In Look magazine, Oct. 5, 1943, Republican Wendell Willkie wrote: “Under Abraham Lincoln the Republican Party took shape as the the party of progress. The cornerstone of its doctrine was a strong Union, and its ideal was the political and economic freedom of every American – big or little, black or white. For about 70 […]

With the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote coming up, America’s schoolgirls should note how far we’ve come. They could not find a better template than President Trump’s July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore. “America’s heroes are embedded in our hearts,” he said. You know how his aides often have to tell us what […]

It is with great sadness I’ve witnessed the behavior of visitors to Portland over the last few days. Like you who visit, we too love our restaurants. But unlike you visitors, we also love the staff of those restaurants, as they are our neighbors, our friends and our families. I’ve seen you without masks get […]

On June 15, the Supreme Court of the United States made the inclusion of LGBT people under the umbrella protections of the federal civil rights law the law of the land. This proposition was first proposed in Maine by Portland’s great African American activist, Gerry Talbot, in 1974, when he successfully moved to have it […]

Unfortunately, our judicial branch has become increasing politically polarized with regard to the nomination of judges to the Supreme Court. When a candidate’s nomination is put forth, a knee-jerk reaction occurs. A chorus of voices from the opposing party begins looking for ideological reasons to reject the candidate. Instead, they should be asking whether the […]

We’re No. 1! No. 1 in the world in coronavirus infections! No. 1 in COVID-19 deaths! Although we comprise only 4 percent of the world’s population, we have 25 percent of the infections and 25 percent of the deaths. Quite a record of achievement for our president, as he so often proclaims, don’t you think? […]

I appreciated Jim Fossel’s column on July 5 invoking Margaret Chase Smith in asking those with different views not to attack others e.g. personally. It would be welcome if more people on all sides of the political spectrum could do so. However, President Trump and his top staff were omitted from Fossel’s piece. Attacking The […]

I am a Mainer, born and raised in Dover-Foxcroft. I returned here for my residency at Maine Medical Center from 1976 to 1979 and have been a summer resident since 1994. Maine is in my blood, which is why this year I again flew 5,000 miles from Honolulu and underwent two weeks of self-quarantine. But […]