Gov. Baldacci is faced with another set of uncomfortable choices. The state is facing a budget shortfall of $109 million that must be addressed before June.He can’t raise taxes. There’s no doubt that work needs to be done on the state’s tax structure. There are too many exemptions, some areas face too-high property taxes, and […]

President Bush is on the right track with his proposal to reform the country’s broken immigration system.Under a plan introduced Wednesday, the president would create a new guest worker program that makes it easier for noncitizens to work in the United States and grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens currently in the country. The […]

It seemed like a good idea at the time. The Bush administration would use the earthquake tragedy in Iran that killed at least 30,000 people not only as an opportunity to show the United States was eager to alleviate international tragedy but also as a diplomatic wedge. Some officials believed that, as humanitarian aid was […]

Bangor Daily News, Jan. 3The George Lucas Educational Foundation last month glowingly reviewed Maine’s progress with its laptop program for seventh- and eighth-graders, pointing out many advantages, including advanced and more meaningful learning experiences, lower absenteeism, etc., that those watching this program have come to expect. But it ends its story on “The Maine Experience” […]

If you need proof that tough regulations are needed for Maine’s infant slot machine industry, look no further than the shenanigans that happened this Wednesday and Thursday in Augusta.Shawn Scott, the owner of Bangor Raceway, is selling the track to his former rival, Penn National Gaming. Scott and his Capital Seven LLC have been warring […]

It’s unclear why Howard Dean is so upset by the Bush tax cut, since he maintains that there wasn’t one – at least not for the middle class. “There was no middle-class tax cut,” Dean declared at the Democratic debate in Iowa this week. “There was a Bush tax increase with tuitions, with property taxes, […]

A new autobiography by Pete Rose hits the bookstands today. In it and during interviews leading up to the release, Rose finally admits to betting on baseball while he was a manager. He even admits to betting on games played by the Cincinnati Reds.Rose, nicknamed Charlie Hustle for the hard-nosed and all-out way he played […]

It’s 2004 at last, and another presidential campaign year can be said to have officially begun.Because most Americans will never have the chance to see, much less personally question, President Bush or any of the Democratic candidates, the media – and especially television – will shape the views most people have of them. And how […]

Sometimes, the battle over gay rights reminds me of a science-fiction movie.I’m thinking “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” or one of those other golden oldies where humankind is infiltrated by an enemy that looks and sounds like us and is therefore able to hide among us, undetected. That was probably intended as a metaphor for […]

The U.S. Department of Labor wants to change the rules concerning overtime. At the same time, it’s helping employers figure out ways to dodge paying overtime altogether.That makes it hard to trust the motives and intent of proposed changes to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.The Bush administration claims the rules that govern overtime and […]