Maine Owl

THIS story on MPBN radio "Maine Things Considered" illustrates why it is so very important to mount even small anti-war protests when the purveyors of death and destruction come to celebrate their achievements at Bath Iron Works.


Bruce Gagnon gets thirty-six seconds of public radio air time to say we're tired of war and that the weapons made in Bath are designed to hit first

I'll give MPBN reporter Tom Porter some credit here for making the protest an important part of the story--virtually the lede. Good. Otherwise the story would just have been the celebratory slosh we usually hear in media coverage of the Pentagon's favorite destroyer-building shipyard. Well, the report did become about the...

...enthusiasm felt by those behind the gates of Bath Iron Works - a unit by General Dynamics - over the likelihood of the shipyard being chosen to build the U.S. Navy's new class of destroyer. Inside the heavily-guarded facility, Defense Secretary Robert Gates presided over a pre-commissioning ceremony for the Wayne. E. Meyer - an Arleigh Burke-class, DDG51 destroyer.

"I've never visited a shipyard before so this has really been something, and I've really been impressed with the professionalism and the pride of the workers here at Bath, and the continuing innovation to try and wring costs and time out of production," Gates said.

"Whatever the navy wants, Bath Iron Works is prepared to deliver. This is a great shipyard, thank you Mr. Secretary," said Maine senator Susan Collins ...

Of course none of our delegation, including the Democrats, can mention a cross word about Bath Iron Works. Both Democrats, Rep. Chelli Pingree (1st District) and Rep. Mike Michaud (2nd District) were on hand yesterday too.

"Well you know there's a reason they say Bath-built is best-built," said Ms. Pingree.

What I would like to see is a revival of the long-awaited project to convert Bath Iron Works to "useful civilian production." Good idea.

Three "DDG1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers" are needed for what? Looking into that question does not seem to be on the media radar. Perhaps this is because BIW is so squeaky clean of controversy. Ending on a sad note, many years of small actions and protests have not changed this.