KAPT Charade Exposed, Future Losses Limited

Budget negotiators have finally killed off the money-losing KAPT program. The moribund program has long been propped up by the dubious backing of the state's unclaimed property fund.

That is no longer the case.

While the program has technically been re-opened to new accounts starting in July, budget language requires premiums to be "actuarially sound." This is the crux of the issue: premiums were initially so low that the program kept going into the tank. Actuarial losses wind up being paid for with taxpayer money. That is what the Senate majority objected to. Requiring adequate premiums to keep the program from being a chronic money-loser removes all incentive to sign up for KAPT in the future.

R.I.P. KAPT.

The $13.7 million Jonathan Miller took from taxpayers in December of 2004 has also been returned to the general fund.

I would love to be a fly on the wall when Miller figures out that he really got hosed.

It's Not Too Late To Fix This

Does anyone find it somewhat odd that the Telford YMCA in Richmond is inviting scandal-plagued Sen. Ed Worley in to be the keynote speaker at their Annual Banquet? The event is supposed to be for the entire community and not just those who support thuggery and deception.

There is plenty of time to find another speaker for this event if they hurry. If you stand for the stated ideals of the YMCA but not the nefarious schemes of the Senate Democrat Leader, call (859)623-9356 and tell them to get someone else.

Another Top Democrat Coming To Lexington

Big news for Kentucky Democrats: if you swooned for Howard Dean, if you melted for Hillary Clinton, if you are angry at Jerry Lundergan for not following through on his promise to bring Ted Kennedy in, you are going to love this one.

Jane Fonda is coming to Lexington. She's anti-war and anti-capitalism all in one.

Enjoy!

I wonder which of Lexington's mayoral candidates will show up for pictures at the April 29 event.

Big Plan Revealed

Washington D.C. Democrats have claimed for months their "plan" for America was to be revealed at a later date, usually referred to as "soon."

Well, today appears to be the day.

Here is the Real Security Plan.

Looks like the work of the same people who thought John Kerry would be a great nominee. The plan seems to be heavy on talking points (Eliminate Osama Bin Laden, destroy terrorist networks like al Qaeda, finish the job in Afghanistan and end the threat posed by the Taliban) and very, very light on anything we can actually use.

Feed Your National Blog Day

Here is some common sense on China.

Mexican Illegals Learning Politics From American Left

I would be happier making fun of the French on this one if we didn't have this going on here in America.

The media is reporting on high school students walking out of class to protest for the illegals. But they aren't mentioning the teachers in Dallas who are taking elementary school students out to join the protests and wave Mexican flags. Are these teachers taking a lesson from their Anglo union comrades on how to abuse a field trip for political purposes?

Quick, Someone Call The ACLU!!

I have a feeling we are about to violate this guy's civil rights.

Funeral Protest Law Signed, Anti-War Leaders Seethe

Kentucky now can prosecute people who protest soldier funerals, much to the consternation of liberals like this.

A committed group of citizens made this happen, despite the best efforts of retiring Rep. Mike Weaver to kill the bill quietly. Now it is time for him to go lose his race for Congress and fade off into the sunset. Tim Moore will be a welcome replacement in a nice pick-up for Republicans in the House.

Show Them The Money: KEA Survey Ignores Kids

Kentucky's teachers union is big on politics. Someone should remind them their reason for being has a little to do with our children. This spring every candidate for state office gets a survey from the KEA. If you are a Democrat and answer yes to every question (increasing funding for schools, raising teacher pay and cutting employee health contributions for public employees), you get an endorsement!

Lipstick on a Pig

Feel free to ignore the changes made so far this year to last year's tax modernization. Inc. magazine picked up on the story of the tax law that pits small business against big business in the state.

The Senate passed the HB 295 disaster last night with changes the House won't like. The conference between the two chambers will create another layer of mess. Wish they could just scrap the whole thing.

Bluegrass FLOW Loses Again

It looks like Kentucky American Water Co. is going public after all. But it isn't going to happen through a government condemnation, as Mayor Teresa Isaac spent her entire term trying to force.

