First a little about me.  After all, that's what this is all about, isn't it?

I decided to give blogging another chance.  Since I shut down in 2014, there have been many times when I wished I still had a place to vent my opinions on various items.  I'm not foolish enough to believe anyone but me really gives a peanut about what I think, but I might feel better about those every day things that pop up in our lives.

For you who perhaps dropped by once in a while when I was active here, my pride and treasure, my Golden Retriever Mariah, has left us.  It was just about a year ago that she came to my wife and me and told us with her eyes and manner that she was ready and wanted to go to doggy heaven.

I'm sorry this is so small that you can't see her eyes very well, but if you look carefully you'll see just what she's saying to me.

 

We took Mariah to the local animal hospital and the doctor there wanted to do a complete exam and an ultrasound test to see what was going on.  I think I spotted the huge mass attached to her liver about the same time the doc did.  He said he could operate, but chances were not good that she'd recover.  With tears puddling on the floor, we made that ultimate decision.  I think it was the hardest one I've ever made, although it was also easy because it was the right one to make for her.

 

So I won't be showing you the adventures of that wonderful animal this time around.

 

This was another of our personal memorable weeks.  Those of you who were here before may remember our Christmas Village.  We begin our Christmas Season on Veterans' Day every year as we erect parts of the Department 56 Victorian and Charles Dickens collections throughout our living room.  We try to have it finished by Thanksgiving and turn on its lights either Thanksgiving night or, at the latest, that weekend.

 

We started on time and it's right on schedule. Like I've done every year, I'll post parts of the Village 2015 here and the complete Village 2015 will be available on my personal web site shortly after it's finished.

 

Also this week, my bride and I celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary.  I honestly don't know how she has put up with me all these 54 years.  I did see one of those "Forwards" that roam the Internet a few days ago.  An old man and his wife were being interviewed about their half century of marriage.  "Marriages don't often last that long.  What is your secret?" asked the reporter. I easily related to the answer.  "When we were married and things broke, we simply fixed them.  Today, fixing is only by replacement."  How true!

 

 I was on the losing side of a referendum question earlier this month.  I voted against the "welfare for politicians" question on the ballot which was supposed give Maine politics back to the people.  The measure called for the State to fund politicians' attempts to get elected to the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate.  Major problem with the plan, though, is how to pay for it.  The state legislature will either have to cut programs and people or raise more money.  States raise money through taxes which means you and I would have to pay more money for politicians we don't support.  And that, my friends, is very oversimplifying just one of the problems this new law has created.

 

We were told that passage would give us more control and take away much of the private funding, political action committees if you will, thus making the politicians more responsible to us, the people.  But then we look at who provided the funding to get the measure passed and guess what, almost all of it was from out of state PACs.  We didn't even have any control over this law.  I haven't read this one yet, but I have to wonder just what is in it that has the potential of screwing us royally.

 

Seems to me if we want to regain control of our state government, the way to do it is just the opposite. Let the politicians raise their money locally themselves.  If they can't do it, perhaps, just perhaps, that would mean they really don't have the support of the locals they want to represent.

 

Because of the PACs on the national level, how many Senators and Representative have been elected as just plain regular folk only to leave their offices as millionaires.  Seems to me I can think of a few right here in Maine.  Is this what we want for our state reps as well?  I don't think so.

 

Dave