The world seemed surprised when Hitler annexed the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938. More surprised when he invaded Poland in 1939 and flabbergasted when he marched into the Soviet Union in 1941. Never underestimate the ambitions of an evil tyrant. Perhaps the West thought Vladimir Putin was bluffing about invading Ukraine. If so, the U.S. […]

Nathaniel Adams Coles was 15 when he dropped out of Wendell Phillips Academy in Chicago to pursue a career in music. Three years later, in 1937, he managed to sell his first song, a catchy tune called “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” for fifty dollars. Coles died of cancer in 1965, but just the other […]

Allow ranked choice voting in municipal elections I urge our legislators and governor to support L.D. 859, a bill to allow municipalities to use ranked choice voting (RCV) in municipal elections. By now, most of us understand the advantages of RCV. Thanks to RCV, election races with more than two contenders — which have become […]

Okay, here’s some good news to renew your faith in humanity. The Outreach Committee at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick recently awarded a total of $43,660 to 20 nonprofit organizations. Most of them are local; all of them lift and serve those in need. The grants ranged in size from $500 to $5,000. The […]

Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I sent a contribution directly from my bank to the Ukraine government’s national bank account in Kyiv. It transferred the same day using SWIFT, the international payments message system. It cost me nothing. I am just a random American with no special ties to Ukraine. If a person […]

Speaking from his nation’s capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress as Russian shells continue to bombard the city. In the historic event on March 16, 2022, Zelenskyy sought to persuade U.S. legislators and the American public of the similarities between U.S. history and Ukraine’s present. A […]

At the end of February 2020, our clinical director left Oasis for new opportunities. Two weeks after her departure, the global pandemic arrived, and everything changed. The first few days of the pandemic were filled with confusion and uncertainty. Without a clinician on staff and no personal protective equipment in the clinic, we asked ourselves, […]

With the world full of angst and disruption — with so many people filled with anger and hate — I can’t think of a better time to embrace the Irish spirit. So let me share some of Ireland’s most enjoyable blessings, proverbs and quotes, as gathered by IrishCentral. This blessing is a good place to […]

There’s no disagreement that CMP’s customer service and reliability are deplorable. CMP has created such enmity among its customers that some are even willing to believe the specious claims of those promoting a “consumer owned utility.” Few people realize CMP is a self-inflicted wound. Maine’s PUC and its legislature are the creators of this monster. […]

After the Iranian oil crisis of 1979 began sending gasoline prices soaring, President Jimmy Carter went before the nation from the Oval Office, wearing a sweater, and advised the citizenry to turn down thermostats to save fuel, and money. After the earlier OPEC oil embargo that tripled gas prices, President Richard Nixon signed a 55 […]