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THEFORWARDKENTUCKYMAGAZINE JANUARY27,2019

Welcome to the second issue! by Bruce Maples, publisher

I’ve always heard that anyone can do one of a thing – it’s doing it again that proves something. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, then getting the second issue of the Forward Kentucky Magazine out the door and into your hands is a milestone.

Even though I’m both publisher and editor, and pretty much every word and picture that goes up on the site goes past my eyes first, I’m still somewhat amazed when I look back at what’s been published. There are some great writers and content producers on our team, and it is gratifying to have the opportunity to see their work again, and to share it with you again.

I hope that, as paying members of Forward Kentucky, you see this magazine as a benefit to your membership. You can read it online, or you can print it and take it with you, and read it at your leisure. Some of the articles you probably read when they came out the first time, but others may be new to you.

And by the way, we actually printed up some copies of the year-end wrap up (all 68 pages of it!) and they turned out pretty neat. If you want a copy, let me know and we’ll ship one to you for the cost of printing and mailing.

So, here you are, the second issue! We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing and producing it. Feel free to drop me a note at Bruce@ForwardKY.com with any feedback you have.

And as always, THANK YOU for supporting our work.

Bruce

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Table of Contents Welcome to the second issue! 2 .................................................................................

It’s time to reject toxic patriotism, and choose aspirational instead 4 .......................

Paducah City Commission rejects Confederate flag – again 6 ....................................

We needed Attica Scott in the race 10 ........................................................................

It’s time to raise the minimum wage in Kentucky 11 ..................................................

Conservative hypocrites and the F-bomb 15 ...............................................................

Pro-life? Or just anti-woman? 18 ...............................................................................

What Shelby County remembered this November and what it largely overlooked 21 .

The Forward Kentucky Contributors 27....................................................................

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It’s time to reject toxic patriotism, and choose aspirational instead By Greg Leichty

In a 1908 Speech Samuel Clemons (aka Mark Twain) observed that “Patrio/smisusuallytherefugeofthescoundrel.Heisthemanwhotalkstheloudest.” Twain drew this conclusion from observing that political leaders often use “patriotism” to demand loyalty, unity, and conformity to group and nation when reason does not warrant the appropriateness of these qualities. In addition, the charge that a person or group is deficient in patriotism is useful for demonizing people and groups.

So what is patriotism, properly conceived? Was Mark Twain too dismissive of patriotism? Cross-cultural research shows that patriotism is the norm in every country: all people of all nations express an affection for their country, a deep sense of belonging, and a concern for the welfare of the group or nation. It is also the case that invoking to group or national identity are indispensable tools for motivating people to engage in behaviors that promote the common good. This raises the question of whether we can distinguish between a productive version of patriotism and the often toxic brand of patriotism that Mark Twain scorned?

For our purposes, it is useful to distinguish between sta/c and aspira/onal versions of patriotism.

Static patriotism Static patriotism is backward-looking and is defensive in nature. The static form celebrates the past: it harkens back to a golden age and a generation of heroic founders whose wisdom and courage present citizens can only faintly imitate. The static version of patriotism demands conformity and group unity. A failure to follow a required deference to group symbols and icons are censured as acts of disrespect and disloyalty. Not surprising, this version of patriotism is highly conservative and is resistant to change that might dilute the cultural foundations of the nation.

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Aspirational patriotism In contrast, aspirational patriotism has both a critical element and a forward-looking element: itregardsthena/onasanunfinishedenterprise. There is a strong attachment and love of group or country, but it acknowledges that more needs to be done to perfect the union. It reminds citizens of the shared values and aspirations, and urges them to renew their commitment to strive toward those values and ideas. An aspirational patriotism understands that people of all nations rightly feel pride in their nation, that we need not elevate our own group uncritically above all others, or that criticism of a country’s history and institutions is an act of disloyalty and disrespect.

Patriotism and conflict It is instructive that societies engaged in very protracted conflicts usually revert to a rigid patriotism of conformity, enforced unity, and censorship in the name of loyalty. Such unanimity of focus is needed to maintain the motivation for ongoing sacrifice for the group. This is most pronounced when the very existence of the group or nation is considered to be in doubt.

Toxic patriotism as a political tool The problem with the static form of patriotism is that it is an exceedingly powerful tool in the hands of unscrupulous political leaders; it is thus open to cynical manipulation and abuse. It is undoubtedly necessary when a society faces existential threats (e.g., World War II), but in less extreme environments, its deployment must be regarded with suspicion.

Leaders know that they can stir fears and invoke patriotism to gain popularity, motivate people to action, and silence dissent. To invoke the motto “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” as Governor Bevin routinely does, can easily be reduced to “follow the leader without reservation or questioning.” Journalists who ask impertinent questions about tax returns or an unusual house purchase are excoriated for their disrespect and are called “Cicadas” and “Peeping Toms.”

