Author: Pem Schaeffer

Pem Schaeffer is a retired engineer who progressed to a position in business development leadership in defense electronics. He lives and writes in Brunswick, Maine, and blogs at: http://othersideofbrunswick.blogspot.com/ He can be reached at pemster4062@yahoo.com or you can always buy him lunch at a Maine Policy Institute luncheon. He's easy that way, and he'll still respect you if you do.

After much middle of the night reflection, I have reached at least two conclusions: First, Wilbur’s Woods needs to be renamed “Bottleneck Woods,” because that is how it is best described. Second, the Project needs to go to “ALL STOP” condition because as proposed it is completely unworkable, and will be a blight upon the neighborhood and Brunswick itself for having approved such an insult to residential life. The following considerations force me to reach this conclusion: After reading the original Fast Track approval process with attendant discussion, it is obvious that Deputy Chief Emerson of the Fire Department has…

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If you saw the original Top Gun with Tom Cruise, released in 1986, you know what a Flat Spin is, and how serious a crisis it is for aviators. If you didn’t see it, you may well have seen the sequel: Top Gun Maverick, released last year, and it was a box office record setter. If you have seen neither, see what you can do to find the flat spin segment of the original so you can sense the depth of the crisis it presents. YouTube and similar sites could be helpful. The flat spin in the original was the…

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In recent weeks, our hearts have been broken and our consciences racked by the awful massacre of elementary school children in Uvalde, Texas. As the days march on since the actual event, the systems and protocols responsible officials thought they had in place look to be anything but foolproof and fail-safe. In many ways, they are looking downright misguided, and lacking in competent and courageous leadership and execution. This makes the pain all the more severe and tragic. We may not know how these events unfolded with the necessary precision for weeks and months, if ever. This tragedy, of course,…

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(If you read my column “Have We No Recourse?”, this column is intended as a sequel to that one.) To set the mood before I drone on: Much of Orwell’s keenest insights concern what totalitarianism is incompatible with. In his 1941 essay “The Lion and the Unicorn,” Orwell writes of “The totalitarian idea that there is no such thing as law, there is only power…” In other words, laws can limit a ruler’s power. Totalitarianism seeks to obliterate the limits of law through the uninhibited exercise of power. As I often do in cases like this, I turn to the…

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Can we do anything lawful and legitimate to “protect, defend, and preserve” America as we know it? I don’t know if anyone else saw the first part of this episode of Tucker Carlson last night; if you didn’t, this item will fill you in and provide a link to the replay. In particular, focus on the juxtaposition of the US Border crisis and Pelosi’s sermon on the need for American support of Ukraine’s border. I consider myself sane and in control of my faculties; rational; modestly intelligent and introspective; and “present,” as they like to say in la-la world. So…

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Abraham Lincoln once famously said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” The bloom is off the rose, the man behind the curtain has been revealed, or, thank goodness, the truth is finally coming to light. Events of the last several months have revealed the arrogance, condescension, non-responsiveness, and aversion to disclosure of the so-called “public servants” who govern our taxpayer-funded public education system. Not surprisingly, many of them have shown themselves to be bullies, which is an irony for the ages, and should not be lost on us. We have…

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“The Invisible Hand” is a notion coined by Adam Smith in the context of economics, and in particular, the free-market capitalist system. It’s a well-chosen image of how such markets work in a free society. If you’re not familiar with it, this Investopedia entry should help: “The invisible hand is a metaphor for the unseen forces that move the free market economy. Through individual self-interest and freedom of production as well as consumption, the best interest of society, as a whole, are fulfilled. The constant interplay of individual pressures on market supply and demand causes the natural movement of prices and the flow of trade. The…

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You may think the words of this title are harsh, and they are for an America rapidly disappearing. But I submit that the cancellation has already happened, so hear me out. I work at staying informed by a variety of means in this period of existential crisis for the country I grew up in; it is incredibly discouraging. This week I’ve been following conversations in which learned academics are discussing the fallacies and distortions of the 1619 Project created by the New York Times. This unproven, widely challenged narrative has spread like wildfire into the curriculum of public schools nationwide without…

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It’s Supreme Court nomination time again, and the result is predictable. The usual suspects on the progressive left, especially those whose hair is most likely to spontaneously combust when cameras are nearby, are behaving like raving lunatics. Like they did with Brett Kavanaugh, the left is hysterical because they are convinced a believing Catholic nominee will lead the Supreme Court to repeal Roe v. Wade, the decades-old decision that ruled the individual states could not prohibit the practice of abortion. Legal scholars have argued over the findings of the decision since it was handed down, but it has been considered “settled…

