General Dynamics corporate welfare bill tabled again in Augusta - temporarily

Mary Donnelly (on right) and I standing outside the Taxation Committee Work Session room before things began today in Augusta.  BIW V-P John Fitzgerald is on the far left leaning up against the wall.

The Taxation Committee today voted 8 to 4 to table the $60 million General Dynamics welfare bill again due to outstanding issues not yet clarified after Bath Iron Works V-P John Fitzgerald brought in more amended language to LD 1781.  Committee Chairman Dana Dow (R-Waldoboro) though stated that he wanted to reschedule the bill as soon as possible - likely next Tuesday.

The sponsor of the bill Rep. Jennifer DeChant (D-Bath) did not even show up for the Taxation Work Session which indicated to me that her role is essentially over.  BIW has now taken control of the bill and will be using their economic and political muscle to try to push it through the legislature - sooner rather than later.

BIW's Fitzgerald had the job today of explaining the latest changes to the committee (which is largely favorable to the bill) but most of the 12 committee members were visibly confused so they had to table the bill in order to have more time to sort things out.

Still several members of the committee raised very serious objections and concerns including those by Sen. Justin Chenette (D-Saco) who said, "We are still not being provided the full financial picture [of GD/BIW].... I'd like to request for the 5th time a clear demonstration of financial need...until that level is met I'm gonna be a no vote."

Much of the meeting was spent trying to get a handle on new language that would determine the way the corporate subsidy would be paid, new annual reporting requirements for BIW about how they spent the taxpayer funds, and definitions of things like what is a full-time worker, qualified worker, transferability of the tax subsidy if BIW was sold, and confusing concepts like acceleration and deceleration of the payment formula (depending on the amounts of workers hired at any one time) that virtually no one on the committee understood.

Rep. Janice Cooper (D-Yarmouth) made the remark that the confusing acceleration/deceleration clause "could be used to decrease employment due to automation" which BIW has been doing for years by 'mechanizing and modernizing' the operation.

In the end this further delay gives us more time to alert the public to this corporate give-a-way bill.  We urge everyone to re-contact your state legislative team in Augusta and let them know how you feel about LD 1781.

It is very likely that once it does pass the Taxation Committee (all the Republicans and several of the Democrats on the committee support the bill) it will surely be rushed to the floor of the State House and Senate for a vote without much, if any, public notice.

I will continue my hunger strike until the bill is voted up or down in Augusta.  Twenty folks from around the state showed up to oppose the bill and we had a chance to talk afterwards.

You can contact your legislators here

Photos by Regis Tremblay and Bob Klotz

Drug company interests trump the truth

Day 10: Solidarity Hunger Strikers in Maine

People across Maine and beyond are signing up to join my hunger strike opposing the General Dynamics request for $60 million from the Maine legislature.  This corporate shakedown comes from a company that paid their top CEO $21 million last year and made $3 billion in profit.

I am planning to stay on my hunger strike until the bill, LD 1781, is voted up or down at the capital in Augusta.  If anyone wishes more information about joining this hunger strike please contact Mary Kate Small at marykatespeace@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone for their great support.  We are causing a much needed debate about corporate power all over our state which has long been a corporate colony of one form or another.

You can contact your Maine state legislator here

Bruce

Solidarity hunger strikers

2/12  Bruce, Don Kimball
2/13  Bruce
2/14  Bruce, Connie Jenkins
2/15  Bruce, Connie Jenkins
2/16  Bruce, Mary Kate Small
2/17  Bruce, Mary Kate Small
2/18  Bruce
2/19  Bruce, Don Kimball, Russell Wray, Akemi
2/20  Bruce, Joseph
2/21  Bruce, Peggy Akers, Dixie Searway
2/22  Bruce, Meredith Bruskin, Peggy Akers, Cindy Piester, Ken Jones
2/23  Bruce, Connie Jenkins, Mary Beth Sullivan, Bob Klotz, Ken Jones
2/24  Bruce, Cynthia Howard, Peter Morgan, Larry Dansinger, Ken Jones
2/25  Bruce, Cynthia Howard, Ken Jones, Mary Donnelly, Mike Donnelly, Mary Beth Sullivan
2/26  Bruce, Don Kimball, Connie Jenkins, Cynthia Howard, Richard Cate, Ken Jones
2/27  Bruce, Barbara, Cynthia Howard, Ken Jones
2/28  Bruce, Cynthia Howard, Ken Jones

and on if necessary......

Against NATO in Sweden

Anti-NATO protest in Sweden where the US and NATO are expanding military operations, including space technology war fighting bases.

Sweden and Finland are under heavy pressure by Washington and Brussels to sign on to NATO.  If that does not work out because of public opposition as we see in the video, then NATO will attempt to sign them up as 'NATO partners' which still gives the US military control of that country.

You've got to fight it the whole way - don't stop when you get half the loaf.

There are some good interviews half-way into the video.

A peace friend in Finland sent me this message just today:

There has came an initiative from Norway to make a common Nordic peace statement against the militarization of the Northern Europe. The Peace Committee of Finland has joined it, which I am glad for. At the same time our government and parliament are discussing new surveillance laws which make it more easy to read people's emails and letters. So they try to create totalitarianism, I guess. (We must talk, write and think as StratCom tells us.)

Bruce

Day 9: Emotion and reaction from BIW today

I handed out seven flyers today at the shipyard.  It was a foggy-misty day that happens when the warm air hits the frozen ground.  A day of emotion for me.

Not so many people were grumpy with me today - I think I am wearing them down.....

The best moment of my shift change vigil came when a young worker walked up to me and said he wanted to talk.  He told me he does not want to build weapon systems for war.  We talked about conversion of the shipyard to build things that would help us deal with the coming harsh reality of climate change.  He quickly noted the mist because of the warmer temperatures - "It's not supposed to be this warm this time of year," he said.  He took my flyer and I asked him where he lives.  Bath, he replied.

A retired BIW executive had an Op-Ed posted today in a couple of the bigger Maine papers declaring his support for the $60 million gift to General Dynamics from our very poor state.

I love the response tweeted by school teacher and activist Lisa Savage (above)  to media throughout the state - right on the money as they say on Wall Street.

Word got around about the Op-Ed, written by Bill Haggett, and one long-time local activist from nearby Brunswick, Selma Sternlieb, replied on email:

Here’s my story about Bill Haggett: About 40 years ago, [now US Senator] Angus King had a program on TV in which he interviewed people. One night, when I was watching, he interviewed Bill Haggett. Angus asked him to predict the future of BIW. Haggett responded something like this: "In the worst possible scenario, peace.…"  I wrote a letter to the editor of the Times Record quoting him. He called me to say, "Mrs. Sternlieb, I am not a warmonger."  I’d like to know what else you could call him.

