Time to reopen the Worley file

Kentucky's Senate Minority Leader Ed Worley is about to get a primary opponent. A "conservative Democrat," Mike Cope of Madison County said his decision to run had a lot to do with Worley's considerable personal baggage.

Cope also expressed dismay with wild government spending and said he has opposed the bailouts.

Richmond April 11 Tea Party

Here is some video from last week's rally.

It's the reckless spending

Decide to do more

The splash made by yesterday's Tea Parties will mean nothing if we don't soon start planning more such events.

An easy next step, of course, is Saturday's Bluegrass Tax Liberation Day in Lexington.

But to continue to build support for smaller, more efficient, and less intrusive government, we need a game plan for May. And it doesn't have to bear any resemblance to the strategies employed in March or April.

Changing the name of the events may even be a good idea, if only to frustrate a weird point of attack by opponents. The most important points are that a grassroots movement won't build itself and if we don't build bigger and better events, we prove them right.

One idea: holding discussions based on educating friends and formulating strategy on a single issue. My first effort along these lines is an April 23 discussion on school choice at Lexington's Inn on Broadway.

If you'd like to attend, please see my contact information at the top of this page.

Thanks, but no thanks, Congressman

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, a Congressman from Texas, weighed in on the Tax Day Tea Parties with the following statement:

"Today, millions of Americans are gathering at Tea Parties to stand up to higher taxes and out-of-control government spending. There is no better day than Tax Day to exercise our fundamental beliefs, particularly when it comes to the issue of government-forced payment. Liberty and freedom are values that our country was founded on, and Republicans in Congress will stand alongside those who demand a government that is accountable to its people. Those who dismiss this phenomenon as anything other than a grassroots revolt are the same people who have no problem taxing and spending other people’s hard-earned money under the guise of 'fairness.' The anger and frustration toward Washington politicians are a result of arrogance and disinterest in listening to the voters who elected them. While individuals like Tim Geithner, Charlie Rangel and a whole host of Democrat 'leaders' have been promoted despite egregious attempts to dodge the IRS, it should come as no surprise that honest taxpaying citizens feel the need to speak out."

I'm not buying it.

Since Rep. Sessions voted for the original bank bailout, he should know that we don't need his help.

Louisville Tea Party coverage

Fox 41 in Louisville did a good report on their city's event.

Click here to watch it.

CJ tactics take a turn for the worse

The last few weeks I have seen left-wing writers go from dismissive to beyond vulgar in their description of those of us who don't like our politicians' power growing by taking more of our money and giving it to their big donor groups with failed business models.

I'm talking, of course, about the Tea Party movement. Until a friend filled me in yesterday, I never thought of a tea bag as anything other than something with which to make tea. Turns out another use for the term "teabag" is as a verb; a rather homoerotic verb. Check out Urban Dictionary if you have to, but you will probably be sorry you did.

Anyway, the Louisville Courier Journal got in on the fun today, referring to "the anti-tax set's tea party and teabag talk."

My question: did a 250 word editorial really need to add "and teabag" to make clear the disdain they feel for people who disagree with them? Is the Courier Journal editorial board calling people who participate in Tea Parties homosexuals or are they trying to make some other kind of statement about what they think we do in the privacy of our bedrooms?

If the Louisville Courier Journal wanted to have a serious discussion about governmental functions, I would welcome it. If, at the very least, they intend to portray more than a flair for odious bathroom references, the editors should apologize for this latest offense.

Still not minding the store in Lexington

Disgraced former Lexington jail administrator Don Leach has been given permission by Director Ron Bishop to take three FCDC passenger vans on a five-day road trip to Louisville later this month.

How did you fit that into the budget, Mayor Newberry?

Pres. Barack Obama doesn't hear you yet

Here's the latest from the Teleprompter-in-Chief:

"To begin with, economists on both the left and right agree that the last thing a government should do in the middle of a recession is to cut back on spending. You see, when this recession began, many families sat around their kitchen table and tried to figure out where they could cut back. So do many businesses. That is a completely responsible and understandable reaction. But if every family in America cuts back, then no one is spending any money, which means there are more layoffs, and the economy gets even worse. That’s why the government has to step in and temporarily boost spending in order to stimulate demand. And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now."

This rationale for expanding government spending would only make sense if bureaucrats knew where economic equilibrium belonged all the time and knew how to get it there. Since they don't and can't, Obama's logic doesn't hold up.

Further, since Obama doesn't know where equilibrium is or how to get it any place in particular while he continues to insist on wasting our money trying to figure it out, we should probably all get together and talk about what we are going to do next.

How about Saturday in Lexington?

Awesome Tax Day video

Please watch and share this video by Kentuckian Caleb Brown.

Pot v. Kettle

Kentucky Republicans are really going to have to do more than just say they are different.

Save money by axing Kentucky Treasurer

One funny part of Pat Crowley's recent profile of state Sen. Damon Thayer suggests Thayer may run for Treasurer in 2011.

Sen. Thayer is not going to run for the do-nothing Treasurer's office. He filed the bill in 2008 to shut down the office to save money.

Thayer's no-nonsense style might be an interesting fit for an Auditor's office traditionally misused as a political weapon, though.

Is honest transparency a political winner?

It's too early to tell what Gov. Steve Beshear's cynical approach to government spending transparency will cost him politically. Conventional wisdom certainly would suggest that simple lack of awareness will continue to allow him to get away with yet another broken campaign promise.

But if really Louisville rolls out a taxpayer's checkbook web site this summer that shows where the money is going and Beshear continues the shucking and jiving, the stark contrast might attract attention.

If Councilman Ken Fleming's obvious pride in leading Louisville toward openness and better taxpayer service is any indication, this issue isn't going away.

What happens when everything is a casino?

West Virginia's legislature on Friday sent a bill to their governor that would expand casino dependency past race tracks and on to a bankrupt resort in order to "save" it.

How long till they set up casinos at all the libraries and DMV offices to fund them? Is this getting a little ridiculous for anyone yet?

Rolling through Richmond

Thanks to everyone who participated in a great Tea Party event in Richmond on Saturday!

I'll be back in Madison County on Wednesday, April 15 and in Fayette County the same day to speak to mid-day courthouse crowds. Hope to see you there.

Thanks to the Richmond Register!

It's great to see the Richmond Register newspaper promoting today's Tea Party in Richmond.

