Howard Dean, Call Your Office

Lexington businessman Dick Robinson sounded like a pretty nice guy earlier in the month when he talked about running for Secretary of State in Kentucky. He even said his foray into politics was "not a reflection on Trey Grayson" and hoped to continue some of Grayson's innovations.

Today, though, Dr. Dick went Deaniac, earning accolades from the far left when he said:

Unlike Mr. Grayson, I will not require a judge’s order to know not to attempt to certify a citizen of Indiana as the winner of a Kentucky legislative election.

Here Dr. Dick shows that he is just hopping on the D Train and hoping to ride it all the way to Frankfort. Grayson is one member on the Board of Elections and only votes in the event of a tie. The vote Dr. Dick is talking about was 6-0.

Not the best start for a statewide campaign.

Liberal Economics Is Contagious

America's left coast is famous for raising taxes. Currently, Washington state is trying again to change its constitution to implement an income tax.

While there is little surprising in a group of politicians digging around for more vote-buying money, a justification for this one almost caused me to spit hot chocolate all over my desk. From the liberal Economic Opportunity Institute:

By not having a state income tax, Washington loses its opportunity to take advantage of shifting part of the state’s tax burden to the federal government. Taxpayers that itemize deductions on their federal tax returns are allowed to deduct state and local income taxes from their federal taxable income[3]. For example, if a Washington family in the 27% federal tax bracket pays $1,000 in state income taxes they can deduct this amount from their federal taxable income for a savings of $270. By virtue of the deduction, the federal government has paid part of the family’s state tax bill.

Did you catch that? They want to create a new $1000 tax so some families -- less than one-third of taxpayers itemize deductions on federal returns -- can reduce their federal taxes by $270.

Washington is one of seven states without a state income tax. I can't imagine any of the others falling for such flimsy reasoning.

Saving Detroit One Student At A Time

School Choice is having a huge impact in Detroit. There is no reason to imagine the same thing wouldn't happen here.

Another State Goes For Socialized Medicine

This time it is Pennsylvania.

More details on the plan will be available February 6, but the idea is nothing new -- force people to buy health insurance and make large numbers of people sign up for income-based taxpayer subsidies to pay their premiums. The devil will be in the details of course, but it looks a lot like a garden variety government takeover of healthcare.

Admitting Guilt In The Newspaper Should Preclude Later Claims of Vindication

I really wanted to stay out of the "Fletcher Critic Tax Flap" story. One-car pile-ups have a way of sitting still to be examined slowly. That is what this was.

But the effort to spin this into some kind of false and malicious prosecution story angered a reader and motivated him to call me.

His point was that even though tax cases usually aren't brought to court after restitution is made, the crime occurred. Should the prosecutor drop the case -- and he probably will -- any gloating and charges of dirty tricks can't go unanswered.

Remember that.

Conceding Too Many Points To The Left

Governor Fletcher spoke about budget priorities in Richmond on Tuesday, addressing the problem of 550,000 people "without health insurance," lowering college tuition, and spending more on social services and child care.

These are all black holes that taxpayer dollars will never provide enough support to fill. Think about it. Every new program to lower tuition costs leads to more wild inflation. And when are we going to try market-based solutions to expanding health coverage instead of slathering on more mandates and answering those with higher subsidies? And we still haven't figured out that spending more on social services and child care succeeds mainly in generating higher demand for more such "free" services.

The story concludes with most in the audience suggesting additional funds should go to the state retirement plans. This is good. Public employee pensions have to be taken care of first.

The focus on the wrong-headed stuff isn't something Governor Fletcher created and no one expects him to repair such entrenched sentiment. But until we get people off government solutions that we know only make things worse, we will have massive problems with trying to move forward as a state.

Congressional Dems Next Target -- Wal-Mart?

The Maryland law that was to mandate health coverage for Wal-Mart's employees in that state was found illegal in federal court today.

According to the ruling, there is no way the states can carry out the War on Wal-Mart. It will have to be done on the federal level. Given the weakness of the Democrat agenda so far this year, it isn't unreasonable to assume they may well go in that direction.

Jody Richards Pre-Announcement Appearance

House Speaker Jody Richards had lunch today in Louisville at Harper's with John Y. Brown III.

By meeting so publicly they are trying to generate buzz for an upcoming official announcement, but they will need Bruce Lunsford there in May to even give Richards another close-but-no-cigar moment.

Biggest Tactical Blunder On The Net

Consumers of political information on the internet have grown used to checking out surveyusa.com for free polling data for which others have paid.

You can't do that anymore.

The site is now a pay-only 2008 presidential what-if game.

I hope they are making some money on this, but basically I think they are just destroying their franchise.

Be$hear Auditions For Casino Contributions

Steve Be$hear upped the ante for the pot of casino gambling contributions yesterday, saying casinos would bring $500 million into state coffers.

