A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Joe Heller: Cartoonist’s view of week’s news: Leap Year, embryos, Trump vs. Haley, global warming

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 – Stephen Voss: Whatever a Biden-Trump rematch brings, most of us won’t like it

Americans have become accustomed to picking the lesser of two evils when we vote. Political participation these days is as much about keeping the other side out of power as it is about getting our picks into office. Still, many were holding out hope that this year’s contest for Leader of the Free World might offer something more uplifting than a rematch between President Joe Biden and former...

Opinion – Bill Straub: Mitch McConnell’s period of reign most ‘consequential’ in recent Senate history

The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution lasted less than a year. Mitch McConnell’s tenure as Senate Republican leader, a positioned he announced he will be exiting after the November elections, has lasted a record 17 years. So, choose your poison – a quick beheading during one Reign of Terror or a 17-year tape loop of the Louisville lawmaker droning on about domestic policy during another? Sacre...

Opinion – Mitch McConnell: Stepping down; now is time for next generation of leadership in U.S. Senate

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks Wednesday on the Senate floor regarding his decision to step down as Senate GOP leader in November: “As some of you may know, this has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine’s youngest sister, Angela a few weeks ago. When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there...

Opinion – Mitch McConnell: Sobering lessons have been drawn from Russian aggression in Ukraine

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor regarding the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “Nearly twenty years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union as the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the (20th) century.’ “And for decades, he has worked incessantly...

Opinion – John Schickel: SB 14 secures a fair and just environment for Kentucky’s small businesses

As Senate Licensing and Occupations chair, my focus has always been supporting Kentucky’s small businesses. On Friday, the state Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 14 (SB 14), which I co-sponsored, addressing issues within the Kentucky Cosmetology Board and reducing barriers for nail technicians. Sen. Reggie Thomas of Lexington sponsored the bill. He’s a great friend and has visited...

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...