The Kentucky Pachyderm 2

• Beshear sacrificing state employees on altar of casino gambling

  Even before he took office as governor, Steve Beshear started poor-mouthing the state's budgetary outlook in order to promote the establishment of casino gambling in Kentucky. So far he's been unsuccessful, but now it appears that he plans on sacrificing some state employees in an attempt to pay off the [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 9:13pm EST
  

• Giving thanks

  There are many things to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches, but one thing we are especially grateful for is the fact that we haven't been invaded by the avid Rand Paul supporters, unlike a lot of other blogs on both sides of the ideological spectrum.
  
  The Paul supporters,' [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:15am EST
  

• A real waste of state resources

  In his continuing vendetta against Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo's U.S. Senate campaign, Jacob Payne at the Page One Kentucky blog has been railing about Mongiardo's press office's habit of attaching PDF versions of the original Word document of press releases and media advisories to the e-mails. Last week Payne lamented' [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 11:06pm EST
  

• Coming this spring to Frankfort

  There's big news out of Frankfort. This spring, Steve and Jane Beshear will be sponsoring a Holiday Egg hunt on the Capitol grounds.' [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 10:52pm EDT
  

• A few questions for a few UK students

  We have a few questions we'd like to ask the University of Kentucky students who protested the naming of the new basketball dormitory, to be paid for fully with private donations, the Wildcat Coal Lodge.
  
  How many of you pay your own electricity bills as opposed to having mommy' [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 1:04pm EDT
  

• Naming rights for an evergreen donation?

  Much ado is being made over an innocuous line in a press release referring to the prospective state Christmas tree as "the Commonwealth Holiday tree."
  
  Why the Frankfort Plant Board will be retrieving the tree is something that doesn't quite compute with us. Doesn't the state have personnel [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 8:51pm EDT
  

• Horse manure

  Not only is coal mining one of Kentucky's signature industries, it is responsible for employing hundreds of people in eastern and western Kentucky and contributing to the financial and business success of several counties and town in the state. Yet there are a number of people, mostly Democrats, who are' [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 1:10pm EDT
  

• When dinosaurs speak

  What happens when dinosaurs speak?
  
  You get this.
  
  Someone needs to tell Wendell Ford to go back to Owensboro, continue to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, and keep his worn out, discredited opinions to himself. His time has come and gone with very little if [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:32am EDT
  

• General Cliched Talking Points

  Could retired Gen. Wesley Clark have uttered more old, tired, cliched and patently false talking points than he did in this interview with the Herald-Leader?
  
  How anyone can say that Democrats believe in "taking care of people" when they are voting for legislation that will cause energy bills [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 11:27am EDT
  

• Stepping back into the void

  You may or may not have noticed -- or may or may not have cared -- but we've been on an extended hiatus from blogging.
  
  In large part that's due to our disgust with the sorry state of conservative politics in Kentucky.
  
  While the conservative movement, and to [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:33pm EDT
  

• An unnecessary expense

  We've been silent for awhile, quite honestly, because we've become disgusted with the Kentucky political scene. The thoughts of the Senate race make us sick. We have honestly found none of the announced or speculative candidates to be worthy of support. All have fatal flaws, ranging from disloyalty to their [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2009, 10:29pm EDT
  

• Interesting rumor out of Frankfort regarding personnel probe

  We're hearing an interesting rumor out of Frankfort regarding the investigation into hiring practices during Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration that eventually torpedoed his re-election bid.
  
  We've long held that the investigation was politically motivated, and sparked by one Transportation Cabinet employee with a personal grudge against Fletcher stemming from' [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2009, 9:45pm EDT
  

• Freudian hire?

  We couldn't help but notice that the Obama administration has hired an actor (Kal Penn) who played an Islamofascist terrorist on "24" a couple of seasons ago.' [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 12:34pm EDT
  

• Dear Jim Bunning: Please quit whining!

  We've been watching with bemusement this developing feud between Kentucky's U.S. Senators, Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning.
  
  McConnell won re-election in his toughest battle yet last fall; Bunning is up for re-election next year. Concerns about Bunning's vulnerability as an incumbent have apparently prompted McConnell to turn on his' [...]
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  Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
  

• Election fraud indictments: Is Perry County next?

