Interview with Jerry Leeman: Today we bring you a story about a handful of fishermen rallying against a billion-dollar green industrial project, shady foreign corporations, and our own federal and state government. All are conspiring to generate a cash cow for…
History | Articles
Can Democrats Restore Trust Before Next Election?
Does the Democrat party merit broad public confidence? After failing timely acknowledgement of physical and mental deterioration of its Presidential standard-bearer and obvious lack of preparedness for prompt and credible succession, how can it best restore public…
DOGE Probe Exposes Devaluation of American Citizenship Benefits
The DOGE investigation in progress is revealing how devalued the concept of American citizenship has become. Over the past four years, about 4-million foreigners admitted to the United States as residents became gratuitous participating beneficiaries of established…
Americans Push for Presidential Change Amid Global Economic Shifts
More Americans are beginning to understand the reasons for electing a Presidential agent of big-picture change rather than one perpetuating a stagnating status quo. International mobility and trade have skewed economic dependency and shifted our leadership stage from…
Fairness in Federal Policy: Balancing Precedent and Future Consequences
Nearly all federal government policy decisions involve issues of perceived popular fairness. Whether it’s the question of transgender competition in women’s athletics or financial reparations for perceived past injustices, the fairness remedy must be judged in the…
Musk Praised for Tesla, Criticized for Government Audit Fallout
Observers who lauded Elon Musk for addressing a perceived environmental threat by pioneering Tesla electric vehicles to mitigate climate change now castigate him for voluntarily conducting a forensic audit of government financial management. “Follow the money”…
American Democracy Fails: Public Demands DOGE Probe into Budget Crisis
It’s a sad commentary on the state of American democracy when broad public support for investigation of the causes of growing budget imbalances and escalating national indebtedness is thwarted. Two established parties claiming to favor fiscal prudence and balanced…
Is Governor Mills Maine’s Biden? Leadership Questioned Amid Social, Economic Struggles
Is Governor Janet Mills the de facto Joe Biden of Maine – an elected leader more by reason of party-line fealty than noteworthy executive accomplishment? As our state experiences deleterious side effects of supposed societal advances like offshore wind turbines,…
DOGE Report Exposes Decades of Government Waste, Fraud, and Corruption
Adult Americans of all political persuasions should be appalled at DOGE investigation findings of years of government incompetence and irresponsibility in federal financial management. Overdue independent, in-depth questioning of why the national debt burden has…
Should Citizenship Be Birthright or Earned? Americans Divided on Immigration
It appears that some portion of our citizenry approves granting of that status to newcomers of all backgrounds and persuasions who enter the country illegally. That group includes expectant mothers of foreign descent who happen to ‘drive in’ to a hospital immediately…
Political Decorum Plummets: 2024 Election Fallout Sparks Threats and Destruction
American political decorum has reached a deplorable new level as elements disappointed by the 2024 election outcome resort to illegal, intemperate and incendiary measures to express their outrage about overdue efforts to disclose questionable government financial…
Is Mobster Mentality Infiltrating a U.S. Political Party?
Is one of America’s political parties succumbing to “mobster” infiltration? Street demonstrations against a popularly elected government, personal assassination threats to leading officials, and contrived propaganda concerning policy motivation and direction are not…
Post-Election Mail Overload: Are Political Causes Wasting Funds?
The daily volume of regular and e-mail continues months after the 2024 election. I must wonder whether extraordinary production and messaging costs of reaching me are indicative of the political and social causes they strive to promote. Four tote bags and multiple…
Governor’s Flippant Remark Risks $400M in Federal Funding
What was she thinking? Could she have been thinking at all? One spontaneous, reflexive, thoughtless, flippant five-word remark to the President by our partisan Governor in a Washington crowd of state leadership peers, “We’ll see you in court”, irresponsibly risks loss…
Government Shutdown Avoidance Sparks Outrage: Hiding Corruption in Congress?
Why does the decision to avoid a government shutdown seem offensive to so many members of Congress? Could it be a desire to forestall intensive investigation and revelation of serious lack of judgment and oversight in determining specific applications of taxpayer…
US Trade Imbalances Spark Tariff Debates and ‘Buy American’ Push
All countries have trade imbalances, particularly smaller ones lacking a diversity of wealth-creating natural resources and production capabilities. As a result, tariff impositions are a common means of squaring accounts, so to speak, to protect their economies from…
Has Congress Surrendered Governance to Courts Amid Legal Challenges?
Has Congress effectively ceded its Constitutional governance responsibilities to the courts? It seems as though every aggrieved party is now seeking judicial redress with every conceivable challenge to established law, however remote. Politicized court shopping at…
Protesters Wave Negativity: Is Discontent Enough to Challenge New Leadership?
Does it make sense to gather, stand and wave in a wintry public place for a cause that offers no positive, uplifting message – only dissatisfaction with new government leadership? Is the prompt reality of “promises made, promises kept” a sudden surprise to those…
Trump’s Bold Style Outshines Biden’s Restrained Leadership
The Style of Presidential substance I sense that relatively few Americans really understand and appreciate the breadth and depth of successful leadership responsibility for very large and complex organizations. The stark contrast in commitment and style between our…
Maine’s Budgetary Prudence: Time for DOGE-like Oversight?
