Global warning

The oracle on the Hudson has handed down an apostolic constitution declaring, with 95 percent certainty, that global warming is caused by humans. I guess I must be an apostate as I have my doubts.

I am 100 percent sure global warming is going on. I looked outside, and I do not see the mile-thick ice sheet anywhere that once covered Maine some 20,000 years ago. That was the date that scientists have designated as the Last Glacial Maximum. That was when the glaciers covering the Northern Hemisphere stopped expanding and started to shrink.

If I am to believe the United Nation’s proclamation about addressing climate change, I need to see the artifacts of that civilization that started the warming trend that stopped the current glacial expansion. Surely, huge coal-powered electric plants, miles and miles of super highways, sprawling cities, a billion cars, and billions of people would have left some trace other than the oldest stone artifacts found to date?

Since there were five known ice ages, where are those other four civilization’s artifacts? And where did they go?

I am destined to be an apostate until someone can explain, without demagoguery, how you and I are the cause of global warming.

Jim Miller

Pittsfield

Public safety concerns

A Sept. 29 story about fireworks did not accurately represent my position on fireworks in our town. Many of us living in downtown Lubec heard unexpected fireworks on several evenings this summer. We all know of elderly neighbors, young children and pets left frightened and unnerved again and again. I’m pleased so many residents took the issue to our town’s selectmen last month to ask for a respite and a solution. That conversation led to the bigger issue of how towns without police coverage can effectively address public safety concerns.

Unfortunately, Lubec and many small towns across Maine were caught unprepared this summer for the new state law that puts fireworks in the hands of consumers year-round. I did not vote for the fireworks legislation that passed in 2011 (I was elected in 2012), and I would not have. But it is the law now, and we must work to make sure it is carried out in a safe way that maintains the quality of place of our town. I’m committed to doing that. Residents may please contact me if they have any questions.

Rep. Katherine Cassidy

Lubec

Legislative bickering

I’m tired of listening to our legislators bickering back and forth like little kids trying to decide which toy belongs to which kid.

We did not send these people to Washington so they could sit around and call each other names and argue about who is right or wrong.

These people are supposed to be working for us. The president is supposed to be working for us.

It is time, folks. Time to vote these people out and start anew with new blood. Go to the polls when a legislator comes up for reelection. Don’t just vote by name. Look at their record. Most of us would be ashamed that we spent two to six years in Congress and didn’t do anything to be proud of. Photo-ops don’t make good legislators.

John Clark

Bangor

Lost benefits

I have four boys, ages 8, 5, and 20 month old twins. My husband recently worked a low-paying full-time job but had to leave due to a knee injury. We survived the summer on his disability insurance, and he recently took a part-time job, while I am a full-time student at Central Maine Community College in the hopes that we can better our situation.

If it were not for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits we receive I could not have afforded to put food on our table at any time in the past three years. With our SNAP benefits, I am able to cook balanced meals by shopping at local farmers markets and purchasing locally grown produce that keeps money in our state and local economies.

Yes, I have at times been the recipient of discrimination because I buy my family’s food with SNAP. However, I am grateful for the opportunities to put healthy food on the table.

I am the working poor. If I lost my SNAP benefits, I would be unable to afford enough groceries to feed my family. We are paying into the system that helps to support us. I do not want a handout which, with all due respect, is what a food pantry does. The proposed cut in SNAP benefits would result in my children going without. While changes need to be made, drastic cuts are not the solution we need.

Tiffany Krastins

Oxford

Cross words

I don’t mean to be a wet blanket, but the recent change to the physical size of the BDN is a disappointment to me. I’ll miss the larger pages but will probably soon get used to the smaller ones.

What I’ll never get used to is the shrunken size of the crossword puzzle. The squares are now rectangles, and one has to write much smaller to squeeze the letters into them now. My wife and some friends have the same beef, so, as the spokesperson for we crossworders, I implore the BDN to please return the daily crossword puzzle to it’s full, glorious size.

Brian Carter

Old Town

Quality newspaper

In two letters that appeared on Monday, Sept. 30, the writers were complaining about the BDN. One thought the cost of the paper should be 10-percent cheaper to match the reduction in size of the new format. Another was about delivery of the paper.

These writers have not recognized the fact the print news in any format is an endangered species. We are lucky to have a quality newspaper that is still providing a daily paper and still delivering it to our doors.

Yes, the price is more than worth it. And think of increasing the tip you add for your carrier.

Shirley Jarvella

Northport