Liberal Freakout Over A Rock

Just like a bunch of naked people in a field trying to save the world, the folks over at Ben Chandler's blog are going bananas and making a spectacle of themselves.

Mark Nickolas, Chandler's mad-as-hell campaign manager, is inconsolable over what he wants to believe is a Fletcher administration sleight to his man's grandfather. And he wants you to be just as worked up as he is.

Don't be fooled.

Nickolas reports, with Congressman Chandler as his only source, that the "petty and dishonest" Fletcher administration is planning to remove a historical marker honoring the late Happy Chandler from its current location in Corydon, Kentucky.

Have you ever seen this thing? It is about four tons of rock. It is huge and less than ten feet from the road. And the truth is the Transportation Cabinet is looking into moving the marker to a place where people can more safely look at it, not getting rid of it. The city park and the school system remain possible new custodians, but my money is on scrapping the whole idea and leaving it where it is.

Still distraught over the election loss of their man John Kerry, the folks at Bluegrass Report are perhaps letting their disappointment get the best of them.

Senate Minority Leader Captured By Space Aliens!

The plausible excuse above might be a good one for Ed Worley (D-Richmond) to try when his latest scandal emerges.

War Strategy Questioning By Chandlers

The story goes like this: Chandler of Kentucky stands on Capitol Hill and attacks the President for pursuing a "diversion" rather than going after America's attackers.

Interesting article about this today in USA Today. But the Chandler isn't Ben, the president isn't Bush, the "diversion" isn't Iraq, and the year isn't 2005. It was Senator A.B. "Happy" Chandler, President Roosevelt, Germany, and 1942.

While we can be grateful that the current president won't succumb to whims of those like the current Chandler, we must be eternally thankful (along with millions of Europeans over the years) that FDR had the good sense to ignore Sen. Chandler when he criticized the move to support our western Allies in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Had we left them to their own devices then, we might well have been rebuffed by PM Tony Blair when we asked for help against terrorists.

In fact, I suspect Blair would have said something like "Hau ab, Yankee!"

The article is here.

Liberals Bite Wrong Dog Over School Spending

The latest media attack on Governor Fletcher (and Republicans in general) has been easy to debunk. This attack attempts to cast Fletcher as uncaring about education.

On Monday, AP reporter Joe Biesk's article in the Lexington Herald Leader reported that Kentucky was found to be last in the nation in per capita spending on education. He reports that Governing magazine's 2005 State and Local Source Book is his source for the figures he quotes, but neglects to point out that the numbers are based on 2002 Census Bureau statistics. The timeliness of the story is appropriate in that Governing magazine just released the report this month, but has nothing to do with the current resident of the Governor's Mansion.

This fact has not stopped liberal pundits from going rabid, and barking that Republicans just don't care about kids.

The hard, cold fact is that a two minute phone call to the Kentucky Department of Education revealed that Kentucky's spending on K-12 education in FY 2006 is 44.1% of General Fund expenditures and that is UP from FY 2002's 41.2%.

We won't lose sleep waiting for David Hawpe, Mark Nickolas, et al to apologize for nipping at Governor Fletcher's heels when they should have in fact been chewing on Paul Patton, but spreading the word on this attempt at spin from the left should provide some perspective on other charges leveled by them.

War Protestors Should Talk To Islamics, Not Bush

Cindy Sheehan's run is not nearly over, but when it is what's left of the Democratic Party will be.

Sen. George Allen has said President Bush should meet with her. I disagree. The conventional wisdom would be that sitting down with her would end her fifteen minutes. There is no chance of that. Either way, this will wind up being the biggest war protest of all time.

Let it run until next year and then campaign against it.

Success in the war is not only good public policy, it is good politics. It would seem that everyone would understand that.

Democrats Show Cards On Immigration: Bluff!

... and the Wall Street Journal nails them on it.

I think we should eliminate the minimum wage and enforce the law against hiring illegals.

Obstructionists Hint At Coming To Reform Table

President Roosevelt knew the value of private investment and the available evidence suggests that he feared Social Security would become the ponzi scheme that it is. But no one can doubt FDR would have been mortified by what passes for talking points from his once-proud party.

"Stopping privatization and dropping partisan demands for private accounts," Rep. Jon Salazar (D-CO) whined in response to President Bush's Saturday Radio Address.

Why are the Dems still talking about this? I thought Social Security reform was as popular as leprosy and that the President's "plan" was dead in the water.

Well, of course it isn't dead. Only Nancy "Social Security has never failed to pay promised benefits" Pelosi's most zealous followers really believe the program is just hunky-dory as it is. Optional private accounts had better not pass, from the partisan Democrat point of view, or the younger generations will be lost to them forever.

This fall is going to be a lot of fun to watch!

Washington's August Recess Portends Success

President Bush continues the battle to save Social Security, while the hapless opposition continues the same nose-into-door jam sleepwalk routine that passes for return fire against Karl Rove in the 21st century.

Of course, the Administration could put both feet in the increasingly crowded pool party celebrating the Fair Tax proposal and wipe out the struggles to avert Social Security's bust in 2041 and Medicare's in 2020 in one big splash.

Government Smoking Bans: Just Say No

We all know smoking does wonderful things to your body. Just ask Keith Richards. But as bad as smoking is, government smoking bans are worse.

As Louisville continues to argue whether to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, Lexington and Georgetown are already gone. The spread of government smoking bans should concern anyone with even a single civil libertarian bone in his body.

The momentum is clearly with the pro-ban folks. The argument always shakes out the same. They start talking about public health and the anti-banners respond that a ban would be disastrous for business. This is a bad approach, especially now that pro-banners can point to evidence that the economy doesn't come crashing down under the weight of a smoking ban.

Kentuckians are protective of their freedoms. We would do well to fight future smoking ban initiatives with the argument that success on this front will only embolden do-gooders to ban other activities they don't like. Drinking alcohol, eating fat-laden foods, or consuming soft drinks would be easy steps from here. The real question is what would they be on to from there? I'm pretty sure we don't want to find out. Better to kill this little movement before it builds up a head of steam.

The question is: what are you going to ban next?

Kentucky Progress on Lexington Radio

I will be on Sue Wylie's show (WVLK 590 AM in Lexington) at 10 AM Wednesday. The subject is federal tax reform.

"I should have had a Club Gitmo Cocktail!"

One year before 9/11, four of the terrorists of that fateful day had been identified as Al Qaeda members by U.S. military intelligence, the New York Times reports.

Interestingly, the intelligence unit recommended that this highly valuable information be shared with the FBI, but the recommendation was rejected by the Clinton administration. The man pictured in this post is Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, recently noteworthy for having been caught stuffing classified documents into his pants. Our friends at www.anklebitingpundits.com wonder if this very serious scandal was the subject of the documents in Mr. Bergers tighty whiteys. We don't know.

While it is unreasonable to speculate that a suite at Club Gitmo -- complete with prayer rugs, gourmet meals, and urine-stained Qurans -- could have prevented 9/11, perhaps a little FBI scrutiny would have raised a flag or two, perhaps even before Mohammed Atta and friends headed off to the airport with boxcutters in their pockets.

Senator Bunning Eases Lexington Traffic Woes

Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) arranged for funding of a feasibility study for building a connector between US-27 (Nicholasville Rd) and I-75. This project, when completed, will clear up many traffic jams on this main artery through south Lexington and save lives.

