“Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!” so declared Senator Daniel Webster in ending his famous 1830 reply in the U.S. Senate to South Carolina Sen. Robert Hayne’s angry defense of slavery and of a state’s right to nullify federal law. Leading up to the Civil War in 1861, Southerners loved an America […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
HIlary Koch: Social media app Threads leaves a lot hanging
“Are you on Threads?” my husband asked me. I smirked. “Of course, I am.” Threads, a new social media app launched July 5 by Meta co-founder, chair, and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, was poised to be the first real rival to Twitter. In fact, Twitter owner Elon Musk was so concerned that by July […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
The Maine Millennial: So I got my dog a puppy
Karma likes to chew shoes and pees every time you turn your back. But she’s so friendly and happy, she’s won over (almost) everyone.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Jim Fossel: Maine Republican leadership bungled budget negotiations
Although party leaders say they oppose certain policies, they’re rarely willing to put up a real fight.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: What can make a difference between life and death during a heat wave
Weather forecasts have gotten quite good over the years, but their temperatures aren’t always spot on — and the result when they underplay extremes can be lethal. Even a 1-degree difference in a forecast’s accuracy can be the difference between life and death, our research shows. As economists, we have studied how people use forecasts […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Farmers deserve to be able to control what they grow
Just four companies control two-thirds of seed and pesticide sales worldwide, but a new bill moving through Congress could help lower prices and increase competition.
Posted inAmy Calder, Local & State, Morning Sentinel, Op-Eds
Reporting Aside: Childhood tragedy becomes lifelong lesson about being safe on Maine’s waterways
The death of a boy years ago on the Kennebec River in Skowhegan remains a regular reminder of how water can be powerful and unforgiving, Amy Calder writes.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling offers a less divisive way to deal with inequities
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action ruling should not be treated as a racial companion of last year’s reversal of long-standing reproductive rights. The court’s ruling related to programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina preserves a foundational principle, whereas the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, destroyed a foundational […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Jailing people for sleeping in public is no solution to homelessness
The U.S. already has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Arresting people who have no options left is just adding another tier of disenfranchisement.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Legislature labors, but Mills controls
Though the legislative session isn’t quite over, it’s not too soon to identify the dominant player. To no one’s surprise, it’s Gov. Janet Mills. At least since the installation of legislative term limits in 1996, governors have generally had their way when it comes to which bills pass and which don’t. Legislative leaders, usually heading […]