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.
The question of how to manage a mentally unbalanced president should never have devolved to Gen. Mark Milley to begin with, should never have become his responsibility.
That it did speaks to the unadulterated cowardice of the political party that protected Trump, made excuses for him, lied for him, at every step of the way.
Perhaps no one better personifies today’s Republican Party than U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. And perhaps nothing better illustrates the spot Republicans have put themselves in than the recall referendum this week in California.
It is important to remember that the corporation, the politician and the activist answer to different masters. Activism is often a threat to the status quo, while business and politics are its bedrock. And while business and politics are about appealing to people in mass numbers, activism is designed to make people uncomfortable.
I am concerned about some of the assertions made by Lucien Wabanonik regarding Hydro-Québec’s record with First Nations, published Sept. 12 in reply to Serge Abergel’s Sept. 2 letter. I understand that not everyone shares our enthusiasm about our accomplishments with respect to many Indigenous communities across Québec. However, I respectfully submit that this rebuttal […]
Anyone telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies should take a biology course. A woman cannot get pregnant without the help of male sperm. Instead of punishing only women for unwanted pregnancies, men should play a prominent part. I suggest any man who impregnates a woman should be responsible for the […]
Congress has begun important discussions of the second infrastructure bill, including significant funding to address the impacts of changing climate. It is hard not to notice that droughts, hurricanes and flooding are now impacting wide areas of our country. Spending for the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration and wildfires is off the charts. People who […]
There is much consternation in the pro-choice community — in much of the mainstream media and reaching all the way to the White House — concerning the recent Texas law which bans an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs about six weeks into the pregnancy. Isn’t a beating heartbeat a […]
The Democrats are willing to talk the talk about a cradle-to-grave welfare state, but not walk the walk. There can be no European-style welfare state, at least not sustainably so, without European-style taxes.
Let me start by saying that most of the people in New Auburn are decent, loving, friendly and forgiving. That being said, I believe that the majority of us are not happy with the treatment of Leroy Walker. He made a mistake, he apologized and he should be forgiven. It concerns me that some of […]
