RUMORS CAUSED CITY HAVOC, NOT PROTESTERS

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RUMORS CAUSED CITY HAVOC, NOT THE PROTESTS By Dan Delaney | leo@leoweekly.com

ON TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2020, Louisville, cover their yards with fake tombstones and Kentucky was supposed to have been shut cemetery-themed decor.” down by 600 cars and destroyed by thouAt a press conference, Gregory was sands of Black militia. asked about the report, and he replied, “So,

It didn’t happen, of course. I knew that was coming, so it got my name

Amid the protests for the unjust killing of on it. The NCIC communication is confi - Breonna Taylor by police, Louisville became dential” and “I can neither confi rm nor deny the victim of a if that statement is runaway reaction to pernicious disinforAnyone remotely accurate or correct.” Earlier in the mation and rumors familiar with the press conference, spread and exaghe said: “Some of gerated by social history of racism the information we media. Fear swelled to such a pitch that in the U.S. should have received, some of those rumors, do city and state police recognize the siginclude traffi c shutmade special plans, downs, ‘peaceful businesses and nifi cance of those sit-ins,’ if you will, schools shut their buildings and people words. The myth on the roadways, and we are prepared avoided the streets. of the Black man to respond to that.” What occurred in Louisville that day out to rape white Peaceful sit-ins on the roadways is should be a lesson to cities throughout women has been a far cry from 600 cars shutting down the country about long been used to the interstates. the consequences of allowing disinforrouse intense fear The report did not mention a date, mation and rumors to dictate action. within the white only that the attack might “occur in mid

On Thursday, population. This is to late August.” But Aug. 17, an image began circulating the kind of extreme on Aug. 18, Louisville police Chief on Facebook of what appeared to fear that drove Robert Schroeder released a memobe a report from people to hang randum designating the FBI’s National Crime InformaBlack men from Tuesday, Aug. 25 as an “All Worktion Center, or NCIC, although its trees while others Day,” meaning all offi cers would be on authenticity has not gathered to watch duty. Aug. 25 was been established. Ascribed to Louand cheer. the date of a highly publicized protest isville police Maj. march by “Until Aubrey Gregory, the Freedom,” a New report stated that “a York-based social local group of indijustice group that viduals” intended to “shut down” the city by had come to Louisville earlier to help suprather unusual means: port the protests. By the weekend of Aug.

“The plan is for part of the group to use 19, the NCIC report had somehow been conapprox 600 vehicles to block interstates.… fl ated with Until Freedom’s “Good Trouble Once the interstates are blocked, particiTuesday,” and rumors swept through social pants will hold mock funeral processions media. along the interstates. While law enforcement They included that “up to 2,000 people responds to the blocked interstates, other and 700 cars” from “Black militia” groups group members will ‘caravan’ to the homes were “coming to shut down our interstate of [the mayor and attorney general] and will system.” One claimed that they plan to “use stolen cars to block streets and highways.” Another declared that “these aren’t kids but thugs with connections to organized crime.” Others said of the imagined villains that “they are domestic terrorists,” and that they “have a history in other cities of looting, carjacking and accosting women.”

Finally, paranoia took hold and some regressed to a disturbing, hysterical expression of fear:

“Do not let your kids around St Matthews or go out in Louisville alone.”

“Do not go out by yourself or with a group of women/girls.”

“They intend to target women out shopping.”

“Look out single women drivers you are a target!”

“They WILL be carjacking looking for females by themselves”

“A black militia is out to get as many white women and carjackings as they can”

“THEY WILL BE TARGETING WHITE FEMALES!”

Anyone remotely familiar with the history of racism in the U.S. should recognize the signifi cance of those words. The myth of the Black man out to rape white women has long been used to rouse intense fear within the white population. This is the kind of extreme fear that drove people to hang Black men from trees while others gathered to watch and cheer.

We have no way of knowing how many of those statements were just written by trolls or bots or people in other countries, nor how many people have actually reached that extreme. But if we ignore that people are being pushed toward such extremes, it will only spread further and grow stronger.

These kinds of rumors typically circulate only within small conspiracy theory groups. But most of the quotes above were also shared by individuals on Facebook and NextDoor. Unfortunately, the police and other leaders helped to spread fear across the city by posting on social media and speaking directly to citizens and businesses, warning of imminent danger coming on Aug. 25 and advising them to stay home and close their businesses that day.

St. Matthews residents said police sent a warning to local businesses claiming that “busloads are expected to arrive…from all nearby major cities” and that “the purpose of this event is to DISRUPT travel [and] commerce.”

Tracie Texas Shiffl ett, executive director of Louisville Metro Police Foundation, warned on social media of “several out of town groups that will be converging on Louisville” and that “approximately 600-700 cars will be blocking the expressways.” She ended with, “My advice would be if you or your family can stay home that day, I would.” On his Facebook page, state Rep. Thomas Huff, a Republican from Shepherdsville, wrote that he had “received word that THREE groups (associated with NFAC) are either in or coming to Louisville this week to block roadways and streets” and added the ludicrous claim that “They are threatening to stop white motorists and pedestrians demanding Reparation Money for Slavery!”

People were afraid.

Humana closed offi ces. TARC canceled buses. Some private schools switched to NTI for the day. Paddock Shops restaurants pulled all of their outdoor furniture inside.

Though not completely to blame, the Louisville police should at least admit some responsibility for stirring that fear.

