Recently, the cities of Augusta and Hallowell were subjected to hateful incidents that shook our communities to their core. In each city, racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ+, and xenophobic language and tropes were spewed in public settings. In Augusta, an August rally by neo-Nazis and white supremacists included masked protestors giving Nazi salutes to passers-by; this followed […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
The Maine Millennial: Why won’t we think of health care as a public good?
Maine’s medical professionals are right: The time for universal health care insurance coverage is now.
advertisement
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Planned cut to VA funding for ambulances would harm our nation’s veterans
Unless stopped, the Department of Veterans Affairs is set to knock over a domino that may drastically harm veterans’ health care and then spread to the general community. In a cost-cutting measure on track to take effect early next year, the VA plans to sever a critical link between veterans and medical facilities by significantly […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: State advisory group reached no consensus on Maine offshore wind port site
Building the port on scenic Sears Island will incur environmental damages, and mitigating them was not included when MDOT drew up construction estimates versus Mack Point.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: How Washington’s $7.5 trillion deficit spending spree is bankrupting America
Polls show that Americans are pessimistic about the economy, with inflation as the top concern. That’s understandable, but do they understand where this inflationary surge came from, and why Washington’s addiction to government spending threatens the future prosperity of the country? That may sound hyperbolic, but consider the numbers. The sum of new spending authorizations […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: After Jann Wenner’s gaffes, rock music’s famous white men should speak up
When Tina Turner died in May, the podcast “Rolling Stone Music Now” paid tribute, calling her “one of the greatest rock and soul singers who ever lived.” The publication’s admiration is not recent. Although John Lennon was the first cover boy, Turner was placed on the cover for the magazine’s second issue ever in 1967 […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: ‘No’ to Pine Tree Power will not leave Maine with the status quo
Thoughtful regulatory reform and investment in grid modernization can give us the benefits promised by the proposed company – at a fraction of the cost.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Rep. Randall Greenwood: Respect Maine lawsuit aims to hold governor accountable for pretend adjournment
When I began serving in the Legislature, I never imagined I would be part of a lawsuit against a sitting governor, speaker of the House, and president of the Maine Senate. I want people to know why. It is a story of back-door dealings, lies and a phony adjournment. Last March Republicans were shut out […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Indigent defense needs help right now
Over the past four years, Maine’s system for representing indigent defendants in criminal cases has been in crisis. But since the pandemic, and its aftermath, it’s really become two crises. Unfortunately, the agency in charge — the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (MCILS) — is only working on the system’s long-term problems, almost completely […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Tom Waddell: Far right spreads fear about transgender athletes
To keep their base angry, Christian nationalists have invented a new bogeyman.