One story out today was a woman quit a senior position at the FDA over their changes in plans to authorize the Plan B contraceptive. It's a pill with a super heavy dose of birth control that if it's taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex will greatly reduce the chances of pregnancy.

LAURAN NEERGAARD

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The highly regarded women's health chief at the Food and Drug Administration resigned Wednesday in protest of her agency's refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.

Assistant Commissioner Susan Wood charged that FDA's leader overruled his own scientists' determination that the morning-after pill could safely be sold without a prescription, and stunned his employees last week by instead postponing indefinitely a decision on whether to let that happen.

"There's fairly widespread concern about FDA's credibility" among agency veterans as a result, Wood told The Associated Press hours after submitting her resignation Wednesday.

Response

There are a couple of issues here. One is the age limit. The FDA thinks girls under 17 should have a prescription based on whether or not they administer it properly. The problem you run into is that in order for it to be effective, it has to be taken ASAP and sometimes prescriptions on the fly aren't feasible.

The other issue is the pro lifers consider this tantamount to abortion. Pro choicers see this as an answer to abortion. I agree with the latter. What do you think.

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:11 PM
 

Gas prices climbed through the roof today, setting a new record of $2.92 a gallon before settling at $2.61 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This comes as oil companies struggle to bring refineries back online after the cataclysmic Hurricane Katrina let slip the dogs of war on the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Many industry experts are predicting $4 a gallon at the pump despite authorization by the White House to tap into the strategic oil reserves. The Dept. of Energy also announced they would temporarily lift environmental regulations in order to increase production at unaffected refineries.

As initial reports come in on the condition of Gulf oil rigs amd pipelines, a number of them appear to be heavily damaged. This is particularly disheartening because it took months to bring a number of rigs online after the havoc generated by last year's Hurricane Ivan.

Oil futures have been shakey for months on supply fears for various reasons including refinery problems, hurricanes, political instability and simply an inability to produce more crude oil. The rigs in the Gulf of Mexico produce approximately 25% of the U.S. oil supply.

President Bush agreed today to release some of the stock in the strategic oil reserves and that held down prices somewhat in oil trading but it failed to solve the gasoline shortages. Some communities have already taken to rationing gasoline at $15 or $20 limits. At $3+ a gallon, that's not much petrol.

End In Sight

Not likely. New Orleans is the largest port in the United States and the city is under 20 feet of water in places. The mayor of New Orleans is predicting 16 weeks or more to pump the water out of the city. In that time, they will be working to restore utilities, clean up the mess and bury the dead, which he believes numbers in the thousands. With transportation in the city near impossible, New Orleans doesn't look hopeful.

Other cities in Mississippi got hit just as hard if not harder but the storm itself with reports of 100 dead in one county alone. Once again, it will be months before the clean up is complete and when the ports will be ready for traffic is unknown. It will also take months to get the oil rigs back in line in the Gulf. It's going to be a long wait for things to return to normal.

Economic Downturn?

Oft quoted economist Dr.Pete Morici at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland said some weeks ago that if mortgage rates climb another 1.25% or if oil goes to $80 a barrel then an economic slow down would occur. If both happened, he predicted a full blown recession. He really didn't address the issue of a natural disaster potentially wrecking the U.S. oil infrastructure. As gasoline prices continue to rise, one wonders whether the additional capacity of other refineries after the environmental rules were lifted will be able to make up the difference.

Response

Not much, this is my story. You tell me!

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:37 PM
 

I normally don't do this here but I got an interesting letter in the mail today informing me that the financial institution that has my mortgage that a pair of laptop computers having my family's personal financial information on them were lifted from someone's trunk. I cover this sort of thing in my day job so I'll probably have a full blown rant later but needless to say it's maddening.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:35 PM
 

It looks like Fletcher's followers are becoming fewer and far between. Back in 2003, there were very few newspapers in Kentucky that endorsed Ernie Fletcher. The most prominent of which was The Cincinnati Enquirer/Kentucky Enquirer. In all this scandal, They seem to have changed their tune just a bit. A recent blog entry from a post made by the Kenton County Democrats:

By issuing blanket pardons for present and former staff members who were charged with crimes of violating state laws regarding the merit hiring system, Governor Ernie Fletcher has taken away the public’s ability to ever know the truth.

...

This governor has underestimated the common sense of Kentucky’s people. Nobody pardons innocent men. Unless there is something to hide.


Response

Ernie Fletcher keeps getting himself in deeper and deeper. He continues to show a blatant disregard for all things. He continues to lie about the whole thing and as was pointed out, why not let your men stand trial and prove their innocence. What have they got to loose?

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:49 PM
 

Vincent Laforet/The New York Times

Aerial photograph of the devastation caused by the high winds and heavy flooding in the greater New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina, Tuesday 30 August 2005.

I grabbed this photo from the NYT. Here's some of the story that goes with it:

Much of Gulf Coast Is Crippled; Toll Rises

Aug. 30 - A day after New Orleans thought it had narrowly escaped the worst of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, water broke through two levees on Tuesday and virtually submerged and isolated the city, causing incalculable destruction and rendering it uninhabitable for weeks to come

With bridges washed out, highways converted into canals, and power and communications lines left inoperable, government officials ordered everyone still remaining out of the city and began planning for the evacuation of the Superdome, where about 10,000 refugees huddled in increasingly grim conditions, running out of water and food, and with rising water threatening the generators.

So dire was the situation that the Pentagon late in the day ordered six Navy ships and eight Navy maritime rescue teams to the Gulf Coast to bolster relief operations. It also planned to fly in Swift boat rescue teams from California.

With the rising waters and widespread devastation hobbling rescue and recovery efforts, the authorities could only guess at the death toll in the city and across the Gulf Coast. In Mississippi alone, officials raised the official count of the dead to at least 100.

"It looks like Hiroshima is what it looks like," Gov. Haley Barbour said, describing parts of Harrison County, Miss.

Across the region rescue workers were not even trying to gather up and count the dead, officials said, but pushed them aside for the time being as they struggled to find the living.

As the sweep of the devastation became clear on Tuesday, President Bush cut short his monthlong summer vacation and returned to Washington, where he will meet Wednesday with a task force established to coordinate the efforts of 14 federal agencies that will be involved in responding to the disaster.

Response

This devastation is horrible. Emergency relief workers are converging from all over the nation, including Kentucky. Our good friend Daniel from at Kentucky Democrat is putting together a benefit concert in Northern Kentucky. The Red Cross is taking contributions. People will need food and supplies of all types. At this point, even donating blood might help because they're going to be needing it. Whatever anyone can do will be useful. Pray for the people and families of the Gulf Coast. This is one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the United States and it's not done yet.

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:20 PM
 

Any regular readers got something to get off your chest? Put it here!

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:09 PM
 

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, praising the sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation to win that war and calling on President Bush to follow the model of his predecessors to lay out and stick to a clear plan for victory:

"Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman led America to victory in World War II because they laid out a clear plan for success to the American people, America's allies and America's troops. President Bush has failed to put together a plan, so despite the bravery and sacrifice of our troops, we are not making the progress that we should be in Iraq. The troops, our allies and the American people deserve better leadership from our Commander in Chief. In fact, President Truman made this very clear: the buck stops at the Oval Office. Who knows where the buck stops in the Bush White House?

"Today, on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, we recognize the sacrifices our Greatest Generation made to rid the world of fascism and tyranny, and extend freedom. Sixteen million Americans served their country, leaving behind their families and their jobs to serve our country. Four hundred thousand of these brave Americans lost their lives. Millions more Americans worked here at home to support the war effort, working in factories, caring for veterans and doing all they could to aid the allies to victory. We owe the Greatest Generation our gratitude as we owe all of our service members, veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make on our behalf every day.

"Today, Democrats also renew our commitment to standing up for America's veterans and our troops in Iraq. We stand dedicated to making sure our troops in combat, wherever they find themselves in harm's way, have the equipment and resources they need to get the job done. We will also work to make sure they and their families receive the medical care and benefits they've earned; it's the least we can do to honor their sacrifices."

Response

Dean's got it right. Bush doesn't have a plan other than to stay the course. It's becoming quite obvious he has nothing going on in the way of a strategy or a tactic. He constantly lets the soldiers of this war die with no method to solve the madness. Bush, through his steadfast reliance on Rumsfeld and either his lack of a strategy or an incredibly bad one that needs revamping will be one of the great blunder in American history.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:00 PM
 

Shocking, surprising propaganda piece by ACC. ACC studios, based right here in good old Kentucky has created a conservative comic book. Apparently, Mike Mackey aspires to be a modern day propagandist for conservatism and he has tarnished the comics medium to do it.

The premise Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North have become bio-mechanically enhanced to to fight the "Orwellian nightmare dominated by United Nations ultra-liberalism." It's the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and Ambassador Bin Laden wants to nuke NYC. Our heros (HAH) have to stop him and the liberal madness.

This guy obviously has more than just a few screws loose here. He's going to be interviewed on Liddy's talk show. Of all the attention Kentucky could get, this nut job has to be one of the voices making it out there. It's absolutely unbelievable. He truly is shaming the state with this. The site is ACCstudios.com but I won't link to it.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:39 PM
 

It hit the fan at the rotunda today when Governor Fletcher announced his plans for tomorrow's appearance before the grand jury. He's pardoned everyone indicted in this current merit system hiring probe and will plead the 5th when going before the grand jury tomorrow. Mark Nicholas over at Bluegrass Report had an interesting take on the matter.

By pardoning everyone else -- all of whom had previously invoked 5th Amendment -- they will now be compelled to testify before the grand jury by Attorney General Stumbo and will not be allowed to take the 5th since they cannot face criminal charges. They would then be compelled to tell the whole truth and should they lie, Stumbo would go after them for perjury and if they refuse to testify, he'll get them on contempt and possibly obstruction of justice.

Assuming most would rather not have this legal nightmare continue for them -- especially the younger staffers -- they might instead implicate Governor Fletcher and make it all the more likely that he will be indicted for being the head of this criminal enterprise and conspiracy and for possible obstruction of justice for the way his administration has failed to produce critical e-mail evidence to prosecutors and the grand jury?

Also, by ensuring that his top staff are forced back into the grand jury to tell all they know, this is further likely to inflame Democratic House members -- who have a solid majority -- to proceed with impeachment hearings as was previously reported by BluegrassReport.org.

Response

Everything is pure speculation at this point but I think Mark has the right idea. I think Governor Ernie Fletcher is dead in the water and I think he might even do some prison time out of this. The cynical side of this though is that statewide elections are two years away so anything could happen between now and then. In all honesty, I'd say this thing isn't over by a long shot.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:58 PM
 

In this modern age of compassionate conservatism, the Bush administration has espoused no child left behind and an ownership society. No child left behind was meant to make sure that every child had the opportunity to get a fair chance at life, to have a good education and to become productive members of our modern, compassionately conservative, ownership society. In this society, while children aren't being left behind, people are benefitting from owning their own homes, people should have full control over their own fate, being able to do things for themselves. Even their retirment should be under their own control. That way, people will be able to live, humble middle-class or better existances for everyone with people doing it themselves, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. That what he'd like everyone to think anyway.

The age of "compassionate conservatism" is anything but compassionate. Up to this point, poverty has increased during the first term of this administration. 2004 numbers will hit tomorrow but let's examine 2003 number's first.

"The effort by the Administration to understate the extent of economic hardship in the U.S. serves their broader and extremely troubling agenda to reduce or eliminate social programs that play a positive role for low-income Americans, while pursuing egregious tax cuts for the wealthy," said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change in a press release.


-- More people live in poverty! In 2003, there were 35.9 million people living in poverty-up from 32.9 million Americans in 2001. The numbers living in extreme poverty, below 50 percent of the poverty income level, hit 15.3 million in 2003, steadily increasing during the Bush Administration. We expect tomorrow's numbers to show a similar trend.

-- More children living in poverty! By the Census' own admission, 12.9 million children lived in poverty in 2003, more than 18-64 year olds and more than that of seniors 65 years and older. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty03/pov03hi.html

-- Less information is better! In July, the Senate Appropriations Committee sent to the Senate floor a bill with inadequate funding to continue the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). They also recommended slashing the sample size used for the national poverty data, the Current Population Survey (CPS).

The ACS is a survey that provides income, poverty, housing quality, and other important data for states. Without these data, detailed information on income and poverty by state will only be available every ten years-severely limiting the ability to plan for funding for critical social programs like TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, child care subsidies and energy assistance. This will not only effect federal funding levels, but state and local community planning that depend on this data.

-- Less help is available! $35 billion dollars in cuts have been mandated from low-income programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and student loans in the FY 2006 budget that Congress will consider in September. Another "reconciliation" bill to be considered in September includes more than $100 billion in new tax cuts for the wealthy.

-- Less public attention is better! For the second year in a row, the U.S. Census Bureau has released the poverty data in August-notoriously the slowest time of the year in Washington, D.C.-when Congress, President Bush, and many reporters are on summer vacation.

"With the release of the poverty numbers tomorrow, we can expect the trend to bury data to continue that might challenge overly optimistic policy statements by this Administration. Rarely has this behavior to mask the poverty problem in this country been so blatant," says Bhargava. "What America does not need is political leaders who pretend that families are not struggling everyday to sustain a dignified standard of living, because their struggles are very real for too many Americans."

Response

The point is that this administration really promotes social darwinism which basically means, every man for himself. Do it to them before they do to you. "Decrease the surface population." Unfortunately, there's far too much of this in America and there has been for a long time. We've got to do something and we've got to many people leaving in poverty, mostly children and the elderly. Unfortunately, there are far too many children left behind.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:24 PM
 

Peter Daou is a good political online communications guru. He just put up an interesting take on the Iraq war and the first thing he did was quote the "Bible". I love it. I've posted a some from it but I encourage you read the whole thing, it's quite good.

The Ethics of Iraq: Moral Strength vs. Material Strength

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Matthew 16:26

The unbridgeable divide between the left and right’s approach to Iraq and the WoT is, among other things, a disagreement over the value of moral and material strength, with the left placing a premium on the former and the right on the latter. The right (broadly speaking) can’t fathom why the left is driven into fits of rage over every Abu Ghraib, every Gitmo, every secret rendition, every breach of civil liberties, every shifting rationale for war, every soldier and civilian killed in that war, every Bush platitude in support of it, every attempt to squelch dissent. They see the left's protestations as appeasement of a ruthless enemy. For the left (broadly speaking), America’s moral strength is of paramount importance; without it, all the brute force in the world won’t keep us safe, defeat our enemies, and preserve our role as the world’s moral leader.....

It's a great piece with quite a bit of solid arguement against the war. Check out the whole thing.

posted by Stithmeister @ 2:15 PM
 

This late night post comes after Monday trades in foreign markets climbed to $70 a barrel based on oil rigs and refineries shutting down from the hurricane. Expect it to go higher this week, depending on the extent of the damage to operations. Reuters ran the full story.

It doesn't look pleasant folks. Dr. Pete Morici, an nationally known economist at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business suggested last week that a major economic slow down would hit if either oil hit $80 a barrel or mortgage rates went up beyond 7%. I would say the $80 a barrel isn't that far off.

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:49 PM
 

The Courier-Journal reported the state the transportation cabinet is investigating Doug Doerting credibiltity. Naturally this is occuring because he's a whistleblower. He will be raked over the coals not just by Fletcher's posse but also by the department he worked for during his tenure.


Here's the first bit of the story:

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Lawyers working for the Transportation Cabinet said they are investigating the credibility of Doug Doerting, the state worker whose complaint has led to the indictments of nine current or former officials alleging political favoritism in hiring.

And in the course of their investigation, cabinet employees have given them information about Doerting, who retired in May after filing his complaint against the Fletcher administration.

Attorney General Greg Stumbo's office said examining Doerting's background is "attempted character assassination."

Response

It's no big surprise that the administration's trying to "discredit" the witness. His efforts have certainly discredited them. I suspect they'll work him over a little bit but I think his future, regardless of what happens is much more secure than that of Fletcher, Murgatroyd and others, especially since they'll likely see jail time.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:49 PM
 

So the oil prices continue to rise. With Katrina creating a watery hell in the Gulf of Mexico, it's not surprise really. Gas prices climbed about 13 cents on the average so most folks are looking at a national average of about $2.63 a gallon roughly. OPEC is pumping at capacity. All the oil prices are in the hands of refiners right now. For some reason, they refuse to update the facilities and expand their capacity.

The problem I guess is that right now, I don't have a choice. To get to my job, I must drive. Like many Americans, another car is not an option at this point and even if it were, the hybrids are kinda pricey right now. So... Bush maintains he can do nothing. Hawaii did something. They put in some price controls. While civil price controls aren't desireable in a free market economy, what makes you think you live in a free market economy? We're just making the oil barons rich. They're gouging the prices not at the pump but at the market. They control refinery production, bottleneck that production and then they stick the consumer with a high price. I got news, the economy will start to show signs of wear and tear if this continues.

It's quite frustrating to know that the current administration gets part of its marching orders from the oil industry. They won't budge on this and they need to do something. They should possibly even consider releasing some of the strategic reserves to help calm the market. Of course that still wouldn't solve the problem of refinery bottlenecks.

There are few conservatives I like to read but William F. Buckley is one of them. He's a damn sight better than Coulter (although she has better legs). Earlier this month, he wrote a column on his thoughts on the oil crisis. He had some great insight on what it would take to help really solve the oil problem.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:23 PM
 

The Herald-Leader's Kentucky Kurdmudgeon, Larry Dale Keeling had a great editorial today on the current situation in Frankfort and pointed out that even if Fletcher gets totally wrecked by the current scandal, which is entirely possible, who would the Democrats run for the slot in '07. He points out that even though they may be on the defensive a bit, They still have stronger organization in Kentucky and that any potential candidates who the Dems could run for governor, at least right now, could have some real problems.
Here's an excerpt:

Oh, sure, a scandal in a Republican administration causes the playing field to tip a bit less precipitously against them. But Kentucky Republicans remain better organized, better funded and better at recruiting voters and candidates than their Democratic rivals.