After the march had ended and the protesters dispersed, interim-Chief Schroeder delivered a “protest update” to the press, in which he gave a brief and mundane rundown of the basic facts of the day. A few hundred protesters had gathered at a small park in the middle of the city and walked down the street in a peaceful march. Then, 60 to 70 protesters sat in the street to get arrested.

Schroeder conspicuously avoided talking about the elephant in the room: the fact that nothing had happened.

During the time of the march, I drove back and forth along the interstates. I encountered no cars blocking ramps nor any evidence of traffi c congestion. A few days later, I received the following text message from an executive at James Graham Brown Cancer Center: “I was at the JGBCC last Tuesday. It was a totally normal day and everyone was in as normal. The highways weren’t blocked. I drove there and we were open like normal.”

What happened on Tuesday, Aug. 25 in Louisville was the equivalent of a school bomb threat on the scale of an entire city, and the reaction was equally severe. Police mobilized their forces while thousands of citizens stayed in their homes for fear that the roads would be too dangerous. That reaction cannot be allowed to set the prec

edent for similar outbreaks of disinformation The police reacted exactly as intended. and rumors that are sure to come. They mobilized against a phantom, partially

An attempted shutdown of the city of their own making. To avoid such overreshould be considered a serious crime. Yet no actions in the future, they must devise a way one seemed inclined to treat that day with to neutralize pernicious rumors and diffuse the seriousness it deserved. The police and disinformation bombs before they explode. FBI should investigate this with all the rigor At the press conference mentioned with which they would investigate a false above, Maj. Gregory said: “We hear lots of bomb threat. If the police know who fed rumors about things that might happen. We them such fl awed intelligence, they should take those rumors seriously, and we always hold those sources accountable. If they do prepare a response to that. Some of it hapnot know who fed them the disinformation, pens, and some of it doesn’t.” they should work to fi nd the perpetrators. And therein lies the problem. Anyone

Many people inevitably blamed the can say anything in the anonymity of social protesters for the disruption that day. As media, no matter how false or how dangerone person commented, “More waste of tax ous the potential consequences. The police payer dollars thanks to ‘protesters’.” Yet are in a precarious position. They can’t the disruption of the city had nothing to do ignore legitimate warnings, but if they take with the protesters. They merely did exactly every rumor seriously they’ll be continuwhat they had announced: a simple, benign ously chasing after illusory threats. They protest march. must fi gure out a better way to recognize

Three points about this incident must be disinformation. clearly understood: There are no easy answers. Disinforma1. The protesters did not cause a “disruption is incredibly diffi cult to distinguish tion” or “destruction” of the city. from genuine information. A dedicated team 2. All of the rumors were untrue. trained in skeptical critical thinking and the 3. The rumors themselves were the cause social psychology of cognitive biases, conof the disruption. spiracy theories, and The protesters were not a danger And what about the mass hysteria would be a good start. to the city that day. But a new form of rest of us? How do And what about the rest of us? How danger was revealed we guard against do we guard against that we have yet to reckon with: people being taken in by being taken in by disinformation and who relentlessly disinformation and rumors? We should create and spread strive to develop a disinformation and rumors? mental habit of critirumors designed cal skepticism. Read to foment irratiobooks such as “How nal and unwarranted fear throughout the We Know What Isn’t So” by Thomas Gilovcommunity. ich or Carl Sagan’s “The Demon Haunted

Think of what happened as a “disinforWorld.” Listen to podcasts such as “Inquirmation bomb” that exploded in Louisville ing Minds” or “Point of Inquiry.” Before on Aug. 25. Disinformation was created spreading a meme or rumor, take a moment and injected into the population through to consider its plausibility and check on the social media. From the seeds of that veracity of its claim. disinformation, rumors spawned. As those The Aug. 25 disinformation bomb in rumors propagated, new exaggerations and Louisville demonstrated how easily a city fabrications mutated them at a rapid pace can be riled into a state of panic. I fear that toward ever-increasing levels of vilifi cation what happened that day was like a test trial and demonization. Finally, fear and panic of the bomb, and that future iterations will from social media erupted into an overreaconly be larger and more dangerous. The way tion in the real world. The disinformation the police handled this one must be fully bomb is a sophisticated, “information age” analyzed so we can learn from our mistakes, adaptation of old-school propaganda. The for Louisville and every other city at risk of explosion of a disinformation bomb is not this new threat. Protesters sitting down on a the sudden, rapid spread of its contents upon street or standing around in a park at night impact. Rather, the explosion is the reaction are the least of our worries. • to the disinformation and rumors once they have reached a critical mass throughout the Dan Delaney lives in Louisville and has population. a master’s degree in sociology.

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NEWS & ANALYSIS

STATE GOP SAYS CITY IN CHAOS, REP. SCOTT: UNREST STEMS FROM ‘US BEING SICK AND TIRED OF POLICE MURDERING US’

By Danielle Grady | dgrady@leoweekly.com

KENTUCKY Republican leaders followed the lead of their national party last Tuesday by accusing Democrats of responding inappropriately to civil unrest and, in Louisville’s case, a rise in some violent crimes.

State Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, wrote a letter signed by Senate Majority Leadership to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, asking him to help quell “violence and unrest” in the city.

