Will Rogers, the 20th century sage from Oklahoma, famously said, “I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.” That was at least 83 years ago. If I were a Democrat, I would be mad as hell at the people running my party. Or, to be correct, I would be angry as hell. And […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Sen. Collins joins fight for air travel fairness for consumers
From buying groceries to filling up at the gas station, we know that healthy competition leads to lower prices. We comparison shop, especially if we are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars. And increasingly, we do that through one of our favorite apps or websites. But when it comes to buying plane tickets, it can […]
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A perspective on 'crumbs'
Just before Christmas the U.S. Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed a bill to make sweeping changes to the federal tax code. The changes included reducing tax rates, reducing the number of tax brackets, reducing taxes on small businesses, and a major reduction in the corporate tax rate. The measure was passed mainly by […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Trump throws away his momentum for peanuts
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s State of the Union address won the approval of 75 percent of viewers, including 43 percent of Democrats. Normally, presidents try to ride the wave from a successful State of the Union as long as they can. Not Trump. What have we been taking about for the past several days? Russia. […]
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Marsy's Law needed to protect rights of victims
Right now, accused criminals have the constitutional protections of due process and what are commonly referred to as “Miranda Rights.” Our system has set up layers of protections for those accused of a crime. While the rights of the accused are clear, the rights of victims are not. That’s an inequity we should all be […]
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South Korea — the world's most successful country
NEW YORK — As the world’s attention turns briefly away from Donald Trump and toward the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, it’s worth focusing not just on the sports but on this year’s host country. South Korea is, in some senses, the most successful nation in the world, and its success provides some crucial lessons. First, […]
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Corporate welfare for General Dynamics
Maine politicians and officials should be working to protect and promote the interests and rights of its citizens. However, as a recent trial and pending legislation in Maine have clearly shown, some of these politicians and officials seem far more interested in advancing the wealth and power of an already extremely wealthy and powerful corporation. […]
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Cooperation in the Twin Cities
COLAC (the Coalition Opposed to Lewiston-Auburn Consolidation), the organization which led a successful grass-roots campaign against November’s referendum to merge the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, and Auburn’s new mayor, Jason Levesque, who vowed during his candidacy not to serve if the referendum passed, are now hoping to use social media and public relations to […]
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Changes ahead for trucking industry
WASHINGTON — The future of trucking may tell us a lot about the future of work. It’s no secret that many Americans fear losing their jobs to automation. In a Pew Research Center poll last October, nearly three-quarters of respondents worried that “computers and robots could do most of the work currently done by humans.” […]
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Renewable energy stakes a claim in midwest
Some of the nation’s fiercest winds tear across the 100-odd miles separating Casper and Rawlins, making Wyoming a potential colossus of wind power. So why is Wyoming the only state to tax wind power? Ask the politicians representing America’s biggest producer of coal. Or simpler, check their donor list. “There is a real feeling that […]