Did you get your I-phone? See "Sicko"?

Earlier on this subject, I mentioned that the Apple I-phone will be released on June 29th and stated that I cannot wait. Well, after finding out that it will cost $599.99, plus a 2 year contract with AT&T, I suddenly had a change of heart. So I will not have any I-Phone for a while -- until the price drops drastically (by way of a better AT&T deal or better price without a contract) and all the bugs are worked out of it (I was one of the first ones to get the razr and it is a frustrating piece of technology I now regret paying too much money for!).

So did you get one? Let us know how you like it.

Also, have you seen Michael Moore's movie "Sicko"? Let us know your thoughts, too.

England under terror siege!

I have several relatives in England (London and Ireland) and I am particularly interested in what's going on there. So it is with trepidation that I report the second foiled terror attack planned for London and Glasgow, Ireland. Kudos to the British Intelligence Agencies (or the British vigilance or more apt, PURE LUCK) that foiled what may have resulted in massive casualties.

England has gone on the highest state of alert. I hope our Homeland Security folks here at home are going to be on alert for similar plots.

Beverage's revelations: something sinister or "delusional ramblings"?

Sam Beverage (pictured on the right), former state highway engineer and the only indicted official in the Fletcher administration who was not pardoned, has revealed in court that Fletcher (and former Governor Patton to a certain extent) used a $42 million fund "where the real politics is played," to reward political supporters and punish enemies. To buttress his claim, Beverage stated that "there is a computer listing of all the project requests in the commissioner's office that could easily be traced to political favors. This fund is essentially a large campaign chest and is used accordingly."

So my question is: Are Beverage's accusations a "ridiculous ... part of the politics of destruction that continues to go on" and the "delusional ramblings from someone who was trying to get his hide out of jail," as both Fletcher and Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert have called them or something more sinister?

U. S. Supreme Court is expected to rule against Bush on Gitmo detainees.

Today, the U. S. Supreme Court reversed itself on its denial to hear appeals from detainees at Guantanamo (Gitmo) (read my earlier post on this issue) and issued the following order granting Certiorari:

CERTIORARI GRANTED

06-1195) BOUMEDIENE, LAKHDAR, ET AL. V. BUSH PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. ) 06-1196 ) AL ODAH, KHALED A. F., ET AL. V UNITED STATES, ET AL. The petitions for rehearing are granted. The orders entered April 2, 2007, denying the petitions for writs of certiorari are vacated. The petitions for writs of certiorari are granted. The cases are consolidated and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. As it would be of material assistance to consult any decision in Bismullah, et al., v. Gates, No. 06-1197, and Parhat, et al., v. Gates, No. 06-1397, currently pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, supplemental briefing will be scheduled upon the issuance of any decision in those cases.

If you ask me my humble legal opinion, I will tell you that the Supreme Court is getting ready to "lower the boom" on the Bush Administration regarding its treatment of the detainees, particularly the Administration's claim that it can hold the detainees indefinitely without charging them with any crimes and also deny them the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus - by denying them access to the federal courts, whose jurisdiction over the detainees claim Congress stripped in the wake of 9-11.

You can mark my words!

Persons for the week: Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning.

Our persons for the week are our able Senate Amnesty busters, in the persons of Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning.

Honorable mention: All other Senators who can also claim the mantles of Amnesty busters. Get the list here. The NAY votes are the honorable mentions!

Quote(s) for the week.

1) "There's a way to bring an end to those practices, you know: vote the bums out. That's how our system is designed."
- Sen. BARACK OBAMA, after being asked whether he supports impeachment. Obama did not specifically name George Bush or Dick Cheney "bums".

2) "A district may consider it a compelling interest to achieve a diverse student population. Race may be one component of that diversity."
- U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Anthony Kennedy, clarifying his concurrence in the Court's 5-4 ruling that schools cannot use racial quotas to maintain an integrated student population.

3) "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."
- U.S. Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS, supporting the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision that schools cannot use racial quotas to diversity student populations.

4) "Now I understand why I survived Bush's plans and the plans of other presidents who ordered my assassination: the good Lord protected me."
- FIDEL CASTRO, Cuban leader, in response to Bush's remarks that "One day the good Lord will take Fidel Castro away."

5) "Congress's failure to act on it is a disappointment."
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, after the Senate failed to pass the immigration bill that he promised will be passed and that he will sign.

6) "The documents truly do provide a glimpse of a very different era and a very different agency."
- CIA director Gen. MICHAEL HAYDEN, in a memo to agency staff about declassified files that reveal -- among "some things the CIA should not have done" -- a 1960 plot to kill Fidel Castro.

7) "A lot of people are looking at him like a bad person, but he's not, he really isn't."
- BARBARA CUTTS, stepmother of Bobby Cutts Jr., who is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend Jessie Davis and their unborn child, making a statement that ONLY she possibly believes.

8) "Amnesty means that you've got to pay a price for having been here illegally, and this bill does that."
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, mis-describing his immigration bill on Tuesday. Bush has repeatedly said the bill is not amnesty.

9) "Corruption is a cancer that steals from the poor, eats away at governance and moral fiber, and destroys trust."
- ROBERT ZOELLICK, who was elected President of the World Bank on Monday.

10) "A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands."
- Judge JUDITH BARTNOFF, ruling against a man who sued a dry cleaners for $54 million over a missing pair of pants.

11) "The wheels are coming off his wagon and it's hard to see how he can recover."
- Republican consultant TOM EDMONDS, on John McCain's Presidential campaign. Some G.O.P. insiders predict the Arizona Senator will drop out of the race by September.

12) "It's becoming ever more clear that Rudy Giuliani suffers from John Kerry syndrome."
- JOSEPH CELLA, President of a Catholic advocacy group in Michigan, comparing Giuliani's stance on abortion with that of Kerry, whose Presidential campaign suffered when a group of American bishops denied him communion in 2004.

13) "I do not think that the international community has really lived up to its responsibilities here."
- U.S. Secretary of State CONDOLEEZZA RICE, BELATEDLY condemning the response to the bloodshed in Darfur, ahead of talks in Paris on violence in the Sudanese region.

14) "This fund is essentially a large campaign chest and is used accordingly."
- Sam Beverage, indicted former Kentucky highway engineer describing to a Judge, as a part of his plea agreement in the last? of the merit system investigations' indictments, a "where the real politics is played" $42 million-a-year discretionary fund used at the discretion of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary.

15) "These are part of the politics of destruction that continues to go on, and we're going to focus on what's important."
- Gov. Ernie Fletcher denying Beverage's allegations.

Senator Mitch McConnell displays STATESMANSHIP, his re-election is pretty much guaranteed.

Hooray for our Kentucky U. S. Senators, Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, for standing up for "We, the people" and standing up to the special interests, who wanted to BULLY us and sell our country with their GOD AWFUL immigration AMNESTY bill. The two of them displayed STATESMANSHIP, especially Senator Mitch McConnell, who as Senate Republican Leader, voted against his President on this issue. I can imagine that this was a HARD vote for the Distinguished Senator, which then makes his MAGNAMITY that more ADMIRABLE, and his re-election pretty much guaranteed as his opponents have lost a BIG issue they could have used against him.

Thanks, Senators.

***** SAYONARA, to the immigration AMNESTY bill! *****

Folks, we did it! We FINALLY derailed the AMNESTY immigration bill. The bill has been pulled from consideration in the Senate. So please ya'll join me in waving SAYONARA to the ill-conceived sham.

This development shows what "we the people" are capable of achieving, if we FORCE our elected Representatives to act on our behalf -- rather than in behalf of ALL the well connected special interests.

Once again, thanks to ALL of you who wrote, emailed and called your Senators on this immigration issue.

As predicted, a 5 to 4 U. S. Supreme Court strikes down "racial" schools.

