Drug DeaLer binDer
A6 Editorial, Thursday, September 29, 2016, Bangor Daily News
Founded in 1889
SuSan Young Editorial PagE Editor
george DanbY Editorial PagE assistant
Matthew Stone oPinion PagE Editor
P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Tel. 990-8000, fax 433-1048, email address [email protected]
Drug DeaLer binDer
LePage faiLs to Prove his version of reaLity
G
ov. Paul LePage’s obsession with stuffing a binder with news clippings and photographs — especially photographs — of drug dealers in Maine and then falsely claiming that nearly all are black or Hispanic is so ludicrous that it has prompted one of the country’s leading newspapers to call on the governor to resign. “A three-ring binder has now exposed the three-ring circus of unhinged racism and ravings that are the hallmarks of Maine’s governor, Paul LePage,” The Washington Post said in an editorial Tuesday. “I’ve been collecting every single drug dealer who has been arrested in our state,” LePage said at a town hall meeting in North Berwick in August. “I don’t ask them to come to Maine and sell their poison, but they come and I will tell you that 90-plus percent of those pictures in my book, and it’s a three-ringed binder, are black and Hispanic people from Waterbury, Connecticut, the Bronx and Brooklyn.” Except that isn’t even close to what the governor’s scrapbook shows. Of 93 pictures of people arrested for drug crimes in the binder, 57 are apparently white, according to a BDN count. The copies provided to media were black and white, so it is hard to discern the race of all of those who are pictured in the governor’s three-ring binder. The majority of the people included in LePage’s notebook are from Maine. Many of the news releases and email notices included in his binder don’t include photos, which appears to irritate LePage. In repeated handwritten notes, the governor apparently instructs staff members to file photos in his binder, and he notes the cases in which the search for a photo is underway. “Get photo for my album,” LePage wrote in a March email about methamphetamine arrests in Belfast that did not include photographs. Other handwritten notes say: “Please be sure we get all mugs with release”; “no photos?”; “File
pictures in my binder for poster historical value.” The governor’s office released the notebook’s contents to journalists and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine on Monday after they requested them under the state’s Freedom of Access Act. The 148 pages are a collection of news clippings and emails from the Maine Department of Public Safety and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency about drug arrests and a couple of murder trials. It is far from a complete accounting of drug crime in Maine, which LePage could have obtained from any of the several state agencies involved in staking out, apprehending, arresting and prosecuting those charged with drug crimes. Instead, it is as if the governor is trying to assemble a picture book of his racist version of reality, which is heavy on darkskinned people doing bad things to white Mainers. Because of this distortion of reality, The Washington Post editorial board wrote, “Mr. LePage threatens to remake his state’s image from a vacation paradise of surreal natural beauty to a hotbed of hatred.” “He really should move on — by resigning and seeking help, in order to spare the people of Maine more of his wild-eyed ramblings,” it added. This is a stinging but accurate rebuke of a governor who has overplayed the role of black and Hispanic people in Maine drug crime and, as a result, downplayed the role that white people, many of them from Maine, play. Acting as if Maine’s opioid epidemic is caused by people from New York and Connecticut is a distraction from the real cause — rising demand for heroin and other drugs here in Maine. Drug dealers aren’t coming to Maine to poison people. They’re coming here because there is a ready market for the drugs they are selling. The governor should focus his attention on shrinking this market, not on collecting photos to prove his alternate and racist version of reality.
