EDITORIAL: Tough Talk to Tehran There are many reasons to be frustrated with Iran's double talk about its nuclear program, its backing of Hezbollah in Lebanon and possibly arming Shiite militias in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
STATEHOUSE Vote seeks end of paper AUGUSTA -- Democratic lawmakers voted Thursday to take the next step to make the House and Senate paperless.
Protesters have huge plans for Kennebunkport Peace activists are hoping this weekend's anti-war protest in Kennebunkport will be a catalyst for broadening the anti-war movement to encompass environmental, labor, health care and social justice issues.
Editorials: BOATER SAFETY EDUCATION Maine should lead, not lag The recent tragic deaths of two nighttime boaters on LongLake, whose boat was broken in two by a powerful 32-foot ocean racer, has raised the issue once again: Are we doing what we can and should do to keep Maine's boaters safe?
LTE: 'Tracking' of candidates should be banned The stories I have read recently about "tracking" of a political candidate is disturbing. To think that in the quest to be elected to office, a party would constantly follow an opponent around to get some dirt on them.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department's top civil rights enforcer resigned Thursday following more than a year of criticism that his office filled its ranks with conservative loyalists instead of experienced attorneys.
Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim was the first immigrant and first Korean-American to head the department's civil rights division - a post he held for just over two years.
Kim is the latest senior Justice official to leave amid a scathing congressional investigation that has raised questions about the department's political independence from the White House.
Kim had been rumored for months to be leaving the department, and is expected to join a private law firm. He worked at Justice for over 10 years, starting as a criminal trial attorney, and was one of the few Senate-confirmed senior officials left.
"For over a decade now, Wan Kim has served the Department of Justice and the American people with distinction and honor," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement Thursday. "Wan has worked his way up through the department, and I will miss his honest opinions and valuable contributions as an adviser to me."
The department's civil rights division enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination, including at work, at election polls and even at casinos. In May, Kim's office settled with MGM Mirage Inc., the world's second-largest casino company, for $55,000 over complaints that several of its hotels were not accessible to the handicapped.
Kim also pursued the illegal and exploitative trafficking of foreign women and children who were forced into slave labor in the U.S. - often working as prostitutes. His office helped re-ignite a decades-old murder case gone cold, winning a guilty conviction in June against a reputed Ku Klux Klansman who abducted two black teenagers in a long-ignored crime from Mississippi's bloody past.
But Justice's civil rights division has drawn criticism. Last year, a Boston Globe analysis of Justice Department hiring data found that the office had become highly politicized with the hiring of lawyers who had little civil rights experience but strong GOP credentials.
Moreover, critics contend that the office has largely focused on voter fraud cases - which civil rights groups charge are intended to hold down minority turnout.
In June, Kim testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about transfer of three minority female lawyers from the his office's voting rights section. The move had been directed by Bradley Schlozman, the former voting rights chief who also has resigned, effective last week.
During his testimony, Kim told senators that he had been concerned by the move and said remarks by Schlozman that appeared to question the women's patriotism "were intemperate and inopportune."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said Kim's resignation was part of a mass exodus from the Justice Department that "must not hinder our efforts to demand accountability."
"Too many questions have remained unanswered, too many civil rights laws have not been enforced and too many officials have resigned to evade the accountability that is to come for the disastrously flawed policies of this administration," said Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Justice Department said Kim's office set record levels of civil rights enforcement, including winning the most criminal convictions in a single year over the past two decades. In addition, he filed more than twice the average number of voting rights lawsuits in a 12-month period than were filed annually over the past 30 years.
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LTE: VA's moral obligation The Veterans Administration is morally and legally responsible to treat soldiers regardless of length of service, due to their combat history. Yet some combat servicemen and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq are having trouble securing treatment by VA hospitals.
MPBN:
Maine Guard Recruiting at Highest Level Since the War Began The ongoing war in Iraq doesn't seem to be discouraging Mainers from signing up for the Army National Guard. Guard officials say recruiting is at its highest level since the war began. Barbara Cariddi reports.
Warner Says US Should Start Withdrawing Iraq Force (Update1) Virginia Senator John Warner said President George W. Bush should begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Sept. 15 to show the Iraqi government that the U.S. commitment there isn't open-ended … His influence is such that many in his party may follow his lead, Senator Susan Collins of Maine said last month. Warner, who returned last week from a trip ...
BLOGS:
Reporting on Bush's VFW speech, media failed to note his previous ... O'DONNELL: On the other side, a TV campaign from a group long critical of many Bush policies, targeting Republicans, like Maine Senator Susan Collins. COMMENTATOR [video clip from Americans United for Change commercial]: Tell Susan ...
