Mr. Edwards, Tear Down This Wall!

While Kentuckians are talking about corporate give-aways to attract companies, presidential aspirant John Edwards wants to build a Berlin Wall to keep employers from leaving the country.

"No American corporation should be able to lift up, go overseas, and hire children or slave labor to do their work," Edwards said.

Somehow, I don't think President Edwards would open his barbed-wire fence to corporations who pledge to only hire consenting adults. Again, we just need better policies to attract companies to our state and make staying in the country more efficacious to them.

That most likely means switching away from income taxation and toward just taxing consumption.

Where's Jody And What's He Doing For Fun?

The talk of House Democrats possibly coming back in for the special session took a big hit earlier today when the announcement went out that this Wednesday's monthly meeting of the Legislative Research Commission -- which includes leaders from both the House and Senate -- has been cancelled and won't be rescheduled.

Is It News Or Just Bad Grammar?

WKYT.com (the CBS television affiliate in Lexington) reports the following:

Scorsone says pressure by airport officials may be a favor to Governor Fletcher - who is seeking reelection- and is urging House democrats to return so the session can decide on the airport matter and some 66 others items on the agenda.

Here is the whole story, but I don't think Scorsone is crossing the picket line or encouraging his comrades in the House to do so either.

For the record, in the sentence above "Governor Fletcher" is not the one urging House Democrats, Scorsone is. If the author meant to say Fletcher was the one doing the urging he might have done it like this:

Scorsone says pressure by airport officials may be an election year favor to Governor Fletcher, who is urging House Democrats to return so legislators can decide on the airport matter and some 66 other items on the agenda.

Raising Your Taxes While "Soaking The Rich"

You will soon be hearing about federal tax bills to put a damper on private equity investors as if it is no big deal, just getting after the evil rich people.

Well, think again.

From Americans for Tax Reform:

• There are three main arguments against these related measures:

1. Assault on Pensions and Charities. This is a direct assault on every firefighter’s, cop’s, nurse’s, and teacher’s pension in America. It’s an assault on the nest egg of every local college. It’s an attack on the resources charities have to do work in their communities.

2. Assault on Savings and Growth. Since the 2003 tax cut that lowered the capital gains and dividends rate to 15%, the S&P 500 Index has increased by over 13% a year. Household net worth has grown by over $12 trillion, or 27%. The Democrat plan to raise the tax rate on savings from 15% to 40% will wreck the economy. This is just the first assault on the lower rates that have given us such undeniable prosperity.

3. “Liberal Tax Hike of the Week.”. This is just the latest money-grab from Congressional Democrats this year. They want to raise taxes on energy, raise taxes on businesses that sell U.S. goods overseas, raise taxes on Americans abroad, raise taxes on smokers, and now they want to raise taxes on every pension, college and charity in America.

Here is the whole article.

While the MSM makes such a big deal about President Bush's low approval numbers, they don't mention so much that Congress is even less respected. This is one reason why.

Always remember that income taxes have a nasty way of rolling downhill.

Why Have Good State Tax Policy When Targeted Tax Incentives Are So Much Fun For Politicians?

There is little doubt that most of the legislative opponents to energy company tax incentives in July will have a miraculous change of heart in January.

In fact, the letter Jody Richards' handlers intended for him to wave around dramatically during his floor speech Thursday promises Peabody's Rick Bowen they will:

As you know from the ongoing representations, both individually and collectively, of the undersigned there is a demonstrated record in the Kentucky House of Representatives of our desire to foster a favorable atmosphere for projects that will reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil while taking advantage of Kentucky's unique abundance of the requisite natural resources. In the spirit of that desire and given the uncertainty of the specifics or feasibility of your project as referenced in your July 3, '07 letter, each of us wish to assure you of our willingness to enact appropriate financial incentives during the January 08' regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly that will facilitate your project; make KY a leader in this promising new industry; and be in the best interest of the people of the Commonwealth.

The letter was signed by the Democratic Party leaders in the House of Representatives. I typed it exactly as the letter was written.

What is lost in all this mess is that if we just set corporate tax policy that would work for everyone, we wouldn't have to engage in these counterproductive incentive programs.

The Tax Foundation sums it up pretty well in one sentence:

Tax preferences designed to boost corporate investment may provide short-term advantages to some companies—and allow lawmakers to take credit for new jobs in campaign speeches—but in the long run they add enormous complexity to the code, and ultimately transform the tax system into an economic minefield of narrow bases and punitively high rates.

It is clear that what House Dems are waiting for is a new governor, but we should embrace the opportunity to reform our tax code for everyone and not just for individual out-of-state companies on a case-by-case basis.

Coalflation The Hidden Tax In SB 1

We've already seen corn prices skyrocket because the government wants to promote ethanol as an alternative fuel.

So how will we feel about our home electric bills after we subsidize rapid growth in coal usage only to have a negligible effect on oil importation and gas prices?

Special Session Chess Match Might Get Interesting

Who is winning? Who is losing?

Got an opinion of what will/should happen next?

Let's hear it...

It's All Over But The Chest Thumping

Today was ugly and tomorrow will be uglier still.

Speaker Jody Richards couldn't have looked much more amateurish directing the House today. What a mess. The constitutional issues might keep the Adjournment 2008 fight going for a while, but the big losers in this are easy to see; it's the taxpayers.

Might be fun to see the House Dems get arrested for skipping out on their duty, but it would really be great to see some real issues get more prominent play.

The domestic partner mess needs to be addressed, but I think we need to put the coal to liquid deal to bed first. Otherwise, some real healthcare reform would be inspiring.

Financial Literacy By Liberals

A bleeding heart group in Berea is going to combat payday loan operators by competing with them.

Their ironic plan is to help poor people get out of debt by getting their employers to give them low-interest loans.

