Mike - I am sorry but these defenses are laughable.

1. What makes something failed? You could argue every society has failed.. right now "Western Civilization" is the most dominant right now and the more religious-based states are in this world, the more corrupt they are. There are, however, many leaders (Hitler, Kim Il-sung) that have noticed the power of organized religion and the fact that people will do disgusting things in the name of having a faith in a higher power, so they destroyed the existing notion of god and created their own statist religion revolving around themselves as the god-figure. That is hardly humanist in any respect.

2. Thanks for demonstrating exactly why Jefferson is influential to humanists. You are quoting him while he was discussing the corruption of Christianity. You don't need to be an atheist to be a humanist. You seem to try to hide this by leaving out what comes after "compare these to the demoralizing dogmas of Calvin", which is this:

1. That there are three Gods.
2. That good works, or the love of our neighbor, are nothing.
3 That faith is every thing, and the more incomprehensible the proposition, the more merit in its faith.
4. That reason in religion is of unlawful use.
5. That God, from the beginning, elected certain individuals to be saved, and certain others to be damned; and that no crimes of the former can damn them; no virtues of the latter save.
What Mr. Jefferson does here is actually denounce Protestantism for abandoning what are pretty strong humanist ideas.. in fact, I would say the basis of humanism is in fact what Jefferson talks about in #2, that good works and loving thy neighbor are precisely what is most important! Jefferson also makes other pro-humanist statements, that faith should NOT be everything and that it should not be taken advantage of to rationalize disgusting and irrational actions, and then he stresses the importance of reason and the absence of it in his religious contemporaries.

I could go on but your cherry-picking tactics are annoying, it's late, and I'm not even confident this will be seen in the first place.

I had a whole response typed up but I swear my computer just went on an insane rampage of deleting everything I had! I think my delete key was stuck or something (it started when i was backspacing a couple letters)? I don't know! Anyway, I don't want to type everything I had so I will give the basics.

-That article is utterly ridiculous and it makes completely blind statements without backing ANY of it up or even trying to! Democrats and left wingers in American government are very far from being communists

-Humanism is a world-view philosophy saying we should draw our morals and ethics and reason from the human experience rather than religious texts and dogma. You can be a communist, socialist, capitalist, libertarian, objectivist, or anything else and still be a humanist. It doesn't do anything to dictate political philosophy.

So, I mean.. I guess you can call it left-wing social-justice propaganda? But "social justice" is a hard term to make sound negative.

Okay Dan. Sorry I'm such an unreasonable conservative.. anyway, my friends Bill, Sean, Megyn, Steve, and Bret are waiting to buy me a drink.. gotta go!

Gov. King doesn't have a flawless record, but there are three reasons I consider very, very important that are almost certain to lead me to voting for him come November:

1. He may be a liberal, but he is a mild-mannered man and that is reflected by his status as an independent as well as his rhetoric. He is not a divisive person, and that, to me, is much more important than what way he leans (although full disclosure, I am more liberal than not). His language is uniting, not dividing. His manner will not contribute to the further division of this country. I have voted for both Senators Collins and Snowe in the past precisely for this reason and would have voted for Senator Snowe again if she was in the race. Senator Snowe left the race because of how divisive Washington is at the precise time we need her the most. Luckily we may have another similar-minded person.

2. I just like the power and attention he brings to the state simply by being an independent. Senators Snowe and Collins are two of the most important senators in the country because they are he is much less likely to give in to having to "take one for the team" as Senator Santorum would say. They weren't "in the tank" for their own party and that is important for me. While I don't know the Republican candidates (I will take a look at whoever the nominee ends up being), my guess is they would in fact be. Congresswoman Pingree or Governor Baldacci certainly would be.

3. It also is a prime time to simply SEND A MESSAGE to Washington. This is not an acceptable way to do govern this country. Things need to change.

