Letters

Published
August 18, 2014

Letter to the editor: Debate would spotlight candidates’ cognitive agility, social skills

Is it really important to see and hear gubernatorial candidates debate as we consider who will be our next governor? Debates serve many purposes beyond conveying the positions of candidates. We have many sources of information on the positions of the candidates. But a debate provides many layers of information that we cannot get otherwise. […]
Published
August 18, 2014

Letter to the editor: Must bear hunting be difficult?

The primary argument of those supporting the bear hunting referendum is that trapping, hounding and baiting are unsporting, or in other words, not difficult. Can we set aside whether that is correct, and question why it matters? The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages wild species to maintain a sustainable head count, not to […]
Published
August 18, 2014

Letter to the editor: Baiting has impact on bear behavior, disease, conflict, population size

The Wildlife Alliance of Maine reports that Maine is the last state to allow all three practices of bear baiting, hounding and trapping. Maine is the only state to allow the trapping of bears. Bear baiting is legal in only 12 states. Wildlife biologists warn at www. wildlifealliancemaine.org that “baiting alters bear behavior by habituating […]
Published
August 18, 2014

Letter to the editor: Analysis ignores benefits of higher minimum wage

Although granted a very large space on your editorial page, Ben Michaud’s Aug. 5 column (“Maine Voices: Raising the minimum wage is self-defeating for Maine, bad for business”) can be summed up in one short sentence: Raising the minimum wage hurts profits. As an example, he gives a detailed analysis of the hit that a […]
Published
August 18, 2014

Letter to the editor: Why publish comic strip that condones violence?

I am writing to comment on the Beetle Bailey comic strip you ran in your paper on Aug. 4. I really do not understand why this is considered funny. There is so much violence in the world. Why do you run a “comic” strip that condones unacceptable violence? I believe you should rethink what is […]

Published
August 17, 2014

Letter to the editor: LePage story one of astute social climbing, not luck

Re: “Letter to the editor: LePage’s boyhood does not seem graced by good ‘luck’ “ (Aug. 3): Maybe the writer who couldn’t find the “luck” in Paul LePage’s background was correct. Maybe LePage’s ascendancy has more to do with the social skills of an astute social climber than it does with the coincidence of luck. […]
Published
August 17, 2014

Letter to the editor: Keep Christian theology out of restaurant reviews

In her Aug. 10 restaurant review (“Dine Out Maine: Grace”), Melissa Coleman writes: “Originally a symbol of the triple-goddess of maiden, mother and crone, the triquetra was incorporated by Christianity as the holy trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” Coleman’s knowledge of early Christian dogma is breathtaking, but she should stick to telling us […]
Published
August 17, 2014

Letter to the editor: USM president should cut waste, not excellence

Newly appointed University of Southern Maine President David T. Flanagan has the future of USM in his hands. I hope he is brave enough to find real solutions without gutting academic curricula and cultural diversity. Maine’s motto states clearly “Dirigo.” We do not walk the worn-out path muddied by the masses who, believing that others […]
Published
August 17, 2014

Letter to the editor: Social thinker Ruskin’s words hold relevance today

In his prescient 1871 essay “Of the Mystery of Life,” social thinker John Ruskin explained the solution to our present pathetic congressional quagmire, and described why our multiple mean-spirited confrontations over social issues are typified by pugnacity disguised as piety. He wrote: “The greatest of all the mysteries of life, and the most terrible, is […]
Published
August 17, 2014

Letter to the editor: U.S. should avoid engaging in international fiascoes

A more-than-fascinating “Morning Joe” segment aired recently as New York Times columnist Tom Friedman (no Bill Nemitz – but an interesting fellow nonetheless) discussed his interview with President Obama. The host of the show, full of himself as always, quipped, “Europe has been on a vacation from history since 1991” – suggesting that the European […]

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Letters