I remember, not too long ago, a promise was made to drain the political swamp. It appears that this political quagmire is just more brackish. A very large “bully-frog” sits upon the largest lily pad.  When not snoozing, he croaks at his bumbling under-frogs that occupy leadership positions in his failing ecosystem like the Department […]

On Friday, Jan. 9, the moderators of PBS NewsHour ended their broadcast with the  announcement that — because of the fiscal crisis created by the Trump administration’s defunding of the Corporation For Public Broadcasting — PBS News Weekend would have to be discontinued. The regret voiced by Geoff Bennett and Amna Nawaz was palpable. Then, […]

I am writing in response to the Jan. 11 article “Maine teacher prep programs call foul after getting an F for how they teach reading.”  As a literacy specialist and concerned citizen, I find the University of Maine’s defensive response to the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) report disturbing. Maine’s abysmal National Assessment of […]

Once again, we see an initiative to reduce food waste in public schools (“Taking a bite out of food waste,” Maine Sunday Telegram, Jan. 18). In my files, I have a response referencing an editorial from 2016 — 10 years ago. (“Food we throw away could help solve hunger,” Jan. 4, 2016). I also have a letter to […]

Tension and fear are the objective. Those who fear accept oppression. I am 90 years old.  I remember the original. It was called Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei), SS (Schutzstaffel) — depending on the context — Adolf Hitler’s tools of oppression. ICE is but a cheap copy, as is the Donald himself. Hitler’s stated targets were the Jews; […]

I am writing to strongly advocate for keeping the NAAB-accredited architecture program at the University of Maine at Augusta intact in its current location at Handley Hall. I have had the pleasure of supporting this program as a design critic for early studio courses as well as thesis presentations. Through this experience, I have consistently […]

I feel compelled to take issue with some of the claims that Mr. Grant attributed to the Trump administration in his letter of Jan. 18 (“We should be willing to give the Trump administration its due“). Unfortunately, the claim that there is no longer a federal tax on Social Security is not true. There is […]

On Jan. 18, the deputy speaker in the Danish Parliament, Lars-Christian Brask, said: “(The U.S. president) makes threats against a friend. A friend he has had relationships with for 225 years. A friend that has done everything possible, fought two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with the U.S., lost more soldiers per population than any […]

I am getting tired of two phrases being used by and about the Trump administration. The first phrase is “weaponizing the Department of Justice.” Remember when Trump accused the Biden administration of “weaponizing the DOJ” against him, especially concerning the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol? I would think that any rational human being would try […]