other voices
euroPe must move aheaD on traDe
I
t’s entirely unsurprising — expected, really — for the anti-global European left to oppose a trade deal with America. But with Canada? The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, painstakingly negotiated over seven years, would cut trade barriers between Europe and the world’s 10th-largest economy. Unlike the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the U.S. (which is all but dead), CETA has been signed and ready to go for some time. Thankfully, Europe’s politicians have finally begun the process of approving it. But their reluctance bodes ill for the TTIP and, more generally, the prospects for free trade in Europe. Opposition to CETA has mounted in recent weeks, with hundreds of thousands protesting in Germany and Europe’s anti-globalization activists calling the Canadian deal TTIP’s “ugly brother.” Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, a fierce TTIP opponent, threatened to withhold support, as have members of parliament in Belgium and the Netherlands. At least Germany’s Social Democratic Party, which opposes TTIP, now supports CETA. The main objections to CETA are similar to those against TTIP: that lower barriers to trade mean lower product stan-
dards, and that it would undermine national sovereignty by granting multinational conglomerates new legal rights to challenge regulations of health, labor, food safety and the like. Even granting that concerns over sovereignty are real — if overstated — they pale in comparison to the benefits of free trade in promoting national prosperity. One likelihood is that they will bring the pact into force on a provisional basis while it winds its way through all 38 of the EU’s national and regional parliaments. That’s a good sign, but the fight is not over. CETA still faces a challenge in Germany’s constitutional court, with a ruling expected in October. And opponents will fight ratification by EU parliaments. It’s also worth noting that the price for support of CETA seems to have been surrender on TTIP. One minister even suggested starting over by renaming that deal. Europe’s leaders have to mount a more serious defense than that. Free trade is not without its victims, and governments need to do more to help workers hurt by it. That’s not an argument, though, for opposing any particular deal or the concept in general. Free trade deserves a bolder defense than Europe’s leaders are giving it. Bloomberg View (Sept. 28)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A model moderator Like many Americans, I watched the debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Within two hours of the debate ending, there were numerous articles online discussing the highlights of the debate, and there was one in particular that caught my eye. There are many articles that ask the question, “Where is Lester Holt?” It seems that there are a number of people who feel Holt was a poor moderator because he was passive throughout the debate. Many journalists who support Trump have attacked Holt for being too tough on the Republican candidate. These criticisms of Holt are cheap. Holt conducted a fair moderation during this debate because he allowed both sides to express their platforms unhindered. Holt questioned Trump about his opposition to the war in Iraq, like many have before, but unlike most journalists who placated Trump after he lied, Holt did not budge. When Trump tried to skirt the issue by calling his documented support for the war in Iraq “mainstream media nonsense,” Holt replied with, “the record shows otherwise.” While many journalists have shied away from calling Trump out on his bogus claims, Holt did his duty Monday as a journalist and held Trump’s feet to the fire for as long as he reasonably could. I thank Holt for having a spine. We need journalists like him. Nathan Farnham Bangor
Climate change threat When I think about climate change, I think about my three grandchildren. The oldest won’t be able to vote until 2025. By that time, the consequences of our action or lack of action on climate change will be decisive for their future. Our greatest responsibility is to give the children of today the best possible chance. But our failure so far has already left them an enormous burden. If we fail to act decisively to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to provide the resources to protect the most vulnerable communities, we will allow a cascade of crises. Climate change refugees could far exceed the current refugee crisis. The economic consequences of climate change could far surpass the damages caused by our recent recession. In the current presidential election, we have a clear choice. Donald Trump is a climate change denier who has promised to undo President Barack Obama’s climate change initiatives. Hillary Clinton has prom-
DOONESBURY
ised to support and continue Obama’s work. When we consider the consequences for our youngest citizens, that stark choice should overwhelm every other consideration. This is what it means to be a responsible voter. Put aside party preferences and personal feelings about Clinton, and vote in favor of responsibility to the young who will have to take over from us. Denial won’t make the problem disappear. Climate change is real and inexorable. It is time to face reality and vote accordingly. John Spadola Searsmont
WRITE TO US
Letters must be 250 words or fewer and include a full name, town of residence and daytime phone number. OpEds may be 700 words. Letters may be edited or rejected for clarity, taste, libel and space. If a letter or OpEd is published, submissions by the same writer will not be considered for 60 days. Letters may be sent to letters@ bangordailynews.com. OpEds may be sent to [email protected] or P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329.
