Predictably, the start of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court was an embarrassing fiasco for almost everyone involved. The Republican chair of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley, had barely begun his opening remarks before Democratic Senator Kamala Harris interrupted to demand the meeting be adjourned, and less than two minutes in protestors started screaming. […]

Sen. John McCain’s funeral was the occasion for praising his dedication to friendship and fair play. The words of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and Meghan McCain, his daughter, were all telegraphed criticisms of Donald Trump’s rough handling of his self-designated adversaries both at home and abroad. But the words they spoke […]

George Cahill was a man with a higher mission fixed to the skies.He volunteered to fight in World War II at the earliest possible age: 17-and-a-half. Both parents signed off, and he headed to gunnery school in Las Vegas.George met his crew in Lincoln, Nebraska. They flew to Newfoundland and then Iceland and England. And […]

Recently, I joined fellow leaders in business and education for an event at Thomas College in Waterville. We gathered with some of the college’s brightest students to drive home an important point: that greater access to and affordability of postsecondary opportunities are essential to closing the 21st century workforce skills gap. Why would I care […]

The issue of health care is deeply personal. It’s why I firmly believe that Mainers should have the freedom of choice when it comes to their doctor and other health care professionals, as well, as the treatment that best meets their specific health care needs. Neither the Legislature nor insurance companies should stand in the […]

There are people in Washington who hate each other but who, for public consumption, pretend not to hate each other. What was almost refreshing about the relationship of Sen. John McCain and President Trump was that there was no such pretending. A number of Trump’s 2016 Republican primary rivals who serve in the U.S. Senate […]

Of all of nature’s attributes, I love her unpredictability the most. Every year about this time, I start to dismantle my garden. I use the term “garden” loosely, as what passes for one here is actually nothing more than a small mound outside my door that erupts into a mass of perennials put into place […]

In light of recent publicity about the U.S-British-Israeli cyber attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, we might want to consider intelligence lessons from the past. In the autumn of 1960, with the presidential race between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy tightening, the Democratic Party candidate made much of a supposed “missile […]