The pandemic is far from over, as evidenced by the rapid rise to global dominance of the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2. This variant is a derivative of BA.2.86, the only other strain that has carried more than 30 new mutations in the spike protein since omicron first came on the scene more than two years […]
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: 2023 was the year of the do-nothing House Republicans. In 2024, they’ll do worse than nothing
It’s a new year but the same old mess in Congress. Instead of a fresh start, lawmakers return next week to their stale, dead-end arguments and legislative gridlock. And by now the reason they’re mired in the mess is an old story: Repeatedly in 2023, we saw the dysfunction of the MAGA Republicans who narrowly […]
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Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion
Thankful for help of Oakland FD
My mother, sister and I would like to take a moment to praise the hard work, kindness, compassion, and concern of the Oakland Fire Department. Over the past six weeks, my dad battled a new and aggressive cancer. As his health declined, and we were waiting for a stairlift to be installed, the wonderful staff […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion
Bellows should be lauded as patriot
We all know what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, despite the endless efforts of the right-wing propaganda machine to deny what we saw with our own eyes. And we all know who was responsible for spurring on the attempt to subvert democracy by overturning a free and fair election. While the majority of politicians and […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Maine AG has poor record in police shootings
A Maine attorney general has never found an officer at fault in a shooting.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Biden’s fellow seniors have advice for the 81-year-old president: Lose the script, project your voice
For those who doubt Joe Biden’s capacity to be president, Herb Klar has a suggestion: Swing by his neighborhood sometime. “They don’t come to Rossmoor and see all the octagenarians … and see how lively and bright and competent we all are,” said Klar, 76, a retired clinical social worker, who was sporting a Golden […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Five big political questions for 2024
The political stakes couldn’t be higher in the coming year, with both the presidency and control of Congress up in the air. And the courts will be involved more than usual, with former President Donald Trump under four separate indictments, at least some of which could head to trial in 2024. If that isn’t enough, […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Supreme Court has tough tiebreaker on Trump ballot case
In a ruling this week, the Michigan Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump to remain on the Republican primary ballot, rejecting the argument that the 14th Amendment’s ban on holding public office for government officials who’d previously engaged in insurrection against the United States disqualified the former president. While some of the former president’s supporters will […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion
Being president is not a get-out-of-jail-free card
Do I have this right? Once elected president of the United States of America, any crime that you commit, you cannot be prosecuted. When running for re-election, regardless of the counted votes, only you can determine who the rightful electors are and encourage your supporters to use flagpoles to break into the Capitol building to […]