An update on my picks for the LFUCG council race, in the Fourth District I don’t know which political dwarf to choose, Julian Beard or Bill Roberts.
The voters in this district have the choice between one guy who doesn’t seem to be smart enough to be on the Council and another guy who practices slime ball tactics to avoid actually having to run a race.
From the Herald Leader:
“When Julian Beard filed to run in the Fourth District Urban County Council seat, he thought he had done everything right.
Beard gathered and submitted 112 signatures from residents of the district, 12 more than the minimum 100 signatures necessary to run for office. He even paid the Fayette County Clerk's office to check the signatures to make sure they were valid.
But Beard, the city's economic development director, said he did not expect that his opponent, Bill Roberts, former chairman of the county Republican Party, would exploit a little-known election provision in an attempt to knock him out of the race…..
"When you get 320 signatures like I did, and he got 112, overlap is bound to happen," Roberts said.”
So I guess if I had to pick one I would go for Beard, obviously not the sharpest knife in the political drawer, but he may be able to figure out how to be a councilman and how to survive in a political world.
Roberts on the other hand is the kind of politician that would just continue the turmoil we seen on the Council in the last couple of years.
Lexington would be better served if Roberts never holds a political office.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Legislative Traits
Let’s talk about three common and one unusual trait of the Kentucky General Assembly. First the common traits:
Stupidity
From the Herald Leader:
Current and former Kentucky Right to Life Association leaders were caught off guard by a bill that calls for abortion to be banned in the state and fear the proposal will backfire, handing abortion supporters a landmark legal triumph and forcing Kentuckians to pay staggering legal bills…..
Anti-abortion leaders were blindsided by the Kentucky bill, which was made public by State Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, during a speech at the annual Rally for Life in Frankfort on Feb. 1.
Kentucky is one of at least a half-dozen states considering abortion bans. The goal, in part, is to convince judges to reconsider Roe. Supporters hope the new court would be more open to scrapping Roe vs. Wade.
Members of the Republican House caucus made a last-minute decision to introduce the bill, shortly before the rally began, Wuchner said. She denied that Republicans are trying to use a constitutionally questionable ban as a wedge issue.
"In my opinion, you're either pro-life or you're not pro-life," said Wuchner. "If you say you're pro-life, this is not an uncomfortable vote.”
Addia (short for addled) must have been one those kids in school, when presented with an essay question, always answered yes or no. How anyone on either side of the abortion issue can adopt a simplistic yes/no attitude amazes me.
No one is in favor of abortion, but a woman’s right to determine her own health care makes this an issue with multiple shades of gray.
And yes it is pretty obvious that when you ignore a core group of supporters (Kentucky Right to Life Association) to introduce legislation like this without doing the political math then it’s all about creating a wedge issue for the next election.
Speaking of wedge issues let’s move to the next trait:
Hypocrisy
During the 2004 Session of the General Assembly an amendment to the Kentucky constitution was passed by the Senate and approved by the voters to create statutory discrimination.
“AN ACT proposing an amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky by creating a Section 3A relating to marriage. Propose amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky to create a Section 3A to by law provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky; provide that a legal status identical to or substantially similar to that for marriage shall not be valid or recognized; submit amendment to the voters for approval or rejection.”
Sponsors of the bill included Vernie McGaha, Charlie Borders, Ernie Harris, Dan Mongiardo, Dick Roeding, Dan Seum, Damon Thayer, Elizabeth Tori, and Jack Westwood
Carrying the sentiment of this piece of legislation to the logical extreme we now have the Rev. Fred Phelps and his family.
“Church members, largely the extended family of the Rev. Fred Phelps, have toured the country protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers. They see their deaths as a sign that God is punishing American for its tolerance of gays. They also protested at the funerals of dead coal miners in West Virginia last month.”
But the Rev. Phelps has inspired the Kentucky Senate to pass a new piece of legislation.
