Geez, I hate it when knuckle-dragging Neanderthals spell things wrong.

Is he joking? Maybe, but sketchy half-truths and innuendo never stopped a Republican “investigation” of voter fraud before.

Someone call Secretary of State Charlie Summers, stat!

I’d also say someone should call Charlie Webster, but I worry he wouldn’t understand. Because he’s a little slow.

Here is what taxfoe said:

Washington has some pretty restrictive rules about party affiliation/registration and voting. I don’t recall the specifics but it does take some advance planning to vote. After voting in WA in the morning, business took me to the substantially less restrictive Nevada where I ran into a get-out-the-vote brigade near the hotel I was staying. I took one look at the angel on my left shoulder and one look at the angel on my right shoulder. Only the angels know for sure.

For one of my last elections in Maine, I went in to vote (Portland) and, as my name was being checked off the list, I noticed my dead brother’s name was still on it as was that of a brother currently residing in Oklahoma. I didn’t want to push my luck so only two of us voted that day. I used a laundry receipt to establish my ID as the other. I checked in with the clerk A, voted, walked out, came back in, checked in with the other clerk B who, in keeping with her alphabetic duties, told A which name to cross off and I voted again. I didn’t know her personally but she knew my family and did what, I’m sure she fealt, was the best thing, given our recent tragedy.

What is also interesting is the discourse about what it takes to be accorded the honor of being able to post on AMG.

So I hope you all enjoy this rather long missive.  Great way to pass some time waiting for the Super Bowl.  (Go Pats!) (P.S.  Guess I should have been more specific about them going for the end zone.)

Average Joe

===================================================================================

You’re mixing two different scandals. This story regards the request from Rep. Mark Dion to the AG’s office to determine if Poliquin had violated the Maine Constitution by participating in his Beach Club business in Phippsburg.

The other that you mention is how Poliquin placed 10.3 acres of his 12.3 acres estate in Georgetown in the Maine Tree Growth tax reduction program

I can’t wait for the public disclosure on your own finances, Gerald.
lol

that’s all you got ? typical,,, go put more lipstick on that pig, will ya ?

Are you his biggest supporter? This treasurer is crooked and you want to spend your time attacking non-crooked average Mainers?

Funny, [Naran,]  but in the past when a post like yours comes up, you usually respond by saying something snarky like, “May I remind you that Gerald does not hold the post of Treasure of the State of Maine! Go away before I beat you with my wooden spoon!”

I guess it’s different when a Republican gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

No difference – as I’ve written before on this issue, if Poliquin is found guilty of violating either the Maine Constitution or the Maine Ethics rules, he should take his punishment and own up. If that means a fine, or resignation, so be it. Whatever the penalty is — he should and will take responsibility.

Meanwhile, your petty grousing over being banned from AMG is equal only to Gerald’s. You guys should start a club.

So why do you find it necessary to call for the release of Gerald’s financial statements? This is just another example of your constant deflection efforts and your unequal treatment of public scandals.

I didn’t mention anything about AMG or banning. Could it be you’re feeling guilty about stiffling honest dialogue? Could be, since you’re so poor at it yourself.

Average Joe – you were banned from AMG too? What imaginary line did you cross?

I will note that I’ve been banned from AMG three times. Not that the temporary moderator of AMG Naran had anything to do with any of them.

[to Gerald] I love how you’re all in favor of “personal liberty” and rights until its exercised against what you’d prefer.

You weren’t banned for any “imaginary” offense. You broke the cardinal AMG rule, which is outing an anonymous member.

Grouse, snipe, repeat.
lol

You are either lying or ignorant. I posted a link to a story about Michael Pajak that had been posted by two other sources. The owner of AMG, Scott Fish, let Pajak’s hateful rants against gays and Muslims up for months after his posts were disclosed. You nor Scott ever condemned his writing.

AsMaineGoesLOLZ has it all documented:

http://asmainegoeslolz.com/the…

http://asmainegoeslolz.com/201…

Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from hate speech. That doesn’t mean it can’t and shouldn’t be challenged. You didn’t do that Naran. You sat back and let it go.