She cited an increase in homicides and carjackings in the city, as well as racial tensions and what she characterized as “chaos” in Louisville neighborhoods and streets, specifi cally downtown. Downtown is where the majority of protests in Louisville have taken place, calling for justice for Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville police in a botched raid on March 13.

“Louisville was once a high energy city,” Raque Adams wrote. “Now, it’s a boarded-up mess, and people who live here are so afraid to go downtown that economic recovery cannot even begin.”

At a press conference, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, blamed Mayor Greg Fischer.

“It is clear to many of us that the mayor has failed to do his job, and we are looking to the governor now,” he said.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, criticized Beshear for not speaking out against violence in Louisville.

“It’s almost as if by his silence that he’s condoning this type of behavior,” Thayer said.

On the national stage, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has accused elected leaders of major cities for failing to enforce the law against protesters, and President Donald Trump has targeted “far-left politicians” for encouraging violence by criticizing law enforcement.

At last Tuesday’s press conference in Kentucky, Raque Adams called for a special legislative session to address policing reform. Stivers suggested that the governor call the National Guard to Louisville again.

But later, Raque Adams said on Twitter that she is working on a “new narrative” about justice in Louisville after meeting with Louisville activist-poet Hannah L. Drake and walking around downtown.

“And I encourage everyone to fi nd their Hannah,” wrote Raque Adams. “Opening your mind, opens your heart and opens the door to change.”

We talked to state Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, about what she thought of the Senate majority’s characterization of what’s happening in Louisville, as well as what she would do to change policing and violent crime in the city and across the state.

“We’ve been crying out for Frankfort to address common sense gun reform,” she said. “We’ve been crying out for Frankfort to raise the minimum wage. We’ve been crying out. So now, just weeks before an election, all of a sudden you want to have something to say?”

Read the rest of her interview below. (Raque Adams and Stivers both declined a request for an interview through a Kentucky Senate Majority Caucus communications employee).

LEO: I wanted to ask you what you thought of the letter and the press conference from Kentucky Republicans saying Louisville is this hot spot of violence and unrest, and they’re asking the governor to step in and help.

Attica Scott: Well, you know, it’s very clear to me that they don’t actually have any interest in racial justice. I’ve not spoken to any of the people in Republican leadership about the actual protest, and I’m on the front lines. And all the leadership is white, and so there was absolutely no representation of people who are being deeply impacted by police violence. And it also was very disrespectful on so many levels, including wanting the National Guard to come back after they murdered David McAtee. ... It was clear to me that there was absolutely no intent to involve members of the Kentucky Legislative Black caucus in this press conference. There was no attempt to the best of my knowledge at least to the members of the House, to reach out to any of us to engage in conversation about the protests that are happening, and that was brought up repeatedly. And so that was just very clear to me.

So, I think there’s been a narrative from National Republicans: Democratic-run cities and states are experiencing unrest because of poor leadership. But what do you think the unrest is really stemming from?

The unrest is stemming from us being sick and tired of police murdering us. With impunity. Literally, we’ve got, it just seems like every week there’s another atrocious murder of a Black person by police, and we’re not going to sit back and twiddle our thumbs and wait for the next person that we love to be murdered. Of course, we’re going to rise up.

Do you think that the state Republicans are following the national narrative at all?

I have no idea what they’re following, but what I do know is that from everything that they have shown me, their narrative is disingenuous, because they’re trying to connect the movement for Black lives and the protests for racial justice and police accountability to all of the other kinds of violence we’ve seen in Louisville — it’s misdirected and inappropriate.

I wanted to ask you about the other violence in Louisville, because they did bring up in the letter, it mentioned that Louisville’s on track to break a homicide record and I know there are some violent crimes, like carjackings that are up. But what do you think is the cause of that, of those?

Well, I defi nitely don’t know all the causes because, you know, I haven’t spoken to anyone who’s been involved, and so, you know I would be out of line to try to speak for people. But what I do know from people who either I’ve

THORNS & ROSES

THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD

ROSE: LISTEN TO BLACK WOMEN (CHIEFS)

Roses for Yvette Gentry, who becomes the city’s fi rst Black woman police chief. She will hold that job until a permanent chief is replaced (a job she told The Courier Journal she does not want). But she’s poised to do much in the next months, as evidenced by her remarks: “I’m not here just to help you unboard your beautiful buildings downtown,” she said. “I’m here to work with you to unboard the community that I served with all my heart in West Louisville, that was boarded for 20 or 30 years.” And: “I will just say: That is just a glimpse of how a lot of people have been feeling for a long time, and we can’t go back,” she said. “I think our city is at a point of reckoning that only truth can bring us out of.”

THORN: CHURCHILL BIG ON WORDS, NOT DEEDS

After poet-activist Hannah L. Drake wrote a letter to the CEO of Churchill Downs (published in LEO last week) regarding the protests and the Kentucky Derby, the track issued a statement, which said, in part: “We recognize that people in our community and across our nation are hurting right now. The atmosphere of the Kentucky Derby will be diff erent this year as we respond to those calls for change.” So what does Churchill do? It plays “My Old Kentucky Home” at the race (with a moment of silence beforehand). Not enough. Here are Drake’s words about the song: “‘My Old Kentucky Home’ is not a ballad about the love of Kentucky. It is a song about a slave anticipating being sold down the river where slaves have heard the life in the Deep South is even worse than being a slave in Kentucky, as if there are degrees to being in bondage, and this is our state song?” How easy and impactful would it have been for Churchill to nix the song? Maybe it doesn’t want to upset its East End benefactors.