Thibodeau a leader Soon we will go to the polls to elect those who will best serve the people of our state. One such leader is Sen. Michael Thibodeau of Winterport. Thibodeau represented all of Maine’s people as Senate president. Some of his actions came at an expense to his own political career and that of his party, but it was the people of Maine who benefited the most. He was recognized for his leadership skills by both parties during the last session’s political theater, successfully negotiating a budget approved by both parties and at a cost detrimental to his own political future. Thibodeau did what he felt was best for all of Maine’s people and not just his party or the will of the governor. Those are the signs of a great man willing to put the people’s needs ahead of his political aspirations. His leadership skills will keep this state moving forward. He earned the respect from those serving with him. Both parties praised him for bringing a successful conclusion to that long budget battle. I urge the voters of Waldo County to join with me this November in keeping Thibodeau in a leadership role. His leadership skills are needed more today than ever before. The people of Waldo County and the people of Maine depend upon his leadership and experience in the days ahead. John Ford Sr. Retired Waldo County sheriff Brooks
Damon for House I’ve known Doug Damon for years. We flew together for the Maine Air National Guard for years, and in all that time he has had my respect for his sense of friendship, responsibility, productiveness and leadership qualities. Later, we both wound up in the Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis, where he has continued to demonstrate his magnificent qualities in support of the Kiwanis charitable efforts. In respect, I have urged him for a long time to get into state government and help improve it. At last, he is doing that, running as a Republican candidate for Maine House District 126. Here is the type of candidate that many have hoped for. Voters who support him may soon realize their vote was a good one. Roy C. Martin Glenburn
Presidential dilemma Let’s do a little review. Let’s make a list of what we know to be true facts for each presidential candidate. Next, let’s make another list of all of the accusations each has made against each other that we don’t know to be true. Now, after careful review of these lists, keep in mind that one will become president of what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. Do you see that there is something seriously wrong with this picture? Robert Beaulieu Mapleton
Trump embarrassing I wish to compliment the BDN for printing Edward Swain’s Sept. 13 BDN OpEd about why as a small-businessman he can’t support Donald Trump. As stated, Swain is a hardworking 34-year-old getting ahead in this great country. His common-sense language illuminates the many opportunities that still exist within this great country The “con who is the Don” I believe is a total embarrassment for America and the GOP. Vote for Hillary Clinton this November. Patrick McGuigan Rockland
Absolute government Has it occurred to BDN readers that Donald Trump and our governor both reiterate Thomas Hobbes’s tenet that their form of government must be absolute? This is in order to avoid an “all against all” in “ a state of nature.” Donald E. Stanley Nobleboro
GARRY TRUDEAU
Founded in 1889
SuSan Young Editorial PagE Editor
george DanbY Editorial PagE assistant
Matthew Stone oPinion PagE Editor
P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Tel. 990-8000, fax 433-1048, email address [email protected]
Drug DeaLer binDer
LePage faiLs to Prove his version of reaLity
G
ov. Paul LePage’s obsession with stuffing a binder with news clippings and photographs — especially photographs — of drug dealers in Maine and then falsely claiming that nearly all are black or Hispanic is so ludicrous that it has prompted one of the country’s leading newspapers to call on the governor to resign. “A three-ring binder has now exposed the three-ring circus of unhinged racism and ravings that are the hallmarks of Maine’s governor, Paul LePage,” The Washington Post said in an editorial Tuesday. “I’ve been collecting every single drug dealer who has been arrested in our state,” LePage said at a town hall meeting in North Berwick in August. “I don’t ask them to come to Maine and sell their poison, but they come and I will tell you that 90-plus percent of those pictures in my book, and it’s a three-ringed binder, are black and Hispanic people from Waterbury, Connecticut, the Bronx and Brooklyn.” Except that isn’t even close to what the governor’s scrapbook shows. Of 93 pictures of people arrested for drug crimes in the binder, 57 are apparently white, according to a BDN count. The copies provided to media were black and white, so it is hard to discern the race of all of those who are pictured in the governor’s three-ring binder. The majority of the people included in LePage’s notebook are from Maine. Many of the news releases and email notices included in his binder don’t include photos, which appears to irritate LePage. In repeated handwritten notes, the governor apparently instructs staff members to file photos in his binder, and he notes the cases in which the search for a photo is underway. “Get photo for my album,” LePage wrote in a March email about methamphetamine arrests in Belfast that did not include photographs. Other handwritten notes say: “Please be sure we get all mugs with release”; “no photos?”; “File
pictures in my binder for poster historical value.” The governor’s office released the notebook’s contents to journalists and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine on Monday after they requested them under the state’s Freedom of Access Act. The 148 pages are a collection of news clippings and emails from the Maine Department of Public Safety and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency about drug arrests and a couple of murder trials. It is far from a complete accounting of drug crime in Maine, which LePage could have obtained from any of the several state agencies involved in staking out, apprehending, arresting and prosecuting those charged with drug crimes. Instead, it is as if the governor is trying to assemble a picture book of his racist version of reality, which is heavy on darkskinned people doing bad things to white Mainers. Because of this distortion of reality, The Washington Post editorial board wrote, “Mr. LePage threatens to remake his state’s image from a vacation paradise of surreal natural beauty to a hotbed of hatred.” “He really should move on — by resigning and seeking help, in order to spare the people of Maine more of his wild-eyed ramblings,” it added. This is a stinging but accurate rebuke of a governor who has overplayed the role of black and Hispanic people in Maine drug crime and, as a result, downplayed the role that white people, many of them from Maine, play. Acting as if Maine’s opioid epidemic is caused by people from New York and Connecticut is a distraction from the real cause — rising demand for heroin and other drugs here in Maine. Drug dealers aren’t coming to Maine to poison people. They’re coming here because there is a ready market for the drugs they are selling. The governor should focus his attention on shrinking this market, not on collecting photos to prove his alternate and racist version of reality.