And when you start naming the prominent Democrats who might take a shot at Fletcher (or whoever leads the R ticket) in '07, you realize most of them come with baggage.

In the case of Auditor Crit Luallen, it is baggage by association due to her loyalty to former Gov. Paul Patton after he owned up to an adulterous affair with Tina Conner.

Attorney General Greg Stumbo has paternity and child-support baggage. Besides, if he were to get into the 2007 race, it would lend at least a patina of credibility to the accusation that he launched the hiring investigation for no other reason than to soften Fletcher up for that campaign.

Former Lt. Gov. Steve Henry's baggage involves his dust-up with the feds over Medicaid and Medicare billings. Defusing that issue in 30-second sound bites could be difficult.

State Sen. Julian Carroll carries some baggage from investigations of his own gubernatorial administration more than a quarter of a century ago.

Wealthy businessman Charlie Owen has the baggage of having shown little ability to inspire voters.

Among other prominent Democrats, House Speaker Jody Richards and state Sen. Daniel Mongiardo both had near misses in recent statewide races. But neither man should forget the unique circumstances surrounding those two elections, circumstances that are unlikely to be repeated in a campaign against a Republican gubernatorial slate.

State Treasurer Jonathan Miller has won two statewide races, but has not yet shown an interest in seeking the governor's office. And 6th District U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler seems to be content where he is.

Some Democrats have long dreamed that Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson would one day lead a gubernatorial ticket, but he has never shown the gumption to jump into such a race.

Response

I think Keeling's right. Right now, the Dems do have candidates with problems and none have really said they would come out and get the job done. The Democrats have some great openings here. Let's just hope they can take advantage of them. Then again, I wonder if the Whig part could offer up a candidate.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:01 PM
 

It looks like "Dub-yah" is building a presidential library. Sadly, the first thing that came to mind was "He can read?" Be that as it may, It will be built, like many presidents before him. Here's the story from U.S. News And World Report:

Bush Thinks Texas Big for His Library

Sure Jimmy Carter has his cozy Carter Center promoting democracy, George H. W. Bush has a Texas A&M school of public service named after him, and Bill Clinton runs his foundation dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS. So how does President Bush top that when he goes home to his presidential library and museum somewhere in Texas? Go bigger. "The Hoover Institution," reveals Bush's chief library scout and former Commerce Secretary Don Evans , "is the model. That's what will differentiate our library." No kidding. Based at Stanford University, Hoover's team includes over 150 big thinkers who have shaped major national policies and still influence Washington.

Evans tells us that the "Bush Institute" won't just take up the president's agenda of advancing compassionate conservatism, fighting terrorism, and expanding democracy: Women's issues, a passion of the first lady, will also get a starring role. "This will be a very active institution," he predicts. And that's not all. In a letter to seven colleges and the city of Arlington, all vying to build the George W. Bush Presidential Library, Evans and Bush brother Marvin say the prez also wants a high-tech library and museum, including an IMAX theater, gift shop, and apartment. It'll be expensive, and the winner will have to raise gobs of cash. But, assures the duo, "the president has many donors, supporters, and friends around the world."

Response

Bush said he's going to build this based on the Hoover Institute. Well, there is another Hoover building in D.C. and I suspect that one would be closer to how this should be viewed and that the reminder of how things shouldn't be done and the fact that presidents and the administrations need to taken down another notch.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:45 PM
 

Right now, Hurricane Katrina is lining up for the Big Easy and may actually do a first class wreckin' job to New Orleans. The city had the delightgul geographic distinction of sitting below sea level and while there are levees, the water levels are expected to go over the levees. This doesn't bode well. Good luck to all the folks who're have to face Katrina and the Waves. Sunshine's not what you'll be walking on.

The storm's hit category 5 with 175 mph winds. This means she could conceivably almost completely wipeout the city to just about nothing. This could also disrupt the oil supply. I've included the story and a link the American Red Cross for folks who might want to don ate. Wherever this thing hits, the folks there will need all the help they can get.

Cat. 5 Katrina Heads Towards New Orleans
Written by Lesly Simmons , Writer, Redcross.org

Sunday, August 28, 2005 — Hurricane Katrina is now an incredibly strong Category 5 storm heading straight for New Orleans with sustained winds at 175 miles per hour.

NOAA Aug. 28, 2005
To find shelters in the affected areas only, please contact your local Red Cross chapter. For shelter information in Louisiana, please call 1-800-469-4828.


“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. ““We are telling all of our citizens to leave New Orleans. Never before has the city of New Orleans seen a storm this big heading directly toward it.”

Mandatory evacuations are in place for the entire New Orleans metropolitan area. About 70 percent of New Orleans is below sea level, and the city is protected by a series of levees. Katrina could cause storm surges up to 20 feet, which would completely overwhelm the levees and cause massive flooding.

“The problem we are having is that if the storm surges are that high, they will pop our levels and lots of New Orleans will be under water,” said Nagin, who is urging seriousness, but not panic.

Katrina is now moving west/northwest at 12 mph, putting its arrival time in the New Orleans area sometime tomorrow morning or early afternoon.

This storm is stronger than Hurricane Camille, the devastating storm that hit New Orleans in 1969. Camille killed 256 people after it slammed ashore with winds at over 200 miles per hour. Thousands of people were left homeless all along the shore and far inland.


Only three Cat. 5 storms have ever hit the United States:

The unnamed Labor Day hurricane of 1935;
Hurricane Camille in 1969; and
Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Katrina might also disrupt the nation’s oil supply, as Nagin said nearly one-third of the nation’s oil moves through the area. He added that at least 1,500 National Guard troops are available, to deploy and assist with cleanup efforts after the storm moves through the area.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Response

Not a lot to say really. Just pray for the folks in NOLA. Jambalaya wouldn't be the same without you.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:29 PM
 

BluegrassRoots had some good comments on the base closings, political elitism, Chandler's response on Fletcher and the Declaration of Independence. This one is particularly good as they go through multiple points of the Declaration of Independence and compare the things going on now to what went on over 200 years ago. All great material. I recommend checking it out.

Also Democratic State had a nice little editorial on your friend and mine, Pat Robertson. Check it out as well.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:25 PM
 

Jerry Lundergan annouced the new platform for the party at the state fair this week. The new platform concentrats on veterants benefits. I picked on up this story by Pat Crowley from the Enquirer up in Cincinnati:

General Assembly plan touted as 'bold,' leans heavily to vets

Kentucky Democrats have outlined their strategy for the 2006 General Assembly session.

"It will be a bold package of change and new priorities," party chairman Jerry Lundergan said at a news conference Thursday with top Democratic elected officials at the Kentucky State Fair.

Among the goals is a $75,000 death benefit for Kentuckians killed in combat, increased funds for preschool and middle school education, and opposition to reducing preferences given to veterans who apply for state jobs.


They quoted House Speaker Jody Richards saying:

"These items are traditional Democratic values."

They also talked to a Republican strategist about the plan.

"The liberal values that the Democratic Party have espoused certainly are not working, and elections are proving as much," GOP strategist Brian Richmond said. "This is a contrived attempt by the Democratic Party to move to the right that Kentucky families will see right through."


Response

The issue here I see is the Democrats trying to urge their agenda forward and put something together Kentuckians will be happy with. The federal government has attempted to cut the VA benefits and many veterans of the National Guard and Reserves don't get the same benefits as the active duty soldiers even though their lives are just as much on the line in the operation. The states must step up and do the work. Ben Chandler fights in Washington to protect our veterans and Kentucky's state Democrats must back his play to do all they can at home.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:08 PM
 

I've got to say, I've noticed an upturn by the party in usage of their website. They've got more material showing up there, more news stories, they've sent out more emails about things go on. I think they're moving forward but I'd like to see them go further still. They've got an online forum but it gets very little traffic from what I can tell. I also think they should probably start some blogs from various prominent Democrats in the state, both past and present. It would be a great way to put out the message for the party and let online commununity have some more interaction with the party. I also think they should start a party newsletter that's weekly or biweekly. It would be great.

BTW, any party folks who're interested, on Sept. 17th, there will be a family picnic sponsored by the Democratic Party of Kentucky from Noon until 5. Folks should show up, it'll be fun.

posted by Stithmeister @ 6:51 PM
 

Last night on "Comment on Kentucky", Paducah Sun publisher Jim Paxton had some opinions that surely won't go over well in the Fletcher camp. Paxton was an ardent supporter of Fletcher back in 2003 and even on his transition committee. Paxton said last night that was "dissappointed" in Fletcher because he's not upholding the platform he ran on. Imagine that.

posted by Stithmeister @ 4:32 PM
 

I'm running a little behind with no posts yesterday and not much on Thursday. First is from Thursday. The lovely and ever poignant Ann Coulter had some pleasant comments aimed for the fine citizens of New York.

I grabbed this from Crooks and Liars

" and it's far preferable to fight them in the streets of Baghdad than in the streets of New York (where the residents would immediately surrender)"

"Colmes: You don't feel that New Yorkers are cowards?

(pause)

Coulter: ahhh...I think they would immediately surrender..."

Response

I wonder how many "regular" people she's met in New York. Trying going to a fire deparment in the Bronx. They'll tell you how many buddies they lost in the Trade Towers. I don't think I'd call them cowards. I also don't think they'd surrender. They may not be willing to fight like the once did in the "five Points" but I also think that New Yorkers, whether in the big city or in the upstate would fight just like so many others.

Realistically though, Ms. Coulter is just generating lip service. Obviously, the Sheehan train has the neocons worries because she's got a message and it's obviously resonating with a more than a few people who're tired of the war. The Republicans are losing control of the agenda. The war is going badly, the economy is teetering as oil prices continue to climb. The Democrats certainly have some opening with which to press their advantage, the question is do they have the leadeship to take advantage of it. I think it's fair to say that the party on a national and possibly on a state level might not be up to the task of pressing the advantage. The Democrats need to bring what weapons they have around and start firing and they need to take start developing new weapons. The only way to take this country back from the brink is start fighting and it has to happen at all levels.

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:53 PM
 

Media Matters have made it their job to call people out when the flub up, say stupid things and screw up in general in the media. Pat Robertson is a good case in point. Here's there take on the Pat Robertson thing:

On the morning of August 24, Pat Robertson falsely claimed that he never called for the assassination of Venzuelan President Hugo Chavez. On the afternoon of August 24, Robertson issued a press release in which he claimed that his assassination comments were "adlibbed" out of frustration, suggesting they were not representative of his true thinking. So, which is it? Did Robertson "adlib" the assassination line, or did he never say it? What will his next explanation be? And is Robertson now admitting he lied earlier in the day in his statement on The 700 Club?

Response

This goes to show that many of these evangelical ministers are frauds and hucksters. Jerry Falwell lost his case today so you should check out Fallwell.com and see why. A young man tried to express his point of view and Falwell went after him for trademark infringement. Fortunately the 4th Circuit of Appeal felt otherwise.

In the end, as my pal Cynicus pointed out, the reason religion and government must stay separate is because you forever corrupt both and that's where we're going in this country.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:23 PM
 

I picked this up on Media Matters. It seems Mark Williams decided to lambast Sheehan on her protests. The Truth Tour is so appropriate don't you think?

WILLIAMS: Cindy Sheehan is on a mission to figuratively urinate on her son's grave and make his death stand for nothing. She represents and symbolizes all those who would cut the legs out from the men and women who are fighting now as we speak, to defend us and to build a new country in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan's not interested in the memory of her son. She's only interested in using her son as a prop to advance her own hatred for the American troops. I've got to tell you something: Since we started our "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour caravan to Crawford -- I'll be speaking there, at the Crawford community center Saturday -- I've received hundreds, hundreds of death threats from Cindy Sheehan's supporters because I dare to speak out and support our troops. My dog is getting death threats, for God's sakes. These people aren't peaceful. These people aren't anti-war. These people are creeps who hate this country and everything it stands for.

He went on Fox News:

WILLIAMS: Cindy Sheehan has been at every pro-America, pro-troop rally that I've staged for the past year to demonstrate against those concepts. She's one of our local whack-jobs here. She's -- I'm sure she misses her son -- but he's far more valuable to her as a propaganda tool for she [sic] and her friends, and you're right, the president met with her on June 24, 2004. She didn't have enough nice things to say about him when she came out of that meeting. It's only as she's become more radicalized that she's adopted her son's death as some sort of cause celebre.



Here's another comment issued by the American Legion yesterday. We picked this up at the Whiskey Bar who got it from Atrios.

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu" . . . "We had hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies."

Editor & Publisher
American Legion Declares War on Protestors
August 24, 2005

This brings me back to the Goering quote doesn't it:

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

You do the math. It's tough to be idealistic and not get cynical when you see things like this going on.

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:51 PM
 

I picked up this article off the Washington Post. Gary Hart is former U.S. Senator and ran for President a time or too. Unfortunately he had a case of Clintonitis and it derailed his political career after some off shore drilling with a lovely Donna Rice.

"Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on," warned an anti-Vietnam war song those many years ago. The McGovern presidential campaign, in those days, which I know something about, is widely viewed as a cause for the decline of the Democratic Party, a gateway through which a new conservative era entered.

Like the cat that jumped on a hot stove and thereafter wouldn't jump on any stove, hot or cold, today's Democratic leaders didn't want to make that mistake again. Many supported the Iraq war resolution and -- as the Big Muddy is rising yet again -- now find themselves tongue-tied or trying to trump a war president by calling for deployment of more troops. Thus does good money follow bad and bad politics get even worse.

He's got this one right on the money. We've got ourselves in deep in Iraq and right now, it's a no-win scenario. We either cut and run, leave the whole region in chaos (as if it's not already) and lose face with the rest of the world and be basically called cowards. It would be the beginning of the end of the U.S. OR we could "stay the course" and continue to lose more troops every day. We've even got women coming home in body bags no less. We hope the Iraqi factions in the government can get this problems worked out long enough to get our troops out of there but that is also unlikely any time in the immediate future. Thanks Bush, you've gotten the whole nation into deep kimchee on this one.

But this cannot be done while the water is rising in the Big Muddy of the Middle East. No Democrat, especially one now silent, should expect election by default. The public trust must be earned, and speaking clearly, candidly and forcefully now about the mess in Iraq is the place to begin.

The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course. We've stumbled into a hornet's nest. We've weakened ourselves at home and in the world. We are less secure today than before this war began.

Who now has the courage to say this?

Hackett almost won in Ohio in a heavily Republican district. We've got some in Kentucky who might stand a chance in the right kind of campaign and there are certainly others in the country. Find them, support them, get them elected. We need to change things now. 2006 will be here soon and we need to get Republicans and Democrats too for that matter who sit idly by and let our American soldiers die in a war we shouldn't have been in to begin with.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:25 PM
 

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—May 24, 2005 George W Bush

I'm reminded that a few weeks after Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan, a news story suggested that the U.S. was already in a quagmire. But it was several weeks later, only, that Kabul actually fell to the Northern Alliance and our forces. Throughout history there have always been those who predict America's failure just around every corner. At the height of World War II, a prominent U.S. diplomat predicted that democracy was finished in Britain and probably in America too. Many Western intellectuals praised Stalin during that period. For a time, Communism was very much in vogue. It was called Euro-Communism to try to mute or mask the totalitarian core. And thankfully, the American people are better centered. They ultimately come to the right decisions on big issues. And the future of Iraq is a very big issue. So those being tossed about by the winds of concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see their commitments through. Donald Rumsfeld - Aug. 2005

I think about these things often. The current administration wanted to go to war with Iraq. This group of neocons wanted to well before Bush got into office. The problem I have is Bush's "with us or agin' us" attitude. We're either with the U.S. or you're with the terrorists. They knew the same things Goering knew in 1945. They question the judgement and patriotism of anyone who questions the administration.



LIMBAUGH: I mean, Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real, including the mainstream media's glomming onto it. It's not real. It's nothing more than an attempt. It's the latest effort made by the coordinated left.

People set up camp at Crawford to protest Cindy Sheehan and the protestors that followed her. But people like Limbaugh question her? Her patriotism, her loss? Iraq never attacked us directly. They gave a lot of lip service but they never attacked us directly. There always things we don't know but when a country goes to war, it should be a righteous war after we've been attacked. We weren't. We didn't get the people who attacked us, they're still running around in Pakistan. It's just maddening that this administration is running rough shod over everything my grandfather and my ancestors fought for.

I'm getting tired of people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity damning people who aren't neocons as unpatriotic and leaders like Dobson and Robertson and others damning me because I find their evangelical garbage offensive and repugnant.

I guess I've ranted enough. One thing's for sure, if people in general are sheep, we sure as hell need a new shepherd to lead this flock but right now, this country is on a road to hell and the leader haven't the least bit of good intentions.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:35 PM
 

Mark Pitsch over at the Courier Journal had a great article today about the continuing investigation into the merit hiring problems of our state government.

Jury likely to extend inquiry to 7 cabinets
Judge grants Stumbo request to give panel 90 more days

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Testimony and other evidence about Gov. Ernie Fletcher's personnel initiative suggest the likelihood of illegal hiring practices across state government, Attorney General Greg Stumbo said in a court filing yesterday.

"The evidence has given rise to probable cause that violations of (the state merit law) may have been committed in various cabinets … extending beyond the Transportation Cabinet," Stumbo said in the motion, which names seven other cabinets.