Also today I got a message from my good buddy in Albuquerque, N.M., Bob Anderson. Bob told me that:

I took Sally Alice Thompson (94) to the ER again today with pneumonia.  She was also there for it last month.  She is tireless, at this age and opening her house to political asylum seekers and doing demos.  The VFP chapter is named for her here.  She is like our mother.  I told her of your hunger strike and why and she said 'well I might as well join Bruce' — but she was in the ER bed trying to breathe.  I told her to get well first and then she could do a sympathy strike with you.  I think knowing what you are doing made her a little more determined to get well soon...

So my heart was touched alot today.  There is more going on than we realize across Maine.  I'm certain that GD did not want to have to engage in debate and a public defense of their corporate welfare bill.  They wanted it to slide quietly to passage without anyone knowing about it.  But now nearly two months later the bill is in amended form (still no damn good) in committee with another work session on February 22 at the capital in Augusta.  There have been more than 65 Op-Eds, letters and radio shows on 20 different Maine media outlets all critical of the bill.

As far as I know Mr. Haggett's piece today was the first we've seen speaking in favor of the corporate subsidy bill.  Likely BIW/GD determined that they needed to call on one of the old whigs to declare the virtues of the shipyard and up the fear ante about possible closure.  He knows the script quite well, they've been recycling it for years.

In the end GD is having to work pretty hard for their welfare check from Maine taxpayers.

Bruce

Message from grandmother to BIW corporate welfare bill sponsor

Suzanne Hedrick is the woman in brown coat in the middle of the photo next to man in green coat.  She sent this letter today to Rep. Jennifer DeChant (D-Bath) who is the lead sponsor of LD 1781 to give BIW $60 million in corporate welfare.  

Dear Ms. DeChant,

I am 86 years old and have a deep concern for children. I am a retired school teacher and am heartsick over the massacre of children at a high school in Florida.

I am also concerned by the massacre of children by US drones, bombs, and other weapons of war. You are a strong supporter of BIW which makes DESTROYERS which, in fact, destroy the lives of children in many parts of the world. As woman to woman, I must say I find it abhorrent that a woman would give whole hearted support to weapons of mass destruction such as DESTROYERS.

The name of these ships alone should convey to you just what their purpose is. We have children in Maine who go hungry every day. Many lack affordable health care and adequate housing.

A USS Zumwalt costs at least $4 billion to build. That is taxpayer money going for destruction and not for the desperate needs of people here in Maine. A lead article in today's Bangor Daily News, "Already struggling to pay minimum wage, homes for people with disabilities face cuts July 1."

Maine's tax payers should expect our legislators to work for the common good of all its people.

Building DESTROYERS and giving billion dollar weapon manufacturers millions of dollars in tax breaks hardly contributes to the common good.

Please, for once, think of the children who are targets of Maine's DESTROYERS.

Suzanne Hedrick
Nobleboro, Maine

Who has all the military bases?

Day 8: Democrats afraid won't be reelected if reject GD welfare bill

• I got a call today from a friend who had spoken to one of LD 1781 sponsors - the Maine bill to give up to $60 million in corporate welfare to General Dynamics (GD).  The friend told me the politician, a Democrat, was afraid she would not be reelected if she did not support the bill.  This was the same Democrat who had tweeted against Maine Sen. Susan Collins (Republican) when she supported Trump's corporate tax bill that reduced the federal tax rate of GD to 19%.  So in this case the Democrat state senator rationalizes her way out of this moral dilemma by considering her reelection the most important issue - greater than the reality of 43,000 kids in Maine living in poverty or roads and bridges falling apart.  Why the hell sign up for the job if you are not going to vote for what is right?

• I went down to the shipyard today at 3:30 pm but the place was mostly shut down due to the Presidents' Day holiday.  I'll be back there again tomorrow at 3:30 pm.  I am going to skip the noon hour vigiling that I did all last week due to my energy beginning to fade.  Today was the hardest day yet for me.  I'm not much of a nap taker normally but this afternoon I fell out for 30 minutes.

• While I was down at the shipyard I did see some people.  One guy gave me the middle finger and then made a gun out of his fingers and repeatedly shot me as he drove away.  But soon after that another worker walked right up to me and I asked him if he wanted a flyer.  He eagerly took it and said he was opposed to the GD welfare bill.  He said most workers don't like GD - primarily after how they were treated in their last contract.  He said the new contract has a freeze on raises for the next four years, there were cuts in their health care and retirement packages as well as other benefits.

• So we see GD squeezing the workers while at the same time increasing executive compensation packages and doing major buybacks of their own stocks.  Just last week GD spent $6.8 billion in cash to buy an IT company that does military contracting.  So GD is partly able to spend like that after they have taken money from the workers and from states like Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Kentucky where the politicians are too 'afraid' to say no.

• I want to thank two folks for their extraordinary efforts in this campaign.  Mary Kate Small (Camden) has sent a letter all over Maine inviting people to join the hunger strike and she is now keeping a log.  She reports that every day is covered through March 17 with someone in Maine joining the hunger strike.  I know of at least three that were fasting in solidarity today. Quite amazing.  Also thanks to Bob Klotz (South Portland) who is a leader in the climate change group 350 Maine for his daily efforts to build this campaign.  Today he put up an online petition that you can sign here

Bruce

Day 7: Update video by Regis Tremblay

Thanks Regis and all the peeps out there working to save Mainers $60 million.

You can reach your Maine member of the state legislature here 

Please sign the petition that Bob Klotz from South Portland has started to oppose GD corporate welfare in Maine

https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/no-to-corporate-welfare.fb49?source=c.fb&r_by=175166 

The Legislature, GD/BIW Need to Wake Up — Maine People Are Not Stupid

By Orlando E. Delogu

Most Maine people know that GD/BIW does not need another $60 million dollars of taxpayer’s money to keep the doors open.  They are scamming the Legislature and the public with veiled threats of closure and job loss if this subsidy is not provided. In fact GD/BIW is one of the wealthiest corporations in America. 

Here are 10 reasons all of which suggest that this latest round of corporate welfare is unwarranted. Badgering the state for another $60 million is an abuse of corporate power; giving in to this demand is legislative dereliction of duty—a duty owed to Maine taxpayers. 

1. Past and ongoing state tax subsidies to GD/BIW total more than $220 million. Maine taxpayers have already done enough for this corporate entity.

