World of doublespeak

Robert Mueller seems to leave us in the twilight zone. He implies the president is not innocent but won’t say he committed offenses. But his statement that, “if we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that,” does indeed by logic imply that he may not be innocent. So we are left in a George Orwell world of “doublespeak.”

Steven Roth

Swans Island

National popular vote stumbles

Kudos to Rep. Robert Alley, D-Beals, and Washington County legislative Republicans for opposing the national popular vote proposal ( LD 816).

This effort to do an end around the Constitution, abolish the Electoral College, diminish federalism and the protections it offers a diverse republic and small states like Maine was strongly backed by progressives, the League of Women Voters and those most seriously afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome. It was defeated by a coalition of Republicans and rural 2nd Congressional District Democrats.

Jon Reisman

Cooper

Electric vehicle charging stations

An April 30 BDN article “2 electric vehicle charging stations open to the public at Cross Insurance Center” pointed out an example of publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in parking spots. Constructing charging stations where cars are already being parked negates one main criticism of EVs: their charging time.

EVs have traditionally been inaccessible to many, such as those who rent or otherwise can’t install a private charging station. However, the U.S. Department of Energy has a handy virtual map of the more than 21,000 public charging stations in the country. Here in Maine, there are more than 150 stations already.

An increase in similar charging infrastructure for EVs in public parking spots, like supermarkets, town halls, and post offices, will revolutionize how and where we charge our EVs, making them more accessible.

Oil companies like Chevron have realized this and are attempting to capture the EV market by making charging available at their gas stations. However, many industry insiders like CEO of ChargePoint Pasquale Romano believe that charging stations in parking spots will make gas stations obsolete. An increase in public charging infrastructure is all the EV industry needs to revolutionize personal transportation.

Sam Jones

Intern

Environment Maine

Portland

The loss of our parental rights

As parents we take an unspoken oath to protect our children, no matter what the cost. When it comes to their medical decisions, many of us spend countless hours weighing the risks vs. the benefits. We make appointments with their doctors and view them as an advisor on our parental board. Ultimately, we have always had the final say.

Sadly this changed May 24 as Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 798 into law. This legislation prevents parents from having the freedom to exempt their children from vaccinations because of their religious or philosophical beliefs if their children are attending any public, private or online school in Maine. This bill isn’t about being “anti-vax” or “pro-vax,” this is about the government using coercion to force families to participate in a medical intervention when they have already declined.

My legislators, Rep. Ryan Tipping and Sen. James Dill, played integral roles in the enactment of this legislation. Have they read the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 that removes liability from the vaccine manufacturers? Did they review the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program data showing that over $4 billion has been paid out in vaccine injuries? Did they ignore this information or give in to the pressure of the Democratic Party to vote party line?

Sarah Kenney

Orono