As I write this column, Maine's Legislative Council -- which consists of 10 lawmakers, six Democrats and four Republicans -- is beginning to work through the process of considering the roughly 400 bill requests submitted by lawmakers for the second session of the Legislature.

The first text from my daughter arrived at 10:40 Tuesday morning. “I’m in lockdown.” “It’s not a drill.”

As our health care delivery deteriorates -- lacking the quality and outcomes found in other advanced nations at twice the cost -- the hospital conglomerates, the government and the press are sometimes claiming progress. And, in spite of this, the growing national outrage is being met by policymakers scrambling to hold our nation’s bloated health care money pit.

In my 9/21/18 column, “Give Political Thugs the Bum's Rush,” I told a story of Maine Senate Democrat Leader Beverly Bustin’s 1995 reaction to Maine voters electing Angus King as Governor, and a new Republican majority to the Maine Senate.

All of us should be celebrating Maine Forest Products Week, Oct. 20-26. Maine’s forest products industry has a long and successful history in our state. From our earliest days, Maine’s vast timberlands have been an important asset, sought after first for masts for the king’s navy, and today for lumber and paper. The future will include any number of forest products from composites to bio tech to uses that have not even been imagined yet.

Americans hate taxes and some of us dread the Ides of April on a par with being told we need a root canal. Grumbling about taxes is hardly new. Our ancestors felt exactly the same. Our ancestors protested taxes of all sorts whether the infamous tea tax, poll taxes permitting men to vote, or the ubiquitous real estate taxes.

Unfortunately, in 2019, most of the people who post quotes like these on social media are not interested in actually living by those quotes. Instead, they wish to be seen signaling their own virtue, and by associating themselves with great and inspiring figures like Dr. King, hoping they too will be viewed as profound.

It wasn’t a wild animal that distracted me. It was a wild phone call, an argument about work, no less. I wasn’t paying close attention to where I was. I wasn’t driving with the care we all should expect of one another. And I made a mistake.

Many government programs are trying to address Maine’s economic challenges. We have an aging population, more jobs than qualified candidates to fill them, and far too many families struggling to put meals on the table. Government assistance helps, but we cannot rely on it alone.

Looking through the sliding glass doors out over the Atlantic Ocean, 3:15 in the morning, I can see a solitary white light on the dark horizon. It’s probably a commercial fishing boat. The almost full moon, nearly hidden behind clouds, casts moonlight enough to see white foam on cresting, crashing waves roll up the beach and disappear in the sand.

Having served 20 years in the U.S. military (submarines), I find the editorial stance of the BDN on Oct. 10 concerning the “Syria withdrawal” troubling. The BDN’s position seems to be in agreement with most of Maine’s congressional delegation that considers the withdrawal to be an abandonment of the Kurds and a dangerous signal to our allies.

On two separate occasions this week, Americans have offended China, and prompted the country to react.

Outrage is in right now. And there’s plenty to be outraged about: The president has asked other countries to help him smear a political opponent, he’s abandoning Kurdish allies in Syria and he continues his relentless attacks against LGBTQ people.

Is there ever a time to stop working on your genealogy and declare it done? The answer is, it depends.

The Maine Legislature recently passed a bill allowing abortions to be labeled a health care issue and covered under taxpayer insurance. I will state right off that I do not believe in abortion, but even if I did, my common sense would tell me that pregnancy should be covered by private or taxpayer insurance.

(In his Oct. 2 letter) Jeffrey Weatherbee has little understanding of American health care or its costs.

If 97 percent of mechanics told you that the plane your family was boarding was unsafe, would you stop them? Ninety seven percent of climate scientists are warning us of the impacts of human-caused climate change. Let’s switch planes.

I recently visited Red Hill, Patrick Henry’s last home in Virginia, and was surprised to learn Mr. Henry left me a note. Written not long before his death, Patrick Henry tucked the letter into a small bin on his writing desk.