In “MAGA,” when exactly does the “again” refer to? Before the revolution, kings were above the law, not balanced by other powers and could freely benefit family and loyalists. People were taxed without representation or voting rights. Indigenous people and lands were exploited. Colonies were divided, not united. Before “Making America Great (Britain) Again,” remember […]

Jim Fossel’s recent column (“The national debt is getting spookier,” Oct. 30) is sophistry wrapped in the hackneyed canard that the national debt is like a “credit card,” implicitly asserting that central governments face the same sorts of financing and budget constraints facing households and businesses. Question: How many households or businesses have a legal […]

Ageism is prevalent not just in Maine or the United States but globally as well. It intersects with other social identifiers such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. Ageism affects the physical, emotional, mental and financial well-being of those who experience this phenomenon. It creates isolation, decreased quality of life and premature […]

Do you know what your child’s school lockdown drill looks like? I didn’t. My son is in middle school, and he recently shared some eye-opening things. Many times, especially in the older grades, they are unannounced. This means that for the duration of the drill, your child is huddled in a corner, in the dark, […]

I’ve been hearing so much about the benefits of electrically powered vehicles. Then a friend sent me some information he had gathered from various sources – sources that any reader may Google, and really should. Once they have Googled, and spent some time on those pages, they should keep looking. They likely will become astonished […]

My life partner recently bought us pickleball lessons for our anniversary. There is an insightful rule in the game that we should all consider when going to the polls next. If you hit a shot and your opponent calls it out, then the shot is out. The one exception would be that if the opponent’s […]

Loud huzzahs go to Jasper Curtis for his timely and thoughtful suggestion that the Portland section of Interstate 295 needs to be replaced with a boulevard (Maine Voices, Oct. 18). Five years ago, a number of colleagues and I recommended that 1-295, between Congress Street and Washington Avenue, be “brought to the ground” and replaced […]

Two referendums on Portland’s ballot address short-term rentals. Question B will outlaw most short-term rentals. It will hurt Portland’s economy, force Mainers to sell island homes that have been in their families for generations and make life more difficult for middle-class property owners who depend on the extra income they receive from short-term rentals. It […]

“The three main greenhouse gases hit record high levels in the atmosphere last year, the U.N. weather agency said,” began an Associated Press story on Page A3 of the Oct. 27 Portland Press Herald. Not that we’ve again failed to lower our rate of polluting Earth’s atmosphere, which is killing many plants and animals, including […]