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League of Women Voters calls out General Assembly for anti-democratic power plays
In a report released today, the KY League of Women Voters called on the leadership of the state legislature to stop using anti-democratic, fast-track procedures to pass the bills they want – power plays that have gotten much worse in recent years. Specifically, the report noted four procedural maneuvers...
Bible to be replaced by journal on POW/MIA tables at Lexington VA facilities
As I wrote last week, in a post titled “VA medical center petulantly removes ENTIRE ‘missing man’ table rather than remove Bible from it!,” a VA medical center in Kentucky had removed its entire POW/MIA, or “missing man,” table display from its lobby rather than simply removing the Gideons “New Testament — Psalms and Proverbs” from the table, which was all that a group of twelve veterans wanted the facility to do.
Hunter Biden asks to testify publicly. House Republicans (including Comer) scurry away in a panic
After months of being treated as a punching bag by Republicans in the House and by right-wing media, Hunter Biden has reacted to a Republican subpoena by offering to testify in person before the House Oversight Committee that’s supposedly looking into allegations of misconduct by President Joe Biden and members of his family. It’s a direct challenge to Republican committee Chair James Comer and to the GOP’s ongoing efforts to create an excuse to impeach the president.
Mullin says: ‘I represent Oklahoma values.’ Newspapers say: ‘Not a chance.’
When Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) threatened to beat up Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien at a recent Senate hearing on workers and labor unions, he claimed the home folks would have his back because “I represent Oklahoma values.”. Oklahoma is MAGA Republican Red – even more deeply crimsoned...
Thoughts on Israel and Palestine
For many weeks our news media, in its tireless search for viewers, readers, and advertisers, have competed with each other in shocking us, first with pictures of Israeli men, women, and children brutally killed by Hamas, and then by pictures of destroyed buildings and dead Palestinian men, women, and children brutally killed by Israelis in Gaza.
Decision by Kentucky Public Service Commission signals progress in transition from coal to cleaner energy
KY Resources Council celebrates partial victory for clean energy. The KY Public Service Commission (PSC) issued a significant decision on November 6 in a case brought by Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities Company (LG&E-KU). The order will have major long-term impacts not only for LG&E-KU’s ratepayers, but for the future of energy and the environment in the Commonwealth.
Poll finds Americans concerned about Biden’s leadership and age, Trump’s moral character
A new George Washington University Politics Poll shows significant liabilities for U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump heading into the 2024 election. While the public sees Trump as a stronger leader and are worried about Biden’s age and health, they perceive Trump as dishonest and lacking moral integrity.
Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows
Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human health than many experts realized, and it’s more than twice as likely to contribute to premature deaths as air pollution particles from other sources, new research demonstrates. In the study, published in the journal Science, colleagues and...
What a difference an Election Day makes
“People like me have no say in government. They don’t care what we think.”. Such skepticism has long been a popular excuse citizens give for not voting. But if you doubt elections matter, pay close attention to the abortion debate in Kentucky — because Republican leaders have been singing a different tune since it became clear Democrat Andy Beshear would cruise into a second term as governor.
Bully Brooks reincarnated as Bully Mullin
Move over Bully Brooks. Make way for “Bully Mullin.”. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) threatened to beat up Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien during a recent Senate hearing on unions. In 1856, Rep. Preston “Bully” Brooks (D-SC) nearly killed Sen. Charles Sumner (R-MA) on the Senate floor with a...
Landmark report shows dire need for minimum starting salary for teachers
Most of our universities can still remember when teacher training programs were filled with bright-eyed young professionals eager for training and ultimately a degree that would one day give them their own classroom. Today, universities report a dramatic decrease in the number of students enrolled in teacher training programs. College...
Kentucky’s gubernatorial race breaks records, exceeds $44 million
Kentucky’s 2023 gubernatorial race set a nominal state fundraising record, with candidates in the primary and general election raising more than $44.6 million, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of campaign finance reports. Independent political groups spent an additional $45.3 million, mostly on negative ads targeting incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy...
Jamie Comer’s doppelgänger
The Cambridge University online dictionary defines “doppelgänger” as “a spirit that looks exactly like a living person, or someone who looks exactly like someone else but who is not related to that person.”. If there are political doppelgängers — electeds who think, talk, and act the...
The positive side of climate change
Here is a news flash that won’t surprise you. Recent studies have indicated that by 2030 the use of fossil fuels will have increased enough worldwide that carbon emissions will raise global temperatures beyond the 2 degrees centigrade that scientists tell us will make the consequences of climate change irreversible.
Health issues on the table for upcoming KYGA
State legislators expect to address youth vaping, workplace violence, data collection, maternal mortality, and prior insurance authorization for medical procedures during the KY General Assembly legislative session that begins Jan. 2. And they could deal with abortion. So said lawmakers who participated in a health panel or otherwise attended the...
Governor Beshear and Senate President Stivers talk about relationships in 2024
When asked if the relationship between Governor Beshear and the Republican leadership in the Kentucky General Assembly will be different in 2024 compared to 2023, Senate President Robert Stivers said quote, “it could be.” GOP leaders have been critical of the governor for failing to meet with them at various times. Stivers said he and his Republican colleagues would be open to meeting weekly with the governor.
Governor alleviates concerns over registration delays in clerk's offices
Gov. Andy Beshear said concerns expressed by Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw that the state’s vehicle and boat registration system will be shut down for at least two weeks to implement a new system are not likely to come to fruition. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is installing a...
Comer’s unrelenting quest to undo Biden curtailed by one pesky detail — the facts
It’s quite simple, really. Given his ongoing craven attempt to impeach President Biden with nothing to back him up, any assessment of Rep. Jamie Comer (R-WhereverHeHangsHisHatIsHisHome, aka Snuffy Smith in a Wal-Mart suit) must consider three possibilities:. A) Is he really that incredibly stupid, so dumb that, as the...
News and Notes for Friday
Beshear, Coleman announce plans for December 12 gubernatorial Inauguration at State Capitol. Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky first lady Britainy Beshear announced some of the details surrounding his second term inauguration during a Thursday press conference at the Capitol. “December 12 is going to be an amazing day for our...
You pearl-clutchers weren’t paying attention
Dear politicians and pundits: You’re expressing shock at Donald Trump saying that, if re-elected, he’ll weaponize the government against his enemies, real or perceived. You’re aghast — aghast! There’s been so much pearl-clutching that I can’t believe there aren’t broken necklaces everywhere. Excuse...
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