The Base Realignment and Closure Commission is giving the Department of Defense one more chance to make its case for closing military facilities, including three in Maine.The argument has been won – time and again – by the defenders of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Brunswick Naval Air Station that the two bases are a vital […]

Rangeley pharmacist Joey McLafferty broke the rules, and for that the state is punishing him.Worse, he broke trust with his patients, many of whom have few options when it comes to getting their prescriptions filled. They should punish him, too.On Aug. 12, the state’s Board of Pharmacy found that McLafferty had lost control of his […]

The signs of failure are hanging all over the American adventure in Iraq.Violence is up, support for the war in the United States is down and a mother, grieving over the death of her son, has put the president on his heels.But the delay in drafting a constitution should not be counted among the others.Iraq’s […]

Babies not allowed on board.Infants – not dangerous toddlers toddling around in their terrible twos – have been stopped from boarding airplanes because their names are similar to ones on the government’s “no-fly list.” How crazy is that?If you’ve ever had a precocious tyke kicking the back of your seat on a long, crowded flight, […]

Given the buzz of negativity swarming around much of the professional sports world, it’s a relief from the noise to hear about the significant accomplishment of kids still playing a game.On Sunday, Little Leaguers from Westbrook won their way into the Little League World Series by defeating a team from Rhode Island.It’s the first time […]

There are two lessons that can be learned from the success of the Maine Military Authority.First, no matter how unwise the decision to close three military bases in Maine would be, the state will survive.Second, no matter what the Pentagon says, it has a spotty track record on anticipating the demands of a rapidly changing […]

From Bataan and Corregidor to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, to Okinawa and the doorsteps of the Japanese mainland, the fight for survival in the Pacific theater of World War II was a desperate slog through a hell worse than anything imagined by Dante or the Marquis de Sade.What began on Dec. 7, 1941, with the […]

Give him credit for following through.Former Gov. Angus King’s innovative and trend-setting program to put laptop computers into students’ hands won praise around the country. Because of much effort, and despite significant political pressure, the laptops remain one of King’s more enduring legacies.Last week, he announced the next phase of his effort to reduce the […]

The drawing last week to set the order of questions for this November’s ballot was mostly a formality.Because it is a people’s veto, by law – and by public interest – the attempt to overturn the state’s new anti-discrimination law was always going to get top billing.Question 1 will ask: “Do you want to reject […]

Blanket, one-size-fits-all, zero-tolerance policies seldom work.The NCAA, in an admirable attempt to force cultural sensitivity onto its member schools, proves the point.On Aug. 5, the NCAA barred the use of American Indian nicknames or images from postseason tournaments. Eighteen schools are affected by the ruling.There’s a lot of distance between the Carthage College Redmen or […]