This time of year my wife takes to calling me Scrooge. I pretty much have the Bah Humbug when it comes to giving people things they don't want or need just so I can say that I gave them something for Christmas. This goes strongly against her grain as she feels that if you didn't give everyone you can think of at least something, then you aren't doing your job.

As our extended families grow, with in laws and nieces etc., I have gradually whittled it down so that we do a Chinese Auction of round house gifting with her side and don't have to purchase something for each member on the list. Even this sticks in my craw a little because each person already has whatever they really need and it comes down to getting something that will sit on the shelf and maybe be regifted next year to another group that won't recognize the gift.

I have finally discovered a way to feel good about this annual rite of gifting and I want to share it with you.

At this years Chinese Auction I intend to take the nice cardboard wrap from an Olive Garden gift card and insert my own card informing the winner that a donation will be made in their name to the Good Shepherd Food Bank to help feed the hungry for Christmas. I will do this by visiting their web site at www.gsfb.org and making a virtual donation.

The Good Shepherd Food Bank has teamed with industry and other organizations throughout Maine to multiply your gift to feed the hungry. Through the strength of Partnerships with the Food Industry, Community Leaders, Businesses, and Individuals combined with the efficiencies of Food Banking... enables them to turn a $10 gift into $125 worth of food to be distributed throughout Maine, wherever it is needed.

Christmas has to be about something other than piling up more stuff. I ask you to join me in multiplying your giving by visiting www.gsfb.org and making a donation in the name of someone on your gift list.

Merry Christmas.

Reading an article in the USA Today recently and it comes up that Cerberus Capital Management is asking Daimler to refund their approximately 7 billion dollar purchase price of Dodge because - get this now - they didn't know what bad shape Dodge was in when they bought it.

I don't know about you, but I have known for several years what bad shape Dodge was in and I don't get paid several million dollars a year or have an MBA in business or even have access to the internal papers that list out the finances of Dodge. These are all things that Cerberus DOES have access to and somehow they have missed the fact that Dodge is in bad shape.

Daimler bought Dodge (Chrysler) several years ago and seemingly never made a buck off the outfit despite close management and a substantial outlay of cash to modernize cars and physical plant. All this was reported in the press many times over the years and anyone who read the financial news would know this. Daimler finally unloaded 80% of their dead horse to Cerberus who put Bob Nardelli in charge. Bob is the guy who ran Home Depot almost into the ground before being ousted but I can't blame him for Dodge because they were on their last legs before Bob got there. Why Cerberus thought a proven bad manager like Bob could turn Dodge around is the question but then why they thought Dodge could be saved is really the bigger question.

Now we come to the bailout. Cerberus is not only asking the taxpayers of the USA to lend them billions but is also trying to get Daimler to refund billions. Hey, if you can't actually run the business then you have to come up with some other way to get a return on your investment.

Bob Nardelli is proven incompetent. Cerberus has now proven themselves incompetent as well. Daimler was at least competent enough to dump this pig while they could. Let's see if the Congress will prove themselves incompetent by dumping more money into this sinking ship.

While the debate runs on about a bailout, I hear some thoughts of forcing one or more of the Big 3 into bankruptcy. I put forth Dodge as a shining example of a company that truly deserves to go bankrupt. It would be terribly unfortunate to put all the workers out on the street but there comes a time in the life of some companies where you simply have to say "enough" and that time is now for Dodge.

I really like my Dodge truck and will truly miss not being able to replace it with another one when the time is right. Maybe there will be a good Toyota truck in the showrooms then and perhaps some of the Dodge workers will be on the Toyota production line. This is called Capitalism.

Since Ronald Regan it has been a policy of this nation and government to provide welfare to the big businesses and wealthy of our society. This is known as trickle down where it has been believed that if you make the rich richer then it benefits society as a whole. Tax benefits and direct subsidies have been steered towards those who needed it the least because of their ability to lobby and donate to the politicians on the national stage. Now we have big banks and the auto industry getting their share of welfare and groveling for more since, after all, if another business can have it then why can't we?

It's time to end the corporate welfare.

While taking billions from the public in welfare, these corporations just keep on doing business in the same old way which brought on their downfall. Billions in bonuses to be divvied up by those who make multi hundred thousand dollar basic salaries. Golf trips for salesmen of bankrupt companies because it is the normal way of doing business. Now we have most of Detroit groveling at the public trough because they refused to make the decisions necessary in good times to see them through the tough. These companies just don't get it.

I read that a bailout of these companies is necessary to prevent a total collapse of our economy and the 2nd great depression. Maybe so, but it isn't necessary to allow those whose basic incompetence brought us into this to retain the lines of command. The CEO's and most of the boards of directors should be fired to begin with and then the US government should take control of a majority of the stock of these companies through a special issue that gives the public the major value of these companies. The original stock holders should only retain secondary stock ownership that doesn't pay any dividends and is not allowed to be sold until the public stock has been repurchased with interest.

I know that there are those who will cry socialism over this but the bottom line is that these companies can simply opt out of this by running their businesses in a responsible manner and not taking billions from the public dole. They want to have their cake and eat it too.

If the bailout is for the public good then let it actually benefit the public. Let these companies know that the days of corporate welfare are over.

There have been some who have questioned the judgment of John McCain due to his appointment of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Whether fair or not, these questions have persisted and spilled over into other decisions that have been made during the running of the Republican presidential campaign.

I am very pleased to say that these questions have now been settled.

The other day I happened to see a little TV and who should appear on the campaign platform with McCain and Sarah but Joe The Plumber. I immediately let out a loud groan and bleated "give me a break", bringing my poor wife scurrying to see if I was in distress. Distress it was as I watched true desperation flood the airwaves.

Desperate times call for desperate measures but this goes beyond the real. John McCain has absolutely no judgment. There, I've said it. It's decided and I will cite Joe The Plumber as the fact to back it up. Joe was a nice little distraction during the debate but if McCain thinks that the American people will vote for him just because an unlicensed plumber will climb on the stage with him then the election is over and John has admitted defeat.

Even though I - as a registered Republican - don't plan to vote for McCain, I used to have a great deal of respect for him as an individual. I will try to remember McCain's past and maintain as much respect as I can during the next few days until this painful campaign comes to a close.

I am amused to see John McCain realign his campaign to be pretty much whatever platform Barack Obama campaigns on in the last week or two. When McCain is not being negative, he is chasing the platform of the Democratic party. It is unfortunate that he is seemingly unable to recognize the wants and needs of the populace without the guiding hand of his opposition. The only major difference is the accusation of the Democrats being the tax and spend party. John McCain and the Republicans clearly believe in spending without taxation, thereby leaving the bill - with interest - to future generations to pay. My 14 year old son was extremely upset when I explained to him that the Bush Bucks we received in July would have to be paid back by him and his brother because the President didn't believe in the country paying it's way as we went along. It's a terrible thing to tax and spend. It's much worse to spend without tax.

