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 […]
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 inKennebec Journal, Local & State, 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.
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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 […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Multigenerational households are key to better support for kids of single mothers
Decades of research show that on average, children who grow up with parents who are not married and living together have worse achievement and behavioral and well-being outcomes than children of two-parent homes. Despite this evidence, rates of nonmarital childbearing have risen dramatically in the U.S., especially among the noncollege-educated. What then can be done […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: FTC ban on noncompetes is a victory for the US economy
It’s easy to understand why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is so upset about the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to ban noncompete agreements. The problem for businesses is not that they will lose trade secrets or valuable investments in workers to competitors. It’s that they just lost bargaining power to workers — and that’s exactly […]
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
View from Away: Only dictators have immunity from criminal acts while in power
It seems unlikely that the Supreme Court will embrace Donald Trump’s outrageous claim that as a former president he enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions that he allegedly took to overturn the 2020 election and cling to power. This is a relief. To do otherwise would allow the office to become, as Justice […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Ukraine aid shows MAGA hasn’t cowed Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson endured a titanic struggle to get Ukraine aid through the House, one that demonstrates the benefits of cooperation and the pitfalls of extremism. His ultimate success on Saturday, however, came at a dear price, one paid by Ukrainians in blood and in the countless lives that might have been saved had […]