Commentary
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Reisman: Midsummer Nightmare
August rolled in and although the garden looks good, I cannot say the...
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Reisman: Cancel culture karma
As a long-time supporter of the First Amendment and the value of free...
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‘No one is above the law’ – except members of Congress
We’ve been watching the judicial gyrations over the fate of retired Lt. Gen....
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Why Mainers should be skeptical of the bond questions in the July primary election
In the past 13 years, Maine voters have approved 38 of 39 bond...
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Coronavirus, Governor Mills, and the Constitution
Governors and bureaucrats are picking and choosing which parts of the Constitution they...
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Look both ways – twice – before disbanding the police
We grow up being told to “look both ways before you cross the...
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Maine lawmakers should advance policies that will kickstart economic recovery
To state the obvious, Maine’s economy is in trouble. The 14 day quarantine...
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Councilor Ben Hartwell: ‘I had to do something’
A few weeks ago, I read about the City of Calais declaring all...
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As election season approaches, beware of the ‘b-word’
Today’s political climate is exceptionally partisan and overly sensationalized. It’s that way on...
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Government response to the pandemic makes matters worse in Maine
The COVID-19 crisis feeds into the progressive belief that a crisis is an...
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How similar are the recovery plans in Maine and New Hampshire?
Last Friday, Maine Governor Janet Mills released a revision to her phased reopening...
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Our rights do not disappear in times of emergency
We all knew it was probably inevitable, but it is here, finally –...
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There’s no justification for centralized and dictatorial government
I’m not a doctor but I played one in real life. I served...
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Gov. Mills’ multi-phase ‘recovery’ plan is a blueprint for a prolonged economic depression
Governor Mills unveiled her multi-phase plan for slowly reopening the Maine economy on...
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Open letter to Gov. Mills: It’s time to reopen Maine
Dear Governor Mills, Many Mainers are facing desperate times. I would like to...
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SEIU pledges $150 million to defeat President Trump in 2020
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision in June of 2018,...
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The nanny state wants to take away your vape
Lawmakers on Maine’s Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing Wednesday...
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Southern Maine lawmakers want to build a taxpayer-funded convention center in Portland
The Maine Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is holding a public hearing...
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Progressives, impeachment and the Constitution
“In republican governments, men are all equal; equal they are also in despotic...
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Understanding Governor Mills’ 10-year economic plan
Governor Janet Mills earlier this month released her 10-Year Economic Development Strategy for the state,...
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Maine must fund waitlists for people with intellectual disabilities
On October 8, 2019, the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) released...
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Like others that preceded it, Governor Mills’ economic plan will be a bust
Governor Mills on Wednesday released her 10-year economic development plan for Maine, the...
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Congress needs to know its place
“…the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good...
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Want a new mobile phone? First, give the state your face
Last week, the government of China initiated a mandate that every new SIM...
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New California law threatens workers in the ‘gig economy,’ and it’s spreading to other states
A new law that changes how workers are classified in the “gig economy”...
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Law, oaths and the truth
In today’s partisan, impeachment-centric political climate, the following have become figurative lapel pins...
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Should a prescription be necessary to purchase vape products?
Last month, Maine’s Legislative Council allowed LR 2765, “An Act To Enact Restrictions...
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Maine should end the practice of home equity theft
In Maine and 12 other states, local governments have the ability to steal...
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Socialism and unintended consequences
“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized...
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Is a remedy for tiny homes on the horizon?
Last week, Maine’s Legislative Council admitted a bill into the second session that...
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Maine lawmakers are moving in the wrong direction on vaping
Following a national trend, Maine lawmakers decided in June to raise taxes on...
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‘Social justice’ degrades our constitutional rights
Over the past 79 years, I have observed that the more socialism is...
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We cannot virtue signal our way to a climate solution
Last week in the news there was a teenage girl being exploited by...
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The inevitable socialist conundrum: Running out of other people’s money
“In the 1950’s the richest nation, the richest city on earth...
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Is the United States too hard on felons?
I have never been in jail. I have never been arrested. But I...
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A distorted view of oppression
“A Fatal Tendency of Mankind…common among people. When they can, they wish to...
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Activists failed to secure enough signatures to expand ranked-choice voting in Maine’s most liberal city
This week, Portland city officials notified Fair Elections Portland, a pro-ranked-choice voting group,...
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Maine Legislature reconvenes next week to consider governor’s bond proposals
Governor Janet Mills issued a proclamation Monday calling the legislature back to the...
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Returning to our constitutional roots
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as...
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Debunking income mobility myths
It is tempting to think of America’s economic classes as stable and sedentary....
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The affordable housing paradox
Governments spend a good deal of time and money attempting to solve problems...
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It’s time for Maine’s private colleges to step up
Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, is surely among the wealthiest institutions in Maine. Its...
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Our people and politics will suffer if we continue to stray from the Constitution
There is a very profound reason that the American constitutional republic has created...