It looks like this is going to get bigger. This is turning out to be a great big scandal but as some have pointed out, there's still two years until the next gubernatorial election. Certainly Fletcher's credibility will be in the toilet but 2007 is a political lifetime. People do good to remember month to month let alone year to year as the audience/voter attention span is so short. Will we be talking about this during next year's congressional elections? All the Democrats' efforts should be getting people elected in Congressional seats. We've got some beatable candidates out there who need to be left home. We just need to get rid of them.

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:44 PM
 

I swiped this story from the Nation. A great progressive magazine. It covers a little bit of the background and current affairs with the Saudi government. Pay close attention. This only your future you're reading about.

Mortgaged to the House of Saud

Robert Scheer

The only evidence you need that President Bush is losing the "war on terror" is this: On Sunday, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia said that relations with the United States "couldn't be better."

Tell that to the parents of those who have died in two wars defending this corrupt spawning ground of violent extremism. Never mind the ugly facts: We are deeply entwined with Saudi Arabia even though it shares none of our values and supports our enemies.

Yet on Friday, Bush's father and Vice President Dick Cheney made another in a long line of obsequious American pilgrimages to Riyadh to assure the Saudis that we continue to be grateful for the punishment they dish out.

The only evidence you need that President Bush is losing the "war on terror" is this: On Sunday, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia said that relations with the United States "couldn't be better."

Tell that to the parents of those who have died in two wars defending this corrupt spawning ground of violent extremism. Never mind the ugly facts: We are deeply entwined with Saudi Arabia even though it shares none of our values and supports our enemies.

Yet on Friday, Bush's father and Vice President Dick Cheney made another in a long line of obsequious American pilgrimages to Riyadh to assure the Saudis that we continue to be grateful for the punishment they dish out.

"The relationship has tremendously improved with the United States," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal told a news conference in Riyadh. "With the government, of course, it is very harmonious, as it ever was. Whether it has returned to the same level as it was before in terms of public opinion [in both countries], that is debatable."

Well, score one for public opinion. It makes sense to distrust the mercenary and distasteful alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia. We protect the repressive kingdom that spawned Osama bin Laden, and most of the 9/11 hijackers, in exchange for the Saudis keeping our fecklessly oil-addicted country lubricated.

Yes, it has stuck deep in the craw of many of us Americans that after 9/11, Washington squandered global goodwill and a huge percentage of our resources invading a country that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda, while continuing to pander to this dysfunctional dynasty. After all, Saudi Arabia is believed to have paid bin Laden's murderous gang millions in protection money in the years before 9/11, and it lavishly funds extremist religious schools throughout the region that preach and teach anti-Western jihad.

"Al Qaeda found fertile fundraising ground in the kingdom," noted the 9/11 commission report in one of its many careful understatements. The fact is, without Saudi Arabia, there would be no Al Qaeda today.

Our President loves to use the word "evil" in his speeches, yet throughout his life he and his family have had deep personal, political and financial ties with a country that represents everything the American Revolution stood against: tyranny, religious intolerance, corrupt royalty and popular ignorance. This is a country where women aren't allowed to drive and those who show "too much skin" can be beaten in the street by officially sanctioned mobs of fanatics. A medieval land where newspapers routinely publish the most outlandish anti-Semitic rants. A place where executions are held in public, torture is the norm in prison and the most extreme and expansionist version of Islam is the state religion.

It's hard to see how Saddam Hussein's brutal and secular Iraq was worse than the brutal theocracy run by the House of Saud. Yet one nation we raze and the other we fete. Is it any wonder that much of the world sees the United States as the planet's biggest hypocrite?

As insider books by former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke, journalist Bob Woodward and others have recounted, punishing Saudi Arabia in any way for its long ideological and financial support of terrorism was not even on the table in the days after 9/11. Instead, within hours of the planes hitting the towers, the powerful neoconservatives in the White House rushed to use the tragedy as an excuse for a long-dreamed invasion of Iraq.

Meanwhile, after two wars to make the Middle East safe for the Saudis, wars that cost hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of American lives, the price of oil is soaring--up 42 percent from just a year ago. Good thing we just passed a pork-laden energy bill that will do little to nothing to ease our crushing--and rising--dependence on imported oil. Federal officials project that by 2025, the United States will have to import 68 percent of its oil to meet demand, up from 58 percent today.

There are those who argue that the best rationale for invading Iraq was to ease our dependence on Saudi Arabia's massive oil fields, which might allow for a more rational or moral relationship. Yet the dark irony is that with Iraq in chaos and its oil flow limited by insurgent attacks and a bungled reconstruction, Saudi Arabia is now more important to the United States than ever.

It's scary, but these gaping contradictions don't seem to trouble our President a whit.

As the drumbeat of devastating terrorist attacks in Baghdad, London and elsewhere continue, Bush prattles on--five times in a speech last Wednesday--about his pyrrhic victories in the "war on terror." This is a sorry rhetorical device that disguises the fact that the forces of Islamic fanaticism in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the world are stronger than ever.

Response

A very revealing article I think. It goes to show you people where the real loyalty of the the U.S. government and more specifically the neocons remain, even after 9/11. I know many followers of he is the Bush say people who don't are a bunch of pansies but they're going to destroy this country and we're going to lose our position of power in the world because we suck up to a government under the thumb of extreme Islamic leaders who claim our nation is the great satan. Gimme A Break and get with the program.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:22 PM
 

I swiped this photo from Mark Nicholas at BLuegrassReport. It was just too good not to pass around. Quite amusing stuff considering this was up on the state website and was pulled within minutes of Mark's post. Good job Mark.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:13 PM
 

I'd like to welcome aboard my newest member Cynicus. He's not so much a loyal Democrat as a loyal cynic. He will provide intelligent, reasoned discussion, unlike me. So please enjoy his commentary and posts. Once again. I encourage discussion, just keep it relatively clean.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:11 PM
 

Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap over his ear while President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)


OK. So I saw this on DailyKos and they grabbed from Atrios so I went to Atrios and got it from there. This one's just too good for words.

You know, I can't help but wonder how many veterans think this whole debacle with the war in Iraq is absolute horse$%@!?

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:03 PM
 

So Pat Robertson thinks we should assassinate Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. What a delightful thought. The United States can go back to the days of offing third world dictators(wasn't he elected) and supporting others. The cold war was an easier time for the U.S. when the enemies were pinko commies instead of religious whackos who want to murder... hold on a minute. What's Robertson do for a living? Here's the quote from his show the 700 Club, borrowed from MediaMatters:


ROBERTSON: There was a popular coup that overthrew him [Chavez]. And what did the United States State Department do about it? Virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in. He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

Response

Ok now, let's put this in perspective. Pat Robertson, the founder of the 700 Club, a religious media organization designed to promote the evangelical viewpoint. Robertson ran for president at one time and has made strange comments in the past including nuking the state department and others. The classic right wing nutjob. Aren''t these the same types of people we deport back to Saudi or Libya or wherever?
So... anyway, shouldn't ABC Family just dump his show anyway. They dumped Bill Maher. Why not Pat?

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:42 PM
 

The war is going lousy, the economy is up in the air. Foreign policy is not so good and there may be a major leak in the White House to the press. Republican politicians all across the country are having their issues in their own states. What's the real misery in all this? Oil.

Oil closed today at $65.45 a barrel. Certainly not the highest but it's not so good either. Gasoline dropped a bit to $1.86 a gallon(that's at the stock exchange, not the pump mind you). heating oil (that's diesel and jet fuel too) closed at $1.81. The fall is fast approaching and the middle east certainly is not more stable.

The refineries have had their problems in recent weeks, Saudi has had problems, power outages in Iraq causing production to go down. The threat of hurricanes lingers and the prices at the pump are hitting $2.50+ a gallon. What does all this mean. The oil companies are having record profits for sure. Everyone's blaming the arabs even though OPEC currently pumps at nearly 100% production. They don't have anything left to pump. So...let's go back to the oil companies. Refineries have had problems and many say there's plent of oil, refining capacity is what sucks.

Now consider that refining capacity is less now than what it was 20 years ago. No new refinery has been built since 1976. Even though current refineries have more capacity to produce, it's still less than it was during the Reagan years. Some may blame it on tougher EPA standards but that's a load of bull. They could've set the upgraded while slowing increasing the price to cover costs but oh... that might hurt profit margins, especially now. I forgot how our current president and his father made their fortunes?

Now the oil companies have everyone bent over a barrel and they're squeezing their cahoneys while they do it. The price of everything is going up and some predictions go as high as $5 a gallon or more and $100+ for a barrel of oil. So where does that leave the average individual who has to drive 30-50 miles to work everyday. Gas prices have gone up by more than 50% in the last year. It's incredibly painful I'll tell ya. Who's got the money to buy a HYBRID. Sure, the president's new legislation has $3000 bonus for people who by them but most people can't go out and buy brand new cars on the one hand and on the other, there's not a dozen models in the entire country.

Not to worry though, as gas prices go up, oddly enough so does consumption. We've not hit that market ceiling yet. It will hit soon though when all the disposable income is one and we can't support that great free market, service economy anymore. That's thing about services, much of the money paid for services comes from disposable income.

Did I mention the price of natural gas is going up on supply worries. Better stock up on your methane converters, you're going to need them and about 30 head of cattle to pay for electricity and heat this winter.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:22 PM
 

Rick Howell, a fellow Democrat over in Virginia, discussed recent inane comments made by Senator George Allen, R - Va. Unbelievable. Allen is comparing the invasion of Iraq to the landing at Normandy on D-Day. What kind of brilliant stroke of stupidity is this? D-Day. He's defaming and insulting all those brave souls who fought in Europe during the WWII. Rick elaborates pretty well. You should check out his blog.

Also, KyBlogWatch claims the liberal oriented blogs right now aren't terribly interesting. I shall endeavor to spice up this one. Thanks for the tip. ;)

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:11 PM
 

This is a sordid tale of intrigue, greed, envy, and the lust for power. Ryan Alessi, one of the Herald-Leader reporters who's been covering Fletcher's Follies, does gives a good accounting of the story so far:


When GOP aides met GOP job-seekers

32 years was long time to wait

By Ryan Alessi

HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU


FRANKFORT -- A governor subpoenaed to testify before a special grand jury.

Nine former or current state officials under indictment.

An administration described by prosecutors as running a "corrupt political machine."

This summer in Kentucky's capital city has been one of dizzying developments played out in courtrooms and through government e-mails and memos that have become public.

What has emerged out of that complicated paper trail is a storyline of a new administration inundated by supporters' job requests and of ambitious aides eager to please.

The saga began with complaints about the way Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration hired state road supervisors and backhoe operators.

It has spiraled into a scandal that threatens to envelop the administration of the state's first Republican governor in three decades.

Today, the latest chapter will play out in Franklin Circuit Court, where investigators will submit documents justifying their search Friday of the computer server for the governor's office. Agents served a search warrant to review electronic files of the governor, his chief of staff, general counsel and communications staff.

To Fletcher's office, Friday's search was the latest outrage in an investigation it has described as a "witchhunt" purely "motivated by partisan politics" of Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo.

But the allegations of former employees and spurned job candidates have continued to gather steam as more documents, e-mail messages between officials and other details trickle out.

The grand jury's role

A special grand jury has been investigating the administration's hiring practices since June. Jurors have been sifting through that evidence and interviewing scores of former and current administration officials.

Fletcher has been called upon to appear before the jurors next week.

What has become apparent during this summer's probe is that Fletcher's administration was bombarded with job requests and candidate recommendations from GOP supporters across the state who had been longing for one of their own to be in control in Frankfort.

Roughly 32,000 of the state's 36,000 jobs are what's called "merit" positions that, by law, must be filled by candidates based on qualifications -- not politics.

The other 4,000, higher-level, posts are appointed and those officials serve at the governor's pleasure.

Starting this spring, some spurned job candidates for merit positions, mostly in the Transportation Cabinet's highway department, began complaining that they were turned away because of politics.

Some former employees also claimed that they were fired or reassigned by the Fletcher administration solely because they were Democrats or supported Fletcher's opponent in the 2003 election.

At least 13 people who say they were wronged have taken up their case with the Kentucky Personnel Board, which oversees the state hiring and firing rules. The seven members can overturn personnel decisions.

Were laws broken?

While those cases wind through the system, the attorney general's office has continued to look into whether officials' hiring practices broke the law.

So far, nine former or current officials have been charged with misdemeanors, such as conspiracy and political discrimination. Dan Druen, the former administrative services commissioner in the Transportation Cabinet, also faces 22 felony counts of tampering with a witness and with evidence.

All have pleaded not guilty. The first court hearing is set for Sept. 14.

The administration's handling of job recommendations has become a central focus of the probe.

Many Republicans funnelled applications and job requests through Fletcher's statewide outreach staff, called the Local Initiatives for a New Kentucky. The names of some of the most active LINK representatives, including Grayson Smith in Eastern Kentucky and Mary Krol in Louisville, often appeared scribbled next to job candidates in transportation officials' notes and surfaced in e-mail messages about open positions.

Other recommendations went directly to the governor's unpaid advisers, such as Dave Disponett, who had an office in the Capitol and is the Kentucky Republican Party's treasurer.

In one letter, Frankfort attorney William D. Kirkland wrote that a transportation employee should be promoted because "he and his family were also very hard workers in the campaign for Governor Ernie Fletcher."

Recommendations are not illegal. But officials who make personnel decisions solely because of those political recommendations or the candidate's party affiliation would be breaking the law.

Tracking the candidates

Within the Transportation Cabinet, officials regularly tracked the status of job candidates and charted political characteristics such as party registration and history of campaign donations, documents unsealed in Franklin District Court show.

Certain internal papers, alternately called "Position Recommendation" and "Candidate Form," included that information, as well as the names of prominent people who recommended the job seekers. Some forms even noted that prominent Republicans, such as former party chairman John McCarthy, interviewed the candidates.

Prosecutors also have alleged that Transportation Cabinet officials targeted longtime merit employees for transfers or firing.

Perhaps the most notorious document that's emerged in the investigation so far is a four-page memo dated April 18, 2005, that some in the administration dubbed a "hit list." It included 10 merit employees who were slated for demotion, reassignment or termination and their political ties, such as their party registration, Democratic administrations they served and prominent Democrats they supported.

Fletcher's office said that Druen, the former administrative services commissioner who has become a central figure in the probe, was an author of that memo.

Druen also had written in a notebook, which was confiscated by investigators in May, that the eight stages of hiring employees included getting "approval on political deal and name" of a job candidate through the cabinet's deputy secretary.

Officials have said much of the focus on personnel came from the 32 years worth of Democratic administrations, in which Republicans claim Republicans were locked out of jobs.

As Basil Turbyfill, who serves as the governor's personnel and efficiency director, put it, the administration needed to "get some 'R's' in" state road crews in areas where Democrats have had a stranglehold on jobs for years. "This pending vacancy in The Road Department may be a start," he said of a Lincoln County crew position in a handwritten note dated May 4, 2004.

Moving up the ranks

Steadily, prosecutors have been moving up the ranks of state government, culminating in the subpoena of Fletcher to testify.

In a court motion filed earlier this month, Assistant Attorney General Scott Crawford-Sutherland said that the use of local outreach staff members to recruit and vet job candidates revealed a "corrupt political machine."

That document also explains the role of what was known as the "governor's personnel initiative," which was run by Turbyfill and Deputy Personnel Secretary Bob Wilson.

The initiative included at least one representative from each of the nine cabinets, who discussed overall hiring strategies as well as specific open positions, documents have shown.

Turbyfill, according to Crawford-Sutherland's document, said the administration "wanted to see 'good Republicans' and 'our people' get jobs to take the heat off of Governor Fletcher."

It remains unclear how much Fletcher knew about the inner workings of the personnel initiative, but other e-mails and documents have revealed that Turbyfill's office in the Capitol was regularly updated on personnel moves by Transportation Cabinet officials.

Fletcher's office, meanwhile, has maintained that the personnel initiative was a training mechanism.

Overall, Fletcher has repeatedly said that although mistakes might have been made within the administration, he never knew of or saw evidence of illegal activities.

Still, a summer's worth of subpoenas and indictments already has taken a toll on Fletcher, observers have said.

"It is really freezing a governor's administration," said Larry Sabato, a national political expert from the University of Virginia, in a recent interview. "It's very damaging. These scandals always are."


Response

This scandal has attracted national attention and threatens to bring down the first Republican governor in 30 years. The problem now is that the wheels of justice are turning and it will be difficult to stop it. The problem now is Kentucky is in a now win situation. If convictions are handed out and people go to jail, then Stumbo's efforts would certainly be worthwhile. If not, then his efforts would've been in vain. So Kentucky has it's second gubernatorial scandal in as many governors. I suspect the charge of a corrupt political machine was right but I also think it was no more corrupt than the Patton machine. In any event, in the state loses no matter the outcome. There will be no true vindication, just loss and we as Kentuckians will be left to pick up the pieces. Ernie, people expected better from you and your administration. When you say you're going to clean up the mess and stop the waste, fraud and abuse, people expected that, not just more of the same. You've let down your constituents and all those how put enough faith in you to vote for you. Fletcher needs to resign as does the rest of his adminstration and we need to have special elections.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:14 PM
 

From those great folks at Focus on the Family, we find another brilliant lesson for life. Dr. James Dobson and his followers have secondary sight called "Focus On Your Child". They address the concerns and early warning signs for prehomosexual behavior in your children. Here is an excerpt from that sight:

Helping Boys Become Men, and Girls Become Women



Is My Child Becoming Homosexual?
Before puberty, children aren’t normally heterosexual or homosexual. They’re definitely gender conscious. But young children are not sexual beings yet — unless something sexual in nature has interrupted their developmental phases.

