We knew a Vietnam veteran who once said he didn’t mind being shot at so much. It was the mortar fire that scared him. There was no telling when a mortar round was coming in or where it was going to land, he said.

I read in the paper last week that over in Waldoboro the Rev. Mr. Murphy is retiring. I met him when I was distributing low-energy light bulbs to the food bank he has headed all these years.

America is the Greatest Nation Ever to exist on the face of the earth. However; America has become untethered and drifted far from the sure moral moorings of our Founding Fathers, so when in the course of human events history calls we all must be prepared to respond with the principles of life and liberty.

Dear Editor and citizens of Lincoln County:

I have kept my lips sealed long enough. I am a concerned mother of a teen-aged boy that has gone astray by hanging out downtown after school and engaging with others in smoking, etc… He has been told by his parents and officials to “shape up.” He is now going to attend outpatient rehab for his behaviors.

Watch television during any election night news coverage and note that almost as soon as the first visible percentage points of the vote total rolls in, some pundit will opine with authority that the preliminary results are either a humiliating defeat for one side or a sweeping emphatic victory for the other.

I could write a long winded letter about the makeup of the 700 people who voted against Wal-Mart; how the dreaded strip mall from Old Rt. 1 in Damariscotta to Nobleboro came to be; why Hannaford expanded; why Damariscotta Hardware is presently expanding; the addition of Dunkin’ Donuts to the strip along with an office supply store; a dialysis clinic; a new Round Top store; oxygen supply store; Hunts lumber store; DB&T Bank; low income housing, etc…

I suppose living in Nobleboro might not qualify my right to comment; but it seems to me, as a user of US 1, my rights are just as important as the next driver’s.

On principle we oppose papering over problems feigning a metaphorical joining of hands and a forced singing of “Kumbaya,” but if there is ever a time to embrace a “Kumbaya” moment, this is the annual time of year to do it.

On November 20, 2009, Great Salt Bay Community School had its first H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination clinic for children in our school, whose parents had pre-registered. We had approximately 160 students receive the vaccination in two hours. This type of event does not go smoothly without the support of many parents and community members, who gave of their time to our students.

The state’s case against Dennis Dechaine boils down to the fact that items, accessible to anyone, were removed from Dechaine’s truck, and to the desperately held hope at the attorney general’s office that Dechaine is guilty. Wishes, however strongly held, are not evidence.

The yes on 1 ads seem to be saying that if gay marriage is recognized by the state it will have to be taught in schools. They seem to be trying to scare us that it will create new gay people- mostly young ones- if they are “taught gay marriage” in school.

One of the great things about Maine government is the citizen’s petition, which allows private citizens to bypass the legislature and present a question directly to the voters at large.

I don’t know why the town of Damariscotta is sending out questionnaires and holding meetings to see how the town wants to go in the future. I think they made it abundantly clear when they let themselves be led around like a puppy dog on a leash by two wealthy women from away.

It is correct to view gay marriage in the context of “perpetuation of the species,” but analyses showing that gay marriage will somehow decrease or denigrate our society’s ability to perpetuate itself show little grasp of real social and economic forces and lead to the wrong conclusion.