Question 2 pure discrimination
Discrimination is the treatment or consideration of or making a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing based on the group, class or category to which that person or thing belongs.
Why isn’t the referendum — Question 2 on the November ballot — putting a 3 percent tax on a certain group of people instead of everyone discrimination? It’s an adverse policy that singles out a particular group of people. It looks like blatant discrimination to me. I will be voting no on Question 2.
John McCready
Hodgdon
Investigate the candidates’ policies
I share Frank Carr’s frustration with the current presidential campaign’s focus on personality over policy, but there is a way around this problem: Visit to the candidates’ websites and read about their positions. The differences in philosophy, policy proposals and level of detail are crystal clear.
Even if a voter ignored the primaries, the conventions and the debates, 20 minutes on the couch with a laptop will get him all the information he needs to make an informed choice. After this election season, I wish I had taken that approach from the start.
Bruce Snider
Belfast
Out-of-state money not welcome
Do we want to reduce the power of big money, especially out-of-state big money? We already have an effective tool to hand. Simply vote no on all referenda in November.
These are almost always the products of out-of-state big money and the details that will really affect us are not on the ballot. If they do represent something important for Mainers, those issues need to be dealt with by our Legislature.
Send a message to big out-of-state spenders by wasting their money and voting no. Eventually, they’ll stop.
Patricia Colling Egan
Sargentville
Spear for House District 92
I am writing in support of Democrat John Spear’s candidacy to represent House District 92 in the Legislature.
I first met Spear years ago when he was hired as business manager for the former School Administrative District 50, which at that time included the St. George School where I teach. My main contact with Spear was at the negotiating table where he sat as a representative of the school district, while I was a representative of the Teachers’ Association. And although we were on the opposite sides of the table, I found Spear to be fair and kind, even in the midst of heated debate. He was always viewed as open and trustworthy, and his sincerity and integrity were never doubted.
Spear is a good listener who tries to understand all points of view. We were impressed by his common-sense approach and his friendly manner.
Spear never hesitated to ask probing questions and to explore alternative solutions to a particular problem, thinking about the long term, not just a remedy to the immediate challenge at hand. He was, however, never reluctant to make a decision and displayed the ability to get things done. He tried to ensure that every tax dollar was stretched as far as possible.
I believe his intelligence, thoughtfulness, congeniality and commitment to hard work will enable him to capably represent Cushing, Thomaston, St. George and South Thomaston in the Maine House of Representatives. I’ll be voting for Spear on Nov. 8.
Sonja Schmanska
St. George
No respect for life
Children are killing their parents, teachers, peers and police. There are single and mass killings. Some are homegrown terrorists. How did we get here?
How can we expect our youth to grow up respecting human life when we raise them in a culture where we have abortions. Thanks to ultrasounds, we no longer have the luxury of pretending that the fetus is just a blob of tissue. We know it is a human life. We show our youngsters no horror at the killing of human beings who are at their most vulnerable. We snuff out the lives of the unborn. Tiny, innocent fetuses. If we, as a society, find that acceptable and merely a matter of choice, then what is the big deal about those who have some means of protecting themselves and fighting back?
I remember my father telling my young brother, “Never pick on someone smaller or weaker than you.” We seem to have lost that honorable notion. We have lost touch with common decency. And to top it all off, we are hypocrites. How is it that our society does not call it murder if it is the mother’s choice, but if someone injures a pregnant woman and causes her to miscarry, then that person can be charged with murder? And how is it that we boast, “He’s not heavy; he’s my brother.” How about, “He’s not heavy; he’s my child.”
Sue Thibodeau Baumgardner
Prospect
Pot didn’t ruin the boomers
I am a baby boomer who, along with millions of others, went to college in the 1960s and into the early 1970s. I went to college on the West Coast and, along with most everyone I knew there, smoked pot. An ounce of Acapulco Gold or Panama Red was $10. I don’t know much about THC content, but I do know that this stuff did the trick. We managed to go to classes, do well, graduate and start careers and families. Today, we have grandchildren, think about retirement, participate in our communities and enjoy our golden years.
Did we all get addicted, use other more destructive drugs or end up in the gutter in need of expensive treatment and rehab programs? The answer is no, of course. I keep in touch with some of my old college friends, and most of us never bothered with marijuana once we started our post-college lives. Today, we are doing just fine, without medical conditions caused by marijuana, including addiction. The worst problems are the normal things of aging.
Finally, the biggest problem in the state and country is alcohol. Everyone knows we have a tremendous problem with alcohol. And people can buy alcohol in every convenience store in this state. We need to continue to work hard to educate youth about alcohol, as well as other addictive substances, such as opioids. And don’t forget tobacco, which also is thoroughly bad for you. These are the issues that matter.
Katharine Evans
Pembroke