As predicted, the U. S. Supreme Court has, by a 5 to 4 decision -- in a voluminous 185 page (pdf file) opinion in -- Parents Involved In Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, Et Al, 551 U. S. _ (2007), 05-908, that school districts, such as Louisville's, that use race as to determine student placement, whether or not the practice is voluntarily adopted, violates the Fourteenth Amendment Constitutional guarantees of equal protection.

While the Court acknowledged that remedying the effects of past discrimination is a laudable goal of government that satisfies the compelling governmental interest under a constitutionally required strict scrutiny test, the Court nonetheless CORRECTLY found that in the Louisville case, there was no governmental interest since Jefferson County's desegregation decree has been dissolved. Moreover, the Court found that Jefferson County did not make "good faith efforts" to find "race neutral" less restrictive alternatives "narrowly tailored" to achieve its diversity goals.

In my legal mind, this opinion is not as pernicious as some may conclude, including the dissenting Justices Stephen's characterization of the opinion as a "cruel irony" or that of Breyer's near apocalyptic assertion that "[t]o invalidate the plans under review is to threaten the promise of Brown v. Board of Education."

The opinion NEVER disavows the use of race as a factor in achieving diversity. In fact, as Justice Anthony Kennedy, who provided the crucial fifth vote for the Majority, made clear: "A district may consider it a compelling interest to achieve a diverse student population," and "[r]ace may be one component of that diversity." To the extent that Roberts' opinion could be interpreted to foreclose the use of race in any circumstance, Kennedy declared that "I disagree with that reasoning."

Update: For a synopsis of each Justice's individual pronouncements:, visit here.

"Emperor" Dick Cheney creates a fourth branch of government: his office!

In government class I, and many others, learned that the country's Founders created a Republic and divided government into three branches. This was also repeated in law school. Now Vice President Dick Cheney has decide that my instructors were all wrong as he has asserted, through his Chief of Staff, that his office is not a part of the executive branch. Since it is CLEARLY not a part of the judiciary or the legislative, it must be a fourth branch -- wrong?

The issue came up over whether an executive order giving the National Archives oversight over the government's handling of classified information covers his office. Countering that it doesn't has since caused him to be taken to task, including a threat by Congress to cut off funding for his office. Though the mini crisis may be appearing resolution, as Cheney appears to be backing down, one has to wonder whether the Veep now imagines himself as Emperor Nero.

Update:

RPK Chair, Steve Robertson, is CORRECT to "call out" H-L Editor.

Today I received an email calling for the immediate dismissal of Brian Throckmorton, copy desk chief for the Lexington Herald-Leader, who was "outed" by MSNBC for violating company policy by engaging in partisan political activities while working for the newspaper. He is alleged to have donated to the Kerry campaign in 2004. So whether or not you think Steve's call for the dismissal sounds harsh, it seems that a TV reporter was fired for the same reason and many other news outlets have done the same -- or, at least, are re-examining their ethics policies.

Notwithstanding, however, I think Steve's statement that "Throckmorton’s partisan political activity further tarnishes the credibility and integrity of the Herald-Leader. Journalists are entrusted with a special responsibility to report the news in a fair and unbiased manner. To accomplish this task, they must remain free from both perceived and real conflicts of interests because their words and actions have the power to shape public opinion," makes a VERY valid point which needs to be further pursued for corrective action.

Don't you think so?

Money freely spent in Kentucky Governor's primary race.

All the candidates (well most of them) in Kentucky's last May primary for the Governor's race spent FREELY to become their party's nominee. Here is a breakdown:

Gov. Ernie Fletcher spent nearly $3.5 million to win his party's nomination and has just more than $23,500 on hand.

His primary challengers, Billy Harper and Anne Northup, spent more than $6.1 million (nearly all was his money) and $1.9 million ($700,000.00 of her money) respectively, on their unsuccessful campaigns to unseat Fletcher.

Steve Beshear spent just more than $1.8 million to win the Democratic nomination, with nearly the same amount as Fletcher left over.

Challenger, Bruce Lunsford spent $6.6 million ($5.7 million was his own money) on his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination.

Challenger Steve Henry raised $1.6 million (including a rumored $1 million personal loan), and finished the Democratic campaign with a $420,000 balance. He listed debts of just more than $1 million.

Challenger Jody Richards, reported spending $653,000 on his campaign.

Candidates Gatewood Galbraith and Otis Hemsley both raised and spent $23,000.00 and $750.00, respectively.

Across our stateline into Ohio: A HORRIFIC death.

I cannot help think about the HORRIFIC and untimely death of our pregnant neighbor in Ohio, Jessie Davis, and her unborn daughter. Our condolences go to her family and we wish her eternal rest.

Judge loses $54 million pant suit .. and "his shirt".

You have heard (or read here) about the judge who "ruthlessly abused the legal system" by suing a dry cleaning business for $54 million pair of pants. Well today, not only did the judge lose the lawsuit, but he is to pay hundreds of dollars in legal and other fees to the dry cleaning business owners he sued, thereby "losing his shirt" along with his pants.

No one can make this one up, but it's very true.

Merit system continues, as Board answers Crall's call.

According to the Herald-Leader's Ryan Alessi, the State Personnel Board has answered the call of Brian Crall, the Personnel Cabinet Secretary, to investigate Transportation Cabinet Inspector General David Ray, for circumstances leading up to the hiring of Michael Duncan, the Deputy in his office, who was fired for "political reasons" and ordered re-instated by the Board. The allegation is that Mike. Duncan was improperly hired while other more qualified applicants were passed over.

Stay tuned for more developments on this matter.

New Kentucky laws take effect today, June 26th.

Here is a list of new laws that go into effect today:

No denial of emergency medical treatment to an assistance dog because of a handler's inability to pay prior to treatment.

Bluegrass music is the official state music of Kentucky.

Flower shops are prohibited from misrepresenting their business locations in telephone directories.

Human trafficking is now a felony. So you can't force someone into labor, domestic work or the sex trade.

A mother who is breastfeeding a child will be excused from jury duty.

No more fees for special Gold Star Mothers license plates that are available to mothers who lost a son or daughter in service to the United States.

Standards and procedures are established for authorities to follow to ensure proper cleanup of the toxic materials left behind by illegal meth labs.

Minimum Wage is increased from the current minimum wage of $5.15 to $5.85 on June 26; $6.55 on July 1, 2008; and $7.25 on July 1, 2009, unless the federal minimum wage is increased beyond these amounts then Kentucky's minimum wage will mirror the federal wage.

A funeral director involved in arrangements for a deceased veteran must provide a fact sheet stating military burial rights.

School bus drivers cannot use cell phones while transporting students. Exceptions would be made for drivers without two-way radios who need to communicate with their dispatchers and in times of emergency.

Registered sex offenders are to include their e-mail, instant message and other Internet identities on the state's sex offender registry.

The Transportation Cabinet can increase the speed limits on interstates and parkways in Kentucky to 70 miles per hour in areas where it is determined that vehicles can travel safely at that speed.

The eligibility for education benefits available to family members of deceased or disabled veterans will be increased.

U. S. Supreme Court: No "bong hits" for students; Clean water first; Have faith; and, Run those issue ads.

In a few published opinions today, the U. S. Supreme Court has decided (5 to 4) as I predicted here in the "Bong hits for Jesus" case, Morse v. Frederick, 551 U. S. _ (2007), 06-278, that schools may constitutionally limit students' free speech rights that can reasonably be interpreted to advocate drug use (an illegal activity).

In another case, National association of Home Builders, Et Al V. Defenders of Wildlife, Et Al, 551 U. S. _, 06-340, the Court sided (5 to 4) with developers and the Bush administration in a dispute with environmentalists over protecting endangered species, ruling that the clean water law trumps the endangered species law when the EPA hands authority to a state to issue water pollution permits to land developers.

In yet another 5 to 4 decision case, Hein, Et Al v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., the Court ruled that ordinary taxpayers cannot challenge a White House initiative that helps religious charities get a share of federal money.