There are many who think that Sarah Palin is not ready to be President but I'm not one of them. I know, you say that she is running for Vice President, but with John McCain as her running mate it is easy to see where she will have the top spot inside of four years.

Sarah has shown her command of politics with her actions. In the Alaska Troopergate affair she is accused of firing her former brother in law from his public service position after an unfriendly divorce of her sister. She uses private email to do public business, striking deals behind closed doors and keeping her official actions secret from the public she is supposed to serve, and Her husband, the "First Dude" has been shown to make extensive use of government facilities and participate in official meetings. His efforts to "help her in her career" show the kind of support needed by a President who doesn't have the time or interest to actually find out what is taking place in the world around her.

Since this is just a mirror image of our Presidency of the last 8 years, there are few who can actually claim that Sarah is not qualified to be President.

I think it was Richard Nixon who said something like "What do the voters know anyways?"

While listening to the news, another story pops up about the dilemma of the Maine lobsterman. With high prices for fuel and bait as well as multi hundred thousand dollar boats and reduced access to the water it is easy enough to see the problems they face but now we have a relatively new source of trouble. It seems that the financial collapse in our country is killing the taste for lobster and the price of a landed harvest is collapsing into areas not seen in decades.

I have now been boatless for a year after sailing our 36 foot cutter out of Rockland for 18 years, and we always enjoyed seeing the working boats plying their trade as we coasted by. Mostly friendly but sometimes not, they were just part of the environment but perhaps now their days are numbered. With so many endangered species it seems that the forces of man are responsible for their fate and I cannot help but think that man is again a large factor in the lobster industry decline. Outside forces are usually to blame but in this case the lobstermans own efforts have a large measure of responsibility for their troubles. I'll go out on a limb here and say that I don't think that the lobster are over fished but instead clearly the market is over served.

In the approaches to Vinalhaven and Port Clyde as well as many other areas that we have visited, you could seemingly walk on the water, being held up by the carpet of pot buoys laid out before you.

The lobster certainly appreciate the plentiful food dropped conveniently on the ocean floor for them but the large number of traps seals the fate of the industry. In an effort to increase their incomes and provide growth in their industry, the lobsterman is instead killing the golden goose. It is always difficult to recognize when an industry is on the verge of collapse but the lobstermen need to recognize and act before economics and not species collapse kills their way of life. It is long past time to limit the total number of traps in the water in a meaningful way, providing a steady but reduced supply to the market and to allow individual lobstermen to own their license as some European countries do, thereby allowing them to sell the license or give it away at their time of retirement. If the lobster can again regain the description as a delicacy and not a commodity then the industry will have gone a long way toward survival. It's not too late to act, but once again we will likely see a waiting game played until bankruptcy and market forces simply cut away until only a few survive.

I was but a young boy when JFK was assassinated and so I cannot join the ranks of those who always remember what they were doing at the time, but I can tell you exactly what I was doing when the first plane hit the twin towers. We were discussing this at work the other day and this seems to be the "remembrance" of our generation. Each person in the room told exactly what they were doing at the time.

There are a few instances of "never forget" throughout each generation of history. I hope my children will be able to bypass theirs but I fear it won't happen.

We must remain always vigilant to protect our shores from all quarters but at the same time we must remember that our individual freedoms are more important than our collective protections. I am often concerned that a collective cry of "save us" sometimes drowns out the thought of "from what?"

An attack from outside our borders or from hostile elements within our borders is always a possibility and unfortunately I have no doubt that another will occur at some time and could perhaps make 9/11 look small in comparison. We must, as a society, remain always alert to what happens around us both locally and around the world to try to lessen the chance or severity of such an attack.

While we watch for attacks on our country and our society it is necessary that we always remember what our country was founded for. Think of your freedoms and rights. Think of our constitution. Take the time to actually read the Declaration of Independence. Write your politicians and become involved in your family, your community, and your country. Protect yourself from both attacks from outside and the whittling away of your rights from within.

Always remember.

I have been privileged in the past few weeks to have the opportunity to serve my community by helping the United Way of Mid Coast Maine in their annual fund drive. I am known as a Loaned Executive and have been "donated" by my employer for the 11 week campaign. I spend my days helping the United Way organize and run their campaign by visiting local employers and individuals to solicit contributions to the community fund of the United Way.

Your local United Way chapter is locally run and funding decisions are locally made by a volunteer board. They have Impact Areas that they fund in an effort to reach long term solutions to needs in the community. Many local programs receive United Way funding. United Way is proud of the low overhead of their program so most of the money goes to solve problems in your community.

I hope you will join me in making a donation to the United Way. Many employers allow payroll deduction which allows simple weekly donations. In this time of great need in your community, you can help yourself by helping others. Live United.

I am so pleased that John McCain has become an agent of change. This is a great change for him. He began his candidacy by ridiculing Obama for his policy of change then McCain found that Americans are tired of the status quo in Washington and guess what? John McCain changed to become an agent of change himself. Every man reserves the right to change his mind, right?

A recent Republican advert on TV slams Obama for a remark about putting lipstick on a pig but McCain is just changing his own position because he thought it very acceptable when he made similar remarks in regards to Hilary Clinton several months ago. Change is good.

Who is a Republican and perhaps a better question is "Exactly what is a Republican?" Is George Bush a Republican? You wouldn't have thought so at the "Republican" Convention when it was with a great sigh of relief that the McCain campaign accepted the story that Bush wouldn't be able to talk in person at the convention after all. It seems that the "New" Republicans didn't want their "Old" leader to taint their platform with his presence. Embarrassment is the word. This is a change - perhaps a good change. We are all embarrassed by the performance of the Republicans over the past 8 years and any change to the party can only be an improvement. Let's hope that we don't have the opportunity in 4 more years to explain how we are still embarrassed by the Republican Party. We need to make a change.

I still don't know what the platform of the Republican Party is. This is not a change. We need some change here. They now have an interesting VP candidate but they don't know or haven't admitted where the party stands on the issues. The sex of the VP is a change but the platform isn't. What gives here?

Change is good -change is needed. Real change and not the change of McCain changing from ridiculing change to embracing it. I want John McCain to change. I want him to tell me where he stands on the issues. Maybe he can just take Obama's platform and make it his own then call it the Republican platform of change.

Politics is nothing if not entertaining. This is what you want your national leaders to be , right? I don't watch much TV but I had the pleasure of seeing a few minutes of the Republican National Convention and watched Sarah explain that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is the lipstick. Now, I am a hockey dad and know quite a few hockey moms so my immediate reaction was to say to my wife "Which one wears the lipstick?" My wife didn't have an answer and Sarah didn't provide the answer and so it goes with the lady who could be the next after next President of the United States. No one seems to have an answer.

I admit to being confused as to John McCain's choice for a running mate. Although obviously articulate, Sarah seems to have essentially no qualifications to assume the presidency and that is exactly what she would be doing if McCain is elected then suffers some debilitating medical condition or worse.

