Recent editorials from Kentucky newspapers:
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Aug. 18
The Daily News of Bowling Green on Civil War monuments:
The Civil War happened in this country. It is a part of our history, which faithfully records the good, the bad and the ugly.
There were those who fought for the Confederate and Union armies. They were all very brave men who fought for their convictions and their beliefs. In many cases, brother fought brother and cousin fought cousin, particularly in border states like Kentucky. It was a very difficult and pivotal time in our nation’s history during the bloodiest conflict ever on American soil.
After the Union defeated the Confederates in the war, monuments to both Confederate and Union soldiers and their leaders went up across the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These monuments were put there to honor soldiers who sacrificed so much at Bull Run, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Perryville, Cornith, Atlanta, Vicksburg and other bloody battlefields.
During the past few years, we have sadly seen an all-out attack on monuments, primarily Confederate monuments, by local municipalities. In 2015, we saw a misguided effort to take down the Jefferson Davis monument in the Capitol in Frankfort. Thankfully, that effort failed. A Bluegrass Poll taken when the monument was being considered for removal showed that 73 percent of Kentuckians wanted Davis to stay in his rightful place next to Abraham Lincoln in our Capitol.
We agree with the majority of Kentuckians who said his statue should remain.
A new push is underway to try to get it removed. Davis, a Kentucky native and graduate of Transylvania University, deserves to stay in our Capitol rotunda. The fact that Davis can stand in close proximity to Lincoln contains symbolism that politically correct and revisionist historians can’t seem to comprehend. That symbolism proclaims that this nation, once divided by a bloody civil war, is now united. We are glad to learn that Gov. Matt Bevin feels the same way. Bevin said Tuesday he “absolutely” disagrees with removing Confederate symbols and monuments from government property, calling it the “sanitization of history.” He added that removing such symbols would be “dangerous” because it would encourage people to “pretend it didn’t happen.”
We’re glad to see some elected officials like Bevin actually get the historical importance of keeping these monuments where they belong.
The same can’t be said about Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.
Gray has announced his intention to try to move statues of Kentuckians John Breckenridge and John Hunt Morgan from the lawn of the old Fayette County Courthouse to an as-yet undetermined location. Morgan was a Confederate general during the war who made many raids during the war back into his native state. Breckinridge was a former U.S. vice president and congressman and was a U.S. senator. He was the last Confederate secretary of war.
The Morgan statue was dedicated in 1911 and paid for in part by the state and by the Kentucky Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The statue of Breckinridge, erected in 1887, was originally located in the center of what was then Cheapside Park, which is adjacent to the courthouse. Breckinridge was moved closer to Main Street to make room for the Cheapside pavilion in 2010.
Gray, a liberal mayor who got drubbed by Sen. Rand Paul in the 2016 U.S. Senate race, said these statutes represent slavery. That’s Gray’s opinion, but we just sincerely disagree. We believe these statues represent men from a very divided state who fought for their convictions and beliefs. Some men fought for the Confederate army and a larger number fought for the Union.
Gray’s actions are misguided. Local officials in Charlottesville, Virginia, wanting to take down a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee are misguided. The toppling of a Confederate monument by lawless hoodlums in Durham, N.C., wasn’t only illegal, it too was misguided. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s removal of four Confederate monuments in May in that city was misguided, considering poll after poll by citizens in that city overwhelmingly said the monuments should stay put. Those who seek to erase our history by removing these monuments are little better than the Taliban in their zealotry. Future generations need to look at these monuments, study their history and make their own decisions about what they represent. When people like Gray and others seek to remove these monuments, they deny future generations the opportunity to see where we’ve been in our history.
According to a new poll conducted by Marist for NPR/PBS “NewsHour,” 62 percent of Americans want Confederate statues to remain where they are. We really do believe it is a slap in the face to descendants of Confederate veterans for local elected officials to have these monuments moved. Many of these statues memorialize soldiers who died during the conflict. Those who vandalize or topple them are no better than someone who spray-paints Nazi symbols on Jewish headstones.
Our question for those who argue that these monuments and statues represent slavery is, “Where does this all end?” Should we tear down the Washington Monument and statues dedicated to him because our first president was a slave owner? Should we tear down Mount Vernon? Should we remove monuments and statues to Thomas Jefferson? Presidents James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant, also a former Union general, all owned slaves. Should we tear down all monuments and statues to them as well?
Do we tear the White House down, too, because it was built by slaves?
This goes to the very heart of the matter. We view these Confederate monuments as historical markers that honor courage of those who fought bravely and in many cases died for their beliefs. They need to be left alone for future generations to see and learn from.