They are a little light on details so far, but a video of the financial counseling would surely be a sight to behold.

I'm thinking it will go something like this:

Dude, we're gonna get your boss to give you the extra bread you need for the stuff you deserve and then sue the fascist when he tries to get it back from you because you deserve it, man. Serves him right for not paying you a fair wage to begin with, man.

...Jobs Americans Just Won't Do

A medical blog called "InsureBlog" points out the most recent terrorists in England were people who took advantage of England's need to import immigrant doctors into their national health service, even from hostile nations.

This provides us with yet another reason to ask ourselves if we really want all our health care professionals working for the government at civil servant wages.

And there can be no doubt this is a Kentucky issue when one major candidate for governor makes no bones about moving us in that direction.

Will House Fold On First Day Of Session?

WHAS reporter Mark Hebert says this morning Speaker Jody Richards will immediately adjourn tomorrow, ending Governor Fletcher's special session.

If they do this, I think it will be a serious political loss for the Governor. He won't want to hammer the Democrats for saving us from a large give-away on an iffy project and $60,000 a day to spend millions more on projects that can wait until January. The silver lining in that cloud may be that he could then focus his campaign on more meaningful issues like school choice, health care (for people who aren't on Medicaid), and repeal of the Alternative Minimum Calculation.

More News Cover-Up On Socialized Medicine

Whether you are concerned or not about Governor Beshear and LG Mongiardo hitting us with their utopian fix for healthcare, you might want to look at what you aren't being told about the government-run program in England they want us to have.

Public Pension Mess: Forgotten But Not Gone

If we are really going to have a special session starting at the end of this week, the least we can do is repeal the bad law from 2005 that allows lawmakers a huge pension bonus for going to work elsewhere in state government.

It's The Health Care Costs, Stupid

Neither gubernatorial candidate is addressing a real pocketbook issue that could be fixed with a few simple changes in the law.

Health care.

Of course, Beshear thinks casinos will fix the problem, so Fletcher has a slight edge. But neither sees what repealing Certificate of Need would do. We need more competition among providers and insurers, yet our laws serve mainly to inhibit market forces from working.

It is a shame we have accomplished nothing on this front after four years with a Republican governor. The Democratic answers, meanwhile, will only make matters worse.

Free market supporters would do well to embrace this issue before it is too late.

Fear Not, Liberal Kentucky Blog Readers

Bluegrass Report is on the trash heap Monday morning, but we still have BluegrassRoots.org for the crazy left-wing stuff.

Making The Right Call

There has still been no call of the special session that is supposed to start on Thursday.

Governor Fletcher should forget about the coal processing subsidy business and call a special session to address healthcare costs.

While everyone else is increasing government control in hopes that the next brilliant idea will finally work, Kentucky should eliminate all mandates on health insurance companies and focus regulatory efforts on enforcing contracts only.

Courier-Journal Insults Normal People Again

The CJ weighs in on illegal immigration again by suggesting anyone who is opposed is racist and uninformed.

Typical.

And then they got in the talking point du jour, bringing back the Fairness Doctrine:

But if right-wing radio could produce such venomous (and effective) resistance to a reform supported by George W. Bush, imagine how it would react to a similar measure offered by Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

If the liberal papers are so desperate in their rapid decline that they are really going to hang their hopes on shutting down talk radio legislatively, they sure don't need subscriptions or advertising dollars from people who disagree with them.

The free market is doing its thing again.

Milkflation

Cows make milk. Corn feeds cows. Federal government screws up corn market with ethanol nonsense, raising the price for the milk corn-fed cows make.

Got water, anyone?

Cracking Down On Illegals In Kentucky

Rep. Rick Nelson (D-Middlesboro) told me yesterday he is going to file a bill to penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Pre-filed Bill Would Cut Pay For Special Sessions

Rep. John Will Stacy (D-West Liberty) pre-filed a bill yesterday afternoon that would cut off legislator pay for either legislative body that adjourns during a regular or special session without the consent of other chamber.

Democrats Play Catch-Up On Energy Pork Bill

Speaker Jody Richards just started off today's House A&R meeting by stating his position that we don't need a special session.

I agree with him.

Update: Dr. Jim Bartis of the Rand Institute said if we do this we should also build a carbon sequestration facility because that will be necessary to attract potential federal subsidies in the future.

This is a reason not to do it.

Bill Caylor of the Kentucky Coal Association said he was in favor of anything that involved mining more coal but that the energy pork would have no impact on gasoline prices.

People Power Kills Amnesty Bill

George Bush needs to get religion fast.

U.S. Supreme Court Grants School Choice Victory To Louisvile Families

Another 5-4 vote ends a racial quota system in Louisville schools today.

Good.

Unfinished Business

Am I the only one who sees a momentum shift as the effort to give away the farm to illegal immigrants wanes? By the way, if you are still stuck on the Senate cloture vote, you may find solace among the House Republicans.

After Amnesty dies again, we need to push back by cutting off entitlements for illegals. I don't have a problem with them competing for our jobs, but there should be no incentive whatsoever for them to come here and draw welfare.

Meanwhile, as a column in today's Herald-Leader correctly notes, Kentucky is held back by the Alternative Minimum Calculation.

Governor Fletcher has shifted on casinos. Now is the time for him to shift on this bad tax. The primary vote in his race split down the middle with his two opponents promoting repeal. The conservative base has only two choices on election day: vote Fletcher or stay home. Giving us this one should make sense to Team Fletcher.

Governor Fletcher Steps Up Against Casinos

Finally.

Governor Fletcher announced today through his campaign manager that he doesn't support putting casinos on the ballot in Kentucky.

Good move. A little late in the day, but a good move nonetheless.

Casinos cost states more than they benefit them and putting the issue on the ballot only allows the casinos -- and their pathetic mouthpiece surrogates like KEEP -- to pour millions of dollars in slick advertising onto the airwaves.