To what extent is Maine committed to extract from its movers and shakers to support a multitude of dependent takers? What would an independent, DOGE-like investigation reveal about our state’s budgetary prudence? Why wouldn’t a responsible Governor, treasurer and…
Is Open-Minded Dialogue Dead in Polarized Politics?
Have you noticed how few open-minded people you encounter these days when it comes to politicized issues? Is constructive dialogue going to be encouraged by waving derisive placards at passing motorists? Do such demonstrations prove anything other than personal desire…
Mainers, 2026 Midterms: Time to Reclaim Blaine House!
Mainers outnumbered by voter registration are starting to come out of the closet in anticipation of the 2026 midterm election. In the context of a rising tide of federal revitalization and initiative and Democrat opposition in an obvious state of disarray, our state…
Maine Governor Sparks National Debate on Male Participation in Girls’ Sports
Why has Maine’s Governor chosen to draw national attention to our corner of the country over the issue of male participation in girls’ sports? What do we stand to gain from this folly? Is it helpful to be linked with the likes of radical Minnesota and California on an…
Schumer’s Serious Face Reflects Democratic Party’s Disarray and Disassociation
Does anyone recall seeing Senate minority leader Charles Schumer laugh or even smile lately? His new task is to give serious appearance to an unsettled party in disarray as to policy, protocol and procedure. Its shameful and deliberate disassociation from the rest of…
Disappointed Democrats: Why the Reflexive Negativity to Successors’ Policies?
Why do disappointed Democrats continue to demean themselves by reflexively reacting negatively and obstreporously to any policy initiative taken by their successors?They refuse to take the easy path to immediate respectability by failing to support several…
America at 250: Reassessing Democracy Amid Political Failures
The role of democratic government is to establish and maintain a society in which personal freedom is maintained within a collective context of well-being and individual opportunity. Public safety, economic sustainability, and moral consistency are the foundational…
Transgenderism: Human Construct or Natural Phenomenon? Trump’s Leadership Style Questioned
Is the notion of transgenderism strictly a figment of the ‘advanced‘ human mind? Where are the animal species with evidence of other than male and female characteristics – horses, cattle, deer, dogs, cats, rabbits, skunks, mice and so on? Are some of us simply…
Maine Government: Transparent or Obscure? Calls for Efficiency Audit Grow
Would you say that Maine government is relatively low in visibility and transparency? Our population seems to have become accustomed to thinking of it as a caretaker and regulator rather than a potential instrument of adaptive and creative socio-economic change. How…
Why such Blame and Disparagement?
What should we think of the large numbers of disappointed Americans openly rooting for their newly installed government to fail, even though they cannot offer or hope to install a credible replacement slate? Can an agenda of constant blame and disparagement be the…
Presidential Candidacy: Unveiling Risks of Minimal Vetting Before the 2024 Election
Are the hidden advantages to delayed and hasty presidential candidacy from cursory personal background investigation finally coming to light within a month of the national election?Can it be a total surprise that minimal vetting of millions of illegal immigrants has…
Merit vs. Identity: Rethinking What Qualifies for White House Leadership
Should White House occupancy be based on meritorious individual accomplishment, party affiliation, or personality traits? In our “advanced” society, it was distressing last week to see a former President openly advocate for public ballot support to be based on race…
Maine Governor’s Defiant Stance on President’s Transparency Sparks Controversy
How many Mainers are reveling in their Governor’s insolent public condemnation of a President being as transparent as possible about his leadership intentions with respect to gender identity? Our state may be a geographic outlier, but it doesn’t need to be far out of…
Assessing Blame: Trumps Legacy vs. Bidens Leadership Amid Ongoing Divisions
Who is at Fault? Democrats delight in castigating decisive Donald Trump on grounds of personality rather than his noteworthy 2017-21 socioeconomic accomplishment, disrupted by a global health phenomenon.Based on subsequent circumstances, isn’t it appropriate to…
Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports: Fairness or Rivalry?
Have I had the wrong (male) perspective on the subject of mixed biological rivalry in athletic endeavors? Should we be sensitive to the personal shame and sense of inadequacy that must accompany a transgender athlete’s failure to win a women’s track competition? What…
Same-Party Control: A Threat to Pragmatic Governance in Our Democracy
The worst election outcome for our democratic republic is same-party control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.No president can wander too far from the centrist path of consensus under those circumstances. Theoretically, the smaller the respective…
Election Integrity in Crisis: Whistleblower Exposes Debate Misconduct and Its Consequences
Does “the land of the free and home of the brave” now also include the indoctrinated, deceived and misled? Whistleblower revelations of ABC News presidential debate misconduct in making sample questions available to one candidate in advance leaves an irrevocable black…
Voter Skepticism Grows as Political Party Faces Uncertain Future Ahead of Election
Trust us; you’ll like what you get! That’s the implicit campaign message from an incumbent political party in the throes of dramatic, unanticipated leadership change following a disappointing four-year term of governance.With less than two months until the 2024…
New Administration Shines: Youthful, Energetic, Ready to Tackle National Challenges
After four years of federal governance by an enfeebled President and a supporting cast largely comprised of DEI symbols, the new administration stands in clear contrast. It is more youthful, more energetic, more businesslike, more accessible, more delegating, more…
Is America’s Internal Division the New Threat to Unity and National Identity?
