Truth Found In Herald Leader Op-Ed

The Lexington Herald Leader's favorite story this decade has been about how great it would be if the Lexington city government owned the water company. So it was no surprise to see another one today.

Today's catastrophic abuse of reason and common sense contains one single shred of truth that cuts to the chase about the whole government takeover thing.

A yes vote on Nov. 7 would encourage whoever is in control of Kentucky American to negotiate with the city rather than risk having a Fayette County jury set a price as part of an eminent domain proceeding.

That's true. It's true in the sense that a bank robber "encourages" a teller to give him money rather than risk having a bullet placed gently inside her brain, but it is a true statement.

It's a good thing that more and more people are coming to realize that eminent domain abuse is a terrible way to get people to return phone calls to bureaucrats or whatever they are trying to "encourage" local businesses to do now.

Did You Bring Your Gun To School?

High school seniors across Kentucky already have enough to distract them about now. So the Kentucky Division of Mental Health And Substance Abuse wants to pull them out of class and give them a survey on their drug use.

Sample questions include "How often (if ever) have you smoked marijuana?" and "How many times in the past year (12 months) have you taken a handgun to school?"

Good grief. Fortunately, parents can opt their children out of this silly thing.

Worley Continues Name-Calling

At an embarrassing Tuesday night candidates forum, Senator Ed Worley continued his efforts to distract from his sordid performance of late by imitating Mel Gibson.

I don't know how Worley feels about "the jews," but his ire sure does get raised easily by his opponent Barry Metcalf. Tuesday, he called Metcalf "pompous and arrogant" for pointing out that Worley tells constituents he is against gambling and campaign donors elsewhere he is for it. In a Herald Leader article coming out Friday, Worley refers to Metcalf as a "yapping dog."

If Worley concentrated more on keeping his story straight about who he is ripping off in shady land deals, his avid support for casino gambling, or voting for state budgets without bonding $4 Billion for future generations to worry about, he wouldn't have to squeal so loud because his feet are being held to the fire.

Weaver Flubs Foley, Again

Polwatchers has the story of the "dumbest Democrat running for Congress" inviting more people to his own butt-kicking.

A Tale Of Two Senators

The similarities are startling.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid(D-NV) finds himself embroiled in a real estate scandal involving false statements on his financial disclosure forms, use of a limited liability company to hide his actions, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable profits.

Just like Kentucky state Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley(D-Richmond).

When an Associated Press reporter asked Reid for comment, he abruptly hung up the phone. Worley has blamed his troubles on his Republican opponent, even though a damning taped phone call of Worley and his victim has already been made public.

The similarities don't end there. So far, the mainstream media coverage of both cases has been spotty at best. That is a shame.

I've read the accounts of how difficult it was to uncover Enron. That was tough. Uncovering these two guys might take a little elbow grease, but not much. The evidence is right there. Probably more fun to keep asking if one gay Congressman is going to take down every Republican running for anything in America, but these stories of two men who got caught using their positions of power to enrich themselves under suspicious circumstances are more relevant in the real world.

Keller Swings For Wrong Fence

Senate candidate James Keller, a Lexington Democrat, has seen the polls and knows it is time for losing candidates to get goofy.

Speaking this morning at a National Federation of Independent Business forum, Keller started talking about how much he wants more Brereton Jones-style socialized medicine in Kentucky.

Someone please tell Mr. Keller that this kind of stuff flies at ACLU rallies and limousine liberal cocktail parties, but not with business groups or in Lexington's 12th Senate district.

FairTax Blogburst

Interesting article on an idea whose time has come.

by TD of The Right Track
As I see it, the main problem with the Income Tax is that it is virtually impossible to enforce completely and fairly. Compliance with the Income Tax depends on taxpayer truthfulness, which generally is motivated either by a) good character, or b) fear of an IRS audit. With the FairTax, the tax is collected when the money is spent, from everyone, with greatly reduced opportunities for non-compliance by the public.
For instance, what about the criminal element in our country? Have you ever heard of the Mafia? Or the drug dealer? Do you think that these people report 100% of their income? Of course not! They get out of paying a huge percentage of their actual tax bill by the simple expedient of not reporting all of their income. But these same individuals still have to pay utility bills, purchase prescription drugs, visit doctors, and buy food. And if they believe in the "high life" of new cars, fancy clothes and jewelry, and new homes, they're going to pay more than "Joe Six-pack" who chooses to drive a used car, or purchase a home that's not brand new.
And it's not just individuals who are managing to avoid paying taxes these days. Everyone in America has heard of the rush to move American companies "offshore", whether in whole or in part. Think about it -- have you ever seen an American-flagged commercial vessel? Oh sure, we've got our warships, but what about commercial boats that carry cargo or cruise passengers? Most of these are flying the flag of Liberia or Panama -- low-tax nations.
In the mid-1950s, about 33% of all income taxes collected were paid by American corporations. Today that number is down to approximately 10%. From "The FairTax Book" by Boortz and Linder:
"That plunge is a major factor in our recent soaring deficits. Indeed, international corporations are essentially "voluntary" taxpayers today, paying only that amount in taxes that they believe will avoid attracting embarrassing news coverage. These corporations believe that our draconian tax structures make their actions necessary. The OFCs [offshore financial centers, or banks - TD] make their plans feasible" [Emphasis added - TD]
Boortz and Linder make the point that if we eliminated all taxes on capital and labor, (which the FairTax does), the United States would become the world's tax haven.
We have the most stable economy, the most liquid and trusted markets, and the highest rates of labor productivity in the world -- and the trillions of dollars in those OFCs would flow back home to the United States for the very reason they found themselves offshore to start with.
And we're not just talking about American businesses coming home, we're talking about wooing corporations based in other countries into America. Think of the economic benefits! More productivity, lower unemployment, higher wages, and all occurring within a tax system that allows you at least partly to choose whether to pay taxes! Buy it new, pay a tax, buy it used and don't!
The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.
TD

WTVQ Web Survey Shows Ignorance

Local TV newsies at WTVQ in Lexington have put up a survey on their website that displays either their own ignorance about the eminent domain case on the Fayette county ballot next month, or it purposely seeks to mislead.

