by Richard Nelson | Feb 8, 2018 | Blog
Some policy issues are tough to talk about in public. Pornography is one of those issues. It's the 800 pound gorilla in the room. But headlines dealing with porn confront us on a daily basis. The latest news is from the Kentucky State House which is seeking to...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 7, 2018 | Blog
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse delivered an impassioned pro-life speech and said "We all start in the same place: vulnerable and dependent in every way. We all ooh and aah over sonogram pictures of our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 6, 2018 | Blog
Cecile Richards abruptly resigned from Planned Parenthood—the nation's biggest abortion business. Of course, Planned Parenthood has been under investigation by the FBI for allegedly selling baby body parts. As a result several states, including...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 2, 2018 | Blog
Kentucky's prisons are full. In fact, we have the 9th highest incarceration rate in the nation. On top of it, we're seeing the prison population increase even though the national prison population is declining. According to the Justice Reinvestment Work Group,...
by Richard Nelson | Feb 1, 2018 | Blog
Is legalizing pot for recreational use the way to grow an economy? According to State Sen. Dan Seum, the answer is yes. Seum said “It’s out there. We’re using it anyway. We might as well reap the harvest so to speak.” He...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 31, 2018 | Blog
The Kentucky legislature is considering a bill that says wherever sex-ed is taught in the public schools they should teach abstinence until marriage as the ideal for human sexuality. It may go against the culture of sexual permissiveness but our children should...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 30, 2018 | Blog
Kentucky ranks 44th in teen pregnancy. Sexually transmitted disease (STD) are at an all-time high. And one in four women will have had an abortion by age 45. These statistics point to broken sexuality but a recently proposed bill helps high schoolers avoid the...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 29, 2018 | Blog
Last Tuesday morning Marshall County High School should have been a typical school day. There should have been teenaged voices in the halls and sophomores and juniors scurrying off to class. But instead, at 7:57, shots rang out and struck 20 students. Two 15-year olds...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 26, 2018 | Blog
One of the areas that escaped cuts in the recent state budget proposal was foster care. In fact, the governor proposed the creation of a new adoption and foster care program funded at $11 million. Gov. Bevin said "you think of the role of government and its there...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 25, 2018 | Blog
Kentucky became the first state in the nation to receive a federal waiver to require able-bodied Medicaid recipients to work, go to school, or engage in community service at least 20-hours per week. This is a major change to the Medicaid program. The plan is to...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 25, 2018 | Blog
Tuesday morning at Marshall County High School started out as a typical school day. Sophomores and juniors carrying books and backpacks scurried down the halls. Teachers were settling in for another day as lively voices filled the classrooms. But at 7:57 a.m. shots...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 24, 2018 | Blog
Since 2014, nearly a half-million Kentuckians joined the Medicaid rolls since the Affordable Care Act lowered the participation threshold. Today, one out of every three Kentuckians are on Medicaid, which begs the question: is it a policy achievement to have more...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 23, 2018 | Blog
Governor Bevin started his budget address with the famous words of Thomas Paine. In 1776 Paine said "These are the times that try men's souls…." The analogy is clear. Kentucky is in difficult and trying financial times. His budget proposal...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 22, 2018 | Blog
Today, is the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. In 1973, the court legalized abortion on demand for any reason all the way through the 9th month of pregnancy. The ruling has sharply divided the nation. It's left an estimated 60...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 19, 2018 | Blog
According to the Kentucky Association of Food Banks, over 700,000 Kentuckians, don't always know where their next meal will come from. That's 1 in 6. This is tragic because we are a major agriculture region of the country. This prompted Agriculture...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 18, 2018 | Blog
It's no secret that Kentucky is facing a budget crunch. This year alone it needs to come up with one billion dollars in revenue to address the pension shortfall. So how should they do it? Several legislators say expanded gambling is the answer. Former governor,...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 17, 2018 | Blog
It seems that pro-life legislation comes up every legislative session and this one is no different. One bill modifies the recently enacted Ultrasound law to require abortionists to provide a written medical description of sonogram images an unborn child prior to an...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 16, 2018 | Blog
Whenever things get bad in our government, term limits seem like a good idea. But There are two sides. On one hand, political leaders understand the process, and carry important institutional knowledge. In a way, term limits are already here. They're called...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 15, 2018 | Blog
Paducah became the ninth Kentucky city to make sexual orientation and gender identity a civil right. The move was controversial. Several speakers warned about similar ordinances that were used to punish business owners who tried to do their business according to their...
by Richard Nelson | Jan 12, 2018 | Blog
Have you ever said something that as soon as the words left your mouth you regretted saying it? It's likely happened to all of us at one time or another. Our words have tremendous power. They can build up or they can tear down. They can be used with a tone of love...
