Preserve GMO labeling
The U.S. Senate is about to vote on a bill that would take away a state’s right to enact laws that require genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. The people of Maine worked hard to pass a GMO labeling law. Please call Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and tell them you believe we should have the right to have that law.
Genetically engineered foods are categorically different than any foods developed through conventional breeding. Genetic engineering technology, which can only go on in a lab, breaks through many biological barriers that conventional breeding leaves intact. The potential health risks of genetically engineered foods have not been taken seriously by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That’s why individual states, such as Maine, Vermont and Connecticut, have passed labeling laws. The Senate should honor our insistence, not override it on behalf of the biotech industry.
Furthermore, it is important to know that Bernie Sanders, who just won big in Maine, supports GMO labeling laws. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, earned $335,000 in June 2014 for a speech she gave to the biotech industry.
Let’s vote for politicians who are in line with our concerns and pressure our political officials to represent us in their voting.
Julie Beckford
Clifton
Political dissatisfaction
I am not the only one who is sick of how our political system is manipulated. It doesn’t matter which party on the state or federal level is in office because the only thing that matters to the parties is seeing how much they can dump on the other side.
Maine, by the way, is the laughing stock of the country. I know this because my brother in North Carolina and sister-in-law in Florida see on their TV the dictator-bully-egomaniac we have for a governor. This is a prime example of how out of control our political system has become and how we have lost control of it by not being represented for our wants and needs.
Look at who we have running for president. It is really scary to think of whether any of those who are running would make a fair, at best, president. We need to have everyone who runs for office put the money they get into a pool where they all get equal time on TV, newspapers, talk shows and all the walking around time they want talking directly to the people instead of the press saying what they want us to hear.
Please, think before you vote. Use your head not what other people are putting out there.
Gary King
Howland
Annual mammograms save lives
The new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force breast cancer screening recommendations, released Jan. 11, will result in thousands of unnecessary deaths each year and thousands more women enduring extensive and expensive treatment than if their cancer had been found early by an annual mammogram. Women ages 40 and older and their families should continue to impress upon lawmakers and health care providers that they want fully insured access to annual mammograms.
As medical director of the Breast Health Center at Mount Desert Island Hospital, I can state that our goal is to save the most lives possible from breast cancer. The Breast Health Center follows the lead of the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging and continues to recommend that women get yearly mammograms starting at age 40. New American Cancer Society breast cancer screening guidelines and previous data used by the Preventive Services Task Force to create its recommendations state that annual screening in women 40 and older saves thousands more lives each year than screening at a later age or less frequent screening.
A recent study in the British Medical Journal confirms that early detection of breast cancer with screening mammography is critical for improving breast cancer survival, regardless of therapy advances. Moving away from yearly screening in women 40 and older endangers women, would cause needless death and disfigurement of women and would simply not be good breast cancer screening policy.
John Benson
Bar Harbor
Park opposition counterproductive
The political bickering reported in the March. 2 BDN article related to the proposed North Woods national park is frustrating. The new national park will benefit Maine by not only preserving nature but Maine’s reputation as Vacationland.
Lucas St. Clair wants 87,500 acres near Baxter State Park to become a national park. Stifling this plan with state legislation is counterproductive.
Although I’m away at college, my family has been in Ogunquit for nearly 60 years. Maine is known for its beautiful forests, pristine coastlines and the most breathtaking views in New England. A national park will preserve these aesthetic qualities and allow many people to enjoy them. The park will maintain people’s connection with nature so anybody can relax and find peace, the qualities of a Vacationland.
Let’s work with St. Clair so his 87,500 acres can be enjoyed. Maine has a chance to stand out with the North Woods national park. The state will be further acclaimed because of its pristine land and harmony with nature. Maine will be viewed as the most beautiful state, one that everyone wants to visit.
Upon entering Maine, the “Welcome to Maine. The way life should be.” sign greets people. The park will bolster the notion that Maine really is the way life should be — and the perfect Vacationland.
Dan Casarella
Saratoga Springs, New York
Supreme Court deserves full bench
Why should the American people allow the U.S. Senate to decide whether a president can name a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court and deny that nominee a fair hearing?
The approval rating of Congress for quite some time has lingered around 15 percent while President Barack Obama has an approval rating of 49 percent. The president seems willing to listen to the Senate’s suggestions, but they can’t even give him the courtesy of answering his request.
Shouldn’t the citizens have a means of demanding that the Senate do its job or resign from office?
We have some very important cases before the Supreme Court that need to be heard. They affect thousands and possibly millions of people in this country. They deserve a full court, as has been the standard throughout the history of this country.
Thomas Bonner
Alexander