Wind turbines represent the greatest potential danger to Maine’s forest/tourist economy, yet almost no one has been paying attention to that danger. The danger is from turbine fires caused by friction build-up in the gear boxes and from lightning strikes. No one knows precisely how many turbine fires there have been because neither the federal […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Is the stock market crazy — or just giddy?
WASHINGTON — William Cline is going against the grain. Cline, a well-known economist, isn’t convinced that the stock market is wildly overvalued. That’s an increasingly lonely view. “Warning Signs Mount as Stocks Stumble,” The Wall Street Journal headlined earlier this week. “Investors are running out of reasons to keep buying U.S. stocks, exposing a growing […]
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President’s top advisers help stay the course
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took the highly unusual step during the past weekend of publicly explaining why he won’t resign. He responded to Yale classmates who had written an impassioned open letter urging him to quit in protest over what they called (ridiculously overstating their case) President Donald Trump’s “support of Nazism and white supremacy.” […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Conservatives should not demonize immigrants
By Michael R. Strain Whenever I’d see George, the first thing I always noticed was his shoes. He loved Jordans. He must have had two dozen pairs. The bright colors contrasted with the uniform he wore at the restaurant he managed, adding personality. George was great at his job. He knew what my wife and […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
In Iraq: Fighting continues against ISIS
President Barack Obama’s 2011 decision to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq was not based on the political and security conditions within the country. Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign determined the withdrawal timetable. Obama intended to sell himself as a war-ender no matter the real world conditions. No debate — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Iraqi government […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
More drug treatment programs are needed
While giving birth at a small hospital in central Tennessee, Whitney Brown developed terrible breathing problems and seizures. The medical staff in McMinnville decided she needed the attention of specialists at a big hospital in Chattanooga. It took nearly two hours to get her there. Despite the new team’s heroic efforts, the 28-year-old died shortly […]
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Focus on solving the real problems
“The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” — Friedrich Hegel We will learn even less from history if we wipe it clean, as some are trying to do by removing statues of Confederate leaders whose beliefs about slavery and race most, including me, find offensive. Conversation beats censorship. […]
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America repudiates its president
A remarkable thing happened last week. You might have missed it, because while it happened in plain sight, it also happened in increments. You had to put the pieces together to appreciate the magnitude of it. Last week, you see, America repudiated its president. This, of course, was in response to that pathetic performance in […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
U.S. must challenge China on trade
WASHINGTON — There is much to dislike in President Trump’s trade agenda, but he is correct on one subject: China’s relentless quest to extort American “intellectual property” — technologies, business methods, patents. Trump took a swipe last week at China’s policies by ordering his top trade officials to investigate. Whether he can alter China’s behavior […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Scaling back Medicaid would hurt Maine families
The defeat of the repeal of Obamacare may mean that the health care debate has fallen off the front page of the newspaper, but it doesn’t mean the end of major changes in America’s health care system. Less noticed, but also critically important, is the fact that each governor, including Gov. Paul LePage, holds in […]