When dealing with international trade — as with many things in business — sometimes what’s needed most is simply a sure thing. We’ve been critical of President Donald Trump’s approach to trade over the past few years in large part because he has injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty in markets, supply chains and other […]
Ben Bragdon
Staff Writer
Ben Bragdon is managing editor of the Sun Journal. Prior to that, he was deputy managing editor for news at the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. Ben was previously editorial page editor for those newspapers and Central Maine Sunday for more than 10 years. Before that, he was managing editor for weekly newspapers at Current Publishing in Westbrook. He began his career as a reporter at the Piscataquis Observer in Dover-Foxcroft and editor at the Moosehead Messenger in Greenville. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Give us back our sunshine — make daylight saving time year round
“We go back and forth between being time’s master and its victim.” — James Gleick, science historian Stop teasing us, Congress. Floridians are outdoorsy people, and we want our sunshine. Give it back. The current method of trying to bend Mother Nature to human purposes by observing part of the year in daylight saving time […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Don’t destroy what makes America great
When I crossed through Checkpoint Charlie from West Berlin to East Berlin nearly 30 years ago, the failures of former East Germany were immediately obvious. The grey unkempt landscape and dilapidated buildings looked as though that country hadn’t been repaired since American and Soviet tanks faced off yards apart decades earlier in one of the […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Trump’s EPA is trying to limit science in crafting new regulations
Regulations and policies affecting public health should rely on clear-eyed analysis of the best science and data available.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: California school shooting: It’s the guns. It’s always the guns
Authorities are still trying to figure out exactly what transpired Thursday morning at Saugus High School in Santa Carita, where a shooting left two students dead at last count. Four others were reported injured, including the suspected gunman, described as a 16-year-old boy now hospitalized after apparently shooting himself. The tragedies compound, and the grief […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: State ethics panel should be at full strength
2020 will be a busy year for the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Jonathan Bernstein: Democrats get better at making their impeachment case
House Democrats have finally figured out how to hold a hearing. The first public congressional session of the impeachment inquiry aimed at President Donald Trump probably wasn’t compelling television for most voters. Most people just aren’t very interested in fine details. Nor did Democrats bring a lot of drama or theatrics. And yet I suspect […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Higher pay part of building a better Legislature
Lawmakers do a good job overall, but pay raise may bring different voices to the table.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Congress should act now to save ‘Dreamers’
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the Trump administration is trying to end.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: The canary and Caterpillar: What 120 Texas layoffs tell us about China tariffs
Just over a week ago, Caterpillar laid off 120 workers at its plant in Victoria, Texas. That concerned us, not just because those are 120 Texans suddenly unemployed, but also because Caterpillar is one of those companies that jumps off the news page. It’s a bellwether. Because the company makes equipment used in construction, its […]