The Navy Yard mass slaying in D.C. on Sept. 16 has gun-control advocates, Newtown parents and Connecticut senators scurrying for new action. And it has pundits wondering what is wrong in American society that produces so many brutal rampages. Gun rights defenders, meanwhile pointed to failings in a security system that would allow clearance to […]

The word “freedom” looms large in modern conservative rhetoric. Lobbying groups are given names like Freedom- Works; health reform is denounced not just for its cost but as an assault on, yes, freedom. Oh, and remember when we were supposed to refer to pommes frites as “freedom fries”? The right’s definition of freedom, however, isn’t […]

To the Editor: I am a person who has, in the past, owned land across which locals needed to pass in order to access beaches. But since I am not involved in the present dispute over access to Cedar Beach in Harpswell, I would not wish to comment directly on the controversy. However, I have […]

To the Editor: In regards to “Harpswell selectmen subvert beach access” by Marie-Claire Wheeler, (Sept. 13, Page A14), she writes, “My husband and I have owned a cottage on Bailey Island for 13 years” and “We are on earth a very short time — each of us — and no one should feel the right […]

To the Editor: The Maine Constitution gives the Legislature two tools with which to foster development in the state: It can sell state land or property, and it can guarantee loans. These are powers the Legislature can grant to towns and cities, through its ability to charter municipal public corporations. It cannot assume additional powers, […]