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Columns

  • We have a choice of two futures

    Our great nation is facing some tough challenges. My friend and colleague Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) often says we have a choice of two futures. I could not agree more. We can continue the disastrous policies the current Administration is pursuing, such as a one-size fits all health care law that is raising costs, or we can move toward a path of sound policies that will lead to economic growth.

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  • Remembering Jim Collier

    “A man of eclectic pursuits, Dr. Collier would ask me about my work, my students, and our college’s growth every time I saw him, both on and off campus. Dr. Collier enjoyed sharing his good humor, wit and whimsy; the man always had a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face. I grew to appreciate his candor and his counsel on many occasions. Dr. Collier’s vision and support have proven invaluable to the core strength of our college, the success of our students and the quality of life in our commonwealth. I miss him.”

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  • Government health exchanges: What’s the rush?

    Despite Kentuckians’ great consternation over the current administration’s determined efforts to push states down the treacherous path of an all-out paternalistic nightmare, Gov. Steve Beshear already has accepted $67 million – more than any other state except New York – to establish a government-run healthcare exchange.
    The rotten fruit of this bureaucratic disaster soon will be in full bloom on a website where people without health insurance can shop for coverage.

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  • Routine questions, poor listening doom conversations

     

    On day three of her new kindergarten experience, our granddaughter came home and her dad had a question. It’s a common question to ask a school-age kid and apparently a bit too common.

    She responded, “UGH! ARE YOU PEOPLE GOING TO ASK ME THAT EVERY DAY? It was great, OK! Great!

    Impatience apparently runs in the family.

    A lot of us struggle to tolerate the common question. Social pressures require us to smile and politely respond with an inane answer to the ordinary daily questions.

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  • Emergency surgery needed on pension liability

    I told the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force recently that its “patient” is not only very ill, but that its sudden decline should cause a level of angst not unlike that of a doctor whose patient comes to him with a stomach ache and suddenly goes into cardiac arrest.

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  • Someone else owns it but memories make it home

    The final chapter of 311 Elmhurst Ave. being the Evans’  home came to a formal end. 

    Someone new now owns the Vine Grove house that was home to all of us since 1966, when my parents signed the closing papers to buy a new home as dad retired from the Army. 

    For more than 40 years, we “kids” and grandkids moved in and moved out, visited, married and divorced, but always had “home” there for comfort.

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  • Question should not be the work

    When you work in government or for government, there’s a good chance the spotlight eventually will land on you.

    The people we elect and the people they hire ultimately respond to the whims of voters and taxpayers. It’s difficult to have multiple “bosses,” even when most of the time they don’t pay much attention.

    It also is difficult, I expect, to have reporters looking over your shoulder, asking pesky questions and describing your efforts and accomplishments for all to see.

    But it’s an element of the job.

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  • Support must be rallied on behalf of veterans

    Every day our troops stand strong in their pledge to protect the nation, sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice. Yet what are we, the American people, doing to protect and support them?

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  • This campaign should be about informing voters

    Voters want a forthright, give-it-to-me-straight campaign that doesn’t sugarcoat hard truths but that also generates new thinking about how to solve our problems.

    Presidential candidates and their aides know a lot these days about how to run a campaign. They just seem to have forgotten what campaigns are for.

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  • Speaking with one voice, community says no to unity

    In the world of science, a pair of researchers recently developed a paper describing how people can tune in to a single speaker and distinguish the conversation in a crowded, noisy room. Their April paper in the journal Nature described it as “selective hearing.”

    That phrase means something very different in my household. I believe when my wife uses it she refers to my tendency to ignore something I don’t want to hear ... or at least a perceived tendency.

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