Kelly Young

When the Lifeline Frays SNAP cuts and rising food costs are pushing Kentucky families to the edge

When food assistance becomes a political pawn, it’s not just policy—it’s dinner. Nearly 600,000 Kentuckians rely on SNAP to eat. Hunger isn’t inevitable; it’s a choice our leaders make.
👉 Read open.substack.com/pub/kellyyou...

Don’t Stream Fascism: Cancel Spotify

I'm canceling my Spotify subscription until the ICE ads are removed. Streaming hate is a choice and I refuse to fund it. #CancelSpotify app.sosha.ai/s/WiT8MDmP

Letters to the Editor The branch worth protecting: public schools and democracy

My letter to the editor is out in the Oldham Era.
Read + share: www.pmg-ky1.com/oldham_era/o...

What They Don’t Want You to See There are two Kentuckys right now.

They don’t want you to see what’s happening in Kentucky.

ICE raids. Hospital closures. Medicaid cuts.

This week’s Dispatches tells the truth they’re burying.

#DispatchesFromKentucky #WhatsMissing #TrumpRegime #RuralCrisis

Kentucky is showing the nation what's possible when you put people over politics. Governor @andybeshearky.bsky.social’s approach of finding common ground and delivering results is exactly why our state is moving forward.

When the Algorithm Obeys the State On July 23, 2025, the Trump Administration unveiled a sweeping set of executive orders and policy measures aimed at reshaping how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is regulated, deployed, and funded in the...

Trump’s new AI directive bans “woke” systems, defunds dissent, and centralizes control over how technology talks, thinks, and serves the public.

This is infrastructure built to obey.

In Kentucky, we’re already seeing the pressure.

Read my latest essay: “When the Algorithm Obeys the State”

#AI

MAGA media rips Trump over Epstein cover-up

Even some of Trump's biggest media supporters are turning on him over the Epstein cover-up. app.sosha.ai/s/3P1UPcmI

Someone told me they’re overwhelmed by all the protests and causes right now.

I get it. There’s so much happening.

My advice? Pick one thing. That’s all.

Bring what you’ve got. Show up how you can. That’s how movements are made.

Oldham County Day brought out the best of our community—neighbors catching up, kids laughing, and sunshine all around. Proud to be part of it. #OldhamCountyDay #KentuckyCitizensForDemocracy

Come see us today at Oldham County Day! #kentuckycitizensfordemocracy #oldhamcountyday #kycitizens

Why the Trump Regime’s Attack on Foreign Aid Hits Close to Home What happened:

When Trump guts global education & foreign aid, Kentucky loses too.
We send students abroad, host scholars, and build clean water projects.
That’s why this budget matters.
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/kellyyou...
#KYPolitics #ForeignAid #HigherEd #ResistAuthoritarianism #KellyYoungWriter

When the Supreme Court Lets the Trump Regime Dismantle the Education Department I’m sitting here looking out my office window as a couple of summer thunderstorms roll by.

The Trump regime is coming for public education. This week’s SCOTUS decision just gave them the green light. I wrote about what this means for KY. #KYPolitics #DefendPublicEd

When Citizenship Becomes Conditional — A Kentucky Reflection A federal judge recently issued a provisional nationwide block on Donald Trump’s executive order denying birthright citizenship.

A federal judge just blocked Trump’s executive order to deny birthright citizenship—for now.

It’s a warning. Not just for immigrants, but for anyone who thinks constitutional rights are permanent.

Kentucky’s kids are watching. We should be too.

#KYpolitics #14thAmendment #AuthoritarianCreep

Trump megabill to cut Medicaid, grow deficit, two Kentucky House members oppose Two of Kentucky’s GOP congressional delegation were among the few to jump party lines to vote against the Republican tax and spending bill in the Senate and House, drawing anger from the president.

Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” just gutted Medicaid.
200K+ Kentuckians at risk

Up to 35 rural hospitals may close

SNAP cuts too

This is targeted harm.
The regime doesn’t want you to notice until it’s too late.

#Kentucky #MedicaidCuts #TrumpRegime #WhatsMissing #KellyYoungWriter

The policy doesn’t have to be in full effect for the damage to start. When future funding gets gutted, hospital systems start making decisions now. Layoffs. Service cuts. Consolidation. That’s not strange. It’s how budgets work in the real world.

