Mixing the Peace Corps and the military is a bad idea.Already, volunteers in the Peace Corps must overcome suspicion that they are really U.S. government agents up to no good. This, even as they teach English and help communities in some of the most difficult places in the world.Last week, The Washington Post broke news […]

“There was no sound of planes. The morning was still; the place was cool and pleasant. Then a tremendous flash of light cut across the sky. … It seemed a sheet of sun.” – From “Hiroshima” by John Hersey In the summer of 1945, the United States brought to bear on its Japanese enemy the […]

Congress has a knack for being outraged about the wrong things.Consider baseball player Rafael Palmeiro. In March, Palmeiro testified before a congressional committee that “I have never used steroids. Period.” This week, the results of a drug test from Palmeiro became public. According to the Associated Press, the Baltimore Orioles player tested positive for stanozolol, […]

Further restricting the flow of traffic on outer Lisbon Street doesn’t make sense for the majority of people who use the highway.A developer would like to build a convenience store along the road. Before approving the construction, the state would require the road to narrow from four lanes to three lanes.Heavy traffic flow on the […]

The crash that killed Tina Turcotte was preventable.That it happened is a failure of the courts, police and the state. Period.On Aug. 5, Scott Hewitt, 32, was driving a tractor-trailer that collided with Turcotte’s car in Hallowell. At the time, Hewitt’s driver’s license was suspended and he had warrants out for his arrest.Hewitt’s driving record […]

Wal-Mart’s enormous distribution center officially opened for business Wednesday.It’s huge news, and the Sun Journal has tried to treat it that way.The project, which Wal-Mart says will eventually employ 450 full-time workers with a beginning wage of $13 per hour with benefits, required a large public investment to become a reality. Kept hush-hush by city […]

Descriptions of the inner workings of the Department of Health and Human Services are poignant, if not very encouraging. The staff has been rudderless and demoralized. Facing tremendous challenges that were building for 15 or 20 years, the agency developed a siege mentality and lost focus of its core missions.There’s no good explanation for how […]

ABIQUIU, N.M. – I thought I had come to this spare, high desert space for the sights.For the little green lizard with yellow stripes, twitching across the red soil and hiding under the cane cholla cactus. For the red rock cliffs, their faces worn, exposed and passive as the moon under attack by blown clouds. […]

John Bolton will carry to the United Nations a damaged reputation and diminished ability.President Bush was able to break a deadlock in the U.S. Senate by appointing Bolton during a congressional recess. The maneuver means Bolton takes his post without the confirmation of the Senate and can serve only until the next Congress convenes in […]

Much work has gone into the latest draft of Auburn’s new city charter. But one important element is unlikely to satisfy advocates for less municipal borrowing.The charter would allow city voters to veto borrowing exceeding 10 percent of the budget. This year, that would mean that bonds worth less than $6.1 million would not need […]