Jon Reisman
The Federal Government — actually the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Director/Wizard Dr. Oz — has informed Gov. Janet Mills that her request to delay the investigation into the millions of MaineCare dollars that appear to have been stolen by the Somali/Democratic Party nonprofit/nongovernmental organization (NGO) industrial complex will not be delayed.
Mills and her corrupt administration are about to experience a world of hurt that they have never had to deal with before, because the ideologically sympathetic Maine legacy news media (let’s name names: Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Maine Trust for Local News, Newscenter Maine) had been bought off with no-bid contracts/protection money.
The fraud scandal would never have seen the light of day if the Maine legacy media had their way. Unfortunately for the corrupt con artists, the Mainewire (themainewire.com) (or Maine Liar, if you had the unfortunate experience of hearing former Democratic SenateMajority Leader Troy Jackson embarrass himself) has reinvigorated investigative independent journalism in Maine.
As bad as the MaineCare fraud scandal is, Mills and the Democrats have committed an even greater scam/fraud/theft on the people of Maine with their disastrous climate alarmist/energy policies. They have lied to the people of Maine about climate change and the negativeeconomic impact of their policies to raise energy prices (especially on the poorer and more rural 2nd Congressional District). They have promoted “equity” as a major component of theirclimate action plan, but have declined to define or assess it. As outrageous as that policy malpractice is, it’s not the worst of it.
Maine’s climate alarmist policies have doubled our electric bills and caused considerable pain, but they have averted no climate change whatsoever. The climate alarmists justified their actions on a flawed legal and scientific foundation, but their actions to address the supposedly existential climate/greenhouse gas threat have not averted anything except honesty and transparency.
Republicans have been unable and/or unwilling to fight this policy battle, but that is changing. The Republican gubernatorial primary will feature some sane energy/climate policy alternatives to the climate scam that Mills and the Democrats have imposed. The Democratic gubernatorial candidates will defend their scam. The current gaslighting dodge championed by the environmental left and Maine’s (Democratic) Public Advocate is that high electricity bills are caused by reliance on natural gas as opposed to mandated subsidies to intermittent and expensive wind and solar.
I am attending a climate/economy “summit” in Portland (heart of darkness) on March 19. The summit is being put on by Climateworks and the Maine NGO climate alarmist network.
The sponsors and speakers include “sustainability” (also undefined) experts and a big slice of leftist corporate and climate alarmist Maine, including “Heroes” Bangor Savings Bank, Hannaford, and Central Maine Power; “Leaders” MaineBiz and Northern Light Health; “Warrior” Versant; and “Guardians” Drummond Woodsum (of education and gender “equity” fame), the Maine Monitor, and Revision Energy; “Allies” Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) and Maine Solar Solutions; and “Partners” Natural Resource Council of Maine (NRCM), Maine Audubon, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Conservation Voters, the Climate Initiative, and many more alphabet soup green fraudsters and sustainability scammers.
Republicans have understandably avoided these green policy conclaves, but that is changing. A few brave souls will be joining me to confront the climate alarmists and inform them that their reign of error and fraud is going to be challenged and exposed. You can see some of the green agitprop at https://www.climateworkmaine.org/summit-2026.
Jon Reisman is an economist and policy analyst who retired from the University of Maine at Machias after 38 years. He resides on Cathance Lake in Cooper, where he is a Statler and Waldorf intern. Mr. Reisman’s views are his own, and he welcomes comments as letters to the editor here or to him directly via email at jreisman@maine.edu.