All posts tagged "Commentary"
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After 975 days, Washington’s governor will finally relinquish his emergency pandemic powers
For most Americans, COVID-19 long ago stopped being an immediate crisis and has...
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Maine’s labor force participation lags the rest of New England
While the number of jobs available in Maine has recovered to near pre-pandemic...
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Pandemic ‘learning loss’ actually reveals more about schooling than learning
There are mounting concerns over profound learning loss due to prolonged school closures...
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Most Americans support Biden’s student debt forgiveness until they think about it
If the inevitable tradeoffs are ignored, most people would be in favor of...
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Biden’s forgiveness proposal means lower quality education
As I predicted, Biden’s latest policy announcement spelled the end of the student...
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Governor Mills’ pursuit of California-style EV mandates will hurt Mainers, do little to address climate change
High energy costs are making Maine increasingly unaffordable for people of average means....
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New survey data Cast further doubt on the FDA’s opposition to flavored e-cigarettes
A federal appeals court this week sided with several companies whose applications to...
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Climate change facts, fears and fiction
Fact: Climate Change is a constant feature of the Earth, predating humans and...
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Biden’s student loan bailout is a textbook example of ‘legal plunder’
There’s an apocryphal quote often misattributed to Ben Franklin that goes something like...
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The CDC (finally) admitted the science on natural immunity. What took so long?
In August 2021 Science Magazine, a peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association...
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COVID-19 gutted college attendance. Now, a solid labor market is convincing more high school grads to skip it
According to NBC News, there are 4 million fewer students enrolled in college than...
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Education savings accounts can do for education what Netflix did for TV
My dad remembers when his family got their first television. It was black...
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Biden’s giveaways largely benefit well-off Americans
During his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Joe Biden repeatedly insisted...
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Teachers unions politicized US schools, not parents
When voters were asked by Pew Research, prior to the 2020 election, what...
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Opinion: New report shows why statewide housing mandates are unnecessary
Up For Growth (UFG), a nonprofit membership organization which was “founded to elevate...
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Maine has the systems in place to facilitate statewide open enrollment in K-12 education
Support for school choice is becoming increasingly strong and widespread, actually transcending the...
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Congress is supersizing the IRS. Here’s why that’s bad news for everyday Americans
Americans love their fast-food supersized. But supersizing the Internal Revenue Service? Probably not...
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Opinion: Forces behind anti-corridor campaign employed shady tactics, in Maine and elsewhere
Maine’s Supreme Court is set to rule any day now on an appeal...
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Opinion: Lawmakers must clarify vague mineral mining law on lithium next session
Last October, public interest journalism outfit The Maine Monitor broke the story of...
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Opinion: Initiative to restrict cruise ship passengers ‘not Portland-friendly’
This November, Portland residents will vote on five citizens’ initiatives, four of which were...
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Opinion: Mills’ broadband bureaucracy grows larger with more Biden bucks
Earlier this month, the Treasury Department approved a plan to invest $110 million “to strengthen...
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Halsey Frank: The case against the case against Trump
The chorus calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice...
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Facebook, Instagram posts flagged as false for rejecting Biden’s recession wordplay
Meta’s third-party fact-checkers have flagged as “false information” posts on Instagram and Facebook...
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Public schools are ‘hemorrhaging’ students in major cities. Here’s where they’re going
The new academic year hasn’t even begun and public school enrollment is already...
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Opinion: Property tax ‘stabilization’ program shifts burden to state taxpayers
Starting this August, senior citizens in Maine will be able to freeze their...
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Vaping taxes had lethal unintended consequences, Yale researcher concludes
When the government tries to micromanage the everyday habits of millions of people,...
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Opinion: Mills’ broadband bureaucracy expands with massive infusions of Biden bucks
Earlier this month, the Treasury Department approved a plan to invest $110 million...
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Halsey Frank: Double standard doublecheck
In April of 2020, the Press Herald republished a Washington Post article which covered President...
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Halsey Frank: Labor data dissonance
I completed another plumbing project this past weekend. The toilet in our master...
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Federal COVID aid to states and localities cost $855,000 per job saved
A massive federal bailout of state and local governments during the pandemic had...
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Natural immunity offered more protection against Omicron than 3 vaccine doses, study finds
News reports say the Biden administration is currently weighing a plan that would...
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Halsey Frank: To go (or not to go) as BoJo goes
I don’t read much fiction these days. I have a limited amount of...