No-growth zealots will scream bloody murder. In fact, it's already started with this goofy diatribe from a guy who seems to be incapable of making his point without exaggerating profusely.

Terrorists? No, Abortionists!

Planned Parenthood has come out with a wonderful new cartoon that includes brilliant satire like a pro-choice "hero" drowning a pro-lifer in a trash can full of anal lubricant, blowing up abortion protestors, and (above) a condom decapitating a man.

A Lie That Polls Well With Swing Voters

Rep. Ben Chandler claimed falsely in a March 23 press release that he had been appointed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly by Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Actually, Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had four appointments for Democrats and gave Chandler one of them. Stating that the Republican Speaker was paying attention to him must have polled well, though, because Chandler has done it again in his monthly column:

In March, I was honored with an appointment to the Assembly by House Speaker Dennis Hassert. Since that time, I have become even more convinced of the importance of our country’s membership in NATO and the valuable role NATO plays in the War on Terror.

Right.

Having a Congressional Representative so ineffective that he is reduced to making up silly little (and easily discovered) distortions as this is extremely frustrating.

Pre-emptive Strike Beats Empty Threats, Again

During an argument about the war effort, a Manchester, Ky. man who opposed the war died from a bullet wound to the chest after threatening to kill another man who supported the war effort.

Harold Smith, the war opponent, pulled a small pistol and threatened to kill Douglas Moore of Martin, Ky, the war supporter. Moore responded pulling out his .38-caliber pistol and shooting Smith once in the chest.

The Kentucky State Police determined that Moore was acting in self-defense and did not arrest him.

The Associated Press released this story today.

Never Forget Why We Are Fighting

We often lose sight of the fact that wars are political events. Without public support for our war effort, we wouldn't be able to muster a defense. We must remember what is at stake.

HB 516: The Elect Me Governor Act of 2005

House Speaker Jody Richards filed HB 516 last session in an obvious attempt to create taxpayer funding for a Louisville arena regardless of how bad a deal it is for the actual taxpayers.

The bill would allow cities to finance 100% of the cost of building a professional sports stadium with local property tax revenues and without the possible hindrance of a net positive impact review that would otherwise be required.

A shiny new building for a sports venue is nearly always a fun thing to visit, but also quite often it is a good deal for a small handful of powerful people and a lousy one for taxpayers.

Ask George W. Bush.

Fortunately, the bill died in the Economic Development Committee, but that probably had more to do with time running out than the most powerful Democrat in Frankfort being snubbed by a vulnerable member of his own party.

Richards may well try to bring this back. He should be stopped.

Incidentally, the way I found this bill was through the www.kentuckyvotes.org site. It is not fully operational, but it is an extremely helpful tool and will be huge when it is done. Check it out. You can comment on bills.

Another Campaign Finance Scandal

Working on details, but it is related to this.

Details: The problem started on October 20, 2004 when a pro-abortion group called Physicians for the Positive Choice (PPC) placed a full page ad in the Winchester Sun newspaper advocating for the candidacy of Democrat Rep. Don Pasley. Under only the smallest amount of scrutiny (the group is not registered with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance so we don't even know who they are or what other left wing issues they may support), PPC claims to be able to hide behind the smokescreen that they did not "expressly advocate" for Pasley or against his opponent, Dr. Ralph Alvarado, a Republican. This is confusing, then, because according to his own testimony, Rep. Pasley liked the ad so much that he went down to the newspaper office on October 25 and made arrangements to run substantially the same ad (one-half page and with the "paid for" line indicating that he in fact paid for the second ad).

Several of the people listed in the PPC ad had already made the maximum contribution to Pasley's campaign, so the likelihood that they contributed further to design and place the October 20 ad (and that Pasley didn't report the contribution) would clearly be against campaign finance laws. PPC has refused to provide information about who actually paid for the ad in question.

This matter is presently before the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and it bears watching. If an unregistered pro-choice group is allowed to produce ads that are so effective for a Democrat candidate that he duplicates the ad and runs it himself and they all get away with it, Republican candidates would do well to set up multiple off-the-books "groups" to advocate for themselves in 2006. Or are only liberals able to get away with this?

Republican Wins Special Election in Ohio

Jean Schmidt beat Democrat Paul Hackett in a close one. Dems are already talking up ways to rig a recount.

This one was just across the river in Ohio, so a lot of our active liberals from here went up there. They will be juiced because it was a close race in a Republican dominated district. They have a right to be excited and Republicans had better be paying attention. Hackett ran in a conservative district as a conservative on the airwaves and as a liberal on the net. Watch for that to be duplicated in 2006 and beyond.

The hilarious thing was that the computers went down leaving nearly 10,000 votes to be counted by hand. Must have been Karl Rove flipping the switch on that one, right?

Chandler Goofs Again

Congressman Ben Chandler is congratulating himself for securing $3.1 million to plant grass in Wilmore, Kentucky. What's worse, he quotes Mayor Harold Rainwater thanking the Congressman for his largesse, saying "we have wanted this for years."

In fact, Mayor Rainwater says he never asked for the landscaping from the federal government, and that he was surprised when the Congressman's office called to tell him what they were doing. Jessamine county has numerous road needs and could benefit by upgrades to our roads. Landscaping is far from being one of our priorities.

Chandler claims "after a hard fight, the people of Jessamine county are still receiving the important funds they need."

Give me a break.

Check here to for Chandler's announcements in other 6th district counties.

Five Years After Hyde Park

On August 1, 2000, some elected Democrats (including Sen. John Kerry) gathered to Hyde Park, New York to express ideas for Social Security reform such as personal accounts, which they were in favor of at the time.

Read this account. Would be funny if it weren't so sad. Well, okay. It's a little funny.

Getting Tough With The United Nations

New Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton should prove to be another nail in the coffin of obstructionist Democrats. Bolton will serve on the President's recess appointment until January of 2007.

Senator Joseph Biden said "I think the president would make a truly serious mistake if he makes a recess appointment."

Say no more, Senator. That tells me we are on the right track. Now let's get back to Social Security reform. HR 3304 is a good first step, neatly underscoring the duplicity of "fiscally responsible" Democrats.

Conservative Blogosphere Growing Quickly

Former College Republican chairman at Georgetown College Ben McKown is headed to UK Law school and is getting back to work on his "The Mole" blog. He's a terrific writer.

He joins Eric Wright, who does fine work and pulls from a wide variety of sources to make powerful points "On the Wright."

These young guys can handle the issues and, when necessary, throw a little heat. Good job!

Summer Reading Assignment

Everyone with teenage kids knows the #1 selling book on amazon.com is the latest in the Harry Potter saga. But would you believe that #2 is a book advocating the repeal of federal income taxes and replacement of the entire tax code? The book comes out August 2. The group advocating for HR 25 The Fair Tax reports they are getting a good reception from Congressman Ben Chandler's office, but I am skeptical that he will follow through.

Read up on the Fair Tax. The left wing groups (and some of the tax industry supporters of the status quo) will be in full force against this pretty soon

Smoking Gun On The Run

UPDATE: I will be filing an ethics complaint against AG Stumbo relating to his financial disclosure statement. I guess we can call it BraveheartGate.

Thanks to Susan Allen of the Big Sandy News for digging this up.

