The LePage “Whistle Stop” Express

For a number of years, the Poppycock’s have bee meaning to ride the Maine Eastern train between Brunswick and Rockland, but there’s never been enough ‘push’ to get us to do it.

Well now there is.  Next Saturday, July 24th, there will be a special Maine Eastern round trip train from Rockland down to Brunswick, and back to Rockland.  It’s a chartered train, in the old “whistle stop” style, for Paul LePage’s campaign for Governor of Maine.

You can find the details here: details.  And more info here, including the itinerary: LePage train itinerary

For those of you in the greater Brunswick-Portland and points south region, the requirement to drive to Rockland for an 0830 boarding time, and then having to drive back home after returning to Rockland at about 1500 might look daunting enough to discourage your participation.  But there is another very attractive option that would make the day more manageable.

You could make the drive to Wiscasset and catch the train there at 1015, and then ride it down to Brunswick, make the turn, and get off the train at Wiscasset on the way back at roughly 1330.  This is a much more reasonable drive, and would still give you participation in all the "whistle stops" except for the Rockport origin.  And hours to enjoy all the enthusiasm aboard the train.

Please consider this option as another way to jump on board the "LePage train!"  Maine needs a major change in how it is ‘governed,’ and Paul is our best choice to do so!

Email or call me if you have any questions; but most of all, book a place on the train!

Technorati Tags: LePpage,train ride,Maine

A quickie…on the Constitution

You all know how much I love The Coastal Journal, and its all purpose persona Gina Hamilton, a liberal feel-gooder of epic dimension.

I’ve had her “opinion” piece of July 1st in my stack for two weeks now, and it’s time I make appropriate disposition.  She titled it “The Declaration…or the Constitution?”

If you ever wanted conclusive proof that our population is loaded with folks who can’t see any value or purpose or structural merit in founding principles or similar constraints upon our government, Gina is here to make the point.

To begin with, Gina asserts:

The Declaration of Independence was essentially a call to arms, and carries no force of law.  For instance, although the Declaration refers to a ‘Creator’, the Constitution makes no such reference, and indeed, establishes a strict wall of separation between church and state.

A call to arms?  Fine.  But ‘a strict wall of separation?’  Poppycock, balderdash, and folderol. 

The clear language of Amendment I says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”  The words ‘strict,’ ‘wall,’ or ‘separation’ are nowhere to be found.  Except in the imaginations of those who find the constraints, well, too constraining.

Next, Gina lets us know that she finds our founding principles lacking in literary merit:

it was the dry, pendantic (her spelling) language of James Madison’s Constitution that we live with today and which truly forms the basis for our grand experiment.

But worry not. as Gina tells us:

the Constitution is a living document that should and does reflect the changing nature of America’s evolution and growth as a society.

In other words, no matter what you think the Constitution embodies, it is no more binding or permanent than is the makeup of your compost pile or tomorrow’s weather forecast.

As a matter of fact, Gina expects that:

The Court that will be seated in October will make many important decisions, just as former courts have done, and will share in the role of driving American society forward.

As you can tell, Gina is convinced that the role of the Supreme Court is to enact progressive social policy.

So what lesson do we learn here?  First, Gina should rename “The Coastal Journal” as “The Coastal Progressive,” since it is her purpose to use the weekly as her personal ideological manifesto.

Second, before she writes, Gina should learn to read, and more important, comprehend what she reads.  And teach her son and heir to do the same.

From all indications, she has not yet reached that milestone.  La Dolce this or that and other cutsie gimmicks notwithstanding.

Technorati Tags: Coastal Journal,Gina Hamilton

He’s back!!!! (Or maybe he never really left…..)

Things have been pretty quiet in Lake Basebegone since Barrister F. Lee Bailey penned his note of withdrawal to the MRRA.  Hence Side hasn’t reported on the subject since these two posts:

Re: Condolences-one last glimmer of hope?

A “Towering” Lake Basebegone Update, May 26, 2010

Imagine our delight, then, when in browsing through the Sunday Portland paper, we found that F. Lee is back in the news, and in more ways than one.

For the past two Sundays, this paper has carried major front page “special report” stories on the Dennis Dechaine case.  Astute followers of the case know that F. Lee took an interest in the case some months ago, and he’s mentioned in the article in that context.

Bailey gets his own related article in the paper, in which we find this interesting passage:

Bailey has business ties in Maine and he is moving to Yarmouth this month from Massachusetts. A longtime pilot, Bailey is a close friend and business partner with Jim Horowitz, the founder of Oxford Aviation.

So, maybe there is hope for a return of a Richardson-Bailey economic development “breakthrough” after all.  Bailey’s permanent presence in Maine should provide fodder of one sort or another for future musings on the subject.  And this is the first time we can recall seeing in print that Bailey is a business partner with Oxford Aviation’s Jim Horowitz.  That makes a trio of opportunists of “towering” stature, all here to surprise us with new and spectacular possibilities if we’ll just “invest” in them.

Let the speculation begin.  And we’re glad that Bailey seems to have recovered from his deep depression after Johnny Protocols pulled out of the race for governor.  Which makes us wonder whither goest JP?

Technorati Tags: F. Lee Bailey,John Richardson,Oxford Aviation

Uncle! Slacker alert!

I don’t need to tell you that our activity has been near zero in recent weeks, making your daily grind more monotonous than it otherwise has to be.

An alibi seems in order.  Starting about two weeks ago, I began a fairly major interior project at Chez PC, and as almost always happens, the little details add up to a bigger work load than imagined.  So I’m here to cry uncle and ask that you cut me some slack.

Couple that with high temperatures and grubby humidity over the last week or so, and continuing as we speak, and you have a work environment that slows ‘productivity’ by a goodly sum.  And when you quit for the day, you’re not really up for witty and pithy authoring.

I’ve got a few things in the hopper, but haven’t been able to get myself to finish them.  I’m hopeful that I’ll finish the project sometime next week, and get back to a more or less normal “summer” routine.  Notwithstanding that my daughter and family arrive in very early August.

So, for the time being, Side will be grateful for your indulgence and understanding, and we want you to know that the slower pace is only temporary.  We remain fully committed to offering the other side of things for the long term.

With occasional interruptions by real life.

Technorati Tags: Other Side,Poppycock,slowdown