I am still waiting to hear some issues discussed by the Republicans which might change my position but so far this has been a quiet front. The campaign seems to be "Let's trot out Sarah to balance John who we all know is a cold fish and see if her charisma will carry the day." Issues are a nonissue to McCain and the Republicans.

The three most important things in this presidential race need to become;

Issues, issues, issues.

Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.

Federal Reserve reports a tightening of lending standards on loans due to the current banking crisis. Some indicate that this is a crisis of it's own.

I have to disagree.

The banking crisis was created when so called experts decided that practically anyone who can sign their name can have a loan regardless of their ability to repay. These loans were repackaged into securities and sold to other so called financial experts. This provided more money for shaky loans and so on. The CEO's of these banks and finance houses received millions in salary and bonuses for their wisdom and when the interest rates of many of these loans tipped upwards and consumers decided that food and fuel were more important to them than paying back the money that they borrowed then we entered a crisis.

It's long overdue for lending standards to be tightened. If this had been done years ago then our country may not have entered our current real estate and credit crisis.

I can remember when you had to have a substantial down payment, good credit, and a fairly good chance of paying back a loan before you were given a loan. I'm not really that old so I think others can probably remember this too. Then we entered the era of "easy money". Undocumented income. 100% financing. Teaser rates and balloons. Repackaging and sales of mortgages as securities.

Those who cannot afford credit shouldn't have it.

Credit cards are not needed by everyone. Those who cannot afford to pay back a mortgage shouldn't buy a house. If you cannot afford a new dining room set than maybe you don't really need one.

Are these revolutionary thoughts?

Tightening credit is not a crisis, it is simply good old common sense. This has been missing from the financial markets for some years now. Although some will cry that todays modern society cannot get by without credit I think it's time we learn how.

Maine has the potential to become energy independent. We have large areas of wood, great wind and much hydro potential. We can power our homes and businesses with in state energy supplies, creating new businesses and jobs for our citizens and stopping the export of our wealth to foreign countries.

While I watch the political debate about offshore drilling, I am simply disappointed with both candidates and the citizenry that seems to be supporting this line of politics. Despite what anyone says, we cannot drill our way back to cheap energy, and any new domestic offshore supply will have no effect on current requirements and only very minimal effect on any future needs. This doesn't mean that the drilling shouldn't occur, only that it will have no effect on supply or pricing.

We MUST develop alternate energy sources for our future needs. Oil will certainly be an important part of our future but it cannot remain the dominant fuel of choice that it currently is.

Here in Maine, we have the ability to heat our homes with wood and electric. Wood pellets and regular firewood supplies both need to be expanded and can provide a tremendous business opportunity for many Mainers. Land use policies need to be reconsidered to preserve woodland for our energy needs. Our current zoning in many areas encourages sprawl where many large lots are cut into 5 acre or smaller parcels effectively taking it out of commercial wood harvest. Cluster development would preserve large areas of land for both wood and agriculture and also allow a central pick up spot for public transport which will be occurring in the future.

Maine has abundant potential for wind power which is only just beginning to be realized. I have recently read that the US has become the #1 country in the world for wind generation. Germany has a greater installed capacity but a higher average wind speed in the US provides a greater total output. Much of this power is located in Texas and the southwest but Maine can certainly supply our own power. The new power distribution system being proposed by CMP and others is vital to this potential being realized. Without the ability to get this power to market, the investment in generation will not occur. A wind mill must be installed where there is wind and not just where there is a power line. Many of the best wind sites in the state are in remote areas without adequate power lines. This investment must happen for Maine to become energy independent.

Hydro power in Maine has a vast potential and is always there even when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. Many hydro projects of the past have been dismantled to provide passage for fish and simply because of old age and general decline of the dams and equipment. New sites must be developed in such a manner that the fish can be protected and the energy become available for the state.

Gasoline for our cars is one of the few areas where we cannot really provide replacement product but electric cars are on the horizon which will meet many of the needs for commuting and business use. I attended the Maine Boat and Home show in Rockland this weekend and there were a couple of electric cars from Miles Electric Vehicles which show the potential of electric cars. The two on display were a low speed car for in town use and a utility truck also low speed for in town use. Miles is currently developing a highway speed car called the Miles XS500 which will seat 4 and travel 100+ miles at up to 80 MPH. This car looks like many other basic family 4 door cars and would meet the needs of many for their daily commute. The XS500 should become available in 2009 and sell for mid 30's. There is also an electric car from Th!nk coming in 2009 which will go more than 100 miles at up to 65 MPH and sell for under 25,000.

These are exciting times in Maine and the US. People need to be proactive in changing for the future. Those who sit and wait for the change to wash over them will have the hardest time staying afloat. Plan for the future and do what you can when you can to meet it head on.

I was honored to be able - with my photographer wife - to take the portraits of almost 300 young campers last Saturday. We do this twice a summer when the new campers arrive and the photos are then sent home to let the family know that their young one has arrived safe and sound at camp and to show just a bit of the great outdoors that the campers will be spending the next month enjoying.

There are 2 summer camps on Washington Pond where we live and 2 more summer camps on Damariscotta Lake where we are building a retirement home. There are probably well over 1000 campers in just these 4 camps and this is repeated many times over throughout Maine. The 4 camps near us draw campers from all over the world. We photographed children from Korea and Brazil. Several come from France and many more from other parts of Europe. Most of the American states are represented.

These campers come to Maine when they could just as easily go to any part of the world. Their families often deliver them personally and spend a few days or weeks touring around locally. These young people will grow into adults that love our state and return to visit it many times throughout their lives. They will buy first or second homes throughout Maine and many will move here with their families, investing their time and money in their community and creating local businesses that help employ others.

These young people are a great part of the future economy of our state.

I often talk briefly with the kids I photograph. A young man from Brazil says that their football team (soccer to us) isn't doing so well. A young lady from Florida thinks that our beautiful, sunny 80 degree day was just a bit chilly but she really looks forward to swimming in a real lake and not the pool. A young man from Japan doesn't know a word of English but we sort of point and smile and there is no problem taking his portrait and then I see him later in the day running and laughing with his cabin mates and I know he'll be just fine.

We now have to sort the 300 photos and deliver them ready to mail out. I reminisce on my summer camp days as I look at the photos. There is nothing finer than enjoying some time in Maine at camp.

Dan Gwadosky, Maine Lottery Director, says that "people are still dreaming about that big jackpot win".

For a state government that says that it opposes gambling, it is wonderful for them to allow the average citizen to spend their last few dollars for a MegaBucks ticket to hopefully fund their retirement or even just a full tank of fuel.

Instant sales tickets have dropped, perhaps because people simply can't chance their last dollar in hopes of winning just a few more, but Lottery sales overall are about $600,000 over budget. Megabucks and Powerball have made up the difference and more. Lottery directors across the country have been worried about losing revenue because of the recession but desperate times call for desperate measures and when the poor of Maine and the nation can't pay their bills then they are all too happy to chance their last few bucks on a big win. This state is not above taking these last few dollars to help increase the revenue of the Lottery Commission.

