"It would also be nice to think that the "balloon boy" viewers were the innocent victims of a dazzling Houdini-class feat of wizardry — a "massive fraud," as Bill O'Reilly thundered. But even slightly jaundiced onlookers might have questioned how a balloon could waft buoyantly through the skies for hours with a 6-year-old boy hidden within its contours. That so few did is an indication of how practiced we are at suspending disbelief when watching anything labeled news, whether the subject is W.M.D.'s in Iraq or celebrity gossip in Hollywood."
"And there is one other significant way that our 21st-century vampire squid differs from Rockefeller's 20th-century octopus. Americans knew what oil was, and they understood how Standard Oil's manipulations directly affected their pocketbooks. Even now many Americans don't know what Goldman's products are or how it makes its money. The less we know, the easier it is for reckless gambling to return to capitalism's casino, and for Washington to look the other way as a new financial bubble inflates."
Read a little analysis about the ongoing Oxford Aviation saga here. It's tough to say where this story is heading, but I suspect all the players are working behind the scenes to make this company's future at Brunswick Naval Air Station a close, and possibly contentious vote. I, for one, would not want to be sitting on the Midcoast Regional Authority's board of trustees.
A snippet from this week's story:
Sphere: Related ContentBut speculation swirls about Oxford Aviation's ability to get this close to occupying half of Hangar 6.
Much of the theorizing centers on Richardson's political ambitions. The potential gubernatorial candidate could benefit from a ceremonial announcement of new jobs, even if there is no real guarantee that the achievement will last beyond the ribbon-cutting – just as it didn't after Gov. John Baldacci used Oxford Aviation's Sanford Jet Division groundbreaking as a campaign stop just six days before his re-election in 2007.
Levesque, meanwhile, undoubtedly feels pressure to create jobs and revenue during an economic downturn made worse locally by the impending base shutdown.
Levesque, the former DECD commissioner under Gov. Angus King, has had past dealings with Oxford Aviation and he recently refuted claims that the company was the recipient of corporate welfare. He argued that public-private partnerships – and their inherent receipt of grants and tax incentives – were one of the few ways Maine can compete with other states in economic development.
That assertion is coupled with MRRA's pressing funding needs. Next summer, MRRA hopes to take over airport operations at BNAS, a job Levesque estimates will cost $650,000 annually.
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