Federal lawsuit seeks return of mural to Labor Department

[highplainsdem]

Source: Portland Press Herald

Federal lawsuit seeks return of mural to Labor Department
Gov. LePage's removal of the artwork violated the free-speech rights of all Mainers, the suit claims.
By Kelley Bouchard


Six Mainers have formally challenged Gov. Paul LePage's decision to remove a mural from the Maine Department of Labor's headquarters, with a lawsuit that their attorney said was filed electronically Friday evening in federal court.

The complaint claims that the Republican governor, Maine State Museum Director Joseph Phillips and acting Labor Commissioner Laura Boyette have violated the free-speech rights of all Mainers and failed in their fiduciary duties as government officials, said lawyer Jeffrey Young of Topsham.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, asks the court to compel LePage and the others to disclose the location of the mural, which was removed last weekend; to make sure it is adequately preserved and protected; and to return it to the lobby of the Department of Labor in Augusta.

"The governor is trying to erase the working history of the people of Maine," Young said Friday night. "We're trying to preserve and protect the rights of the people of Maine. We don't need the governor or the government telling us what we should or shouldn't know about."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.pressherald.com/news/federal-lawsuit-seeks-return-of-mural-to-labor-department_2011-04-02.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. No fucking kidding.

Bring the mural back.

[medeak]

2. Yay! n/t

[Highway61]

3. Disclose the location???

WTF is going on here? That is stealing! Some of these Repugs are are way over the top, but this guy takes the cake.

[glinda]

35. Money is on that they destroyed it.

[Kingofalldems]

4. K and R

[BumRushDaShow]

5. K&R

The so-called anti-government government types sure do become government when it suits them. And the media refuses to point out the hypocrisy.

[Peregrine Took]

15. That kills me, too. Plus they fight like all hell to stay on the gov't payroll

and put their family and girlfriends on also.

[FredStembottom]

22. Yes! A thousand times yes.

They hate the government but this endless chain of nepotism and free-loading by the same people is mind-boggling!

There really is no principles involved at all.

"Conservatism" has devolved into organized crime at this point.

[No Elephants]

6. Didn't he first say he had it removed because of an anonymous note/

Now, he's saying some business owners complained.

Who are they and why do a few get their way immediately?


Maybe LePage owes the feds $60,000?

"The mural was painted by Judy Taylor of Tremont and paid for with $60,000 in federal money that was earmarked for upgrades to the Department of Labor offices."

Aside from that, I wish I saw a basis for this lawsuit, but I fear I don't.

[iamtechus]

7. Business owners?

What kind of "business owners" would be hanging out at the DOL?

[naturallyselected]

13. A little more on this situation

From what I understand, there have been no complaints by business about this mural. The only piece of evidence that has been presented is an anonymous email, or possibly a blog posting, that said what our esteemed governor has been saying - how can we expect businesses to want to set up in Maine if there is such a "one-sided" mural in a public state building? Of course, I don't believe a word that comes out of LePage's mouth. This is a guy who had no problem lying about having a "black son" during the whole NAACP debacle a couple of months back. It turns out his "black son" is the son of someone he knows in Jamaica who LePage has provided some financial support to so he can go to college.

I am not denying that the circumstances in Maine, many having to do with taxes, discourage business from setting up shop here. Jackson Labs just agreed to build a huge research center in Florida when we have a nearly vacant ex-Naval Air Station here in Brunswick that is looking for businesses exactly like that. But - they got a better tax break in Florida. Maine's taxes are very high. We have a high income tax, a high excise tax, a sales tax, and many towns have high property taxes as well. I think this is in part because of the nature of Maine's geography. There are definitely two Maines. The Southern coast (mostly residents from "away", like me, although I've been here for 25 years now) and the rest of the state. I'm sure most of Maine's tax revenue comes from the Southern coast, and it is used to provide the infrastructure for a sprawling, low-population remainder of the state. The ironic thing is - it is the lower-income rural areas of the state that elected this moran. If taxes are lowered, they are the ones who will suffer the most.