“FRANKFORT - Kentucky is joining a growing list of states limiting when and where people may protest at funerals -- all because of a small fundamentalist Kansas church whose members picket soldiers' burials and argue that Americans are dying for a country that harbors homosexuals.
The state House and Senate each passed bills yesterday to limit the church's protests to outside a 300-foot buffer zone around funerals and other memorial services. Neither bill had opposition.”
Sponsors of this bill include Vernie McGaha, Charlie Borders, Ernie Harris, Dan Mongiardo, Dick Roeding, Dan Seum, Damon Thayer, Elizabeth Tori, and Jack Westwood.
Do the names look familiar?
So I guess the lessons here are:
First, it’s ok to bash gays and lesbians as long as we don’t offend the families of U.S. soldiers or coal miners while we do it and:
Two, for Dan Mongiardo, you need to be a little more careful about signing on to legislation you don’t think will pass. It may just come back to bite you in the butt.
Unreality
From the Herald Leader:
“Liliana Gomez said there is a misconception that Hispanic students aren't interested in going to college.
The problem, the Lafayette High School junior added, is that "some Hispanic students don't know how to get information and apply."
That misconception was disproved yesterday at the first Statewide Latino Student College Fair, which drew about 300 Latino high school students from 14 counties who learned how to apply for college and financial aid.
The Leestown Campus of Bluegrass Community & Technical College hosted the fair along with Kentucky State University, the Americana Community Center and Educating Latinos for Kentucky's Future, with the goal of getting more Hispanic students into Kentucky colleges and universities. Organizers said the fair attracted more students than was expected.”
Now maybe it’s just my way looking at things, but does anyone see a disconnect between this story and the legislation sponsored by Stan Lee and Joe Bowen?
“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.”
Perhaps the most eloquent answer was written by Sandra Delgado in an op-ed piece for the Herald Leader, “Hispanics not root of state woes”
Stan and Joe are just appealing to the xenophobic fears of the $6.00 an hour Republicans to make political capital. How sad.
And finally the bright spot from the Bitch Caucus.
Intestinal Fortitude
I have to agree with Larry Dale Keeling
“On Thursday, three female members of the state House of Representatives proved that they, too, are stronger than their male colleagues.
Reps. Mary Lou Marzian, Ruth Ann Palumbo and Kathy Stein, all Democrats, cast the dissenting votes in the 91-3 approval of House Bill 277, a measure that may prove constitutional but falls short of being good policy.
HB 277, as amended on the House floor, would authorize posting the Ten Commandments in public places in conjunction with other historic documents and require "In God We Trust" to be displayed on the wall behind the speaker's dais in the House chamber.”
Three cheers for Mary Lou, Ruth Ann and Kathy.
Stupidity
From the Herald Leader:
Current and former Kentucky Right to Life Association leaders were caught off guard by a bill that calls for abortion to be banned in the state and fear the proposal will backfire, handing abortion supporters a landmark legal triumph and forcing Kentuckians to pay staggering legal bills…..
Anti-abortion leaders were blindsided by the Kentucky bill, which was made public by State Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, during a speech at the annual Rally for Life in Frankfort on Feb. 1.
Kentucky is one of at least a half-dozen states considering abortion bans. The goal, in part, is to convince judges to reconsider Roe. Supporters hope the new court would be more open to scrapping Roe vs. Wade.
Members of the Republican House caucus made a last-minute decision to introduce the bill, shortly before the rally began, Wuchner said. She denied that Republicans are trying to use a constitutionally questionable ban as a wedge issue.
"In my opinion, you're either pro-life or you're not pro-life," said Wuchner. "If you say you're pro-life, this is not an uncomfortable vote.”
Addia (short for addled) must have been one those kids in school, when presented with an essay question, always answered yes or no. How anyone on either side of the abortion issue can adopt a simplistic yes/no attitude amazes me.
No one is in favor of abortion, but a woman’s right to determine her own health care makes this an issue with multiple shades of gray.
