What can be more precise than numbers? Ten is 10. No argument. But Brooks Hamilton, my colleague at the University of Maine, used to grumble that journalists were too often dazzled by numbers. We had been taught to be as precise as possible in writing news. That often meant throw in some numbers, even if […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The consequences of accusing a powerful man of misconduct are daunting
It’s hard to publicly allege misconduct by a powerful man. No woman wants to be known primarily as a victim of harassment or, worse, assault. It’s humiliating. We – women who have gone public – are so much more than accusers or victims. Yet, once the news breaks, we are reduced in the eyes of […]
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Commit to ending personal exploitation
Sex trafficking. Sex exploitation. Slavery. Prostitution. One of these things is not like the others. During the past few months, a trend in the language used to describe victimization has emerged. This language seeks to dehumanize the very individual experiencing sexual assault daily, and this language wrongly simplifies the complexity of substance-use disorder and ignores […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
E.U., U.S. should pay attention to Bono’s message about unity
NEW YORK — When confronting a challenging problem, it is sometimes useful to listen to someone who looks at it from an entirely different angle. That is why I found it fascinating to talk about the rise of populism and nativism with Bono recently at a summit in Kiev. The Irish singer-activist-philanthropist sees the same […]
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CMP powerline would strangle the wildness
I was deeply saddened to learn of Central Maine Power’s quiet push for a 145-mile power corridor through Maine’s North Woods. While not currently a Maine resident or CMP ratepayer, I feel I have a stake in the landscape that CMP looks to degrade without regard for its stakeholders or the region’s valuable natural resources. […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Sen. Collins should reject Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination
Maine’s senior senator, Susan Collins, is expected to be a key vote in determining whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. As a senior citizen, I would urge Sen. Collins, in the strongest possible terms, to reject his nomination, because Judge Kavanaugh is a threat to the […]
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Do you really want a scorched earth attitude?
Regrettably, what we have been witnessing in Washington, D.C., during the recent confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh in the Senate Judiciary Committee ought to give you a very clear picture of how destructive and dishonest the Democrat party has become in its desperate and futile attempts to crucify a highly qualified and decent man […]
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U.S. needs a sensible immigration policy
What would a sensible immigration policy look like? It would have three goals: be humane, enforce the laws and meet America’s need for labor. This can happen only if our political fringes get out of the way. Some on the far right simply don’t like most of the immigrants, mainly because of their color. There’s […]
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Brett Kavanaugh's Kafkaesque nightmare
If Franz Kafka had written about confirmation hearings, he couldn’t have come up with a better scenario than the one now unfolding in the U.S. Senate. Brett Kavanaugh, who the day before yesterday was an unimpeachable pillar of the legal establishment, stands accused of a heinous offense that is almost impossible to definitively rebut. Even […]
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Trump racking up a record of foreign policy success
WASHINGTON — In his new book “Fear,” Bob Woodward recounts that in April 2017, after President Trump saw images of dead Syrian children with their mouths foaming from a sarin attack, he called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and issued an order: Get me a plan for a military strike to take out Syrian President Bashar […]