While it would have been satisfying to see Team Fletcher jump on this earlier, they were right to hold onto it for a while. Beshear has no place to go on casinos, except maybe to bid higher.

Can we get $600 million a year, Steve?

... And West Virginia Surely Wants Us To Elect Steve Beshear As Our Governor, Too

I'm delighted to see Canadians want to see Hillary Clinton elected President of the United States.

RPK Launches Salvos, But No Explosions Yet

It has been mildly funny to watch Democrats go apoplectic because RPK Chairman Steve Robertson questioned the judgement of their Attorney General and the effete character they picked to replace him.

It has been more enjoyable to watch the Lexington Herald-Leader scramble to come up with a coherent answer to campaign contributions to liberal extremist candidates from their own staffers. You can almost see the wheels spinning in their heads as it occurs to them that money really is speech.

But if they really want to see the opposition squirm in their own little painted corner, the Republican party should go after the teachers unions. Kentucky desperately needs school choice and Democrats aren't going to give it to us. Republicans should.

In these dog days with relatively few people paying attention, now is the time to start explaining how everyone wins with school choice. Well, everyone except those addicted to the status quo.

Where Immigration Reform Should Start

President Lyndon Johnson's words about transforming America into a Great Society can be instructive to our current immigration debate, but not in any way he would have anticipated or that his ideological progeny now appreciate. When he said "it is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than with the quantity of their goods," he invoked the socialist bugaboo "materialism" to justify entitlement spending. Today, we hear pejoratives such as "racism" and "nationalism" tossed about to justify an invasion on American soil attacking the soft underbelly of our society: our entitlement system. The quality of our goal to enhance life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness most widely will be tested as we wrestle with illegal immigration, but this healthy discussion will present great opportunity for advancement.

America is turning the corner on immigration and entitlements with the current unrest over the proposed granting of wholesale amnesty to illegal immigrants. Politicians who fail to see the coming events in time will pay a heavy price. I believe what we are experiencing is a return to the path that made America great and the one that will make our nation greater still. That path involves more freedom in our free enterprise and less entitling in our entitlement system. We will accomplish this by expelling illegals from our communities without using massive police action or by building miles and miles of walls along our southern border. We will accomplish a renaissance in America by dismantling our welfare system and it will rightly begin by cutting off those in this country illegally.

As the least productive among them either choose to become more productive or choose to leave, the lights will start to come on across America. We don't need a guest worker program, we need Americans to see foreigners come here and truly risk everything to gain what we take for granted. That doesn't happen when the newcomers live far better here on welfare than they do at home.

The cold fact is that we can easily afford illegal immigration. Any new person who is even minimally productive is a net positive to our economy, even on all kinds of welfare. This is why we have survived so well despite granting socialist advances beyond Karl Marx's dreams. But the more important fact is that we can do even better for everyone without the Great Society bluster and largesse. It is time we gave this a shot. And the first blow will be struck when we clamp down on government benefits given to those who are here illegally.

Why Didn't Kentucky Lawyers Think Of This?

Lawyers in Dallas are really getting ramped up to handle global warming lawsuits.

Given our subsidy-for-coal plans, when this stuff hits Kentucky it will get messy fast and doubly expensive for consumers.

Expensive Bipartisan Inaction On KY Pensions

It would be difficult to overstate the risk to Kentucky taxpayers of doing nothing about public pensions.

Here is a good editorial.

We have waited too long to trim the pension benefits of politically-connected Kentuckians paid for by the rest of us.

The blue ribbon meetings on this aren't going to accomplish anything. So far, Kentucky's Senate majority is the only group who has done anything productive on this. We need leadership on this issue now.

McConnell Steps Up Against Gouging Bill

Thanks to both Kentucky Senators for voting against a bad bill to tighten "price gouging" restrictions.

Newberry Jail Scandal Indictments Coming Soon

Multiple inside sources are reporting the first federal indictments in the Fayette County Detention Center mess will be coming down in early July and that there will be one to three dozen of them initially.

Mayor Jim Newberry won't be able to keep this quiet much longer.

Kentucky Needs Nuclear Power

If you look at the economic development statistics, it becomes clear that a nuclear power plant or two would work wonders in Kentucky.

And yes, I think Jessamine county would be a great place to build one. All we need is community support throughout the state and the private utilities will do the work with their own money.

Then we can quit screwing around with all this subsidy garbage.

Jack Conway Has A Cow, Again

I couldn't care less if Jack Conway is gay or not, but it is pretty funny watching him protest:

"They are hate-mongers and fear-mongers that owe my wife an apology."

If Jack gets so bitchy because a Republican official refers to him as part of a centuries-old fairy tale that has nothing to do with homosexuality or anything of the sort, what's he going to do when he doesn't like the poll results coming out right before the election?

Personally, I'm more concerned about his anti-family, anti-small business, anti-taxpayer opinions than I am about who Jack Conway wants to have sex with. What is offensive to me is to see him posing as the moderate candidate in the race for Attorney General.

A Much Better Answer On Immigration

Yeah, I'm glad to see Sen. McConnell drop back from full support for the unfinished immigration bill.

Unions Have Destroyed Themselves With Their Wacky Political Activity; Now They Blame Us

Bill Londrigan is making up dumb stuff to try to keep unions alive:

America's working people are struggling to make ends meet, and our middle class is shrinking. So it's important to remember that the best opportunity for working men and women to get ahead economically is by uniting with co-workers to bargain with their employers for better wages and benefits.

If spending your hard-earned money to elect people who want the government to take more from you because it knows better what you need floats your boat, go ahead. But don't force me to do the same thing because, again, you think it is good for me.

Lee To Get A Big Boost

The Kentucky Club For Growth is going to put a significant portion of its resources toward helping Rep. Stan Lee get elected Attorney General. Help from the national Club For Growth organization could make it very interesting.

