The thief who scaled the wooden fire tower in Hallowell in the dead of night was not lacking in ingenuity and initiative. He had however, a stunning lack of respect for the people of Maine, since his object was a glittering antique weathervane valued at several hundred dollars.  Worse, I think, was the thief who stole several sculpted marble panels from grave monuments in a cemetery in Gardiner. I suspect that the weathervane and beautiful marble panels made their way to an out-of-state antique dealer who prizes such things for the money they bring.
 
There is something much worse than stealing a people's cultural heritage. That is the theft of ideas. Without ideas and principles, a nation is destroyed. As the Book of Proverbs says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
 
What brought all this to mind, is a document by Senator Peter Mills that is making the rounds among the politically influential in Augusta. Mills, who claims to be a conservative, calls his document "Short Rants on Nine Issues." Reading his brief memo, I was reminded of nine empty gusts of wind. Then the realization came to me that there are three types of politicians in Maine.

The first is the Weathervane. Peter Mills belongs to this category. The Weathervane turns left and right with every breeze of public opinion.  The "Short Rants" discusses those issues Mills thinks will be of most interest to the public, starting with energy and other economic issues.  Social issues, with the exception of the drug problem, are not a concern. Mills saves the issue of same sex marriage for last, calling it a "distracting issue."
 
 Such questions cannot be dismissed so off-handedly, because society rests on ethical principles. These principles maintain order and stability; and they are nowhere more important than in the preservation of marriage and the family. To divert the attention of the public from ethical issues jeopardizes society. A nation which has the highest incarceration rate in the world probably will not be saved by wind farms.
 
Which brings me to the second type of politician, the Windmill. The Windmill has no fixed ideology or approach, and goes round busily from left to right like an egg-beater,  humming on and on in an endless, bewildering blur. The average man is perplexed by the sight. How does the Windmill mix fiscal conservatism with partial birth abortion and same sex marriage? How does the Windmill claim fiscal restraint, and then vote for the largest spending bill in American history? In this category I place Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
 
The third type of politician is the Magnet. The Magnet guides his people with fixed principles of right and wrong, and points the way like a reliable compass needle. Since iron is heavier than air, the Magnet attracts few followers at first, yet his effect is long-lasting. In the category of Magnet, we may place the true conservatives, Washington, the surveyor, Lincoln, the barge pilot, and Teddy Roosevelt, explorer of the Amazon.   The magnet ends up by drawing large groups of people, perhaps even nations, after him.
 
Just as there are financial swindlers, there are swindlers and counterfeiters in the realm of morals. They are much more enterprising than men who steal weathervanes or gravestones. I do not include any member of the Legislature in this category, since false ideas about morality have their origin outside of government. Most Liberals merely repeat what they hear, leading the public into greater confusion.
 
Still, there are those inside government who help spread these errors by saying that abortion, and 'marriages' between homosexuals are good for society. It is unfortunate when Legislators claim that society can be improved solely by economic means. It is simply horrifying when they call same sex marriage a "distracting issue," or worse, endorse it as something which will benefit Maine.