WASHINGTON — President Trump’s decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria is already having unintended consequences. The U.S. departure could lead to the release of 1,100 Islamic State fighters now held in detention camps in northeastern Syria — creating a dangerous new terrorist threat to the West. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — the […]
2018
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The decline of rural ways
The news that the Boy Scouts of America may go bankrupt should have shocked, but it didn’t. The Scouts are sinking under the weight of payouts to people who as children were abused by Scout leaders. Should the Boy Scouts go under, we would lose yet another social institution that has served down the years […]
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Posted inPerspective, sj-web
The 11 most consequential political trends of 2018
President Donald Trump again dominated 2018 politics, but the year was also notable for what happened, what didn’t happen and what it could all mean in 2019. Here’s The Washington Post’s list of the political trends that defined the year in politics: 1) Trump’s mounting falsehoods Trump’s false or misleading claims more than tripled during […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
SunJournal.com: Local tragedies and political drama dominated 2018's web traffic
LEWISTON — Tragedy. That best describes the stories that got the most traffic on SunJournal.com in 2018 — stories about drownings and killings. But there was also crime: Leading the list was the story of the day federal, state and local law enforcement officers raided local buildings and confiscated piles of marijuana plants. And a […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Investors losing confidence in Trump
Stock market losses and volatility, particularly in financial stocks, have people worried about, well, everything. This recent sell-off is historic in scale but strange because it’s hard to identify a specific culprit behind it. The jitters could be chalked up to the hawkishness of the Federal Reserve, the flattening of the yield curve, trade wars, […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
How Trump can make the Syria withdrawal work
President Donald Trump’s Dec. 23 tweet promising a “slow and highly coordinated” withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria may ease the gnashing of teeth among officials and analysts in Washington, but it won’t end the criticism of his decision. That is precisely why the president should view the hullabaloo that erupted after he announced the […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
2018, the year we lost ourselves
Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Of course not. As a year ticks into its final hours, old acquaintances are front of mind, sometimes painfully so. It lends a certain melancholy sweetness to the whole ritual. We mark a milestone reached, but we also remember all that we have lost along […]
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Teachers’ hands are tied
With the new administration coming in, the first thing to look at is control of the kids in school. I feel bad for our teachers as there are no consequences for bad behavior. Sure, they are sent to in-house suspension or to the principal’s room. What do they do when they are there? Color, play […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
The 'New' and 'Old' of the New Year’s Holiday
Mention the name “Maine” and there’s a lot that sets us apart. We’re the state closest to Europe. We’re the only one among the lower 48 that rubs elbows with only one other. In recent months we have been showered daily reminders that we are the only jurisdiction to use Ranked Choice Voting on either […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
There were times that Paul LePage’s leadership was what Maine needed
I’ve written at least half a dozen columns about Gov. Paul LePage during his tenure as Maine governor, most of them critical. Now that LePage is on his way out thanks to term limits, it seems a good time to evaluate his tumultuous eight years in office with the advantage of perspective. On the positive […]