Underground downtown: Looking beneath the streets

Published in the Portland Phoenix

For years, many people have heard rumors about secret spaces beneath our feet on the Portland peninsula. Now the Portland Phoenix can reveal the truth about several of these. We have three categories: places I've been and seen myself; places that exist as confirmed by historical records or accounts of people I've spoken with; and places whose existence is third-hand at best (even if the details are startlingly specific) and must therefore remain somehow in question. This is obviously in addition to the tunnels, such as those related to liquor-smuggling during Prohibition or helping slaves escape to Canada, that once existed in Portland, but whose locations have been lost to time, development, or Commercial Street's construction.

"There are a lot of tunnels in Portland's history," says local historian Michelle Souliere. "The question is how many of those still exist in some form or another." If you have any information about any of these things, please send me an email at jinglis@phx.com and let me know!

PLACES I'VE BEEN

The first place I've actually been is also the most commonly known, and least interesting: the TUNNEL UNDER CONGRESS STREET built in 1966 between the former Portland Press Herald building at 390 Congress Street and the paper's former printing plant across the street, next to City Hall. I've been in it, as have many Press Herald staffers over the years. It looks exactly like the hallways in your junior high school classroom, and is about as exciting. The tunnel allowed workers to go from one building to the other without going outside or dodging traffic; also, a conveyor belt carried heavy lead printing plates from the stereotype room in the main building to the printing plant across the street. As built, it was 154 feet long, 13 feet wide, and 10 feet high, according to a Press Heraldreport of its construction. "The tunnel, with its average five to seven feet of gravel, the concrete slab and the paving overhead, makes an ideal bomb shelter," says the report, now available on the Press Herald's website (see above). It will be sealed off, according to plans for renovating the main building into a hotel.

I have also been to the SPACE UNDERNEATH THE PORTLAND STAR MATCH BUILDING on West Commercial Street; formerly the bunkers for the sulfur and other chemicals used to make the matches (and you thought Waterville had the monopoly on making trees into tiny bits of wood!), the cellars are very tunnel-like, and have several caves with thick brick walls, and a climate that might be excellent for storing wine.

LOCATIONS THAT EXIST (OR DID)

The old BOWLODROME BOWLING ALLEY underneath the Forest Avenue parking lot next to Portland Stage Company and behind the old Strand Theater building on Congress Street. Vin Veroneau, president of JB Brown and Company, a major downtown property owner, recalls bowling there as a child. Harold Pachios, one of the owners of the building, believes something is still there: "I understand that there's the remains of a bowling alley," though he was unsure what might be left after more than 50 years of disuse. (Gerv says the bowling alley is "real and quite beautiful.")

ANOTHER BOWLING ALLEY, also on Forest Avenue, in the basement of a building across from the Portland Stage Company building, as shown in a map of the city's downtown from 1954.

A THIRD BOWLING ALLEY, this in the basement of the Portland YMCA on Forest Avenue (yes, indeed!) and reported by the Evening Express as one of several activities at a 1965 Y "family night." Michelle Souliere, owner of the Green Hand Bookshop and curator/publisher of the Strange Maine blog and its associated Gazette zine, recalls taking gymnastics lessons down there in the '80s: "We did pommel horse stuff on the lanes."

A FOURTH BOWLING ALLEY, the Bowlaway, on the site of the Portland Museum of Art. Though it's very clearly on 1948 and 1954 maps of Portland, museum spokeswoman Kristen Levesque says she had never heard of such a thing.

The ARCADE/MALL ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE TIME AND TEMP BUILDING extends downstairs, with old long-abandoned shops and bathrooms with marble countertops; Veroneau says the space hearkens back to the Dick Tracy era.

UNDERGROUND BRICK ARCHWAYS near the corner of India and Commercial streets. Perhaps the source of the persistent "unfinished subway system" rumors — which remain unsubstantiated — they were the remains of an old "interim train station that served the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad back in the 1840s," former Portland transportation director Jeff Monroe told PortlandMagazine in 2008.

Sets of SLIDING DOORS IN THE BASEMENT of the Maine College of Art that connect it with two neighboring buildings to the east. (Though several downtown buildings have connecting basements, a rumored tunnel connecting the Oak Street student housing with the old Porteous building does not exist, according to MECA president Don Tuski.)

SPACES DIRECTLY BENEATH THE SIDEWALKS on several areas of Congress Street. According to Veroneau and Tuski, the State Theatre, the old Porteous building, and the Mechanics Hall all have basements that extend beyond their buildings, reaching underneath the sidewalks but stopping around the point the actual street begins. It's not unreasonable to think other buildings are similarly equipped, but those are the three I have specifics on.

A TUNNEL BETWEEN THE OLD PORTLAND HALL BUILDING AND GENO'S Rock Club. Christian Matzke, a former Portland Hall resident assistant has spent time in both buildings' basements, and says "without a doubt there's a tunnel," though it's blocked off by rubble at both ends. There also appears to have been a tunnel heading across the street, Matzke says, though that's also filled in.

A TUNNEL IN BAYSIDE underneath the a building at the corner of Oxford and Preble streets that once housed an office of Congressman Tom Allen. Matzke, who once worked as an intern for Allen, recalls finding a door locked from the outside that served as storage, but also contained something else: "There's a hole in the floor larger than a manhole cover, with a large piece of metal put across it." With another intern, Matzke removed the metal and descended to a chamber that had a mattress in one corner, and was obviously an intersection of several tunnels coming from other locations.

RUMOR-ONLY

Tunnels connected to the foundation of the MASONIC HALL.

A tunnel CONNECTING THE MCLELLAN HOUSE TO THE CUMBERLAND CLUB; its existence was simultaneously posited and denied by PMA spokeswoman Kristen Levesque.

An entrance to the tunnels in one of the buildings off MONUMENT SQUARE.

The LEN'S MARKET TUNNEL. "The story went that there was a tunnel that connected Len's Market to the Eastland" hotel, Matzke says. Souliere has also heard tell of this tunnel, from a descendant of the original Len; a parking lot is now on the site, leading her to expect that the tunnel has been filled or collapsed.

Which leads us to the most-rumored tale: the TUNNELS STARTING AT THE EASTLAND PARK HOTEL that "used to run out into different points in the city," says Souliere. After initially being very responsive to an inquiry and inviting me to an in-person meeting a few days away, Jeff Cappellieri of the Westin Portland Harborview called to cancel just three hours before the interview was to happen, and was not able to reschedule before deadline. We'll have to leave that in the "rumors" column — for now.

Fuel Price Watch: Chavez dies; will poor be cold?

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Last week, a man whose determination to embarrass the American government extended to helping US citizens when their own government wouldn't died, reportedly suffering a heart attack.