Extreme liberal Jack Conway already has the labor unions and far-left interest groups sewn up tightly. This should help even the playing field significantly in what will be possibly the most important race in the nation this year.

From Coal Country To Oil Country, And I Didn't Even Get A Subsidy To Pave My Way

I drove to Dallas, Texas today and now I find out we are going to have a special session to cobble together a half-baked corporate welfare program.

The Senate has the votes to pass whatever they are going to cook up. The battle is in the House, of course.

Just wish we were fighting over something worth fighting for.

Fred Thompson 2008 Update

Insiders report Fred Thompson will announce his candidacy for President on July 2. Speculation will then quickly turn to Thompson's selection of a running mate.

How about J.C. Watts?

Lack Of Income Doesn't Cause Poverty

The liberal Brookings Institution has decided that Kentucky needs new laws to keep poor people from being charged more for goods and services.

This fabulous idea, if enacted, would work just like HB 250 in 1994 that ran off dozens of health insurance companies with the ridiculous mandate that the companies stop charging market rates. That too, was a left-wing scheme to improve on market forces.

The Brookings study was good to the extent that it recognized poverty isn't just about income. What it missed is that any able-bodied person with average intelligence and an absence of mental illness can improve his circumstances by working more and spending less.

If public policy were focused more on helping those who fall through more narrowly defined cracks, more people would figure out how to thrive.

Then we wouldn't have to depend on left-wing think tanks to tell us to change zoning laws to "weed out" high-cost businesses. Ugh...

Stumbo's Mark On Frankfort: Money And Sex

Attorney General Greg Stumbo is finishing up his embarrassing term in office by "fixing" the taxpayer-supported domestic partner benefits fiasco as only he could. At Stumbo's urging, the University of Kentucky dropped the requirement that domestic partners swear under oath that they have been having sex for six months.

They still get your money. Stumbo's friend Jack Conway has already said he is with Greg on this one.

Just one more reason to support Stan Lee for Attorney General.

Just Another Drunk Madison County Politician

Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark got arrested for public intoxication again this weekend. But don't expect him to resign or even lose his next election in 2010.

His buddy Senator Ed Worley of Richmond got caught on tape last year conning one of his constituents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in real estate and he isn't going anywhere either.

Whip Cornflation In 2008 With Smart ForTwo

The Smart ForTwo is going to have a huge impact next year on the domestic car market and might even slow down some of the ridiculous government subsidies for corn.



For more info on this gasoline-powered car, go here.

In A Perfect World...

In a perfect world, this morning's story in the Herald Leader wouldn't be the first time the state MSM has considered whether AG Greg Stumbo was just grandstanding when he filed the price-gouging lawsuit against Marathon Oil.

In a perfect world, no one would have to be told this is what's going on.

Then again, in a perfect world Governor Fletcher would have already called off the three year old state of emergency that allowed Stumbo to file the lawsuit.

Dropping Out On The Installment Plan

Madison county is going to start a "secondary GED option" that requires high school students who are two years behind to stay in school fifteen hours a week and complete job training before dropping out.

This should be their first clue this isn't going to work out for anyone but the school system, which will get to show better "graduation" rates:

Board member Doug Whitlock described it as a great program, but he wanted to make sure it is monitored.

“I would hate to see this turn into something that other students would see as an easier way out,” he said.

Lefty Comes Unglued Over Boyfriend Bennies

Rep. Tom Burch has bought into the story that Kentucky taxpayers should foot the bill for "domestic partners" at state universities, even if they blow the lid off the costs like Attorney General Greg Stumbo wants them to:

Louisville Democrat Rep. Tom Burch, the other opinion seeker, said he is all for UK’s effort to extend health benefits. However, as chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, he sought Stumbo’s opinion because he wanted more legal standing before allowing his committee to pass the measure that would have explicitly blocked Kentucky’s public universities from providing domestic partner benefits.

“I figured if we had a clear decision on it, one way or the other, then it would be a more opportune time to deal with that issue. It was strictly to clear the air on that, (because it) might be wrong just to cave into a minority group out there that was raising Cain about it,” Burch told Business Lexington.

While the bill was in front of his committee, Burch said, he got more calls from people urging its passage than anything else he could remember, but said when he returned constituent calls, their information on the bill was lacking.

“I called these people back and talked to them about it,” Burch said. ‘They said, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about that bill; my preacher asked me to call.’” “Talk about an uninformed public,” Burch continued, “and believe me, the preachers don’t know anything either ... Let them stick to what Jesus said: ‘Give to Caesar those things that are Caesar’s and to God those things that are God’s.’”

“Everybody should have health insurance, and we should be encouraging people to get health insurance,” he added.

Thanks to Erik Carlson at Business Lexington for getting what has to be the goofy quote of the day. And thanks to Rep. Tom "Caesar" Burch for depicting so precisely what is wrong with Frankfort.

WalMart Shoppers Should Demand Health Reform

There is a big change coming to health care and Kentucky would be very wise to get on board. (Here's a hint: Hillary Clinton had nothing to do with it.) Health clinics in WalMart stores will heat up competition and Kentucky would do well to drop all barriers to health insurance companies returning to the state and to repeal Certificate of Need laws so we can have more competition across a broad range of health services.

WalMart really is amazing. What are they going to next, in-store private schools?

Late Night Lexington Jail Cover-Up Open Thread

What's your favorite part of the Mayor Jim Newberry scandal?

New Liberal Plan To Get Money Out Of Politics

Taxpayer-funded Democratic Party Chairman Jonathan Miller got Common Cause chairman Richard Beliles to file an ethics complaint against Senate President David Williams for raising money for Republicans.

