While Kentucky Democrats try to figure out which voice to use in the 2006 elections (and notwithstanding some wishful thinking in setting up Senate challenges) the big news is that Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley is in big trouble. There is no other way to view the Senate races this year. Senators Kerr and Buford drew interesting challenges, but should prevail rather handily. Barry Metcalf will dispatch newcomer Albert Spencer and then defeat what is left of Worley.
The House races will be a lot more difficult to handicap, but the year is definitely looking like a winner for the GOP. It won't stop the spinners from trying to prop up the Dems, but today will ultimately be just another case of close but no cigar as they lose the House this year.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Cindy Sheehan Rides Again (Herb Brock Version)
Herb Brock doesn't deserve to work at a conservative newspaper like the Danville Advocate Messenger.
I'm not even going to link to his stupid column printed in today's paper. It was a complete waste of newsprint.
Brock started his random walk with a recitation of the list of strange laws on the books in Kentucky. You know the one about carrying an ice cream cone in your pocket that the pro-expanded gambling ads keep telling us about? Well, Brock trots that one out again.
Then he steps way out on a ledge and attacks Senator Tom Buford for sponsoring SB 93, which would outlaw prostestors at funerals.
I'm used to Brock going off half-cocked in his columns, but this is insane. We have people protesting the funerals of Iraq War casualties and Herb Brock is too lazy or stupid (or both) to find out which end is up before puking all over them and their families.
And now I hear this bill is stalled in the Senate because of this one writer. I certainly hope that is not true.
I'm not even going to link to his stupid column printed in today's paper. It was a complete waste of newsprint.
Brock started his random walk with a recitation of the list of strange laws on the books in Kentucky. You know the one about carrying an ice cream cone in your pocket that the pro-expanded gambling ads keep telling us about? Well, Brock trots that one out again.
Then he steps way out on a ledge and attacks Senator Tom Buford for sponsoring SB 93, which would outlaw prostestors at funerals.
I'm used to Brock going off half-cocked in his columns, but this is insane. We have people protesting the funerals of Iraq War casualties and Herb Brock is too lazy or stupid (or both) to find out which end is up before puking all over them and their families.
And now I hear this bill is stalled in the Senate because of this one writer. I certainly hope that is not true.
Ed To The Woodshed?
Hide the Thorazine...
Phone lines were burning between Washington D.C., Frankfort, and Richmond today and the inferno is bearing down on one Senator Ed Worley(D-Richmond).
Tomorrow, insiders expect Worley to get a Republican opponent -- and a Democrat primary opponent to boot!
Ed's very shady land deal is getting ready to come around and bite him, hard.
Education Philosophy Needs Change: Here's How
As thousands of Kentucky high school seniors turn toward the home stretch on their secondary education, now might be an appropriate time to look at methods to improve the way we teach our kids. One simple step could make a big difference.
The time has come to break the mold on the way we educate Kentuckians.
Taxpayers have been mighty patient waiting for schools to improve as we pour in tax dollars year after year. If the goal for increasing school spending has been to graduate more students who can't do college-level work, then we are succeeding. Since it isn't, now may be past time to concede that a lack of funds is not holding us back so much as a problem with our philosophy.
We must now change our approach in order to change our future results.
The one thing that we can do to improve the prospects of our next group of high schoolers is to quit tying class credits to the amount of time spent sitting in a classroom.
Teachers get paid based on time spent in the classroom. But students benefit from what they learn. So if the question is "Who are schools for?" and if the answer we want is "educating students," then awarding class credits and diplomas the same way we pay teachers and administrators -- by the hour -- makes little sense.
A year spent in a high school class currently earns a student one Carnegie Unit. Mastery of a subject is not required -- a "D" is sufficient. You just have to put in your time.
That sounds a little like jail, doesn't it?
Nearly two in three of our high school graduates require remedial courses to even start college. We spend more money on education every year and get test results that do not reflect that increased commitment. Kentucky Economic Justice Alliance recently called for $337 million in annual spending increases for schools. For what? They don't say and I can't imagine.
This is getting a little ridiculous, don't you think?
Wiping out the Carnegie Unit would not cost taxpayers anything. If students could walk into a class and demonstrate mastery of the subject matter on Day One, they could move on to other academic pursuits at no cost to the taxpayer whatsoever.