2. GD/BIW (on the Fortune 500 list) is the 90th largest corporation in the nation. In FY 2017 alone GD/BIW generated $31 Billion in revenues (five times Maine’s annual budget) and $3 Billion in profits. This rate of profitability goes back over a decade. Given this level of wealth, squeezing Maine for another $60 million cannot be justified on economic grounds.

3. The CEO of GD/BIW is paid $21 million annually; four other employees in the corporate hierarchy annually earn a combined total of $20 million. At public hearings on LD 1781, BIW’s corporate leadership refused to disclose their levels of annual compensation—but they had no qualms asking Maine for $60 million scarce tax dollars.   

4.  Beyond enriching management, the extraordinary level of GD/BIW profitability has in recent years allowed $12.9 Billion to be returned to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks.  They currently have $2.7 Billion of cash on hand.  The assertion that they need another $60 million from Maine taxpayers is ludicrous.

5. The claim that GD/BIW is in competition with the Ingalls yard in Mississippi for navy contracts is also ludicrous.  Both yards make this argument in their respective states in order to extort legislative subsidies; these subsidies inflate corporate profits at the expense of taxpayers.  The fact is the navy, for strategic purposes, needs/wants both of these yards to succeed.  For decades it has almost evenly divided shipbuilding contracts between these two yards and it builds into ship contracts both worker training programs and generous profit margins.  

6. The veiled threat that the failure to grant the requested $60 million will cause GD/BIW to rethink its presence in Maine is pure posturing.  Recently six vessels were simultaneously under various phases of construction; BIW has a nearly ten-year backlog of work; they have over $500 million dollars invested in the present plant, and a trained workforce in place. No corporate entity in their right mind walks away from a profit-making engine of this size and continuing potential.

7. The recently passed GOP tax bill reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% pours even more money into GD/BIW’s retained earnings—but they still want $60 million from Maine taxpayers.

8. The recently passed budget bill staving off a government shutdown removed long-standing caps on defense spending. The President/Congress is committed to raising this spending sharply. Given events in Southeast Asia navy procurement of next-generation vessels will certainly increase. BIW will get its share of this spending; it does not need $60 million dollars from Maine taxpayers.  

9. To further enhance profit margins, GD/BIW recently acquired CSRA Inc., one of the largest systems research and information technology companies in the nation, for $9.6 Billion. The Departments of Defense and Homeland Security are CSRA’s biggest customers—this completed deal is further evidence that GD/BIW does not need $60 million from Maine taxpayers.  

10.  Finally, the proposed amendment to LD 1781 breaking it into two $30 million dollar subsidies, each running 10 years, is a total sham.  LD 1781’s employment requirements are low and will be readily met. And the $100 million of so-called “new major investment” is defined so broadly that it too will be readily met in the normal course of building the ships already contracted for, or that will be contracted for, as navy defense budgets increase. The present BIW facility will not be altered significantly.       

In short, Maine people understand most of the above points; so too do most members of the Legislature. We know that $60 million is “chump change” for GD/BIW—but for the people of Maine this is real money needed to address real needs outlined daily in newspapers across the state—the opioid crisis, underfunded schools, dangerous roads, funding health insurance expansion, and more. 

Maine is a poor state; the needs of its people should count for more than marginally increasing profits for one of the wealthiest corporations in America. Shame on GD/BIW for insisting on this $60 million dollar subsidy. If it capitulates to this demand, shame on the Legislature.
    
~ Orlando Delogu is emeritus professor of law at the University of Southern Maine and specializes in government relations and tax policy.  He also writes a regular column for The Forecaster.

Sunday Song

Day 6: Maine can't afford to give $30 million to GD/BIW either!

Here are a few thoughts I have about the amendments offered to LD 1781 by Rep. Jennifer DeChant (written by BIW and lawyers at Preti Flaherty):

• The amended bill would reduce the subsidy amount from Maine from $60 mil to $30 mil over 10 years.  But the kicker is that BIW/GD would then renew for another $30 mil for a 2nd 10-year period.  So it’s just an accounting trick to still give the same $60 mil over 20 years.  Do they think we are that stupid?  Answer is yes they do.

• Don’t give them $30 million either – Maine can’t afford $30 mil anymore than it could afford $60 mil.  Listen to the people – we are being squeezed from every end. 

• GD pays state taxes for BIW.  They add the tax amount to their contract with the Navy reimbursing those costs.  It’s a racket.

• GD still refuses to show the real need – they’ve been asked by members of the Taxation Committee to go into closed-door confidential session and look at the books.  BIW/GD refuses.  Who needs this money more – 43,000 children living in poverty in Maine or GD?

• Adding requirements for end of year reports to the state?  A nice touch to the bill, would be nice if BIW had been willing to disclose how money was spent and how many jobs were created in the years since 1997 – but they were not.  And the state does not have a functioning program to thoroughly review and contest BIW’s annual reports.  It is a sham and a sop to ‘compromise’.

My recommendation is to continue to oppose the bill.  Stay the course – full speed ahead to defeat LD 1781.  Keep the letters to local papers going.  As best I can tell so far we’ve had opposing views aired at least 63 times in 20 different Maine media outlets since this campaign began.

My hunger strike enters Day 6 and we had the first Lenten vigil for disarmament at BIW this morning.  The vigils will continue every Saturday through March 31, for an hour starting at 11:30 am.

We will be at the next Taxation Committee Work Session at the State House (room 127) in Augusta on February 22 at 1:00 pm.

Happy Chinese New Year to all.

Bruce

Day 5: Words from some workers at BIW

It was a dreary day weather wise at BIW during the noon hour but the action was swift, furious and very exciting.

I was joined by Blob Klotz from South Portland (along with his dog who had a sign on reading 'Dogs against corporate welfare!).  Bob is a leading climate change activist in the state with 350 Maine.

We walked down toward the south end of the shipyard where the Navy crews are HQed.  Once the ships are near complete they come to start to learn how to operate them.  So in addition to BIW workers we were able to hand out flyers and talk with the sailors.

Best of all were conversations I had with three BIW workers.  One told me, "Friggin GD don't need no more damn money."  A woman said, "I'm with you.  Fuck GD."

The most interesting of all was my conversation with a worker who told me not to continue with the hunger strike.  Nodding his head toward the river he said, "Don't hurt yourself. They ain't worth it man.  You would not believe all of the waste and fraud going on in there."  I asked him to define the word 'fraud'.  He replied, "Getting paid for doing the same thing twice.  I see all kinds of shit."