THORN: COPS WERE SCARED OF PROXY PENISES? A thorn goes to Louisville police for failing to separate protesters seeking #JusticeForBreonna and the knuckle-draggers armed with proxy penises. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Here is their excuse: “Due to the size of the crowd, we determined it was not safe to go in, and we did not want to escalate the situation with police presence,” police spokesman Lamont Washington said.

ROSE + ABSURD: UK BALLERS STAND UP

Some of us are not fans of sportsball and the tribalism that distracts from the core purpose of a college — education — but UK men’s basketball Coach John Calipari and his players get a rose for their video in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. And speaking of tribalism, an absurd goes to whoever protested the video by posting a photo of their UK team swag on fi re.

known personally or because of my role, is that people are hungry, people need affordable housing, people don’t have jobs right now, they’re not getting their unemployment insurance benefi ts. Folks are stressed out and terrifi ed that allergies might actually be COVID. So, you know, folks are just all over the place his year. And you know, what’s so interesting to me is, that I served on Louisville Metro Council. And every year for the past several years, we’ve heard this language about Louisville being on track for a recordbreaking year of shootings or homicides or criminal activity. This is every year, and so now, why does Republican leadership want to say something about it or do something about it? We’ve been crying out for Frankfort to address common-sense gun reform, we’ve been crying out for Frankfort to raise the minimum wage. We’ve been crying out. So now, just weeks before an election, all of a sudden you want to have something to say?

… What do you think of what the mayor and council are doing currently to address violent crime? Is it enough or are they addressing it all really?

I’m not sure exactly what the council is doing. I haven’t seen a lot of public language from the council and the mayor around what they’re doing. I’m sure that they are working on something, that they probably have some plans that they’re working on that they just haven’t shared publicly yet.

Well, going back to the message that Senate leadership has been putting out there. Raque Adams’ letter characterized policing in Louisville as in disarray, she mentioned offi cers resigning and retiring, and she said this could harm public safety. But I was wondering, how would you characterize policing in Louisville currently?

Well, offi cers who are retiring — if you’re leaving because people are demanding justice from your department, if you’re leaving because people are demanding accountability, then you’re the problem, then you should go. The people who stay may very well be the people who actually want to do a much better job, who actually want a different kind of community to live in, who actually welcome accountability. As an elected offi cial, I welcome accountability, so why shouldn’t other people who are serving in these public spaces?

And, you know, looking at policing as a whole in Louisville and Kentucky, how should that change at this moment? Or how should it be changing, if at all?

Well, we defi nitely have to start asking ourselves the questions around, do we want to continue to maintain a system that grew out of slave patrols, and why would you think that many of us who are Black people, would want us to maintain that system? Why shouldn’t we be visionary and look at what community safety looks like when people in the community are focusing on restorative justice, are looking out for one another more increasingly, that we’re supporting and strengthening and building up neighborhood associations. We need to do all of those things while we’re talking about how policing can look differently.

Do you think that police in Louisville should still exist at all?

I truly want to see us be visionary. I don’t see where this system is working; I just don’t. And if we do like some other communities have done… And employers have done this oftentimes over decades — we need everyone to reapply for their position because this is not going to be the same organization moving forward. So some of you will not want to be part of what we’re building moving forward, and that’s fi ne. But for those of you who do want to be a part of building something different, then you need to reapply and will go through the vetting process. And that vetting process needs to change, it needs to have some added layers to it, like, you know, checking people’s bodies for tattoos that show they are part of white nationalist groups.

So, what are the roles of the legislature in that process? Should that just be happening on the city level, or is there anything you can do to help that along as a legislator?

Well, as legislators, we can also look at our responsibility as it relates to state police, because the state police are not innocent of violence either. We know because they came into Louisville during the early days of the protest. But, I do believe that the legislature, we do have some policy responsibility, and that’s why I fi led Breonna’s Law for Kentucky, and I’m actually the only legislator who has actually fi led a bill related to Breonna’ Law. So ending no-knock warrants, that keeps police and communities safe. Offi cers are safer when they announce themselves if they don’t face injury or harm. And making sure that offi cers have alcohol and drug testing done after a shooting or a deadly incident, that all makes sense. And demanding that body cameras are used, that they are worn, and that they are turned on before and after serving a warrant, that all makes sense. And it’s all also protecting offi cers. They

Would you be supportive of calling a special legislative session to discuss matters of criminal justice reform like your Breonna’s Law?

I’m in conversations with the chair of the Kentucky Legislative Black Caucus. And I want our caucus to have a conversation about that fi rst, because we also know that we’re part of a legislative body that will use that special session for whatever their supermajority in the Senate want to do and have happen. And I know good and well that it will not be about centering Black voices in racial justice. So I want to have a conversation with my colleagues who are a part of the Black caucus, so that we can be really honest in our feedback about whether or not we truly believe that a special session is going to get justice for Breonna Taylor for example.

As far as you know, do you think that Republican leadership would support Breonna’s Law? I know they’ve talked about ending no-knock warrants, but what do you think — as written, your law, do you think they would support that?

Well, I would hope that they would support the law, because it’s what the people are demanding. I mean, if you want the protests to end, then answer the call for justice. Locally, they’ve been calling for the offi cers involved in her murder to be fi red, arrested and charged, and at the state level, they’re calling for Breonna’s Law. Answer those calls for justice. Stop treating us as if our voices don’t matter, as if our lives don’t matter. As if we don’t have agency to speak up for ourselves.