But when I pointed to a story at another news source about the author of this hate-speech (Scott knew who he was, of course), I was banned. That’s how it works at AMG: posting hate speech is tolerated, actually calling someone out on it is not.

So why crawl into the Gutter at AMG??

BS, Gerald.  You were banned by Scott, who made the decision because you outed an anonymous member. As you mentioned, it wasn’t the first time you’d been blocked, but it was the last.

You’re still just making up petty gripes because you don’t like being excluded from the forum.

I’m not sure [why I was banned], Gerald. Either it was quoting an opinion I found on www.asmainegoeslolz.com (anathema to Naran) or it was criticism of LePage, particularly his bedside manner and the way the color of that stupid “Open for Business” sign didn’t even match a standard state sign and had to be made in Texas instead of here in Maine.

Whatever, since Naran has weeded the conservative garden and rid it of annoying left-leaning pests, the site has become a right-wing echo chamber with little debate of any substance, other than arguing about who is more conservative.

No — you were banned by Scott for disregarding specific requests repeatedly made by him, not me. Scott Fish blocked you.

Rudeness and a refusal to do as requested when it’s been repeatedly asked is generally unproductive.

Naran, you are either thinking of one of the many other banned posters or you are lying.

I received one, just one, complaint from Scott Fish regarding my posting of a cartoon that included the offensive (to him) word “shit” for which I apologized. That was several years ago.

As a stranger in a strange land, I always tried to remain civil and respectful of others — something that your heroes on AMG certainly failed to do, branding me as a Nazi sympathizer, ignorant, stupid, and “BelowAverageJoe.” They went so far as to tell me my lesbian daughter and her child were bound for Hell.

Prior to my unexpected banning, there was no directive to me from Scott Fish, you, or anyone else regarding unacceptable posting. I was not rude. Certainly not as rude as our governor. Clearly, my banning was solely for idealogical (read suppresive) reasons.

Do you contend that rudeness and refusal to obey orders are behind your and Scott Fish’s pogram to sanitize As Maine Goes by banning any number of people with dissenting opinions?

All you have accomplished is the alienation and further polarization of politically aware people and the creation of a truly boring website. www.asmainegoeslolz.com is far more lively and informative.

Gerald – are you going to reveal your finances after Naran does hers?? ;)

Why either of you would want to spend your time at such a boring site, is far, far beyond me.

I prefer it’s sister site- http://www.asmainegoeslolz.com/
Much more entertaining, and you can post there without having to write an essay in order to join.

Nobody has to “write an essay” to join AMG. We do, however, require a real paid email address and a minimum level of civilized discourse. Which is our right.

Call it what you want. Limiting membership to those who pass the Naran test of whether or not one would “add to AMG” and possibly have references from current AMGers prevents the flow of free discourse.

“AMG has a limited number of posters.

If you think you as a poster will add to AMG, you’re welcome to send me an email explaining why. If you have references – i.e. a current AMGer – that will help. If I agree with you – I’ll email you instructions on how to register.

Before emailing me – please read AMG’s User Agreement below. Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments.

IMPORTANT: You must use a valid email address for registering. Please, no free email addresses.

Thank you.

Naran
Managing Editor, AsMaineGoes”

Private clubs are not my thing.

Do you know how juvenile you sound?

If you’re not fond of “private clubs,” just stop locking your home and your vehicle, and invite anybody in who wants to attend your cosy evenings at home.

Why not?

Equating someone’s home with a private club?
That’s not even an analogy, its a mind sickness of self righteousness.

I’m sorry you’re mentally puny, and unable to understand the analogy.

If gay marriage continues to spread across this nation you will see a gentle tugging for us to stop and repent of this and we can get bandaged up and do what is pleasing to our Creator. If we persist in rebellion, this nation will be destroyed, famine, disease, slavery, and bloodshed will be brought here from outside. We are the collateral for the trillions of dollars of national debt, you know, the only reason we are free is because our ancestors in this nation considered the merits of Deuteronomy  28.

