no racial profiling
A4 Editorial, Monday, September 12, 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]
no racial profiling
Maine’s drug crisis needs real solutions
G
ov. Paul LePage’s dangerous narrative about darkskinned dealers causing Maine’s drug epidemic must stop. It is not supported by data, and it wrongly demonizes non-white men. It also diverts attention from the real causes of the drug problem, which is on track to kill a record number of Mainers again this year, and it shortchanges needed interventions such as addiction treatment and overdose prevention. LePage has repeatedly vilified black and Hispanic men for coming to Maine to sell drugs and, therefore, kill the state’s residents. Last month, he said he had a binder full of news clippings and photos of every drug dealer arrested in Maine. “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,” the governor said at a town hall meeting in North Berwick. He later said, “black people come up the highway, and they kill Mainers.” Data analyzed by several sources show that LePage’s binder offers a highly inaccurate assessment of what is actually happening with drug arrests in Maine. Black men and women do transport drugs to Maine and sell them here. But, so do many more white people, and LePage doesn’t talk about them. “The most recent crime data from the FBI suggest the governor’s claim doesn’t pass muster,” the Associated Press reported recently. Black people accounted for 14 percent of a total of 1,211 drug sale and manufacturing arrests and 7.4 percent of 5,791 total drug arrests in Maine in 2014, the most recent year for which numbers are available from the FBI. CityLab came to the same conclusion based on a different set of data. The Bureau of Justice Statistics compiles data from statewide and local law enforcement agencies across the country. In 2012, the most recent year for
which Bureau of Justice Statistics data is available, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reported 394 arrests for the sale or manufacturing of drugs. Forty-five of those arrested were black, or 11 percent of the total. The Bureau of Justice Statistics does not have a separate category for Hispanics. The highest percentage of black arrests was in Cumberland County, where 41 percent of those arrested for the sale or manufacture of drugs were black, according to the MDEA data. In 2008, 6 percent of the 488 people arrested for selling or making drugs were black. For the arrest rate of blacks to suddenly jump to 90 percent of the total, something unprecedented, perhaps racial profiling, would have to be taking place. As reported by the Bangor Daily News, 70 percent of the 430 Maine State Prison inmates convicted of any type of drug trafficking self-report as white, according to data provided by the Maine Department of Corrections, with 23 percent self-reporting as black. The overrepresentation of black inmates in state prison should be a priority for review by lawmakers when the Legislature convenes in January. CityLab also pointed to press releases from the U.S. attorney’s office for the district of Maine, the agency responsible for prosecuting high-volume drug dealers who cross state lines. The press releases announce the sentences of lots of white men and women convicted of drug crimes, including trafficking. The U.S. attorney’s office in Maine told CityLab that it doesn’t collect demographic data on its drug cases because “it’s not relevant to what we do.” That, precisely, is the point. The job of law enforcement is to find and arrest as many drug dealers and traffickers as possible, no matter the color of their skin or whether they came from Massachusetts or Maine. Casting this work as a battle against black and Hispanic people from other states is divisive, counterproductive and just plain wrong.
other voices
Zika crisis worsens, congress dithers
I
n the two months since Congress last failed to do anything about Zika, scientists have been busy uncovering disturbing new details about the virus. Now back in Washington, lawmakers have again rejected a bill to fund the Zika fight — a failure Congress must reverse before its monthlong session is over. Since June, hundreds more Americans have been infected, including 35 bitten by virus-bearing mosquitoes in Florida. Several more babies have been delivered with Zika-related birth defects in the U.S. (and many more in Puerto Rico, where U.S. officials have declared a public health emergency). About a third of babies whose mothers are infected early in pregnancy develop problems from microcephaly to blindness, deafness, seizures and a tendency to inconsolable crying. And while Zika seems relatively benign in adults, a small number of victims suffer the nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome. Scientists now believe that pregnancy may greatly prolong a Zika infection by enabling the germ to travel repeatedly between the mother and the baby. And even babies who seem normal at birth, but whose mothers were infected with Zika late in pregnancy, can suffer serious developmental problems later on. Some public health experts are comparing Zika to German measles and thalidomide.
