Cyberhillbilly

• Rand Paul "AWOL" on Afghanistan

  
  Geoff Davis, Trey Grayson, Hal Rogers, Mitch McConnell, Brett Guthrie, Jack Conway, Dan Mongiardo, someone who's running against Geoff Davis.... all have taken the time to comment on the most important political decision taken over the past year: the Afghan surge.
  
  So where's Rand? [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 7:53am EST
  

• Despite Prevaricating Speech, Obama Gives U.S. Fighting Chance in Afghanistan

  It's about time! Obama dithered much of the fall and was clearly reluctant to pull the trigger on the Afghan surge. But he was in a box and knew it. Much credit for placing him in that box goes to Senator McCain (and the GOP establishment) who made fighting the [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 6:06am EST
  

• Kauffman Foundation on Increasing Jobs

  
  From the Kauffman Foundation:
  
  According to studies from the Kauffman Foundation, companies less than five years old have created all net new jobs in the United States since 1980. In 1997, young firms accounted for two-thirds of job creation.
  
  A [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 9:32pm EST
  

• New York Times: Too Kooky for Kentucky in the Gray Lady

  
  For maybe the first time in a little over a century Breathitt County, Kentucky made the New York Times. The last time the county was in the Times (at least by my search) Breathitt County gunmen were involved in a bitter, internecine war; a [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:01pm EST
  

• RNC Making a List, Checking it Twice

  The NY Times has a story on Michael Steele’s latest effort to curtail the civil war in the GOP about who’s a moderate, who’s conservative, etc. A snip:
  
  A group of conservative Republican leaders is proposing a solution to the internecine warfare over what the party should stand [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:25am EST
  

• Phillip Caputo on "The Fall of Mexico"

  
  Caputo has a must read piece in the Atlantic Monthly on the so called " Fall of Mexico." I'm currently reading Caputo's latest book, The Crossers, a multi-generational story about the borderlands between Mexico and Arizona. The central characters in Crossers are a' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 8:05am EST
  

• Paultards in Disarray

  
  Funny stuff from the Daily Paul:
  
  Trey's got nothing on Rand but he does have McConnell's machine working for him behind the scenes and they've found something that can hurt Rand...a divide and conquer move that riles up his supporters. Rand is in a' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:41am EST
  

• Robert Samuelson: The Assault on America's Youth

  From Samuelson's latest:
  
  One of our long-running political stories is the economic assault on the young by the old. We have become a society that invests in its past and disfavors the future. This makes no sense for the nation, but as politics, it makes complete sense. The elderly [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:32am EST
  

• Rand Paul's Fringe Friends Could Hijack KY Senate Race

  An amazing phenomenon is unfolding in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Rand Paul is running two campaigns: Paul is running as both a Kentucky conservative and as the national heir to the Ron Paul, libertarian, political machine.
  
  The first campaign involves reassuring Kentucky voters that [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:51pm EST
  

• Tom Friedman: Give Up on Mid-East Peace

  Is it me, or shouldn't this be big news? One of the most astute and famous pundits on Palestinian-Israeli affairs has said, 'give up, U.S., they don't want peace.'
  
  A snip:
  
  The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has become a bad play. It is obvious
  that all the parties are [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 11:49am EST
  

• Conservative Democrat Says Rand "Too Kooky for Kentucky"

  The following column appeared in the (Pikeville) Appalachia News Express and is reprinted here with permission by author:
  
  Paul’s Strange Candidacy, By T. J. Litafik
  
  Buoyed by his father’s aggressive, ragtag band of national followers, Rand Paul has raised a significant amount of money—over $1 million—for his quixotic [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:39pm EST
  

• Rand Paul: Too Kooky for Kentucky Families on Child Porn, Amber Alert, Legal Heroin

  
  Too Kooky for Kentucky continues educating Kentucky voters on the Pauls’ kooky views.
  
  Paul Would Legalize Heroin: This week we’ve learned that, back in 1988 when Rand Paul was Ron Paul’s Presidential Campaign’s “aide de-camp”, the Pauls campaigned to legalize both heroin [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 10:39am EST
  

• VA's Bob McDonnell on Green Energy: An All of the Above Strategy

  
  McDonnell is running as adept a campaign for Governor in VA as anyone has seen in recent years. Among his campaign planks: more energy. While McDonnell doesn't neglect oil, coal and natural gas, he wisely takes some time to promote Green, that is Renewable, Energy.[...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 7:52am EST
  

• Crab Orchard (Lincoln County) Parody

  Funny parody of a quaint community in Lincoln County. Lesson: if you don't define yourself, some bored, young whipper-snapper with a video cam and a YouTube account will.
  
  ' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 7:23am EST
  

• Garrard County Promo Video: IT'S GAR-AD COUNTY!

  Nice video with cameos from lots of celebs, including the Guv, Congressman Chandler, Justice Venters, Rep. Lonnie Napier, Judge Exec John Wilson and even me:
  
  
  
  PS- You're welcome in Garrard County, anytime.' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 7:16am EST
  

• Too Kooky for Kentucky: Ron and Rand's 1st Run for President

  
  While most of the press on Rand's efforts on his dad's political campaign for President (OK, admittedly, there's been little press at all when it comes to Ron and Rand's weird statements) has centered on his 2008 bid, Too Kooky for Kentucky is finding some [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 11:34pm EDT
  

• New Release: Rodney Stark Makes the "Case for the Crusades"

  
  Rodney Stark has written on the role of Roman cities in the rise of Christianity, the role the early Catholic church played in the development of capitalism, and a book on how monotheism led to science, with-hunts and the abolition of slavery. These works probably [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 11:21pm EDT
  

• Book Review: Berlin Noir (March Violets)

  
  Phillip Kerr’s detective Bernie Gunther is a sort of German Humphrey Bogart just trying to stay alive and make a few Deutschemarks as a wise cracking, fast with his fists, P.I. as Hitler’s Nazi Party forcefully saddles up the German people for a near suicidal [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 11:06pm EDT
  

• Will Kentucky Republicans Endorse Rand Paul's Kooky Foreign Policy/Defense Goals

  
  As the latest foray into the proliferating and messy universe that is Kentucky’s political blogosphere has shown, Rand Paul, despite his impressive polling, is a new and unusual phenomenon in Kentucky politics. Too Kooky for Kentucky has, with video proof, shown that Paul is, [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2009, 6:09pm EDT
  

• Congratulations Senator Stivers (and Clay County)

  
  Congratulations, Senator Stivers, on your election to the post of Senate Majority Leader. This is a great day for Robert and his family, but it's also a great day for Clay County. The county's gotten a bad rap in recent weeks but it's guys like' [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 10:29pm EDT
  

• Too Kooky for KY: Rand Paul is from Venus, Not Kentucky

  
  Trey Grayson got it partially right when he cast Rand Paul as a non-Kentuckian. In fact, after looking over some of the things that Ron and Rand Paul have been for over the years, it appears they're actually from Venus. (As in Robert Kagan's seminal [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 10:53pm EDT
  

• Rand Paul Must be Kooky: Surrender on War on Drugs Not an Option in Appalachia, KY

  Not that it's a surprise, but Rand Paul is Too Kooky for Kentucky. Literally. Last year he served as the one of the principle spokesmen for a Presidential candidate who wants to decriminalize… perhaps legalize… drugs. Here's the Courier Journal's Joe Gerth on Rand and the drug war:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2009, 8:49pm EDT
  

• The GOP's Challenge

  Lots of indignation on the web about Susan Collins' controversial vote to get the Baucus bill out of committee. Folks are shouting "RINO!, RINO!!" from the rooftops. But here's the political reality:
  
  A new poll of Maine voters from the Pan Atlantic SMS Group, which regularly surveys the state, [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 9:39pm EDT
  

• WYMT Poll: Opposition to Baucus Bill Runs High in EKY

  According to an unscientific WYMT TV poll, opposition to Senator Max Baucus's health care bill is running strong:
  
  Results: Do you support the Baucus plan pending before the senate finance committee?
  Poll Results:
  Yes - 5.7%
  No - 80.9%
  Undecided - 13.5%
  Total Responses - 230
  
  The previous' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 10:26pm EDT
  

• Kentuckians for the Commonwealth vs. EKY Folk, Coal Miners

  KYians for the Commonwealth are liveblogging the event.
  
  As noted in our previous post, the anti's are outnumbered, big time, by the pro-coal people.
  
