On Nov. 13, the Sun Journal editorial board criticized the Auburn School Department for not starting its H1N1 flu vaccine clinics as quickly as the Lewiston School Department.

I believe the real story is that both schools, along with the vast majority of their peers in Maine, have stepped up to the plate to offer their students H1N1 vaccine. This public health service has not been offered in schools in decades, yet the rapid response and substantial efforts put forth by both Auburn and Lewiston schools have been truly remarkable.

Here's how I'm feeling today ...

I believe President Barack Obama instructed his attorney general, Eric Holder, to bring the 9/11 conspirators to New York for trial. The country should be outraged.This was done on purpose. Where's Obama? In Japan. On purpose. The timing is convenient. (He was out of town on 9/12 as well.) He can disavow it, you see. "Holder did it." In the bargain, he can also create yet another "crisis" to divert the public's attention — divide and conquer.

I applaud the city of Lewiston for the much-improved main artery, Main Street. Traffic seems to flow much better during rush times in the morning and evening.

The only concern I have with the improvements is the crosswalk for Central Maine Medical Center. The old site of the crosswalk was a hazard, but nothing compared to the current site. During morning rush hour, the sun is rising, causing a vision problem, and the crosswalk is located after a curve and on a slight down-slope in the road. Visibility of the crosswalk even with the flashing light is obscured.

The nation's health care "system" is the Titanic. Comparable ships of state cost half as much to operate, but are twice as seaworthy. The U.S. is ranked 37th by the World Health Organization. We can rearrange the deck chairs and listen to the band play until we drown, or we can get off this barge while there is a chance of making it to the life rafts.

Atheists are not bad people and atheism is not a bad word. It's merely the idea that people prefer evidence and science over Scripture.

We don't want to change anyone's beliefs, but what we want is to be able to exercise freedom of and from religion. God shouldn't step outside of its churches or private Christian schools. God should not be on money or in the pledge of allegiance. Religion should not step on the toes of government, just as the government shouldn't step on the churches' toes.

This is in response to the letter from Reagan Simmons (Nov. 11). I thank her for writing. I agree with everything she said.

I am bisexual. I am also a born-again Christian. In my Bible, it says judge not and you shall not be judged.

There are a lot of closed-minded people living in Maine. I feel ashamed to live here. The good Lord loves us all, no matter what gender we are.

Let freedom ring, so people can marry whomever they want. But it doesn't look like there is freedom in the state of Maine. The nation was founded on freedom.

I am a veteran and a lifelong resident of Lewiston. I attended the Veterans Memorial on Nov. 11 at the Lewiston Armory and wish to thank all who attended, especially the Edward Little High School band, dressed in full uniform, to honor our veterans, alive and gone.

Unfortunately, the Lewiston High School band must have had a more pressing engagement, which may be why they did not attend. Or, maybe they were saving their uniforms for the marching band competitions.

Although many people celebrated the House's recent approval of a sweeping reform of the nation's health care system, immigrants across the country must have reacted differently to the health care bill that was passed. Under the comprehensive health care bill, undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. may be mandated to have health insurance, but will be ineligible to receive federal subsidies and would have to pay in full for coverage. If they do not purchase insurance, they will be fined.

I would like to apologize for my comment that was cited in the Sun Journal editorial of Nov. 13. I certainly do not believe that Auburn parents are "better" parents than Lewiston parents. It was an offensive statement which I deeply regret. I was trying to show the absurdity of the Sun Journal's claims about absenteeism by suggesting an equally absurd reason. The statement has rightly blown up in my face and I take full responsibility.

Having the two-year-old girl recently abducted by her father safely returned to her mother's care is a relief for her and her family.

However, as a clinical social worker who works with young children who have experienced trauma, I am concerned after reading the mother's statement that "We're trying to wipe it away from her mind." (Sun Journal, Nov. 13)

On behalf of the Lisbon Trails Commission, I want to thank Lisbon voters, the Lisbon Town Council and all Lisbon Trails supporters for their enthusiastic efforts in passing the Androscoggin River Trail bond.

Passage of the bond ensures the completion of the Lisbon Trails system, which includes the Paper Mill Trail, Ricker Farm Trail and, now, the Androscoggin River Trail.

The western mountains of Maine are a wonderful place, providing the opportunity for hiking, canoeing, fishing and communing with the beauties of nature.