In 2006, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez made a laughingstock of George W. Bush by taking advantage of climbing oil prices to do something Bush would not. At a time when Bush was refusing to release supplies from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Congress was resisting granting additional funds to help poor people with heating costs, Chavez stepped in.

Through Citgo, whose owner is the Venezuelan government, Chavez ordered discounted heating oil supplied to needy Americans. At the time, Maine Governor John Baldacci hailed the offer — of a 40-percent discount for 8 million gallons of heating oil to low-income Mainers, Native American tribes, and homeless shelters — as filling a gap left by the federal government's inaction.

According to Citizens Energy, the non-profit led by Joseph P. Kennedy II that has been a US coordinator for Venezuelan oil subsidies to this country, Maine has received more than $30 million over the past eight years, including $27 million in heating aid directly to 60,000 households (an amount that is still growing because the heating-season-long assistance program is still running). Maine shelters have received more than $300,000 in help, and Maine tribes have gotten more than $3 million in assistance.

Kennedy issued a statement after Chavez's death that should have caught more attention in Washington DC than it actually did:

"President Chavez cared deeply about the poor of Venezuela and other nations around the world and their abject lack of even basic necessities, while some of the wealthiest people on our planet have more money than they can ever reasonably expect to spend. There are close to two million people in the United States who received free heating assistance, thanks to President Chavez's leadership. Our prayers go out to President Chavez's family, the people of Venezuela, and all who were warmed by his generosity."

Whether the program will carry on in the future will depend on the Venezuelan government. It seems likely, though, that American citizens will continue to require this sort of direct foreign aid — unless Congress suddenly finds the ability to provide for the American people, as opposed to multinational corporations.

• In related news, if you want CHEAP GAS, mark your calendar for April 20. And no, this isn't a US government program; Citgo's involved again, as is a somewhat higher authority.

Next Level Church, an ecumenical Christian church with branches across the country (including at 1053 Forest Avenue), is bringing gas prices down below $3 per gallon on that day, at one gas station: the Citgo Xtra Mart at 865 Brighton Avenue in Portland. It'll only be for 2500 gallons, but that's enough to make a big difference.

Apparently, starting at 11 am and running until the 2500 gallons are gone, the price at the pump will drop to $2.99, with donations from the church making up the difference between that amount and whatever the current market price is. A similar effort last month in Epping, New Hampshire, resulted in nearly 300 people getting discounted gas.

Press Releases: Drinking games

Published in the Portland Phoenix

It's February, and time to cut loose on a ranting bender. Here is a media-themed drinking game you can play now that football season is over. All you need is a copy of each of the state's major daily newspapers: the Bangor Daily News, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and the Lewiston Sun Journal. (For added difficulty — both in the game and with supply acquisition — also include the Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal, the Journal Tribune, the Times Record.) Each person will need a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. A designated driver is also suggested, but optional if you're playing at home. With your buddies all gathered around a table, each grab a paper and start reading.

BASIC RULES Drink every time you encounter any of the following:

• A story in one paper that's credited to another paper (the Sun Journal does this most, so give that one to the strongest liver in the room)

• A story that's credited to the Associated Press, Reuters, or any other wire service (drink twice if that story is based in Maine and the paper was too lazy to send its own reporter)

• A story that's credited to "staff" without using an actual staff member's name

• Information you read on the Internet in the past 48 hours (including on that newspaper's website)

• Information you read days ago in a weekly newspaper, or on a weekly's website, but that the daily publishes without crediting the newspaper that actually broke the story (drink twice if that paper is the Portland Phoenix, and triple if that item was in the Phoenix more than a year ago and the daily's just figuring it out)

ADVANCED RULES Drink for these items too, which may require closer scrutiny:

• A story you heard on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network before it was in the newspaper (skip the drink if MPBN highlighted the story after the paper published it)

• A story the reporter did (or, based on its quality and detail, could have done) without leaving the newsroom

• A story for which the image or photograph is drawn from the newspaper's files, as opposed to something new

WHO WINS Whomever thinks the amount paid for their paper was well-spent. (Warning: this is likely to be the person who has drunk the most.)

BONUS ROUND In case you end up staring blankly at a TV that lacks any compelling sports programming, tune in to any local TV station's evening-news broadcast. Drink every time you see any of the following:

• A horrendous pun in on-screen text or scripted newsreading

• A mugshot or video of someone wearing an orange jumpsuit

• An emergency vehicle with its lights on

• A people-on-the-street series of interviews

• People attending a press conference (skip the drink if a reporter's question, and its answer from the speaker, is actually broadcast)

• A weather report that tells you less useful information than you'd learn by looking out the window

• A reporter standing outside struggling to remain upright and/or dry in inclement weather

• An awkward segue between radically different stories, like when your grandfather starts talking about "the gays" at Thanksgiving and your mother changes the topic to her new gravy recipe

• A sports story about a Boston-based team in which the reporter actually went to Boston (skip if preceded or followed by a story about a local team in which the reporter went to the nearby town)

Now, if there's any whiskey left in any of the bottles, you'll probably want to just drink it too.

Maine and Antarctica

Aired on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network's Maine Calling radio show

The turning of souls: USM prof: Teaching is about spirit, not data

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Making an impassioned plea for humanistic considerations to remain paramount in our societal discussion about education and its continual improvement, University of Southern Maine philosophy professor Jeremiah Conway follows his own advice. He seeds his book, The Alchemy of Teaching (forthcoming in March from Sentient Publications), with stories of classroom encounters between students and ideas that remind us of an important, but oft-neglected, truth about education: It is no good if it merely teaches the young facts and tasks to be accomplished in the workforce. Rather, education must deeply and fully engage both students and teachers in the quest for understanding and connection.

Conway begins and ends with aspects of the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus — and the Breugel painting depicting that myth's climactic moment. He inquires thoroughly into what the story might mean (see excerpt in sidebar) Conway gently, calmly, and unrelentingly shreds the data-driven mantras of the modern industrial-style education system.

His heartfelt tales of students young and very old transforming themselves — and their teacher — get to the heart of a distinctly European, even Renaissance tradition of education: that its aim is not to indoctrinate nor to cause memorization, but rather to excite, to enthrall, and, above all, to spark the human potential within each of us.

In constructing his subtle argument — for this is among the least argumentative examples of a persuasive essay — Conway marshals some unexpected forces. Among those making significant, and sympathetic, appearances here are a religious fundamentalist, a smartypants overachiever, a reclusive-silent type, and an elderly woman.

But there is more. A particularly impassioned section takes the interpretation of Nietzsche's nihilism in a direction even philosophy students might be surprised at. While the 19th-century German thinker thought the rise of lamentable decadence was the first step toward its subsequent dissolution, he wrote movingly inThus Spoke Zarathustra of feeling and thinking and sensing and processing deep within the body — "in the blood," as he put it. Conway's professorial but not at all dry explication of this section of the text leads to an account of how a particular class of his engaged with this idea; the deep soulful examinations that discussion entails augur well for Nietzsche's forlorn hopes.