Still, it’s not uncommon for children to experience gender confusion during the elementary school years. Dr. Joseph Nicolosi reports, “In one study of 60 effeminate boys ages 4 to 11, 98 percent of them engaged in cross-dressing, and 83 percent said they wished they had been born a girl.”

Evidences of gender confusion or doubt in boys ages 5 to 11 may include:

1. A strong feeling that they are “different” from other boys.

2. A tendency to cry easily, be less athletic, and dislike the roughhousing that other boys enjoy.

3. A persistent preference to play female roles in make-believe play.

4. A strong preference to spend time in the company of girls and participate in their games and other pastimes.

5. A susceptibility to be bullied by other boys, who may tease them unmercifully and call them “queer,” “fag” and “gay.”

6. A tendency to walk, talk, dress and even “think” effeminately.

7. A repeatedly stated desire to be — or insistence that he is — a girl.

If your child is experiencing several signs of gender confusion, professional help is available. It’s best to seek that help before your child reaches puberty.

“By the time the adolescent hormones kick in during early adolescence, a full-blown gender identity crisis threatens to overwhelm the teenager,” warns psychologist Dr. James Dobson. To compound the problem, many of these teens experience “great waves of guilt accompanied by secret fears of divine retribution.”

If your child has already reached puberty, change is difficult, but it’s not too late.


Response

OK. This is absolutely maddening. I'm not absolutely convinced homesexuality is entirely conscious choice anyway but it's just one more opportunity for the evangelicals to try and control and brainwash our children and the masses. It's inane. I firmly believe in freedom of speech but sometimes I just wish people would shut up.

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:26 PM
 

The current administration declared its Axis of Evil early in the administration. These were rogue nation states that didn't play by the rules so to speak. The administration saw these governments as wild cards they couldn't keep a thumb on. Iraq is being dealt with... sort of. Who knows what the end will be and when it does come will we win? After Iraq's over, will we head to Tehran? Hooman Majd posted this editorial at Arianna Huffington's Huffington Post.

Hooman Majd: The Iraq Consequence

While America’s attention is focused on the war in Iraq; the administration and its supporters on ‘winning’ it, the Democrats and anti-war organizations on bringing the troops home, it would be good to remember the single biggest consequence of a misguided, badly mismanaged and unnecessary war: America’s impotence in the face of a newly supremely confident, influential, and soon to be nuclear-powered (if not armed) Iran.

Who would have thought that one day an influential U.S. Senator, Republican no less, would admit that his country is incapable of fighting a new war against an avowed enemy? The world’s only superpower, the world’s richest nation, with every technology and military toy available to it, incapable of striking a blow, let alone a fatal one? That’s exactly what Senator Chuck Hagel suggested today, in an interview with Reuters. Senator Hagel thinks that President Bush’s threat of “all options on the table” with respect to Iran is an empty one, and believes the U.S. should instead enter into a direct dialogue with the new Iranian administration of President Ahmadinejad. Appeasement? No; lack of options.

The Iranians may speak Farsi, but the security services and the staff of the Foreign Ministry understand English quite well. Not that they need to read Chuck Hagel’s assessment to think that the U.S. can’t get involved in another military operation----Iranians have been convinced of that since the insurgency in Iraq raised its head, but the Iranian stance on the nuclear negotiations in the last few weeks has been a direct consequence of that knowledge. Nobody I spoke to in Iran, from left, right or center, from working class to ruling elite, believes that the U.S. has any plans, or even military capability, to stop Iran from developing nuclear power. The only stick that the U.S. wields is an economic one, but with a U.S. embargo since the days of Jimmy Carter and oil over sixty dollars a barrel, the Iranians aren’t particularly worried. What more, ask many Iranians, can America do them economically that it already hasn’t? Iran’s ageing Boeing aircraft fleet won’t get replaced? Boo-hoo. Some time ago Iran ordered a new Airbus jet for its president that the French assured them would be exempt from the U.S. embargo; it’s been since fitted and sitting ready at an airport in France for months, undelivered because of U.S. objections (Airbus uses some U.S. components). Are the Iranians upset? Sure. Are they particularly concerned? Absolutely not. They’ll get a refund and the president of the Islamic Republic will simply continue to fly on an older, noisier, jet. The populist president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may actually prefer the old 707; he has so far made a point of refusing to use the presidential office in Sa’adabad palace in north Tehran, a sign of his commitment to his “man of the people” image.

The continued war in Iraq is doing more than killing Americans and Iraqis, it’s doing more than providing terrorists a choice theater of operations. It’s robbing the United States of any legitimacy, or any power, in its foreign policy. If the U.S. wakes up one day to a nuclear-armed Iran, one should remember that President Bush’s decision to go to war with a different country (and his refusal to end it) will have been largely responsible.

Response

Senator Chuck Hagel's words are pretty harsh but to the point. He even mentioned the V> word that brings nightmares to many baby boomers throughout the country. Hagel has a good idea of what's good and what's not good for the country. It's ashame the president doesn't.

The other point, and my cynical friends would be pleased with me is that one must know Hagel is starting his talk for a run at the White House. Bill Frist is too but Hagel is distancing himself further from the president as a moderate, not nearly so beholdin' to Bush's base.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:34 PM
 

There's a great editorial in the NYT about Bush's inability to deal with Cindy Sheehan and what she represents and that is the needless deaths in Iraq of American soldiers. They point out that Ms. Sheehan's son was likely killed by Moktada al-Sadr and his followers. I've excerpeted the last two paragraphs.


Mr. Bush's stand-up shtick for the Beltway press corps wasn't some aberration; it was part of the White House's political plan for keeping the home front cool. America was to yuk it up, party on and spend its tax cuts heedlessly while the sacrifice of an inadequately manned all-volunteer army in Iraq was kept out of most Americans' sight and minds. This is why the Pentagon issued a directive at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom forbidding news coverage of "deceased military personnel returning to or departing from" air bases. It's why Mr. Bush, unlike Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, has not attended funeral services for the military dead. It's why January's presidential inauguration, though nominally dedicated to the troops, was a gilded $40 million jamboree at which the word Iraq was banished from the Inaugural Address.

THIS summer in Crawford, the White House went to this playbook once too often. When Mr. Bush's motorcade left a grieving mother in the dust to speed on to a fund-raiser, that was one fat-cat party too far. The strategy of fighting a war without shared national sacrifice has at last backfired, just as the strategy of Swift Boating the war's critics has reached its Waterloo before Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury in Washington. The 24/7 cable and Web attack dogs can keep on sliming Cindy Sheehan. The president can keep trying to ration the photos of flag-draped caskets. But this White House no longer has any more control over the insurgency at home than it does over the one in Iraq.


Response

We picked this fight with Iraq and now we're paying for it. When we went into Kuwait and kicked the Iraqi army out, our goal was clear. I said before this thing started that it's entirely something different to invade a country with the purpose of taking it over. There are a lot of people there who resent our presence. We've killed thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. Why? WMDs? Nope. Democracy for Iraqis? Doubtful, there are dozens of countries out there with equally repressive governments? Oil? Doubtful because we don't import that much oil from the Middle East anyway. So why? To try and build the future of America by dominating the the earth for the next century. That's why. Pure and simple. Is it worth Casey Sheehan's life. His mom certainly doesn't think so. What do you think?

posted by Stithmeister @ 5:16 PM
 

There's an excellent feature in the Herald-Leader this morning. Ryan Alessi has been putting some things together and come up with some good food for thought. Once again though, all things point towards Fletcher being the very thing he sought to get rid of.


The 12 'Disciples' and their mission

Fletcher aides used group to 'streamline' hiring

By Ryan Alessi

HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU


FRANKFORT - The governor's office handpicked a dozen personnel representatives from across state government to hasten the hiring of Republican supporters and then monitored the activities of those so-called "Disciples," documents show.

Several top aides to Gov. Ernie Fletcher, including former chief of staff Daniel Groves, began setting up what was known as the "governor's personnel initiative" late last fall.

Officially, it was billed as a way to "streamline" the hiring process. But it also established a direct link between the governor's office and key appointees who handled personnel decisions for the nine cabinets during the first five months of this year.

At least two dozen hiring decisions and other personnel moves in that span -- mostly in the Transportation Cabinet -- have come under question by investigators looking into allegations of an "illegal patronage" scheme. Some employees were slated for transfers or firings based on political affiliations and recommendations. Others said they were passed over for jobs solely because of politics.

Fletcher's administration has denied any suggestion of criminal wrongdoing and has maintained that the personnel initiative was a series of training seminars.

But in one e-mail message obtained by the Herald-Leader, a key Transportation Cabinet representative in the initiative told the other participants that he was looking forward to doing the governor's bidding.

"As 'change agents' and 'missionaries' of the Governor, our task will not always be embraced by those around us," wrote Tim Hazlette, then deputy administrative services commissioner of transportation, in a Jan. 25 e-mail.

"But with the leadership of Mr. Turbyfill and support of Mr. Wilson, we can accomplish our mission."

Hazlette was referring to Basil Turbyfill, the head of the governor's office of personnel and efficiency, and Robert H. Wilson, deputy personnel cabinet secretary. All three have been indicted on one misdemeanor count each of conspiracy related to the ongoing hiring investigation.

Turbyfill, who reports directly to the governor and chief of staff, and Wilson coordinated the initiative meetings. By March the sessions were a weekly Wednesday afternoon routine at Berry Hill Mansion near the Capitol and later at the Old Governor's Mansion in downtown Frankfort.

While Hazlette doesn't spell out the initiative's mission in that message, other documents and e-mails show that the participants spent much of their time discussing how to strategically alter the state personnel process, as well as how to fill individual open positions in each of the cabinets.

'Initiative' called 'corrupt'

So far, the investigation into the Fletcher administration's hiring procedures has concentrated on the Transportation Cabinet, the agency that has employed six of the nine former or current officials who have been indicted.

But prosecutors recently described the "governor's personnel initiative" as an engine of a "corrupt political machine."

Fletcher called that characterization "ludicrous" and a "diatribe" by an overzealous prosecutor.

But the governor's office declined to answer questions about the initiative last week.

"Because this is related to the grand jury proceedings, it's best that we don't comment on it at this time," said Jodi Whitaker, spokeswoman for Fletcher.

Participants have been reluctant to talk about the initiative, which was sometimes called the personnel "roundtable."

Several former members didn't return phone calls last week.

Others, such as Tom Hoehner, the representative from the Economic Development Cabinet, said that they were "not at liberty to talk about it."

Much of the information about the initiative has trickled out through documents and e-mail messages filed in court or released by the state in response to open records requests.

An undated handwritten memo in a notebook confiscated from former Transportation Cabinet official Dan Druen listed main agenda items for one of the roundtable meetings.

"Cover positions for merit & non-merit for following week/projected," the note said, specifically listing an open director-level position in the Education Cabinet.

It also listed a suggestion "to eliminate internal registers," which give an inside track for a position to current employees who are looking to move up. The administration has said it is still considering such a proposal.

"Let's put together a joint memo" on that plan, Druen's notes conclude.

Druen declined to comment last week.

'Effective and accountable'

While the discussions wouldn't be considered improper on their face, prosecutors have argued that the work of personnel initiative participants was a key step in a systematic effort to hire rank-and-file "merit" employees based on politics, not qualifications as the law requires.

"These individuals would be the 'eyes and ears of the Cabinet' so that the cabinet secretaries could be freed up to do cabinet business and not have to deal with personnel," according to a court motion filed by lead prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Scott Crawford-Sutherland. He quoted from sealed grand jury testimony, including that of Pam Ritter, who recently resigned as deputy director of the governor's local outreach office, called LINK.

A Jan. 20 message that LINK executive assistant Jessica Ditto sent to all the local outreach staff members across the state described the purpose of the initiative as a way "to streamline the process and ensure that it is effective and accountable."

Ditto and the LINK staff members attended the first Jan. 6 personnel initiative training seminar, according to that e-mail.

At that time, LINK officials had for months been given the task of vetting job candidates around the state and forwarding recommendations from local Republicans, particularly for highway department jobs.

"Please go directly to the people listed as the contact," Ditto said in the e-mail regarding personnel initiative members. "Do not take the recommendations to anyone else."

As a result, longtime merit employees in each cabinet's human resources department wouldn't control hiring decisions. Some of those personnel employees who were holdovers from Demo-cratic administrations were viewed as obstructionists when it came to hiring Republicans.

"Although most merit employees are hard working, dedicated workers, in some areas merit employees are politically motivated to undermine new non-merit management," according to summary minutes from a May 13, 2004, LINK meeting.

'Disciples' emerge

It remains unclear who conceived the idea of the personnel initiative and for what specific purpose.

The groundwork for it dates back to at least November. Druen's calender, which was part of a stack of unsealed court documents, shows he had an interview with Wilson and then-chief-of-staff Daniel Groves on Nov. 15.

Personnel initiative "training" began Jan. 6 and the dozen participants met with Turbyfill and Wilson five times in the next two weeks. At some point during the Jan. 19 meeting, someone dubbed the group "Disciples of Big Personnel," in reference to the personnel cabinet, according to an e-mail from Druen to former Deputy Transportation Secretary Dick Murgatroyd.

In one meeting, Wilson even told the group that the plan to fill merit jobs with as many Fletcher supporters as possible was a defensible goal, according to prosecutor Crawford-Sutherland's court filing.

"I don't care what they say. By God we can make the argument. I'll stand up any day of the week and make the argument in front of the personnel board that this person was the right candidate," Crawford-Sutherland quoted Wilson as saying, adding that Wilson "pounded his fists on the table" for emphasis.

Even Commerce Secretary Jim Host at one point addressed the participants about a "review of hiring practices," according to a Feb. 15 meeting agenda.

Republican frustration

Still, leaders of the group continued to hear frustration from Republicans around the state who were unhappy with the speed by which the administration was hiring loyal supporters.

"Three visitors from Monroe County came -- same story -- GOP locked out, getting face rubbed in, etc.," wrote Turbyfill in a March 3 e-mail to Druen. "They came with fire in their eyes but left with smiles of hope."

Other officials who weren't part of the exclusive roundtable said that they noticed a renewed effort this spring to fill more rank-and-file merit positions.

"There were people in our cabinet who were refocused on the personnel issues and reported as I understood to Mr. Turbyfill," said Frank Miller Jr., former general counsel of the Transportation Cabinet. "I did not know who he was, only that he worked in the Capitol."

Miller said he didn't learn much about the personnel initiative until earlier this summer, after he had left transportation. He moved to a different cabinet in May before resigning from state government last month.

He said from what he has learned about the personnel initiative, there "may have been some errors in terms of crossing their T's and dotting their I's" but couldn't say if they had broken any personnel laws.

Ties between Hazlette, Cave

In addition to Turbyfill, the initiative included another member with ties to the governor's office.

Hazlette, who sent the e-mail about the mission of the initiative, cited the governor's chief of staff, Stan Cave, at the top of his rŽsumŽ's reference list when seeking a state job in 2004.

Hazlette is a longtime state police official who retired in December 2003 when Lt. Gov. Steve Pence took over the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. He didn't get a state job until December 16, 2004, two weeks after Cave took over as Fletcher's chief of staff.

Hazlette and Cave also attend the same church in Lexington, according to Hazlette's resume and the Southern Acres Christian Church Web site that lists Cave as a Sunday School teacher.

Soon after joining the cabinet, Hazlette became heavily involved in the personnel initiative alongside Druen. Both corresponded regularly with Turbyfill and Wilson about personnel strategies, according to e-mails obtained through open records requests.

Hazlette did not return several messages left at his office and home. Whitaker, the governor's spokeswoman, declined to comment on the ties between Haz-lette and Cave.

The e-mail Hazlette wrote to the initiative participants was heavily laced with religious overtones. At one point he added, "No one on earth faced more adversity than the Apostles -- we should not think we are any different."

Response

Sorry this one was pretty long but it's a good article. It details the system the Republicans tried to put in to get their people in office much faster. If you're going to do that way, you need to be a little smoother. Really it's ridiculous. I also notice Hazlette's reasoning they are persecuted because they're "Good Christians". It seems there's a logic here that deserve the job regardless of what others thing because they are good and faithful servants. Yeah... as if any of the others in these jobs weren't just as religiously devout. I hate to be break the news, but being Republican and Christian doesn't make you one of the chosen people of God. That sounds almost Jewish. Try again. It's great you've found religion but don't try to use it as a basis for your job and your political aspirations. We're a REPUBLIC...not a theocracy and we shouldn't become one.

posted by Stithmeister @ 4:48 PM
 

What a nice CNN story. They're getting ready to run a show on Sunday talking about the administration being "Dead Wrong" on the WMD thing. It's nice story and should prove to be an interesting documentary.

Former aide: Powell WMD speech 'lowest point in my life'

Friday, August 19, 2005; Posted: 5:44 p.m. EDT (21:44 GMT)

Programming Note: " 'Dead Wrong' -- Inside an Intelligence Meltdown" airs Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on CNN.

(CNN) -- A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state's presentation to the United Nations on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was "the lowest point" in his life.

"I wish I had not been involved in it," says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005. "I look back on it, and I still say it was the lowest point in my life."

Wilkerson is one of several insiders interviewed for the CNN Presents documentary "Dead Wrong -- Inside an Intelligence Meltdown." The program, which airs Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, pieces together the events leading up to the mistaken WMD intelligence that was presented to the public. A presidential commission that investigated the pre-war WMD intelligence found much of it to be "dead wrong."

Powell's speech, delivered on February 5, 2003, made the case for the war by presenting U.S. intelligence that purported to prove that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Wilkerson says the information in Powell's presentation initially came from a document he described as "sort of a Chinese menu" that was provided by the White House.

