Cancel culture, aka call out culture, is the social media practice of boycotting people who do and say objectionable, usually racist, things. Currently, we are experiencing a paroxysm of cancel culture aimed at symbols and artifacts of the Confederacy and embodiments of racial stereotypes. Hurray for that! History is constantly being written and revised, but […]
Forecaster opinion
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Superintendent’s Notebook: SRO decision the result of lessons learned
I fully support the Portland Board of Public Education’s recent decision to discontinue police school resource officers in our schools. That’s a statement I would not have made as recently as last fall, when we first started discussing the SRO issue. What started as a recommendation for SROs to wear body cameras evolved into a […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Signs of the times, part II
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.” So goes the catchy lyrics from the equally catchy smash hit “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band in the 1970s and covered by Tesla in the 1990s. Fast forward several decades and this phrase fittingly describes the scene along just about every roadway in Southern Maine. We’re in political season […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Here’s Something: BLM mural sends the wrong message
The Portland City Council should resist the proposal from a group of private citizens to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on the street in front of City Hall in Portland. The city of Portland, which is as peace-loving, live-and-let-live a place as any on Earth, doesn’t need the garish and obnoxious, blindingly bright yellow, […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Mainewhile: The positive side of the pandemic
A little while ago I needed a good kid’s book for a read aloud. In the interest of time, I simply went to the bookshelves in my home where I keep the books my kids have outgrown but are too well loved to pass on or let go. My hand fell immediately on a favorite, […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
The Universal Notebook: What do Trump-Pence signs mean?
When you see a Trump-Pence sign, it’s usually not just a polite lawn sign stating support for the incumbent, but a big banner or in-your-face flag. I confess I do not understand how anyone, after almost four years of his constant lies, pettiness, divisiveness and incompetence, can still support this awful man. So when I […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Over Easy: Let’s play ball. Please.
Even the two world wars of the last century didn’t prevent Major League Baseball from playing their World Series championship, no matter what went on off the field. The 2020 baseball season will be comprised of 60 games and an extended playoff schedule and there’ll be so many asterisks in the record books they’ll have […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
The Universal Notebook: Voting by mail
On Father’s Day I cast my vote in the July 14 primary, dropping the envelope in the mailbox outside the post office on my way to the supermarket. All voting should be that easy. I am worried, however, that my vote for Sara Gideon may not count because the envelope got soiled right where I […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Fly the Spirit of ’76 this Independence Day
With all the news swirling about these days, concerned observers can’t be faulted for thinking this July 4 may be the last time we celebrate Independence Day. If you haven’t yet buried your head like an ostrich by turning off news broadcasts, you’re probably shocked that Marxists have taken over sections of American cities, that […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Life Unwound: Children make hope explode
I write this on Juneteenth in the middle of Pride month. And I see the mess adults are handing the next generations: homophobia, racism, people hurting people. But when I hear the brilliance in children, hope explodes. I read to my granddaughters. Their naturally occurring sweetness radiates. First the book, “Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights”: […]