Leland Conway speaks to GOP breakfast

Since LBJ declared war on poverty in the 1960's we have spent more than $12 trillion on that effort and have seen the number of people in poverty increase."

"Ignorance is not the same thing as stupidity. Most people think like we do, they just don't know it."

"I think Americans by and large still believe in a culture of life and liberty."

"On Wednesday we will have another Tea Party downtown in Lexington and next Saturday we will have another one at Applebee's Ball Park. Some people are saying 'I thought they already had one in Lexington.' We did. And we will have another and another and and another and another until the politicians in Frankfort and Washington D.C. get the message."

"I believe in the depths of my soul this nation has a special purpose and that purpose is Liberty."

"Our nation was not meant to go down in socialism."

Stan Lee speaks about 2009 General Assembly

"In the midst of a recession, we voted to raise taxes on Kentuckians nearly $300 million."

"We passed a $1.2 billion road plan with over $600 million in new debt."

Rep. Lee mentioned that repealing prevailing wage would have saved the state "more than $120 million a year."

Said SB 1 was the most important bill passed in the General Assembly.

"We came back to Frankfort in June of 2008 to fix the problem of pensions. Then just a few months later we backed off of the little bit of good that we did in that Special Session."

"All the businesses who said 'stick it to alcohol and tobacco,' your business is next because we're coming back in June."

How media misreports government overspending

The state reported Friday morning that General Fund revenues are higher for March and for the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

That would seem to contradict the politicians' claims of revenue shortfall, wouldn't it? Well, you'd never get the idea that spending to much (rather than taxing us too little) is the problem if you depend on the Lexington Herald Leader and Louisville Courier Journal for your news.






Seeing words like "no growth" and "flat," one might get the mistaken impression that revenues have not continued to climb.

Try instead the Bluegrass Policy Blog, which got it right and even did the math for you. Click here to read the story on the Bluegrass Policy Blog.

Taking Richmond by storm

The Richmond Tea Party for Saturday, April 11, is all set. Should be a great time. Details are here. Check back for video coverage.

I am convinced that the key to these events is setting them up two at a time and to always be promoting the next event. A follow-up to Saturday's Richmond Tea Party will come next Wednesday, April 15 at noon at the Madison County courthouse.

Local political figures Kent Clark, Ed Worley, and Harry Moberly are NOT expected to attend.

Irony escapes another industry in transition

The Radio-Television News Directors Association gave WHAS11 in Louisville its prestigious Edward R. Murrow Investigative Reporting Award for covering a story we all read about first and best on PageOneKentucky blog.

Hoping for better from Karem

After failing to place a top teachers union official on the state school board last month, Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Thursday one of the authors of the Kentucky Education Reform Act, former Sen. David Karem.

With the end of CATS testing, Kentucky is headed in a new direction toward greater accountability in our schools. Hope Karem works with us and not against us.

While Kentucky sinks deeper into debt

Kentucky's debt problem is Frankfort's big secret. Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford keeps fighting back.

Doesn't stand for "fantastic"

The National Taxpayers Union released Thursday it's latest Congressional report card for tax and spending votes. Rep. Ben Chandler earned his fifth straight "F" grade.


Sen. Jim Bunning earned one of only nine "A" grades in the Senate. Read the whole report here.

Obama the Restructurer

The White House announced Thursday a plan to buy up thousands of cars for the federal government's fleet.

"I will continue to ensure that we are working to support the American auto industry during this difficult period of restructuring," President Barack Obama said.

While Obama continues "ensuring" with our money, of course, necessary restructuring is unnecessarily -- and expensively -- delayed.

Kentucky Tea Party List

I think this is all of them up to the April 15 events. Then comes the one at Applebee's Park in Lexington on April 18.


APRIL 11TH:

City: Richmond, KY
When: April 11, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Where: 128 Big Hill Ave
Notes: Event at Wallingford Broadcasting, parking across the street

=================

APRIL 15TH:

City: Bowling Green, KY
When: April 15, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: 455 E. Main St.
Notes: Rally at Fountain Square Park and then proceed to the Warren County Justice Center.

————-

City: Elizabethtown, KY
When: April 15, 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Where: Downtown Public Square
Website: http://www.hardincoteaparty.com/home

————-

City: Frankfort, KY
When: April 15, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Capitol Building, Front Steps

————-

City: Lexington, KY
When: April 15, 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Where: Fayette County Courthouse

————-

City: Louisville, KY
When: April 15, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Where: Jefferson Square, 6th and Jefferson St.

————-

City: Nicholasville, KY
When: April 15th, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Jessamine County Courthouse

————-

City: Owensboro, KY
When: April 15, 12:00 Noon
Where: City Hall

————-

City: Paducah, KY
When: April 15, 5:30 pm
Where: Dolly McNutt Plaza, between Paducah’s City Hall and the McCracken County Court House

————-

City: Richmond, KY
When: April 15th, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Madison County Courthouse

Replacing Hebert with everyone

Louisville's WHAS investigative reporter Mark Hebert, widely regarded as one of the best at digging up official secrets, is leaving his reporting job next month to go to work for University of Louisville.

In a comment on the PageOneKentucky blog, Lexington Herald Leader reporter John Cheves praised Hebert:

"So now we have one less watchdog keeping an eye on the Kentucky statehouse. Bad news for the citizens, good news for the crooks."

Of course, it doesn't have to be that way. If the media folks who are left got together and forced state government to put spending and contracts on the internet for everyone to see, citizens would be safer from the crooks.

You're kidding, right, Gov. Beshear?

Gov. Steve Beshear was out Wednesday afternoon pimping a DVD about avoiding fraud. From the press release:



We don't know (though I was sorely tempted to call and ask) if the DVD includes any information about protecting ourselves from politicians who lie about tax increases, efficiency studies, pension reform, spending transparency or who engage in counterproductive, excessive regulation and pander to labor unions at taxpayer expense. I doubt it, don't you?

Kentucky Tea Party just getting started

Last month's tea party in Lexington helped generate a lot of interest across the state in citizen activism.

It's just going to get bigger.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Tax Day Tea Parties at lunchtime in towns across the state and nation on April 15. The big crowds so far have been weekend crowds. How many people will take time on a Wednesday to go to these rallies? I don't know. It might be a little discouraging for people who haven't done much -- or any -- such events.

I've organized and promoted several political events. Some have gone well and some have been complete flops. Some of the April 15 events may not be very big, but organizers will do well to focus instead on the people who do take the time to show up and get to work immediately on the next event.

