Author
Teri Carter
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 […]
The double standard is laughable
In the hours after Vice President Kamala Harris became the de facto Democratic nominee for president and Gov. Andy Beshear was lauded as a potential pick for vice president, I received a text message about Beshear from a MAGA man in my family: Maybe he can control her. Words I do not recall hearing, in […]
Kentuckians mourning another mass shooting met by GOP lawmakers’ unfathomable cowardice
Over Fourth of July weekend, there was a mass shooting at a 21st birthday party in Florence (northern Kentucky, Boone County); four people were shot to death; three are recovering, including a 19-year-old girl.? According to news reports, the 21-year-old shooter was on probation with a criminal history that included sexual assault of a 13-year-old. […]
Both candidates are old. Only one has shattered presidential norms.
As everyone opined in the aftermath of the Biden-Trump debate, our grandchildren (ages 4 and 5) were arriving to spend the Fourth of July holiday week with us, so we were careful in how we discussed the debate within their earshot. And we were certainly not tuning into TV pundits who, I later learned, spent […]
Gentlemen, you’re late for your tee time
If you have talked to me in the last six months, I have told you I’m worried that Donald Trump will be reelected in November due to lack of voter turnout, or that he will insist the election was rigged/stolen, demanding recounts and drawn-out legal proceedings, and even calling for violence to install himself in […]
Feeling stuffy in that echo chamber?
Last Friday, I ran into the Anderson County judge-executive at Five Star where we were both getting gas. I had not seen him in a year. He smiled big and said, “Well hello, Miss Carter!,” walked around his truck to give me a hug, and stayed to chat about our families.? On Saturday, a couple […]
Pledging allegiance to their corrupt commander, KY Republicans quickly kneel to convicted felon
For a literary, nonpolitical project, I recently had to reread Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel and re-watch the Hulu TV series of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian story about a new United States which adheres not to the Constitution but to a strict, twisted, patriarchal interpretation of the Bible.? In this new U.S., all women are […]
How a bill becomes law (the real story)
Near the end of this year’s legislative session, a week before lawmakers recessed for the 10-day veto period, I met with state Sen. Max Wise in his office for about 15 minutes. We both agreed to speak off-the-record so that we could speak freely. And so we did. I am not one of Sen. Wise’s […]
Politics as performance: When debate is a formality and voters go for the man with the biggest hat
One morning during the 2024 legislative session, I walked out of a meeting about Senate Bill 2 — putting armed guardians in lieu of fully-trained school resource officers in our schools, with no budget allocation — and ran into a familiar lawmaker and two interns waiting for the elevator.? “I was just saying how all […]
Some legacy
In an April 21 KET interview, GOP Senate leader Damon Thayer was asked to define the term “normal Republican.” “Someone who wants to help put the fire out that’s burning in America today,” he said, adding that he is “tired of the jokers,” only to add this minutes later: “I don’t think that President Trump […]
Undercurrent of racism propelled this legislative session
If there is a photo that defines Kentucky’s 2024 regular session, it is a smiling Secretary of State Michael Adams signing House Bill 5 — a sprawling, data-questionable, pro-incarceration bill with an unknown, sky’s-the-limit budget, overriding the governor’s veto — on the House steps, surrounded by more than two dozen applauding supporters and lawmakers. All […]
Taking stock one year after a bank staff meeting was turned into a bloodbath
April 10 marks one year since a mentally unstable 25-year-old walked into Old National Bank in Louisville and shot five people to death — Thomas Elliott, James Tutt Jr., Juliana Farmer, Joshua Barrick, Deana Eckert — and injured eight, including Nickolas Wilt, a young police officer who was shot in the head and miraculously survived. […]