The only thing worse than taxes is tax breaks. That seems as contradictory as Newt Gingrich saying fundamentalist Muslims are trying to turn the United States into a country of atheists. But unlike much of what Newt says, there’s a rational basis for my contention. The amount we’re taxed by state and local governments isn’t […]

Raj is a word that should be in everyone’s vocabulary. Out of style for a generation or so, it is now creeping back into usage, this time to define a different set of characters. Raj (“reign” in Hindustani) referred to the 100-year British rule over India and assorted principalities – a reign that ended in […]

Raj is a word that should be in everyone’s vocabulary. Out of style for a generation or so, it is now creeping back into usage, this time to define a different set of characters. Raj (“reign” in Hindustani) referred to the 100-year British rule over India and assorted principalities – a reign that ended in […]

The other day I was standing alongside a country road, looking like a character in a Down East story, when a car full of confused tourists drove up and asked if I could direct them to “a beach.” I was tempted to have some fun with these naive visitors from away, but I didn’t. Instead, […]

National observances were created so that the president or the Congress by special proclamation could bring attention to an issue of widespread importance. A statement or press conference recognizing Black History Month (February), National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) or Military Family Month (November) guarantees that the country sets aside a moment in the spotlight, […]

Debt is a fundamental part of American life. Car payments. Mortgages. Partially unpaid bills from irate Colombian hookers. In that way, the state of Maine is much like you or me. Except it has a lot more debt – about $1 billion – owed mostly to bankers and investment houses, but also to Quebec, New […]

Democracy is a messy system of government. Its basic tenets encourage the ignorant masses to react based on emotional appeals, thereby overwhelming the reasoned judgments of the educated elite. This produces such contradictory results as the resounding defeats of several measures that would have put limits on Maine government’s ability to tax the populace and […]

Two great New England institutions are celebrating their 100th birthdays in 2012 – Fenway Park and L.L. Bean. From talking to my grandfather as a kid and reading Maine history, I know that things were very different in Maine 100 years ago, when Fenway and L.L. Bean first opened their doors. For example, back then, […]