothing but take money from those very families? Would not each and every citizen be better off if they did not have to pay for Dirigo? Could not the offset have a much more far reaching impact on the Maine economy as a whole in comparison to LD1495? This stance by Mr. Sussman is very contradictory and makes little to no sense at all.

Last: We cannot, and should not, ignore this philanthropic savior’s relationship with our Representative from the U.S. 1st District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. The KJ made mention of them being “Partners” which should make one wonder what exactly that means. Are they business partners? If so what is the arrangement? What does a sitting Congresswoman from Maine bring to the table in such a partnership with a multimillion dollar hedge fund company from CT? It is evident that Miss Pingree gains some benefit from the partnership for as mentioned earlier considerable contributions have been made to her campaigns by Mr. Sussman and Paloma Partners. However, I am left wondering what Donald gets for all his support? A partnership implies a “give and take” relationship if someone is giving; someone is taking, as we are all aware no relationship can last if only one side gives and never receives.

Maybe, just maybe, there is more to the story than just how altruistic Donald Sussman is. Perhaps the praise laid before him and his “Partner” by the Kennebec Journal is a bit premature and his proclamations of love should be looked at a bit more closely. For it is quite clear any love he may feel for Maine’s people is not based on an idea of respect or equality, like between a husband and wife, but more as a father who feels he must guide his ignorant wayward children with his infinite and all knowing wisdom.

Thank you Donald, but I already have a father and I grew up long ago.

Good day
Allen R Butler

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Opinion: After the Nashville Flood, Where Is President Obama? - AOL News

Opinion: After the Nashville Flood, Where Is President Obama? - AOL News

The problem with the Nashville flood is that the people in Tennessee are not waiting around for the Federal government or the administration to save them. Instead, they are relying on themselves, working with their neighbors and families to lessen the pain of the tragedy. This spirit of self reliance, the spirit that made this Nation great, is not appreciated or even liked by the current administration.

Where is Obama?

He is in DC, where he will stay pandering to the dependant classes rewarding the indolent. He and his ilk have no patience for those Americans who embrace not their ideals of government dependence, thus I fear Nashville will see him not. Well maybe, if it was an opportunity to garner support for one of his schemes he might fly down for a visit. Perhaps if the citizens of Tennessee, mailed him letters telling him they need him to stump for Health care reform, that would get him on a plane.

Despicable does not even begin to describe the President on this issue.

Cheers
Allen R Butler