Friday, August 22, 2008

The Maine RedState

Just re-acquainted myself with As Maine Goes. Though I said I was deep in recreation mode, as I looked for facts on the opposition to Dirigo this morning, I fell into this forum run by Scott K. Fish. Our local Representative Jon McKane (R-Damariscotta) comments there frequently and is not all that popular there, at least not with some who objected to McKane's response to a conservative state radio program being downsized.
I'd been there before following McKane's and others' comments.
Like RedState and other conservative cyber spots the membership is either limited or monitored like a hawk. However, Gerald at Turn Maine Blue says he posts on AMG with impunity, so far. I think he must have a cloaking mechanism.
All I can say is when they circle the wagons and shoot inward, they're better shots than us liberals. Jeez, they're downright mean.
[Update: 2030 24.Aug -- This just in: Thanks to AMG, Snoozette's visitor index has jumped the shark. I am honored by the attention.
Since I have not recently presented my case to the Caesar of the AMG forum, Scott K. Fish, I cannot express my gratitude to AMGers directly.
The process of making a comment would require me seeking Fish's approval. Sadly, I can't remember if I once had his blessing and didn't use it enough or if he turned me down. Nevertheless, this is hardly the open style of civic debate one might expect in the internet age. My blog is open for any to comment, yet over 70 AMGers have visited with not a peep. Of course there are two pages of comments from those protected behind the walls erected by Mr. Fish.
Were I able to get a word in edgewise amongst all the backslapping and congratulations, I might join in. Gerald is indeed reasonable and it's reasonable that he would be allowed to comment on AMG. My point in this original post, apparently unclear to most who have commented over on Fish's forum, was that participants who seem mostly to agree with each other are needlessly nasty to each other as a matter of course. Far be it for me to defend Jon McKane, but this message from MGReilly
"And still crickets from Mr. McKane.....thinking up some new taxes to vote for....you horses [sic] behind....." criticizes McKane for silence.
If some, as on the AMG thread dedicated to my post, would like to debate the relative toughness of liberals vs. conservatives, o.k., but that really wasn't my initial issue.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is not only your so-called Reds who frequent AMG. I bet fully a third of us regulars are Libertarians...Tons of intelligent discourse on AMG as well as decent, hard working people who do not care to have their income redistributed by the so-called Blues...Ever thought of sending voluntary checks to Augusta, by the way? Along the line of gifts or donations? That way the rest of us can opt out? I offer that by way of encouragement.

Lee Roberts said...

VTP, thanks so much for the comment. Though Libertarianism has its many appeals, no, I've not thought of sending cash to Augusta.
What I would like is for our taxes (state and federal) to buy us the bare minimum for civilization, now defined in most industrialized nations as universal health care and higher education.
I favor wealth redistribution as much as say, Dwight Eisenhower. I'd be perfectly happy to return to his federal income tax rates. Have you tried budget hero? There, you can spend the federal budget as you wish.
As recently as 1982, the 30 richest American families had fortunes running from 500 million dollars at the lowest end, up to 8.6 billion at the top. In 1999 the 30 U.S. wealthiest families' worth went from 7 billion up to 85 billion.
For some perspective: it takes 11 days to count (one second at per number) to a million and almost 32 years to count to a billion. A trillion takes 31,000 years.