Uninsured Rate of 14% Sounds About Right

Both gubernatorial candidates are talking about insuring more people in Kentucky by paying at least a portion of of their premium with taxpayer dollars.

The Census Bureau estimates less than 14% of Kentuckians are uninsured, which is slightly less than the national average.

If we bought coverage for another 75,000 people, we would have the highest rate of insured people in the nation.

Live Fat, Die Young, Thanks For Mississippi

Another ranking to be proud of shows Kentucky ranked #7 fattest state in the nation. Can't doubt we would be higher on this one if we weren't also #1 on the smoking chart.

All this should serve to highlight an inconsistency that shouldn't exist in America -- but does -- and will only get worse if we go to European style universal healthcare.

Americans have a great heritage of rugged individualism. It's what motivated fearless pioneers to literally walk from eastern cities to western deserts for the chance to build thriving cities in sand or on mountains.

But we are destroying that heritage. We escalate that destruction every time we put government between an individual and the consequences of his actions.

Americans like to make their own choices. When bad health choices lead inevitably to bad health these days, however, we are forging a new tradition of letting government programs intervene.

Spreading that disconnection into the middle class can only seem like a good idea to someone who is out of touch with the personal qualities that have made America great.

Alberto Gonzales Steps Down

Should President Bush just go ahead and appoint Janet Reno so Hillary Clinton won't have to?

My Babydaddy Made Me Do It

A Lexington Herald-Leader columnist claims, implausibly, that public schools are actually doing a great job if you factor in teenage pregnancies and lead paint.

Then, as if to prove the point that he had no point, the writer shifted from discussing Kentucky to providing all his data from New York.

According to Tom Layzell, the retiring president of the (Kentucky) state Council on Postsecondary education, "Too many students fail to graduate from high school, and of those who do, too many go to college unprepared. Too many college students fail to graduate in a timely manner. And too many adults lack a high school diploma."

But by whose standards or what rationale does this criticism of education emanate? While it would be nice if all children were scholars, it is truly amazing that our kids' educational progress is as high as it is.

While Layzell's brand of criticism is rampant, it does not recognize the changed society in which we live. The problem is that critics look at education today through a prism of the past, but today's society is vastly different.

...

New York City records show that although only 50 percent of children graduate from high school in four years, almost 70 percent finally graduate and another 8 percent receive General Education Development certificates.

Paul Attewell and David Lavin, professors of sociology at the City University of New York, found that more than 28 percent of bachelor's degree recipients obtain their diplomas more than six years after entering college and that 70 percent of women attending CUNY had graduated after an even longer period of time.

Excuses and spinning blame won't help us have better schools in Kentucky. The bottom line is Kentucky schools can't reasonably be expected to improve until we implement policies to better measure student achievement and better monitor resource allocation. SB 130 was a good step. Next year's HB 15 would be another.

Obamanation: Rock Star Screws Kentuckians

Barack Obama turned voters away at the door in Lexington yesterday.

He kept their money, of course. Probably a good preview of how his universal healthcare plan will work.

Movie Nazi: No Free Lunch For You!

Liberal College Professor Gets Thwacked By NY Times For Calling GOP Voters Stupid

You can read the whole thing here, but here is a good excerpt:

Westen urges Democratic candidates to go for the gut, and includes a number of speeches that he wishes Democratic candidates had given. He wishes, for example, Al Gore had hit George Bush harder for being a drunk. He wishes Gore had interrupted a presidential debate and barked at Bush, “If someone is going to restore dignity to the Oval Office, it isn’t a man who drank his way through three decades of his life and got investigated by his father’s own Securities and Exchange Commission for swindling people out of their retirement savings.”

At another point, he imagines Gore exploding: “Why don’t you tell us how many times you got behind the wheel of a car with a few drinks under your belt, endangering your neighbors’ kids? Where I come from, we call that a drunk.” If Democrats would go for people’s primitive passions in this way, Westen argues, they’d win elections.

This thesis raises some interesting questions. First, why did someone with so little faith in rational inquiry go into academia, and what does he do to those who disagree with him at Emory faculty meetings, especially recovering alcoholics?

National Porn Filter May Be Available Cheap

Australia inexplicably spent $84 million on a porn filter for its internet service. One tiny problem, though. A sixteen year old kid cracked the filter in about half an hour.

Can't help wondering if they borrowed the $84 million on twenty or thirty year bonds.

The Winds Of Change

My first thought when the Congressional Amnesty Bill for illegal aliens was defeated was that the aftermath would lead to real welfare reform.

It is starting already in Virginia. This will spread like wildfire.

Resolutions to deny a potentially wide range of public services to illegal immigrants have thrust two northern Virginia counties into the nation's immigration debate. The measures passed in July in Prince William and Loudoun counties join a flurry of recent efforts by local governments nationwide that believe the federal government has not done enough to stop illegal immigration.

Once we see how shutting off the welfare spigot cleans up our immigrant population, it won't be difficult to realize that it will have a similar effect on the natives. Fewer "crazy checks" for capable people will have a dramatic impact on our nation.

Borrow And Spend

The General Assembly yesterday authorized immediately borrowing $100 million for alternative fuels, introduced a pre-filed bill to set up local authorities to borrow money off the state's books for roads and bridges, and on Tuesday the public pension Blue Ribbon Commission will hear testimony about borrowing hundreds of millions more to bail out the state employee benefit plans.

Thank your grandchildren.

I Can't Get No Small Business Tax Breaks

A bipartisan collection of 21 House members today pre-filed a bill that can best be described as the "We still won't cut business taxes across the board so, here, apply for this unfunded small business tax credit and let's see what happens Act of 2008."

