Commentary
Kentucky’s marble-floored frat house needs some mirrors. For self-reflection.
Earlier this year I wrote about the shameless sexism and rampant racism I witnessed in Frankfort, about how it often seems that leadership — whether through encouragement or choosing to ignore shenanigans — runs our taxpayer-funded statehouse like a marble-floored frat house of older, white men. To prove me wrong — insert laughing emoji here […]
Trump’s win puts Beshear firmly in the hunt to succeed him
Donald Trump’s victory was a wrecking ball to the Democratic Party, but a boon to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Had Kamala Harris been elected, Beshear’s presidential ambitions would have been deferred beyond 2028 — not a good thing for a governor whose term ends in December 2027. The national shelf life of a Democratic ex-governor […]
Kentucky needs two viable political parties. Here’s how Democrats should resurrect themselves.
About a year ago I published an article stating my opinion that the Kentucky Democratic Party needed a complete overhaul. Several news outlets picked it up and I heard back from a few dozen people about how good it was and that it was exactly what needed to happen. Then the silence hit. Absolutely nothing […]
Kentucky may have a moderate majority?
Does Kentucky have a moderate majority that could be harnessed to pull the state’s politics back from the far right? Maybe.? The defeat of Amendment 2, which would have changed Kentucky’s Constitution to allow state funds to go to private schools, makes it three straight years that this very Republican-leaning state has voted in a […]
Compassion amid chaos: How a great American poet became a lifeline for wounded?soldiers
With over 40 armed conflicts now taking place around the world, the costs of warfare are immense and continue to mount with each passing day. Russia’s war on Ukraine is estimated to have resulted in more than 600,000 Russian casualties, with estimates of total dead and injured on both sides as high as 1 million. […]
World’s greatest democracy? Not exactly.
Despite my 28 years in the United States, my Danish roots continue to shape my perspective, and the claim that the U.S. is the greatest democracy in the world often leaves me with a sense of disbelief — a disbelief that resonates in many corners of the world. The alarmingly low voter turnout, with little […]
Why Sundance should come to Kentucky, other places where rights are under attack
Angela Cooper and Ona Marshall contributed a powerful commentary regarding the Sundance Institute’s elimination of Louisville from its list of host cities. I support everything they say, and thank them for writing it. But as a lifelong activist in documentary and independent filmmaking, I offer another perspective — not contradictory but supplemental. If one believes […]
Someone has to lose
On election night, a responsible campaign machine has prepared two speeches: the victory speech and the concession speech. When the polls close and the votes are tallied, the hope is your candidate gives the victory speech. For winners, election night is exhilarating. In the winning venue, buffet tables overflowing with food and drinks satiate the […]
‘The Price of Power:’ A long, objective look at Mitch McConnell by a veteran D.C. journalist
Mitch McConnell has been the subject of four biographies: one by himself, one by a critic, one by a friend who became a critic, and now, at last, one by a top-rank Washington journalist with an objective account of “one of the most consequential senators in American history,” as the dust jacket accurately puts it. […]
Kentucky GOP lawmakers want more credit. Here’s an idea.
In an op-ed released by Kentucky’s Senate Majority Caucus touting its achievements, Senate President Robert Stivers and state Sen. Chris McDaniel criticized Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for attempting “to take credit for these improvements” when the legislature has done the work. This is a consistent drumbeat. They are perturbed that the governor shows up in […]
Some people love to scare themselves in an already scary world ? here’s the psychology of?why
Fall for me as a teenager meant football games, homecoming dresses – and haunted houses. My friends organized group trips to the local fairground, where barn sheds were turned into halls of horror, and masked men nipped at our ankles with (chainless) chain saws as we waited in line, anticipating deeper frights to come once […]
It’s no wonder Sundance didn’t choose Kentucky
The recent decision by Sundance to eliminate Louisville from consideration as a potential festival location is not surprising, and a good call. It was astounding that Louisville even made the short list of potential host cities given Kentucky’s numerous human rights violations, which contradict the ethos and equity values Sundance says it holds.? Sundance’s decision […]