Democrats Cave On Social Security Negotiation Ban

Apparently Democrats do have ideas to share on the retirement challenges facing American citizens. Unfortunately, they aren't very good ideas.

At the heart of their proposal is the pouring of taxpayer dollars into individuals' retirement accounts. The trick is their matching proposal does absolutely nothing for people who can't afford to contribute the first dime to an IRA because of the forced taking of their payroll dollars which are then dumped into an underperforming Social Security ponzi scheme.

I think I respected them more when they were just obstructing the Social Security reform process.

Howard Dean Can't Fool UK Students For Life

Last week DNC Chairman (I just love that, I really do) Howard Dean said "I think we need to talk about this issue differently. Republicans have painted us as pro-abortion."

A group of University of Kentucky students aren't likely to fall for the spin. UK Students for Life's Joel Haubenreich said:

"The Republicans have not painted the Democratic party as pro-abortion. The Democratic party's platform paints it as pro-abortion. Of course they will try to be clever and say something like, "I'm not pro-abortion. I'm simply pro-choice." They might even go so far as to say, "While I am personally opposed to abortion, I shouldn't like to obstruct a woman's choice." But the "choice" in "pro-choice" is a euphemism for "dismemberment." Being in favour of a woman's choice to have her baby dismembered, in my opinion, isn't much better than being actively in favour of abortion. There really is no difference."

Young Mr. Haubenreich gives us yet another reason to be optimistic about the future. UK Students for Life has a terrific website here. Please go check it out, contribute your comments, and check back often for thoughtful updates.

Sex Offender Registry Solution

Imagine checking Kentucky's sex offender registry because you have small kids. You are just curious at first, but then you get a shock: you find you have a couple of convicted perverts on your street. What are you supposed to do with this information? Want to sell and move to protect your children? The only problem with this strategy is home buyers check the list too, so now you can't sell. Some defense attorneys contend that the problem is the list, the registry of predators. Might some twice-victimized homeowners be inclined to agree, at least until they can get out of the neighborhood?

This scenario is happening right now in Kentucky. This is bad enough in a few isolated incidents, but what if this plague of sex offenders continues to spread, leaving a trail of blighted neighborhoods caused by the presence of sex offenders? What if, heaven forbid, one of them moves in next door to you?

I have an idea.

Let's remove the legal penalties for harassing sex offenders. Presently you can be sentenced to ninety days in jail for "harassing" someone who is on the registry.

I remember a few years back the state of Louisiana struggled with the issue of flag burning. They couldn't make it illegal, so someone had the outstanding idea to institute a $25 fine for beating up a flag burner. Maybe we could do the same with sex offenders. Got a pedophile on your street? No problem. Go to the ATM, get $50 and go kick his ass twice.

Fixing KY Health Insurance In One Bold Stroke

Found an article in the Wall Street Journal about a good bill that would pull Kentucky out of the ditch Democrats put us in back in 1994 with their own version of HillaryCare.

States can regulate health insurance companies to protect the public against those insurers who don't honor their contracts, but the idea of holding ratepayers hostage to a wish-list of expensive goodies hurts too many people. If we were free to buy health insurance from states who didn't ruin their own markets, we could save money. No reasonable person could oppose that, right?

Hillary The Right Wing Radical Repugnicant

Wonder what the far left folks will do to themselves if Senator Rodham-Clinton really does support the Judge Roberts nomination?

If You Are Not A Terrorist, Don't Run From London Police

When common sense and political correctness collide, anti-war zealots find an opportunity to protest, politic, and do whatever else they do to the detriment of normal people everywhere.

The man killed by London police this week turned out to be a Brazilian with no ties to terrorism. The proper response would be to remind people not to run from the police. The shoot-to-kill policy makes perfect sense under the circumstances. Muslim "civil libertarians" in London will no doubt try to force the guns out of the hands of the police to protect themselves from "overzealous" law enforcement.

We can only hope the Londoners don't cave in to this idiocy.

Stretch: On Both Sides Of The Issue Again

Yesterday, Rep. Ben Chandler voted to kill the Patriot Act three times, before going along on the fourth vote with the law enforcement protections that we need to battle terrorists. While we appreciate Rep. Chandler's final answer, we can't help bringing attention to this well-worn tactic of his (most notably on tax issues): try to kill a good bill on procedural votes and then vote for it when that doesn't work.

This form of legislative chicanery is commonly used by Kentucky's House Democrats in Frankfort who tell constituents they are in favor of a good bill and will vote for it if it comes up, knowing that their buddies can kill it in committee. Fortunately for us, once again, Chandler is in the minority. May the same be true after the next election for our flip-flopping House Dems in the General Assembly.

Prove It: Democrat Leader Claims To Have Ideas

Social Security continues to lose money while Congressional Democrats like Ben Chandler continue to not only whine and cry, but to mislead the public about the necessity to act.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has the following statement on her website, which serves mainly as comedy since Democrats have failed to offer any suggestions.

"We are eager to discuss how to make Social Security strong into the next century, and we have many ideas on how to do so."

Oh, really? Name one idea.

Why Greg Stumbo Has Been Quiet Recently

A minor news story in the growing vote-buying scandal today doesn't mention Greg Stumbo, but follow up articles soon will unavoidably do so. Interestingly, David Hawpe questions Stumbo's ethics on a different matter, but it is the voter fraud that will end his political career. The statute of limitations on Stumbo's crimes runs out late this year. Then he will surely get a fair trial before he is hung out to dry.

This Is Not A Test: It's a LIBERAL FREAKOUT!!!

Good pick...

Here's the proof.

And here.

And here.

This is going to be very interesting.

Crux of State Hiring is Law, Not "Gist"

This from today's Lexington Herald Leader:

Although the nuances of state personnel laws might indeed be "inefficient" or "confusing" as Fletcher noted, the gist is straightforward: the roughly 30,000 rank-and-file state employees are to be hired on qualifications, not for political reasons. (Go here for the whole story.)

With this, we finally reach the heart of the matter. Governor Fletcher has insisted that while mistakes may have been made, laws were not broken. Attorney General Stumbo has built his "smoking gun" case on this "gist."

The challenge to finding the truth in this matter now involves bridging this gap.

The onus is on Stumbo to not only demonstrate "gist," but to show that laws were broken. Failing that, the cost of this investigation will clearly be attributable to anti-Republican political motivations. We hear precious little from the mainstream media about this possibility. We hear only assumed guilt. But laws are not enforced solely on the "gist" of the law. If they were, maybe this episode would already be over. It isn't over.

Pundits who scoff at the Governor's review of the merit system willfully miss the point: Governor Fletcher didn't break this system. It was already broken and left unchallenged for many years of Democrat rule, during which Republicans were almost completely shut out of these jobs, gist or no gist. (Wouldn't it be interesting to see the media do an in-depth review of political affiliation of merit employees?) Once again, the Dems put themselves in the untenable position of hoping that nothing goes right and nothing gets fixed.

Vermont Cable Maybe; Not In Kentucky

Curious to know where the Democrats' talking points on Iraq come from? Try Al Jazeera.

The terrorist television network is planning to launch an English language channel in the Spring of 2006. It will be pretty interesting to see which cable systems pick that one up.

