As someone with asthma, I know full well the fear of not having potentially life-saving medicine on hand, in addition to the worry of paying out-of-pocket costs for emergency supplies. We can’t take chances with the health of our friends, family and neighbors. That’s why I am sponsoring a bill to address access to emergency […]

How we speak and write about election results is important. Maine has slightly over 1 million registered voters. To represent a turnout of slightly over 400,000 voters (40 percent) as an “ excellent turnout,” as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was quoted in the Nov. 4 Press Herald, is setting a low bar for voter […]

I am writing in defense of our most precious gift: human life. Arguments to defend abortion ultimately are summarized by the term “my constitutional right.” So let’s discuss what our constitutional rights are. When do these rights begin? The Declaration of Independence makes it very clear that all people are created equal. The right to […]

I applaud Sen. Collins for championing an act that extends long-overdue support to those afflicted by Havana Syndrome; they need all the care we can provide. But to write that it is “likely caused by a directed energy attack” foments a poorly supported science fiction that is as unhelpful to our diplomacy as it is […]

It’s been a tough year for Maine’s senior senator. After the Supreme Court effectively overturned its 1973 Roe decision by allowing Texas to deputize its citizens as bounty hunters, observers rightfully pointed to the court’s conservative tilt and Sen. Collins’ crucial vote to confirm Justices Kavanaugh. After asserting time and again that she is pro-choice, […]

The Gospel asks us to welcome the stranger in our midst. Tens of thousands of Haitians are fleeing the hopelessness that another major earthquake and another destructive hurricane have produced. Their hopelessness is compounded by the incompetence and corruption of a succession of Haitian governments. The consequence is civil chaos and gang rule. Their best […]

A recent editorial extolled the virtues of the Freedom To Vote Act and Sen. King’s co-sponsorship of this bill. Sen. King, on his website, describes the bill as a “backstop” to the Constitution “against threats and to maintain democratic norms.” At 529 pages, it is more like a “doorstop,” and not a “backstop” and would […]

As Afghan refugees arrive in Maine, Mainers need to make them feel welcome. We must make them feel at home. I’m a refugee myself (from Bosnia and Herzegovina), so the trials and tribulations that many immigrants face in America aren’t totally foreign to me. It is not easy resettling in a new place that doesn’t […]