KY 3CD Action Ramps Up

Erwin Roberts is running for Congress.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dan Seum, who is looking at the same race, just got back from a testing-the-water trip to Washington D.C.

Mitch McConnell Jumps The Shark On Gas Prices

Sen. Mitch McConnell today messes up his own call for expanding domestic petroleum production by playing a partisan political game that out-lived its usefulness the first time it was used:

The average price of gas has gone from $2.20 to $3.15 a gallon since the Democrats took over the Senate.

Good grief. Republicans aren't going to win on gas prices any time soon because too many people think the government can lower prices by making up more price gouging laws. Blaming gas price fluctuation on Harry Reid isn't going to advance exploration efforts or anything else.

Putting The Cart Way Before The Horse

Senator John McCain is interrupting his faltering campaign for the GOP presidential nomination to hold a press conference today in Los Angeles. He will be discussing Hillary Clinton's hidden earmarks inside the Defense spending bill.

Rude Awakening On Tap For Fayette Jail Union

The CWA union thugs representing corrections officers at the Lexington jail have joined hands with Mayor Jim Newberry in his cover-up of the wild array of misconduct surrounding the facility.

If the union thugs expect Newberry and his crowd will protect the union when the poop hits the fan at the jail, they just aren't thinking it through.

Bunning Joins Eight Senators In Calling For Enforcement Of Current Immigration Laws

So my question is how can there be just nine U.S. Senators who want to enforce current laws before passing more?

Just nine?

Yes, just nine.

Bipartisan Agreement On Barbara "Typo" Erwin

What in the world are we doing messing around with an education commissioner who can't get her story straight on her own resume?

Surely there is someone out there who can do this $220,000 a year job without causing more embarrassment to public education in Kentucky.

Would we have a problem like this if the education commissioner were an elected office?

Michael Moore Endorses Al Gore

Get your tin foil hats ready, folks. The interview goes a little long -- okay, nine minutes of Michael Moore is a lot long -- but he waxes goofy about what a great thing "free universal health care" will be. This should help Gore in the primary. At least until Streisand, Rosie, and the Baldwin brothers weigh in.

Maybe We Should Check Her Socks

Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton's former Secretary of State, has formed a group in support of "strong liberal values, and the need for strong national security."

The site is remarkably free of any kind of specifics. These folks really are going to keep their mouths shut until Hillary's move-in day, aren't they?

Rudy, Mitt, McCain Are Falling For It, Will You?

GOP presidential contenders are lending their names to a global redistribution effort (USA pays, everyone else receives) that won't earn any of them one single vote. I'll give you a hint, the ONE campaign's Kentucky director just moved to Montana.

Lowell Reese Says Fletcher May Lose And Take Trey Grayson Down With Him

He says it on this podcast.

"I don't think anybody else (other than Richie Farmer) on the Republican down ticket will be elected unless Fletcher is elected. And furthermore, Fletcher will have to get over 53% maybe somewhere around 54% of the vote in order to pull anybody in with him on down ticket. So you've got Trey Grayson, Melinda Wheeler, Linda Greenwell and the others. They're not going to make it. They don't have really a chance of making it unless Fletcher gets 53% or 54% of the vote which he is not expected to do. It's beyond precarious. It's dismal at this moment, because I think it is very uphill for Fletcher given the mood of voters in Kentucky."

Interesting. What do you think?

Floyd County Prepares For Stumbo AG Term End

Call it the anti-Greg Stumbo ordinance.

Volunteer State Candidates About To Step Up?

Funny to see Dem and GOP front-runners for the White House in 2008 trailed closely in third place by former Senators from Tennessee, neither of which is officially in the race.

Fred Thompson trails Giuliani and McCain, while Al Gore trails Clinton and Obama. It would be fun to see Al Gore run twice and lose his home state both times.

Scrap The Tax Code Now

If you don't know the history of the the 16th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, now would be a good time to read a little history about how we started on the path to what is now a ridiculous monster of a federal tax code.

I think the debate should be between whether we start with repeal of the 16th amendment or with instituting a new method for funding the government and then clean out the anachronisms later. The only option that doesn't hold any water is sticking with the status quo.

For the record, I think repealling the 16th amendment now and forcing Washington to come up with an alternative is the only way to go because it is the best way to get started on change.

Even the very blue states are going to have a tough time resisting a loud and persistent call to move away from the mess of a tax code we have now. Alternatively, they can shut down a specific reform proposal in a variety of ways, in which case we wind up with nothing.

Jack Conway, Call Your Webmaster

The Conway for Attorney General team still has on the front page of its website an article that chides his opponent Rep. Stan Lee for advocating a ban on taxpayer-supported boyfriend health benefits at state universities.

Conway used the "domestic partner" benefits issue as part of his liberal campaign agenda until he was forced to admit its unconstitutionality eight days ago.

Better work up a new one, boys. What's next Jack, diapers for politicians?

Son Of KERA Put To Rest

The lawsuit to force another massive KERA-style tax increase is now dead.

If we could only get some of these people past their money grubbing and on to raising standards, we would see more progress in education in Kentucky.

Paris Hilton Transferred To Lexington, KY Jail

Well, no, she wasn't really but this story is getting closer to blowing up. That will be fun to watch.

Immigration Debate Is Really Just Beginning

I've stayed away from the immigration debate because progress toward agreement was going so slowly.

Interesting story in the Courier Journal should put to rest the notion that this thing is over.

I think comprehensive reform just isn't going to happen until we take a few basic steps like fortifying the borders and reforming entitlements.

Republicans For Beshear?

A commenter mentioned an effort to form a "Republicans for Beshear" effort to peel off some of Governor Fletcher's support. Have to guess it is probably true.

How this shakes out will be very interesting to watch...

Beshear: KY Isn't Gouging Enough For Electricity

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear links to a story on his campaign website bemoaning the fact that Kentucky isn't as "energy efficient" as more progressive states like Vermont, Connecticut, and California.

