Opening speech by the publisher of the site Krotova: In the summer of 2007, my eldest son worked for 2 months at an American “pioneer camp” in Maine. Before this trip, my son had a good attitude towards the United States, but now his opinion has changed to such an extent that he wrote this article. The article was the reason for the appearance of the “Politics” section, which will be replenished from 2008. Completely unexpectedly for my son, the article “Adventures in Maine” received second place at the Moscow city competition of student publications and young journalists under entitled "Crystal Arrow" (05/23/08). The prize was awarded with a certificate signed by L.I. Shevtsova and Ya.N. Zasursky (Dean of the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University). A version of the article, shortened by the editors of the student newspaper, was submitted for this competition. The full version of the article is given below.