And that’s all, folks

Ok, so this is it–last post on this website.  All future posts will be exclusively on www.whatsrequiredky.com

The Schools

This is the last day for posting at this site.  Please go to www.whatsrequiredky.com

Kentucky Democrat has a host of reasons that we should be happy to let the CATS test go in our educational system.  I’ll give you one more, which is going to seem like a bit of a controversial stance:  it takes that much more authority away from local authorities.  The people writing the test are no longer in Kentucky.  We thereby get a FAR more accurate picture of how our children are performing, and, because we’re not paying for the CATS anymore, I imagine there’s probably going to be some money freed up in what always manages to be a cash-strapped school system.

I’ll be posting a little tirade on the federalizing of schools tonight, and here’s the crux of that argument:  the higher up the chain that the schools become centralized, the easier it is to compare them, the more fairly you can distribute funds, and the more money you can concentrate on research.  Unless one of the Presidential candidates has an education stance I don’t know about, this is never going to happen overnight, so we have to look for small victories–like getting rid of the provincialism the CATS test represents.

Why, Robin, Why?

Cross-Posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com

So I haven’t been kicking around on these here internets long, and I’ve been doing real reporting even less-long, but since the inception, there have been two constants:

• I knew the Stream Saver Bill was important.
• As soon as I saw her, I got a little geek-crush on Robin Webb, D-Grayson

I’m sure those of you versed in Stream Saver lobbying see the issue here. I tried to dodge it, push it to the back of my head, think that she certainly knew better. For the record, this is also how I think of John McCain– aw, John, you don’t really feel that way about abortion; quit being silly and come hold my hand. Only, you know, the Honorable Ms. Webb needed to see her folly, vote for the Stream Saver Bill, and then she could cast aside her responsibilities and sweep this unknown reporter off his feet en route to some tropical island from whence we would never be heard from again.

Come on, that’s AT LEAST as reasonable as thinking McCain is going to come around.

Anyway, that sassy blonde minx did what we knew she would today; her vote (or the vote of anybody else–looking at you Bob DeWeese) could have taken the bill to quit lazily dumping junk in the nearest valley over the top and onto the session floor, but instead it was part of the coal-ilition. What a waste.

It’s ok. I found a new crush. Maybe she’ll take me to the beach. You’d never hurt me, right baby?

Breaking: Fallon Fired

 Cross-posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com. This site goes dormant tomorrow.

Not Kentucky news, but I’ll apply my local spin machine by saying that Kentuckians enlist in the armed forces at a rate higher than any other state. Even Texas.

So Admiral William Fallon, who was C-in-C of Central Command (Read: Petraeus’ Boss) being let go (He retired. Right) right now, in the face of his opposition of war with Iran, does not bid well for a peaceful solution to our myriad conflicts with that nation. Details/Update later.

Update:  So here’s why this is all important:

The Bush Administration, as we all know, prefers to take the frosty approach with Iran.   Wether or not we actually are on the precipice of going to war with Iran at any given time, the foreign policy tack they have chosen to pursue requires that Iran be under that impression.  Fallon, who thanks to an Esquire magazine article, very publicly opposes war with Iran, stands in the way of not just preparations, but even the illusion of them.  Frankly, he was getting in the way of the administration, and I imagine he decided to simply walk away rather than be part of a policy application that he no longer agrees with.

Of course, this is most unfortunate not because it makes war with Iran more likely, but because of the impact it will have in Iraq immediately.  You don’t have to drink the kool-aid on the surge to notice that Iraq has been far, far better under Fallon and Petraeus, and despite a reportedly cool professional relationship between the two of them, they’ve had a run of success at the time it was desperately needed.  For us, with so many Kentucky kids over there toting rifles because they wanted the challenge and adventure and the recruiter was charismatic, this is a tragedy.

Stream Saver Falls Forward

Cross-Posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com. This site goes dormant TOMORROW.

PolWatchers is reporting that the Stream Saver Bill is dead in committee, having won a vote 13-12 that needed to pass 14-12. Three members (all Republicans) abstained, although one member–Mike Denham of Maysville–managed to avoid being in the room when the vote was taken. Kentuckians For The Commonwealth will bounce back, I’m sure, as they’ve kept this bill alive for three years already, and Harry Moberly is saying the right things about overcoming the obstructionist chair of Ag and Natural Resources.

One day, Kentucky, one day.

House Votes to Raise Tax on Volunteer Cancer Patients

As always, this site goes dormant tomorrow, and all content can be found on www.whatsrequiredky.com

The House A&R committee approved the 25 cent-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, among other measures, all designed to get us $800 Million up towards the $900 Million the commonwealth is going to be short in the next two years.

This is good news, but not nearly as wonderful as it would have been if the 70 cent increase that the Governor (finally) supported had gone through.  More revenue, less “other measures”, and less child smoking as a side effect.  I wonder if Gov. Beshear is feeling adventurous?  Got that veto pen ready?

In other news, here’s a breakdown of Eliot Spitzer’s hookers.

The Talent, The Talent, The Talent

This is cross-posted at www.whatsrequiredky.com.  This site will go dormant on Wednesday.

To follow-up on what was written earlier this morning, there’s the beginnings of doing away with our current selection process for Lt. Governor.

This is nothing but good news, despite the misgivings of some on the panel who have apparently become too hung up in the Clinton-Obama Dream Team Ticket With Sparkles.  To put it simply, there’s one criteria to evaluate a Lieutenant Governor by, and that’s whether or not that person is ready to be Governor.  Because the Governor might die.  End of story.  Does it make sense, then, that the selection process has locked out the most talented individuals, those best qualified to hold office, because they lost the primary leading their own ticket?  Or that some talented candidates have tempered their ambition and signed on to be a Lieutenant Governor when they should have run for the big chair?

