Today is my birthday — No. 51. When I was a kid, I tried to picture what I would be like when I was in my 50s. It seemed impossibly old. Even after I had children in my 30s, I would think about their high school graduations and imagine an empty house, still unable to […]

The Ukraine war came home to Americans when Putin quit Russia’s last nuclear arms control agreement with the U.S. But the potentially renewed threat of nuclear confrontation, part of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, has been mostly ignored. To understand the new situation, I interviewed John Holum, former U.S. Under-Secretary […]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders concluded the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union speech with the statement, “The dividing line is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy.” Smitten by Sanders inflammatory oratory, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a prince of partisanship, declared that, ”A star is born […]

It’s at once amazing and troublesome. I speak of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence application that was launched last November by OpenAI. In a matter of seconds, it can write apparently accurate articles or answer questions on a multitude of subjects. When I asked ChatGPT what it is, it responded this way: “I am designed to […]

It’s fascinating how, when it suits their purpose, pundits lean heavily on “history” in predicting what they assume will happen. When the “chattering classes,” at the Brits call them, predicted a Republican takeover of Congress in November 2022, they universally cited “history” as the reason. The history they cited is that the party of a […]

Maine is unique, both with our overall demographics and with our high number of small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs. I’ve spent my career working with entrepreneurs, helping them hone their interests and passions into business plans, gain financial literacy and launch successful businesses. Anyone who runs their own business will share with you the joy […]

You may not be aware the most important election of 2023 will take place on April 4 in the hotly competitive swing state of Wisconsin. A primary earlier this week produced two finalists: liberal Janet Protasiewicz and conservative Daniel Kelly. Donors pumped roughly $9 million into the primary, and the spring showdown will put that […]

The word “reprieve” is being used to describe the late-December federal action that produced a 6-year delay in implementing federal whale rules, as well as new funding for research and gear innovations in the lobster fishery. A reprieve is welcome, but it does not mean that the industry can step back and go about business […]