Dear Readers: I’m taking this week off for the holiday. The following column is from 2004. Happy Thanksgiving!

The initiative on guns has gotten more attention, though still less advertising than some advocates might have expected, but Measure 113 on legislative attendance deserves at least as much.

Earlier this month I sat with several friends at a sidewalk table at a coffee shop just south of downtown Portland. The scene was nearly identical – same businesses, same kind of traffic, human and vehicular – as when we’d met in the same place several years before. It looked friendly, prosp…

Queen Elizabeth, head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries since 1952, has died. Her birth did not necessarily portend a rise to the throne. Her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry an American, and his brother (Elizabeth’s father) was crowned King George V…

“The Queen is dead. Long live the King.”

President Biden’s decision to forgive up to $20,000 in unpaid college loans has reignited debate over the responsibilities of taxpayers, students and their families to sustain a “learn now, pay later” system that has become for many a path to indentured obligation rather than a portal to exp…

One of the recurring plot points in the much-praised and just-ended TV series “Better Call Saul” concerned the stretched resources and minimal pay of public defenders, the attorneys who represent accused criminals who otherwise can’t afford to hire legal help.

If you find yourself agreeing with people who threaten to kill or harm political opponents, urge you to “arm up” for a coming “civil war” or fail to criticize those who goad others into fanatical frenzies then step away from your television, chat group or bar stool and take a very deep breath.

For most parts of the country, this has been a splendid summer, full of sunshine and sunscreen, the weather a welcome contrast to the political climate. Americans have flocked to the shore and the lakeside, wandered among the hills, lingered well after sunset at the state park or the backyar…

The Inflation Reduction Act, just signed by President Biden, will mark the most significant step the nation has taken toward a comprehensive national energy strategy. More important, this legislation will ensure a federal effort to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, the primary cause of cl…

Paying taxes is our civic duty. The government’s duty is to make it as easy and inexpensive as possible for us to pay our taxes. But for too long, Congress has failed to uphold this responsibility, favoring instead corporations that profit from our need to file tax returns.

NBC News released a poll Sunday that found 74% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track — the highest number in the history of its survey.

If you muted the television, closed the door to keep out the muffles from the street and listened carefully the other day, you may have heard the voice of John Quincy Adams.

Dear President Biden: