Open Arms: Indiana enthusiastically welcomes COVID-cuted Kentucky diners, drinkers.

"Duh" just doesn't do it justice. Not only that, but every now and then, 125% is the new 75%.

Some Louisville bars report losing business as Indiana competitors face less stringent restrictions, by Sara Sidery (WDRB)

Some Louisville restaurants say they're losing business to competitors across the river, as Indiana has less stringent restrictions on patrons.

Indiana is keeping bars and restaurants at 75% capacity for another month, but Kentucky establishments are still stuck at 50% and likely will be for a while.

Bunker Deep -- Experiment Nigh.

There's a consistent feature of recent news stories and commentaries about the approaching economic reopening, and the different ways Indiana and Kentucky are treating the timing of these steps.

It's the absence from this discussion of New Albany's mayor.

When Jeff Gahan deigned to speak with WDRB last week, he said basically nothing.

“We are probably a little behind the governor’s directive to hit some of these benchmarks – we’re glad we have them but we are going to be very cautious how we move forward,” said New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan.

Gahan believes it’s hard to make a blanket statement applying to an entire state, especially with positive COVID-19 cases varying. “It is going to differ from municipality and county to county it’s just the nature of it,” he said.

Granted, we're accustomed to cerebral nothingness from ranking Democrats in Nawbany. It's peculiar, though.

If genuinely taken with the belief that reopening is occurring too soon, Gahan might embrace more stringent municipal measures than the false positive PR move of closing his beloved water park; after all, Governor Holcomb has consistently stated that local authorities can choose tighter counter-timetables if they wish.

For a mayor ever eager to grapple with the detested Republicans, it's odd.

Is it that his cadre of campaign donors need to get back to work and keep those pay-to-play coffers filled?

Probably.

Meanwhile, LEO Weekly has an opinion on the matter.

Indiana, Kentucky govs at odds over reopening economy… or when dining out becomes an experiment

So, on Monday, when you think about sitting down for a taco in Southern Indiana, consider whether it is worth the gamble, whether you want to be part of an enormous experiment… and whether you trust art and science to keep you well.

Kentucky is "Healthy at Home, not "sheltering in place," and shortly Indiana will be joining through distance.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear took the next step on Sunday evening, issuing an executive order for non-essential retail businesses to go dark.

This chart explains the meaning of essential versus non-essential.

My fellow Hoosiers, it might be helpful to get ready. Whether or not these measures constitute a slippery slope with reference to civil liberties, they'll be implemented in Indiana; as I write, the Twitter wire says Governor Eric Holcomb will be addressing the state at noon.

Dunman (and Lady Parts Justice): "Bevin and his allies can’t ban abortion, no matter how much they hate it."

For me, links to essays like Joe Dunman's (below) are helpful segues to further reading.

Consequently, I stumbled across the web page of Lady Parts Justice, which has proven to be helpful and informative over Sunday morning coffee.

Mission Statement

Lady Parts Justice is the first not safe for work, rapid response reproductive rights messaging hub that uses comedy, culture and digital media to sound an alarm about the terrifying erosion of reproductive access so people will get off their asses and reclaim their rights.

About the Name “Lady Parts Justice”

The name “Lady Parts Justice” came from an incident involving a former Michigan state representative and a tireless advocate for abortion rights named Lisa Brown. In 2012, at the same time we were developing our organization, Lisa was fighting against dozens of horrible regressive anti abortion bills in Lansing. In one contentious battle, The Speaker of the House banned Lisa from the statehouse floor for using the word vagina when arguing against a transvaginal ultrasound bill- a bill that would have forced pregnant people to undergo a state mandated transvaginal probe before they could have an abortion. When she asked what she SHOULD use instead of vagina, the Speaker of the House suggested something less offensive like “lady parts.” The actual offense – a politician who was offended by the word vagina yet felt an absolute entitlement to legislate it – inspired us to take Lisa Brown’s fight and expose this kind of hypocrisy by choosing Lady Parts Justice as our name.