I can't speak for NYA or Hebron but St. Dom's and Catholic education in the Twin Cities has been experiencing dramatic decreases in enrollment and resulting teacher layoffs that have made news for the past few years .. it's doing anything but thriving. Barely a decade ago a new high school was built to be large enough to house students in grades 9-12. Now it has plenty of room for grades 7-12. I don't see how St. Dom's could ever be considered "thriving".

Tina - NCLB definitely needs to be gotten rid of but it isn't "what is causing our schools to fail". It might be what defines specific schools as failing, but in a broad sense, it isn't responsible for the fact that our schools are failing. When it comes down to it, the primary culprit is culture. This country needs a kick in the face and a drastic change in culture. Education is not seen as nearly as important as it is by such a large amount of Americans. This is a failure of schools, parents, and the United States as a whole. But all we really see are tiny little reforms that think throwing more and more money at schools will fix the situation. Money can help.. there is no question. The schools and youth in this country will not start to truly turn around, however, until we figure out how to implement a drastic change in culture.

Your first sentence makes it sound like the money is going to go to give all the teachers raises. If any of it is, it's very little. The teachers are doing more than enough work to earn their salaries. Many are placed in extremely challenging positions, and nothing is nearly as black and white as you present it.

I approve of most of this plan. The school choice initiative seems to be done in a fairly safe manner that will have more positive effects than negative ones for schools and students.

However, the state government has NO business in providing funding to religious schools. It's a shame this exists as a massive blemish in an otherwise sound set of reforms.

I had a response written up but I realized.. you really weren't worth it.

I remember pretty well a story the Sun Journal did about the relationship between Somalis and Bantus a couple years back.

Tina - look at the occasion. It's the 10 year anniversary of their arriving. The SJ's tone in this series has been to look forward with positive indications of what to come. There's plenty of legitimate negative stories that could be done about the Somali population, but I've so rarely seen stories done about random bullying in schools (it happens all over) or about suspension of bus riding services anywhere about any population. The SJ did a couple stories when there were Somali "gangs" of kids preying on innocent people in and around Kennedy Park awhile ago. Yes, the tone of the Sun Journal is for the rest of the community to try and positively progress with the Somali community, because quite frankly.. if you walk around the city listening in to conversations about Somalis, they are SO VERY RARELY about anything positive. Much of what you hear is true, much of what you hear is exaggerated, then a lot of what you hear is simply made up. But the tone ever since they got here among the Lewiston people has been a very negative, xenophobic one. There are positive stories to tell. Why can't we?

There is absolutely no apparent point to this letter. I wasn't aware there were movements to stop celebrating the holidays he listed. What issue is he trying to address, exactly?

I don't know how you expect to be taken seriously, Mr. Pond.

There are too many people that make up their minds about someone and will always refuse to alter that no matter what happens. If people are attacking him for what he may NOT have said at yesterday's press conference, they need to look at the big picture. I didn't see anything inflammatory, and I saw what I thought was a genuine desire to start anew. I don't think people are wrong to ask for him to change the way he has talked about the immigrant population up to this point. The things he says are not inflammatory, it's usually how he says them that it could be very easily taken in a way he doesn't intend. That isn't asking him to change his opinion, but how he goes about talking about it. The "welfare population" or "these people" aren't the problem.. the problem is government and its welfare programs. Attack the source, not the result.

It's refreshing to see he has changed his tone, at least for now. He obviously has a lot to learn about how to handle himself in the spotlight. I hope he is able to learn quickly, for the sake of our city. The Bob Macdonald I knew as a kid when he was on the police force was a friendly guy who was good at interacting with kids. The Bob Macdonald I've seen so far has only seemed brash and bitter. If he puts that behind him and brings out the kind of guy I saw as a kid and the kind of guy his supporters are confident he is, he will have an easier time over the next two years, and the people of Lewiston will be much more likely to be open to what he has to say.

We'll see what he has in mind tomorrow afternoon..