Aspirational patriotism as impetus to improve The fact that patriotism can be abused should not lead us mistakenly conclude, as Mark Twain did, that appeals to patriotism are inherently fraudulent. An aspirational form of patriotism is a powerful tool. It aroused people to an awareness of the injustice of Jim Crow laws and segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. harnessed the values asserted in the Declaration of Independence, to motivate people to change the nation for the better. An aspirational patriotism manages a tension between celebrating the past and orienting toward the future; it points out the imperfections and contradictions in our present life that ought to be corrected. An aspirational patriotism serves as a resource for motivating us to strive for a better collective future.

Love stories and fairy tales conclude “and they lived happily ever after.” However, we the living know that the wedding vows are only the beginning of the work to build a shared life and a shared future. Couples develop a shared memory and cherish the past, but they know that they cannot live there. They draw on the past as they proceed to form a more perfect union. Why should we expect anything less when it comes to our love of country?

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Paducah City Commission rejects Confederate flag – again By Berry Craig

The Paducah City Commission has upheld a 2017 resolution banning Confederate flags from the city’s annual Veterans Day parade.

The panel voted 3-1 against a proposal, introduced by Commissioner Richard Abraham and backed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, that would have lifted the ban.

Commissioner Abraham on his proposal At the commission’s Jan. 8 meeting, Abraham said he believed that the resolution violated the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech. Abraham spoke against the ban on the Confederate flag, but Mayor Brandi Harless was absent on a trip to China and no action was taken.

Then, in a post on Facebook before Tuesday’s meeting, Abraham said “I have been in conversations with members of SCV, who have acted as gentlemen through this whole issue. They are sensitive to the fact that certain banners of their history were used in hate towards others. But our understanding was reached based on ‘reasoning together.’ This will no longer be an issue to this parade.”

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In presenting his proposal at the January 22 meeting, Abraham said that “after following the facts with much prayer, I have finally come to realize our problem is not about a flag or a symbol….Our problem rests in government overreach.”

Letters read in support of the ban of the Confederate flag Representatives of the NAACP and the Race Unity Group of Paducah read letters to the commission supporting the ban. Abraham, who is mayor pro-tem, belongs to neither organization, according to J.W. Cleary, Paducah-McCracken County NAACP president.

The NAACP letter The NAACP letter, read at the meeting by Paducah chapter Vice President Corbin Snardon, said the NAACP “along with numerous other concerned citizens were disheartened and disappointed at the shameful comments made in reference to the Confederate flag by Commissioner and Mayor Pro-Tempore Richard Abraham at the city commission meeting held on January 8.”

The NAACP letter said the Confederate flag represented “a tarnishing legacy of racial discrimination and hatred.” The letter then praised “American Veterans…for their service to our country.”

Fearing newly-elected President Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans would abolish slavery, 11 Southern slave states—Kentucky not among them—seceded from the Union in 1860-1861. They created the Confederate States of America based on a constitution that guaranteed slavery and white supremacy. The Confederacy then fought the United States in the most lethal war in American history.

“Though individuals are entitled to their own personal beliefs, that does not change the fact that the Confederacy then and now stands as a symbol of divisiveness and racism,” the letter also said.

The Race Unity letter The Race Unity letter, presented by Brad Holland and Tony Gerard, maintained that “the organizers of a public event have the right to pick and choose what they deem appropriate for their event.” It described the Confederate flag as the banner “of a people willing to potentially die in order to deny basic human rights to people of a different race.

“Soldiers of the United States of America fought and died to gain freedom for those individuals. Descendants of those same people, former slaves, have served honorably in that and every US conflict since.”

Commissioners speak out Commissioners Gerald Watkins, Sandra Wilson, and Brenda McElroy voted against Abraham’s resolution.

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Corbin Snardon, speaking at the MLK celebration (photo by Berry Craig)

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“I really do not know why this [the repeal resolution] is even on our agenda,” Wilson said. “This was debated, and discussed, and voted on in 2017, and it was approved by unanimous vote of the city commission members who were in attendance. And in my opinion nothing has changed since then.”

Wilson addressed Abraham’s First Amendment concerns. “Because of your comments…at the last meeting about it, we’ve had three legal opinions.” All three said the ban did not infringe on First Amendment rights because the parade was “a limited public forum.”

Watkins said the Confederate flag offends “a very large segment of our population, including the African-American community, which is 25 per cent of the population of the city of Paducah.”

Approximately 100 people attended the Tuesday meeting, according to Watkins. Several people spoke; all but one opposed Abraham’s resolution. No members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans spoke.

Cleary was pleased with the vote and hopes it will end the controversy. “But I don’t understand why [Abraham and the SCV] opened the can of worms back up.”

He said the commission “had this thing resolved.”

Cleary said the Confederate flag reflected treason as well as support for slavery and white supremacy. “The Confederates fought the United States of America.”

Mayor watches via YouTube, posts comment on Facebook Mayor Brandi Harless, who has supported the ban all along, watched the January 22 meeting on YouTube from a Chicago airport.

“Sorry I cannot be there,” she posted on Facebook. “I am on my way home from an economic development trip to China. But to be honest, I am tired of talking about the confederate flag. Our attention has been diverted for too long.”

The mayor added, “For the last 2 years I have spoken with the organization [SCV] about their flag. I have chosen to treat them with kindness and respect even though I do not agree with them. It is time to move on.

