Canadians must be assured access to an adequate supply of safe and affordable prescription drugs, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said Wednesday.Gee, if only Americans could be assured of the same.Recent news stories have highlighted gross inadequacies in U.S. drug approval and regulation. As things now stand, the drug industry is basically in charge of monitoring […]

They show up in movies and in television shows, nearly always portrayed as heroes.In real life, firefighters are often the guys or gals next door. Few would consider themselves heroes.But in reality, the men and women who wear those odd helmets, that bulky, hot clothing and those high, funny boots are heroes, at least in […]

The state’s financial problems will persist so long as the Legislature refuses to do its job of aggressively overseeing state spending.There are two fundamental reasons why our elected state officials have all but shirked their crucial job as watchdog over the executive branch and its spending policies and proposals.First, the lobbyists. Because Maine is such […]

General Motors has decided to eliminate engineering jobs here and outsource them to Brazil and South Korea, another ominous sign for American workers.Several weeks ago, the ailing automaker announced that it will cut 6,250 U.S. jobs per year between now and 2008 in an effort to regain profitability.GM Brazil, according to a story appearing in […]

Last year, Rolling Stone/Australia announced a Scottish group, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, had the “best band name in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.”Band members, in defense of the name, say they hope to save a few dogs.We hope they can because dogs do die in hot cars.In the past two days, local police […]

The congressional delegations from Maine and New Hampshire, along with other elected representatives and supporters of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Brunswick Naval Air Station and the Defense Finance Accounting Service center in Limestone, will be in Boston on July 6 to make a joint presentation – a plea, really – to the base closing commission […]

Quick question: What’s on the walls of your county courthouse?We’re betting you don’t know, and neither do we. Whatever is posted there – the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance or the lyrics to the macarena – is probably not having much effect on the crime rate or the conduct of […]

Congress could have worked on a lot of things last week: high gas prices, high drug prices, high medical expenses, the trade deficit, the budget deficit, stem cell research, mad cow disease or the war in Iraq.So, what did Congress choose to tackle? Flag burning.Really.Members passed a bill to once again send to the states […]

Now that Gov. John Baldacci has decided to block a referendum vote this November on a proposed racino in Washington County, state senators and representatives should do the right thing and override the governor’s veto.The bill killed by Baldacci does not allow a racino in Washington County, Maine’s poorest region. It simply would allow Maine […]

Thomas Edison. Henry Ford. Jack S. Kilby.That’s right, Jack Kilby’s name should be spoken in the same breath with America’s most famous inventors and industrialists.He invented the microchip in 1958, ushering in the age of transistor radios and, ultimately, supercomputers, which made possible everything from the Internet to space travel.Over his career at Texas Instruments, […]