Continuing its 5 to 4 decision trend, the Court ruled in the so called issue ad case, Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U. S. _ (2007), 06-969, that corporate- and union-funded television issue ads -- issue ads are ads that cast candidates in positive or negative lights while stopping short of explicitly calling for their election or defeat -- that air close to elections were proper. The ruling upheld a Wisconsin Appeals Court decision that an anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads during the final two months before the 2004 elections, dealt a SEVERE blow to the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law, and cast SERIOUS doubt on the issue ad's prohibition's constitutionality.

All these 5 to 4 decisions suggest a huge ideological rift widening amongst SCOTUS members.

Words to live by.

"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed."

- Abraham "Honest Abe" Lincoln.

Person(s) for the week: Michael Bloomberg.

The person for the week is the one man whose defection from the GOP caused anger within the party, elation in the independent (unaffiliated) ranks and fear (largely because of his nearly $15 BILLION fortune which he can use to self-finance a rumored independent presidential run) amongst the already declared presidential field. His name? New York Mayor and fabulously wealthy entrepreneur, Michael Bloomberg.

Quote(s) for the week (U. S. special edition).

1) "Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress."
- FRANK GALLUP, Editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, who says that the public's confidence in Congress is at an all-time low.

2) "Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical."
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, who vetoed Wednesday a bill that would have eased restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

3) "I have no plans to announce a candidacy because I plan to be Mayor for the next 926 days."
- New York City Mayor MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, denying rumors of a 2008 Presidential bid after announcing his departure from the Republican Party. He left the Democratic Party for the G.O.P. when he ran for Mayor in 2001.

4) "Please consider commemorating President Bush's 61st birthday with a gift our entire Party can share."
- LAURA BUSH, in an e-mail soliciting $61 donations from supporters of the Republican National Committee for President Bush's upcoming 61st birthday.

5) "The potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive."
- The HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, in a report that says e-mail records are missing for 51 of the 88 White House officials who had electronic message accounts with the Republican National Committee.

6) "The planet is in distress and all of the attention is on Paris Hilton. We have to ask ourselves what is going on here?"
- AL GORE, who believes in ten years it will be too late to save the planet.

7) "I'm told that 90 is the new 80"
- West Virginia Sen. ROBERT C. BYRD, on his upcoming 90th birthday. Byrd is the longest-serving Senator in history with 54 years in Congress.

8) "If the answer is 'build a fence' I've got two goats on my place in Mississippi. ... Now one of the ways I keep those goats in the fence is I electrified them. Once they got popped a couple times they quit trying to jump it."
- U. S. Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi, having a former Virginia Senator George Allen "Macaca" moment, while trying to explain how a fence will help control illegal immigration on the Mexican border.

9) "The bill on the merits is a mixed bag. ... I'm not uniformly enthusiastic about it."
- Senate GOP Leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, on the "comprehensive" immigration bill before Congress.

U. S. House passes significant Civil Rights bill, GOP Senator places a hold on it! Go figure!!

Yesterday, the U. S. House, by a vote of 422 to 2, passed a SIGNIFICANT Civil Rights bill, H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. The bill was sponsored by Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), and would re-open hate crime cases left unprosecuted and which occurred during the Civil Rights Era but prior to 1970.

The two dissenting votes were from Presidential candidate and Texas Representative, Ron Paul, and Georgia Representative, Lynn Westmoreland.

Why Ron Paul voted against the bill is beyond me, as it has SOURED whatever admiration I might have had of him!

The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Senators Patrick Leahy (Democrat of Vermont) and Chris Dodd (Democrat of Connecticut), who released a statement condemning their fellow Senator, Tom Coburn (Republican from Oklahoma), who put a hold on the bill, thereby unduly delaying what was supposed to be a UNANIMOUS consent Senate passage of the bill.

The reasons for the hold are unclear, though I have written to Senator Coburn to voice my disgust at his actions and to urge him to release his hold on the bill. If you live in Oklahoma, I'd appreciate you contacting the Senator to make your voice heard. (Hat tip to DailyKos for this story. I almost missed it).

This one is GUARANTEED to smell AWFULLY BAD!

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is set to air its "DIRTY laundry" by releasing its classified files dating back to the 1950s. Folks, this one is GUARANTEED to smell AWFULLY BAD! You can mark my words!!

U. S. Supreme Court affirms the "reasonableness" of sentences imposed within federal sentencing commission guidelines.

The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled, in an 8 to 2 fractured decision (with Justice Souter as the SOLE dissenter, who found the judicial presumption discussed below violative of the Sixth Amendment!) in the case of Rita v. United States, 551 U. S. _ (2007), No. 06-5754, that when federal Courts of Appeals review federal sentences in order to set aside those found to be "unreasonable" under the United States Sentencing Commission guidelines (including its amendments guidelines manual of Nov. 2006), a sentence imposed within a properly calculated guideline range is PRESUMPTIVELY "reasonable" within the law.

This means that Federal Appeals Courts will be less likely to reverse sentences that fall within the range of the federal sentencing guidelines on reasonableness grounds, as those sentences are now deemed reasonable.

GREAT news for amnesty foes, as Senator McConnell calls bill "mixed bag" he's "not enthusiastic about"!

All I can say is that the statements from Senate Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, that he's unsure he'll vote for the immigration amnesty bill which he described as a "mixed bag" that "I'm not uniformly enthusiastic about", is the BEST news coming out of the U. S. Senate.

While I certainly understand the Senator's precarious position on this issue, as he is the GOP Leader responsible for doing the President's bidding in the Senate, this should be one issue where he should (with fine political finesse) tell Bush that he is on his own. As the Senator himself admitted when he stated that "[i]n the end, I frankly don't know whether this thing will fly or not," we can assure the Senator that in the end we MUST NOT let this "pig" of a bill fly because pigs are NOT created to fly, literally and figuratively.

Senator, if are reading this, I certainly hope you see the light on this immigration fiasco. There are better ways to deal with this immigration issue, such as we first enforce existing laws by SECURING the borders, after which the discussion can begin, but NOT the way Senator Ted Kennedy wants to RAM amnesty down "our throats".

Also, following Kennedy down this path will have the GOP risks alienating its base and core value.

To other readers, please help by continuing to make those phone calls, send faxes and emails to your Senator(s) (If you live in Kentucky, please note that we already have Senator Jim Bunning's support, so send him thank yous. If any of you is having a hard time figuring out how to make the contacts, please respond here and I will post the necessary information. Thanks, again.

Did Steve Robertson imply that Jack Conway and Dan Mongirado are gays?

You have heard the latest accusations, I'm sure. Steve Robertson, the new RPK Chair, is being accused of implying that Democratic Attorney General candidate, Jack Conway, and Democratic Lt. Governor candidate, Dan Mongiardo, are gays, when he compared them to the fairy tale character "Gretel" (with Attorney General Greg Stumbo as the "Hansel" of the pair), or is the accusation simply a misplaced knee jerk political reaction?

Beshear reverses course, joins Fletcher in disclosing income.

Bowing to political pressure to honor his pledge to release his income tax information Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Steve Beshear, has disclosed his income for 2006. The income information shows that Beshear earned $402,220.00 from his employment association with the Stites and Harbison law firm in Lexington.

This income is in addition to income of $3.32 million earned largely from selling stock in U.S. Bancorp, bringing their grand total to $3.74 million. Of that total, they paid $569,612 in taxes to the federal government and $204,929 to the state, while giving $29,184 to charities.

The Fletchers previously released their income tax information in May, which showed them earning $124,118 last year and paying more than $16,000 in state and federal taxes.

Fletcher calls special session. Will Richards immediately adjourn sine die?

The news is that Gov. Fletcher will call Legislators back in a special session on July 5th, in an "urgent need" to "advance the interest of all Kentuckians, in clean coal burning technology, renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind and solar, as well as encouraging conservation", according to the Gov.'s letter. Many House Democrats have consistently suggested there is no need for a special session, which their Leader, Speaker Jody Richards, has called "a prescription for disaster" and "very political".

