| February 20, 2011 | Contact | Calendar | Archives |
 I have this bumper sticker on my car and a handful to give to anyone who needs one. If 61% of Mainers have one on their car, that's a lot of messages. If the legislature passes anything unacceptable, the 61% can use the referendum process to overturn it, the same referendum process they used to overturn gay marriage. What goes around...
I have set myself the task of responding civilly to political posts on FaceBook and other places. I want to respond in a way that invites discussion rather that just blasting each other with charged phrases.
I broke that rule yesterday when I used the phrase "American taliban" in reference to MoveOn.org's list of egregious republican proposals.
Twice this week I've commented on something a friend posted, then gotten blasted by their right-wing friends.
In an obscure local paper a grinchy grump posted a piece about how a new bridge being built across Sandy Stream connecting town and college is a waste of Unity taxpayer money. Here's my attempt at a friendly positive response:
If Mr. Flanzer wants to know about things happening in Unity, he should become a little more involved rather than driving by and speculating and writing uninformed opinion pieces.
The new bridge across Sandy Stream is not costing the town of Unity a dime. It is the result of a 10 year old grant from Maine DOT. Thanks to the patience of Unity Barn Raisers, this 10 year project is finally coming to fruition. The grant is specific to the bridge and could not be spent on anything else. Mr. Flanzer should get out of his car and get a view of the bridge. Although construction has been halted during winter weather, he will have to admit its curve over the water is a beautiful addition to downtown. The bridge will let townspeople get to the library and other campus destinations. From the college side, it will allow students to get to downtown without walking on the road which in winter is a real problem. The bridge unites the trail system of the college with the expanding trail system created by the Barn Raisers. Mr. Flanzer might consider attending Town Meeting, or a Unity Barn Raiser board meeting, or a community meal, or a show at the theater, or a trails meeting...there are lots of ways to get involved. It's a writing challenge. Supress first response. Write reasoned fact-based friendly response. And finally this cheer: the new JazzFest shirt with pelicans: Birds of Paradise: Flight of Fancy by Kathy Schorr with hand-carved rubine red fish buttons. I was a pelican once, really. I loved putting on the uniform. My high school team was the Pelicans.
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