What he fails to mention is that these three paragons of efficiency have electricity prices two to three times higher than we do here in Kentucky.

We can try to mandate energy conservation if we want to, but the only way to make a real impact on usage is to raise prices. How much of an energy tax does Beshear want to impose on us?

Remember, this is the guy who is going to ram casinos down our throats no matter what the General Assembly says.

Please explain yourself, Mr. Beshear.

I Think It May Have Been One Of Those Stupid Chain E-Mails Telling Me To Boycott Gas Stations

I was almost giddy this morning buying gasoline for a mere $2.87 a gallon.

Which rabble-rousing politician do I thank for my good fortune?

Fred Thompson 2008

Fred Thompson's campaign is making fundraising calls into Kentucky.

The most exciting thing about him so far may be that he isn't Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, or John McCain. That may be enough.

Blind Loyalty

Isn't it funny that reporting of every adult stem cell breakthrough seems to obscure the source of those cells and every fetal stem cell breakthrough is a celebration five years in advance that doesn't quite work out?

China Isn't Problem Left Says It Is

If a Democrat wins the White House, you won't see editorials like the one in today's Lexington Herald-Leader full of dark warnings about all the money we "owe" China.

And the writers will be right then, but they aren't now.

A trade deficit is not a debt. Speaking frankly, a trade deficit with China means we have their products and they have our little green pieces of paper. They won't want to destroy us before we make good on all our little green pieces of paper.

On the other hand, China has loaned lots of their little green pieces of paper (or whatever color they are) to our Treasury in exchange for our promise to repay. One, they won't want to destroy us until we make good on that debt and, two, it is preposterous to suggest that there is a risk they will "change their minds" and blow up their own investment to get out of Treasury bonds. Again, fearful liberals only need wait for the next Democratic president for a solid explanation they can trust. By the same token, fearful conservatives only need wait for the next conservative president for an explanation they can trust.

But that is another story.

The idea that China is going to take us over by buying up our assets now is as wrong as the same scenario in the 1980's in which Japan was going to buy up all our real estate and eventually force us all to speak Japanese.

Foreign exchange is one of those great political toys few people understand. It's very easy to say the sky is falling, so vote for our guys and the sky won't fall.

The sky won't fall because of our trading with China, no matter who wins the next election. And, mark my words, when Republicans are jumping all over President Hillary Clinton or whoever for selling us out to China, remember this for what it is: a political toy.

Making Our Schools Better Starts Here

Education bureaucrats like to have writing portfolios as part of CATS testing in Kentucky because the scores are easier to manipulate in order to make schools look better than they are.

Each year, someone in the General Assembly files a bill to remove portfolios from the CATS tests of elementary school students. And each year, the KEA thugs get it killed.

This evil process hinders the educational process and makes kids hate writing. The teachers are handcuffed to a bizarre mess of rules and it is past time to let them get back to teaching. Rep. Jim DeCesare (R-Bowling Green) has pre-filed the bill to end this cruel process.

We need parents with the guts to buck the system and call their legislators. Ask them to support this bill.

Special Session Silliness

The much-discussed special session is going to keep getting pushed back. Now they are talking about waiting until July.

House Democrats have no motivation to give Governor Fletcher a victory on spending projects or energy-related subsidies.

Now is the time to urge official Frankfort to get serious about public pension reform. The need for this is greater and if House Dems stiff the governor on the $18 billion tidal wave coming our way, he can better use that against Steve Beshear this fall.

Left-Wing Tax Dodgers Beware!

Looks like Marian Davis, currently the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Revenue, is likely to be named Executive Director of the Republican Party of Kentucky.

And yes, that means she will quit her state job.

Liberal Activists Want To Kill People In Denver

Amid gleeful garbling from Dem party pols about destroying the GOP over the war, some hard-liners are actually striving to re-live the bloodbath that was the protestfest at the Dem Convention in Chicago in 1968.

They are calling it Recreate '68.

Any middle-of-the-road Kentucky Democrats who see this lunacy as the straw breaking your proverbial camel's back need to think about the re-organization of the state GOP taking place next spring among registered Republicans.

Your state needs your sensible fiscal and social ideas that your old, worn out Democratic party is tossing aside with both hands.

When Democrats Promise To Protect Consumers From Evil Insurance Companies, Grab Your Wallet

I expect someone in the Kentucky legislature to glom on to the idea of sticking insurance companies with potential liability for paying triple the amount of a claim the company denies "unreasonably or negligently." This scheme was signed into law last month in Washington state and is much more political ploy than it is consumer protection.

In fact, costs incurred under this law will just be passed on to policyholders as higher cost of doing business. That means higher premiums.

And of course the lawyers will get paid more. Consumers will lose.

If Kentucky really wanted to lead on consumer protection in insurance, we would eliminate regulation of what specific items policies should cover and charge company officers criminally when they violate the promises made in their policies. Requiring violations to be proven as either "unreasonable" or "negligent" just provides loopholes for bad actors to escape through.

Scott White Auditions For Dale Emmons' Job

Scott White is a very nice, smart guy. He is also a Ben Chandler liberal whose column in the Lexington Herald Leader unintentionally shows why we aren't just about to change the line in "My Old Kentucky Home" into something like "'tis summer, the proletarian revolutionaries are gay."

Kentucky's Democrats took a big leap to the left in the primary elections, especially with the nominations of Steve Beshear, Daniel Mongiardo, and Jack Conway. All three have been dogged by reputations as being a little left in their loafers. Kentucky is not ready to sanctify that.

Or this:

The best and brightest Kentucky Democrats, sparkling with ideas and energy, appear ready for the moment: the gubernatorial ticket of former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear and state Sen. Dan Mongiardo, auditor Crit Luallen, attorney general candidate Jack Conway, new party chairman Jonathan Miller and vice chairwoman Jennifer Moore, and mayors Jerry Abramson of Louisville and Jim Newberry of Lexington.

