2017-01-13 Update
2017-01-13 -
Update
Events and Happenings
Every week I
try to send out an update about all things legislative. This note
will contain lots of references and
links.
While we were down and out with the
flu here at the Fuller household and I was not able to attend the
legislative sessions or the Maine Development Foundation bus trip, I was
able to study and prepare for what’s coming in the future.
First,
one of the resources we are mailed every day is the House Calendar.
We receive this publication each morning before session, and it outlines
and describes what is to happen in the session. While I can not send
these along in advance, I can include them with the weekly update.
This week, Governor
LePage presented his budget. It’s complex. As a freshman
representative, I’m learning to read these complex documents, sometimes
wondering if complexity masks the truth and the real agendas. From my
first reading and initial reactions, I wonder if this is a budget
conceived to help residents of the state of Maine. I worry about
what appears to be a tax shift to property taxes. If we do not
invest in our populace, how can our populace return on that
investment? That’s where common sense should reach beyond mere
budget agenda. Luckily, we have time to examine fully this budget -
and I do feel this will have many eyes on it before final
passage.
The link to the budget can be found here.
Budget Proposal for
2018 - 2019
Over the week, there have been lots of invitations
to many different kinds of events. These are largely invitations to
attend information sessions. But, I calendar things - and rely on
calendars to help know where to go. So, the calendar of legislative
events and happenings can be found here.
Or,
alternatively, you can look at the calendar in the sidebar of this web
page. It's really the same
calendar.
Reflections
So,
I do follow the news, both locally and nationally.
We have
moved into a “post-truth” world. Anyone can seemingly make any
claim, and if they have any degree of authority or opinion, that claim is
seen as truth. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell’s nightmare of what
the future might hold may have finally materialized. As a citizen,
and as an English teacher, I read this article, and thought - “What if
it is what it says?”
The article can be found at - What
Truth
We must all be cautionary about
a post-truth world - and a healthy skepticism may be an important
trait.
Always feel free to contact me with your thoughts,
concerns, and observations.
