Have you ever gone to an airport only to find that your plane has been delayed? By lots of hours? Of course you have. So have I. It’s kind of a Rite of Passage or something, I think, no pun. But at the risk of sounding a bit disingenuous I’ll confess here that unless I […]

Maine has been making national headlines for blowing past its goal to install 100,000 efficient air-source electric heat pumps. A better name for them might be “cool pumps,” as the main selling point for many Mainers is not the heating, but the cooling. Why install an air conditioner when you can install a heat pump […]

THE CONVERSATION — The focus on conflict in the Middle East has again returned to the Gaza Strip, with Israel’s defense minister ordering a “complete siege” of the Palestinian enclave. The military operation, which involves extensive bombing of residences, follows a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel from Gaza and killed more […]

THE CONVERSATION — The parallels were striking — and surely not coincidental. Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated military attack by its neighbors — Egypt and Syria — Israel was again caught by surprise. Early on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants invaded southern Israel by land, sea and air, and […]

OK, my fellow Republicans, you got rid of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Eight of you joined with every Democrat in the House of Representatives — the only part of the federal government we control — to vote McCarthy out, 216-210. In the process, you threw the House into chaos, killed any hope of passing important bills […]

October 3, 2023, will go down in American history as the first time a Speaker of the House was expelled from Congress by his own peers. Kevin McCarthy, a man consumed of blind personal ambition and self-interest, was shown the exit door by his congressional colleagues. Eight Republicans – Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, […]

THE CONVERSATION — When the Supreme Court ruled in 303 Creative v. Elenis in 2023 that a businessperson could not be compelled to create art that violates their religious beliefs – specifically, a wedding website for a same-sex ceremony – supporters of the decision celebrated it as a victory for freedom of religion and expression. On […]

A young doctor in Boston gave up his plans for a lucrative career in oncology, and instead built a health care program that serves the city’s residents experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness. His story, and those of his patients, are told in Tracy Kidder’s inspiring new book “Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring […]

So, our federal government limps along, thanks to last-minute shenanigans and temper tantrums by Congress. At least for the next 45 days. Yet U.S. aid to embattled Ukraine is held hostage by the Russophile House Republicans. Why? Trump’s enormous financial debt to Putin for installing him in power in 2016 is finally revealing its historical […]

Sometimes I am left scratching my head over human made products that are so weird, sometimes stupid, often so painful to use that one wonders why they were ever invented in the first place. They leave me wondering if the inventors of these things hated humans. Those very questions always roll through my mind every […]