Once a fetus is infected, Zika infiltrates the stem cells that generate neurons, keeping them from growing, multiplying and differentiating. Studies indicate the possibility that Zika could invade adult brains in a similar way, targeting pockets of neural progenitor cells that are critical to learning and memory. On the bright side, a promising vaccine containing a gene fragment similar to one in the virus is being tested in Puerto Rico. And researchers have identified two existing drugs that might protect human brain cells from Zika. But progress on all fronts — not just drug development but mosquito eradication, diagnostic testing and research to understand all of Zika’s effects — will be delayed without adequate federal funding. The money that the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lifted from other parts of their budgets will run out this month. The legislation that failed Tuesday was voted down by Democrats for good reason: It contained dealkilling partisan provisions, including one that would forbid any funding for women’s health from going to Planned Parenthood. Anything that could jeopardize passage of this legislation needs to be stripped from the bill. Zika is too serious, and too dangerous, for politics as usual.
Bloomberg View (Sept. 8)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Remove concert fencing
sense solutions to some of the most pressing challenges our The Waterfront Concerts sea- state faces. He’s led efforts to son for 2016 has concluded. In support our law enforcement the blue tarp days, the prece- officers as they combat drug dent was set for the removal of trafficking and advocating the tarps in the off-season. for measures to help law enWhen will the fencing be re- forcement agencies recruit moved to restore a view of the and retain the dedicated offiPenobscot River and the water- cers who keep our state safe. front on which the city has Davitt is deeply committed spent so much money, restor- to working in a bipartisan ing it so that residents and visi- way to keep his district and tors alike can once again see all of Maine a safe place to the Penobscot from both sides live, work and raise a family. of the river? I am proud to serve alongside Michael P. Gleason him. Bangor Rep. Lori Fowle Vassalboro
Don’t text and drive Another person suffered serious injuries reportedly because of texting while driving, as reported in a Sept. 5 Bangor Daily News article. Yet, both state and federal agencies charged with promoting highway safety persist in addressing the gravity of the issue through the newspaper and television media, overlooking the fact that drivers don’t read newspapers or watch television while driving. As a result, such effort has little more than a token effect, if that. Radio airplay is the only viable solution to the problem: People need to be reached while they’re driving and that means messages over the radio. Here are four messages they need to receive: The National Safety Council estimates that cellphone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from crashes caused by texting while driving. One in four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting while driving. Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a crash than driving drunk. Phil Tobin Ellsworth
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.
LePage over the line
For the past six years, the people of Maine have endured the unprecedented irrational behavior of our governor. But this latest tantrum directed at Rep. Drew Gattine of Westbrook was proof positive that Gov. Paul LePage is not fit to govern anything. He has crossed the line. LePage is an egotistical, vain, crude, incompetent buffoon. The ball is now in the Legislature’s court. The punishment, regardless of party, should be swift and severe. If they do nothing but a slap on the wrist, it is time for serious evaluation of the people we elect and send to Augusta to represent us. Donald Madden As House chair of the LegMilford islature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I have had the pleasure of working closely with DemoDemocrat Laurie Fogelman cratic Rep. Jim Davitt of Hampden over the past two is running to represent the years. His expertise has been best of our Maine values in invaluable in crafting legisla- Maine House District 137, tion on key issues. Davitt is which encompasses towns in running for re-election in the Penobscot, Hancock and Washington counties. race for House District 101. The district’s representaAs a lawyer and professor of justice studies, he brings tive, Republican Rep. Lawan especially valuable per- rence Lockman, is a divisive spective on serious issues man intently focused on antisuch as the drug crisis and worker, anti-social service and domestic violence preven- anti-family initiatives. He failed for many years to fulfill tion. Davitt has worked hard to his obligation to society by not build relationships across the paying income taxes. Lockman aisle to implement common- has consistently voted against
Served with Davitt
Fogelman for District 137
DOONESBURY
