Commentary
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. […]
Amendment 2 would send tax dollars to church schools
Many Kentucky churches are losing members and money, but they’re hoping taxpayers will vote to bail them out of their financial problems. Church lobbyists pushed Amendment 2 onto the November ballot, and if their scheme passes, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars will flow into questionable religious schools operated in church basements across the commonwealth.? […]
Kamala Harris takes up Oprah’s torch
Democrats have their opponents on the run now that Kamala Harris has become their party’s standard bearer. And they’re making no secret of it. How can you tell? Not because of the dollars pouring into the Harris campaign. Supporters will open their wallets for a lost cause if they get caught up in the moment. […]
It’s about access to health care
Meaningful reform on controversial issues takes time and hard work. Passions run high.? Sharp elbows get thrown. Nuance can contradict ideology, requiring compromise. Which brings me to Kentucky’s certificate of need (CON) laws. CON regulates investment in our state’s health care sector. Before opening certain types of facilities, an entrepreneur or health care provider must […]
A kinship promise — will we keep it?
At the second gubernatorial debate in October 2023, the governor acknowledged the plight of kinship. Later he said, “We must do everything we can to ensure their needs are met.” Kinship care is when a child is living with relatives or close family friends other than their parents. These children may be victims of abuse […]
Bullets in vending machines: That’s a trend Kentucky lawmakers should not follow
As if we needed more examples of our entrenched gun culture, here’s the latest:?Bullets, sold through vending machines — in grocery stores. The distributor,?American Rounds, recently began installing such machines in a few stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma. Customer ID is scanned using facial-recognition software. Yet, there are no checks into criminal, mental-health or […]