“I am proud of our community for speaking out against symbols that are not inclusive.”

The SCV argument and its rebuttal In arguing for the flag being allowed in the parade, the SCV claimed that in 1958, Congress approved a law that gave Confederate veterans equal status to U.S. veterans.

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J.W. Cleary, speaking at the MLK celebration (photo by Berry Craig)

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“But in fact, the law does not do what Confederate apologists say it does,” Sue Sturgis wrote in FacingSouth, the Institute for Southern Studies’ online magazine. “It certainly does not ‘pardon’ Confederate veterans, nor does it generally give them status ‘equal to’ U.S. veterans.”

The 2015 article is titled, “Busting the myth that Congress made Confederate vets into U.S. vets.”

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation granting full amnesty and the restoration of citizenship rights to Confederate veterans. But while they were fighting during the war, the federal and Kentucky governments considered them enemy combatants.

Sturgis added that the 1958 law “was introduced to raise pensions for widows and former widows of deceased veterans of the Spanish-American War. In committee, it was amended to include widows of deceased U.S. veterans of the Civil War and Indian War, as well as widows of Confederate veterans.”

Meanwhile, prominent Civil War historians contacted during the 2017 controversy over the flag agreed with Sturgis and with the ban.

“I would not have Confederate marchers in a Veteran’s Day parade,” said Gary W. Gallagher, John L. Nau professor of history at the University of Virginia and author of numerous Civil War books. “Confederate veterans had not been U.S. soldiers—they had been C.S. soldiers. There is a reason they are not buried in national cemeteries … but rather in what amount to C.S. national cemeteries.”

Charles B. Dew said, “Confederate veterans are not buried in U.S. military cemeteries, nor is the CSA flag flown there.”

Dew is an author and Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at Williams College. “If the South had won the Civil War, the result would have been what Gary Gallagher refers to in his superb book TheConfederateWar as the establishment of a slave-based republic, for whites only, obviously. The display of the CSA flag today in a publicly-sanctioned setting is, in effect, an endorsement of the Confederacy and that reality. This, of course, insults everyone who loathes the institution of human bondage, blacks and whites alike.”

Anne E. Marshall is a Lexington native and author of Crea4ngaConfederateKentucky:CivilWarMemoryinaBorderState. She cited Sturgis’ article, but suggested, “I think that rather than the focusing on the nature of Confederate actions between 1861-65, the real issue for Paducah is that the SCV has since its inception continued to uphold the ‘Lost Cause’ version of history, and in recent years, has been obstructionist (or at the very least insensitive) to what has become the broadly accepted opinion of most scholars and American public citizens, that Confederate symbolism evokes a history of racism and divisiveness.”

(Editor’s note: Daniel Hurt was at the Jan. 22 commission meeting, and helped produce this report.)

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We needed Attica Scott in the race by Bruce Maples

Via a statement on her Facebook page, state Representative Attica Scott has announced that she will not enter the race for governor in 2019.

Iamdisappointed.

I am disappointed not necessarily because I thought she could win (although I wouldn’t put anything past her, including that), but because we needed her voice in this year’s election. She would have brought unique perspectives to the discussion, including being a person of color, a single mother, and a community organizer.

But before you think her only positives would have been her personal identity and background, let me hasten to add that she also would have brought something else incredibly important to the race: herself.

Attica Scott is a strong voice for the powerless and disenfranchised. She is fearless in standing up to the powerful that would harm our citizens and our commonwealth. And she is not afraid to call out things that are wrong, whether it be a bill, a person, or a governor.

It’s obvious that we need more diversity in our state legislature. But even more than that, we need more people like Attica Scott – people who do not go along to get along, who don’t play the same old political games, and who worry more about serving the people than about the next election.

I kept hoping that Rep. Scott would be in the race, either as a candidate herself or as someone’s running mate. I had visions of her going out into the rural parts of the state and winning the doubters over, as I know she would have done. That is not to be in 2019.

But, the good news is that she will be back in Frankfort, working hard on behalf of her constituents and for the people of Kentucky, and speaking truth to power whenever it needs to be spoken.

And the other good news is that there are other elections in the future, including for governor, and perhaps we’ll see “Attica Scott” on one of those ballots.

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Labor Secretary Tom Perez at press conference on raising the minimum wage (US Dept. of Labor, via Wikimedia Commons)

It’s time to raise the minimum wage in Kentucky By Neal Turpin

As 2019 begins, 19 states are raising their minimum wages, and several more are scheduled to raise them later this year. Many of these states already have minimum wages above the federal level of $7.25 and are undergoing their second or third round of wage increases.

This leaves 21 states, including Kentucky, with a minimum wage of $7.25, and leaves workers in those states struggling to get by. No one deserves to live in poverty whether they are employed or not. Still, someone working full time at minimum wage is considered below the poverty level for a family of two, and nowhere in the country is the minimum wage enough to afford a two bedroom apartment.

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The problem of low wages is especially relevant in Kentucky. At 4.4%, we had the highest level of workers earning the federal minimum wage in 2017. We also had the highest two-year average, showing this is not a temporary issue.

