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...
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...
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...
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...
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”...
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 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,...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I am writing in support of Maine Representative Laurel Libby. Laurel represents District 90, Minot and parts of Auburn. Being a proponent of safety and fairness in girls’ sports, Laurel Libby came out against the recent loss in a girls’ state poll-vaulting contest to...
Frenchville resident and Voice of the People radio host Dan Smeriglio calls himself “an activist first,” so he was ready to record when Maine State Republican Party Chairman Jim Deyermond called him for a friendly chat about primary challenge to U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R). On Friday, Smeriglio, 42, filed with the Federal Elections Commission
The Democratic majority on the Legislative Council voted Monday to preserve the controversial practice of “concept drafts,” brushing aside Republican leaders’ efforts to boost transparency in Maine’s legislative process. In a party-line vote, the Council rejected a Republican proposal to ban the placeholder bills, which critics say allow lawmakers to sidestep scrutiny and introduce sweeping
Prior to this November’s elections many voter’s concerns were identified. Concerns include high property taxes, high taxes in general, drugs and crime, overdose deaths, lack of affordable housing, high electrical rates, a steep decline in Maine’s student’s standing,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 strong...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 fiscal...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 in...
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...
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...
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 worthy...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 dictate?...
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...
Dear Faithful American Catholics, I am addressing all of you, a few days before the Presidential Election that will call millions of American citizens to the polls. in this election you must choose between two radically opposed ways of conceiving the government of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Maine’s civic health currently is strong, according to Maine’s first Civic Health Report from Colby College’s Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs, Public Engagement Partners, and the Maine Community Foundation. Released on October 23, this report showed that 70 percent of Mainers are hopeful about the state’s future, but suggested that “there are reasons to be concerned that this is
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 controls as...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 articulated...
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),...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Maine Democrats who welcomed Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff to Maine and appeared alongside him at a Portland abortion clinic for a political campaign event have remained silent in the face of credible allegations from three women that Emhoff physically assaulted them. Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, has been a prominent figure in promoting
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...
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 for the...
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...
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...
Aside from convenient talking points about gender and race, does it make any sense to install as President of a prominent world nation a person with no exposure to the domestic private sector, international community, or pertinent executive experience in any previous...
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 address...
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...
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?...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 outcome...
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...
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...
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...
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 societal...
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...
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...
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 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...
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,...
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...
Senator Collins, I am writing to you to tell you that I am totally disappointed in your not backing Donald Trump for President and wasting your vote on a person who can never win. This move will make it even harder for the Constitutional Republic to continue. Our...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I attended the Bangor Independence Day parade yesterday morning and took these pics (attached). There were some fairly routine items like Congressional candidate Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) marching with Susan Collins and Demi Kouzounas (who oddly chose to wear a...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 - or discovery,...
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 and marketing efforts by the...
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...
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...
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...
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:...
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...
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...
What would you say someone told you, Maine has had up to an 18% increase in all cause deaths in last two years? What do you suppose the normal average annual increase of deaths here in Maine? It’s less than 1.5%. We’ve just experience almost 18% increase, in healthy young and working age people who have died in Maine.
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...
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 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...
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,...
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...
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...
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 help...
Import the Third World, become the Third World. That’s what we just saw.
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?...
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...
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...
My name is Ron Russell and I am running for the U.S. Congress to represent the citizens of the 1st Congressional District in the Great State of Maine. First and foremost, I am a Mainer. I was born and raised in Fort Fairfield, the son of a potato farmer and an...
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...
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...
Maine Republicans are demanding an investigation into the use of bogus SSNs to obtain Maine driver's licenses A police department in southern Maine is seeing an “uptick” in the number of driver’s licenses issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to individuals...
