The Rural Democrat

Budget Hypocrisy Revealed, Everyone Suffers Except the House

Mark Hebert did the math and read the fine print to reveal a ridiculous and disappointing showing of State House hypocrisy in regards to our destitute state budget. Rep. Harry "funny money" Moberly (D) has been caught sneaking in an additional 5% increase for the House for each of the next two years while the rest of the Commonwealth suffers.

Moberly explains it away as the need for a House rainy-day fund, you know to cover special sessions and such, sure Harry we all believe you, we really do. I am sure his trash will soon be vetted by lobbyists for social service groups and our state's universities, but I am sure EKU will find a way to get theirs.

Governor Steve Beshear (D) is not happy and hopefully he finds a way to veto this budget, if it passes or lobby to remove the increase, better yet take that increase that the State House sure thinks should be added to the budget and beef up our soon to be gutted social services. 

Casinos in Kentucky Are Officially Dead

Again the Kentucky General Assembly refuses to listen to the people and allow a vote for and or against casinos in Kentucky. Governor Beshear has conceded the casino issue in 2008. It is not a victory for any opposition group or any one group of legislators. It is another example of a dysfunctional legislative body and its willingness to allow egos and petty politics to dictate the future of our Commonwealth.

No one can blame Governor Beshear for what is to come, being higher taxes and or massive cuts in services, he tried. If I would have had his ear at the start, I would have begged him to bury the enabling legislation and concentrate on the ballot initiative. But the Commonwealth needed the cash sooner than later, now the Commonwealth gets nothing. 

Aryan Bash 2008 to held in Pineville, Mayor says they are Welcome

UPDATE SAT 11:05AM: I have received a couple of phone calls informing me that I should not ridicule the Klan. Now I have not been threatened but I told them without hesitation that they can F**K OFF, I will ridicule anyone I please. Now do not pass threats on this blog, I do not condone it.

You read it right, “Aryan Bash 2008”, that means the following upstanding groups will take over the small town of Pineville for a couple of days in April; Appalachian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, American National Socialist Workers’ Party (ANSWP) (Nazis), Hammerskins, Brotherhood of Klans (BOK), and Keltic Knights, Imperial Klans of America (IKA) and the Empire Knights. It also means if you are Black, Indian, Jewish, Catholic,,,oh shit, if you ain't some piece of shit racist idiot you will not be welcome to attend this bash.

To beat it all Pineville Mayor Bobby Madon says "They are welcome to come, they have constitutional rights", he is correct about the constitutional part but welcome? I would steer clear of Pineville on the following dates;  April 11 through April 13, because the Kentucky State Police will likely be there to bust a few heads and as the tipster said in the email that clued me in to this story, this could get ugly. 

Ramond Harris to Get Life in Paul Browning Jr Murder

Raymond Harris will likely avoid the death penalty and spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. But many in Harlan simply do not think this story is over. Deputy and former neighbor Mike Petra has either been fired or resigned in connection to a third covert video tape that mysteriously showed up in a Sheriff's department evidence file cabinet last week. Quite a few people are shaking in their boots right now and the feeling in Harlan is a few more will go to jail for this murder.

Governor Beshear Showing Fiscal Responsibility toward Mega-projects

The Kentucky Conservative ideology is flawed, they want to spend bucks we don't have on projects that cost huge bucks. They ridicule the responsible notion that we may have to play catch up to the rest of the nation and stop Kentucky from being a smoker's paradise by adding 70 cents to our behind the times cigarette tax. Casino gaming would have provided a start, not a long term solution. It would have been nice to have an extra billion in the next 2 to 3 years to play with, to fund projects that could provide a boost to our dilapidated economy.

Governor Steve Beshear (D) met with Louisville's Mayor Jerry Abramson (D) and Senate President David Williams (R) today and expressed a responsible concern for the the two mega-projects being considered in Louisville. We pay taxes that keep our cops on the road, keeps the mechanism of government moving. A "use-it" "Tax-it" mentality may be the only way to go, considering Kentucky's thin possibilities for generating more revenue to keep Kentucky moving forward. A toll is not a tax, it is a users fee for driving across a bridge, it pays for itself, what a great concept. But the ridiculous and absolutely ass-backwards conservative mentality in the state is laughable. Can anyone call U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (R) a conservative? He spends cash like its his job. My state representative Charlie Siler (R) has voted for damn near every single tax increase that has hit the House floor for the past 25 years. 

Beshear did not say he wanted tolls, but I agree all options should be on thrown on the table. Williams would rather dictate and demand rather than negotiate. I would expect Williams to continue his resistance toward the notion that we need to provide money for these projects in a manner that is responsible. I expect Williams to start slinging snot anytime now. Just wait for it.

Pol Watchers

FRANKFORT -- Gov. Steve Beshear urged state lawmakers Wednesday to negotiate on the details of a House bill that could pave the way for using tolls to fund mega transportation projects, such as two new bridges in Louisville.

He said he hopes this legislative session will not end without a funding mechanism in place for such projects.