RaisingtheminimumwagewouldhelpKentuckymorethananyotherstate. It’s long past time for us to do something about this.

Benefits of higher wages Many of the benefits of raising the minimum wage are obvious. Putting more money in the hands of workers and families who need it and who have earned it will improve their lives and the health of our country and economy.

But looking more closely, raising the minimum wage would have even more positive outcomes for certain groups. A higher wage would especially benefit women and minorities, who are more likely to work in low-wage positions. This is especially true in Kentucky, where women are much more likely than men to make the minimum wage or less.

It would also raise the wages of the parents of 19 million children. This again would benefit Kentucky more than most states, as we have the fourth highest child poverty rate in the country (25%).

An increase in the minimum wage would also help a larger number of workers than many believe. Contrary to stereotypes, most minimum wage workers are older than 24, and 30% of all workers in the US are “near minimum wage,” making more than $7.25 an hour, but not much more. An increase is likely to help them as well.

Beyond strictly looking at income, increases to the minimum wage have been linked to improvements in infant health, mental health, and reductions in the crime rate.

The minimum wage as economic development Raising the minimum wage can also be seen as a part of a broader economic development strategy. Many regions in the state have had trouble replacing lower-paying jobs with higher-paying ones. Rather than trying to bring in or bring back higher-paying jobs, one solution would be to simply turn existing low paying positions into better ones. This route has promise, as it has been effective in the past.

Manufacturing, nostalgically held up as an example of a good employment opportunity, was not always a source of good jobs. In fact, manufacturing jobs were downright awful until unions and regulations improved the salaries and working conditions in factories. There is nothing keeping low-paying service positions from experiencing the same level of improvement.

Even if Kentucky saw a dramatic influx of new high-paying positions, improving these lower-paying jobs would still be important. Economic mobility is “sticky,” with low-wage workers more likely to become unemployed than move up the economic ladder. And our state has a very high rate of these low-wage positions.

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Someone working full time at minimum wage is below the

poverty level for a family of two, and nowhere in the entire

country is the minimum wage enough to afford a two-

bedroom apartment.

THEFORWARDKENTUCKYMAGAZINE JANUARY27,2019

There is no requirement that low-paying jobs must remain low-paying. Raising the minimum wage would improve economic prospects for many areas of the state. This should be part of any economic development strategy going forward.

Concerns and responses Still, many have concerns about what the effect of such raises would be. The economic argument against raising the minimum wage is that it makes labor more expensive, causing businesses to purchase less of it, leading to higher unemployment. Thisargumentisoverly simplistic.

Despite the theory and scare tactics, in study after study, theevidenceshowsnodiscerniblejoblossesduetoincreasesintheminimumwage. (Linkshere,andhere,andhere,andhere,andhere,andhere,andhere.)

Paying workers more improves job satisfaction, decreases turnover, and improves customer service. This cuts down on recruitment and training costs and ensures you have more productive employees. Theincreasedcostoflaborisworthit.

Furthermore, keeping wages low doesn’t make our state more competitive. We have the same minimum wage as Tennessee and Indiana, giving us no real advantage. And our wage is lower than states like Illinois and West Virginia, which could attract workers away from our state. How business friendly will we be if no one wants to work here?

Others have pointed out that if wages go up, employers will shift the cost onto consumers. But we as a society are already paying the price for these low wages, spending $153 billion in public assistance each year, most of which goes to working families. We’reessen/allypayinghighertaxessobusinessescanpaylowerwages.

Some would argue that an area’s economic struggles are a reason to avoid wage hikes. In this line of thinking, New York and Seattle can raise their minimum wages because their economies are bigger and can better afford it.

But areas should raise their minimum wages precisely because of these struggles. As lower-income workers’ wages rise, so does their ability to spend, helping to grow the economy and draw in new businesses looking for a share of this new disposable income. It’s not that we can’t afford to do it –it’s that we can’t afford not to.

What is Kentucky doing? Multiple attempts to raise the state’s minimum wage have failed in previous years. Attempts by Louisville and Lexington to raise the minimum wage at the local level were struck down by the state Supreme Court.

Still, some lawmakers are trying to increase the minimum wage despite setbacks in the past. Senator Reggie Thomas of Lexington has pre-filed a bill which would raise our state’s minimum wage to $15 by

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People think if wages go up, costs will shift to consumers. But we are already paying for

low wages, spending $153 billion in public assistance each

year. We’re essentially paying higher taxes so

businesses can pay lower wages.

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2026 in roughly one dollar annual increments. This would be an important step in the right direction and would be roughly on par with many other states which have increased wages.

The proposed legislation is also interesting in its inclusion of an anti-preemption measure, which would allow local governments to set their own minimum wage levels in excess of the state level.

Going forward As of now, it does not seem likely that Sen. Thomas’s bill will gain much traction, much less pass or be signed into law.

