It was a good night for Trump and Republicans. All the Democrats and their media allies could do is look like they were attending a funeral. They have nothing else to show the country except policy failures from the last four years.
Alex Lear
Staff Writer
Alex Lear is a lifelong Mainer who has spent 25 years in journalism -- the first 20 as a reporter for newspapers in Damariscotta and Falmouth, then as Opinions section editor for the Sun Journal and now a digital producer with the Maine Trust for Local News. His long-running “Learics” column won first place in the Maine Press Association’s 2023 Better Newspaper Contest. He and his wife Lauren are kept young by their 9-year-old daughter Alaina. Send feedback and suggestions to Alex.
Austin Bay: Ukraine’s collision of truths
Ukraine has suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties, dead and wounded. Its military faces manpower shortages. Frankly, brave Ukraine confronts military and economic exhaustion.
Stan Tetenman: Libby has right to express opinion, not to endanger student
Rep. Libby has every right to express her opinion on the participation of transgender people in sports competition. She has every right to bring this issue before the Legislature. She does not have the right to publish a picture and name of a student whom she has endangered. She and her Republican colleagues seem to […]
Kelley Bowden: Libby endangered a child with social media post
Rep. Laurel Libby is a licensed nurse. The American Nurses Association, the professional organization for all nurses in the U.S., has a 10-point code of ethics. Provision one is “The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.” While Rep. Libby was not a direct health […]
Susan Trask: DOGE is state-sponsored cruelty
I think that it is time to rename the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) to DOGC (Depart of Government Cruelty). The depth and scope of massive layoffs across the board in the name of finding “waste, fraud and abuse”) is appalling. The callous indifference to human suffering is staggering. To name but a few instances: […]
Bonnie Brown: EPA can’t accomplish critical goals with massive budget cut
When I was a child I lived next to the Androscoggin River. Sludge floats of toxic industrial waste flowed past my home and out to sea. Fish died by the millions. In 1970 President Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency to protect our health through the health of the environment. Between 1971 and 1978, […]
Jacqueline Smith: Cuts are necessary before US goes bankrupt
For years I have heard people saying that government is out of control, spending way beyond its means, unable to maintain a balanced budget, etc., and that something needs to be done before our country is bankrupt. Today, people are demonstrating outrage because we finally have someone who is not afraid to do just that. […]
Ronald Lebel: Disappointed by changes to SJ’s delivery, publication policies
I write, as a 50-year subscriber, in response to the March 5 notice of changes to the paper’s delivery and publication policies, which are terribly disappointing. First, relying on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the paper reliably and timely is a fool’s errand. Second, when the National Trust for Local News purchased the paper, […]
Stephen Bien: Gov. Mills follows rule of law with sports
Gov. Janet Mills and President Trump had quite the dust-up the other day, but the headlines and the hot reaction that have followed miss the point. The issue is simply the rule of law, not the rightness or wrongness of transgender people in sports. Although many seem eager to make political hay out of the […]