Certainly more a work of thought and exploration than of diagnosis or prescription, The Alchemy of Teaching asks its readers to remember that those ancients who sought to transform base metals into valuable treasure didn't know exactly how it might occur, but retained their sense of wonder and certainty at the potential of the universe to deliver riches beyond measure. We, and all students of any age or era, should be so lucky as to in herit not only the scientific determinism of the alchemists, but also their mystic faith in the ultimate possibility: that all leaden pupils might, with care, attention, and not a little bit of liberty, transform themselves — and, perhaps, their equally lucky teachers — into golden pioneers simultaneously finding and creating new worlds.

Building a hub for food: Behind the scenes with a community project to feed bellies and souls

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Exploding out of the mind of Portland idea-man Eli Cayer, 39, and with financial backing from his Urban Farm Fermentory, is the conversion of a former East Bayside taxi garage into a home for food processors and preparers right on the Portland peninsula.

With his eye ever fixed on the Next Big Thing for the Forest City (he's had his hand in everything from public transit to community engagement to booze), Cayer is not only projecting the February 1 opening of the yet-to-be-named new space, which will house an expanded space for Bomb Diggity Bakery and an all-natural fruit-popsicle maker — he has also offered the Portland Phoenix a behind-the-scenes look at how ideas like this one arise, develop, change, adapt, get wrecked, get salvaged, and ultimately, if the stars align, actually happen.

It's a peek at what goes into bringing great new businesses and ideas to Portland. More often, as Cayer observes, "you see what worked" — at a grand opening or community open house. "Sometimes it doesn't work," he says wryly, and with personal experience.

Cayer has started businesses in Portland for many years. There was a DIY bicycle-repair shop called the Hub, which led to cycle-rickshaws (predating by a decade the ones we saw this summer), and then an unfruitful plan to install a downtown refueling location for biodiesel vehicles. He founded the community group MENSK to bring together like-minded creative people in hopes of cross-pollinating great ideas. He co-founded Maine Mead Works, and then left to help start the Urban Farm Fermentory, which makes mead, hard cider, and a rapidly expanding line of kombucha drinks. Not all of these endeavors have worked out as planned, and others ran their course, after which Cayer moved on.

Now, with the UFF growing strong, another Cayer notion is taking shape.

"I've been dreaming about this space for a while now," he says, standing in the vast open cavern that used to be the garage home to ABC Taxi. It's another part of the same 200 Anderson Street building that houses the UFF, which is how Cayer heard, last June, that the taxi company was moving to a new space off the peninsula.

He signed a lease in August, based on commitments from a couple of prospective tenants, and started submitting permitting applications to the city for different uses as well as renovations.

When he did, Cayer admits, "I unfortunately worded it in a way that scared" city officials scrutinizing how the building would be divided for various tenants. An initial potential tenant was a man who would be making countertops; also interested was Bomb Diggity, seeking to expand both its bakery business as well as the social mission of its nonprofit parent Momentum (which works with people who have intellectual disabilities) out of the space it presently shares with Local Sprouts on Congress Street. Cayer soon found out that city rules governing spaces with multiple uses (like manufacturing and food preparation) meant different permitting and building requirements than Cayer was used to from his experience with single-use spaces, like the UFF.

That led to delays, which meant the countertop-maker dropped out, but ultimately that change made life easier; he found a beginning cheesemaker who wanted to rent some space — which put the entire building back into just one use (food prep) and on familiar regulatory ground.

But even that confusion wasn't as bad as the mess Cayer found in the space itself. "I pressure-washed the floors like six times," he says with a grimace, recalling a six-inch-deep mess of grime, oil, and other disgustingness piled up in the back corner after the first round of pressure-washing. After all, it had been a taxi garage. "Cars parked here for a decade," Cayer notes, pointing to areas of the concrete floor that have been worn down by traffic and eaten away by chemicals. "It was gross."

After the second pressure-wash, it was time for a degreaser. And then, yes, more pressure-washing. It was not the only work needing doing: the roof needed some repairs and a paint job; old electrical and phone wires snaked through the open rafters overhead (Cayer got $200 from a scrap-metal yard when he'd finished yanking it all out).

Nevertheless, by September Cayer had the bakery and cheesemaker tenants committed and permitting under way. "Then it was sort of figuring out the layout and trying to find contractors" to build out the space.

SECOND CATCH

In October, another snafu arose. The cheesemaker, Rachel Lauriat, learned she couldn't actually work in the new space. A creamery needs intensive plumbing (you'd be surprised at how much liquid is involved in making tasty solids), and those requirements were more than was available on site. Adding the pipes would come at a huge cost Lauriat was hoping to avoid.

And then there was the ventilation. Beyond working with huge kettles and steam systems that require good air flow, the product itself can be picky. The final step in cheese-making is ripening, working with live cultures that require specific ranges of humidity, temperature, and air circulation speeds. Not surprisingly, advanced ventilation control like that wasn't already installed and waiting in the former industrial warehouse and loading dock (along a disused railroad bed) — and the situation was complicated by the potential for other live organisms to be in the air from the bakery (live bread yeasts) and fermentory (fermenting yeasts and related bacteria).

Without direct access to a window, and without the landlord's permission to ventilate through the roof, Lauriat was out of luck. She calls the decision "quite disappointing," and is still looking for a workable space in Portland. The bakery, and the popsicle-maker who would eventually come in to take her place, she says, "need way less plumbing and ventilation than I do." And even though she won't be an immediate neighbor, Lauriat is still working with Momentum to plan some cheese-making workshops for that agency's clients.

With Lauriat out, Bomb Diggity decided to revamp its floor plan to save some money, which delayed construction some more. And Cayer had to network like crazy to find someone to fill the empty spot.

That person, found after a couple weeks of searching, was Tanya Rosenberg, a bartender and commercial painter whom Cayer had known for more than a decade. Last July she had started a company that would become Pure Pops, making organic, all-natural popsicles in two-dozen crazy flavors like Apple Cranberry Crisp, Avocado Lime, and Pumpkin Pie.

She has been based near her home at Sugarloaf and selling them in sports/outdoors businesses from Scarborough to the Forks (and, obviously, Carrabassett Valley). But with a new contract bringing her pops onto the Bowdoin College campus later this month, and a mobile vending license from the city of Portland, she's moving the operation to town.

By the end of November, with yet another plumbing reconfiguration, "things really started to kick into gear," as Cayer puts it.