No editing.  No taking anything out of context.  This is what will happen to us if the scourge of gay marriage continues to sweep the country.

I guess I could try to say something snarky here or present some irrefutable argument to the contrary, but I’m just at a loss for thoughts or words.  I’m just so afraid of the famine, disease, slavery, and bloodshed that awaits us.  Damn gay people ruining our world.

He compares being a Republican in America to being in a foxhole, Mitt Romney to Charlie Brown, and Newt Gingrich to Batman.

I am way past tired of being on the reception end of abuse, and I have no way to strike back…and Newt has done so. frankly, I’d rather lose with someone who will draw blood, than lose with someone with good hair and money (who just will NOT punch back no matter what).
This is a war-and a very important war- and I don’t want Charlie Brown in my foxhole- I want Batman-even if he is flawed.

“Willard Romney even flip-flopped on his own name!”

“Huh CV I don’t believe I was mentioning any names there. Me thinks you PROTEST TOO MUCH and now that you feel so damn guilty, I read back from when you came into this thread and you really seem very confusing on your statements. Naran knows of what she spaeks as she is very intuned to the goings on in the state when it comes to a lot of the news topics. So when she tells you just to look through the PPH or LST. she knows what she is saying. BTW the BDN also marches to the Dem’s drumbeat too. So my suggestion is, Ya Might want to read the PPH, LST and the BDN back in 2009 and 2010 and I’ll bet you’ll find the stoies she was talking about.”

This one’s get everything!

1. Shakespeare
2. Misspelled words
3. Blatant brown-nosing

Really, does AMG get any better than this?

http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/ok-just-little-too-much-welfare-abuse

Now, since this thread was initiated by FLAMMENWERFER (capital letters his), I suppose Stephen felt it necessary to to employ very erudite discourse in his missive.  Bruce Libby, of course, has never felt compelled to do so.

But, gosh, Stephen’s statement is above my pay grade.  Could someone please tell me what he meant?

What you are witnessing is just the next stop on the road to extinction. If you look around you will see where we are going because others are further along the road and others, like the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Mayans, the Incas and the Romans have already disappeared. We are not satisfied with what nature provides but compete with each other in our gluttony to consume more.

Whoa. That’s heavy. Feel free to sit down and have a cup of dark tea while you ponder the impending extinction of America.

Have you managed to absorb all that yet?

Good, because there is more.

Like it or not the earth’s resources and natures continuing bounty are finite. In order to get what we need and protect what we have we stake out our territory and supposedly provide for its defense by establishing an elite group (government), allow it to make the rules for our protection and go about our merry way assuming that group will be satisfied with just having their needs satisfied but we don’t protect ourselves from the very ones we enabled to protect us.

Oh my god. He’s right. I’m not protecting myself from the very ones I enabled to protect me. How did I not see this before?

While the rest of us go about our merry way using up what nature has provided, the government has taken care of themselves and their friends at our expense. Countries no longer war with each other to get what they want because the price is too high. Instead, their disgruntled inhabitants migrate where the opportunity lies and as long as there is a surplus their encroachment is not suspected until it is too late. In less than two or three generations there will be no more ethnic Russians, in three most of Europe, including the United Kingdom will be governed by Muslims whose themselves or their parents migrated from the middle east or Africa where all but the oil has long been insufficient to sustain their populations.

A world with no more Russians? Holy Shit. Muslims governing Europe? Wow. Sound the alarms.

Wait- will there still be Russian Muslims??

Closer to home you have the story of the American Indian. Not a homogeneous race, but several races scattered all over the North American continent. They were stripped of their property by force or by cunning. They were slaughtered or isolated in enclaves as are the Palestinians today and they will soon die out, or be absorbed to where they no longer have an identity apart.

Those poor American Indians. They are just like the Palestinians, sans rockets.

Okay – sarcasm off. Guess what this weird speech was about? I’m serious, just take a moment to try and guess.

