International tourists drawn to The County
It was clear during the World Cup Biathlon that Europe had finally found Presque Isle. In the past, few events drew international visitors to the area, but Russian, Polish, German, Ukrainian, Swedish and Norwegian fans filled local restaurants and the stands as they came to check out this new center of biathlon in America.
This is a real breakthrough in international tourism opportunities for The County. Over the years, when our biathlon events were shown on TV, Europeans tuned in in record numbers to watch the races, but they also are interested in this new location. The growing international audience in the stands makes it clear they like what they see. The next layer of opportunity is to now fully leverage their interest with a marketing effort to tell them all the things they can do in the spring, summer and fall.
World Cup points leader, France’s Simon Fourcade, who uncharacteristically reached out to the media to tell them how exceptional this event was, said it best: “This world cup was perfect. The crowds of children, all cheering for everyone who raced, not just Americans, was special. The track was perfect. The organizing committee was perfect. This is a good reminder to the world why we should come to America.”
Andy Shepard
South Freeport
McConnell neglects duties of office
Each senator, even Mitch McConnell, took an oath before being admitted to the U.S. Senate. The oath clearly states: “I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”
By his public statements not to consider President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, McConnell refuses to fulfill his senatorial oath. He refuses his constitutional obligation to advise and consent on the president’s nominations. He is patently not faithfully discharging the duties of the office he has entered.
This sad dereliction of duty should not be allowed to pass unchallenged. Although expulsion will not be easy, such blatant disregard of these duties should not go unchallenged. If someone believes in upholding the Constitution, all aspects of the document are equal, not just the parts a senator likes, and are not dependant on party affiliation.
I urge all citizens to communicate this message to their representative in the Senate and demand to know why expulsion should not be pursued.
John Bednarik
Montville
Cellphones may pose cancer risk
A new report published last month in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, funded by the American Brain Tumor Association, found that malignant brain tumors are the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in 15- to 39-year-olds and the most common cancer occurring among 15- to 19-year-olds.
Although the report doesn’t point to a specific cause, is this the evidence we have been waiting for to prove cellphones do indeed cause cancer?
Ever since Dr. Charlie Teo, a prominent brain surgeon in Australia, saw an increase in younger people suffering from brain cancer, he has been warning people in his country, for the last six years, to take precautions when it comes to cellphone use. Should we be listening to this doctor’s advice?
Our governmental agencies have been wrong in the past about tobacco and asbestos, and it wasn’t until enough people became sick and came forward that anything was done. Brain tumors were once thought to affect only the aging population, and now it is the most common cancer occurring among 15- to 19-year-olds. Should now be the time for our government to do the right thing here and warn us? What harm would the precautionary principle do?
Kristen Cobb
Portland
Minimum wage hike good for women
For a family of five, the essentials are hard to attain. My husband works a low-wage job. I’m disabled, and we have three disabled children. For many low-income families, it’s all we can do to get ahead and build a real future. Lack of adequate support for families with disabled children and a low minimum wage keep people in inadequate housing, food insecure and in medical debt.
There is a stigma about residents of Capehart, but many of us are average people, who at some point found ourselves down on our luck, often due to medical expenses or disabilities. For most of us, just getting by is almost impossible.
Women are disproportionately affected by poverty as they struggle to keep their heads above water as they raise children and work low-wage jobs. The minimum wage increase on the ballot this November will give one in three working women a raise. Women are increasingly the breadwinners in families, and we need to lift people out of poverty, not hold them down in it.
Dawn Hicks
Bangor
Caucus for Sanders
I support Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee for president. His opponent for the nomination, Hillary Clinton, has endorsed and advocated for questionable policies, including many her husband, former President Bill Clinton, enacted.
One was the North American Free Trade Agreement. TransCanada Corp. is suing the federal government under NAFTA’s investor-state dispute settlement provision because the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. If TransCanada wins, American taxpayers will on the hook for a $15 billion in damages. NAFTA also contributed to the decline of U.S. manufacturing jobs, which were sent to Mexico for lower wages.
The Commodity Futures Modernization Act and changes to the Community Reinvestment Act, signed into law by Bill Clinton, partly caused the 2008 financial crisis.
The United States has the largest prison population of any nation because Clinton’s “ three strikes” law filled prisons with minor offenders.
Hillary Clinton as a senator voted for the Iraq invasion. Her policies as secretary of state included regime change in Libya, which has since fallen into civil war. Clinton has accepted money from wealthy bankers.
As a minority voice in Congress, Sanders opposed these ruinous policies. Sanders advocates for public works employment and education programs paid for by a tax on Wall Street speculation. I urge others to vote for Sanders at the Maine Democratic caucus on Sunday, March 6, because we need an environmental, economic and political revolution.
Randall Parr
Appleton