Let's see if I can remember why the Governor opposes gambling. Gambling is an addiction. Gambling hits the poor the hardest. Gambling promotes crime. I'm sure I've missed a few. Oh sorry, I forgot that this only applies to private gambling concerns and State sponsored gambling is healthy for the Government and it's citizens. Where is my mind lately anyway?

I'm very pleased to finally learn why we are all paying high prices for our gas. The McCain campaign has done an extensive investigation and can tell the American voters that it is in fact Barak Obama's fault.

I know, I know, McCain has recently been quoted as saying that the nations dependence on foreign oil has been building for 30 years and was caused by "the failure of politicians in Washington", but with his campaign going no where it is time for the truth to come out and for Obama to stand up and take the blame like a real man.

This all proves that McCain is ready to be President. You don't need to tell the truth, you just need to say whatever will raise you numbers in the polls. We have witnessed 8 years of lies and misleading statements from our current President and know as a country that this is the proper way to lead America.

Really now, I don't question that John McCain is a true patriot. I don't question that he is basically a decent man. I don't question that he will stand behind the Republican party in times of good or bad. If we want a President who believes that the end justifies the means and no lie is too big or small to achieve his goal, then John McCain is your candidate of choice. After all, as good Republicans we don't need to actually think when we vote, we just need to check that one box at the top that gives us a straight Republican ticket.

I think I'm going to jump the fence. I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a change.

Maine has an abundance of wood and we could and should use this resource to help power our state. I read a piece in the Portland Press about the Governor's Wood-to-energy task force and initially thought that this is a great idea. Then I read that the task force is chaired by Les Otten. For those who don't know Les, I will explain that he recently started a business called Maine Energy Systems to import and sell wood pellet burning furnaces in Maine. He also plans to sell pellets in quantity throughout his sales area. I think that Les is importing a high quality furnace and providing a needed service.

Using wood in Maine is too important to screw it up. Governor Baldacci has just made the final report of his committee totally irrelevant by stacking it with interested parties.

I think Les should be involved in this task force. He could provide information as a non-member to an independent group about the equipment that is available and it's capabilities. He can also provide info on the availability of pellets and delivery systems in Maine. There are a lot of other people who can also provide info on the forests and harvesting requirements that will be call upon.

It is a shame for this task force to be undermined by blatant conflict of interest. I could tell you the outcome without spending a dime of the taxpayers money simply by reading a list of the names and business of the task force members. The task force should be manned and chaired by people without a vested interest in the outcome. This is too important to ruin by stupid and shoddy politics.

Quite some time ago I had conversation with a member of the Maine PUC about phone and internet service in Maine. This was after the Fairpoint takeover of Verizon had been proposed but not yet approved. I expressed my opinion that I had very mixed emotions about Fairpoint. On the one hand, I has DSL courtesy of Fairpoint , but on the other hand the service and reliability was lousy. Last night they struck again.

I had intentions of making a post last night about wood heat in Maine. When I got home from work about midnight my DSL was down and my wife told me that it had been down since about 9:00 PM. I called Fairpoint and got through to a tech person who told me that she would put in a repair ticket.

I have to digress briefly and explain that DSL is not a toy in our house. My wife runs a busy and successful photography studio called Fenn Fotographics where she does portraits, weddings and commercial photography. I spend my days helping her and my weekends photographing weddings with her. This is our busy season and DSL is our lifeline. We order photos from the lab over the DSL. We communicate with customers through email. We maintain our own web site with frequent updates using the DSL. When the DSL goes down, we are unable to conduct business in a normal manner.

About 9:00 this morning, still with no DSL, I again called Fairpoint about our lack of DSL. The service people were always polite but couldn't or wouldn't give me any indication of when the DSL might be working again. I once experienced about a week of being unable to upload files to the lab due to a Fairpoint DSL issue and had to get the labs tech guy in Missouri to conference call with Fairpoint to diagnose the Fairpoint problem, so I am not too confident in the ability of Fairpoint to solve a problem or in their concern that the problem get solved in the first place. I started to get slightly rude and informed the Fairpoint tech guy that without DSL I was unable to service my customers and earn money to support my family and pay the mortgage. I needed to know when the DSL would be working again. All he would do is keep telling me that a repair ticket had been put in and they "tried" to get to them the same day. Frustrated, I thanked him and hung up. Within 10 minutes the DSL was back on.

I am glad that I wasn't without DSL for a week this time. One of our big customers this time of year needs over 300 individual portraits delivered the next day after taking the photos. We couldn't do this without DSL service. I am grateful to Fairpoint that DSL is available at all because we live pretty much in the boonies and I'm quite sure that Verizon would not have offered us any DSL at all. My father lived in a suburb of Brunswick with a fairly large population and Verizon didn't offer them DSL. Before DSL was run to our house I used satellite internet which worked quite well but was expensive. DSL is slightly faster and cheaper.

I believe that Fairpoint will bring DSL to a large part of Maine that currently doesn't have it. They know that this is the future of their business. I am concerned that the service is not as reliable as it could be. I can't wait multiple days for service to be restored. I would like to see Fairpoint get their act together on customer service. In the meantime I just have to think that bad service is better than no service at all.

A few days ago I challenged Dodge and Lee Auto to support the "up to" mileage figures in their advertising. I received an email from Jeff Cote who is the sales manager at Lee Auto explaining where these figures come from. When the EPA does mileage tests, they run the tests several times and then average them for their official mileage figure. The window sticker which Jeff forwarded to me in his email listed an EPA highway mileage of 29 but also says that "Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between 19 and 29 mpg in the city, and between 24 and 34 mpg on the highway." This is where the claimed "up to" 34 MPG comes from.

I would like to thank Jeff for the info. I am glad that Dodge has vehicles that can top 30MPG. I am hopeful that the domestic 3 auto makers can survive and prosper in these turbulent times.

As the EPA also says "actual mileage will vary" so step easy on the pedal and see if you can get the higher numbers.

I have recently received my family's allowance of "Bush Bucks", the governments effort to stimulate our economy. Even though I disagree with the politics of spending my children's money in this way, I have taken the money and spent it.

I often write about energy issues and frequently say that we must "do something" to reduce our use of oil - for our own economic savings as well as environmental reasons. I have described my family's efforts to construct an energy room to reduce our own use of heating oil and explained that we will be spending much more to build this room than we expect to save in the next few years. I have received the occasional comment that doing something takes money and that many cannot afford this. Here is where Bush Bucks come in.

Most families have by now received their own Bush Bucks. How did you spend your share? If you paid off debt then I can't fault your decision. If you ran out to buy that big screen TV then you have no complaint when you have to dig deep this winter for heat.