  Even though all the media attention is being given to this week's election fraud indictments in Clay County, that may be just the tip of the iceberg.
  
  We're hearing of a joint federal-state investigation into vote buying in Perry County, just 45 minutes up the Hal Rogers Parkway from [...]
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  Posted: March 21, 2009, 11:53pm EDT
  

• Bluegrass Embarrassment: Helen Thomas

  It's been awhile since we spotlighted anyone in our "Bluegrass Embarrassment" series, but it's past time to throw the name of Helen Thomas into the mix.
  
  For years, this Winchester native was the dean of the Capitol press corps. After she retired from news reporting and became an opinion [...]
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  Posted: March 10, 2009, 9:33am EDT
  

• Two thumbs down, one thumb up on election reform proposals

  Three election reform proposals are under consideration as the Kentucky General Assembly winds down its "off-year" session.
  
  We support one of these initiatives and heartily oppose the other two.
  
  The bill we support would allow gubernatorial candidates to wait until after the primary election to choose a lieutenant [...]
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  Posted: March 06, 2009, 1:03pm EST
  

• Standing up to the anti-coal bullies

  Coal is the lifeblood of southeastern Kentucky. We hesitate to think what Pikeville, Hazard and Harlan -- already economically beleaguered as it is -- would look like without the monetary shot in the arm "Black Diamonds" provide. And we shudder to think how much we'd have to pay for electricity' [...]
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  Posted: March 06, 2009, 12:54pm EST
  

• Missed opportunities

  We're no big fans of the federal stimulus bill, which promises to do more for field mice in California or commuters between the Vegas casinos and Disneyland than for the federal economy, but we do subscribe to the theory that roads are one of the key things for which governments' [...]
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  Posted: March 06, 2009, 11:45am EST
  

• The reservation called; they're looking for John David Dyche

  To be a so-called political analyst published in Kentucky's largest newspaper, John David Dyche surely doesn't write or think like one.
  
  His most recent offering is so laughable as to make one wonder just what he's been smoking. He destroys all credibility he may have ever had with' [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2009, 9:17am EST
  

• Cannibalism is no way to build a majority

  When you're the minority party in a state, outnumbered 2-1 in voter registration and with the majority holding most all the state and local offices of significance, the last thing you do if you're trying to become the majority is to eat your own.
  
  So we have to ask [...]
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  Posted: January 22, 2009, 10:09pm EST
  

• More on Beshear-Mongiardo rift: Political appointees reamed in employee meeting

  Since our post yesterday on a rift between Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, we've heard more evidence that supports that assertion. This story involves a political appointment in the mountains that didn't go the way Mongiardo and his supporters wanted.
  
  We are hearing that the person [...]
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  Posted: January 14, 2009, 9:32pm EST
  

• Update on timesheet fraud probe in Transportation Cabinet; and more misdeeds by patronage hires

  Last May, we reported that Kentucky State Police were conducting interviews in connection with timesheet fraud by employees of a county garage in the Transportation Cabinet's Department of Highways.
  
  Nine months later, the probe hasn't given birth to any indictments -- yet -- but there have been some [...]
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  Posted: January 14, 2009, 9:23pm EST
  

• Major rift between Beshear and Mongiardo?

  We're hearing credible reports of a major rift -- perhaps even an estrangement -- between Gov. Steve Beshear and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo.
  
  The word we're getting is that Beshear instigated the situation by refusing to include Mongiardo in discussions and policy decisions, and by not keeping promises made [...]
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  Posted: January 13, 2009, 10:14pm EST
  

• Stumbo victim nominated for state Senate seat

  A lot of injustices were done during the two-year investigation of merit system hiring practices during Ernie Fletcher's term as governor. Greg Stumbo's inquisition ended up with a lot of innocent, public-minded people, carrying out the wishes of their constituents, being unfairly and wrongly branded as criminals. We find it [...]
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  Posted: January 12, 2009, 2:47pm EST
  

• Even a blind Beliles finds an acorn every now and then

  In general, we are not fans of Richard Beliles and Common Cause of Kentucky. In the past, we've found Beliles and his group to be meddlesome, petty, and overly concerned with hypothetical ethical violations by Republicans.
  