  You can sense the frustration reading KFTC's posts. A few snips:
  
  "Bob Mitchell - Coal industry supporters are cheering after everything he" [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 10:05pm EDT
  

• At Last, The Worm Turns: "Raucous pro-coal crowds pack mining hearings"

  This AP headline says it all: "Raucous pro-coal crowds pack mining hearings." Of course notice the subtle dig... "pack." Still, it's going to be hard to keep up the facade that the anti-coal, anti-mountaintop removal crowd are anything other than a few Eastern KY malcontents and a bunch of Central' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 9:55pm EDT
  

• More Miners Laid Off

  Pray for the workers and the families of the workers who've lost their jobs in this, the most anti-coal era in our nation's history:
  
  Coal miners who worked in three eastern Kentucky counties are looking for new jobs tonight.
  
  Officials with Miller Brothers Mining say they were forced [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 7:19pm EDT
  

• Appalachian Poverty Too Complex to Blame on Coal

  The Lexington Herald Leader rehashes the old canard that poverty in Appalachia is tied to coal:
  
  Kentucky's coal counties rank among the poorest 10 percent in the nation, while other Appalachian counties, where there is no coal, have figured out how to build stronger economies.
  
  A list' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 7:11pm EDT
  

• Coal Miners vs. Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

  Coal miners are finally taking aim at the folks who're trying to put them out of work:
  
  Environmentalists in West Virginia released a report Tuesday blasting mountaintop removal mining and police in eastern Kentucky were preparing to handle large crowds as supporters and opponents of the practice mobilized for' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2009, 4:08pm EDT
  

• Obama Laying Groundwork to Deny McChrystal's Afghan Surge?

  Is this a war of necessity or not?
  
  The Obama administration seems to be backpedalling on that notion today.
  
  First they reproach McChrystal:
  
  [news.yahoo.com]
  
  Then they leak to the NY Times that they're rethinking merits of additional troops:
  
  [www.msnbc.msn.com]
  
  This is no' [...]
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  Posted: October 04, 2009, 11:11pm EDT
  

• EU Treaty Defeated in Ireland (UPDATED AND CORRECTED)

  A big setback for the EU as Ireland again rejects ratification of their treaty. Skepticism, not just Euro-skepticism, seems to be the hallmark of voters worldwide. Pols take notice...
  
  Read More @: [news.bbc.co.uk]
  
  PS- Does this create opportunties for a tigher Anglosphere?
  
  UPDATE: OK, I jumped [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:30am EDT
  

• Rogers Brings Flood Control Dollars to EKY

  A snip from WYMT TV:
  
  U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) announced today that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved federal funding for flood control efforts in southern and eastern Kentucky.
  
  Today, the House passed the FY10 Energy & Water Appropriations Conference Report, which included $9.5 million [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 8:37am EDT
  

• Southeast Telephone Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Stems from AT&T Suit

  An EKY company is going through a bad patch.
  
  Pike County's Appalachia News Express has the scoop:
  
  A locally owned and operated telecommunications company has filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
  
  According to the filing, minus the $24 million contested judgment, the company’s assets' [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 8:32am EDT
  

• R.I.P., Bill Safire

  
  Two great thinking-conservatives have passed over the past few days. First, Irving Kristol, now, Bill Safire. Safire was a compassionate yet realistic pundit whose commentary I always enjoyed. I will especially miss his New Year's Day predictions in the future. A snip from WaPo's obit [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2009, 7:19pm EDT
  

• AMBER ALERT FROM OWENSBORO, KY

  POTENTIALLY HEADED TO INDIANNA, OH OR TN:
  
  [www.wlwt.com] [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2009, 6:38am EDT
  

• Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom, and the Path Not Taken

  
  Quote of the day: What this country needs above everything else is a body of laws which will look after the men who are on the make rather than the men who are already made. Because the men who are already made are not going [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2009, 9:47am EDT
  

• Fox News in Hollers Causes Census Killing in Clay County?

  That's what one contributor at Daily Kos is suggesting:
  
  Clay County Kentucky (Where this murder happened) is a very
  conservative part of this state, and out in the deep hollers, there are people
  whose only source of the outside world is Fox News and their likes.Simplistic views like [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 8:15am EDT
  

• Census Worker Hanged in Clay County, Anti-Government Sentiment Suspected

  Shock:
  A U.S. Census worker found hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had
  the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday,
  and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government
  sentiment.
  
  [...]
  