Still, it is important to keep such legislation at the forefront of policy discussions. It is, after all, an election year in Kentucky, and it has yet to be seen what sort of issues will come up on the campaign trail. Minimum wage increases are enormously popular, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see all of the Democratic candidates and even a Republican candidate take up the issue to try and capitalize on such a broadly favored policy.

Getting such a bill passed would be an important first step, but we cannot see any single wage level as an end goal. If we do, we run the risk of allowing wages to stagnate for another decade.

Because of this, most states which have increased their minimum wage have also included a way to factor in changes in the Consumer Price Index. This allows for continued increases in the minimum wage to make up for increases to the cost of living. This sort of indexing would significantly strengthen the policy for the future.

A policy like this should not scare us. The economy is more productive than ever, so we are better able to handle wage increases than we once were.

We are also better able to handle this politically. A majority of the country supports not just raising the minimum wage, but raising it to $15. There is little to fear from supporting a raise.

Theminimumwageneedstoberaisedquicklyandsignificantly,andnowherewouldbenefitasmuchfromanincreaseasKentucky.PeoplehavebeenworkingfortooliWlefortoolong;it’s/meourleaderssteppedupanddidtherightthingforKentuckyworkers.

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Conservative hypocrites and the F-bomb By Berry Craig

President Trump and the other old Republican white guys are still in high dudgeon over Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s f-bomb.

The freshman Democrat from Michigan was feeling her oats. She told a victory party that the new Democratic majority would “go in there and impeach the motherf—–.”

“It was entirely predictable that conservatives and Trump supporters would erupt with faux outrage at hearing foul language from a Democrat,” Michelangelo Signorile mused in the HuffingtonPost. “And Trump―the president who famously spoke of grabbing women ‘by the pussy,’ called Haiti and some African nations ‘shithole countries,’ and who has even publicly hurled f-bombs himself, said Tlaib ‘dishonored her family‘ with the comment.”

Signorile added, “As ridiculous as that is, it also wasn’t so unpredictable that some liberals would clutch their pearls as well.”

Tlaib, who isn’t backing down, has caught flack from certain Democrats. Some say the f-bomb was unworthy of a lawmaker, even a rookie. Others say it played into Trump’s hand, giving him and the GOP ammo to shoot back at Democrats.

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi chipped in some needed perspective. She dismissed Tlaib’s remark as “nothing worse than what the president has said.”

Of course, in white-folks-MAGA-land, Tlaib had three strikes against her to start with: She’s a woman of color, a Muslim, and a liberal Democrat.

Trump’s obscenities in word … and deed Trump continues to match obscene words with obscene deeds.

He’s still pandering non-stop to racism, sexism, misogyny, nativism, militarism, anti-LGBTQ prejudice, and religious intolerance. Almost the whole GOP is still acquiescing in―and the likes of Rep. Steve King are emulating—Trump’s boatload of bigotry.

Oh, Trump and the Republicans protest that they’re not the party of racism. The racists are pretty sure that they are. The GOP started out as the party of “Lincoln and Liberty” but it’s now more like the party of Jeff Davis.

Republicans howling over Tlabi’s remark—and their deafening silence on Trump’s serial vulgarity—remind me of Matthew 23:24, which warns against those who “strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”

The hypocrites of Kentucky I’ve lived all my 69 years in deepest western Kentucky, a long way from the White House and Capitol Hill. But I see the same Republican hypocrisy pretty regularly, notably from some of Trump’s most loyal supporters: white, conservative, evangelical Christians.

My neck of the Bluegrass State woods is overwhelmingly white, Protestant, and fundamentalist. Not coincidentally, the president pocketed more than 76 percent of my county’s vote―almost 14 percent more that his statewide margin. (A local Democrat who ran for the state House and got clobbered said some voters spurned her on their doorsteps with, “You can’t be a Christian and a Democrat.”)

Hereabouts, a lot of Christians of the Jesus-loves-me-but-He-can’t-stand-you persuasion would never cuss or even “say shit for a carload,” as my grandmother, God rest her soul, said of such sanctimonious sorts.

While these same Christians eschew f-bombs and even mild oaths, and plaster Jesus-is-love stickers on their bumpers, more than a few of them are inclined to apply the old epithets and slurs to non-white folks and snicker at the old racist jokes.

In Matthew 23: 27-28, Jesus likens hypocrites to “whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

The Christian Ever-Trumpers put me in mind of Countee Cullen’s poem, “For a Lady I Know,” and a Mahatma Gandhi musing.

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Trump and the Republicans protest that they’re not the party of racism. The racists

are pretty sure that they are. The GOP started out as the

party of “Lincoln and Liberty” but it’s now more like the

party of Jeff Davis.

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Wrote Cullen:

She even thinks that up in heavenHer class lies late and snores While poor black cherubs rise at sevenTo do celestial chores

And observed Gandhi,

“IlikeyourChrist.IdonotlikeyourChris4ans.TheyaresounlikeyourChrist.”

When the Christian Ever-Trumpers get more worked up about the obscene acts of Trump than about a single obscene word, perhaps we can drop the “hypocrite” label. For now, though, it seems completely appropriate.

