The headline was shocking: “Portland faces $6 million in annual General Assistance cuts under LePage budget.” That headline is from an article on Monday from Portland Press Herald staff reporter Kevin Miller. It certainly got my attention. What, I wondered, would cause such… Read More
Here is a fact that is simply inarguable: Maine hospitals are owed $450 million. Here is another fact that is inarguable: That debt was caused by an expansion of MaineCare, which is Maine’s version of Medicaid, without accompanying state resources devoted to paying for the additional… Read More
I suppose we are finally having that long-overdue “conversation” about guns, aren’t we? Sadly it isn’t a particularly productive one. Neither left nor right is talking any real sense here. Banning assault weapons is little more than a marketing ploy, as the definition of… Read More
What could you buy for $800 a month? Residents of Maine’s second congressional district could buy a lot. That could pay the rent for an average sized apartment, groceries, gas and dinner out once a week. It could buy a few new suits or day care… Read More
This November, the election most people will be paying attention to is the presidential race. But as important as it is, if you glance several inches downward on your ballot as you vote, you will see a place to register your choice for your local state senator and… Read More
It was December of 2010 and Congress was in a protracted battle over a host of issues, including an extension of expiring tax cuts, the Defense Authorization bill which included a contentious repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Read More
On the evening of May 1, 2011, I was settled in for a quiet night. My cellphone was dead, nothing was on television, and I was half asleep on my couch ready to go to bed. Suddenly, as I continued to slip in and out of… Read More
A few days ago, editorial cartoonist George Danby came up with a rather interesting take on the minicontroversy that is Ted Nugent’s visit to Bangor. In the cartoon, two people are sitting in a diner of some kind, with one complaining that criticism of Nugent is unfair because… Read More
Say what you want about Paul LePage, the man is doing exactly what he told you he was going to do when he was running for office. You may not like what he does, but in an age where all too often silver-tongue, polished, over-consulted, wishy-washy, power-hungry politicians… Read More
I am told that there is a war being waged against women in this country. I had no idea I was such a reprehensible human being, but as a registered Republican, apparently I am one of the people in political fatigues, prosecuting this war. Who knew?… Read More
Let’s say that you are having a rough time lately — not a stretch of the imagination for a lot of folks. Life is not treating you very well. You just had to accept a pay cut at work (but are thankful you still have a job), your… Read More
The so-called “Affordable Care Act” — an Orwellian-named law if I have ever seen one — is in some pretty serious trouble this week. That’s not just my assessment, it seems that legal observers all over the country are agreeing that the Supreme Court is likely… Read More
Angus King may have sucked all of the oxygen out of the room, but there are in fact other people running for the Senate seat vacated by Olympia Snowe. Were I to profile the Democrats, I am certain I would have plenty of unhappy readers. I… Read More
Angus King is a talented man. He has managed to so thoroughly frighten every major player in the Democratic Party, they have abdicated any serious attempt to even try to win a highly coveted seat in the U.S. Senate. If I didn’t see it with my… Read More
No one can afford to lose the race for Olympia Snowe’s Senate seat. No one. The Republican Party is desperate to retake the United States Senate, and that is a task that becomes much harder if Maine falls into non-Republican hands. If President Obama is re-elected… Read More
Beware conventional wisdom; it has a nasty habit of being anything but wise. After everyone had picked their collective jaws off the floor upon hearing of Sen. Olympia Snowe’s retirement, the very first thing we all saw was the birth of a brand new political meme,… Read More
I’m going to say something that might just get me excommunicated from the Republican Party. I like earmarks. All right, that’s not entirely honest. For the most part, I loathe them. I hate spending money, especially on things that I don’t think the federal government should… Read More
I suppose it seemed like a good idea at the time. When Maine did away with its presidential primary and switched to a caucus, there were a number of reasons cited. Some felt Maine as a primary state was simply irrelevant compared to neighboring New Hampshire,… Read More
Inquisitive reporters from all over the country have been calling me for the past two weeks, desperate to know what to expect in the Maine GOP caucuses this weekend. It has been somewhat amusing to walk the uninitiated through the intricacies of Maine Republican Party politics,… Read More
My son will turn five years old this month, and I have a problem. Kindergarten registration is next month, and I live on the wrong side of the road. I live on the west side of a major road in my town, and everyone on my… Read More
