SURVEYUSA poll reveals no surprises; "BILLARY" Clinton leads Obama in Kentucky. Nationally, Obama STILL leads her by eight (8) percentage points!

Read pie chart and the cross tabs of the Obama/Clinton poll for Kentucky -- heck, Obama could NOT win Kentucky, anyway.

Now read the Gallup national poll (above graph) that REALLY matters. The poll has Obama with an eight (8) percentage point lead over "BILLARY".

Maybe that's why "BILLARY sent out this OMINOUS fund raising email to supporters:

Now we have just a few hours left before our midnight fundraising deadline. This is our last chance to show our strength in the midst of the onslaught from our opponent who wants this race to end before millions of Americans have their say.

SURVEYUSA poll reveals NO surprises, as Bruce Lunsford's support eclipses those of all of his Democratic opponents -- COMBINED.

Read the pie chart or the cross tabs of the non surprising poll results.

No wonder Bruce Lunsford felt comfortable enough to snub the Ruby Buffoon day in Madisonville, Kentucky, last Saturday to hob knob with Saudi Princes and Sheiks.

Read about it and watch the YouTube videos:



Meanwhile, Senator Mitch McConnell's APPROVAL rating remains at 52%.

Statement from State Senator Brett Guthrie regarding Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Kentucky for his fundraiser.

Statement by Brett Guthrie Regarding Event with the Vice President

"I am honored and flattered the Vice President would take time to help my campaign for Congress. We had a successful event today, with supporters joining us from across the state. We are putting together the resources necessary to run a campaign that the people of Kentucky's second district can be proud of, and that allows us to discuss the issues of economic and national security. I am grateful to the Knights for opening their home for our event, and to Congressman Hal Rogers and many others who made it a great success."

Western Kentucky University's head Basketball coach, Darrin Horn, bolts for South Carolina.

Read the story here that will make HillTopper fans shed a tear -- or two.

Update: New South Carolina Coach will make $800,000.00 per year, with a five year contract.

It's like Chinese water tortune for "BILLARY" Clinton as party faithful start to abandon her for Obama. Today it's Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Read the Wall Street Journal report.

Heck even anti Iraq war Republicans are joining, or are expected to join, the Obama team.

It's time to "hang it up", "BILLARY" Clinton.

Breaking news: President Bush's ETHICALLY CHALLENGED HUD Secretary, Alphonso Jackson, resigns.

Read more here.

Keeping them honest.

FEC: Elton John concert is OK. But with continuing bad news for the Clinton campaign, it'll be EASY to "guess that's why they call it the blues"!

Last week I reported on the concert that Elton John plans for "BILLARY" Clinton on April 9th.

In that posting, I suggested that the pair not go breaking the law, because foreigners are barred from contributing to candidates.

Well, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has ruled on the issue and has given the pair a "do ahead". Here's a copy of the clearance from the FEC for Elton John to have the concert for "BILLARY" Clinton:


Not to worry, though. With the way things are going for the Clinton campaign, we will be able to "guess why they call it the blues", especially if "the rocket man" sings "good bye" to "BILLARY" Clinton's campaign, instead of to "Norma Jean".

The Clintons, "BILLARY", "BUBBA" and daughter, Chelsey, aim to over stay their welcome in Kentucky!

The Clintons, "BILLARY", "BUBBA" and their daughter< Chelsey, are doing their darned best to over stay their welcome in Kentucky. Here's something from Pol Watchers:

Chelsea Clinton will stop at the University Kentucky Tuesday afternoon to stump for her mother, presidential candidate and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The former first daughter will talk with UK students at the student center at 1 p.m., said Jerry Lundergan, the former state Democratic Party Chairman who is helping coordinate Clinton's campaign in Kentucky.

She is then expected to make appearances in Louisville, first at the Jefferson County Community and Technical College and later with a group of young professionals, Lundergan said.

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton will return to Kentucky Thursday for a rally at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville and a fund-raiser, Lundergan said. Bill Clinton was in Kentucky last Tuesday as a prelude to Hillary Clinton's stops in the state this past Saturday.

How long before we start groaning and ask them to keep their lies to themselves and stay away from us?

Words to live by.

With just two days remaining in Kentucky's Legislative session -- the final day of the session scheduled for passage of bills is this Tuesday -- and with the House and Senate (particularly to the Senators) conferees trying to tackle the issue of whether or not to raise taxes (other than for "sin" taxes), we present appropriate words (of WISDOM) to live by. So here goes:

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."

- Thomas Jefferson

Bobby Jindal: The Future President of the United States?

Bobby Jindal is off to a good start in Louisiana. Will it last?

Editor's note: Here's what Louisiana's newspapers are saying in an email sent to me by Governor Jindal entitled "in case you missed it":

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Times Picayune, "Editorial: Keep on path of reform"
March 30, 2008

The Legislature begins Monday a three-month regular session that provides a chance to continue pushing for reforms, this time on issues ranging from fiscal policy to workforce training.

