Legislature: "Not here, not now."
Some smart legislators, led by Representative Tom Saviello, attended the public hearing and submitted an amendment to the bill. The amendment proposed two urgent things for Maine citizens:
1. All wind projects need to get a public hearing. (The Legislature previously passed a law saying that wind projects in the expedited areas would no longer need hearings.)
2. Institute noise regulations which count reasonable levels of high and low frequency noise.
Sounds pretty simple, right?
Like requiring motorists to stop at red lights.
But no. At the PUBLIC HEARING, Senator Peter Bowman, after violently smacking his own palm with his fist, yelled: " This is not a question, but a statement... You will not respond to it because I don't want to hear you. You are abusing our process. The committee is interested in your noise issues and we understand that the issue in Vinalhaven is being taken care of, and we want to hear about this noise issue, but not here, and not now."
Not here. Not now.
Seriously.
We hear you, but we don't. This geezer got elected.
I just gotta say: every morning I grace a more admirable than Bowman part of my body with a good rub of toilet paper.
This man does not have enough apertures to stuff with nacelles and towers.
Steve Thurston, testifying eloquently in support of the prudent public health amendment, said "there are so many projects in the pipeline right now, all of them racing against the clock to grab up the subsidies, so there is a real urgency for you to act now, before all our ridgelines are covered with turbines and it's too late." He went on and asked, "if not here, where? And if not now, when?"
A befuddled committee, led by an unintelligible and dottering Senator Bowman, stared blanky back at Thurston.
Thurston went on, pleading with legislators to pass the bill so that people could be heard and so that turbines could not. Committee members Stacey Fitts and David Van Wee ridiculed those who dared to come to their state capitol to tell the truth. It was a shameful demonstration of how a government can be wholly owned and controlled by a corporate entity....in this case, an industry: Big Wind.
The back row was surely packed with the black suits from all of those firms on retainer for Big Wind. But not one of them got up to speak. What would they say??? "We are here at this public hearing to testify that the public should not be allowed to testify at public hearings."
"...We are here to testify that noise is only a problem if you live within a few miles of our turbines, so shame on you. You should have thought of that back in 1958 when you bought the place."
Nope. Not a peep from them. You can bet they sat there and smirked as the committee demeaned the good people of Citizen's Task Force -- people who spent all day waiting to give public testimony to a committee that does not want to hear it.
When your own representative government puts your interests below those of speculating, over-leveraged pillagers like First Wind....it is Tea Party time, Mainers.
Mad as hell, and not gonna take it any more.
Views: 124
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Comment by alice mckay barnett on April 29, 2011 at 12:02pm
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sorry I was not paying attention...so much going on...takes a year to garner from the underground news what is really going on. again i am sorry steve. thank you and monique
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Comment by Dan McKay on January 31, 2010 at 1:30pm
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This group has remained remarkably focused on the " tangible " wrongs of the wind industry. The appeal to slow the whole thing for reasonable and logical evaluation is resonating with the public. Moratoriums are being enacted more and more frequently. Wind ordinances truly meant to protect the health and welfare are being drafted and enacted. Great strides have been made in a short period. I am very excited as Freemont and I discover another citizen becoming " aware "
In Dixfield at the Dirigo High School, 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, a wind debate will take place. Issues to be discussed will focus on health and economics. Having spoken with many fellow townfolks here in Dixfield , noise, electric rates, and property value concerns top the list.
This event will surely bring out many who are new to the issues, seeking information.
Freemont is creating a poster to display in the lobby adjacent to the meeting room. His photos of the many mountains and foothills surrounding our town will certainly appeal to people's sense of beauty and tradition. I will write my thoughts and place copies in the lobby for the people to take home.
I hope the citizens representing this website and the visitors to this sight can attend this forum and , in some way, impart their knowledge developed through many hours of research to my fellow towns people. A poster, a handout, a video, a conversation will go a long ways to helping people understand the pitfalls of accepting wind farms here on anywhere in Maine.
Keep the focus and We Will Win!!
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Comment by Art Brigades on January 30, 2010 at 5:23pm
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So essentially, "not here, not now, don't talk to us..." could be the elected official's equivalent of "Not in my back yard."
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There is no video. But the audio was live on the web. Funny how they turned off their microphones when they were insulting and chastising the public. Hopefully the press was recording it.
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Comment by Whetstone_Willy on January 30, 2010 at 11:29am
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Now everybody, bring your family down to the riverside,
look to the east to see where the fat stock hide,
behind four walls of stone the rich man sleeps
it's time we put the flame torch to their keep
Burn down the mission
If we're gonna stay alive
Watch the black smoke fly to heaven
See the red flame light the sky
- Burn Down the Mission - Elton John & Bernie Taupin
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Comment by Long Islander on January 30, 2010 at 10:11am
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Peter Blowman represents Kittery. I wonder how he likes their failed wind turbine.
I wonder if Blowman knows the family of First Wind's Kurt Adams, given they own the Kittery Trading Post.
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"At the PUBLIC HEARING, Senator Peter Bowman, after violently smacking his own palm with his fist, yelled: " This is not a question, but a statement... You will not respond to it because I don't want to hear you".
The video of that would be a cops beating Rodney King video type moment.
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Despite the arrogant, elitist tirade upon them, our people ( Steve, Monique, Cathy and others ) stood up with courage and conviction. Thanks to these concerned citizens, the wake up call to Augusta took a big step forward. Our strength is in our determination as we continue to rise above government intimidation.
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Comment by arthur qwenk on January 30, 2010 at 9:08am
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One cannot listen to reality when auditory sensory input meets no neuronal connections in the gray matter.
A solution to the Noise Problem of Wind Turbines is to place a 1.5mw GE at each member's house of the "'Governor's Task Force on Wind Power".
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AMEN! Onward!
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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