What do you think of the way the governor has been handling what’s happening in Louisville?

Well, I have been very clear from the beginning that I was horrifi ed that he sent in the state troopers and the National Guard and the fact that they went to West Louisville and murdered David McAtee. That was unbelievable and unnecessary. They never should have been called in… They defi nitely weren’t in Frankfort when I was in the session and gun toting white people were taking over the Capitol grounds and inside the Capitol building. There was no National Guard presence.

I also saw that Julie Raque Adams has posted to social media, saying she has talked to the local activist Hannah Drake. And she [implied] that her opinion has changed from what was in the letter. What do you think of this claim of a new outlook and can you see it leading to anything?

Well, I certainly have not heard from Senator Raque Adams. She has not reached out to me as someone who’s been on the lines of protests, someone who’s fi led Breonna’s Law in response to the people. So I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t know what she’s thinking or where she’s going with her narrative.

And, you know, as someone who’s been at the protests, what have you seen at the protests? It seems like there’s maybe some insinuation that they’ve been violent in some way. But what have you seen as someone who’s been involved at the protests?

My experience has been that LMPD has incited violence every single time from tear gassing us, to shooting people in the face with pepper balls, we’ve seen LRADs [long-range acoustic device]. They have been assaulting the people. They have been harassing the people. That’s where the violence has come from. But I’m at Injustice Square Park [formally, Jefferson Square Park]. What I see are people feeding one another. What I see are people befriending one another. What I see are people who are homeless getting a warm meal, giving them clothing, getting water. What I see is love and community and support for one another. I see people contributing to the memorial for Breonna. People from all around the state and the country and around the globe come to Injustice Square Park and leave tributes in honor of Breonna’s memory at the memorial. So, that’s what I see. I see mental health professionals who set up tables to provide mental health support for folks who are about to come up on 100 days of protests at Injustice Square Park. I see marches from people who are LGBTQIAplus are marching. There’s kids marches, there are moms marches… All these folks are showing up to say we want justice for Breonna Taylor. That’s what I see.

And what do you think of what the mayor has been doing in reaction to the protests in Louisville — what do you think of the job that he’s done?

Well, I have not seen or heard much from him in the past month. In the early days, he would come out to the square and actually talk to people, he hasn’t done that in months. He hasn’t fi red, arrested or charged all of the offi cers who were involved with Breonna Taylor’s murder. So I can’t say that I see much from him by way of action. •

U.S. SENATE RACE 2020:

MCCONNELL NOW ADMITS HUMAN-CAUSED GLOBAL WARMING EXISTS, BUT HAS NO CLIMATE PLAN

By James Bruggers | InsideClimate News

AS THE NATION decides which party will control the Senate this November, the race in Kentucky stands out for one big reason: It features Mitch McConnell.

Loathed by Democrats across the country as a cynical power broker but praised by Republicans as a shrewd political tactician, the GOP’s longest-serving Senate majority leader faces a challenge from a well-funded retired Marine lieutenant colonel and fi ghter pilot who fl ew in 89 combat missions, including bombings of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Climate change is not likely to be a key voting issue in the race. But the candidates have contrasting views and approaches toward global warming in a state with a historic — but drastically shrinking — dependence on mining coal, a leading contributor to climate change. Kentucky coal production in the second quarter of 2020 was down 83% from the same period a decade earlier; coal mining jobs dropped from 17,111 to 3,760.

In Kentucky, temperatures are already rising. Growing seasons are changing, and there are concerns that heavier rains are causing more fl ooding. Scientists have warned that it will get worse down the road, with decreasing crop yields and dangerous landslides on strip-mined mountain landscapes.

McGrath has been surprisingly frank in identifying the threats posed by global warming. McConnell, for his part, has moved a smidgen from his past statements: He now acknowledges that human-caused climate change exists.

For years, McConnell would not accept climate science, telling journalists that he did not know whether humans burning fossil fuels was contributing to global warming.

“I’m not a scientist,” he would say, adding that his priority was Kentucky coal communities, even though their economic decline accelerated under his watch, and some critics have said he should have done more to promote a transition away from coal.

Still, McConnell has sent millions of dollars to the state’s coal mining counties over the years and has promised to stay “committed to helping coal communities plan for the future with training and employment services as well as economic development,” according to a statement his offi ce provided in response to an interview request.

He opposed the global Paris climate agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — a campaign spokeswoman called it “disastrous” — while McGrath thinks the Trump administration should not have withdrawn from the accord. McConnell is also against the Green New Deal, the Congressional resolution backed by some Democrats — though not McGrath — that proposes a massive shift in federal spending to create jobs and hasten a transition to clean energy by 2050.

In March 2019, in discussing a “show vote” — engineered as a political trap for Democrats — on his own version of the Green New Deal, McConnell told reporters he believed in human-caused climate change.

“I do,” the six-term Kentucky senator said. “The question is how do you address it? The way to do this consistent with American values and American capitalism is through

AT A GLANCE:

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led the congressional resistance to what he’s called “President Obama’s war on coal,” has been in lock step with the Trump administration’s agenda to promote fossil fuels and relax environmental regulations.

