Sustainability is a big part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal: family and friends gather to enjoy home-cooked, seasonal food from local farms, and eat leftovers for many days afterward. More importantly, getting together is an opportunity to show gratitude for all that sustains us. While the theory of Thanksgiving evokes peace and sustainability, the practice […]

There wasn’t much suspense in Maine election results on Tuesday. Question 3, the big-ticket item proposing a new entity called Pine Tree Power, couldn’t muster even a third of the vote — a sure sign it didn’t belong on the ballot. Question 3 would have expropriated Central Maine Power’s and Versant’s assets without any clear […]

Debates over free speech have deeply immersed themselves into the fabric of our culture over the past few years. Wild and sharp finger-pointing has gone in both directions. Last week, a Cornell University junior accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus was held without bail after his first appearance in federal […]

Former vice president Mike Pence was the first domino to fall, drawing increased focus and pressure on the remaining single-digit candidates for the Republican presidential nomination to confront the harsh reality that victory will not be theirs. In the Real Clear Politics polling average, Pence, at 3.4%, held fifth place but showed no movement. His […]

According to my extensive research (approximately five minutes on Google when I should have been folding underwear), the Chinese zodiac system assigns an animal symbol to each year. It is believed that people born in a given year have the personality of that year’s animal. For example, based on the placemats at my favorite Chinese […]

To the shock of nobody, Speaker Mike Johnson has already proven himself to be a contemptible little man, pitching a crackpot deal to fund aid for Israel by swiping the money from the bolstered IRS program that cracks down on rich tax cheaters. Surely Johnson must know that by letting the rich off the hook, […]

THE CONVERSATION — College and university campuses across the U.S. have seen polarization and unrest since the Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. Students and faculty have held protests and rallies, argued on social media and signed statements, some of which have increased mistrust and turmoil on campus. Some college leaders […]

As a legislator who is also a historian, I’ve been honored to weigh in on a number of bills that have improved the state’s relationship with Maine tribes. Maine’s history with the tribes has been a long ugly one of broken promises, and as a result, there’s also a history of poverty, oppression and discrimination […]