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Bill filed to allow judges to temporarily take guns from those at risk of harming themselves or others
Admitting it faces a “tough uphill climb,” Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield filed a bill on Thursday to temporarily remove firearms from Kentuckians at risk of harming themselves or others. “There is more support for it than you hear,” Westerfield said of his Crisis Aversion and Rights Retention Orders...
Two legislators file bill to undo last year’s anti-trans law
Two Kentucky Democrats filed a bill this week seeking to undo a law that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Senate Bill 150 passed the general assembly in 2023. Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the bill, but the Republican supermajority overruled his veto, and the bill became law. As a...
Shawn Fain, myth buster
Legends abound, from Bigfoot and the Easter Bunny to the Loch Ness Monster and Unicorns. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain just nuked the myth that’s in a class by itself: Donald Trump is pro-union. “Rarely, as a union, do you get so clear of a choice between two...
Yes – the Open Records law applies to the Attorney General as well
From American Oversight, and local counsel Strobo Barkley, PLLC, comes news that a final settlement has been reached in its three-and-a-half-year open records battle with the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General. The final cost to Kentucky's taxpayers is not insignificant. The OAG has agreed to pay American Oversight $99,750.00...
Repubs are coming after higher education, including here in Kentucky
“Is it just me, or are Kentucky Republicans piling on higher education?” Kentucky Lantern Editor Jamie Lucke mused in Tuesday’s edition of the online newspaper. The veteran journalist meant House Bill 228, which would negate established tenure systems at public universities and community colleges. Tenure protects professors from arbitrary dismissal and safeguards academic freedom.
“The energy was unbelievable” – UAW endorses Biden
No sooner did Joe Biden step to the podium to accept the United Auto Workers' crucial endorsement for reelection than Kirk Gillenwaters raised his cell phone and snapped a photo of the beaming president. “I was two tables from the stand,” said Gillenwaters, a veteran union activist, Louisville UAW Local...
Brian Clardy issues strong call to action
In his weather-delayed Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote speech in Murray, Murray State University history professor Dr. Brian Clardy pointed to “a common mistake” often made in King birthday observances. “We freeze him in time to a single moment in August of 1963 where he delivered his...
A tale of two trials
He was charged with high treason for leading a bloody coup that failed. Evidence against him was indisputable. But he turned his trial into a soapbox from which he spewed his virulent antisemitism, authoritarianism, extreme nationalism and hatred for democracy. Though he was found guilty, his popularity soared. His name...
The trainwreck that is FERPA
I questioned the Anderson County Board of Education’s refusal to disclose the investigative report into widely publicized accusations leveled against a high school counselor, and the Anderson County Board of Education took me to school. My frustration with the board’s denial mirrors the frustration of the sponsor of the...
GOP-sponsored bill to axe tenure is 'fiscally unsound'
Tenure at the state’s public universities and community colleges is under fire in the General Assembly. House Bill 228 would require university and community college boards “to approve a performance and productivity evaluation process for all faculty members by January 1, 2025.”. The measure, sponsored by Rep. James...
Why I’m a Democrat
I find it really easy to explain why I have never been a member of the Republican Party — even before Donald J. Trump went down that escalator in 2015 and turned what once the Grand Old Party into the Grand-Dragon QAnon Party (GQP). It’s because I think common...
Susan Weston analyzes the House budget bill against Pritchard Committee’s Big Bold ask
The House of Representatives has released House Bill 6, its initial budget proposal for the next two fiscal years. Here, I’ll summarize the major education elements, including action on the Prichard Committee’s Big Bold Ask and some continuing questions about how the limited step up for child care will work for children and the workforce. Readers can also download our more detailed looks at three parts of HB 6, one each for early childhood, P-12 learning, and postsecondary education.
The KY GOP’s Dr. MLK Hypocrisy
Aaron, Kimberly & Nema break down a couple of horrible bills being advanced by the GOP supermajority - criminalizing homelessness and rejecting anti-racism efforts - and then reality check some GOP hypocrisy on MLK day. The crew then interviews friend of the show, Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson - who in addition to representing the mighty 88th district is also in House leadership - as the Minority Caucus Chair - she shares her priorities and looming fights in Frankfort.
Under Republican bill, voters would elect Kentucky Board of Education members in partisan races
After a string of attempts by politicians to tinker with the KBE, Senate Bill 8 would completely overhaul the 15-member board that governs the state’s public schools. Under current law, the 11 voting members of the KBE are appointed by the governor. SB 8 would shift the decision to voters who would choose 14 members of the board in partisan elections — two members for each of Kentucky’s Supreme Court districts.
Does voting really matter anymore?
Someone asked me recently why I end many of these columns with a statement warning that our democratic system is under attack and encouraging people to vote Democratic to preserve it. What difference will voting really make anyway, some say, when leaders of our new political party, the GOT (Grand...
Ulysses S. Grant’s 1875 speech nails it
President Ulysses S. Grant’s 1875 speech deserves more attention because of its amazing prescience, given the state of our country today. Grant gave the speech at the Annual Reunion of the Army of the Tennessee in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sept. 29, 1875. The bolded and italicized text is my emphasis of some of Grant’s words.
Democrats need Real Republicans to help save the Republic
Some weeks ago, I toyed with the idea of writing a column suggesting a Biden-Liz Cheney unity ticket for the 2024 election. I gave up the idea because both the Dems and the GOP would reject the idea. Also, such Unity governments are generally found only in countries with parliamentary governments and in time of crisis, such as in England during World War I and now in Israel during the war with Hamas.
Kentucky abortion ban: State abortion advocates say exceptions aren’t enough
Kentucky lawmakers are expected to consider adding exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s near-total abortion ban during the current 2024 legislative session in Frankfort. But abortion rights advocates say exemptions alone aren’t enough. Health providers in Kentucky and other states that already have limited exceptions to...
First Opioid Abatement Settlement Commission meeting under new leader draws big crowd, largely to support ibogaine study
Nearly 130 people attended the first Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission meeting under the group’s new executive director – by all indications in support of the former director’s plan to fund research to help legalize a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment for opioid addiction. “This is very...
Anti-DEI bill seeks to remove ‘trauma-informed approach’ for Kentucky schools from state law
A bill aimed at preventing education funding to go to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging frameworks in K-12 schools would also remove language protecting “trauma-informed” methods in Kentucky schools if the bill remains unchanged as it makes its way through the General Assembly. Part of recently-filed Senate Bill...
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