The past few election cycles, I keep hearing the same phrase, " We need to take back our country".
Who the hell is WE and when and how did you lose "your country"?
Did you buy it out from under everyone else? Did someone steal "YOUR" country? I seem to remember somewhere along the way that part of this country belongs to me and everyone else I know. Since when did you get sole ownership?
By my recollection, if you want to "take back YOUR country,
you're going to (#1) fight a hell of a lot of people you think stole it from you or (#2) you can fight the SOB's that actually stole it from you, the 1%ers. The corporations (who pay very little, if not 0 taxes) or the billionaires who own congress and get all the tax breaks. (See tax scam of upwards of 2 trillion dollars in 2017). It's your choice, but I think your odds are better if you wise up, rise up, and stand together against the 1%ers.
Attacking your neighbors and others you don't even know will get you nowhere except broke, bankrupt, hated or dead. Besides, how's the way you are doing it now working for you? Your families are fighting each other over stupid ideological differences, you're blocking former friends  of many years because someone offended your sensitivities, and you spend hour after hour on social media bitching about perceived slights by people you don't even know, just to feel good about yourself. Makes no sense, does it?
I may be an idealist, but I do believe that we can right this ship by working together, not against each other.
By doing so, you steal their power, and without that power, THEY ARE NOTHING BUT PITIFUL WEAKLINGS!
KICK THESE MONEY-GRUBBING BASTARDS TO THE CURB BY VOTING THEM OUT!
May peace be within you, and may you smile at the next person you think slighted you!
dennismoconnor.com

"Follow the Yellow Brick Road" they said. "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"
Well Toto, do you think we should? Sure Dot, you never know who we gonna meet up with along the way!  OK, off we go.
Oh look, Dot, there's a scarecrow out in that cornfield and he's made of straw. Let's ask him if he knows where we are.
Hey Mr. Scarecrow, do you know where we are? I don't know, because if I only had a brain, I could probably tell you. But I don't, and neither do any of my family of scarecrows all across the country
Well how many of you are there? About 62,000,000. 62,000,000? Holy crap, we're going to be stuck here for ever, because with all these scarecrows with no brains, that means everything is screwed up.
 Well Dot, I did hear that at the end of this road, there's a wizard, knows everything, best at everything, except he's not nice to women, so you must be careful. He's kind of a lecher, you know. Well you must be on your way, but I'll give you one more bit of advice. When you find it, PULL BACK THE CURTAIN! You'll find a very sad disappointment there!
To all of you who are family to that scarecrow, "Follow The Yellow Brick Road"!
May the sun shine bright upon you, and warm your heart! And may the crows stay off your back!
dennisoconnor.com
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One thing I find to be very discouraging is the extent to which people will go to disparage others for simply being alive. I was reading the posts on FB this morning, and it just amazes me how people can automatically condemn others because of ethnicity or gender.
I am of course referring to a simple accident involving a Somali woman. The anger and hatred directed towards her and her community are disgusting and very short-sighted. Had it been a white woman, there wouldn't even be an article. I made a point recently of going into the Somali community and talking to several shop owners who have revitalized the city of Lewiston, and they explained to me how things were in their corner of the world. The prejudice, the hatred of color, the thinking that all they have earned was just given to them by the government. It doesn't work that way!
We wonder why there is so much turmoil between the Somali's and the whites. Just remember, hate begets hate. Stop being so quick to throw out negative comments about things you know nothing about and try to walk in another's moccasins before you do. Open your mind to the fact that YOU just may be wrong. Oh, that can't be, I'm white!
Try for once in your privileged and protected lives to see another's viewpoint that came from a war-torn country, where the only thing they could concentrate on was staying alive. And until you live that life, stop your petty criticisms.
You do nothing but make all of us look bad, and I for one am sick of it!
May peace be within you!
dennismoconnor.com

I know it's not my imagination because I have been watch ing this for too long.
Why is it that almost every time a politician makes a totally stupid statement, It's a Republican?
Why is it that almost every time a politician is accused of sexual molestation or child pornography, it's a Republican?
Why is it that that almost every time a Republican comes out against gay rights, he's a closet homosexual?
Why is it that almost every time Republicans decide to change the tax code, it's to the benefit of the wealthy?
When are you going to wake up and realize that the Republican Party of today is a criminal enterprise, and you are paying for it. You have been brainwashed because of religious beliefs. Every trick in the book has been used against you, and you continue to believe. WHY?
Why is every political ad brought about by Republicans negative and nasty? Is it because they have nothing positive to offer, or are they just that hateful?
I personally choose to see the positive in people, even though I may not agree with them, namely because they have opinions just like me. I only wish they were more grounded in truth, not propaganda.
I offered a lady one of my campaign cards last week and she asked what I thought of MAGA. I told her I try  not to think about it. She threw my card on the ground and slammed the door in my face. I simply told her to have a nice day. I feel sorry for people like that, because through their hatred of those that don't agree with them, they have to be miserable inside. They know what's going on, they just can't admit it, it would mean they were wrong!
Like it or not, we either sink or swim together, it's time to make that choice.
Have a great day and keep up the fight, may peace be with  you.
dennismoconnor.com