The last time Americans had a compelling cause for coalescence of spirit and effort was more than 80 years ago – the external threat and reality of World War II on two global battlefronts. The decisive end of that conflict with nuclear weaponry has since been a…
Is America’s Democracy at Risk from Rising Threats and Media Misinformation?
Is America’s “beacon of democracy” dimming toward darkness as other-world means of effecting leadership change become more threatening here?Could the established process of quadrennial election be replaced by prompt and permanent elimination of those occupying or…
Party Pushes Divisive Slave Reparations, Igniting Debate on Historical Guilt
A political party desperate to regain relevance after a massive change in its election support has reintroduced its backward-looking notion of financial reparations for living descendants of slaves. This blatantly discriminatory suggestion is devilish in two major…
Kamala Harris: Unfit for Leadership and Lacking Genuine Presidential Qualities
Kamala Harris is demonstrably unfit to be installed as our national leader. She is neither exceptionally intelligent nor quick-witted and continues to expose her unworthiness to accede to the presidency by party fiat rather than traditional election campaign vetting…
Kamala Harris: Navigating Leadership or Relying on Handlers at 60?
Can Kamala Harris learn to be her own person at age 60?If not, can she use a discreet earphone so the unseen handlers can provide immediate guidance during potential public appearances and media questioning exposure? After gaining her party’s nomination by hastily…
DOGE Backlash Grows: Embarrassing Government Spending Exposed
The contrived backlash to “DOGE” revelations about indiscriminate government spending on various non-essential and special-interest causes becomes more embarrassing as the list of difficult-to-defend expenditures lengthens. Americans of all political persuasions…
Price Controls: A Misguided Economic Solution from a Presidential Candidate?
It’s not a good sign when the first proposal from a Presidential candidate is to institute selective mandatory price controls on essential consumer items.Anyone with a sense of basic economics recognizes that widespread inflation is a consequence of government…
America’s Leadership Crisis: Choosing Proven Advocates Over Inexperienced Politicians
It is astonishing that America, the model of republican democracy and free enterprise, could become a threatening symbol of potential dictatorial government.The opening election-campaign price-control balloon from a hastily reconstituted incumbent regime does not…
Policy Promises: Will Harris-Walz Push Us Toward Inflation and Selective Government Aid?
Given a glimpse of early Harris-Walz policy thinking, we must wonder whether their presumed grounding in basic economics occurred in North America.Political desperation is evident in trial-balloon pronouncements to follow targeted Biden student-loan forgiveness with…
Too Much to Expect?
Is it too much to expect politicians accustomed to profligate campaign spending of supporters’ voluntary contributions to change the post-election temptation of access to massive resources of other people’s’ money by taxation? Recent widening exposure of past…
Confronting Antisemitism: A Call for Respecting Jewish Contributions in America
Like it or not, Jews have made important contributions to the American way of life over the past century.They have proven to be shrewd, resourceful, motivated, adaptable, successful in business and professional endeavors, and personally philanthropic.In that light of…
Experience vs. Evasiveness: The Race for America’s Unconventional Election Year
Should we be more inclined to support an experienced Presidential candidate willing to talk off the cuff at length and in detail on virtually any subject – or an opponent who either is evasive or relies on repetition of carefully scripted teleprompter messaging…
Hail to the red, white and blue
How many Mainers would admit to any shortcomings in ability to think for themselves politically? Do you read more than one publication or scan more than one television channel? Have too many of us become intimidated about debating the policies and regulations that…
Election Campaigns Unveil Strains in U.S.-Israel Relations Amid Rising Islamic Influence
Perhaps the most threatening aspect of our current election campaigns is an outing of the extent to which close historical affinity between the United States and Israel is being subverted by open Islamic interference.This troubling situation raises the question of…
Who’s Really Investing in America? Unpacking the Presidential Candidates’ Commitments and Records
Which Presidential candidate is devoting very substantial personal funds to the campaign budget – and simultaneously supporting legal defenses against multiple contrived courtroom attempts to derail it?Are this committed individual and his running mate more…
Can Traditional Party Labels Survive an Evolving Political Landscape in the 2024 Election?
Is there reason to expect traditional party registration labels to remain indicative of the likely 2024 Presidential election outcome?The philosophical composition of both sides appears in the throes of demographic change that may cause revised allegiance of various…
America’s Shift: Blue to Red Migration Reflects Deepening Divisions
America is Evolving In an increasingly evident sense, America no longer is functioning as the originally envisioned United States. People and companies are relocating from blue states to red and vice versa, based on observed governance, economic conditions, and…
Political Showmanship vs. Substance: A Misstep in Candidate’s Economic Messaging
Americans witnessed last week a remarkably well-produced political show orchestrated by artful and clever speechwriters lacking substantive reference material. They were afforded only a few days to apply a veneer of appeal to an ill-advised and prematurely exposed…
Harriss Policy Trials: A Reflection on Lawlessness and Waning American Patriotism
Has anyone noticed that none of the trial-ballooned policy notions floated by staff surrogates for presidential aspirant Harris has gained any traction?This finger-in-the-wind approach enables the candidate to disclaim responsibility while signaling to backers a…
Senile Leadership or Visible Officials: Which Governs Better?
