Friday, September 12, 2008
Taking over the world one wiki at a time
The Bluegrass Institute has a new project you may be interested in. FreedomKentucky is now online. It's a wiki, which means that readers can also be writers and editors. There are already entries about education, spending transparency, CentrePointe, and Kentucky's wasteful prevailing wage policies.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Fayette jail mess takes another ugly turn
One month ago, you read here that Fayette County Detention Center's four indicted prisoner abuse scandal employees were being terminated.
The hammer has fallen on them.
Letters dated August 27, 2008 went out to Kristine Lafoe, Anthony Estep, John McQueen, and Clarence McCoy informing them that their employment with the jail had ended August 25 and that they had until September 7 to turn in all their equipment or face a civil lawsuit from the city of Lexington.
Mayor Jim Newberry still isn't talking and Director Ron Bishop is, inexplicably, still employed.
Meanwhile, the man whose testimony shined the light on the whole thing despite official efforts to shut him up and run him off, continues to twist in the wind. Cpl. John Vest, the whistleblower, still has not been either terminated or reassigned. He remains on unpaid leave.
The hammer has fallen on them.
Letters dated August 27, 2008 went out to Kristine Lafoe, Anthony Estep, John McQueen, and Clarence McCoy informing them that their employment with the jail had ended August 25 and that they had until September 7 to turn in all their equipment or face a civil lawsuit from the city of Lexington.
Mayor Jim Newberry still isn't talking and Director Ron Bishop is, inexplicably, still employed.
Meanwhile, the man whose testimony shined the light on the whole thing despite official efforts to shut him up and run him off, continues to twist in the wind. Cpl. John Vest, the whistleblower, still has not been either terminated or reassigned. He remains on unpaid leave.
Joe Biden isn't qualified for pre-algebra
12 minus 5 equals 7, right? I mean, if you have 12 toes -- bear with me here -- and a wild cannibal from Kenya came along and ate five of them -- just kidding! -- you would only have seven left, wouldn't you?
But you didn't start off with twelve toes. And that's Sen. Joe Biden's problem. When Joe says Sen. John McCain's healthcare plan would raise your taxes, he shows very, very poor math skills.
In Joe's example, a person making $50,000 a year with $12,000 in employer-provided health benefits would have $62,000 taxable income under McCain's plan. Then, Joe says, McCain's $5000 tax credit would leave $7000 subject to taxation and would, therefore, represent a tax increase.
The problem with this is that a taxpayer under these circumstances is in the 15% tax bracket. So the federal tax due on the $12,000 would be only $1800. The $5000 tax credit would more than make up for the taxable health benefits.
Again 12-5=7. But that wasn't the question for Joe. It was 18-50=-32, if you follow me.
And this guy wants to be a heartbeat away from leadership of the free world. Ha!
But you didn't start off with twelve toes. And that's Sen. Joe Biden's problem. When Joe says Sen. John McCain's healthcare plan would raise your taxes, he shows very, very poor math skills.
In Joe's example, a person making $50,000 a year with $12,000 in employer-provided health benefits would have $62,000 taxable income under McCain's plan. Then, Joe says, McCain's $5000 tax credit would leave $7000 subject to taxation and would, therefore, represent a tax increase.
The problem with this is that a taxpayer under these circumstances is in the 15% tax bracket. So the federal tax due on the $12,000 would be only $1800. The $5000 tax credit would more than make up for the taxable health benefits.
Again 12-5=7. But that wasn't the question for Joe. It was 18-50=-32, if you follow me.
And this guy wants to be a heartbeat away from leadership of the free world. Ha!
Cutting through Big Ed's crap
This is why we need blogs.
Bluegrass Institute education analyst Richard Innes provides some valuable perspective on the Kentucky Department of Education/mainstream media spin about this week's release of CATS scores:
As the Kentucky's mainstream media crumbles, independent researchers like Innes will take on an even more important role in holding government entities like Big Education accountable.
Bluegrass Institute education analyst Richard Innes provides some valuable perspective on the Kentucky Department of Education/mainstream media spin about this week's release of CATS scores:
"In both reading and science, the percentage meeting the EXPLORE benchmark went down this year while CATS proficiency rates increased. In middle school math, while the percent reaching the benchmark went up slightly, the rise in the CATS proficiency rate was much larger."
"The differences in proficiency rates from 2006-07 to 2007-08 increased for all subjects, indicating that CATS scoring for middle schools got even easier this year."
As the Kentucky's mainstream media crumbles, independent researchers like Innes will take on an even more important role in holding government entities like Big Education accountable.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Are terrorists cornering Kentucky's cig market?