In fact, it would probably be a good idea to plan another event immediately and promote it at the April 15 event.

By the way, I will emcee the Richmond Tea Party this Saturday, April 11 at 4:00 at Wallingford Broadcasting and will be back in Richmond on April 15 to speak at their Tax Day Tea Party.

At both, we will be promoting the April 18 Bluegrass Tax Liberation Day at Applebee's Park in Lexington.

See how that works?

Shut up and eat your stimulus, part two

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting Republicans who voted against the Spendulus bill by saying they oppose tax cuts.



Interestingly, these same people understood that borrowing money from the future to spread it around today is a bad idea as recently as two years ago.

All he needs is a "kick me" sign

The President of the United States shows the Saudis who is boss.

Speak up, Mayor Newberry

With less than two months before the start of a three-week federal trial against five former Fayette County jail officers accused of abusing inmates and conspiring to keep their activities quiet, it's worth mentioning again that Mayor Jim Newberry claimed last June to know who the other FBI targets are.

Maybe his 2010 election opponent could tell us something. Hello?

More Tea with Leland

Plan on making the trip to Richmond this Saturday, April 11, for a Tea Party featuring WLAP's Leland Conway. Starts at 4pm.

Details here.

Wonder if Gov. Rell would take pork IOU?

Ahead of Tuesday night's NCAA women's basketball championship game between University of Louisville and University of Connecticut, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear bet Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell a ham that U of L will win.

Given Gov. Beshear's broken promises about not raising taxes, cutting government waste, and making state spending more transparent, we have another, unexpected reason to hope the Cardinals win.

Mongiardo retires part of 2004 campaign debt

The breathless media coverage Monday about Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo raising $420,000 in the first quarter of this year to run for U.S. Senate misses one minor detail (click image to expand):

Politicians who don't understand why burying taxpayers in debt is bad may begin to get the picture when they have to hit up donors to finance a six year old campaign bill.

Obama bows to international outrage

Leland does the math

Obamanomics 101
By Leland Conway

Uh-oh, the ideological left is bragging about President Obama’s big “middle class” tax cut that has just taken effect. Specifically, they are touting what they think it will do for Kentucky. One left leaning website made the optimistic claim that the thirteen additional dollars per week we’ll start seeing in our paychecks will put $800 million dollars back into Kentucky’s economy this year.

On its surface, the potential for an $800 million dollar economic boon sounds like a big deal, until you actually do the math.

First, the legislature in Frankfort just raised cigarette and alcohol taxes. The talking heads parroted the numbers given to them by politicians bragging that it will raise an additional $180 million in tax revenue. So we can cut that optimistic cash infusion from $800 million down to $620 million.

Then, the legislature in Frankfort raised the gas tax. They will tell you that this was not a tax increase, that they merely “froze” the rate at its current level. Don’t buy it. According to Kentucky law, the gas tax was supposed to be a percentage fixed to the wholesale price. Now that gas prices have dropped, they changed the law to their advantage. When prices go back up, and President Obama promises that they will, they’ll just “unfreeze” it again and continue to reap the benefits. Legislators boasted that this shenanigan would bring in an additional $120 million dollars in revenue. Now we can lower our tax cut projection to $500 million.

Next, the federal government is seriously considering cap and trade legislation to wage war against mythical global warming. The U.S. Department of Energy’s own estimates put the lower end cost of this dangerous legislation to each family at $700 additional dollars per year. (In reality, the higher energy costs and other charges will actually cost the average American family upwards of $3100 additional dollars per year.) Using the same whacked out math formula that the aforementioned liberal website used to arrive at the $800 million dollar cash infusion, we can now assume a cost to the commonwealth of an additional $840 million if cap and trade legislation passes. That makes the “middle class” tax cut now worth negative $340 million to Kentuckians.

Ouch.

Don’t blame me; I’m simply using their own math formula and government estimates – which are both overly optimistic. But I’m not done yet. As TV Salesman Billy Mays would say “But wait, there’s more!”

What they are claiming is a tax cut, is actually not a tax cut at all. It’s a tax credit. There is a big difference. A tax cut gives us some of our money back – end of story. This tax credit is actually considered by the government to be taxable income next year for some people. So after they’ve drained our pockets and given us a measly $13 per week, they’ll tax it back. Wow…a tax on a tax cut. Can this get any better?

Using their math formula again, that’s another $80 million dollar hit. Suddenly, Obama’s economic policies which some are claiming will give Kentuckians back $800 million dollars of their own hard earned money, has become a net $420 million dollar loss. Wow.

What started out as bragging about a tax cut becomes a complete charade when you take into account the real effect of Obamanomics, especially here in Kentucky, where we stand to be hit hardest by Obama’s anti-coal rhetoric and coinciding soaring energy costs. Bottom line folks, hold onto your wallets. President Obama, Congress and the Kentucky Legislature are going to cut our taxes until we can’t afford to live.

Tea Party revolution won't be televised

If you can't get the mainstream media to cover your political movement, you just might have to do the job yourself.

Click here to see one outstanding example.

There are more Tea Parties coming. See here and here. Please help spread the word!

Gotta be kidding alert

As hard as it is to believe, some people think President Barack Obama isn't far enough to the left.

Good question

Here is a letter to the editor of the Lexington Herald Leader in Saturday's paper.

Congressman Mike Pence

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) said Rep. Brett Guthrie -- who introduced him -- is the first freshman congressman to chair a subcommittee in the House since Richard Nixon.

Pence thanked Bunning for standing up to the bailouts.

"I'm encouraged. I believe we are on the verge of a great American awakening."

"We walked away from our principles and the American people walked away from us."

"We need to be willing to fight for freedom and free markets."

He got a big applause when he said not one Republican voted for Obama's budget.

"We lost the vote, but I think we won the argument."

"We can't ask hard working families who played by the rules and paid their mortgages to bailout the irresponsible ones."

"The American people don't want to know 'what's in it for me,' they want to know what's in it for America."

Pence talked about a man who had lost his job but came to thank Pence the next day for voting against the banking bailout. He quoted the man as saying "I can get another job, but I can't get another country."

"This administration is poised to take away the rights of health care workers who oppose abortions."

"We've got to recognize that our current crisis is more than economic and financial. It's a moral crisis."

"If the foundations of personal responsibility fail, how can our nation stand?"

"The good and great people of this nation will rally to our cause."

Rousing speech. Very well recieved.