A few hundred dollars can go a long way towards reducing your use of oil. Window quilts are a good start and a few windows worth can be purchased for a few hundred or the materials can be bought to do most of a house for those who are handy with tools and a sewing machine. Even a good window has an R value of only about 2 or 3 and each window is like having an uninsulated section of wall in your house. Cover them up with some good quilts and immediately feel the difference. Caulking around doors and windows makes a huge difference and putting those little foam gaskets behind electrical plates can stop quite a bit of breeze. Infiltration - leaking air - is one of the greatest losses of heat in most homes and not much money is needed to reduce your leakage. Adding insulation to your attic costs a bit more but can pay huge rewards. You get the idea. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Every bit helps and collectively, if every home was made just a bit tighter then the savings for our state and country would be huge.

You have no excuses. Anyone can do nothing and we all love to complain but the middle of this winter will weed those who did something from those who just complained. Make the effort to make a difference.

T. Boone Pickens, oilman, businessman, billionaire, has announced a plan and started a campaign to reduce our dependence on imported oil by one third and to do it in ten years. Pickens is putting his money where his mouth is and investing in wind energy as well as starting a campaign that he says will put his face and his plan on TV as much as the presidential candidates this fall.

There is a lot to like about his plan. Pickens believes that this type of development is crucial to the future of our country. He believes that it must be bipartisan and that it has to be addressed by the presidential candidates.

Pickens believes that wind power will provide the energy needed to run a great part of our country and he is investing in a huge wind energy plant to prove it. There has been a great deal of discussion and investment in wind power in Maine with support from former governor Angus King and current Governor Baldacci. Although Pickens is spending his money in Texas, Maine is positioned to generate a substantial amount of wind energy.

Visit Pickens web site at PickensPlan.com for more information.

In past posts I have slammed the auto industry pretty hard and Dodge in particular for their poor management and fuel mileage. I have a Dodge truck and really like it but at 13 MPG it has no future in a $4.50 per gallon of gas world and I believe that the future of Dodge is limited if they don't get their act together and do something to improve the mileage of their entire line of vehicles. I have also praised Ford briefly for a 34MPG Escape hybrid and expressed my opinion that 30MPG was the minimum acceptable in todays world.

Imagine my surprise to read an ad from Lee Auto Mall listing several Dodge cars that got "Up to 34 MPG". This is in and ad that lists Nissans and Toyotas with 34MPG shown and no carefully worded "Up To" before it. I read the ad a couple of times and almost felt guilty. I say almost because I'm not too sure how the "Up to" plays out.

Part of writing on this blog is that I must agree to correct incorrect comments in a timely manner. I am always ready to admit an error and in fact am frequently happy to admit that I have been wrong. If I have wronged Dodge then I want to know it and set the record straight. I would be pleased as punch for Dodge to have a line up of vehicles that get decent mileage. It would give a boost to their chances of survival in these turbulent times and that is great news for the thousands of Americans who work for Dodge and buy their products.

In a spirit of fairness, tonight I emailed Lee Auto to offer to test a Dodge car of their choice. I will be willing to drive it in the same manner that I drive my own vehicles. Since I always get better than EPA suggested mileage for my own vehicles, Dodge would get a real world best case type of test. I will then be glad to report the truth on this blog. I'm not sure what Lee and Dodge will have to say but I'll keep you posted.

With another gambling referendum coming this fall you will soon be seeing all the hype about the pros and cons of gambling in Maine. I noticed that Hollywood Slots has recently completed their facility in Bangor and the local government seems to feel it is the best thing since sliced bread.

I followed a little old lady yesterday at the checkout at my local Cumberland Farms and had to wait a couple of minutes while she spent her money. $30.00 went to Megabucks and another $10.00 to scratch tickets. No other purchases were made and then she made her way to an old primer covered pickup truck in the parking lot and drove away. I'm sure that money is tight for her but she was all too glad to spend $40.00 to play at the governments gambling trough. Every time I hear Governor Baldacci or some other government so called leader tell how horrible gambling is I think of people like this old lady parting with their money.

I am not so concerned with the way a grown adult spends their money as I am with the lies of the politicians.

Going back for at least several administrations, all of our governors and a majority of our legislators have supported gambling in Maine - and then turned around and lied to the state (and the voters) by saying that they don't. Our government sits up front of the room and tells us how horrible gambling is then votes to continue and promote gambling operations by the state.

The simple fact of the matter is that the state wants all the money and doesn't want to share with any private operators. Approval of another gambling venture by some private company might reduce the sales of scratch tickets and we couldn't have that now could we?

If Baldacci or the legislature thinks that gambling is so bad then I would expect Megabuck, Powerball, and scratch tickets to disappear tomorow. I know this won't happen because - like the TV ads keep telling us all - gambling is an addiction and this state is addicted.

Now if we could only get our politicians to become addicted to honesty.

As I sat in the stands with my 11 year old son on Sunday watching the big Nascar race in Loudon NH I briefly pondered the effect that oil and energy will have on our overall way of life. Sure the price is higher but what else will happen?

I am a believer that we must use less oil and energy yet I seem to keep making exceptions to accommodate my "way of life". A very rough calculation comes up with the figure of about 500,000 gallons of fuel consumed just by this race and the people who watched it. This is about 10,000 barrels of oil in one event. I sat in the stands and I loved every drop of it.

I'm sure that each of you have some reason not to conserve. Maybe you will burn a few gallons of gas to go to a hockey game that your son or daughter plays in. Perhaps you will go to a quilting show. Maybe it will just be to run the AC on a hot summer night. There are exceptions for each and every one of us not to conserve.

I like to think that we will be able to keep making these exceptions. What is life if you are unable to enjoy it? We must do what we can to save energy but we must still find the way to live a full life with our families and friends.

I have written a couple of times about the "Energy Room" my wife and I are building on the front of our house. I have received a couple of comments asking for details of this room and will be glad to oblige as the building progresses. At this time we are looking at a big hole in the ground. This is step one. I will repeat that it is our goal to cut our oil use in our house "at least" in half.

I plan to keep accurate records of the cost of construction but I must admit right up front that I also plan to cheat. I don't intend to include cost of gas used to go to the lumber yard and back. I won't include the cost of diesel to run my tractor. I am planning post and beam construction of our room and I have the capability of sawing my own beams from my own trees. I have so far scrounged 6 large insulated glass panels for the cost of free. These will make most of the glass on the front of my building and will save substantial cost. My wife and I will provide all labor for the construction including pouring of concrete, wiring, and plumbing.

My cellar hole that we look at outside our front door took four days to dig with my small Kubota tractor. In the past I have rented an excavator to dig a cellar hole but this hole is much smaller and I am trying to save on the cost. Today I spent the first actual money on the building by buying some 2x10's for the footing forms and a load of 3/4 stone for drainage which I picked up and trucked myself with a small dump trailer which is borrowed. I used my 13MPG Dodge truck to haul it all. This is a great truck but at 13MPG I only drive it when I have an actual reason. I'll post some photos when I figure out how and will write updates as needed.