'LOTS OF SWEAT EQUITY'

After dealing with "old dead pipes that led nowhere," the rough plumbing was laid in the floors. The plumbing was done by pros, but the less-skilled labor (concrete work and epoxying) were handled by Cayer and other volunteers. Rosenberg brought her spray-painting equipment in so that she, Cayer, and others could repaint the ceiling of the space, which has great all-day light and lots of windows.

Between Christmas and New Year's, wood was dropped off and framing began, finishing in the first week of this year. As a volunteer work party began Saturday morning, Momentum executive director Dennis Strout was on his knees spreading cement across a pockmarked section of floor near the entrance to Bomb Diggity's space.

Other folks scraped old paint off a huge brick wall and primed it, before lugging in most of the baking equipment Bomb Diggity has purchased for use in the new space. Workers included Jonah Fertig and Abby Huckel from Local Sprouts, who are keeping ties between the two community-minded organizations strong, while looking forward to expanding the Local Sprouts catering business with the space being vacated by the bakery.

Next will come some more electrical work, sheetrocking of new walls, and finishing the epoxying of the floor. "Every day something more is happening," Cayer says eagerly, his eyes lighting up with excitement that this idea is ultimately coming to fruition.

The bakery is certainly the anchor tenant, and sees great opportunity to grow in this new space, says Lindsay deCsipkes, Momentum's program administrator. Beyond supplying several small local markets with baked goods, Bomb Diggity also provides Hannaford and Whole Foods Market with English muffins. Capitalizing on more square-footage, the company plans to expand its wholesale accounts, and will also work toward having a separate, certified gluten-free kitchen.

While commercial baking will occupy the mornings (starting early, as bakers do) the larger area will also be more conducive to afternoon workshops for Momentum clients learning culinary skills, deCsipkes says.

WORKING TOGETHER

"We're psyched about what can happen here," she says, talking not just about the business and learning potential but also community collaboration. Bomb Diggity will still retail its baked goods at Local Sprouts, and keep its art program there, where "our participants feel so at home," says deCsipkes.

But with the new space, the Bomb Diggity may try to piggyback on the Fermentory's existing distribution network to also carry its products. And deCsipkes is already talking with local artists, including some Momentum clients, about making murals to decorate the walls inside the industrial-looking exterior.

It's that sort of synergistic potential that gets Cayer truly excited. Whether there are more classes (which the UFF used to hold until production demands required more space), or partnerships with renewable-energy companies, or opportunities for collaboration with food-truck owners as that business type develops in Portland, Cayer has no shortage of ideas about how to use the space inside the building, as well as the 5000-square-foot parking lot outside it. (In fact, he overflows with such ideas, many of which are not yet ready for publication; watch this space.)

Not to mention that the warehouse bay between the former garage and the existing Fermentory is now available for rent. Though nothing is finalized, Cayer definitely has his eye on that, both as a connection between the UFF and these other businesses, but also to help with a much-needed expansion of his own production and storage space.

It's all part of his effort to grow community throughout Portland, even in a place like East Bayside, which is a place Portlanders are just starting to think of as an exciting neighborhood. "People are coming down here now" Cayer says, pointing to the little drink-related cluster of Rising Tide and Bunker brewing companies and Tandem Coffee. That's not to leave out other parts of the East Bayside revival, which includes eco-businesses like Washboard Eco-Laundry's Greener Cleaner dry-cleaning and Freeman's Bicycle Service, community groups like the Maine Muslim Community Center and the Compass Project youth-building non-profit, and arts groups Running With Scissors and Zero Station.

People are already attracted to the area. "We just need to create more reason for them to come a little further," he says. He hopes that's where this new food hub will come in.

YOU CAN HELP• Volunteer work parties will happen on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm through the end of January — so show up and contribute your sweat and equity too!

Press Releases: Gov-speak

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Governor Paul LePage famously (and perhaps in jest) threatened to punch MPBN reporter AJ Higgins in the face, back during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign. He probably wants to do it again this week, since Higgins was first to report on the simulated interview LePage did last week with his own employee, Adrienne Bennett, about the changes in Maine's tax code that took effect January 1.

But the brief flurry of publicity about the five-minute clip missed the takeaway. Yes, it was filled with questions both softball and obviously partisan. ("How is it that now you're getting pushback from Democrats in particular about putting more money back into the pockets of Mainers?" is not only the lead-off question but the setup of the entire farcical premise.)

And Bennett, a former TV broadcaster, is not identified by her title (Director of Communications for the Governor's Office) in the actual video — though she is in the text accompanying the video's posting on LePage's official YouTube page; she gives the famously bullying and belligerent governor a calm, friendly reception. She clearly reads from a prepared script of pre-approved questions, and parrots long-disgraced Republican talking points: "A tax cut can stimulate an economy. We know that," she claims, when that's basically never true, and certainly not when the tax cut is in the wealthy-and-corporate-welfare form proposed by LePage and his GOP buddies.

But most importantly, the structure of the piece is so clearly edited, with cuts in both video and audio that would never have passed muster in an actual journalistic interview, that we begin to see LePage's serious tendency toward blundering, even in the most coddling of surroundings (with not only a patsy asking questions but filmed by state Department of Transportation employees, Higgins reports).

We've known since his campaign that LePage is a loose cannon, lurching about the decks of state government, firing (and misfiring) indiscriminately. Now we begin to get a glimpse behind the curtain — things appear to be so bad he can't hold a simple, friendly, five-minute conversation with someone whose career he controls, without going off-message in unproductive ways.

• For contrast this weekend we were offered a roughly similar amount of time watching FORMER GOVERNOR ANGUS KING, now an independent US senator, on an actual journalistic television program, NBC's Meet the Press.

King appeared in a debt-ceiling roundtable with some heavy hitters: former GOP House speaker Newt Gingrich; current House Democratic Caucus leader Xavier Becerra (D-California); the Washington Post's EJ Dionne; and Carly Fiorina, a business executive and vice-chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Moderator David Gregory handed King the first question, and it set the stage for what may become King's m.o. both publicly and privately. First, he answered with a universal, nonpartisan truth: "People have lost confidence in the ability of our government to do anything." Then he turned the conflict itself into the problem at issue, rather than the debt ceiling or other budgetary details: "It's the inability of our government to work in a way to solve these problems that itself, I think, is a drag on the economy." He finished with a statement of principle that's both hard to argue with and rarely found in Washington: "The solutions are more important than the parties."

He found agreement from Gingrich (who described the current DC climate as "exactly the opposite of healthy self-government"), Becerra ("This is no way to run government"), and Fiorina (who urged talking real facts, not political infighting). Then King stayed quiet for most of the rest of the 20-minute segment, adding a short interjection about the facts of the debt ceiling (it's not about future spending, but the past), and finally answering another Gregory question about his independent status: "I could have frank discussions with both sides without being viewed as a member of the enemy camp."