Maine’s growing blogosphere - There are a few new blogs that I’d like to give some attention to, it’s great to see these voices being heard:
...and Americans United responds to Freedom Crock - What happens when you "call Congress" like Freedom's Watch asks you to in their ads? You get an operator who'll only connect you if you say you support the occupation. That's the Republican version of "freedom," I guess.
Rural hospitals receive federal grant Tom Allen, D-Maine, announced that the federal government has awarded $385410 to small, rural hospitals in Maine. The grant is part of the Medicare Rural ...
BANGOR DAILY:
Lobster fishing 'tie-ups' spread Price and supply almost always are an issue for Maine lobster fishermen, even as catch totals have climbed steadily upward over the past 20 years.
CONSOLIDATION Windsor sees 8-town district WINDSOR -- Six towns that once made up a school district will come together again -- plus two new additions -- if approved by the state and voters in each of the towns.
CONSOLIDATION Winthrop: Maranacook, Fayette WINTHROP -- The Winthrop School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to form a regional school unit consisting of Winthrop, Fayette and Maranacook Area Schools.
LTE: Tracking is un-American I cannot believe that the Maine Democratic Party would stoop so low as to track a Republican senator, Sen. Susan Collins, while she was participating in a recent parade.
AUGUSTA (AP) - Looking to increase their hold on the state House of Representatives, Democrats in one of two newly open districts have selected a candidate for election in November.
Party officials said Wednesday that Sheryl Briggs of Mexico had been chosen the night before as the Democratic candidate for state representative in District 93.
A special election to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Republican Randy Hotham of Dixfield will be held Nov. 6, coinciding with statewide voting on five ballot questions.
District 93 includes the towns of Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Mexico and Peru.
"Sheryl's deep ties in the community and her strong work ethic make her a great candidate for office, and we are going to do everything we can to help her win this election. No doubt she will do a great job in Augusta," Maine Democratic Party Chairman John Knutson said Briggs is a solid candidate.
Republicans in District 93 have scheduled a nomination caucus for Aug. 29 and say several people have expressed interest in running.
"I am delighted by the number of Republicans who are willing to seek the party's nomination," Oxford County Republican Party Chairman Dan Bolling said in a statement. "Having so many people interested in serving honors the leadership and commitment to public service that Rep. Hotham has brought to the state Legislature."
The recent death of Republican Rep. Earl Richardson of Greenville has left another House vacancy in District 27.
District 27 includes the municipalities of Abbot, Barnard, Beaver Cove, BlanchardTownship, Bowerbank, Brownville, Cambridge, ElliottsvilleTownships, Greenville, Guilford, Kingsbury, Monson, Northeast Piscataquis, Northwest Piscataquis, Parkman, Plantation of Kingsbury, Sebec, Shirley, and Willimantic.
District Republicans will hold a special caucus to choose a nominee next Tuesday.
Democrats are expected to pick their candidate in District 27 on Monday.
On June 12, majority Democrats picked up a seat in the Maine House of Representatives when Deane Jones of Mount Vernon was elected to fill a seat vacated by the death of Republican Rep. Abigail Holman of Fayette.
Jones defeated Republican Penelope Morrell of Belgrade. House District 83 also includes the towns of Manchester and Vienna.
With two vacancies, the current partisan makeup of the House of Representatives is 89 Democrats, 58 Republicans and two independents.
AUGUSTA (AP) - Democratic House and Senate leaders met with Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday to discuss new initiatives for next year's legislative session. After their meeting with the Democratic chief executive, the majority party lawmakers did not rule out an attempt at action even earlier.
At the same time, participants said, no one committed to anything and additional talks are expected.
"No firm plans yet," Baldacci said.
Joining the governor for the session were Senate President Beth Edmonds, House Speaker Glenn Cummings and the majority leaders of the House and Senate, Rep. Hannah Pingree and Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell.
Edmonds, exiting the governor's office, did not go into detail. But the Freeport lawmaker spoke of a general interest in planning ways to "tie up loose ends" left over from this year's regular session, when in one notable development a late effort to overhaul the state tax code foundered.
Cummings rejected a suggestion that the governor was uninterested in tax reform.
"I think from this discussion he's very serious about it," the Portland Democrat said.
Cummings said the talks had touched inconclusively on the desirability of waiting until January to resume action or taking up new proposals in a special session later this year.
He also said ideas under discussion included spending controls and an income tax reduction, as well as some shift in the control of local jails from the counties to the state.
Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, called Wednesday's discussions with the governor a "beginning."
The Democratic lawmakers said they would confer among themselves on Thursday and report back to Baldacci next week.