Trey Grayson speaks

Secretary of State Trey Grayson began his speech by thanking Senator Jim Bunning, calling him a mentor and friend, and wishing him well in his 2010 race.

Jim Bunning speaks

Sen. Jim Bunning said "Believe me, the bailout plans are not helping the economy get back on track. They are not."

"It's a mess and the new Secretary of the Treasury is making it a bigger mess. And the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is out of control."

Bunning is giving an economics lecture like he did in Richmond and the audience is hanging on every word. (I'm really not exaggerating.)

Bunning got applause while explaining that the Obama Spendathon is not going to help.

Bunning explained that the Obama cap and trade tax on energy will increase costs for everyone.

"You all know me pretty well and how I vote in the U.S. Senate. I'm not anyone's puppet. I'm my own man."

(Pretty big applause here.)

"I am running for a third term in the United States Senate. I know it will be a battle but I am ready for the fight of my life. I vow to you I will do my darndest to represent you in the manner you deserve to be represented and I will do my darndest to kick Danny Mongiardo's butt."

Great speech. Wrong butt.

David Williams speaks

Senate President David Williams started out speaking about the education initiatives that have come out of the Senate the last few years. Got wide applause when he mentioned getting rid of the bogus CATS program.

Williams said he understands that a lot of people are unhappy with the Senate's actions during the last budget. Then he ran off the same list of tax cuts over the last few years that he has talked about in other venues. Nice tactic, but doesn't really help much since we have continued spending well beyond our means.

He's also using the same line about being on the campaign bus next year for the U.S. Senate race but not knowing in what capacity he will be on the bus, an obvious plug for his rumored primary challenge to Sen. Bunning.

Williams got polite applause from the audience when he finished speaking.

Innes takes on the establishment and wins

The Bluegrass Institute's Richard Innes has been one of the primary drivers behind starting to clear the deadwood out of our education bureaucracy in Kentucky.

His latest posts (here and here) are definitely worth checking out if you care about improving Kentucky's public schools.

Jefferson Co. Lincoln Dinner

I'm in Louisville for the GOP Lincoln Dinner. Should be interesting. Stay tuned for updates.

----
Sen. Mitch McConnell sent the same stupid letter he has sent to every other Lincoln Dinner I've been to this year congratulating Kentucky Republicans for keeping taxes low in Frankfort. It's way past time to update your letter, Senator.

As Obama spends, we brew tea

I will be on the Kruser Radio Show (WVLK 590 AM) Friday at 12:30 talking about the upcoming Bluegrass Tax Liberation Day in Lexington and the April 11 Tea Party in Richmond.

Also trying to get something going in Frankfort, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, and in Eastern Kentucky.

This is in addition to the various Tax Day Tea Parties on April 15.

Another federal investigation for Jim Newberry

Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry gets pretty squeamish when someone tries to ask him about the waste, fraud, and abuse going on at the Fayette County Detention Center.

Looks like he has another one creeping and crawling his way.

Jail officials have been notified of an Internal Revenue Service probe into the facility related to illegal inmate labor practices. Newberry continues to have no comment.

Lexington jail Director Ron Bishop keeps tightening his inner circle for closed door meetings, but he still hasn't found my best source.

Now they care about money

The Lexington Herald Leader sat on their hands while Kentucky governments spent us to the brink (here and here, just for starters), but when the self-sufficient and profitable University of Kentucky Athletic Department spends a few bucks to get the best available coach in the nation, they run an online poll like this:

It bears repeating that John Calipari isn't being paid with taxpayer dollars. Some of our bureaucrats and politicians who are paid far less waste much more.

Incidentally, a Yahoo.com online poll suggests very strongly that a national audience gives the Calipari hire a thumbs up. The Herald Leader's great ideas like making government bigger and diminishing Kentucky's business competitiveness can't begin to compare to this kind of return on investment.

Sign the petition

Free trade makes people freer, wealthier, and promotes peace.

Great essay and free trade petition right here. Check it out and sign it!

Thanks a lot, Ben and John!

Remember back in January when Reps. Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth voted to expand SCHIP by raising the federal cigarette tax?

We don't have any idea yet how much the government expansion will cost us, but we have an idea about the damage our two guys will do to Kentucky's state budget.

It is April Fools, but this very unfunny joke is on all the rest of us.

Another wild homeschool story

A family from Germany is seeking political asylum in Tennessee so they can homeschool their children, a practice that's been illegal in their home country since Hitler made it so in 1937.

They might have come to Kentucky for our still-substantial homeschooling freedoms. But our political, tax, and fiscal situations make us less stable than our neighbors to the south.

Thanks to NightWriter for passing this along.

Like compromising with a grizzly bear

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean's political organization is trying to sneak socialized medicine through in America by offering to allow American "the freedom to choose" between their private plan and a government plan like Medicare.

Don't take the bait. This will look great until the expanded Medicare program figures out that covering the only sickest people is too expensive. When the government program gets a politically unstoppable constituency built up, they will come after everyone else.

Obamanation pays its taxes

The Tax Foundation has out a new report showing that, if you count the projected budget deficit, Americans will spend more time working to pay taxes than ever before.

Tax Freedom Day is May 29.

By the way, Tax Freedom Day without the deficit is April 13. This is earlier than last year because incomes -- and tax receipts -- are down. That does us no good, of course, because spending keeps going up.

Kentucky's Tax Freedom Day is this Friday, April 3. It's also earlier than last year. It also doesn't help anything.

Lowering dependency on government isn't on the agenda, but that would help a lot.

Picking two points and hammering them home

The Kentucky Club for Growth's Andy Hightower has a great way of putting things:

"It's the most irresponsible thing our leadership regularly practices, and it's apparently killing people."

He's talking about, of course, the $30 billion public employee benefits disaster in Frankfort. There are really two points that matter in this discussion: that benefits are too high for government employees and that even that would be okay if we had properly funded them for the last few decades.

Andy jumps all over both of them right here.

Kentucky American Water still running strong

If former Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac had her way in taking over Lexington's private water company, the April 7 Public Service Commission rate hearing at Bryan Station High School wouldn't be scheduled.

Instead, the city would ram through any rate increase it wanted in addition to making interest payments it couldn't afford to buy the company.

Kentucky American had requested an $18.5 million annual rate increase. Instead, they are now applying for a $10.3 million increase.