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Maine Legislature and DOE must act on Supreme Court’s ruling in Carson v. Makin
On June 21, 2022, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in...
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‘Limited to no impact’: Study provides more evidence that school mask mandates are not effective
A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that mask mandates did little to...
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Seaweed is a promising food tangled in regulations
As the popularity of harvesting and eating seaweed grows in America, a new...
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Arizona’s new school choice bill moves us closer to Milton Friedman’s vision
“Our goal is to have a system in which every family in the...
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Opinion: Parents demand action on school reform
It took COVID-19 for many Americans to start paying closer attention to public...
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Reform needed to expand access to charter schools in Maine
The desire and need for school choice nationwide is now clearer than ever....
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Halsey Frank: Pandemic data, dark and dawn
Last Thursday, my wife and I were scheduled to fly to D.C. for...
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Why high gas prices are a signal of (more) inflation to come
Where I grew up in northern Minnesota, it’s easy to see the impact...
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Why isn’t Maine’s preferred K-12 gender identity curriculum more accessible to parents?
In the aftermath of widespread pandemic-era learning disruptions, many parents and community members...
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Understanding the importance of sunset provisions
According to the American Legislative Exchange Council Center for State Fiscal Reform, Maine is...
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Halsey Frank: Little hymn to the Republic
On June 17, I attended the COVID-delayed swearing-in ceremony for my successor as...
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Protecting our children, both in body and in mind
In recent weeks, our hearts have been broken and our consciences racked by...
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Why Biden’s claim of cutting the deficit is false, in a single chart
Since President Joe Biden took office office early last year, America’s long-term budget...
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Halsey Frank: Democrats’ detrimental DA decision
In what appears to have been little more than a political litmus test...
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Yes, the products you’re buying are getting smaller—even though prices are not
The rise in consumer prices has rightly received a great deal of attention,...
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DSA ballot initiatives would add insult to injury for Portland businesses
Last week, the Maine Democratic Socialists of America rushed to file paperwork with...
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Federal watchdog finds 20% of pandemic unemployment funds wasted on fraudulent or ineligible claims
At least 20 percent of federal dollars paid out through pandemic-related unemployment programs...
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Lockdowners are still unwilling to recognize harms they brought on youth
Is it possible that despite the mounting evidence against them, some lockdown enthusiasts...
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Halsey Frank: Reservations about the DOJ’s new use-of-force policy
It is illegal and unacceptable for law enforcement officers to use excessive force....
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Hybrid learning during pandemic cements Cape Elizabeth parent’s support for school choice
For John Lewis, his local school district’s decision to enact hybrid learning during...
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Do we really need 100 different federal programs to fund broadband?
President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill apportioned $1.2 trillion for such projects as roads, bridges,...
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The New York Times explains why mask mandates don’t work
Throughout the pandemic, few things incited more discord than the mandated use of...
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Halsey Frank: Actionable intelligence regarding mass shootings
The recent mass shootings at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York and...
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Tobacco harm reduction–not prohibition–is the path forward for Maine
Last month, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is developing...
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Government greed caused inflation, for the record
Government policies fail and create problems in the real world every day. But...
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Halsey Frank: Shame has been getting a bad name
Shame used to be a relatively simple thing. You did something wrong. You...
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Empowerment, exit and entrepreneurship will continue to transform education
Over the past two years of social and economic disruption, U.S. education has...
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Opinion: NECEC provides once-in-a-generation training opportunities for trades
There are a lot of benefits to the New England Clean Energy Connect...
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Halsey Frank: The CDC and trying to make sense of firearms homicides
On May 14, 18-year-old Payton Gendron traveled more than 200 miles from his...
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Opinion: Let’s save Maine’s lobster industry from death by regulation
If you’ve ever been to the state of Oregon – home of the...
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Biden just single-handedly made the gas crisis worse
Americans are already struggling under the weight of crippling inflation, from skyrocketing gas...
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Halsey Frank: Thoughts on voting rights
It wasn’t long ago that Democrats were claiming that the For the People Act,...
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No increase in flight cancellations after CDC mask mandate lifted, data show
It’s been two week since a federal court threw out the CDC’s transport...
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The FDA uses new authority to close off last remaining legal option for vapers who like flavors
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving fast to close off what...
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Halsey Frank: Maine’s new, not-so-good Samaritan law
Harm reductionists praise Maine’s new Good Samaritan law. I’m not sure it’s deserved. I will...