You are never going to believe it. But go on, guess.

No, that’s not it.

Not that either.

Are you ready?

It is about fricking K-Marts closing! I’m serious! K-MART! The Romans, the protectors we enabled who we need protection from, the Palestinians, the Indians, the Russians and the Muslims… All of that is tied together with K-MART closing some fricking stores! I’m not making this up.

The stores are in retreat because their customers, whom they rely on for survival, either don’t have the money to spend, cannot earn it where they are, or have moved to where the work is.
We have one last opportunity for hope and change and it isn’t Obama and the Democrats. Nor is it the Republicans. The rules laid down in the Constitution are sufficient if we put enough teeth in them, get both the President and the Supreme Court out of the legislative business and severely punish legislators who disobey the rules. Then we go after the state governments and do the same.

I’ve read a lot of bullshit Constitutional Ron Paul-esque arguments over the years on AMG, but this one takes the cake. This grown man (or woman) is saying that if we had followed a strict interpretation of the Constitution we wouldn’t have to worry about our local K-Mart closing. And apparently the Russians would be better off too (they might still exist?), but that’s not as important as the goddamn K-MART!

You. Cannot. Make. This. Up.

Anyway, enjoy!

http://www.asmainegoes.com/content/i-need-help-understanding-liberals

I would note that the Vice President was referring abstractly to the notion that we have to negotiate a peace with the Taliban because they are a big constituency in Afghanistan, whether we like it or not. This is reality. Reality has a well known Democratic bias, but it is what it is.

Of course, conservatives think reality should bend to them rather than the other way around. Only weak-kneed bleeding hearts let reality drive them into doing something they didn’t prefer from the get-go. And besides, anything mentioning the word “negotiate” or “compromise” is thoroughly un-Republican, so Mr. Harmon’s knee jerked out faster than you can say “lesser of two evils.”

Harmon found several quotes supposedly supporting his thesis, but the first he found, I thought, summed up President George W. Bush’s legacy and Republican reality-rejection quite nicely.

Here is how Mr. Harmon put it:

Found this in a 15-second search on Google on a site called RightWingQuotes: “And you all also may remember that early on, I said if you hide a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you provide comfort to a terrorist, you’re just as guilty as the terrorist. The Taliban now knows what we mean. They’re gone. And, guess what? People in Afghanistan don’t miss them one bit.” — George W. Bush rallies the troops in Alaska on 2/16/02″

The word enemy isn’t there, but the concept certainly is.

Ok. Great. Bush didn’t like the Taliban. No one does, excepting the people who actually live in Afghanistan outside of Kabul. We certainly shouldn’t take anything they think into account, right?

Isn’t it fitting that this quote is brought out to attack Biden but has a huge, gaping failure of understanding right smack in the middle of it?

If the Taliban were “gone,” as Bush said, we wouldn’t still be in Afghanistan! This wouldn’t be an issue and we could stop pouring money into another foreign country, bring our troops home, and rebuild America.

But it wasn’t true. It isn’t true. They were not gone then, and are not gone now.

Therefore, the Democratic administration must be the grown ups who accept reality and deal with the world as it is, not as it is imagined in the minds of the right-wing talk show hosts. And by “grown-ups” I mean only those people who abide by the very low standard that foreign policy isn’t all about unzipping your pants, smashing your dick on the table and saying “Isn’t it huge?”

Joe Biden, grown up, accepts the reality that some negotiations will help get us out of Afghanistan in the next ten years. Republican non-reality creates foreign policy based on myths, chest-thumping, and stupidity, leading to a bash on the other side for daring to suggest that we think about negotiating with the same bad guys their man theoretically eradicated nine long years ago.

If Republican theory were true, Afghanistan ought to be a utopia by now. After all they have no regulations, no liberal activist judges, and definitely no Taliban. Why are we still there?

The Taliban isn’t gone. Citing the guy who said they were gone nine years ago doesn’t make me think your side is good at foreign policy.