Repeal the National Voter Registration Act of 1993

Signs like this have lined San Diego highways since 1990 to warn drivers of the illegals darting across traffic. These same illegals (and worse) can run down to the local Department of Motor Vehicles and drive away with the closest thing to a national ID that we have. Because President Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 or Motor Voter, they can even vote.

Now we can clearly see that the time has come to repeal Motor Voter, can't we?

Understanding President Bush's Court Choice

John Roberts--Good.
Michael Luttig--Better.

This fight will be fun and will get us back to the debate over filibustering of judicial nominees.

Democrats' Growing Idea Problem

In last year's Democrat Presidential Primary, every candidate was a proponent of socialized medicine. This could well become a problem for Kentucky Democrats in 2006, who claim to not agree with their national party on anything but hatred for George Bush.

"Single payer is not socialized medicine," said Kay Tillow of Kentuckians for Single Payer Health Care on the Kentucky Focus program this morning. "It makes a social funding of healthcare, taking out the profiteering. The delivery system would remain with the non-profits, with the physicians, etcetera."

Right. Let's call it the Empty Out The Medical Schools Act of 2005. The mainstream in the Democratic Party is really going for this garbage. Ask your local Democrat to explain how nationalizing our system of healthcare will make it better for anyone but incompetent doctors and government bureaucrats.

RoveGate Goes Bust

Despite all the Sturm and Drang going on over at Ben Chandler's new blog, the angry left-wing mob out for Karl Rove's head missed its mark badly on the clumsily manufactured CIA agent scandal.

Even the New York Times got it right. And it just happens to be a pretty good read, actually. Check it out. I particularly liked the Monty Python reference.

Coming to Lexington January 28: Bill Kristol

William Kristol is editor of the influential Washington-based political magazine, The Weekly Standard. Widely recognized as one of the nation's leading political analysts and commentators, Mr. Kristol regularly appears on Fox News Sunday and on the Fox News Channel.

Before starting The Weekly Standard in 1995, Mr. Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, where he helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory. Prior to that, Mr. Kristol served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle during the Bush administration and to Secretary of Education William Bennett under President Reagan. Before coming to Washington in 1985, Mr. Kristol taught politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Kristol recently co-authored The New York Times bestseller The War Over Iraq: America's Mission and Saddam's Tyranny.

Kentucky Columnist Blames 7/7 On Bush

Last week when we noted that a British MP was blaming the terrorist attacks in London on his government's role in the war, we knew that the rest of the world-wide left would be on board that train soon, backpacks loaded.

Flemingsburg Gazette editor Guy M. Townsend shows that the Howard Deanification of the American Left has reached into the hills and hollers of eastern Kentucky.

Townsend invokes the name of Sherlock Holmes to lead himself to the conclusion that George Bush was responsible for the 7/7 attacks because he led the charge against al Qaeda in Afghanistan and then "diverted" attention from that base to Iraq.

If we follow your reasoning, Mr. Townsend, that keeping all our forces in Afghanistan would have allowed us to finish off the terrorists, then how do you possibly explain the fact that they got to Spain and England, neither of which is in the mountains of Afghanistan?

Lost on these wackos is the simple fact that this is a worldwide effort that defies their simplistic solutions. We just have to stay on guard against this kind of garbage. Let it serve as a fresh reminder that the American Left will say anything to draw attention to itself. We must periodically point it out to raise awareness of their tactics. They must not be allowed to prevail.

Kentucky's Liberal Troika

Photo contributed by John Holbrook of Corbin. Thanks John!

Manic Thursday: Politically Correct Islam

Today's new word is Islamophobia.

Probably was just a matter of time, but the word popped up this week because a gang of white Londoners beat a Muslim man to death, apparently for his cigarettes. According to witnesses, one of the attackers called the Muslim man "Taliban" while killing him and stealing his cigarettes.

The Muslim Safety Forum (dedicated to ensuring the safety of Muslims) is really upset that police have classified the murder for cigarettes as "racially aggravated" and not as "Islamophobia."

Azad Ali, who chairs the Muslim Safety Forum, said: "You can't class this as racist, there was no racist abuse shouted at him, it was Islamophobic. We are disappointed that they have misclassified it, especially after all the advice to be more alert to Islamophobic hate crime."

What is the world coming to when a raging horde of thugs can't go out and commit murder and mayhem without encountering a committee of Islamofascist politically correct agitators? I wonder if they would calm down if we set up sensitivity training classes for the families of all the innocent people who have died in the War of Terror.

Chandler Fights Workplace Protection Bills, Loses

After using his Kentucky AG office's OSHA oversight powers to punish political opponents during his two terms, Ben Chandler voted four times yesterday against needed reforms to government workplace oversight.

Fortunately, his views are in the minority. All the measures passed over his objections.

Kentucky Democrats Need A Slogan For 2006

Amid the revelry over the merit hiring investigation in Frankfort, Kentucky Democrats are starting to realize that they need more to actually win in next year's elections.

They need to display a cohesive message; descriptive, informative, and memorable. They need something to hang their hats on. Let's see if we can help at least upgrade them from their current slogan -- "We're not as bad as the national Democrats."

Mark Nickolas was a guest on the Jack Pattie Show this morning. When pressed to make a policy suggestion, he suggested emulating California's $3 Billion Stem Cell expenditure here. I know that taxpayer-sponsored junk science is probably not the kind of selling point we are seriously looking for, but some might want to have a little fun with that or Canadian style health reform or the famous Against the War/For the Troops split.

If you can't come up with anything appropriate for them, just start making stuff up like John Kerry is doing to raise money for his 2008 run for the White House.

What's Wrong With This Talking Point?

The Democrats' talking point du jour is "We don't agree with everything the national Democrats do or say. We're more conservative."

Election 2007

A lot of behind the scenes activity for an upcoming Republican primary in the races for Kentucky's Attorney General and Governor. Details ahead...

Terrorists Strike England

We have been at war for almost four years. Today we are reminded of the stakes. The fairly muted response from world financial markets is very interesting. I'm not sure how to read that at this point, but will suggest that it is a sign of progress in the war that we haven't gone into a tailspin.

UPDATE: George Galloway, the British answer to Howard Dean, took the very unfortunate opportunity of the terrorist attack that killed dozens and injured hundreds of innocent people to attack the war effort and Tony Blair, saying "We argued, as did the security services in this country, that the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq would increase the threat of terrorist attack in Britain. Tragically Londoners have now paid the price of the Government ignoring such warnings." Galloway is a former Labour party kook (the party had the good sense to kick him out in 2003) who is a member of Parliament. Leftist kooks throughout the world should immediately rebuke this idiot, but I am not holding my breath.

Stunningly, the anti-war goofballs still don't get it.

Partisanship is Okay, But This Is Ridiculous

The Lexington Herald Leader today politicizes an issue in a manner that is surprising even for them. In an editorial promoting the Safe Infants Act, the paper quotes and credits Democrat Rep. Tom Burch for sponsoring the bill. Only one tiny problem with that: the Safe Infants Act they refer to was SB 55 sponsored by Republican Sen. Tom Buford.

The Corner House

I took my wife out to dinner Friday night and then we did something we should have done a long time ago. We spent the night in a terrific little Bed and Breakfast in Nicholasville. If any of you guys are looking for an inexpensive way to knock your wife's socks off and get away from it all without going too far, this is the ticket. Or if you have family, friends, or business associates visiting from out of town this is not only cheaper than a hotel, it feels like home away from home.

