Defunding Planned Parenthood a travesty
I can’t say strongly enough how important it is for the federal government to continue funding Planned Parenthood. I come from a family of five girls. All of us were raised by our single mother. Needless to say, we didn’t have any disposable income. Planned Parenthood is an important source of health care for so many women, including my four sisters and me. For us and for many other women, it the only source of excellent yet affordable health care.
I am 63, but when I was younger and struggling with which form of birth control would work best for me, Planned Parenthood helped me make the right decision. After much discussion and education on all forms of birth control, I had an IUD implanted. I was amazed at all of the things I could talk about with Planned Parenthood staff. They listened to me. Planned Parenthood was my source for all types of care women need. I’ve had many breast exams at Planned Parenthood, too.
I want this generation of women and the next to have access to Planned Parenthood, just like I did. My granddaughter, nieces and daughters-in-law deserve no less. Also, more access to high-quality health care for women — the kind Planned Parenthood provides — equals fewer abortions. For this reason alone, funding Planned Parenthood is a no-brainer.
I urge people in my community to contact our senators to thank them for supporting Planned Parenthood in the past and ask them to continue. Defunding Planned Parenthood would be a travesty.
Pamela Karwasinski
Ellsworth
Political party begs for money
I received two letters from the Democratic Party this week — one from the state organization and one from the national. A notice on one of the envelopes stated that it was “From your state democratic party: Important election news — read now.” The envelope from the national party contained the following: “‘What the hell do you have to lose?’ Donald J. Trump August 19, 2016. Answer inside!” Neither envelope mentioned the request for money that each included.
The Maine Democratic Party should stop treating us as if we were too dumb to know why it’s sending us a letter — it wants money. The national Democratic Party, if it’s asking for money, should say so on the envelope. It will save me the time ordinarily spent in opening one.
Charlie Cameron
Addison
A multicultural center good for Bangor
We enthusiastically support city appropriation of funds for the new Maine Multicultural Center in Bangor.
Two years ago, as professionals facing relocation, my husband and I were weighing several geographic areas. We were reluctant to choose Bangor because we value diversity and wanted our children to grow up with friends from ethnic and religious backgrounds different from their own. Bangor was clearly lacking in diversity, and this concerned us. We ultimately chose to move here because of the region’s other great qualities, but we know many other professionals who would not do the same.
Shortly after we moved here, we were heartened to hear that a multicultural center was in the planning stages. We believe city funding for the center will be an investment that will pay for itself many times over, as doctors, professors and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds will view the center as a concrete sign that this is a welcoming and vibrant community.
These professionals contribute more than their share to the economy of the Bangor region, and we need to do everything we can to recruit them. The center is an excellent investment toward that end.
Clare Mundell
Bill Wood
Bangor
Palm oil and climate change
The are numerous well-known ways to combat climate change: ride a bike to work instead of driving, eat less meat, vote for clean energy policies, recycle. But what most people are unaware of is that you can also make an impact by reading nutrition labels and choosing products that do not contain palm oil.
Palm oil has become omnipresent in our everyday lives. It is derived from the palm fruit, which is grown on the African oil palm tree, and can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil used in food products, cosmetics, cleaning agents and body products, and it is one of the world’s leading causes of rainforest destruction in places such as the jungles of Sumatra in Indonesia. Some of the world’s most ecologically diverse ecosystems are being threatened by palm oil plantation expansion. Clearing dense rainforests with fire not only wipes out necessary carbon sinks but also releases hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, making palm oil a major contributor to human-induced climate change.
Luckily, there are already groups working to reduce the environmental impact of palm oil. The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil was created in 2004 to promote the production of sustainable palm oil. This has seen some success, but consumers can help further the cause. By refusing to buy products made with palm oil or checking groceries for the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil certification.
Marta Denny
Rockport
Support ranked-choice voting
I feel angry about the scurrilous proceeding to completely repeal ranked-choice voting, which was approved by a majority of voters in November. This is a shameless attempt to subvert the will of the voters.
I believe the real reason for their opposition is that entrenched members of the state government don’t want it because it transfers some measure of power to voters to elect a person they can support and, correspondingly, decreases the influence of the entrenched. A lot people in government want people in office who could never get 50 percent of the vote. To me this means they don’t believe in majority rule, one of the tenets of democracy.
Ranked-choice voting is nonpartisan in that it does not give advantage to any particular political philosophy. It also opens opportunities for more people to run for office and get their ideas into the marketplace without damaging candidates that may be close to them in outlook. We should support ranked-choice voting.
Robert Roxby
Belfast