Since only the Gov. has the power to call a special session, Democrats have no choice but to respond to the special call. But nothing stops the Speaker from adjourning the session sine die once it starts.

Is that what, maybe, Speaker Richards has "up his sleeves"?

Bad news for Giuliani as his SC campaign Chair is indicted.

It is bad news for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign as his campaign Chairman for South Carolina, that state's Treasurer, Thomas Ravenel, is indicted on cocaine charges, including conspiracy to possess and intent to distribute the drug.

Coupled with Giuliani's friendship and business connections with the likes of Bernard Kerik in New York and now this Ravenel guy, very soon one can start to accuse Rudy of knowing how to pick 'em!

New SURVEYUSA poll is out on Fletcher.

The new SURVEYUSA poll is out on Gov. Ernie Fletcher. The poll of 600 likely voters on data with a sampling error rate of 4% collected between June 06 and June 10 and published two days ago has the Gov.'s approval rating at 39% (an increase of 1% over last month's poll results) and a disapproval rating of 58% (which stayed the same. The rest are unsure).

Regionally speaking, his approval rating is highest in North Central Kentucky at 49%, and lowest in Western Kentucky and Louisville at 33% (Eastern Kentucky is at 36%).

Feel free to do your own analysis by visiting the poll results.

Again, your comments are welcomed.

New SURVEYUSA polls are out on McConnell and Bunning.

The new SURVEYUSA polls are out for Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning.

Senator Mitch McConnell has an approval rating of 52% and a disapproval rating of 42%.

Senator Jim Bunning has an approval rating of 44% and a disapproval rating of 45%.

More important for both men (because of any prospects of a primary challenge) is that McConnell enjoys an approval rating of 73% from his fellow Republicans and Bunning enjoys a 59% approval rating from the same group, dispelling any rumors of a primary challenge.

Regionally, both men have lowest approval ratings in Eastern Kentucky, with McConnell enjoying a highest approval rating in Western Kentucky and Bunning in his home of North Central Kentucky.

Kentucky Senate President won't support expanded gambling ...

... and he explains why.

Are you surprised? What are your thoughts about David Williams' stance and on gambling in general?

New York City Mayor bolts Republican Party.

New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has bolted from the Republican Party and declared himself an Independent. In announcing his desire to become "unaffiliated" with either political party, Bloomberg stated that "[w]e're here not to represent parties. We're here to represent the people and that's what we have to do every single day and that's the way we get judged."

While the state GOP "poo-poo"ed his decision, Donna Brazile, a Democratic political strategist who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, called it "a wakeup call to our two-party system that there is another player in town."

Ms. Brazile is, of course referring to speculations that Mr. Bloomberg plans to run for President as an Independent. And being "unaffiliated" will allow him to run petition drives in all the 50 states. With Bloomberg's personal fortunes conservatively estimated at more than $5 Billion, he has the resources to run a very competitive (if not winning) campaign.

Moreover, I suspect, Bloomberg may not be the only one to jump the GOP ship. His good friend, California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, comes to mind. And so do others disgusted with the GOP.

Bush seeks to become political "pinata", draws the ire of Republicans.

President Bush has cajoled the Senate into re-introducing the immigration amnesty bill, thereby succeeding in drawing the ire of his Republican base and risking being used by them as a political "pinata".

Meanwhile, big business cannot help but be rejoiced at the prospects of cheap immigrant labor and a near permanent working underclass.

U. S. Supreme Court sides with car passengers.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled UNANIMOUSLY in an opinion delivered by Justice David Souter, Brendlin v. California, 551 U. S. 1 (2007), that when a police officer stops a vehicle, its passengers are seized for Fourth Amendment purposes just like the driver. As such, a passenger can exercise his/her constitutional right to challenge the legality of the stop.

The Court has always ruled that drivers have the constitutional right, but it has NEVER ruled, until now, that passengers also have that same right.

UK revamps "domestic partner" beneficiary definition ...

... in order to comply with Attorney General's opinion, opts instead for "adult sponsored dependent". But will the new definition survive a constitutional challenge or is it still a "constitutional" duck, as Rep. Stan Lee sees it?

Update on how Stan Lee sees it.

Words to live by.

"The Forbidden Fruit makes many jams"
- Spied on a Bowling Green church marque.

What's in a presidential candidate's nickname?

You may have known -- or not -- that presidential candidates and presidents (and their families) have nick names given to them by the Secret Service assigned to protect them. Here are a few nicknames for some of these folks.

What do you think of the nick names? Would you give these folks the same names or something better, like Bozo, Stiff, etc. ? Let us know.

Happy fathers' day to ALL.

This is wishing ALL fathers out there a happy fathers' day.

Immigration amnesty bill update and the KILL BILL Caucus.

As many of you know, some Senators, like Harry Reid and others NOT listed below, with President Bush as a vocal co-conspirator, who is busy handing out cash for support, have resurrected the immigration amnesty bill. Those of us who are "up in arms" against it deserve my applause. Also, deserving of HUGE praise are the Senators who are a part of The KILL BILL Caucus, determined to do the will of the people and vote to kill the amnesty bill. Please note that the asterisks, as used here, means the Senators are up for re-election. (I am also adding another label, Kill Bill, to track Legislative bills (both on the state and federal levels that deserve "killing"):

DEMOCRATS (8)

* Baucus (MT)
Byrd (WV)
Dorgan (ND)
* Landrieu (LA)
McCaskill (MO)
Tester (MT)
* Pryor (AR)
* Rockefeller (WV)

REPUBLICANS (19)

* Alexander (TN)
* Allard (CO)
Bond (MO)
Bunning (KY)
Coburn (OK)
Corker (TN)
* Cornyn (TX)
Crapo (ID)
DeMint (SC)
* Dole (NC)
* Enzi (WY)
Grassley (IA)
* Inhofe (OK)
* Roberts (KS)
* Sessions (AL)
Shelby (AL)
* Smith, G. (OR)
Thune (SD)
Vitter (LA)

A special hero's garland should drape four Senators who have been absolutely courageous leaders in battling the power of the White House and of the Democratic Party Leadership -- and taking incredible abuse from most of the elite national news media.

THE HEROIC LEADERS

Sessions (R-Ala.)
Dorgan (D-N.D.)
DeMint (R-S.C.)
Vitter (R-La.)

If all 98 Senators vote, we will need 39 NO votes on cloture to kill this bill. So far, we have 27 and need 13 more. So keep those faxes, emails, letters and phone calls going.

If you do NOT see your Senator's name on the above list, you still can get them to join the KILL BILL Caucus.

Thanks.

"Nifong"ed Duke Lacrosse players force the resignation of ...

... their Prosecutor, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, who now says he'll resign his post over the BOGUS rape case that "imploded" in his face!

Watch him admit a host of Prosecutorial wrongdoings, based on the Bar complaint.

Again, justice may be slow, but it should NEVER be denied, as was the case here.

Update: North Carolina Bar panel finds Nifong guilty of " breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys" and decides to disbar him. A sorry end to a sorry fiasco designed to "to further his political ambitions."

It's BAD when your own office starts to investigate you ...

... so it is the case with U. S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales.

So SAD.

Person(s) for the week: Bush, Hilton & Thomas Moore.

This is the first time that we have had more than two persons as the persons for the week. This week's selections are: (1) President Bush, who has been stubbornly steadfast in his immigration quest (despite the fact that his approval rating continues to sink into the 20's, percentage wise, though he is revered in Albania!).

(2) Paris Hilton, whose crying spells and on off again relationship with the jail staff dominated the news; and,

(3) Thomas Moore, who refused to let the 43 year old Klan murder of his brother go unpunished. His perseverance paid off, as a jury returned a guilty verdict against 71 year old James Ford Seale in Mississippi.

And there you have them, our persons for the week, by sheer domination of the news and more.

Quote(s) for the week.