McConnell sounding more like Bunning

Sen. Mitch McConnell had this to say today about the continuing bailout mess:

"In spite of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars and many promises to reform the way they do business, it’s clear that management, unions and investors have not yet produced viable plans that would allow the companies to survive without massive infusions of taxpayer dollars. This is a disappointment: How many times do the taxpayers have to provide bailout money on the promise of reform?"
"We are now told these two companies are getting their last check from the taxpayers, and that if they don't finally come up with truly viable plans then they'll be forced into bankruptcy. Unfortunately, we've heard this before, from both this and the previous administrations."

Paper gears up for April Fool's Day Massacre

Two days before Kentucky's cigarette taxes go up, the Lexington Herald Leader just had to send a reporter out to learn the obvious about people changing their buying behaviors ahead of the April 1 increase.

Of course, they didn't manage to find anyone who will be shipping cigarettes in from Missouri. They darn sure didn't talk to any taxpayers who are concerned that these increases won't be enough and that something other than just more tax increases, more reckless borrowing, and more pension raids might help.

Will David Williams betray us again?

Last fall when the Louisville Courier Journal ran a news story about how the Senate was warming to the idea of raising taxes, it was pretty easy to be skeptical. After all, Sen. David Williams and the Republican majority had spoken clearly about their opposition.

We all know how that worked out.

So, when the CJ reported on Sunday -- without quoting anyone -- that legislators are coming around to House Speaker Greg Stumbo's side on expanding government with casino gambling, it was tough not to imagine that Williams is going squishy again.

In fact, I'd almost bet on it.

Conway not so hot on Mongiardo

Lieutenant Dan Goes to Washington?
By Leland Conway
So Lieutenant Dan (Lt. Governor, Dr. Daniel Mongiardo) wants to become the Jr. Senator from Kentucky? Let’s examine this proposal for a moment.

Lieutenant Dan was one of the first major Kentucky politicians to endorse President Obama who lost the state of Kentucky by a nearly 20 point margin in the presidential election. Contrary to left wing media fabrications, Obama did not lose Kentucky because we are racist, but because we were smart enough to recognize that the platform upon which Obama ran was dangerous to our economic future and contradictory to our system of values.

When Governor Steve Beshear endorsed Lieutenant Dan for Senate last week, he said that Mongiardo’s priorities "mirror the priorities being articulated by the Obama administration at this defining hour for our country." The implications of this statement are staggering.
First and foremost there is the economy. President Barack Obama’s economic policies, which include cap and trade will do nothing less than obliterate the Kentucky economy. Our state gets over 70% of its energy from coal. We’re not a very business friendly state, which the current governor has done nothing to fix, but one of the few advantages we still have over lower taxing neighbor states is cheap energy. Coal produced energy is also one of our largest exports. Many of the liberals from western states who condemn us for our use of “dirty coal”, actually enjoy the fruits of our labor.

President Obama plans to introduce cap and trade legislation to save the planet from mythical global warming. Actually, this is the largest wealth confiscation in global history. Obama is on the record as saying that “energy prices will skyrocket.” His Vice President Joe Biden has said, “There’s no such thing as clean coal” and “No more coal fired plants in America…build them in China if they want to build them.” What does this say about the Kentucky economy? Prepare to be laid waste to.

Another important issue to Kentuckians is values. Obama not only supported, but fought for legislation in the Illinois State House that would terminate the lives of babies who survived abortion procedures. Maybe that’s ok in Chicago, but In Kentucky we consider life to be pretty important. Religious arguments aside, Life is an American value. That’s why the founding fathers listed it first when they said we all had the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Kentuckians are also a member of that now infamous group that President Obama said “clings to our guns and our God…” As a member of this group, I am not ashamed. But Obama has displayed his antagonism toward gun owners clearly. While saying on the campaign trail that he favors the second amendment for “hunting purposes” he has also been a stalwart supporter of anti-gun legislation throughout his entire political career.

People in the main stream media are catching on to Barack Obama now. One Main Stream report pointed out that he has broken no less than fourteen major campaign promises in the two months since taking office.

These reports are wrong. He’s not breaking promises, he’s keeping them. Only the promises he’s keeping are the ones he made to his more radical left wing supporters long before he became known to the rest of America. What we are seeing now is the real character of the left wing extremist who we’ve elected to “change America.”

With that in mind, and given that Lieutenant Dan would “mirror the priorities being articulated by the Obama administration...” we must ask if it is possible then for him to truly mirror the priorities of his constituents?

Next up: Madison County Tea Party

The Bluegrass Institute is helping put together a Tea Party in Richmond on Saturday, April 11 from 4 pm to 6 pm in front of Wallingford Broadcasting at 128 Big Hill Avenue.

They don't want you to know about health freedom

A Lexington attorney representing plaintiffs seeking only to opt out of the federal Medicare program is getting more national attention online as his case heats up:

"Why, though, would someone choose to forgo health coverage for which one has already paid? Opting out of Medicare may be legal, but is it smart? Mr Brown explained that there are many reasons why someone might choose to decline it, including the desire to make one's own health care decisions without government intervention. Folks see what's happening in England, for example, and want no part of that."

Kent Masterson Brown got a lot of attention locally as a speaker at the Kentucky Tea Party.

You may have read about this case first last fall in the Bluegrass Policy Blog, but the state's two largest newspapers have slept through the story.

Obama kiss of death smooches Mongiardo

Gov. Steve Beshear endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo's candidacy for U.S. Senate Friday afternoon, saying that Mongiardo's priorities "mirror the priorities being articulated by the Obama administration at this defining hour for our country."

That should go over well here, Governor.

Bush killed Nessie!

Some guy on ABC's Good Morning America just suggested that global warming killed the Loch Ness Monster.

Yeah, I thought that would do it.

If only we had passed an economy-killing environmental tax years earlier, Nessie would surely still be alive.

Bunning: Audit the Federal Reserve

Sen. Jim Bunning joined Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Bernie Sanders in sponsoring a budget amendment to force an audit of the Federal Reserve. The amendment would also require the Fed to say who it lends money to:

"The Federal Reserve has been printing money that the United States government doesn’t have the backing for and handing it out to banks with no accountability to the American taxpayers. I have asked the Fed repeatedly to disclose who is benefitting from all this printed money, but have yet to receive an answer."

Broke, stoned, and moving to Kentucky?

West Virginia is considering drug testing welfare recipients.

Kentucky's previous efforts to do the same have failed in the House of Representatives.