I’ll admit that I don’t read AMG as much as I used to since I was banned for life, but it seems that without a few dissidents in attendance there is a distinct lack of controversy any more.

Where are the discussions about whether or not there are more people on welfare than paying taxes?  How about some discourse about what Forbes magazine really told the governor?  Maybe a discussion about how he regards the legislative process.  Or whether Kathleen Sebelius really is ready to give Maine a waiver to decimate its healthcare system.

It seems that Naran has wielded her wooden spoon to the point of making AMG totally boring.  I mean, how can we find outrageous statements to ridicule if nobody provokes them?

KJ Article

Since the defense of LePage runs so rampant on AMG, especially in the person of Miss Clapsaddle, I fear this topic won’t be discussed at all.

So I issue this challenge to the AMG lurkers we know want to hear what is being said about them on amglolz. Pray tell how energy conservation as practiced in Maine or anywhere else could possibly constitute a Ponzi scheme?

Finally, they come around to the dark side! As you friendly neighborhood communist pinko, let me welcome you to the People’s Republic of Portland.

Why would AMGers turn 180 degrees so quickly? Easy answer: In this case the businessmen in question are SOMALI.

The job-killing regulation in question requires taxi drivers, most of whom are African immigrants, to get their taxi license and pay a fee in person rather than through a representative. The city had been letting people use a representative but then decided that their rules didn’t allow it.

The AMG “pro-business” crowd somehow sees nothing wrong with having people stop working to go get a piece of paper in person just because the guv’mint has a rule saying so. If the Somalis don’t like it, why, they are asking for special rights. Got to be that. They are Somalis, after all. It couldn’t possibly be that they are trying to make a living and don’t like a stupid rule, right? That would be something regular Mainers do, not Somalis!

If you call AMGers on this contradiction, as a few posters have, the answer is some variation of “we have all got to play by the rules.”

Melvin Udall says:

The Somali taxi drivers have learned from the same day voting debate. Claim oppression, suppression, and depression. And throw in repression too.

No Melvin. They learned from AMG, where electricians and carpenters complain about housing regulations, where accountants complain about accounting regulations, and where small business owners complain about health care regulations. Complaining about regulations is sort of AsMaineGoes’ reason to exist.

Rarely is it ever said to the regular complaining Maine business people that they need to suck it up and “play by the rules.” What I usually hear is, “Hey, let’s CHANGE the rules, because Ayn Rand wouldn’t have liked them.”

Except when they are Somali.

Weird, huh.

Who would have thought AsMaineGoes would side with Portland City Hall in a story that basically reads, “Small businessmen sue city over useless regulation?”

No one, until you find out exactly who is doing the suing.

Fish said if it’s good enough for the Bangor Daily News, it’s good enough for AMG — kind of.

Read all about it!

However, the new ruling is limited to the current thread regarding the Governor’s Speech. Maybe they’ll make a movie with that title.

Confusing issues is the fact that the word “asshole” was used in the same thread with no apparent sanctions or repercussions.

Also of interest is Naran’s declaration that to attain the leadership qualities of General George Patton, all one need do is utter the magical incantation, “bullshit.” That should explain the reason for Scott Fish’s policy reversal.

Oh, what fun it is to read AMG every day!

Apparently he threatened someone with a sledgehammer.

Two points I want to make:

1. Give Jarody some sympathy because he is emotionally distraught. You see, he emailed me a few days ago asking me to come down to Occupy Augusta with him. I didn’t respond. Clearly anyone would be angry and upset over such a rejection from an anonymous political blogger whom he doesn’t know and has never shown any hint of actually being friendly with him.

2. Threatening with a sledgehammer? Last time we knew he was stopped by police he was carrying a handgun. So he is calming down. His tools of violence keep getting less fatality-prone. Before you know it, he’ll just be using pillows to threaten people. Or puppies.

Oh, Jarody. What a tangled web we weave.