Outbid was scandal-plagued Senator Ed Worley who made his pitch to be the gambling candidate by promising only $450 million.

Will Jonathan Miller go for $550 million?

Casino interests and the politicians who support them like to tell people there are no public costs associated with operating casinos and that all the revenue will be available for them to spend.

Billy Harper's "Job Killer" Radio Ad

Gubernatorial hopeful Billy Harper has a radio ad coming out tomorrow that stays on the theme of repealing the the Alternative Minimum Calculation:

"This job killer has taken more than $100 million from taxpayers and given it to politicians."

The snorting pig in the middle of the commercial might have been too much in a state where we like to use dogs in our political commercials, but in this one it works.

Winner Of 2002 Powerball Blew It All

Wasting $113 million in four years is pretty sick, don't you think?

It is interesting that so many of Jack Whittaker's problems seemed to occur in and around casinos. And we want to set our under-educated, over-entertained population loose in gambling houses as a way to finance bigger government in Kentucky.

Annie, Get Some More Guns

Cities and towns would do well to get serious about fighting crime by promoting gun ownership.

Stan Lee Gets CJ Love

How about this?

The rumors about Rep. Lee running for Attorney General will get a little push from this write-up.

Greg Stumbo, You Have The Right To Remain Silent

Attorney General Greg Stumbo should consider himself lucky Kentucky doesn't still have a statute on the books that deems adultery a felony.

Michigan's Attorney General, another prosecutor who is a known adulterer, isn't so lucky.

Still Eating Our Social Security Seed Corn

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) says the Bush administration needs to get off the idea of Social Security solvency as the top priority of reform and focus on creating a better deal for young people. He suggests this could be an issue in 2008.

Republicans surrendered the high ground when they didn't end the practice of spending the current payroll tax surplus each year. Personal accounts need to happen and will happen eventually, but the argument has likely been too damaged for that to happen very soon.

Of course Pence is right that raising payroll taxes would be a horrible idea. The tragedy is that this even has to been stated.

Scary Truth About California's Health Plan

If you have read a little about California's proposal to provide universal coverage, you have probably been misinformed. The plan would not hit the state for much; it is mostly federal money that will finance this monster.

Can Kentucky be very far behind in trying to implement this very dangerous idea?

A Glimpse Into Our Future: New Jersey For Sale

The next time someone tells you how casinos will solve Kentucky's budget woes, tell them about this.

And of course the MSM hasn't told you anything about the massive higher education budget cuts in Blue State New Jersey, home of a dozen casinos.

Jody Richards' Proliferation Of Nonsense

I waited all week for someone else to say something dumber than House Speaker Jody Richards' whopper on Monday in defense of Certificate of Need laws.

It didn't happen.

Bear in mind that every single analysis of CON has determined that by artificially limiting supply of health care services, CON laws cause prices for medical services to go higher than they would with repeal of these laws.


From the Kentucky Tonight television program on Monday night, here is Speaker Richards' comment:

"Since so much of hospital costs are paid by Medicaid and Medicare, I think if you allowed a proliferation of this very expensive technology I think you are going to see in the long run rates go up and I think it is going to be counterproductive. I'm very much in favor of keeping the current Certificate of Need laws."

Proliferation of technology?! What on Earth is he talking about? In what alternate universe does limiting supply lower costs?

With everyone else trying to find ways to lower healthcare costs, it would seem logic might trump partisanship and we could repeal Kentucky's CON laws. Richards is expected to announce a run for Governor soon. Is this the kind of rhetoric we can expect from him between now and May?

UK: Unmarried Bennies To Cost You $633K/Year

The University of Kentucky's effort to become a Top Twenty Research University is obviously on the ropes if their best idea for moving forward is spending tax dollars for their employees to sign up "domestic partners" to their benefit plans.

What a pathetic waste.

Upcoming Harper Ad Hits Hard

Now this is a real issue worth talking about.

Some in Frankfort say repeal of the AMC tax would be a bad thing. The Bluegrass Institute says the tax is the bad thing.

"Blogging Mayor" In Illinois A Role Model

Governing Magazine's blog has the story of a small town mayor whose outreach effort is worthy of emulation here.

Mitt Romney In Kentucky

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is coming to Louisville and unlike last time, there is no disaster in Massachusetts that will prevent him from coming.

The then-Governor was scheduled to appear in the Derby City last July to meet with Republicans and talk to legislators about his healthcare plan. Unexpected state business prevented him from appearing, though an aide was on hand to make an uninspiring pitch for universal coverage.

Romney's campaign has been dogged by his evolving positions on some key issues.

Northup in 2007

So, would Anne Northup be an upgrade in the Governor's Mansion, a downgrade, or just business as usual?

Have to imagine with the former Congresswoman in the race that the field is set. Will the GOP primary be about real issues like fiscal policy and meaninful education reform or, well, not?

