I can only imagine how hard it was for Sen. Angus King and the other senators to decide to end the government shutdown. They gave up the chance to restore some of the budget cuts in order to end the very real suffering of unpaid federal workers and people depending on SNAP.  I can understand […]

During our nation’s recent government shutdown, over 170,000 Mainers were at risk of losing SNAP funds to put food on their tables. Not only were they close to losing needed food, they also struggled emotionally and mentally about how to feed their families, including children. During this looming food crisis, several Maine lawmakers and advocates […]

As I sweep the dismal news events of the past week out of my mind so I can get some sleep, I’m assailed by one film clip that won’t leave me alone. It features Donald Trump casually remarking on the Saudis’ hideous murder and dismemberment of a respected journalist, saying, “The man had a lot […]

Sen. Susan Collins’ recent announcement that she had signed a petition in support of a state referendum effort pushing to ban transgender students from sports and private spaces, based on their gender identity, was not a one-off — as it may be seen. The announcement was part of Collins’ reelection strategy, financed and supported by […]

Some proclaim that America is a conservative-leaning country. Yet the most progressive governing documents in world history were written and adopted here: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Those documents formed a government unlike any in the history of humankind. It created three coequal branches of government with the Founders’ […]

It is by now clear to everyone that our president is suffering. His speech is garbled, he mixes up names and places, he wanders around confusedly even while on official business, and he is unable to string together a coherent sentence, let alone any coherent line of reasoning.  This is the individual who has our […]

Seriously? The headline and article “Trump: Democrats’ message to military ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death” was on Page 3 of the Nov. 21 paper? That should have been front page news, in bold letters. The president of the United Sates is suggesting members of Congress should be killed for stating facts and supporting the military […]

While watching the Ken Burns production “The American Revolution,” a salient and very strong narrative keeps coming through the series. That is, how far we have gotten away from the original intent of the fight for democracy. It is good to be reminded that the one of the objects of our “original discontent” was we […]