They don’t like to hear about LePage’s 38% “mandate” yet still refer to John Baldacci as “Governor 38” in reference to his nearly identical election percentage.  So, I was wondering how IRV might have worked in the last two gubernatorial elections.  Understanding that the dynamics of IRV make it difficult to do any truly accurate Monday morning quarterbacking, I thought I’d take a stab anyway at trying to understand what it would have taken to reverse the results of LePage’s and Baldacci’s elections.

In 2010, the results looked like this:
Cutler            208,270
LePage           218,065
Mitchell         109,387
Moody             28,756
Scott                  5,664
Other                 2,624

So, now comes the tricky part.  Please bear with me.  Knowing a little bit about who might be attracted by the various candidates, let’s try to figure out what it would take to win a race that’s been reduced to two people.  Let’s assume that LePage would pick up all of the Moody, Scott and Other candidates votes.   That gives him an additional 37,044 votes, for a total of 255,109.  The question then becomes how many Mitchell votes would have to move to Cutler to give him the election.  I estimate the answer to be 78,114, with the other 31,273 going to LePage.  A total of 71% of Mitchell’s votes swing to Cutler and he wins 286,384 to 286, 382.

Does that pass the straight face test?  I certainly think so.  In fact, I think that 71% is low.

In 2006, the results looked like this:
Baldacci        209,927
Lamarche        52,690
Merrill            118,715
Napier               3,108
Woodcock     166,425

There’s no telling where the 3,108 lunatics who voted for Napier would go, but let’s give them to Woodcock.  That leaves 171,405 votes for Lamarche and Merrill to distribute.  I calculate that  if 105,900 switch to Woodcock and the remaining 65,505 go to Baldacci, Woodcock wins by a total of 275,433 to 275,432.   That means that 62% of those who voted for Lamarche or Merrill would have  to swing to Woodcock.

What are the chances of that happening?  The words snowball and hell come to mind.

Bearing in mind that this is all conjecture and it’s very uncertain what really might have happened, it seems to me that AMG’s opposition to IRV is, as usual, rooted in pure logic and common sense, with no regard for political consequences whatsoever.  NOT!

He is giving a post-election breakdown of the same day registration people’s veto, and he tries to make a point that only nine states have the same rule and they are all “infested” with liberals. But check out his list!

As I have noted in prior posts, the GOP continues to exhibit its absolute failure to be able to get a simple message across to the public.

We may have seen that Maine is only one of nine states which has election-day-registration (EDR) but that fact was never hammered home. I think all nine states are Liberal-infested ( Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, N Carolina, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Maine).

Okay, so not only do we liberals run things in the utopia on the other side of the maple curtain but we rule with an iron fist over the bleeding heart strongholds of Idaho and Montana. Oh, and Wyoming!

Seriously? How does anyone type this and not realize how wrong it is?

Fricking Wyoming!

Doug Thomas thinks so!

In the 1930′s it was time for Winston Churchill….England needed him. I think the United States is in much worse shape than we know and we need solutions. Newt is the only candidate offering real workable solutions. We need Newt like England needed Churchill.

My forehead is sore from all the slapping it that happened as I read the above.

Newt.

Churchill?

Newt is a third rate scam artist.

Churchill helped save the free world.

Newt mails random people invitations to send him five-thousand dollars, and he will give them a fake award.

Churchill took on actual real Nazis.

Newt invented the health care mandate. Oh wait, that’s a good one.

For God’s sake- if you think people should vote for Newt, say so. But don’t say the man is Churchill! Especially now. You’re really saying, “Well Palin, Trump, Bachmann, Perry, and Cain didn’t work out. But look, what’d ya know, we’ve had a Churchill sitting right here the whole time! Who would have thunk?”

The painful video.

I felt embarrassed for him just watching. Rick Perry is like the Republican version of Dunder Mifflin’s Michael Scott, but without the endearing quality of always having good intentions despite his stupidity.

Which must mean Herman Cain is role playing Michael Scott’s creepy, misogynistic friend from out of town.

Below: Todd Packer and Michael Scott, two key role models for this year’s Republican primaries.