And yes it is pretty obvious that when you ignore a core group of supporters (Kentucky Right to Life Association) to introduce legislation like this without doing the political math then it’s all about creating a wedge issue for the next election.
Speaking of wedge issues let’s move to the next trait:
Hypocrisy
During the 2004 Session of the General Assembly an amendment to the Kentucky constitution was passed by the Senate and approved by the voters to create statutory discrimination.
“AN ACT proposing an amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky by creating a Section 3A relating to marriage. Propose amendment of the Constitution of Kentucky to create a Section 3A to by law provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky; provide that a legal status identical to or substantially similar to that for marriage shall not be valid or recognized; submit amendment to the voters for approval or rejection.”
Sponsors of the bill included Vernie McGaha, Charlie Borders, Ernie Harris, Dan Mongiardo, Dick Roeding, Dan Seum, Damon Thayer, Elizabeth Tori, and Jack Westwood
Carrying the sentiment of this piece of legislation to the logical extreme we now have the Rev. Fred Phelps and his family.
“Church members, largely the extended family of the Rev. Fred Phelps, have toured the country protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers. They see their deaths as a sign that God is punishing American for its tolerance of gays. They also protested at the funerals of dead coal miners in West Virginia last month.”
But the Rev. Phelps has inspired the Kentucky Senate to pass a new piece of legislation.
“FRANKFORT - Kentucky is joining a growing list of states limiting when and where people may protest at funerals -- all because of a small fundamentalist Kansas church whose members picket soldiers' burials and argue that Americans are dying for a country that harbors homosexuals.
The state House and Senate each passed bills yesterday to limit the church's protests to outside a 300-foot buffer zone around funerals and other memorial services. Neither bill had opposition.”
Sponsors of this bill include Vernie McGaha, Charlie Borders, Ernie Harris, Dan Mongiardo, Dick Roeding, Dan Seum, Damon Thayer, Elizabeth Tori, and Jack Westwood.
Do the names look familiar?
So I guess the lessons here are:
First, it’s ok to bash gays and lesbians as long as we don’t offend the families of U.S. soldiers or coal miners while we do it and:
Two, for Dan Mongiardo, you need to be a little more careful about signing on to legislation you don’t think will pass. It may just come back to bite you in the butt.
Unreality
From the Herald Leader:
“Liliana Gomez said there is a misconception that Hispanic students aren't interested in going to college.
The problem, the Lafayette High School junior added, is that "some Hispanic students don't know how to get information and apply."
That misconception was disproved yesterday at the first Statewide Latino Student College Fair, which drew about 300 Latino high school students from 14 counties who learned how to apply for college and financial aid.
The Leestown Campus of Bluegrass Community & Technical College hosted the fair along with Kentucky State University, the Americana Community Center and Educating Latinos for Kentucky's Future, with the goal of getting more Hispanic students into Kentucky colleges and universities. Organizers said the fair attracted more students than was expected.”
Now maybe it’s just my way looking at things, but does anyone see a disconnect between this story and the legislation sponsored by Stan Lee and Joe Bowen?
“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.”
Perhaps the most eloquent answer was written by Sandra Delgado in an op-ed piece for the Herald Leader, “Hispanics not root of state woes”
Stan and Joe are just appealing to the xenophobic fears of the $6.00 an hour Republicans to make political capital. How sad.
And finally the bright spot from the Bitch Caucus.
Intestinal Fortitude
I have to agree with Larry Dale Keeling
“On Thursday, three female members of the state House of Representatives proved that they, too, are stronger than their male colleagues.
Reps. Mary Lou Marzian, Ruth Ann Palumbo and Kathy Stein, all Democrats, cast the dissenting votes in the 91-3 approval of House Bill 277, a measure that may prove constitutional but falls short of being good policy.
HB 277, as amended on the House floor, would authorize posting the Ten Commandments in public places in conjunction with other historic documents and require "In God We Trust" to be displayed on the wall behind the speaker's dais in the House chamber.”
Three cheers for Mary Lou, Ruth Ann and Kathy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)