Editorials - Piscataquis Observer

Editorials

March for Our Lives kids refused to let adults derail change

If I had been advising the students who organized and led the March for Our Lives protests around Maine, I would have told them to keep the program short.

Comparing movies: ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ vs. ‘Field of Dreams’

Do you remember the 1999 movie "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner? The film was based on W.P. Kinsella's novel, "Shoeless Joe," published in 1982. I bought "Shoeless Joe" off a drug store book rack on a hunch. Never a staunch baseball fan, unfamiliar with Mr. Kinsella's writing, something told me, "This is a good book."

Privacy, politics and Facebook data

The year was 2008, and the country was in the midst of a presidential election that would eventually hand the White House to Barack Obama.

Running for governor? Sell your big idea in 50 words or less.

There’s a strange bipolar effect that happens every election season. We want people to run for office. We want more choice. And then we bemoan the fact that so many people run — writing some folks off prematurely, even before they have a chance to make their case.

Conforming to the federal tax code is the right policy for Maine

The federal tax cuts will provide about $1 billion in tax relief this year and next to Maine families and businesses.

My yellow Corvair and the rule of law

Yesterday's news of an illegal alien in California "being rewarded with a legal education, membership in the California State Bar, a career as an attorney, and elevation to state office" has me thinking about my yellow 1964 Chevy Corvair.

LePage administration’s legacy of deadly failures

Gov. Paul LePage’s government is plagued by systematic, widespread failure, compounded by indifference, cruelty and blame-shifting from the Blaine House.

A third way on net neutrality?

This fall, my son decided to participate in the speech and debate club at his school, his father beaming with pride. To help encourage him, I also volunteered as a judge.

Universal home care will create more wait lists

Here we go again. There’s another referendum on the ballot this fall that sounds too good to be true. Trust me, it is.

A letter to my newest daughter

A little over three years ago, I unknowingly started a tradition of writing letters to my children as they arrived in this world. First was your older brother, Owen. Next came your sister, Aimee. Now it is your turn.

GOP policies veer from cruel to absurd

There is a cruelty and viciousness to so many Republican policy ideas. Cloaked in populist language and blame-invoking finger pointing, the majority of the GOP stumbles consistently to the worst option available.

NAMI address anxiety and depression in older adults

Many older adults are faced with challenges that cause anxiety and depression. Troubled family relationships, lack of money, loneliness, life-span losses, complicated grief, traumas, personal health and the health of others, safety concerns, and death are broad classifications of situations that cause worries and fears leading to anxiety and possibly depression. Late-life anxiety can occur alone, but may be accompanied by depression.

Don’t blur the bright line of no guns at school

We need to do everything we can to keep guns away from schools. That means that we should stop wasting time and energy debating the nonsensical idea of arming teachers or the dangerous idea of allowing parents to bring guns onto school grounds, and instead look at ideas that might actually be worth considering.

Yes, Sheriff Israel, it is your responsibility

The questioning was intense, and Capt. Kirk looked worried. He and Dr. McCoy were on trial for their lives in front of a Klingon tribunal, and the prosecution was the nefarious Gen. Chang, close advisor and friend to the slain chancellor, Gorkon.

Let’s ensure Maine’s minimum wage law does no harm

We need to make sure that employees in Maine do not see the same cut in pay that’s happening to low-wage workers in Seattle.

Declining public access to private land is a key issue in 2018

When V. Paul Reynolds’ article appeared in the Piscataquis Observer (“Careless hunters, ticks, declining land access big stories of 2017”), I took notice as forestry professor who has researched forest recreation in Maine.

Zero tolerance for plane crashes, but not mass shootings?

The United States has decided that it has zero tolerance for airplane crashes.

The lazy myth of the ‘bought and paid for’ politician

“Will America choose its children over guns?” The breathless New York Times editorial, printed Tuesday, certainly pulled no punches.

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