WASHINGTON — Here’s today’s quiz: What poses the greatest threat to America’s economy? (a) federal budget deficits; (b) China; (c) trade deficits; (d) ineffective schools; (e) the internet; (f) none of the above. The correct answer is (e), the internet — the technological wonder of the age. True, all the other threats are real. Runaway […]
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Kremlin operations target more than U.S. elections
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney argued that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is America’s chief geopolitical foe. In a now-embarrassing display of sanctimony and arrogance, President Barack Obama dismissed Romney as a benighted Cold War revivalist. “The 1980s are now calling and want their foreign policy back,” Obama sneered. Subsequent history has proved Romney to […]
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Trump refuses to lead in the information war with Russia
“Darkest Hour” follows Winston Churchill’s struggle to rouse Britain to confront the Nazi menace. Winning the war was step two. Step one, the movie’s theme, was to get the country to agree to wage war. And he did no buttering. “I have nothing to offer,” Churchill famously told his nation, “but blood, toil, tears and […]
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Democrats should stop politicizing the Russia investigation
WASHINGTON — The indictment issued on Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller shows a conspiracy of stunning sophistication by Kremlin-connected Russians, posing as American citizens or using stolen U.S. identities, to influence the 2016 presidential election. What it does not show is any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Quite the opposite, […]
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Warning signs were there for everyone to see
Reaction to the latest school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead and many more wounded begins at the wrong end. It’s not about passing more gun laws, which people intent on breaking existing laws will not obey; rather it is about heeding warning signs and doing something before it is too late. […]
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Parkland’s kids demanding change
You need to grow up. As far as I know, no survivor of last week’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla., has used those words to challenge conservatives who have created a world where mass shootings are almost literally an everyday thing. But the sentiment is clearly there. Consider David Hogg, […]
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A tribute to the Rev. Billy Graham
The Rev. Billy Graham died Wednesday. He was 99. Graham preached to an overflow crowd in New York City a few years ago and, given his age, health problems and frail appearance, it was obvious he would not be holding forth much longer. The TV images of this white-haired patriarch of the church, his piercing […]
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Have Democrats overplayed their Trump hand?
It turns out that, with apologies to Nancy Pelosi, Republicans really did have to pass the tax bill so people could find out what’s in it. The GOP has made gains on the generic congressional ballot in recent weeks, with warmer feelings about the tax plan contributing to the upward trend. The improving numbers at […]
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Will inflation come back to haunt U.S.?
WASHINGTON — Anyone looking for good economic news will be disappointed by the latest inflation report, which showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) advancing by 0.5 percent in January. By itself, this isn’t especially alarming — prices jump around month to month — but it has troubling implications for the future. To some economists, it […]
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Bates Mill No. 5 — what comes next?
The Bates Mill Complex, which stretches from Chestnut Street to Main Street, was acquired by the city of Lewiston in 1992 when Bates fell behind on payment of its real estate taxes. At that time, studies were conducted by the city, concluding that investing in redevelopment was the preferred option over incurring the cost of […]