1) "They're better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress."
- CAROL BROUSSARD, the mayor of Delcambre, La., on a new town ordinance banning people from wearing "saggy pants" that are too revealing. Penalties include up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

2) "When the N.R.A. and I agree on legislation, you know that it's going to get through, become law and do some good."
- Sen. CHARLES E. SCHUMER (D-NY), on the gun control bill that passed the House yesterday. The bill would close the loophole that allowed the Virginia Tech gunman to buy firearms even though he had been committed to a mental hospital.

3) "It would be a backward-looking and very contentious process."
- U.S. Defense Secretary ROBERT GATES, describing the likely confirmation process for a second term for current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, to justify the surprise decision to not recommend him again.

4) "Today's media, more than ever, hunts in a pack ... It is like a feral beast just tearing people and reputations to bits."
- U.K. Prime Minister TONY BLAIR, claiming TV and newspaper coverage has worsened during his 10 years at Downing Street.

5) "The President cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen."
- U.S. Circuit Judge DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ, in a federal appeals court ruling that says the military cannot hold U.S. resident Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, an alleged terrorist, indefinitely in South Carolina without charges.

6) "I'll see you at the bill signing."
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, displaying his classic arrogance, by pledging that his stalled immigration overhaul would be revived.

7) "I used to act dumb. That act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference ... God has given me this new chance."
- PARIS HILTON, speaking to Barbara Walters via phone from the L.A. County Jail, where she is serving out the remainder of her 45-day sentence for drunk driving.

8) "It was really David Chase's joke on all of us: Nothing happened."
- CAROL JOYNT, fan of the HBO series The Sopranos, on the show's creator, David Chase, and the finale's unexpected end — an abrupt cut to black.

9) "If it were up to me, I would close Guantanamo not tomorrow but this afternoon."
- COLIN POWELL, former U.S. Secretary of State, calling for the immediate closure of the controversial military prison.

10) "One of the frustrations is that there is more attention on Britney Spears getting out of a car without underwear than there is about who is going to be the next president."
- Republican presidential candidate MIKE HUCKABEE, criticizing the media's coverage of celebrities.

11) "We went from being viewed as athletes to being viewed as rapists."
- READE SELIGMANN, one of the falsely accused Duke lacrosse players, testifying during the fourth day of Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong's ethics trial.

12) "Beverage was saying basically that people that contributed to the campaigns got road work, got construction work and contracts. I think Sam Beverage has some credibility. I think he knows everything."
- Franklin County Kentucky Commonwealth's Attorney, Larry Cleveland, on allegations made by the State Highway Engineer, Sam Beverage, that the Fletcher administration steered highway contracts to campaign contributors.

13) "Credibility is an issue. These statements were made by a person originally indicted on a felony perjury charge who then had the charge reduced in a plea agreement."
- Transportation Cabinet spokesman responding to the same allegations.

Common Cause complains against Williams.

The Chairman of Common Cause, Richard Beliles, has filed a complaint against Kentucky Senate President, David Williams, alleging ethics violations.

I suspect David Williams is too smart to let himself get caught up in some violation as is alleged here. Is there substance to the allegation or is it mere politics?

Justice delayed does NOT have to be justice denied!

43 years after killing two Black teenagers in Mississippi in 1964, A KKK Klansman, who feigned his own death in a cowardly attempt to avoid justice for the brutal racial killings was today found guilty by a majority White jury, in a trial that would NOT have happened if not for the positive racial attitudes that outed his kind and the dogged determination of one of the slain victim's brother.

Seale joins Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, who was convicted last June of manslaughter in the killings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, Bobby Frank Cherry in Alabama, convicted in 2002 of killing four black girls in the bombing of a Birmingham church in 1963, and, Thomas Blanton, who was convicted in 2001.

71 year old James Ford Seale is expected to draw a life sentence later this month, and most likely die in prison -- and from their go straight to where his VILE kind spends AGONIZING eternity paying for doing lucifer's earthly bidding.

Justice may be slow, but in Searle's case it was NOT denied his victims. So let's ALL resolve to make them ALL come on down, where the prices for justice for their crimes are both just and right.

U. S. Supreme Court deals blows to unions and foreign governments, plus practice tip.

The U. S. Supreme Court has dealt a severe blow to unions (maybe to their PACs) by UNANIMOUSLY ruling in, DAVENPORT ET AL. v. WASHINGTON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, that though "[t]he National Labor Relations Act permits States to regulate their labor relationships with public employees[ including] authoriz[ing many states'] public-sector unions to negotiate agency-shop agreements that entitle a union to levy fees on employees who are not union members but whom the union represents in collective bargaining", but the act does NOT trump "the First Amendment [which] prohibits public-sector unions from using objecting non-members’ fees for ideological purposes not germane to the union’s collective-bargaining duties". As such, "unions must therefore observe various procedural requirements to ensure that an objecting nonmember can keep his fees from being used for such purposes".

What does this ruling mean for the lay person? It means that if you are forced to pay union dues so that a union can negotiate with your employer for wages and benefits but you are NOT a member of that union, then the union MUST get your permission to spend a portion of your dues earmarked for lobbying on issues that you disapprove of -- such as abortion. That is why this is a blow to unions who like to pull employees' dues to lobby for issues supported by (an almost certain) liberal majority, with no way for a non union employee to object to it.

In another case, PERMANENT MISSION OF INDIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS ET AL. v. CITY OF NEW YORK, the court held, 7 to 2, that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA), "does not immunize a foreign government (in this case, India and Mongolia) from a lawsuit (by City of New York) to declare the validity of tax liens [held by New York City] on property held by the sovereign [India and Mongolia] for the purpose of housing its employees."

For the lay person, the case says that a foreign country will not escape taxes on the part of its building in which it houses its employees, regardless of whether that same building also is where it transacts its foreign business.

The third case released today is for those who practice law. It is a 6 to 3 decision in BOWLES v. RUSSELL, WARDEN, which stands for the proposition that "[t]he taking of an appeal in a civil case within the time prescribed by statute is 'mandatory and jurisdictional.'" "There is a significant distinction between time limitations set forth in a statute, which limit a court’s jurisdiction, and those based on court rules, which do not" the court noted before concluding that "[] when an appeal has not been prosecuted in the manner directed, within the time limited by the acts of Congress, it must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction."

NOTE: For practitioners, what is sad about this case is that the District Judge gave the litigant 17 days (3 more than mandated by statute) and the Supreme Court CORRECTLY ruled that the lower court had NO power to enlarge the statutory time limit.

A word to the wise: FOLLOW the statute!

Comments, if you have any.

Bush: Country needs an illegal alien President; Senator Harry Reid on incompetence.

Today, President Bush reiterated his position that the country needs illegal aliens "to do the job that Americans do not want to do". On this immigration issue, I'll like to remind the President of one American who is not doing his work: The President himself.

Maybe, just maybe, the President's logic would have us opting for one of those illegal immigrants for his job!

But despite my criticism of the President on immigration, I have to give the President credit for his statement that, in the "Scooter" Libby case, the judicial process needs to take its course (through the appeal process) before a pardon can be discussed. However, Bush can use a little known presidential pardoning power to postpone the serving of the sentence pending his exhaustion of the appeal process!

And then there is the matter of Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who called departing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Petraeus, incompetent and out of touch with reality.

I guess, on both counts, General Petraeus can take solace that, it takes one to know one!!

Kentucky "Fen-phen" lawyers indicted by a federal grand jury.

Attorneys, Shirley Cunningham and Melbourne Mills.

In an earlier posting, I reported about three Lawyers, who have since being found liable in civil court for defrauding their clients in the $200 million Fen-Phen drug settlement case, Melbourne Mills Jr., Shirley Cunningham Jr., and William Gallion. I opined that this story is an example of why Lawyers rank lower than used car salespersons, and informed my readers that the three of them had "caught the eye of a federal grand jury." Well today the federal grand jury has indicted them for "conspiracy to commit wire fraud". If convicted, each could receive a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus possible PERMANENT disbarment.

Oh, but for the love of money!

Happy Flag day.

Happy flag day!