"(Powell) came through the door ... and he had in his hands a sheaf of papers, and he said, 'This is what I've got to present at the United Nations according to the White House, and you need to look at it,'" Wilkerson says in the program. "It was anything but an intelligence document. It was, as some people characterized it later, sort of a Chinese menu from which you could pick and choose."

Wilkerson and Powell spent four days and nights in a CIA conference room with then-Director George Tenet and other top officials trying to ensure the accuracy of the presentation, Wilkerson says.

"There was no way the Secretary of State was going to read off a script about serious matters of intelligence that could lead to war when the script was basically un-sourced," Wilkerson says.

In one dramatic accusation in his speech, Powell showed slides alleging that Saddam had bioweapons labs mounted on trucks that would be almost impossible to find.

"In fact, Secretary Powell was not told that one of the sources he was given as a source of this information had indeed been flagged by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a liar, a fabricator," says David Kay, who served as the CIA's chief weapons inspector in Iraq after the fall of Saddam. That source, an Iraqi defector who had never been debriefed by the CIA, was known within the intelligence community as "Curveball."

After searching Iraq for several months across the summer of 2003, Kay began e-mailing Tenet to tell him the WMD evidence was falling apart. At one point, Wilkerson says, Tenet called Powell to tell him the claims about mobile bioweapons labs were apparently not true.

"George actually did call the Secretary, and said, 'I'm really sorry to have to tell you. We don't believe there were any mobile labs for making biological weapons,'" Wilkerson says in the documentary. "This was the third or fourth telephone call. And I think it's fair to say the Secretary and Mr. Tenet, at that point, ceased being close. I mean, you can be sincere and you can be honest and you can believe what you're telling the Secretary. But three or four times on substantive issues like that? It's difficult to maintain any warm feelings."

Response

Wow. Big Surprise. It was said all along that the WMD argument was weak at best. Turns out it was wrong and I would go so far as to say that this administration had it's eyes on Iraq long before they ever got into office. As a matter of fact, the NewAmericanCentury sent letters to Clinton a couple of years before Bush took over. Folks like Cheney and Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc. knew all about it. Check out the site, it might surprise you, shock you, or just bring rise to your cynical side.

posted by Stithmeister @ 3:27 PM
 

It looks like more damning evidence will turn up against Fletcher. Much of the evidence already is damning. I wonder what else it will turn up. This story by Jack Brammer in the Herald-Leader explains things a bit.

Fletcher's computer records searched

Warrant covers server for all his offices

By Jack Brammer

HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU


FRANKFORT - Investigators for Attorney General Greg Stumbo served a search warrant late yesterday on the computer server for all the offices of Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the Capitol.

Vicki Glass, a spokeswoman for Stumbo's office, said the server includes computer records not only from Fletcher's office but also from all his support offices in the Capitol, including those of his chief of staff, general counsel and communications staff. The server is in Room 141 of the Capitol, and not in Fletcher's private office.

The computer materials were only copied, not seized, Glass said.

The attorney general's office is investigating the Fletcher administration's handling of personnel matters, but Glass declined to say what investigators were looking for or how far back the records go.

Documents to support the reason for the search and a seizure log detailing what was found will be filed with Franklin Circuit Court Monday, she said.

Fletcher's general counsel, Jim Deckard, had no comment. Louisville attorney Sheryl Snyder, who is representing the governor's office, could not be reached for comment.

Mike Goins, deputy director of communications for the governor, said he was not aware of any details of the search warrant. "If I were, I would not comment on them. We have not done so in the past," he said.

Goins added: "The troubling thing for us is that after three consecutive Fridays, it seems that the attorney general's office has come up with a late afternoon surprise, has done some type of activity related to this investigation.

"So to us it begs the question, is this part of their investigation or is it merely an attempt to try and dominate the weekend news headlines? In other words, is this part of an ongoing probe in just their timing or is this just a big public relations stunt to get themselves in the news during the weekend?"

Last Friday, Fletcher was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury on Aug. 30. On previous Fridays, the attorney general's office filed a court document that said Fletcher's hiring program was "a corrupt political machine" and news broke that subpoenas had been served on personnel officers in various state cabinets.

Glass said the search was conducted late yesterday "so as not to disrupt the computer server for all of the governor's Capitol offices."

"They should have their computer service back in a few hours," she said shortly after 6 p.m. "We were not trying to dominate any news. We are conducting an investigation."

Stumbo's office is leading a special Franklin County grand jury that is investigating whether the Fletcher administration violated state personnel laws. Nine current or former Fletcher officials have been indicted on misdemeanor charges of violating the laws. One, Dan Druen, former administrative services commissioner in the Transportation Cabinet, also has been charged with felony counts of witness and evidence tampering. All have said they did nothing wrong.

Stumbo's investigators already have seized numerous computers, volumes of records and other materials from Fletcher's office and related agencies, such as his office for local development.

The computer server searched yesterday does not contain records for the local development office.

In May, Stumbo's investigators, armed with search warrants, confiscated boxes of documents from the Capitol offices of two key aides to Fletcher -- deputy chief of staff Richard Murgatroyd and Dave Disponett, an unpaid political adviser and treasurer of the state Republican Party.

Murgatroyd has been indicted on 16 counts of prohibition against political discrimination, two counts of violation of rights of executive department employee and one count of criminal conspiracy.

Disponett, who has not been indicted, has vacated his Capitol office.



Response

The problems continue to mount for a governor who's already declared for reelection. He may not have the option and we may have to deal with reelection earlier although I don't know what happens if both the Governor and his Lt. are both indicted because I feel like Pence should be investigated too. He's got his own issues but he's obviously part of this inner circle and knows everything the others do. I wonder why he's not being hammered too?

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:41 AM
 

Cindy Sheehan has become a symbol. A symbol no one else could seem to come up with. Pat Buchanan pointed out several things Ms. Sheehan represents.

As a Gold Star mother of a soldier son slain in Iraq, Sheehan has authenticity and moral authority. Wedded to the passion of her protest, these make her a magnet for a bored White House press corps camped in Crawford for August. Cindy and the president are the only stories in town. And as a source of daily derogatory commentary on the president, Sheehan is using the media, and the media are using her, for the same end: to bedevil George W. Bush.

They are succeeding. When one considers the non-stop cable TV coverage given the mother of Natalie Holloway, the Alabama teen missing in Aruba, Cindy Sheehan will soon be a household name. The more media she attracts, the more people she draws to Crawford. The more people who join Cindy in Crawford, the more media coverage they will attract. It is hard to see what breaks this cycle before Labor Day and the president's return.

The purity of Sheehan's protest has lately been diluted by her association with the far Left, the extravagance of her language and the arrival of political operatives to manipulate and manage her. But in a slow news month, Cindy Sheehan has helped turn the focus of national debate back to the war, at a moment of special vulnerability for the president.

It's a shame that Ms. Sheehan had to become a symbol and unfortunately far too many comprehend her emotions. I heard an editorial on NPR yesterday, a letter from a man said that her son died in a just cause but that's turning out not to be the case. No one says defending our country is a just cause. My family has done for hundred of years. The problem is this wasn't a just cause. We weren't defending our country. We were attacking another nation.


A friend of mine through out an interesting point but certainly valid:

Since St. Augustine wrote the City of God, the only Christian justification for war has been defense, and the attack has been anathema. The US leadership has been shown to have known that there was no need for 'preemptive defense'. It is immoral war, unjustifiable war by the standards the United States has always espoused - not to mention the standards usually espoused by the loud Christianity that is W's primary support. The conclusion Augustine reached was that the attacker bore all the sin of war, and the leadership of the attackers the greatest share. Even the deist, secularised Founding Fathers followed these principles, as have virtually all moral philosophers.

There is no moral justification for this war. What's more, the U.S. in this venture is at odds with God for having done such a thing and since a majority of Americans voted to keep him in office, what does that say for the majority of Americans? I'd say many need to be reeducated on what being a good American really means.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:17 PM
 

It looks like Senator Harry Reid, D - Nevada, has had a minor stroke according to the AP wire.

Sen. Reid Reports Suffering Mild Stroke

WASHINGTON - The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, suffered a brief mini-stroke Tuesday but suffered no complications and feels fine, aides said Friday.

The 65-year-old minority leader, one of the Democratic party's most visible national leaders, was examined by doctors and now feels fine, his press secretary Tessa Hafen said.

"There are no complications or any restrictions on his activities. He has undergone evaluations this week, and his doctors have recommended that he take advantage of the summer congressional recess for some downtime," Hafen said.

The statement said Reid sought medical attention at the urging of his wife, Landra. He was told he had experienced a transient ischemic attack.

Reid was in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., about an hour south of Las Vegas, when the episode occurred, and went to Las Vegas to see a doctor, Hafen said. She said he is now in Las Vegas with his family and is not hospitalized. Congress has been in recess since the beginning of August.

"He honestly has been feeling fine this week, he was just doing some tests and running some evaluations," Hafen said. "He has run 12 marathons (in the past). He's in good shape."

A transient ischemic attack is described by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as a transient stroke that lasts a few minutes and occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is briefly interrupted.

Symptoms including weakness and dizziness usually occur suddenly and are similar to those of stroke, but usually disappear within an hour, though they may persist for up to 24 hours.

Reid canceled some events this week, including a planned speech in Reno on Saturday to the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada. Hafen said he would be taking it easy for the next several days but will not have to curtail his normal activities in the long term.

The National Stroke Association says transient ischemic attack, considered a type of mini-stroke, is a brief episode of stroke symptoms that usually last less than 24 hours and usually does not involve any permanent loss of abilities. One in three people who experience a TIA go on to have an actual stroke, the NSA reports on its Web site.

Reid's deputy as leader of the Senate Democrats is Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Reid was chosen to lead Senate Democrats at the beginning of the current congressional session after the previous minority leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, lost his 2004 re-election bid. Reid had been the party whip — the No. 2 Senate Democrat — for six years before moving into the leadership role.

He has represented Nevada in the Senate since 1987; he served in the House from 1983-87


Response

Senator Reid is a good leader for the Democrats right now. Anything happening to him would be a great loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Senator. Get well soon.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:56 PM
 

I picked this up on Mark Nicholas's BlueGrassReport and it's pretty good. Seems Old Ernie has hired him a crack defense attorney for this whole mess.


***SPECIAL REPORT*** Governor Fletcher Hires David Lambertus As Private Attorney -- Known For Defending Priests Accused Of Molestation and Has Given Thousands In Contributions To Democratic Candidates Including Greg Stumbo for Attorney General
BluegrassReport.org has learned that Governor Fletcher has hired prominent Louisville criminal defense attorney David A. Lambertus to personally represent him in connection with the current Merit System probe, which includes Fletcher's subpoenaed appearance before the Franklin County Grand Jury.

Lambertus, a Democrat himself, has given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates over the years including $1,000 to Greg Stumbo in December 2002 for his campaign for attorney general. He's also contributed recently to dozens of Democratic campaigns including those of State Rep. Larry Clark, Senator Ray Jones and senate candidate Virginia Woodward. He contributed $2,000 to Ben Chandler in his race against Ernie Fletcher, but also gave Fletcher $2,000 as well.

Among the recent high-profile cases that Lambertus has been involved was representing Roman Catholic priests who were facing criminal charges for molestation.

This raises another interesting issue. Back in Fletcher's 1998 congressional race against state Senator Ernesto Scorsone, Fletcher ran television attack ads against Scorsone for his representation of a rape defendant while serving as a legal aid lawyer. The ad was narrated by the actual rape victim herself ("Jessica") who then stated "To me, Scorsone is more concerned with criminals' rights than victims' rights."

While the ad was condemned by many victims and attorneys groups, Fletcher's campaign defended with then campaign manager (and future gubernatorial chief of staff) Daniel Groves stating:

"I realize that as a public defender, he had no choice in what he did with the case. But he made a career choice to be a public defender instead of practicing real estate law or something like that. I've asked Ernie what he would have done (if he were the rapist's defense lawyer), and he said, 'I would have gone to the judge and said I couldn't do it, to appoint someone else."

Ironically, Fletcher now has a rapist's criminal defense lawyer defending him. Also, two of the main defense lawyers for the Fletcher administration are now prominent Democrats -- Lambertus and Sheryl Snyder, Governor Patton's former defense lawyer.

Ah, sweet justice...I wonder what Fletcher's Republican base will think of his decision?

Response

It seems like Governor Fletcher is in real trouble as the hits keep mounting against him. He's played this whole game quite poorly and he and his subordinates will maintain they did nothing wrong. Well, they can keep saying that in jail. I smell some felonies coming out of this as well as the end of political careers.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:23 PM
 

There's a great column over at KentuckyDems by Walter Aden Hawkins.

He talks about the difference between Democrats and Republicans, about ethics and fund raising and some other issues. It's a pretty good read.


Democrats Just Don't Get It

Written by Walter Aden Hawkins
Friday, 19 August 2005

In Washington, Republicans have the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Congress. In Frankfort, Republicans have the Governor's Mansion and the State Senate. Both of our Senators are Republicans as well as all but one of our Congressional delegation.

Republicans have become very good at doing what they want to do, whether or not it is actually in the best interest of the Country or Commonwealth. Bush took us to Iraq without justification and apparently without a plan to get us out of there effectively. Definitely without a plan to allow the US to have access to the vast oil reserves that could help right about now.

GOP bigwig Sen. Tom DeLay has laughed off the many ethical slaps on the wrist that he has received. Hell, they are so good that they have kept the House Ethics committee from even being able to meet to discuss the allegations. DeLay also masterminded the unusual redistricting plan in Texas that effectively ensured Republicans maintained their majority in Congress.

Remember when we were all concerned about the apparent role Rove played in outing a CIA official? They are so good, you probably don't.

In Kentucky things aren't going as well for the current Administration. They recently botched a meeting with Audi officials (thanks "Mayor for Life" Jerry for bailing us out); they could not get a budget passed in a timely fashion; education funding is falling behind; Medicaid is in crisis; the "Tax the Fun Out of Life Plan" has proven to be problematic for small businesses; and nine Cabinet officials have been indicted on misdemeanor and felony criminal allegations. The Governor is scheduled to testify before the Special Grand Jury on August 30. However, Republicans understand that all of this may not have anything to do with their reelection hopes.
The Democrats just don't get it. The Dems have their priorities wrong. They want to win elections by following the law instead of following the money.

One issue recently brought this home for me - expanded gaming. Oh, it will pass during the next session and it will be the Republicans that will move legislation forward. Consider the two approaches to this issue taken by the respective parties as a case example of why Republicans are winning elections in Kentucky in record numbers.

The Dems write Attoney General Stumbo for an opinion as to whether gaming is legal. He replied, surprisingly, that it was his opinion that gaming was constitutional. Sure it was the right thing to do to ask if expanded gaming was legal, but how does that move get you elected?

Meanwhile, on 6/1/05 several top Kentucky Republicans travel to Las Vegas, stay at the new "it" spot - The Wynn - and shortly thereafter (6/11/05) secure two $2,500.00 donations from Harrah's Entertainment. In case you do not know, Harrah's has an interest in the famed Turfway Park as well as at the lesser-known Kentucky Downs in Franklin, KY. Turfway Park would draw people from the Cincinnati area while the Franklin location would be the closest casino to Nashville. NICE!

The casino industry is not dumb and have proven that they know how to make money. Harrah's donated $2,500.00 to the Kentucky Republican Party and another $2,500.00 to the Senate Republican Caucus Committee. Now THAT is how you get elected!

In elections today, it is apparently not whether it is legal now, it is whether someone will pay you to MAKE it legal. No wonder the Republicans thought it was not enough just to do away with public funding of campaigns, they actually spent time during the last session wiping the statutes that established public funding of campaigns off the books. After all, when campaign finance reform was in place, Republicans were only able to field the unforgettable Peppy Martin. When the restrictions were lifted, they managed to field a wealthy Doctor who just happened to be a Congressman with connections in Washington.

Once again, the Democrats just did not get it. I mean, imagine trying to take big money and the corruption that goes with it out of politics? Could you imagine candidates actually debating one another instead of hiding behind 30 second soundbites now?

Well, I hope the Democrats still don't get it the next time around either - but that the people of Kentucky do.


Response

He's right about one thing. Democrats need to change. To do that, Kentucky needs strong leadership and I don't know if the current leadership can do it. Things are going to have to change and the changes are going to have to be broad and long. We need new fund raising techniques, we're going to play the money game a bit to get in office. Mark Nicholas commented there few men in Frankfort strong enough and tough enough to do the dirty work. He commented it was mostly women. Well... those who are need to step up and get the job done. I'm tired of the Republicans dictating terms on everything, my religion, my security, my privacy. In the long run it's going to cost Kentucky and America. We've got the Republicans on the run but we need to start doing something about it. What are you prepared to do?

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:49 PM
 

WHAS picked up on this story today. Mark Hebert, easily one of the best political reporters in Ky. got this story out today. It's interesting though that the woman went to the press about the issue. I guess this a good way to make sure she keeps her job.

Board member alleges she's witnessed merit law violations

06:05 PM EDT on Thursday, August 18, 2005



Ann Aukerman is a member of the Kentucky Personnel Board, the watchdog for the State Employee Merit System that's launched its own investigation of Governor Ernie Fletcher's administration.


Aukerman claims she's got evidence that the state agency she works for, CHFS, has violated the merit system law.



“Governor Fletcher expressed in the news last Thursday that people involved in the process, and I’m understanding that to be the personnel process, should report things if they believe there is a violation of the law. So I reported that to the places you’re supposed to report them to,” she says.


Aukerman has written a four-page letter to her colleagues asking for an investigation. She went to the personnel board after she says her boss in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services failed to investigate and she didn't hear from the attorney general's office after they contacted her three months ago and gave her whistleblower protection.


