Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, Aug. 30 One hundred years ago, it wouldn’t have been surprising for elderly black people to report that armed law enforcement officers had entered their homes and unjustly interrogated them about their votes.It’s shocking to hear that this may have happened recently in Orlando, Fla.Attorney General John Ashcroft has been […]

Frisbees were flying. Music was playing. Lines were forming. And 400 first-year students from Bates College were getting an introduction to Lewiston and Auburn.It was a great sight Monday as students took part in the “Welcome to Downtown L-A” event.The tour, part of Bates’ new-student orientation, is sponsored by civic organizations as a way to […]

What’s missing from the dismissal of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault charge is any sense of justice.A woman says she was raped. A celebrity basketball player is stigmatized, and the bungling of prosecutors and the Eagle, Colo., court is an embarrassment to our legal system.Truth is always difficult to find in he-said-she-said cases involving sexual […]

Comparisons between similar – but ultimately different – facilities can be tricky. But here goes.Saint Joseph’s College in Standish held a gala event Saturday night to show off its brand-new Harold Alfond Hall.The 50,000-square-foot building is a beauty, sitting in the center of the campus with a view of Sebago Lake and the White Mountains. […]

Nothing gets the people more worked up than political hypocrisy.But the case of Virginia Rep. Edward Schrock should bring no joy to muckrakers, Democrats or gay activists.Schrock is a conservative Republican from a conservative district in Virginia. He unexpectedly quit his quest for a third term on Monday citing only what he called “allegations.”As the […]

Time is up in Sudan.A unanimous U.N. Security Council vote on July 30 gave the Sudanese government 30 days to stop the violence in the country’s Darfur region.According to the United Nations, despite this threat from the international community, more than 1 million people in the area still are at risk, facing rape and murder […]

Maybe we’re too sensitive, or see slight where none exists.But we believe that Maine’s two popular U.S. senators should have a place speaking at the Republican National Convention in New York. As of Monday, both Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Susan Collins were left off the schedule.The decision doesn’t track with everything else we know. […]

The torch is out and the medals have been awarded. The competition at the Summer Olympics is over for another four years.Greece, the smallest country to host the Summer Games in more than 50 years, deserves congratulations – and doom predictors should be eating a little crow. Questions about whether venues would be done in […]

The United States passed a troubling milestone last week in Iraq.More GIs have been killed so far in 2004 than died in 2003. The United States is averaging about two deaths a day. Through Friday, 59 U.S. soldiers were killed in August. In July, the number was 54. In June, it was 50.While the world’s […]

For John Kerry, the Democratic National Convention was a chance to introduce himself to voters.The task that awaits President Bush is significantly different. Voters already know George W. Bush. The Republican National Convention, which begins in earnest tonight, is an opportunity for the president to define the course he would steer for a second term.Already, […]