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...
Opinion – Jonathan Shell: Make an impact in Ky agriculture by donating to state’s ‘Ag Tag’ fund
Small things can make a lasting impact.
It’s one of the things I learned early in life while riding around the farm with my grandfather. We talked about a lot of things in that truck while we worked side by side. I’m not sure if he understood the impact his influence had on my young impressionable mind, but it was there.
I was lucky to work with my parents and grandparents on the farm. My life...
Opinion – Bill Straub: Unable to guide ‘increasingly sneering’ GOP, McConnell stumbles yet again
For a certified political genius who knows all the levers to pull and bells to ring, the master of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, sure seems to trip over his own shoelaces a lot.
On Sunday, McConnell, the Senate Republican leader from of Louisville, said the upper chamber must be “prepared to act” on a monumental, bipartisan measure to bolster security along the southern border and provide...
Opinion – Kelly Taulbee: Some investments pay for themselves; Medicaid, child care help Kyians thrive
It’s that time of every-other-year again: Kentucky’s General Assembly is working on the state’s budget. Advocates, policy analysts, lobbyists and constituents will fill the halls of Frankfort until mid-April, working to see their priorities get funded. What’s different this year is that there’s more than enough to go around – an unprecedented $3.7 billion – to fund policies and programs...
Opinion – Howard Whiteman: Our ability to live within the laws — both legal and scientific — benefits all
The letterhead on the news release was stark and official: “Department of Justice.” It was not like anything you have likely heard about in recent months.
In Livingston County, Kentucky, a man was sentenced to five years of probation for a Lacey Act violation involving the illegal harvesting and sale of shovelnose sturgeon roe. Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it unlawful for any person...
Opinion – League of Women Voters: How can they do that? Moving bills through with no public review
Last week, the Kentucky House of Representatives approved two budget bills (HB1 and HB 6) and we applaud legislators for considering these important bills early in the session.
However, the process used to move the bills through the House Committee on Appropriations & Revenue (A&R) and to the House floor left little to no opportunity for public review and input. The process reflected concerns...
