RAY LUC ROCKS

Thank you for the great article on Ray Luc Levasseur (see "Sanford’s Son," Dec. 17, by Rick Wormwood). I just moved to Portland from New York and it makes me very happy to see that someone with such depth of commitment and willingness to fight for his people should be honored with a front-page article in a local newspaper. All too often the veterans of the struggles of the past are forgotten or demonized by TV and newspapers that represent entrenched power structures, not community feeling. I hope that we can build on the advances made by an older generation of activists, and also value their presence and insight. For information about political prisoners who are still on the inside, go to http://www.prisonactivist.org/pps+pows/

Christopher Teret

Portland

WOE IS DIRIGO

Good to see some decent investigative reporting in Maine (see "Under the Radar," Dec. 31, by Lance Tapley).

One interesting little aspect of Dirigo that has gone unreported is the limit in Anthem’s contract with the state pertaining to the number of uninsured it will enroll on a yearly basis. I have heard from sources that the limit is 4000. At that rate, it will take Dirigo over 30 years to provide insurance to the state’s uninsured.

I requested a copy of the contract from the Governor’s Health Office about four months ago and they have stonewalled me. Since solving the uninsured problem was a hallmark of the sales pitch to the legislature, I can see why they want to keep a lid on that piece of information.

PS. I think Dirigo is just a conduit to single payor, universal health care. That won’t work either.

Bob Stone

Lewiston

WHIZZ, BANG

Just finished reading your article and quite simply enjoyed it (see "After the Ban," Dec. 3, by Elizabeth Kear). You were able to put into words feelings I’ve had for the last several years regarding some people’s answers to owning firearms.

You use the term "fundamentalist" [for gun owners] and I would have to agree with that as this is a tight-lipped group of people.

I have been a hunter on and off the last 20 years, and I have always paid respect to my "game," even though I still would wince at my action. I know that the meat I eat is totally organic and that the life this animal had lived was "free"; it also doesn’t slip my mind that we purged our wildlife of natural predators, except ourselves.

Just a couple more things. I do own a semi-automatic hand gun for "protection," as I am single and did live alone for a while and have a concealed weapons permit.

Deborah Whorf

New Gloucester