There are other reasons besides taxes that keep businesses from setting up shop here in Maine. Yesterday was April 1, and we got 10 inches of snow. As beautiful as summer is, it lasts about a month sometimes. There isn't the qualified labor force that many businesses need (the purported reason for Jax Labs expansion into Florida). A seasonal economy that is deeply entrenched. The regulatory atmosphere can be illogical and cumbersome - as a small example, I worked at a marine lab that pumps in water from the ocean, sends it through all the research tanks in the lab, and sends the water back into the ocean. Nothing but seawater is allowed to be returned to the ocean. Sounds reasonable, right? But the definition of "nothing" includes things like mussels that grow in the pipes. The state DEP was constantly making sure that none of the organisms that grow in the plumbing, organisms that grow in the ocean, don't get emptied into the ocean. When we cleaned them out of the pipes and gutters, we couldn't put the healthy, living organisms back into the ocean; we had to freeze them, bring them to town, and put them in a dumpster. There was no logic to the enforcement of the regulations whatsoever. Bringing jobs to the state, and we need them badly, is a very complicated proposition, one that requires innovative progressive thinking and action - not what we are going to get from LePage.

Back to the mural - besides the twist reported in this story, I heard on the news this morning that the governor's office won't disclose where the mural currently is, only that it is "safe and secure". So much for transparency. A small piece of good news - a number of GOP state senators are signing on op-ed piece for Monday's newspapers about LePage's attitude and contempt for anyone who disagrees with him and the unwanted consequences it has for virtually anything, including LePage's stated goals of bringing jobs to Maine. If an election were held today, he would not even get the 38% of the vote he won with. He is coming to be despised by folks across the political spectrum.

[bluedigger]

18. Very good summary, naturallyselected.

Been saving that up for a while? :rofl:

[northernlights]

19. You nailed it

I would like to add that the property taxes for residents aren't really that bad because property values are comparatively low. Once you've owned and lived here for 2 years, you can file for the homesteading exemption, which lowers them somewhat and protects a portion of your home.

And based on your income, you can get up to a $1600 rebate on your property taxes (the program is inexplicably called "The Circuit Breaker" program. I mistakenly thought it referred to installing circuit breakers, but happened to pick up the booklet one day while standing in line. Who knows how much rebate I missed out on before I happened to read about it...)

[66 dmhlt]

26. One place to "view" the mural: Maine Democratic Party ...

The Maine Democratic Party has incorporated the mural into the banner at their website:

http://www.mainedems.org/

[Gormy Cuss]

11. I'd bet that LePage manufactured the whole "complaint"

and that the anonymous letter was written by a staffer at his behest.

The contract for the mural stipulates that it was for permanent display in that location and something to the effect that the artist must be consulted on proper handling of removal and installation in a new location should it ever need to be moved. Doubtful that the LePage thugs did so.

[melm00se]

32. neither do I

I wish I saw a basis for this lawsuit, but I fear I don't.

[meegbear]

8. K & R

[lonestarnot]

9. BRING OUR SHIT BACK YOU THIEVING BASTARD!

[truth2power]

10. A question that I've yet to see asked...

What other kind of mural would one expect to see in a LABOR DEPARTMENT other than one that celebrates labor? No matter whether one does or doesn't support the labor movement, a labor mural is perfectly appropriate in that location.

I mean, what sort of mural would you expect to find at the headquarters of the Girl Scouts of America other than one that celebrates scouting? What if someone said they'd rather see a Harley Davidson ad there? It just doesn't make sense. :crazy:


* * * *

on edit> I know this is more logical than you could expect from these thugs, but still....

[naturallyselected]

14. What would create "balance"?

I have been unable to figure out what could possibly be presented as "balance" to the mural. Images of the bosses that allowed the child labor? Images of the back room deals to crush the labor movement? Does this governor really want businesses here that would be put off by a mural suggesting that child labor is a bad idea?

You're correct - there is no logic here at all - it's about a governor who wants to shut down any labor rights or representation.

