President Joe Biden recently demonstrated the proper use of presidential clemency power when he pardoned thousands of people who had been convicted of various nonviolent marijuana violations on federal land. The reasons he cited included addressing racial disparities in drug prosecution and sentencing, and that’s an important point. Criminal laws in theory cover all Americans […]
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
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Here’s what 2024 might look like …
2024 looms as a very volatile year. Here is what might happen – or maybe not: JANUARY – Alabama defeats Washington for college football national championship. Supreme Court overturns Colorado’s ouster of Donald Trump from GOP primary ballot but rejects Trump’s argument that he has immunity from criminal prosecution. Former president easily wins Iowa caucuses, […]
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Sen. David LaFountain: Where to find help with storm recovery
Our state recently experienced flooding and storm damage like we haven’t seen in decades. With more outages reported than the 1998 Ice Storm and flooding worse in some areas than the 1987 spring floods, first responders and line crews have been working around the clock to ensure residents and roads are safe and power comes […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: Presidential leadership amid war and peace
Joe Biden deserves credit for his efforts to reach peace.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Even as American colonists defied the British, they understood the importance of the rule of law
The dominant storyline of our American Revolution is about patriotic defiance — refusing to pay taxes, dumping tea into the Boston Harbor and shooting redcoats once we saw the whites of their eyes. It’s about virtuous lawbreaking in the name of freedom. There is plenty of evidence to support this narrative. Yet like all triumphant […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Are we as a nation ready for the next big threat?
I was stunned by the early morning headline that appeared in my email. According to The New York Times, Israeli officials had known about Hamas’ plan for more than a year before it launched its Oct. 7 attacks. This could not be true. The Israel that I have come to know over the past 22 […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: US soldiers at risk of suffering brain injuries from their own weapons
The military is currently experiencing a mental health crisis, with suicide now the second leading cause of death for service members. Brain injuries suffered by service members are a big part of this crisis, and new information has revealed the risk that service members face even if they don’t deploy. A recent New York Timesinvestigation […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Devastating storm will require substantial response from us all
As the waters start to recede, it ranks as the worst flood in Maine since 1987. At least four people are dead, and the damage is sure to measured in billions of dollars.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Here’s how we can show up for others during a hard time
Over and over again in my psychotherapy practice, I hear the lament, “I don’t know what to say.” When heartbreaking events happen on either a personal or public scale, such as a medical diagnosis or mass shooting, there is a need for people to show up in some capacity to help, be it to lend […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Christmas gift-giving turbocharges our trash problem. This is how I cope
Every time I rip open a lovingly wrapped gift (and plenty of us will be doing a lot of that soon), one thing pops into my mind: trash. The wrapping paper, trash. The package hidden underneath it, trash. And the gift itself, in most cases, future trash, given enough time. Too harsh? Then ask yourself: […]