While visiting a breathtaking butterfly exhibit in the south, we saw two large rare butterflies, apparently mating. The interpreter, however, indicated that at this stage of their late adult lives, they were no longer fertile. One observer in our group asked, “Then why are they mating?” The interpreter replied, “Just for fun, I guess, just […]

The most vicious elections in our history were that of Jefferson in 1800, Lincoln in 1860, Lyndon Johnson in 1964, Ronald Reagan in 1980, but none of these were more contentious than that of Donald Trump in 2016 who was opposed by both political parties. “Never Trumpers” (mostly Republicans) did not resort to street riots […]

On Sept. 18, leaders of North and South Korea signed a September Declaration to advance inter-Korean cooperation and the possibility of the North’s denuclearization. Critics immediately dismissed the agreement for having accomplished nothing on the latter objective while largely ignoring what was accomplished on the former. From my perspective, the critics have it wrong: They […]

In Maine, we take great care to honor the brave men and women, who paid the ultimate sacrifice abroad. But we cannot forget the devoted families – the Gold Star families – that these heroic service members left behind; the families whose lives were forever changed. As one of our final acts of the year, […]

Our resident cowboy, Steve, brought us the shocking news: cowpuncher Three-Chord Cortez, that bunkhouse balladeer, plans to study opera, in hopes an aria or three will make him even more attractive to girls during a serenade. Apparently, singing La Donna Mobile might be more effective than “You don’t know what lonesome is ‘til you start […]

The battle over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court forms a chapter in a new epoch in American history. Like other countries, the U.S. has dealt slowly with the rights and roles of women.  Now, the country is undergoing major change, and allegations about Kavanaugh are part of it. His nomination and the […]

The 2018 midterm elections are coming up in just barely a month and a few weeks. On Nov. 6, 2018, members of the 116th Congress will be elected in states and districts across the country as Americans go to the polls in a beautiful exercise of “government by the people, for the people.” It seems such […]