For a non-career politician whose experience is in the executive and not the legislative branch, it was an impressive national debut, and all the stronger for its contrast with LePage's charade.

In With A Bang: What to Look Forward to in 2013

Published in the Portland Phoenix, these are my contributions to a package done with Deirdre Fulton and Nicholas Schroeder

We're thrilled the world didn't end in 2012 — aren't you? Not just because it lets us keep those plans to go to Asmara for lunch every day (why is that place not packed?), and live up to our promises to actually read that book recommended (or possibly written) by a friend or co-worker. There are some pretty amazing things slated to happen in Maine in 2013, and now that we're going to be around to enjoy them, we're getting even more excited. As you celebrate the beginning of the new year, think about all the unknown prospects and possibilities — but also about these very real events, already slated to occur.

A BIG BATTLE IN AUGUSTA

We've already seen the sparks flying between the Blaine House and the State House, with Republican Governor Paul LePage in a snit because the Democrats apparently want to hear — and record — everything he has to say at public appearances, but things may end up escalating. We know there will be huge fights about medical costs, tax policy, social services, and environmental regulations — not to mention labor agreements, business development, and how much Mainers can afford to spend coddling wealthy out-of-state corporations. We hope things won't get as far as actual combat, of course, but we expect talks will eventually break down completely. When that happens, our state's desperate leaders might remember that fireworks are legal — and start launching barrages across Augusta's Capitol Street, from the State House toward the Blaine House, or (more likely) the other direction. We're not expressing hope this happens, but rather warning about its possibility. It definitely wouldn't be the healthiest (nor safest) way to express political disagreement, but we have to admit it sure would provide some otherwise-missing drama for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network's planned "ME-SPAN" coverage of the usually staid meetings and conferences among policymakers. If it gets as bad as lawmakers replacing scheduled votes on bills with five-minute Roman candle fusillades, we'll be certain the legislative session will end with no winners, and a whole bunch of losers. Which is more or less what we expect anyway.

WEATHER FORECASTERS QUIT

The Earth's climate is changing, quickly and dangerously. Even when we had a stable climate and semi-regular weather patterns, meteorologists were frequently wrong and often in doubt. Their jobs once involved standing in front of green-screens and looking out windows, with annual contractually obligated live shots in significant wind or snow. With our global weather system on the verge of being catastrophically disrupted, we expect they'll just give up. They're already unable to explain why it rained this afternoon, instead of being sunny like they said it would be this morning. Facing a community to tell them why, instead of a few clouds in the sky, their entire neighborhood was swept away, simply isn't a sustainable profession. No longer able to be generally inaccurate, not given the airtime to explain the detailed science behind weather-prediction models, and (like the rest of us) barely able to comprehend the monumental power of an extremely pissed-off planet, these poor weather-people will flee for the hills in the face of being comically — or catastrophically — wrong.

ANGUS KING SAVES CONGRESS

When US Senator Angus King is sworn in on January 2, his plan to calm the disturbed waters of Congress will begin to take effect. His peaceful, friendly visage and manner will radiate throughout the halls of the US Capitol — and beyond, unto Washington and all the land — bringing harmony and concord where we were so recently a people riven asunder by all manner of disagreements and offenses. Or, the gridlock will continue apace, just with a new, amiable, lanky Virginian from Maine taking the place of a nice Greek lady, still striving to unstick the country from its mire.

MORE VOTING

Maine is already a national leader in voting rights — allowing same-day registration, absentee balloting without an excuse, and even letting inmates and people with criminal records vote. But we can do even better, and we're poised to. Departing Secretary of State Charlie Summers appointed an officiously named Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine back in May, because he and his Republican cohorts apparently believed there was some sort of huge problem with voting fraud in Maine. (Spoiler alert: There's not, and never was.) The group has heard public hearings all over the state, and the vast majority of the commentary has been two-fold: 1) there's no problem with the existing laws, and 2) if we're going to change things in any way, it should be to expand access to the ballot box, not contract it.

Suggestions have included changing the state Constitution to allow early voting (a technical change from the perspective of those of us who vote absentee in advance, but a major improvement in the burden placed on municipal clerks handling those ballots cast before Election Day); restoring in-person absentee balloting on the Friday, Saturday, and Monday just before Election Day (it was removed in 2011 in hopes of easing clerks' workload but ended up inconveniencing voters instead); and clarifying ancillary rules relating to students who vote in Maine (the Constitution's position is clear, but there are other state laws not directly related to voting that may — or may not — come into play; it's those that might need tidying up).

Having heard all the testimony, and taken written comments as well, the committee will report its findings, and any suggested legislation, to the legislature by the end of January; we can look for the Democrat-controlled State House to frown on any new restrictions, and to cheer for any ideas to make voting easier, clearer, and more accessible to all Mainers.

CHEAP HOTEL ROOMS

We've long since lost count of how many hotels there are in Portland, how many rooms each has, and how often they're full or vacant. Until recently, though, we thought we had a handle on how many new hotels were in the works. But when we last looked, the list had grown by one more — and we're sure it'll have added another by the time this hits the streets. This sort of competition has existing hoteliers worried that oversupply will mean lower occupancy rates, cheaper room prices, and reduced profits. That's almost a given when many of the new hotels open in 2014. It's not outlandish to think that, in hopes of fending off this impending competition, Portland lodgings will drop their rates to ridiculous, Priceline-like levels, preferring to lose money and discourage new hoteliers, rather than make insane profit margins and attract gold-diggers galore. If this plan comes to fruition, by December, rooms will be so cheap that Portland's homeless situation will be entirely solved — and we'll still have rooms for all the tourists flocking here.

What You Missed: Stories From 2012 That Dropped Off Your Radar

Published in the Portland Phoenix, these are my contributions to a piece done together with Deirdre Fulton and Nicholas Schroeder

So damn much went on in 2012, it's no wonder that some stories may have passed people by. You can't have missed all the campaigning (for president, US Senate, and every seat in the State House), the violence (13 mass shootings this year alone, according to the Washington Post), revolutions (across the Arab world), betrayals (by David Petraeus, TomKat, and Robsten Pattinstew), disasters natural (the derecho, Superstorm Sandy) and manmade (the fiscal cliff, the Olympics), and oh-so-much-more. We here at the Portland Phoenix have kept tabs on some other stories — ones you might have heard about briefly (if at all), before they sank back into the surging swamp of America's nonstop non-reflective news cycle. So read on, and catch up with a dozen things you didn't hear on the first round, or (if you did) that you might not have grasped the significance of — until now.

