I remember heaving a tremendous sigh of relief have completing a 4 hour required graduate class in statistics. I claim no natural ability to manipulate statistics, but some times things just jump out at you.
Morgan Quitno Press has issued their 2004 smartest state awards.
The Top Ten States are:
1 Massachusetts
2 Connecticut
3 Vermont
4 New Jersey
5 Wisconsin
6 New York
7 Minnesota
8 Iowa
9 Pennsylvania
10 Montana
The Bottom Ten States are:
41 Tennessee
42 Hawaii
43 California
44 Alabama
45 Alaska
46 Louisiana
47 Mississippi
48 Arizona
49 Nevada
50 New Mexico
The comparison I find interesting is how these states faired in other tests. For instance how many of these states voted for Bush and how many voted for Kerry. Consulting this Red State / Blue State map of the United States, we find that 8 of the top 10 smartest states voted for Kerry, while 8 out of 10 of the bottom feeders voted for Bush.
You can draw your own conclusions.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Only One Acorn
Lets take a another look at some of the pre-filed legislation the 2006 General Assembly will be considering. This time I’m going to look at the legislation file by Representative Stan Lee. Stan represents the 45th District. The district I live in.
Now, before anyone out there starts with “Ralph you’re just sour grapes because Stan beat you in the last election.” I want to say Stan got more votes than I did, he won, and I lost. Politics is a blood sport, if you can’t face the idea of loosing, don’t play. The people of the 45th District voted for the candidate they believed best represented their beliefs and values.
However, Stan’s actions in the legislature are public record and as such are subject to comment, particularly by one of his constituents --- me.
Stan has pre-filed seven pieces of legislation for the 2006 session. That ties him with C. B. Embry Jr. for the most pre-filed bills in the House. I’ll talk about Embry’s bills in a future post.
Three of Stan’s seven pieces of legislation deal in one way or another with the education of children of illegal aliens. All three fall into the “Let’s make it uncomfortable for illegal aliens and they will go some place else” school of thought.
If Stan wants to keep Kentucky for Kentuckians then he needs to address the problem at the root. Non-documented (illegal) aliens come here for the jobs and the money the jobs bring. If you want to deal with this issue then penalize the owners of businesses that employ these people. Make horse farm owners and construction company owners that employ these people feel the pain. The equation is pretty simple no jobs, no illegal workers.
But Stan won’t do that, it’s easier to beat up on people that can’t vote and have no recourse but to sit there and take it.
The reality is these people are here and we have a choice. We either make them part of the community or we create a permanent uneducated underclass with all of the social problems that entails. There are no easy answers to this issue, but not educating people is probably one of the worst answers.
AN ACT relating to postsecondary education. Amend KRS 164.020 to require that the minimum qualifications for admission to a public postsecondary institution shall require a person to be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident, or meet other specified requirements; amend KRS 164.518 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for an early childhood education scholarship; amend KRS 164.753 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for postsecondary grants and scholarships administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA); amend KRS 164.7535 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for College Access Program grants; amend KRS 164.769 to make U.S. nationals and permanent residents eligible for the Teacher Scholarship Program; amend KRS 164.785 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for the Kentucky Tuition Grant program; amend KRS 164.7874 to clarify language requiring status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program; amend KRS 164.7885 to require a participating institution to verify to KHEAA the student's status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident for the purposes of implementing the KEES program; and amend KRS 164.7891 to make U.S. nationals and permanent residents eligible for the Osteopathic Medicine Scholarship program.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION directing the Legislative Research Commission to designate legislative staff to study the costs associated with educating elementary and secondary children of undocumented aliens within Kentucky's public schools. Direct the Legislative Research Commission to designate legislative staff to study the costs associated with educating elementary and secondary children of undocumented aliens within Kentucky's public schools.
AN ACT relating to postsecondary education tuition. Amend KRS 164.020 to direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to require a student who pays in-state tuition to prove legal residency in Kentucky and the United States of America.
The next pre-filed bill is Stan’s standard screw the Labor Unions bill. This bill is euphemistically titled, “Kentucky Right to Work Act”. The objective of this bill is consistent with the three bills above. The Republican agenda of creating a permanent low paid working class is evident here too. This thing will probably meet its predecessor’s fate and be exiled to committee to die a quiet death.
AN ACT relating to contracts. Amend KRS 336.130 to prohibit mandatory membership or financial support of a labor organization as a condition of employment, and to name this Act as the "Kentucky Right to Work Act"; amend KRS 336.180 to conform; amend KRS 336.990 to make a violation of this Act a Class D felony, award damages, and provide injunctive relief; create a new section to exempt existing contracts or agreements; and amend KRS 67A.6904, KRS 67C.406, KRS 70.262, KRS 78.470, KRS 78.480, and KRS 345.050 to conform.