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Why energy prices are projected to increase 50% in 2022—after doubling last year
Sometimes I have to remind myself how good we Americans have it because—let’s...
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Maine becomes the third state to end single-family-only zoning
Maine is embracing new California-style laws aimed at reducing restrictions on new housing....
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Remote learning correlated with greater K-12 learning loss, study finds
A new study recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)...
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Halsey Frank: Making sense of Judge Mizelle’s mask mandate ruling
On April 18, Florida federal Judge Kathryn Mizelle invalidated the Centers for Disease Control and...
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Why the feds are clinging to their mask mandate
Bureaucrats cling to power. It’s their institutional predisposition. So it was no surprise...
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Drop the useless mask mandates and leave us alone
The last couple of years have been a revelation when it comes to...
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Halsey Frank: Taking on more than Portland can handle
Last week, while driving toward the peninsula on Outer Congress Street around Craigie...
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Final version of local zoning, affordable housing bill leaves much to be desired
Last week, LD 2003, a bill sponsored by Speaker Ryan Fecteau to reform...
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State government-controlled healthcare system would raise costs, jeopardize access to quality care
Mainers deserve access to high-quality health care with an affordable price tag. Following...
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New study provides yet more evidence that COVID lockdowns didn’t work
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, even alarmist government officials like Dr. Anthony...
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Halsey Frank: Governing in Portland is no picnic in the park
The trend of people quitting Portland government (councilors Nicholas Mavodones, Jill Duson, Spencer...
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Opinion: Runaway spending defies Maine values
Tax Day is a fitting day to revisit where our tax-and-spend ways have...
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COVID stimulus checks worsened inflation
Inflation has surged across much of the developed world in the past year...
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The environmental downside of electric vehicles
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric vehicle requires six times...
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What if discretion is our recourse?
(If you read my column “Have We No Recourse?”, this column is intended...
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Fentanyl now the leading cause of death for adults ages 18 to 45
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data now show fentanyl overdose...
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Halsey Frank: Tempest in a teapot, or in this case, a South Portland coffee shop
How can we end the cycle of recrimination from which we are suffering...
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‘Inflation tax’ will cost families this many thousands this year, Bloomberg analysis warns
Another day, another alarming inflation metric. We just got the numbers for the...
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Halsey Frank: Regressive justice
It’s hard to decide who is worse, actor Jussie Smollett, who faked a...
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‘Equity’ and ‘social justice’ at Maine’s public universities
Over the last year, frequent communications from University of Maine System leaders Chancellor...
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Why are Maine lawmakers letting special interests nickel-and-dime us on vehicle inspections?
Mandatory motor vehicle inspections already cost Mainers $14 million and countless hours of...
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The Biden administration is ignoring how its policies will worsen inflation. Again.
Despite inflation running at a 40-year high, the Biden administration is pushing ahead...
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Opinion: Flavored tobacco ban bill bad for Maine’s public health
As a physician – one who has dedicated his career to treating lung...
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Sweden—once mocked for its COVID strategy—now has one of the lowest COVID mortality rates in Europe
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, I asked a simple question. Could Sweden’s laissez-faire...
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Halsey Frank: In support of qualified immunity
In December of 1994, a United States Capitol Police Officer shot and killed Marcelino Corniel...
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How Wilson’s ‘living’ Constitution and ‘apolitical’ civil service class undermines our rights
President Woodrow Wilson wanted a professional bureaucracy that was apolitical. The theory sounded...
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Biden’s dishonest attempt to pin inflation on Putin
Ten months ago, Jeremy Siegel issued a dire warning about the trajectory of...
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WANTED: Stronger leadership on the world stage
Weakness is a contagion. Years in the future, when the historians are done...
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Halsey Frank: Jurors gone wild
Ghislane Maxwell’s attorneys say that three jurors concealed their experience of sexual abuse....
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The CDC changed its COVID risk formula. The results are stunning
On Feb. 25, the CDC made its expected announcement that it was updating...
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Halsey Frank: Zelensky for President
I was working on several items closer to home but events in Ukraine...
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The CDC discovers actual public health, just in time
One day I’m reading an internal memo commissioned by the Democratic Party to...
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Ukraine grants citizens the right to bear arms—hours before Putin’s invasion
Russian soldiers flooded into Ukraine Thursday under orders from President Vladimir Putin, threatening...