The author of LD 1781 is Rep. Jennifer DeChant (D-Bath) and today several papers across Maine ran an Op-Ed she wrote trying to sell her amended corporate welfare bill.  Responding to obvious and growing opposition, she offers a compromise of $30 million instead of $60 million for the mega-weapons corporation in 10 years rather than 20.  But the kicker is that at the end of 10 years General Dynamics could come back in and ask for a renewal.  By then most of us will be dead and gone.

We should be confident that our opposition is indeed being felt in the halls of the state capital in Augusta.  Now is not the time to relax.  Now is the time to step up our calls and emails to our local legislators and tell them - NO $$$$ for General Dynamics.  They don't need it but the state of Maine surely does.

You can contact your Maine state legislators by clicking here

Don't wait - do it today.

Bruce

Why couldn't we do this at Bath Iron Works?

The Gulf of Maine has the most wind in the U.S.

Instead of endless war, which is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change, we could be doing something else and still create jobs for Maine workers.  But we must collectively demand this change.

How?

A short film about a Global Network protest

The Poster, a short film created by W. B. Park for the Global Network in 2000.  He put out word in a Central Florida magazine for professional actors and film people who would volunteer to make this short film.

Will is a great artist who illustrated the work of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice when I worked there (1983-1998) and the Global Network since the mid-1980's.  In our latest Space Alert newspaper he has two illustrations.

Enjoy this short film about a woman who gets a flyer about a protest at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and decides she wants to make a poster and come along.

Bruce

Day 4: Good reception at the shipyard

             Some of the folks who gathered in front of BIW administration building yesterday during noon time


I went down to the shipyard today from noon to 1:00 pm and stood by a walk way that workers use to cross the street to go downtown to buy their lunches.  It was a great spot as well over 100 men and women passed me by.  I handed out 17 flyers which was quite good.

Three people stopped to talk to me - one man said, "You've got more support in here than you know."  Another man joked saying he was 'worried about Phoebe' (the CEO of General Dynamics who made $21 million last year and was quoted as being 'happy' after Trump's corporate tax bill dropped GD's tax rate to 19%).  He went on to recall how in their last union contract with the company they got squeezed hard.

Quite a few folks nodded, waved or made friendly eye contact unlike some who avoided looking at me at all.  One young woman, walking along with several other workers, reached out and took a flyer saying, "Give me one, I don't care."  It made me wonder just what she was referring to.

Mostly I felt very good about the overall reception and I tried to say hello to everyone that walked by.  Many responded in a kind way with 'good luck' or 'take care'.  It was a very rewarding experience.

The workers at BIW are caught between a rock and a hard place.  They appreciate the good paying job - especially considering that there are few opportunities in Maine for union wages and benefits - even though some of these benefits are now being whittled away.  Many travel a long way to work - a guy yesterday at quitting time told me he comes in a van with others from Rockland - a bit more than an hour drive away each way.

But many of the workers have issues with GD - a company that does not really care about the workers or the state of Maine.  BIW is just a tool for GD's corporate profits and they could theoretically sell BIW at any point - something everyone in Maine fears.  But that is not likely to happen anytime soon as the contracts for war ships keep rolling into BIW.

The $60 million GD is requesting from Maine is peanuts to this mega-weapons corporation.  They are also hitting up Connecticut for $150 million (also chump change to them) but GD does it because they can.  The corporate ethos is to make money - any way possible.  As one worker said to me as he was walking out during the afternoon shift change, "Hey those poor executives have to eat you know."

My goal for being down at BIW everyday during this hunger strike is obviously to ensure they know about our statewide campaign to resist the GD corporate subsidy.  But I also want to put a human face on our effort and I feel that slowly each day that is happening in a good way.

Bruce

Message from the street in Bath

Thanks to Regis Tremblay....

Day 3: BIW with members of the band

Fifteen folks turned out today at noon at Bath Iron Works (BIW) across from the administration building.  This was the Ash Wednesday vigil that has been organized here for many years by the Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm from Hope, Maine.  They are a Catholic Worker community that will also sponsor the Lenten vigils, held every Saturday from February 17 to March 31.  We'll always gather at the same spot on Washington Street from 11:30 am to 12:30.

At the end of each of these vigils we also have a closing circle to share our concerns about others who are not with us or who suffer around the world from the affects of war.

Today after most folks had left five of us remained and were talking.  BIW V-P John Fitzgerald, point man for the General Dynamics request for the increasingly controversial $60 million in corporate welfare, was entering the building and stopped to talk with us.  We had a friendly and frank discussion with him on the steps of the administration building.

During that discussion we talked some about the vision (and true difficulties) of converting BIW (and the entire military industrial complex) to sustainable and needed products and technologies.  Fitzgerald's primary goal is to keep the money flowing that will employee over 5,000 workers at the shipyard.

We reminded him that we didn't want to close the yard down.  When we protest at BIW we are not against the workers.  We are for conversion.

Back at 3:30 today for the shift change - massive traffic jam happens so the workers get a good look at my sign.  So far in three days I've handed out 40 flyers.  Three Op-eds and letters in two different papers today - Bangor Daily News and Times Record in Brunswick. Keep the letters coming please, they are having impact.  I called the Taxation Committee in Augusta today and there is no word on when the next Work Session of the committee will be held.  Likely won't get much warning.  We understand there is alot of talk in the hallways of the state capital about all of this.

Admittedly BIW about 7 years ago tried to link up with a Norwegian company that builds offshore wind turbines.  That would have created a process of diversification that we were very happy to hear about at the time.  Our current right-wing Gov. LePage killed the deal.

I told Fitzgerald that our strategy was two-fold:

1. We have been working for years to get the public to understand that unless we convert the military machine (and much else of fossil fuel dependent America) then our hopes to offer a real chance of survival to the future generations will be dead in the water due to the coming ravages of climate change.  We need the public to demand a change now.
2. Once this demand builds within the public consciousness we need to then increase our work on Congress to get them to support this life saving change in our industrial system.

But unless we do #1 above then the chances for #2 will never happen.  We each should work in our bio-region to bring these changes forward.  BIW happens to be in my bio region.  (See the local PeaceWorks bi-weekly Op-Ed in our paper today here.)

It is a tough fight - one of the hardest to imagine - and it can be a lonely climb sometimes.  But right now we've got a very powerful band playing this tune all across the state of Maine.  This is what it takes.

We are fighting for all the children - even the kids of those who work at BIW. 

Bruce

Pentagon: 'We've got to ramp it up'

Hunger Strike Day 2: What are our priorities?

