Tag Archives: blog

How can Jurgen Klinsmann really improve the U.S. national men’s soccer team?

This week I was walking my dogs on the Western Prom in Portland and witnessed a rarity: a pickup soccer game. The 5 boys were in the 10-12 year range, and were playing a makeshift half-field contest, 2-on-2 with 1 goalie. As best I could tell, 3 boys were African and 2 Hispanic or Middle Eastern, […]

As the latest wars wind down, can we do better dealing with PTSD?

When I was a boy, there were times my father would break into a cold sweat for no apparent reason, and sit frozen in his recliner like death warmed over. Once, he flew into a rage over some minor infraction and started hitting my sister until my mother intervened. He retreated into his bedroom, sobbing like a baby […]

The Bergdahl matter finally is moving forward; now let’s wait and see

Last week, BDN editorial page editor and blogger extraordinaire Erin Rhoda told the interesting and poignant story of a World War II prisoner swap involving 152 American civilians, including the parents of Tyler H. Thompson of Hancock. In it, Ms. Rhoda made a reference to the more recent swap brokered by the White House of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl […]

On Father’s Day, let’s not forget granddads who mattered

My paternal grandfather George was one tough hombre. Armed with just a grade school education back in the old country, he lived his 92 years there with the energy of a teenager. Known to us by the affectionate Greek moniker of “Pappou,” he possessed drive and ambition that kept his eyes on the horizon, forever dreaming. A former editor of […]

Are northern New England states losing their brightest to the Sun Belt?

John was “a good New England boy,” as my mother said, and I met him a few years back while pumping gas in Cocoa Beach, Fla. This was just a several miles south of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, about 40 minutes east of Orlando, and a spit north of Patrick Air Force Base. OK, […]

Can we please finally reform the Electoral College?

Every four years, when I see this map above (or variations thereof), I’m dismayed. Regardless of who wins the presidency, just looking at the potpourri of red and blue for a year leading up to the November general election is tantamount to a national disgrace. It’s not that I’m at odds with the reasoning of the Founding Fathers […]