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Every citizen who meets statutory qualifications has the right to vote, and to have their ballot counted. Just as importantly, each voter has the right to not have their vote canceled by an illegitimate ballot, and all citizens have the right to expect that elections are decided only by legitimate voters and votes. There’s great insistence on one side of the political divide for “voting by mail” in the upcoming presidential election, which will include voting for thousands of state and local officials as well. Election conduct is the responsibility of the states, and here in Maine, the secretary of…

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I’m an engineer by aptitude, education, and vocation. Those of you who are also one, or know or live with an engineer, know what we’re like. We prefer to live in a logical frame of mind, and we have a particular appreciation for reality. We think linearly: if an orange costs $1, then two oranges should cost $2. Choices have consequences; actions cause equal and opposite reactions; what goes up ends up coming down. When something that has worked right forever suddenly doesn’t work, we first ask what changed about the circumstances? We’re not as amazed by digital technology as most…

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I counted to 10, but it didn’t work. I don’t know about you, but I’m at wits’ end regarding the state of our beloved America…one time land of the free. I refer specifically to the chaos, mayhem, destruction, criminality, looting, all forms of lawlessness, widespread death and serious injury, and overall trashing of public and private property, adding up to anarchy in place of the ordered liberty on which this nation has been based since its founding. Ordered liberty, ensured by enforcement of duly enacted laws, is how life and the pursuit of happiness is assured for us all. The numerous…

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We’ve been watching the judicial gyrations over the fate of retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn for weeks. Each week a new esoteric detail pursuant to the final adjudication of his case emerges. One thing we can count on, since Flynn briefly worked as President Trump’s national security adviser – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other members of Democratic leadership, sternly reminding us that “no one is above the law.” (A close cousin of “we are all equal under the law.”) Pelosi, et al., do this to oppose dropping of charges against Flynn for lying. They fail to mention that Flynn was coerced into…

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We grow up being told to “look both ways before you cross the street.” Whether we knew it at the time, that was an introduction to the axiom that choices have consequences. In this age, one with road rage, distracted driving and increased substance abuse, the advice is more timely than ever. Now we find “community organizers” and Black Lives Matter activists wanting to rush headlong across “Dismantle The Police Avenue,” without looking both ways before stepping into traffic. The consequences of doing so can barely be imagined, and have yet to be discussed with any rigor; too much rage…

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The Coronavirus pandemic has us engaged in “warfare” whether we wanted it or not. And it’s truly a “World War” geographically, unlike any other in recent history. Predictably, after a few months with no decisive “victory,” the media, members of the commentariat, the establishment, and the elite power structure are second guessing in earnest, searching for blame-worthy individuals, and demonstrating their laser-like hindsight. Here in America, the president has been blamed, accused, and hit with every imaginable criticism since before he was elected. Now Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, the Surgeon General, other task force members, and any other entity that…

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In today’s partisan, impeachment-centric political climate, the following have become figurative lapel pins and brooches for the ruling class. As you read them, images of Jerry Nadler, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Schiff may come to mind. My sincere apologies. “We are a nation of laws.” (see Note 1 below) “No one is above the law.” (see Note 2 below) “Equal justice before the law.” (see Note 3 below) The majority of us embrace these as core truths of our unique American experiment, yet their regular flaunting, and at the same time abuse, by those who should be their guardians erodes…

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In April last year, the Press Herald ran my Maine Voices submission; it began with this: “Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his own.” – Milton Friedman My thesis was that the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s (NNEPRA) proposed Royal Siding Project was declared unnecessary by a career railroad professional with bona fides well beyond anyone in the NNEPRA sphere, and had not been subjected to peer review by qualified experts.  NNEPRA’s rationale was that it was necessary to increase Downeaster daily round trips between Portland and Brunswick from three to five. (I learned at…

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Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, is surely among the wealthiest institutions in Maine. Its capital assets, combined with its endowment, total well over $2 Billion, and conversely, its non-profit status subjects it to very little in tax obligations at all levels. Bowdoin prizes its stature as a paragon of diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism. It seeks to infuse its students with a lifelong commitment to advancing the common good and a devotion to service to others. It’s facilities are expansive and ever growing. Housing, food services, field houses, gyms, ice rinks, common/social spaces, museums, arts rehearsal spaces (remember Longfellow Elementary?), and others…

