Rutland Herald (Vt.), June 19: It is an astonishing number: the United Nations estimates that violence and poverty have displaced 60 million people around the globe. It is a number that takes us back to the catastrophic era of World War II when vast populations of refugees roamed the European continent and war-torn regions of […]

What business does the pope have getting involved in politics and science? That’s a question that has come up in recent days surrounding the release of Pope Francis’ much anticipated encyclical, or letter, on ecology. “Laudato Si” (”Praise Be With You” ”“ the beginning of a canticle addressed to Jesus Christ by St. Francis of […]

The Concord Monitor (N.H), June 18: Donald Trump has finally done it. After years of teasing presidential runs, the Donald has announced that he is an official candidate for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016. With the primary field crowded with an abundance of qualified candidates, some might wonder if Trump is a crucial […]

Thank you I would like to take this time to thank all of the generous, wonderful passerbys who saw me, an old man, sitting on my stool, doing my job as a crossing guard, and who stopped their cars to hand me a cup of coffee. One morning, this winter, it was 11 degrees and […]

The Concord Monitor (N.H), June 18: Donald Trump has finally done it. After years of teasing presidential runs, the Donald has announced that he is an official candidate for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016. With the primary field crowded with an abundance of qualified candidates, some might wonder if Trump is a crucial […]

The Republican of Springfield (Mass.), June 12: With reports that violent crime in New York City has once again been on the rise, you’d think that the powers that be would be focused on assaults. Instead, they are worried about salt. Really. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants New York’s chain restaurants with more than 15 […]

That was Greek to me.” These words, written by Shakespeare in 1599, means something is too hard to understand. Now, it applies to Greece itself. What’s all the fuss about and does it matter to us? The answer to the second question: Your job could depend on how the Greek financial crisis is settled. The […]

“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” Patrick Henry, 1788 Legislators in Maine, as reported in this newspaper on Tuesday, discussed the state budget in closed sessions with only a few committee members in attendance. In Biddeford, the City […]

There once was a guy with bad breath. And no, that’s not the beginning of a limerick. Not only does the man exist, but he was a co-worker of mine for a time ”“ long ago, when I was but a wide-eyed rookie on the make. (As opposed to a cynical schmuck on the make.) […]