Monthly Archives: August 2018

Good and bad, our labor history lives with us

It is hard to believe it is already Labor Day. With the traditional end of summer, the political season will soon begin to ramp up. The holiday offers a respite before we plunge into the home stretch of campaigns. The paternity of “Labor Day” as a day off is disputed. Both a Mr. McGuire and […]

Is it the will of the people to penalize marriage?

With all the hoopla occurring this week, two reports released last week have gotten overshadowed.  However, those reports focus on impacts more immediate to Mainers than guilty pleas or Supreme Court justices. They deal with ballot questions, past and present. The first was released by the conservative-leaning Maine Heritage Policy Center. Titled “The Will of […]

We need standards on who can vote. Citizenship is a good one.

Who gets a vote? That simple question belies a complex reality facing a new study group in Portland.   Tuesday night, the Portland City Council decided Mayor Ethan Strimling and Councilor Pious Ali’s proposal to permit non-citizens to vote needed more work. The ACLU was worried about it violating privacy rights, while many Portland voters […]

The media isn’t the enemy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t biased

Read these two headlines. What do you expect from the story? “After spending thousands to buy, renovate Augusta building, state now plans to demolish it.” “State buys bank-owned property for two-thirds of asking price, plans to address parking shortage.” The first headline sounds like an example of government waste. The second sounds like good old-fashioned […]

Shooting the messenger

“Ready, aim, fire!” “We’ve done it, sir. The messenger has been shot.” That seems to sum up the current state of political discourse. This past week, a libertarian-leaning think tank released a report about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare For All” proposal. The bottom line of the study? “Medicare For All” would cost the federal government […]