Commentary
Kentucky university presidents grovel to systemic racism
If you want to witness firsthand how systemic racism works, you need only have been in Capitol Annex Room 154 on Tuesday, Sep. 17, for the Interim Joint Committee on Education, as Kentucky’s lawmakers (who are, by-far, majority white) lorded over a hearing to allegedly discuss DEI: diversity, equity and inclusion in postsecondary education. I […]
Not sure how to lower suicide risk in your family, community? This training can help.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, “a time to raise awareness of this urgently important crisis,” per the National Alliance on Mental Illness. However, while raising awareness is crucial, it’s not enough on its own. In Kentucky, where suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 34, awareness must […]
Education is power
The Kentucky State AFL-CIO’s opposition to Amendment 2 shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows labor history. Unions have always championed public schools. The Republican-backed amendment, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot, would change the state Constitution to permit the General Assembly to pass laws letting tax dollars go to private schools. You can bet […]
Suspected I-75 shooter easily purchased a weapon of war
One of the everyday pleasures of living on the edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest in London or my hometown of Morehead is being surrounded by woods and hills. Unless a sniper is loose in them.? I’m writing this as schools have been closed for two days and law enforcement continues to search part […]
‘School choice’ pitchman sowed chaos, division in public school district
When I saw the first, big money PAC ad promoting Amendment 2, the so-called “school choice” bill coming to your Kentucky ballot this November, it was no surprise to see preacher and former Anderson County Schools teacher, Randy Adams, in the starring role. Do not be fooled.? Adams has been a chaos agent, sowing division […]
Election ’24: Economy’s ills demand public health remedies
As our 2024 presidential election approaches there is intense focus on the economy and the economic policies of our current administration. For many families, the cost of everyday household items has risen to critical levels and renewed inflation is still of concern.? Although the debate has focused on economic policy, I would like to put […]
Men behaving badly, the Kentucky legislature edition
When Rep. Daniel Grossberg’s attorney, Anna Whites, said that he has no plans to resign after multiple sexual harassment allegations, my first and only thought was: He deserves due process, and he should resign. The Legislative Ethics Commission is investigating Grossberg’s alleged behavior unbecoming a state representative. There is additional Lexington Herald-Leader reporting that three […]
Adopted. Abandoned. But not forgotten.
I am a children’s rights attorney based in New York City. For over a decade I have advocated for youth who no longer live with their adoptive parents — what I call broken adoptions — and raised awareness about adoption subsidy misuse.? In March 2024, Chelsea Maldonado, a survivor of Tranquility Bay in Jamaica, contacted […]
Breathitt County, J.D. and me
Sigmund Freud says we embrace mythical origin stories of leaders, warriors, and saints to disguise their true identity and to give them mystical powers or political agency. Freud gives the example of Moses in the Bible who grew up as a young man of wealth and privilege in Pharaoh’s palace. However we do not think […]
Trump and Harris, with starkly different records on labor issues, are both courting union voters
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump are in a tight race for the White House. Every voting bloc will count – including members of labor unions and other people in their households. The majority of union leaders have over generations endorsed Democratic candidates, and this race is no exception. Although rank-and-file […]
How a survey of women in the 1920s changed the way Americans think about sexuality
American women still have fewer orgasms than men, according to new research that suggests that decades after the sexual revolution, the “orgasm gap” is still very much in effect. One of the study’s lead authors at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction told The New York Times that the gap persists […]
Judge’s logic-defying order brands Breonna Taylor’s protector her killer
It is disappointing that a Kentucky federal judge dismissed felony charges against two former police officers charged in the death of Breonna Taylor during a 2020 raid. But the decision by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III to place blame for the 26-year-old emergency-room technician’s death squarely on boyfriend Kenneth Walker III defies logic. […]