In the Nov. 3 edition of this newspaper, Local and State section, five legislative races – in Portland, Falmouth, Buxton, Alfred and Sanford – were profiled. In four of five races, Democratic candidates stated their priorities and positions on key issues of concern to voters (the Buxton race was the exception). Their Republican opponents refused […]

In a recent Maine Voices submission (“Time to stop the leftist tail from wagging the American dog,” Nov. 4) seven “guideposts of American civilization” were cited to help us understand the so-called liberal/leftist divide. Sadly, these “guideposts” are inaccurate or gross exaggerations. They demonize the left wing of the Democratic party and thus contribute to […]

Clay Bennett’s cartoon (Portland Press Herald, Nov. 1) of a woman who wins the best Halloween costume award dressed in the required garb for the oppressed women of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale, with the caption “It’s not a costume,” was chilling to say the least. What I found even more chilling, earlier this year, […]

What are we doing to stop the spread of lies and conspiracy theories against our leaders and institutions? Sadly, there is not strong resistance to dangerous rhetoric. The recent horrific attack on Paul Pelosi prompted the spread – mostly via social media – of conspiracy theories that have poisoned people’s minds and caused further trauma […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that America’s use of nuclear weapons against Japan created a “precedent” for his use today. This was a head-scratcher for me, until I considered the history. The U.S. developed nuclear weapons after a warning from Albert Einstein and others that Germany might do so. We knew Germany had the […]

I am astounded at the hypocrisy of Republican legislators and conservative media when commenting on the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi. Paul Pelosi was not viciously attacked in a random act of violence or because of anything President Biden has said or done. He was attacked by a far-right ideologue carrying zip ties and a […]

This letter is not regarding abortion, but rather the term “pro-life.” The grandiosity of the term aside, the correct term is “pro-human fetus.” A distinction without a difference? Hardly. The term pro-life is an absurd and inappropriate label for anti-abortion groups and misrepresents their position. All this effort, money, litigation and bad blood is a […]

The article “CO2 shortage temporarily puts the pressure on Portland restaurant” (Maine Sunday Telegram, Oct. 23) was interesting but failed to even mention an obvious irony: Excessive releases of CO2 – by power plants, cars, home heating systems; even people and animals exhaling several times a minute – are wrecking the planet’s climate day after […]