Editorial Roundup: New England
Boston Globe. August 7, 2023.
Editorial: For Moulton and Auchincloss, a counterproductive vote on defense bill amendment
Instead of contesting the GOP’s culture-war efforts, the two Massachusetts Democrats support an amendment that targets a straw man.
Sometimes, politicians need the ability to spot nonsense when they see it. Which is why it’s unfortunate that Representatives Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss, two Massachusetts Democrats, voted for a recent Republican-sponsored amendment to military legislation that was clearly a ploy to inflame culture wars divisions, rather than to solve any real problem on US bases.
The two, both Marine veterans, supported language that was meant to limit how race and racism are discussed at K-12 schools operated by the military. It said that the Pentagon could not spend money on programs that promote the teaching of various race-based tenets purportedly associated with so-called critical race theory, including those that teach that the United States or its founding documents are fundamentally racist; that any race is superior to another; or that any individual, by virtue of their race, bears responsibility for actions committed by other members of that race.
Taken at face value, the amendment was a mix of totally unobjectionable statements — of course no one should teach that any race is superior to another or hold people responsible for the actions of others — and tendentious efforts to micromanage how the complicated subject of racism in American history is taught to kids on military bases.
But this was not an amendment that should have been taken at face value — and that’s the fundamental problem with the two Massachusetts congressmen’s votes. They ignored the big picture: this amendment, and the push against critical race theory of which it is a part, is a disingenuous crusade to stoke white grievances. By voting for the text of this amendment, the two lent credence to the subtext — the belief that America-hating ideologues are poisoning minds in the nation’s schools.
Auchincloss’s office sent two statements defending his vote but dodged questions from the Globe. Moulton said he judges each amendment on its merits, and given that he agreed that the tenets the amendment mentioned shouldn’t be taught, he supported it. Regardless of who sponsors an amendment or what the political context is, “I look at the text of the amendment and say, Do I agree with this or do I not?”
The amendment, by hard-right Texas Republican Chip Roy, is clearly part of the GOP’s effort to underscore the illusory idea that critical race theory is rife in K-12 schools. And it rests on the flimsiest of evidence. Asked by the Globe editorial board for evidence that schools on bases were teaching the concepts he objects to, Roy’s office forwarded links to a report from the right-wing Claremont Institute called “Grooming Future Revolutionaries: Woke Indoctrination at K-12 Schools on America’s Military Bases.” It was based on a blueprint of the Defense Department Education Activity agency and the transcript of some remarks from a conference of Defense Department educators.
The report itself is a comically clumsy attempt at distortion. Take, for example, its treatment of this statement from the aforementioned blueprint: “We value relationships based on integrity, mutual respect, and open two-way communication. We cultivate a safe and risk-free culture that encourages and inspires innovation.”
Claremont offers this interpretation: “In practice, however, this means that teachers try to undermine the trust students have in their parents through confidential communication and sharing naughty secrets that teachers will treat in a nonjudgmental way.” Claremont then comes to this wild-eyed conclusion: “This education undermines justice, truth, and the American way of life” and constitutes “a mortal threat to our civilization.”
The justification for Roy’s amendment, then, is breathless culture-war nonsense from a reactionary organization bent on drawing military schools into the culture wars.
Both Auchincloss, who is a relatively inexperienced congressman, and Moulton, a seasoned politician who envisions himself as a possible president, have made their service in the Marines an important part of their political resumes. Their military service makes them relatively rare birds among their fellow Democratic House members, fewer than 20 of whom are veterans.
But since military experience is part of their political value proposition, surely the two could have done better than go passively along with this Republican effort to use the military as a prop in the culture wars. Who better, really, to contest the illusory claims of the right-wing, non-veteran Texan?
Why, they might have challenged Roy to produce actual evidence of the educational enormity of which he spoke. Well-publicized, such an effort might have raised public awareness. Instead, they went along — and are now left justifying a vote that serves only to legitimize fears of an imaginary menace.
