If you have permission to do something, does it really qualify as civil disobedience? That’s the question which needs to be asked after Wednesday’s “National School Walkout” concerning gun violence. It doesn’t belittle the cause; after all, both the Tea Party rallies in 2010 and the Women’s March in 2017 were completely appropriate exercises of […]
I really like math. So what does that have to do with Maine politics? Well, it turns out at June’s gubernatorial primary we will vote by ranked choice ballot. That means math. As we sit here today, several Democrats — Sean Faircloth, Jim Boyle, and Patrick Eisenhart — have dropped out of the race for […]
“Work” isn’t a four-letter word. Well, OK, it is, but not one of those four-letter words. The Trump Administration made national headlines by opening the door to work requirements for individuals enrolling in Medicaid, or, as we know it here, MaineCare. For years, this policy prescription was a lodestar for Gov. Paul LePage and former […]
Is there any overlap between sports and politics? The former is a form of entertainment, while the latter deals with matters of public interest. However, they both generate strong feelings among those involved with them, whether directly or indirectly. The past week has seen 2017’s favorite new neologism — “fake news” — infect sports coverage. […]
Thank goodness for reasonable Republicans. Tuesday night saw our political environment writ clearly on stages both large and small. Roy Moore, a man accused of what can only be described as heinous actions, lost a Senate seat in Alabama, a state Donald Trump won by 28 points. Meanwhile, back in Maine, Shane Bouchard won the […]
I, for one, welcome our new debt-concerned Democrats. As the tax reform debate wages in Washington, those on the left are assailing GOP plans from an unusual vantage: our national debt. Some estimates indicate the reform proposals will add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. That is why some Democrats claim they […]
“Report: Majority Of Portland Residents Can’t Afford Average Rent, Median Home Prices” “There’s a growing gap between Republicans and Democrats on helping needy” Read those two headlines. Now, what is your first impression? Probably that Portland is on the verge of mass homelessness and that one political party doesn’t want to help needy individuals. Back […]
The Gerrymander. The most evil of political beasts, destroying competition in the electoral sphere and laying eggs of partisanship to perpetuate itself. To get the full effect, you need to read that in the voice of Sir David Attenborough. Because when it comes to redistricting and representation, the entire concept is treated as some strange, […]
Adam Cote. Janet Mills. Mark Eves. Betsy Sweet. Jim Boyle. Patrick Eisenhart. To quote Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight: “And here. We. Go.” That line was one of the final ones uttered in the now-iconic performance. Ledger’s chaotic character wanted one ferry full of Gotham citizens to blow up […]
“The Great Shutdown of 2017” will be remembered much like the “Aroostook War”; an interesting historical footnote in Maine’s history. The apocryphal casualties of the latter consisted of one cow. For the former, two vehicles of Republican representatives may or may not have been vandalized by individuals who missed the childhood lesson on using their words. […]