RWE, the company's parent, announced today it plans to sell American Water on the open market to shareholders sometime next year. This presents a win-win situation in which those who want local control of their water delivery system will be able to acquire it with their own money and without trampling anyone's private property rights. This is also good news for KY American customers outside of Lexington who stood to lose any voice in the operations of their water supplier if the city of Lexington had succeeded in taking over the company.

We Want Gore?

Democrats are feeling their oats. That must be why the left is digging up Al Gore and talking about running him for President in 2008.

I really wouldn't mind hearing him talk about putting Social Security surplus funds in a lock box. (Think the Dems will let him do that again?) But in a time when even Republicans can't be trusted to cut spending, make tax cuts permanent, or hold off trade protectionists, do we really want to go backward on these things? And don't even get me started on how fast he would turn the war effort over to the UN and the courts over to the ACLU, forgetting them both until we were all speaking Farsi and jailing Christians for praying at home.

The worst thing about Democrats putting up the extremists on their side is that too many Republicans who get elected by default don't feel they have to adhere to conservative principles. I guess Gore could re-invent himself again again (that's not a typo, he just keeps doing it) but no one would buy it, especially the Hard Left he needs to get nominated. After putting all their eggs in Kerry's basket in 2004, you might think they would know better by now. We'll see.

Running... And Spinning

Just saw a television commercial for Isaac for Mayor. Is she really selling the idea that she is in favor of local business?

In favor of stealing them, perhaps.

The ad was probably effective enough, though. Mayor Isaac should have little trouble getting past May and her ad looks like that of an incumbent. Challengers Bill Farmer and Jim Newberry are focused on each other, as they should be.

The hope here is that the anti-condemnation folks haven't forgotten what they worked the last few years on. The pro-cons definitely haven't forgotten. Should Bill Farmer get past the primary, the battle this fall will be about going backward on condemnation or concentrating on more important things, like anything else. If Newberry makes it instead, the race will inspire a stricter noise ordinance for Lexington.

Here is what I am talking about.

Is Mad Howard Running Out of Steam?

Oh, what a difference two years makes...

In the spring and summer of 2004, Howard Dean went from presidential front-runner to kingmaker, creating an unprecedented internet presence and ultimately riding his growing influence to the chairmanship of the Democratic Party.

Here in Kentucky, Dean arguably reached his zenith when his Dean for America group held candidate auditions at the Kentucky Horse Park in July of that year. The winners were to be labeled Dean's Dozen candidates for the state. Easily the most striking moment of the event had to be when Rep. Bob Damron followed Sen. Ernesto Scorsone to the microphone. Praising the openly liberal Senator for helping to stop "the Republican agenda," Damron seemed determined to fit in. Coming only weeks after Rep. Damron stood with Governor Ernie Fletcher at the signing of a fetal homicide bill and joining in on the selling of "tax modernization," (which Damron now calls "un-American"), it was a strong statement about Dean's allure that Damron hoped to be named a Dean's Dozen candidate.

He didn't make the cut, but twelve proud liberals did.

Dean for America is now Democracy for America, but the idea is still the same. Only in Kentucky, the well seems to have run dry. Go to this website and search throughout Kentucky. I only found one candidate who has expressed an interest in gaining the group's help, a state representative candidate from Louisville.

She is a proud liberal, indeed.

President Bush: Read The Blogs

President Bush today addressed the question of the MSM's failure to cover anything positive in the war. He said: “One of the things that we have to value is that that we do have a media… there’s blogs, there’s Internet, there’s all kinds of way to communicate which is literally changing the way people get their information and so if you’re concerned I would suggest that you reach out to some of the groups that are supporting the troops, that got internet sites and just keep the word moving.”

Westrom Upping The Ante

Rep. Susan Westrom (D-Lexington) filed an amendment to the Gambling Our Way to Prosperity Bill that would add another three casinos to the already requested eight.

In her amendment, she includes the wish list of government spending increases to go along with the anticipated revenue from all the losing gamblers. No mention of how to pay for the exorbitant social costs associated with the gambling losses.

Senator Speedbump Faces Rough Road Ahead

Senator Ed Worley (D-Richmond) has had a busy year. He is being sued for swindling a constituent and faces an ethics complaint for hiding this "business activity" and others from public view.

