After public disclosure of his taxpayer-funded trip to see his Argentinian mistress, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had the gall to compare himself to the Old Testament adulterer King David, who maintained his power after his crimes became publicly known.
Sanford, a former 2012 presidential hopeful, should reimburse South Carolina taxpayers the cost of his trip, resign, and go away quietly.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
"A country of arbitrary rules"
Potential U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Rand Paul said current federal policies run the risk of doing significant damage to American society:
Speaking to the Scott County Young Republicans, Dr. Paul compared the crisis in our current government to that of ancient Rome past its prime and discussed the risks of the Federal Reserve inflating the currency.
Speaking to the Scott County Young Republicans, Dr. Paul compared the crisis in our current government to that of ancient Rome past its prime and discussed the risks of the Federal Reserve inflating the currency.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
All hands on deck!
Every club, organization, and group of every kind in Kentucky's Sixth Congressional district should call Rep. Ben Chandler's offices Monday and invite him to come to your next meeting and explain his support for Cap and Tax.
This battle is far from over. The bill now goes to the Senate and it will be amended there. If it passes the Senate, it will have to go back through the House for agreement on the changes.
Invitations to Chandler should also be sent to local media via press release. If your Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Garden club, neighborhood association, bridge club, or whatever needs help calling out Rep. Chandler for this latest outrage, I'll be glad to assist you. My contact information is at the top of this page.
The key is that when Chandler refuses to show up or fails to respond, we do another press release and keep hounding him.
Rep. Chandler's Washington D.C. office number is (202) 225-4706 and his Lexington number is (859) 219-1366.
This battle is far from over. The bill now goes to the Senate and it will be amended there. If it passes the Senate, it will have to go back through the House for agreement on the changes.
Invitations to Chandler should also be sent to local media via press release. If your Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Garden club, neighborhood association, bridge club, or whatever needs help calling out Rep. Chandler for this latest outrage, I'll be glad to assist you. My contact information is at the top of this page.
The key is that when Chandler refuses to show up or fails to respond, we do another press release and keep hounding him.
Rep. Chandler's Washington D.C. office number is (202) 225-4706 and his Lexington number is (859) 219-1366.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Pelosi power pooper passes
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Energy Tax bill 219-212. U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler voted for it.
Georgia Congressman Tom Price attempted to stop debate to request a moment of silence for the millions of Americans who will lose their jobs as a result of the bill's implementation.
Georgia Congressman Tom Price attempted to stop debate to request a moment of silence for the millions of Americans who will lose their jobs as a result of the bill's implementation.
Someone's desperate for a PR victory
Gov. Steve Beshear is going to great lengths today to take credit for state taxpayers picking up the tab for storm cleanup.
4:00 UPDATE
And, of course, it worked. The Kentucky Post seems to think that the Governor's administration, rather than taxpayers, will be picking up the $14.6 million. That's quality journalism right there!
4:00 UPDATE
And, of course, it worked. The Kentucky Post seems to think that the Governor's administration, rather than taxpayers, will be picking up the $14.6 million. That's quality journalism right there!
Ben Chandler turns off your air conditioner
In case you were wondering, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler voted for the Cap and Tax procedural vote that barely passed the House.
Evening update: Rep. Chandler voted for Cap and Tax and the bill passed the House.
Evening update: Rep. Chandler voted for Cap and Tax and the bill passed the House.
We shouldn't have to beg
We can't improve a government that we can't see. That is what the transparency movement is all about. In Kentucky, Rep. Jim DeCesare, Sen. Damon Thayer, and Secretary of State Trey Grayson have been leaders in the fight against a stonewalling Frankfort which is strangely reluctant to allow taxpayers to see what is going on with our money.
The federal effort remains small as well (click here for more):
Every city and county government in Kentucky should post their checkbook registers to the internet for everyone to see. Every school district, too. We have the technology and the resources and we shouldn't have to beg for government that has nothing to hide.
The federal effort remains small as well (click here for more):
Every city and county government in Kentucky should post their checkbook registers to the internet for everyone to see. Every school district, too. We have the technology and the resources and we shouldn't have to beg for government that has nothing to hide.
Trouble in casino paradise?
Kentuckians seeking to make our state budget problems go away -- or even get just a little better -- might want to look at a Friday New York Times article about a new billion dollar tax increase in casino-rich New Jersey.
My favorite part to start the weekend with a laugh was the new tax on lottery winners.
Maybe they should just stand at the door of their casinos and bum rush any patrons who try to leave with any cash or with room left on their credit cards.
