Ben Bragdon

Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel

Latest

Published
October 19, 2019

Commentary: Federal taxes are too high

The Democrats running for president have demanded the government raise taxes on income, gasoline, energy, capital gains and your life savings at death. And your retirement savings will be hit by multiple taxes that they promise will only hurt “the rich” but will first and foremost reduce the value of your savings in your IRA […]
Published
October 18, 2019

View from Away: Trump officials fill in the blanks on quid pro quo in Ukraine

Two of President Donald Trump’s presumably loyal appointees painted an alarming picture last Thursday of how Trump and lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani turned up the pressure on Ukraine to ensure its help with two politically oriented investigations. No matter how the White House tries to spin the news, it’s seeming increasingly clear that the president […]
Published
October 18, 2019

Our View: State’s plan for lobster lines an improvement

Between 2017 and 2018, 20 right whales died — a staggering 4 percent of the population — mostly from entanglements with fishing lines. Experts say even one death a year could doom the population, which has fallen to about 400.
Published
October 18, 2019

Jay Ambrose: Trump still not as bad as the Democrats

President Donald Trump, surrounded by political enemies constructing an underhanded, dishonest impeachment, pretty much told the nation that he did not belong in the White House when he decided to yank our troops out of Syria. It was a disastrous, ignorant move serving no end but revived terrorism, murderous calamity for our Kurdish allies and […]
Published
October 18, 2019

View from Away: The impeachment inquiry needs more transparency and a floor vote

President Donald Trump can be expected to denounce the House’s impeachment inquiry as a “witch hunt” or a “coup” attempt no matter how fair and transparent the process is. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still needs to shore up the credibility of the fast-moving investigation by having the entire House vote to authorize it and […]
Published
October 17, 2019

Carl P. Leubsdorf: Democratic divide on display at debate

The latest Democratic debate provided a dramatic display of the divide between the advocates of revolution and restoration in the party’s presidential race. It also illustrated the contest’s revised pecking order On one side, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders argued the country needs major structural reforms and defended far-reaching proposals epitomized […]
Published
October 17, 2019

Commentary: Higher education discriminates against conservatives

Higher education prides itself on two overarching values: supporting the marketplace of ideas and academic freedom. But there has been an increasing and unremitting effort to eliminate conservatives and conservative thought in the humanities and social sciences in the American academy. Channeling the late civil rights advocate President John F. Kennedy, who said, “Are we […]
Published
October 17, 2019

Our View: Wheelchair athlete should be allowed to compete alongside teammates

The MPA should reverse its decision on Jonathan Schomaker, a 15-year-old sophomore at Leavitt Area High School.
Published
October 17, 2019

View from Away: Sanctions can still work – here’s how

Do economic sanctions serve U.S. policy objectives? An important new report from the Government Accountability Office raises the question, but supplies an unsatisfactory answer: Although the departments of Treasury, State and Commerce all pay close attention to the impact of specific sanctions on their targets, there’s no reliable way to assess whether — or even […]
Published
October 17, 2019

Pouliot big part of Augusta’s renaissance

In community discussions and in the papers, at the State House, and in each corner of our great state, Augusta’s “cultural renaissance” is what everyone is talking about. Augusta is a city on the move with a bustling downtown, incredible financial and volunteer investment, and home to many well-attended community events. These things don’t just […]