  But along the same lines of "even a blind squirrel finds an acorn'" [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 10:09am EST
  

• Moral of the story: Don't count on Ky. Dems to do the right thing

  In some ways, it's absolutely astonishing that Democrats in the Kentucky House of Representatives could elect such a reprehensible creature as Greg Stumbo to be their leader.
  
  But for the most part, it's par for the course. We're not sure why we ever had any faith whatsoever that they' [...]
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  Posted: January 07, 2009, 9:21pm EST
  

• Another example of Beshear's cluelessness: KYTC's SAFE Patrol being phased out

  What happens when the state institutes a new program that garners rave reviews from Kentuckians and gets national recognition?
  
  If it's an idea hatched in a Republican administration, it gets axed when the Democrats take back over.
  
  Take, for instance, the Safety Assistance for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE) Patrol,' [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2008, 8:18pm EST
  

• Beshear's empty gesture

  What more could we do but laugh at the press release, issued late this afternoon, that Gov. Beshear and Lt. Gov. Mongiardo, along with a handful of staff members, are taking a 10 percent pay cut for next year?
  
  When you can count the number of people making such [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2008, 8:05pm EST
  

• "Valeria from Lexington, Ky."

  Shortly before the 5 p.m. EST hour on Tuesday, Sean Hannity took a call on his radio show from a woman who identified herself as "Valeria from Lexington, Ky." She was very hostile and argumentative toward Hannity, and basically was angry at him for doing something on one-tenth the scale [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2008, 12:58am EST
  

• Riding the Santa Train: Something our lead blogger wants to do before he dies

  Although we are anonymous bloggers, we've never made a secret of that fact that we are, indeed, a "we." Yes, we use the "editorial we" here but this blog is a collaborative effort and represents private sector employees, state employees, teachers, news reporters, stay-at-home housewives, religious folks, retirees, veterans, and' [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2008, 10:30pm EST
  

• Rumored KDP changes: Good for Dems or blessing in disguise for RPK?

  We admit to not being fans of Jacob Payne at Page One Kentucky. We don't like the way he deletes comments, bans commenters and tries to out anonymous posters when they challenge his opinions or assertions or voice disagreement with him. And we also don't agree with his sexual politics, [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2008, 9:49pm EST
  

• Dear Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy

  Dear DPA,
  
  Marco Chapman has decided he wants to die for his crimes. He has rejected your help and your legal assistance. He doesn't want it; he wants you to stop interfering with his decision. He has been judged to be competent to make his own decisions.
  
  So' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2008, 12:52pm EST
  

• House Dems may get visit from the ghost of Dana Stephenson

  If you follow either the old-fashioned media or blogs from both sides, you are probably familiar with the situation concerning a Kentucky House of Representatives race in Hardin County. The controversy stems from a voting machine malfunction and how it was dealt with by precinct officials (two from each party) [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 10:27pm EST
  

• Democrats: The party of censors, nationally and in Kentucky

  Republicans and conservatives get a bad rap for being censors.
  
  It's true that many conservatives would like to limit the availability of pornography that degrades women and animalizes sex, but doing something to benefit society at large by crusading against something that has no valid artistic or editorial content' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2008, 1:09pm EST
  

• Another positive thing from the '08 election

  As much as we're down on Mitch McConnell, his re-election yesterday should shut up the foul-mouthed idiots at Ditch Mitch.
  
  And that would be a very good thing, indeed.' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 1:46pm EST
  

• REPRISE: EXCLUSIVE: Obama can thank a Kentuckian for his viability as a presidential candidate

  If Barack Obama is elected president, Kentucky will have played a direct role in that historic election.
  
  Even if Hillary Clinton wins this month's Democrat primary; even if John McCain wins Kentucky this fall and gets our state's electoral votes, Kentucky will have had a direct role in Obama's' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 9:55am EST
  

• Election 2008 post-mortem

  Some thoughts, in no random order, about yesterday's election.
  
  1.) There isn't enough space here to detail all the ways the Jefferson County Republicans screwed up the 3rd District congressional race. If the GOP wanted to oust John Yarmuth after one term, that effort should have began the day [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 9:37am EST
  

• Anti-McConnell Democrats finally cross the line

  PageOne Kentucky is reporting that an anonymous person or group has prepared flyers making an allegation that U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell was discharged from the Army for being gay.
  