For now at least, I am more interested in an upgrade at Attorney General.

Democrats Declare War -- On George Bush

Still without a "plan" of their own, Congressional Dems say it is time to expect more from Iraqis. That's just what President Bush said.

There is no reason to believe the anti-war fist-shaking contains any substance now.

I don't believe they will really do anything on this.

Indiana Gambling Expansion On Steroids

Gambling-for-tax-revenue enthusiasts want to put slot machines in 3500 new locations in the Hoosier State.

What's interesting is that even the Louisville Courier Journal sees this gambling revenue deal doesn't work as well as promised.

The last sentence in the editorial -- "There would be more losers than winners." -- is obviously true, but also misses the point. The point is there is far more losing than winning. Taxpayers wind up getting hosed in these set-ups. And the proliferation of illegal gambling is a pretty poor excuse for capitulation to gambling interests. Illegal gambling hits government once when problem gamblers and their families wind up on the dole. Legal gambling hits government twice -- once when families get wiped out and once more when new gambling revenue gets spent on politician-enhancing projects instead of on cleaning up its own mess.

Sex Groups Combine To Protest Stan Lee

My favorite part is the Q&A. Hilarious!

Mark Nickolas' Head Will Explode...

...when he reads this.

Do The Minimum Wage Dance

If your slavish devotion to liberal ideology requires you to support the minimum wage, you really don't want to read this.

Funny Thing Happened To Dem Peace Rally

Congressional Democrats talk tough about how the courageous thing to do is to surrender Iraq to the terrorists, but they can't/won't pull the trigger.

On Priorities And Polar Bears

Kentucky may not have a Bridge to Nowhere, but we do have a proposed polar bear exhibit at the Louisville Zoo that will not die until it gets $6 million in tax dollars.

Seems like there are a lot of things we could do with that money that would benefit the state more than creating a fake arctic monument to the public welfare.

In fact, the Louisville Zoo would probably benefit immensely from an effort to wean it off tax dollars permanently.

Avoiding Obvious Solutions On Healthcare

Speacking on last night's Kentucky Tonight program, gubernatorial wannabe Speaker Jody Richards actually spoke in favor of Kentucky's archaic Certificate of Need laws that are proven to keep medical costs artificially high. He even went so far as to decry the proliferation of technology that would occur without the "protection" of CON laws.

Nice.

California Scheming

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is talking about a plan that would prohibit his state's insurers from denying health insurance coverage to people based on their health problems.

That's the same great idea that destroyed Kentucky's health insurance market in 1994.

How To Turn A Scandal Into Campaign Freebie

Attorney General Greg Stumbo is touting $500 checks car dealer JD Byrider has been ordered to issue to customers. The whole scandal got started when AG Ben Chandler's Louisville consumer office head Bob Winlock got caught arranging special deals for himself on JD Byrider cars.

Nice spinning, guys. I wonder if Winlock got his $500 check yet.

Saving For College? This Is Easy And Free!

This Should Get Them Worked Up

Again, when you hear "embryonic stem cell research," think "government cheese."

No amount of snark will change the facts on this one, guys. The private sector would be all over the embryos if they worked for this kind of therapy. Embryonic stem cell research with taxpayer dollars is a key plank in the Democratic Party platform.

Getting The Money Out Of Bribery

The Next Counterproductive Wage Fix Scheme

If you have enjoyed watching economic illiterates pimp minimum wage increases as serious policy and get away with it, you are going to love the effort to run women out of academia in the name of "gender pay equity."

More than 100 faculty members at the University of Georgia signed a letter of complaint because a national study released in November showed female faculty at the school receive 85.2% as much pay as male faculty members.

Female faculty at the University of Kentucky are at 82.6% and those at the University of Louisville get 78.5%, so the feminist wackos in the bluegrass have so far missed a fabulous excuse to shriek frantically.

Fixing labor costs based on gender at public universities would be impossible to defend if more than sloganeering were necessary. It isn't, of course, so the opportunity shouldn't stay missed for long.

Have at it, ladies. But don't thank me for the heads up. If we force schools to pay female professors above-market salaries, jobs will become more difficult for them to get.

Is Kentucky's Future Growth Urban Or Rural?

With all the bubbling turmoil in the state legislature, one element of contention that deserves more attention is whether we want to keep trying to use tax dollars from urban areas to support rural parts of the state.

If we do, how do we make continued transfers less detrimental to both rural and urban communities?

The War On Terror Is About To Change Shape

The term "nuclear deterrent" has much less meaning in a world teeming with suicide bombers than it did during the Cold War. Our fear of the Russians seems almost quaint now; we knew they didn't want to die any more than we did. We have no such comfort in dealing with our Islamic terrorist enemies.

