The topic of school regionalization often raises issues that divide stakeholders, but there is much that we can agree on. The Maine Department of Education is having wonderful conversations with school leaders about how to better serve students. We all agree that student enrollment is declining in most areas of the state; we have excellent […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
History of success provides support for Question 1
In 2003, Maine voters faced a choice: allow a hotel and casino in Bangor, and bet that the resultant economic activity would provide a much-needed boost in jobs and tax revenue throughout the region, or vote against the project based on groundless fear-mongering against the project and its backer, gaming and commercial real estate entrepreneur […]
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Guys, it's time to step up
OK, men, this one is on us. No matter how evolved or retrograde any of us may be, we have work to do. Surely, you weren’t shocked by the revelation that Harvey Weinstein, a film producer, and other men like him have for decades used their power to provide roles and paychecks for female actors […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
A taxing situation
Federal income tax was first introduced under the Revenue Act of 1861 to help defray war costs. Congress repealed the tax in 1871 when the need for government revenue declined, only to restore it in 1894 as part of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. The public policy debate surrounding the constitutionality of income tax has been […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
China claiming leadership as United States falls into decline
NEW YORK — While news and analysis in America continue to be obsessed with Donald Trump’s daily antics and insults, halfway around the world, something truly historic just happened. China signaled that it now sees itself as the world’s other superpower, positioning itself as the alternative, if not rival, to the United States. This is […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Men must do better, be better
How many is this now? I’ve lost track of the number of prominent men who’ve been accused of sexual harassment in the weeks since The New York Times outed movie producer Harvey Weinstein as an alleged serial offender. Lupita Nyong’o, Angelina Jolie and Ashley Judd are among the dozens of women he reportedly subjected to […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Trump has none of Lincoln’s grace in consoling gold star families
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln set the gold standard for presidential consoling of what later became known as “gold star” parents and other close family members of fallen soldiers. It’s a standard Donald Trump has little chance of attaining. In a brief but powerful letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow who was believed to have […]
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Trump off the mark with NAFTA
WASHINGTON — The NAFTA war is heating up. It’s a confusing conflict because perceptions are driven by political rhetoric, not economic reality. NAFTA, of course, stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has eliminated most tariffs among the United States, Mexico and Canada. During the campaign, candidate Donald Trump denounced NAFTA as a […]
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Niger and the West African war on terror
In his October 23 Pentagon press conference describing the U.S. military presence in Niger, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford demonstrated it is possible to address serious national security issues and finesse the current spate of domestic political hysterics. “This area (in west Africa) is inherently dangerous,” General Dunford said. “We’re […]
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Sexual harassment never easy to deal with
While trying not to indulge in schadenfreude over those hypocritical Hollywood elites who’ve claimed to stand for “women’s rights,” only to be accused of sexually harassing them, I noticed “(hashtag)MeToo” trending on Twitter. At (hashtag)MeToo, women who have been sexually harassed are invited to post their experiences and many have done so, including four female […]