The rich and well connected have great power and, given human nature, may use their power to help themselves and hurt others. Journalism isn’t the only way to hold accountable rich people and powerful organizations, but it’s an essential one. Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were only in their twenties when they […]
As a Jew who had family members killed in the Holocaust, I’m agnostic about what to call facilities in the United States holding asylum seekers. But there’s one thing about which I’m certain: It’s wrong to treat immigrants in a dehumanizing way. Yet recently, we’ve seen horrific conditions. Infants and children in our care are […]
We have come a long way in the last half a century, but discrimination persists. We can’t let progress backslide.
Elected officials hold power on behalf of the people. Exerted within the bounds of institutional checks and balances, this push and pull keeps government in check and protects rights. Yet recently Sen. Susan Collins devalued her impact and President Donald Trump inflated his prerogatives. Both portraits of power were false and harmful to basic precepts […]
As Maine legislators consider replacing caucuses with presidential primaries, we should remember what happened the last time caucuses were held. My own memories are vivid. When I arrived at Bangor High School for the 2016 Democratic caucuses, there were long lines and many people milling about. On the positive side, there was a sense of […]
Bruce Poliquin lost his seat in Congress in November, but he hasn’t gone quiet. On Friday, the former congressman spoke to the annual meeting of the New England Political Science Association. With forks and plates clattering as conference-goers ate lunch, Poliquin gave a speech and took questions. After the luncheon, people were talking about the […]
All of what’s happened was not only utterly predictable, but was also not what the American people wanted.
Decades after the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only person responsible for assassinating President John F. Kennedy, a majority of Americans rejected their finding, believing there was a conspiracy. Attorney General Bill Barr followed a path that’s likely to make responses to the Mueller report at least as distrusting. Why? No […]
How did vaccines, a highly effective medical tool, become controversial?
In the 45 years since the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that there is a national right for women to choose abortion and, despite stable public support for abortion in all or most cases, the issue has not faded away.