I read todays post by Peter Cutler and agree completely but we simply MUST do more to cut our use of oil as even if drilling started tomorrow - which it won't - then conservation is the first and perhaps equally important step. If everyone could save half of their heating oil then we would be a long ways toward not needing the imports.

Read an article in the past couple of days that the Christian Civic League has dropped their effort to repeal Maine's gay rights laws. I normally just plain don't comment on gay rights. It's sort of like holding a hand grenade in your hand, pulling the pin, releasing the spoon and then not throwing it. But this article prompts me to make the rare exception. Well here goes.

I have to start by explaining that I'm a bigot. I believe that every adult human on the face of this earth is a bigot with a possible few exceptions (Mother Teresa comes to mind). Those who claim they aren't bigots have to add the term liar to their profile. I'm also an overweight, middle aged, white male who is a flaming heterosexual. Have been ever since I knew the difference and won't apologize for it. I sit around the picnic table with the boys at work and we make politically incorrect comments. We don't discriminate because we slam every racial and ethnic group as well as politicians and TV personalities equally. We even slam each other and I can - and often do - take it as well as I can dish it out. So what does all this have to do with gay rights you ask? Simply that I don't think that I or you or the Christian Civic League has the right to tell any adult what other consenting adult they can select as their lover or life partner. You don't tell me and I don't tell you. I and the CCL don't have the right to tell you where you can live, what job you can hold and so on. This is basic human decency and even a bigoted, overweight, flaming heterosexual white male such as myself can realize this. Whether or not you like someone else's choice in partner or not has nothing to do with anything. I'm glad that the CCL is unable to raise enough money and volunteers to run their petition campaign. It means that people in Maine are solidly in the camp of human decency and plan to stay there. Perhaps the CCL can do some good in the state by turning their efforts to helping the poor or spending time with elderly shut ins. Their efforts so far were something I don't consider Christian or Civic. WWJD?

The other day I slammed Chrysler pretty hard - deservedly so I believe - but now I want to offer some hope for the domestic industry. Ford is offering their Escape Hybrid SUV that gets up to 34 MPG. Although I'm not personally an Escape type of customer, for the family that wants to drive this type of vehicle it is a pretty good offering. More importantly, it shows that Ford is making some moves to face the future of selling cars in the USA. The former Ford SUV of this style got fairly poor mileage - a couple of my friends drove them and complained of the cost even at $2.00 gas - but when Ford can transform their guzzler into getting 30+ MPG then they deserve some credit. Now if they could turn their Focus into 45-50MPG then perhaps I would consider looking at another Ford again. I must admit to a bias against Ford. I once owned a 1993 Escort wagon - Mazda designed - which I consider to be about the best car I have ever owned. I drove it for 207,000 miles before I sold it to the kid down the road and it never left me stranded. I then made the tremendous mistake of purchasing a Ford Windstar which was quite simply the most unreliable vehicle that I have ever owned in my life - including junkers I owned as a kid. I have purchased 2 new vehicles since the Windstar and was so upset with Ford that I wouldn't even walk onto the lot of a Ford dealer. With offerings like the Escape, maybe this could change.

I'm admittedly a high mileage junkie. I own a Dodge 4WD truck which only gets about 13MPG and I really like it but I only put about 3000 miles on it last year and the year before I put under 600. I only use it when I have to tow my tractor or snowmobiles around or go get a load of lumber at the mill. It's really great for this use and is the 3rd Dodge truck I have owned. My daily drivers are a Scion XB (my wifes' car) which gets 38-40MPG and a Chevy Aveo which also gets 38-40MPG. I really like the Scion a lot and like the Chevy fairly well. The Aveo is made by Daewoo but Chevy is smart enough to import and sell them with their bow tie on the front. For a domestic manufacturer, Chevy seems to making the right moves to stay in business. They offer several cars that top 30MPG - which I consider the minimal acceptable. I have read articles where they are developing smaller engines for the Aveo and other future cars to offer even better mileage. I remain hopeful. My first ever new car about 24 years ago was a Chevy Sprint which got mid 50's MPG and I would be tickled pink to see Chevy offer something like this again. Maybe I will just have to pick up a Smart car in a year or two when my older son starts to drive. I drive by one on the way to work and think that I wouldn't mind driving one. I would just like my dealer to be in the state somewhere so I didn't have to go to Mass. for service.

I don't know what will be available in a couple of years when I start to look for my next car. I like to hope that I will at least be offered some competitive choices from the domestic 3. Chevy and Ford at least seem to be making some right moves. Dodge offers exactly nothing in their car line that I could afford to fill with gas. Even though I really like my Dodge truck, if I wanted to replace my truck then I could now buy a used one for pennies on the dollar from people who cannot afford to run them any more. If Dodge doesn't do something quick then they will just go out of business and my current truck may be the last Dodge that I will ever own.

A recent article in the USA Today where Chrysler execs were bragging about their Aspen and Durango Hybrid vehicles available in mid 2008. Mileage of about 20 is mentioned in the USA article with a purchase price of only about $45,000. I put this in perspective with an article in this weeks Forbes magazine where it is predicted that the domestic auto industry will cease to exist within a few years due to incompetence in the executive suites. I originally thought that the Forbes article was a bit extreme but the Chrysler announcement proves me wrong again.

Lets look at Chryslers move. Chrysler brags that their Durango will be about $8,000 cheaper than comparable vehicles from GM at only about $45,000. Considering the millions that were spent on developing these vehicles, it would take at least moderate sales to provide a profit on their investment.

Who will buy one?

Environmentalists won't buy one. At 20 MPG for the hybrid version, it is far too little mileage to satisfy them. A large SUV seems to be the #1 target of environmental wrath.

Working folks won't buy one. At $45,000 there aren't many working people who will plunk down their hard earned cash for a Durango Hybrid when they are having a hard time paying the oil bill or buying another box of Corn Flakes for the kids. I am busy watching the dedicated truck driving working folks around me who swore they wouldn't buy a car turn around at $4.00 gas and buy a Toyota or Nissan high mileage vehicle.

Families might buy a few but at $45,000 there are a lot of choices in vehicles and many of them get better than 20MPG right out of the box without the complexity and probable maintenance of the Durango Hybrid. I don't think that families will buy enough to allow Chrysler to turn a profit on their investment.

Retirees? Maybe, but a lot of them are on a fixed income that doesn't allow for a $45,000 dollar 20MPG anything.

How about the working rich? Now there is the obvious target audience. With money to burn, however, they can buy the Porsche Cayenne and tow their 2 snowmobiles at 140 miles per hour to northern Maine for a day of sledding and they simply don't care what the price of fuel is as long as it is still at the pump.

Chrysler has invested their money in a pig-in-a-poke. Put lipstick on it and it is still a pig.