Obama's "cheesy" crush: Monica Lewinsky redux?

Watch the video of a "cheesy" Monica Lewinsky wanna-be Obama fan, Lea Kaufman, who promises more. Funny what some will do for publicity -- and yep, I'm giving it to her. What am I thinking?

"Hollywierd" meets Iran: Fame vs. death.

In Hollyweird, bad behavior gets you lots of Television face time, fame and money. You can ask the likes of Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson and others. Heck, in America, porn is used to tease men into church. In Iran, however, the same bad behavior gets you the death penalty, as the country passes a new law to punish immorality. Such may be the fate of Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, a very popular Iranian movie star, who is charged with violating the new morality law, when a private sex tape she allegedly made with her boyfriend surfaced for sale.

And so it goes.

Amazingly shocking: the past repeats itself as U. S. arms Iraq's Sunnis.

Amid the crumbling of U. S. backed tribal coalition in Anbar province to fight Al-Qaeda comes a shocking new revelation that we are arming the Sunnis to fight Al-Qaeda! If true, and I have NO reason to believe it's not, then we HAVEN'T learned any lessons from recent examples of when we supplied weapons to Osama Bin Laden to fight the Russians (that he is NOW using against us) and Saddam Hussein (which the rogue Iraqis are using against us).

The problem with forgetting the past is, of course, that we CANNOT help ourselves repeating it. That's were we find ourselves now, I'm afraid to say. Don't you?

Homosexual bombs?

Many Bloggers apparently missed this story, but since I wasn't blogging back then I can be excused. With the Military's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy towards homosexuals, one would think the subject would have been avoided altogether but apparently NOT. The one about the bad breath is funny, though, you have to admit!

BOB Novak opines on Kentucky politics.

Here's what Bob Novak had to say today about Kentucky politics:

Kentucky: Fresh from losing the nomination for lieutenant governor, state Atty. Gen. Greg Stumbo (D) has let out word that he is considering a run at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell is well funded and should be unassailable. Democrats would love to give him a hard time, putting one more Republican Senate seat on the map by fielding a credible candidate. Another potential Democratic candidate is millionaire businessman Charlie Owen.

There is even some talk of a primary against McConnell -- a thinly veiled threat by some Republicans who feel that he did not do enough to help Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) in his contested primary last month. Fletcher now trails in double digits for this November's re-election.

Your thoughts?

Judge, who "ruthlessly abused the legal system", cries for $54 million pair of trousers.

By now you have heard of the Judge in Washington D. C. who is suing the dry cleaners for $54 million over his missing pair of trousers. Now I must confess that I do NOT know much about the pair of trousers in question, but noticing that it was NOT diamond encrusted and made by the diamond dealer, De Beers, it seems to me NOT only that the $54 million might by EXCESSIVE but I tend to agree with the Defense Attorney who saw the case as "a story of how one man has ruthlessly abused the legal system ...".

How about you?

Fred Thompson makes it official, Guiliani likes the number 12, Tommy Thompson to quit, Ed Gillespie to White House & Spielberg sides with Hillary.

National political news happenings for today.

First, Senator Fred Thompson makes it official on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show. Asked by Leno "if he'd like the nation's top job" the former Tennessee senator responded: "I've never craved the job of president, but I want to do some things that only a president can do." So," Thompson added, "the answer is yes."

In most polls, Fred has tied Rudy. If it continues, we could end up with a Fred/Rudy team next year.

Second: Rudy Giuliani has released "My 12 commitments to the American people":

1. I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists' War on Us.
2. I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.
3. I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.
4. I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.
5. I will impose accountability on Washington.
6. I will lead America towards energy independence.
7. I will give Americans more control over, and access to, health care with affordable and portable free-market solutions.
8. I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.
9. I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.
10. I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
11. I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.
12. I will expand America's involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.

Third: Former Wisconsin Governor and Presidential candidate, Tommy Thompson, has called a news conference for this afternoon. I expect him to announce he is QUITTING the presidential race.

Fourth: Former RNC Chair, Ed Gillespie, is on his way to the White House as Bush's Counselor to replace Dan Bartlett who resigned earlier this month.

Fifth: Movie Mogul Steven Spielberg has announced his endorsement of Hillary Clinton's campaign. This one to be filed in the "for whatever it's worth" file.

Update: Vice President Cheney's daughter, Elizabeth, together with some other top foriegn policy folks have joined the Fred Thompson team, and former Senator Al D'Amato of New York has also endorsed the Fred Thompson ticket. Newt Gingrich is also itching for a race, though I suspect it will be for a vice presidential slot.

Also, Bill Clinton is predicting that Al Gore will join the presidential hunt and give his wife, Hillary, a very STIFF competition.

I fully expect these three individuals to shake-up their party's races for the White House. Now if New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gets in with Nebraska Senator, Chuck Hagel, on an independent ticket, you will be likely to really see a REAL shake-up.

Trey Grayson and Richie Farmer, two safe bets?

Last week, the Kentucky Education Association (KEA) had its political PAC endorse Secretary of State Trey Grayson for re-election. The KEA almost NEVER endorses a Republican (and as you can see from the list, other than for Trey, all the endorsements went to Democrats). Though I suspect that the individual members will vote their choices anyhow, it speaks volumes that the PAC will fail to choose one of theirs: Bruce Hendrickson, and give its nod to Trey -- GREAT news for Trey.

And though NOT an endorsement, the actions of David Williams last Friday wherein he is alleged to have threatened a City Clerk, might as well be an endorsement for Richie Farmer. Not that Richie needed the endorsement since his name recognition is expected to help him win re-election, but add to that the antics of his opponent and you start to get somewhat of a clearer political picture.

But I caution that stranger things have happened in politics and with Republican political image NOT being what it ought to be, a very large number of Democrats could vote straight ticket and (with possible Republican defections, according to polls and chatter) muddy the otherwise clear political picture.

In spite of all that though, are Trey and Richie not looking more and more like SAFER bets now?

No mas, El Presidente'!

Since President Bush appears NOT to hear us when we protest his immigration FARCE, it MUST be because we are speaking a language he does NOT understand, hence his visit to the Capitol to drum up support for the immigration bill's resurrection.

So let me attempt to speak the language I'm SURE he understands:

NO mas, El Presidente'!

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"!

Enough said!

Republicans rightfully show no confidence in Alberto Gonzales' "no confidence" vote.

Today the Senate attempted to pass a "no confidence" vote on Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, but were RIGHTFULLY rebuffed by the Republican minority. See how your Senator voted.

Now, I am one who thinks that Gonzales deserves to be "nudged" into another Cabinet or other post within the Bush administration and have now consisting called for the President to do the "Gonzo" shuffle. And I am NOT alone. Even VERY prominent Republicans have done so, including many U. S. Senators (some of them joined the 53 who voted to end cloture -- 7 short of the 60 votes needed -- and others who declined to sanction the "no confidence" vote but want Gonzales gone) and others.

But I am glad for the defeat of the "no confidence" vote for a couple of reasons:

(1) The vote is largely a non binding resolution, which amounts to nothing really. If, as the both the Senate and the House wanted to make it, it became a joint concurrent resolution, which would have had the force of law, President Bush would have vetoed it anyway and without enough votes for an override -- again a waste of legislative energy and time. So, in essence, the vote would have been meaningless, other than providing Democrats a way to embarrass the President --the first time Congress would have been able to do so in like circumstance in over 100 years!) and score CHEAP political points; and

(2) No matter how embarrassing Gonzales' problems may be for anyone watching the political spectacle surrounding him, the embarrassment is for Bush and Bush alone, as Gonzales works for him as a member of the Executive Cabinet. Recognizing the constitutional separation of powers implication here, I opine that Gonzales MUST be allowed to serve at the pleasure of the President and NOT at the whim of the Senators, who after all sanctioned his choice as Attorney General by CONFIRMING him in the first place!!