In defense of the present system, you can imagine how selecting a LT early would foster team unity, and ensure that the ticket was unified, as opposed to a shotgun wedding of two high-end candidates who may not like each other.   It also can heavily influence who votes for whom during the primaries; a decent candidate can be taken over the top with the addition of an exceptional running mate.  But that, too, is part of the reason our talent deficit has occurred, because those exceptional running mates have more often than not only been exceptional in their provincialism.  This way, every candidate must stand on their own, and when they select their Lieutenant, they’ll be far more likely to get top-tier talent.

Slow News Morning

Cross-posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com.  This page will stop updating on Wednesday.

So I’ll regale you with a conversation from last night, or a rough interpretation of it.  Since this website is new, and I have some friends who aren’t horribly politically inclined, I was talking to a dear friend who hadn’t seen the new hotness that is whatsrequiredky.com.  She’s also a Centre College alum, and seeing the bit on Crit Luallen led from the shared alma matter of all three of us, to my feelings on Crit perpetually being asked, and declining to run for, higher office.

Here’s my thoughts on the matter, and not just for Mrs. Luallen (who I am aware has fought off cancer, and may well have a legit medical claim to not running), but for all talented people in (or from!) the Commonwealth…

We have such a talent deficit in this state–the brain drain coming home–that talented, effective leaders should be responding to the pressure to lead in a more dramatic fashion than they have to date.  I understand the desire to keep a job you enjoy, a low public profie, etc.–and for those Kentuckians in the private sector, a big paycheck–but to frank about it, this is bigger than that.  Kentucky is 40th or worse in every major economic and educational metric the census bureau can dream up, and it’s largely because of failures in leadership.

I don’t mean failures in leadership at the federal level.  I don’t mean failures in leadership at the gubernatorial level.  I mean failures in leadership at EVERY level.  The Governor needs to learn how to lead, but he’s getting there, if this cigarette tax is any indication.  We need talent at the county level.  In the precincts. Our state is in trouble, has been, and now has a 900 Million budget shortfall to overcome on our way moving forward.  I apologize, but enjoying your current job, and being happy is not a reason to remain in your position.  If the people of Kentucky can benefit from your service, at any level, start pitching in.  And for those of you capable of doing it on the level of elected office–you have to lead the way.

Call it the Spiderman rule:  with great power comes great responsibility.  One look at the statistics on poverty and education should bring that responsibility home–what can you be doing?  Who do you know that’s been ducking out on helping make this place we love, someplace we can be proud of?

Evening Extra: Hazing, and Adbots

Cross-posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com.  This site will cease posting Wednesday, and my content will be available there exclusively.

I wasn’t planning on writing a post tonight, but had two things that caught my attention:  a hazing fraternity at EKU, and the mind-blowing failure of the Google Adsense algorithm.

• As far as adsense goes, could we be doing any worse for this site’s demographic?  I’ve seen “Visit Lexington,” and have no issue there, but promoting John McCain, the Flat Tax, and Ann Coulter’s columns…wow. What I get for criticizing Steve Beshear, obviously.
• And then there’s the fraternity.  Kappa Alpha Psi apparently has an issue with EKU, and that’s bad.  A couple of things that the Herald-Leader missed that you might need to know if you want to be conversant in this story (there are other higher ed geeks out there, right?  Bueller?  Bueller?):  First, at a school the size of EKU, you have to do something REALLY blatant or dumb.  Second, hazing policies are no joke anymore.  Third, Kappa Alpha Psi is what we denizens of the Greek world call a “multicultural” fraternity, which is to say that they’re primarily African-American., but also a member of the North-American Interfraternity Council (which is fully integrated), which means that they’re more obligated to a progressive stance than many traditionally white organizations.  It’ll be interesting to see what, if any, the fallout there is– there seems to be one of these stories every year (Goats at Western, anybody?)–and I’m beginning to think the administrations are going to lost patience with the system.

Welcome to Our Nightmare, New York

Cross-Posted from www.whatsrequiredky.com.  This site will go dormant on Wednesday, please update your bookmarks.

Now that the world knows that Eliot Spitzer has a hooker problem, I think the Commonwealth has something to say to the Empire State:  “Ha. Ha. Ha.  Welcome to Frankfort, circa 2002.”

Despite the fact that there’s some bigger issues at hand here– it’s a campaign year, and the RNC is already carpet-bombing away with emails about “Spitzer’s Dirty Money”– I don’t think he’ll do what people want him to and resign.   Obviously my experiences are colored here, because I assumed that Gov. Patton was to be left for dead, as well, only to see him hold on until the end of his term, but unless Spitzer is indicted (a very real possibility), I think he’ll serve out his term.

Despite being a grade-A jerk, Gov. Spitzer was a rising star in the Democratic Party, and reportedly had his eye on 2012/2016.  This all puts a stop to that…unless it doesn’t.  He’s in office through 2011 unless he is removed via impeachment or recall, and  frankly, I think he’ll try to hold on for dear life right now, let the election news cycle wash over him, and then make the sort of comeback from the dead that Richard Nixon would grin and chuckle about.

Think I’m crazy?  I think Kentucky has a Governor who took that approach to scandal, as well–only the elections were midterms, and his “comeback never happened.  Gov. Spitzer would do well to examine that train wreck, as well as Patton’s, as case studies in managing a PR crisis. He may yet fare better than our errant officeholders.