It’s too soon to know if the impressive Wesley Clark has what it takes to go all the way, but one thing is clear right out of the box: My wife says a great pair of shoes can dress up anything, from jeans to an evening gown, and at a minimum, Wes Clark as VP […]

During his State of the Union, and during a trip to Africa earlier this year, President Bush promoted a bold initiative to fight AIDS. He pledged $15 million over five years.The Global AIDS Act, which the president signed in May, authorizes Congress to spend $3 billion next year for AIDS prevention and treatment, but Congress, […]

Maybe they should have beaten the crap out of Denzel Washington.I say that thinking of the time an Oprah Winfrey fan said she never fully appreciated the tragedy of slavery until she saw a picture of her idol dressed as human chattel, her body scarred by the whip. It struck her that at another time, […]

Bangor Daily News, Sept. 17Another study, another $30 million plus missing from the Department of Human Services. The further the Baldacci administration looks into the bookkeeping at DHS, the worse the situation looks. On Tuesday, the governor announced a “funding deficit” of $37 million in the department’s Medicaid account between fiscal year 1996 and the […]

Here’s the definition of gall: a government lawyer crusading against cigarettes.A friendly reader of my last column, which urged bar owners in New York to defy the state government’s ban on smoking, reminds us of the reason: Uncle Sam included coffin nails in military rations for much of the 20th-century, hooking millions of men on […]

Investigations in Massachusetts and New York are rattling what’s left of consumer confidence in Wall Street.When the market bubble burst after a headlong rise in technology stocks, many small investors saw their savings vanish. Compounding the problem, workers at companies such as WorldCom and Enron watched helplessly as their jobs and 401(k) dollars disappeared into […]

Number crunching investigators have found a new $37 million hole at the Department of Human Services.It’s a wonder the DHS has managed to pay any of its bills on time or even keep the checkbook balanced.A month ago, accounting irregularities were discovered in the welfare system. The newest disclosure concerns MaineCare, the state’s version of […]

I hate to say I told you so.Well, not really. Like most people, I rather enjoy it, to tell the truth.Not that one had to be a genius to foresee what happened last week: the music industry filing suit against 261 people who had downloaded songs from the Internet without paying for them. The suit […]

Prescription drugs and how to combat their rising costs are on the minds of voters, and the Penobscot Indian Nation may be trying to use that to its advantage.Congressional negotiators are trying to hammer out a $400 billion prescription drug benefit for Medicare. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is considering the purchase of drugs from Canada […]