Baldacci, who has also met with Republican leaders recently, said he was "encouraged" by his consultations with the Democrats but offered no specifics.
"We have to continue to look at administrative efficiencies, we have to look at restructuring, ... reducing administrative costs," he said. "And our citizens need tax relief."
Officials announced separately Wednesday that the Maine Senate will convene on the morning of Sept. 20 for voting on confirmation of various Baldacci appointments.
Maine's new state budget, $6.3 billion over two years in General Fund money, counts on a little more than $10 million in savings that have not yet been specified.
The Appropriations Committee has given state agencies until the end of the week to suggest ways to meet - in fact, more than meet - the savings target.
The committee is looking for $30 million in savings suggestions.
Meanwhile, communities around the state face an Aug. 31 deadline for filing their initial school system consolidation reports.
The consolidation plan is designed to reduce the state's 152 school administrative systems to 80. First-year state savings have been pegged at $36.5 million.
Upcoming as part of a series of community deadlines is an end-of-August requirement for notifying the state of merger plans.
Final organization plans are due by Dec. 1, and by Jan. 15, 2008, cities and towns would be expected to vote on whether to approve mergers.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House aides are joining Republican fundraisers in bankrolling a $15 million, five-week advertising campaign putting pressure on lawmakers whose backing of President Bush's Iraq war strategy may be wavering.
The group, Freedom's Watch, launched the ads Wednesday, even as Bush delivered a renewed call for keeping U.S. forces in Iraq. The money will pay for ad placements on national cable and local television stations as well as on radio and the Internet.
The ads will run in 20 states and will urge viewers to ask their member of Congress to stand by Bush's plan.
Organizers of the effort would not identify the targeted lawmakers, but a review of the initial TV ad placements - done by a group opposed to the war - shows most of them are in Republican congressional districts.
The ads could affect presidential politics as well. The group is paying for a substantial ad placement in Iowa, the leadoff caucus state in the presidential nominating contest. While aimed at members of Congress, the ads will compete for air time with presidential spots and could influence voter attitudes as candidates seek their support.
The ads feature soldiers wounded in the war or family members of soldiers killed in the war calling on lawmakers to support the current deployment of troops.
"The global war on terror requires American engagement, and if we surrender now, then I think it makes a more dangerous United States and a more dangerous world," said Bradley A. Blakeman, a lawyer and former White House official who is president of the new group. He said the ads are timed in anticipation of a progress report next month by Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq.
Freedom's Watch was organized as a nonprofit organization under IRS rules and is not required to identify its donors or the amounts they give. The group named some of its financial backers but Blakeman said others wished to remain out of the public eye.
Among those publicly behind the effort are billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a fundraiser for Bush and chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., and conservative philanthropist John M. Templeton Jr. of Bryn Mawr, Pa. Both men have been major contributors to conservative causes. Also backing Freedom's Watch are top Republican donors Anthony Gioia, Mel Sembler and Howard Leach, all former ambassadors in the Bush administration. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer is a founding member of the group.
An analysis of the ad placements by Americans United for Change, a group opposed to the war, found Freedom's Watch ads in 33 markets, many of them represented by moderate Republican senators and House members, including Iowa, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee and South Dakota.
The ads also are running in Kentucky, New Mexico and Ohio where Republicans Sens. Mitch McConnell, Pete Domenici and George Voinovich are being targeted in ads by war opponents.
Blakeman, a former deputy assistant to Bush for appointments and scheduling, declined to discuss the ad placements.
"The main mission is to educate not only the member, but also their constituents that surrender is not an option," he said.
AD WATCH:
The Pro War Ad Campaign
LTE: Resolving 'our' war As September approaches, let us hold out hope that Congress will act in a responsible fashion and state a time when American forces will leave Iraq, and that this time will be soon.
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REPUBLICAN JOURNAL:
EDITORIAL: There’s no crying in politics - We don’t know which is more idiotic: U.S. Senator Susan Collins, one of the most powerful people in the nation whining that she feels intimidated by a little camera man from the Tom Allen campaign following her around, or The Bangor Daily News backing her up.
President Bush may have left town, but that won't stop what could be thousands of protesters coming here this weekend for what's been billed as a "Stop the War Rally" and a "Concert for Peace."
ATLANTICVILLE:
Fort Monmouth panel asks for extension Susan Collins (RMaine) sent a letter to Sen. Carl Levin D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and John McCain (RAriz. ...
POLITICO:
Groups plan $30 million battle over war Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose home state is being blitzed by pro- and anti-war ads. Collins is running for re-election next year and is a top Democratic ...
