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Edgar Allen Beem

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  • Universal Notebook: The arrogance of the human animal

    Just about the first thing you read when you open the Bible is that God gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” If by “dominion” we m...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, March 8, 2010

  • Universal Notebook: Raise taxes, please!

    In these dire economic times, it’s easy for politicians to take the No New Taxes pledge. How could you possibly raise taxes when people are hurting, right? Wrong. A refusal to raise taxes when needed is political cowardice, plain and simple. Fiscal responsibility doesn’t just m...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, March 1, 2010 at 9:00 am
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  • The Universal Notebook: The eternal vigilance of beach-going

    Back in the 1960s, Higgins Beach in Scarborough attracted teenagers from all over greater Portland. Scarboro Beach, then known as Jordan's Beach because old Mrs. Jordan sat on the access road in her beach wagon collecting parking fees, was the family beach, but Higgins was the hot ...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, July 20, 2009 at 10:00 am

  • The Universal Notebook: Confessions of a helicopter parent

    You should have seen my daughter Tess when I mentioned to her not long ago that when Robert Peary, destined to become the great Arctic explorer, graduated from Portland High School and went to Bowdoin College, his mother rented an apartment for them to share in Brunswick. Tess looke...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:30 am

  • The Universal Notebook: How to ruin a good Town Meeting

    The Yarmouth Town Meeting last week went pretty much as it has all 27 years we've lived in town. A few hundred people showed up in the middle school gym, the annual Latchstring Award was given for outstanding community service, retiring School Committee members were given Windsor chairs in reco...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, June 8, 2009 at 9:20 am

  • The Universal Notebook: The attentive bird gets the worms

    Nothing pleases my lovely wife Carolyn quite so much as dirt. The only thing she likes better is free dirt. If you're searching for just the right gift for that special occasion, you can't go wrong with a yard of loam, a trailer full of mulch or a nice big pile of compost. As a toke...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, June 1, 2009 at 10:50 am

  • The Universal Notebook: Do the right thing

    Earlier this month we paid $775.28 to replace the catalytic converter on one of our cars. The old catalytic converter did not affect the operation of the car at all and the new one didn't improve it, but in order to get a state inspection sticker it had to be replaced. I wasn't at all pleased t...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, May 25, 2009

  • The Universal Notebook: The Class of '67 at 60: Games, dancing optional

    Back in 1967, I was way too cool to bother with anything as Mickey Mouse as a high school yearbook or class ring. I'm sure I must have gone to the senior prom, but I honestly don't remember it. So why is it that 42 years later I'm spending a lot of my free time trying to track down my old Westb...

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, May 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm

  • The Universal Notebook: Gay marriage is not a religious issue

    Gay marriage is obviously a divisive issue. Witness the thousands of folks who turned out at the Augusta Civic Center to speak for and against the marriage equity bill currently before the state Legislature. Gay marriage is not, however, a religious issue. It's a civil rights issue....

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Monday, May 4, 2009 at 10:10 am

  • Universal Notebook: Close the gun show loophole

    Back on April 13, with very little media attention, LD 814, An Act Regarding the Sale of Weapons at Gun Shows, received a unanimous ought-not-to-pass vote from the Maine legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee. 3

    Edgar Allen Beem • Opinion •
    Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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