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.