So when military officials in Israel start talking to journalists about planning a nuclear attack against Iran, it is hard to be very surprised. In fact, after reading this I feel almost a sense of relief that it is coming to this now. A nuclear showdown has been inevitable for some time. It will be awful and it will make things worse. But let's get the show on the road.

Deep Thought

It occurs to me we are watching Democrats pander to their base as the majority party in Washington because Republicans didn't pander to their base when they were the majority party in Washington.

The same thing could well be about to happen in Kentucky if the Senate Republican leadership doesn't change its tune on getting rid of the AMC.

...And The Democrats Want To Raise Them More

I didn't know this about our corporate taxes. Did you?

Make More Money

Stein Named Judiciary Chair

The face of Kentucky's Democratic Party just got a whole lot more liberal. Also, Jody Richards just ended his gubernatorial campaign with this move.

Pelosi's House Sets Up Tax Increases

You won't read about this in the Mainstream Media.

After the Bush tax cuts have brought record-level revenues into Washington, the desire for tax increases can't be about bringing in more money. It is just about control.

Top Hog At The Trough

House Budget Chairman Harry Moberly knows how to pack the budget with illegal changes to the law. This is how he plans to cover his tracks.

Feel Good, Do Little At U of L

The University of Louisville is going to get more warm fuzzies in the media with its plan to "fight rising tuition" costs for low-income students than it will ever be worth as an investment of tax dollars.

What this amounts to is putting more students in federal work-study jobs that generally don't involve much in the way of work. A lot of students from moderate or low-income families already figure out a way to get through college. I fail to see how letting a few of them study on the clock at the library instead of getting a job will change much.

OK, I've Had Enough Of This...

Gubernatorial hopeful Billy Harper's tv ads tout his role in putting together the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

In a press release issued today he does it again, claiming KERA "helped dramatically improve Kentucky ’s education system starting in the 1990s."

Somehow I missed this "dramatic" improvement. Any help?

Nancy Pelosi Is In Charge Now

To commemorate Rep. Nancy Pelosi's ascension to the office of Speaker of the House, here is San Francisco-based Recliner's monster smash hit from 2004 "Hey Kid."

By the way, if you are looking for some deep political meaning in the song, forget it. One of the band members was my college roommate and I just like the song.

KY Club Takes On CON

Brian Richmond of the Kentucky Club for Growth lays out a solid analogy for why our state's Certificate of Need laws hurt our citizens.

You Want A Real Scandal?

How about trying to unwind the Kentucky Retirement Systems?

Get Ready For More American Nuclear Power

I missed this one in the Christmas rush: U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said he expects 12 American utilities to file for permission to build 18 nuclear reactors over the next three years.

No new applications have been filed since 1973.

Waste disposal continues to be an issue -- how about the Middle East? -- but this will be a good way to combat rising energy costs. And Ahmadinejad can just eat his heart out, because he has proven himself to be too untrustworthy to be allowed to mess around with nuclear anything.

Like Satellite TV? You'll Love This!

Income Study Shines Light On Kentucky

Kentucky has the 6th highest percentage of personal income from government transfer payments, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Surely all of us except for Jonathan Miller can agree this is not a good thing.

The best way to decrease our dependence on government largesse is to spur business growth. And that starts with not taxing companies that aren't making a profit.

This shouldn't be so hard when we have a Republican governor and a Republican Senate.

The Virtual Campaign Of John Edwards

The Edwards for President blog ad flashes the words "Iraq. Poverty. Energy. Universal Healthcare. Global Warming. Join Us."

It will be interesting to see how long Edwards or any other Democrat can keep this up. He is trying to build a campaign in 2007 by pretending that it is still 2006. When Democrats were in the minority, they could get away with just throwing rocks. I'm not saying shallow campaign slogans can't win the Presidency, but if Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can't deliver more than empty promises in 2007 it will be more difficult for Edwards and friends to stay that course in 2008.

So what could be the issue that carries one Democrat hopeful to the nomination for the White House? Probably Universal Healthcare. Watching the various candidates trot out their plans for a government takeover of medicine could be very interesting. I can see it now: Edwards takes the Canadian model, Hillary goes for Belgium, and which way will Obama go?

Hot GOP Primary Rumor

Washington D.C. sources report a Republican primary challenger to Governor Ernie Fletcher has committed to run and will announce soon.

Need A Lawyer?

Stan Lee Wins Whip Slot

Rep. Stan Lee (R-Lexington) has been elected House Minority Whip.

This is a very good thing. We need to get some fiscal conservatism back in the legislature. This move should help.

Update: And the Democrats move Left by electing Charlie Hoffman of Georgetown as Caucus Chairman. Interestingly, defeated Chairman Bob Damron's biggest accomplishment in the legislature was passage of the 2004 fetal homicide bill he stole from Rep. Lee.

