Bob Neal: The Countryman: Too much of a good thing?

Analysts of higher-education trends are predicting that the aftermath of COVID-19 may bring the closure of hundreds of colleges, perhaps 10 to 20% of our 4,200 or so colleges.

When a Baltimore museum tried to raise money by selling three pricey artworks, it backfired stupendously

“If you start monetizing the value of the art on the walls, it raises a whole host of problems and leads to a slippery slope,” Laurence Eisenstein, a leading critic, said. “Next time the state or city are thinking about giving money to the museum, it leads to people asking questions like ‘Why don’t you sell some works?'”

Cal Thomas: Worship the state, or else

A Wall Street Journal editorial commenting on the Court’s decision got it right: “The Court explains that New York’s order treats houses of worship more harshly than what Mr. Cuomo considers ‘essential’ businesses. Those include liquor stores, bike shops, acupuncturists, lawyers, accountants, and more.”

Froma Harrop: Who will recall these strange times?

The British media have tried to liken this generation to young people who endured the Blitz bombings during World War II. “How do the remaining Blitz generation — whose courage in crisis has long been considered a gold standard of national resilience — think all this compares?” The Independent asked.

Cartoon for Thursday, Dec. 3

Kiernan Majerus-Collins: Valuing human life above all else

As we enter the winter months, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to reach new heights both in Maine and across America. More than 20% of the cases recorded in Androscoggin County since the pandemic began have been identified in the last two weeks. Maine is rapidly approaching 200 deaths, a terrible loss but only the […]

Poppy Connor Crouch and Eileen Fair: Help is available for frontline workers

The importance of having mental health services available for Mainers during the pandemic is a serious issue. The article published in the Sun Journal (Nov. 23) on the increased demand for mental health services identified those provided by the Maine Crisis Line and the Maine Intentional Warmline. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Department […]

Cartoon for Wednesday, Dec. 2

Catherine Rampell: Trump is planning a massive purge

Now that he’s lost, it’s reasonable to wonder if Trump simply plans to fire (and perhaps not replace) as many career experts as possible, leaving Biden with a hollowed-out government unable to perform even its most basic functions.

Rich Lowry: The coming anti-COVID restriction backlash

The political class should have been especially sensitive to playing by its own rules, when those rules have been so relatively easy to bear for the elite and so punishing for ordinary workers. Still, the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom have flouted COVID strictures rather than forgo a visit to a hair salon or world-class French restaurant.