While most of the country rejected socialist economic policies and the progressive Democrat candidates espousing them on Election Day, Portland voters fully embraced government control of the economy and will soon feel its devastating effects. With Portland’s approval of rent control and a $15 minimum wage by 2024 – as well as a whopping $18 […]
Forecaster Opinion
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Superintendent’s Notebook: Finding gratitude in a pandemic
Never has a year made us examine our every move, interaction and all of our best-laid plans. Never has everything about our daily lives been so considered and scrutinized. When we walk out of our doors, we can’t let our guard down. Even something as simple as grocery shopping can feel fraught with danger. Moreover, many […]
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Posted inForecaster Opinion
Over Easy: The pandemic is tiring, but won’t last forever
The problem with this pandemic crisis is that it’s gone on way too long. The public’s attention span withers as they try to cope with numbers like 70,000 new cases per day, a million worldwide. We are worn down by the relentless phrases of virus: 40,000 new cases, a surge here, a spike there. But […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Make the media great again
I’m going to make a prediction. No, not regarding the outcome of the election (which has yet to occur as of this writing), but regarding how Americans will soon get their news and information. The next trend in media will be direct sourcing of information. No filtering by editors and reporters. No middleman, in other […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Life Unwound: Finding calm amid chaos
In 1980, in a yoga class on my jade green mat, in a softly lit studio with gentle music playing, I found a way to quiet, even with a loud mind whirling like a ceiling fan and living in a country which thundered and raged like now. The teacher said, “Gradually something will ground you […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: Sometimes things aren’t what we expect them to be
My youngest son is in his senior year of high school. The fundamental questions of “Who am I?” and “What am I going to be?” loom large. Ever since he was fairly young, he’s wanted to go to college and become a sports journalist. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve never doubted he could do […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Here’s Something: Virus, election exacerbate personality traits
2020 has been a psychologically hard year. We’ve had the pandemic, the lockdowns, the election, the race riots and the general fear and anxiety these monumental events have caused. People handle stress differently, and they deal with fear and worry differently. The most basic of reactions is the fight or flight response, but that doesn’t […]
Posted inAmerican Journal, Forecaster Opinion, Lakes Region Weekly
Mainewhile: We should welcome knowledge, not reject it
When I was a teenager, my sister lived in Scotland for a year and made friends with a brilliant pianist from China who had defected to the west. When he eventually moved to the U.S., he came to visit our family and we all got to hear stories of what his life had been like. […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Forum: How I shortened my winter by adding two months to it
Winter (from Webster’s dictionary): “the season between autumn and spring comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of December, January, and February, or as reckoned astronomically extending from the December solstice to the March equinox.” Winter in Maine (from my dictionary): the season between autumn and spring comprising usually the months of November, December, […]
Posted inForecaster Opinion
Over Easy: Why you should vote
During my years living abroad I got to spend time in places where the politics and the government rules were dissimilar from when I was raised. As an American living abroad I seldom came in direct contact with the local governments in the places where I landed. At most a check with the passport, a […]