other voices
euroPe must move aheaD on traDe
I
t’s entirely unsurprising — expected, really — for the anti-global European left to oppose a trade deal with America. But with Canada? The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, painstakingly negotiated over seven years, would cut trade barriers between Europe and the world’s 10th-largest economy. Unlike the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the U.S. (which is all but dead), CETA has been signed and ready to go for some time. Thankfully, Europe’s politicians have finally begun the process of approving it. But their reluctance bodes ill for the TTIP and, more generally, the prospects for free trade in Europe. Opposition to CETA has mounted in recent weeks, with hundreds of thousands protesting in Germany and Europe’s anti-globalization activists calling the Canadian deal TTIP’s “ugly brother.” Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, a fierce TTIP opponent, threatened to withhold support, as have members of parliament in Belgium and the Netherlands. At least Germany’s Social Democratic Party, which opposes TTIP, now supports CETA. The main objections to CETA are similar to those against TTIP: that lower barriers to trade mean lower product stan-
dards, and that it would undermine national sovereignty by granting multinational conglomerates new legal rights to challenge regulations of health, labor, food safety and the like. Even granting that concerns over sovereignty are real — if overstated — they pale in comparison to the benefits of free trade in promoting national prosperity. One likelihood is that they will bring the pact into force on a provisional basis while it winds its way through all 38 of the EU’s national and regional parliaments. That’s a good sign, but the fight is not over. CETA still faces a challenge in Germany’s constitutional court, with a ruling expected in October. And opponents will fight ratification by EU parliaments. It’s also worth noting that the price for support of CETA seems to have been surrender on TTIP. One minister even suggested starting over by renaming that deal. Europe’s leaders have to mount a more serious defense than that. Free trade is not without its victims, and governments need to do more to help workers hurt by it. That’s not an argument, though, for opposing any particular deal or the concept in general. Free trade deserves a bolder defense than Europe’s leaders are giving it. Bloomberg View (Sept. 28)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A model moderator Like many Americans, I watched the debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Within two hours of the debate ending, there were numerous articles online discussing the highlights of the debate, and there was one in particular that caught my eye. There are many articles that ask the question, “Where is Lester Holt?” It seems that there are a number of people who feel Holt was a poor moderator because he was passive throughout the debate. Many journalists who support Trump have attacked Holt for being too tough on the Republican candidate. These criticisms of Holt are cheap. Holt conducted a fair moderation during this debate because he allowed both sides to express their platforms unhindered. Holt questioned Trump about his opposition to the war in Iraq, like many have before, but unlike most journalists who placated Trump after he lied, Holt did not budge. When Trump tried to skirt the issue by calling his documented support for the war in Iraq “mainstream media nonsense,” Holt replied with, “the record shows otherwise.” While many journalists have shied away from calling Trump out on his bogus claims, Holt did his duty Monday as a journalist and held Trump’s feet to the fire for as long as he reasonably could. I thank Holt for having a spine. We need journalists like him. Nathan Farnham Bangor
Climate change threat When I think about climate change, I think about my three grandchildren. The oldest won’t be able to vote until 2025. By that time, the consequences of our action or lack of action on climate change will be decisive for their future. Our greatest responsibility is to give the children of today the best possible chance. But our failure so far has already left them an enormous burden. If we fail to act decisively to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to provide the resources to protect the most vulnerable communities, we will allow a cascade of crises. Climate change refugees could far exceed the current refugee crisis. The economic consequences of climate change could far surpass the damages caused by our recent recession. In the current presidential election, we have a clear choice. Donald Trump is a climate change denier who has promised to undo President Barack Obama’s climate change initiatives. Hillary Clinton has prom-