Cerberus Capital bought Chrysler from Daimler then put Bob Nardelli in charge. Bob made a strong effort at running Home depot into the ground with incompetent management and Cerberus is allowing him the opportunity to do the same at Chrysler. I feel great sympathy for the thousands of employees who will ultimately lose their jobs when Cerberus writes off their investment and sends Bob away with a bonus and a handshake. Of all the big three from Detroit, Chrysler seems to have the least acknowledgement of the new reality of selling cars in this country. Chrysler doesn't have a single vehicle in their lineup that can be said to actually get high mileage. Business as usual isn't going to work. A $45,000, 20 MPG Durango isn't going to save Chrysler. Forbes may be all too right when they predict the end of the domestic industry and flat out incompetence from the management team will be the reason why.

I had the pleasure to visit with my uncle Dave this weekend and he gave me some details on his new house. Located on the edge of Hinesburg, Vermont, it is part of a development of six homes with a goal of being energy neutral - producing as much energy as they consume. My Uncle Dave had just received his year end report from the local utility and was pleased to report that he had produced a little more electricity than he had consumed for the year. This includes his heat which is electrically driven.

Their house is a well insulated, passive solar house with solar electric on the roof and uses a geothermal heat pump system for space heating. The solar electric is a grid tie system and feeds his neighbors when their house isn't using all of it's output. The geothermal system pulls heat from the earth which makes it tremendously more efficient during Vermont's cold winters than a regular heat pump. Cooking is done with propane which is about the only energy that is not produced by the house systems.

Dave contracted to buy the house long before the current oil price runup and has just lived there for a year. He and his wife are strong environmentalists and believe in putting their money where their beliefs are. The cost of the house is such that most people would not justify it even at todays oil prices.

Sometimes there are more important things than money and sometimes the money just comes along later. Dave and his wife believe that their efforts are a small part of what is required to save the world but it doesn't hurt to have free heat at the same time.

While some people will just complain about the price of oil, others will take steps to cut their dependence. The individual reasons are perhaps less important than the final results. Whether you think that oil is just too expensive, whether it is environmental concern, or perhaps the politics of the oil market that bother you, there are steps that can be taken right now to reduce or eliminate your use of oil. At the current price and an average useage of 1000 gallons per year, Daves house will save him about $4600 dollars this winter. Even if your own concerns are more toward saving money than saving the environment, saving energy can still be a good investment.

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday released a report slamming Bush and Cheney for their Iraqi prewar claims. I am not one to defend either man as I feel their prewar lies would be a better term but I am here now to comment on the Congress that failed to do their job in the weeks leading up to the Iraqi war.

There were not that many in either house of Congress who had the backbone to stand up in the weeks before the Iraqi war and question the statements being made by Bush and Cheney. Both Democrats and Republicans were in a rush to war and feared the political ramifications of asking pointed questions of Bush's supporting so called facts in selling the Congress on his war. Congress is supposed to be a part of a system of checks and balances and when they play politics first and simply rubber stamp whatever the President says, then they are not serving the citizens or their country.

Many of the members of the Senate (lack of) Intelligence Committee that released this report had access to the raw intelligence that Bush and Cheney did and simply failed to do their job by not questioning the President before the war instead of waiting until after thousands of Americans have been killed or injured in this generations on going version of Vietnam. Closing the barn door after the war has broken out does no one any good.

A recent editorial in the Portland Press called gas merely annoying while saying heating prices are scary. It takes the position that you can "only do so much" with heat.

I couldn't disagree more strongly.

Home heating oil can be severely restricted and in some cases entirely eliminated. I currently own and maintain two separate homes - one of which is rented out. The rental is about 1400 square feet and is rented by a single Mom with two children. She recently filled her oil tank and figures her entire useage last winter at about 200 gallons with oil being the sole source of heat. The previous tenants liked the house a little cooler and went through a complete winter on less than 150 gallons. My personal house is about 2300 square feet and I use about 450 gallons with oil being our only heat.

Neither house uses any high technology - yet. The rental is super insulated and passive solar. It has a built on sun room. It's Monitor heater barely runs on a cold winter day and shuts off for most of the day when it's sunny out. It is also cool in the summer and quiet. My personal house is older and just normally insulated. It is also passive solar and the Monitor heater seldom runs on a sunny winter day. Both houses have good windows and doors.

My wife and I think that 450 gallons is too high a figure to heat our house so we plan to do something about it instead of just saying how nothing can be done. Our goal is to cut our oil consumption at least in half. We plan to reinsulate a section of our attic which has always leaked more air than the rest. We have also discussed for some years adding a sunroom onto our house but felt that the cost wouldn't pay off with savings. $4.50 oil has made us rethink. We now plan to add an "Energy Room" to the front of our house with both passive and active solar for heat as well as a chimney so we can burn the half cord or so of wood we get each year from cleaning up around the place. The cellar under this energy room will have bulk storage for the collected solar heat so we can extend the benefits through the nights and cloudy days. We will also incorporate solar domestic hot water while we're at it.

We are planning a substantial expenditure of money to reduce our dependence on oil. At a 50% reduction in use and current prices, it will take quite a few years to break even on our investment.

I somehow believe that current prices are low compared to what we will be seeing in a few years and we cannot afford to sit idly and wait. We also think that a little more work after our energy room may allow us to achieve a much greater than 50% total savings. This is the decision that all Maine citizens must make. Are you going to do nothing until you are simply bulldozed over by high energy prices or are you going to be proactive so you can survive and thrive during these times?

There is a great deal that all homeowners can do to save on energy. Caulking, insulating your attic, and adding insulated curtains to your windows are some of the simplest steps. Wood stoves and pellet stoves will be the answer for some. Solar heat is perhaps the best long term solution because after the initial investment then the fuel is free. It may be wise to incorporate several methods of heat into your home so that you can take advantage of changing prices and supplies.

What you cannot afford to do is nothing.

Several recent articles outline the current turmoil in the new car market. All are a direct result of the surge in energy prices. An earlier post of mine lists the energy crisis as a life changing event and the automotive market can serve as exhibit #1. Although the articles vary somewhat in their numbers, I think I can safely say that during the month of May, for the first time in history, the domestic industry sold less that half the cars in this country. Sales of trucks, SUV's and large cars plummeted while small cars nearly doubled their share of the market. The Honda Civic was the best selling vehicle in May, replacing the leader of 31 years, the Ford F150. Meanwhile, GM announced the closing of 4 truck plants and ponders the sale or closing of the Hummer Brand. CEO Rick Wagoner says that gas prices aren't coming down. Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, says that the energy crisis will cause Ford to not return to profitability in 2009 as originally predicted. If that doesn't change the lives of the affected people then I don't know what will.

The greater disease is our country's high use of energy. The current automotive market is simply a symptom of this disease. Our politicians can only point the finger of blame at the oil executives while failing to enact more than a token energy policy.

