By Todd R. Nelson It’s taken me my whole life (well, not yet) to realize that I am white. That is, that I am of a particular race. Getting beyond the philosophical or theoretical, it’s the granularity of experience that has given me understanding. Somehow, I’ve been “passing” all these years. I simply thought I …
By Nancy Kandutsch The other day, while watching TV news about Guatemalans trying to get across the U.S.-Mexican border, I noticed that at least some, and probably most, of the immigrants are Mayan or mixed indigenous people. These are the very people to whom Guatemala’s President Arbenz Guzman in 1951 to 1954 was in the …
By John Buell There is surprisingly widespread support for higher taxes on the rich. Americans have typically felt that one should keep what one earns. Many are also convinced that they will one day become rich, hence the popularity of lotteries, which reflect and help sustain that belief. Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for …
By Justin Benjamin Pollard I recently had a wonderful epiphany while singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah” in a holiday concert. As I sang the words, “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth … and he shall reign forever and ever,” I realized that these statements are true and that all will be well. This …
By Michael Hall I have been waiting 35 years for the peace dividend we will get once there are no more serious challengers to American hegemony. America itself has been waiting twice as long. With no existential foes left, you might think America could afford to bring home our military from around the world and …
By Todd R. Nelson Long before Marie Kondo challenged us to test our possessions to see if they “spark joy” before offloading them, I was finding joy in suburban back alleys on trash collection days. Once I was old enough to traipse out the back gate, pulling my red Radio Flyer wagon behind me, …
By John Ripton At 18, I left the central Maine tannery town where I grew up seeking education and opportunity. Already, back in the late 1960s, the town’s economy and its people’s welfare were far secondary to the tannery’s profits. Boxcars of Argentine and Australian cowhides had displaced hides from America’s Western states. Soon trailer …
By Dr. Demi Kouzounas Congratulations are in order. We wish Janet Mills well as she begins what will be the toughest job in the state of Maine. Janet Mills takes office after Governor Paul LePage did the tough work of turning Maine around. Maine’s economy is strong, growing and breaking records. Maine’s budget is balanced …
By Kenneth M. Hillas Jr. Long anticipated, Secretary of Defense Mattis’s resignation (effective Feb. 28) is a timely opportunity to take stock of U.S. standing in the world, and the direction in which President Trump’s foreign and security policy is headed, and how this may affect the international order. The differences that led Secretary …
By Lee H. Hamilton In the days following George H. W. Bush’s death, it was impossible to ignore the mood that settled over much of the country: a yearning for the civility, dignity and inclusiveness that the former president represented. It was a form of bipartisan nostalgia for a time when the nation seemed to …