DOONESBURY
ised to support and continue Obama’s work. When we consider the consequences for our youngest citizens, that stark choice should overwhelm every other consideration. This is what it means to be a responsible voter. Put aside party preferences and personal feelings about Clinton, and vote in favor of responsibility to the young who will have to take over from us. Denial won’t make the problem disappear. Climate change is real and inexorable. It is time to face reality and vote accordingly. John Spadola Searsmont
WRITE TO US
Letters must be 250 words or fewer and include a full name, town of residence and daytime phone number. OpEds may be 700 words. Letters may be edited or rejected for clarity, taste, libel and space. If a letter or OpEd is published, submissions by the same writer will not be considered for 60 days. Letters may be sent to letters@ bangordailynews.com. OpEds may be sent to [email protected] or P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329.
Thibodeau a leader Soon we will go to the polls to elect those who will best serve the people of our state. One such leader is Sen. Michael Thibodeau of Winterport. Thibodeau represented all of Maine’s people as Senate president. Some of his actions came at an expense to his own political career and that of his party, but it was the people of Maine who benefited the most. He was recognized for his leadership skills by both parties during the last session’s political theater, successfully negotiating a budget approved by both parties and at a cost detrimental to his own political future. Thibodeau did what he felt was best for all of Maine’s people and not just his party or the will of the governor. Those are the signs of a great man willing to put the people’s needs ahead of his political aspirations. His leadership skills will keep this state moving forward. He earned the respect from those serving with him. Both parties praised him for bringing a successful conclusion to that long budget battle. I urge the voters of Waldo County to join with me this November in keeping Thibodeau in a leadership role. His leadership skills are needed more today than ever before. The people of Waldo County and the people of Maine depend upon his leadership and experience in the days ahead. John Ford Sr. Retired Waldo County sheriff Brooks
Damon for House I’ve known Doug Damon for years. We flew together for the Maine Air National Guard for years, and in all that time he has had my respect for his sense of friendship, responsibility, productiveness and leadership qualities. Later, we both wound up in the Bangor Breakfast Kiwanis, where he has continued to demonstrate his magnificent qualities in support of the Kiwanis charitable efforts. In respect, I have urged him for a long time to get into state government and help improve it. At last, he is doing that, running as a Republican candidate for Maine House District 126. Here is the type of candidate that many have hoped for. Voters who support him may soon realize their vote was a good one. Roy C. Martin Glenburn
Presidential dilemma Let’s do a little review. Let’s make a list of what we know to be true facts for each presidential candidate. Next, let’s make another list of all of the accusations each has made against each other that we don’t know to be true. Now, after careful review of these lists, keep in mind that one will become president of what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world. Do you see that there is something seriously wrong with this picture? Robert Beaulieu Mapleton
Trump embarrassing I wish to compliment the BDN for printing Edward Swain’s Sept. 13 BDN OpEd about why as a small-businessman he can’t support Donald Trump. As stated, Swain is a hardworking 34-year-old getting ahead in this great country. His common-sense language illuminates the many opportunities that still exist within this great country The “con who is the Don” I believe is a total embarrassment for America and the GOP. Vote for Hillary Clinton this November. Patrick McGuigan Rockland
Absolute government Has it occurred to BDN readers that Donald Trump and our governor both reiterate Thomas Hobbes’s tenet that their form of government must be absolute? This is in order to avoid an “all against all” in “ a state of nature.” Donald E. Stanley Nobleboro
GARRY TRUDEAU
