It's often said that success has a thousand parents, but that failure is an orphan. But in today's strange political climate, it seems failure also has plenty of paternity.

The political right wants to ape European-style fiscal austerity to cure our national debt -- a policy...

While pundits furiously discuss the impending "fiscal cliff" created by Congress, there is dead silence on building sustainable economic security. An essential building block to economic growth lies in expanding broadband access to rural America. Instead of pushing each other over the self-made cliff, why not build a bridge across...

I have a dark secret. It's one that could jeopardize my political career in Maine.

Late at night when no one is looking, I place innocent birds in a sling shot and throw them at wooden structures hoping they will take out cornerstones and bring those structures crashing to the...

When I ran first ran for Maine State Representative four years ago, I did so as the cashier at Colucci's, the neighborhood convenience store. Like many people my age, I had a college degree, considerable professional experience and yet found myself begging for the chance to make $8.00...

Four years ago, my dear friend and local city councilor, Dory, invited me to my first Labor Day breakfast. Held in the basement of a local church, it felt like the hunter's breakfasts my dad had taken me to as a fresh faced 12-year-old kid, doe permit in hand. When...

Since Orwell wrote about "Big Brother" in the book 1984, people from across the political spectrum have had a general agreement that we should be allowed to live our daily lives without being tracked and monitored by the government. Thanks to a dramatic shift in technological innovation, the government can...

Eyes are peeled across the country right now for an Arizona girl named Isabel Mercedes Celis as another set of parents awaits yet another sleepless night hoping the telephone will ring, and terrified at the same time.

In my own backyard, the tears rise to the surface with...

With major websites going dark to protest the looming SOPA legislation this week, it's a good time to note that another of the nation's hottest technology issues is quickly moving from push to shove, complete with accusations of double-dealing government agencies and conflicts of interest.

At first, the ongoing controversy...

Growing up in Bryant Pond, about as rural as it gets in Maine, taught me a little something about being at the tail end of innovation.

The last crank phone operator station in the country was located right down the street from our home. While the celebrity status is great,...

For anyone who happens to be a restaurant owner, current/former waiter or consumer of the culinary arts, the art of tipping is almost as important as the art of preparing the delectable deliciousness of a proper meal. When I dine out -- which is often since my own culinary skills...