Now I’m hearing that NASCAR crews would never kneel during the National Anthem. Really? Finding a black face at a NASCAR race might be possible, but it would take some effort. Meanwhile, 70 percent of NFL players are African-American. See the connection? That is where the divider-in-chief has gotten us. While he rallies his shrinking […]
Dave Griffiths
Posted inLetters, sj-web
Arc of historical progress
I attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and joined the first fraternity to mix Jews, blacks and whites. That was a time when the regular four-year liberal arts and sciences program was not open to women. It was a time when an anti-racist friend of mine found this triumphant but anonymous note on his […]
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Posted inLetters, sj-web
Get involved, get the facts
To respond to letter writers who: — Lament voter approval of the RSU 16 budget: Instead of indulging in longstanding bitterness about public education, spend time in the classrooms of Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland. Having volunteered for a decade at Elm Street School, I know that second-graders can read and comprehend and add and […]
Posted inLetters
It’s all on Trump
I’m grateful for George Mathews’ letter (June 1) on a Harvard study that demonstrates media bias against President Trump. Now I can expand on my letter citing precedent for the media’s interest in conflict rather than partisan leanings. It’s simple, really: What the president says is news. He craves publicity, and his Twitter feeds and […]
Posted inLetters
Stop the whining about media
Question: How do you know President Trump is lying? Answer: His lips are moving. Funny, huh? Sometimes I crack myself up. Seriously, here’s an up-to-date definition of integrity: Trump voters who ask themselves, “What the hell was I thinking?” Apparently, two recent letter writers haven’t gotten there yet. Mary Jane Newell is “offended” ad nauseam, […]
Posted inLetters
Hope Trump gets the point
In writing training sessions I do around the U.S. and in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, I urge students to maintain a tone of respect and civility in email, no matter how emotions rise and fall in the workaday world. Anything less and you risk eroding morale and productivity. Email simply makes it too […]
Posted inLetters
Elephants and donkeys
This is in response to Dave Griffiths’ letter (Aug. 26). He wrote that many spineless Republican statesmen will not oppose Donald Trump. I will share what spinelessness is. It is a president who draws red lines all over the place, then caves in when the enemy laughs at him and violates those “lines” over and […]
Posted inLetters
Who is to blame?
Oh, the horror. While many Republican national security veterans endorse Hillary Clinton, spineless Republican political “statesmen” won’t oppose the inarticulate narcissist who threatens to shred the GOP. Dear me, how did Donald Trump bring America to this sad state? Let me help. The night of Barack Obama’s first inauguration, Republican congressional leaders vowed to oppose […]
Posted inLetters
Newell offers vague generalities
In her June 9 letter, Mary Jane Newell frets about what is wrong with America and adopts the Trumpian approach of vague generalities and outright untruths: She says a “course in civics doesn’t appear to be available; world history is a joke.” Fact: Maine mandates education in four social studies disciplines — civics and government, […]
Posted inLetters
LePage has done enough harm
Just when I figure this political year can’t get any more outlandish, Gov. LePage says he’s “seriously” thinking about challenging Sen. Angus King in 2018. Can anyone imagine LePage on the Senate floor three years hence? I would like to think that debate in the “world’s greatest deliberative body” will be more civil by then […]