During this protracted period of national political paralysis, you may have heard the term “job creator” used on many occasions to describe our economy’s chosen people, i.e., the entrepreneurs and business owners whose skills, creativity and capital fuel the economy and make it possible for the rest of us to draw a salary and eke […]

As 2011 comes to a close I wanted to take a moment to thank the people of Falmouth for giving me their trust as the newest member of the Town Council. It has been an amazing experience from the start of our campaign last winter and spring, through the election, and now these early months […]

In his recent column, Edgar Allen Beem proclaims that “conservatives blame the poor for requiring expensive services.” One need only read Christine Rousselle’s Forecaster Forum about welfare fraud to understand where conservatives stand on this issue. We blame the system that allows some individuals to suck off needed funds by abusing the rules. If we […]

As I write this letter on Christmas Day, I give thanks to all that conspires to teach me about life, including the sacred and the profane. In terms of the sacred, I thank Edgar Allen Beem for fearlessly giving voice to the progressive view and especially for his column on the blessings of giving and […]

I read with dismay Christine Rousselle’s meditation on wisdom gained as a Walmart cashier (Dec. 19 Forecaster Forum). I was particularly alarmed by the violence implicit in the reference to “steel drums and cement” as a solution for difficult customers paying with WIC. We often stereotype college students as idealistic, owing to their lack of […]

Christine Rousselle isn’t just a Walmart employee writing unbiased in last week’s Forecaster Forum. She’s heavily involved in right-wing causes. Her stated dream is to become another Ann Coulter, the ultra right-wing extremist who makes millions ranting about “welfare queens,” “luckless, lazy and incompetent welfare recipients,” those “utterly irresponsible animals” and the “39 million greedy […]

Weekly I grab a copy of The Forecaster to see upon what rant Edgar Allen Beem will embark. Beem rarely disappoints me and this week offered no exception. Here is a completely negative piece against Gov. LePage predicated upon Beem’s statement “profits before people,” as if this is a LePage creed. Sir, profits are the […]

In his letter of Dec. 16, Dan Sullivan states that what we need to do is view all Amtrak layover facility sites objectively, elevate all stakeholders to equal status and end the “political theater.” Good news on the first count: all sites have already been analyzed objectively. We know Brunswick West is the clear winner […]

As we are in the holiday season, a traditional season of charitable giving, I have been considering what the Bible asks of us in terms of generosity. In many ways, it’s a mixed message. Acts 20:35 tell us, “In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering […]

As I drove my daughter home from her first semester of college last week, we both happily noted that this year neither of us feels as if we truly “need” or “want” anything for Christmas. And I thought, “Wow. What a wonderful feeling this is.” It clearly has more to do with our mindsets than […]