Bevin expanded on his comments against removing these monuments later Tuesday that sum up the situation very well. “If we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of our past, then we better teach it to our young people,” Bevin said. “It better be known. It doesn’t have to be celebrated, as in that this was something we did and we should do again.” He suggested it’s the wrong approach “to pretend it didn’t happen, to remove from society - because where do you draw the line?”
Online: https://www.bgdailynews.com/
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Aug. 20
The News-Enterprise on the North End Redevelopment seeking support :
When describing Fort Knox, many topics come to mind.
Its historic role as the Home of Armor and its current missions, including the Human Resources Command and Recruiting Command, have long made it a central part of the U.S. Army’s operations.
It is known the world over because of the treasures stockpiled in the U.S. Bullion Depository. Commonly known as the Gold Vault, this U.S. Treasury facility holds a global fascination and has been referenced in fiction ranging from James Bond films to “Gilligan’s Island.”
While no one visits the Gold Vault, Fort Knox is a leading tourism center for Kentucky with the General George Patton Museum serving as a focal point.
But locally when people talk about Fort Knox, it’s often in reference to employment. Local governmental officials like to refer to the post as the key economic driver in this region. Its financial impact is estimated at $2.5 billion annually.
Nowhere is that more felt than Radcliff where the winds of change in the U.S. military have created economic boons and busts for generations.
Just outside the Wilson Road Gate are shadows of a once vibrant retail community now largely empty. Along North Dixie Boulevard, motorists are greeted by a few relatively new storefronts followed by some ghastly building serving as remembrances of better times.
Much of the effort to address these issues have fallen on the shoulders of J.J. Duvall, economic development director and former mayor.
He recently introduced a concept called the North End Redevelopment Partnership. While it has an overly optimistic logo featuring the silhouette of a metropolitan skyline, this project correctly emphasizes the importance of partnership in its name.
Improvements outside the gate would go a long way into showing the area’s commitment to Fort Knox. This is not a concern only for Radcliff. It should be a priority for the entire region.
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan led to a surge in development locally that helped shield this area from the full impact of the 2008 recession.
Cuts outside of the formal BRAC structure took away some gains, including disbanding of the post’s sole brigade-level fighting unit. While the post has had positive announcements and new arrivals in intervening years, including a surge in summertime ROTC training, the overall glow is off that rose.
With another BRAC under consideration within the Trump Administration, Fort Knox could be positioned for more growth. It has underutilized ranges, unique qualities and available space to accept more missions.
Government intervention and organizations such as the Knox Regional Development Alliance can help but the key is waking up existing property owners. People with false values on decaying structures need to give way for the greater good.
Revitalization will thrive only when supported and embraced by people who own the property. Joining forces to turn up the pressure and creating an environment to encourage investment can work but human roadblocks must be cleared away before old buildings in order to make way for a brighter future.
Online: https://www.bgdailynews.com/
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Aug. 22
The Lexington Herald-Leader on a Kentucky representative not paying taxes:
On the day he’s publicly exposed as a tax deadbeat, how much nerve does it take for a lawmaker to file a bill requiring poor people to be drug tested?
A lot.
But, in his short time in the legislature, Rep. C. Wesley Morgan, R-Richmond, has usually displayed more nerve than judgment. You may recall that in his first five days as a lawmaker, Morgan filed six - count ’em, six - bills benefiting liquor store owners. He is a liquor-store owner.
He’s also a tax-avoider extraordinaire or, you could say, a scofflaw.
Morgan offered up various explanations (always blaming others) for how he paid $525,000 for a houseboat in 2004 then never filed any of the required records that would have triggered a property-tax bill.
That saved him thousands of dollars that should have gone to public schools and public services in Pulaski, Wayne and Russell counties, where he says the boat was moored. The Russell County property valuation administrator told reporter Bill Estep that Morgan could owe as much as $75,000. Morgan got around to filing for a title on the boat July 17 - 13 years after he bought it.
Estep recounted Morgan’s lame explanations in an article posted Aug. 18.
That same day Morgan prefiled a bill for the 2018 session that would require drug testing of adults seeking or receiving public assistance or food stamps.
Such laws are a proven waste of money. Arizona, the first state to impose a drug-testing requirement, screened 87,000 people, and just one tested positive for drug use. North Carolina tested 7,600 applicants for public assistance over five months in 2015, and 21 or 0.3 percent tested positive.
Kentucky has much better uses for the millions of dollars that would be wasted should Morgan’s bill become law.
Maybe it’s just coincidence that he filed a bill to purge his idea of miscreants from welfare rolls the day that news broke of his civic lapse. Maybe he was trying to change the subject.
In any case, what stands out is the shameless hypocrisy of a man who, by not paying taxes that he owed, has been leeching off public schools and local governments for years.
Online: https://www.kentucky.com/
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