AMHERST, Mass. – It seems like only yesterday when Ben was pretending to be a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle or looking for Woody Woodpecker in the big tree behind our house.Now, like many other families of high school juniors, we were off with him on a traditional spring break venture, looking at a string of […]

The Chronicle of Philanthropy may have found that New Englanders are the most frugal in America about giving their money to charity, but let’s not leap to the conclusion the northern colonies are filled with cold-shouldered misers.New Englanders are a hands-on bunch. While some may hesitate to write a check, few would turn down a […]

With his bold plan for expanded health coverage unveiled Wednesday, Richard Gephardt has launched two great and indispensable debates. The first is between Democrats and George W. Bush over which is the bigger priority: covering America’s 41 million uninsured, or tax cuts mostly favoring the wealthy. The second, as consequential, is among Democrats themselves, over […]

The Legislature returns to Augusta next week, refreshed and ready to tackle tax reform. Joining legislators will be lobbyists and parties interested in preserving their breaks and benefits, everyone arguing over taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.There are more than a handful of tax reform bills. None of which is likely to pass, but all of which are […]

My wife and I are appalled that the small minds of the conservative Republicans would attack Sen. Snowe, Sen. Voinovich and Rep. Houghton for opposing the Bush $726 billion tax cut proposal.Sen. Snowe’s insistence on a balanced budget is a wise voice raised in the midst of a fiscally irresponsible Republican House and Senate.In addition […]

You will be relieved to learn that Rick Santorum is an all right guy.I got this from Arlen Specter who is, like Santorum, a Republican senator from Pennsylvania. Specter has been defending his colleague, who’s under fire for comments about gays that he made during a recent wire-service interview.In the course of just a few […]

Concerning cards, I may not always “know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,” as Kenny Rogers once crooned, but I still have my clothing and my car.Yet I don’t know what to make of our military’s current card game. As most everyone now knows, as events unfolded during the war in Iraq […]

Most people mightn’t have thought about it, but it’s no surprise that Scott Peterson, whose murdered wife has been national news since she went missing on Christmas Eve, stands charged with two murders.Laci Peterson was pregnant, a tragic fact raises the obvious question:If a man who kills his pregnant wife can be charged with a […]

Sunshineis goodmedicineCanadian officials are understandably upset that the World Health Organization issued a warning to travelers to avoid Toronto, where the most deaths from severe acute respiratory syndrome outside China have occurred.The warning will certainly interfere with business and tourist travel, but the protestations may be overdone.“Sunshine is the best of disinfectants,” Supreme Court Justice […]

On Tuesday, two young activists tried a novel approach to changing the eating habits of folks in Paris. They bought coupons for veggie burgers and handed them out to diners entering Burger King, convincing some to try an alternative to a hamburger.The activists, both from the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, used their own […]