US Commerce Secretary Lutnick says tariffs take effect on August 1 U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said some trade deals had been made with trading partners and letters would go out to other countries notifying them of higher tariff rates.

New tariffs from the Trump regime could crush KY farmers, distillers, and manufacturers. This isn’t trade policy—it’s a power play. We’ve got to stay alert and call it what it is. #KYPolitics #StopAuthoritarianism #KentuckyResistance

🛠 What we can do:
• Call Congress & demand emergency funding
• Push KY legislators for a rural rescue fund
• Demand the Governor act now
• Speak up. Share. Don’t wait for a closure notice.

This is the line. Hold it.

#KYPolitics #RuralHealth #MedicaidCuts #ProtectOurHospitals

29–35
Mary Breckinridge ARH
Jane Todd Crawford
Barbourville ARH
CHI Saint Joseph – Berea
Russell County District
McDowell ARH
Fleming County Hospital

22–28
Pineville Community Health
Mercy – Marcum & Wallace
ARH Our Lady of the Way
Casey County Hospital
Carroll County Memorial
Medical Center at Caverna
Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan

15–21
Baptist Health Corbin
Clark Regional
Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville
Medical Center at Albany
Three Rivers Medical
KY River Medical
TJ Health Columbia

8–14
AdventHealth Manchester
Bourbon Community
Harlan ARH
Deaconess Henderson
CHI Saint Joseph – Mt. Sterling
Tug Valley ARH
Owensboro Health Twin Lakes

1–7
Whitesburg ARH
Highlands ARH
UofL Health Shelbyville
T.J. Samson Columbia
St. Claire (UK St. Claire)
Middlesboro ARH
Spring View Hospital

The Medicaid cuts are law.
And 35 rural Kentucky hospitals are now at risk of closing.

This isn’t theory. This is targeted harm.

If your hospital is on this list, it’s time to speak up—before it’s too late. 🧵

👋 Hey — I’ve rebranded to reflect my work as Kelly Young, political writer in Kentucky. Now at @kellyyoungwriter.bsky.social!

Kentuckians paid millions in electricity costs for a steel mill. The utility says it was justified. • Kentucky Lantern A steel mill's discount on electricity draws Kentucky regulator's scrutiny as costs are absorbed by other ratepayers.

Kentuckians shelled out $93 million in extra utility costs to subsidize a private steel mill deal.
No transparency. No refunds.
Just a rigged system where we pay and they profit.

#FollowTheMoney #TakeActionNow #KYPolitics #CorporateWelfare #EnergyJustice

SB 181 in Kentucky: “Safe Messaging” or Another Shot in the Culture War? Kentucky’s Senate Bill 181 is now law, and with it comes a statewide mandate to funnel all student-staff communication through district-approved, traceable platforms. Lawmakers say it’s about safety a...

Kentucky’s SB 181 doesn’t protect students, it isolates them. It cuts off the quiet, everyday connections that keep kids safe and supported.

This isn’t about safety. It’s about control.

#TakeActionNow #SB181 #PublicEducation #TeacherTrust #StopTheFear

📷 We’re now on Instagram!
Follow @takeactionnewsnow for visual breakdowns, weekly calls to action, and updates you can share fast.

✊ Same mission. New platform.
👉 instagram.com/takeactionne...

Resistance Stories When forests and due process were under attack, people and courts refused to quit.

They tried to bulldoze the forest. They tried to erase due process.
People stood up. People dissented.
This is what resistance looks like—this week.
#ResistanceStories #TakeActionNow #ProtectTheForest #DefendDueProcess #ThisIsTheWork

What's Missing This Week Every Monday, I highlight the stories the Trump regime does not want you to see—the ones being sidelined so authoritarian initiatives can quietly shape our lives.

Trump’s mass deportation agenda isn’t coming—it’s already here.

📍Street vendors arrested
📍Workers detained with valid papers
📍Federal funds used as blackmail

5 stories the regime wants buried.
Read. Share. Act.

#MassDeportationWatch #TakeActionNow #HiddenNews #AuthoritarianAgenda

Authoritarians don’t need to dismantle the government. They just fill it with loyalists.

Trump’s move to revive Schedule F would purge civil servants and replace them with political hacks. It’s a hostile takeover of the federal government.

#Authoritarianism #ScheduleF #TakeActionNow #CivilService