Give Donald Trump credit for planning ahead. He is preparing to be a sore loser. Trump’s complaints that he is being undone by a rigged system crafted by a corrupt Republican Party is the dress rehearsal for his campaign’s closing argument should it come up short in Cleveland. Trump will, in his telling, have been […]
Op-Eds
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Taxpayers’ money still being wasted
As the tax deadline has just passed, it is once again time to consider how the federal government wastes our money. Remember the spending caps that were supposed to keep Congress from overspending? Gone with the wind. How about the promise Republicans made about no more earmarks on spending bills? It disappeared almost as fast […]
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Bill Clinton trashes his own legacy
WASHINGTON — How far they’ve come. And I’m not talking about the GOP, whose front-runner representing 37 percent of the Republican electorate has repudiated post-Reagan orthodoxy on trade, entitlement reform, limited government and Pax Americana (and possibly abortion, but who knows?). I’m talking about the Democrats. The center-left, triangulating, New Democrat (Bill) Clintonism of the […]
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Trump learns harsh lesson about politics
NEW YORK — Having recently discovered how the nomination process actually works in the Republican Party, Donald Trump is furious. “They wanted to keep people out,” he’s bellowed. “This is a dirty trick.” In fact, Mr. Trump is right on the first count and wrong on the second. Political parties do have mechanisms to “keep […]
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Improve response to lead poisoning
Lead poisoning is a critical issue in Lewiston and Auburn, along with many communities with older housing stock. We know lead is particularly toxic to children and their developing brains. Lead toxicity can cause both acute and chronic cognitive problems, along with many other medical problems in children and adults. Lead poisoning can cause developmental […]
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Leaving Growth Council is wrong turn for Auburn
I served as executive director of the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council at the time the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, the Lewiston Development Corp. and the Auburn Business Development Corp. chose to join forces in an effort to diversify and strengthen the tax base and to create new and better job opportunities for the […]
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Programs can teach adults about child sexual assault
Talking about childhood sexual abuse can be uncomfortable. Some parents might not know where to start. “What words should we use?” “If we talk about sexual abuse with children, will that make it more likely to happen?” “What if I haven’t figured out my own childhood trauma?” “But my plan to keep my child safe […]
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Will Maine step backward on foster care?
When Congress and the Clinton Administration ended “welfare as we know it” in 1996, they replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. As families were removed from the welfare rolls, states were allowed to keep any “surplus” that resulted. But the surplus funds were supposed to […]
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Anita Hill kick-started the discussion we needed to have
Anita Hill. Anita, still. The woman who became a crusader against sexual harassment, a term that was a firebomb in 1991, the year she – and it – became famous.She dressed herself immaculately, took her seat politely, and made sure to speak clearly, as she delivered her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Clarence Thomas, […]
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The Maine adventures – and misadventures – of patriot Paul Revere
It’s the Patriot’s Day weekend, an intriguing occasion to take a look at episodes here in Maine of the man whose midnight ride triggered the advent of one of the season’s signature holidays. Though Paul Revere’s overnight April 1775 crusade is well known, less known is his subsequent mission to Maine. This occurred in one […]