Is it better to have a government nominally led by a senile President but ostensibly operated by a group of unseen and unidentified supporters and bureaucrats – or one with highly visible elected officials assisted by credible outside advisers? Do the inevitable…
Choosing Leadership: The Appeal of Adaptability Versus Inconsistent Values in Today’s Politics
In the stress of a divided nation and troubled world, which type of “flip-flopper” makes the most desirable choice for president – one who reverses declared personal values without rationale, or one who can adapt from bullying to benevolent as circumstances…
Examining Voter Training for Immigrants: A Threat to American Democracy?
How benign and humanistic is it to offer free voter training to recent illegal immigrants from about 180 countries, many of whom have limited English language skills and lack pertinent knowledge of American history and societal norms?Wouldn’t crash courses in…
2024 Presidential Race: Leadership Experience vs. Symbolism Amid Political Turmoil
Are we about to install as President a business executive with prior duly elected and positive experience in that highly visible role – or a former courtroom prosecutor atypically party-selected as running mate for a sitting President unexpectedly destined to be…
Presidential Candidates Avoid Tough Questions on Immigration and Economic Consequences in Debate
The stark reality of an overdue debate between presidential candidates was to expose the similar economic implications of each party’s approach.Their forward-looking aspirations are frustrated by the need to address increasingly evident consequences of a regrettable…
Do Money and Media Manipulate Elections, or Does Public Discourse Still Matter?
Is it all about the money for messaging?Do massive party bank accounts for media blitz promotion assure an election outcome, or do the thinking folks in communities around the country still have the collective influence envisioned by our founders? Has governance “of…
Voter Expectations: Demanding Depth and Leadership Beyond Sound Bites in Elections
Have you noticed that one Presidential candidate responds at length and in detail to questioning about the array of serious issues threatening our country, while the opponent speaks in sound bites with little elaboration? If a four-year Vice Presidency is to serve as…
Joyful Candidate or Serious Leader? Americans Face a Pivotal Election Decision
Americans are contemplating the possibility of electing the most joyful candidate in a history of 46 presidencies of a nation currently beset by internal divisiveness and hostile external forces. These times are not a laughing matter. They call for serious executive…
Assessing Presidential Qualifications: Beyond Appearance to Effective Leadership and Experience
The Presidency demands informed and reasoned judgment on a wide and changing range of timely issues, currently more than 40 by my count. Shockingly few Americans have been exposed to academic leadership courses at any level, making it difficult for them to identify…
Vice President Embraces Challenger’s Policies: A Shift in Leadership and Party Dynamics?
What does it say about leadership attributes when the incumbent Vice President-hoping-to-become-President elects to adopt and promote policy positions of her challenger previously derided as “extreme”?Is it any wonder that the public is wondering why party defections…
Is Party Leadership Driving America Towards Political Diminishment and Autocracy?
Our democratic republic is designed for and depends on the existence of multiple political viewpoints on an ever-present list of pressing issues. In present extraordinary circumstances, we must ask if the past four years of uninspired caretaker governance are leading…
Voter Preferences: Principles vs. Expediency in the 2024 Election Showdown
Do legitimately registered American voters prefer governance by principle or rule by expediency? The current campaign experience is amusing, as the embedded side remains conversationally reclusive while trial-ballooning elements of the challengers’ clearly stated…
Are Voters Being Misled by Poll-Driven Election Strategies?
Is the American public so inherently gullible or politically conditioned that it won’t recognize a polling-dictated change in party election strategy? An endangered and reclusive candidate significantly characterized as too extreme counters by mentioning several…
Kamala Harris: A Study in Unqualified Ambition and Communication Missteps
To use one of her favorite speechmaking words, it’s become increasingly “clear” that Kamala Harris ranks among the least qualified persons ever to seek the United States presidency. An early indication was her hasty judgment to declare imposition of price…
Is Political Substance Dying? The Rise of Empty Promises in Party Leadership
Can palliatives like “I want to be the President of all Americans” be a substitute for platform substance? Are we witnessing the embarrassing current irrelevance of a storied political party that utterly failed to anticipate credible generational succession?Even after…
Political Pros and Cons: Qualifications vs. Campaign Tactics in the Presidential Race
Amid the buzz about one presidential candidate’s irresistible campaign barbs and the other’s reticence to speak publicly, the underlying judgmental concern should be their respective political resumes.The challenger can point to a record of prior accomplishment in the…
Political Playoff Showdown: Can Blues Rookie QB Rise to the Super Bowl Challenge?
