Antibiotic danger
Independence Day is synonymous with parades, fireworks and a quintessential warm weather activity: barbecuing.
July 4 is consistently the biggest grilling holiday of the year. In 2017, Americans bought approximately 190 million pounds of beef for exactly that purpose. What most people probably don’t realize is just how much of that beef comes from animals raised with routine antibiotics, which contributes to a major health threat.
There is a strong connection between giving antibiotics to livestock and the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which are on track to become more deadly than cancer. These dangerous bacteria can easily reach people in many ways, including meat itself and environmental factors.
We need immediate action on a national level to eliminate the routine use of antibiotics in agriculture. Until then, Mainers that are heading to the store to purchase supplies for holiday barbecues should keep an eye out for meat raised without antibiotics. Also be sure to practice common-sense food safety including washing your hands, cooking space and utensils properly after handling raw meat.
Have fun and enjoy the holiday, but remember that watching out for your health is patriotic, too.
Katherine Kelley
Antibiotics program intern
U.S. PIRG
Lewiston
A nation of laws, not Trump
The way our president wants to combat illegal immigration is by doing something even more illegal — and unconstitutional — by denying all these people due process of the law. It’s so basic, it’s our country’s touchstone: We are a government of laws, not men. But now, we’re a government of Donald Trump, not laws.
He’s still using the children as hostages. Parents are offered custody of their children if they agree to waive their right to seek asylum and go back. That’s kidnapping at its worst.
This is shameful. He cozies up with dictators who coolly kill their countrymen, and he envies them. He is taking away all the rights of “illegal immigrants” without giving a damn about how many of them have a right to join our melting pot.
How long before he starts weeding out citizens who don’t measure up to MAGA standards? Aryan standards? Remember, genes are important to Trump. He prefers Nordic immigrants to people from “ s—-hole countries.” Scary and shameful. We cannot sit idly by.
Paul Weeks
Bangor
‘Blue wave’ will fail
As an independent liberal, I have a message for the Democratic Party: “Your blue wave is going to fail.”
The truth is that simply being anti-Trump is not enough. Hating him is not going to unify the majority of the country that doesn’t support him.
Liberals and independents simply don’t think like Republicans. Republican ideology is driven by negativity. Ask a Republican what they believe in and they’ll give you a laundry list of things and people they either hate or want to destroy. Whether it’s government itself, taxes, undocumented immigrants, liberals or people in the LGBTQ community, it’s just a list of things they want to see gone.
The rest of us aren’t united by negativity and fear. We need to believe and vote for something, not just a target for our anger. The Democrats at the top simply don’t understand that, and it’s why they keep failing over and over and over.
Donald Trump actually did the liberals a favor. He exposed the hatred and bigotry hiding in America. The fairy tale of a united and fair America has been revealed as a sham. But anger over that isn’t enough to unify us. We need a solution for us to vote for. Democrats don’t have that.
Ed Woods
Newport
Mills for governor
Mainers, our choice couldn’t be more clear in November. Shawn Moody, the Republican nominee for governor, stated at a recent press conference, “you saw by the results of the election, the people that do the work voted and they sent a clear message to the rest of the people in Maine, that the people that do the work are tired of the people who don’t do the work telling us how to do the work.” Say what?
While the literal meaning of the words isn’t clear, the underlying message is. He’ll continue the divisive race to the bottom begun by Gov. Paul LePage that pits Mainers against each other.
Janet Mills‘ vision is of “one Maine,” where the economy in every part of the state is advancing, we begin to finally deal with the opioid epidemic in effective ways that build on her work as attorney general, everyone has broadband access and so much more. Mills believes Maine’s “best chapter is yet to be written.” She has the drive and the experience to help us write that chapter together.
Our choice is between someone who’s served the people of Maine honorably with skill and dedication or someone who became a Republican just before announcing his run for governor because it was the politically expedient thing to do.
Maryann Larson
Portland
Trump shreds the Constitution
The U.S. Constitution, including all 27 amendments, effects all persons within the borders of the United States, including territories and possessions, regardless of their legal status or how they got here. This includes all rights, privileges and obligations.
President Donald Trump is shredding the Constitution. He is now advocating depriving “undocumented immigrants” of their due-process rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Then there is this one: The Trump Organization, owned and still operated by Trump’s children who are also employees of Trump as “advisers,” has stated it is not going to bother to separate out moneys taken in from foreign business interests, potentially in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits government employees from the acceptance of gifts, titles and money from foreign entities lest they cause or appear to cause a preference to that foreign entity over that of the United States’ interests. Why? Because it’s “not practical.”
Whether hired, appointed or elected, Donald, Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Melania Trump are all employees of the U.S. government. And, collectively, several of them, specifically Donald, own, manage or hold stake in the Trump Organization.
Jeffrey Kaplan
Biddeford