Rather than what is on their survey, a more applicable question might be --

"How do you plan to vote on the Lexington/Fayette Co. water issue?

Yes, they should start the legal process all over to get a price for Ky-American Water Company after a few years. The lawyers will win. KAWC and taxpayers will lose.

No, they should not waste the time and money. The lawyers will find other projects."

Instead, we get this. (At the bottom of the page.)

Election Update: Dems Paint Selves Into Corner With Own Broad Brush

The gay bashing is back-firing, Bubba is like a Seinfeld character, and all the drama about nothing during a real something has been a real turn-off.

While the Republicans in this Congress have been a disappointment, the lack of a credible opposition party has posed a real danger to America. Fortunately, the snarky moveon.org revolution is showing signs of running its course. When it does, maybe we can do more governing by a system whose players keep each other honest with real issues like tax reform and entitlement reform.

Mike Weaver Gets A Little Crazy

First, he lies. Then he says something stupid. Then he falls all over himself trying to take back his stupid comment.

Mike Weaver should definitely have sat this one out. Trying to score political points for himself on the Mark Foley mess, Weaver said "This has to do with 16-year-old boys," which it doesn't. Then he said "that showed a very liberal tendency from some of the leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives," which it didn't.

Then his campaign manager interrupted the interview with a Lexington Herald Leader reporter to add that Weaver was "not saying liberals are pedophiles."

Whew! Nice catch by Ryan Alessi and John Stamper and a funny story about a soon-to-be unemployed politician.

Democrats really think inferior candidates are going to be swept into office on this idiotic thing. Lots of luck.

Lexington Jail Scandal Update

Beatings of prisoners in the Lexington jail continued after the FBI raid on the facility, inside sources report. They continued after Mayor Isaac claimed publicly that no civil rights violations were happening there.

Since Corporal John Vest announced that he had been working with the FBI in their investigation though, the same sources report the illegal beatings had stopped.

Also, the City of Lexington has granted Corporal Vest's request for Whistleblower status.

Busted: Candidate OK's Abuse

Senate candidate Jim Keller, a Lexington Democrat, sent out a letter supporting Teresa Isaac's effort to start the eminent domain process all over again and waste millions of local tax dollars in a court fight against Kentucky-American Water Company.

Worley Fraud Case Lands In Madison

The fraud case against Senator Ed Worley (D-Richmond) has been re-filed in Madison Circuit Court.

This was the federal case dismissed last month on a jurisdictional issue in which Worley's sworn testimony contradicted a secretly recorded phone call which Worley tried frantically to have thrown out as evidence. The transcript is available on the Federal Court "Pacer" system. The newspapers have this. It will be interesting to see if they print it like they did all the Merit investigation e-mails.

If the merit thing was worth hundreds and hundreds of articles, this is certainly worth a few. Don't you think so?

Sans Ideas, Abusing Facebook

Only the Daily Kos generation would think they are actually accomplishing something by sending personal information on their more conservative classmates to military recruiters.

House Dem: Spend Casino $$$ On Horses

State Rep. Don Pasley isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

In a Winchester Sun article, Pasley strays from the talking points that casino gambling -- his party's second best plan for economic expansion, the first is raising the minimum wage -- will cure all that ails Kentucky. Gambling promoters in the General Assembly are supposed to say that education and roads will benefit from casinos and that there will be little or no social costs.

Pasley has somewhat more modest plans for his casino cash, he wants it all to go to horse breeders:

If casino-style gambling is allowed, he explained, it should be connected to horse racing and the revenue should go to breeder incentive programs.

How many families, I wonder, does Pasley want to destroy in shiny casinos to prop up the moribund horse industry in Kentucky? That is somewhat better than the usual approach of promising casinos will fix all Kentucky's money problems, but that will be small comfort to the victims of this terrible idea.

By the way, with the super-sized social spending increases caused by casinos the victims will include everyone in the commonwealth. Taxes will have to go up. Just ask New Jersey.

2008 GOP Dark Horse

U.S. Rep Jack Kingston (R-Georgia)?

A Little Perspective On Mark Foley

In case you still think Americans are really going to accept tax increases and surrender in the war on terror as some kind of bizarre penance for homosexual emails, Mark Steyn has some help.

The pendulum will swing back hard the other way on this, as cooler heads prevail.

Why Stop Dumbing Down Now? It's Working So Well In Kentucky

If liberal education bureaucrats were merely stupid, the law of averages dictates some of their policies would actually help kids who need help.

What, you may wonder, has me so worked up as to be paraphrasing Joe McCarthy? It was a morning jolt of irony from the pages of the Lexington Herald-Leader. On the editorial page, a retired liberal professor from the University of Kentucky bemoans higher standards for schoolchildren and actually says "Kentucky must redefine "proficient" to a more reasonable level."

The ironic part is the news story in the same paper pointing out that over half of Kentucky high school graduates who go to college aren't ready for college work.

They include a map that tells the story.

Good News For KY Political Bloggers

The Lexington Herald-Leader has been, over the last few months, turning into a blog. You can comment on news stories, right?

Well, today the transformation is complete. They have started their own political blog.

Here.

I say the more, the merrier.

Fayette Sheriff's Race Turns On Mailer

You know when you see Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt saying:

"I would never, ever exploit taxpayer dollars for my own benefit. That just won't happen for my administration,"

it means she just got caught doing that very thing. Funny story.