Rancid Pork Belly

How much pork does it take to feed the Kentucky General Assembly?

According to the Herald-Leader it’s about $80 million.

When the state spending bill for education and health programs appeared doomed earlier this month, legislative leaders turned to an old standby to entice support from more lawmakers:

projects.

And lots of them.

The result was $80 million worth of buildings, park improvements, water and sewer lines, sheriff's vehicles, fire trucks, baseball fields and programs such as abstinence education spread
across 38 mostly rural counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky.

The details are listed in House Bill 410.

So I wondered what the money was being spent on. Below are about $6 million of the projects.

Bell County Fiscal Court - Projects and/or Equipment $1,100,000

City of Middlesboro - Projects and/or Equipment $115,000

City of Pineville - Projects and/or Equipment $70,000

Breathitt County Fiscal Court - Breathitt County Museum - Welcome Center $150,000

City of Jackson - Parks and Recreation $100,000

Daviess County Fiscal Court - Downtown Development Projects - Incentives – Operational Expenses $331,935

Daviess County Fiscal Court - Economic Development Projects - Incentives - Operational Expenses $327,198

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Develop New Mud Creek Park $150,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Develop Veteran's Cemetery $100,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Mountain Top Recreational - Repair - Upkeep - Maintenance $400,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - Wayland Sports Hall $100,000

Floyd County Fiscal Court - World War II and Korean Memorial $30,000

Hancock County Fiscal Court - Various Projects $186,102

Harlan County Fiscal Court - Adventure Tourism $316,000

Harlan County Fiscal Court - Tri-City Little League – Lights $60,000

Henderson County Fiscal Court - To Promote Tourism for the Rivers and Waterways of Henderson County $10,000

Hopkins County Fiscal Court - Hopkins County Sports Complex – Site Development and Improvements $225,000

Hopkins County Fiscal Court - Sports Complex - Site Development and Improvements $ 300,000

Knott County Fiscal Court - Appalachian Artisan Center $500,000

Knott County Fiscal Court - Bond Payment - Equipment/Improvements – Sportsplex $1,400,000

Do you really think that throwing money at these projects justifies screwing the educational system and social programs in this state?

This bill and the budget passed by the General Assembly is more about a group of politicians spreading political spoils and staying in office than anything else.

No Need To Apologize

I’ve been watching the press try to make something of Barak Obama’s comment that:

“And it’s not surprising then they (people in small towns) get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

From my point of view, which comes in part from being brought up in a blue collar union household in West Virginia, Obama is absolutely correct. The McCain and Clinton camps are trying to make headlines. This includes surrogates for Clinton in Kentucky.

Jake over at PageOneKentucky.com nails this one:

…..it’s effing ridiculous for Jerry Lundergan and Greg Stumbo to attack Barack Obama over telling the truth about rural America.

The most disappointing thing I’ve seen come from this comment is that Obama is trying to do damage control.

Obama tried to quell the furor Saturday, explaining his remarks while also conceding he had chosen his words poorly.

"If I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said in an interview with the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal.

A candidate needs to have the courage of their beliefs. The man spoke the truth; he doesn’t need to apologize for saying it.