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Clichéd as it may be, conservatives live in “a target rich environment” for drafting commentaries on the absurdities of the progressive left. Most recently, the leftists are figuratively prancing around in the nude, shedding their traditional full body makeup. That got me to take the bait, and I offer here a summary of their most compelling absurdities of the moment. “It’s time for billionaires to pay their fair share.” “Fair share” is an entirely subjective concept. Fairness really means giving someone else power over us to make that determination. “Free people can treat each other justly, but they can’t make…

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Maybe you’ve seen The Full Monty, or at least heard of it. It’s a bit dated in this age of gender non-conformity.  Hence a variant I imagine as The Full Alexandria, in which players of unrestricted “expression” take part in a theatrical festival of inclusiveness. For purposes here, expression includes not only matters of gender, but more to the point, ideology.  Alexandria refers to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the reigning femme fatale of the solidly mainstream extreme left. For a hardcore, lifelong conservative like myself, the mere mention of socialism, or it’s drag persona—social democracy—is enough to send me to the bunker…

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Matt Gagnon did a superb job of “fisking” Edgar Allen Beem’s recent Forecaster column attacking MHPC’s report on Maine’s referendum process.  The report details how the process has increasingly been used by out of state big money interests.  In his response, Matt clearly showed how intellectually bankrupt Beem is, and how perverted his journalistic principles are.  Ethics and integrity are the least of Beem’s concerns, and he shows his disrespect for Forecaster readers because of it. Beem has been the “featured” opinion writer in The Forecaster for many, many years.  He’s an unapologetic member of the far left.  I’ve jousted…

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This article first appeared in the Portland Press Herald. “Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his own.” This is the essence of government, where everything boils down to spending Other Peoples’ Money (OPM), often for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. Does $10 million sound like a lot of money to you?  I sure hope so. Apparently it isn’t to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), an agency of Maine State Government that operates the Amtrak Downeaster.  They chase grants and subsidies at both state and federal levels to…

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How much would you pay someone to invade the privacy of your home?  Or to search your premises continuously, breaching your barrier against tyranny?  Similarly, would you pay to have your home wire-tapped?  And your life tapped? Now consider Alexa, the personal assistant residing in Amazon’s Echo products.  These are available at prices beginning under $50.  In today’s red hot technology domain, such devices are seen as exemplars of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Highlights from the Echo product page include these: Echo connects to Alexa—a cloud-based voice service—to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your…

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Herewith a few quick examples of the cognitive cacophony of those on the left, highlighting their unmitigated gall and what otherwise amounts to total cluelessness. Here in Maine, Medicaid expansion was a ballot referendum before voters in the most recent election, for the umpteenth time.  No matter how many times it is rejected or repealed, the same reliable bleeding hearts pay hundreds of thousands to signature-collectors to put it on the ballot yet again.  This is the tactic they used to get marriage redefined.  If I recall correctly, it was voted on five times before it received approval by a…

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Pundits and commoners often repeat Michael Savage’s thesis that “liberalism is a mental disorder.”  Born Liberal, Raised Right by Reb Bradley argues (paraphrased from the cover) that infants enter this world with the behavioral trademark of liberalism: an exalted view of their own self-importance.  This default condition survives and prospers into adulthood unless overcome by rearing that emphasizes the keystones of maturity: self-control and self-discipline. Various aphorisms address adult liberal behavior, especially that of elected governing elites of the left. When Democrats have the majority, they rule; when Republicans have it, they hold office. You can govern or you can spend. …

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Moral superiority is the lily-white garb donned by progressive true believers to shore up their self-image as charitable guardian angels of lesser beings.  It feeds on constant virtue-signaling to keep the image pure, broadcast to an array of identity groups who eat up their public self-reverence. The archenemy of their moral superiority is the merest hint of moral equivalence (whatever that is!) with apostates on the right.  Such a suggestion is an existential threat to progressive supremacy and simply must not be abided.  Embrace of their supremacy demands they reflexively label challengers as bigots, racists, sexists, evil, Nazis, homophobes, climate-deniers,…

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I agree with Governor LePage. Teachers should be paid what they are worth. More broadly, everyone should be paid what they are worth, including the Governor. He makes less than teachers at the top of the scale in my town, and I’m pretty sure his work schedule is well beyond the 182.5 workdays per year their salaries are based on. Not to mention that his ‘classroom environment’ is far more unruly and undisciplined than theirs, and his ‘students’ far more incorrigible. The title assertion of his recent column is wide open to interpretation, however, and mine differs significantly from his.…