I was back out at BIW today at noon and again at 3:30 pm.  Some of the workers are now beginning to joke with me about being hungry so I replied, "Yeah I am hungry for justice.  I'm hungry for some solidarity."

At 4:30 filmmaker Regis Trembly and I were on WERU alternative radio (north of here) for half an hour.  Amy Browne began her show with some of the audio that Regis captured during the recent Taxation Committee Public Hearing on LD 1781 - the bill to give General Dynamics $60 million in corporate welfare.  She played 30 minutes of that and then had Regis and I give updates on everything including my hunger strike.

Its very exciting to see that virtually everyday there are at least one or more Letters to Editor or Op-Eds in some Maine newspaper.  Today there was one in the Portland Press Herald and in the Brunswick Times Record.  So folks are doing a great job of keeping the message in front of the public.  You can't expect people to do something about this potential waste of state resources unless they know about it.  So far there have been more than 40 letters printed in 16 papers across the state.

I'll be back out at BIW tomorrow at noon and 3:30.  I am drinking lots of water with a bit of lemon juice.  I felt serene during most of the day.  I've done two 14-day hunger strikes before in solidarity with others so I have a good idea what to expect.  I've put no time limit on this one - it all really depends on the status of LD 1781 and how the public opposition is building.  So I am keeping an open mind.

Thanks to all who are doing things to help.  I know that VFP member Don Kimball down in Portland is talking about the corporate welfare bill tonight on his radio show on WMPG.

Bruce

Day 1 updates from Bath

• The first day of the hunger strike and vigil at BIW went quite well.  Mary Beth, Peter Morgan and Jason Rawn joined the vigil so we were able to cover two key places along Washington Street.  It was cold out there - and always more wind down along the river.

• We were there at noon and then again during shift change at 3:30 pm.  When they blow the whistle at 3:30 guys come rushing out and I stood in the middle of the parking lot entrance and offered flyers.  One guy walked by me real close and half-whispered, "I agree with you." We handed out about 20 flyers which ain't bad on the first day out.  There is alot of peer pressure not to take a flyer.

• The first thing I did when I arrived at the shipyard (where destroyers are built for the Navy and are outfitted with 'missile defense' systems being used to encircle China and Russia) was to go to the Machinists Union Hall and handed two flyers to a couple of guys sitting in a meeting.  I told them what I was doing and that the protest was not aimed at them.  I explained it was about the General Dynamics (GD) demand for $60 million from our cash-strapped state.  Before I could finish the sentence one of them reached across his desk and held up a copy of The Bollard with its front page story entitled Ship of Fools: Tax Breaks for BIW, World War III for us.  That pretty much said it all.

• The Bollard is a very popular free monthly arts, culture and politics magazine out of Portland.  Chris Busby is the editor and while standing at the shipyard during the noon hour he came and snapped the photo above.  He told us that he does not usually do updates on stories in between issues but this time he was going to because he's been finding so much interest in the story.  You can see his update, posted today, here.

• Busby also told us about a poll he ran across at the Maine Biz (a business paper) web site that asked readers their opinion on GD's $60 million.  Those opposed to LD 1781 in Augusta came out on top at 55%.  Not bad from a business friendly audience.
• Another exciting thing today was an email from a woman I don't know from Bridgton, Maine who just had a letter published in her local paper opposing corporate welfare for GD.  Bridgton is way out in western Maine where we have no contacts so I take this as a good sign that word is spreading.  We need more of that if we hope to help the people of Maine save $60 million from a hugely wealthy corporation that cares nothing about our poor state.
• One last bit of news today about GD.  It was announced by Reuters news service that "U.S. defense contractor General Dynamics Corp said on Monday it would buy CSRA Inc, a smaller provider of government services for about $6.8 billion, to expand the services it offers to the U.S. Department of Defense."  Lots of extra cash laying around there at GD HQ.....they don't need $60 million from Maine.
• Give us some help please.

Bruce

Message from Okinawa peace leader - please sign the petition

Hirosi leading the singing outside US Marine base Camp Schwab in Okinawa where a 13-year daily protest continues against base expansion that will destroy pristine Oura Bay

Dear Members of the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases,

I am Hiroji Yamashiro, the Chairman of the Okinawa Peace Action Center.  As a result of my involvement in the protest movement opposing new U.S. military base construction in Henoko and Takae in Okinawa, I was arrested and detained by the Japanese police and am in the middle of a legal battle right now. 

On February 6, the two major local newspapers in Okinawa published substantial articles reporting that the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases launched an international e-petition campaign demanding that all charges against me and my 2 co-defendants be dropped and that all U.S. military bases be removed from Okinawa. I heard that even in the Tokyo metropolitan area, a few national newspapers including Tokyo Shimbun provided similar coverage. I feel deeply delighted and encouraged to read that people from more than 20 countries around the world have already signed the petition (within the only first 1 or 2 days) and that the Coalition continues to be energetically involved in this campaign. I am sorry for not being able to write this sooner but I would like to express my heart-felt appreciation. At the same time, I would like to let you know that your powerful support reaffirmed my determination to keep fighting through the trial with dignity. I thank you so very much. 

I do believe that this petition will put huge pressure on the Japanese government authorities, including prosecutors and the Department of Defense, who are eager to set me up as a wicked criminal. Although the Japanese government would not listen to domestic public opinion at all, we know that they are standing in a vulnerable position where they cannot ignore and refuse to react against international public opinion. It is a well known fact that supporting actions by international human rights organizations, including IMADR (International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism) and Amnesty International, served as the inciting cause of a reconsideration by the prosecutors and Japanese government authorities, who had refused the defense counsel’s demand for our release over and over again. I have no doubt that your international move initiating this e-petition will have a powerful effect on the Japanese prosecutors and authorities, and they will learn they cannot do whatever they like. I thank you very much again for this. 

I also express my deepest appreciation to the Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases for the invitation to participate in your first-ever conference which was held in Baltimore on January 12th.  Although I was extremely delighted by your invitation, unfortunately I could not visit Baltimore, as I was already booked for a talk event in Tokyo on that day, in addition to some other complexities. However, through the newspaper reports, I learned that my video message for people in America, which was shot in front of the Kadena Air Force Base gate, was screened at the conference, and that the audience’s warm reaction to the video led to the e-petition campaign. I must say, I was very impressed with the way that the video came out.  I only can imagine that the video shooting and editing, including adding English subtitles, was not a simple job, and I am very grateful to everyone who was involved in the video filming and producing. I will also never forget the moment when I met face-to-face with the members of Veterans for Peace and exchanged our passions. I am certain that the creative production skill of the VFP members in addition to the organizational involvement of VFP made the video come out as a lively and impressive work.