LESS TRANSPARENCY

How best to avoid scrutiny for official actions, when pesky notes and emails qualify as public records open to inspection? Simple: Don't make any records. And sure enough, shortly after his 2011 inauguration, Republican Governor Paul LePage stopped taking notes in meetings or otherwise using written or electronic communication. Over the past year, the practice has expanded significantly, to most — if not all — of his department commissioners and other senior staff. (If they're unable to completely avoid creating a paper trail, what is recorded is extremely limited.) As a result, there are precious few records of discussions, proposals, and agreements being made at the highest levels of state government. We are losing accountability now and for all time because these political operatives are circumventing the state's open-government law while pursuing their agenda. Perhaps they're doing things we would all approve of, if we could only learn about them. That is indeed possible — but causes us to wonder what they'd have to hide, then. Less transparency in government is always bad, and barring public access to the thoughts and deeds of those at the very top is nothing short of anti-American.

CENTRALIZING NEWS

The Bangor Daily News over the past year has made a real push to become Maine's primary news source. Starting with a foray into Portland in 2010 and 2011 as the Press Herald's position weakened amid uncertainty and bad leadership, the BDN in 2012 went beyond simply adding staff and paying more attention to the southern part of the state. Its online wing, bangornews.com, partnered with major college newspapers around the state, as well as other news outlets (such as the Sun Journal-owned Forecasternewspapers) to aggregate their content online. This even extended to bloggers like Munjoy Hill's Carol McCracken (previously an independent online poster) and politico Mike Tipping, who lost his blog briefly when Down East magazine shut down most of its online-only operations. It's true that the idea of the portal — an all-news online clearinghouse — has been around for nearly two decades. The BDN is localizing the concept — most of its electronic postings are not wire copy or international or national news. With energetic rising star Tony Ronzio coming in to lead the operation, the site is quietly, but importantly, becoming the must-read, go-to place online for Mainers statewide.

OCCUPYMAINE'S DIASPORA

When the OccupyMaine encampment was ordered dismantled in Lincoln Park, plenty of people — publicly and privately — predicted a quiet end to the energy and collaboration that had swirled among the tents. But as we have written, including on the occasion of the encampment's one-year anniversary, something far more complex — and far more interesting — has resulted. With headquarters shifted largely to the Meg Perry Center, the Occupiers channeled their energy in new directions. Freed from having to spend time and effort protecting their living quarters, they have tried to spread their message of equality and fairness far and wide. They've taken on major national and international problems, like tar-sands mining, fracking, and Walmart's worker-burdening profit model; they've talked economics, about student debt, foreclosure resistance, and asking — in a punnily named "Soup or PAC?" event — whether our political process really should be as steeped in money as it is. And they've not forgotten the individuals. Alan Porter and Dawn Eve York spent weeks helping the recovery from Superstorm Sandy — including bringing donations from Maine all the way to New York City — while the government, the Red Cross, and the charity-industrial complex struggled to meet survivors' needs. Occupiers and those with similar ideals have worked to protect Congress Square from privatization, to win same-sex couples marriage equality, to promote street artists' First Amendment rights to display their wares on public property, and to stop loading educational expenses on students. A broad-spectrum group effort of grass-roots activism was missing in this city before Occupy revived it, and Portland, Maine, and the world are already the better.

Press releases: Blown away

Published in the Portland Phoenix

I am, I admit, a frequent critic of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram — not because I dislike the paper, but rather due to my recognition of the importance of a vibrant, strong, active daily newspaper is to Maine and its largest city, and because I badly want the PPH to be that paper. And this week, I'm giving extreme credit where extreme credit is due: the Press Herald/Telegram truly impressed me with its massive Sunday package, "Deadly Force: Police and the Mentally Ill," kicking off a four-day series that has not yet been completed as the Phoenix goes to press.

The series focuses on police shootings in Maine, with a particular focus on the disproportionate number of mentally ill and substance-abusing people who get shot, as well as the lack of accountability for police officers and agencies who fail to de-escalate situations that perhaps need not end with deadly force. (Though when mentally ill people go to prison, things aren't always much better, as our ongoing reporting shows.) ThePPH's work is powerful investigative, analytical, and narrative work — with multiple stories, an online database, and perspectives from all angles (except those, of course, who have been killed; in their stead stand relatives baring their souls in hopes no more unnecessary deaths occur).

Strong praise should go to the reporters whose bylines have appeared in the series so far: Tux Turkel, David Hench, Ann Kim, and Kelley Bouchard. And it should go as well to all the behind-the-scenesers (editors, copy and otherwise; layout artists; photographers; online production staff; as well as people whose work hasn't been published before this issue of the Phoenix is) who are carrying out this vital inquiry into the admittedly infrequent times when police come to end the lives of Mainers.

Rather than summarize its findings here, I urge you to read the reports and the accompanying editorial, which are available from a special section of the PPH's website, pressherald.com/special/ — though if you'll permit me a moment of criticism, that section could stand some serious organizing: a comprehensive index to all the stories in this package would be extremely useful.

They are extensively reported, personal, fact-driven stories showing tragic consequences of the fearsome power of police weaponry and training coming into contact with the equally fearsome power of a disturbed mind. For example, more than once have police been called to help family members contain and restrain a distraught relative, and ended up shooting the person rather than defusing the situation. The toll on the person (who does sometimes survive, but often is killed), the family who called seeking aid, and the officers involved is devastating. Learning more about these tragedies from all involved will help the public, the police, and policy leaders make our state, and our world, better.

In addition to praising the worker bees who are getting it done, it's very important to note that this sort of project doesn't happen without crucial support from the very top. Here's hoping that this is the sort of work we can see much more regularly under the leadership of newish owner S. Donald Sussman, brand-new CEO/publisher Lisa DeSisto (up last month from the Boston Globe), and executive editor (since February) Cliff Schectman.

Some cynics may grump at my praise (and the heapings from others across the state), saying this is the sort of reporting that newspapers should be doing regularly, and ask why anyone should get credit for doing their jobs. But denying praise for great work done well would be the worse offense.

• Lawmakers better get used to the sort of trackers Governor Paul LePage says he hates: the MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING NETWORK just announced a service much like C-SPAN, but for Augusta. For a six-month pilot starting in February, there will be video coverage of sessions in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well, possibly, as committee proceedings — and, obviously, press conferences and other artificial attention-getting events. While review from legislative leaders (and MPBN board members) remains incomplete, we can hope that improved transparency will find friends in all corners of the State House, and maybe, one day, in the governor's office itself.

3 Ways to Tap into Supportive Creative Communities

Published on ThePhotoLife.org

There are days when being creative is awesome – your juices are flowing, you’ve got great ideas, awesome clients, and loads of energy. You know what that’s like – the Holy Grail of pursuing a creative profession.