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Mike Pence meeting with pro-life leaders (photo from Office of the Vice President via Wikimedia Commons)

Pro-life? Or just anti-woman? By Ivonne Rovira

I’ve been mulling over my colleague Berry Craig’s excellent piece, “Republicans win on the Three Gs — plus an L for ‘Lying’,” which ran last month. A centerpiece of the Republican strategy that has made inroads in the rural parts of the state is to swear their allegiance to the so-called pro-life cause. Republicans vie to outdo each other in a contest to see who can devise more draconian anti-abortion laws.

Now Democrats have long pointed out that concern for life seems to end at birth. The same folks who can’t bear the thought of killing “pre-born babies” don’t seem to have a problem with depriving them of medical care, enough to eat, or living wages for their parents once they’re born. But the truth is that, for most of these die-hard “pro-lifers,” their interest in even fetal life depends on who’s making the decision.

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Clean water is apparently not a pro-life position Take a look at clean-water policies. Politicians who flinch at the thought that a woman should decide for herself whether or not she wants to become a mother have no problem with allowing polluters to pour toxins into waterways that will increase miscarriages.

Under the Trump Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has slow-walked fixing the regulation on lead, chloroform and disinfectant byproducts that allowed Flint’s water to become so toxic with lead that it caused miscarriages and brain damage in children. So is that pro-life? Apparently, the pro-lifers think it’s OK for polluters to terminate pregnancies.

Smoking must be good for pregnancy For years, Republicans—on both the state and national levels—have waged the same type of war on smoking curbs as they currently now are on climate change. Yet, maternal smoking increases the odds of miscarriage by 1 percent for each cigarette smoked per day. That means a woman who smokes a pack a day increases her odds of a miscarriage by a whopping 20 percent. Even paternal smoking increases the odds of miscarriage. Which is why Right to Life plays such a central role in the anti-smoking movement.

Just kidding! Right to Life clearly doesn’t care about “preborn babies” when cigarette companies are profiting.

And pregnant women don’t need safe food Food-safety regulations were too lax under the Obama Administration; however, the Trump Administration would like to relax inspections even more — even though listeria is 20 times more likely to infect pregnant women than non-pregnant adults and, obviously, salmonella affects fetuses adversely. Food-borne pathogens increase the likelihood of miscarriage, stillbirths, and complications.

So what’s pro-life about letting Big Ag decide that an increase in miscarriages and stillbirths is OK if the corner-cutting pads their bottom line?

And what about health care? Also, take a look at Governor Matt Bevin’s stance on health care and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). His draconian policies would strip health care and food stamps from quite a few expectant mothers.

And, on a national level, allegedly pro-life Republicans have done everything they can to sabotage the restriction on insurance companies’ dropping coverage or exploding premiums on pre-existing conditions – including pregnancy.

Indeed, the House’s 2017 health-care bill included the MacArthur amendment; the amendment allowed states to kill outright the Obamacare ban on insurers’ jacking up rates based on pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy.

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For most die-hard “pro-lifers,” their interest in fetal life

depends on who’s making the decision.

THEFORWARDKENTUCKYMAGAZINE JANUARY27,2019

So, while the GOP might blanch at the thought of a woman deciding to terminate a pregnancy, they have no problem with insurance giants endangering pregnancies and pre-natal care. And that includes holier-than-thou Bevin.

The real issue is who gets to decide It’s incumbent on progressives to point out that many of the people who claim to be “pro-life” don’t have a problem with big corporations terminating pregnancies. Apparently, everyone except the woman gets to terminate pregnancies if they can make a buck. That’s not pro-life; that’s just anti-woman.

So the next time some Republican politician champions ending the Medicaid expansion, cutting SNAP benefits, weakening clean-water protections or the like, we should call them out: “Hey, I thought you were pro-life?”

And, for those of us who support common-sense gun restrictions, tell them why we do it: because we’re pro-life. Becauseconcernforlifeshouldn’tendatbirth.

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Many of the so-called “pro-lifers” don’t have a problem

with big corporations terminating pregnancies.

Apparently, everyone except the woman gets to terminate

pregnancies if they can make a buck. That’s not pro-life; that’s

just anti-woman..

THEFORWARDKENTUCKYMAGAZINE JANUARY27,2019

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Shelby County Courthouse (photo by I.W. Marsh [CC-BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons)

What Shelby County remembered this November and what it largely overlooked By Will Barnett

We all vote based on our unique perspectives and view the importance of certain issues through different lenses. Some vote strictly on key policy ramifications, social or fiscal philosophies, and some vote strictly along party lines. This isn’t to say that the motivations for casting a vote can’t be more nuanced, I’m sure most of them are. The votes I cast were certainly more complex than a particular stance on any one specific issue.

In a county that largely supported republican candidates in the state house of representatives, state senate, fiscal court, the sheriff’s office, and didn’t challenge the incumbent Judge Executive, I find some interesting intricacies and contradictions in the election results when I narrow my focus to the issue of fiscal responsibility and taxes. If you keep up with county and state taxes and spending then I’m probably

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not pointing out anything you haven’t already observed. If you’re one of the proud voters that helped keep Shelby County red however, I’ve got a few questions for you.

