If the Bush team doesn’t watch it with the cheap lies and little revenge shivs in the gut, their venal sins might start gaining cachet in popular culture – like Richard Nixon’s profanity – and then they’ll be in trouble.The outing of Valerie Plame, CIA operative and wife of prominent administration critic Joseph Wilson, pushes […]

This fall’s ballot measures reflect the increasing importance and use of psychographics in Maine political campaigns. Originally used in advertising and marketing to denote lifestyle and consumer preferences, psychographics have become a valuable and useful tool in understanding Maine politics.“Psychographic” refers primarily to the psychic imagery around which voters make decisions. It is a shorthand […]

Schwarzenegger and Limbaugh aren’t the only ones under attack by liberals. First thoughts on the recent scandals:• A lot of Republicans think that the Los Angeles Times’ report on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s groping problem was an unfair last-minute surprise. It wasn’t. The Times article left five days for Arnold and his allies to respond and explain. […]

Book tells how lawyer helped build Pequot tribe and Foxwoods A recently released book calls the man behind the proposed Maine Indian casino “clever” and “audacious,” and says Tom Tureen’s history with Connecticut’s Foxwoods casino shows he will spin the facts and do what it takes to win.In his book “Hitting the Jackpot,” author Brett […]

Breast implants are back in the news, and on prime time. Whether they are treated like miracle workers on “Extreme Makeover,” as a risk for teens on “Everwood,” or the comeback kid in TV news and newspapers, it’s hard to avoid hearing about them.There’s a reason for all this attention. On Oct. 15, advisors to […]

Q Can you tell me about the word “chiaroscuro”? I saw it used to describe a 17th century Italian painting showing a violent scene from the Bible. – M.C., Rome, Ga. A: “Chiaroscuro” is defined as “the arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art.” The word “chiaroscuro” is […]

BAGHDAD – The wedding party was streaming out of the Al-Hamra Hotel last night in Baghdad, with the bride’s white train trailed by a line of ululating women in sparkling dresses and a cake bearer balancing a huge coconut-frosted sphere.A sign of normality returning to Iraq, one might say. And, indeed, Thursday nights (the evening […]

The same crowd that gave us the Clear Skies Initiative, allowing utilities to pollute more freely, and the Healthy Forests Initiative, unleashing timber companies in our national forests, now is turning its tender mercies to the rules governing overtime pay for American workers.The Bush administration claims that it simply wants to give employers clearer guidance […]

The Court of Peeves, Crotchets and Irks opens its autumn assizes with a motion from several readers to ban “went missing.” The court is sitting in its affable mode. Motion granted! “Went missing” must go.Dee Volpe of Lakeland, Fla., cites Star magazine for reporting that “David Arquette and DMX went missing on the set of […]

It’s simple and effective, so send me money now to start enjoying my new plan. My favorite part of The New York Times (motto: “No Longer Making Things Up, As Far As We Know”) is a weekly section that reports on things that trendy New Yorkers are doing. This section is called Sunday Styles, because […]