Karen Pedigo is the owner of the house. She didn't ask me to do this, but it is one of those best kept secrets central Kentucky has to offer. I just wanted to share the idea.

Supreme Court Nomination "Rush to War"

Liberal opposition to the appointment of John Roach to Kentucky's Supreme Court was, you have to admit, pretty weak. It was "He's too young and inexperienced" (which he wasn't), then "He's too conservative" which was, after all, the real objection in the first place. And that objection, to the fringe elements making it, just means that Justice Roach is somewhat to the right of Ralph Nader. Not a problem. The upcoming election will be interesting as Roach faces the voters, but the liberal wish that he will be repudiated then is a pretty tall order.

The Nomination Obstruction Left will not go so quietly as President Bush seeks to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. The NOLs will Bork, High Tech Lynch, hog tie, rape and pillage, tar and feather, Abu Ghraib naked photo, and otherwise demean and destroy anyone he puts up. We all know that. A Mushy Middle Coalition of U.S. Senators will meet to put up a liberal jurist. We all know that too. Those of us who voted for President Bush twice in anticipation of conservative appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court are going to have a good time watching this.

Liberal hair-on-fire freakouts have become all too predictable in recent years. This fall will bring us the Mother of All Freakouts. Just as they have sought to destroy the military effort against the terrorists, tax reform, Social Security reform, and Estate Tax reform, the far left can only tear down.

Where do our "conservative" Democrats stand on this?

Anyone?

Happy Partisanship Day

Some take the opportunity of Independence Day to call for a political cease fire and claim that if we could all just get along, America would prosper faster.

Baloney.

Partisan bickering often results in more rigid talking point orthodoxy than it does honest reflection and questioning of deeply held beliefs, but even in the apparent shortage of honest brokers on both sides, our current system has allowed us the freedom to create the greatest nation on the earth.

I know the America haters have the list of GDP statistics to indicate we are not the most productive nation, the national debt numbers to prove that we are fiscally irresponsible, and the mortality rates and disease statistics to show how our standard of living lags. I've seen all that and yet contend that we are the greatest because the freedom for the individual we all cherish and fight side by side to protect.

You may believe in socialized medicine, tax increases, and surrender of our national security interests to a committee of tinhorn dictators at the United Nations. God bless you! Our Constitution protects your ability to scream these inanities and more from a megaphone in the town square and our tradition of individual rights has provided us with sufficient productivity and moral strength to afford many such travesties as the battle to keep personal choice out of Social Security and to fight back efforts to normalize deviant behavior.

So on the day of national celebration for our freedoms, I say to my conservative friends to keep up the good fight. Great struggles are ahead, and while dark days hang ominously over the horizon, the march to victory depends on teaching the harsh truth of our logic and displaying inexorable adherence to our principles. To my liberal friends, I urge an open mind.

The gathering storm of the 2006 elections will be a referendum on the War on Terror, entitlement and tax reform, private property rights, and public standards of morality. The two largest ideologies, conservatism and liberalism, have already staked out their positions. What remains is for Democrat politicians to beat a path away from their party's beliefs. They have the freedom in this great country to hold dear their falsehoods and pandering.

In the tradition of our founding fathers, we have the responsibility to future generations of Americans to fight against the evil that the American Left would inflict us with while standing on guard against the mutiny within our own ranks by those who would wreck the gains for which we have fought.

Economic Illiteracy Leading Killer of Liberal Reporters

The New York Times is at it again. This time, they are trying to make the case for the sky falling because of all the rich folks who don't pay federal income taxes.

Here is the story.

The key to understanding this issue meshes nicely with the need to reform the U.S. Tax Code. How can they say there is anyone who doesn't pay federal income taxes when nearly one-third of the cost of all goods and services can be attributed to federal income taxes?

The New York Times can't understand that but you can, can't you?

Government Cheese Day in Kentucky

Today is the day that Kentucky Treasurer Jonathan Miller is supposed to return $13.7 million dollars in taxpayer funds to the state that he used to prop up his money-losing prepaid tuition KAPT scheme.

Miller and Attorney General Greg Stumbo took the money and ran to court earlier this year.

Though we probably didn't need any more reasons to not trust liberals with our money, we now have 13,700,000 more.

Miller's recent Government Cheese Tour, promoting his taking of your money, didn't get any media scrutiny and we expect this day to pass without MSM notice as well.

Happy Government Cheese Day!!

Buying Votes For Ten Dollars Each

While enemies of Governor Fletcher are speculating wildly and leaking voluminously, federal prosecutors are quietly going after real election fraud.

Could this be a sign of things to come in Kentucky?

Ask the folks at KDP Headquarters about voter fraud and you get a typical liberal response. They say the solution to the problem is more public transportation, which would only allow the vote-buying to take place completely off the books.

Kent Clark Wants To Take Your Property

Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark, possibly still light-headed and confused from his drunken driving arrest, weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on municipal governments' ability to take private property and give it to political contributors:

"It's a good thing because I don't think that one family should be able to hold up something that would benefit the whole county," the Democrat politician said.

Kentucky Dems To Take The Booze Out of Politics?

The latest campaign finance reform craze in Washington a few years ago was mostly a Democratic Party/Big Media initiative. John McCain was the useful idiot Republican in the scheme, but liberal establishment types are the folks with the vested interest in limiting free speech under the banner of "getting the money out of politics." After the most expensive Presidential election in history last year, it is only a matter of time before the Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi cabal start braying about the destructive influence of money again.

Until that happens, Jerry Lundergan and Dale Emmons have a BIG IDEA! After promoting on their website for weeks that a major announcement was on the way, they claim boldly to support ending the practice of vote hauling.

The wording in the press release is laughable. Stating that the system "fosters class warfare" and causes "character assassination of indigent and disabled Kentucky voters," The Brain Trust on Democrat Drive in Frankfort proposes the big fix: just make the traditional practice of vote hauling illegal.

The worst kept secret in the last century of Kentucky politics is that vote-buying politicians can find willing sellers and compensate them as "vote haulers" who are paid with a wink and a nod to drive poor unfortunate souls to the polls. Keeping up this charade is where the concern for the reputations of indigent and disabled Kentucky voters comes from.

What we have here again is the the difference between stated reasons and the real reason for proposing a change in the law. Just as campaign finance reform was simply a dressed-up "Incumbent Protection and Mainstream Media Empowerment Act," this clean up the election process effort is a well-orchestrated effort to deflect blame from the vote buying cases winding their way through the federal legal system right now. Missing in all this bluster from the KDP is the simple fact that vote hauling isn't the problem; vote buying is the problem. And vote buying has been illegal for a long time. The change they are proposing is simple window dressing. If you believe that they really want to eliminate voter fraud, you probably also believe there is no need to reform Social Security.

Nancy Pelosi Goes Howard Dean On Social Security

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi defended raiding the Social Security Trust Fund recently, saying “There is a surplus in Social Security, and under the law Social Security can lend that money to the government for other purposes with the idea and the requirement that that money be paid back to the Social Security Trust Fund with interest.”

She went on to claim that "the ‘with interest’ is part of the income to the Social Security Trust Fund which makes it solvent until 2052.”

Outside of San Francisco, most of the rest of us see the enormous tax increase coming to Rep. Pelosi's status quo approach.