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Boston Herald. August 10, 2023.
Editorial: Time for lofty left in Mass. to open manses to migrants
Gov. Maura Healey has gotten a taste of Texas life, and she didn’t even have to take one of her many trips out of the state.
As the Herald reported, Healey declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Tuesday as local emergency shelters fill up with an ever-increasing number of migrants arriving from other countries and surging housing costs hurt residents already here.
She is the latest governor to send out an SOS to respond to migrants fleeing unstable conditions in their home countries. The Democratic governor called for the federal government to step up funding, among other requests.
According to Politico, when asked about Healey’s announcement Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has already hit the wall with migrant surges overwhelming city shelters, was happy to have another partner pressing the White House for intervention.
“Democratic governors and mayors, mayors in Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, here in New York, El Paso, Brownsville, all of the mayors have been saying that this is a national problem and we need national leadership,” he said at a press conference in Manhattan.
Now Healey knows how beleaguered border states have felt for years. Efforts to send migrants to other, notably northern states were met with derision and accusations of cruelty. Now the influx of migrants has hit Mass., and it’s a problem.
Healey said the emergency declaration directs local officials to utilize “all means necessary” to secure housing, shelter, and health and human services to address the “humanitarian crisis.”
State officials had issued a call for host families last month, a plea repeated Tuesday by Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, according to Boston 25 News. “Most importantly, if you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Housing and shelter is our most pressing need and become a sponsor family.”
This is a fantastic opportunity for Bay State liberals to step up.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was slammed for flying migrants to Nantucket last year, and the island residents widely hailed for their humanitarian efforts to aid them.
And then they were shipped off to a military base on Cape Cod.
Now places to shelter migrants are full, with more arriving daily. This is the perfect opportunity for those who supported sanctuary cities, blasted attempts to secure our borders, and dismissed the surge of migrant crossing as a “border crisis.”
Now they can be part of the solution, even if only temporarily. While shelters and hotels may be filling up, there are plenty of leafy communities around the state with plenty of room, and moneyed residents with lots of rooms in their manses.
Healey said the state is spending around $45M a month to help assist these families. Perhaps well-heeled homeowners could get a tax break for hosting migrants – it’s bound to cost less than $45M a month.
Actions speak louder than words – who will step up?
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Bangor Daily News. August 8, 2023.
Editorial: Atlantic salmon are having a good run in Maine
Atlantic salmon are returning to the Penobscot River in the largest numbers seen in a decade. This is due to cold, wet conditions this spring but is also a testament to an improving habitat on the river where several dams have been removed.
As of Tuesday, 1,519 salmon had been counted in traps on the Penobscot, according to a weekly report from the Department of Marine Resources. That’s the most since 2012, according to the department. On the Kennebec River, 157 salmon had been counted by the end of July. That’s nearly twice last year’s total.
“It’s been a good year for salmon … and a spectacular year for river herring,” Sean Ledwin, the sea run fisheries and habitat director for DMR, told the Bangor Daily News editorial board.
More than 5.5 million river herring were counted on the Penobscot and more than 4 million on the Kennebec by late July. River herring include blueback herring and alewives.
Ledwin attributed the rise in salmon and herring in Maine to better conditions in rivers and the ocean, and the removal or modification of dams, which opened up much more habitat for migratory fish.
Maine is home to the only remaining populations of wild Atlantic salmon in the United States. The fish are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Penobscot River has the state’s most productive Atlantic salmon run, but fishing for them is prohibited.
Opening up more habitat for salmon through the removal of dams and other barriers that impede their migration to and from the ocean is a major factor in the population increase, John Burrows of the Atlantic Salmon Federation said in an interview with the Bangor Daily News editorial board.
Dams not only impede young fish from leaving and later returning to rivers, but they also slow the journey, causing salmon to languish in warming water and to drain their stores of energy.
