Posted inTimes Record Opinion

The Maine Idea: Get ready for Referendum Madness

Maine has a problem with its initiative and referendum system no one wants to talk about. It’s simple: twice in the past seven years, voters have approved questions that turned out to be unconstitutional in whole or in part. Unlike other states, including Massachusetts, from which it inherited its basic constitutional arrangements, Maine has no […]

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Posted inTimes Record Opinion

Elwood Watson: Visit Florida, where you’ll learn about the benefits of slavery

Florida has justly earned its recent reputation as the most dysfunctional, surreal, and outlandish state in the nation. The so-called Sunshine State continues to promote high-profile lunacy. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the new, updated framework for how Black history will be taught in K-12 schools, including guidelines that slavery was beneficial to enslaved […]

Posted inTimes Record Opinion

Jase Graves: A summer staycation travel guide

Are you tired of financing a tank of gas? Are you afraid your armpits might burst into flames if you leave the air-conditioned confines of your home? Or maybe, like our family, you blew a decade’s worth of vacation savings on a trip to New York City over the Christmas holidays, and you’re still having […]

Posted inTimes Record Opinion

The Conversation: As contentious judicial ‘reform’ becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

THE CONVERSATION — Israel’s parliament passed a law on July 24, 2023, that limits the Supreme Court’s ability to rein in government actions, part of a broader proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to strengthen the power of the country’s executive branch. The legislation has divided the country for months, sparking massive demonstrations. Opponents say the […]

Posted inTimes Record Opinion

The Conversation: How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves

THE CONVERSATION — Despite misconceptions and stereotypes – ranging from what librarians Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos have described as the “middle-aged, bun-wearing, comfortably shod, shushing librarian” to the “sexy librarian … and the hipster or tattooed librarian” – library professionals are more than book jockeys, and they do more than read at story time. They […]

Posted inTimes Record Opinion

Danny Tyree: Is the world ready for these random thoughts?

Sometimes topics simply demand more research than a deadline allows. I couldn’t do justice to this week’s topic, so I’m kicking the can down the road by dishing out another batch of research-free random thoughts. I’ll confess to being impatient with people who pepper conversations with a slavishly recited “They say.” You know, like “They […]

Posted inTimes Record Opinion

Giving voice: More than a garden tour

Like many days over the past few weeks (months?!), last Saturday morning was humid, damp, and misty. A storm had rolled through the Midcoast in the wee hours, and I had been awakened to a downpour accompanied by flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder. “Please let this pass by us now and end soon,” […]