Does Ben Chandler agree with this? Do you?

Liberals: Hug a Tree, Claim Two Plus Two Is Three

Still wondering why the left is so adamantly against Social Security reform? It's called rainforest algebra.

Democrats To Lose Big on Social Security

As basic math, retirement security, and common sense become killer wedge issues, 2006 is shaping up to be a very good year for Republicans. Don't see it? Maybe you should read this.

Chandler Votes to Keep Public Broadcasting Liberal

Congressional Democrats slipped an amendment into an appropriations bill yesterday that would have prohibited the administration from balancing out the liberal bias that overwhelms our taxpayer supported Public Broadcasting System.

Fortunately, Republican majority turned back the Keep Public Broadcasting Liberal Act of 2005 on a party line vote.

Kentucky Dems to Hang With Howard

Insiders report that tomorrow's Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting will NOT have the votes to repudiate DNC Chair Howard Dean and his wacky policy positions and actions such as supporting an admitted Socialist for the U.S. Senate and expressing his hatred for people who don't think like he does.

Disgusted Democrats are encouraged to contact your local Republican party. The Grand Old Party needs you and appreciates your values. Have a great weekend.

What's the Biggest Issue Facing Kentucky?

I think the biggest national issue is the war on terror. Entitlement reform is an important second. The feeding frenzy over the merit hiring in state government is taking up a lot of space in Kentucky, but what should we be doing to move the state forward that we are not?

We have a serious debate about Medicaid looming on the horizon. The key to that problem, which I think is our state's biggest, is increasing co-payments for recipients. We just have to lower our costs here. What do you think?

Kentucky Progress Radio

Please tune in to WEKY 1340 AM in Richmond, WIRV 1550 AM in Irvine, and WKXO 1500 AM in Berea this afternoon 5:15 to 6:15 pm.

We'll be talking about Medicaid reform, Social Security reform, the KAPT "Government Cheese" Tour, and more.

See you then.

Cheaper By the Dozen?

Far left wing website Daily Chaos is running a straw poll of favored Dem nominees for President in 2008. So far, No Frickin' Clue and Other are giving Wesley Clark a run for his money.

Interesting to read some of the comments about Hillary Clinton.

Not Dead Yet: Social Security Proposal Tuesday

Despite Democrat obstruction against Social Security reform, expect a new proposal tomorrow that turns the surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund into personal accounts.

The downside is the funds would only be invested in Treasury securities. Call it the best you can get with 45 Democrats in the Senate. In filibuster math that is six too many.

Another Serious Issue That Is Over Liberals' Heads

David Hawpe is at it again, turning what should be a very important debate into a full-scale partisan attack.

The Louisville C-J columnist took all of his allotted space in Sunday's paper to rip Rep. Anne Northup for her role in funding cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Let me say that I appreciate KET's programming for kids. My little boys love several of their shows and they seem to have a somewhat positive impact. But the marketplace is changing and CPB needs to change as well.

The educational industrial complex that we have built up (of which CPB is a part) badly needs reform. Technology has become much more efficient, yet much of our government's approach to education has struggled to adequately integrate these efficiencies into the system of helping our kids learn. Try a google search for home schooling resources sometime. It will blow your mind to see what is available. While we have made a big deal out of $1500 from every GM car purchase going to employee health costs, we don't give so much thought to how many of our tax dollars are going to fund bloated education bureaucracies without benefit to our children. We are spending more on computers in schools -- and all their related expenses -- while showing little gain for the increase in expenditures.

Four years ago, we got my then-four year old son a reading program for $400 that made him cry every time we pulled it out. We now have another four year old who is learning to read with two $9 DVD's that he loves to watch. That's what technology is supposed to do: provide better production from fewer resources. That process works; it just needs to be more widely applied in how our government's educational processes function.

Our discussion needs to start here, but we can't really expect more than Hawpe's fanciful demolition of Republicans when attempting to discuss this or any other type of reform with opponents on the left. Better then, perhaps, to ram changes down their throats and dismiss their complaints of indigestion as simple eructation.

Look it up. And then thank a teacher -- and a system of free enterprise that will be allowed to work its magic through the creative destruction process coming to CPB. May it be applied to other areas of public education as well.

Ralph Nader Pulls A Happy Chandler...

... and gets a pass from Al Sharpton because, well, socialists need to stick together.

Kentucky Democrats' Ideas on Display

Here.

WHAS Finds 85 People Who Don't Like Fletcher

When is a poll not really a poll?

When a "poll" asks questions in such a way as to get a certain answer or if the number of people questioned is too small to draw any conclusions, it isn't really a poll.

WHAS TV ran as a story on the air (and on the net) that 38% of Kentuckians thought Governor Ernie Fletcher should resign office because AG Greg Stumbo is investigating his administration's approach to the merit system.

Pretty sensational numbers, right? Well, not so fast.

The alert staff at Kentucky Progress called the WHAS studio to question some red flags that were evident in the reporting of the "poll."

The response from WHAS to this questioning was to amend its story to say that only 224 Kentuckians were asked "What should happen to the governor now?"

Why would they poll 224 people and then report it as news? Well, the claim is that 500 people were called and asked if they were familiar with the investigation. The original reporting claimed that 45% said they were familiar. Interestingly, the original reporting also claimed that 59% of the 500 said the hiring practices were corrupt. So how was it, we wondered, that more people had an opinion than had a familiarity? We wondered what "information" was given by pollsters that might explain this discrepancy. That is when the story changed to indicate that only those respondents who claimed an awareness of the investigation were asked follow up questions. That would be 224 people. So which is it: was this merely a push poll to create a story, or are we really being asked to draw conclusions about a straw poll of 224 people?

The far left is already getting worked up about this. Sure hate to rain on that parade.

It's the Lack of Ideas, Stupid

Democrats can arrest all the elected Republicans in Frankfort if they want to, but they really need to take care of this.

No, Mr. Stumbo, They Are Talking About You

Women often claim to fall for men who make them laugh. Greg Stumbo has established a reputation as a pretty reckless funnyman on the No Tell Motel circuit. But Stumbo's recent attempts to turn his merit hiring investigation into a display of his wit are in desperate need of some rhetorical Viagra.

Stumbo chuckled when he ducked a question about his political motivations by saying that Doug Doerting wasn't running for governor. Now he is sending out subordinates to deflect criticism of inaccuracies in his indictments by acting as if the Administration is impugning "twelve ordinary citizens" on the grand jury.

On the Radio

I'll be on the radio this afternoon 5:15 to 6:15 pm (WEKY 1340 AM) talking about the merit system case, the Government Cheese tour, and the 2006 local elections.

Hey You! Over Here! GOVERNMENT CHEESE!

State Treasurer Jonathan Miller(D-GC) kicked off his "Save My KAPT" effort last night. Also known as the Government Cheese Tour, Miller's series of campaign stops this month seek to find support for using taxpayer dollars to prop up the mounting unfunded liability in his prepaid tuition ponzi scheme.

Bad idea and, unfortunately, no links to news articles available. Is the media going to let this waste of our most precious resource (money) go unscrutinized?

Merit Hiring Indictment Puzzling

The indictments handed down today seem to revolve around the ability to read a calendar. Mike Duncan claims he was fired after his six month probation ended and that the firing was motivated by his support for Ben Chandler. Louisville Courier Journal reporter Mark Pitsch reported without attribution on May 27 that Duncan was fired one month short of the six month point.

