Gov. John Baldacci is heading to Spain, Germany and Norway this week on a wind power trade mission. The mission’s overall goal, according to The Associated Press, is to “cultivate business contacts and attract investors.” He’s joined by 23 representatives of Maine industries and organizations involved with wind energy.   Nothing wrong with that. Beyond […]

The American system of delivering and insuring health care needs to change. The only question is how much. If starting a health care system from scratch, the current U.S. employer-based, private insurance model would not be endorsed. Its present status is not only inequitable and oppressive to business, but unsatisfying and underperforming for those covered […]

Cheers and jeers from around the news: • Jeers to stupidity. So there are a few nuts in Acorn, the low-income advocacy group. Two young, conservative filmmakers masquerading as a pimp and prostitute caught Acorn workers dishing out advice on cheating the tax system and evading capture. This has spurred action by Congress to cut […]

Will same-sex marriage be taught in schools, if it becomes legal in Maine? No — nothing in law, or curriculum, mandates any Maine student be taught about marriage, same-sex or otherwise. Should same-sex marriage be taught? Again, the answer is no. Marriage should not be part of a curriculum. Either as a secular tradition or […]

The title “czar” in American politics has become tired. It’s the Russian word for king; the last time we looked, the “czars” in our government are neither Russian nor royalty. Czars were once good things, when first used to describe the nation’s “Drug Czar” under the Reagan administration. Then, the title was quite apt, as […]

Anyone who has ever cooked for a child knows this paradox: simple food is healthy food, children love simple foods, but children dislike simple, healthy foods. Now, this isn’t true of every child, but it is true of every parent who has ever uttered “eat your insert-vegetable-name-here” to a pouting face across the dinner table. […]

According to The Associated Press, the federal stimulus package included $350 million for digital cartography: making a map of broadband Internet service in the United States. This amount, the AP reported, caught observers by surprise — many thought this could be done for less, like $35 million. The prime purpose of this map was aiding […]

Maine’s new distracted driving law went into effect on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how it is enforced, as this legislation is intended to address a whole new, scary suite of rampant misbehaviors. Common sense must reign, for if this law is used to punish behavior that is either benign, necessary or otherwise […]

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” By this measure, then, the misguided souls who keep pondering the establishment of casino gambling in Maine must indeed be crazy. Recently, a group of Portland businessmen with ties to Oxford County have revived the […]

Cheers and jeers from around the news …  • Jeers to Charles Soule. The perennial fringe candidate and gadfly bowed out of the Lewiston City Council race because he says the city hasn’t suffered enough to elect him. He’s right. • Jeers to Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, whose outburst toward President Barack Obama during […]