Ok, here’s the blind hog finding an acorn in all of Stan’s legislation. I can’t argue with this one. As a matter of fact I have to support this as a good idea. Identity theft has become a major problem in this country and any steps taken to curb the problem have my full support. Besides this is the only piece of legislation that effects all of voters in the 45th District. I’m sure every voter in the District has at least 6 major credit cards.
AN ACT relating to consumer protection. Create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to define "consumer credit reporting agency, "credit report," "identity theft," "proper identification," "security alert," and "security freeze"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to establish a procedure to allow a consumer to place a security alert on his credit report if the consumer's identity may have been used without the consumer's consent; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to establish a procedure to allow a consumer to place a security freeze on his credit report, requiring the consumer's authorization for release of his report by a consumer credit reporting agency; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to prohibit a consumer credit reporting agency from changing a credit report if a security freeze is in effect without notifying the consumer, and require the consumer reporting agency to provide a copy of the credit report to a consumer who has placed a security alert on his report at the end of the 90 day alert period; amend KRS 367.990 to provide a penalty of $2500 to a consumer credit reporting agency which recklessly, willfully, or intentionally fails to enforce a security alert or security freeze as provided in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act; provide that this Act may be cited as the "Consumer Credit Reporting Protection Act of 2006."
The next bill is supposed to be about historical markers but it’s really about posting the Ten Commandments on state property. If this passes the Kentucky ACLU will probably sue the state and a lot of lawyers will make money. Given all of the real problems facing this state, this is a tempest in a teapot, but it does rally the Faith and Values vote. So from a strictly political pandering point of view it’s a smart move.
AN ACT relating to historical markers inside the New State Capitol and on the Capitol grounds. Create new sections of KRS Chapter 42 to direct the Department for Facilities and Support Services in the Finance and Administration Cabinet to consider additional historical markers that could be displayed in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds in order to further recognize important people, ideals, or events in the history of Kentucky; require the cabinet to consult with other state entities and develop a plan for locating additional markers; require the cabinet to locate a monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds in accordance with legal precedents if such a monument is donated to the state; require the placement of a marker detailing the Kentucky legislative and judicial history near a ten commandments monument; require the cabinet to publish materials providing information about the historical markers in and around the Capitol for visitors.
And finally we have another effort to increase the hot air in Washington D.C. and generally a waste of time for the legislature. Does anyone, regardless of the issue, really believe the members of Congress pay any attention to these resolutions? This is another piece of do nothing legislation that wastes time in Frankfort while pandering to the conservative right.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION petitioning the United States Senate to pass House Joint Resolution 10 or Senate Joint Resolution 12, proposing to amend the Constitution of the United States, for submission to the several States, giving Congress the power to prohibit physical desecration of the flag of the United States. Urge the United States Senate to pass a resolution proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit the desecration of the nation's flag upon ratification by the states.
Now, before anyone out there starts with “Ralph you’re just sour grapes because Stan beat you in the last election.” I want to say Stan got more votes than I did, he won, and I lost. Politics is a blood sport, if you can’t face the idea of loosing, don’t play. The people of the 45th District voted for the candidate they believed best represented their beliefs and values.
However, Stan’s actions in the legislature are public record and as such are subject to comment, particularly by one of his constituents --- me.
Stan has pre-filed seven pieces of legislation for the 2006 session. That ties him with C. B. Embry Jr. for the most pre-filed bills in the House. I’ll talk about Embry’s bills in a future post.
Three of Stan’s seven pieces of legislation deal in one way or another with the education of children of illegal aliens. All three fall into the “Let’s make it uncomfortable for illegal aliens and they will go some place else” school of thought.
If Stan wants to keep Kentucky for Kentuckians then he needs to address the problem at the root. Non-documented (illegal) aliens come here for the jobs and the money the jobs bring. If you want to deal with this issue then penalize the owners of businesses that employ these people. Make horse farm owners and construction company owners that employ these people feel the pain. The equation is pretty simple no jobs, no illegal workers.
But Stan won’t do that, it’s easier to beat up on people that can’t vote and have no recourse but to sit there and take it.
The reality is these people are here and we have a choice. We either make them part of the community or we create a permanent uneducated underclass with all of the social problems that entails. There are no easy answers to this issue, but not educating people is probably one of the worst answers.