Here's what Aukerman claims happened in her cabinet's Powell County field office: In September 2004, the supervisor there wanted to hire Amy Elkins for a merit job. Frankfort refused, hiring no one, including two politically-connected women. That's when Aukerman says the phone calls started, to her and the Powell County supervisor.


“He said, ‘I’m John McCarthy, chairman of the Republican Party. What else do I need to do to get this woman in the job?’” she says.


In March of this year, a new round of interviews for the Powell County job were abruptly cancelled when the supervisor was ordered to hire Kathy Hughes, one of the women Aukerman says had connections to Governor Fletcher.


“This supervisor was not allowed to select the person she wanted for the job,” Aukerman says. “I don’t know who in Frankfort told her who she would hire but it was because this woman has political ties of some kind and that’s why she was chosen over the other candidates.”


It's illegal to hire merit employees based on politics.


It's illegal for politics to play any role in state merit job hirings. Aukerman has been a state employee for 21 years, on the personnel board for two.


Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary James Holsinger says they looked into Aukerman's allegations and believe state personnel rules were followed.


The governor's office says Aukerman is going to the right place with her complaint -- the personnel board, not a grand jury. A spokesman says Governor Fletcher trusts Aukerman is a professional who will recuse herself from her complaint and others in which she might now have a conflict of interest.


Former GOP Chairman McCarthy did not return a phone message.

Web story produced by Jay Ditzer.



Response

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, if anything. This is certainly an interesting story and is going on within "the system." The problem with this is that someone will probably have to be fired over this for pressure to be released at all. Fletcher really needs to watch his step.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:59 PM
 

You won't see me using Pat Buchanan very often as a source but he's got a great column that's pretty straight up and says the administration is screwing up the way they're handling this war.

Cindy Sheehan:
Anti-war catalyst


When he flew off to San Clemente, Calif., in the summer of 1969 for his August vacation, Richard Nixon was riding a wave of popularity.

He had announced the first troop withdrawal from Vietnam. He had met the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on touchdown in the Pacific. He had become the first president to visit a captive nation with a triumphal tour of Bucharest. And he had just proposed a sweeping reform of welfare praised by both parties.


But when Nixon returned in September, a storm had broken. Wrote David Broder: "It is becoming more obvious with each passing day that the men and the movement that broke Lyndon Johnson's authority in 1968 are out to break Richard Nixon in 1969.

"The likelihood is great that they will succeed again."

They did not succeed in breaking Nixon's presidency. He broke them. The crucial moment was his "Great Silent Majority" speech of Nov. 3, 1969, which rallied Middle America behind his war policy.

George W. Bush is approaching a similar moment of truth. And Cindy Sheehan may be the catalyst of crisis for the Bush presidency.

As a Gold Star mother of a soldier son slain in Iraq, Sheehan has authenticity and moral authority. Wedded to the passion of her protest, these make her a magnet for a bored White House press corps camped in Crawford for August. Cindy and the president are the only stories in town. And as a source of daily derogatory commentary on the president, Sheehan is using the media, and the media are using her, for the same end: to bedevil George W. Bush.

They are succeeding. When one considers the non-stop cable TV coverage given the mother of Natalie Holloway, the Alabama teen missing in Aruba, Cindy Sheehan will soon be a household name. The more media she attracts, the more people she draws to Crawford. The more people who join Cindy in Crawford, the more media coverage they will attract. It is hard to see what breaks this cycle before Labor Day and the president's return.

The purity of Sheehan's protest has lately been diluted by her association with the far Left, the extravagance of her language and the arrival of political operatives to manipulate and manage her. But in a slow news month, Cindy Sheehan has helped turn the focus of national debate back to the war, at a moment of special vulnerability for the president.

According to Newsweek, support for Bush's handling of the war has fallen for the first time below 40 percent – to 34 percent, with 61 percent now disapproving of his war leadership. Compare these numbers to the 68 percent support Nixon commanded on Vietnam after that Nov. 3 address, and the gravity of Bush's condition becomes evident.

Put bluntly, the bottom is falling out of support for the commander in chief. What is remarkable is that no Democrat has stepped forward, as Gene McCarthy did, to lead an anti-war crusade and call for a date certain for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Cindy Sheehan is filling that vacuum.

As the White House seems to be losing control of the debate, our war leaders no longer seem to be singing from the same song sheet. When the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Casey, spoke of "substantial" withdrawals of U.S. forces by spring, with Rumsfeld beside him, he was contradicted by Bush who dismissed this as "speculation" and reportedly rebuked.

To most Americans, it seems apparent that the United States and its allies do not have the boots on the ground to grind down and defeat this Sunni-jihadist insurgency. Yet, no one is talking about sending more U.S. combat brigades. How, then, do you win the war?

"As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down" is President Bush's exit strategy. But how can the Iraqis the U.S. Army is training defeat an enemy the U.S. Army has itself been unable to defeat in two years?


Americans do not want an endless no-win war, but they also do not want to cut and run, or walk away and leave a debacle, when they believe that 1,850 Americans have died and 13,000 have been wounded in a noble cause. If President Bush cannot describe "victory" in terms convincing enough to Americans willing to spend blood indefinitely, he will have to persuade them to stay the course by describing what a disaster defeat will mean for Iraq and for America's position in the world.

But to do that would raise a question: Why, then, in heaven's name, did America take such a risk, when Iraq was never a threat?

September could see the coalescing of an anti-war movement that both bedevils the White House and divides a Democratic Party that seeks to benefit from a losing war, without having to offer a plan to win it or end it, without being held accountable for having supported it, or responsible for undercutting it.

Our politics appear likely to become even more poisoned when the president returns from his troubled vacation.



Response

Pat's right in many respects. Let's just hope the Democrats can find away to take advantage of this situation. This could really put a hurt on the administration.

posted by Stithmeister @ 1:58 PM
 

William Howard Taft, the only man ever to be both president and chief justice of SCOTUS, would be quite ashamed of his descendent. Bob Taft, governor of Ohio, is in deep trouble. He's being indicted on four misdemeanor charges. If he's convicted, then the Republicans will lose some real power. Even though the Lt.Gov will take over, it's still a major blow, particularly his family's proud political heritage. Of course it also shows there is an aristocracy in the U.S., despite what some people say to the contrary.Mark Nicholas at BluegrassReport points out Fletcher may be in real trouble over this.

He also pointed out Senate President David Williams said Fletcher is in a real mess and Mitch McConnell is staying out of this fight. Fletcher's piloting a sinking ship and this will do a real number on the Republicans in Kentucky.

It seems the Republicans nationwide have painted themselves into a corner. The president is losing steam, Trent Lott and Bill Frist are fighting in the Senate and multiple governors are in trouble. Yep... the Republicans have a great machine but they so flagrantly disregard the law, that eventually get nailed. Then the population elects Democrats because of the crooked Republicans. The Dems get painted as weak and then the cycle starts all over again.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:58 PM
 

LIMBAUGH: I mean, Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real, including the mainstream media's glomming onto it. It's not real. It's nothing more than an attempt. It's the latest effort made by the coordinated left.

To coin a phrase, Rush Limbaugh is a bloody git. The man has no shame, no care in his heart and no sympathy for the mother of a fallen U.S. soldier. He's nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Republican party. The thing that gets me in all this is that Bush even met with Sheehan previously about the death of her son. The woman's going through a divorce over this. But it's all "forged papers". Unbelievable. I wish someone would pull the plug on his radio show. What he said was just plain wrong, morally, ethically. He needs to show a little respect.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:53 PM
 

Larry Dale Keeling is always entertaining. Here's his most recent column on the "boy governor.

Be careful what you say, Governor

Keep feet out of your mouth during grand jury visit

By Larry DaLe Keeling

HERALD-LEADER COLUMNIST


FRANKFORT - Even with the special grand jury (and me) enjoying some time off, Gov. Ernie Fletcher suffered through another bad patch last week, culminating with the invitation delivered to his general counsel, Jim Deckard, Friday afternoon.

It asks the governor to be the guest of honor at an exclusive party scheduled for Aug. 30, presumably to be held on the second floor of the Franklin County Courthouse where several similarly intimate affairs have transpired in recent weeks.

At that time, he will have to cross the bridge he's been avoiding of late, the one where he decides whether he wants to engage in pleasant conversation with his hosts and hostesses or avail himself of the privileges afforded him by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

My bet? He skedaddles out of that grand jury room faster than he scampered off the Fancy Farm Picnic stage when it came time for Attorney General Greg Stumbo to say a few words.

Should my guess prove accurate, the more likely consequence of a hasty retreat from the party, based on what has become the norm for reluctant witnesses, is that he then will suffer the embarrassment of being marched off (in the full glare of TV lights and accompanied by the sound of clicking camera shutters) to another intimate encounter in the principal's office.

Oh, excuse me, I meant to say the judge's chambers.

But the flashing image of our Boy Governor being sent to the principal's office interfered with the transmission of the proper term from brain to typing fingers.

Anyway, better to clam up and be a bit embarrassed than to risk misspeaking oneself right into a perjury charge.

As disconcerting as it must have been for the governor, the subpoena to appear hardly qualified as the worst hit he has taken in recent days.

On the eve of the Fancy Farm Picnic came disclosure of evidence that Boy Governor and top members of his Kiddie Korps -- including the recently installed Boy Justice of the state Supreme Court, John Roach -- were warned not once but twice about the dangers of messing around with merit system jobs. Reams of additional documents released last week indicate that there were other warnings as well.

For instance, Mark Pitsch of The Courier-Journal reported this February e-mail exchange between Otis Reed, then the Transportation Cabinet personnel director, and Dick Murgatroyd, then the deputy secretary of the cabinet and now BG's deputy chief of staff:

Reed: "Maybe somebody will get control of the Disciples before it is too late. I don't know if they don't know the law or if they just don't care and that is the scary part."

Murgatroyd: "They think they are above it."

(I was particularly struck by the reference to "Disciples," who are apparently the political hatchet men of this administration, because it made me wonder when BG and his KK will hold their last supper.)

More damning to Boy Governor was an e-mail Doug Doerting sent to Murgatroyd last November, six months before Doerting went to Stumbo with a ton of documents that started this investigation.

BG recently has test-driven his umpteenth excuse for this mess in Frankfort by trying to blame Doerting for not alerting his superiors to possible violations of the law governing merit system jobs.

Last week, BG said in an interview with WHAS radio, "There was a complaint here that was held for a long time when (Doerting) gave us absolutely no warning that he thought anything wrong was going on."

But as Tom Loftus reported in the Courier-Journal, Doerting said in that November e-mail, "I am extremely uncomfortable with the responsibility of reviewing and approving registers involving appointments and promotions which may be inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the merit law."

Once again, Boy Governor was caught with both feet firmly planted in his mouth, a situation he better avoid when he attends that Aug. 30 party.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:47 AM
 

You knew the defense would come soon. The Republicans have to have some sort of strategy to hold it together or they stand no chance at all of surviving this fiasco.Tom Loftus over at the Courier Journal has a great story on it.

Nighbert defense targets Stumbo on two fronts
Firing of worker, legal conflict cited

By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal


FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A state official charged with firing an employee for political reasons says he plans to defend himself by showing that Attorney General Greg Stumbo had fired the same man.

Acting Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert also said in a court motion that Stumbo's office should be barred from prosecuting him because he may call Stumbo and his employees as witnesses.

In the motion filed yesterday in Franklin District Court, Nighbert's lawyer said Stumbo fired Mike Duncan in January 2004.

Stumbo spokeswoman Vicki Glass said she could not comment on the motion because her office had not seen it.

She said Stumbo's predecessor as attorney general, Ben Chandler, had hired Duncan as a non-merit employee, and Stumbo decided not to keep him.

Non-merit employees can be fired without explanation and are not protected by the state civil service law. Duncan was a merit employee working in the Transportation Cabinet's Office of the Inspector General when he was fired under Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration.

"We have no indication that his job performance was anything but excellent," Glass said of Duncan's work for Chandler's office.

Nighbert is one of nine current or past Fletcher administration officials indicted by a special Franklin County grand jury on charges of violating the state merit system law, which prohibits hiring or firing rank-and-file state employees on the basis of political considerations.

Nighbert is charged with three misdemeanors -- political discrimination, official misconduct and criminal conspiracy. The political discrimination and conspiracy counts each carry a penalty of 30 days to six months in jail, forfeiture of office and a five-year ban on state employment. The official misconduct charge has a penalty of up to 12 months in jail and a $500 fine.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors have claimed Nighbert and two other transportation officials fired Duncan in May for actively supporting Chandler in his 2003 race for governor against Fletcher.

Nighbert's lawyer, Howard Mann, has said that Duncan did not complete a six-month probation period and could be fired for any reason. Mann said Duncan was fired for poor job performance and not political reasons.

Glass released a copy of a letter that David MacKnight, Chandler's deputy attorney general, sent to Duncan that said in part: "It is routine for a new administration in an elected office to hire new executive staff members. The fact that the new administration does not intend to retain you in your non-merit (unclassified) position has absolutely no connection to your job performance."

In an interview, Duncan said Stumbo's staff did not tell him his performance was unsatisfactory. He said he understood that, as a non-merit employee, he could be let go. "It was totally understandable and predictable," Duncan said.

Mann included with his motion a copy of a "Notice of Determination" by the state Division of Unemployment Insurance, which later approved unemployment benefits for Duncan. It says in part that Stumbo had discharged Duncan "for failing to perform the work to the employer's satisfaction."

It also says Duncan "became unemployed due to a change in administration."

Mann also said in his motion that he intended to call Stumbo prosecutors to show that Duncan's unsatisfactory performance in the attorney general's office continued in the transportation agency, prompting his firing there.

Mann said that state law allows for disqualification of a prosecutor who "is likely to be a material witness in the proceeding."

Mann said that if Stumbo is disqualified as prosecutor, the judge could assign the prosecution to the Franklin County attorney or commonwealth's attorney.

Response

This is more floundering by the administration and grasping at straws. With felonies abound and witness tampering against one person, this goes much further than just one employee now. Even if Stumbo is replaced, this still doesn't look good for the administration. Fletcher won't be back in 2007.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:44 PM
 

Mark over at BluegrassReport has gotten it right. He's pointed out that the recent tax cuts save households an average of $1,448 a year. Gas price increases cost the average household an additional $1,404 a year. Absolutely wonderful. Yep... I'm glad our president is a war mongering oil man or else we'd really be paying for it.

posted by Stithmeister @ 2:11 PM
 

Governor Fletcher got tight lipped all of a sudden when the subpoenas aimed for him. Here's an AP story from the Herald-Leader

Questions about subpoena go unanswered

SPARTA - Gov. Ernie Fletcher sidestepped questions yesterday about his subpoena to appear before a special grand jury investigating his administration's personnel practices.

Fletcher was at the Kentucky Speedway two hours before the Amber Alert Portal Indy 300 to announced an upgrade to the state's Amber Alert system.

When asked about the subpoena, he said curtly, "We gave our statement yesterday. We're just here to talk about this today. It's a wonderful program."

The governor refused to answer a follow-up question about e-mails between deputy chief of staff Dick Murgatroyd and transportation personnel director Otis Reed that suggested the administration may have broken laws.

"We're here to talk about Amber Alert," he said as he ducked into a waiting sport-utility vehicle.

The subpoena orders Fletcher to appear before the grand jury Aug. 30. He has previously declined to say whether he would answer questions from the grand jury or invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.


Response

Fletcher's diggin' his own grave. He's avoided and dodged this investigation. He's called it a witch hunt, he's done and said all kinds of things except tell the truth. He's a lay minister and a politician. If he'd have come clean on this in the beginning, he could've nipped in the bud but he fell into the same trap many mealy mouthed politicians have fallen into in the past. And he's going to hang for it so to speak. It's ashame too. It goes to show you crooked politicians know no party in this state. First it was Patton, now it's Fletcher.

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:05 PM
 

The turn out is certainly touching and it's nice to see loyalty. Unfortunately, it's unfounded because all these poor supporters will be watching their man head the hoosegow.

Friends turn out for official indicted in hiring inquiry

Murgatroyd saluted at N. Kentucky event

By Patrick Crowley
Cincinnati Enquirer



FORT MITCHELL, Ky. -- Even as Dick Murgatroyd faces misdemeanor charges in the state hiring investigation, he has no concerns about being alienated from his supporters, friends and fellow officials.

A crowd of more than 400 packed a large ballroom at the Drawbridge Inn last night for an emotional two-hour salute to Murgatroyd, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ernie Fletcher and a former Kenton County judge-executive.

"I simply can't tell you how much this means to me," Murgatroyd said at the conclusion of the event.

"Throughout the years, whenever darkness has touched my life, it has been a strong faith in God and a great network of friends that have carried me through the troubled waters and given me the strength to carry on," he said. "Your presence here today is an inspiration to me as it symbolizes the friendship and love we have shared throughout the years."

Murgatroyd, 67, is among nine current or former members of the Republican governor's administration who have been indicted on charges of violating of state hiring laws. Murgatroyd was indicted on 16 counts of political discrimination, two counts of violating the rights of an executive employee and one count of criminal conspiracy, all misdemeanors. He and the others indicted have pleaded not guilty.

The indictments came amid an investigation of allegations that the Fletcher administration was breaking merit-system hiring laws. Those laws are designed to protect state workers and jobs from political influence.

Yesterday's event was a show of support for Murgatroyd, said Anita Carmack, who helped organize the event.

"Look at how many people showed up," she said. "Murg is so humbled. This means everything to him, and it shows how many lives this man has touched."

Murgatroyd was clearly touched by the outpouring of support.

He dabbed at his eyes during many of the speeches and momentarily broke down when talking about the support he has received from Fletcher and his wife, Glenna.