Kavanaugh On Health Care Costs

Dr. Kevin Kavanaugh of Somerset, chairman of Health Watch USA, makes the case today in the Lexington Herald-Leader for repealing Certificate of Need. As he says, before we try to improve pricing by trading out big corporations for big government, we should try releasing the stranglehold providers have on pricing information.

Repeal of Certificate of Need is a no-brainer for legislators who aren't bought and paid for by hospitals. This should have wide bipartisan support. It's a sorry shame this does not.

Back Door Benefits Scam Will Fail

Unmarried University of Kentucky employees currently pay $25 per month for full health insurance benefits. If the Rainbow Alliance has its way, these same single employees will be able to add a boyfriend or girlfriend to their plan -- the administrators at UK are spending your money, so they don't care which -- for a mere $221 per month.

The real cost for a single plan is $380 per month. Since the real PPO premium for an employee's spouse and children is $568 ($948-$360=$568) and with the combined credit the total monthly cost of adding a non-spouse partner and children would be only $126 per month ($151-$25=$126), this whole "homosexuals are more creative than straight people" scam really just amounts to clamoring for a $5304 a year sex-based goody($568-$126*12=$5304) per domestic partnership. Being as compassionate as they are creative, the homosexual ones of course don't mind demanding more taxpayer dollars to give the same goody to their less creative, but also unmarried, fellow employees.

House Speaker Jody Richards is basking in the glow of liberal blogger love for now, but when this whole thing is viewed properly as just another money grab, even the politicians in Frankfort will come to their senses on this one.

Miller: "Love Thy Neighbor," Vote For Me

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful and former Al Gore staffer Jonathan Miller gives a glimpse of his campaign's message in the video below. A quote: "Our core, shared values such as loving your neighbor as yourself, and promoting stewardship of God's creation and of taking care of the needy and disenfranchised that those are the values we share and that we should be promoting in public policy and that it's the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates who have been the ones who have been stepping out most on those issues."

Watch the video here.

My Son Only Needs $40K, The Rest Is Yours

Blogging The Democrat 2007 Primary

Checking in from Orlando-- I find that one little week out of town is more than enough for the 2007 silly season to get up and running.

Newcomer The Rural Democrat favors Gov/LG combo Steve Beshear/Daniel Mongiardo and has gone on the attack against Jonathan Miller/Irv Maze supporter Bluegrass Report alleging undisclosed financial arrangements and past firings for embezzlement.

Wow. And I thought a primary without serious candidates wouldn't be fun to watch.

Saddam Treated Like A Minimum Wage Worker

With all the noteworthy things going on in the world, Rep. Ben Chandler has a "constituent survey" on his website asking central Kentuckians if their mouths water at the hailing of the Democratic Party's favorite talking points.

Large majorities of voters support raising the minimum wage because they don't think it affects them in any way. But no one can justify making it the top economic development idea for the Democrat Congress. Middle class teenagers rejoice, but otherwise we all pay for a big government feel-good move that does nothing to impact poverty in America.

The second question asks if you "favor embryonic stem cell research." What Rep. Chandler means to ask is if you prefer spending even more of your federal tax dollars on research that, if only it showed any real promise, would have already been overwhelmed with private research dollars. Think about that.

As the hanging of Saddam Hussein puts things that are actually happening in Iraq back in the spotlight, we deserve better leadership on domestic issues than this.

Privatize, Privatize

Democrats found out in 2005 that "privatizing" Social Security didn't poll well and they succeeded in selling the idea that adding optional personal accounts to the money-losing program would somehow send packing all the bureaucrats who run the federal entitlement.

Well, things change in politics. It is certainly early, but I think we need to start talking in earnest about all the government functions in Kentucky that would benefit from privatization. If we change the focus from "government is a great service provider" to "but it costs too much in the long run," we will then find the will to alleviate most of the structural imbalances we face.

Roads should be first. Just look at what Indiana has done.

Since the biggest problem our state government has is paying for state employees' retirements, it seems reasonable we should not be looking for more things for the state government to do.

New Dem Legislator Exploits Special Needs Kids

Rep-elect Carl Rollins (D-Midway) is talking about filing a bill that would accomplish absolutely nothing for education in Kentucky. Needless to say, he is excited about it.

"Its a win-win situation. I want it to be available to low and middle-income families so it will be available to help them throughout life," Rollins said.

His grand plan is setting up an education savings plan trust for students with special needs. Currently, nothing prohibits kids with special needs from participating in any available savings plans. Such a "targeted" plan is merely marketing for a politician.

If Rollins really wanted to do something for special needs kids, he would support Rep. Stan Lee's special needs scholarship bill. But for reasons known only to his KEA handlers, he won't.

Merry Christmas 2006!

Thanks to everyone who checks this site, comments on this site, ridicules this site, or provides material -- intentionally or not -- for this site.

