“Medicare for All” is the best slogan ever coined for creating a national health care system in America. Great Britain got such a system in 1946, after voters shocked the world by defeating Winston Churchill, and replacing him with a Labor prime minister. Canada authorized its national system – called Medicare – in 1966, two […]

If there’s a more authentically American story than the one of Sen. Kamala Harris, you’d have to make it up. On Tuesday, the California Democrat, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, became the first woman of color in American history to be named to a presidential ticket. And across the United States, Black women, […]

We have been deluged with campaign adds for about a year now. I might add it has become rather sickening with the frequency and tone of these adds. There are apparently have no requirements as to the truth or facts of what they claim. This reminds me of what Adolph Hitler once said,” If you […]

Dense fog and very humid conditions greeted four of us when arriving at the rudimentary Spruce Head Boat Landing early morning in preparation for a Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society sea kayak trip in western Penobscot Bay. The TV weather guy had promised clearing by then. After unloading boats and changing clothes, the fog remained […]

In David Leeming’s fascinating book, “James Baldwin: A Biography,” the author describes Baldwin’s unlikely friendship with his sixth-grade teacher at P.S. 24 in New York City. Her name was Orilla Miller, but Baldwin came to call her simply “Bill.” Miller recognized James’ brilliance and encouraged him to write a play, which he did. They developed […]

President Trump has tried to short-circuit the congressional efforts to come up with a new bill on federal COVID-19 aid. That’s today’s politics, but much more. Here’s the story. In May, the House of Representatives under Democratic control passed a new $3 trillion aid package. It waited for the Senate under Republican control to pass […]

If you can, don’t send your kid to school There are so many reasons that some kids need to be in school this fall. Some struggle without supervised learning, some have special needs that only the schools can address, some have parents with un-flexible work schedules, some lack the tech or even a home to […]

In January of 1940, Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, received a check for $22.54. The 65-year-old retired legal secretary was the first person to collect a regular monthly Social Security benefit. She was among the 222,000 Americans to receive regular benefits that year, which, adjusted for inflation, would today amount to about $5,000 annually. […]