Vanity costs U.S. taxpayers in wasted dollars. We apparently need a newer used presidential plane because the one we own is too old and insufficiently lavish. The president seems impatient waiting for the $4 billion-plus investment our taxpayers are spending on two new Air Force One planes, due to be completed in 2027. Forbes reported […]

What is the meaning of diversity, equity and inclusion? Diversity is, in truth, the foundation on which America was built. Our ancestors were an exceptional gathering of people escaping or expelled from or by tyrannical regimes. They were looking to form a new way of life in a “promised land.” Equity is prominently stated as […]

I am a cancer survivor. If it weren’t for continuing medical research, I would not be alive today. Both the research and development of microsurgery and chemotherapy were instrumental in me being cancer-free now. My father wasn’t so fortunate. Scientific research builds on the work of past breakthroughs. The USA has been the center for […]

Rep. Jared Golden recently claimed that Indivisible, one of many pro-democracy grassroots organizations, is funded by dark money. This “dark money” claim is typical MAGA disinformation. The reason so many Democrats claim that a politician who supports MAGA should not pretend to be a Democrat is because the Democratic party, at least in Maine, stands […]

In a May 21 letter to the editor, the writer said that “Our country needs to be run like a business.” Our government is not a business. A business exists to make money for owners and shareholders. Corporations are quick to say they exist to satisfy shareholders when they are called to account for damage […]

The production of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” in its last week at Portland Stage Company, is as dynamic and spellbinding as its subjects. In my four decades of attending PSC plays, I’ve added this to my list of top performances that include such standouts as “‘Master Harold’ … and the Boys,” “I […]

As parade season has arrived, and as a musician and director of the Hallowell Community Band, as well as the Westbrook City Band, I feel urged to bring the following request to people’s attention. Our bands, along with many other community bands in our towns, participate in many local parades in our great state throughout […]

I held off writing about Rep. Laurel Libby until I read the letter, published on May 26, “Libby a true supporter of womens rights.” Libby’s actions were not meant to support or protect women’s rights, it was an action against transgender women. She saw the opportunity to jump on the Republican bandwagon to out and […]