The Super Bowl of politics is nearly at hand.What are the odds that an untested rookie quarterback can maintain and motivate an offense accustomed to being led by a veteran predecessor unexpectedly sidelined by health issues?Can the former playbook remain…
Duty, Honor, and Sacrifice
Maine has always been a tough and proud state. Without Maine’s troops in the Civil War, the Union most likely would have been lost. Gettysburg alone has 15 monuments dedicated to our soldiers’ sacrifice and valor, from Captain Hall’s Second Maine Battery at the…
Is the Incumbent’s Policy Shift an Endorsement of the Opponent’s Record?
When the incumbent political party suddenly redirects its 2024 national campaign by espousing policies pursued by its now challenging predecessor, is that a tacit admission that the opponent’s position is eminently worthy?Is it effectively an endorsement of the proven…
America’s Election Day Dilemma: Proven Leadership vs. Uncertain Change Amid Global Turmoil
As America concludes four years of stressful domestic governance in an environment of global unrest, the voting public is confronted with a clear Election Day Presidential choice. On the one hand is a prospective leader of demonstrated accomplishment and established…
Hope and Leadership: Can a Debate Define America’s Presidential Future?
Are Americans more likely to experience “hope and joy” under a highly visible, forthright leader – or a figurehead programmed by an unseen body of anonymous backroom handlers? What you see is usually what you get, and what we’re seeing so far is a poorly…
Undocumented Immigration: Unseen Costs and Challenges for America’s Future
The American public is gradually awakening to the yet incalculable cost of accommodating and problems of assimilating the influx of undocumented immigrants invited by the current administration.In addition to sheer numbers (estimates range upward from 10-million),…
Choosing Leaders: Common Sense vs. Party Loyalty in Presidential Elections
I can think of about 40 current issues that might cause someone to vote for one presidential candidate over another. Imagine yourself in the shoes of that would-be leader. Which concerns get the attention of a clear majority of the American public?Which decisions are…
Balancing Foreign Aid and Domestic Needs: A Call for Fiscal Responsibility
Forget all the pre-election political- party posturing. One fundamental question to be posed to both sides by a financially stressed public is “How is it possible to reconcile massive defunding of domestic police with ongoing levels of federal foreign aid to an untold…
Disarray and Subterfuge: Is This Political Party Fit for High Office?
Is it ostentatious and embarrassing for a long-established political party to seek continuance in high office when in obvious internal disarray? Aside from failure to assure election integrity for the protection of all citizens, should it be excused for deliberate…
Three Common Pitfalls for Unprepared Presidential Candidates Facing Tough Policy Questions
There are three basic ways for a poorly informed presidential candidate to respond to an unexpected question about anticipated government policy.The least impressive is “Duh.” Another is to attempt evasive redirection of the inquiry to a different subject. The third…
Is Electing a Lax Prosecutor Endangering Our Democracy and Justice System?
If appropriate and consistent law enforcement is essential to the functioning of our democratic republic, does it make sense to elect a president with an extensive record of prosecutorial laxity?Is it a badge of honor to have overseen the administration of justice in…
Is America Ready for a Figurehead Leader Amidst Political Turmoil?
Some Americans seem obsessed with the notion of electing a first-of-a-kind leader, perhaps without realizing that the result could be a trifecta. While gender and race are obvious considerations, how about the additional fact that the candidate does not appear to be…
Is Kamala Harris Unfit for Leadership Amid Party Struggles and Rising Public Criticism?
Should we feel sorry for presidential candidate Harris because she has been callously used by her party to win the White House in 2020 and, because of subsequent deceit and misjudgment, now is propelled into a potential leadership role for which she is unqualified and…
Navigating Leadership and Moderation in America’s Upcoming Election: A Critical Perspective
Reticence and timidity are not leadership attributes, but self-confidence and communication skills are essential.Major decision-makers as to government policy and practice can never expect unanimous press or popular support when detractors are a permanent feature of a…
Maine’s Solar Expansion: A Dismayed Resident’s Call for Environmental Accountability
I am dismayed by the devastation of the beauty of Maine by solar farms.Our “Pine Tree State” is becoming the “Solar Farm State.”This source of energy is inefficient and toxic to the environment.It is also destroying the natural habitat of our wildlife. These panels…
Understanding the Danger of Low-Information Voters in Today’s Political Landscape
What should we think of political parties that must rely on “low-information voters” who pay little or no attention to publicized election platforms? The real “threat to our democracy” is not the President, but same-party control of both chambers of Congress that can…
Is America’s Elected Leadership Just a Puppet Show for Hidden Power Brokers?
Has the notion of popularly elected national leadership become a fiction in America? Is the current election-year exercise really a sham? Should one party’s ill-considered presidential running mate decision of four years ago now portend shadow government for the next…
Outdated Voter Rolls Threaten Legitimacy of Upcoming National Election
Growing revelations of seriously outdated voter registration rolls in states like Ohio and Texas expose what probably is the greatest risk to legitimacy of the forthcoming national election. All our political parties should at least be able to agree that the concept…
ONLY CITIZEN VOTE WEEK IN THE U.S.
