New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is releasing, Kaci Hickox, a nurse who recently returned from West Africa to her home state of Maine, where that state will decide how she should be monitored for Ebola. Returning residents of New Jersey will still be subject to a 21-day quarantine.
Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff want all troops returning from West Africa to undergo a mandatory 21-day quarantine, putting them at odds with President Obama.
“So I wasn’t surprised to learn about the whisper campaigns, insinuations and push-polls some of the people opposed to my candidacy have been using to raise questions about my personal life. They want people to question whether I am gay.
“Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer: ‘Yes, I am. But why should it matter?’”
Mike Michaud, Dem candidate for governor of Maine
Newly-elected Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine has announced that he will caucus with the Democrats.
Since he replaces moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, that’s a pick-up for the Dems.
Heckuva job driving away your moderates, GOP.
“We’re working in a parallel universe.”
Retiring Senator Olympia Snowe, moderate Republican of Maine, on the relationship, or lack thereof, between Democrats and the GOP.
There aren’t many moderate Republicans left in the Senate. Now another one, Olympia Snowe of Maine, is retiring. I can’t say I blame her. Pushing back against the crazy is an exhausting and losing battle right now.
I went online to find a phone number for the heating oil company in the NYT story so I could call them tomorrow, and I discovered a lot of people have already called. The Sun Journal of Maine is reporting* that Hometown Energy in Dixfield, Maine got calls from all over the country on Saturday, pledging donations that totaled almost six figures in just one day. They are setting up a trust fund for the Hartfords and others like them.
Our government may suck, but we are still good people.
*”‘America has a heartbeart:’ Donations pour in for home heat,” by Erin Cox
To me, the “big story” this weekend was not the Super Bowl, but a front-page article in Saturday’s NYT, “In Fuel Oil Country, Cold That Cuts to the Heart,” by Dan Barry, which begins:
“With the darkening approach of another ice-hard Saturday night in western Maine, the man on the phone was pleading for help, again. His tank was nearly dry, and he and his disabled wife needed precious heating oil to keep warm. Could Ike help out? Again?
“Ike Libby, the co-owner of a small oil company called Hometown Energy, ached for his customer, Robert Hartford. He knew what winter in Maine meant, especially for a retired couple living in a wood-frame house built in the 19th century. But he also knew that the Hartfords already owed him more than $700 for two earlier deliveries.
“The oil man said he was very sorry. The customer said he understood. And each was left to grapple with a matter so mundane in Maine, and so vital: the need for heat.”
The story goes on to talk about the effects of cuts in the federal energy-assistance program — 65,000 families are affected just in Maine. While heating oil costs 40 cents a gallon more than last year, the average allotment has been cut almost in half, from $804 to $483. This is inexcusably cruel.
People like Mr. Hartford, a 68-year-old retired stonemason, and his 71-year-old wheelchair-bound wife are suffering. This year is worse for them than last year, and I believe if Mitt Romney wins, next year will be worse than this year, assuming they are still alive. Because Mitt says he’s going to balance the budget without raising taxes. God forbid he and his private equity friends should lose their 15% “carried interest” loophole and pay the normal rate of 35%.
Despite the Great Recession, we are still a rich country. A very, very rich country. We can afford to get the Hartfords (and their dog and four cats) through another winter.
Embattled Farmers 