• Amy McGrath, a retired Marine  ghter pilot and McConnell’s challenger in November, views climate change through the lens of her military background, seeing it much as the Pentagon does, as a national and international security threat. She likes the Biden climate plan, the most aggressive put forward by any Democratic or Republican Party presidential nominee in history, but says she still has questions about it.

• McGrath has raised tens of millions of dollars, giving her an opportunity to compete against McConnell, who has also raised tens of millions of dollars.

technology and innovation. And there is no question that is the way to get results, not to shut down your economy, throw people out of work, make people reconstruct their homes, get out of their cars … this is nonsense.”

CARBON CAPTURE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

McConnell tends to play defense on climate change.

He has not put forward his own climate plan, nor have Republicans in the Senate under his leadership.

After the House of Representatives passed cap-and-trade legislation in 2009, McConnell referred to the bill as the national energy tax and said he was glad to see its demise in the Senate, which did not even put it up for a vote.

Now, McConnell is touting his support for carbon capture and storage — a technology embraced by many Republicans as a way to keep burning coal in a carbon-constrained world — and for budgets that include energy effi ciency. He favors, he says, “common sense and actually attainable solutions to protect our environment.”

The League of Conservation Voters gives McConnell a 14% 2019 score and a 7% lifetime score for his votes on environmental legislation.

McConnell has defended his overall environmental record, mentioning his funding of local conservation efforts in Kentucky and his backing of this year’s bipartisan Great American Outdoor Act. The Act, signed into law by President Trump, provides $900 million in annual funding for public land protection and up to $1.9 billion a year for fi ve years to fund a maintenance backlog at national parks, forests and wildlife refuges.

‘WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR THIS’

Both McConnell and McGrath have shown an ability to raise large amounts of money, with McGrath surprisingly in the lead as of the end of June, tapping into the pool of political contributors who want to see McConnell retired.

In an interview, McGrath spoke more forcefully about climate change than is typical for a major party nominee in Kentucky.

She said she sees climate change through the lens of her military training,

“This is a national security issue,” she said. “This is an international security issue.”

She added, “We are already seeing weather patterns like we have never seen before. Wildfi res we’ve never seen, desertifi cation. We are going to see mass migrations.”

Low-lying military bases are being fl ooded from sea level rise, McGrath said. “We have to plan for this. McConnell

Amy McGrath. | PHOTO BY JAMES BRUGGERS.

does not have a plan.”

When asked at a campaign stop in Louisville this summer what her plan for global warming would be, McGrath signaled support for Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden’s climate plan, giving it a tentative endorsement. “There’s a lot of what I have seen about it that is good,” she said about the plan, adding that she understands it to be an aggressive proposal.

Biden in July announced a $2 trillion clean economy jobs program he calls Build Back Better, with jobs-creation and environmental justice as its pillars. Biden also wants Congress to pass emissions limits with “an enforcement mechanism ... based on the principles that polluters must bear the full cost of the carbon pollution they are emitting.”

McGrath said putting a price on carbon appears to be an effective tool to combat climate change and has bipartisan appeal, but she said she would want to make sure it didn’t hurt “middle-class and working-class families.”

She likes the jobs and infrastructure aspects of Biden’s plan, she said, but believes that coal is still essential and that Biden should focus more on helping fossil-fuel dependent communities make an economic transition. “We have a debt to pay to our coal communities and legislation needs to account for that directly,” McGrath said.

A NEW APPROACH

Talking about climate change from the perspective of military experience is a new approach for a politician in Kentucky, a state that has a history of supporting candidates who are sympathetic to coal, even outside of Kentucky’s coalfi elds, said D. Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at UK.

One example, he said, is how U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, made former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chan

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. dler pay a price in 2012 for his 2009 vote for the cap-andtrade bill. Barr’s campaign was able to paint Chandler, who served four terms representing the state’s second-largest city and the horse country surrounding it, as anti-coal.

“What Amy McGrath is doing with environmental policy fi ts with how she handles many of the issues that bring down Democrats in a state like Kentucky,” Voss said. “She has been willing to offer a fairly typical Democratic Party issue platform, but she is experimenting with defending it and promoting it using language and attitudes that are more comfortable and familiar with places that tend to vote more Republican.”

Whether it will work, Voss said, he’s not predicting. But he does not believe climate policy will play much of a role, if any, in the outcome of the McConnell-McGrath race. It is not an issue that moves the people in the middle of the political spectrum who are so important to the outcome, he said.

A handful of polls have shown the race to be tight, according to the FiveThirtyEight website.

Environmental advocates had put their hopes behind state Rep. Charles Booker, a progressive whose “hood to holler” message had sought to connect the needs of voters in Black neighborhoods in Louisville with rural Appalachian voters and whose surging Democratic primary campaign against McGrath came up short by 3 percentage points.