But none of us are lucky enough to achieve that everyday – and sometimes, it seems like it’s been weeks or months since that Holy Grail feeling has visited. And often, whether we’re writers (like me), or photographers, or designers, or any other sort of creative type, we spend much of our work time alone (even in an office environment). I sometimes end up stuck in a miasma of a downward cycle, where I lack energy so I don’t work hard enough to come up with new ideas, and my lack of ideas just gets me down. You know what I’m talking about  – we’ve all been there.

This is where supportive creative friends and colleagues can be crucial. They can save your day, your week, or even your business.

Here are three ways you can take advantage of creative community, without getting all New Age and touchy-feely about things.

1. Find Inspiration

Visit the websites or tumblrs or Pinterest pages of some friends who do work along the lines of your own – or even along totally different lines. Really look at them. Even pretend you’re a prospective client, and see what WOWs you. Now pretend you’re a competitor, and see what you’d like to do in your own work. 15 minutes and you’re in an all new frame of mind.

2.  Discover Distraction

Call up (okay, fine, Facebook-message) a friend or colleague in your town (someone who doesn’t work for the same company as you, if you’re in a firm). See if they can find time for coffee, or beer, or breakfast, or cocktails, or whatever, in the next 12 to 24 hours. If they can, go. No agenda. Just catching up, laughing, chatting. If they’re too slammed, either call someone else or – better yet – ask to shadow them for a few hours. Watch what they do, meet who they meet, listen to their process. Get your mind off your problems, and into someone else’s world.

3. Seek Help

If you’re in a more serious slump or have a deadline looming, ask for assistance. Put up a post on social media (check your privacy settings to be sure your clients don’t see your panic!) or drop a few emails to people who do what you do. Maybe you’ve worked with them before, or maybe you’ve kinda-always-sorta wanted to work with them, but never had an excuse. Now’s the excuse. And here’s the message: “Hey, it’s me. I’m stumped and stuck and need a hand. Can I borrow you for about an hour sometime today or tomorrow? Compensation will be karma and a suitable volume of your favorite beverage. The work involves me telling you what this project is about and you telling me what your brain says in response. No preparation needed!” You’ll get a zillion new ideas right on your focused target, all for under $20!

To be honest, I sometimes forget to do these things, and find myself stuck in a rut anyway. I’ll use these tips to revive myself, if you do too. Deal?

Gifts for the entire year: Subscriptions to arts organizations are good for the community and for you

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Some gifts you open and are all excited about, but then you find, a few weeks or months later, that you have forgotten you even got it — and you've never used it. So here are some places that will sell you gifts of experiences that can last all year long.

SEASON TICKETS

A small number of non-theater organizations offer you the opportunity to buy tickets to all their events for a year, all at once! (See the theatrical ones next.)

BANGOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | Year-round performances of classical and contemporary music | Subscriptions start at seven shows for $80 | 207.942.5555 | bangorsymphony.org

BAY CHAMBER CONCERTS | Producing a wide range of events at the Rockport Opera House | Discounts vary based on the number of shows ticketed | 207.236.2823 | baychamberconcerts.org

PORTLAND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL | Summertime classical performances at USM's Abromson center | subscriptions start at four shows for $100 | 800.320.0257 | pcmf.org

PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | Performing live classical and contemporary music year-round | classical subscriptions start at five shows for $85; PSO Pops start at four shows for $80 | 207.773.6128 | portlandsymphony.org

WE DIDN'T FORGET THEATER!

Most theater companies also sell season tickets. We've listed as many as we could find, but if your favorite theater company isn't listed, give them a call and ask.

ARUNDEL BARN PLAYHOUSE | Starting at five shows for $125 | 207.985.5552 | arundelbarnplayhouse.com

CITY THEATER | Starting at four shows for $62 | 207.282.0849 | citytheater.org

GOOD THEATER | Starting at four shows for $55 | 207.885.5883 | goodtheater.com

LYRIC MUSIC THEATER | Starting at five shows for $84 | 207.799.1421 | lyricmusictheater.com

MAD HORSE | Starting at four shows for $60 | 207.730.2389 | madhorse.com

MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATER | Starting at four shows for $122 | 207.725.8769 | msmt.org

OGUNQUIT PLAYHOUSE | Starting at five shows for $237 | 207.646.5511 | ogunquitplayhouse.org

PENOBSCOT THEATRE COMPANY | Starting at three shows for $75 | 207.942.3333 | penobscottheatre.org

PONTINE | Five shows for $90 | 603.436.6660 | pontine.org

PORTLAND PLAYERS | Mid-season mini-subscription three shows for $50; or five shows for $80 | 207.799.7337 | portlandplayers.org

PORTLAND STAGE COMPANY | Starting at five shows for $129 | 207.774.0465 | portlandstage.com

PUBLIC THEATRE | Four shows for $72 | 207.782.3200 | thepublictheatre.org

THEATER AT MONMOUTH | Four shows for $90 | 207.933.9999 | theateratmonmouth.org

MEMBERSHIPS THAT BRING TICKET DISCOUNTS

Though they don't sell outright season tickets, you can join these non-profit organizations as a member and get free or reduced-price admission to events and exhibits throughout the year.

ONE LONGFELLOW SQUARE | Individual membership starts at $75 | 207.761.1757 | onelongfellowsquare.com

MUSIC HALL | Friend starts at $50 | 603.433.3100 | themusichall.org

MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY | Individual support starts at $40 | 207.774.1822 | mainehistory.org

PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART | Individual membership starts at $50 | 207.775.6148 | portlandmuseum.org

SPACE GALLERY | Individual support starts at $40 | 207.828.5600 | space538.org

SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT

There are plenty of other arts and culture institutions that could use your support, and (if you give enough) will thank you for it in their programs and publicity materials. If you're up for getting your name "out there," check in here, or with your favorite organization.

ACORN PRODUCTIONS | Highlighting theater arts through performances, workshops, and classes | accepting donations in all amounts | 207.854.0065 | acorn-productions.org

AIRE | Contemporary and classic Irish-American theater productions | accepting donations in all amounts | 207.799.5327 | airetheater.com

CHORAL ART SOCIETY | Singing the wonders of the human voice | Aficionado starts at $1 | 207.828.0043 | choralart.org

DEERTREES THEATRE | Serving theater and music performances in the lakes region | accepting donations in all amounts | 207.583.6747 | deertreestheatre.org

FRIENDS OF THE KOTZSCHMAR ORGAN | concerts and other events (such as scored silent films) featuring the group's namesake instrument at Merrill Auditorium | Piston starts at $1 | 207.553.4363 | foko.org

GASLIGHT THEATER | Memberships start at $15 | 207.626.3698 | gaslighttheater.org

L/A ARTS | Producing all manner of performances in Lewiston and Auburn | accepting donations in all amounts | 207.782.7228 | laarts.org

MAINE STATE BALLET | Based in Falmouth, the MSB puts on full-length ballets and shorter dance performances, as well as offering classes in ballet and other dance forms | Dancer's Circle starts at $25 | 207.781.7672 | mainestateballet.org