New Jersey Has Casinos And Crushing Debt

New Jersey isn't taking time off from buying votes with taxpayer money to consider the long-term costs. Why should we?

Like a cash-strapped shopaholic reaching for a credit card before payday, New Jersey is planning to borrow $2 billion to cover expenses over the next few months – including those record-high property tax rebates.

But given the state's financial situation, some wonder if it's a wise move.


The state already owes an estimated $29.7 billion to creditors. Debt service alone is costing taxpayers upward of $2.5 billion a year. And employee pension funds are at least $25 billion behind where they should be to cover projected future costs.

Overall, money is so tight that Governor Corzine is looking at selling or leasing state assets, such as toll roads and the lottery, to raise revenues.

Like many states at the beginning of a fiscal year, New Jersey is short on cash to pay its bills. But New Jersey has a $2.2 billion expense coming up this year that is unusual: property tax rebate checks.

By the numbers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total debt: $29.7 billion

Annual debt costs: $2.5 billion

Expected short-term loan: $2 billion

Cost of tax rebates: $2.2 billion

The checks – which average $1,200 for most homeowners – are timed to be in mailboxes this fall before the upcoming legislative elections.

Illinois Says "Thanks For Playing!"

One element of the Peabody Coal giveaway no one is talking about in Kentucky right now is the fact that as soon as we pass our incentive package we will likely be outbid by Illinois.

The most interesting part of that development will be the role extreme lefty U.S. Senator Barack Obama plays in putting the deal together.

Nominating A Republican In 2008

Since the presidential nomination process belongs to people who are registered as Republicans, I say we drop Sen. John McCain from all future debates and replace him with John Cox.

McCain is just sucking up valuable oxygen in the race right now and should move out to make room for someone who is better on the issues.

Maybe Aurora, Illinois Deserves To Get Smacked Around A Little Bit

They have a casino, but they keep raising taxes there. The same thing will happen in Kentucky if we open casinos.

The fact is there is no sentiment in the General Assembly to pass casinos. It just will not happen. Even if you want a casino (or an abortion clinic) in your back yard, you have to agree Steve Beshear is wasting our time going on about this nonsense. It won't fund anything because it won't pass.

Isn't it time we addressed one of the many other issues facing Kentucky and whoever will serve as governor the next four years?

Trouble In Coal Paradise?

I've had a heck of a time getting much back up for this story -- and even got an iffy denial from the National Mining Association -- but it seems China's tens of billions worth of coal-to-liquid projects may be in jeopardy.

We might want to get some more info on this before we start writing big checks.

Deaniacs Want You To Call Governor Fletcher

Just got an e-mail from Democracy For America, the old Dean For America group without Mad Howard, asking me to call Governor Fletcher and urge him to call President Bush and demand that he expand welfare to give government health insurance to middle-class kids.

What can you do? Let's face it; President Bush isn't going to take your call. On the other hand, when the governor of a state calls, even Bush will listen.

Call Governor Fletcher right now and demand that Kentucky stands up to President Bush's anti-children campaign.

Governor Ernie Fletcher
502 564-2611
Here's what you can say:

"President Bush's new rules which reduce the availability of the Children's Health Insurance Program for uninsured kids must be repealed. Governor Fletcher must call President Bush today and demand a complete rollback of the new rules. Can I count on the governor to stand up for our kids?"

Before you get all lathered up and make that call, read this from National Review.

The Democrats’ SCHIP outrage, while perhaps politically savvy (who could oppose insuring children?), has nothing to do with the real problem of those poor and uninsured. There are several ways the government could make insurance affordable — President Bush has proposed a generous health-insurance tax deduction, and others have proposed a repeal or circumvention of burdensome state insurance mandates that massively inflate prices.

But the Democrats’ expansion of SCHIP into the middle class is not a solution to any existing problem. It is welfare for those already faring well, and with an eye toward expanding government in the future.

The Presidential race next year will be about the direction we go in on health insurance, but the Kentucky gubernatorial race should be as well. We need to hear more from both candidates on this.

This Is How Bad It Has Gotten

The ridiculous alternative "energy" giveaway bill is expected to be wildly endorsed by members of both parties in the House tomorrow.

Rep. Tom Riner (D-Louisville) has filed amendments that place the following language in the bill not just once, but twice:

The General Assembly further finds that the energy facilities located in Kentucky as a result of this subchapter have a moral obligation to include among their first priorities and principles of operation the health and welfare of their employees and the citizens of the Commonwealth and the protection of the environment, including the land, air, and water.

The only thing left to do now is to establish penalties for business owners for violating their "moral obligation" to the citizens of the Commonwealth or for keeping their obligations to the land, air, and water as only a secondary priority.

What a weird day it has been watching our legislators put this bill together. Not one of our brighter moments.

Day Trading With Kentucky's Nest Egg

Watching Kentucky's legislators rush to back questionable energy theories with hard (borrowed) cash reminds me of watching wild-eyed amateur stock market traders.

It takes a special brand of moron to blow his family's savings on a financial offering when he really thinks he is the first person in the world to see a particular opportunity. When all his money is gone, he realizes he was just another sucker.

The eagerness in Frankfort to be the first state to go all in on "energy independence" and "alternative fuel production" reminds me a lot of that.

Contribute To Stumbo's "Who's My Daddy?" Fund!

Reluctant child support payer Greg Stumbo has filed papers to explore how badly he wants to get his butt kicked in a race for the United States Senate next year.

He even has a website.

One interesting thing on the exploratory committee website is his policy on refunds, which would become particularly applicable should Stumbo decide not to run:

Once a contribution has been submitted, it is the policy of Stumbo2008.com to not offer Refunds.

If he doesn't run, one can't help wondering what he plans on doing with that money.