You went off on a really poorly made analogy to make this whole big statement that has as little logic as what you were responding to. European-style socialism is pretty far from totalitarianism, as is the concept of socialism itself. You attack the writer of the original letter as throwing out an "all-too typical Democrat rant" and then continue on what anyone could call an "all-too typical Republican rant". This letter bleeds with its own hypocrisy, and only serves to one-up Mr. Vaillancourt's letter. Within your letter is a brand of rabid partisan extremism that is tearing this country apart.

Great letter taking a different stance than the one I had from a little over a week ago.

We've learned a lot of positive things about education since charter schools began in this country. The public school system is generally pretty timid in taking any drastic steps at changing their system to improve for fear of total failure.

I find it interesting that the person writing the letter is from Poland, which from what I've gathered, is a district that is generally more (commendably) adventurous in its operations than the average system.

One thing about writing letters to the editor is that you have a limited amount of space to say what you want.. I had a lot that I wanted to say that unfortunately I didn't have enough room to say it in.

Dan - First, one thing I am certainly not is part of the "wacko right". I'm pretty moderate and vote democrat at least 60% of the time. I do believe, however, that the regulations the national government has been putting on our schools (most of these coming from No Child Left Behind and the Bush administration, actually) are keeping schools from exploring new ways to educate our children. Part of the culture problem in our schools right now is that they're structured a certain way that isn't all that demanding. You'd think that would be the first thing to change - to go in a direction that would demand more hard work from our students. Unfortunately, because that requires such a dramatic culture shift, the regulated schools can't make those changes very easily. That's where charter schools come in - without having to worried about being structured a certain way, they can explore different and better ways. It certainly is to lump all charter schools into one category because many of them are so different. Take a look at the Coalition of Essential Schools - I used to see Lewiston High School on that list (it was even on that list when I went to school there), but (and this is only from an outsider looking in, I don't know exactly the reason) the school seemed to have a hard time making the changes necessary to really embrace that philosophy.

Second, Dan, the point is giving the opportunity to students whose families CAN'T afford to send them to private schools to have the chance to send their kids to a great school outside the realm of a typical education. Like I said, though, I am not part of the "wacko right" and believe government should be paying for these schools. We can't afford to pay more right now, that's why it's simply relocating funds rather than being new ones in. Smaller schools tend to do better anyway, which is why a lot of the largest ones, often middle and high schools, will separate their students into "teams" - those smaller learning communities help.

Jason - The lottery system really is an unfortunate consequence of the charter school system, that is for sure. And yes, you bring up some other unfortunate elements of the charter school system. "Bad eggs" aren't necessarily filtered as much as you seem to think they are, but otherwise I do see those as necessary evils.

What's a "samolian" woman?

This is largely a non-issue that some people like to turn into something bigger than what it is. I worked at a Lewiston elementary school last year that was 30% Muslim and Christmas was still very much a part of the school. In fact, at times I even conceded to myself that it did seem a little odd when I'd see small groups of exclusively Muslim students coloring pictures of Santa Claus and reindeer. I of course can't speak for Lisbon schools which are the ones addressed in this letter, but for the most part, there is plenty of evidence all around schools that Christmas is coming.

My first sentence was not a complete one. But you can figure out how I may have finished it. Sorry.

Also, tron... you aren't helping. But when do you ever?

This is widely supported by the American people and members of our military. There is no reason someone should have to conceal their sexuality to fight for their country. There have been worthy and capable people discharged from the armed forces because their homosexuality was exposed, and who knows how many honorable people have neglected to go into the military because they knew they'd be unable to be themselves.

Any issues that may arise from this won't take long to go away. People will get used to it and that will be that. This is good to see happen.

