If the Car Crash Fairy offered you a deal that would lower your odds of getting in a car accident, but the trade-off was that any accidents you did get into would be far more likely to injure or kill you, you probably wouldn’t take that deal. But that might be the bargain we have […]
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 inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Biden’s limit on bomb shipments to Israel may finally get Netanyahu’s attention
In quietly halting a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, President Joe Biden at last began exercising U.S. leverage to halt a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the final refuge in Gaza for about a million Palestinians displaced by Israeli destruction elsewhere in the besieged territory. It’s the right move, even though Israel may have a […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Tyler Cowen: No, low-skilled immigrants don’t cost taxpayers money
It’s not often that Paul Krugman and Donald Trump agree. But the Nobel-prize-winning economist and former (and future?) president have both subscribed to the mainstream consensus that, in the short run, less skilled immigrants are a burden on public finances. They may receive government benefits, including health care, yet they are not always ready to […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: The chaos in Congress is more dangerous than the protests on campuses
Last week Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) ignored Donald Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as House speaker and announced plans to try to force him out. One can only assume she is making that attempt for attention, because it seems doomed to fail on the House floor. Democrats have already pledged to support […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Students have the right to protest
A disturbing trend is taking place on America’s most prestigious campuses: University presidents are wielding police as a violent threat against student protesters and the faculty who support them. This situation raises a critical question: Should the United States be a country where demonstrators can be arrested for protesting apartheid? At Columbia University, the initial […]
Posted inKennebec Journal, Maine, Morning Sentinel, News, Schools and Education
In wake of Maine crashes, officials preach safety when cars and horse-drawn buggies share the road
As Amish people have settled in Maine communities, buggies have become a more common sight and experts say motorists have had to adjust.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: To defend academic freedom, keep politics out of it
April 17 was a dark day for academic freedom in the United States. Columbia University President Nemat Shafik told a congressional hearing that some statements heard during recent protests — such as “from the river to the sea” — might be punished by the school. She also named several professors who were under investigation for […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Automatic braking on US cars will save lives. Biden is right to require it
By the end of the decade, new cars and trucks in the United States will be required to have automatic emergency braking systems that can save hundreds of lives each year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which announced the requirement last week, called it the most significant safety rule in two decades. This is […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Voters can’t tell between the arsonist and the fireman
If you were shopping for toaster ovens and your choice was between one that posed a 1% chance of setting your house on fire and a competing one that would not only 100% set your house on fire but proudly guaranteed it right on the box, then you would probably go with the 1% model. […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Does social media rewire kids’ brains? Here’s what the science really says
America’s young people face a mental health crisis, and adults constantly debate how much to blame phones and social media. A new round of conversation has been spurred by Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation,” which contends that rising mental health issues in children and adolescents are the result of social media replacing key experiences […]