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Heather Crabbe interview, LMPD chief suspended, & more
This week Jazmin and Robert spoke to Heather Crabbe, the Democratic candidate in House District 64. She's a former public defender, law school administrator, and is running hard for this seat. Before that, Robert and Jazmin spoke about two really bad stories about sexual harassment, abuse, and assault within LMPD, plus several other smaller stories.
We're saying goodbye to the wrong old guy
Aaron, Kimberly & Doug discuss the breaking Kentucky political news of the weak, marked by a very significant, and quite sad milestone for Progress Kentucky, our final installment of #DougPriceIsRight. Then, we’ve got an exciting interview with Ira Shapiro, the author of “The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America.” Finally, we close out with a truly important call to action.
Repubs, power, and a really bad bill
Hi there, let’s talk about Republicans in Frankfort, and power, and a really, really bad bill. When I ran for Metro Council in 2014, I billed myself as a pragmatic progressive. So what did that mean? Well, I have progressive values. I want to see progressive accomplishments and programs, but I’m a pragmatic as well. I want to see if something actually works. I care about whether what we do actually works. And if it says that it works, I want to see results. That means that I listen to experts and people who understand the field, because I can’t understand everything, and I pay attention to them and I try to do what people say is going to work.
Summary of changes to election finance laws
As I have noted more than once, the KY Registry of Election Finance (KREF) works hard to help candidates and campaigns keep up with their election finances and file their reports. They want you to do it right, and will bend over backward to help you. In that vein, they...
A Democratic Socialist wins in Kentucky (!)
A card-carrying member of Democratic Socialists of America won a seat on Louisville's Metro Council. How did he do it, and what was his message that propelled him to a decisive victory?. Bruce Maples has been involved in politics and activism since 2004, when he became active in the Kerry...
Today is #ShowYourStripes Day – and these stripes bring bad news
There’s telling people about the climate crisis – and then there’s showing them the climate crisis. And today, it’s time to share a striking visual: Warming Stripes. Created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading, the global warming stripes are a simple visual representation of the long-term rise in global temperatures due to human-caused climate change.
Kentucky attorney general opposes syringe exchanges despite evidence of their efficacy
The leader of the agency that makes grants from the state’s opioid settlements declined to vote for a grant with more money for a syringe-exchange program, saying Attorney General Russell Coleman does not support such programs – which are considered a key tool for reducing harm to people who inject drugs.
Judge blocks Biden Title IX rule in 6 states, including Kentucky
A federal judge in Kentucky blocked a new Biden administration Title IX rule Monday in six states that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation — not solely sex. The opinion applies to Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia. Chief Judge...
McConnell’s finagling with courts has fueled real concerns about legitimacy of judiciary
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, that self-appointed guardian of a scandal-ridden Supreme Court he helped foist upon an unsuspecting nation, is growing increasingly miffed — in a way only he can — over the suggestion that the justices might want to get their ethical house in order. McConnell...
Three headlines show spin of some news sites
I subscribe to a number of news outlets. Some are pretty objective and centrist, while others lean left or right, either a little or a lot. I know which ones are which, so I take that into account when reading their content. This morning, I was fascinated to see this...
Judicial watchdog criticizes Beshear’s involvement in Kentucky Supreme Court election
FRANKFORT — A judicial watchdog is raising concerns about Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s endorsement of a candidate in a state Supreme Court race, an election that is supposed to be nonpartisan under Kentucky’s Constitution. The second-term governor will be the special guest at a fundraiser later this...
HB5 is ‘emotion-based legislation’
A commentary from retired Kentucky jail and corrections employees. HB5, the “Safer Kentucky Act,” is emotion-based legislation, rather than the evidence-based legislation Kentucky deserves. Legislators and research organizations who presented data and asked hard questions were stonewalled at every step of development of this legislation. Kentucky has the...
Kentucky suddenly halts plan to send millions of gallons of industrial wastewater to river
A subsidiary of LG&E and KU had plans to discharge 4.5 million gallons of wastewater from an old coal loading site outside Sebree, Kentucky, into the Green River starting this week. The company, FCD LLC, did not have a permit for the release. Instead, FCD was given “off-permit authorization” from...
KY Dems celebrate CCBB&J at fund-raising dinner
On Friday night, Democrats from across the state gathered to renew old friendships, make new ones, get inspired for the fall – and celebrate CCBB&J, as well. They did all this at the “Forward Together” dinner put on in Louisville by the Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP). What’s...
Bad news, good news for KY Dems
As the KY Democratic Party was about to hold its big fundraising dinner, Bruce shared some thoughts about the bad and good news for the party. (The transcript is for paying members only. Not a paying member? Go here to change that! And, paying members can also get the transcript emailed to them, by opting in under Manage Emails – just super handy!)
How Donald Trump worked to destroy America’s labor unions
Although Donald Trump has been eager to garner support from American labor unions for his re-election campaign, there are lots of reasons he’s not going to get it. Chief among them is his record in sabotaging the nation’s labor movement. During his decades as a wealthy businessman, Trump...
UK continues its anti-transparency tradition
The University of Kentucky wasted no time in removing much of the public facing vestiges of the faculty University Senate website following the Board of Trustees’ June 14 vote to eliminate the academic decision making body and replace it with an advisory Faculty Senate under a “shared governance” model.
Lynn Conway has passed.
Lynn Conway passed away on Sunday, June 9, at the age of 86. Who was Lynn Conway and why was her death significant?. In 1979, a book was published that would change the world of electronics manufacturing, and therefore, literally, the world. The title was Introduction to VLSI Systems. The authors were Carver Mead and Lynn Conway. Carver Mead was a famous and respected professor at CalTech. But no one could find any information about Lynn Conway.
The GOP’s unrelenting attacks on women’s rights: This is just the beginning
There’s way too much celebrating going on around the unanimous Supreme Court decision yesterday that The New York Times characterized with the headline, “Supreme Court Maintains Broad Access to Abortion Pill” and The Washington Post headlined, “Supreme Court upholds broad access to key abortion pill mifepristone.”
PSA – Pay attention to heat index this weekend to save your life and the lives of others
We are running this story as a public service announcement to all our readers and members. This weekend could see dangerous temperatures across the Commonwealth, and you need to be prepared. Right below this announcement box is a PDF you can download, print, and post somewhere to be informed in case of emergency. Stay safe, and hydrate!
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