I'd appreciate you keep the little personal shots out, you know nothing about me and all it does is delegitimize your statement making it less worthy of being taken seriously. Liberal television tripe? Are conservatives keeping us in Afghanistan? Right now I blame the Obama administration for not only keeping us in Afghanistan but increasing the troop count. Thanks for the reminder about 9/11, clearly I had completely forgotten about one of the most memorable moments in my life. Look, I know what the rhetoric is, but staying in Afghanistan isn't saving us from terrorist attacks right now. The real fight is in Pakistan, this is where most of the terrorists we should actually be worried about have migrated. But Pakistan wants to do little to help us in our pursuit, so we're in Afghanistan doing what little we can do there. Hamid Karzai isn't much of a leader and whether we leave now or in 5 or 10 years isn't going to do much for the wellbeing of Afghanistan, but it's doing plenty to sink THIS country into even deeper debt.

Not much of a question - our entire government is full of hypocrites on both sides of the aisle. Both sides have talked about how important it is to reduce the deficit, but of course now both sides are in favor of adding $1 trillion to it. As long as they get their tax cuts for the rich. As long as they get their money for wind turbines.

This guy clearly isn't completely with it, but on the surface his views aren't terrible. The libertarian-led part of the Tea Party is a part I wish would come out more. Instead, we're more likely to fall victim to a religious, socially conservative wacko in the mold of Christine O'Donnell or Sharron Angle. So, if this guy's head were on a little more straight I could see myself appreciating some of the stuff he says.. I mean, he's clearly intelligent. Instead, he chooses to drape himself in skull and crossbones and associate himself with a group of people better known for its Angles, O'Donnells and Palins.

Great points from both Jeff and Dan (of WDL fame.. great to see you guys on here).

Dan: There is a bit of a difference between immigrants coming here and Rau's story. These were missionaries from one country going to another (although it was under the same empire) and changing the names of the people there. These are people coming here, and it has been a very normal process for people's names to become anglicized.. it happened with the pronunciation of my last name and probably many, many other first last names of people commenting on this website.

BUT, I think the point you're making is still very important. There is certainly a lack of sensitivity from "natives" whenever a group of "foreigners" come in to a new place. We assume that they should do whatever they can to assimilate themselves into their new setting as soon as possible and that it will be very easy, so people may not even second guess the personal effects of something like giving someone an anglicized nickname, especially if it is without their consent.

As someone who both went to Lewiston Public Schools for several years under Levesque and briefly worked in them under him, I think he did a decent job. He has no blaring academic successes, but he did a solid job leading the schools in a tough transition period. The LSJ calls Levesque a "frugal manager", and from what I understand on their coverage of Webster, he will lead in a similar light. It's always important to have a superintendent who can manage money correctly, of course, but I think I'd rather see someone coming in who wants to be known for shaking the system up. Going with the flow and slowly changing certain things is partially why education in this country is so messed up. Things need to be seriously messed around with.

The problem, SC, is that with that system you're telling kids what they're going to be. By setting them down a path early on, you're significantly narrowing their options and opportunities. Ultimately a system like that impedes on the ability to pursue the "American dream".

Before the French started speaking English as their first language after moving to Lewiston. The idea of a Somali radio show one hour a week would, you'd think, be about as uncontroversial as it gets, but still people use it as a venue for xenophobic speech.

There are many, many LEGITIMATE issues to have with many in the Somali community, but when people respond to a harmless story like this with "how about learning english" with 21 people agreeing, you no longer deserve to be taken seriously.

I apologize if I was trying to legitimize the idea of homosexual marriage if that wasn't what you were questioning.

And yes, I'm also sorry for the "it" instead of the "I". I think the guy who posted the numbers will suffice, since I don't really feel like doing all that work. Maybe I should have been a little more clear, since there are probably plenty more actual atheists (that is, someone who is absent of a believe in a god) than self-identifying atheists. There is still a bit of a stigma in our society with that word.. unlike struggling homosexuals who may try to be straight when they are not, however, people who don't have a belief in a god sometimes like to use words that are seen as less extreme sounding like agnostic or non-religious.

Actually I never quoted the constitution. Sorry, man. You can read most any historian, from Wood to Zinn to Bailyn, and it's not hard to find that religion did not mean much if anything to the heavy majority of the founding fathers, and there was absolutely a clear intent to keep government distinctly separate from the church.

