Age matters, but so do words. While pundits debate President Joe Biden’s cognitive fitness for office and the possible motivations behind prejudicial language contained in special counsel Robert K. Hur’s classified documents report, the rest of us have a different problem: the “elderly.” Older people themselves aren’t the issue, but the way we talk about […]
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: Many Americans believe migrants bring fentanyl across the border. That’s wrong and dangerous
Two unrelated facts combined with a lie form a powerful and dangerous piece of misinformation that is spreading virally. The facts are that a drug overdose epidemic is killing more than 100,000 Americans a year and that far more migrants are crossing the country’s southern border than ever before. The lie is that the migrants […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Bread and circuses, American style
Primary season is fully underway and the election year is heating up. Then again, do campaigns ever really stop nowadays? There was a time when election years stood out as what Washington talking heads referred to as “ crazy season ”: politicians making wild promises, we ordinary people egging them on, and outcomes settled in […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: George Washington knew how to govern but are we willing to listen?
We all want America to flourish and prosper, but disagreements on “how” keep tripping us up. “How” is much more than picking between policy prescriptions – at its core it involves the way we treat each other, particularly those we disagree with. The person most essential to realizing America in the first place thought about […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: When it comes to feelings on the economy, housing looms large
Too many Americans are paying too much for housing.
Posted inColumns, Op-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: If only Congress would listen to the CBO on immigration
The upshot, in a nutshell: Immigrants get the job done.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Defense secretary must rebuild trust after unexpected absence
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week took responsibility for not notifying the White House when he was hospitalized at the beginning of January, an important first step in rebuilding trust with President Joe Biden, Congress and the American people. While Austin’s desire to keep his medical situation private is understandable, this was a severe breach […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Will Crumbley verdict trap good parents too?
Oakland County, Michigan, Prosecutor Karen McDonald wanted to send the message that gun owners need to secure their firearms, and in Jennifer Crumbley she found the messenger. But is the courtroom the place to advocate for policy outcomes, or is its sole role to administer justice fairly? “I want to be really clear that these […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Republicans in Congress show true colors on immigration
They got the best of border negotiations and still said no, showing they have no interest in solving problems.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Supreme Court’s options narrow as Trump loses each appeal
It just got harder for the Supreme Court to save Donald Trump from criminal prosecution for his involvement with the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In a straightforward opinion, a unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected Trump’s claim that a former president should be immune […]