Just as government critics conjure images of bureaucrats shoveling money into a furnace, gambling advocates paint portraits of needing wheelbarrows to spread the money collected from dice, slots and cards around a community.

In a perfect world, with a thriving economy, with jobs plentiful, with unemployment a temporary setback rather than a way of life, would anyone embrace gambling as an economic lifeline?

Substance abuse in Maine is estimated to cost the state $1.18 billion per year, but the human cost can’t be tallied.

While we’re still shaking our heads over the news that Maine State Prison Warden Patricia Barnhart bought three state-owned houses in Thomaston for a bargain price and that the public wasn’t notified that the properties were up for sale or offered a chance to bid, we learn this: That kind of transaction is not only common, it’s the norm.

The Maine Association of Nonprofits is feeling steamed after being informed by the governor’s office that it’s entitled only to alternate seating at Gov. Paul LePage’s upcoming job creation summits.

There are a number of ways to view the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrators whose protests have multiplied in many places across the country and around the world.

It was a heartwarming story — inspirational, in fact, in a “you’ve got to be kidding me” sort of way. If we didn’t know better, we would have to conclude that members of Maine’s Legislature are engaged in a veritable bipartisan lovefest.

As the Occupy Wall Street protests spread from Lower Manhattan to Washington and other cities, the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions.

So in the Republican sweepstakes for the presidential nomination, Sarah Palin has ended the speculation by declaring she’s not a candidate. Likewise, Chris Christie is going to stay on the job as New Jersey governor. Rick Perry is sinking in the polls, Mitt Romney has yet to catch fire and here comes Herman Cain, don of Godfather’s Pizza and, as it turns out, tough love for his fellow Americans.

Privacy laws in the United States need an upgrade. Rapid advances in cellphones and computers are outstripping the ability of old laws to protect our personal lives.