The indictment states that the probation period had ended. Vicki Glass, Greg Stumbo's spokeswoman, said "The indictments speak for themselves."

But they don't if they are based on false information, right?

New Dogs and Old Tricks

President Bush's push for an Ownership Society to empower the individual has frustrated and angered his opponents.

Now, it seems, they have an answer: Communism.

In this article the author promotes, as a progressive new strategy, government ownership of land and business. Read the article. It is happening already right under our noses. The idea is as bad as socialized medicine and the threat to society is as bad or worse. But we will be hearing more about this.

Trouble in Paradise

Shouldn't Frankfort Democratic Party officials be walking Cheshire Cat Grins with the Kentucky media printing all their press releases on the state government hiring probe?

But it isn't so.

Ben Chandler's campaign manager found one Dem who isn't piling on fast enough and he is hot on Bruce Lunsford's trail.

Mark Nickolas even rips KDP communications director Dale Emmons for calling Chandler a "crybaby," and urges Emmons to make Lunsford jump on the bandwagon, suggesting that if he doesn't he is a liar.

Nickolas goes on to wax eloquently about sodomy and teen sex, conjures up a secret meeting with Louie Nunn (who predicts that Fletcher will be as bad as Patton, of course), and calls the Jessamine Journal a "conservative weekly" and the Danville Advocate Messenger the most biased newspaper in the state on his new web site.

His site is complete with links to way-far left bomb throwers Daily Kos and Eschaton.

Beautiful.

GOP Congressman Goes Squishy On War

Recently we extolled the virtues of Rep. Walter Jones' Restoration of Free Speech Rights for Houses of Worship bill on this site. Now that he is calling for surrender on one of the two main foreign fronts in the War on Terror, we have to question the wisdom of associating with him at all.

Rep. Jones totally missed the point of what we are doing in Iraq when he said "This is what I believe is the right thing to do for our military first; and secondly, I think we are doing everything we can do in Iraq to give them an opportunity to have a democracy, to defend themselves." The fact is that we are helping Iraq to develop freedom for our own benefit and the safety of our own people. If the war was some kind of altruistic exercise, I would agree with Rep. Jones. But this kind of talk only serves to embolden our enemies, both foreign and domestic. It is shocking that people in greater numbers seem to be forgetting what the terrorists are capable of doing to us.

We've come to expect Democrats to grouse about the war effort, but a North Carolina Republican?

KDP on WHAS: SOS!

Kentucky Democratic Party Communications Director Dale Emmons was on Louisville radio this morning complaining about Democrats' inability to get out their "message."

In one particularly funny bit, Emmons blamed the loss of 4th district Dem Nick Clooney on the "Republican attack machine" rather than on Clooney's far-left views and public meltdowns late in the campaign that actually cost him the election.

Emmons also claimed that 2006 would be a better year for Democrats because of the county elections "where Democrats always win big."

Except for 2002, Dale. The trend isn't your friend.

More important than the Republican Attack Machine in 2006 will be the behavior of Frankfort's House Democrats in the 2006 General Assembly. We expect another year of whiny, watered-down Republican Lite to be the real reason for the next round of we-can't-get-our-message-out-ism.

What We Are Up Against: Waste, Fraud, and Abuse In Frankfort

Buried in a very basic "Dog Bites Man" story about how a buy-here pay-here dealer overcharges customers for cars is a little paragraph that says a lot about what is going on in Frankfort. Here it is:

In addition to the lawsuit, the Kentucky State Police are continuing to investigate allegations that the former head of the attorney general's Louisville consumer office, Bob Winlock, went easy on Byrider in exchange for favorable deals on cars he bought and sold at the dealership. Winlock initially denied any wrongdoing in an interview last year and later declined to comment.

Winlock was an "investigator" in Ben Chandler's AG office who was getting incredibly sweet deals on cars from JD Byrider when he was supposed to be investigating the dealer. KSP has the records and Stumbo has known about this at least since he took office. Talk about your "smoking gun." But why should we expect Kentucky's attorney general to put the wraps on a clear cut case of fraud and abuse in Chandler's AG office when he has access to all those Republican emails to fish through?

Clearly, we can't.

MSM Changes Tune On State Hiring Flap?

This looks to me like the Louisville CJ is sending the signal that there is nothing here to get worked up about.

Enemies of the governor will be very upset if they think their supporters in the news media are breaking up the feeding frenzy.

Ben Chandler: "Howard Dean is a ______"

Kentucky's lone Democrat Congressman has been conspicuously absent from the discussion about the outlandish behavior of DNC Chair Howard Dean.

In recent weeks, Dean has endorsed a Socialist for the United States Senate and expressed more than once his disdain for conservatives, Christians, and people who aren't just like him.

Chandler has been fighting his own demons. While calling for massive tax increases to prop up Social Security, Chandler's refusal to discuss realistic entitlement reform is indicative of the problem that Congressional Democrats face when they try to talk to the folks back home: as a whole we aren't far left enough for the coastal liberal elites who host all the parties in Washington D.C.

So which is it Mr. Chandler? Is Howard Dean your kind of guy or not?

Reminder: Saturday June 25 is the day Kentucky Democrats will decide to join a coalition of southern Dem state parties who plan to ask Dean to resign.

You Won't Read About This In The Paper Yet

Charges are on the way "soon" in the 2000 vote buying scandal.

On the receiving end this time: Greg Stumbo.

Stop The Presses! Greg Stumbo Takes A Break From Partisan Witch Hunt To Support John Roach For Supreme Court!

Governor Ernie Fletcher took the highly unusual step today of appointing a conservative to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Oh the shame!

Fletcher could easily have made the liberal editorial boards happy by appointing one of their judges instead. If only Ben Chandler had been elected governor, we could have gotten a nice lefty.

Think about that for a minute.

And the best part is those letters of support for Roach's appointment from Stumbo and Democrat former Secretary of State John Y. Brown III.

I'm almost looking forward to the fits of rage about this...

Friday's Felon: Me?

Amid all this gubmint job hubbub in Kentucky, I remember now that I lobbied for a friend to get a job in the Finance and Administration cabinet.

I didn't write a letter and don't recall emailing anyone's blackberry about it, but I did it.

There. I feel much better now.

I'm ready to pay for my crime.

Thumbs Up For Larry Forgy

If anyone knows about Democrat dirty tricks, it's Larry Forgy. Mr. Forgy had the special experience of practicing law in Kentucky with a Democrat Governor nipping at his posterior for eight years.

So now, Mr. Forgy is suing in federal court to shut down Greg Stumbo's far-reaching merit system investigation.

The AP reports "Forgy went to federal court to challenge the state law because his experience in state courts in Kentucky has been unsatisfactory."

That would be an understatement. Nice job, Larry.

Harry Reid Obstructs Senate, Blames Republicans For Sluggishness

After years of dragging President Bush's judicial nominees through the verbal muck of Democrats' filibustering, Harry Reid stretches beyond all reason for a partisan attack:

"We've spent endless hours, endless days, too many weeks debating radical judges and Republican attempts to abuse power," Reid spun.

Thanks, Senator. But do you have any real ideas? How about entitlement reform? Taxes?

