Is Governor Janet Mills the de facto Joe Biden of Maine – an elected leader more by reason of party-line fealty than noteworthy executive accomplishment? As our state experiences deleterious side effects of supposed societal advances like offshore wind turbines, battery-powered vehicles, foreign acquisition of agricultural land, public support of transgender surgery, and encouragement of opioid dependency, is “the way life should be” a vanishing concept? Where is leadership actually leading us? A struggling economy is a breeding ground for socio-economic discontent. Real, everyday issues of personal taxation, law enforcement, immigrant assimilation, and gender dysphoria are trivialized by one person’s notion of athletic fairness. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone all the time, and election outcomes are determined by majorities. The Governor has embarrassed herself and many constituents by allowing cultivated political antagonism to divert attention from pressing national needs to alleged discrimination affecting a minor minority. Is this issue worthy of national attention, or should it be left to individual schools and districts to judge the fairness aspect? Allow transgender competition, but don’t call it victory to the detriment of rivals or confuse it with locker-room protocol. How much of the world is laughing at us? Phil Osifer