Finally, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to everyone in the U.S. who has encouraged me with his or her support. I hope that we will win a victory on the trial and that our protest movements will work closely together going forward.

Hiroji Yamashiro February 8, 2018

~ You can sign the petition here

Hunger Strike Day 1: Messages from the band

• As a sign of solidarity with those in need across our state, I will fast 2 days a week, on Mondays and Fridays, during the Hunger Strike you are undertaking.  I will also offer up my Lenten observances for the cause of stopping  LD 1781.     ~ Connie Jenkins, Orono, Maine

• I choose to be in the trumpet section!  ~ Patricia (Pasha) Warren Huntington, Bath, Maine

• I'll fast on the 12th with you. Good luck with it!   ~ Don Kimball, South Portland, Maine

• I wish I was living closer to Bath so I could join you in your BIW vigil/flyering. Having been sick for so much of the last few months, since returning from Okinawa, I need to try to regain some strength in my immune system, so I can’t join you for the entire time of your open-ended hunger strike, but I will be joining you for a part of it. In Solidarity.   ~ Russell Wray, Hancock, Maine

• I like the pan-pipes!  ~ Eric Herter, Brunswick, Maine

• We admire you but we are a little worried at this news. I think turning your anger and frustration to fuel a hunger strike will inspire others.   ~ Lisa Savage, Solon, Maine

• I wish Bruce the best with his hunger strike. I hope he has some advice as to how to do such a strike. Keep me up to date. The Smedleys [VFP chapter in Boston] have a meeting on Monday. I will let them know.  ~ Pat Scanlon, Andover, Massachusetts

• Thank you, Bruce  ~ Alice Bolstridge, Presque Isle, Maine

• I’m definitely a big drum guy. Or guitar. Or harmonica!  ~ Bob Klotz, South Portland, Maine

• I also wish you strength and good health in the hunger strike.  ~ Lorry Fleming, Bath, Maine

• I will commit to a modified fast and will be standing next to you in spirit.  ~ Christine DeTroy, Brunswick, Maine

 

• Thank you for your amazing steady work.  ~ Nick Baker, Veazie, Maine

 

• Any help you need with signage let me know.   ~ Brown Lethem, Bath, Maine

• I have contacted both my Senator (R) and Representative (D) a couple of times about this disgraceful bill. Thanks for keeping me and others in the loop. I'll be with you in spirit outside BIW.  ~ Peter Garrett, Winslow, Maine

• Where is our solidarity?  That's an excellent question.  I find it difficult to get a response to a basic hello.  Anything more sophisticated than that….????  ~ Joe Ciarrocca, Brunswick, Maine

• I'll pile on soon. Our next-door neighbor, a vigorous widow, is talking up the matter with her circle -- I'll urge her to write a letter to editor also. Fortunately, our legislator is firmly opposed to the bill.  ~ John Peck, Brunswick, Maine

• With you Bro! [and he shaved his head in solidarity]  ~ Regis Tremblay, Brunswick, Maine

• I will be returning to live in the US with my family later this year and hope to join you someday soon on the street.  ~ Jason Von Meding, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

• BIW must be very worried about your "one man band", Bruce but you and I both know there are a lot more members to your group. Make 'em dance!  ~ Joyce Katzberg, Warren, Rhode Island

• I agree 100% will do my best to contact my representatives.  ~ David Fortier, Biddeford, Maine

• A man with justice on his mind.  ~ Mark Roman, Solon, Maine

• Maybe those workers who walk right past you will be deeply affected by your action (reminds me of something at some US Airbase some time ago...). Take care of yourself, keep warm, please stay solid in your solidarity.  ~ Jill Gough, Ceredigion, Wales
•  Best wishes for the hunger strike - take care of yourself, thinking of you!  ~ Dave Webb, Leeds, England

'That is true freedom'....

Sunday Song

The Korean people want peace

Singing 'Imagine' by John Lennon

Pence displays U.S. arrogance at Olympics

Many years ago I went to an international peace conference in Athens, Greece.  I met a Greek journalist who told me the story behind the founding of the Olympics.

At that time Greece was full of city-states which were all walled off from one other in a constant state of war.  So they came up with the idea of the Olympics and each year which ever city-state won the most athletic events had to return home and tear down their walls.  It was created as a disarmament policy.

Pence and Trump are violating the spirit of the Olympics by using the event to justify more military weapon walls on the Korean peninsula.

The Korean people are obviously trying to create peace and remove the divisions amongst their peoples that the US has played a huge role in creating.

Leave the Korean people alone and let them have unity and peace!

Bruce

Where is our Solidarity?

General Dynamics is asking the Maine legislature for $60 million in corporate welfare. It’s top CEO made $21 million last year and they have so much cash on hand that between 2009-2017 GD bought back $14.4 billion of their own stocks driving up market share.

There are now 43,000 kids living in poverty in Maine. There is no money to fix pot hole filled roads and our bridges are deemed ‘deficient’ by DOT. Thousands in Maine have no health care. In rural Maine hospitals, schools and factories are closing. What could Maine do with $60 million that GD does not really need? 

I learned about solidarity as a union organizer with the United Farm Workers Union. In the spirit of solidarity with those in need across Maine I will be doing an open-ended hunger strike starting February 12 to try to stop LD 1781 in Augusta. I will stand in front of BIW at noon and 3:30 pm each work day during the hunger strike with a sign and hand out flyers to the workers.

Bruce K. Gagnon
Bath
(207) 443-9502

Maine Taxation Committee Work Session reveals General Dynamics control of state

Rep. Jennifer DeChant (D-Bath), along with a coterie of other Democrat legislators and BIW executives, appeared before the Taxation Committee today with her ‘amendments’ to LD 1781 – the bill to give General Dynamics $60 million in corporate welfare over the next 20 years.

Earlier in the day I had received an email from a fellow Bath resident that had originated from Rep. DeChant in response to my friend’s request that she not vote in favor of the controversial bill.  In the email DeChant told my friend: “I will recommend changing the amount for half in half the time and require review (of data collected) before renewing it again.”

Rep. DeChant’s amendments called for ‘improvements in BIW reporting’ on how they spend the proposed funds from the state.  During the previous $200 million tax credit that BIW/GD got back in 1997 there was no reporting by the company on how they spent the funds or how many workers were hired.

The committee had some questions like the one from Rep. Denise Teplar (D-Topsham) who asked, “What is the state’s interest in providing a 90% tax credit in years when jobs are reduced?”