Tax increases for most residents, not cuts Senator Hornback and Representative Rothenburger supported some interesting and contradictory things in the 2018 General Assembly. Many are familiar with the tax cuts that were included in HB 366 to spur business growth and clean up the tax code. They are both proud, I’m sure, to have their name attached to this bill especially since very few voters seem to mind the tax increases that were in the bill as well.

In cleaning up the tax code that bill cut the effective income tax rate in Kentucky of those in the 6% tax bracket to 5% and increased the effective income tax rate of those in the 4% tax bracket to 5%. Essentially, if you make less than $92,000 a year, you’ll see a tax increase. Additionally, there are new services and items that are subject to sales tax that weren’t previously. Maybe you noticed that the last time you had your car serviced. With the new “fairer” tax code, if you earn more than about $92,000 per year then you likely get a decent tax cut. Congratulations!

However, in a county where 52% of student households qualify for free and reduced lunch, there is a significant section of the population that will see a tax increase. An example of a household that qualifies for free or reduced lunch would be a household of 4 earning about $46,000 or less annually. According to current data from the Census Bureau, as many as 90% of employed Shelby County residents earn less than $90,000 annually and the median income for Shelby County residents is only about $61,000 per year. What’s interesting is that in the race for State Representative, about 11,000 people voted for Rob Rothenburger and that number is a little over half of all the employed citizens in Shelby County. Even if the entire segment of those earning over $90,000 per year voted for Rothenburger that would mean that about 8-9000 of those voters supported increased income and sales tax rates for themselves. By the way, this tax increase in HB 366 will cost 90% of Shelby households more than the last tax increase passed by the school board.

If you were already in the 5% tax bracket you really only have to worry about the increase in sales tax and won’t see any benefit from the tax cuts. No big deal maybe. I guess the good news is that for anyone making an average of $200,000 a year or more in Shelby County (about 2% of residents) they will get the benefit of anywhere between $750 up to $6000 or so in tax breaks. Maybe those lucky few will buy some

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bourbon or go out to eat a little more often and pump a little of that new money into creating quality jobs in the service industry.

Looking at the data, you could say that roughly 90% of the voters who supported the winning candidates for KY Senate and House of Representatives in Shelby County sent a clear message that they are more than happy to pay more in taxes as long as top earners get a break.

Glad to know the little bit more you and I paying in taxes will go to pay for those tax breaks, especially since our coffers are swollen with cash.

Wait, don’t we have a funding crisis? Isn’t the Governor having a panic attack about the poor condition of Kentucky’s crumbling roads? Didn’t he announce less than 48 hours after the election that new revenue will have to be generated to solve the problem? See for yourself here, ‘More Money Must Be Generated For Road Funding, Bevin Says’.

This isn’t a new crisis by the way, in 2016 Bevin cut $112M in funding from the Transportation Cabinet. Maybe those cuts, followed by tax cuts in a state that is having trouble generating revenue wasn’t a hot idea. Is it short-sightedness? Is it disregard? Is it an excuse to cut services in the coming 2019 session like education?

Historic funding or just more cuts to education? The governor proposed massive cuts to education in his State of the Commonwealth in 2017 which were toned down by the time HB200 reached his desk, but deep cuts to education were supported by Hornback and Rothenburger in the 2018 legislative session. Of course if you got a mailer from Paul Hornback you probably heard more about “Historic Education Funding” as a result of his vote on HB 200.

What was missing from these ads and his statements on looking out for education is that while HB 200 did fund the SEEK per Pupil formula at a record dollar amount, which amounted to $19 per Shelby County student, that same bill cut $38 from each student in Shelby County by eliminating funding for textbooks and resources as well as teacher professional development. (Law requires a set number of hours of teacher professional development by the way so the expense remains and has to come out of other resources once dedicated to students.) Both Hornback and Rothenburger supported this bill that had a net effect of deep cuts to students here, not “Historic Levels of Funding.”

The only thing historic about education funding in Kentucky is that it still lags the level of funding in 2008 by almost 16% when adjusted for inflation. In fact, even after the “Historic Funding” and cuts in HB 200, Kentucky ranked 3rd worst for cuts to education since 2008.

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If your goal is to save some money wouldn’t you tout spending cuts instead of only telling a half-truth about funding increases? Could it be that they didn’t read or understand the whole bill? Was it hoped that we wouldn’t notice or care? Was it just that “Historic Education Funding” looked good on a flyer?

Maybe a better question is why would you continue to undercut the systems that are instrumental in workforce development that are so crucial to bringing jobs to Kentucky. I could go on, but I have other things to cover.

Revenue cuts as needs increase in Shelby County All politics are local, and maybe what’s happening in Shelby County government is where your vote for fiscal responsibility really has an impact.

In the fall of 2017, Fiscal Court voted to lower their tax rate a little (for the second year in a row), see the Sentinel News August 26, 2017, while there was looming uncertainty over state employee pensions and county employee pension contribution increases. The Sentinel News reported that “The county’s finance committee had met to discuss the issue two weeks ago upon the recommendation by Shelby County Judge-Executive Dan Ison who said he would like to continue the trend of lower taxes for county residents. This year’s reduction is double what magistrates approved last August, when they approved the rate of 10.9, lowering it only from 11 percent.”

