Nation has plenty of Groundhogs

By Tom Emery Guest Columnist

Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog of all. But he’s got plenty of cousins. Groundhogs are common across America, and are one of the nation’s largest rodents. Also called “woodchucks” or “whistle pigs,” the species may revel in their own day on the calendar.

Follow the laws

To The Editor: In their great wisdom and knowledge of human behavior, America’s Founding Fathers determined that a government of three separate but equal branches would be the best way for a struggling yet rapidly growing country to establish itself in a world fraught with peril at every turn.

The Legislative branch comprised of a Senate and House of Representatives would make the laws that all Americans are expected to adhere to.

The Executive branch is to be headed by the president, whose main job is to implement laws established by Congress.

The Judicial branch, led by the Supreme Court, is to rule on whether legislation enacted by Congress passes Constitutional muster or not.

America is presently being led by a president who has no intention of following the nation’s laws.

Joe Biden apprenticed under Barack Obama, who often used his phone and pen to bypass Congress. Obama governed by executive order, and now we are paying a horrendous price because of Biden’s gross incompetence and complete disregard for the rule of law.

From day one, Biden has pillaged the nation at will. He took us from being energy independent to begging our enemies for oil. Biden foolishly sold off our strategic oil reserves to China, whose goal is to replace us as the world’s number one economic and military power. They are almost there.

In an act of gross negligence, Biden tore down the nation’s borders so that we are under constant assault by millions of illegal immigrants.

Biden has run up America’s debt to levels that our children and grandchildren can never pay back. It will take a major miracle for America to survive Biden and the Democratic Party’s deliberate destruction of the nation.

Robert M. Howe Jr. Bridgton

Canceled

To The Editor: Having read and studied the American Constitution, I am amazed at how much of our Constitution has been destroyed by Joe Biden and

Chesty and rotund, groundhogs are 20 to 25 inches long, including the tail, and weigh from seven to fourteen pounds. They prefer areas like crop fields, pastures, or meadows near wooded areas and shy away from flood-prone regions, since they spend much of their lives underground.

They are commonly found along fences, roads and ditches, and in brushy, overgrown patches, though groundhogs can also survive in more populated areas.

“They’ve adapted very well in some urban areas,” said Stan McTaggart, the Wildlife Diversity Program Manager at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in Springfield, Ill. “Traditionally, you think of groundhogs on farmsteads, but they have adapted well in some urban spots.

“Topography is crucial to where a groundhog lives,” continued McTaggart. “They don’t do well in areas with conventional tillage, and they need places that are well-drained.”

Favorite foods for groundhogs include grasses, leaves, ferns, and fruit, and they love to raid gardens and fields. They tend to be solitary, and breed in March or April. The lifespan of an average groundhog is three years. Young groundhogs start searching for their own living areas at only two months.

When Punxsutawney Phil and other celebrity groundhogs are pulled from their quarters, they can get testy, with good the Democrats as they pursue power, wealth, and privilege.

For instance, the First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (Amendment I, U.S. Constitution)

Most of my life, I have heard that we had to build “a wall of separation between Church and State.” This is a red herring derived from Thomas Jefferson’s comments about the establishment of a State Religion, which is forbidden by the First Amendment. Also, the First Amendment does not forbid religion from influencing government. The First Amendment protects individual religious beliefs from the heavy hand of government, not government from the moral strictures of the Creator.

Growing up in Great Neck, N.Y., a very liberal community, I constantly heard the refrain, “I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to say it.” This was said as a rejoinder to attacks against charges of Communism in the McCarthy era. This, of course, was the essence of the First Amendment’s free speech clause.

Times have changed. Now, the free speech clause only applies to “politically correct” speech. If one questions the CDC on how to deal with COVID, or the teacher’s union about parents being allowed to question how and what their children are being taught, or anything that challenges government’s edicts, you will be “canceled.” Apparently, Progressives now will fight to the death against your right to free speech, if you disagree with the Democrat Party’s orthodoxy.

Jock MacGregor Sebago

Upside Down World

To The Editor: The Mad Hatter comes to mind having read Mr. St. Laurent’s latest. Definitely up is down, down is up. His agita and umbrage concerning “party line” voting is curious since it didn’t seem to bother him when his peeps had the gavel.