Acknowledging the dangers to our republic
I was deeply moved by “ Our Republic is under Attack from the President” by William H. McRaven, the former commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. He contrasts the commitment to American values of those who serve in the armed forces with that of President Donald Trump, who’s shown contempt for alliances abroad and continues to undermine the foundations of our society here at home.
Sen. Susan Collins took an oath of office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
After nearly three years of daily attacks on the institutions and norms that bind us as a nation, Collins still won’t speak forcefully enough about the dangers this administration poses to our republic. The best she can do is call Trump’s invitation to China to find damaging information about a political rival “ completely inappropriate.” She has refused comment on supporting Trump in 2020, despite his lack of fitness for office. Where is her voice?
I believe Collins is not fulfilling the oath she took, and in doing so, is turning her back on her constituents who are terrified about what they see happening every day.
Jennifer Jones
Falmouth
Environmental fines can’t be chump change
According to the Bangor Daily News, Cooke Aquafarms was fined $156,000 by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for environmental violations at its industrial fish farms in Hancock and Washington counties. Sounds like a lot of money, right? Wrong. According to the Financial Post, Cooke’s estimated 2018 revenues were $2.4 billion. Thus the fine was .006 percent of one year’s revenue.
Think about it. According to the balance, U.S. median income for 2017 was $31,786. Fining Cooke $156,000 is like fining the average American less than $2.
According to a violation tracker website, Cooke’s parent company has had 21 federal violations, 11 of them environmental, and has been fined a total of $10,421,688 since 2000. In 2013, Cooke was fined $490,000 here in Maine.
It’s likely Cooke regards such fines as a simple cost of doing business, and to expect Cooke to change its behavior for the equivalent of a couple of bucks is profoundly unrealistic. This behavior will continue until DEP fines amount to more than chump change.
Lawrence Reichard
Orland
American patriotism
What is your strongest priority, American patriotism or extremist party loyalty? We the people need to reconsider what America we want to have? Do we want values, equality, and the rule of law — or prefer chaos, lawlessness, and corruption where money trumps class?
Most know the difference between right and wrong, fair and unfair, liberty and justice for all versus authoritarianism and corruption for a few. The person in the mirror knows that a stronger democratic republic is so much better than trying to live with corporations and oligarchs controlling us like puppet masters pulling our strings! United we will stand and divided we will fall. Common legislation unites and individual legislation divides. Be indivisible!
America the beautiful is not guaranteed and we need to stand up for its ideals, or the country we love will deteriorate and disappear. American patriots before us stood up so we can enjoy the many freedoms their courage provided. We need American patriotism now more than ever.
Dennis St. Jean
Chelsea