programs that could help his district, such as the minimum wage and Medicaid expansion. Incredibly, he once said that that if women have the right to abortion then men should be free to rape women. Lockman refuses to reject the kind of abuse dished out by the filthymouthed man in the governor’s chair and actively promotes racism. There is a far better choice. Fogelman has worked to ensure that Mainers in all towns, large and small, are provided the opportunity to flourish. Fogelman supports the right of every Mainer to decent housing, decent jobs with livable wages, adequate health care and food on the table regardless of their circumstances in life. Fogelman has been a champion of women’s rights, single mothers and children, as well as those in the LGBT community. She is past president of the Ellsworth Rotary. She has fought domestic violence and knows how to improve our society for all by insuring that the state treats all of its people with the dignity and respect they deserve. Fogelman is the only responsible and mature candidate in the race for District 137. Duane Lugdon Bradley
Adults fail to do right So now we’ve decided to leave Gov. Paul LePage’s words “ the enemy right now … are people of color or people of Hispanic origin” echoing through school hallways. And we accept these to be the last words on the subject — as spoken by the most powerful person in the state. It’s clear that Maine’s adults are incapable of holding themselves accountable. And our children have noted our convenient justification of racism. And they get that, suddenly, the abuse and violence of “c—-sucker” and “right between the eyes” is allowable. We’ve worked hard to raise responsible, kind and peaceloving kids. And right now, it seems they’re better equipped than most adults to do the right thing. So, maybe we should let them show us the way. Every single elected representative in this state owes every single resident of this state a thorough explanation as to why they disagree or agree with the governor’s statement regarding “the enemy.” Maine’s grown-ups have failed. But Maine’s youth can help correct our mistakes because they have an opportunity to steer the future by contacting their legislators and asking, politely, for the truth. Lisa Wilson Yarmouth
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]
no racial profiling
Maine’s drug crisis needs real solutions
G
ov. Paul LePage’s dangerous narrative about darkskinned dealers causing Maine’s drug epidemic must stop. It is not supported by data, and it wrongly demonizes non-white men. It also diverts attention from the real causes of the drug problem, which is on track to kill a record number of Mainers again this year, and it shortchanges needed interventions such as addiction treatment and overdose prevention. LePage has repeatedly vilified black and Hispanic men for coming to Maine to sell drugs and, therefore, kill the state’s residents. Last month, he said he had a binder full of news clippings and photos of every drug dealer arrested in Maine. “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,” the governor said at a town hall meeting in North Berwick. He later said, “black people come up the highway, and they kill Mainers.” Data analyzed by several sources show that LePage’s binder offers a highly inaccurate assessment of what is actually happening with drug arrests in Maine. Black men and women do transport drugs to Maine and sell them here. But, so do many more white people, and LePage doesn’t talk about them. “The most recent crime data from the FBI suggest the governor’s claim doesn’t pass muster,” the Associated Press reported recently. Black people accounted for 14 percent of a total of 1,211 drug sale and manufacturing arrests and 7.4 percent of 5,791 total drug arrests in Maine in 2014, the most recent year for which numbers are available from the FBI. CityLab came to the same conclusion based on a different set of data. The Bureau of Justice Statistics compiles data from statewide and local law enforcement agencies across the country. In 2012, the most recent year for
which Bureau of Justice Statistics data is available, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reported 394 arrests for the sale or manufacturing of drugs. Forty-five of those arrested were black, or 11 percent of the total. The Bureau of Justice Statistics does not have a separate category for Hispanics. The highest percentage of black arrests was in Cumberland County, where 41 percent of those arrested for the sale or manufacture of drugs were black, according to the MDEA data. In 2008, 6 percent of the 488 people arrested for selling or making drugs were black. For the arrest rate of blacks to suddenly jump to 90 percent of the total, something unprecedented, perhaps racial profiling, would have to be taking place. As reported by the Bangor Daily News, 70 percent of the 430 Maine State Prison inmates convicted of any type of drug trafficking self-report as white, according to data provided by the Maine Department of Corrections, with 23 percent self-reporting as black. The overrepresentation of black inmates in state prison should be a priority for review by lawmakers when the Legislature convenes in January. CityLab also pointed to press releases from the U.S. attorney’s office for the district of Maine, the agency responsible for prosecuting high-volume drug dealers who cross state lines. The press releases announce the sentences of lots of white men and women convicted of drug crimes, including trafficking. The U.S. attorney’s office in Maine told CityLab that it doesn’t collect demographic data on its drug cases because “it’s not relevant to what we do.” That, precisely, is the point. The job of law enforcement is to find and arrest as many drug dealers and traffickers as possible, no matter the color of their skin or whether they came from Massachusetts or Maine. Casting this work as a battle against black and Hispanic people from other states is divisive, counterproductive and just plain wrong.