Big government is the problem here. It's a shame that Kentucky's horse industry has cast its lot with people who buy votes with billions of dollars of borrowed public money. If they really want to "level the playing field" with tracks in casino states, they should seek to do so without digging Kentucky into a deeper government hole. They have energy, passion, and numbers on their side, but if it is mainly going to go for driving our state deeper into the fiscal ditch, I wish them slow and painful failure.
My favorite part to start the weekend with a laugh was the new tax on lottery winners.
Maybe they should just stand at the door of their casinos and bum rush any patrons who try to leave with any cash or with room left on their credit cards.
Big government is the problem here. It's a shame that Kentucky's horse industry has cast its lot with people who buy votes with billions of dollars of borrowed public money. If they really want to "level the playing field" with tracks in casino states, they should seek to do so without digging Kentucky into a deeper government hole. They have energy, passion, and numbers on their side, but if it is mainly going to go for driving our state deeper into the fiscal ditch, I wish them slow and painful failure.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
President says Kentucky needs ObamaCare
The Obama Administration will release reports for every state in the nation Friday describing how things will be better for everyone in each state if we let him implement socialized medicine.
Another "press release journalism" hit job
How would you respond if one of your enemies put out a press release about you and the newspaper called you for a response, but you couldn't see details of what was said?
When it happened to Kentucky Coal Association's Bill Caylor Wednesday, he said he hadn't seen the "study" put out by MACED, a left-wing advocacy group based in Berea.
But the Lexington Herald Leader went ahead and ran a front page story:
Fortunately, Kentucky now has independent blogs. To see CyberHillbilly's response to the silliness, click here.
When it happened to Kentucky Coal Association's Bill Caylor Wednesday, he said he hadn't seen the "study" put out by MACED, a left-wing advocacy group based in Berea.
But the Lexington Herald Leader went ahead and ran a front page story:
Fortunately, Kentucky now has independent blogs. To see CyberHillbilly's response to the silliness, click here.
Word is bond
Potential U.S. Senate primary opponents Dr. Rand Paul and Secretary of State Trey Grayson, while also racing to a June 30 fundraising deadline for midyear reporting purposes, have been quick to make a very timely promise.
It's called the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and it's a promise to voters to never vote for a tax increase. Dr. Paul, who as the chairman of Kentucky Taxpayers United has collected dozens of such written promises from candidates over the years, has already signed his. Weeks ago, Secretary Grayson scheduled a meeting with Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist for this coming Monday in Louisville to sign his no-new-taxes pledge.
The Taxpayer Protection Pledge has drawn attention recently because of the way U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler used it to sneak into office under false pretenses and is now poised to vote for the largest tax increase in history.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, will be in Lexington on Monday night, 6 pm to 8 pm at the Fifth Third Bank building for a private reception. If you'd like to attend, contact Dawn Cloyd at dcloyd@thielaudio.com.
It's called the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and it's a promise to voters to never vote for a tax increase. Dr. Paul, who as the chairman of Kentucky Taxpayers United has collected dozens of such written promises from candidates over the years, has already signed his. Weeks ago, Secretary Grayson scheduled a meeting with Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist for this coming Monday in Louisville to sign his no-new-taxes pledge.
The Taxpayer Protection Pledge has drawn attention recently because of the way U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler used it to sneak into office under false pretenses and is now poised to vote for the largest tax increase in history.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, will be in Lexington on Monday night, 6 pm to 8 pm at the Fifth Third Bank building for a private reception. If you'd like to attend, contact Dawn Cloyd at dcloyd@thielaudio.com.
Don't need a new car? Pay up anyway
Before running out of Frankfort slapping each other on the back for such a "successful" special session, legislators slipped into a corporate welfare bill $25 million to give to Kentuckians who buy new cars after September 1.
And we're doing this while we are hopelessly broke.
And we're doing this while we are hopelessly broke.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Watch your back, Steve!
House Speaker Greg Stumbo kicked off his run for Governor in 2011 with the following announcement Wednesday afternoon:
I guess that's more fun than Stumbo saying "We punted the serious issues again in 2009, called an extra session and wasted more taxpayer money, but we managed to make government bigger, more powerful, and more expensive. Thanks!"
I guess that's more fun than Stumbo saying "We punted the serious issues again in 2009, called an extra session and wasted more taxpayer money, but we managed to make government bigger, more powerful, and more expensive. Thanks!"