Like “Nasty Woman Unite” or “Pussy Grabs Back,” “Lady Parts Justice” is a clap back to yet another extremist politician feeling entitled to legislate bodily autonomy. At LPJ, we don’t connect reproductive parts with gender, and we advocate strongly for the reproductive health and rights of trans men, trans women, and all non-binary people. We believe whatever your gender identity, you have the right to access safe, dignified and affordable reproductive healthcare.

Now, to one of our favorite activist mouthpieces.

Commentary: Bevin and his allies can’t ban abortion, no matter how much they hate it, by Joe Dunman (Insider Louisville)

Ambulance services and hospitals automatically transport and treat all emergency patients no matter where they come from. That’s what they do. If any kind of medical emergency arises, a call to 911 is all you need to secure ambulance transport to a hospital for immediate treatment.

But under Kentucky law, abortion providers must enter into written agreements with hospitals and ambulance services by which they agree to transport and treat abortion patients who encounter “unforeseen complications.” In other words, abortion clinics must go out of their way to get hospitals and ambulances to promise to do the job they’re already obligated to do.

Why? Because in 1998, the Kentucky General Assembly passed KRS 216B.0435, a law that creates medically unnecessary red tape for abortion clinics. Laws such as this are commonly referred to as “TRAP” laws, or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, and they are purposely designed to complicate and burden the provision of abortion services.

TRAP laws have been used to shut down clinics all over the country. And now, they’re being used by Gov. Matt Bevin to effectively ban abortion in Kentucky.

On March 13, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services sent a letter to the EMW Surgical Center in Louisville, revoking its license and ordering it to stop providing abortions. Why? Because, the cabinet claims, EMW has deficient “transfer agreements” and is therefore in violation of state law.

Harry Caudill: A must-watch documentary about the attorney, author, legislator, professor and environmental activist, airing at KET on Monday evening.

At WFPL, Michael Washburn reminds us about the life and work of Harry Caudill, subject of a documentary film premiering at KET on Monday, March 20 at 9:00 p.m. (see details below).

All of these books, and Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy in particular, share a common Kentucky-born ancestor, one of the most important American books ever published about the plight of the working poor. Harry Caudill’s Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area, first published in 1963, is an often-overlooked American masterpiece that has received credit for igniting Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” ...

... As Wendell Berry said when eulogizing Caudill in 1990, “He saw, and he said, in as many ways as he could find, that we are involved in a disaster. One the one hand, he saw the hills, the streams, the trees and the people; he saw, on the other hand, the great moneyed interests that had not the power to see the hills, the streams, the trees and the people, but only the power to destroy them.”

In 2015, filmmaker Jerry Deaton previewed his project.

Harry Caudill was a complex man worth remembering (Courier-Journal)

Three years ago I met Anne Caudill at a writer’s meeting in New Albany, Ind. We spoke briefly, I mentioned how I admired her late husband, Harry, and we parted ways. We met again at the same function a year later, I had produced a film on the feuds of Breathitt County, and I mentioned that a documentary on the life of Harry Caudill would be a good idea. She said she would think about it. Another year passed, eventually I convinced her on the merits of the project.

Film-making is no simple task, and finding the money for a project such as this is equally difficult. But, thanks to Christina Lee Brown in Louisville, along with several of my close friends and supporters, and Pinnacle Productions in Lexington, the Harry Caudill documentary project is underway ...

Deaton, a native of Breathitt County, seems the ideal choice to make this film about Caudill.

One could focus on his complexities, and produce a controversial and tantalizing film. But that would fall short of the mark and detract from his overall body of work that is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. To focus just on his accomplishments would also miss the point, and were he alive to see it, likely anger this great man who cared so deeply about his mountains. The way I see it, a film about Caudill must show his life accomplishments, while placing his complexities in perspective, but most importantly, it must continue his efforts to help eastern Kentucky find its way. It must remind us that our mountain region is blessed with beauty, abundant resources and fine people, and that eastern Kentuckians must take the improvement of their beloved home into their own hands.

