People's Veto Team - meet your opponents.

that was his MySpace page you linked to, not his Facebook page.

Why is the fact that a 25 year old has a MySpace page relevant to anything?

The information on his page is hardly scandalous, in fact he looks like a pretty decent kid compared to some of the other MySpace pages out there. And besides according to the page he hasn't logged on to it since December.

Crack reporting Wally this should get you the Pulitzer.

I liked it. They're up against a major out of state firm that has flown in professional "gatherers". They need to be proactive, and they're doing just that...

I thought some of you might be interested in this letter that MEA President Chris Galgay recently sent to MEA members. Notice all of the asterisks and the fact that he does not mention the tax on health insurance claims that is also in this bill.

"Dear MEA Member,

There is mischief afoot and MEA is encouraging you to beware of a petition drive being sponsored by corporate interests that could harm our neediest students*, and could have a negative impact on state funding for education* or our health insurance program.

If you are asked to sign the "People's Veto" petition repealing the tax on beer, wine, and soda*, decline to sign. Here is why:

* Repeal would eliminate funding* for a state subsidized health insurance plan that covers our neediest families and many students in our classrooms.
* More uninsured families* means hospitals and doctors will have to raise the rates on the rest of us to meet their unpaid expenses.
* If funding is cut, the legislature may help our poorest citizens by making cuts in other areas of the budget - and education is a large part of that budget.
* Should the beer and wine industry* repeal effort succeed, legislators may attempt to take over the MEA Health Plan again - so it could become a serious threat to the excellent benefits and moderate rates our current and retired educators enjoy.

While any tax increase is difficult to accept in these economic times, the loss of health insurance* would be disastrous for thousands of Maine families. A few cents per bottle seems a reasonable price to ensure medical care for our students and prevent mischief that could undermine educators' interests.

Please join with the Maine Medical Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association of Maine, and the Maine State Employees Association in asking others to think carefully about the true costs* before they buy this repeal package from the beer, wine and soda industry. Decline to sign.

Chris Galgay
President - Maine Education Association"
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1.) No one is going to lose their health insurance as a direct result of the People's Veto, should it succeed. Dirigo Health will continue to be funded in the manner it always has been - and that includes a regular review by the Maine Bureau of Insurance.

2.) The word soda is often attached to this tax increase, but what this letter and many others fail to mention is that all drinks that are not pure water, milk or more than 10% juice fall under the umbrella of this tax as well.

3.) This effort is not solely big corporations protecting their interests, as some would like us to believe. This effort is local restaurant owners, the mom and pop convenient store down the street and people like me: average, blue collar citizens who live and work in Maine.