In fact, things have gotten so bad for Worley that he is resting his political future on a bill that would put speedbumps on one city street in Berea.

It doesn't look good.

The KEA Won't Like This One Bit

ABC's John Stossel is coming to Lexington to talk about how school choice helps bad schools become good schools.

He will be here May 25 and will speak at the Marriott Griffin Gate.

Union protestors need something to get their blood pumping, right? The Bluegrass Institute is hosting and should have details soon..

KY Senate Versus Jonathan Miller, Again?

It is March, that must mean it's time again for the Republicans in the KY Senate to smack Jonathan Miller's hand. Last year, they got after him for taking $13.7 million in taxpayer funds to prop up his money-losing KAPT program.

This year, the magic number is $6.6 million. And that doesn't include the $13.7 million of the people's money he still has from last year.

Who Needs Liberal Media Bias?

The people who want Kentucky's baby step toward socialized medicine to pass took heart today from at least one item in the Lexington Herald-Leader's description of key bills in Frankfort.

The chart on page A16 describes HB 445 as one that "Makes health insurance more affordable for small businesses."

The trick is that the bill only makes coverage "more affordable" by subsidizing employer health plans with tax dollars. Why not call it the "Medicaid for Everyone" bill?

Terry McBrayer: A Smart Political Hack

The following from this story this morning tells us Terry McBrayer is not only running for Governor, but that he isn't shy about scaring and manipulating innocent people to further his own cause:

St. Joseph Hospital and Associated Healthcare Systems of Jessamine County, which would be owned by the same company that owns Samaritan Hospital, both want to open ambulatory care clinics in Nicholasville.
Associated Healthcare Systems of Jessamine County previously filed an application to put a new hospital in Jessamine County through the Certificate of Need process.

So McBrayer's histrionics about Jessamine countians' immediate need for a 50 bed hospital seem to have already gone by the wayside. Yet Jessamine countians are circulating petitions and placing angry calls to the Governor's office for something no hospital company wants to build anymore. Or, as far as lobbyist McBrayer is concerned, it's Mission Accomplished.

Nice hachet job, Terry McBrayer. Jessamine countians and all Kentuckians would do well to remember that when you play with snakes you are likely to get bitten.

Think Tank Shocker: High Income Earners Make More Money

As Kentucky struggled today to stop charging income taxes to businesses with no income, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (a liberal propaganda mill) has figured out definitively that tax cuts benefit most those who pay the most taxes.

Will such wonders never cease?

Socialized Medicine In England

More evidence we don't need it here.

Howard Dean Crony Stirring in Jessamine County

DNC member and former chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party Terry McBrayer is trying to get people in Jessamine county worked up and stampeding the Governor's office to demand a hospital in Nicholasville.

McBrayer is a lobbyist for Associated Health Care Systems and his name keeps coming up as a possible Dem candidate for Governor. So he is now in Jessamine telling people to panic because there is no hospital in the county.

So far, it seems to be working.

More on this here.

Brereton Jones Media Makeover

Former Governor Brereton Jones will be going on the Sue Wylie Show Thursday at 10 AM to try to spin his HillaryCare health plan that decimated the Kentucky health insurance market in 1994. He ran on it, he pushed it, he was warned what would happen, and we still see the effects today of his horrible plan. Should be interesting to see him do this rehab attempt on his reputation.

Media Appearance

I will be on the Sue Wylie Show in Lexington this morning at 11:00. That's 590 AM on your radio dial.

First Election Win of 2006

Senator Tom Buford(R-Nicholasville) just picked up the first election victory of the year when his opponent dropped out of the race.

Democrat Joe Walker, the scandal-plagued sheriff of Jessamine county, read the handwriting on the wall and decided to spend more time with his family.

Ed Worley's Egomaniacal Verb Tense/Sentence Structure Breakdown

"I'm the most wrote about guy in Madison county," Worley told the Richmond Register.

More Frankfort Democrat "Economic Development"

Rep. Rob Wilkey (D-Scottsville) is at it again. Bluegrass Policy Blog has the story.

Strange Bedfellows: Ed Worley And ???

Sen. Ed Worley (D-Richmond) got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, again.

