Maine people have a live-and-let-live philosophy, and tend to be fair and open-minded.

Our businesses can't create jobs when they're losing revenue, and the unemployed can't apply for jobs when they can't pay their phone bill.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has been one of my good friends in the House of Representatives. When she was brutally shot, Gabby was out doing what she loved to do - meeting with her constituents in a local setting, allowing people to speak to her directly about the issues that concerned them.

Having started and owned two small businesses, I know what a challenge it is to keep up with the rising costs of your employees' healthcare premiums.

There are so many ways now that people contribute through the Internet. We vet all of our contributions, and when something doesn't meet our requirements or a donation exceeds the amount that's allowed by the law, we return it.

With work increasingly invisible, it's much harder to grasp the human effects, the social contours, of the Internet economy.

Who needs to graduate from Central Saint Martins in London or New York's Fashion Institute of Technology when a homemade outfit can go viral on YouTube with millions of hits?

I'm interested in how the Internet spreads information.