Arising from humble roots in the 1960s, the American ecology movement has evolved into a big business. It now brings in billions annually to fight against global progress and economic development. It’s been poisoned by its success. From the big groups like Greenpeace, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Sierra Club to local organizations that […]

Thanks to Lori-Suzanne Dell’s recent article on the Brunswick Mall, more people have a better sense of how people shaped and maintained that lovely place. I’d like to offer another layer that includes the history of Wabanaki. Their name, which means People of the Dawnland, includes the Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Mi’kmaq and Maliseet nations. How […]

The idea, which originated in professional sports in the 1960s, soon spread to politics. The theory is that momentum influences how people vote. Winning begets winning. In this year’s presidential race, we may see momentum. That’s because the 100-day campaign is much shorter than it has been in more than half a century. President Biden’s […]

My mother, Anita Ruff, began her work at Oasis Free Clinics as the executive director the day after Christmas when I was in fifth grade. I began volunteering for Oasis within a few months (though voluntold might be a more accurate description in some cases). Over the years, I’ve assisted with a wide variety of […]

There will be at least one question on the ballot Nov. 5 that’s simple, clear and easily understood. I refer to Question 5, asking whether Mainers approve of the new state flag design. “New” is a slight misnomer, because the design actually returns to the North star and white pine flag that was official from […]

This week our lame duck President Joe Biden came out of hiding and called for some major changes in how the U.S. Supreme Court operates. His proposals — another election-time pander to his party’s progressive base — were liberal, pie-in-the-sky ideas that everyone knows will never materialize in the real world. They included getting Congress […]

“Sock it to meee?” That awkward query by presidential candidate Richard Milhous Nixon (on the September 16, 1968 episode of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”) was probably haunting my mind on August 8, 1974. On the afternoon of that fateful day, I tagged along as my flea-marketeer mother purchased antiques from farm couple Gerald and Kate […]