Ben Bragdon

Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel

Latest

Published
August 20, 2023

Our View: Here’s what it will take to stop the rise of hate groups in Maine

Speak up, confront dangerous ideology directly, and protect neighbors who are targeted and make it clear that they are as much a part of our communities as anybody else.
Published
August 19, 2023

Commentary: Have fun with strangers. Democracy and our mental health may depend on it

Over the past couple of years, I lost my fear of the Other. It happened while I was picking up new hobbies, such as skating and dancing, while befriending a larger and more diverse array of people. In some cases, I bonded with people whose politics are very different from mine. The disconnection I’d felt […]
Published
August 19, 2023

View from Away: Five takeaways from the first year of America’s biggest climate law

One year ago, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s most significant action yet to combat climate change. The law dedicated $369 billion to boost renewable energy production and manufacturing, help homeowners install rooftop solar panels, switch to efficient electric appliances, drive up sales of electric vehicles and get the U.S. closer […]
Published
August 18, 2023

Leonard Greene: The second-most important speech at the March on Washington

At the age of 92, attorney and activist Clarence Jones reminds us of the life Martin Luther King Jr. might have enjoyed if he had been a simple church pastor or a seminary professor. Jones, a top King lieutenant and a trusted friend of the slain civil rights leader, has been blessed with longevity and […]
Published
August 17, 2023

Our View: Three cheers for a rare Maine team in the Little League World Series

Fourteen players aged between 10 and 12 take the field Thursday in Pennsylvania, the fourth team from Maine to ever qualify for the Little League Baseball World Series.
Published
August 17, 2023

Commentary: We’ve defended Trump’s 1st Amendment rights. But his latest claims about the Jan. 6 indictment are nonsense

Does the 1st Amendment shield Donald Trump from prosecution for conspiracy to obstruct the 2020 election results? Trump’s lawyer has proclaimed the indictment “an attack on free speech and political advocacy.” He says Trump thought there was voter fraud, and “as a president, he’s entitled to speak on those issues.” And the indictment by special […]
Published
August 16, 2023

Our View: Winslow residents deserve answers on ‘secret meetings’

When elected officials bend the rules, it’s easy for the public to lose faith.
Published
August 15, 2023

Commentary: How pickleball taught me to stop saying sorry and learn to have fun

“Find some calm, Kate,” my pickleball coach, Roland, cajoled me from across the court a few months ago. He thwacked another neon-green ball in my direction. “Do less.” “But I am not a calm person!” I shouted back, a complete understatement. I am a tightly wound, neurodivergent, people-pleasing extrovert who lives in fear of making […]
Published
August 14, 2023

View from Away: Rural hospital closures part of a national crisis

Fully a third of Missouri’s rural hospitals are in danger of closing in the next few years, leaving large swaths of the state without access to emergency services, obstetrics or even the most basic health care. It’s part of a national trend that qualifies as a looming crisis — one that might be addressed with […]
Published
August 14, 2023

Commentary: The shallow bipartisanship of the child tax credit

Despite the enormous toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, child poverty in the United States declined. According to the government’s supplemental poverty measure, which is more accurate than the official measure, child poverty rates dropped almost by half from 2020 to 2021. A temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was a big reason why. […]