We’re in the midst of a great four-year national debate on the size and reach of government, the future of the welfare state, indeed, the nature of the social contract between citizen and state. The distinctive visions of the two parties — social-democratic versus limited-government — have underlain every debate on every issue since Barack Obama’s inauguration: the stimulus, the auto bailouts, health care reform, financial regulation, deficit spending. Everything. The debt ceiling is but the latest focus of this fundamental divide.

Our government, with its checks and balances and need for consensus makes for difficult navigation, even if you are captain of the ship.

The time has come in the debt-limit fight for all Americans to declare their loyalties: Are you with the bank robbers, or are you with the dirty old men?

The tragic results of domestic violence are appearing all too frequently on the pages of our local newspapers and broadcast from our local news stations. These stories are chilling reminders that this is a problem that affects every one of us in some way. Victims are our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers and our relatives. As part of the health care community, we realize too well that domestic violence is a serious health issue. But are we doing enough?

I argued in my last column that our government is becoming dangerously dysfunctional. The showdown over the debt ceiling is only the latest in a series of unnecessary and artificial crises caused by our political leaders, who have irresponsibly turned the ordinary disagreements that constitute democratic politics into occasions for total war. Instead of legislative debates and regular legislative processes that produce outcomes that all sides can live with, we have scorched earth campaigns that result in temporary victories, but inflict lasting damage on our institutions and undermine the public’s trust in government.

I was chatting with a friend, a journalist, about a feature story he had just written. I told him it was great, but needed some more supporting data.

We read with great concern the recent KJ article (“Vote in the works,” July 15) about the petition drive to force another vote about the phase-out of the Readfield Public Works Department.

Sen. David Trahan (R-Lincoln County) had a career year in the legislature during the recently completed session.

Backers of a new casino proposal in Lewiston should be very happy with the press coverage of the poll they released last week.