While I Relish Our Warm Months, Winter

Incivility Is A Symptom, Not The Disease. We've Always Had Partisan Conflict In Congress, And We Always Will. Yet When I Worked For A Year (1970-71) On The Staff Of Sen. Ed Muskie Of Maine, This Was A Different Place, More Collegial, More Sensitive To Data, More Concerned About All Of The American People. I Think Because The For-profit Media Prizes Conflict Above Cooperation And Sound Bites Above Analysis, Politicians Have Learned To Adapt To Those Tendencies. Consequently, Our Public Debates Are Dumbed Down As Our Problems Grow More Complex.

But Like The Rest Of The Country, Maine Has Reached An Impasse, For Most Of The Mercury That Fouls Our Skies, Waters And Land Comes From Outside Our Borders.

Health Care Costs Blunt The Competitive Edge Of American Entrepreneurs, From The Auto Industry To Internet Start-ups.

Yet, Much Of What Lies Beneath The Ocean's Surface Remains A Mystery, And Our Nation Continues To Rely On A Confused, Antiquated System Of Ocean Governance.

Maine's Long And Cold Winters May Help Keep Our State's Population Low, But Our Harsh Climate Also Accounts For What Is Unique And Valuable About Our Land And Our People