We have much to be grateful for in this wonderful country of ours. Not the least of which is that in another time or place many of us rabble-rousers not only would not be encouraged or tolerated, we would be rounded up and shot.

This has been a tough year in a lot of ways, so I am packing up my family and heading off to Disney World for a week.

My wife has threatened me with a fate worse than Hillary in '08 if she catches me using any of our vacation time to write, so it may be a little sparse for the rest of the year. But check back when you get a chance. I will do my best to get something up every day.


Merry Christmas!

John Kerry Still Gets It Wrong On Iraq

Sen. John Kerry's fake magnanimity on Iraq shows the rest of us why he won't be elected President in 2008:

No one should be looking for vindication in what is happening in Iraq today. The lesson here is not that some of us were right about Iraq or that some of us were wrong. The lesson is simply that we need to change course rapidly rather than perversely use mistakes already made and lives already given as an excuse to make more mistakes and lose even more lives.

But as distasteful as his snooty superiority complex is, his rhetoric about going forward in Iraq shows the same self-serving disloyalty to our country as his well-known exploits in the 1970's:

Refusing to change course for fear of the political fallout is not only dangerous -- it is immoral. I'd rather explain a change of position any day than look a parent in the eye and tell them that their son or daughter had to die so that a broken policy could live.

It is fun to impute the worst of intentions to a political opponent. But when Kerry says the continued war effort is the result of fear of political fallout, he is demonstrably -- almost comically -- wrong. The political fallout has already happened. Democrats will have their opportunity to sell implementation of "cut-and-run" soon enough. Somehow I think clashing motives in 2007 will lead to a courageous change in tactics on the Left.

Kentucky: Ford Country Or Land Of Rising Toyota?

In his column, George Will addresses the current difficulties and future challenges of Ford Motor Company. Ford directly employs thousands of people in two Louisville plants, so its precarious situation has important implications for Kentucky.

With the remarkable ascendancy of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Company, a similarly massive Kentucky employer, interesting questions about international trade, protectionism, labor unions, and even racial issues will be raised.

Gas Price Graph = A Thousand Words

(Hint: the "Adjusted for Inflation" line is the one that really matters.)

Hope you didn't forget to thank the Bush administration for not freaking out about gas prices in 2006. They could have fixed prices, raised taxes, or emptied out the Strategic Petroleum Reserve but they didn't.

Remember this?

"Are You Kidding Me?" Global Warming Alert

It's warm outside, winter coats are on sale, and the New York Times is in the fetal position whimpering softly about how it is all George Bush's fault.

This has been the warmest December since Mastodon flatulence melted the last Ice Age -- er, since 2001 -- and the scientists and clothing designers are up in arms:

The real worry is that this holiday season will not be an anomaly. Retailers and clothing designers are generally the last to weigh in on scientific debates, but some fear that they are seeing hints of global warming.
“The warm weather this season is really bringing it home,” said Dana Buchman, who creates women’s clothing for high-end department stores “What is scary is that people are saying it’s nice. It’s not good news. It’s scary.”
Scientists are less sure. While they have concluded that the global climate is warming because of trapped greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, extremes in any one season cannot be firmly linked to an underlying trend.

Harper Needs To Speak Up About School Choice

Gubernatorial candidate Billy Harper has been all over the place on education. His ads promote his support of KERA, but his campaign says he favors school choice. Meanwhile, his name appears on a one year old letter from Prichard Committee for Academic excellence director Robert Sexton claiming school choice isn't worth discussing.

Harper's name doesn't appear on a current list of the Prichard organization's committee members, though. If he left the liberal group over school choice -- or some other education issue -- he might want to be talking about it. Republican primary voters will be looking for strong leadership on education policy in May. Continued silence on this issue only benefits the status quo.

Spending billions of dollars on "education" in Kentucky only to get beaten up for not spending billions more may be fun for a Republican governor who sees pretty weak opposition standing between himself and re-election, but Kentucky schoolchildren really could use the leadership.

Will Congress Cut Waste In 2007?

It is starting to really look like it.

What's Sen. Mitch McConnell going to do, obstruct earmark reform?

Real Estate Bubble Not Busting Fast Enough

... and even if it does, that presents excellent buying opportunities for most of us.

Bush's Legacy Won't Be Iraq

Whenever personal Social Security accounts are finally implemented in America, a lot of people will call them "Bush accounts" no matter whose signature makes them a reality.

Fighting in the Middle East has been going on for a long time and George W.'s successors in office will preside over more of the same. What will be different and memorable will be the liberally derided Ownership Society gaining steam just as its loudest opponents take power.

The Democratic Party can't survive a large-scale increase in stock ownership in this country. And the "There is no crisis in Social Security" crowd knows it.

