A group of southern Maine residents has appointed themselves the task of naming Portland's "official" poet laureate. Which is odd, not just because two of them don't even live in Portland.

The term "poet laureate" is usually used to designate someone chosen by a government body to represent that body (and its constituency) poetically - not, as this group is trying to do, a person chosen by private citizens and then foisted on the government as a fait accompli.

Also, Portland already has a poet laureate - the poet laureate of the state of Maine, Betsy Sholl, a Portland resident who teaches at USM. She, like all Maine Poet Laureates since the mid-1990s, was chosen by an advisory group created by the Legislature, and appointed by the governor.

Let's be clear - a poet laureate title is a figurehead as it is. Any private group can create its own figureheads whenever it wants to (see: the DNC and Howard Dean). And there's nothing really wrong with them trying to get the government to give their decision the stamp of approval.

What would be wrong is for the government to go along with it, since this type of selection is hardly representative of anything but the very small number of people involved. And even though it's an unpaid, figurehead position, the move would approve of a small special-interest group's claim to represent the wider public - which isn't quite the ideal of democracy. (This doesn't seem to faze the Portland City Council, who have already told the group they'll approve of the selection at Monday's meeting.)

This new group of eight (six Portland residents, and one each from Westbrook and Kennebunkport) got together and decided that Portland needed its own poet laureate. So they called themselves Maine Poetry Central (no Web site yet), created the "Portland Poet Laureate Board," sought out "nominations" from various people, and got together to pick a winner, whom they have already named "Portland's Poet Laureate."

(He's Martin Steingesser, who has won various awards and been published in a number of outlets, both poetry-specific and not. He seems to be a nice guy and a decent poet; the "process" by which he was "chosen" to "represent" the "public" is what's in question here.)

Maine Poetry Central will apparently try to do this same private-selection process in other towns around Maine, with Brunswick, Augusta, and the Rockland-Camden area as specific early targets. Will those local governments cave as fast as Portland's? Place your bets now.

5/31/2007 12:28:45 PM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [1] |  

5/29/2007 10:50:26 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

It's Memorial Day, and we're here at work, and in comes this e-mail from the fact-haters at the Christian Civic League of Maine, announcing that - and yes, make sure you're sitting down - "the Christian ministry has allowed [its] deep concerns over sexual morality to drop from its top priority." Which means, I guess, that the failure of their initiative to re-legalize discrimination against gays (defeated by the "No On 1" campaign in November 2006) might be sinking in.

Yes, it's official: the Christian Civic League no longer fears the imminent moral destruction of Maine and Mainers from the evil and satanic influences of gays, lesbians, transsexuals, transgenders. And no longer will they have as "top priority" their repeatedly failing efforts to ban any thought, reference, or even imagined concept of non-heterosexuality. (Of course, by implication, those efforts are still somewhere on their priority list. Let's hope anti-gay efforts are now moved to below "preventing domestic violence," "feeding the hungry," "providing healthcare to all," and "loving their neighbors as themselves.")

The full release is below, but it's important to note that after taking a stand that caused many Mainers to distance themselves from the League - and a "cash crisis" that made the League nervous about being able to meet its payroll in March 2006 - the League has now decided to focus on a new threat to Maine's "high moral character" (except that part of our character that supports gay rights, we assume - that part is probably still going to hell).

The new threat? Gambling. Now that's something that actually a lot of Mainers oppose pretty strongly - remember that casino vote? It happened the same day as the racino vote, in which we legalized some kinds of gambling at some places.

Let's make sure that if we have to hear CCL executive director Mike Heath spouting off again, we recognize his "ire" for what it is - a plea for support, of any kind, from anyone. He couldn't win with hate, so now he'll try to win with fear - and then, when Mainers vote down a gambling expansion (as they'll almost surely do), Heath will claim victory.

You heard it here first - with or without Mike Heath's purported "help," fear and confusion about gambling's effects on Mainers - not cogent arguments about whether gambling is right for Maine, or for some parts of Maine, or in some forms might be OK - will win the day and lead to a rejection of expanded gambling.

But Heath will be able to take credit for something: he'll make damn sure fear and confusion are front and center.





Release Date: 5/28/07
League to Fund Anti-Gambling PAC

The Christian Civic League of Maine announces its intent to fund the League's political action committee (PAC), the Christian Action League, for the purpose of defeating this November's gambling expansion referendum.  The League plans to give up to $100,000 of in-kind contributions to the Christian Action League PAC for the November 6th effort.

Celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, the League will use these in-kind contributions to ensure that every Mainer interested in preserving our state's high moral character votes on Election Day.  Contributions to the League and to the League's Christian Action League PAC can be made online at www.leaguerecord.com or sent to 70 Sewall Street, Augusta, ME 04330.

