“The government is merely a servant – merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.” – Mark Twain.

Lane/Tommy: We believe it is time for government at all levels to go a new direction. Let’s do away with the squabbling among lifetime politicians by booting them out of office so that we can move into the future instead of living and suffering with the past. Dinosaurs became extinct because they could not adapt and were replaced by a new species. That must happen in Augusta and Washington.

Remember the saying about government of the people, by the people and for the people? What we are tired of is government that is disgusting to people. The news constantly shows our president’s low approval rating but seldom mentions that Congress is rated even worse.

Lane: My suggestion as far as the Maine Legislature goes is to propose a serious change in the way legislation happens in Augusta. I suggest that for every piece of legislation proposed the sponsors must have a proposal that includes doing away with two pieces of past legislation.

Second, if a proposed bill is going to cost taxpayers money the funding must be designated in the new bill instead of worrying how to pay for it later. It is obvious that the Maine Legislature has become a serious burden to the taxpayers because of too many pipedreams and not enough money to fund them. Wouldn’t it be nice if Mainers could brag about a legislature that did away with laws instead of bloating their egos by proposing numerous new ones that burden our wallets?

Tommy: I agree with Lane because what a concept it is. Can you imagine what would happen if Maine crawled out of the Dark Ages? Also, how about paying for the bills government already has instead of spending more money that we don’t have? I fear that we are sacrificing the future of the next generation. Remember some of the new sayings from Augusta such as structural gap or revenue enhancement? Wouldn’t it be nice if the Legislature initiated legislation that would result in declining disbursal of the taxpayers hard-earned wampum?

Lane/Tommy: Now it’s time to discuss the future for the Windham Town Council and School Board. Our first thought is to lock them all in a room armed with baseball bats and the winner walks out! But seriously, it is time for them to work out their differences. They must remember that they are here to do the people’s work.

Just as in Augusta, egos must go in order for Windham to move into the new millennium. We must have a local government that operates out in the open, honestly and for the people. Unfortunately, we realize that this has not always been the case from both the school and municipal sides of our local government. Rather than cover-ups and circling of the wagons, it’s time for openness and conscience in our local government.

A former town councilor recently accused newly elected councilors forcing members of municipal and school departments to walk on eggshells. We call that accountability in government, which is something that some prior town councils are guilty of not accomplishing. We want action from our government officials instead of bobbleheads that continuously look at the town manager for answers. Please notice we said officials, not councilors.