This past month or so has been absolutely crazy. I don’t think I have ever seen so much turmoil around our planet in such a short period of time. Earthquakes and a tsunami in Japan, uprisings in the name of freedom, Democrat lawmakers fleeing Wisconsin and disappearing murals in Maine’s Department of Labor.

And if that isn’t bad enough, another superbug is hitting hospitals in California while an infestation of Asian Stink Bugs threatens to wreak havoc on our nostrils. I wonder what in the world will happen next?

People in the Middle East are seeking freedom at a pace that was totally unexpected. Citizens of Tunisia and Egypt have been successful in removing an oppressive government but that doesn’t mean their quest is over. We are hearing the most about the rebels in Libya pressing ever closer to the capital city of Tripoli because of the international intervention of the United States and other countries with air strikes against Gadafhi’s forces.

In Yemen and Syria demonstrators continue the same fight in the face of death rather than live in a society of oppression. Even in other countries like Jordan and Bahrain the people are demonstrating for a change away from a monarchy. Now a civil war threatens the citizens of another African nation, the Ivory Coast.

Freedom is the noblest cause, but what I fear most from the fight for freedom in some Middle East countries is that an enemy of the free world will rise as the victor, namely al Qaeda, Hamas or Hezbollah. We can readily see what happened with our intervention in Somalia, which is now a country without a government in control with many areas are controlled either by warlords or extremist groups. I hope that the ultimate outcome is that many countries finally become true democracies but somehow I doubt that will happen in all those countries undergoing revolution.

Here in the United States we have a revolution occurring in several states over union busting and government cutbacks of both personnel and programs. Wisconsin is in the forefront of that fight and I cannot fault state employees standing up for what they were promised. It is their right to demonstrate just like every American can. What I have a problem with is the Democrats of that state who ran and hid in another state to avoid legislative debate. The fight over whether public employees should have a union is going to be long and hard. I actually could fight for either side and I know that surprises many who know me. This fight will undoubtedly divide Americans until the left and right decide to compromise and I believe that has about much chance as a snowball in Hell.

At the Augusta Palace of Malice, formerly known as the State House, the decision to remove the murals at the Department of Labor building was made in secret just as the removal of those murals over the weekend. I once stated that Augusta was five clowns short of circus. I was wrong because now there are too many on both sides of the aisles. I just have to wonder what decision will come next.

In Windham, this will be the budget season that will force my wife and I to decide as to whether we stay or move to another state that has reduced taxes compared to Maine. We love Maine so that decision is a hard one because it’s so emotional to leave that which you love. But I will not tolerate living in town where the school superintendent and town manager are paid exorbitant salaries while people lose their houses because they cannot afford to pay their property taxes.

I am guessing that it is possible we’ll see a tax increase that will surprise us all. The proposed school budget for RSU 14 has an increase of 3.1 percent. (I thought consolidation was supposed to save us money?) The council has debated increasing the undesignated fund balance (emergency surplus), which I have heard could be an increase of around 4 percent, and then there’s still the municipal budget that has yet to be discussed.

After speaking with Marge Govoni, chairwoman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, I apologize to the members of the board for saying that it is stacked, similar to how some people feel other boards are in Windham. I appreciate that conversation with her as she and her husband do a lot of volunteer work for our town.

Lane Hiltunen lives in Windham and will soon start another radio talk show.