As a resident of crowded New Jersey, I have always looked forward to the peace and quiet that our summer vacations at Rangeley Lake provided. I remember how that peace and quiet was shattered many years ago by the terrain hugging flights of B-47 bombers and the tree top flights of several military fighter planes over the lake.

Concerning the closing of Catholic churches, about 200 parishioners in this area are lost each year due to death. Others marry and move away to other parishes or out of the state. Parents are neglecting to pass on their faith to their children, relying on priests and nuns to do the job. But children relate more to parental example than anything taught by a priest or nun.

Each parish is a separate entity, and parishioners are responsible to help pay bills and upkeep. Individual churches are not supported by the pope or bishops financially.

What kind of news makes the Sun Journal's front page? Doesn't an Amber Alert meet the criteria for the front page?

On Nov. 10, I was shocked to see the Amber Alert story about the 2-year-old Sanford girl on an inside page instead of on Page 1. There were a lot of people who didn't know about the Amber Alert until they looked inside the paper.

That might have kept some people from keeping an eye out for the missing girl.

If you want to find someone like that, I would hope that the newspaper would put it on the front page next time.

This is in response to a story in the Sun Journal Nov. 7, "Collins critical of Obama on vaccine."

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is not the chairman of a committee. The Bush administration lost the 2008 election, reducing her position on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to ranking Republican. The Sun Journal should not have written the article in a manner that I believe insinuated she has authority on the committee. 

It's Catholics vs. Protestants. When Michael Heath ran his campaign denying homosexuals the right to civil unions in Maine, the Catholic Church did nothing. This time around, the Catholic Church took full control, showing the Protestants that it could do it alone. A full-page ad of Protestant ministers and Jewish rabbis, urging Mainers to vote no on Question 1, went unnoticed.

Why? Because the most powerful church in the world flexed its muscles.

The idea of government involvement in health care and competing with private insurers is ludicrous.

Both U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Michael Michaud voted in favor of the health care reform bill. Michaud had said he wasn't certain of how he would vote but, after lots of soul searching, he decided to vote yes, even if it means costing the taxpayers more than a trillion dollars and taking away some health care protection for senior citizens in order to pay for it, and competing with health insurance companies on price controls.

Researchers predict that between 30 and 50 percent of the population may get the H1N1 flu this season. That's an amazing statistic, and it means that everyone has a role to play in stopping the spread of the disease.

I have been a paddler of canoes and kayaks for 30 years. When questioning a paddler friend last summer about why he'd never paddled on Lake Auburn, I found out most kayaks are prohibited. I didn't believe it until I saw a sign at the boat launch that denied access to kayakers, but welcomed power boaters and their boat trailers. I was surprised.

I can understand the necessity of protecting water supplies, but are kayakers somehow "poisonous" while boats with engines are better users? Why are we second-class citizens when it comes to Lake Auburn?

Toni Seger's guest column Nov. 8 stated that proposed lower-level military flights were disrespectful to Western Maine.

I think the article is disrespectful to those who are charged with defending this great country from its enemies. The military must conduct training exercises in all sorts of environments and conditions in order to be adequately trained for its mission.

It's time to write about more important issues than the complaints of those who supported same-sex marriage and are having difficulty accepting defeat. I read the letter from Martha Palmer (Nov. 10) who accused the Sun Journal of being juvenile for using the term "torpedoed" reporting the vote on Question 1. I didn't find that insulting but, rather, quite humorous.

There needs to be no mention of the value of Camp Gustin or the need to save it. That is established and agreed upon.

Many wish to fight the Pine Tree Council and use public pressure to embarrass it into not selling. I think that would be a grave mistake. It appears members of the council do not share other people's values or priorities. In a few years, they could decide again to sell, with no notice to prevent an outcry. Camp Gustin needs to be taken out of the council's hands; secure for now and into the future.

I agree with Martha D. Palmer (letter, Nov. 10) that the page-one story Nov. 4 about Question 1 election results was condescending and insulting for those of us who care deeply about equal rights.

It is a crushing blow to be treated as a second-class citizen whose rights are denied that are enjoyed by others.

"The most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom amongst us is the compact majority," Henrik Ibsen.

The words to the song "Born Free" keep going through my head. Isn't that wonderful concept meant to apply to every citizen?

Let's see now: Before election day the Sun Journal editorial board, in its editorial, argued to the effect that human rights are best determined through popular vote. That is the democratic way, it was written.

Came Election Day and a narrow majority (no pun intended) of the people decided which adult, taxpaying citizens in Maine have the civil right to civil marriage, and which do not.