Chris Hayes wrote a book last year based upon a single question: If we have such elite and talented people earning so much money and exercising so much power, why are things so screwed up? He spent the rest of his book attempting to explain why our most richly rewarded people keep letting us down. […]
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We all mourn, but in Rangeley life must go on
Our hearts are with the families of the three men lost on Rangeley Lake, but the more we examine the issue the more apparent it becomes that the Rangeley Snodeo, scheduled for next week, must go on. The trio, Kenneth Henderson of China, Glen Henderson of Sabattus and John Spencer of Litchfield apparently went through […]
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Wilton’s Saviello breaks ranks on income-tax hike
State Sen. Tom Saviello of Wilton made headlines Wednesday when he submitted legislation to raise income taxes on high-income Mainers from 7.95 to 8.5 percent. The proposal was news, but here’s the real shocker: Saviello is a Republican. If there is a single issue that defines the Republican Party in this country it is cutting […]
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Congress killed gun research at NRA’s behest
As critics begin dissecting the Obama administration’s ideas on gun control later this week, one refrain is certain to surface: There is no research connecting problem A, say how many gun-show guns end up in the hands of felons, to solution B, say requiring background checks for gun show sales. The reason there is so […]
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Governor’s budget relies on cost shifting
You have to wonder what Maine’s municipalities did to irritate Gov. Paul LePage. He is, after all, a former mayor himself and certainly understands the way local communities depend upon revenue sharing. Mayors and municipal managers around the state must have been shocked Friday when the governor’s staff proposed a two-year suspension of that program […]
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Among nations, Americans are not very healthy
The news last week for Americans under 50 was not good. On average, they are in poorer health and more likely to die before 50 than young people in other developed Western European countries, Canada, Japan and Australia. That’s the bleak assessment of the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of […]
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Budget work can not be done under threat
Cheers to school administrators across Maine for pulling up their sleeves, sharpening their pencils and whittling budgets to meet the expectation of less school funding as the state braces for curtailment cuts. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t painless. And, it was a chore done with great concern but little complaint. That’s an admirable attitude […]
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Obama must stand up with debt crisis plan
Just before President Barack Obama signed his historic health care bill in 2010, Vice President Joe Biden famously shook the president’s hand, leaned toward him and whispered “this is a Big (blanking) deal.” Unfortunately, a nearby microphone picked up the VP’s congratulations along with the expletive in the middle. The question two and a half […]
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Retain the existing cap on charter schools
As a realist, Gov. Paul LePage probably knows legislation to eliminate the cap on creating new charter schools is likely doomed in a Democratic Legislature. But we would hope many Republican legislators also agree that lifting the cap after a single year, and before the cap has even been reached, is totally premature. Department of […]
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Damon film sheds no light on critical issues
The wind power industry was probably breathing a sigh of relief last week as a new movie about a different energy industry debuted in theaters across Maine. “Promised Land” is Hollywood’s take on the hydraulic fracking boom that is transforming U.S. communities from New York to Kentucky and reshaping the nations’ energy outlook. The script […]