other voices
Zika crisis worsens, congress dithers
I
n the two months since Congress last failed to do anything about Zika, scientists have been busy uncovering disturbing new details about the virus. Now back in Washington, lawmakers have again rejected a bill to fund the Zika fight — a failure Congress must reverse before its monthlong session is over. Since June, hundreds more Americans have been infected, including 35 bitten by virus-bearing mosquitoes in Florida. Several more babies have been delivered with Zika-related birth defects in the U.S. (and many more in Puerto Rico, where U.S. officials have declared a public health emergency). About a third of babies whose mothers are infected early in pregnancy develop problems from microcephaly to blindness, deafness, seizures and a tendency to inconsolable crying. And while Zika seems relatively benign in adults, a small number of victims suffer the nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome. Scientists now believe that pregnancy may greatly prolong a Zika infection by enabling the germ to travel repeatedly between the mother and the baby. And even babies who seem normal at birth, but whose mothers were infected with Zika late in pregnancy, can suffer serious developmental problems later on. Some public health experts are comparing Zika to German measles and thalidomide.
Once a fetus is infected, Zika infiltrates the stem cells that generate neurons, keeping them from growing, multiplying and differentiating. Studies indicate the possibility that Zika could invade adult brains in a similar way, targeting pockets of neural progenitor cells that are critical to learning and memory. On the bright side, a promising vaccine containing a gene fragment similar to one in the virus is being tested in Puerto Rico. And researchers have identified two existing drugs that might protect human brain cells from Zika. But progress on all fronts — not just drug development but mosquito eradication, diagnostic testing and research to understand all of Zika’s effects — will be delayed without adequate federal funding. The money that the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lifted from other parts of their budgets will run out this month. The legislation that failed Tuesday was voted down by Democrats for good reason: It contained dealkilling partisan provisions, including one that would forbid any funding for women’s health from going to Planned Parenthood. Anything that could jeopardize passage of this legislation needs to be stripped from the bill. Zika is too serious, and too dangerous, for politics as usual.
Bloomberg View (Sept. 8)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Remove concert fencing
sense solutions to some of the most pressing challenges our The Waterfront Concerts sea- state faces. He’s led efforts to son for 2016 has concluded. In support our law enforcement the blue tarp days, the prece- officers as they combat drug dent was set for the removal of trafficking and advocating the tarps in the off-season. for measures to help law enWhen will the fencing be re- forcement agencies recruit moved to restore a view of the and retain the dedicated offiPenobscot River and the water- cers who keep our state safe. front on which the city has Davitt is deeply committed spent so much money, restor- to working in a bipartisan ing it so that residents and visi- way to keep his district and tors alike can once again see all of Maine a safe place to the Penobscot from both sides live, work and raise a family. of the river? I am proud to serve alongside Michael P. Gleason him. Bangor Rep. Lori Fowle Vassalboro
Don’t text and drive Another person suffered serious injuries reportedly because of texting while driving, as reported in a Sept. 5 Bangor Daily News article. Yet, both state and federal agencies charged with promoting highway safety persist in addressing the gravity of the issue through the newspaper and television media, overlooking the fact that drivers don’t read newspapers or watch television while driving. As a result, such effort has little more than a token effect, if that. Radio airplay is the only viable solution to the problem: People need to be reached while they’re driving and that means messages over the radio. Here are four messages they need to receive: The National Safety Council estimates that cellphone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from crashes caused by texting while driving. One in four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting while driving. Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a crash than driving drunk. Phil Tobin Ellsworth
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.
