Any sentient human being who has followed the horrific invasion of Ukraine over the last few weeks could come to but one conclusion: Vladimir Putin is a delusional murderous thug. Delusional because he thought Ukrainians would lie down and cry “Uncle!” A murderous thug because he has no problem killing women, children and babies while […]
Times Record
Giving Voice: The importance of nutrition security
Food insecurity and healthy food are two sides of the same coin that are often discussed though very different lenses. The food bank staples that come to mind when most think of fighting food insecurity are things like pasta and tuna fish while ‘healthy’ food may evoke visions of leafy greens and fruit salads. A […]
Tom Purcell: How commoners can cope with inflation
Finally, people have found something to agree about. Last week, economics professor Teresa Ghilarducci penned an op-ed for Bloomberg News in which she offers tips on how people who earn less than $289,000 a year can cope with inflation. Her piece got quite a negative Twitter reaction from people across the political spectrum. If you […]
The Maine Idea: A golden opportunity to change the time
I’ve been writing columns about Daylight Saving Time (DST) for more years than I care to remember, but maybe – just maybe – this is my last one. In an act of spectacular statesmanship, surprising everyone, probably including itself, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the aptly named Sunshine Protection Act last week to end clock […]
Commentary: Kyiv’s Jews, persecuted under Polish-Lithuanian, Russian, Nazi and Soviet regimes, now face the onslaught of Putin’s forces
While hundreds of Jews are leaving Kyiv amid Russian attacks, many more, led by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is of Jewish origin, are staying on to defend the country. Jews have always been part of the long history of Kyiv, which has been ruled for a thousand years by Slavic princes, Normans, […]
Letter: Are you ready to invest in our youth?
The Maine Resilience Building Network (MRBN) applauds the funding of Sagadahoc County’s Maine Working Communities Challenge grant focusing on youth mental health as a welcome opportunity to address youth hopelessness. We can do better to connect with our youth in communities. Maine was facing a youth mental health crisis, even before the pandemic. In the […]
Commentary: Calling Asians ‘robotic’ is a racist stereotype with a long, troubled history
When U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen won the gold medal in men’s figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a Washington Post article attributed his win to a fierce, focused, “robotic” zeal. This robotic characterization draws on a dated stereotype of Asians as stoic, unfeeling workaholics. In my book “Model Machines: A History of the […]
Letters: Government-controlled electricity would make matters worse; This is Putin’s war
Government-controlled electricity would make matters worse Rep. Seth Berry and a number of supporters, like Ethan Strimling, are pushing a referendum drive creating a politically elected board to provide most of the electricity in the state. Although CMP has not had the best of years, if you want to make things substantially worse, sign the […]
John Micek: GOP can’t have it both ways on the facts
There’s a lot that’s terrible about Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s brutal attempt to erase Ukraine from the map of Europe. From the incalculable humanitarian disaster that has seen millions of Ukrainians flee their home country, to the appalling carnage on the streets of Mariupol that was devastatingly humanized with the death of a pregnant woman […]
Dick Polman: The predictably lying liars are plotting to give Joe pain at the pump
When I hear Republicans blaming President Biden for high gas prices, I’m reminded of what scribe Mary McCarthy once said of her rival Lillian Hellman: “Every word she writes is a lie, including and and the.” I wouldn’t go quite that far in condemning Republicans for their current propaganda. But aside from those two little […]