And no I haven't bought into any myth that homosexuals were born that way, because I realize that there isn't a definitive answer as to whether they are or not. But, I live by the idea that if someone wants to do something that does not adversely affect me, I have no right to keep them from it.

On that same page there is another source saying, from exit poll data, 4% of the population is gay.

http://www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu/ - This study suggests 7-8%. I tend to think it's somewhere in the 4-8 range. You can find studies all over that say different numbers. But let me appease you for a moment and say it is indeed only 1.51% of the population (I don't believe this poll at all since it's coming from a website based on religion, and the same numbers say only .4% of the population are atheists... it could find you 2 million atheists in a day). That is still over 4 million people. That is more than three times the state of Maine. Homosexuals are a large minority of the population and deserve the same rights as the rest of us.

The idea that homosexuality is a choice is a fallacious argument, because it doesn't matter. I could care less whether homosexuality is from nature, nurture, or choice. Homosexuality is, in fact, something that does not affect anyone else but the individual and his/her consenting partner. Therefore, people should be left alone to live the way they see fit as long as no one or nothing is being adversely affected. Now, if the government is going to be in the business of granting marriages, it has the duty to accept these individuals as equals and grant them what they deserve.

As for the issue of homosexuality as something that is against the religious morality of several religions, no one is saying churches or mosques have to marry homosexuals. This is a fundamental separation of church vs. state issue. The church should not be forced to recognize people they (in my eyes, wrongfully) deem immoral as married, and if people of these religions are against gay marriage, then they should just look at marriage through the eyes of their church instead of the eyes of the government.

The acceptance of homosexuality is rising, and I am confident that the people of the state of Maine will vote to grant homosexuals the right to marry within the next 10 years if Paul LePage is our governor and keeps the legislature from granting them their right. I do not consider this a major issue if he does in fact become our governor. While several civil rights issues needed the government to change before people's opinions changed, this seems to be shifting much more organically toward the side of equality.

I hope all this person's comments stay up so other sensible people reading this can see for themselves first hand the types of problems we have in this city. I'm not one to make sweeping statements about an entire group of people, but I find that some of the most bigoted view come from the oldest group of people in the city.

If that's the case, it sounds no different than a large percentage of white males in this city. Get over it. You aren't helping your case.

That scent is a cultural aroma/perfume they put on themselves. I forget what it's called. Surely that's one cultural difference you can respect?

I spent last year as an ed tech working specifically with English Language Learners at Montello and there is no truth to your claim that interpreters treat female teachers differently and give them attitude. That is an ABSOLUTELY outrageous claim. The interpreter I worked with was an incredible guy who was very well liked by all the teachers in the school. I'm really, really curious as to where you heard that fallacious claim. There is indeed an unfortunate attitude many Muslims have towards women, but that is usually kept within the family.

None of these teachers should be given any blame. I think that, right now, Lewiston Public Schools is in a really difficult situation with the giant ELL population (and a very challenging population because the kids do not have a home life dictated by American values, then they are expected to become different people when it's time for school). But by doing some shuffling, they are getting funding, and I think that this funding shouldn't simply be put towards more staff and new materials, but in EXPERIMENTING... there is a distinct evasion towards experimenting in Maine public schools in general (for instance, there are no charter schools), and I think a failing school like Longley has absolutely nothing to lose. There should be a complete restructuring of the school, with different experimental methods enacted. LPS is facing an incredible challenge but not an impossible one.

At this point I'm willing to take risks, yes. My entire life has been spent in Lewiston, and I have only seen our downtown continue to disintegrate and become more and more pathetic. The city itself has shown no sign of economic growth, and we need to do something. Risks need to be taken instead of having to watch those abandoned buildings sit there for the next generation to have to see. Where is YOUR evidence that a run-down small city like Lewiston was hurt by a the presence of a casino?