It is exciting to be a Kentuckian committed to good, open government, to recognize that perhaps this time, we won't let the opportunity pass.

Yes, the real winners on May 22 are those Kentuckians whose deep commitment to progressive policies in education, environment, health care, the elderly, energy, criminal justice and economic development will move to the forefront. We will see the kind of idea-driven agenda we deserve, championed by talented leaders whose commitment to the public welfare trumps political ambition.

Going into November, Kentuckians will be presented a unified slate of candidates bursting with promise and determination -- men and women of keen intellect, unquestioned integrity and loyalty to the traditions and principles of the Democratic Party.

Urging Kentucky Republicans To Stand For Something: Issue #2 Certificate of Need

A lot of people assume the governor's race will be settled on issues which neither candidate holds a clear advantage, namely corruption, casino gambling or maybe tax and spending issues.

Given that, free market voters in both parties should pressure their nominee to explain why Kentucky needs to keep its outdated certificate of need laws.

Certificate of need regulation inhibits competition in health care beyond all reason. Governor Fletcher's administration claims on the Cabinet for Health and Family Services website, absurdly:

The purpose of Kentucky's Certificate of Need process is to prevent the proliferation of health care facilities, health services and major medical equipment which increases the cost of quality health care in the commonwealth.

"Proliferation" is used here to mean competition. "Increases the cost" is something more competition does not do.

One of the candidates would pick up a lot of active supporters by championing repeal of certificate of need. Or at least by pulling such ridiculous crap off the state website.

This Should End The Governor's Race

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Steve Beshear's health plan makes Brereton Jones' 1994 craziness look like a mere flesh wound.

RPK Chairman: Skippy Should Quit

New Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Steve Robertson was right today when he told the Courier-Journal that if he tried to keep his state job "it would be front page, above the fold" news. This after hardly a peep by the MSM when Jonathan Miller kept his position as Treasurer while also taking over as chair of the Democratic party.

Robertson is right. Jonathan "Skippy" Miller should run the Democratic Party or waste taxpayer dollars in the anachronistic Treasurer's office, but not both.

Big Milk Pricing Meets Big Oil Pricing

As a parent of four kids -- or really three kids and one milk-guzzling 6'3" monster -- I'm pretty sensitive to rising milk prices.

Help me, I'm being gouged!

It seems that new Asian demand for American milk is a major factor in milkflation. Higher corn prices -- corn feeds cows, cows make milk -- serve to make matters worse. The latter, of course, is due mainly to the government scheme to encourage ethanol production in hopes of saving us from Big Oil.

Now all we need is a zillion dollar federal program to work on developing a program to run our cars on milk. Or should that be a zillion dollar federal program to figure out a way to cover our breakfast cereals with petroleum?

Steal This Idea, Please, Representative Lee

Liberal politician Jack Conway(D-Louisville) is proposing various kinds of new legal activism in hopes they will somehow get him elected Attorney General. He likely has hundreds of extremist comrades waiting anxiously on the sidelines to staff the AG's office and carry out his agenda.

Rep. Stan Lee(R-Lexington) would do very well to propose eliminating all but a half dozen or so of the hundreds of employee positions currently in the Attorney General's office. The county attorneys could perform the necessary functions now performed by AG staff and the activism could be handled by interest groups not on the state payroll. Attorney General Lee could oversee their activities and assist them when they ask for help.

Thanks to Rep. Lonnie Napier(R-Lancaster) for suggesting this.

Stan Lee Thumps Greg Stumbo; Conway Next

Attorney General Greg Stumbo really had no choice but to admit that domestic partner benefits at public universities are unconstitutional as he did today.

Someone please put a microphone in front of Jack Conway as soon as possible.

Fiscal Dilemma: Near Left Versus Far Left

Peggy Noonan really lays into President Bush this morning for the way his administration is selling its approach to immigration reform.

Bush has been fortunate to survive his mistakes to some extent because of the much larger warts on the faces of his opponents. It's a little tough to stay mad at him with Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Al Gore, and friends barking at the door.

By the same token, Governor Ernie Fletcher gets a pass for raising taxes and spending from a lot of people because of the rampaging horde led by Steve Beshear, Jonathan Miller, Daniel Mongiardo, Ernesto Scorsone, and Kathy Stein.

Treasurer/Chairman Skippy, Call Your "Office"

Jonathan "Skippy" Miller was so busy performing the duties of his State Treasurer job that earlier this year he decided to run for governor. When that didn't work out, he was given the position of chairman at the Democratic Party of Kentucky.

Good thing he is term-limited out of office at the end of this year. Otherwise, he might hit the presidential tour with Dennis Kucinich while we pay him his six-figure allowance.

Jim Waters at the Bluegrass Institute has picked up on the effort to shut down the Treasurer's office.

We need legislators to file and co-sponsor a bill for the necessary constitutional amendment.

Does Jack Conway Think He Can Ignore Every Law?

Liberal Attorney General candidate Jack Conway is going to have to explain whether or not he supports the current occupant of that office Greg Stumbo in his unconstitutional OAG opinion that casinos can be legalized without a constitutional amendment.

We know he is a big supporter of boyfriend benefits at taxpayer expense, another unconstitutional state action, but he needs to come clean on this one too.

Another Shot At The Wrong Target

Rep. Tanya Pullin wants to expand need-based financial aid for college students --something there really isn't a shortage of -- and top it off with a freeze on tuition increases at state schools.

The program is called the "Kentucky Postsecondary Education Covenant Award."

Today's trick question: name one example of government price-fixing that has worked without creating unintended consequences worse than the underlying problem.