[47of74]

21. Well, this was my idea as a replacement mural

[freshwest]

37. OMG! WTH is that? Don't tell me that ever happened! Is the guy on the right is wearing glasses?

It would fit the GOP view of labor relations... Slaughter and abuse...

[47of74]

38. It's part of The Last Judgment

It's part of The Last Judgment by Michelangelo, with Paul LePage in place of Biagio da Cesena - the Papal Master of Ceremonies who was a little too much of an art critic for Michelangelo's tastes. And that fellow way in the back there is one of the Koch brothers.

[freshwest]

39. Excellent and right to the point. It shows talent.

[plumbob]

24. I know! Look at the scary LABOR murals on display at the US

Department of Labor.

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/murals.htm

NOT A SINGLE REPRESENTATION OF EVEN ONE CORPORATION!

BURN IT DOWN!!!


On a lighter note, theft in this amount can carry a 10 year prison sentence in Maine:

http://felonyguide.com/Maine-Felony.php

Class B Felony
There are many types of crimes that fall into the category of a Class B felony in Maine. Among these are a theft of services that exceed $10,000 in damages, aggravated assault, burglary including breaking and entering, drug crimes such as possession and intent to sell, larceny, stalking, aggravated assault, sexual crimes, and embezzlement. In Maine, Class B felonies can mean a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a possible fine that could be as high as $20,000.



Seizing something that belongs to the taxpayers and hiding it is pretty much the definition of theft. Otherwise, every burglar in the world is going to claim they were offended by the property they took and will not reveal the location.


This guy LePage is giving Rick Perry here in Texas a run for the stupidest governor ever, but luckily for the title, Perry got a bill in to make it mandatory for a woman opting for an abortion to have to pay for and be subjected to a sonogram of the fetus, a recording of the sounds of the fetus, a lecture on the dangers of abortion from the doctor and a 48 hour waiting period.

TOP THAT!

[Starry Messenger]

12. k&r

[polichick]

16. So many of these Republican "leaders" are true sociopaths. k&r

[liberal N proud]

17. Surprised they didn't take it out and burn it

[zbdent]

20. question ... how much taxpayer money was spent

REMOVING THE MURAL?

[stubtoe]

23. And then having to replace it?

This oughta be good!

[defendandprotect]

25. Notice how easy it is to destroy -- building something takes time -- !!

Certainly labor is something they want disappeared!!

Also reminds me of how the GOP in DC moved the women's statue down to the

basement at one point -- and when Dems took over again, women had to raise

private funds to have it returned to the Capitol display area.

They should have made the GOP pay for its restoration -- and the same in

this case!

[droidamus2]

27. How much you wanna bet

With these tea party freaks wanting their way or no way I bet the mural has already been destroyed. Of course, when they are asked about it they will say, 'Oh we are sooooo sorry but the mural in question was accidentally damaged beyond repair (level of damage and repairability decided by the Governor/Prince of Maine) and has since been completely destroyed. We apologize for any hurt or inconvenience this has caused the great people of Maine'.

[felix_numinous]

28. The RW want to do away with the commons,

with public property, national parks and collective bargaining rights--they act as if they already own and control everything--because they feel entitled to do so.

[customerserviceguy]

29. While it's nice to see people fighting back

I'm not going to hold out a whole lot of hope for this lawsuit. I'm having difficulty figuring out where the Federal issue is.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the mural state property? If so, how would the State of Maine's disposition of its own property be a matter for a Federal court? Perhaps there are grounds that should be brought in a state court, instead.

[naaman fletcher]

30. It's a futile gesture

but some people like futile gestures. I'd like the mural back, but the idea that this is a violation of federal law is silly.

[blackspade]

31. I hope this works!

[The Backlash Cometh]

33. It's like activism is finally getting effective.

We had to wait until they went after an organized group that could defend themselves.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. A couple of those comments are pretty crazy

One guy suggested the AFL CIO pay for the mural.

Well since it's already been painted and just hangs on a wall, what costs would be involved?

[Blue Owl]

36. Let that dickbag governor see it every day

:)

[freshwest]

40. Put the mural in post #21 in his office. His face is on it!