Worley failed to disclose several banking relationships on his 2006 Statement of Financial Disclosure that all state legislators and candidates are required to file honestly.

On a tip from a reader, I spent about ten minutes in the Madison county courthouse yesterday verifying the existence of a $1.3 million loan Worley has with Citizens Bank of Cumberland County that he didn't disclose. The mortgage is on property in Madison county. Another hidden financial arrangement was a $900,000 loan with Cumberland Valley National Bank And Trust Company. The Madison county property purchased with this loan is the same land that is part of a federal racketeering lawsuit filed against Worley. I found other loans. Combined, there were about $10 million in hidden financial arrangements.

The purpose of financial disclosure forms for legislators is to keep potential conflicts of interest out in the open. I have no idea how many others are out there that I did not find. What else is Worley trying to hide? I have heard that he has hidden interest in one or more racetracks in Kentucky. How might that affect his vote on expanded gambling?

There are a lot more questions here than answers, but I did file a Legislative Ethics complaint against Sen. Worley yesterday. Maybe that will help shine a little light on some of Worley's activities. Of course, he will complain that this is just some kind of political attack, but the facts are what they are. The time for spinning and damage control are past. We need answers.

He might claim that he forgot to mention the $10 million in loans. I don't know, Senator, will it be better to claim an eight figure "oops" with several different banks as you ask the voters to trust you with their money for another four years, or are you ready to come clean about your financial dealings?

This could get pretty interesting.

Ethics Complaint Filed

I have filed an ethics complaint against Ed Worley. Details to follow...

Raise KEES Standards Now

Kentucky high school graduates are practically guaranteed scholarship money through a state program called KEES. A 2.50 GPA and a 15 on the ACT exam qualify for an award.

That is sending entirely the wrong message. We are sending kids to college (armed with grants and student loans, no doubt) when those students are almost guaranteed to fail. Giving them state money to complete the charade is utter foolishness. This benefits no one, except the colleges. And it helps them about as much as welfare helps individuals.

KEES scholarships based on minimal standards are nothing more than welfare for state colleges. The program will do more good if these standards are raised significantly.

And we are running out of time chasing our tails on education in this state. School choice legislation would help a lot.

Teachers Unions The Next Blogger Takedown

Nothing about this in the MSM.

Who Needs Liberals: We Have ICARE!

The ICARE Health Bill is supposed to come up for a vote in the Senate early this week.

This is just another government give-away program that will be demanded as a right of citizenship in a few short years. The idea is to subsize with tax dollars group health insurance plans for small business. This is HillaryCare in Kentucky II. What a mess. Kudos to Rep. David Floyd (R-Bardstown) for being the only House member with the courage to vote against this thing. With any luck, Sen. David Williams and Sen. Tom Buford will prevail as cooler heads in the Senate.

Eastern Kentucky Vote Buying Indictments?

Rumors are swirling that more indictments in the Eastern Kentucky vote buying scandal are imminent.

Could it be just about time to come up with an official name for this shameful affair?

Kentucky Sues Over Medicare Drug Plan

Good grief. The disastrous Medicare drug plan that President Bush had to campaign on because Al Gore campaigned on it, is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is bad liberal politics smacking us across the face yet again. Not only are we faced with a very expensive entitlement that has been poorly conceived and very poorly implemented, we now have the Republican Governor of Texas serving as point man for the five state team fighting the plan in court. Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, and New Jersey joined Texas in the effort.

From what I have been able to glean from the coverage of the case so far, the states may have an uphill climb demonstrating they have been wronged the way they say they have. They say a "clawback provision" is making states pay for the drug benefit, when actually the plan calls for states to shares some of their savings with the federal government. Big difference. And it should come as no surprise that Greg Stumbo is

Right to Work Announcement Coming Monday

Supporters of Employee Choice legislation will be gathering in Frankfort Monday at 10 AM.

But the real fireworks will be on Tuesday, when the House Labor and Industry committee will vote on Right to Work and Prevailing Wage. There will be expert testimony from the good guys and gnashing of teeth from the other side. Expect to see thousands of union folks trucked in from every direction for this. Make sure you clock out first, boys.

We Need The Fair Tax

Here is my latest newspaper column.