Charles Jacques of west gardiner, ME Seriously?

You folks can put this claptrap out with a straight face and you wonder why daily newspapers are on the verge of extinction?report abuse

Nelson Donnell of West Gardiner, ME And now the plot thickens:

http://tinyurl.com/66dmxureport abuse

CaptBuck of North Monmouth, ME Unilateralist? So our old allies, France, Germany et. al. may not have gone with us but many new ones have and are still with us. Australia, Poland Runamia, Ukraine plus many others that are not popular vacation destinations with the cocktail crowd. Okay we get it, Blethen Maine Newspapers are in the tank for Obama and have been since day one. Like the "New York Times" they lack objectivity and journalistic honesty and wonder why they are slowly dying (haven't found a buyer yet?hmm...) yet will only blame it on the "new media" such as the internet or that modern Americans do not know how to read but never on their own ability to drive half of their readership to find their news elsewhere. I've given up buying the print edition and as my posts have become more random one can see I am rapidly giving up on the on-line version; advertisers take note. If the KJ wanted to endorse Sen. Obama that would be fine and in line with what newspapers have done all along but like much of the dinosaur media they have campaigned for him by highlighting his strengths and ignoring his or Sen. Biden's failings or their dirty laundry. They have however played up McCain's while playing down his positives. A minor gaffe by Gov. Palin is front page above the fold news but a major whopper by Biden is either not reported or relegated to the back somewhere. The editors do not need to agree with me but objectivity would be nice.

Yeah it was great having a local paper to read in the mornings, maybe after the Blethen corporation drive themselves into receivership the new owners will try to bring journalistic integrity back to our news-stands.report abuse

Johanna Galt of Somerville, ME It has always been a part of me to question, to analyze, to attempt to determine for myself what is right and wrong. Through it all, I have formed a set of core beliefs that time tends to continue to refine.

Individual liberty has nothing to do with ignoring the needy. A balance between too much regulation and not enough will take care of “individual liberty” being an excuse to act unscrupulously. “…The struggle between Liberty and Authority is the most conspicuous feature in the portions of history with which we are earliest familiar, particularly in that of Greece, Rome, and England. But in old times this contest was between subjects, or some classes of subjects, and the Government. By liberty, was meant protection against the tyranny of the political rulers....” John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). On Liberty. 1869
Hmmm. 1869. It’s 2008. Looks like this struggle will be here for awhile longer, too.

The need to take care of our vulnerable and needy has always been a value that those on both sides of the aisle hold as an ethical obligation. Charitable contributions are only limited by the IRS and by the individual. If you cannot claim it on your taxes do you generously give anyway? To place ceilings on success just seems to counter everything I believe. To place ceilings on success, to mandate them, through taxes is counter to the inner desire of a human being to evolve, grow, stretch, and succeed.

Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are fundamental to our human organism. And many other fixes can be done before increasing the tax on individual productivity. In my mind, to give a few extra dollars to some just doesn't justify the damage done to the spirit of all.

We can only consume that which is produced by the sweat of one’s brow. Any plan that claims the rewards of that sweat from some to provide for others for the “good of all” is nothing more than false philanthropy. Coercive Charity is no charity at all. Obama's plan is an extension of the welfare state.report abuse