The KET press release brings us up to date. I'll be watching. Thanks to the Bookseller for the reminder.

---

Documentary spotlighting life, work of Harry Caudill to air on KET

Best known for his seminal 1963 work, Night Comes to the Cumberlands, Harry Caudill (1922-1990) spent his entire career as an advocate for Eastern Kentucky. As an attorney, author, legislator, professor and environmental activist from Letcher County, Caudill worked to document – and rectify – the environmental and social consequences of what he believed were unfair practices by the region’s coal industry.

KET will air a new independent documentary, Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage, which spotlights Caudill’s decades-long work to help forge a better future for Eastern Kentucky. The program premieres on KET Monday, March 20 at 9/8 pm. Directed by Jerry Deaton, a Frankfort filmmaker and author, and produced by David Harl of Lexington’s Pinnacle Productions, the film includes archival footage and perspectives from those who knew Caudill well, including a rare interview with his widow, Mrs. Anne Frye Caudill.

“Caudill sent a wake-up call to the world when he published Night Comes to the Cumberlands, a critical and accurate description of a land and its people who had been exploited by an industry, betrayed by their leaders and forgotten by the rest of the country,” Deaton says in the film’s narration.

Night Comes to the Cumberlands is often credited for helping inspire a wave of federal relief efforts that targeted Eastern Kentucky in the late 1960s, including Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.”

And while Caudill’s signature work was published more than 50 year ago, many of its messages still resonate, Deaton believes. “We still don’t have the answers,” he told The Herald-Leader before the film’s 2016 Frankfort screening. “The main reason I did this documentary is that I believe [Caudill’s] message needs to stay alive. People need to hear it. More important than the man himself, with all due respect, is what he tried to tell us.”

Harl, the film’s producer, agrees. “We need to remember that Caudill’s message of protecting our environment and addressing poverty in Kentucky are not necessarily anti-coal positions. Today, we still need to look at more sustainable methods for obtaining resources and protecting the economic interests of our people,” he said.

Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage is an independent production of Pinnacle Productions, written and narrated by Jerry Deaton, produced by David Harl and edited by Michael Breeding.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org

Cumberland Falls, rocks, and heads of stone.

Yesterday D was compelled to attend a meeting held at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, which is located roughly 15 miles west of Corbin, Kentucky. Having never been, I decided to accompany her and share the driving time.

It was a gorgeous morning, and so I walked from the lodge to the falls and back. Near the visitors center, there was an explanation of how the falls came to be.

It isn't nuclear physics: Water meets rocks soft and hard, and erosion is the result. Of course, this process of forming rock and wearing it away has occurred over millions of years, hence the irony.

The same state taken to erecting signs like this, which reflect science, awards charlatans like Ken Ham economic development funds to build a replica of Noah's ark -- which reflects superstition.

Seeking enthusiasm, Mitch McConnell pays for metaphorical fellatio.

My Google search for "mitch mcconnell slimeball" yielded 1,840,000 results ... or, roughly one for each senatorial election vote cast in Kentucky in 2008.

Thanks to B for the link.

McConnell will pay expenses in return for 'enthusiasm' at events, by Alexandra Jaffe (The Hill)

The Kentucky Republican Party is offering volunteers all-expenses-paid trips to join Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign bus tour and "contribute to an enthusiastic atmosphere" at his events.

In an email sent earlier this month and obtained by The Hill, Taylor Bumgardner, a Kentucky Republican Party regional political director, offers volunteers the opportunity to join McConnell on his tour, which launched Monday. Meals, lodging and transportation are included in the trip.

"Senator McConnell is seeking volunteers to join him on a 3-day campaign bus tour around the state on October 20-22 to show our support for Kentucky coal. You would join local supporters in contributing to an enthusiastic atmosphere at each of his events," she wrote.

Bussing in supporters isn't a new tactic for McConnell ...

