For years both nations have trained with NATO forces, initially on the sly but since 2018 in public view. In March 2022 Finland and Sweden formed a combined brigade that participated in a NATO exercise in Arctic Norway.
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.
Froma Harrop: The threat to abortion rights really started with Bernie Sanders
The demolition of Roe v. Wade began in 2016, when Sen. Bernie Sanders and his left-wing followers destroyed the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Had Clinton won the presidency, Donald Trump would not have been able to add three justices to the Supreme Court who have made ending a right to abortion highly likely.
Leonard Pitts Jr.: It’s hard to fight from a crouch
Every moment spent debating words is a moment spent not advocating for the beliefs those words express.
Cal Thomas: The end of Roe?
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it won’t be the end of abortion, but it is likely to sharply reduce the number.
Rich Lowry: Scalia was right — again
Justice Antonin Scalia was among the most prescient Supreme Court justices in American history, and the firestorm over the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade is a reminder of it.
Rich Lowry: A shocking assault on the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court’s loyalty isn’t to Roe v. Wade, but to the Constitution, and it can show it by issuing the Justice Samuel Alito opinion that its critics want to foil by any means necessary.
John O’Malley: Development near lake ‘a big risk for Auburn to take’
As a lifelong resident of Lewiston, I am concerned about the water quality in Lake Auburn. Auburn’s recent rezoning of 148 acres near Lake Auburn (our drinking water) is troubling. The mayor of Auburn is determined to develop the 148 acres regardless of the consequences. If that is the tipping point that causes Lake Auburn […]
Ellen Field: ‘Bizarre’ to fight again over abortion rights
It’s totally bizarre that we are once again fighting over abortion rights. Most people know that the majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal and it has been legal since 1973. Today’s evangelicals and Trumpian Republicans have views belonging to an earlier time when many women had illegal abortions and many died from them. […]