The concept of allowing boaters to decide for themselves how fast is "reasonable and prudent" is the only thing that can work on the ocean.Enforcing a set speed limit on the open seas is impossible. The best that can be…

On Dec. 13, about 1,000 Americans from all 50 states gathered in New York City to make an open declaration of concern and hope for their country.These citizen leaders of a new effort called "No Labels" are Republicans, Democrats and…

Among the many reasons Democrats took a shellacking in 2010 was the lack of brand identity. No one knows what the heck we are.The Republican brand is clear: anger, passion, as little government as possible. But the Democrats' brand is…

People like to compare the state or federal budget to a family's budget, and base suggestions about what government should do on the habits of regular people. For example, new House Speaker Bill O'Brien plans to switch the order of…

The federal tax compromise is unacceptable on moral grounds and is equally unacceptable politically.It is simply wrong to allow Congress to cut unemployment benefits on which families depend. Too many good, honest people are out of work for reasons not…

According to a 2009 Harvard Medical School study, over 40,000 Americans die each year because they do not have health insurance. More people die for lack of health insurance than from drunken driving and homicide combined.As one of the study's…

In his commentary, former Democratic nominee for governor Mark Fernald says critics of Obamacare focus too much on its cost and complexity, but utter "nary a word about its benefits."Like any good salesman, he hopes we will get so excited…

Every flu season, public health officials tell us that washing our hands and covering a cough are good ways to avoid getting sick or passing on the illness.It seems that nearly every office worker, teacher and nurse has a bottle…

With the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the nation and the second-highest ranking in recent job growth, New Hampshire's economy is favorable relative to other states. The problem is that the state's unemployment rate is still significantly higher than it was…

As members of the 111th Congress return to Washington for their final lame-duck session, surely the economy is forefront on their minds. Few question that the economic downturn the United States has experienced over the past two years is the…

The energy sector in New England is undergoing the most dramatic changes we have seen in more than a decade. In the electric sector alone, NStar and Northeast Utilities are merging, billions of dollars in transmission investments have bolstered reliability,…

Both the Obama administration and the Republicans have housing blood on their hands. Obama was silent as Democrats and Republicans in 2009 defeated Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin's bankruptcy reform bill that would have stopped the foreclosure tidal wave.One simple change…

The most important thing about the Nov. 2 elections is that they're over. The close of campaign season means the politicking should stop and the real work of governing begin. We voters might think our job is done, but in…

Over the past 20 years, I have spent considerable time in some of the world's most beautiful countries, working as a tropical ecologist. In my travels I have seen the effects of forests destroyed and species threatened with extinction, all…

The day after the election, I saw a photograph of a huge wave on a Republican Web site. I soon realized: I've seen that same photo before. After a minute or so it came to me. That very same wave…