LePage impeachment
The North Berwick Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Aug. 18 to support a resolution to condemn Gov. Paul LePage’s alleged threat to withhold state funds from Good Will-Hinckley if the school’s board of directors hired Speaker of the House and North Berwick state Rep. Mark Eves as their president. The Good Will-Hinckley board of directors rescinded its offer of employment to Eves.
The Board of Selectmen felt compelled to issue this resolution in support of North Berwick’s state representative due to the concern that the governor’s alleged actions threaten the ability of elected representatives of the state of Maine to advocate for the interests of the voters in their districts, thereby denying the people fair and full representation and undermining the fabric of our democratic process, for fear of retribution if their position on any issue is in disagreement with the governor’s position.
The Board of Selectmen are pleased that the Government Oversight Committee has ordered the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability to perform a fact-finding investigation concerning the governor’s actions and, should the allegations against the governor be verified as truthful and accurate by the OPEGA investigation, the Board of Selectmen urges the Legislature to initiate impeachment proceedings against LePage.
Charles Galemmo
Chairman, Board of Selectmen
North Berwick
A bad deal
U.S. Sen. Angus King and former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell must find it acceptable for Iran to do the “verifying” as part of the nuclear deal. What? The U.S. will have the honor while Iran has the system. That is better than the deal that former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made with the Germans and we all know how that came out.
Is a bad deal better than no deal? I say no.
War is not an alternative but I am certain we can and will defend ourselves.
William Mahoney
Southwest Harbor
Women’s right to choose
Women’s Equality Day, Aug. 26, commemorates the day in 1920 when women were granted the right to vote in the United States. As we celebrate this important milestone, it is important to recognize that American women still struggle for equality in many other ways. The recent attacks on reproductive rights are a stark reminder some Americans do not believe women can be trusted to make decisions about their health care.
Abortion is a common and safe medical procedure — up to 10 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term — and having the ability to terminate an unwanted pregnancy benefits a woman’s physical, mental and emotional health. The fact that nearly one in three American women will seek out and have an abortion attests to the need for this procedure to remain legal and accessible.
The efforts of abortion opponents to make this procedure more difficult to obtain — by imposing unnecessary waiting periods, forcing the closure of clinics and opposing funding for low-income women — are detestable because they assume that the women who seek abortions are not capable of making an informed, thoughtful decision about their bodies.
This deeply offensive attitude should not be informing public policy. Our government and laws should treat abortion the same as any other type of health care procedure. A woman who faces an unwanted pregnancy deserves full bodily autonomy, and her right to choose should not be impeded by the private, religious beliefs of others.
Carrie Graham
Mount Desert
Support the park
My wife and I are among the many amenity migrants who live in Maine because of the easy access to outdoor activities, high environmental quality and vibrant community life.
We often take our guests to Acadia National Park and would like the option to take them to another national park, with the same level of facilities and access to nature as Acadia.
Given the vastness of Maine’s forest resources, we do not understand why there is not solid recognition in the Katahdin region that the proposed national park and recreation area east of Baxter State Park will not restrict the potential expansion of the forest products industry. The recent announcement of layoffs at the Verso paper mill in Jay shows it is shrinking of its own accord, not as the result of a national park, which could draw additional tourists to the region and enhance its attractiveness.
We also do not understand why U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin have not put forward bills to create a national park and recreation area. Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and the delegation has an historic opportunity to put the goodness of Maine’s people and land in the limelight.
A recent survey showed a majority of Mainers in the 2nd Congressional District support the creation of a national park and recreation area. Mainers rightfully pride themselves on their higher level of participation in electoral politics and have every reason to expect their representatives will be responsive to their preferences on this issue.
Jacqueline and Ralph “Skip” Luken
Belfast
U.S. in space
While eating my toasted oats and reading the BDN one morning, I realized that I had not read any news regarding the International Space Station. That is because, I guess, there is nothing wrong with it right now.
I am not against technology, but 46 years ago we landed men on the moon, which is about 240,000 miles from here. Now we send astronauts about 200 miles up. Shoot, if the climb wasn’t so steep, I could drive up there myself in about three hours without exceeding the speed limit — if there is one. I could even take a mechanic with me to fix any problems that they might have.
We used to have our own transportation to get there also, but now we must use Putin’s “taxi service” and we pay through the nose when the meter is running. Now the space shuttle is an antique, parked between a Packard and a Nash Rambler in some museum.
Richard F. Dinsmore
Belfast