by Richard Nelson | Oct 24, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
The brouhaha over books on public library shelves in Daviess County has apparently reached a boiling point. One side in the debate warns of a censorship regime bent on banning books in the young adult (YA) section of the Daviess County Public Library. The other side...
by Richard Nelson | Sep 12, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
Charlie Kirk is dead. The bullet launched from an assassin’s high-powered rifle some 200 yards away pierced his neck, splattering blood and slumping him into an unconsciousness that he’d never recover from. His voice was permanently silenced after a...
by Richard Nelson | Sep 8, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
Taylor Swift has had an outsized influence on popular culture. With over twenty-six billion streams on Spotify in 2024, she is the most streamed artist in the world. Conservatives have long lamented the effect of her music embraced by young girls—which arguably...
by Richard Nelson | Aug 14, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
At the heart of every political debate are three questions: Are people flourishing? Are they safe? And do they have jobs where they’re able to provide for themselves and their loved ones? Also, not at the heart of every political debate is the question: what...
by Richard Nelson | Aug 1, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Texas law that required age-verification in order for minors to access online porn sites. The June 27 ruling applies the same age-verification standards to internet websites as those for brick and mortar porn shops and strip clubs....
by Richard Nelson | Jul 4, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of...
by Richard Nelson | Jun 18, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
On the way home from my office the other day I was delighted to see several small American flags affixed atop a lengthy row of fence posts in our Bald Knob neighborhood. They caught me by surprise and a feeling of gratitude welled up. Our neighbors across from us were...
by Richard Nelson | Jun 5, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
Andy Beshear rallies around Pride Month. What will you rally around? Gov. Beshear kicked off Pride Month with a rally in the state Capitol on Sunday and said that “Kentucky and the rest of the United States cannot possibly reach its full potential unless our...
by Richard Nelson | May 16, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
When perusing National Public Radio’s (NPR) programs page yesterday a pop-up ad appeared: “Public media is under threat,” then it points to Pres. Donald Trump’s May 1 Executive Order titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media which...
by Richard Nelson | Apr 18, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
President Trump’s statement on Holy week is causing a stir. In part, he said he and Melania “join in prayer with Christians celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—the living Son of God who conquered death, freed...
by Richard Nelson | Apr 14, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
President Trump declared April 2 “Liberation Day” where a 10 percent across the board tariff was tacked to foreign imports. “We’ve been taken advantage of,” Trump has repeatedly said, pointing to other nations that have higher tariffs on...
by Richard Nelson | Mar 30, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
This column originally appeared at National Review. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s national star is rising. He’s now considered a Democratic presidential contender for 2028. In January, he was on the international stage after joining a panel at the Davos World...
by Richard Nelson | Mar 10, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
According to a CBS News/YouGov poll, 51% of Americans approve President Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce. Altogether, 87% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats agree. The poll was taken between February 26-28 and found that a majority of Americans believe...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 20, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
A flurry of bills are emerging in the Kentucky General Assembly and many are bound to affect all of us. Yet there is disagreement within the church as to what extent pastors should speak into the political and policy realms. Here are a few questions to consider: What...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 7, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
Kentucky House Democrats held a press conference on Tuesday to unveil a “vision for [Kentucky] families.” House Minority Floor Leader Pam Stevenson (D–Louisville) told the media that “families should be the center of every one of our bills.” Both...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 8, 2025 | Opinion Pieces
Today is the second day of the 2025 General Assembly session, where 138 legislators from all corners of the Commonwealth convene to consider laws to (hopefully) make us a more just and better society. Often forgotten is that elected leaders are one part of the...
by Richard Nelson | Dec 12, 2024 | Opinion Pieces
The gloom that blanketed Bald Knob the other day was palpable: enough to weigh down the Christmas cheer of the season. The culprit was a fog so thick it could be felt. Light didn’t arrive until mid-morning. Even then it was hard for me to get it into gear that...
by Richard Nelson | Nov 5, 2024 | Opinion Pieces
On the eve of the 2024 election, many mainstream media members could find themselves in shock if former president Donald Trump wins, just as they did in 2016. Voter anger over the direction of the country and tone-deaf Democratic policy priorities could play into a...
by Richard Nelson | Sep 26, 2024 | Opinion Pieces
Kentucky’s largest universities were under a legislative microscope on September 17 at a hearing of the Interim Joint Committee on Education in Frankfort. The hearing came on the heels of actions taken by the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University to...
by Richard Nelson | Sep 23, 2024 | Opinion Pieces
Governor Andy Beshear’s executive order banning conversion therapy within the scope of state agencies stirred controversy across the state. And there’s reason for concern, as Governor Beshear roundly condemned “anyone who changes the sexual...