The League's Board of Director's decided recently to make defeating this gambling expansion referendum its top priority until November.  This is the first time since 1994 that this Christian ministry has allowed her deep concerns over sexual morality to drop from its top priority ranking.

The League fully expects Maine people will reject gambling expansion this November.

The League has been successful with similar previous campaigns in the past, including recently.  The 2005 People's Veto was spearheaded by the League's Coalition for Marriage PAC and successfully collected over 55,000 signatures in less than three months to create a November, 2005 vote.

Further details about the League's effort to stop gambling expansion will be announced as they become available.  Announcements can be monitored on the League's online newspaper, the Record, at www.leaguerecord.com
*
Contact: Michael Heath, The Christian Civic League of Maine
(207) 592-4137
mike@cclmaine.org

5/28/2007 4:24:44 PM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

The "Maine-based" company Goombah - whose contact information both in the e-mail and on the Web site are Boston area-coded phone numbers - sent this yesterday, just before the American Idol finale. Anybody want to guess how much they paid Jordin or American Idol to get this photo? (Hey, wait - we put it online! CHECK, PLEASE!)

5/24/2007 8:40:03 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

Okay, so on Friday, Ethan Strimling, a state senator serving part of Portland, held a big get-together in the West End, at which he told the assembled masses, "I am officially announcing today, in front of you, that I am exploring the possibility of entering the race for United States Congress."

Which doesn't take us far beyond the long-rumored interest Strimling has had in the seat Tom Allen has held since 1997. (Allen's running for Senate, against Susan Collins, largely by trying to equate Collins with our fearless president, and by pretending that he considers the US military very important, despite having given up his seat on the House Armed Services Committee in 2004.)

But Strimling has done us all a huge favor, by listing his backers (on his site, and in a press release). Now, when he's making decisions, either in Washington or Augusta, we know who's talking in his ear.

Anyway, Strimling's backers are very Establishment - folks like Dennis Bailey (PR flack to the stars - Angus King, Casinos No, and a host of others); exploration leader Bobby Monks (er, that's Robert C.S. Monks - the S is for Sprague) of Cape Elizabeth, who in 2004 held a $500-a-plate fundraising dinner for Hillary Clinton's campaign to represent New York in the US Senate; Rosemary Baldacci (the gov's sister); Leon Gorman, chairman of LL Bean; pollster Frank O'Hara; Daniel Reardon, former Bass Shoe CEO; George Campbell, president of the Boulos Company's New England division; Vince Conti, president of Maine Medical Center; and various folks from the state Democratic establishment.

There are a few activists, like Darlene Huntress of EqualityMaine, Cara Bilodeau from the Maine Women's Policy Center, and Betsy Sweet of the Maine Women's Lobby, as well as a few law-enforcement types, including Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion and Kennebec/Somerset District Attorney Evert Fowle.

Interestingly, there are a couple of political appointees whose ability to advocate for political candidates is, at best, questionable: Dale McCormick, director of the Maine State Housing Authority; and Bath superintendent of schools William Shuttleworth.

Maybe all those people - the list of people on the exploration committee numbers 41 in all - can help Strimling make a decision.

Check out the video of his announcement at MaineWebReport - including commentary on his apparent efforts to subvert federal military spending into state bridge-building projects, and read the transcript of Strimling's announcement on TurnMaineBlue, a Web site whose efforts are pretty self-explanatory.

5/21/2007 3:36:03 PM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |  

Chicky's Fine Diner, the outpost of local-music and diner culture in a historic space in Westbrook, closed Saturday for good.

The diner, which celebrated its third anniversary at the end of last month, closed for financial problems, according to co-owner Blake Smithson, who said the club faced the costs of renewing all of its various food, beverage, and entertainment licenses, as well as some overdue tax payments, and "the specter of June, July, and August" - the lowest-revenue three-month period of the year.

He and fellow co-owner Chicky Stoltz first talked about shutting down on Thursday, made the decision and told the staff on Friday, and kept things going on Saturday in the building, formerly owned by members of the family of '50s rock star Rudy Vallee.

Smithson said he'll be letting the bands playing regular gigs there know by e-mail later today. (The casualties also include a May 27 gig that was planned to be part of the Phoenix's Best Music Poll Festival, featuring roots-rock bands King Memphis and the Bourbonaires - a band counting among its members Smithson, Stoltz, and booking agent Nick Bloom.)

Smithson was tired and sad when reached Monday by phone, but was trying to remain positive, saying "I have really really enjoyed being so involved in the music scene in Portland."

He wants to become more involved, actually, and is keeping his eye out for club or restaurant owners who want to collaborate on Chicky's-like projects in the future, and playing more often with the Bourbonaires.

Stoltz couldn't be reached immediately for comment; look for updates here later in the day.

5/7/2007 11:41:03 AM by Jeff Inglis | Comments [0] |