Silence is often considered golden, but Democrat obstinance and obstruction in the face of real problems isn't a very impressive platform from which to ask for a return to power.

Which Way Will They Go?

Kentucky's Democratic Party State Executive Committee is supposed to meet June 25 at Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg. This is the meeting at which the party will decide whether to follow Howard Dean to the far left or to become Republican Lite.

You may recall we started reporting on this developing story three weeks ago.

Democrat Sour Grapes In Montgomery County

Brenda Murphy is one angry Democrat.

Murphy ran for Montgomery County PVA last year and lost. Now she is suing the lady who beat her and Kentucky's Finance and Administration Cabinet for $4 million.

She is also dragging Governor Fletcher into the case. Interestingly, she didn't think to object to her firing until May 24, six months after losing the election and in the middle of AG Greg Stumbo's investigation into state hiring practices.

There is a lot more to the story (some of it is here), and we can probably expect more of these things to pop up. Before this is over, Stumbo will have spent his whole term chasing down disgruntled Dems looking to get even rather than actually doing his job.

That's a shame.

Kentucky Progress Radio

We will be talking about Jonathan Miller's Government Cheese Tour, Harry Moberly's illegal fundraising, Greg Stumbo's waste, a new liberal poll and more this afternoon at 5:15 to 6:15 on WEKY 1340 AM.

KY Sierra Club: Save The Environment By Soaking the "Rich"

Kentucky's tree huggers have more to worry about than predicting (again) the imminent end of the world's oil supply. In a front page article for their June newsletter, the Cumberland Sierra Club wades into the Social Security debate with some carefully measured analysis and suggestions. Their prescription: raise taxes already so we can get back to the important work of complaining about the environment.

They even offer political cover for Democrats using a little Berkeleyspeak: "But courageous lawmakers could frame the debate in the appropriate context and become heroes."

Thanks guys. No, really. Don't ever change.

Hillary Screams Like Dean

It must be Democrat primary 2008 time already.

Hillary smears and attacks Republicans for attempting to "further their own agenda" at a fundraiser in New York. I'm sure she would prefer that we enact her socialist utopia for her. No doubt Hillary would like us if we only nationalized health care and taxed our way to prosperity for all.

Read this. Particularly hilarious was the part where she attacks the media for not being tough on Bush.

WFA: Jonathan Miller's Government Cheese Tour

Kentucky's state Treasurer Jonathan Miller is taking the hugely expensive marketing campaign for his moribund KAPT program on the road this month. Starting in Lexington on June 14, Miller will make a series of "town hall meetings" to dredge up support for more taxpayer spending to rescue what was once considered the crowning achievement of his political life.

Miller's prepaid tuition ponzi scheme (also known as KAPT) came under fire after pulling $13.7 million last December from the Commonwealth's General Fund. Finance and Administration Cabinet officials, already facing runaway Medicaid expenses and other real problems requiring real money, were doubtless relieved when the General Assembly ordered Miller to return the taxpayers' millions by June 30, 2005.

But Miller and AG Greg "Smoking Gun" Stumbo took the money and ran -- to court. Miller has already spent millions of taxpayer dollars marketing (and subsequently propping up) KAPT -- complete with his name and picture on all the materials. Earlier this year, an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the General Assembly agreed to slow his gravy train down by recouping the $13.7 million (House Democrats killed the commonsense effort to stop future losses altogether).

The matter is currently before Franklin Circuit Court Judge Roger Crittenden where, of course, anything can happen. And you know the liberal media is for anything that would cause tax increases, so expect lots of fawning coverage and angry Dean Scream editorials.

Many of us voted for change in Frankfort in 2003 and have seen precious little of it. We must demand that Miller be forced to end this waste, fraud, and abuse immediately. And then we need legislation to discontinue the office of State Treasurer once and for all. We can call it the Jonathan "Government Cheese" Miller Act of 2006 and spend his outlandish salary on things that might more positively affect the Commonwealth.

Dead Democrats Caught Voting In Washington State

Read the story here. I doubt you will see much about this in the MSM, but the story isn't going away and is certainly likely to unearth a few more buried secrets.

UPDATE: Expecting a court decision on the WA Governor's race Monday. If the judge invalidates the very suspicious "victory" of Democrat Christine Gregoire, she will be booted out of office and a new election will be held. Monday's decision won't be final, though. The state Supreme Court has already cleared room on its docket to hear the appeal of this Al Gore repeat that "ended" when they found enough votes for the Dem.

Papers Go Ballistic For Arbitrary Judicial Activism

Slinging mud and calling a lady names like "discredited nag" are nothing new to the Lexington Herald Leader and Louisville Courier Journal, who call on Republicans to end their effort to seat election winner Dana Seum Stephenson to represent the 37th district in the state Senate.

What is new, which went unreported in all the newspaper coverage, is that the as-yet-undecided contest between Stephenson and Virginia Woodward is now only about one thing: the ability of the state Senate to make internal decisions. The Senate's definition of "residency" no longer matters in this case. It's an interesting side issue, but the crux of the matter is now whether the courts have jurisdiction over internal Senate decisions.

They don't, and the Supreme Court is likely to agree. Liberal editorial writers are certainly free to advise Senators to give up this fight, but unless we want legislators going to court over their committee assignments and meeting start times (and no one should want that), we should support the decision to seat Dana Seum Stephenson and move on to more important issues.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woodward?

The Kentucky Senate's 37th district constitutional conundrum appears to have the Lexington Herald Leader and Louisville Courier Journal all twisted up in their hopes to install more liberal Democrats in Frankfort.

Both papers today jump on a Franklin Circuit Court ruling that keeps open the question of who will serve the 37th Senate district -- Dana Seum Stephenson or Virginia Woodward.

The Senate voted to seat Stephenson because she won the election. Now Judge Graham is calling that decision "arbitrary." This is the key issue. Whether the decision of the Senate was arbitrary or whether the Court's calling it that is a violation of separation of powers should get the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Interestingly, Woodward's due process claims could possibly shift the case to federal courts should she lose before the Kentucky Supreme Court.

I doubt that Kentucky's Supreme Court is going to decide against the Senate on this issue. To do so would open up the legislature to excessive judicial control. Judges would only have to claim that a decision they didn't like was "arbitrary." While that would certainly be a liberal dream come true, the Supreme Court should be slow to go there. We expect more angry editorials about mean old David Williams and his iron fist. Funny.

"Smoking Gun" Stumbo To Give Up AG?

A top KDP official said that AG Greg Stumbo looks like a definite go for the Democratic Party's 2007 gubernatorial primary. No word on whether Doug Doerting will be his running mate, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear that he has been promised a good job.

KDP Strategy 2006

Kentucky Democrats will soon be chanting one number: 96,000. That is the number of senior citizens in Kentucky they want to believe will become poverty stricken in the event of Social Security reform. Expect that number to get lots of media coverage.

Also lots of talk about reframing issues. A Berkeley professor has put out a video that talks about how to use language to change perception without actually changing positions. This will, activists hope, allow the party's candidates to support tax increases in the name of "investment," shutting down the active defense against terrorism -- never mentioning the term "national security" by turning the discussion to "economic security" -- and pushing nationalized health care as "health security."

In other words, the Democrats are going hard to the left. Their next step will be to cast Jesus as a Marxist by co-opting the Beattitudes. Good news.