  The Census has suspended door-to-door interviews [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 6:31am EDT
  

• India Probe Finds H2O on Moon

  Potentially big news in the world of science:
  
  "Within the context of lunar science, this is a major discovery," said Paul
  G. Lucey, a planetary scientist with the University of Hawaii, who was not
  involved in the current research. "There was zero accepted evidence that there
  was any water" [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 5:26am EDT
  

• Sarah! , Energy Independence, Renewables and Global Warming

  Bit historical now, but intriguing. A report was released in January 2009 from then Gov. Sarah! Palin's Energy Coordinator on Energy Independence for Alaska.
  
  Some highlights:
  
  1. The state has created renewable energy fund.
  2. The state also created an energy research fund.
  3. Does Sarah believe in [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:53am EDT
  

• Natural Gas, Energy Independence and the Greens

  Interesting piece in the BBC about natural gas. In a critical tone they acknowledge new discoveries in places like Appalachia (the Marcellus Shale) and bemoan the fact that energy independence could actually come about as a result of.... Heaven forbid... natural gas. (Scary music plays in the background!)
  
  Snips:
  [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:25am EDT
  

• Cap & Trade Battle Far From Over, But Signs Point to Defeat; Alternative Energy Bill Gains Traction

  The NY Times describes Cap and Trade as being “in limbo.” The EPA and Senator Barbara Boxer, whose Senate committee will produce the ultimate Senate Bill, are not giving up on the legislation. Meanwhile, Senator Inhofe says put a fork in it:
  
  
  “The delay is emblematic of [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 12:05pm EDT
  

• Cumberland Gap in the NY Times Travel Mag

  
  The New York Times travel section has a piece on the Cumberland Gap today. A snip:
  
  

  The Cumberland Gap, a V-shaped notch in the Appalachian mountain chain 60-some miles north of Knoxville, Tenn., is, like Ellis Island, an icon in the settling of [...]

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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 9:38am EDT
  

• Iron Lady Takes Heat Over Secretly Opposing German Unification

  
  Maggie Thatcher, former PM to the United Kingdom, is taking some hits this weekend over her secret opposition to German reunification.
  
  From Der Spiegel:
  
  
  Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher bitterly opposed Germany's reunification. 'We beat the Germans twice, and now they're [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 9:09am EDT
  

• Aussie Takes Helm at Morgan Stanley

  Evidence of the Anglosphere as an Australian takes the helm at Morgan Stanley, a company descended from the old J.P. Morgan & Co.
  
  A snip from the Sydney Morning Herald:
  
  AUSTRALIAN-BORN James Gorman has ascended to one of the most prestigious
  roles in international banking.
  
  Educated at [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 7:48am EDT
  

• Breathitt County Startup Partners with Museum for Magna Carta Exhibit

  
  Great news from a company I've worked with for three years now. Cary Briggs, the inventor, has worked like an energizer bunny to bootstrap this project from one level to the next. He's never given up despite hard times and has always maintained his sunny' [...]
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  Posted: September 13, 2009, 7:06am EDT
  

• In Britain, Blackshirts do Battle with Islamists

  From the Herald Scotland:
  
  A Cabinet minister raised fears of a return to 1930s fascism, comparing
  modern right-wing groups to Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts.
  
  Communities Secretary John Denham’s comments came as he announced a drive to prevent white working-class people being "exploited" by extremists.
  
  He singled out protests [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2009, 8:42am EDT
  

• Eastern KY's Health Stats Should be Red Flag for Proponents of Governtment Run Health Care

  In my previous post I took offense to the state’s #2 newspaper calling Congressman Hal Rogers, a man who’s served his district with amazing electoral success for 29 years, a liar. I neglected to mention that it wasn’t just Rogers’ criticism of budget deficits that irked the Herald.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2009, 8:33am EDT
  

• Herald Leader Cheapens Political Discourse, Accuses Hal Rogers of Lying

  Q: When’s it cool to call a respected political leader a liar?
  A: It’s not, but you can get away with it if you’re the Herald Leader and that politician is a conservative speaking out against huge budget defecits.
  
  Earlier this week the political left erupted when Congressman Joe [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2009, 8:14am EDT
  

• New Media, MSU, Spin and the Everyday Voter

  A thought occurred to me: the real divide in America isn't left and right, or red and blue, it's in how you get your news, mainstream media or new media. Much of the divide we see in American can be laid at the feet of the fact that American voters [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 5:57am EDT