I would love to hear a member of the education establishment try to prove why eliminating the Carnegie Unit system would be a bad thing. Actually, this approach could expose what is wrong with our public schools. Schools get money based on how many bodies are filling up their facilities and for how long. It should come as little surprise that this approach does not yield optimal results for students. Turning this old system on its head and promoting students on their learning schedule would put the focus where it belongs.
A good case can be made that very few students derive maximum benefit under a system that demands timing their learning curve to our agrarian-era school calendar. Better students tend to suffer under the Carnegie Unit system because the pace in the classroom is too slow for them. Struggling students suffer because the pace is too fast. It seems that we are paying a high price to keep the flow of education moving at a middling speed that doesn't fit -- and doesn't work for -- too many of our students.
We are already utilizing distance education in our high schools. This can be expanded at minimal cost to assist students in achieving subject matter mastery when they are ready.
Student misbehavior takes up an increasing amount of school resources. This could be turned into an advantage without the Carnegie Unit system. When students determine the speed at which their learning takes place, they will have less time or opportunity to be bored with school.
Our kids are capable of doing more in school and many of our dedicated teachers lose sleep trying to figure out how to help them succeed. The Carnegie Unit was established in 1907 and, clearly, doesn't fit in a world where everything else is customized by technology to fit the individual.
Like everything else in a free society, the Carnegie Unit can be done away with when the people demand it. What do you think?
The time has come to break the mold on the way we educate Kentuckians.
Taxpayers have been mighty patient waiting for schools to improve as we pour in tax dollars year after year. If the goal for increasing school spending has been to graduate more students who can't do college-level work, then we are succeeding. Since it isn't, now may be past time to concede that a lack of funds is not holding us back so much as a problem with our philosophy.
We must now change our approach in order to change our future results.
The one thing that we can do to improve the prospects of our next group of high schoolers is to quit tying class credits to the amount of time spent sitting in a classroom.
Teachers get paid based on time spent in the classroom. But students benefit from what they learn. So if the question is "Who are schools for?" and if the answer we want is "educating students," then awarding class credits and diplomas the same way we pay teachers and administrators -- by the hour -- makes little sense.
A year spent in a high school class currently earns a student one Carnegie Unit. Mastery of a subject is not required -- a "D" is sufficient. You just have to put in your time.
That sounds a little like jail, doesn't it?
Nearly two in three of our high school graduates require remedial courses to even start college. We spend more money on education every year and get test results that do not reflect that increased commitment. Kentucky Economic Justice Alliance recently called for $337 million in annual spending increases for schools. For what? They don't say and I can't imagine.
This is getting a little ridiculous, don't you think?
Wiping out the Carnegie Unit would not cost taxpayers anything. If students could walk into a class and demonstrate mastery of the subject matter on Day One, they could move on to other academic pursuits at no cost to the taxpayer whatsoever.
I would love to hear a member of the education establishment try to prove why eliminating the Carnegie Unit system would be a bad thing. Actually, this approach could expose what is wrong with our public schools. Schools get money based on how many bodies are filling up their facilities and for how long. It should come as little surprise that this approach does not yield optimal results for students. Turning this old system on its head and promoting students on their learning schedule would put the focus where it belongs.
A good case can be made that very few students derive maximum benefit under a system that demands timing their learning curve to our agrarian-era school calendar. Better students tend to suffer under the Carnegie Unit system because the pace in the classroom is too slow for them. Struggling students suffer because the pace is too fast. It seems that we are paying a high price to keep the flow of education moving at a middling speed that doesn't fit -- and doesn't work for -- too many of our students.
We are already utilizing distance education in our high schools. This can be expanded at minimal cost to assist students in achieving subject matter mastery when they are ready.
Student misbehavior takes up an increasing amount of school resources. This could be turned into an advantage without the Carnegie Unit system. When students determine the speed at which their learning takes place, they will have less time or opportunity to be bored with school.
Our kids are capable of doing more in school and many of our dedicated teachers lose sleep trying to figure out how to help them succeed. The Carnegie Unit was established in 1907 and, clearly, doesn't fit in a world where everything else is customized by technology to fit the individual.
Like everything else in a free society, the Carnegie Unit can be done away with when the people demand it. What do you think?