"He wanted to be here tonight, but he told me he didn't want to take away from my evening," Murgatroyd said, his voice breaking with emotion. "He's a good friend."

Two top officials did attend: Commerce Secretary Jim Host and Secretary of State Trey Grayson, a Northern Kentucky resident.

"I just wanted Murg to know I'm one of the people who are behind him right now, and I wanted to be here for him," Grayson said.

Several legislators and local officials from across Northern Kentucky also attended.

The evening was mostly devoid of politics, although Murgatroyd made a reference to Attorney General Greg Stumbo, a Democrat leading the investigation.

"I assure you … the political ambitions of an overzealous prosecutor" won't disrupt the work of the administration, Murgatroyd said to loud cheers.

Among the speakers and performers last night were Rob Reider, Nancy James and Mary Ellen Tanner, who worked on the "Bob Braun Show" in Cincinnati.

Murgatroyd produced the television program and remains close to the cast and crew. It went off the air in 1984.

"I don't know dip squat about politics," Tanner said. "But I'm in your corner … because you were always there for me."

Former Northern Kentucky University basketball coach Ken Shields also spoke.

Shields and Murgatroyd met in the late 1960s, when Shields was coach at the old St. Thomas High School in Fort Thomas and Murgatroyd was active in the athletic boosters and parish.

"Tough times don't last, but tough people do," Shields said. "Murg, you'll see this through because so many people believe in you."


Response

It's killing me to see what Fletcher's follies are doing to Kentucky. He promised to clean things up and he's made it even worse than it was before. Many are saying the "Democrats did it before." It doesn't make what they did better or right. They're levelling the playing field? That's a good thing. Two wrongs don't make a right.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:18 PM
 

My anger over gas prices knows no bounds at this point and its only going to get worse. I drive from Harrodsburg to Lexington to work every day. It's about 50 miles each way. Gas prices at some place hit $2.69 in the Lexington area. I don't think there's anything cheaper than a $2.40 or so. I've studied the oil market for the last few months and I know what they say. Market instability, refinery issues, hurricanes, political instability in the Middle East and South America. Of course the oil companies are seeing RECORD PROFITS. Coincidence? I don't think so. The president of the United States and the VP both ran energy companies dealing in oil at least one point in their lifetime. Much of their fortunes come from oil. Their friends, like Ken Lay, ran energy companies and nearly wrecked some economies in the process. Don't get me wrong, much of what they've done isn't just for the oil. What they've done is to promote international instability in order to maintain a fear status in not just the U.S. but much of the rest of the world to promote their agenda. These oil prices will allow them to finance the military industrial complex needed to enforce American dominance over the rest of the world in Pax Americana period. There's none of this isolationist "let's see what the world does if we cut them off from us" crap. Nope, it's an agenda for the United States to systematically enforce order as the world's police officer. Religion isn't so much of an issue with the powers that be, although it's certainly a tool to manipulate the enough of the masses to stay in power. Abortion and stem cell research mean very little to the people in control. If they tell you otherwise, they're lying. If folks doubt what I say, I suggest you check out NewAmericanCentury.

Read some of the documents on there and check out some of the signatories. I think many of the names will look familiar if you follow the news even remotely.

Thank Bush, you're going to break the back of the working American to pay for your control of the world.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:42 PM
 

"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin

"I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

How far we've come since those days. Right now, in the name of national security, we've stripped away civil rights here and there and with the renewal of the Patriot Act, the government can go through everything we own, we do etc. The only saving grace is the fact they've a few hundred million people to go through for everyone but they will eventually to get to everyone. I may be a little paranoid but keep in mind that sole purpose of government is to take away our rights.

If anyone follows a little philosophy (I'm certainly not so eloquent) of say Locke or even Jefferson, much of what they said was centered on the social contract theory. It said essentially, that all humans are created absolutely equally and that all people have exactly the same rights and we agree to give up some of those rights in order to exist in a civil society. Well, since giving up those rights in some people's eyes is inherently evil, you see the predicament. Thomas Paine felt that government was at it's best is a necessary evil, you see the problem.

Bush seems "hellbent" on making our government even more evil that it was before. I hope for the sake of our country that we survive to keep our rights intact. Then again most laws, under the Locke stuff are to protect property rights and the ones that rule have lots of "property" so I guess we're where we should be are?

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:52 PM
 

My good friend David Utter at Cynicracy mentioned that WUKY has pulled Garrison Keillor's "Writer's Almanac" for being to risque because of the FCC consistant inconsistancy regarding what's allowed on radios. The story came from the Herald-Leader and makes one scratch their head and wonder. Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" has been around for years, is being turned into a movie and is about as "Readers Digest" as it gets.

Here's the Herald-Leader story

Watch your language
UK station cancels Keillor feature over questionable content

By Jamie Gumbrecht

A few weeks after The Boston Globe called The Writer's Almanac radio program "a confection of poetry and history wrapped in the down comforter voice of producer and host Garrison Keillor," WUKY-91.3 FM canceled the daily featurette for what it considered offensive content.

The five-minute segments aired on the University of Kentucky's public radio station at 11 a.m. until Aug. 1. It opened with soft piano music and the voice of A Prairie Home Companion's Keillor remembering major moments in writing history. It was a break for history between news broadcasts and pop music, each day ending with a poem and the wish to "be well, do good work and keep in touch."

But in a time of Federal Communications Commission crackdowns on radio content, WUKY officials say, the poems Keillor read were too risque for airplay.

"I don't question the artistic merit, but I have to question the language," WUKY General Manager Tom Godell said. "It's not that he's behaving like Howard Stern, but the FCC has been so inconsistent, we don't know where we stand. We could no longer risk a fine."

Reaction to the cancellation has been minimal so far, Godell said. WUKY managers decided to stop carrying the Almanac after a recent spate of language advisories, although they were tracking the content for about a year, Godell said.

The warnings, issued by the program's production company, came about Curse of the Cat Woman by Edward Field, which contained violent themes and the word "breast"; Thinking About the Past by Donald Justice, which also used the word "breast"; and Reunion by Amber Coverdale, which contained the phrase "get high." The poems were scheduled for broadcast between July 23 and Aug. 12.

WUKY never heard complaints about The Writer's Almanac because the station always edited potentially offensive language, Godell said. Prairie Home Productions and American Public Media, the segment's producer and distributor, do not edit or select the content.

"It's not a terrible burden to edit, but my concern is that something slips through," Godell said. "We have certain standards of decency, and I expect our national producers to do the same thing."

The station vigilantly checks song lyrics for offensive content, Godell said, and broadcasts with language advisories are carefully considered. If offensive language clarifies a story, it will be broadcast, especially when listeners can be warned first. But an FCC sanction would be an embarrassment to the station and the university, Godell said.

Keillor, who will perform Feb. 21 at Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts, said in an e-mail that stations are within their rights to cancel the Almanac but he's proud of the poems he reads.

"There isn't one of them I would hesitate to offer to any high school English class," Keillor wrote. "The fact that someone is troubled by hearing the word 'breast' is interesting, but what are we supposed to do with A Visit From St. Nicholas and the 'breast of the new fallen snow'? Should it become a shoulder or an elbow? I don't think so."

Public broadcasters have long had to edit gratuitous language, but meaningful language is worth a fight, said O. Leonard Press, the retired founding director of Kentucky Educational Television. If stations censor themselves, they might as well become jukeboxes, he said.

"The purpose of public broadcasting is not to be safe, but to be useful, good, to give people something to think about, something to grow on," Press said. "Survival is not more important than being useful."

Press, an ardent fan of Keillor's writing and performing, called the cancellation an overreaction.

"If Garrison Keillor is less desirable on the airwaves than Desperate Housewives," he said, "we've gone a far piece."

Recordings and text of The Writer's Almanac are available on the Web at Writer's Almanac. The three poems with language advisories, along with their scheduled air dates:

July 23: Curse of the Cat Woman by Edward Field, from Counting Myself Lucky.

Aug. 2: Reunion by Amber Coverdale Sumrall, from Litany of Wings.

Aug. 12: Thinking About the Past by Donald Justice, from Selected Poetry and Prose




It's pleasant, true-to-life stuff. Keillor has been around for years doing this stuff and while I recognized the FCC's authority, I certainly question their competancy as well as the competency of those at WUKY. This insanity has to end and people need to stand up to them at one point. If people didn't like the program or complained about it consistantly, it would be one thing but this is absolutely insane and wreaks of first amendment infringements.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:03 AM
 

Fast Ernie Fletcher doesn't realize exactly what he's into here does he? This investigation is coming around to him and will very shortly. The governor's office is proving to be quite inept at running things. This story by Joe Biesk at the AP shed some light onto the subject.

Fletcher blames whistleblower for state personnel decisions

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Gov. Ernie Fletcher said the Transportation Cabinet employee who blew the whistle on his administration's questionable personnel practices should have helped make proper hiring decisions, rather than collect evidence and "set people up."

Fletcher, a Republican, also claimed that former state employee Doug Doerting was a friend of "the attorney general," whose office has been conducting the investigation. A spokeswoman for Stumbo, who is a Democrat, said the attorney general never met Doerting until he came forward with evidence.

"Why wasn't there any complaint from (Doerting) when part of his duties appeared to make sure things were run well?" Fletcher said in an interview on WHAS-AM radio.

Prosecutors in Stumbo's office have been investigating the Fletcher administration since May, when Doerting gained "whistleblower" protection and brought forth reams of documents alleging Merit System improprieties. The system was designed in 1960 to protect rank and file state employees from political influence; and merit jobs are supposed to be filled on candidates' qualifications, not their connections.

So far, a special Franklin County grand jury has indicted nine current or former members of the administration on misdemeanor allegations stemming from the investigation. One of the nine, Dan Druen, has also been charged with more than 20 felony counts that include allegations of witness tampering.

On Thursday, Fletcher claimed Doerting was one of the people responsible for making sure administration officials followed the law. Fletcher criticized Doerting, claiming he did not raise any complaints before going to prosecutors.

"If we see something that we think is illegal going on, it's our responsibility to report it, not to sit and to collect things and to set people up and to tell them it's OK, or at least not tell them it's wrong and then to, you know, collect a lot of information and eventually play a little gotcha," Fletcher said.

The governor claimed Doerting and the attorney general had "some close ties, some friendships."

Fletcher spokeswoman Carla Blanton said later that Fletcher was not referring to Attorney General Greg Stumbo, but his office. Blanton said Doerting knew the sons of a former Democratic state representative who now works for Stumbo.

"The governor's statements are not true," Stumbo spokeswoman Vicki Glass said. "The attorney general does not recall ever meeting Doug Doerting and only became aware of him when Doerting brought documentation showing violations of merit hiring laws to our office."

Doerting's attorney said he hadn't yet spoken with his client about the governor's comments and declined comment.


Response

The problem here is if Doerting did point out these issues to Fletcher, he would surely have been fired like he was. There appears to be an ongoing debate on whether or not he was even fired legally anyway. If Doerting did his job properly, I would say these proceedings might have happened anyway because most of Fletcher's inner circle is involved. I keep waiting for this scandal to circle back around to Fletcher and if he'd indicted on felony counts, I'd say the impeachment proceedings will happen. At the rate things are going though, we'll have to have a special gubernatorial election between now and 2007 because there won't be anyone left in the administration to do the job.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:58 PM
 

I picked up on a story over at BluegrassReport. It would seem two unions in Jefferson County are boycotting Wal-MArt according to a story in the Courier Journal. one of the unions is the Teacher's Association and they are ready for war. Wal-Mart has hammered the labor movement for many years just like they've hammered small town America. Small towns in Kentucky are what gives it life and character and Wal-Mart has wrecked much of that. They are so powerful in the retail industry it's difficult to believe but they do.

It's not Sam Walton's Wal-Mart anymore. I don't have any love for Wal-Mart for a number of reasons. First they do run businesses out of small towns. My grandmother ran a small weekly newspaper in Hardinsburg, Ky for many years. Much of her advertising evaporated like so much steam when Wal-Mart came to town. The district once called "uptown" isn't it anymore. There's not much there. And the newspaper has it's work cut out for it.

Then there's the good old freedom of choice. I don't have that anymore. Try looking in a small town? How many retail stores are there? Not many. With most businesses gone, I don't have much of choice on where to shop. I currently live in Harrodsburg. There's little for a grown man other than Wal-Mart. There's a little bit in Danville but the Frankfort is the next closest place or maybe Lexington.

Then finally, the "AMERICAN MADE" Wal-MArt. They get 70% of their products from China. China undercuts American markets, they don't do fair business practices even though they agreed too upon joining the World Trade Organization. Wal-Mart at one time might have been great. Now it's just another bloated big corporation that's sold it's soul and the souls of the American people. If they ever get banks in their stores like they want, watch another industry get run out of small towns.

Do yourself and your community a favor. Find someplace else to shop besides Wal-Mart.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:58 PM
 

Moveon.org has launched an interesting campaign against Karl Rove. The Loose Lips, Pink Slips campaign is most interesting. They ran a contest for the best slogan and this is the one that won. Karl Rove is party of the current "Axis of Evil" in the administration and he needs to be fired along with the rest of them, including the president.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:53 PM
 

It would seem Bill Nightbert keeps falling deeper into a whole along with the rest of Fletcher's administration. Mark Chellgren with the AP had an excellent story about it. Check it out.


Records disclosed in Nighbert trial show more job talk

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Records disclosed in the case against acting Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert show a lot of time and effort went into ensuring the proper candidates were chosen to hire and promote in state jobs.

A 4-inch stack of documents was released Monday by Franklin County District Judge Thomas Wingate. The documents are evidence compiled by investigators and the special grand jury that is examining personnel practices in Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration.

Not disclosed were transcripts of grand jury testimony by several current or former administration officials who were present at various meetings when plans were hatched to systematically fill state jobs with those favorable to the Fletcher cause, according to other court documents.

Nighbert, Deputy Secretary Jim Adams and former commissioner Dan Druen are charged with conspiring to improperly dismiss the Transportation Cabinet's deputy inspector general, Mike Duncan.

Defense lawyers say Duncan could be fired for virtually any reason because he was a probationary employee who had not yet gained the protections of the state Merit System. A prosecutor said the Merit System prohibits anyone from being fired for their political beliefs, just like their race, religion or disability.

The three were the first charged by the special grand jury. Six others have subsequently been charged with personnel law violations, all misdemeanors. Druen also faces 22 felony charges he tried to intimidate a witness or tamper with evidence, as well as more than a dozen other misdemeanors related to personnel laws.

The documents released Wednesday were more e-mails, memoranda, handwritten notes and other materials. Many contain recommendations for jobs from people outside the government, which prosecutors have said is entirely proper.

Former Franklin County Judge-Executive Teresa Barton, a Democrat who supported Fletcher and has subsequently been given a post in the administration, was particularly active in passing along personnel recommendations.

But among those in the administration, a handwritten note from Druen may be the kind of evidence prosecutors count on in future cases.

In a note to Basil Turbyfill, Fletcher's director of personnel and efficiency, Druen says a job candidate in Transportation was selected even though the individual "supported Chandler and Patton," an apparent reference to former Gov. Paul Patton and Ben Chandler, whom Fletcher defeated in 2003. An overlooked candidate and his family, "clearly supported Gov. Fletcher," Druen said.

Druen said he sent the job selection back to the local office. "This is a clear example of what we're curbing," Druen told Turbyfill, who is also charged with a misdemeanor personnel violation.

Turbyfill is the architect of the "personnel initiative" that prosecutor Scott Crawford-Sutherland has termed a "corrupt political machine" designed to circumvent personnel laws to install Republicans in state jobs.


Rsponse

This is just one more example of the group sent in to clean up the mess in Frankfort. I'm not that big a fan of Stumbo but if the door weren't opened, then he wouldn't have stepped in. It's obvious Fletcher's administration has done all these things wrong. Fletcher also has no "plausible deniability" in this case. If anyone suggests otherwise, they're ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:35 PM
 

Here are some comments from Larry Dale Keeling on Fancy Farm. Keeling, a columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader goes by the Ky Kurmudgeon

Scenes from Fancy Farm

There was no blackberry jam on the food menu at today's 125th Fancy Farm Picnic (blackberry cobbler was), but the BlackBerry Jam Boy Governor and his Kiddie Korps created for themselves was prominent on the speechifying menu. And working the crowds, House Speaker Jody Richards frequently pulled out a jar of the sweet stuff that he had relabeled "Fletcher's BlackBerry Jam."

Before the speechifying began, though, former Superintendent of Public Instruction (that's a job title I haven't written in a while) John Stephenson sang and whistled his way through "My Old Kentucky Home," stopping in the middle to coax Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Attorney General Greg Stumbo into shaking hands in front of the crowd. That would be the end of the congeniality.

Normally relaxed and comfortable delivering a speech (particularly since winning the 2003 election), Fletcher appeared to be pressing, sometimes stumbling over his words and saying at one point, "It's long overdue that we have the mediocrity that we've seen ..." I'm fairly sure that's not what he intended to say. But he did have a good line about Stumbo having the best job because he gets paid $90,000 "and you spend all your time fishing in Frankfort."

Lt. Gov. Steve Pence went on the attack and scored with a reference to Stumbo's lavish home adjacent to StoneCrest, a Floyd County golf course built with public money on a former strip mine. "How can I get the taxpayers to build a private golf course behind my house?" Pence asked. But Pence appeared in need of a reality check when he showed the crowd letters of recommendation Stumbo and Richards wrote in the past in support of people seeking merit system jobs. BG and his KK have tried this excuse before, and it's failed because the ongoing special grand jury investigation of this administration's hiring practices isn't about letters of recommendations. It's about hirings and firings that allegedly violated the law prohibiting consideration of political affiliation in filling merit system jobs.

