Letters

Published
August 21, 2010

Letters to the editor:Medicare, Medicaid pose a challenge

On the surface, Maine’s Medicare and Medicaid achievements outlined in a Maine Voices column as keeping seniors healthy and making sure children and families have access to health care are nearly impossible to criticize (“Votes for Medicare, Medicaid funding will aid many Mainers,” Aug. 7). It is only when the mounting costs of these programs, […]
Published
August 20, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 20, 2010Votes pro and con on non-citizen voting

Maine’s League of Young Voters is to be praised for taking an important and public step in the right direction of fully integrating legal immigrants into the Portland community. We are a nation of immigrants, and this is as true in Maine as it is in the rest of the country. Legal immigrants pay the […]
Published
August 19, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 19, 2010Senate’s a joke, get rid of it

With all this talk about repealing constitutional amendments, perhaps it’s time to consider doing away with the U.S. Senate. It’s certainly far from being the deliberative body envisioned by the Founding Fathers, particularly when the mantra of one side of the aisle is Groucho Marx’s song, “Whatever It Is I’m Against It.” The institution has […]
Published
August 19, 2010

More letters to the editor, Aug. 19, 2010Waterfront issues bungled by city

The issue with Pierce Atwood versus the plight of One Monument Square’s owners has nothing to do with what the city did or didn’t do. Rather, if viewed in the framework of how Portland operates, the City Council — that unfortunate arm of government that has stifled and bungled any smart growth in the city […]
Published
August 18, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 18, 2010Oil spill and other Gulf disasters

Reports from the Gulf of Mexico tell us that the oil-spouting BP well has finally been sealed, and that the devastating impacts of the massive oil spill on beaches, wildlife habitats, and marine ecosystem are gradually abating. However, there is a more clear and present danger lurking in the Gulf, yet there are no immediate […]

Published
August 17, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 17, 2010Time to end war commitments

I’m 91 years of age and been around a bit. Being a veteran of WW II taught me a few things and other bits of savvy came along the way. The French struggled in Vietnam for many years and finally admitted defeat, at which point we sent “advisers” and you know the rest – years […]
Published
August 16, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 16, 2010Rehab still the best option

I write with a great deal of consternation and concern regarding the Aug. 10 column by Bankole Johnson questioning the efficacy of rehabs and Alcoholics Anonymous (“Why rehab doesn’t work”). What purpose does Mr. Johnson serve by disparaging AA and 12-Step focused rehab centers other than stirring up controversy to promote his upcoming book which […]
Published
August 15, 2010

Letters to the editor, Aug. 15, 2010:Maine should tax bottled water

I wish to clarify assumptions in Tony Payne’s June 20 Maine Sunday Telegram column (“Property rights issue swamps water debate”) regarding interrelated ground and surface water hydraulic systems, the public interest in these interrelated systems, and the right and need of the people of Maine as a public to derive critically needed revenue from this […]
Published
August 14, 2010

Letters to the editor:Columnist too quick to criticize

In regard to Bill Nemitz’s column July 30, “Communique to a candidate: Mr. LePage, people are listening,” I take issue with the reference, “At Marden’s you can spout off whenever you feel the urge and your words quickly evaporate into thin air. Kind of like Glenn Beck.” I wonder if Mr. Nemitz has watched Glenn […]
Published
August 14, 2010

More letters to the editor:Judge’s Prop 8 ruling debated

If a referendum on defending the designation of marriage that has been in effect for thousands of years and upheld by 7 million Californians as the union of one man and one woman can be undone by one federal judge, the value of a referendum in deciding contentious issues is now useless. The millions spent […]