As Abraham Lincoln once said when the "dismissal from the cabinet" of his Postmaster General Monty Blair, was demanded of him: "I propose continuing to be myself the judge as to when a member of the Cabinet shall be dismissed."

Enough said.

Word to live by.

"I have never done an official act with a view to promote my own personal aggrandizement, and I don't like to begin now."

- Abraham "Honest Abe" Lincoln, the BEST human this country has -- or will EVER -- produce. Bare NONE!

Colin Powell calls for closing Guatanamo prison and doing away with military tribunals for war detainees ...

... says we should do it "this afternoon" because it has become a major problem in "the way the world perceives America."

"Essentially, we have shaken the belief that the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open and creating things like a military commission", General Powell stated. Instead, he advocates trying the prisoners in the federal court system where they'll have the rights of habeas corpus and getting their own lawyers. "Isn't that what our system is all about?", he asks rhetorically.

Watch his interview on Meet The Press and tell us whether you agree with him or not.

Oh, BTW, General Powell also made it CLEAR he would support a candidate, REGARDLESS of party affiliation, who is "BEST person to lead the country in the next 8 years"! I guess, in all modesty, and frankness, on my part, for both country and state, that makes two of us!

Update: Former Nuremberg Prosecutor, Henry King, Jr., who interrogated Albert Speer, faults Guantanamo, saying "[i]t violates the Nuremberg principles, what they're doing, as well as the spirit of the Geneva Conventions of 1949."

Do you agree?

*** Senator Joe Lieberman rachets up "saber rattling", urges bombing of Iran. Is war imminent? ***

Today on CBS' Face The Nation, with Bob Schieffer, Independent Connecticut Senator, Joe Lieberman, has advocated the bombing of Iraq for killing U. S. soldiers in Iraq with its meddling and support of the extremists there. Watch the video and share your thoughts with us.

Lieberman's news comes after Newsweek reported on a Hidden war with Iran, all of which tend to support my view that the replacement of General Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is related to Iraq, and most importantly to a new phase in the war on terror, which will have the United States in another war (or conflict, if you will) and which will rely HEAVILY on the use of the Navy -- hence the selection of a Navy Admiral to replace Marine Corp General. I hope I'm wrong about another war -- or conflict -- but I suspect I'm NOT.

This news also follows Cheney's statement earlier this year that the U. S. was sending a strong signal to Iraq, a third carrier deployment to Iraq, and a military buildup -- which essentially would have begun had it not been for profound objections by CENTCOM.

So while the State Department, through Secretary of State Condi Rice, is committed to diplomacy with Iran, as demonstrated by its first formal talks between the nations in 27 years, Hawks, like Vice President Dick Cheney and now Senator Joe Lieberman, are pushing for military action, disregarding any calls of a military incursion against Iran a fantasy.

So the question is: Can we afford to fight a third war in the Middle East (if you count Afghanistan), even as our war in Iraq is NOT going as well as one would wish?

Immigration bill = Amnesty!

Update: NOTHING but sticks and stones ... .

"Adam" and the forbidden fruit.

Many of you may have heard about the multi million dollar creation museum that was recently opened in Northern Kentucky. Well, it turns out out that the man hired to play ADAM in the museum intro. video, Eric linden, has been eating his share of the forbidden fruit. You can read the story here.
This is absolutely mind numbing. One would think that a more appropriate character could have been found to play the part in a religious exhibition. Kinda reminds me of the guy (who I previously blogged about here) who was paraded around by Republicans on the issue of censorship, but who turned out to brag about his gay escort service on his website!

Check them out, guys, before you parade them.

Plea in Beverage case wraps up merit investigation court cases.

Sam Beverage, the former Transportation Cabinet State Highway Engineer, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct, in exchange for the dismissal of the felony perjury count against him. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. This plea brings an end -- in court of law at least -- to the merit system investigations. Charges, though, are still pending and remain unresolved before the state Personnel Board.

My thoughts are that the state's case against Mr. Beverage wasn't strong enough to justify the felony charge to begin with, otherwise the plea agreement would NOT have materialized. What do you think?

Update: Sam Beverage pled guilty today as expected and will be sentenced on June 29th, presumably to probation and fine. As a part of his plea agreement, beverage is said to be "squealing" to Prosecutors about alleged bid rigging (and other illegal activities at the Transportation Cabinet, implicating Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert and Commissioner of Highways Marc Williams, according to published reports attributed to Larry Cleveland, Franklin County Commonwealth Attorney.

Stay tuned.

Maybe, my caption about wrapping up the merit system investigation was a little premature!

Justice in America today.

A few notable events happened today in our justice system still reeling from the "Scooter" sentencing. Today, the L. A. Judge ordered Paris Hilton back to jail to complete her 45 day jail sentence for driving while intoxicated and after she was released to house arrest by the Sheriff! Frankly, I didn't know the Sheriff has that kind of power. He probably doesn't, and I am shocked the Judge in the case did NOT cite the Sheriff for contempt of court. Only in Hollyweird, I guess. I am adding another label for Hollywood to capture some of the weird antics of many of its inhabitants.

In another case of the Preacher's wife in Selmer Tennessee, Mary Winkler, the Judge there sentenced her to 3 years, but to serve ONLY 270 days to be shortened further for mental health issues. That means she is probably done with serving her sentence, because of the little time she has spent in jail. What did the preacher's wife do, you ask? No, she didn't drive drunk. She shot and killed her husband while he slept! You go figure.

Under the circumstances, maybe if Paris Hilton drove drunk in Tennessee, she may have received an apology for having being bothered with a summons to appear in Court!!

Iraq war claims another political victm ...

... this time it's Joint Chiefs' of Staff Chair, Marine Corps General Peter Pace. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, said during the announcement of Pace's replacement (Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen) that he had intended to re-appoint Pace but that after consulting with senators in both parties, he had concluded that "the focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past and not on the future."

So Gates' decision to replace Pace has politics written all over it. Can you say Iraq?

Also, Pace's replacement with a Navy veteran suggests to me that the next war American fights, will rely HEAVILY on the Navy. Are you thinking the same way, too?

We won -- again!

Ever since I started this blog about ten months ago, there have been ONLY two times that I have OPENLY and VEHEMENTLY advocated the opposition to the excercize of legislative authority on issues, such as the MANDATORY vaccination of our daughters against the HPV vaccine from our own Kentucky General Assembly and the immigration amnesty "hocus pocus" from our Senators in Washington, D. C. . I am happy to report that in each case, we won. Our collective efforts continue to showcase the power of "WE, the people" and how we can, like General Tecumseh Sherman and General Ulysses Grant, marshal our troops and ammunition to bring an end to injustice. Thanks to EVERYONE of you who spoke up by calling, writing or emailing your elected Representatives to ENSURE that the peoples' will was done on this issue. I am happy to report to ALL of you that Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has pulled the ill-advised immigration bill from further consideration. Please call, write or email the following Senators, who used whatever means was at their disposal, to derail the bill. This calls for another label for this type of post: Keeping them honest.

