Category Leadership
Election Meddling
He’s done it again. Donald Trump has interfered in a foreign election. This time merely by existing. Quebec’s Parti Quebecois has announced that if they win this fall’s election they will not hold a referendum on Quebec separation as long as Donald Trump is president. Previously holding such a referendum had been the cornerstone of […]
Quote of the Week
In 2022, Stephen Marche, a keen observer of American society and politics, published the scariest book I have read in years, The Next Civil War. It was so unsettling I couldn’t write about it here. On Monday I read an essay he published in the New York Times with his thoughts on the Canada-US trade […]
What Benefits?
Donald Trump says Canada: “wants the benefits” of being a U.S. state “without being one.” But he forgot to tell us what those benefits would be. Would it be a country with no universal health care, which Canada has and the US doesn’t? Would it be an electoral system where political parties control district boundaries […]
Think About It
I thought about writing a commentary to go along with the image, but it really does speak for itself.
Wagging The Dog
There will be fireworks beside the pier in Old Orchard Beach tonight. Despite the police chief’s objections. The Thursday night fireworks have been at 9:45 for decades. I seem to remember them being at 9:30 when I was younger, but my memory for such things isn’t guaranteed. Earlier this summer they were moved to 9. […]
Signs of our Times
Do they do any good? The rallies, the protests, the signs? Driving through North Conway, New Hampshire, I noted a demonstration against ICE (that’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement), probably a protest over the recent shooting of an immigrant. Not the first time ICE has killed someone who had committed no crime. i thought about […]
The Problem with War
I wrote this piece more than four years ago, when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was in its infancy. I put it aside for editing and then forgot about it. Today I finished it. While Justin Trudeau is no longer Prime Minister, the rest remain true. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has framed Canada’s […]
The Power of Money
If Americans want to fix their democracy, they might begin with looking at election financing, When a candidate can receive millions from an individual donor or an organization, you have to wider if there is some influence being purchased. I know the arguments and the court cases that have allowed the system to devolve to […]
Privacy Matters
We’ve all seen it before. And are likely to see it many times again. The media contacts an official, government or otherwise, looking for comment. the official declines to provide any insight. The reason? Privacy. Ordinarily, I think everyone would applaud governmental or non-governmental agencies showing that they take the data they have been entrusted […]
The Candidate
Graham Platner was the Democratic Party’s white knight in the Maine Senate race. Until he wasn’t. Platner has stepped down, “suspended” his campaign – not that anyone expects it to ever be unsuspended) – after allegations of rape (which he denies). As shocking as the allegations were, it isn’t as if questions hadn’t already been […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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