Neil deGrasse Tyson is, to a certain generation of people in this country, something of a demigod. He is an astrophysicist, author, director of the Hayden Planetarium and one of the chief pop-science figures of our time.

1) Strengthen background checks and close the loopholes that allows someone to buy a gun without one. 2) Ban high-capacity magazines that enhance the killing power of semi-automatic weapons. 3) Require gun owners to be licensed.

A few years ago I was interviewed by a newspaper on the future of genealogy and DNA. I went on record that DNA would change genealogy in the future, opening doors we could only imagine. When the piece ran I was chided by a fellow genealogist who insisted that DNA was a flash in the pan and what I said was ridiculous.

Where did I learn how to write? I mean penmanship, the whole writing process; from learning to identify and pronounce the upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet, to learning how to form those letters with pencil on paper? How did I learn to write in cursive or script?

I think the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife canceled a request for proposals to conduct a scheduled study on the impact of human food (including baiting) on Maine’s bear population because they didn’t want to hear the results and make them public. The study RFP was cancelled for a litany of flimsy excuses, even though it has been long overdue.

Let's say you are in a meeting or class, and it is somebody's turn to speak. The person is long-winded and frequently wastes everyone's time with unproductive babbling.

Democracy is under attack in the United States. A recent US Senate Intelligence Committee report found that it’s likely all 50 states were targeted by the Russian government in 2016 as part of that country’s efforts to influence our elections.

Did you ever stop and think how much better life would be for everyone if we all followed the Golden Rule “To treat others as you want to be treated.” Instead we have, more than we would like, people that think “life is all about me, myself and I.”

My first time visiting a solitary confinement unit at Maine State Prison in Warren was like walking into a Federico Fellini movie. I did not visit alone.

I am asking our legislators to return to Augusta to vote on a Land for Maine’s future bond. It is imperative that our legislators vote before the end of August in order for the bond make the November 2019 ballot.

Monday, to the apparent notice of no one, congressional leaders and the president came together and agreed to something: spending a lot more money, and putting it on the credit card. Again.

There are certain tasks most of us will face, assuming we have the good fortune to live long enough. One of those is cleaning out the house of our parents — perhaps the house where we grew up. My mother, Louise Farmer, died in October 2015, and I have put off dealing with her house for almost four years.

While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to the Internet at speeds that meet the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband threshold, while one in four rural Americans do not.

I have family members who have green cards. They work, pay taxes, are productive members of their communities. Does this mean they don’t get counted, because they are not citizens? There must be millions in this status and in varying stages of becoming legal citizens. It is a slow process. Does this mean they don’t count?

In my last column I dealt with family associations. There are other types of associations which can also prove of immense value including DNA studies. These go back in the mists of time. Usually it’s men who are invited to join because their Y-DNA markers show a relationship to other men.

"Chris Pratt is facing criticism over a T-shirt he was pictured wearing featuring a controversial symbol." So read the first line of an article in Yahoo! Entertainment on Tuesday. Actor Chris Pratt, who you may know as Star-Lord from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, apparently wore something that caused him to "face criticism."

If I’m born with a right to free health care, who’s the guy born with the responsibility to pay for it? That question should be asked of all government services or programs. Other questions should be asked too. For example, what is the up side and bad side of government services or programs?

Save for a few welcome exceptions, today’s political discourse at all levels is awful. From politicians to political staffers; political reporters and commentators across all media; political party communicators, activists, public policy non-profits — the bulk of all this messaging is negative, emotionally and physically draining, and culturally corrosive.