It would make an enormous difference. It's a much higher hurdle to cross if everyone knows who you are talking to -- especially if there is a big vote in Congress the next day.

This is an enormous problem for our democracy and it really is at a crisis point. More and more people are looking at this level of corruption in Washington, in their home states and they're saying why should I bother to vote.

There's great value to knitting or digging up your garden or chopping up vegetables for soup, because you're taking some time away from turning the pages, answering your emails, talking to people on the phone, and you're letting your brain process whatever is stuck up in there.

Incredibly, oil and gas companies don't have to pay certain environmental costs that amount to small change to them, while an offshore wind project start-up is faced with fees that could mean the difference between building a wind farm and packing up and going home.

I live on an island, and my community is served by a ferry that goes three times a day.

It is important that we Mainers continue our strong support of the program that has so successfully shaped our current political environment and led to similar reforms in other places.