Following the perusal of John Balentine’s opinion piece (“Post-pandemic depression rears its ugly head,” July 16), I became rather depressed. Why? How many mores times must he rail about the same topics, always providing us with lies and Republican Party-based propaganda, especially when he is presented with real alternatives, i.e., numerous, fact-based and articulate responses […]
Here’s Something
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Many sacrifice personal freedom for greater good
“Shocking” doesn’t begin to describe my reaction to John Balentine’s selfish and racist diatribe on the meaning of individual liberty (“Do you still desire freedom?”, July 2). When he characterizes young people as having “favorable views of socialism and communism,” he goes on to say that acting for the collective good and having personal freedom […]
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Letter: Reader pens thoughts on Independence Day
I only contemplated two things this Independence Day: 1. What, other than the truth, qualifies John Balentine to judge who qualifies as a “real” American? and 2. What, other than the truth, has John Balentine ever sacrificed for freedom? Loren D. Porr Lieutenant Colonel, retired, U.S. Army Topsham
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Forum: We are all ‘real’ Americans
John Balentine recently defined the role of government under our Constitution as follows: “Our government’s lone job is to ensure individual rights to speech, worship, peaceable assembly, private property and a host of other liberties” (“Here’s Something: Do you still desire freedom?”, July 1). Lone job? The Preamble of the Constitution laid out quite clearly […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Post-pandemic depression rears its ugly head
When I was younger, my aunt suffered postpartum depression, a condition new mothers may battle that, according to Webster’s, is “a mood disorder involving intense psychological depression that typically occurs within one month after giving birth, lasts more than two weeks, and is accompanied by other symptoms such as social withdrawal, difficulty in bonding with […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Balentine ignores values in Declaration of Independence
John Balentine pretended to write a column about the proper roles of the American government (“Do you still desire freedom?”, June 30). Of course, he did no such thing. He cited the Constitution, although he only mentioned the Bill of Rights, granting us the freedoms we enjoy. The Bill of Rights was an afterthought. The […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Nostalgia no substitute for the facts where freedom is concerned
Re: John Balentine’s “Do you still desire freedom?” Mr. Balentine wraps himself in Betsy Ross’ flag and pretends that America didn’t exist until 1776. He waxes nostalgic about laying it all on the line in the face of being hung, drawn, quartered, etc. and extols “desire for freedom” as “the primordial American trait.” His breakdown […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Balentine callously apathetic about real struggles
John Balentine’s definition of “real” American is confined to jingoist rhetoric about being willing to “fight for our freedom” and “measuring up to the Founders’ vision” (“Do you still desire freedom?”, July 1). That vision was for landed, white men to be free of foreign oppression. Balentine remains callously apathetic to the 400-year-old struggle of […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Preventing infection, preserving public health is the greater good
I am responding to John Balentine’s particularly uninformed “Here’s Something” column in the July 1 issue of The Forecaster. As a physician with many years of medical practice and having served in the USPHS Epidemic Intelligence Service during the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, I have acute sensitivity to ignorant refusal to observe essential principles […]
Posted inThe Forecaster
Letter: Freedom is in the eye of the beholder
Like beauty, freedom is in the eye of the beholder. In the July 1 issue of The Forecaster, John Balentine asked me if I still desire freedom. I am pleased to assure John that indeed I do. Among the freedoms I desire is to live my 80-year-old life free from disease. As such, I intend […]