Beshear's comments came after he met privately in his office with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson. He had met earlier behind closed doors with Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville.

Beshear said Abramson and he urged Williams to form a conference committee of lawmakers from both chambers to discuss House Bill 689. But, so far, "the Senate leadership is reluctant to do anything on this issue."

Alexander Campaign Finance Snafu?

Page One found an interesting campaign finance report for 84th House District Representative Scott Alexander (D). The report was made for Alexander's campaign for the State Senate district 30 special election. There seems to be a problem, no disbursements are listed for over 200K spent.

Harris Found Guilty of Murdering Paul Browning Jr

It was quick and efficient, Raymond Harris has been found guilty of murdering former Harlan County Sheriff Paul Browning Jr. Browning was a candidate for sheriff in 2002 when his burned body was found in Bell County. Raymond Harris has been found guilty of shooting Browning in the back of the head.

Raymond's nephew Dewayne Harris testified against his uncle and told a jury that the mastermind behind the murder was former disgraced Harlan County deputy Roger Hall. It certainly looks like this case is closed, or is it?

Ellis: This is the Worst Session Anyone Can Recall

Let the flood of media discontent begin over arguably the worst session of the Kentucky General Assembly in recent memory. Ronnie Ellis is the setup man for the media assassination to come for Governor Steve Beshear (D) in the coming weeks. Lawmakers are using language such as; terrible, awful and disaster in regards to the Commonwealth's budget and we might as well prepare for a special session to complete that budget.

Governor Steve Beshear (D) is standing with his chest stuck out waiting on the media to fire away for his attempt to create a steady revenue stream for our destitute Commonwealth and while everyone wants to stomp on the Governor, I have yet to hear ONE viable alternative in regards to creating more revenue. Of course we could raise taxes, cut everything but our hair but it seems to be business as usual in the Kentucky General Assembly. I would use the following language to describe the pathetic showing of our elected representatives; inept, leaderless, spineless, disrespectful, shortsighted, shallow and in the Senate; just plain scared to death of King David Williams. While I did not agree with Beshear's final showing for casinos in Kentucky, as believe it will ultimately add more volatile fuel to an almost out of control fire, I understand his resolve.

The Governor's staff are blaming House Democrats and House Democrats are blaming the Governor. Someone not only dropped the ball preparing for this session, which was supposed to have been the single most important thing in their lives at that moment, they have put Governor Beshear firmly behind the 8 ball. But at the end of the day, the buck stops at the Governor's desk. Todays approval ratings are meaningless because of the massive Republican oversampling, but Beshear's drop among Kentucky Moderates, 16 point drop to be exact, is scary considering they can make you or break you in Kentucky.

President Bill Clinton in Kentucky

Former President Bill Clinton (D) in Kentucky; woohoo.

Excuse me if my enthusiasm is lukewarm, I used to be a Clinton disciple and looked at him as the best president ever. That all changed when I was in the military and I had to "write up", "put on report", in civilian terms, arrest, a person who committed adultery. He was ultimately slapped with a bad conduct discharge and sent packing after a perfect 10 year Naval career, the BCD pretty much destroyed his life.

The moral of the story is our esteemed Commander in Chief was caught in the cigar and the blue dress scandal and was ultimately impeached by Congress at the same moment in time this guy was being kicked out of the Navy for doing the same thing his Commander was doing. I always hated the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do types and this was the ultimate example of do-as-I-say. Many military people thought Clinton should have been held to the same standard as the personnel under his command.

Cut all Unnecessary State Projects and Provide more for Human and Health Services

The cruel hand of the great dragon in the State Senate has issued a hateful budget that will require the suffering of the mentally ill and the less fortunate. I am smart enough to divide these complicated budgets into sections and pick which sections to agree with and which sections to rebuke.

• $2.5 million a year cut from the Medicaid program
• $3.4 million cut from the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in 2009 and a reduction of and $6 million in 2010
• Eliminates funding for a state nursing facility for the mentally ill.
• The cabinet's Department of Community Based Services slashed by $7 million

But we can find $130 million to build two new bridges in Louisville and the Senate is playing with that ole "funny money" with some crafty math in regards to the funding of most of their wishes through the lottery. Mark Hebert has a great analysis on how the lottery will achieve a substantial increase in revenue and it sounds like the Senate is either guilty of wishful thinking or guilty of being flat out dishonest. The Senate is also counting on the permanent elimination of 3000 state jobs, many state employees are retiring in 08 and our politicians are grabbing that imaginary money as fast as they can.

Where is the revenue and how do we expect to keep our state's most outstanding teachers in Kentucky with a 1% raise? Hopefully Governor Beshear finds the courage to eliminate a big bridge or two and finds a way to help out our Commonwealth's less fortunate. Do the responsible thing and raise the cigarette tax by at least 45cents and add tolls to the new bridges. If our esteemed General Assembly would leave their imaginary political ideology at home for a day, we could avoid the massive cuts in education, provide for our teachers and maintain our responsibility toward the poor and mentally ill.