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“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”  -Barry Goldwater On Saturday, October 29th, the Portland Press Herald ran an article that begins with these words: “BANGOR — In a historic gathering of Maine political firepower, five current and former U.S. senators lamented Friday night the nation’s deep polarization but also expressed optimism – if measured – for eventually moving back toward compromise and cooperation.” The participants were “Maine’s five living senators – former Sens. William Cohen, George Mitchell and Olympia Snowe and sitting Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King.”…

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Recently I attended the MHPC luncheon at which Tom Fitton, Head of Judicial Watch, was the guest. As he spoke, it occurred to me that saying we are ‘a nation of laws’ needs a modifier, and that would be ‘from time to time.’ Or if you prefer, ‘when we feel like it.’ Having laws on the books is one thing; administering them, obeying them, and enforcing them is an entirely different concern. And these are the things that matter; not having the laws on the books. It became apparent as Tom spoke that when it comes to the latter aspects,…

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“When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” – Albert Shanker – President of the United Federation of Teachers [1964-1984] & the American Federation of Teachers [1974-1997] (There is some dispute over whether Shanker actually said this, but there is no arguing with the thought. To think otherwise would be to believe that United Auto Worker union members organized to advocate for the interests of American car buyers.) In the last week of April, 2016, Dr. Bill Beardsley of the Maine Department of Education spoke on education policy at the MHPC luncheons…

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In 1959 I began my pursuit of a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. At the end of my sophomore year, I landed a summer job as an Engineering Trainee at a nearby Army R&D Center. The pay was better than typical summer jobs. The position was a recruiting tool to interest future graduates in a career with the civil service. What an eye-opener it was. My job was in a drafting room, where I redrew existing drawings in what could only be viewed as ‘make-work’ tasking. The permanent employees were all nice enough and quite content in their positions. Only…

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Sometimes, seemingly intractable problems need to be addressed with ‘brute force.’ That is, you tell everyone to stop making excuses, and whack them ‘upside the head’ until they change their ways and remedy the situation. In the case of “addiction,” which is our operating premise here, it may be useful instead to begin lengthy analysis, in hopes of finding the ‘root causes’ of the substance abuse. Other times, such as that before us, you heed the advice of Ronald Reagan, who said that the solutions to many of our worst problems are simple. “There are no easy answers, but there…

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A three part series on chronic abuse of other peoples’ money Part I: The Moral Hazards of OPM Principle Five: “Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his own.” (Thanks to Lawrence Reed, head of the Mackinac Public Policy Center at the time.) The Clear and Present Danger: For many of us, ‘somebody else’s money’ is called “other peoples’ money,” or “OPM,” which rolls off the tongue as “oh-pee-em.” This sounds eerily reminiscent of opium, usually pronounced “oh-pee-um.” Which is ironic, since both are highly addictive, even though the latter is a controlled substance, legally speaking, while consumption of…

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More than three years ago, The Maine Wire ran a brief item of mine on the filibuster concept memorialized in U.S. Senate rules. Several days ago, some friends and I engaged in a discussion of the same subject as it relates to politics and the challenges of governing at this moment in our history.  We have a ‘divided government;’ the U.S. Senate consists of 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 independents.  The U.S. House consists of 246 Republicans, 188 Democrats, and 1 seat is vacant.  The Presidency, obviously, is held by a Democrat. Simply put, Republicans have an overwhelming majority…

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I’ve often generalized about Republican’s and Democrats by saying that the former almost always play defense, and the latter always play offense.  The brilliant Mark Steyn recently said “when Democrats get elected, they govern; when Republicans get elected, they hold office.”  He also noted that in contrast to the popular line of the day, “government isn’t broken; if you’re a Democrat, it’s working perfectly fine.” Steyn loves the Great American Songbook, and so do I.  Fittingly, as I thought through plans for this article, a Frank Sinatra classic came to mind; here’s how it begins: Something’s Gotta Give When an…

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Who was it that said election time is ‘silly season?’  For years I’ve rolled with that description, but more and more, it seems to be ‘trashing season’ and ‘fibbing season.’ To that point, in our three way gubernatorial race, we see a peculiar juxtaposition of campaign approaches.  The incumbent emphasizes his stewardship of the ship of state during his current term, and how he plans to manage the enterprise should he be re-elected. The two challengers, exactly as you might expect, do their level best to move votes away from the incumbent with time-tested, consultant driven enticements.  One says he’ll…

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