Lessons from the funnies
People can learn a lot from reading the funnies. From the July 28 “Pearls Before Swine,” I found out what ails Gov. Paul LePage and Donald Trump. They both have had a “filterectomy,” the operation that removes the filter between one’s brain and one’s mouth.
Jim Richards
Shirley Mills
Collins must denounce Trump
Sen. Susan Collins cannot sit on the sidelines any longer. She can no longer deny the pernicious threat that Donald Trump poses to the country and to the Constitution she is pledged to uphold. She cannot honestly claim it is in the same league as political disagreements with Hillary Clinton. She cannot responsibly suggest there are checks and balances that would ensure his prudent use of the instruments of our government.
There is zero evidence he will change and transition to a sober, mature, responsible leader. She must stop spinning his remarks like the over-indulgent parent of an out-of-control 10-year-old. The nation should not be put in the position of being asked to expect a personality transplant roughly 100 days before a presidential election.
Watch the videos of Khizr Kahn, in which he correctly calls on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan that they must not let party loyalty supersede loyalty to country and the Constitution. We have a right to hear Collins’ definitive answer to his entreaty and to ours.
Collins must declare now that she will not vote for Trump and will not support his candidacy. Failure to do so is tantamount to complicity in the likelihood that he would do irreparable damage to our country.
Like never before, the ghost of Margaret Chase Smith looms large.
Gail Marshall
Mount Desert
Square dancing not so old-fashioned
It seems that Sarah Cottrell in a July 15 BDN blog post has a perception of square dancing that is more a picture of antiquity of this activity. Many recall being exposed to the simple calls of square dancing back in grade school. Not everyone had the appreciation of this choreography, but the activity has evolved into more modern taste with music, more relaxed dressing and continues to attract a wide age range.
We see people younger than age 18 not only being inspired to dance but also wanting to become callers for this activity.
Square dancing is more than just your typical gym class exercise. Those who appreciate the activity form a bond of friendship with their fellow dancers. The clothing she referred to as “costumes” in her post is traditional attire that is rarely mandated at local dances or workshops. Most clubs have relaxed this dressing a bit. Many callers use the traditional music we still enjoy, but more modern music is being thrown in the mix to appeal to a wider age range.
What’s great about square dancing is the health benefits it provides, physically and mentally. There are many levels of square dancing one can learn, depending on the level of skill they would like to achieve.
I invite Cottrell and others who seem to be holding old preconceptions of square dancing to attend a square dance to see how much fun people are having. After reading Cottrell’s post, I decided not to be offended but to thank her for opening the dialogue and allowing us to enlighten readers on the currents in square dancing.
Jeff Howes
Vice president
Central Maine Squares
Pittsfield
Carson’s legacy in Maine
How good to find a poetic article by Aislinn Sarnacki about the Carson Trail at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells. Her niece’s enthusiasm on the venture is so very much like Rachel Carson’s “Sense of Wonder,” published after her death in 1964.
I winter in Charleston, South Carolina, where Carson and her mother visited Archibald Rutledge, the South Carolina poet laureate. Terns were studied on the South Carolina beaches. Her “Edge of the Sea” science book covered the entire East Coast, from Maine to Florida.
From her politically famous “Silent Spring” to “The Sea Around Us,” Carson studied global issues from her cottage on the Sheepscot River in Maine to her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. How fortunate Maine is to have Carson places of wonder, where she waded into the freezing tide pools and recorded the science for future generations.
The Bangor Daily News continues to include places of natural wonder to explore right here at home.
Martha F. Barkley
Belgrade Lakes
Re-elect Thibodeau to state Senate
When the voters of Senate District 11 — all of Waldo County — go to the polls Nov. 8, the choice should not be difficult. Simply vote for experience and leadership.
The two candidates, Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport, and Jonathan Fulford, a Democrat from Monroe, are both good candidates who deserve people’s votes.
But we have Gov. Paul LePage for two more years. I want a senator who has shown he can stand up to LePage. This is particularly important, now that the governor’s “secret” budget plans have been leaked and show the governor plans to lay off thousands of state employees and give the rich tax breaks.
I recall the last budget LePage tried to shove through the Legislature. The document met with great opposition and risked bringing the state to the verge of a shutdown.
Senate President Thibodeau responded loudly: “No, not on my watch!”
If the 128th Legislature is going to be like the past, we will need strong leadership to thwart any such attempts by the state’s chief executive.
My choice for senator in District 11 will be my neighbor, Thibodeau, who already has shown he has the right stuff to stand up to the tyrant.
Joe Brooks
Winterport
Will Collins vote for Trump?
Is there a point at which Sen. Susan Collins will announce whether she will vote for Donald Trump? Does being a “moderate” Republican mean she can be moderate on the Trump candidacy?
Perhaps it is time remember Dante’s rather harsh warning that “the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”
Richard Cook
Ellsworth