The Great Divide: " It’s way too ghetto in Indiana.”

I contend that historical memories are short but their consequences are long. As a cultural demarcation, the Ohio River represented the Mason Dixon Line. Slavery was south of it, and not north. Kentucky was "neutral" in the Civil War, but southern leaning. Indiana was northern, part from its Copperheads ... and Southern Indiana's more like Alabama than Michigan ...

Never mind.

The Great Divide: Why aren’t we crossing the bridge?, by Kevin Gibson (LEO Weekly)

 ... To wit, several responses I received via social media about why people won’t cross the bridge play right into these stereotypes. One Louisville native who now lives in Indiana called Louisville “to [sic] ghetto.” Another said of Southern Indiana, “Not much over there. Except great restaurants, brewery’s [sic] and cool views of Louisville. Otherwise, it’s way too ghetto in Indiana.”

Kentucky wishes not to unduly trouble inattentive drivers.

The vigil continues. Will the Floyd County Democratic Party's convention at Applebee's with Miller Lite and Wal-Mart gift cards address genuinely local issues like these?

"The more greatly a place conforms to post war auto centric design, the more injurious it is to people."

From PPS: "Walking is Not a Crime: Questioning the Accident Axiom."

Why bicyclists almost never bitch about traffic calming.

Or do the grandees prefer their hegemony? Here's another beauty.

Right to Road Challenged in Kentucky, by Eliot Landrum (I Am Traffic)

 ... Reading the news reports, it’s clear that a reverse logic is working here. Instead of holding motorists responsible for inattentive driving, the police and county attorney are persecuting a law-abiding bicyclist.

HJR-3: Silent Ron must vote as early as next Monday.

(3:45 p.m. update -- apologies; I got my committees/full Senate mixed up. I've amended the header. The measure will go up for a vote without the civil union clause restored)

As today's 1:30 p.m. appointment with HJR-3 voting destiny approaches, State Senator Ron Grooms is terrified, even as the inexorably marginalized bigots take yet another one on the chin in Kentucky.

Kentucky Gay Marriage Ban 'Practically' Over, Says Congressman John Yarmuth, by Phillip Bailey (WFPL)

Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth is predicting the end of Kentucky's gay marriage ban now that a federal judge has ruled a key provision unconstitutional.

Might as well send Silent Ron another e-mail. I'm pulling for him to reach down deep and do the right thing, but he probably needs as much help as he can get.

It's not every day you wake up knowing that you can change the course of history. Today is one of those days.

The Senate will vote on HJR-3 at 1:30. By tonight, we'll know if we've stopped the amendment from going to the ballot in November.

Your Senators is considering, right now, how they'll vote today. Click here to urge them to vote NO on HJR-3 -- this could be your last shot:




http://freedomIN.org/LetsMakeHistory
The next time you hear from us today, I'm hoping we'll be sharing some great news -- that we succeeded in blocking a divisive ballot campaign in the fall.

Let's do this,

Megan Robertson 
Freedom Indiana

Kentuckians reclaim their religious culture, their racism, their leech-based health plans ...

There's the Creation Museum, and now there's this. Verily, the whole civilized world busts a gut in contemplation of these displays of superstition and religious bumpkinism. Somewhere, H.L. Mencken is laughing out loud.

Kentucky churchgoer tells of deep hurt after interracial marriage ban; Stella Harville not welcome at Gulnare Freewill baptist church after ex-pastor votes to ban couples of different races, by Ed Pilkington (Guardian)

A small baptist church in eastern Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining the congregation and from taking part in all church functions other than funerals.

Nutjobbery off the legislative agenda in Kentucky, at least for now.

Thanks to the Louisville Area Skeptics for this timely notice.

Antievolution bill in Kentucky dies, from the web site of the National Center for Science Education.

When the Kentucky legislature adjourned sine die on April 15, 2010, House Bill 397, the Kentucky Science Education and Intellectual Freedom Act, died in committee.