Commentary
George Russell was dedicated to honest elections in Kentucky and around the world
George Russell, who died recently, was a champion of free and fair elections in Kentucky and around the world. His work and that of his colleagues across the globe for democracy and?freedom will always prevail against those who make false allegations about election?fraud or try to suppress the voting rights of their fellow citizens. George […]
Kentucky politicians of both parties patting themselves on the back for state surplus
FRANKFORT — I’ll say this for the pleasant delusion that has settled over the Capitol like Kentucky River fog: It’s bipartisan.? Politicians on both sides of the aisle appear convinced that their virtuous policies and economic acumen account for state government’s record-high revenue surplus. No one gives credit where credit is due — to the […]
Regressive Kentucky laws bring back the bad old days
Addressing the long list of pressing modern challenges facing Kentucky requires a unified effort from all of us. How will we create good jobs in a globalized economy, stem climate change and deal with its effects, protect public health against the threat of future pandemics, and more? Instead of tackling the dilemmas of our age, […]
Can McConnell save GOP from Trump?
This column is republished from the?Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. The contrast was stark in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. The east side was chaos, as the new, thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives failed to elect a speaker, the prerequisite for doing any […]
Kentucky legislature should have AHEART, put pandemic windfall to work building affordable housing
FRANKFORT — A proposal by nonprofits working to keep Kentuckians housed is almost touching for its modesty: $150 million as a downpayment on affordable housing seems like the least the legislature could do this session, considering both the enormity of the need and the state’s pandemic windfall. In Eastern Kentucky, flooded homes that were salvageable […]
The Ghost of an Idea: A reflection on Charles Dickens and the history and meaning of the season
Since the stone age, winter festivals have bestowed their warming glow of fire and light and bountiful feast in nearly every culture of human civilization drudging through the cold, dark, biting months surrounding the solstice. Using the stars and sun as a guide for monitoring the seasons, humans through history sowed their crops, stocked food […]
What to give the Kentucky pol who has everything? Al Cross has some jolly ol’ ideas
This column is republished from the?Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. ?Before we renew the tradition of imaginary but fitting Christmas gifts for Kentucky political figures, here’s a plea for some real gifts for folks who really need them: the people of Ukraine, who are standing up […]
A plea to Kentucky’s teachers
I get why teachers in Kentucky are suspicious of almost anything coming out of the GOP-controlled legislature. Republicans earned that distrust through words and deeds, most notoriously the surprise attack on teachers’ pensions in 2018. I’m begging educators to see beyond the poisonous political atmosphere and seize ownership of a push to change reading instruction.? […]
Illegal gun use is making Kentucky more deadly; red flag laws could save lives here
A Lexington wife and mother was killed in her home Nov. 23 — three days after a judge rejected an emergency protective order that police encouraged her to seek. The ruling: “No imminent threat.” The man she was divorcing called police to report he had shot her. Convicted of a past drug felony, he wasn’t […]
Listening to the pre-election preaching in one small Kentucky town
LAWRENCEBURG — With the election just three weeks away, my small, rural Kentucky town was suddenly “ate up,” as Grandma Ann might say, not with politics but with sex and sin.? The Oct. 17 meeting of the Anderson County school board was standing room only, and the vast majority were there to make fear-mongering, religious […]
Al Cross’s morning line on 2023 governor’s race
This article is published with permission from the Northern?Kentucky?Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. When Gov. Andy Beshear was sworn in three years ago Saturday, he was a fluke, elected by just 5,136 votes — less than 0.4% of the total — due to controversial utterances by incumbent Matt […]
Immediate action is needed to aid Afghans who put their lives on the line for Americans
More than a year ago, as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, I concluded 27 years of uniformed service. I spent more than a year of my life in Afghanistan, serving in special operations, a fact only relevant because it brought me into close contact with members of the Afghan National Security Forces and Afghan civilian […]