So long, TPP: Trump exits partnership for new course on trade

President Donald J. Trump on Monday canceled U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade organization that had been made up of 12 nations, including some of America's most important trading partners. Members included Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam as well as the United States.

Dan Simpson: Perry and Mnuchin and Carson, oh, my

President Donald J. Trump's behavior between his election and inauguration and during the first few days of his term in office suggests he hasn't yet figured out what he should spend his time doing, which would be less worrying if the people he is naming to his Cabinet and other senior positions had their heads screwed on straight. It would matter less if he plans to spend his time tweeting and pushing "alternative facts" if he had competent, principled people actually governing the country.

Donald Trump is Larry Langford, Richard Scrushy and Mike Hubbard rolled into one

It wasn't that long ago in Hollywood that casting a generic American president was as easy as flipping through a binder full of square-jawed, clean-shaven, tall American men. If you wanted a Jack Kennedy type, you'd find someone youthful, natural hair color but with a bit of gray around the temples -- the Dad President.

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017: ACA repeal threatens rural hospitals,…

We all can guess what will happen to the 80,000 Mainers who obtained medical insurance under the Affordable Care Act when the Republicans repeal it . Our neighbors, friends and family members who received coverage as a result of the act will go without medical insurance, jeopardizing their health and their pocketbooks.

Today in History: Jan. 23, 2017

On Jan. 23, 1933, the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the so-called "Lame Duck Amendment," was ratified as Missouri approved it. In 1516, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who with his late queen consort, Isabella of Castile, sponsored the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, died in Madrigalejo, Spain.

Where does the money go?

I, like many of you, probably wonder from time to time why am I constantly getting pleas for money from every worthy cause. I get them from network food banks, senior centers, homeless shelters, youth programs, after-school programs, Adopt a Platoon, Troops Direct, veterans groups of all types, The Salvation Army, Red Cross, you name it, and on and on.

Donald Trump mocks Women’s marches as Israel approves hundreds of new settlements

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The Rant: Body image problem getting worse

According to the Plastic Surgery Group, in their round-up of cosmetic trend predictions for 2017: “We have seen a 30 percent rise in women requesting a smaller nipple size in the last year.” Apparently, smaller nipples are now a fashion statement, which complements the new body look, which according to Plastic Surgery Group is “the ultra-toned, shredded athletic type…” Vogue magazine recently declared that cleavage was “over,” with the Guardian observing that “Cleavage appears now in another form, having sunk some inches towards the hips where it's been rebranded as an “ab crack.” “The most common surgical procedure done this past year [in 2012] was breast augmentation followed by liposuction, tummy tuck, eyelid surgery, and rhinoplasty.

Battenfeld: Donald Trump ushers in age of people first, pols second

Trump signaled in his first day of office that he's not going to go along with the power brokers in the nation's capital - many of them standing right behind him on the inaugural stage. The new president's defiant speech after taking the oath of office was a jab at every lawmaker, lobbyist, ex-president, network pundit and editorial writer who scoffed at Trump's campaign and message and worked to defeat him.

Donald Trump inauguration: Wild man in the White House

Donald Trump is not renowned as an orator. Although speech-making has been a potent tool of past US presidents - his predecessor one of the most compelling - the mish-mash of "America first" jingoism Mr Trump has presented at his inauguration ceremony in Washington hardly amounts to a cogent agenda to guide his term in office.

Sac Bee slams Kevin McCarthy, he responds

The Sacramento Bee editorial board posted an opinion article on Congressman Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, saying he might be hazardous to his own district's health: "Gov. Jerry Brown and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones couldn't have differed more in the style of their recent responses to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's request for "ideas" on the pending repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But the substance, in both cases, was sobering.