  Ever since 1984, when McConnell first won his Senate seat by ousting incumbent Democrat Dee Huddleston, his opposition has [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2008, 12:46am EDT
  

• This is the thanks he gets? Stumbo turns on McConnell after Mitch's big favor to him

  When former Attorney General Greg Stumbo sought to take down Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, no one aided Stumbo more in his quest than Sen. Mitch McConnell, who was once Fletcher's political mentor.
  
  By staying silent and not speaking out about Stumbo's politically-motivated prosecution of his protege, McConnell gave Stumbo [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2008, 9:17pm EDT
  

• "Yellow Dog" has dog dung for brains

  The contributors to Bluegrass Roots continue to show that they are among the most ignorant people in the Commonwealth when it comes to contributing to political discourse.
  
  A few weeks ago we ripped "RDemocrat" a new one for claiming that Ernie Fletcher would not have declared an emergency [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2008, 10:37pm EDT
  

• McConnell sinks to Ben Chandler's level

  The dirtiest trick we've ever seen in Kentucky political advertising came in the 2003 Democrat gubernatorial primary, when with less than a week to go in the election, Ben Chandler launched this attack ad against Bruce Lunsford:
  
  
  
  You know the rest of the story. Lunsford, having no [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2008, 11:16pm EDT
  

• A poll we'd like to see

  We would like to see voters who are likely to or leaning toward voting for the Republican presidential ticket polled on the following question:
  
  Why are you voting for the McCain/Pain presidential ticket?
  
  1. Voting for John McCain
  
  2. Voting for Sarah Palin
  
  3. Voting against [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2008, 1:42pm EDT
  

• Geology gives Gore cover for outrageous coal comments

  It's hard to tell when you cross into Tennessee from Virginia or Kentucky. The terrain looks the same; in fact you might not know you were crossing a state line without signage indicating so.
  
  But where geography is similar, geology is vastly different. Kentucky and Virginia (and West Virginia [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2008, 2:32pm EDT
  

• Proof that the Beshear administration is a bunch of liars and vengeful Democrat hacks

  For months now, as Gov. Steve Beshear and longtime Democrat hack turned Transportation Secretary Joe Prather have whined and cried about the budget, they have stated over and over again that no projects have been cut.
  
  Even though we knew that was a total and complete lie, we heard [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2008, 8:44am EDT
  

• Calling BS on bluegrassroots.org and "RDemocrat"

  Apparently Democrats can't help but to tell lies. It must be in their nature.
  
  Take, for instance, a post earlier today on BluegrassRoots by a contributor who calls himself "RDemocrat." We've seen enough of this guy's posts over the years on BGR and other forums to know that [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 11:49pm EDT
  

• Steve Beshear: A day late and a dollar a gallon short

  Earlier today, Gov. Beshear issued an emergency declaration invoking Kentucky's price-gouging laws against excessive gasoline prices -- AFTER the price per gallon had risen to near-record levels as Hurricane Ike approaches the Gulf Coast.
  
  Good timing there, Steve, especially since we've heard reports of gas nearing $5 per gallon [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 1:44pm EDT
  

• Some friendly advice for Bill Nighbert

  We have no doubts that Bill Nighbert, the beleaguered former Kentucky Transportation Cabinet secretary, is well-served by his legal counsel, Howard Mann of Corbin.
  
  However, we'd like to offer Mr. Nighbert, whom we are fond of personally and professionally, some advice to maximize his possibility for vindication.
  
  1.) [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 10:25am EDT
  

• Stumbo for speaker? Not in our state!

  We greet the news that Greg Stumbo will challenge Jody Richards for the title of speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives with no great surprise. After all, it's right in character with the power-hungry and arrogant Democrat from Prestonsburg. Look at the hostile takeover bid he engineered after losing [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 9:33am EDT
  

• Herald-Leader: Anti-rural Kentucky, anti-Lambert, or both?

  We read two things into the Herald-Leader's recent story series on the building of new courthouses in many Kentucky counties.
  
  The first is the paper's continuing bias against rural Kentucky. As evidenced by its stances on Interstate 66 and other projects designed to benefit Kentucky's rural counties and the [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2008, 6:51pm EDT