The best exchanges of the day though were between BIW V-P John Fitzgerald and a couple committee members.

Rep. Ryan Tipping (D-Bangor) asked, “Is this credit going to make a difference?  Is there a smaller amount the state can invest? Can we audit BIW’s books?”

Fitzgerald responded to Rep. Tipping, “It would be a challenge to answer that question.  What would you ask the auditor to find?”

Sen. Justin Chenette (D-Saco) then asked, “I’m not understanding why the investment of $60 million can’t come from your parent company?  In order for me to make decisions I need a commitment from you [BIW] to disclose the profits of the company.”

Fitzgerald responded emphatically:  “The answer is no.”

At one point during the meeting Fitzgerald cried out, “For us to be punished because our owner has capital seems unjust!”

DeChant’s amendment to “changing the amount for half in half the time” is actually no more than a legislative smoke and mirrors gambit.  In the end the amendment calls for BIW to spend $100 million per year in ‘qualified investments’ and if done, then after the first 10 years the second round of $30 million more in corporate subsidies would automatically kick-in for the next 10 years.  So in the end GD would still get their $60 million.

In the amended bill ‘qualified investments’ is defined as virtually any cost that BIW has except for salaries or other compensation paid to employees.  So all other expenses on Aegis destroyers that cost $1.5 billion each and Zumwalt destroyers that cost between $4-7 billion each would count toward the required annual BIW investment of $100 million per year.  Easy as pie – no tough nut to crack there.

Recognizing that BIW is currently building two Zumwalt and four Aegis destroyers with at least 1-2 being ‘christened’ per year there is virtually no way in the world that BIW/GD would not meet those meager criteria to qualify for state support.  Under questioning Fitzgerald admitted that currently GD is bidding on 10 more destroyers and anticipates likely getting half of those contracts from the Navy.

Training of a new generation of BIW workers is still GD’s key talking point to sell the bill even though their Navy contracts include funds for all their costs – including training and reimbursement for their taxes to the state of Maine.

Currently BIW is receiving an $81 million property-tax break from the City of Bath that runs out in 2022.  In addition BIW got another $3.7 million from Bath in 2013.

Fitzgerald reluctantly admitted that BIW/GD also receive an unknown about of money via Maine’s Pine Tree Development Zone program.  The Press Herald reported late last year that “BIW is a participant in the Pine Tree Zone program and believes it has been an important incentive for businesses to locate in Maine or stay here while continuing to invest in operations that provide jobs and economic activity,” Fitzgerald wrote.  The amount that any individual company benefits from the program is usually not disclosed under state laws that protect the confidentiality of tax returns and shield proprietary information from competitors.

In the end the Taxation Committee tabled LD 1781 but it appears that most members of the committee are prepared to support the bill once all the new amendments are fully added and understood by those on the committee.

It is ever more clear to me that GD not only runs Bath but also runs the State of Maine – as any colonizer controls the land and people where they have set up operations.

It will be up to the people of Maine to wrest back control of its own state treasury from this mega-corporation that bought back $12.9 billion of its own stocks between 2009-2016.

We’ll let you know when the next Taxation Committee Work Session will be held.  Despite what some might want you to think this show ain’t yet over.

Bruce

The battle to keep a peaceful Guam....

Thanks to Ann Wright and Will Griffin for putting this all together.  Guam is left out of the discussion far too often when people are considering starting WW III in the Asia-Pacific.

The occupation and environmental devastation in Guam must end.  Americans must begin to take some responsibility for their nation's empire.

Living in a state of war

• During the past year I've been getting monthly recorded phone calls from a company doing political surveys.  The last call was asking if North Korea is a threat to the US.  This morning they called back and reported that over 400,000 people responded to the North Korea question and 55% of responders felt that North Korea was a threat and only 5% did not think they were a threat to the US.  I was one of the 5%.  The question for this time was 'Are we going to have more celebrity presidential candidates in the future - like Oprah Winfrey?'   I voted I don't know.  America is such a friggin mess.

• President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the streets of Washington DC is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s military. “The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a Pentagon official. It's going to be very expensive but is all part of the overall plan to make sure that the public accepts our new role in the world which is 'security export'.  We won't make shoes, TVs, cars, clothes, steel or much else anymore but we will make weapons and endless war on behalf of resource extraction corporations.  

• We've had very spotty coverage in the Maine media about our Aegis 9 trial dismissal last week.  No real surprise.  One local weekly newspaper has posted a story about the judge's dismissal and actually got the facts right.  I was asked to send some comments for the article and I am pleasantly surprised that they picked the strongest words from my statement for their article in the Coastal Journal.  They printed: “The obvious take away for us is the enormous power that General Dynamics has over the City of Bath and the State of Maine,” said Bruce Gagnon, one of the Aegis 9 and member of Veterans for Peace. The group is also protesting a proposed $60 million in tax credits being offered General Dynamics by the State of Maine. You can read the entire article here.
• Video above produced by Regis Tremblay who wanted to do something to help get the word out more about GD's $60 million grab from Mainers.   In the video I said GD is 'selling' back their own stocks - I should have said 'buying' back their own stocks driving up their market value.
  

Latest Space Alert newsletter now online

You can read our latest Space Alert newsletter by clicking on this link. 

 

http://www.space4peace.org/newsletter/Space%20Alert%2036.pdf

 

 ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis is talking about using nuclear weapons and pledging to win a war in space.  This is a dangerous moment. Hang onto your hat and get organized! 

The sorrows of empire

Chalmers Ashby Johnson (August 6, 1931 – November 20, 2010) was an American author and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. He served in the Korean War, was a consultant for the CIA from 1967 to 1973, and chaired the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley from 1967 to 1972. He was also president and co-founder with Steven Clemons of the Japan Policy Research Institute (now based at the University of San Francisco), an organization promoting public education about Japan and Asia.

He wrote numerous books including, most recently, three examinations of the consequences of American Empire: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. A former cold warrior, his fears for the US changed:

    "A nation can be one or the other, a democracy or an imperialist, but it can’t be both. If it sticks to imperialism, it will, like the old Roman Republic, on which so much of our system was modeled, lose its democracy to a domestic dictatorship."

Divide and conquer

Enviro group joins NO $60 million campaign

Resource for contacting your personal local legislators: http://legislature.maine.gov/house/townlist.htm

See the full story here.....

On news stands in MidCoast Maine now!

This monthly arts and cultural magazine out of Portland hit the news stands yesterday in Bath.  Be sure to get a copy.  The online version can be read here.