Kentucky's media can't report on Budget Director Mary Lassiter's August revenue report because that would mean telling you revenues continue to climb.
But if they did, you might find out Kentucky's cigarette tax revenues are down 22% from last August. That means Kentuckians are either smoking less or they have used Gov. Steve Beshear's repeated threats to raise taxes as motivation to go ahead and find a terrorist black market cigarette dealer.
Either way, this suggests that raising the cigarette tax further may not be the best idea.
But if they did, you might find out Kentucky's cigarette tax revenues are down 22% from last August. That means Kentuckians are either smoking less or they have used Gov. Steve Beshear's repeated threats to raise taxes as motivation to go ahead and find a terrorist black market cigarette dealer.
Either way, this suggests that raising the cigarette tax further may not be the best idea.
Educrats and media sycophants hold pep rally
The Courier Journal and Herald Leader traded in their notepads and pens for pom poms when the Kentucky Department of Education released its CATS results yesterday.
And I'm embarrassed for the pinheads at the Prichard Committee for "Academic Excellence" for not being too embarrassed to put this silly video on their web site.
And I'm embarrassed for the pinheads at the Prichard Committee for "Academic Excellence" for not being too embarrassed to put this silly video on their web site.
They are doing THIS on September 11?!?
Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry's Destination 2040 isn't getting any of the attention it deserves.
Maybe this will help --
Maybe this will help --
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
More shark-jumping at Main and Midland
As an email recipient of the Lexington Herald Leader's daily missives, I've gotten used to seeing recycled blog stories headlined as "Breaking News," but this is ridiculous.
In this morning's AM Newsletter, mixed right in with various news stories, is a rambling, pointless opinion column from Merlene Davis about Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter.
It gets better. Look at how they labeled this silliness. Is there any doubt this "mistake" wouldn't happen if someone were opining about Barack Obama's family?
In this morning's AM Newsletter, mixed right in with various news stories, is a rambling, pointless opinion column from Merlene Davis about Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter.
It gets better. Look at how they labeled this silliness. Is there any doubt this "mistake" wouldn't happen if someone were opining about Barack Obama's family?
Monday, September 08, 2008
Better than every Guv but Mark Sanford
Club for Growth President Pat Toomey says Gov. Sarah Palin is better on fiscal issues than every state executive in the nation except South Carolina's Mark Sanford.
Here is a good interview, in which Toomey explain's Palin's tax increase on oil companies "part of the motivation for that tax increase was to undo the corrupting influence that had gotten them to that point" and changing her position on The Bridge to Nowhere "clearly she’s the one who made the decision to put the kibosh on the bridge."
You can read the whole thing here.
Here is a good interview, in which Toomey explain's Palin's tax increase on oil companies "part of the motivation for that tax increase was to undo the corrupting influence that had gotten them to that point" and changing her position on The Bridge to Nowhere "clearly she’s the one who made the decision to put the kibosh on the bridge."
You can read the whole thing here.
Hey, is that Michelle Obama?
Sen. Barack Obama's radical views on abortion match those of a Planned Parenthood video they put out three years ago that is a little, uh, outside the mainstream. And I mean that in the sense that drowning people in anal lubricant, blowing them up, decapitating them, and promoting abortion as a way to save billions of dollars in social spending are a little outside the mainstream.
Incredibly, the video is still available:
Incredibly, the video is still available:
How's that pension reform going, Governor?
At the last State Government Committee meeting in Frankfort, Sen. Julian Carroll asked Budget Director Mary Lassiter how much of the General Fund budget is going to public employee retirement costs. The answer is a shocker.
In a letter to Sen. Carroll dated September 2, Lassiter said:
And we are spending all that money on a woefully underfunded system, with bad cash management practices that is only going to get more underfunded despite our efforts to pour billions more dollars into it over the next two decades.
Is anyone else ready to seriously cut back on public employee benefits to fall more in line with those of the private sector workers picking up the tab? So far, "reform" has been a total bust.
In a letter to Sen. Carroll dated September 2, Lassiter said:
"For Fiscal Year 2009, the enacted Budget of the Commonwealth for the Executive Branch provides approximately $628 million from the General Fund, or 7.1% of General Fund appropriations for retirement costs."
And we are spending all that money on a woefully underfunded system, with bad cash management practices that is only going to get more underfunded despite our efforts to pour billions more dollars into it over the next two decades.
