Regarding the Sun Journal editorial of June 16, Maine leaders should not be disappointed or surprised by Dirigo Health. The Sun Journal didn’t ask the underlying question and neither does the governor or the Legislature.

Why is there only one player in Maine in health insurance?

The question doesn’t come up because the answer is embarrassing. For decades they have legislated, regulated and taxed all competition out of state. Anthem calls the shots in Maine, and we pay top dollar for it. To make insurance more affordable and more available, try two things that have actually worked in other states: encourage competition and establish risk pools. But in a state government dominated by Democrats, ideas don’t have to work in order to survive.

About the June 17 editorial: The Sept. 11 commission concluded that there is no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaida in its attacks against the United States, but that there was a long-term relationship between them. Those are exactly the positions of the Bush administration.

Here the question is: Why does the Sun Journal, along with most of the mainstream media, report otherwise?

On any day, it’s easy to find yet another story claiming that Bush said, as an excuse to go to war, that Saddam helped al-Qaida to plan or carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. The answer here is also embarrassing. Genuinely objective reporting has been suspended in favor of blatantly biased editorializing.

Mike LeBlanc, East Wilton

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