House Speaker Richards had several good lines. "I went by the Governor's Office the other day," he said, "and all I could hear was, 'Oh, pardon me.'" Responding to BG's "fishing in Frankfort" remark, Richards said of Stumbo, "He's already landed some big fish, and he's about to get the biggest one." Richards also recited a poem about "Ernie Wonka" (returning a poetic "favor" BG bestowed on him last year) that included the line: "Sweet Ernie is in a BlackBerry Jam."

Speaking as a proxy for indicted state Republican Party Chairman Darrell Brock Jr., Larry Forgy was introduced as the "acting chairman of the Republican Party" and delivered a manic recitation of past Democratic officeholders and their family members convicted of various crimes that he obviously thought were more serious than the violations allegedly committed by members of BG's Kiddie Korps. Hello, at last count, that special grand jury had delivered 22 felony indictments. Forgy may not agree, but I consider felony indictments to be serious.

One of the Democrats included in Forgy's recitation was Jerry Lundergan, the current party chairman whose own past conviction was overturned on a technicality. When he followed Forgy to the podium, I thought from his opening remarks emphasizing Democratic values that he might be smart enough not to mention the current mess in Frankfort. But he did, thereby emphasizing the fact that Democrats should put a muzzle on him. Whenever he says anything about this BlackBerry Jam, his own past makes him and his party look hypocritical.

But I must admit that Lundergan scored the symbolic victory of the day, at least until he opened his mouth again. When BG and several other Republicans (including indicted Transportation Cabinet Secretary Bill Nighbert) abandoned the stage before Stumbo's speech, Lundergan met BG and presented him a large basket of fresh blackberries, leading to this exchange captured on tape by Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh:

Lundergan: "You help the first lady enjoy these blackberries. Put some milk on them. Put some milk on them."

BG: "Did you acquire these legally or not?"

Lundergan: "Most things I do, I try to do it by the law."

BG: "Most. I think that's a pretty good statement."

In his speech, Stumbo called attention to BG's early departure by recycling the old saying: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." He went on to note that BG, at a Republican breakfast this morning, declared war on the attorney general's office. Stumbo noted that BG has a superior air force (which he wants to add to), more technological expertise, and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers to help him in a cover-up. But "the law will prevail," Stumbo said, adding that "no man, no business, no politician is above the law." Earlier, Stumbo had responded to BG's criticism of him by saying, "I've been called a lot worse things by a lot better men."

Although Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson made a few references to Stumbo, he and Democratic Auditor Crit Luallen, who is rumored to be considering a run for governor in 2007, took a somewhat higher road than most of the other speakers.

In addition to Richards' jar of "Fletcher's BlackBerry Jam" and Lundergan's basket of fresh blackberries,
the props, T-shirts and signs that grabbed my attention included:

"Whistle-blower Whistles," which Democrats used loudly when BG arrived at the picnic and during any Republican's speech.

"I'm on Crit's List" buttons.

"Where's McConnell" fans.

"KgBI" T-shirts sported by Republicans.

A T-shirt with Stumbo's face beneath the legend "WANTED Deadbeat or Live."


Response

It looks like the war rages on. If I didn't know better I'd say this was an election year. I'd say next year, politically will be vicious and by the time 2007 rolls around, assuming the entire administration isn't impeached, the campaign will be absolutely vile. I look forward to it. The Republicans have continued to try and run this country and this state into the ground. While the Democrats have their faults, they certainly don't bring the vile disgust I feel when I look at Fletcher and the Bush administration.

posted by Stithmeister @ 7:48 PM
 

Bob Novak stormed off the set of CNN's Inside Politics today after a few choice curse words. Apparently James Carville gaving him a little mean-spirited ribbing, and he said "I think that's bullshit" and took off.

Here's the story run in MediaMatters

CNN contributor and syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak stormed off CNN's set after using vulgar language during a live discussion with CNN contributor James Carville on the "Strategy Session" segment of the August 4 edition of CNN's Inside Politics.

While discussing Rep. Katherine Harris's (R-FL) plan to run for a Senate seat against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Novak told Carville, "Just let me finish what I'm going to say, James, please. I know you hate to hear me." Carville said to host Ed Henry, describing Novak: "He's gotta show these right-wingers that he's got backbone, you know. The Wall Street Journal editorial page is watching you. Show 'em you're tough."

Novak responded: "Well, I think that's bullshit, and I hate that." He then said to Henry, "Just let it go." As Henry asked Carville a question, Novak walked off the set.

After the segment ended, Henry apologized to viewers for Novak's leaving the set "a little early," adding: "I had told him in advance that we were going to ask him about the CIA leak case. He was not here for me to be able to ask him about that. Hopefully, we'll be able to ask him about that in the future."


Response

Once again, the conservative side proves they can't take the heat. Novak wussed out on the whole Rove thing and he wussed out on this. Everyone knows Carville can be rough and biting. But Novak has certainly shown he's quite capable of that as well. He's even capable of breaking the law and exposing undercover CIA operatives. He needs to quit kissing Republican ass and be his own man. I don't mind if he's a conservative so much as him being nothing but a mouthpiece for the administration. It's absolutely ridiculous.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:40 PM
 

Kudos to the Paul Hackett for his well fought war in Ohio's 2nd District. The Republican's won this fight, but hopefyll it will just be a Pyrric victory.

Now on to Governor Fletcher. That boy keeps diggin' his hole deeper and deeper. Druen got hit with 20 more felony indictments today for messing with evidence. He's already been accused of tampering with witnesses. Now Mark Hebert at WHAS reports Fletcher's talking of pardoning people (no one's been convicted yet) and the House has said they'll impeach him if he does. This certainly makes for an entertaining summer and Fancy Farm should be a show this weekend. Here's a Herald Leader Story

Grand jury indicts former official on additional felony charges

HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU


FRANKFORT -- The special grand jury that’s investigating allegations of improper state hiring practices indicted former Transportation Cabinet official Dan Druen on 20 felony charges of tampering with evidence and another felony charge of tampering with a witness.

Also, Tim Hazlette, who oversees the Transportation Cabinet personnel office, was charged today with a misdemeanor for criminal conspiracy.

Druen became the first official to be charged with a felony last month when the grand jury indicted him for tampering with a witness. It was in relation to Cheryl Casey, his former secretary.

Casey testified before the grand jury today. And according to this latest indictment, Druen “knowingly made false statements” to Casey on July 19.

It remains unclear what the circumstances were that led to the 20 additional counts of tampering with evidence.

Druen had been commissioner of administrative services at the Transportation Cabinet. In that position, he was custodian of all the cabinet’s records.

Druen was forced to resign two weeks ago — on the same day he was indicted for the first felony. Gov. Ernie Fletcher said he asked for Druen’s resignation because of inappropriate e-mails that Druen had sent in relation to a so-called “hit list.” The list included the names of 10 merit employees in the cabinet along with notes about their political ties and recommendations that they should be fired or transferred.

By law, merit employees cannot be hired or fired only for political reasons.

The indictment of Hazlette, his first, said Hazlette conspired to violate the merit employment laws with Druen and two other officials who have been previously charged: Basil Turbyfill, who heads the governor’s office of personnel and efficiency, and Bob Wilson, the deputy personnel cabinet secretary.

In all, nine former or current Fletcher administration officials have been indicted.

Comments

This thing keeps getting uglier and uglier all the time. Fletcher's hot right now and he has every right to be because his people have screwed this up and if things continue, Fletcher's going down with his ship. Eventually, things are going to lead back to his office because if they don't he's more inept that people take him for. This is going to get deeper and the Republicans, in their efforts to clean the house to their liking are having their house cleaned for them By Greg Stumbo.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:57 PM
 

Results are being posted over on Mark Nicholas' BluegrassReport and things look to be extremely tense in the Ohio 2nd District Congressional race. In a strong Republican district, Democrat Paul Hackett, an Iraq war vet, gave one hell of fight and according to bluegrassreport, Republicans hold a solid 54 point registration majority and Hackett only lost by 3 pts. I'd say 2006 will be the biggest non-presidential campaign season seen in an exceptionally long time, maybe even since the "New Deal".

Take a look at Mark's site for a fairly full play-by-play of the evenings main event.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:52 PM
 

A recent story pulled from ABC News tells a lot about the Bush's man Rove. As the grand jury investigation closes in, Karl Rove keeps looking like he's deeper and deeper in this mess and he may be in real trouble over this. If things continue on their current course, he might be in front of the grand jury and I don't see what Bush can do to protect him on this one. Of course I could be totally off the mark and nothing will come of it. Take a gander at the story and see what you think.


We begin this morning with two ABC News exclusives.

Staking out a grand jury is no easy business, and only a few (broadcast) entities chose to do that last Friday with the grand jury empanelled to hear evidence in the Wilson/Fitzgerald investigation.

Amazingly, given all the focus on the story, no one seems to have reported the identity of those who appeared.

Until now.

Based on ABC News sources (and our own video camera) it appears that at least two witnesses testified before the grand jury last Friday, both close associates of Karl Rove.

ABC News has learned that one was Susan Ralston, Rove's long-time right hand. The other, per ABC News' Jake Tapper, was Israel "Izzy" Hernandez, Rove's former left hand (and now a top Commerce Department official). It isn't clear if either had been asked to testify before last week.

Here is Ralston's latest Google News hit.

And here is the first Google hit that comes back when one searches Israel-Hernandez.

We should Note that Ralston and Hernandez are two of the nicest people in Washington and their being called to appear is a necessary reminder of the Caputoean phenomenon from the Clinton Era, which some have forgotten. When there are special prosecutors, a lot of kind, innocent people can get caught up in the investigation, often saddling them with huge legal bills and emotional stress.

The biggest two questions in this case now involve just what prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has in mind.

First, what makes him interested in Judith Miller? And, second, who is on the list of people he thinks might have committed a crime? The appearances of Ralston and Hernandez suggests at least part of the focus remains on Rove, although his attorney tells ABC News that he still believes Rove is not a target of the investigation.

At press time, The Note was not able to satisfactorily source our reporting on the topics that Ralston and Hernandez were asked about, so that must wait for another day.



Response

So, we see how things are going. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and if the investigation stops short, then it certainly wouldn't be the first time an administration has covered up some garbage to keep their people out of trouble. The problem is I think Rove could've been caught raping and murdering 10 year olds and somehow the administration would still sit up on the high ground on this. The Democrats seem to be losing some steam too. They've got so many thing to hammer on and they need to continue to do it. Maybe even develop crews to attack and attack on the different areas in the administration.

posted by Stithmeister @ 10:18 PM
 

Here's the story that was fit to print from the New York Times. Bolton got the nod as I knew he would.


By ELISABETH BUMILLER and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: August 2, 2005
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 - President Bush bypassed the Senate and installed John R. Bolton as his ambassador to the United Nations on Monday over strong Democratic objections that he was abusing power and undermining the credibility of the United States.

John R. Bolton arrived at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations hours after President Bush installed him over Democratic objections.
In a brief announcement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Mr. Bush said he had been forced to act because the United States had gone for more than six months without an ambassador to the United Nations.

It was the first time since the United Nations' founding in 1945 that the United States has filled that post using a recess appointment, a backdoor procedure that permits the president to fill vacant positions when the Senate is in recess, as it is for August.

The appointment brought to a close a five-month standoff between the White House and Senate Democrats, who had held up Mr. Bolton's confirmation over accusations that he had manipulated intelligence to conform to his hawkish ideology and had bullied subordinates.

Opposition by Senator George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, was the catalyst for the Senate's refusal to confirm Mr. Bolton, a protégé of Vice President Dick Cheney known as being combative and outspoken.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform," Mr. Bush said as Mr. Bolton stood to his right and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to his left.

The president said he was dispatching Mr. Bolton with "complete confidence." He praised him as a man who "believes passionately in the goals of the United Nations Charter, to advance peace and liberty and human rights."

Mr. Bolton will remain in the job until the end of the current Congress in late 2006, when he could be renominated.

Senior administration officials said there had been some misgivings in their ranks because Mr. Bolton might be seen as weakened with a recess appointment after months of battering in Congress, and a short term in the job. But other officials said Mr. Bush was determined to stand up to Congress and make a show of force on Mr. Bolton, a favorite of conservatives. The president's reference to "complete confidence" was a signal, they said, that he had the full support of the White House.

Mr. Bolton was sworn into office shortly after the announcement and by Monday afternoon had arrived in New York, where he was booed on the sidewalk outside the United States Mission.

Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed Mr. Bolton, but told reporters that the new ambassador should consult with others as the administration continued to press for changes at the United Nations.

"I think it is all right for one ambassador to come and push, but an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced - or a vast majority of them - for action to take place," Mr. Annan said.

Mr. Bolton begins the job as the administration is threatening to take Iran to the Security Council to seek punishment if Tehran moves forward with its nuclear program.

Mr. Bolton, the former under secretary of state for arms control, took a hard line against nuclear proliferation by nations including Iran and North Korea, but administration officials have said that in his new job he would carry out the views of Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice and not make his own policy.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, characterized Mr. Bush's move as "the latest abuse of power by the Bush White House," while another Democrat, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, said in a statement that "even while the president preaches democracy around the world, he bends the rules and circumvents the will of Congress" at home.

Democrats were also angry about caustic comments by Mr. Bolton regarding the United Nations and about the White House refusal to turn over documents related to his State Department service. In the 1990's, he said several floors of United Nations headquarters could be lopped off without being missed.

Mr. Bush, in his remarks, put the blame for the holdup of the nomination on "partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators," but Democrats countered that the handful numbered at least 42, including a Republican.

"And it was growing," said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, who led the Senate opposition. "It may have been more people if we had ever gotten a vote."

Mr. Voinovich told reporters that he intended to send Mr. Bolton a copy of a book he said has served him well: "The Heart and Soul of Effective Management" by James F. Hind.

"It's basically a Christian approach to managing and motivating people," Mr. Voinovich said, "that I thought he might read and perhaps ponder and take into consideration in terms of how he treats people up at the United Nations."

Democratic aides in Congress acknowledged that there was little their party could do beyond criticizing the appointment, which senators did via e-mail messages to reporters. By 10:04 a.m., three minutes after the president began speaking, Senator Edward M. Kennedy had sent out a statement calling the appointment "a devious maneuver" that "further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N."

The appointment came as Democrats in Congress were in a new fight with the White House over the records of Mr. Bush's Supreme Court nominee, Judge John G. Roberts, when he worked in the solicitor general's office. But Democrats said they did not expect Mr. Bolton's troubles with the Senate to affect Judge Roberts's confirmation hearings.

Mr. Bolton is by far the highest-ranking of the 106 people that Mr. Bush has put into jobs by recess appointment during five and a half years in office. Among them were Otto J. Reich, the strongly anti-Communist assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs, who was appointed in January 2002 and served until the end of Congress that year. Charles W. Pickering Sr. and William Pryor went to federal appeals courts in 2004 in recess appointments.

Judge Pickering, whose nomination was twice blocked by the Senate, retired when his appointment expired last December, but Judge Pryor was confirmed by the Senate in June as part of deal to avoid a filibuster fight over Mr. Bush's judicial nominations.

President Clinton had 140 recess appointments, including Mickey Kantor, who was appointed commerce secretary to succeed Ronald H. Brown, who died in a plane crash in 1996.

In remarks at Mr. Bush's side, Mr. Bolton said that in the United Nations, the United States sought "a stronger, more effective organization, true to the ideals of its founders and agile enough to act in the 21st century." He said he was "profoundly honored, indeed, humbled" by the appointment.


Response

President Bush continues to try and totally dominate the Democrats and unfortunately he's done it pretty handily so far. When they show backbone over an issue, like Bolton, they get circumvented. It's absolutely maddening that the President of the U.S. won't work with Congress, he totally dominates them. The Republicans do what they're told. There are occasional acceptions and unfortunately much of the American public swallows it all. I don't think this administration is inept, their evil and insist on asserting their absolute control over everything. It's finally coming to the fascist state and this is just one more nail in the coffin for the this once great republic. Every year, we lose more and more representation as the current president and his administration continue to usurp power and override the authority and powers of Congress.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:59 PM
 

Ernie picked his finance chairman today and whoaboy what a doozy. Ernie's Campaign by Ryan Alessi

FRANKFORT — Gov. Ernie Fletcher officially kicked off the 2007 governor’s race by naming a chief fund-raiser and opening a campaign fund with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

The announcement comes as Fletcher’s administration enters its fourth month under the cloud of an investigation into its personnel practices. Eight former or current officials have been charged with misdemeanors related to the probe, and one has been indicted on a felony tampering with a witness charge.

Fletcher, who in 2003 became the first Republican governor in three decades, named Kelly Knight of Lexington as his finance chairman. She has served as a chief fund-raiser for the Kentucky Republican Party and as a finance committee member for President Bush’s 2004 campaign in Kentucky.

Fletcher said in March that he planned to run for re-election.

Campaign finance law changes that the legislature approved now allow candidates for governor to start actively fund raising earlier than before. In previous elections, candidates couldn’t solicit campaign donations until the year before the election through so-called exploratory committees.

So far no Democrat has stepped up to challenge Fletcher in 2007. Some, including state auditor Crit Luallen, have said they are considering making such a run.


Response

Kelly Knight held a fund raiser for the Mr. Evil himself, Tom DeLay, or more specifically for his legal defense fund. So you've got thousands of dollars rolling in for one of the most crooked, vile men in the history of the U.S. Congress. Now one of his people is working for our governor, certainly the most unpopular governor in recent history in Ky. and maybe ever. It boggles the mind people voted these people into office. With good Christians like these people, I'd hate to see the Godless ones.

posted by Stithmeister @ 9:30 PM