SENATORS VOTING NO ON CLOTURE

Democrats

Baucus,Max (MT)
Boxer,Barbara (CA)
Byrd,Robert (WV)
Conrad,Kent (ND)
Dorgan,Byron (ND)
Landrieu,Mary (LA)
McCaskill,Claire (MO)
Pryor,Mark (AR)
Reid,Harry (NV)
Rockefeller,John (WV)
Stabenow,Debbie (MI)
Tester,Jon (MT)
Webb,James (VA)
Sanders,Bernie (VT)

Republicans

Alexander,Lamar (TN)
Allard,Wayne (CO)
Bennett,Robert (UT)
Bond,Kit (MO)
Brownback,Sam (KS)
Bunning,Jim (KY)
Burr,Richard (NC)
Chambliss,Saxby (GA)
Coburn,Tom (OK)
Cochran,Thad (MS)
Coleman,Norm (MN)
Collins,Susan (ME)
Corker,Bob (TN)
Cornyn,John (TX)
Craig,Larry (ID)
Crapo,Michael (ID)
DeMint,James (SC)
Dole,Elizabeth (NC)
Domenici,Pete (NM)
Ensign,John (NV)
Enzi,Michael (WY)
Graham,Lindsey (SC)
Grassley,Charles (IA)
Gregg,Judd (NH)
Hagel,Chuck (NE)
Hatch,Orrin (UT)
Hutchison,Kay Bailey (TX)
Inhofe,James (OK)
Isakson,Johnny (GA)
Kyl,Jon (AZ)
Lott,Trent (MS)
Lugar,Richard (IN)
Martinez,Mel (FL)
McConnell,Mitch (KY)
Murkowski,Lisa (AK)
Roberts,Pat (KS)
Sessions,Jeff (AL)
Shelby,Richard (AL)
Smith,Gordon (OR)
Snowe,Olympia (ME)
Specter,Arlen (PA)
Stevens,Ted (AK)
Sununu,John (NH)
Thune,John (SD)
Vitter,David (LA)
Voinovich,George (OH)
Warner,John (VA)

Again, thanks to all of you. We wouldn't have been able to win without your collective efforts.

Person(s) for the week: U. S. Senators Mitch McConnell, Jim Bunning and others.

This week's persons of the week are ALL the Senators who, either by outright vote against or by voting to prevent cloture, doomed the ill-advised and patently offensive immigration amnesty bill. Two of these Senators are our own Senators Mitch McConnell (on your left, who voted against cloture) and Jim Bunning (pictured on the right, who voted against the bill itself). Others are listed below:

SENATORS VOTING NO ON CLOTURE

Democrats

Baucus,Max (MT)
Boxer,Barbara (CA)
Byrd,Robert (WV)
Conrad,Kent (ND)
Dorgan,Byron (ND)
Landrieu,Mary (LA)
McCaskill,Claire (MO)
Pryor,Mark (AR)
Reid,Harry (NV)
Rockefeller,John (WV)
Stabenow,Debbie (MI)
Tester,Jon (MT)
Webb,James (VA)
Sanders,Bernie (VT)

Republicans

Alexander,Lamar (TN)
Allard,Wayne (CO)
Bennett,Robert (UT)
Bond,Kit (MO)
Brownback,Sam (KS)
Bunning,Jim (KY)
Burr,Richard (NC)
Chambliss,Saxby (GA)
Coburn,Tom (OK)
Cochran,Thad (MS)
Coleman,Norm (MN)
Collins,Susan (ME)
Corker,Bob (TN)
Cornyn,John (TX)
Craig,Larry (ID)
Crapo,Michael (ID)
DeMint,James (SC)
Dole,Elizabeth (NC)
Domenici,Pete (NM)
Ensign,John (NV)
Enzi,Michael (WY)
Graham,Lindsey (SC)
Grassley,Charles (IA)
Gregg,Judd (NH)
Hagel,Chuck (NE)
Hatch,Orrin (UT)
Hutchison,Kay Bailey (TX)
Inhofe,James (OK)
Isakson,Johnny (GA)
Kyl,Jon (AZ)
Lott,Trent (MS)
Lugar,Richard (IN)
Martinez,Mel (FL)
McConnell,Mitch (KY)
Murkowski,Lisa (AK)
Roberts,Pat (KS)
Sessions,Jeff (AL)
Shelby,Richard (AL)
Smith,Gordon (OR)
Snowe,Olympia (ME)
Specter,Arlen (PA)
Stevens,Ted (AK)
Sununu,John (NH)
Thune,John (SD)
Vitter,David (LA)
Voinovich,George (OH)
Warner,John (VA)

Collectively, the above named Senators are our persons for the week.

Dishonorable mention goes to the Senators whose names do NOT appear above and who, EFFECTIVELY, conspired to "shove" the immigration bill "down our throats".

Quote(s) for the week.

1) "It's not right. Mom!"
- Paris Hilton, screaming as she is being led away after being ordered back to jail to complete her 45 day sentence for driving on suspended license.

2) "Angelina Jolie is accomplished in her field and has demonstrated serious interest in issues such as Darfur, international education and refugees."
- LISA SHIELDS, a spokeswoman on the Council of Foreign Relations, which Jolie has been approved to join.

3) "It's a difficult thing to leave a friend and go to another friend. But we lost the John McCain I knew."
- JOHN DOWD, a Washington lawyer who helped fund McCain's presidential bid in 2000 but plans to support Fred Thompson in 2008, saying McCain's campaign is poorly run and over-managed.

4) "Morally and practically, this new approach appears to be far superior."
- RICHARD DOERFLINGER, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the scientific breakthrough that mouse skin cells can be engineered to act as stem cells without destroying embryos.

5) "The Vice President's fingerprints are all over the effort to strong-arm Justice on the NSA program ... ."
- Sen. CHARLES E. SCHUMER (D-N.Y.), on testimony revealing Cheney's role in the battle over the legality of the warrant-less surveillance program.

6) "No one is satisfied with the status quo: not the Iraqis, not key regional partners, not the U.S. government, and not the American public."
- Lt. Gen. DOUGLAS LUTE, President Bush's newly appointed White House war adviser, saying Wednesday that he had been skeptical of Bush's decision to send thousands more U.S. troops into Iraq.

7 "Essentially, the pledge is to return every, every drop we use back to nature."
- Coca-Cola CEO E. NEVILLE ISDELL, announcing a new $20 million water conservation project to make up for the 76 billion gallons of water the company uses each year.

8) "I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein."
- Former Massachusetts Gov. MITT ROMNEY, criticizing the Bush Administration's handling of the Iraq war, during a debate between Republican Presidential hopefuls.

9) "I'll do what I can to have it legalized."
- JACK KEVORKIAN, who was released from prison on Friday and says his new mission is to legalize--not actually perform--assisted suicides. A thought that should concern all of us.

10) "People would obviously relish coming to the Republic of Vermont, the Switzerland of North America."
- University of Vermont Professor FRANK BRYAN, who is part of a growing movement that champions the state's secession from the U.S.

11) "He has fallen from public grace. It is a tragic fall, a tragic fall."
- THEODORE WELLS, the defense attorney for Scooter Libby, who was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison for lying and obstructing justice in the CIA leak investigation.

12) "Staying here is like committing suicide."
- KARAR ALAA, 25, a student at Babil University, south of Baghdad, who plans to leave the country after graduation. An interim U.S. military report found that Iraqi and American forces control fewer than one-third of the city's neighborhoods.

13) "These allegations ... are highly inflammatory and not based on all the facts."
- Pharmaceutical giant PFIZER, in response to a lawsuit filed by Nigeria accusing the company of carrying out improper trials on children for the anti-meningitis drug Trovan, which has been approved for use by adults, but not children, in the U.S.

14) "He's confident that when the facts are known, he will be vindicated. They picked the wrong congressman, and they picked the wrong facts."
- ROBERT TROUT, Attorney for Louisiana Democrat Rep. William Jefferson, who was indicted yesterday on 16 charges of bribery, racketeering, obstruction of justice and money laundering. The quote sounds to me like a prelude to a plea bargain!

15) "We don't need any more evidence that it's a failure — this system should just stop."
- COLONEL DWIGHT SULLIVAN, head of U.S. defense attorneys at Guantánamo Bay, speaking after U.S. military judges threw out charges against two detainees, saying the court lacked jurisdiction.

16) "The risk he faces is that people want him so much to be like Ronald Reagan that he can't possibly live up to the test."
- PAUL LIGHT, of New York University's Center for the Study of Congress, on Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson. For me I PREFER Abraham Lincoln!

17) "Vladimir Putin will tell me that Russia is a democracy and that he's advancing democracy. We have got some questions about that, of course."
- President GEORGE W. BUSH, before arriving at the G8 conference on Monday.

18) "Of course I am an absolute, pure democrat...The thing is that I am the only one, there just aren't any others in the world."
- Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN, who says the U.S. and Europe have fallen short of their political ideals.