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Progressive theory and the Constitution
U.S. constitutional law depends on the purpose and limitations of our written constitution,...
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Should Maine and other states end state-run lotteries?
To an obdurate defender of economic theory’s central simplifying assumption — that people...
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On taxes, lawmakers should exercise restraint
It is a fallacy that individual clauses in the Constitution can be considered...
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Portland should put people at the heart of economic development
What creates jobs? What goes into building a healthy and vibrant economy that...
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Dependency diminishes government’s role to protect property
Karl Marx said that “Religion is the opium of the people.” Marx should...
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Lawmakers to consider plastic bag ban, paper bag fee
It has not been difficult to find bills this legislative session that would...
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Progressivism is not for Maine
It is hard to make constitutional sense out of the cacophony of progressive...
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A Republic, if you can keep it
It is time to rein in the taxaholic phalanx of lawmakers in Augusta...
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Avoiding legalized plunder
“Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it…how is this legal plunder...
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Free college, Medicare for All and other insanities of the extreme left
Clichéd as it may be, conservatives live in “a target rich environment” for...
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New York governor has revelation: Progressive tax policies are hurting his state
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have come to his senses on tax...
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Legislators can take steps to prevent Maine’s coming regulatory storm
This piece first appeared in the Portland Press Herald. During her recent inaugural...
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Maine taxpayers cannot afford the costs of universal health care
Among the many harebrained schemes that will be considered in the Maine Legislature...
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Government must remain within the confines of the Constitution
“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare…the education of children…would...
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We have the right to property, and property in our rights
Reaching into the farthest recesses of my political recollections, I recall how I...
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Is political discourse dead?
One political point that most people agree on these days is that political...
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Our next governor’s success is the success of our state
Last week, the Maine voters cast their ballot to elect Janet Mills as...
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Jared Golden Did Not Win 50 Percent of the Vote
Jared Golden did not receive more than 50 percent of the vote after...
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Question 1 a scheme to achieve fully socialized medicine
More and more we are seeing direct democracy take hold in our elected...
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Question 1 will fail those it is intended to help
Question 1 promises a false sense of security that is destined to fail...
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Fear in the hearts of progressives
First, as a constituent of Sen. Susan Collins, I would like to thank...
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The abandonment of reason
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” It’s said...
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Businesses beware: higher unemployment taxes are on the horizon
In this tight labor market, we must use every tool at our disposal...
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The Fisking of Edgar Allen Beem
Oh, Edgar. There’s something almost comical about reading a piece of writing that...
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The Disproportionality of Bloodlust
I remember instances in high school or junior high when something bad happened...
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Let’s keep our economy on the right path by attracting more workers
The Maine Department of Labor recently released its projections for job growth for...
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We are a teenage nation
The more I try to parent teenagers, the more I recognize similar patterns...
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Portland City Council chasing opportunity into oblivion
Recently, the Housing Committee of Portland’s City Council met to discuss the possibility...
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The belligerent ignorance of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Oh, Alexandria. Ever since she won a stunning upset victory over her democrat...
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The right to vote is for citizens
People don’t value the things they get for free. Giving legal residents who...
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Why are ‘experts’ so determined to mislead the public on Universal Home Care taxes?
When Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap was accepting public comment on the...
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The ‘universal home care’ referendum will be disastrous for Maine’s economy
Ballot Question 1 is another benign-sounding, feel-good referendum. In reality, it’s one more...
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What’s next for progressives after Universal Home Care?
I have a hunch. This late summer or fall, after Labor Day but...
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The Supreme Court and Democracy
This year’s voting will be more exciting than usual in Maine. The Democrats...
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Licensing reform can help attract talent to Maine
Policymakers are always asking: ‘What can we do to attract young, talented people...
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Ignorance of history gives socialism its appeal
Socialism appeals to many millennials under 30 because of Socialism’s two built-in fallacies:...
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RCV hurts property and voting rights
The founders recognized that it is in man’s nature to become seduced by...
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There are important issues to consider before going to the polls
Each June, Maine voters go to the polls to elect local officials and...
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Where is all the civility we were promised?
The days are winding down until the June 12th primary elections take place,...
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Let us be thankful for the men and women who have been so willing to serve our nation
As World War Two neared its end in June of 1945, General George...
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Why are young people fleeing Seattle?
After years of its status as a beacon of opportunity for young people,...
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Rail authority demonstrates two degrees of fraud, waste and abuse
This article first appeared in the Portland Press Herald. “Nobody spends somebody else’s...
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Democrats delay the tough decisions until after the November election
As the legislative session enters its last weeks, Democrats are sitting on their...
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Weaponizing tragedy
In December 2012, after the The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on December 14,...
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Maine’s campaign laws hurt a free press
Political spats in Maine are threatening free press rights, and a bad law...
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What about free speech? Or, how I got banned by the Portland Press Herald
This article was originally published in the Portland Press Herald The First Amendment’s...
