The word “email” used to have a hyphen in it. “E-mail.” We all wrote it that way for years. Then, seemingly without warning, the mysterious “they” decided it was time to drop the hyphen, sparing humanity from that one extra keystroke. I was never notified about this. Never got a text, never got a phone […]

The real story out of Indiana is not that the legislature passed, and the governor signed, a pernicious law that could sanction discrimination against gays. The real story is the furious backlash around the country that the measure provoked. That’s why Gov. Mike Pence was forced to backpedal and support an amendment stating clearly that […]

Schools are often the heart of our cities and towns, and Maine citizens take pride in supporting and governing schools in their town. Local control is a longstanding tradition in most Maine communities. The law that forced many school departments to consolidate has been challenged at the local and state level since its inception. A […]

The month of April is named for aprilis, which means opening. That is what part of the northern hemisphere of the earth is starting to do this month. Our hemisphere has now tilted more towards the sun as the days will continue to get longer and longer until the summer solstice. There are many interesting […]

April is Donate Life Month, so if you don’t know about the science and legal landscape of organ donation, now is a great time to learn about it. Really ”“ it’s not just another bureaucrat’s appeal to participate in a program. Organ donation is something I’ve always agreed with and thought was important. When I […]

According to Betsy Clark in her analysis of our wonderful democracy, 89 percent of the people should have the authority to tell 11 percent of the people that they can’t hunt, can’t have guns and have to pay for lousy government health insurance that they neither want nor need. After all, it is “democracy,” in […]

The Berkshire Eagle of Pittsfield (Mass.), March 26: Congressional Republicans have been out to get the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since it was born in President Obama’s first term. The latest effort comes tucked into a budget resolution that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has blown the whistle on. Republicans on the Senate Budget […]

The good news is that members of the House of Representatives had a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation. House Speaker John Boehner approached Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and worked out a joint approach to fixing a long-standing problem with payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients. It was rare as it was beautiful. “The door […]