My father was a prisoner of war in WWII for 26 months. He saw a lot of awful things and experienced a lot of physical abuse. He never looked back in resentment or regret. He understood what he was there for. He was there to fight against the world being overrun by…
Response to Harpswell Anchor: Historical Society reprints ‘Safeguard of Democracy’
It is a lovely experience to travel back through time via publications like New England Town Meeting: ‘Safeguard of Democracy’ by John Gould. Similar to Mr. Gould, I enjoy engaging in our local democracy. These publications reenforce my pledge to advocate…
The Taxman Cometh
Well, we all knew it was going to happen. We can’t live in a country run by a political party that believes in equity over equality, and not experience ever increasing tax bills. Equity being a fair or just chance, without bias or favoritism. Meaning, no matter how…
Party Loyalty or Individual Merit? The Modern Voter’s Dilemma
Many people habitually vote for a political party, while others focus on the individual seeking to represent each side. Some merely follow their parents‘ example. Over recent decades, population growth, demographic changes, and differing personal circumstances have…
Can Common Sense Prevail Against Big Money in Elections?
Is the voting public as dysfunctional as our more recent Congresses – or vice versa? A democratic republic implies that the expressed will of the people reflects common-sense review of timely concerns and sound collective judgment as to who and how best to…
America’s Future at Stake: Is the Public Blind to Change?
Unless the American public awakens quickly, its nation is on the verge of prospective transformational change. Our precedent-setting example for the rest of the world risks ideological subversion by carefully orchestrated subterfuge. Can an individual more defined by…
Is America Losing Its Moral High Ground With Expanding Government Power?
Does America still deserve to be called a civilized democratic republic worthy of international respect? Can two vigorously opposing political parties fail even to agree on a demonstrable need to mitigate criminality and associated drug dependency in an election year?…
Is Symbolic Successor’s Sudden Rise Proof of Swamp Corruption?
Have I finally figured it out? Is the strategy of the incumbent party in power to lower the temperature of ideological tensions with other nations by reshaping America more in their autocratic images? Is the problematic California model of governance readily…
From Guns to Judges: ‘Weaponize’ Defines Modern Constitutional Conflicts
The word “weaponize” is in vogue nowadays amid strident controversy over the Second Amendment to the Constitution authorizing the citizenry to bear arms. Among other contexts, it even has been used to characterize the nine “top guns” of the Supreme Court judiciary….
Ideology or Practicality: What Drives Our Leaders’ Tough Decisions?
Our civilization is comprised of ideologues and pragmatists, and it can be hard to distinguish which is which on different issues. The problem is complicated by overlays of competition and power between those seeking peaceful coexistence through diplomatic dialogue…
Vision Over Sympathy: Harris’ Sudden Shift from Biden-Harris Policies
I don’t vote for leaders out of sympathy, rather for their vision, ideas and commitment. We must question why Kamala Harris would suddenly try to distance herself from policies and practices of a suddenly “obsolete” Biden-Harris regime. This strategy casts her in the…
Empty Promises or Policies? The Debate Over Election Rhetoric
Are we looking forward to potential governance by sophomoric platitudes rather than defensible policies? Superficially appealing declarations that “I want to be President of all Americans,” a pledge to mitigate troublesome inflation by imposing price controls, and…
Is American Exceptionalism Fading Amid Global Chaos and Massive Migration?
Treason is defined as “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or his family.” Is there anything more treasonous than a deliberate political…
Political Campaign’s Pronoun List Sparks Debate Over DEI Extremes
The faddish personal pronoun obsession is reaching new heights of absurdity. One political campaign’s current DEI-inspired employment application lists nine choices for selection, including xe/xem, ze/hir, ey/em, fae/faer and hu/hu. What? It further suggests…
Party Convention Supposed to Radiate Joy Becomes Bitter Attack Forum
A major party convention claimed to be energized by joy turned out to be a showcase for anger and hatred primarily directed not at the rival’s announced policy initiatives, but specifically at its high-visibility leader. A forum for serious discussion of practical…
Spiraling Out of Control? National Debt Now Tops Entire GDP!
Have the respective political leadership campaigns now fallen unwittingly into a “can you top this” mode that inevitably portends continued federal deficit spending? Given uninterrupted increases in national indebtedness over the past decade totaling 40%, the present…
When Does Reverence for Life Clash With Infanticide in Politics?
How is it that politicians rabidly campaigning for “the way life should be” in an advanced American society can persist in absolutist views of abortion availability and indifference to religious doctrine and medical judgment. I see no one in either party questioning…
Experience vs. Popular Opinion: What We Really Need in Politics
Should we expect governance by principled, trustworthy elected leaders with pertinent experience and detailed background on specific issues – or by ongoing public polling of constituents lacking in-depth knowledge of all aspects of each timely subject? The…
Truth or Trickery? How Politicians Align Beliefs with Polling Trends
It’s interesting to observe how many politicians’ declared core beliefs are alleged to “evolve” over time and somehow come into greater alignment with current public election polling. Are voters expected to believe in miraculous philosophical revelation or monumental…
Secret Service Fail: Near-Miss Assassination Shakes Faith in Agency
The revered name “Secret Service” has taken on new meaning in the chaotic and largely obscured aftermath of a marginally unsuccessful assassination attempt on a 2024 Presidential candidate. Ongoing revelations of manpower shortages, procedural mistakes, and…
Historic Election Challenges: Can Branding Overcome a Weak Track Record?
Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this year’s Presidential election campaign is that one candidate earned a ticket-leading role by prior performance in high office, while the other is essentially positioned by late-breaking default. That reality necessitates…
Balancing Act: Can Government Taxation Support Society Without Breaking It?
The coming quadrennial national election is all about the sourcing and distribution of money – how individuals earn it, what portion government takes, and toward what ends the remainder is devoted. The perpetual dilemma is balancing responsibility for meeting…
Are Voters Ready to Demand Honesty Over Party Loyalty Now?
Would the political party in power recover more respect by adopting certain policies of the prior regime that obviously were more effective than its subsequent reversals? Wouldn’t tacit admission of an evident misjudgment on the prime issue of a porous Mexican border…
Why Depth in Debate Is Crucial for a Nation’s Future
Have you noticed that one Presidential candidate responds at length and in detail to questioning about the array of serious issues threatening our country, while the opponent speaks in sound bites with little elaboration? If a four-year Vice Presidency is to serve as…
Are Political Surveys Just Thinly Veiled Fundraising Tactics This Season?
Have you noticed that the words ‘survey’ and ‘solicitation’ have become synonymous in this election campaign season? All those political mailings on behalf of both major parties asking for voter opinion always have an accompanying contribution form for use with check…
Is Corporate Media Undermining Our Founders’ Vision of Democracy?
Is it all about the money for messaging? Do massive party bank accounts for media blitz promotion assure an election outcome, or do the thinking folks in communities around the country still have the collective influence envisioned by our founders? Has governance “of…
Americans Drowning in Debt: The Shocking Truth Behind $100K Per Person!
America and Americans are awash and drowning in debt. Each member of our 334-million population, including newborns, figuratively bears about $100,000 of that national obligation. They also have personal responsibility for state and local bonds, personal mortgages,…
Voters Deserve Better: The Case for Substantive Political Discourse
Why do political candidates think it necessary to resort to derogatory terminology in characterizing their opponents? Isn’t it sufficient to highlight decisions made or actions taken that proved to be problematic? The accuser may well risk more by castigating a…
Are We Crazy?
It’s disheartening to see the extent of Congressional support for the illogical notion that non-citizens should immediately become eligible to participate in the November federal election, regardless of their voting status as determined by the individual states. In…
A Second Trump Reset?
Maine Yankee, an 840-megawatt nuclear plant went online in Wiscasset in 1972. The late 1960’s was the start of good times for Maine Yankee, Wiscasset, and the country. Wiscasset was thriving with low taxes, new businesses, a housing boom, and a dynamic and growing…
Where’s the Transparency?
Whatever you may have thought about the predictably testy inter-party election jousting, it seems to have reached a stage of irrational and emotional lunacy. Contentions that an attempted assault-rifle assignation of a Presidential candidate that miraculously resulted…
Policy and not Personality or Party
Will the United States be destroyed prior to its 250th anniversary? Can White House candidate Kamala Harris be more than a puppet spokesperson for unseen political interests with far more experience and ideological motivation? How has her questionable prosecutorial…
Person or Party?
Is the coming election about a person or a party? Should we focus on the spokesmen or the likely full cast of administrative characters on each side? Are the dominant issues (I count 42) all black and white in their simplicity? Will the voting public prefer…
Voters Will Decide
It’s disheartening to see the extent of Congressional support for the illogical notion that non-citizens should immediately become eligible to participate in the November federal election, regardless of their voting status as determined by the individual states. In…
This Election Consequences
Our election focus every four years is centered on the Presidency. This time, age considerations force serious consideration of the qualifications of both candidates’ running mates as potential leadership successors. Voter scrutiny also should go well beyond that…
Remedial or Inspiring?
Should we be asking ourselves why anyone with good sense would want to be the next President of the United States? The overwhelming, multi-faceted disruptive effects of four years of open border alone will require enormous and expensive remedial actions to restore…
Is DEI Dying?
Has America had enough of diversity, equity and inclusion? Is the public and press ready to recast DEI in other terms? How about dedication, education and inspiration – or determination, enlightenment and imagination – or devotion, energy and intellect…
What Will Appeal to the Electorate?
America’s carefully promoted “brand identification” by the two long-established political parties has been “market tested” by transformative events and ideological actions over several recent federal administrations. Consistent labeling…
We Have a Choice
Regardless of gender, race, color, ethnicity, education, avocation, location and persuasion, all citizens of voting age are equal at the ballot box in November. It is their opportunity to reset the course of government that has become obsessed with the power of…
Is It All About Money?
The recent news is full of reports of fund-raising success for both presumed candidates for the U.S. Presidency in what promises to be record campaign spending. In the final reckoning, will it be “all about the money” or the substantive appeal of each party’s declared…
Look to the Future
Does our basic Congressional, two-party political system actually serve to stifle creative policy innovation? Are that body’s two chambers so committed to achieving consistent solidarity and respectful of seniority that stimulative thinking from relative newcomers is…
All About Money
Are we the people at risk of becoming a nation “of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy?” The astounding cost of extended multi-media political campaigns, in which major-party war chests total in the hundreds of millions of dollars, begs a further question:…
Political Party Loyalty vs National Patriotism: Who Wins the Battle?