Congressional Democrats know they must escape the surrender monkey chattering if they are to have any hope of warming the office furniture in their new leadership offices for long. But our liberal activist friends might want to google Sarbanes Oxley to get a good idea of what is coming next. This bad corporate regulation measure -- which Bush signed -- has been holding publicly traded companies back even as the Dow stalks 13,000. Sarbanes Oxley has to go. When it does, it will become far more difficult for Social Security reform opponents to get away with calling the stock market a "risky scheme."

President Bush deserves a ton of credit for staying strong on the War on Terror. And he will get it. But the Ownership Society will be what he is remembered for most. The war as an issue to bludgeon Republicans will disappear quickly. But deciding whether we want to really pursue greater prosperity in America or waste time legislating huge raises for middle-class teenagers will have the real lasting impact on our nation.

The Year Of The Dark Horse

Could a President Mark Sanford set things right in Washington D.C.?

It is a little late in the game, but shining the spotlight on tough fiscal conservatives like Governor Sanford won't hurt a bit.

Reigning In The Political Blogs

This will be about as effective as price controls, the war on poverty, campaign finance reform, stopping "global warming," taxing our way to prosperity, gambling our way to prosperity, trade protectionism, affirmative action, equal pay for equal work, and a whole host of solid ideas to make things right in this crazy world.

We Need Awareness, But Not New Voting Law

I like that Secretary of State Trey Grayson wants to encourage and expand early voting. Voters should know that courthouses are open prior to Election Day and they can go in and cast their votes if they need to.

One thing to keep in mind is that the early voting police aren't very likely to come knocking on your door and haul you away if you vote early and wind up being in town on Election Day. If you want to vote and think you might not be able to make it in on that one day, go to the courthouse and cast your vote when you can.

We need greater awareness of existing flexibility for voters, not a new law with new procedures and greater expense.

President Gilmore?

Tom DeLay says former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore is the latest "I'm the next Reagan" candidate running for the 2008 GOP nomination.

We'll see.

Herald Leader's Favorite Republican

Now that former Transportation cabinet official Dan Druen is "spilling the beans" on Gov. Ernie Fletcher, the Lexington Herald Leader finds Druen suddenly credible.

Misplaced Economic Pessimism On Trade

It is terribly unfashionable to express optimism out loud these days, but when Newsweek's Robert Samuelson runs with the "trade imbalance disaster looms" nonsense, I can't let it go.

The people who insist the sky is falling on the U.S. economy count on readers quivering in fear and ignorance at terms like "real-estate bust," "steep gas prices," and worst of all "skewed trade."

The fact that mankind has survived and thrived through every housing cycle since the Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden mystifies those who whisper this time could be different. If gas prices were too high, demand would have slowed by now.

And the trade deficit merely represents foreign entities sending goods and services to America in exchange for little pieces of paper. The panic wasted over this would be better spent on our broken tax system.

But even if we don't fix the tax system, we can easily overcome any hardship caused by these other bugaboos.

Left Still Blithering About "Marriage"

Rep. J.R. Gray (D-Benton) has created a bill that would establish a new type of marriage called a "covenant marriage." It looks like an end-run around no-fault divorce in Kentucky, but it has the moonbats barking at their own shadows. Again.

Surely if we can have regular marriages, and super "covenant" marriages, can it be very long before we throw in "drive-by" marriages so everyone gets to play?

Kind of reminds me of the look on Angelina Jolie's face when she tries to explain how she is going to continue to to let Brad Pitt use and abuse her and their children until "everyone can get married."

Mrs. Henry Piles On Miss USA

Miss USA Tara Conner of Russell Springs, Kentucky is expected to lose her crown today.

Yesterday, former Miss America Heather French Henry couldn't resist sticking a knife in Conner by suggesting the Miss America pageant has higher standards than the Miss USA pageant in an interview with WVLK AM in Lexington.

Such a misplaced display of arrogance at a time like this tells me she has been hanging around Steve Henry long enough for it to rub off on her.

Al Gore Speaks To Harvard...

... and gets a little freaky talking about overpopulation of the planet, America signing on to something worse than Kyoto, and global warming representing the "greatest source of business opportunity in the history of the world.

Dems Clobber Each Other Over Casinos

Sen. David Boswell (D-Owensboro) jumped on Speaker Jody Richards for his shifting position on casino gambling, saying he "kind of danced around the issue depending on where he is."

This Isn't Going To Work

Labor Unions continue to claim workers who don't pay union dues are somehow less qualified to make things like tires.

Bipartisan Tax Reform A False Hope?

U.S. News & World Report inadvertently suggests why horse trading to get out from under our bad federal tax system may be tough to pull off.

The article states a consumption-based tax code could come about as some kind of a trade involving raising the cap on the Social Security payroll tax.

Ugghhhh...

These people really need to familiarize themselves with the FairTax before they try to discuss real tax reform. The FairTax would replace all income-based taxes and taxes on savings and investments, including the Social Security payroll tax. Democrats are establishing a solid track record of lying about the FairTax rather than addressing it.