As a registered Republican who tends to vote Democrat, I have followed this presidential election with more interest than I usually do. Although I believe that John McCain is a fine and honorable man, I feel he represents politics as usual and that this country simply can't take any more of this. This leaves me with the Clinton/Obama decision. Now that Obama seems to have clinched the Democratic nomination the natural question is who will be his VP?

When I first thought of Clinton as Obama's VP, I immediately dismissed the idea with the thought that he simply didn't need that type of confusion hanging over his leadership but as I thought of it some more my reasons against it seem to fade and I say why not?

Clinton could keep her dedicated supporters from jumping to the Republicans. She is certainly experienced in Washington politics - for better or worse - and could provide needed advice to Obama as he settles into the presidency. Obama's major problem would be to keep Clinton from overshadowing his presidency. He would have to take firm control of the office and clearly present his platform as his own to the country while still seeking and using advice and guidance from Clinton.

I attended a gathering of family and friends and inevitably the conversation turned to the price of oil. I was stunned to hear that almost none at this gathering had plans to do anything in their personal lives to control their energy costs.

People need to realize that the cost of energy is a life changing event.

You can be proactive or you can have these changes shoved down your throat but they will occur. If you plan and adapt then it can have minimal damage to your life but those who refuse to make changes will suffer. This winter will be the first real test. The cost of heat will be a shock to many who have reached the point that they cannot simply write a check and call it good.

There are many who can burn wood. Some will convert to pellets or corn. Others will again start to use the baseboard electric they have ignored for years. All who do not produce their own energy will find the cost substantially higher and for some it will be beyond their ability to pay.

Those who think this is simply a bubble need to think again. What you pay now is cheap compared to what you will face in the future. It is time to change your life to cut your energy use.

I was terribly saddened to read of the two girls injured while sunning themselves on a train track. I had the distinct displeasure of sitting on a jury about a year ago in a trial where a man was accused of criminal negligence when his son was killed by a train in Warren Maine. I had walked those same tracks in my youth as had a couple of the other jurors. None of us was aware that this was illegal.

It is illegal as well as simply unsafe to walk within the railroad right of way.

Please stay off the tracks. There is no way to win against a train.

When reading reports about Scott McClellan and his accusations of lies and deceit from the Bush administration leading up to the Iraqi invasion, the only surprise I have is that some people still express surprise. The propaganda campaign that led up to the Iraqi war was never based on truth but simply a successful effort by this administration to support their own political agenda. Most of the Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle fell in step and feared to state the truth as if it was a reading of the Emperors New Clothes. The soldiers of our armed forces were simply pawns in a political game where American lives were not as important as polling results. The thousands of dead and injured soldiers were considered an acceptable price by Bush and Cheney to entertain themselves with a little war.

White House press secretary Dan Perino states that Bush is "puzzled - he doesn
't recognize this as the Scott McClellan he hired and worked with for so many years". Bush is not used to "his" people telling the truth and is simply puzzled when he hears it. This administration continues to lie to the country and considers it to be business as usual.

I can only hope that as accusations are made against Iran that the American people will have the courage to question authority. The rest of the world has learned not to trust anything that comes from this presidency. The harm done to America by Bush's little game of politics will take years to be repaired if it ever can be.

As I paddled my kayak on Damariscotta Lake with my wife and two sons, I heard a noise like a low flying plane approaching from afar. I told my boys to paddle to the side and in a few seconds a Bass Boat with humongous outboard roared past just touching the tops of the waves. If this had been a jet ski flying past then the cries for a ban would have been heard all the way to Augusta.

I believe in responsible controls on boats and boating. I also believe in making a public resource available for the public to use and enjoy. I have followed the quest by Mark Haskell to overturn the discriminatory ban on jet skis on Maine lakes and support his efforts.

I have sailed for over 40 years on fresh and salt water. I have paddled and rowed extensively along the Maine coast and many Maine lakes and ponds. I also enjoy riding my jet ski. I and many others ride responsibly on modern jet skis that are both clean and quiet.

On July 4th on Lake St George in Liberty, Mark Haskell will be hosting the Ride With Pride to support your right to enjoy Maine's public waters. I hope that many of you will show up to support the rights of Maine boaters. If the shore land owners can ban jet skis then the next step is to simply ban whatever else they don't like.

I had the distinct pleasure of leaving Maine last week to accompany the DR Gaul School 8th grade on their 3 day class trip to New York City. New York is a lovely town. Where else can the average guy stand within inches of several Picassos, take in the Phantom of the Opera, and visit with Lady Liberty, all in one day? This was not my first trip to New York and I have also made several visits to London and spent a lot of time in Chicago. Cities have a lot to offer with non stop action and sights that can not be had anywhere in my home state. When our 3 days were up, my group of students and I discussed our thoughts about leaving home and what we had seen. We don't have as much art, culture, or tall buildings, but what we do have is people and places that can never be matched by any city. We have to leave Maine to appreciate what we leave behind. The best part of going away is always the coming home.

Is the high price of oil really good news?
Painful yes, but is the high price of oil going to save our economy and the world around us? There are many systems and technologies that allow us to heat our homes and power our cars but since the development of the internal combustion engine and indoor furnaces, the low cost of oil has tied us to these systems and slowed the adoption of others. Why pay more when oil is so cheap? This has led to global warming and pollution of the air around us and has left our country at the financial and political mercy of repressive regimes around the world.
There are many ways to use the sun, wind, and local products such as wood to power our homes and our cars. With oil approaching $4.00 a gallon and gas headed that way, there is a big increase in actual installation of alternate energy systems. The installation of a solar hot water or solar electric system immediately replaces the importation of oil with work for local people who build the systems and do the installations. This serves to support our local economy instead of sending our money to countries in the Middle East or South America.
The large SUV or 4 wheel drive truck with big V8 seems to be the vehicle of choice for many families throughout Maine and the US. Why drive a small car when gas is 99 cents a gallon? I have driven small cars for 30 years and wondered why others didn't but now there is finally the beginnings of a change to high mileage, hybrid, or electric cars. I still have a big 4WD Dodge truck but only put about 1000 miles on it last year and drove my 35+ mile per gallon Chevy (Thats right - a Chevy) or my wifes 35+ MPG Scion for the rest of our transportation needs. We got rid of a Ford van last year and now sometimes have to squeeze to get the family of 4 into our car with all our stuff but the payment on the smaller car is less than the gas we were putting into the old van and that was at less than $2.00 a gallon! We are also sending less oil money to the Middle East and putting fewer pollutants into the air.
I looked at and sat in an all electric car this weekend at an alternate energy show in Damariscotta and it was roomy and comfortable. It won't yet go far enough for my daily commute but would serve many people who live intown or closer to their job. I hope that the increasing cost of fuel will make sales of these cars take off. They keep our energy money in this country which supports local people.
It is always painful to pay more for anything but oil costs are not going to return to their former lows and it is time to stop exporting our money and jobs overseas. Reducing your use of oil through the many choices available saves money and supports our local economy.