You reported on June 25 that the Bush administration is threatening to withhold money from Maine libraries if they do not install filters on their Internet computers. The article said Maine receives about $3 million a year from the federal government to pay for telephone and Internet connection costs.

In fact, much of this money comes not from the federal government but from individual telephone subscribers who pay all kinds of obscure fees to support libraries, schools, 911 systems and other projects. All the federal government does is launder this cash through the treasury.

This is not general fund money raised from individual and corporate income taxes, and thus subject to the political whims of the congressional and executive budget makers. These are dedicated funds, collected from all phone users to be redistributed to all library users.

Since Bush became president his trademark campaign phrase “It’s your money” hasn’t been heard as often.

Now, every time Bush finds some public program he doesn’t favor, he threatens to cut off its funds by declaring “It’s my money.”

David Bright, Dixmont

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