Franken Missed Boat, Ready For A Swim

The Drudge Report says Al Franken is about to leave Air America and announce a 2008 run for the U.S. Senate. This should be fun.

His chances may have been better this year. After two more years of this, getting a moonbat like Franken elected to anything will be much more like swimming against the tide than it was for Democrats sailing with the wind at their backs -- and no need to discuss specific ideas -- in 2006.

Herald Leader: Tax Increase Bad, But Let's Keep It

The one thing that surprised me in this editorial was the first mention of the enormous shortfall in the state's public pensions I have seen in the MSM. They say it is $16 billion and I say it is $17 billion, but why quibble over the difference? We can't pay either amount.

We need to repeal the Alternative Minimum Calculation, but what we really need is state leadership willing to change expectations on government dramatically so we can cut spending enough to afford future pension liabilities. Raising new taxes -- or keeping bad ones like AMC -- won't be enough to stop the unfunded liability train from running over Kentucky.

We can't tax our way out of this.

Believing Ahmadinejad

The biggest problem Americans have with Iran is some people believe their President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he says he wants to use "peaceful nuclear technology as a clean energy source and as a replacement for oil," while others believe him when he says "we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism."

Blogs No Longer Blocked In State Offices

The prohibition against viewing of political websites by on-the-clock state employees has apparently been quietly dropped. Should be a hot topic of conversation in the MSM to start off a slow news week.

Nothing else big is expected next week except for some kind of announcement by Sen. Dan "Human Error" Mongiardo.

Casino Campaign Of 2007 Off To A Bad Start

Otis Hensley is no longer alone.

Treasurer Jonathan Miller signed up to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor today and then went on the Kruser and Krew program in Lexington to take a few questions.

To the question of his position on casino gambling, Miller vacillated pretty effectively, saying first he was concerned about low-income people who would gamble away more than they could afford, then saying he wasn't sure that he was against it -- and that it had to do with the "framing" of the issue -- before finishing up with the let the people decide mantra of the pro-casino campaign.

Given that Governor Fletcher has essentially the same answer, we are left to wonder where the candidate is who will come forward and talk about the taxpayers bearing the burden of all the public costs associated with state-supported casinos. The Bluegrass Institute had a good point about how, if we are going to do this, we should at least raise the financial barrier to entry into the casino business. We could go one step further and raise the tax on casinos from the proposed 35% to more like 90% like they have in Germany.

Better still, let's quit fooling ourselves and others into believing that casinos will benefit Kentucky as a whole.

The Democrats Are Worse

I've taken a lot of abuse from my libertarian friends for continuing to insist Congressional Democrats will be a certain downgrade from GOP leadership, as flawed as it was.

Well, take a gander at this little shopping list. I don't see anything on here that does anything to improve America, do you?

Making illegal legislative conflicts of interest even more illegal in #1, raising taxes in #3 and #5, and of course forcing Social Security into the tank in #10 are some of the highlights. What are your favorites?

President Kerry Wants To Understand Iran, Syria

In case you needed another reason to be glad John Kerry lost in 2004, there's this:

"It's very important for countries to talk to each other, even when you disagree. We have serious differences with Syria right now, we have serious differencess with Iran, but you can't begin to resolve those differences if you're not willing to try to understand.. I think it's important to begin a discussion," said Kerry, a Massachusetts senator.

The rub is our differences revolve around the fact that they aren't happy we are still alive.

Meanwhile, there's this. Not that the Senate Democrats will listen to reason any more than the Syrians and Iranians will.

Miller Running For Governor

Looks like the money-losing KAPT giveaway program is going to be back in the news.

With Character Witnesses Like This...

Sen. Ed Worley is back in the news:

"Johnny Ray Turner is one of the finest members in the Senate," Worley said. "He is an honorable man.

Kentucky's Proud Democrat Leaders

Sen. Johnny Ray Turner(D-Drift) refused to resign from the Senate after pleading guilty to vote-buying charges in U.S. District Court today.

Next up: Sen. Ed Worley's (D-Richmond) fraud case in Madison Circuit Court.

HillaryCare For The Dogs

Sen. Denise Harper Angel (D-Louisville) has filed a bill that would require veterinarians to treat "assistance dogs" without regard to the ability of the dog's "handler" to pay for the service.

I find it interesting that a state senator who needs a euphemism to describe someone who "owns" a dog isn't too delicate to jail a veterinarian for up to 30 days and fine him up to $1000 for having the audacity to think he owns his professional services and and his time.

Disgusting

The Lexington City Council voted quietly last night to pay off the $750,000 loan condemnation supporters guaranteed as a show of "community support" for taking over Kentucky American Water Company.

What These People Need Is A Minimum Wage Hike

Funny "Hump Day" video.