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Abortion-On-Demand Lobby Strikes Again
Next Thursday, the Kentucky House Health and Welfare Committee will vote to allow "morning after pills" to be made available over the counter.
I guess that would be so they can pass them out at middle schools, along with condoms and dental dams. Why else would the ACLU be so hot to see HB 353 get passed?
I guess that would be so they can pass them out at middle schools, along with condoms and dental dams. Why else would the ACLU be so hot to see HB 353 get passed?
Friday, January 27, 2006
The "Let Them Eat Filet Mignon" Bill
Rep. Kathy Stein (D-Lexington) wants waiters and waitresses to be paid the federal minimum wage. Tipped employees must currently be paid at least $2.13 per hour by their employer. The federal minimum wage is $5.15, but Ted Kennedy wants it increased, so here we go.
I suppose she thinks all restaurant owners are multi-millionaire Republicans, but the businesses that aren't shut down by this will have to raise prices. So who gets to pay for Rep. Stein's largesse? You do. Oh, and the tipped employees who lose their jobs probably won't appreciate it much either.
Eat up.
I suppose she thinks all restaurant owners are multi-millionaire Republicans, but the businesses that aren't shut down by this will have to raise prices. So who gets to pay for Rep. Stein's largesse? You do. Oh, and the tipped employees who lose their jobs probably won't appreciate it much either.
Eat up.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
International Communists Join Mayor Isaac Tonight
Mayor Teresa Isaac kicks off her re-election campaign tonight with a communist group she has formally pledged that the city of Lexington would support.
The ONE Campaign demands 1% of the federal budget be dedicated to "make poverty history."
"The ONE Campaign is an effort we can all support and be proud of because America is in the best position to eradicate poverty," Mayor Isaac said.
The ONE Campaign will have a rally tonight at 112 W. High Street in Lexington from 5 pm to 6:30.
Oh, and the guy who signs all the state's checks, State Treasurer Jonathan Miller, will be there demanding more of your money too.
The ONE Campaign demands 1% of the federal budget be dedicated to "make poverty history."
"The ONE Campaign is an effort we can all support and be proud of because America is in the best position to eradicate poverty," Mayor Isaac said.
The ONE Campaign will have a rally tonight at 112 W. High Street in Lexington from 5 pm to 6:30.
Oh, and the guy who signs all the state's checks, State Treasurer Jonathan Miller, will be there demanding more of your money too.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Whither Harry Moberly?
After busting his campaign budget in 2004 to keep his seat, House Budget Chairman Harry Moberly (D-Richmond) seems to be looking around for something else to do. With less than a week before the filing deadline, no one has filed for the 81st district seat.
Look for a big surprise on this one.
Look for a big surprise on this one.
House Digs Up Dead Law, Passes It Again
Back in 1990, Kentucky enacted a law called "No Pass, No Drive." It was an attempt to cut down drop out rates by suspending the drivers licenses of minors failing to make adequate progress toward a high school diploma.
It didn't work.
When the law was pulled off the books in 2003, it was found to be totally ineffective at keeping kids in school. In fact, the law was widely ignored by young drivers. Erstwhile students continued to drive until they were caught by police. Then they went to court to convince judges that a hardship necessitated keeping them on the road, despite the law.
So fast forward to 2006. Just yesterday the House voted 82-14 to dredge up this waste-of-time law. It is easier than actually doing something to improve education in Kentucky. Let's hope the Senate straightens this out.
It didn't work.
When the law was pulled off the books in 2003, it was found to be totally ineffective at keeping kids in school. In fact, the law was widely ignored by young drivers. Erstwhile students continued to drive until they were caught by police. Then they went to court to convince judges that a hardship necessitated keeping them on the road, despite the law.
So fast forward to 2006. Just yesterday the House voted 82-14 to dredge up this waste-of-time law. It is easier than actually doing something to improve education in Kentucky. Let's hope the Senate straightens this out.
Charlie Hoffman Can Run But Can't Hide
Charlie Hoffman clearly didn't want to run for the state House again. Rep. Hoffman (D-Georgetown) explored running for mayor of Georgetown and Scott county PVA. After failing the exam for PVA, he filed for the House seat.