I write this today because of the controversy of the Kavanaugh nomination. I see much written in defense of of a person who apparently lived an entitled life.
Let's get a few things straight!
First of all, you are not ENTITLED to anything just because you are born into wealth.
You are not ENTITLED to treat others as less than you.
You are not ENTITLED to look down on women because of a culture that says you can. Women have just as many rights as you do, but somehow men think they have right to molest women without permission.
You are not ENTITLED to take all the money and hide it, putting others lives in danger simply because you can.
I am a white male who has never thought I had the right to disrespect anyone, especially women.
People say Dr. Ford should have come forward sooner, yet now she is getting death threats because she did, and then they wonder why women don't come forward, why they feel guilt and shame because of someone else's deed. This is a very sick world we live in, and getting sicker because peoples opinions are manipulated to a point where they cannot figure out what is true anymore.
I am entitled to one thing, and one thing alone. That is to be treated with respect and respect the same for others, nothing more! If you think otherwise, you are part of the problem!
May peace be with you.
dennismoconnor.com

I asked my former manager of our Condo Association if she would send a letter describing my tenure as Board President and I am printing it for everyone to see. I cherish these thoughts!
Dennis O’Connor is one of the most kind and honest men I have met in a long time.  I met Dennis when he was nominated to be the Board President of a very large Condominium Association. 
When Dennis became Board President my job as property manager became so much more cohesive.  Dennis was always there to solve the problems that came into my office daily.   He would look at a problem, talk about the issues, discuss solutions and bring the quandaries to a fruition.  
We had a drainage problem in one of our courtyards and the rains kept coming.  It was late in the day and the maintenance crew had gone home for the day.  Dennis was out in the courtyard in the dark with a shovel and broom, digging paths and pushing the water toward the drains that did exist.  He saved many ground floor units that would have flooded from any damage.   He spent many a day on the roof of several buildings patching roof leaks, plumbing leaks, cleaning gutters, repairing railings, etc.  There was never a problem that Dennis was not willing to take on.  He saved the association thousands of dollars in expenditures with his knowledge and willingness to step in and do the job. 
He was in charge at the Board Meetings, keeping the members of the association happy with his willingness to listen and talk to them about their issues.  He always did the research and got back to any member that needed answers to a problem.  He was well liked by all, he was very easy to talk to and he always explained his handling of any situation and was always willing to listen to other board members ideas.  He worked well with others on the board and all the members respected him and felt they had value in his eyes. 
I believe that Dennis O’Connor would be an asset to our Political System.  He would bring back the values and respect that our government seems to be lacking in todays’ world.
 
Gayle MacKinnon
St. Petersburg, FL
Property Manager, Real Estate Agent, E-Pro

Why do people vote against their own best interests?
I see this time and time again, listening to what a career politician has to say and believing every word of it.
I've been watching the nasty and polarizing ads from the Bruce Poliquin campaign here in Maine, already fudging the facts and using it against his opponent. You can always tell the one who has the most to lose by the tone of their ads!
Factually, they always seem to forget that their votes are recorded and speak for themselves. He is a man who would gladly take away healthcare from millions simply because the party he is tied to says so. Where are your morals there?
Give the wealthy a tax cut because he is one of them, owned by super-rich donors. He started this campaign with 1.5 million dollars in the bank. Do you think Golden has that kind of money?
We have reached a point (again) in our society where the super rich determine what happens to the other 325 million
living in this country. I know that many of the people who lived through the great depression of "29" to "35" are gone now, so the prospect of anything like that happening again is not on peoples minds. but you had better start reading your history about what lead up to that depression, because we are right there at this point in time.
The income inequality is extremely high, people are one paycheck away from disaster, the stock exchange and the banks are playing the same deadly games and getting away with, for now.
But like "29", they are playing with live sticks of dynamite, due to blow up in their faces any day now!
Personal debt is at an all-time high, students are leaving college with debt so high they'll never be able to repay it and with degrees that really don't mean much in today's society, job wise. Our national debt exceeded 1 trillion dollars this year. That's your money, being fed to the rich.
When are you going to realize that?
When will you stop voting to harm yourselves?
May peace be upon you!
dennismoconnor.com

Today was a great day. Went to the Mechanic Falls transfer station and met many wonderful people. It's a great feeling when People are willing to listen and check up on you. Plus, they liked my signs on their way into the station. "If You Want Truth" "If You Want Honor" "Cast Your Vote" "For Dennis O'Connor" "Common Sense Independent"
I heard many times, "You've got my vote"
I'm feeling more and more confident each day.
Thank you to all who believe in me!
May peace be with you.
dennismoconnor.com

Right Wing, Left Wing, Conservative, Liberal, the Far Right hates everyone who's not white, the Far Left hates everyone who doesn't like pure Socialism. But somewhere in the middle is about 80% of America.
WE choose to adopt philosophies, right and left, that reflect what we believe. The trouble with that is that we can also be manipulated by outside sources through means that only a few know. That's why there is so much hatred in our country right now, we are being manipulated to hate.
 Think about it. 75% of American families are living paycheck to paycheck. Wages are stagnant, yet corporate profits are through the roof. 1/2 the country can't afford rent, food, and other necessities.
So what are we to do? Stop hating, for one thing. Beneath our skin, we are all the same. We all want security, whether it be financial, medical, social, whatever.
We all want a better life, whether it be family, housing, money.
But it's not going to happen if we don't tune out the poison fed to us each and every day. When you become angry, ask yourself why, is this worth escalating?
I had my signs damaged by morons. Does it make me angry, yes. Should I retaliate? I did for a while but then realized that I am acting on their ignorance. I know I can't change them, but I can control me. I was going to move them anyway, but to let them win? If I act out, they win! So, under the circumstances, I will do what I originally planned for my signs (home-made, by the way). I will meet more jerks along the way, but as long as I believe in me, I'm OK with that!
May peace be with you, and may good luck shine upon you!
dennismoconnor.com