In his column in the March 24 Forecaster, John Balentine excoriates Gov. Mills for the measures that she has taken to try to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and praises “so-called red states led by competent, brave Republican governors” for staying open (“Restore sanity, reject Mills, reopen Maine”). Mr. Balentine should at least have the grace […]
Forecaster letters
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Women’s hard-won rights should not be discarded for trans rights
In her letter of March 22 (“Transgender girls deserve to participate equally in sports”) Emma Raven writes, “If you support LD 926, you support the suicide attempts of young trans girls in Maine.” Such hyperbole, which relies on emotionally charged threats rather than reason, is familiar to those who dare to suggest that perhaps women’s […]
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Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Electoral College needs to be replaced by national popular vote
The chaotic aftermath of the November election has shown how vulnerable and undemocratic the Electoral College system is. We have the opportunity to prevent this chaos from happening again if the National Popular Vote Compact is enacted. The National Popular Vote would ensure that the president would be chosen by the people, with every vote […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Does Balentine agree with anti-racist developments?
John Balentine’s obsession with the buzz term “cancel culture” plays well to his and Tucker Carlson’s base, who don’t want to be told that they can’t say or do whatever they want, regardless of how racist it may be. The award-winning college textbook “The Growth of the American Republic” (1930) opened its chapter on slavery […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Falmouth Lions grateful for community support
Recently the Falmouth Lions were called upon by Maine District 41 Lions to help generate money for those suffering in Texas. The members, along with the community that support the Lions, were able to donate $2,500 for this cause in five days. Maine Lions sent a total of $20,000 to the Texas relief! This is […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Maine should ban election contributions from corporations
While Maine has led the way in election reform with clean elections and ranked-choice voting, we’re behind the times when it comes to corporations and campaign contributions. It’s time for Maine to join the 22 other states who ban direct contributions from corporations to candidates and to candidate political action committees. In Maine, corporations can […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Teen urges support for plastic bag ban
I am extremely happy Maine’s Legislature voted to keep Maine’s ban on plastic shopping bags. Every time I visit the beach, I find plastic waste cluttering the shore and I’m hoping this ban will reduce that so we can finally walk along the water without constantly picking up plastic bags that were only used once […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Transgender girls deserve to participate equally in sports
LD 926, the “Act To Ban Biological Males from Participating in Women’s Sports,” is harmful to children and undermines interscholastic and intramural sports programs. Anyone who grew up in Maine, or has raised, taught or coached children here, understands what our sports programs do for students. Kids make and develop friendships at practice and gain […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Yarmouth school budget proposal not fair to families
As a member of the Yarmouth School Committee, I have supported the past two budgets and a $50 million school renovation. But I could not in good conscience support the 2021-22 budget. We cannot ask our community to pay for an 8.7% increase until we provide them the educational program they are already paying for. […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Balentine suffers from political party syndrome
As a biomedical scientist who wrote the letter “Balentine no health expert, reader is,” Dec. 4, and having been exposed to John Balentine’s opinion for many years, I believe he suffers from an all-too-common malady, i.e., the political party syndrome, a component of which is “selective forgetfulness” (PPS-SF). Persons presenting with PPS-SF have difficulty in […]