Is anyone else ready to seriously cut back on public employee benefits to fall more in line with those of the private sector workers picking up the tab? So far, "reform" has been a total bust.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Obama botches abortion apology
You can always tell a politician is worried when he starts going out to "clarify" earlier comments that have hurt him in the polls. So it was interesting to hear Sen. Barack Obama go on the "This Week" television program today to apologize for dismissing the abortion issue as "above my paygrade" last month.
"All I meant to communicate was that I don’t presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions," Obama said.
"Theological questions?" Barry?
Supporting the abortion-on-demand business of Planned Parenthood and left-wing extremists across the country is no theological question. Nor is it the purview of nine people on any court. Defining murder is at least a political issue and politicians like Obama should stop trying to hide behind slippery language. He should explain his wretched record on the subject.
"All I meant to communicate was that I don’t presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions," Obama said.
"Theological questions?" Barry?
Supporting the abortion-on-demand business of Planned Parenthood and left-wing extremists across the country is no theological question. Nor is it the purview of nine people on any court. Defining murder is at least a political issue and politicians like Obama should stop trying to hide behind slippery language. He should explain his wretched record on the subject.
Do they really think they can ignore Sarah Palin?
The Louisville Courier Journal is on a tirade about health insurance in America. And yet they managed to write a whole article about it without checking with the most popular governor -- and most famous politician -- in the nation.
She could help them. Of course, that is assuming they really want to solve the problem and aren't just pushing an agenda.
She could help them. Of course, that is assuming they really want to solve the problem and aren't just pushing an agenda.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Why Kentucky casinos will never pass
According the Lexington Herald Leader, Gov. Steve Beshear and former Gov. Brereton Jones have decided to gird up their loins and try again to bring casinos to Kentucky.
It will never work, other than for raising campaign contributions from the horse industry, left-wing groups and New Jersey mobsters.
At issue in Kentucky is a never-ending struggle between those who think they can use casino money to save the horse industry and those who think that bringing in casinos will allow us to continue to overspend without consequences.
I'm glad to see that Steve and Brereton have gotten over their little spat from earlier in the year, but let's not pretend that this is anything more than party-building rhetoric.
"“Gov. Beshear and Gov. Jones have been friends for a long time. And they have always shared a commitment to working together in the best interests of Kentucky and, particularly, the state’s signature industry – the equine industry,” Jay Blanton, Beshear’s communications director, said in a statement."
It will never work, other than for raising campaign contributions from the horse industry, left-wing groups and New Jersey mobsters.
At issue in Kentucky is a never-ending struggle between those who think they can use casino money to save the horse industry and those who think that bringing in casinos will allow us to continue to overspend without consequences.
I'm glad to see that Steve and Brereton have gotten over their little spat from earlier in the year, but let's not pretend that this is anything more than party-building rhetoric.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Sarah Palin needs to talk to her KY chairman
Gov. Sarah Palin is drawing attention to state over regulation of healthcare services and one of the most important ways to bring those costs down. Kentucky Senate President David Williams, state campaign chairman of McCain/Palin, hasn't gotten the memo:
Kentucky needs to get straight on the laws of supply and demand and then repeal the wasteful certificate of need process.
Kentucky needs to get straight on the laws of supply and demand and then repeal the wasteful certificate of need process.
Public appearance time
I'll be out of pocket for a while this morning as I speak about free trade to a group of supporters -- and, apparently, some protesters -- at Thiel Audio in Lexington.
Come on by at 9 AM if you can.
Come on by at 9 AM if you can.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Burying good health insurance news
Buying insurance for something consumers can afford to pay out of pocket is always an expensive proposition. Think about it: which would cost more, an insurance company processing and paying a claim you have the money for in your pocket, or you reaching in your pocket and paying for it yourself?
So it was good to hear from the Mercer consulting firm that 19% of companies surveyed will begin in 2009 to offer consumer-directed health plans that encourage employees to watch health costs by letting them pocket savings.
Interesting that the Lexington Herald Leader didn't mention this key fact until the thirteenth paragraph of a fourteen paragraph story that started with the headline "Study: Workers to pay more for health care."
I'm surprised the AP story didn't end with some nonsense about 50 million Americans dying in the street for lack of health insurance.
So it was good to hear from the Mercer consulting firm that 19% of companies surveyed will begin in 2009 to offer consumer-directed health plans that encourage employees to watch health costs by letting them pocket savings.
Interesting that the Lexington Herald Leader didn't mention this key fact until the thirteenth paragraph of a fourteen paragraph story that started with the headline "Study: Workers to pay more for health care."
I'm surprised the AP story didn't end with some nonsense about 50 million Americans dying in the street for lack of health insurance.
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