Emergency contraception is not about abortion. And neither is the debate about whether to allow its sale without a prescription.Despite contortions of the facts to the contrary, Plan B, a morning-after pill used for emergency contraception, does not end a pregnancy. The pill, which is essentially a high dose of the hormones found in birth […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – “The U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree is scheduled to arrive at the West Front of the Capitol along First Street, NW, at approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, December 1.” – Congressional press releaseThe recent arrival of the U.S. Capitol Holiday Tree, heralded in the above press release, marked the beginning of our celebration […]

Maine’s Harness Racing Commission has the opportunity to slow the headlong rush of a racino developer into the state. Commissioners should take it.In a hearing that was scheduled to begin Monday but was postponed due to the weather and continuing through Wednesday, the commission will consider whether to grant Shawn Scott a license to run […]

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling upholding virtually all of the McCain-Feingold law limiting contributions to political campaigns and proscribing television advertisements close to elections is a serious attack on the First Amendment.The court bought the argument by the law’s proponents that money is inherently corrupting and that by limiting the amount of money and the […]

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that the McCain-Feingold law’s ban on soft money is constitutional has reformers cheering.But even Justices John Paul Stevens and Sandra Day O’Connor acknowledged the obvious in their opinion: “Money, like water, will always find an outlet.” So the notion that the reform will be effective as opposed to merely legal […]

Shortages of the flu vaccine are forcing doctors and health departments around the country to ration doses, although this season’s bug appears to be nasty.Parents trying to get immunizations for their children are particularly panicked. This year’s strain of the flu, Fugian A as the wonks call it, is bad enough that the Centers for […]

The outlook for peace in the Middle East remains gloomy. But that hasn’t stopped some people from continuing to try.In Geneva last week, former President Jimmy Carter joined a group of prominent Israelis and Palestinians to promote an unofficial peace plan drafted in secret talks between moderates on both sides of the long-festering conflict.It would […]

The coroner says he called it homicide only because he had no choice.Under Ohio law, he explained, his only other options were to categorize the death as accidental, natural or suicide. None of those, he felt, adequately accounted for how Nathaniel Jones died – i.e., after being beaten with nightsticks wielded by Cincinnati police officers.The […]

Bangor Daily News, Dec. 5It is understandable that Shawn Scott wants to burst out of the starting gate with his racino in Bangor. But the governor’s office and the state’s Harness Racing Commission are wise to rein in the project while so many unanswered questions remain.There are questions about the regulation of racinos – a […]

The American economy is destroying jobs, and that’s a good thing.It is in destroying jobs that the economy improves and makes it possible for the standard of living of all Americans to increase. This constant churning means that even a “stagnant” American job market is extremely dynamic, and that the ranks of the unemployed are […]