Republicans and, oh, just all the facts

The Herald Leader and Courier Journal have been wailing for weeks on their news and editorial pages about the successful effort to end CATS testing, so it is no surprise to see them continue that today as Gov. Steve Beshear signed Senate Bill 1 into law.

But it is disappointing to see the many problems with CATS that have been repeatedly and thoroughly documented by the Bluegrass Institute for several years dismissed by reporter Beth Musgrave like this:

No doubt that as the Kentucky mainstream media rolls out continued coverage of this story they will quote heavily education bureaucrats and people like the Prichard Committee who have making up excuses (and worse) for CATS non-stop over the years.

A newspaperman ponders economics

Alan Mutter, former editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, doesn't see the need to go along with Sen. Benjamin Cardin's (D-MD) plan to convert newspapers to non-profit status:

"While it was a nice gesture for the Democrat from Maryland to suggest a Newspaper Revitalization Act to enable non-profit ownership, he might as well try to repeal the laws of economics or gravity, instead. Regardless of whether a paper is owned by a non-profit organization or an unreconstructed capitalist, it has to take in more money than it spends – or it will perish. The form of ownership doesn’t change this fundamental truth."

Okay. Now that we have established that, can we somehow get past this silly idea that newspapers are the very glue holding our free society together?

Maybe then we can have a serious discussion about ending the practice of forcing taxpayers in Kentucky to fund newspapers here.

Good week for blogs, bad one for MSM

A day after bloggers clobbered the Lexington Herald Leader for trying to ignore the Kentucky Tea Party, little known Member of Parliament Daniel Hannan has the most watched video on YouTube.

For the uninitiated, that is a very big deal.

"How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what’s news."

It's worth a few minutes to learn more about this tipping point. Read it here.

Is he a Blue Dog or an Obama Puppy?

Congressman Ben Chandler's silence about President Barack Obama's $3.6 trillion budget speaks volumes even though he has not made his position clear.


Put down the Kool-Aid, Congressman. Maybe it's time for someone to send him some tea.

Some needed perspective on CATS

The Louisville Courier Journal editorial board has never bothered to address the many problems with Kentucky's CATS school testing, mercifully laid to rest this spring. They were too busy calling teachers "lazy" and dreaming up more ways to slap at the Bluegrass Institute without actually printing the name.

Here's their latest from Wednesday's editorial page:

"That's more than one can say for the odd alliance of (1) Republicans who have opposed the Kentucky Education Reform Act since its passage; (2) reflexive right-wing opponents of public schools, and (3) teacher groups that find KERA too demanding."

Their latest approach is to complain about the three year period in which Kentucky transitions from inflated, discredited CATS testing to a something (anything) better.

Fortunately, Bluegrass Institute's education analyst Richard Innes explains why the three years is probably a good idea:

"Right now, relying on our teachers to carry the ball for a short period of time seems like a much better path to take than following the outdated and misguided CATS path for another three years. Apparently, our legislators agree, because they overwhelmingly passed the bill to revise our assessment program in both houses despite the tantrums a few are throwing in the print media."

Innes' four page report is available here.

A case study in common sense

A Kentucky Department of Insurance press release described the circumstances behind a guilty plea for insurance fraud. Seems a 70 year old woman hit another car with her car, left the scene, and then reported in her insurance claim that she hit a concrete post.

In Barack Obama-land, her auto insurer would be forced to keep her and would be prohibited from increasing her premiums.

Next time should be different

News consumer backlash against very limited mainstream media coverage of the Kentucky Tea Party may have gotten the attention of some local journalists, if WKYT's report this evening on a "follow-up" event coming April 18 is any indication.

Will anyone really believe this?

In his Tuesday night press conference opening remarks, President Barack Obama will say the following:

"At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt. It’s with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest."

"That’s what clean energy jobs and businesses will do. That’s what a highly-skilled workforce will do. That’s what an efficient health care system that controls costs and entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid will do. That’s why this budget is inseparable from this recovery – because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity."

What do you think about that?

Hidden microphone at jail still works

Fayette jail Director Ron Bishop is trying desperately to fire Cpl. Marla Gaines before the FBI frog-marches her out of the facility in front of the tv cameras.

Will he get her out on time? Inquiring minds also want to know if she will be defended by the Communications Workers of America or Mary Sharp at the Fraternal Order of Police.

Herald Leader's bad, bad day

I'm not about to celebrate the dozens of firings today at the Lexington Herald Leader. Those are real people who had nothing to do with their parent company borrowing itself into oblivion, but they were forced to pay the price anyway.

But the paper deserves all kinds of scorn for ignoring the Kentucky Tea Party on Saturday. And they deserve all kinds of ridicule for writing the story two days late.

And columnist Tom Eblen's Facebook status is worth a look:

EEEEE-blen?

You've been heard

Kentuckians who called The Lexington Herald Leader to complain about the lack of coverage of the Kentucky Tea Party over the weekend got action this afternoon when the paper posted a story online by reporter Jack Brammer titled "Tea Party protest draws big crowd in Lexington."

The story mentions Bluegrass Institute's "Bluegrass Tax Liberation Day" coming up on April 18 at Applebee's Park in Lexington from 11 am to 2 pm. For details on that event, contact Kelly Smith at ksmith@freedomkentucky.com.

Beshear promotes socialized medicine pals

President Barack Obama, Rep. Ben Chandler, and Rep. John Yarmuth teamed up in February to expand government health insurance liabilities.

Today, Gov. Steve Beshear has teamed up with the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation for "Cover the uninsured week."

"In light of the recent economic downturn, it is more critical than ever that families are enrolled (in government health plans)," said Gov. Beshear.

Kentucky Kernel shows up when HL sleeps

Thanks to University of Kentucky student reporter Sean Patterson for his effort to cover Saturday's Kentucky Tea Party:

"David Adams, a writer for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions and the master of ceremonies at the rally, said he didn’t think President Obama’s spending has been different from his predecessor’s."

""That’s where this movement is different," Adams said. “George Bush did the same thing to us for eight years. This goes way beyond Democrat and Republican.""

You can read the rest of the story by clicking here. And for the record, Sean asked me how many people I thought were there and I told him I didn't have any idea. It was a big crowd full of highly energized people and terrific speakers.

Update: I'm told that reader complaints to the Lexington Herald Leader about their lack of coverage have been coming in pretty fast all day. The official response seems to be something along the lines of either not knowing that the event was happening or that they are working on a larger story about the movement after there have been a few events.