LePage over the line
For the past six years, the people of Maine have endured the unprecedented irrational behavior of our governor. But this latest tantrum directed at Rep. Drew Gattine of Westbrook was proof positive that Gov. Paul LePage is not fit to govern anything. He has crossed the line. LePage is an egotistical, vain, crude, incompetent buffoon. The ball is now in the Legislature’s court. The punishment, regardless of party, should be swift and severe. If they do nothing but a slap on the wrist, it is time for serious evaluation of the people we elect and send to Augusta to represent us. Donald Madden As House chair of the LegMilford islature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, I have had the pleasure of working closely with DemoDemocrat Laurie Fogelman cratic Rep. Jim Davitt of Hampden over the past two is running to represent the years. His expertise has been best of our Maine values in invaluable in crafting legisla- Maine House District 137, tion on key issues. Davitt is which encompasses towns in running for re-election in the Penobscot, Hancock and Washington counties. race for House District 101. The district’s representaAs a lawyer and professor of justice studies, he brings tive, Republican Rep. Lawan especially valuable per- rence Lockman, is a divisive spective on serious issues man intently focused on antisuch as the drug crisis and worker, anti-social service and domestic violence preven- anti-family initiatives. He failed for many years to fulfill tion. Davitt has worked hard to his obligation to society by not build relationships across the paying income taxes. Lockman aisle to implement common- has consistently voted against
Served with Davitt
Fogelman for District 137
DOONESBURY
programs that could help his district, such as the minimum wage and Medicaid expansion. Incredibly, he once said that that if women have the right to abortion then men should be free to rape women. Lockman refuses to reject the kind of abuse dished out by the filthymouthed man in the governor’s chair and actively promotes racism. There is a far better choice. Fogelman has worked to ensure that Mainers in all towns, large and small, are provided the opportunity to flourish. Fogelman supports the right of every Mainer to decent housing, decent jobs with livable wages, adequate health care and food on the table regardless of their circumstances in life. Fogelman has been a champion of women’s rights, single mothers and children, as well as those in the LGBT community. She is past president of the Ellsworth Rotary. She has fought domestic violence and knows how to improve our society for all by insuring that the state treats all of its people with the dignity and respect they deserve. Fogelman is the only responsible and mature candidate in the race for District 137. Duane Lugdon Bradley
Adults fail to do right So now we’ve decided to leave Gov. Paul LePage’s words “ the enemy right now … are people of color or people of Hispanic origin” echoing through school hallways. And we accept these to be the last words on the subject — as spoken by the most powerful person in the state. It’s clear that Maine’s adults are incapable of holding themselves accountable. And our children have noted our convenient justification of racism. And they get that, suddenly, the abuse and violence of “c—-sucker” and “right between the eyes” is allowable. We’ve worked hard to raise responsible, kind and peaceloving kids. And right now, it seems they’re better equipped than most adults to do the right thing. So, maybe we should let them show us the way. Every single elected representative in this state owes every single resident of this state a thorough explanation as to why they disagree or agree with the governor’s statement regarding “the enemy.” Maine’s grown-ups have failed. But Maine’s youth can help correct our mistakes because they have an opportunity to steer the future by contacting their legislators and asking, politely, for the truth. Lisa Wilson Yarmouth
GARRY TRUDEAU