Through the Penobscot River Restoration Project, two dams were removed and a third was bypassed on the state’s largest river. This opened up 2,000 miles of river and stream habitat, according to the project, which raised $25 million to support the work.
The benefits of this work go well beyond the Penobscot River itself. For example, the Atlantic Salmon Federation is working on an improved fishway on Crooked Brook in Danforth, which is part of the massive Penobscot watershed, that will open up more habitat for migratory fish. The hope is that millions of alewives will then return to the Mattawamkeag River, boosting tourism in the remote Washington County town and, perhaps eventually leading to a commercial alewife harvest.
Burrows said one of the encouraging trends is the increasing number of native salmon that are returning to Maine’s rivers. About 90 percent of the Atlantic salmon counted in the Penobscot were initially stocked in the river as smolts when they were two years old. Yet, a growing number are born in the river, migrate to the open ocean and return years later to spawn. In the Kennebec, nearly all the returning Atlantic salmon are native. Salmon on the Kennebec have to be trucked around a dam in Waterville to reach their spawning grounds in the Sandy River.
While both Ledwin and Burrows were optimistic that this year’s salmon returns are part of an upward trend, they noted that the numbers we’re currently seeing pale in comparison with historic highs.
Still, the generally rising salmon numbers show that preserving and improving habitat, especially removing barriers to fish that return to Maine river to spawn, benefits numerous species, including salmon, herring, alewives and sturgeon.
“It’s good news,” Burrows said. “We’ve stopped the decline and are showing signs of positive changes.”
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Portland Press Herald. August 6, 2023.
Editorial: Next Farm Bill should bolster local food systems
At a hearing last week in Freeport, Maine farmers said they need support dealing with a number of crises.
The pandemic showed just how fragile our supply chains can be, and just how quickly supermarket shelves can go empty in the face of some disruption.
And nearly every day now brings another example of how our climate is growing more extreme and unpredictable, making life challenging for the farmers who supply our food.
That should make us all worry – and do whatever we can to support local farms and farmers, as well as other Maine food suppliers. For our health, resiliency and overall well-being, few things are more important.
The Farm Bill, however, puts most of its resources toward large commodity farms far away from here.
Passed every five years, the legislation marks the path for food policy and decides how hundreds of billions of dollars are spent. As Congress works on the next edition, lawmakers must make sure that small and midsized farms, like the majority in Maine, get plenty of consideration. Our future could depend on it.
Last week, U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and other members of the House Agriculture Committee held a field hearing in Freeport to gather feedback as they put together the next Farm Bill, which sets national policy and funding levels for agriculture.
Maine farms play an integral part in our state’s economy, ecology and its culture. They not only provide healthy food and support countless jobs, they also protect valuable land.
But many are struggling to get by. For instance, a quarter of Maine’s dairy farms have closed within the last year, and there are barely half as many now as there were six years ago. Indeed, smaller farms of all kinds are in trouble as attention, assistance and other advantages go toward the food giants that dominate U.S. agriculture.
No doubt, these large conglomerates will continue to supply the vast majority of the food consumed by Americans; simple economics and the size of our population make that unavoidable.
But putting all our eggs in that one basket, so to speak, is shortsighted. So much of what local farmers provide in Maine is irreplaceable. By definition, large multinational corporations with farmland in the Midwest or California cannot provide us with local food. They don’t pay local suppliers of feed, fuel and equipment. They don’t protect our soil and keep it productive. They are not a part of our communities.
And one day, they just might not be there in the same capacity they are now. Consolidation in agriculture has brought us abundant food, but it has also made the food system more vulnerable, as has the growing climate crisis. Water scarcity, labor shortages and extreme weather already threaten food production and will only get worse. An ill-timed disaster could mean there’s much less food to go around.
That’s why the Farm Bill must support local food systems, too. Not only do they provide sustenance that could take on increased importance in any sort of supply shock, they also do so in a way that supports their communities and the environment.
