During an afternoon rally inside the Hall of Flags in Augusta, Maine today (March 20), a high school student from West Bath publicly scolded a red-faced Gov. Paul LePage and other lawmakers.
The rally, organized by the Maine Campaign to Bring Our War $$ Home and Occupy Maine, was briefly interrupted when Gov. LePage entered the Hall of Flags. The more than 100 people in attendance began chanting “Shame, Shame, Shame” at LePage’s continued attacks on working people and social progress in Maine.
At first the governor went into his office, but a moment later came out with his entourage and stood alongside the rally, clearly wanting to see who the group was that was chanting at him.
Morgana Warner-Evans, a student at Mt. Ararat High School, then came to the microphone to sing. She introduced her song (Which side are you on?) by saying both her parents are teachers and that she was tired of “public officials” denigrating teachers as being lazy. She said her parents “work 50-plus hours per week”. She then changed the words of the song to include, “They say up in Augusta, they’re on a big rampage, you’re either with the union, or you support LePage…Tell me which side are you on?”
At one point the governor appeared to stick his tongue out at the crowd.
After listening to several speakers LePage finally left when retired DOT worker Loren Snow (Ellsworth) gave a heart-rending account of life under a state pension that is increasingly under attack by the current administration. Snow’s meager $1,500 a month pension is being eaten up by having to pay larger shares of health care costs, without cost of living allowances, as he tries to care for an ill wife and disabled adult child.
Waterville Mayor Karen Heck was also a speaker and asked, “What kind of country have we become when we are killing and maiming women and children half way around the globe? At the same time we’re abandoning poor women and children here at home.”
Video of the rally (including LePage’s presence) can be obtained from Regis Tremblay at 207-400-4362.
Photos were taken by Peter Woodruff who can be reached at 207-798-2979.
4 comments:
I wish that I had not been so nervous when he walked in. I would have done a much better job articulating my grievances to him. Instead I forgot half of what I was going to say.
School funds are not being cut because of public employees and their unions. Federal grants in aid to the states have not kept pace with huge increases in military spending over the last couple years. This is why states are being forced to squeeze their budgets.
I don't want Governor LePage to tell the president to "go to hell"--I would not want him to say that to anybody. But I would like him to stand up to the federal government and demand that our tax dollars be spent here in Maine.
You did great Morgana.....your parents would have been proud, teachers everywhere would have cheered you on, and your song lyrics were great....we were all proud of you. You spoke for all of us.
I wish I could have been there, my wonderful granddaughter! I'm sure that you performed beautifully!
Love, NANA (Martha Warner, Carrboro, NC)
Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPl9yUgmEng&feature=youtu.be.
Morgana, you inspire me. So much so, that I sent this link to the 9000+ signers of my petitions to make the tax code fair and save MaineCare. I see there have been almost 200 more views since I sent that out this afternoon.
And here is my petition, in case people want to sign it: http://signon.org/sign/make-the-tax-code-fair.
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