Black Wednesday open thread

I'm not expecting any official announcements tomorrow regarding the federal investigation into the Fayette County Detention Center.

So if you know anything, please put it in the comments section below.

Busy morning

House Speaker Jody Richards had to fend off two Legislative Ethics Commission complaints this morning in Frankfort.

He was successful at shutting down one of them.

The Republican Party of Kentucky filed a complaint against Richards, Rep. Joni Jenkins, and Rep. Tim Firkins. That complaint was dismissed.

A complaint by Amy Mischler was heard and found worthy of further discussion at the Commission's next meeting in June. Mischler's complaint is against Richards, Rep. Greg Stumbo, and Rep. Kathy Stein.

RINO hunter bags a sign stealer

Louisville metro council candidate Ellen Reitmeyer was caught by police this morning stealing signs from opponent Jon Ackerson.

Thanks for the tip, Corley Everett.

Changing your underwear times two

Yeah, you're just going to have to read this.

Obama runs home to blow up local governments

The Obama campaign has just announced cancellation of tomorrow's campaign event in Lexington so he can go back to Washington D.C. to force unionization of fire fighters and police officers nationwide and stop contributions to the strategic petroleum reserve so politicians can claim to be doing something about gas prices.

Hebert: Beshear should apologize

WHAS reporter Mark Hebert suggests Governor Steve Beshear should apologize for urging Vice President Dick Cheney to assassinate President George W. Bush.

Might be a good opportunity to poll the Democratic presidential candidates to see if Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama condone the actions of this undecided superdelegate.

Also, if disgraced former Governor Paul "Beshear should have shot David Williams" Patton had been able to keep his pistol in his pocket five years ago, Congressman Ben Chandler would now be a disgraced former Governor himself.

Chandler: bomb North Carolina and Virginia

Rep. Ben Chandler has 142 co-sponsors on his bill requiring the expansion of prevailing wage laws to states like North Carolina and Virginia that currently save millions of dollars by not saddling their school building projects with added prevailing wage costs.

Technical difficulties on Bluegrass Blog

The Bluegrass Policy Blog is off-line right now and we are working on getting it back up.

If you go to the site now, it looks like you are back in 2006. Should be fixed pretty soon.

Deck chairs

Kentucky's two largest newspapers can't agree on which candidate should lose to Senator Mitch McConnell in November.

Some interesting choices for Veep

Help pick a VP candidate for John McCain, single-elimination tournament-style.

Courier Journal catches Obama fever

It's not unusual to see Louisville Courier Journal writers get light-headed and sniffly in support of a Democratic party presidential nominee, but when they start convulsing, their eyes roll back in their heads and white foam starts gathering at the corner of their mouths, it's a little hard to ignore.

Especially for someone who had friends who lost their businesses after Kentucky tried in 1994 what is essentially Barack Obama's healthcare plan, it is a little much to see the CJ proclaim, unattributed to anyone, that it would "cut the medical cost for all families."

You can read the whole plan here, but if you know anything about healthcare finance you will probably want to do it on an empty stomach.

Beshear earning his first lawsuit

When you get a letter from an attorney that says "Hopefully, we can work together to resolve this within the law and without unnecessary legal expense," you should know you are about to get sued.

Governor Steve Beshear is about to get sued.

The letter is from Senate President David Williams. It should be clear to the Governor, after he reads this, that he won't be in court arguing about stopping the clock or if ten days really means eleven days. This will be a lawsuit Governor Ernie Fletcher already fought and lost about gubernatorial spending authority.

Bipartisan discussion on Kentucky pension reform

House Speaker Jody Richards went off his meds before he wrote a letter to the editor of the Danville Advocate Messenger:

Today, Senator Dick Roeding responds by setting the record straight some and then finishes off Richards by agreeing with House Democrats who called Richards a liar:

I'm glad we have everyone, save our MIA Governor Steve Beshear, talking about our fiscal future and I'm glad we have all agreed Jody Richards is full of it. But we need more than just political points on public employee benefit reform. Kentucky needs to get our political class off the gravy train now, before we bankrupt the state.

Mitch McConnell is a Club for Growth guy

The Club for Growth put out its Congressional Scorecard last night and it is good news for Senator Mitch McConnell. McConnell actually edged out Senator Jim Bunning, 84% to 82%. On the House side Rep. Geoff Davis and Rep. Ron Lewis managed to get 85%, followed by Rep. Hal Rogers, who turned in a 68%, and Rep. Ed Whitfield, who got a 58%.

Rep. Ben Chandler scored a Sen. Barack Obama-like 7% by voting for tax increases, bloated spending bills, the Death Tax, and bills to expand the power and reach of the federal government into citizens' lives. Rep. John Yarmuth earned a 1%.

Oh, did I mention Rep. Chandler is now really, really close to Sen. Barack Obama?

(Thanks to Mark Hebert for pointing out the video)

Kentucky watches while Ohio walks into the light

State government officials in Kentucky are wasting our time talking about being fiscally responsible until they start putting government expenditures online so citizens can keep track of what is going on with our money.

Now even Ohio is ahead of us on this.

How big an anchor will Barack Obama be in KY?

Rep. John Yarmuth took a poll back in February, but has not said anything publicly about his results. Now that Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama is headed for a crushing defeat in KY-3, it's hard to imagine Yarmuth would have any current numbers to brag about either.

"Whip me, beat me, make me use bad grammar!"

Rep. Susan Westrom is so upset at House Speaker Jody Richards, she can't even speak correctly:

"As a legislator representing a Republican district, should I be replaced
this fall by Mike Farmer, I can assure you he be (sic) as ineffective as I
feel I have been this session."

Richards, in turn, called Rob Wilkey a liar:

"I can only assume that this email was written out of frustration and in haste without appropriate attention to accuracy," Richards said.

And this came, of course, after Wilkey's email attack on Richards culminated in his own grammatical malfunction:

"I hope our members think long and hard about re-election (sic) some members of this leadership group," Wilkey wrote.

Ron Bishop shows his hand

Fayette County Detention Center Sgt. John McQueen is on administrative leave with pay, which means Director Ron Bishop is still hoping the federal investigation into inmate abuse at the Lexington jail will just go away.

Kentucky Progress fans inside the facility have been calling May 14 "Black Wednesday," speculating that the first inmate abuse indictments will come down that day.

Gun grabbers freak alert: McCain won't die in KY

When the National Rifle Association convention comes to Louisville next week, concealed carry permit holders will refrain from assassinating GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Let the seething begin.

Some people are lying about the economy

Here's what I don't understand: Al Gore and friends have spent the last decade campaigning for higher gasoline prices. Thanks to their ability to inhibit domestic oil exploration, they have succeeded in getting us higher gas prices.

They should be happy and proud, right?

Well, no. Instead, they are trying to divert attention from this happy circumstance by overstating the economic slowdown and blaming Republicans. The following conversation took place today:

"The fracas started after Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas), said lawmakers needed to move aggressively to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. “We’re not in a recession,” she said on the House floor. “We’re moving toward a 1929 Depression.”

Rep. Pete Sessions (R., Texas) took umbrage at her characterization of the economy: “My Gosh! Let’s at least tell the American public the truth… Let’s not make things worse than they already are. Let’s not lie to the American public.”

Lee, who was sitting down at that point, rushed back to the podium.

“Are you calling me a liar?” she yelled. Shouting erupted in the room.

“It is not a true statement,” Sessions yelled back."

Yes, Sheila Jackson Lee, you are a liar. Rep. Ben Chandler and Rep. John Yarmuth should have to explain whether or not they condone her histrionics.