His ardent support for union bosses could be problematic in the home of Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky. As House Democrats threaten to kill off a bill that would give workers the right to opt out of paying expensive union dues and seek to pad their own pockets with a minimum wage increase, Rep. Hoffman has much to fear from his Republican opponent Chuck Bradley.
His ardent support for union bosses could be problematic in the home of Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky. As House Democrats threaten to kill off a bill that would give workers the right to opt out of paying expensive union dues and seek to pad their own pockets with a minimum wage increase, Rep. Hoffman has much to fear from his Republican opponent Chuck Bradley.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
First Conservative Victory of 2006; "Book of Daniel"
NBC has cancelled its much-celebrated anti-Christian "Book of Daniel" program after three pitiful weeks.
The active conservative Christians who shut down the program now need to turn their attention to calling for Congress to pass Rep. John Shadegg's "Health Care Choice Act."
This would allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, effectively neutering Kentucky Democrats' health insurance reform that destroyed our health coverage market sisteen years ago.
The active conservative Christians who shut down the program now need to turn their attention to calling for Congress to pass Rep. John Shadegg's "Health Care Choice Act."
This would allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, effectively neutering Kentucky Democrats' health insurance reform that destroyed our health coverage market sisteen years ago.
House Democrats Painting Selves Into Corner
House Labor and Industry Chairman J.R. Gray is expected to push an increase in the minimum wage through his committee today at noon. This comes only days after a resolution supporting socialized medicine was advanced by the same people.
Kentucky Democrats cling to a slim six seat advantage in the House of Representatives. They are expected to campaign this fall as being much more conservative than Washington D.C. Democrats who vote for fringe liberal issues like increasing the minimum wage and nationalizing our healthcare system.
Kentucky Democrats cling to a slim six seat advantage in the House of Representatives. They are expected to campaign this fall as being much more conservative than Washington D.C. Democrats who vote for fringe liberal issues like increasing the minimum wage and nationalizing our healthcare system.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Governor Fletcher Reaches Out To Teachers Union
... or maybe we should just call it "Brer Rabbit Says 'Howdy!' to the Tar Baby, Again."
Conceding the union talking point that teachers are underpaid in Kentucky will not earn Gov. Fletcher anything and will only leave him stuck in the tar. Fortunately, Speaker Jody Richards will come along soon to "knock his head clean off," so the Governor should be okay.
Ford Motor Cuts More Proof Old Ways Don't Work
The debate about big unions and money-losing defined benefit pensions took on a local dimension when Ford Motor Company said it would close fourteen U.S. plants by 2008.
Louisville's facilities weren't on the first list today, but the company said two more closings would be determined later this year.
This kind of thing will continue as more companies try to shift out of outmoded business practices.
And speaking of outmoded, Kentucky's House Democrats are joining the liberal bandwagon in thinking they are going to end poverty as we know it by forcing businesses to pay more than the federal minimum wage.
Louisville's facilities weren't on the first list today, but the company said two more closings would be determined later this year.
This kind of thing will continue as more companies try to shift out of outmoded business practices.
And speaking of outmoded, Kentucky's House Democrats are joining the liberal bandwagon in thinking they are going to end poverty as we know it by forcing businesses to pay more than the federal minimum wage.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Proof The Left Is Killing "Civil Rights"
Days after the nationwide celebration of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., we have more evidence that liberal groups have bastardized King's movement.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a socialist organization, has on their website a list of legislative priorities. Under "civil rights" at the bottom of the page, they promote "sexual orientation" laws and decry giving workers the right to opt out of paying onerous union dues.
Even worse, "Voting Rights" is now supposedly about restoring voting rights to convicted felons.
Here is the link.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a socialist organization, has on their website a list of legislative priorities. Under "civil rights" at the bottom of the page, they promote "sexual orientation" laws and decry giving workers the right to opt out of paying onerous union dues.
Even worse, "Voting Rights" is now supposedly about restoring voting rights to convicted felons.
Here is the link.
Summing It Up Nicely
The Louisville Courier-Journal's John David Dyche got to the essence of what ails Kentucky Democrats with this description today:
Reactionary Democrats resist real change to inefficient, collectivist and financially unsustainable New Deal and Great Society relics like defined benefit pensions, monolithic Medicaid, and preferential treatment of labor unions.
Here is the whole column.
