GOP health bill bad for women
I am a retired certified nurse midwife, but I spent my professional life providing health care to women. I am concerned the U.S. Senate version of a Republican health care bill, concocted in a hurry and in secret, will be catastrophic for the women of Maine.
If it is similar at all to the House bill, it will penalize women for childbearing, limit access to contraception and make routine prenatal care beyond the reach of the 30 percent of women in my practice who depended on Medicaid to pay for pregnancy care. This can only increase the rate of preventable death and disability among women of childbearing age.
Since the majority of nursing home care is also paid for by Medicaid, without a payer, many nursing homes will close. The burden of care for these displaced elders will fall largely to their daughters and daughters-in-law, forcing them to leave the workforce and pushing them into poverty. God help fragile elders without family, as there will be no one to care for them.
Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins have been strong voices in opposing this ill thought out bill. It is time to abandon partisan politics. The health and lives of Maine’s women are at stake.
Barbara Miller
Wells
Politics is violent
Michael Cianchette is neither ignorant nor delusional. I can only conclude he must be a propagandist for the right-wing machine. He opines in his June 17 BDN column that political disagreements must not become violent. Politics is violent — extremely violent.
When we eliminate research, regulations and inspections that protect humanity from polluted air, water and food, that is violent politics. When infrastructure is not maintained and poisons the water of the residents of Flint, Michigan, or kills commuters in Minneapolis when a bridge collapses, that is violent politics.
When we sell weapons to the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, or Israel that they use against their own citizens, that is violent politics. When we sell weapons to Qatar, an alleged supporter of the Islamic State, that is violent politics. When we, and our ally Saudi Arabia, bomb innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen, thus instilling hate against us and creating the next generation of terrorists, that is violent politics.
When the FBI fails to arrest domestic, right-wing, “Christian” terrorists, that is violent politics. When we propose to eliminate health insurance from 23 million Americans, condemning many thousands to death, that is violent politics. Much of this is driven by the need to benefit the wealthiest with reduced taxes and increased profits.
So before Cianchette condemns violence in politics, I suggest he look in the mirror and rally his fellow right-wing colleagues to remove the logs from their own eyes. This is a class war of their creation, for their gain.
John Albertini
Charleston
All votes matter
Last November, 388,000 Maine voters approved a referendum in favor of ranked-choice voting, the second largest “yes” vote ever on a Maine referendum. Subsequently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an adverse opinion that the Maine Constitution requires only a plurality for winning state races for governor, state Senate and state House, meaning the referendum conflicted with the Constitution. Now, the Legislature is considering how to reconcile the ranked-choice voting with the Constitution.
Two alternatives are being considered: LD 1624, introduced by Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, would amend the Constitution to fully implement ranked-choice voting and LD 1625, introduced by Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, would repeal it. The appropriate choice is amending the Constitution to reflect the will of voters. I hope readers will contact their Legislators and ask them to respect the informed choice voters made — reject the repeal bill and implement ranked-choice voting in time for the 2018 election.
Ranked-choice voting will allow us to choose the candidate we believe will do the best job, ranking back up choices as a compromise in case our first choice does not prevail. Voters will no longer be forced to choose between the candidate who aligns most closely with their beliefs and one who has a better chance to win, to prevent a win by someone who even less closely aligns. With ranked-choice voting, all votes matter. The voters have spoken and our legislators should assure that their voices guide future elections.
Linda Dartt
Montville
Remember who lived in Maine first
In its waterfront and beyond resource guide, the Bangor Daily News begins by saying, “When the first people settled here hundreds of years ago…” The Penobscot people have been here thousands of years. It is so common for those of us of European descent to begin the clock at our arrival. A more accurate beginning could be “When the first Europeans settled in the territory of the Penobscot people…”
Barbara Kates
Bangor
Crackdown on drug dealers
I agree with Jeff Sessions when he writes in his June 20 BDN column that “Those of us who are responsible for promoting public safety cannot sit back while any American communities are ravaged by crime and violence.” There is no question the drug epidemic in the United States has affected many people. Whether it is a relative who has become dependent on a particular drug or a neighbor who has been threatened by a drug dealer for not paying his or her dues.
We need to work together to promote change within our country to rid communities of these dangerous drugs that take too many lives each year. As a result of the justice system that has favored lighter sentences for lower-level offenders to avoid prison overcrowding, this has given drug dealers an opportunity to get out earlier. This in turn has given some offenders who have been arrested for dealing large quantities of drugs an opportunity to get back out on the streets to continue to sell their product. If we are going to proactively fight violent crime, then there needs to be a different approach taken to stop this drug epidemic.
Whether it is to help make communities across the country a safer place to live or to prevent future citizens from being negatively affected by drugs, we must be willing to be stricter on those who are distributing these drugs, giving them the sentences they deserve.
Benjamin Bucklin
Searsport