The response from lefty blogs has been, essentially, that Ayn Rand wrote too many words.

Media still trying to ignore Kent Brown

Kentucky Tea Party participants have been discussing today how the Lexington Herald Leader could justify ignoring a nonpartisan political rally with over 1000 participants on an otherwise uneventful Saturday.

This reminded me of last October when the paper also ignored the filing of a lawsuit with national implications involving trillions of dollars and the freedoms of millions of Americans. The suit was filed by Lexington attorney Kent Masterson Brown, who was also a speaker at the Tea Party.

Curious about the lawsuit, filed by the same local man who beat back HillaryCare in the 1990's? That's what blogs are for: (Click here.)

Jim Bunning in Richmond

Sen. Jim Bunning delivered a wide-ranging speech to the Madison County GOP Lincoln Dinner Saturday evening.

He spoke about excessive borrowing and spending, monetary policy, energy, abortion, taxes, and gun rights.

It's worth noting that Bunning didn't read his speech as he has several others this year.

Very good move.

Tea Party #1

Thanks to all the people who made Saturday's event a very good one. Lots more to come!

We're not mad, yet

On my way to the Kentucky Tea Party in Lexington. Should be a fun event, but the key is that it is early in the game. We are just building up a head of steam for the road ahead.

Please, come join us. But if you can't today, don't worry. Straightening out our government is going to take a long time. We will be doing a lot more of these.

Herald Leader still mourning CATS

The Lexington Herald Leader's move to allow reader comments on articles has added an interesting element to their web site. I have been a fairly frequent commenter and posted the following after another editorial longing for the good old days when those who pointed out the waste of CATS testing couldn't get House Democrats to read the research.

Since the Herald Leader has shown a disturbing tendency to erase my comments lately, I thought I would snag this one while it is still online.

Erasing comments like this is, of course, considered very bad form for a blog.

Here is a link to the most comprehensive Bluegrass Institute report on CATS.

Dr. Rand Paul in Lexington

Dr. Rand Paul spoke in Lexington Thursday night about a possible run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. He repeated that he would become a candidate only if Sen. Jim Bunning does not run.

Based on his comments, Paul considers state Senate President David Williams to be his main opposition. Last month's tax increases and pension raid in Frankfort, therefore, would play a large role in that race.

"David Williams has just recently done something that I think is very wrong for Republicans to do," Paul said. "He's gone along with the Democrats in raising taxes. He basically accepts their argument that there is a shortfall."

Rand thoughtfully addressed a split in the Republican party between small government advocates and party leaders.

"A lot of us are new," Paul said. "Some of us are Libertarians, independent, Democratic, or just cynical and haven't voted in a long time. We're new to the party. If they don't want us, they will shrink. They are losing ground. They need us. So we need to convince them of that. But some of it is us, too. We have to convince them in a nice and friendly way. They were afraid we were going to take over. We weren't; we didn't have the numbers to do that. We still need to go, we need to be nice to these people, and shake their hands. But we do need to transcend what we were. We need to be bigger."

Rocky Adkins: let me decide

Gov. Steve Beshear, as an outspoken advocate of expanding state government with the promise of casino revenues, supports putting the expanded gambling question on the ballot to merely "let the people decide."

So it was noteworthy recently in Paducah when Beshear said passing a nuclear energy bill wouldn't cause nuclear power plants to be built in Kentucky. He said passing the bill would only "allow us to begin to have the discussion" about nuclear energy.

House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, like Beshear, favors more communication about casinos, but, unlike Beshear, he objects to having "the discussion" about nuclear energy.

What could possibly account for Adkins' unwillingness to have a simple conversation with his fellow Kentuckians?

Caleb Smith has the latest on the nuclear debate.

Rand Paul in Lexington

Dr. Rand Paul says he will run for the U.S. Senate only if Sen. Jim Bunning does not. Nevertheless, he is campaigning enough to fuel speculation that he is up to something.

Paul will speak in Lexington Thursday night at The Inn on Broadway at 6:30 pm. He will also be a guest on the Leland Conway Show at 9:05 am on 630 WLAP AM or on the internet at wlap.com.

Media bias, laziness generate confusion

Lexington Herald Leader education reporter Jim Warren is at it again, taking dictation from Big Ed bureaucrats in a "news" story.


Today, it's Fayette Superintendent Stu Silberman and Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Lisa Gross trying to take control of the transition away from CATS and to a legitimate student testing program.

It's amazing Warren could write such a long story about "confusion" in the aftermath of CATS without talking to anyone who could shed some light.

I guess if he had, they would need to write a different headline.

The newspaper bailouts are coming

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should soon start hearings about "saving" the nation's newspapers. If a very thin study about democracy in northern Kentucky is any indication, the coming newspaper bailouts should be a very effective focal point for grassroots opponents of tax/bailout/stimulus policies.

Two Princeton University economists looked at a tiny amount of election data and news coverage of the tiny Kentucky Post and quickly -- and repeatedly -- concluded that the existence of newspapers reduces incumbent advantages, motivates citizens to run for office, and enhances voter turnout:

"News coverage potentially inuences election outcomes in many ways. By revealing incumbents' misdeeds or making it easier for challengers to get their message out, a newspaper may reduce incumbent advantage. Newspaper stories could also raise interest in politics, inspiring more people to vote or run for office."

"The Cincinnati Post was a relatively small newspaper, with circulation of only 27,000 when it closed. Nonetheless, its absence appears to have made local elections less competitive along several dimensions: incumbent advantage, voter turnout and the number of candidates for office."

Expect this study to get a lot more attention than it deserves in the march toward making you pay more for propaganda you already rejected.

As an alternative, we might consider spending less on welfare for newspapers.

Education researcher not breathing easy yet

Conscientious teachers and education officials across Kentucky were relieved to see the long-awaited demise of discredited and wasteful CATS testing last week. Bluegrass Institute education analyst Richard Innes, however, urged caution Tuesday as we seek a new testing program.

"We need to insure the new assessments are more resistant to the sort of inflation-to-make-educators-look-good problems that ultimately undermined CATS' credibility," Innes said.

Innes remains skeptical of the Department of Education's desires to cover its own tracks and bend the rules.

"We found out in the past that the department is capable of going off on its own despite the provisions in law. The department dramatically proved that when it illegally dropped norm reference testing in elementary schools and when it consistently ignored a provision to create a longitudinal assessment to track student performance over time. That provision was in the 1998 legislation that created CATS, by the way. It’s a decade later, and it never happened," Innes said.