Reactionary Democrats resist real change to inefficient, collectivist and financially unsustainable New Deal and Great Society relics like defined benefit pensions, monolithic Medicaid, and preferential treatment of labor unions.
Here is the whole column.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Worley Cheats Elderly Constituents
Senator Ed Worley left himself open to federal mail fraud charges during a Madison county land deal, a source with knowledge of the transaction said yesterday.
Worley currently faces a lawsuit in U.S. District Court over development of 27 acres of prime real estate previously owned by two of his own elderly constituents.
At issue is Worley's use of a dummy corporation he set up, an agreement with the two elderly victims to help develop their property, and a below-market offer from Worley's dummy corporation to purchase the property.
When Worley presented the offer as if it were from a third party -- and then recommended that his constituents accept the offer -- he was at least "pulling a fast one." When he used the U.S. Postal Service to consummate his ruse, he broke the law.
Here is the Herald-Leader coverage of this sorry episode. Expect to hear more about this fairly soon. If federal charges come down, Worley starts to look a lot like a ham sandwich.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Last Train From Clarksville, Indiana
Raising awareness about how unions hurt Kentucky got a boost last month when Colgate-Palmolive Co. announced they were closing their Clarksville, Indiana plant. Indiana's lack of a Right To Work law was said to be a factor then, and that was confirmed yesterday when Colgate leap-frogged over Kentucky and announced a move to RTW-state Tennessee.
Big Unions complain cost-cutting moves that limit bloated union wages are bad for America. The opposite is clearly true. As manufacturing jobs move to Mexico and China, employers who want to stay in this country can't compete in the marketplace while continuing to pay for union lobbying overhead.
The 220 jobs headed to Morristown, Tennessee would have come in handy in many places in Kentucky. A simple change to the law this year could make us more competitive next year.
Big Unions complain cost-cutting moves that limit bloated union wages are bad for America. The opposite is clearly true. As manufacturing jobs move to Mexico and China, employers who want to stay in this country can't compete in the marketplace while continuing to pay for union lobbying overhead.
The 220 jobs headed to Morristown, Tennessee would have come in handy in many places in Kentucky. A simple change to the law this year could make us more competitive next year.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
No Teeth, No Problem!
Kentucky's House Education Committee has just passed HB 51, the No Pass, No Drive bill. This is merely a waste of time pretend education reform. Remember, this law was supposed to lower dropout rates. While it was in effect from 1990 to 2003, the dropout rate was unchanged. Students who saw their licenses suspended for dropping out kept driving in large numbers. When they were caught, they went to court to prove hardship required them to keep driving despite the law. There are real things we can do to improve our schools, like suspending the Carnegie unit. This foolishness shouldn't even be under consideration.
Big Labor Strikes Back Against Consumers
As union membership in Kentucky has fallen below one-tenth of the state's workforce, political theater has replaced reasonable discourse on the left.
Kentucky AFL-CIO head Bill Londrigan said "I think we made our point emphatically, that when Governor Fletcher takes on the working families of the commonwealth, they're going to fight back."
Actually, it is the big unions that are taking on the working families of the commonwealth. When union wages get passed along to Kentucky consumers, it is the 90% of us who suffer because of the lobbyists who prop up the 10% who agitate.
Rep. J.R. Gray (D-Benton) is probably going to lose his House seat this year. His role in killing Right to Work in his Labor and Industry Committee will be part of the reason for his removal. Supporters of Right to Work legislation don't need to rent buses to go scream and yell at the Capitol. They need to send a few dollars to Gray's opponent Marvin Wilson, who lost narrowly to Gray in 2004.
Kentucky AFL-CIO head Bill Londrigan said "I think we made our point emphatically, that when Governor Fletcher takes on the working families of the commonwealth, they're going to fight back."
Actually, it is the big unions that are taking on the working families of the commonwealth. When union wages get passed along to Kentucky consumers, it is the 90% of us who suffer because of the lobbyists who prop up the 10% who agitate.
Rep. J.R. Gray (D-Benton) is probably going to lose his House seat this year. His role in killing Right to Work in his Labor and Industry Committee will be part of the reason for his removal. Supporters of Right to Work legislation don't need to rent buses to go scream and yell at the Capitol. They need to send a few dollars to Gray's opponent Marvin Wilson, who lost narrowly to Gray in 2004.
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