The part of the bill that subtracts any other aid or scholarships from the "Covenant Award" also accomplishes exactly the wrong thing. We should encourage students who take the initiative to pile up scholarship awards in excess of "costs of education." This program punishes those who would do so by reducing the need-based award, requiring them to spend more time scrambling around at some part-time job rather than sticking to the books.

As an example, my son just got another $1000 scholarship that he qualified for because of many hours of past work at school and in the community. Filling out the application took less than half an hour. Not a bad return for past work he was going to do anyway and half an hour at the keyboard. This program would tell a student with means and a solid school record to go for the scholarship, which might subsidize his living expenses and would certainly be more efficient than spending many hours flipping burgers. A less affluent student with the same record might feel compelled to skip the scholarships, take the "Covenant Award," and flip burgers for additional funds.

This means the more ambitious, less affluent students will take their chances without the "Covenant Award," risk applying for scholarships they won't get, and hope to earn enough to cover education expenses plus some extra to live on. The less ambitious students will take the "Covenant Award," work more hours to finance miscellaneous expenses, and will be more likely to flunk out after burning through the state money.

This all leads to higher costs for the kind of students we really should be helping stay in state.

Special Session Needs A Trade-Off

The Governor and the General Assembly should be able to agree on the spending projects they both want to add to a June Special Session. Otherwise, they should hold off on the gimmicky "energy bill" and the no-way-to-win domestic partner issue.

We can do without the energy gimmicks and since Governor Fletcher's own Trustees passed boyfriend benefits -- and House Democrats support them -- that matter now needs to be settled in court.

The fight worth fighting is for Rep. Stan Lee's special needs scholarship bill that could save taxpayers $200 million over the next decade -- offsetting some of the new spending -- and benefit our most vulnerable schoolchildren now.

Urging Kentucky Republicans To Stand For Something: Issue #1 School Choice

Instead of getting bogged down with petty foolishness, it would be great if Kentucky's Republican candidates could coalesce around a single issue to engage voters this fall.

The time grows near which will allow candidates to run and win by advocating school choice.

It won't happen, but Governor Fletcher could make an issue of special needs scholarships. The teachers union isn't going to endorse him anyway and the vouchers will save taxpayers money. And Steve Beshear will have no answer for it except what he gets from union extremists. (Here's a hint: they don't do a very good job of refuting vouchers.)

The one place school choice might realistically show up this year is in the Attorney General's race. GOP nominee Stan Lee sponsored the voucher bill this year and his liberal opponent, Jack Conway, is likely to try to use it against him.

Lee would be well advised to tout school vouchers every day until November.

Explaining "High" Gas Prices In America

The Club for Growth has a hard-to-ignore take on a Gallup poll on the cause of $3 a gallon gas.

The hard fact is blaming oil companies for being greedy causes us to adopt the same muddled thinking we usually get from our left-wing moonbat friends.

Free market fans who abandon their principles as soon as the sticky, black stuff comes out of the ground have to take a good look at increasing demand here and in the developing world. Discounting political instability and intransigence here and abroad also takes a willful blindness unworthy of such a serious discussion.

The best way for you to reduce what you spend on fuel is to use less of it. That is demand. Also, legalizing expanded domestic drilling would help. That is supply.

Unfortunately, this will continue to be a political football as the party out of power blames the party in power or -- in the case of divided government -- they trade blame.

It could well be that the discussion won't get any more rational until one of the oil companies figures out how to run cars on hydrogen. That will happen long before any public-spirited federal agency pulls it off.

Four Dollar Meds: Biggest Loss Leader In History Or A Political Statement?

Wal-Mart is saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars with its private prescription drug plan.

Did Democrats Toss Election To Rehab Lunsford?

Interesting to note from Ryan Alessi's column that Bruce Lunsford knew he could have forced a run-off -- one he could well have won -- if he had gone after Democratic nominee Steve Beshear's weaknesses on casino gambling and loan-sharking.

The predatory lending stuff is pretty good, but Beshear will have a very difficult time trying to sell specifics on his casino plan to the public.

Hope Lunsford enjoys his improved image among primary voters.

The Pulse Of Lexington

I will be on Leland Conway's radio show at 630 AM or wlap.com this morning at 11:00 talking about how the new media should impact public policy.

A Non-Liberal Professor At University of Kentucky

Here's an interesting podcast featuring John Garen, Economics department chairman at the University of Kentucky.

Jim Newberry Won't Talk About Civil Case, But He Really Should Answer This Criminal Question

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry has refused to answer questions about the lawsuit against him and former Mayor Teresa Isaac for violating the state Whistleblower Act.

But he shouldn't be able to hide from one question about any criminal indictments that may be handed down against officers in the Fayette County Detention Center. You have to understand, as peace officers under the Urban County form of government, indicted peace officers will not be able to work in the detention center.

So, Mayor Newberry, will any criminally indicted officers from the FBI case you won't talk about be placed on leave with or without pay?

A Fun Summer Project In Kentucky

It's time to get Kentucky's state legislators to publicly state who they each support for governor.

Democrats who refuse to answer have to be counted as Ernie Fletcher supporters.

Pay No Attention To The Anonymous "Draft Forgy" Blogger Behind That Curtain

Some anonymous character is still trying to push the ridiculous idea that Larry Forgy should run for U.S. Senate against Mitch McConnell.

Whoever he is, he is getting a little desperate for attention. Now he claims the big threat against Mitch McConnell might come from former state Rep. Steve Nunn.

Take Their Freedom, But They Want Their MTV

Venezuela loves its communist dictator until, of course, he shuts down a popular television station.

Dividing November Spoils In Late May

House Budget Chairman Harry Moberly has worked out a deal to support Steve Beshear for governor in exchange for the Budget Director's job.

Moberly is propping up lightweight Rep. Don Pasley to take over as Budget Chair.