Commentary

Kentuckians mourning another mass shooting met by GOP lawmakers’ unfathomable cowardice

BY: - July 12, 2024

Over Fourth of July weekend, there was a mass shooting at a 21st birthday party in Florence (northern Kentucky, Boone County); four people were shot to death; three are recovering, including a 19-year-old girl.? According to news reports, the 21-year-old shooter was on probation with a criminal history that included sexual assault of a 13-year-old. […]

Both candidates are old. Only one has shattered presidential norms.

BY: - July 9, 2024

As everyone opined in the aftermath of the Biden-Trump debate, our grandchildren (ages 4 and 5) were arriving to spend the Fourth of July holiday week with us, so we were careful in how we discussed the debate within their earshot. And we were certainly not tuning into TV pundits who, I later learned, spent […]

U.S. Supreme Court sets stage for industry lobbyists to write health, safety, environmental rules

BY: - July 8, 2024

??The U.S. Supreme Court just ended something called Chevron deference, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Case No. 22-451. Should you worry? Alas, yes, the Supreme Court just threw our protections under the bus. Here’s how.? In 1984 in a case involving Chevron, the Supreme Court decided that when an agency’s implementation of a federal […]

Young Kentuckians desperately need more from their elected officials

BY: - July 5, 2024

The annual national KIDS COUNT Data Book includes more data into which to dive than column inches allow.? But an overview of the report reminds us that Kentucky is not the best place in America to be young.? Or the second-best place. Or the tenth or the 20th or even 30th.? Instead, the 2024 report […]

Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Monday that his being mentioned as a possible presidential contender is a positive reflection on Kentucky. The governor had just spoken at a celebration of Kentucky State Parks' 100th anniversary. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)

Biden debacle brings Beshear forward

BY: - July 3, 2024

When Gov. Andy Beshear formed a political committee in January and started making appearances around the country (he’ll be in Iowa July 27), his obvious long-term goal was the White House. In 2028. Presumably. If Beshear and his advisers were as wired into the national Democratic establishment as one would think, they knew there was […]

Gentlemen, you’re late for your tee time

BY: - June 28, 2024

If you have talked to me in the last six months, I have told you I’m worried that Donald Trump will be reelected in November due to lack of voter turnout, or that he will insist the election was rigged/stolen, demanding recounts and drawn-out legal proceedings, and even calling for violence to install himself in […]

The complete failure of Thursday night

BY: - June 28, 2024

There’s nothing quite like watching your democracy fail in real-time, with chyrons and everything. I’ve had some long moments in my life, but few seemed more elongated than the 90-minute debate between your great-grandpa and an aspiring authoritarian. As much as I was watching the debate, I was watching social media and came to realize […]

Kinship care families deserve good faith action from Kentucky’s government

BY: - June 28, 2024

I am shocked and saddened as I reflect upon recent events regarding Senate Bill 151 for kinship caregivers. There are many questions, beginning with, how is nothing better than something for children, when we know we can do better???? ?The story requires some background; I begin with the term “kinship care.” It’s when a child […]

EPA has lowered the screening level for lead in soil. What that could mean for US households.

BY: - June 24, 2024

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. As spring phases into summer across the U.S., kids are spending more time outdoors. Playing outside is healthy in all kinds of ways, but it also poses some risks. One that many families may not be aware of is […]

Feeling stuffy in that echo chamber?

BY: - June 21, 2024

Last Friday, I ran into the Anderson County judge-executive at Five Star where we were both getting gas. I had not seen him in a year. He smiled big and said, “Well hello, Miss Carter!,” walked around his truck to give me a hug, and stayed to chat about our families.? On Saturday, a couple […]

Saying a final goodbye to Willie Mays, baseball’s ‘Say hey kid’

BY: - June 19, 2024

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. In 1959, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev visited San Francisco and members of the International Longshoreman’s Union greeted him with cheers, newspaperman Frank Coniff quipped: “This is the damndest city. They cheer Khruschev and boo Willie Mays.” It was […]

Juneteenth holiday: An important moment to contemplate our nation’s past and present

BY: - June 19, 2024

What in the world could they have been thinking? That’s one of the questions (or, at least, one hopes it is) that most white Americans ask themselves periodically when contemplating the evil of human slavery – the institution that undergirds so much of their modern privilege and wealth. How could any human being ever think […]