This cover story is an example of exceptional journalism and we congratulate author Chris Busby.

Sunday Song

One big win - need one more

 

 

We got a big win when Superior Court Justice Dan Billings dismissed the state’s case against the Aegis 9 on February 1 in Bath.  You can see the Judge make his ruling in the video above.

 

You can also see the brilliant Opening statement by our lawyer Logan Perkins (Belfast) which comes up at the 6:17 mark in this video below.

 

 

Both of those videos thanks to Regis Tremblay and Peter Woodruff.

 

Now that we have secured an unexpected victory our hearts and minds are fully engaged with the second seemingly insurmountable obstacle which is the $60 million corporate welfare bill (LD 1781) for General Dynamics.

 

Just yesterday we had positive front page coverage in The Forecaster http://www.theforecaster.net/opponents-urge-legislators-to-curb-bath-iron-works-tax-break/  and The Bollard – a popular arts and cultural magazine out of Portland.  The cover story on The Bollard is entitled:  Ship of Fools Tax Breaks for BIW, WW III for us.  This one is a masterpiece that covers the issue from A to Z and is written by Chris Busby.  It’s not online yet but we will send it around when possible.  Try to pick up a copy if it is available in your community.  You can imagine our utter delight to see it in restaurants and coffee shops here in Bath with its great cover artwork of a destroyer firing $$$$ into the air.

 

The Taxation Committee in Augusta has a Work Session on LD 1781 on Thursday, February 8 at 1:00 pm in the State House Room 127.  Hope some of you can join us there.

 

The Letters to Editor and Op-Eds also continue to flow into papers across the state – now been about 35 of them in 14 papers.  Please write one – even if you’ve already done one – do another.  We have the chance to save already beleaguered taxpayers in Maine $60 million and we have a few more weeks to keep building the heat.  Some folks think we are wasting our time but miracles are known to happen now and then.  Here is an example of a recent letter in the Lewiston Sun Journal  http://www.sunjournal.com/no-to-corporate-welfare/#.WnR4jFe7iZE.email 

 

Your calls and emails to your state legislators are indeed getting their attention.  Even the sponsor of the bill is now saying that she needs to amend it to require that BIW actually report how they spend Maine taxpayer funds and how many jobs are created.  In the Public Hearing last week BIW’s V-P John Fitzgerald refused to commit to those amendments – only saying they were willing to talk about it.  He likely has to check with GD’s corporate HQ first – they will not be happy with anyone putting strings on their welfare checks.  (The biggest thing to come out of the hearing was the information that GD rolls their Maine taxes into their contracts with the Navy and has federal taxpayers reimburse them for that line item. Simply amazing and disgusting.)

 

So we urge you to put a bit more energy into helping retire the notion that Mainers should help finance the compensation packages of GD’s top executives.  Let’s roll the dice and see if we can hit the jackpot twice.

 

Best your way.

 

Bruce

Conservative judge stands by constitution and dismisses civil resistance case

It was an amazing day yesterday that began at 7:30 am  as we vigiled in the cold and snow in front of the Sagadahoc County Courthouse in Bath for an hour before we had to go inside for the start of our Aegis 9 trial.

One of the defendants, Mike Tork from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, could not make it as he had medical issues which did not allow him to travel.  Mike is a Vietnam War veteran and and very active member of Veterans For Peace.

Pro bono attorney Logan Perkins, from Belfast, Maine, represented three in our group with the rest of us defending ourselves.  The state opened the trail by claiming to the jury that it was a simple case of the defendants illegally attempting to "enter the event" which was a 'christening' ceremony for a new Aegis destroyer built at Bath Iron Works, owned by General Dynamics.

After the state finished its opening I was the first to offer an opening statement.  It had been arranged that we'd show a short video made by local filmmaker Eric Herter (Vietnam veteran and former AP reporter).  The video clearly revealed to the court that the Aegis 9 did not attempt to enter the BIW shipyard but instead stopped about 12 feet before the gate, turned and held their signs facing the oncoming crowd who were entering the ceremony.

The trial ended when the judge dismissed the charges against all nine peaceful defendants after the state prosecutor finished his opening case.

Justice Dan Billings, Superior Court Judge, granted the defendants’ motion for judgment of acquittal saying, “The Bath Police Department was outsourced to Bath Iron Works [owned by General Dynamics].  This is not how it is supposed to work.  The city has to consider the bigger picture [of constitutional rights to assemble].”  Billings maintained that the Bath Police Department had used “unfettered discretion” in their arrests of the Aegis 9.

During the trial the head of BIW security testified the weapons corporation had the right to decide in advance who they will let into a public event. He stated that if one of their own workers walked past a peaceful protest and spoke to those assembled they would not allow that worker inside the ceremony. The judge remarked that by using that logic - if he “walked past a protest and shook Bruce Gagnon’s hand and had a friendly word with him”, that even he would be denied entry to a ‘christening’ ceremony.

The state's two key witnesses also could not conclusively identify the BIW property line.

John Branson, an activist attorney from Portland, commented on the dismissal saying: "I might also add that it is not uncommon for a conservative Republican judge to be protective of civil liberties in a case such as this.  (Judge Billings formerly chief counsel to Governor Paul LePage as you likely know).  With respect to lawsuits challenging the expanded surveillance program during the Obama administration – which were filed after Snowden’s revelations came to light – conservative judges were more likely than their liberal counterparts to find all or part of the programs to be unconstitutional."

Local activists in Bath have put out a call for volunteers to risk arrest at BIW during the next destroyer ‘christening’.  So far 47 people from Maine and several other states have put their names on the list.  The date of the next destroyer ‘christening’ at BIW is not yet known.

The Aegis destroyers built in Bath are outfitted with so-called ‘missile defense’ systems that are actually key elements in Pentagon first-strike attack planning.  The ships are currently being used to help encircle China and Russia with sea-based and land-based MD systems.

The evening ended with a victory party at the Addams-Melman House in Bath including good food, music and speeches by those assembled.  Everyone was urged to go home and write letters to local newspapers challenging the request by General Dynamics for $60 million in corporate welfare from the poor state of Maine.

Bruce

Breaking News: Judge dismisses Aegis destroyer protesters case in Bath

Judge dismisses Aegis 9 civil disobedience case in Bath!

Bruce Gagnon commented on Judge Billings' ruling to dismiss all charges against all eight defendants present in the court today: "The judge said the Bath Police Department was outsourced to BIW. That is not how it is supposed to work. The city has to consider the bigger picture."

He also said, "The police do not have unfettered discretion."

See the Bangor Daily News article covering this big story here