The killing of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, full stop. No one, regardless of their politics, should lose their life for speaking publicly. That so many Americans agree something is seriously wrong tells us we’re not just mourning a man, but reckoning with a culture that’s grown dangerously brittle. We’ve normalized outrage, weaponized identity and […]

I only pay my monthly fee because the old Kennebec Journal was left-leaning but did not cross into the realm of dirty journalism.  The column written by Steve Collins for the Sept. 16 edition (“Charlie Kirk was wrong about Maine”) crossed that line 10 times over. To bad-mouth a person, shot dead because of his […]

Have Mainers read all 16 pages of the so-called “Voter ID for ME” referendum? Question 1 says a lot about absentee voting — restricting the method that 40% of Mainers use, while saying nothing about voter registration. No mention of making sure those who register are American citizens. There’s an old joke about a man […]

Welcome back measles, pertussis, varicella! Hey, polio! What’s new, meningococcus? Say their names. Fun fact: Measles requires over 95% immunity to not propagate. Morbidity and mortality are not confined by state borders. Thanks anyway, anti-Hippocratic Joseph Ladapo and lawyer-playing-mad-doctor RFK Jr.; epidemiology cannot be Sharpied away. Stay vigilant and take care of one another. Mia MariettaGorham

As a small-time musician, I have little place in the conversation, but I must express that I am disturbed by the pattern I am sensing. The killing of Charlie Kirk in Utah has led to condolences, thoughts and prayers from politicians in Maine, far beyond any for the victims of recent atrocities or tragedies that […]

A friend and I recently drove to Mackworth Island to see “Deep Blue Sound,” a play about islanders grappling with a sea change — the absence of whales that had always returned, until they didn’t.  Although written about Puget Sound and its orcas, the play felt at home on an island off our shore, in […]

Americans like me, who are paying attention to the atrocities being perpetrated against the Palestinian people, are outraged and ashamed over our government’s continued support and funding of this genocide. According to a television report from Israel’s Channel 12, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said that President Trump is fully […]

I was shocked and disgusted to read the lead article in the Sept. 12 Portland Press Herald on the murder of Charlie Kirk. While it warranted major coverage, you chose to take an almost positive spin on it, noting how young conservatives in Maine admired him for his views. Charlie Kirk spouted many reprehensible views […]