This summer has become a summer of resistance for me. I’m exercising that resistance by camping in Trenton and hiking at Acadia National Park. For Black individuals and immigrants in the state, the march of neo-Nazis in Portland in April continues to cause distress and concern. The Nationalist Social Club march, demanding protection for the […]
Lakes Region Weekly opinion
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Bob Barker’s signoff still stands: spay or neuter your pets
When I was a kid, staying home sick from school meant getting tucked in on the couch with ginger ale, saltine crackers and game shows on the TV. I wasn’t allowed a lot of TV, so it seemed extra special, sort of a cosmic equalizer for the horrors of the flu. These memories are deep. […]
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Posted inAmerican Journal, Coastal Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Letter: Legislature did listen to majority on abortion
Mike McClellan, in his July 26 Letter to the Editor (“Legislatures need to work for the people, not lobbies“), seems confused about what working for the people looks like. Protecting public health via vaccines is a very proper role for government. Controlling women’s lives by forcing them to give birth is not. A majority of […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Coastal Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Letter: If you break it, you own it
When entering an antique store, the owner will state, “If you break it, you own it.” So, if we break Central Maine Power, we own Pine Tree Power. What will owning PTP mean to most Mainers? According to Heather Martin’s opinion piece (“Consumer-owned utility would be powerful improvement,” July 26), PTP “will be a not-for-profit […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Coastal Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Letter: Writer said ‘equal protection’ not ‘equal rights’
My July 19 letter, “Affirmative action ruling a good thing for everyone,” supported the Supreme Court’s rejection of race as a factor in college admissions (aka affirmative action). The court cited it as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment equal protection clause. My letter suggested that the pursuit of equal protection under the […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Coastal Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Letter: Equal rights an illusion accepted as fact
I want to thank John Mishler of Harpswell for his July 26 letter, “Equal rights under the law? Prove it.” He is correct and I will add there has never been equal rights in this nation since the first signing in 1776. Equal rights has been an illusion, a lie that most people have accepted […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Consumer-owned utility would be powerful improvement
This week’s column almost didn’t make it in because the power went out. Again. Power outages are an inconvenience for me. They are life-threatening for others. The irony of it going out literally moments after I had opened my Central Maine Power bill to find an astronomical leap in cost was not lost on me. […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Coastal Journal, Lakes Region Weekly, Northern Forecaster, Portland Forecaster, Southern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Letter: Equal rights under the law? Prove it
Pursuant to Nancy Chesley’s communication (“Affirmative action ruling a good thing for everyone,” July 19), we were stupefied to believe that someone in today’s society, with access to vast amounts of historical data, can possess such a loss of institutional memory. She makes two statements in support of her non-historical beliefs. One, “race-based affirmative action […]
Posted inLakes Region Weekly
Letter: We need legislators who represent the people, not lobbies
I am sad to say LD 1619, abortion on demand, is now law in Maine. The good news is thousands of Maine citizens went to Augusta over a few months to give historic feedback to the elected Legislature. The bad news is our elected officials in the majority both did not listen to the people […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly, The Forecaster
Mainewhile: Yes, it’s possible to end homelessness with some creativity
In theater improv, there is a grand tradition of the “Yes/And” practice. That is, if one actor suggests something or asks a question to another, the other actor may not say “no.” They must instead run with “yes, and…” using whatever unforeseen, unplanned, tricky or even ridiculous notion tossed out there to build upon for […]