There was praise for the Judge Executive and Magistrates that got this lower rate pushed through. But riding high on tax cuts soon turned to panic when it was announced for certain that county agencies would soon have to come up with as much as 48% more to contribute to CERS a few months later.

Yet, the county’s low tax rate is still applauded while under staffing and space continues to be a problem at the jail, EMT’s and emergency responders are being lost to better paying counties, and both candidates for Sheriff ran partially on their stance that the department needs to double the number of deputies to cover the county effectively. I’ve spoken to both Gene Witt and Mark Moore during the campaign and both expressed the need for and the desire to add 4 to 6 deputies.

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The need for this many deputies didn’t happen overnight, it didn’t happen in 2018. Was it fiscally responsible to lower revenues in a county with so many needs and now a large burden from CERS contributions?

Of the magistrates that were elected this month, there will be an easy majority for the republicans working with a Judge Executive that ran unopposed. Two years of cuts to revenue, substantial increase in expenses given the new CERS contribution rates that are still phasing in, and funding needs that were already going mostly ignored. Where will those badly needed additional sheriff’s deputies come from?

Little old me At the bottom of the ballot this November was little old me. I’m not immune from scrutiny. In the fall of 2017 I voted for a tax increase that amounted to about $16 per year based on a property owner with a $100,000 home. I was joined by two others on the board in this vote and at the time we were aware of the possibility of the increase in CERS contributions, we knew that funding from the state for students had been in decline for the previous 5 years, local funding wasn’t keeping up, and we knew that we were losing good teachers and bus drivers to other districts who were paying more.

Obviously I’m not going to be returning to the board of education next year after losing my election and there are probably a myriad of reasons for why I lost that I’m sure include distaste over my vote on that tax increase.

Now, leading up to that vote I received a lot of phone calls and comments, a lot of which were some variation of “When things get tight in my house, we tighten our belt.” I’m sure any official in the county gets those calls when considering a tax vote. When things get tight in my house, I tighten up. Maybe I drop cable, stop eating out, turn down the thermostat, and tough it out for a month or two. Pretty soon though I start looking for a job that pays more if I’m not successful in asking my employer for a raise. If you would continue tightening the belt in this case without finding ways to increase you’re income then we’re probably not going to get on the same page here.

I could give you data showing that SCPS has one of the lowest admin cost per pupil in the 13 other school districts in OVEC or I could tell you about the salary spending that was eliminated from central office the last 18 months or how much going to consolidated bus stops saved the district and how those savings and the tax increase went into teacher and driver pay to try and help retain good talent and employees but most folks I talk to are focused on the tax part and not the savings or the need part. Of the three members that were up for reelection this year I was the only one who lost my race. Of the other two, one voted for the tax increase and was unopposed in the election and the one who voted against the tax increase won easily. It’s a non-partisan office and I’ve worked hard to keep my views focused on issues surrounding students and I won’t out anyone’s party affiliation here. I have a lot of respect for both of those members.

I’m sure there are other reasons I lost but the feedback I received on my tax vote and the relationships it cost me with people I’ve known since childhood along with the vitriol some expressed in their termination of those relationships really just add to the confusion over some of the election results. From what I can see, is Shelby County saying tax increases are just fine depending on the party affiliation of the candidate? Are underfunded needs and cuts ok until they affect you? Is what is happening on the national political stage painting our views when it comes to local matters with a large red or blue brush?

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Why aren’t tax ‘cuts’ the dirty word? If not everything can be funded through efficiency gains and state and local agencies are expressing dire need for things that they can’t fund, then why are taxes a bad word? Why aren’t tax cuts a dirty word?

Maybe, just maybe, when a state leaves more revenue on the table in tax breaks than it actually collects, tax cuts should be the dirty word. We could double the general fund of the state and take pressure off struggling counties and municipalities and school districts without a single new tax. We could simply roll back the tax breaks and business handouts and none of us would have to give up a single service or pay into a single new tax.

The 2019 General Assembly is less than 60 days away and our representatives in Frankfort will be making decisions that affect the responsibilities of the state and where your money goes. New officials will be sworn in in Shelby County and will go to work in January. As they go to work will you look at the policies and programs they fund or cut and their choices when it comes to generating revenue?

I don’t mind paying taxes, especially when I get what I’m paying for. When my representatives tell me we have a funding short-fall or unfunded needs while deciding to vote for tax cuts then I get a little chapped. It’s not necessarily the officials’ fault, it’s our fault for supporting that official. While the wealthiest in Shelby County get a tax break, the quality of my daughter’s education is put in jeopardy as funding was cut from schools and I see on every paycheck how much more, about $10, is being withheld for Kentucky taxes. I feel like on the whole, Shelby County remembered a few buzz words this November like ‘tax cuts’ but ignored things like the County’s actual needs and the tax increase that hit 90% of us to pay for those cuts.

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The Forward Kentucky Contributors

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