At the hearing last week, farmers said they need access to financial support so they can invest in themselves. They need to grow and diversify their markets, and they need to deal with the wild changes in the weather they now face.
And they, of course, need help overcoming PFAS contamination.
They don’t need all the money in the world, but they do need some recognition that small and mid-sized farms are an important part of agriculture in America that must be maintained in the face of food system uncertainty.
“If we’re able to chisel off a small portion of the monies that would have gone to larger, more traditional agriculture and have that focus be shifted to what we’re doing, that’ll be a victory,” an organic farmer from Brunswick told MainePublic last week.
It would be more than a victory for Maine farmers – it would be a win for all of us.
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Rutland Herald. August 8, 2023.
Editorial: Helping hand
It has been so inspiring to see the outpouring of support for Vermont businesses affected by the floods this summer. Millions of dollars in donations — through foundations or GoFundMe campaigns — have been critical in keeping these businesses going.
Without that help, and the assistance that is coming from state and federal sources, such as FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Association and the Gap Program set up by the Scott administration, the Vermont business landscape likely would look a lot different going into the fall and holiday months.
Our hearts have broken seeing the flood damaged inventory and debris being pulled from businesses across the state in recent weeks. Tradespeople are on overdrive trying to maximize the warm weather in order to make repairs and installations. In a couple of short months, it will be cold enough to switch on the furnace.
For weeks now, we have chronicled the Floods of 2023. They just seem to keep on coming, too. The combined staff members of the Rutland Herald and The Times Argus have worked tirelessly to chase down the latest information, whether it has been via the deluge of news releases, the frequent press conferences, or meeting with individuals at their homes or businesses.
To make sure Vermonters had access to information and resources, we dropped our paywall, making our online content free to anyone who was interested. “Anyone” turned out to be tens of thousands of additional hits each week on our websites and across our social media. We were hearing from people who had left Vermont and were reaching out in concern for their home state. They wanted information about how to help; where to donate; or even asking if we could check on someone who might be stranded or needing assistance.
In addition, as opportunities for donations took shape in each community, local and business leaders asked us to spread the word. We continue to share those resources — in one form or another — in our Community News section, or within the Flood Recovery Resources roundup we have been publishing daily, as well as providing updates as information has changed, and awards have been given.
Again, it has been truly inspiring to see our community rally with such determination to make their downtowns stronger.
But there has been a disconnect that has affected us firsthand.
In that flurry of information being verified and then distributed, we, too, have seen our business deeply affected. We are not at a loss for content, or news-gathering, but the very businesses that have been closed down — temporarily or permanently — as a result of the storms are our advertisers. We cannot (and do not) expect them to put their resources toward us. At the moment, marketing and messaging are the least of their worries.
The same way the early quarantine of COVID stripped us of about 60% of our revenue stream overnight, we find ourselves looking at continued operating costs (we have not dropped back the number of editions we print each week as we did in early pandemic days) and far less revenue is coming in.
Our advertising representatives are pivoting, of course. They are looking for new accounts and opportunities. They are reaching out to new businesses, and even a few who have told us they are no longer interested in marketing in print.
Likewise, our customer service department has been pushing for new subscribers, offering incentives and deals to get more eyeballs on our content (and all of that advertising).
The bottom line is that as a community resource that has proven itself invaluable in these crises, and having not suffered any flood damage to our physical operation but feeling the pinch of these challenging days, we, too, need support.
It can be word of mouth, referring new subscribers and advertisers our way. It can be talking up our coverage and the local news, arts, sports and community opinion you have come to rely on. Or it can be renewing your subscription, getting another subscription for a family member or friend. Or it can be working with our advertising staff to let us be part of your rebuilding, your future marketing, your ongoing success.
The newspaper is a reflection of the community it serves. We are seeing our flood-ravaged communities coming back stronger than ever. We hope that, like the thousands of others who we are proud to serve each day, you will see the value in your local newspaper.
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