Healthcare reform for the rest of us
In case you aren't excited about ABC television's Socialized Medicine Obamathon tonight, here's a better way:
Briefly, what we need is the ability to buy health insurance across state lines, separation of health insurance from employment, to get the federal bureaucracy out of healthcare, and to get real about the idea that more government is going to make healthcare cheaper unless what they really mean is rationing of services.
Briefly, what we need is the ability to buy health insurance across state lines, separation of health insurance from employment, to get the federal bureaucracy out of healthcare, and to get real about the idea that more government is going to make healthcare cheaper unless what they really mean is rationing of services.
Blowing the whistle on the wrong scam
After decades of rampant abuse of our public employee pension system by politicians and bureaucrats resulting in a more than $30 billion underfunding, its funny to see KRS getting worked up about a few phone calls.
If you like this year's wasteful special session, you would have loved last year's, in which the politicians claimed to fix the state's pension problems. And then they came back earlier this year and raided the system again.
The only way to get out of the pension mess Frankfort has put us in is to pour money into the system at a much faster rate. And that means less spending on other pet big-government projects.
Now.
If you like this year's wasteful special session, you would have loved last year's, in which the politicians claimed to fix the state's pension problems. And then they came back earlier this year and raided the system again.
The only way to get out of the pension mess Frankfort has put us in is to pour money into the system at a much faster rate. And that means less spending on other pet big-government projects.
Now.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A flat tax never killed anyone
Did a tax avoidance strategy in Washington D.C. cause the deaths of nine people in a DC Metro accident Monday? (Click the image below to expand and read.)
Independence Day Tea Parties in Kentucky
Friday July 3 ---
Jenkins City Park in downtown Jenkins, Kentucky. 6pm to 8pm.
Madison County Courthouse in Richmond. 6pm to 7:30pm.
Saturday July 4 ---
Jefferson Square in Louisville. 11am to 2pm.
Laurel County Courthouse in London. Noon to 1pm.
Corbin City Hall in Corbin. Noon to 2 pm.
Grant County Courthourse in Williamstown. Noon.
State Capitol steps in Frankfort. Noon to 2pm.
Fayette County Courthouse in Lexington. Starts at 3:30pm right after the parade.
I will be speaking in Madison County and Laurel County. Hope to see you there!
Jenkins City Park in downtown Jenkins, Kentucky. 6pm to 8pm.
Madison County Courthouse in Richmond. 6pm to 7:30pm.
Saturday July 4 ---
Jefferson Square in Louisville. 11am to 2pm.
Laurel County Courthouse in London. Noon to 1pm.
Corbin City Hall in Corbin. Noon to 2 pm.
Grant County Courthourse in Williamstown. Noon.
State Capitol steps in Frankfort. Noon to 2pm.
Fayette County Courthouse in Lexington. Starts at 3:30pm right after the parade.
I will be speaking in Madison County and Laurel County. Hope to see you there!
$60,000 for your Tuesday hot air
The Kentucky legislature is expected to spend much of the day Tuesday in conference committees seeking agreement on everything but slots.
Just go home, guys.
Just go home, guys.
There's my Herald Leader!
Agreeing with the Lexington Herald Leader editorial page's slots bill opposition recently was pretty strange. Tuesday morning brought a return to normal:
If "incentivizing" our economy with corporate welfare worked, then Kentucky, with one of the most active state economic development cabinets in the nation in this decade, would already be an economic nirvana.
Since the government's definition of "economic competitiveness" translates into English as Kentucky being one of the poorest states, shouldn't we be considering a new strategy instead of tweaking and expanding the old one?
One thing that should be perfectly clear by now is we don't need state government trying to serve as a mini-Obama, picking which companies get welfare and which ones pay it. What we need to do is repeal corporate taxes, which are all passed along to consumers anyway. Pay for the cuts by making government smaller. Until we start thinking like this, we will continue getting the same bad results from Frankfort.
If "incentivizing" our economy with corporate welfare worked, then Kentucky, with one of the most active state economic development cabinets in the nation in this decade, would already be an economic nirvana.
Since the government's definition of "economic competitiveness" translates into English as Kentucky being one of the poorest states, shouldn't we be considering a new strategy instead of tweaking and expanding the old one?
One thing that should be perfectly clear by now is we don't need state government trying to serve as a mini-Obama, picking which companies get welfare and which ones pay it. What we need to do is repeal corporate taxes, which are all passed along to consumers anyway. Pay for the cuts by making government smaller. Until we start thinking like this, we will continue getting the same bad results from Frankfort.
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