Some also felt resentful that McGrath, the moderate, was LEOWEEKLY.COM //SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 11

given a big advantage by the support of national Democrats climate change — in stark contrast to McConnell — “no one early on. is fi red up or excited,” about her, said Wallace McMullen,

“We built a movement across the state in support of a longtime clean energy and environmental advocate from a Green New Deal with the most progressive candidate Louisville, who is a Sierra Club leader in the state. Kentucky has ever seen,” said Lily Gardner, a high school McGrath has not been endorsed by the Sierra Club in senior in Lexington Kentucky, but then who is active with she has also kept her the Sunrise Movedistance from the ment. “We are left One or two election cycles ago, a group, said McMulwith a Democratic candidate who is candidate with McGrath’s underlen and Tom Morris, who chairs the completely unwilling to champion the standing of the climate crisis Kentucky chapter’s political committee. solutions to the cliwould have been enough to elate “The sad fact mate crisis that both science and perhaps the state’s environmental comis that sometimes statewide candimore importantly, munity. That some are now saying dates don’t want justice demand.” our endorsement in

She said the “meh” is an indication of the Kentucky,” Morris youth climate movement will work to growing sense of urgency among said. “We have not been able to get a get out the vote this climate voters and represents a response from her.” fall and support proAs an alternagressive candidates threat to her campaign. tive, the state for local elections, chapter has issued but “in no way a non-endorsement, will we be publicly of sorts, against endorsing McGrath or supporting her unless she makes a McConnell. “It basically says vote for anybody but Mitch,” radical left turn.” Morris said. Morris, of Bowling Green, said he plans to vote for McGrath. He said he’s pleased she recognizes that climate SOME ENVIROS SAY ‘MEH’ change is a problem and he was equally pleased to hear she

Despite McGrath’s clear recognition of the problems of has said good things about Biden’s climate plans.

“McConnell’s record speaks for itself,” he added. “He has blocked any kind of meaningful climate legislation. He supports Donald Trump and enabled Donald Trump and that in itself has been suffi cient reason to oppose him.”

THE TAKEAWAY

McConnell is not popular in Kentucky, but Kentucky voters have shown repeatedly they prefer his clout to whatever competition he might have. He has been favored in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since the election of Bill Clinton, 24 years ago and that gave Trump a 30-point victory in 2016.

One or two election cycles ago, a candidate with McGrath’s understanding of the climate crisis would have been enough to elate the state’s environmental community. That some are now saying “meh” is an indication of the growing sense of urgency among climate voters and represents a threat to her campaign.

Money is an equalizing infl uence in politics and McGrath has been able to raise a lot of it. As more Republicans nationally endorse Biden amid questions about Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his character, there is a chance this could turn into a wave election against the president. If that happens, all bets are off.

One thing, though, is for sure, if McGrath does win, it would be an upset of historical proportions. •

InsideClimate News is a nonprofi t, nonpartisan news outlet that covers climate, energy and the environment.

PHOTO ESSAY #JUSTICEFORBREONNA

THE DERBY WENT ON, AND SO DID THE PROTEST

By Kathryn Harrington | leo@leoweekly.com

IT WAS a Derby not even close to another.

No fans attended, but a heavy police presence and protesters from roughly three groups were there — those demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black militia and counterprotesters who also were armed.

The 146th running of the Kentucky Derby still occurred after being rescheduled from May to Sept. 5.

The protesters began the day at South Central Park before marching toward Churchill Downs. The property already surrounded by gates had extra barricades in place as well as a large presence of law enforcement.

Protesters made their way around the perimeter of Churchill Downs while chanting and honking car horns before arriving at the front entrance where they continued to protest.

Here are photos. •

Many residents along the marchers route came out to watch the protest and show support. | PHOTOS BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON.

Protesters marched around the outer perimeter of Churchill Downs on the 146th Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Lines of protesters stood in front of a fence surrounding Churchill Downs with their  sts raised as law enforcement with armored vehicles sat on the other side.

Chris Rashad led several chants as protesters marched toward the front of Churchill Downs.

Law enforcement in riot gear and with armored vehicles stood inside the fences surrounding Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Protesters were separated from Churchill Downs by barricades that surrounded the property.

STAFF PICKS

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10

Turnip For Change Virtual | Facebook Live | foodliteracyproject.org/turnip-for-change Donation suggested | 7 p.m.

The Food Literacy Project is hosting a virtual event for foodies and “farm-minded folks” in SUPPORT support of APRON, a nonprofi t supporting local food and beverage service workers who work at locally owned establishments, and its own fresh food programs. Despite not being able to eat and drink all of the deliciousness at this event, the lineup of expert hosts should provide ample guidance to enjoy several mouthwatering indulgences. Fashion a “farm-fresh blistered bourbon cocktail” with Maker’s Mark and watch the team from Anoosh Bistro cook up a seasonal dish in celebration of harvest season. You can also host your own virtual house party using some of the materials available on the event website, including The Wine Rack drink recommendations and recipes using fresh food. Email rebecca@foodliteracyproject.org to get started. Remember, this event supports food education for Louisvillians and our local, hardworking service industry professionals who have been among the fi rst to suff er under COVID-19 restrictions. —LEO

THURSDAY, SEPT.10

Internment Book Discussion Online | carmichaelsbookstore.com | Free | 7 p.m.

“It is a confusion,” says one of Nancy Jensen’s characters, “how people we had known for READ many years, and thought our friends, could turn away so easily … ” Conversation from today’s polarized America? No, Jensen’s novel “In Our Midst” is historical fi ction. She’s casting light onto a dark corner: the internment of Germans who were U.S. residents when World War II broke out. The author, who teaches at EKU, imagines a family restaurant in Indiana, where the aroma of baking brötchen typifi es the warmth they bring to the community — until the FBI knocks on the door. Jensen’s as scrupulous with her research as she is determined to reveal emotional depth of the family’s travails through years of thinning hopes and accumulating heartbreak. Local literary legend Sena Jeter Naslund leads the virtual author event (go to “Events” on Carmichael’s website and they’ll hook you up with the Crowdcast app). —T.E. Lyons

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10

Restoration Of Voting Rights — Get Out The Vote Part 1 Zoom | Search Facebook | Free | 6-7 p.m.

