“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”This week we celebrate the independence declared and won at this nation’s founding. Celebrating the Declaration of Independence brings annual focus […]

The Marvel movies have captured much of the public mind in recent years, scoring tens of billions of dollars at the box office and entertaining a wide array of audiences. However except for the occasional break such as “Deadpool,” as well as their recent cliffhanger and dark turns, they’ve largely followed a “happily-ever-after…till the next […]

We all watched as the flag came by. It was the first thing in the parade, of course. Great big one, carried by two of the kids from the ROTC at the high school. The bands followed, along with the mounted patrol, the ski patrol in their summer-weight jackets, the float with the princesses on […]

Maine was fleetingly in the national political spotlight this year, because it held the first statewide election using ranked choice voting (RCV), the system allowing people to vote for several candidates in rank order. After using the process in party primaries, Maine provided other states with a model to study.  An accompanying referendum suggested that […]

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum is the first major economic policy error of his presidency.What is the president’s motive? I firmly believe that Mr. Trump’s primary goal as president is to help American workers. Both his tax cut […]

No president has insisted on the release of the secret John F. Kennedy Assassination files more than President Donald J. Trump. Last Oct. 17, he tweeted, “Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.” Then six days later, “After strict […]

Working families are, as usual, getting the short end of the stick from the new Trump-GOP tax law. Huge tax cuts that mostly go to the wealthy and corporations are exploding the national debt, and threaten deep cuts to essential public services like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and education. Not only are the tax cuts […]