The recent firing of a reporter from a Waterville daily paper is shedding light on the dark corners of the liberal establishment in Maine.

The reporter, Larry Grard of the Waterville Sentinel, was fired for sending an email reply to a press release put out by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual rights organization. The press release blamed the outcome of the November 3rd election on hatred of homosexuals. In reply, Grard stated that gay activists, and not Christians, are the ones spreading hate. Not only was Grard fired, the paper also fired Grard's wife, Lisa, a freelance columnist for the paper.

Although the paper claimed Grard was fired for sending a personal email on a company computer, the longtime reporter was in fact fired for committing the cardinal sin against the liberal establishment. Grard revealed that a movement which bills itself as "inclusive and tolerant" is itself mean and spiteful. And, as Grard soon learned, it acts with lightning speed to silence anyone who speaks the plain truth.

Over the years, The Record has documented the intense anti-Christian bigotry directed against the Christian Civic League, a bigotry which took the form of vitriolic, hate-filled emails, an indescribably vile cyber attack, and a property crime against the League office in Augusta. The hatred reached a new level only recently when an anonymous caller phoned in a death threat to the former director of the League, Mike Heath.

The firing of Larry Grard and his wife attracted nationwide attention, since unlike countless other acts of intimidation by the homosexual rights movement, this latest attempt to enforce political correctness had implications for freedom of the press. But the reaction right here in Maine was far more interesting.

Listeners to WVOM in Bangor were shocked Monday morning when they heard radio talk show host, George Hale, state that Grard should not have "brought his own biases to his job." What Hale really meant, but cleverly omitted, was that Grard should have left his Christian principles at the door. Hale went on to claim that Grard was fired for violating company policy on sending personal emails, and not for opposing gay marriage.

Hale's remarks were intended to explain away Grard's firing by focusing public attention on a minor violation of company policy. Hale completely neglected the fact that Grard's firing was set in motion by an organization which advocates the appalling evil of homosexual "marriage."  Hale also ignored the fact that Grard's actions were based on religious conviction, and as a result, the firing of Grard was very nearly equal to religious persecution.

Hale's attempt to trip up a fellow journalist on a minor technicality was also a stunning example of pharisaical finger-pointing. Hale, who has strong ties to the Baldacci administration, brings his own pro-gambling bias to his other job as Chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board. Hollywood Slots pays a substantial sum to Hale's radio station, and in return, it often appears that Hale rubber stamps every proposal introduced by the owners of the casino. 

The latest example of Hale's overly-compliant method of casino 'regulation' happened at a meeting of the Gambling Control Board in November. At the meeting,  Hollywood Slots put forward a proposal for a new game which closely resembles a table game. In the game, called "Digi-Deal," five players hold cards and make bets sitting around a table. The game, if approved by the Gambling Control Board, would allow Hollywood Slots to get its foot in the door with other table games, games which are currently banned under the law which created the Racino.

At the November 4th meeting, Hale quickly gave his approval for the new table game before any discussion by the other board members. During the discussion which followed, two board members stated it would be necessary for the Legislature to take up the issue. In the end, a motion to approve the machines was tabled for further study.

Hale's remarks approving of Grard's firing is a textbook example of liberal hypocrisy, a perfect illustration of how espousing liberal beliefs creates an aura of integrity, while allowing one to abandon every higher ethical and religious principle which stands in the way of personal ambition or greed. When properly understood, it is easy to see how the liberalism of the elite is nothing more than a cloak for immoral or unethical behavior, or sometimes far worse. 

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