On Tuesday, for the first time Maine, voters had a chance to use ranked-choice voting to pick their nominees for governor and for Democrats in the 2nd Congressional District. Despite all the hand wringing, ranked-choice voting itself is pretty straightforward. You rank the candidates in the order that you like them. What’s different is the way […]
Hold your horses! Ease off that throttle. Slow it down there, bub. The US Supreme Court did not legalize discrimination and it did not affirm the right of business owners to turn people away who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And the court certainly did not say that the 1st Amendment allows business owners to […]
“We have failed these kids.” Those were the words of state Sen. Roger Katz, a Republican from Augusta, during a hearing on an investigation of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services about the death of two children. But the words ring true far beyond the tragic deaths of two children who were abused […]
Here’s a tale of two states, the pope and a Virginia student who just wanted to use the bathroom. The battle for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is an ongoing struggle. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Even in the face of repeated attacks by the Trump administration, legislation all […]
Current Maine Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Janet Mills started her first television commercial of the campaign with an image of Gov. Paul LePage. She’s betting that just the picture of LePage will generate a visceral reaction for Maine Democrats, grabbing their attention and setting up a sharp contrast between herself and the lame duck […]
It’s impossible for me to think about food stamps and not think about my Uncle Buddy – my mom’s brother. He was a gun-owning, motorcycle-riding, construction-working, leave-me-the-hell alone Republican. He worked on my grandmother’s farm high up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia – raising green peppers, tobacco, beef cattle and horses – and […]
The dysfunction – and frankly, absurdity – in politics today has forced the courts to be the arbiter of last resort on issues that rightly should never come before them. Unscrupulous candidates and Republican obstructionism are backed up by a schoolyard bully’s taunt: “Why don’t you make me?” Maine people have been forced to take […]
Former Gov. John Baldacci is being honored this week by the University of Maine with the Alumni Career Award. He’s earned it – and a lot more – for a lifetime of public service all dedicated to fighting for the people of Maine. Partially due to the time in which he served and partially due […]
But alas, it’s not satire.
This week was marked by Equal Pay Day, which acknowledges that women still only make about 80 percent of what men for the same work. Quality, affordable child care is one way to make a difference. There is simply no denying that if we have more women in office – in Augusta and in Washington […]
