Collins wrong on Iran deal
Sen. Susan Collins’ Sept. 10 OpEd on the Iran deal demonstrated that she would rather resort to rhetoric than to careful consideration; this despite her delay to weigh in on the agreement. In the end, her posturing failed to inspire confidence in her decision-making.
Citing the rhetoric of the Supreme Leader for inflammatory remarks after calling Iran “the world’s foremost exporter of terrorism” is a poor show of leadership. This blow-for-blow exchange supported by Collins is counterproductive. Never mind that there simply is no objective measure of global terrorism to then identify the foremost exporter thereof.
Whereas most of the reasons to oppose the deal advanced by Collins were based on mere suspicions, others were downright inaccurate. Her claim that Iran will keep all 19,000 of its nuclear centrifuges is false. According to the agreement, Iran can keep only about a third of these centrifuges.
The so-called flaws in the agreement’s inspection process are the products of a heated negotiation between nations whose relationship was already strained. Sen. Tom Cotton’s undiplomatic letter to Iranian leaders only exacerbated this fact. To expect Iran to completely open its military sites to international scrutiny is either naive, or disingenuous.
Although Collins did not sign Cotton’s impolitic letter, she didn’t denounce it. While congressional Democrats denounced the letter, her mere skepticism seems to have foreshadowed her spin against the Iran deal.
After all of the rabble-rousing against the president during and after negotiations, her calling on the administration to renegotiate with Iran is more than difficult, it’s absurd.
Ali R. Aghamoosa
Orono
Stop the immigrants
Temperate orderly legal immigration has been a tradition in the U.S. The new habit of not enforcing our laws is going to kill our culture and constitutional system of laws. One absolutely essential thing we need here is a common language, and that language is English.
Now hordes of Muslims from Syria are fleeing their temporary homes in or near Iran. We have a duty to prevent them from coming here. We also have a duty to do what Donald Trump advocates by deporting all the illegal aliens and barring their return to this country. If they have children, they need to go, too.
This is not some repeat of European immigrations or even Asian immigrations. Just look at where these hordes came from. What forms of law did they embrace? Sharia Law? Visit Mexico and experience what they embrace. Corruption there makes our worst cities look like Edens.
I served in the U.S. Air Force back in the 1950s as an officer and navigator for over four years. I traveled to dozens of third-world countries. I am over 80 years old and I follow the events of the world very carefully. We face the danger of a complete revolution here if we do not act and act soon. It is hard to picture Trump as president, but he is the only one who seems to see things on the immigration issue as I do.
Dick Brooks
Phillips
WIC feeds families
For over 40 years, the Women Infants and Children program has provided food to pregnant women, breastfeeding women, infants and children. It’s a program that tens of thousands of Mainers depend on each year. For low income women, the WIC program is a lifeline that is critical to ensure that their babies have the best opportunity to obtain the life sustaining nutrition they need.
As a registered nurse, I see all too often the detrimental effects of poor nutrition. Kids who have free and reduced lunches Monday through Friday often miss meals on weekends. That’s why I’m involved with a nonprofit that helps give kids food for weekends in small, rural Maine towns. But the hardest part for parents is the summer. That’s why Congress needs to pass the Summer Meals Act and the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act. These bills would provide funding to help parents feed their children during summer breaks.
Ensuring the nutritional needs of our preschool children help them to grow strong and healthy and provides them with the best possible foundation as they head into grade school. It also helps them to develop intellectually during the critical early development stages that set them up for success later in life.
By supporting WIC, we are ensuring that our future teens, workers, and parents have a strong foundation to help them succeed. I am asking Rep. Bruce Poliquin and Sen. Susan Collins to publicly commit to support the WIC program.
Tim Conmee
Orrington