A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Opinion – Vanessa Gallman: What’s driving attacks on books, diversity, history? Fear of losing control

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. It’s hard to accept that such lofty principles, known as DEI, are part of some sinister plot to poison minds and destroy this country. After all, America’s prosperity, along with its status as a beacon of civil liberties, is rooted in its blend of peoples from across the world. Yet, the reality of our “melting pot” is that it also includes generations of conflicts...

Joe Heller: Cartoonist’s view of week’s news — misinformation, sneakers, Putin, potholes

Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...

Opinion – With antisemitism on the rise, we must support Kentucky’s teachers in holocaust education

By Dr. Janice W. Fernheimer, Dr. Karen Petrone and Jeff Polson University of Kentucky Antisemitism has been on the rise in Kentucky and across the U.S. since 2016, including a 36% increase nationally in antisemitic incidents from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). We are appreciative that Governor Andy Beshear has taken this trend seriously by establishing the Kentucky Antisemitism...

Opinion – Bill Straub: James Comer’s empty talk about accountability; he has a lot of explaining to do

Rep. Jamie Comer loves to talk about accountability. He loves accountability so much he even learned to spell it. It’s all accountability all the time with Jamie, here, there and everywhere. He even changed the name of the congressional panel he chairs to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Slick move. Comer, R-TheFrankfortHook, has consistently spent the past 13 months holding President...

Opinion – Wes Cottongim: Kentucky can do better and must; legislature should fund teacher raises

After lunch, I sat down to answer emails. To no surprise, my inbox had messages regarding the current legislative session in Frankfort. We are a little half way through this year’s legislative session and we find ourselves in an all too familiar position of having to fight for adequate funding for schools as well as our educators. One particular email encouraged me to reach out to my legislators...

Opinion – Mitch McConnell: National security bill is a major investment in American strength and credibility

This year marks four decades since President Reagan’s landslide reelection victory in 1984, and my first election to the U.S. Senate. Just four years into Reagan’s presidency, his administration had already turned the corner on the malaise of the Carter era, reinvested in American hard power, and worked to set the conditions to win the Cold War. Reagan’s doctrine of peace through strength and...

Opinion – Howard Whiteman: Electric, hybrid vehicle fees should benefit environment, not infrastructure

By Howard Whiteman Murray State University “Is this vehicle a hybrid?” the nice young lady at the county clerk’s office asked me. I’m sure my eyebrows perked as I had never been asked that before. “Yes it is” I replied, and then inquired why that mattered. Turns out the Tennessee state legislature, starting January 1, had increased the registration fees for hybrids ($100) and electric vehicles...

Joe Heller: Cartoonist’s view of weeks news — Senior moment, He Gets Us, snow shovel?, super toll

Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...

Opinion – Richard Nelson: Legislature pushes back against DEI, viewpoint discrimination in higher ed

Pushback against DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs in Kentucky higher education is moving in the legislature with the passage of SB 6 in the state Senate this week. UK President Eli Capilouto called the bill “deeply concerning ” in a campus message and formally opposed it. According to bill sponsor State Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, many universities have become hostile...

Opinion – Bill Straub: GOP’s foreign aid and border debacles lay bare polarity between Paul, McConnell

WASHINGTON – Sen. Rand Paul, who has proved over the years to be as useless as a fishnet handkerchief, has recently managed to sink below his usual substrata standards by suggesting that certain initiatives he opposes and, by association, those who support those initiatives, are un-American. Last week it was noted that Paul, R-Bowling Green, in reference to proposed legislation to strengthen security...

Opinion – Al Cross: On Ukraine aid, McConnell acted on principle, not politics

When the Senate voted 70-29 Tuesday to send more aid to Ukraine, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was in the majority of senators – but in the minority of his own party. It was an important marker for the nation’s longest-serving Senate leader. For most of his career, the Kentuckian has been known for his use of political power, and not so much for acting on principle. But in this case, he fought...

Letter to Editor: More than 100 Kentucky groups urge lawmakers to reject House Bill 5

A diverse coalition of more than 100 Kentucky organizations, including faith, housing, justice, mental health, recovery and community groups sent the following letter to the Kentucky State Senate, calling on them to reject the harmful policies in House Bill 5. The letter was sent on Feb. 12.  To the members of the Kentucky General Assembly:  All Kentuckians deserve to feel safe in their communities,...

Opinion – Nathan Thompson: I thought ‘they’ll never let this happen again’ — I was wrong

On an ordinary day, in an ordinary town, in an ordinary school, in an ordinary class, an extraordinary, horrifying — and sadly, uniquely-American — tragedy occurred. I was 17 when my former classmate entered our English class on a cold, but sunny, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and shot and killed our teacher and the school custodian. It was Jan. 18, 1993. I was a senior at East Carter High School...

Opinion – John Schaaf: School vouchers hurting students’ academic performance

A couple of weeks ago at the State Capitol in Frankfort, a lobbying group called “EdChoice Kentucky, Inc.” organized a rally in favor of changing the state’s constitution to funnel taxpayer money into private religious schools. Most of the people who showed up were students from Catholic and Christian schools who were bused in for the occasion. They were there to support lobbyists’ efforts...

Joe Heller: Cartoonist’s view of week’s news — guns, immunity, Cupid, from dry to buy, Valentine’s Day

Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...