Dem Gov 2007: It's Worley?

Kentucky's Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley (D-Richmond) is telling people in his district that he is going to leapfrog over Bruce Lunsford and run for Governor himself as a pro-casino candidate.

State Can't Afford Tax, Borrow, And Spend

The Bluegrass Institute's legislative update pulls no punches.

Pence Ponders Pardon Power

This is a good move.

Now if we could only get LG Steve Pence to rethink his support for casino gambling as revenue enhancement, we would really be getting someplace.

A Different Kind of Blue Versus Red

The major figures in next year's GOP primary for Attorney General may wind up being Lexington's Stan Lee and Louisville's Steve Pence.

I Thought Liberals Liked Higher Taxes

Mark Nickolas of Bluegrass Report is pretty upset that GOP Rep. David Floyd has filed a "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" bill to allow people to contribute more in taxes if they really want to.

A Rural Ticket For GOP Governor?

State Rep. Lonnie Napier could be back in the news soon after discussing with Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer the possibility of forming a ticket and making a run in May.

HealthCare Reform Gets Almost No Respect

In its final flurry of activity for the year, Congress passed a bill to allow unlimited contributions to Health Savings Accounts.

This will do more immediately for the stock market than it will for reforming healthcare in America, though that may not be all bad. If you have some money you want to tuck away in a tax-advantaged account, the HSA is going to be a new way to do it.

Creating new and better ways for people to invest more in equities is good for America. The Ownership Society is one that is less likely to fall for socialist utopian schemes like government-run healthcare. As more and more Americans come to own stocks, the mostly-Democrat plan to kill America's healthcare system might get harder to sell.

Hey, It's A Culture Of Corruption!

Unbelievable. Down in New Orleans, they just re-elected Rep. William "Bribe Money In My Freezer" Jefferson to another term in Congress.

These guys are really going to try to make this fun.

Might Ben Chandler Reconsider Gov Race?

Now that new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is chatting up the idea of putting the House of Representatives back on a five day work week, I have to wonder if Rep. Ben Chandler might take another look at the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort.

When Ben went to Washington, he spoke openly of his appreciation for the three day work week that allowed him to be home in Versailles four or five nights a week. That left him sleeping in his D.C. office only two or three nights a week. That will be ending in January. Ben will be on the couch nearly full-time.

Frankly, I think one the best things Tom DeLay did as Majority Leader was cut back on the number of days the House was in session. Unwinding this reform just gives them more time to make more laws we could do without.

Don't Just End The War, WIN It

The incoming House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), said today "If the president is serious about the need for change in Iraq, he will find Democrats ready to work with him in a bipartisan fashion to find a way to end the war as quickly as possible."

I don't think it is just semantics to demand that our representatives stop talking about ending the war and start talking about winning it.

Meanwhile, the Ayn Rand Institute, provides this interesting essay which at least puts the focus where it belongs -- on defeating Islamic totalitarianism militarily.

Of course, ARI is wrong to suggest we should have left Iraq alone and bomb Iran instead. Hindsight and the Iraq Study Group provide political cover for the president's critics, but little else at this point.

Why People Don't Take Global Warming Seriously

Read about a Canadian wacko who crucified Santa in front of his own house to send a message about how materialistic people are destroying the world.

Harper To Attack Fletcher's Right Flank

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Billy Harper's campaign manager is preparing "to raise attention to issues" which Harper disagrees with Governor Ernie Fletcher on, such as spending too much money on public projects and raising taxes on Kentucky businesses.

Harper's campaign manager Stan Pulliam also said today Harper is in favor of school choice legislation.

It's Cold Outside

Yes, climate change is real.

But it has to be tough for even the most faithful adherent to the notion of mass death by greenhouse gas to get very excited when the morning temperature is nine degrees. One degree over the next century (maybe) with a cause we can do something about (maybe) just doesn't justify the hysteria.

If the moderate position on climate change is that we should cut down on pollution, then I'm a moderate on climate change. Buy long-lasting, low mercury, fluorescent bulbs for the energy savings. That's an easy thing we can all do that will help. Follow some of these tips as well.

Tax And Spend

For some insight into how Congressional Democrats are going to push tax increases, read this.

Borrow and Spend is not much better, but at least no one is trying to push it as a good for you.

I Wouldn't Have Told That

Tericka Dye is the Kentucky high school teacher who lost her job when it was discovered that she had appeared in a pornographic movie. Given that her skin flicks were a decade old when they were discovered, I'm not sure she should have been fired. And now that she is trying to get her old job back, I am sympathetic to her cause.

Or at least I was.

In this news story, she admits that she hasn't worked since she was fired and is, instead, living off child support payments paid to her four children. If that is the case, she has bigger problems than just not being able to get back into the classroom.

Right To Work Bill In Holding Pattern

No one thinks Employee Choice legislation will pass this year in Kentucky, but a bill may be filed anyway.

To his credit, Governor Ernie Fletcher has never backed down from his support of this important policy that three-quarters of voters support.

Gore Must Be Running For Dem Nomination

Remember when a rash of post office shootings by disgruntled mail workers gave rise to the saying "he went postal?"

Well, let's just say Former VP Al Gore went "global warming" yesterday in an obvious pander to the extreme Left.

What exactly do you mean by "worse than a civil war" Al?

And seriously, we all know Al just says things for effect these days, but when he said the Iraq War was the worst strategic mistake in the history of the United States it got me thinking about what was actually the worst strategic mistake in our nation's history.

I'd say slavery. Without this particular labor situation, the American South would have likely industrialized as fast as the North and we would be a much wealthier nation now.

So This Is What The Problem Is?

In a conference call today with reporters, Senator Jim Bunning explained why he is less than enthusiastic about Governor Ernie Fletcher.

"I've had a good relationship before he became Governor and it became strained because of his chief of staff," Bunning said.

Who, Stan Cave? No, Bunning explained.

"The first one," Bunning said.

Oh.

Bullying By Another Name Is Menacing

Senator Julian Carroll made a big deal earlier this year about schools lacking a "policy" on bullying by students.

The Senate paid no attention to him or his silly bill.

That has turned out to be a good thing. When kids go too far at school, we don't need another set of regulations for teachers and administrators to fool with. Menacing is already against the law.

Geographical Shift In House Leadership

In January, the Kentucky House Republicans appear very likely to elect Rep. Dwight Butler (R-Harned) their new Minority Whip.

Butler's district is out toward the western part of the state. Current Whip Ken Upchurch's district lies next to Minority Leader Jeff Hoover's district along the Tennessee border.