Cheers and jeers from around the news … 

• Jeers to Charles Soule. The perennial fringe candidate and gadfly bowed out of the Lewiston City Council race because he says the city hasn’t suffered enough to elect him.

He’s right.

• Jeers to Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, whose outburst toward President Barack Obama during his health care speech Wednesday became the shout heard ’round the world. Wilson, as most everybody knows by now, yelled “You lie” while Obama talked about how his health care plan wouldn’t extend coverage to illegal immigrants. 

Well, Obama wasn’t lying. This means Wilson is not only going to be remembered for screaming during a presidential address to Congress, but also for being wrong about what he said. House leadership is threatening to censure Wilson if he doesn’t apologize, but in fairness, Wilson should also admit on the House floor that his statement was not factual. 

So go ahead. Say it ain’t so, Joe. 

• Cheers to Lewiston Mayor Laurent Gilbert, for continuing to pressure Maine’s congressional delegation for action on behalf of the local Bahai community. Our delegation has sponsored legislation to support Bahai rights in Iran, where a group of Bahai leaders have been arrested and face trial, now reportedly in October. The legislation remains pending, however.

The plight of the Bahai in Iran cannot be left as an afterthought. Gilbert deserves praise for fighting for their cause. 

• Cheers to Attorney General Janet Mills, for agreeing not to enforce a very bad law to restrict the collection or use of information about minors. Although the intent of the law was sound, it was transformed during the legislative process to infringe upon First Amendment rights, and left newspapers vulnerable to civil penalties for doing something as innocuous as writing about a school function that identified a child. 

While there’s no question children merit protection from predatory marketers peddling products that are useless, fraudulent or dangerous, this should be achieved without over-extending government authority and hurting free speech. Legislative leaders have called for this new law, LD 1183, to be reviewed and amended.

We will be watching to ensure it does. 

• Jeers to scary statistics. Here’s one: The United States imported $18.51 billion worth of oil in July, up from $16.59 billion in June. These are the highest import numbers since last year, even though the price per barrel of oil has fallen by two-thirds from its peak price of $150 in 2008. The country’s overall energy import cost almost $24 billion in July.

Much is made about how our energy should be generated. All should agree, though, on where it should be made: here.

• And finally, cheers to the two ladies who came into the Sun Journal’s office Thursday to complain about American flags not at half-staff, despite the governor’s order to honor fallen soldier Jordan Brochu. They caught post offices, city halls and police departments noncompliant, as well as one daily newspaper that shall remain nameless. (OK, it was us.)

They deserve credit for their vigilance.

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