AN ACT relating to postsecondary education. Amend KRS 164.020 to require that the minimum qualifications for admission to a public postsecondary institution shall require a person to be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident, or meet other specified requirements; amend KRS 164.518 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for an early childhood education scholarship; amend KRS 164.753 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for postsecondary grants and scholarships administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA); amend KRS 164.7535 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for College Access Program grants; amend KRS 164.769 to make U.S. nationals and permanent residents eligible for the Teacher Scholarship Program; amend KRS 164.785 to require status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for the Kentucky Tuition Grant program; amend KRS 164.7874 to clarify language requiring status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident to be eligible for the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program; amend KRS 164.7885 to require a participating institution to verify to KHEAA the student's status as a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident for the purposes of implementing the KEES program; and amend KRS 164.7891 to make U.S. nationals and permanent residents eligible for the Osteopathic Medicine Scholarship program.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION directing the Legislative Research Commission to designate legislative staff to study the costs associated with educating elementary and secondary children of undocumented aliens within Kentucky's public schools. Direct the Legislative Research Commission to designate legislative staff to study the costs associated with educating elementary and secondary children of undocumented aliens within Kentucky's public schools.
AN ACT relating to postsecondary education tuition. Amend KRS 164.020 to direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to require a student who pays in-state tuition to prove legal residency in Kentucky and the United States of America.
The next pre-filed bill is Stan’s standard screw the Labor Unions bill. This bill is euphemistically titled, “Kentucky Right to Work Act”. The objective of this bill is consistent with the three bills above. The Republican agenda of creating a permanent low paid working class is evident here too. This thing will probably meet its predecessor’s fate and be exiled to committee to die a quiet death.
AN ACT relating to contracts. Amend KRS 336.130 to prohibit mandatory membership or financial support of a labor organization as a condition of employment, and to name this Act as the "Kentucky Right to Work Act"; amend KRS 336.180 to conform; amend KRS 336.990 to make a violation of this Act a Class D felony, award damages, and provide injunctive relief; create a new section to exempt existing contracts or agreements; and amend KRS 67A.6904, KRS 67C.406, KRS 70.262, KRS 78.470, KRS 78.480, and KRS 345.050 to conform.
Ok, here’s the blind hog finding an acorn in all of Stan’s legislation. I can’t argue with this one. As a matter of fact I have to support this as a good idea. Identity theft has become a major problem in this country and any steps taken to curb the problem have my full support. Besides this is the only piece of legislation that effects all of voters in the 45th District. I’m sure every voter in the District has at least 6 major credit cards.
AN ACT relating to consumer protection. Create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to define "consumer credit reporting agency, "credit report," "identity theft," "proper identification," "security alert," and "security freeze"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to establish a procedure to allow a consumer to place a security alert on his credit report if the consumer's identity may have been used without the consumer's consent; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to establish a procedure to allow a consumer to place a security freeze on his credit report, requiring the consumer's authorization for release of his report by a consumer credit reporting agency; create a new section of KRS Chapter 367 to prohibit a consumer credit reporting agency from changing a credit report if a security freeze is in effect without notifying the consumer, and require the consumer reporting agency to provide a copy of the credit report to a consumer who has placed a security alert on his report at the end of the 90 day alert period; amend KRS 367.990 to provide a penalty of $2500 to a consumer credit reporting agency which recklessly, willfully, or intentionally fails to enforce a security alert or security freeze as provided in Sections 2 and 3 of this Act; provide that this Act may be cited as the "Consumer Credit Reporting Protection Act of 2006."
The next bill is supposed to be about historical markers but it’s really about posting the Ten Commandments on state property. If this passes the Kentucky ACLU will probably sue the state and a lot of lawyers will make money. Given all of the real problems facing this state, this is a tempest in a teapot, but it does rally the Faith and Values vote. So from a strictly political pandering point of view it’s a smart move.
AN ACT relating to historical markers inside the New State Capitol and on the Capitol grounds. Create new sections of KRS Chapter 42 to direct the Department for Facilities and Support Services in the Finance and Administration Cabinet to consider additional historical markers that could be displayed in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds in order to further recognize important people, ideals, or events in the history of Kentucky; require the cabinet to consult with other state entities and develop a plan for locating additional markers; require the cabinet to locate a monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds in accordance with legal precedents if such a monument is donated to the state; require the placement of a marker detailing the Kentucky legislative and judicial history near a ten commandments monument; require the cabinet to publish materials providing information about the historical markers in and around the Capitol for visitors.
And finally we have another effort to increase the hot air in Washington D.C. and generally a waste of time for the legislature. Does anyone, regardless of the issue, really believe the members of Congress pay any attention to these resolutions? This is another piece of do nothing legislation that wastes time in Frankfort while pandering to the conservative right.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION petitioning the United States Senate to pass House Joint Resolution 10 or Senate Joint Resolution 12, proposing to amend the Constitution of the United States, for submission to the several States, giving Congress the power to prohibit physical desecration of the flag of the United States. Urge the United States Senate to pass a resolution proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit the desecration of the nation's flag upon ratification by the states.
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