Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

Ben Bragdon

Latest

Published
June 14, 2019

Commentary: Despite Trump, renewable energy capacity now exceeds coal’s

You probably didn’t notice, but April marked a threshold for the nation. For the first time, our capacity for creating electricity from renewable sources crept past that for coal. Yes, that’s a good thing. Not good enough, mind you, to save us from the worst effects of climate change from global warming, but it’s further […]
Published
June 14, 2019

Commentary: Foreign election meddling is wrong, Mr. President

It was extraordinary to hear a U.S. president declare that the FBI director is “wrong” for saying that candidates should report to the FBI — as the law clearly intends — any effort by foreign agents to aid a political candidate by passing along opposition research. President Donald Trump does not understand the value of […]
Published
June 14, 2019

Our View: On migrants, state should follow Portland’s lead

Helping asylum seekers now will pay off for Maine’s future.
Published
June 12, 2019

View from Away: Court-packing isn’t the answer

Egged on by progressive activists, some 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are expressing interest in the idea of increasing the number of seats on the Supreme Court. It’s easy to understand why the idea of “packing” the court with new justices appeals to Democrats, but it’s a bad idea that would further politicize a court that […]
Published
June 12, 2019

Commentary: Trump’s thuggish border policies aren’t working

Two nuggets of information from the federal government last week paint a stark portrait of failed government policies toward migration. Despite President Donald Trump’s heavy-handed approach — belligerence, threats, tariffs and mass detentions designed to dissuade would-be immigrants from trying to cross the border and enter the United States — apprehensions exceeded 144,000 people at […]
Published
June 12, 2019

Our View: Lobster gear changes not yet warranted

If the federal government is going to force such a drastic change, it better show that Maine gear is killing whales.
Published
June 11, 2019

Ramesh Ponnuru: Biden’s flip on abortion funding hurts him and his party

Maybe Joe Biden had to flip on the question of taxpayer funding for abortion in order to win the Democratic presidential nomination. All of his rivals supported that funding, and the party has become more and more aggressive on abortion. Where the 1990s Democratic platforms said abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” the 2016 […]
Published
June 10, 2019

Our View: Maine ready to power up solar industry

A bill before the Legislature would encourage the growth of an industry that’s ready to grow.
Published
June 8, 2019

View from Away: 30 years after Tiananmen, oppressive Chinese state remains

Thirty years ago today, the world watched in horror as Chinese troops cracked down brutally on peaceful protests by students who sought to give the Chinese people more say over their daily lives. The lingering image of the pro-democracy movement, though, was from the next day, when a lone, unarmed man stopped a column of […]
Published
June 8, 2019

Commentary: Gun restrictions handicap law-abiding citizens

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Virginia Beach, Va., that claimed the lives of 12 people, Gov. Ralph Northam has called for a special legislative session to address gun-related violence. Using the shooting as a call to action, he then proposed a variety of restrictions on lawful gun owners — not one of […]