After Mike Johnson, a Congressman from Louisiana, won a long-drawn-out battle to be elected Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, several Republicans gathered about him, beaming with pride. When a reporter asked Johnson about his leading role in trying to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, his adoring backers booed the reporter. “Why […]

If you were disappointed or simply confused by the results of the Nov. 7 initiated referendum votes, you’re not alone. Aside from Question 3 that would have turned over Central Maine Power and Versant to an ill-defined new entity — overwhelmingly rejected — none of the questions addressed matters of real importance. Something is wrong […]

Well, that didn’t take as long as expected. In case you missed it, our federal government is now estimated to pay more than $1 trillion a year to service just the interest on our national debt — about $200 billion more than we spend on our military or Medicare. Why are we suddenly paying so […]

U.S. President Joe Biden sits down with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Nov. 15, 2023, in the first head-to-head talks between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies in over a year. During that time, relations between the two countries have not been their best — a spat over a purported spy balloon over American airspace in […]

THE CONVERSATION — Much of the news coverage of the discussions and negotiations aimed at averting a government shutdown on Nov. 17, 2023, relies on pundits and their unnamed sources, on leaks, speculation, wishful thinking and maybe even the reading of tea leaves. The Conversation tapped an expert on congressional behavior, Northwestern University political scientist Laurel Harbridge-Yong, […]

Do you enjoy chewing gum? One doesn’t see people chewing it so much anymore, but it was sort of a life staple when I was growing up. There was lots of it out there — and even down there, the sides of the streets of NYC were like reverse leopard pelts. There were flat white […]

Get ready for snow. Before long, the 2024 election campaign will be covered in a thick blanket of speculation. It will be about as difficult to see through as the blizzard of punditry that blows it in. Of course, political speculation is likely no better than most 10-day forecasts of the actual weather. Before I […]

Last Monday, it was confusing at first to witness Andrea Meadows, Tedford’s special projects and administrative assistant, carry and cram what looked like way too many totes and packaged housewares into her car at Tedford’s offices on Middle Street. Surely nobody could need all this stuff at once, I thought. Finally, the minivan was filled […]

Ten years ago some good friends suggested I write about Bill De La Rosa, who was a first-year Bowdoin student at the time. They said he’d probably be president of United States some day. I interviewed Bill, and they were absolutely right about this amazing young man. As a teenager, Bill had to take care […]