It's been a year since Ned Lamont came out of the clear blue Greenwich sky—waving wads of cash and love notes from bloggers—to pummel Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary.
BLOGS:
ENPR: Week of August 22, 2007 Susan Collins (R). Pingree, who challenged Collins in 2002, had already raised nearly $250000 before she reeled in the endorsement this month of the ..
Nets Declare Bush's Vietnam Analogy Hypocritical and Invalid, Only ... O'DONNELL: On the other side, a TV campaign from a group long critical of many Bush policies, targeting Republicans, like Maine Senator Susan Collins. VOICE IN AD FROM AMERICANS UNITED FOR CHANGE: Tell Susan Collins it's time to take a ...
2008 Elections: United States Senate - While fighting day and night against the policies of President Bush, it is almost easy to overlook the upcoming battle for the United States Senate ... (Oregon), SusanCollins (Maine), John Sununu (New Hampshire) and Norm Coleman (Minnesota
Pro War Group Runs Ads Urging Republicans To... - Following up on torridjoe's Breaking Blue post, Freedom's Watch, ... Republicans out of a total of 41 targeted members, notably: Mitch McConnell, SusanCollins and Gordon
Top state leaders speak out against new electricity fee WATERVILLE -- Industry and union leaders Tuesday spoke out against a federally-mandated electricity fee they say would cost business and individuals across the state an extra $300 million in energy costs over the next four years.
Wind project on Black Nubble returns AUGUSTA -- A smaller version of a wind farm proposal that generated a storm of controversy last year is slated to go to public hearings in September.
Lawmakers want your help sweating the small stuff Call it the nickel and dime committee. A group of legislators is looking for $10.1 million in savings, not even a pimple on the body of the new $6.3 billion two-year state budget. But I guess you have to start somewhere.
Stonington man seeks repeal of school law STONINGTON, Maine - A former state legislator and current local school committee member has taken steps to initiate a citizens referendum to repeal the state's school consolidation law.
EDITORIAL: A way out of Iraq If the comments on Iraq by Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are indicative of their caucus generally, the Senate could have agreement on an Iraq plan the day the lawmakers return from their August break.
LTE: Zealot for impeachment Seabury Lyon of Bethel says, "We the People" are losing faith and confidence in equal justice and equal protection (Letter, July 7). He says apathy and cynicism present a real and present danger to American democracy.
KENNEBEC JOURNAL:
Allen shows true colors, and it isn't pretty I would like to thank the Kennebec Journal for bringing to light the tactics of Rep. Tom Allen's people in your Aug. 14 edition. If Allen will resort to any tactics to try to unseat Susan Collins, it makes me wonder what he will resort to with the lobbyists in Washington.
MORNING SENTINEL:
Republicans see Clinton as 'most vulnerable' In reference to the "commentary" by Bruce Bartlett (Morning Sentinel, Aug. 13) -- the move by the right wing conservatives to make sure Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic candidate is rearing its serpentine head.
ASBURY PARK PRESS (NJ):
Ballooning BRAC costs vex Maine lawmaker Susan Collins, R-Maine, to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, asking for just such a hearing. Sens. ...
The Democrats’ national Senate campaign committee established an edge over its Republican counterpart during the 2006 election year, and that advantage has grown dominant with the party’s Senate takeover, which was produced by those elections.
EDITORIAL: Unneeded advantage One of President Bush's reasons for threatening to veto the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, is that it would be financed partly by a cutback in something called "Medicare Advantage."
Gwynne Dyer: The boys go to Baghdad, the men go to Tehran It’s impossible to say whether the United States will attack Iran before President George W. Bush leaves office in 17 months’ time, because nobody in the White House knows yet either.
Tara McGuinness, deputy campaign manager, keeps head shots of her top prizes--Sununu, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, among others--pinned to her wall.
WASHINGTON POST:
Is Everyone Sick of Debates Already? The most I can recall reading about is some kerfuffle in Maine about Susan Collins making a stink about being "hounded and harassed" by an opposition ...
The BDN [heart]'s Tom Allen "There are only a handful of places where a Democrat has a chance to unseat a sitting senator and [Maine] is one of them," Allen told members of the Maine Democratic Party at the group's annual Muskie Lobster Bake at LamoineState Park. ...
Collins' "Plan" - It's worth restating: To the extent that Sen. Collins has a "plan" for Iraq, her plan is to leave President Bush in charge of our mission there.
Mike Brennan, left, Adam Cote, Mark Lawrence, second from right, and Chellie Pingree listen to moderator David Offer, center, explain the rules for the first debate for candidates for the Democratic congressional nomination Thursday in Augusta. Democrats assembled at City Center to listen to the candidates.
