Despite some recent progress made on gay rights, the Texas Republican Party took a giant leap backwards earlier this month by endorsing so-called “reparative therapy.” At its annual state convention June 7, roughly 7,000 delegates supported psychological treatments that try to “turn” gay people straight, at the urging of a tea party group called the […]

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: From the June 3 Wall Street Journal: President Obama has been notably indifferent to Europe for five long years, but maybe Russia’s aggression has given him a new focus. On Tuesday in Warsaw, he unveiled a new $1 billion fund and other measures to signal […]

Whoa, that was close. The National Rifle Association nearly shot itself in the foot recently with a common-sense editorial it posted online. The group of rootin’-tootin’, bullet-spittin’, doctrinaire, guns-everywhere extremists finally saw something involving firearms that even it considered too extreme. In Texas, naturally, worshippers of the glorious gun god have taken to shouting out […]

Few things are more heartwarming than seeing a juvenile seal, with its big, pleading eyes, released back into the ocean after being rescued and rehabilitated. The Marine Animal Rehabilitation and Conservation program at the University of New England has been doing this work for the past 13 years, with regular seal releases that were open […]

If you have children or grandchildren, you should be alarmed about the proposed cell tower in Biddeford. Cellphones of the past used analog radio waves, which are natural and have a reduced risk of radiation danger. Today our phones transmit digital signals, which are extremely dangerous when going through the body. People believe and trust […]

I remember back when we had the debate on having a casino in Sanford and it got voted down, which was a big mistake. At the time, some of the residents spoke against it stating, “We don’t want to lose our small-town atmosphere.” Well, ladies and gentlemen, you lost that small town atmosphere the day […]

It’s only natural that a who’s-up-and-who’s-down leadership struggle would consume House Republicans after the stunning primary defeat of Majority Leader Eric Cantor. There’s a big hole in the party’s top echelon, and it’s got to be filled. But after a new majority leader is selected, and the leadership slate finished, GOP lawmakers will have to […]

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: From the June 3 Boston Globe: The new regulations on power plant emissions announced yesterday by President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency mark the nation’s first truly serious assault on climate change. The proposed rules, which will be subject to a four-month comment period, […]

Having safe, warm, affordable housing is something that can be very elusive for people, especially those with disabilities. The cost of adequate shelter can be astronomical, and housing that is not decrepit, falling down or infested with all sorts of nasty animals and insects can be difficult to find in parts of York County. Those […]