Gov. Andy Beshear took a historic act when he took offi ce last year — restoring the right to VOTE vote for 140,000 Kentuckians with past felony convictions. In this webinar, you can fi nd out whether you were one of those people and how to vote in this upcoming election. Also, if you’re just interested in spreading the word — this event is for you, too! Maybe, together, we can elect some more leaders who will tackle the criminal justice system’s problems. —LEO

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12, 13

Save The Doges

We know you cry at those ASPCA Sarah McLachlan PUPS commercials. Quit that blubbering and actually support the dogs of Louisville at these two events for local rescues.

MisPits Barking Lot Boutique (Sept. 12) | 6203 Bardstown Road | Search Facebook | No cover | 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Dog fans have united to put together a sale of name brand clothing, bicycles, jewelry, purses, electronics, tools, holiday Meatball will be at the Arrow decor and pet items — all benefi ting medical funds for Fund’s Dawg Days of Summer. He has had trouble walking and is MisPits and Friends Rescue, which saves all dogs no matter being rehabilitated. the age, size or breed. Find brands like Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Coach, Athleta, Lululemon, Express, Sperry, Sorrel and Victoria Secret. Masks are required for this outdoor event.

Dawg Days of Summer! (Sept. 13) | Eclipse Bank | 3827 Shelbyville Road | Search Facebook | No cover | 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Grab a HurriKanes Gourmet hot “dawg” and a New Orleans Snowball in support of The Arrow Fund, a Louisville rescue tending to animals that are victims of “extreme torture, abuse, or neglect.” One of its rescues will be on the scene, Meatball, whose mobility has improved “from only being able to walk a few crouched steps before collapsing to being able to walk and play!” The Arrow Fund T-shirts, candles, masks, magnets and Kentucky Proud treats will also be available for purchase. —Danielle Grady

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15

Fall Trail Series Iroquois Park | Iroquois Park and Palatka roads | Search Facebook | Free | 6-7 p.m.

Get some evening exercise in and explore some of Louisville’s beautiful parks each Tuesday WALK OR RUN evening through Nov. 3. Each week, Swag’s Sport Shoes hosts a run for anyone to join, alternating between Iroquois and Cherokee parks. —LEO

STAFF PICKS

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12

Plants And Pints Apocalypse Brew Works | 1612 Mellwood Ave. | Search Facebook No cover | 4-7 p.m.

Spend Saturday evening doing home improvement or go for a beer? Or, are you unsure THE GREAT OUTDOORS whether or not you can safely socialize at a bar? Well,

Apocalypse Brew Works has you covered on all fronts. First, Apocalypse off ers one of the best outdoor patio/parking lot spaces in town, so you can get your craft beer outside, in accordance with the best safety practices. But, this Saturday is also the grand opening of the Dancing Deer Botanicals’ mobile store, Louisville’s fi rst mobile plant shop, they say. This event will require cooperation from the weather, but organizers say it will take a monsoon to stop this event. —LEO

MONDAY, SEPT. 14

Virtual Book Launch For ‘Small Business, Big Heart’ Facebook Live | paulwesslund.com | Free | 5:30-6:30 p.m.

“Small Business, Big Heart” by former LOCAL RESTAURANT Kentucky Living editor Paul Wesslund is a new book about a Louisville restaurant whose success is not defi ned by its bottom line but rather its tradition of hiring employees with complicated pasts: those fl eeing addiction, troubled countries and more. Sal and Cindy Rubino opened The Café, now located in Paristown, in 1996. They’re on the panel for this virtual book launch, as well as Wesslund. Jason Crosby, the co-pastor of Crescent Hill Bapstist Church, who is featured in the book, will moderate the discussion. Attend, ask a question and enter to win prizes including a free copy of the book and a Café gift card. —LEO

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12

NuLu Sidewalk Sashay NuLu | East Market Street | Search Facebook | Free | Noon-6 p.m.

Outdoor sipping and shopping is the best and safest way to socialize in this pandemic. The EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY plethora of eateries, stores and galleries will be open for safe patronage, each requiring masks, social distancing and appropriate capacity restrictions. In case you’ve forgotten, expect to fi nd BBQ, burgers, pizza, fried chicken and all manner of cuisine, plus coff ee and chocolate chip cookies, ice cream and macaroons… and that’s before the adults get to the drinks and shops. —LEO

THROUGH OCT. 31

‘Form, Not Function: Quilt Art At The Carnegie’ Carnegie Center for Art & History | 201 E. Spring St., New Albany carnegiecenter.org | Free

“Form, Not Function” ART is an annual exhibition for the Carnegie Center, and I’m glad even a pandemic couldn’t stop it. This is the 17th year for the show that features contemporary art quilts. The jurors selected 19 works from the 265 quilts submitted from artists across the nation. One textile artist from Louisville made the cut: MJ Kinman. “When people ask me what I do, I like to tell them I make the biggest diamonds in the world,” she said. “But ‘Between River and Sky (Bourbon Diamond Series)’ by MJ Kinman. instead of using the hardHandpainted cotton sateen, rayon thread, machine quilting. est substance on earth, I use the softest — cloth.” —Jo Anne Triplett