Bangor Daily News

Mainers Get Ready for Storm That Wasn't

It was a quiet day Sunday at the Washington County Command Center, set up in a $300,000 mobile Department of Conservation unit in the parking lot of the Washington County Courthouse in Machias. By 4 p.m., everyone was convinced the storm was on track for Nova Scotia and would only graze Maine.

Check the Legitimacy of Collection Notices

Our topic comes from an issue brought to our attention just last week from someone in the Millinocket area. It's worth noting that our consumer did a lot of things right, including noting several written tip-offs, in order not to become a victim. The case involved a collection notice mailed by Parker Elliott Inc., a debt collection agency in Southern California. The letter referenced our consumer as the person representing Karkos Plumbing and Heating and included the consumer's home address. ...

Conference Gives Seniors Investment Advice

BANGOR - It seemed like a reputable company. The free lunch investment seminar in Florida was packed with people and staffed by sophisticated advisers.

End of the Empire Age?

Unless you can remember life before World War I, the United States you know has always towered over the rest of the world. Since 1920 or so, the U.S. has been the world's economic engine, its productivity expanding steadily and consistently leading the way in technology. This nation's military is the largest and most powerful in world history. When World War I erupted in 1914, it was the U.S. joining the fray in 1917 that tipped the scales to victory for England and France. In 1941, the U.S. ...

Hold the Line

The Federal Communications Commission is wisely looking at ways to reform subsidies for expanding telecommunications services and to use some of that money to provide fast Internet connections across the country. Its fixes so far, however, have penalized rural areas and mobile communications without reining in spending or reallocating funding. This shortchanges consumers in Maine and other rural states rather than helping them. Earlier this year, the FCC temporarily capped payments to wireles...

Sen. Collins Cares

I am a practicing neurologist and I am an independent voter. Services provided through numerous federal programs are important to my patients with problems such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. I have visited our representatives in Washington to encourage them to support legislation important to my patients. I have met with Sen. Susan Collins on a number of occasions. She has listened carefully to my concerns. She has actively supported services for my patients and in fact has ...

Palin Ducks Questions

I find it interesting that only a few weeks ago the Republicans were criticizing Barack Obama for his "rock star status" because of drawing large, enthusiastic crowds. Now Sen. John McCain is using Sarah Palin in the same manner in order to bolster his lackluster campaign. The senator is basking in her popularity and seems to be unwilling to allow her to be open to scrutiny by keeping her at his side. Hopefully, Gov. Palin will soon be asked to respond to questions without reading from a prep...

Vote No On Question 1

An extra tax on soda pop and beer will not hurt us. People who buy those items at local stores will still do so with hardly a blink at an extra 5 cents or so. Both drinks may make us happy for a short time. But soda makes us fat and rots our teeth. Beer can make us fat and drunk, though it does have some nutritionally redeeming qualities. I will vote no on Question 1 and help pay for heath care in Maine every time I indulge.

Moral High Ground?

Sharon Rideout's letter, "Palin has strong values" (BDN, Sept. 15), impels me to respond. I am appalled at how often people will vote for a candidate based on one issue (in this case, pro-life) while ignoring some glaring drawbacks. I too am pro-life. However, there is much to consider here when measuring the McCain-Palin ticket on an ethics scale. The Republican ticket may wear the pro-life pin on their collective lapels, but they more than offset this by immorally imposing upon us the conti...

Collins Bill Too Late

The Sept. 17 BDN editorial, "Contracting Improvements," was correct when it claimed that "the overriding problem is that government oversight hasn't kept pace with the rapid growth in government contracts," and this is especially so in the case of U.S. government no-bid contracts to American corporations operating in Iraq. More than $20 billion of U.S. taxpayer money has been lost or stolen because of U.S. government mismanagement. At least part of the blame for mismanagement must be shoulder...

High Turnout Needed

My hope for this coming election is for a very large voter turnout. I don't think we can afford another election where only 40 percent or 50 percent of the electorate decides who is to be elected. People need to use the power of the ballot to let their voices be heard. I will be supporting Barack Obama for president. We need a clean sweep in Washington, D.C. We can't afford another Bush-like president. McCain is no maverick - he supported Bush at least 90 percent of the time, and there's no ...