The rest of his comments are available here.

What will you add to Kentucky Tea Party?

The Kentucky Tea Party, presented by News Radio 630 WLAP, The Kentucky Club for Growth, The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions and ConservativeEdge.com, will be this Saturday, March 21 at noon, at the Fayette County Courthouse.

Leland Conway, host of the Pulse of Lexington, 9am-Noon, M-F on News Radio 630 WLAP said:

“Washington, Frankfort, Lexington government…they are all completely out of touch with the common citizen. Americans know intuitively that government expansion and increased spending is not the answer to our economic problems. The only money that government has is money it has taken from productive citizens. Well, we citizens are not in the mood to have any more of our money taken from us and we’re going to send that message on Saturday.”

David Adams of the Bluegrass Institute said:

"You can't just wait around for Kentucky taxpayers to realize too late that years of overspending and over borrowing practices have destroyed the state. We need a smaller, more efficient government that gets out of the business of deciding winners and losers and sticks to the Constitution. And we need that now."

Andy Hightower, Executive Director of the Kentucky Club for Growth spoke about the event:

“The Pursuit of Happiness is no longer regarded by our leadership as an inalienable right; instead they think it’s provided by government subsidy. It’s time to remind folks in Washington and Frankfort that national success follows from individual success, not government direction.”

A special feature of the Kentucky Tea Party will an open mic opportunity to make your opinion heard. Selected speakers will be featured on WLAP radio.

"Teresa Isaac? Never heard of her"

The Lexington Herald Leader continues its efforts this morning to keep Lexington politicians' feet out of the fire in the ongoing inmate beating scandal at the Lexington jail.

In a story about the 2005 death of inmate Gerald Cornett, reporter Michelle Ku talked to the wrong Lexington mayor.

Mayor Jim Newberry's spokeswoman's silence is interesting given her boss' official efforts to silence jail whistleblower Cpl. John Vest, but he wasn't even in office when these events took place.

His opponent in the upcoming 2010 election was.

When the federal investigation of inmate abuse at the Fayette County Detention Center became publicly known, Mayor Isaac famously quipped:

"I've reviewed the same records they've reviewed, there's absolutely nothing in there that would amount to a civil rights violation and I've been a civil rights attorney for 25 years so I think I would know."

If we want to get closer to the truth, we should make the 2010 election between these two about who has handled the jail mess worse. That would be an interesting discussion.

Fighting back in Lexington

The Kentucky Progress blog is a proud sponsor of this Saturday's Kentucky Tea Party in Lexington. In the spirit of our brave forefathers who stood up to an unreasonable government to protect their freedoms, we will join together for one of what will be many such events until we generate change we can afford.

Please join us.

These things always happen in threes

Over the weekend I got a kick out of the Courier Journal referring to Bluegrass Institute as merely "right-wing think-tank" again. Then the Herald Leader struck with their "conservate enemies" bit.

This morning, though, I'm on the floor laughing at CJ columnist Joe Gerth pulling a complete quote off this site and hoping no one notices as he sources only "a conservative blog."

Stick with your "dare not speak their names" approach, guys. It's obviously working.

Herald Leader's sour grape whine

The Lexington Herald Leader's editorial board is even more upset than the Courier Journal was about the end of a disastrous episode in education "reform."

"As it stands, cynics can justifiably conclude that Beshear and House Democrats, under new Speaker Greg Stumbo, caved to the worst impulses of both the teachers union and conservative enemies of public schools."

Thanks for the big laugh and free mention for the Bluegrass Institute, guys!

I take it the Herald Leader would prefer corrupted, unusable testing data, relentless happy-talk from the Prichard Committee, and spin that the phony CATS testing was somehow better than any alternative. In fact, they said as much:

Getting off the CATS gravy train is hardly a three-year pass. Discontinuing a test that has become totally meaningless has no downside. Finding something worse would be a real chore. Choosing from among many options that allow specific, usable results to pinpoint how any teacher is performing and any student is learning provides an easy win for taxpayers, parents, and students.

Bad day for the bureaucracy, though. And the editorial writers who have sided with them for so long are just chapped that everyone who pays attention to this stuff knows they got their heads handed to them.

The Kentucky Department of Education bears close scrutiny in this transition phase, of course. Stay tuned. We'll be watching them.

Fourth District Lincoln Dinner

Rumors that Sen. Jim Bunning would use this hometown event to drop out of his bid for re-election proved untrue.

Sen. Mitch McConnell and Senate President David Williams didn't come to Hebron tonight. There were really no fireworks.

Heard lots of applause for several mentions from the podium about the end of CATS testing and lots of grumbling in the crowd about Republicans caving in on tax increases.

Where is the Kentucky GOP going?

Six weeks ago, the Kentucky Republican Party was still about not raising taxes. Now that is over. So, what's next?

A discussion about the Georgia Republican Party may present a good starting point for Kentucky Republicans to try to do more than hang on to power for one politician:

"You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the dynamics in play throughout Georgia. The Republican Party, having only fully taken over the state four years ago, is already in a rut. Having failed to keep innovating and advancing a conservative agenda, they have become establishmentarians determined to hold on to the status quo, much as Georgia Democrats did before losing power."

About time for Beshear to change his tune

Good to see the legislature come around today and kill off the wasteful and counterproductive CATS testing program in Kentucky's public schools.

Even better to have Gov. Steve Beshear see the light:

"This legislation will create a new system for statewide accountability and assessment that will, for the first time, measure individual student progress over an extended period of time. That is critically important."

No kidding. We've been trying to tell him that for years.

Beshear should have stopped listening to the Kentucky Department of Education a long time ago.

I thought Obama was from Kenya

Looks like our daring Attorney General is on the case of an international, too good to be true money scam.


Now he tells us.

My only question: who even gets off the couch to collect a measly $2.5 million when President Barack Obama and friends are offering so much more?

More evidence of Kentucky spending problems

The Rockefeller Institute of Government compiled a list of state economic and and budget data showing Kentucky was one of only twelve states in the nation with increasing tax revenues in the last quarter of 2008.

We were also one of sixteen states with the worst job loss rates during the same period.

Big-government states Michigan and North Carolina were the only others at the top of these two lists. Perhaps if we worked on growing our state with policies that attract businesses interested in more than corporate welfare and worried less about growing government, we wouldn't be in quite the mess we are in.