Does political party loyalty trump national patriotism? Are we just bidin’ time until the courts or a popular election determine the composition and course of our society in lieu of Congressional gridlock? Should the ability of non-citizens to cast ballots in November…
Who Should Lead?
Should the next occupant of Washington’s White House be determined on the basis of personal likability or demonstrated policy leadership and implementation? Has the voting public noticed that some major ballyhooed initiatives of 2020 have yet to be implemented, like…
Stop Pandering
Election-year campaigning is full of talk about seductive federal programs appealing to certain targeted interest groups. This obvious pandering to buy votes includes over-the-top rhetoric and the assumption that an already problematic practice of unsustainable…
2024 Election Hope: Will Politicians Prioritize Fiscal Responsibility Over Influence?
Over the past two decades, elected politicians responsible for the welfare of American citizens have committed us to providing and expanding welfare in some form to 203 foreign countries. The sources of funding have been a combination of taxation and borrowing, such…
The Issues
The critical issue in the coming national election is extending well beyond the two controversial party standard-bearers for the Presidency. We must question the character and commitment of members of both supporting casts who fail to speak out independently about…
Honor the Fallen
According to Mr. Biden’s own words, “the truth is, I’m the only President this century, this decade, that doesn’t have any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did.” Let me remind you of all who have died while in harm’s way under Mr. Biden’s watch: Abbey-Gate,…
Best Suited
Americans’ awareness of the societal shortcomings of “DEI” philosophy is becoming increasingly apparent. Positions of influence and authority are best filled by persons with knowledge, experience and communication skills for the role. As we approach a prospective…
2024 Presidency Race: Repetitive Talking Points Eclipse Serious Policy Proposals!
The prospect of a fundamentally competitive ideological contest for the 2024 Presidency appears to be fading as preliminary appearances reflect more repetitive talking points than serious mutual articulation of policy proposals. Moreover, neither side has an assured…
Breaking Free from Dependency: The Path to Individual Accomplishment
Is the basic challenge for our form of democratic government to create a socioeconomic environment enabling citizen subjects to exploit opportunity – or to overcome adversity? The answer has to be both, based on self-reliance and motivation. “God helps those who…
The Devil’s Seven-Pronged Fork Part 2
In a recent issue of The Maine Anchor, we presented a conference spearheaded by Charlotte T. Iserbyt in 2012 in which she presented “The Devil’s 7-Pronged Fork.” Charlotte was a senior policy adviser in the department of education under the Regan administration, and…
Not a Democracy
Everyone in the Democratic party seems to scream, “We are losing our Democracy!” They connect Democracy with Democrat. This is far from truth on many levels. First, the United States is NOT a Democracy. It is a Constitutional Republic. What’s the difference, you ask?…
Navigating Unrest and Indebtedness: Challenges of Uncontrolled Immigration in Democracies
Is it possible for a government to survive after inflicting widespread punishment from open-border immigration on its established democratic citizenry? Can the social, economic, and emotional costs of uncontrolled invasion and dispersion of foreign persons with…
Navigating the Maze: A Foreigner’s Insight into America’s Political Landscape
A foreigner looking objectively at the American experiment in popular governance might readily conclude that we’re still finding our way after 248 years. The most recent 20-year experience reflects a wandering (some might say ‘devianto) philosophical path enabled by…
Another Reagan reset
Last Thursday the American voter watching the presidential debate learned what the Democratic politicians, the press, the rich and connected, and the rest of the world, especially our enemies, have known for years, that our President is failing mentally. Until…
We can’t afford FOUR MORE YEARS
I know that blank stare of Alzheimer’s. My mother had Alzheimer for many years. Their verbiage is often disconnected and nonsensical. Watching the Presidential debate on June 27th was especially difficult for me. Watching a man who did not understand what was going on…
Money, Power, and Political Pandering: Is Democracy Losing Its Way?
Is our American democracy becoming less a matter of cohesive principle of governance and more an exercise in targeted vote-buying? In other words, is collective benefit (“government of the people”) being replaced by selective pandering to a “tribal alliance” of…
How Much Authority?
Americans recoil at the thought of authoritarian governance, but do we also think about the degree of authority a President needs to exercise for the sake of worthwhile accomplishment? There’s a big difference between the persuasive authority needed to promote…
From Diversity to Determination: Rethinking Success with DEI
Much is being made of the initials “DEI.” Instead of the increasingly controversial “diversity, equity and inclusion,” the acronym might better stand for “determination, enterprise and innovation” or “dedication, energy and inspiration.” How about “devotion, education…
Voter ID and the Electoral College
Our founding fathers are a genius or had insight into the future of America not wanting to repeat history of persecution and no freedom of Europe. They seem to know back 250 years ago how wicked government and Democrats and Marxism can be. So to prevent this they…
Voter ID and the Electoral College
Our founding fathers are a genius or had insight into the future of America not wanting to repeat history of persecution and no freedom of Europe. They seem to know back 250 years ago how wicked government and Democrats and Marxism can be. So to prevent this they…


