The KEA Won't Like This One Bit

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

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

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

KY Senate Versus Jonathan Miller, Again?

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

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

Who Needs Liberal Media Bias?

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

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

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

Terry McBrayer: A Smart Political Hack

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

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

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

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

Think Tank Shocker: High Income Earners Make More Money

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

Will such wonders never cease?

Socialized Medicine In England

More evidence we don't need it here.

Howard Dean Crony Stirring in Jessamine County

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

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

So far, it seems to be working.

More on this here.

Brereton Jones Media Makeover

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

Media Appearance

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

First Election Win of 2006

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

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

Ed Worley's Egomaniacal Verb Tense/Sentence Structure Breakdown

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

More Frankfort Democrat "Economic Development"

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

Strange Bedfellows: Ed Worley And ???

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

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

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

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

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

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

This could get pretty interesting.

Ethics Complaint Filed

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

Raise KEES Standards Now

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

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

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

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

Teachers Unions The Next Blogger Takedown

Nothing about this in the MSM.

Who Needs Liberals: We Have ICARE!

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

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

Eastern Kentucky Vote Buying Indictments?

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

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

Kentucky Sues Over Medicare Drug Plan

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

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

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

Right to Work Announcement Coming Monday

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

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