WASHINGTON — And now, less than six weeks from the election, what is the main event of the day? A fight between the GOP presidential nominee and a former Miss Universe, whom he had 20 years ago called Miss Piggy and other choice pejoratives. Just a few weeks earlier, we were seized by a transient […]
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Why would anyone want a one-way ticket to Mars?
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made a splash at the International Astronautical Conference in Mexico with his plans for an Interplanetary Transport System, along with a disturbingly inspirational ultimatum: “There are really two fundamental paths. One path is we stay on Earth forever and there will be some eventual extinction event. … The alternative is to […]
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Maine’s unique electoral voting
Native American helpedrevive awarding votes by congressional district Recent polls show Hillary Clinton out in front in Maine’s First District. They also show Donald Trump ahead in the Second. The state’s split identity has drawn renewed attention not only to the theme of “Two Maines” but also to the state’s pioneering and nearly unique system of […]
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Advice for Trump to use in second debate
Donald Trump scored a gentleman’s “C” in his first debate with Hillary Clinton. She was programmed, like one of those androids from the film “Westworld,” spewing out well-rehearsed sound bites, smiling (sometimes condescendingly), and even tossing in a few wiggles. It was all designed to make her look warm and wonderful. As the saying goes, […]
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A conversation about domestic violence
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Recent events have made the issue of domestic violence, an issue that is not often seen in the public eye, visible. For every incident that appears in the news, hundreds more happen that never get reported. Domestic Violence Awareness Month offers an opportunity for all of us to engage […]
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Will TPP rise from the dead? Doubtful
WASHINGTON — The question about the TPP — the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Obama’s signature trade agreement — is whether it’s already gone to the political morgue or whether it’s still in intensive care. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump oppose the agreement, while the president has urged ratification. With Obama’s term ending and his already-modest […]
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California measure seeks to lower drug prices
California may soon drive a hole through Washington’s tolerance for — and protection of — price gouging on drugs. A measure on the November ballot, Proposition 61, would bar state agencies from paying more for prescription drugs than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does. Congress generally prohibits the U.S. government from negotiating prescription drug […]
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U.S.-Russia Syrian partnership unravels
In August 2011, six months after Syria’s Arab Spring revolt erupted, U.S. President Barack Obama put American prestige on the line and insisted Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad cede power. “For the sake of the Syrian people,” Obama said, “the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” It is September 2016. Assad remains in […]
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Clinton comment sums up Trump
In some ways, it was the most memorable line of Monday’s presidential debate. It came after Donald Trump had stumbled through a non-responsive response to a simple question: Why did it take him so long to concede President Obama was born in the USA? In reply, Trump congratulated himself for getting Obama to produce his […]
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Trump could bring needed change to nation
Now that all of my inside-the-beltway, elitist, morally superior friends and colleagues have weighed in with their self-righteous denunciations of Donald Trump, it’s my turn. After initially opposing his candidacy for president, I have come around to another point of view. The election of Hillary Clinton will perpetuate and probably worsen everything many people hate […]