PLAYERS' RING | Local theater in a historic building in Portsmouth | Memberships start at $35 | 603.436.8123 | playersring.org

PORTLAND BALLET COMPANY | Performing full-length classical and contemporary ballets, and teaching ballet to all ages | Apprentice starts at $50 | 207.772.9671 | portlandballet.org

PORTLAND OVATIONS | Bringing all sorts of events — dance, classical and world music, Broadway shows, and more — to the Forest City | Friend starts at $40 | 207.773.3150 | portlandovations.org

PORTLAND STRING QUARTET | Plays and teaches about stringed classical music throughout Maine | Friend starts at $1 | 207.761.1522 | larksociety.org

PORTOPERA | Producing opera and vocal performances year-round | accepting donations in all amounts | 207.879.7678 | portopera.org

SEACOAST REPERTORY THEATRE | Contemporary and musical theater in Portsmouth | Intern starts at $35 | 603.433.4472 | seacoastrep.org

THEATER PROJECT | Maine's only all-pay-what-you-can theater | Stagehand starts at $1 | 207.729.8584 | theaterproject.com

Break down the shakedown: Give the gift of telling debt it’s busted

Published in the Portland Phoenix

While you're out spending your hard-earned dollars on gifts for yourself and others at holiday and year-end sales, remember that money has to come from somewhere. Unless, of course, you're a Wall Street investment executive, or a banker. They get to invent money out of thin air. How come? Occupy Wall Street activists explain, in a new book about extracting yourself from America's drain-circling debt problem:

"We gave the banks the power to create money because they promised to use it to help us live healthier and more prosperous lives — not to turn us into frightened peons. They broke that promise. We are under no moral obligation to keep our promises to liars and thieves. In fact, we are morally obligated to find a way to stop this system rather than continuing to perpetuate it," writes the book's anonymous author collective.

As you might expect, the book, The Debt Resistors' Operations Manual, is free and openly downloadable as a PDF at strikedebt.org. Part manifesto, part history, and part step-by-step action plan, it's an easy read that stays away from overly technical language, preferring to stay high-level and comprehensible to most people who have dealt with the modern American financial system.

Observing that 76 percent of Americans are debtors (and one in seven is being pursued by debt collectors), a rhetorically strong introduction puts the lie to the idea that our debt crisis is the fault of irresponsible individuals who deserve moral chiding and no sympathy or help. If you weren't already upset by the chant that "Banks got bailed out; we got sold out," give page 2 a read.

So in this season of giving, the DROM is a reminder not to forget to save — yourself, from the vagaries of our economy. It's also a plea for collective action: "help beat the system that wants you to fail."

Make no mistake: Wall Street literally banks on the struggles of regular Americans. Can't afford education? No problem — you can borrow money, guaranteed by the government, with fees paying private companies to process the payments. Get sick or injured? No problem — medical-debt collectors will pack your bags and send you on a guilt trip as far away as they can, with no return until you pony up. What about living costs, or food? How about mortgage bundling, a credit card, a debit card, or — better yet (for them) — a prepaid charge card?

Worse than all that is how it snowballs into a credit score, which can affect not only your ability to get a loan, but even to find a rental apartment, or even a job. (How sick is that? Being short of money can prevent you from earning anything.)

SPECIFIC DETAILS

In sections divided by type of debt (credit cards, medical, student, housing, payday loans, and so on), the authors provide deep (but brief) histories of how each market got the way it is (you'll see a business-government collusion theme develop), followed by details of the current practices that make these industries so repellent. (Example: credit-card companies are now robo-signing documents claiming to own debt with no actual legal proof, just like mortgage lenders did.)

The writing manages emotion well, never becoming truly overwhelming, and always offering hope for a better world. Just when you're mad enough to want to act come the specific steps for rectifying almost any situation.

For example, there are solid suggestions about how to avoid having to use the usurious payday lenders without subjecting yourself to the full power of Big Finance.

Many of these ideas subvert the existing systems — like detailing a multi-month, multi-step letter-writing campaign to dispute validity of reports to credit-monitoring agencies, and even forcing debt collectors to prove they are empowered to seek repayment from you. It might be a pain to write and mail various letters, but you'll help keep the US Postal Service operating, and the dollars you'll need to spend will likely be far less than you owe. (Don't miss the super-clever way out of doctor and hospital bills, involving an overlap between collection laws requiring itemization of debts and medical-privacy laws barring disclosure of medical treatments to third parties.)

DISRUPTING THE SYSTEM

But rather than deciding it's enough to simply take advantage of the byzantine "consumer protection" regulations, the DROM also explores the sort of options that few official sources will tell you about — like how to escape payday-loan hell (it involves borrowing lots and then leaving the country) and mortgage resistance. (Occupy's unsurprising, but surprisingly effective basic rule: Don't leave; see a variant in the sidebar.)

The DROM also highlights the potential power of collective action. (Student debt in the US totals more than $1 trillion, and 41 percent of the college class of 2008 is already in default on their loans. Think of the power of the people!)

A goodly amount of the book is devoted to exploring how to play defense if you're already in a bad situation. But there is quite a lot there about playing offense too. The basic idea is a call for systemic reforms to align the US with other industrialized countries, many of which have far less wealth than we do — such as supporting universal health care and instituting free higher education.

A revolutionary book whose time has truly come, the DROM is worth much more than the time you’ll spend downloading it. It might even save the US economy, since nobody else will.

ONE THAT GOT AWAY:Here's an idea the DROM folks could use

We're no lawyers, but for people who can't afford their mortgage payments, rather than walking away, rather than trying to negotiate with a nameless, faceless bank — what if they just stayed? Pay the utilities, keep the lawn mowed, and even do some light maintenance. Stop paying the mortgage and just wait for the bank to come foreclose. There's the trick: Banks actually don't want to foreclose — it means taking a valuable asset off the books (the mortgage) and turning it into a lower-valued asset (the property at its actual worth) plus a liability (taxes and upkeep).

If the bank ever came knocking, the response is easy — and is increasingly attractive, even to policymakers: make the bank produce in court the actual paper documents signed at the mortgage closing. Not a scan, not a photocopy, but the actual page. (Some states, including Maine, have considered requiring production of this document before a foreclosure can continue.) After all, who's to say that a person knocking on your door with a photocopy of your mortgage owns anything other than just that — a photocopy of your mortgage? That can't be enough to prove you actually owe them actual money. So stand there in court and tell the judge that as soon as the bank proves it actually owns your house, you'll pay. But not until then. And wait for the banks to sort out the paperwork.

You'll live rent-free for years — or even own your home free and clear. Don't forget to pay the property taxes, though — the town can take your home if you get too far behind on them.