Lawmakers need to make the most of the opportunity.

The session's centerpiece is Gov. Bobby Jindal's $30 billion inaugural budget. The details are still being worked out, as individual departments take their funding requests through the legislative hearing process. But the broad policies in the governor's first spending plan are encouraging.

Taking a different course from the previous administration, Gov. Jindal proposes to cut in half, from $800 million to $420 million, the state's dependence on the surplus to pay for recurrent expenses. His blueprint also would shrink the bloated state bureaucracy by eliminating more than 1,300 vacant jobs.

These are significant steps to move Louisiana in a responsible fiscal direction…

These policies complement the recent decision from the administration and legislators to spend most of the leftover surplus from the last fiscal year in long-term investments such as roads, flood protection and coastal restoration.
…
Besides the budget, legislators also will consider Gov. Jindal's proposal to overhaul how the state trains workers for the job market, an area in which reform is long overdue.

The governor's plan, unveiled last week, seems to embody the concept Louisiana businesses have been pushing for years: investing public money to train people in areas where workers are most needed. The legislation calls for replacing the labor department with a more agile agency to better respond to market needs and to give employers more say on where training money is used.
…
Overhauling workforce training would continue recent reforms aimed at improving our state competitiveness, including accelerating some business tax cuts and approving recent ethics reforms.

Read the complete editorial

Baton Rouge Advocate, "Editorial: Change focus of job training"
March 30, 2008

When the phrase “economic development” comes up, the image that occurs is physical — the smokestacks and roads and cranes that are involved in building what are called “megaprojects.” But it’s the warm bodies inside that count, and Louisiana would be, if truth is told, very hard-pressed to fill up a big new factory with qualified workers.

…the Jindal administration unveiled a series of steps, with legislative and executive actions, to improve the effectiveness of education and training programs.

The plan leans heavily on expanding programs and making funding changes in the state’s community and technical college system, but also borrows from elements of the Texas and Georgia work force programs that are considered national models. And Gov. Bobby Jindal said the administration’s program would involve a good deal of improving what works in today’s system. “We’re building on a lot of good work before us, but it’s time to speed up what is being done,” he said.
…
It is far and away the most complex undertaking in terms of government change that the Jindal administration has promised.
…
On two levels, Jindal’s proposal seeks to change deeply grooved patterns in the state’s culture.

At the government level, as he said, he’s asking for a rethinking of what’s being done. He said he wants government to fund performance instead of the going-through-the-motions payrolls…

But at a larger level, he wants to change the perception in the state’s society of what wealth is.

Read the complete editorial

The News Star, “Editorial: Jindal Brings Sign of Hope”
March 27, 2008

Gov. Bobby Jindal's second special session was a resounding success, if not because he had unique ideas at least because he had the ability to persuade the Legislature to go along with them.

Indeed, the first two sessions under Jindal's tenure went down like bowling pins.

A $1.1 billion surplus was exhausted, mostly according to his agenda. Jindal's legacy will one day be viewable in new and improved roads, bridges and ports, business tax reductions and maintenance on college campuses.

The governor and Legislature spent a dizzying amount, to be sure. But they seemed to spend wisely in investing in state infrastructure rather than recurring debt the state likely would not be able to maintain.

Jindal was right: One-time surpluses should be invested in bricks and mortar, not in expanding government…

Passing bills to eliminate a 1 percent sales tax that businesses pay on utilities, which amounts to roughly $69 million savings for those companies, will open eyes of those mulling whether to locate their operations in Louisiana.

An expedited phaseout of taxes on manufacturing equipment and corporate debt also will help.
…
In a short period in office, Jindal already has sparked confidence that Louisiana government during his term will aim high and hold itself accountable for reaching high standards.

Read the complete editorial

The Times Picayune, “Editorial: Governor is Fine, Thank You”
March 28, 2008

After two jam-packed special sessions, it seems as if the Jindal administration has been around for more than two months. But he was only sworn in in mid-January.

The governor is rightly flattered to be mentioned as a potential vice president. But he is also right that there is enormously important work to be done here. While he has made an impressive start, neither he nor the people of Louisiana can be satisfied yet.

With the regular session set to begin Monday, Gov. Jindal wants to try to make work force training in Louisiana better match the needs of the economy. He has plans for revamping mental health care and a host of other vital issues to deal with.
…
He has the good will of voters on his side, and he can get a lot accomplished in Louisiana with the power of the people behind him.

Read the complete editorial

I NEVER really thought I could say this in this lifetime, but I can NOW say that Kentucky could learn a lot from Louisiana, thanks to Governor Bobby Jindal.

HIllary's Hillbilly FIrewall Made of Racial Prejudices?

I can’t believe I missed this one, but the editor of the Washington Examiner is saying Hillary Clinton has a hillbilly firewall in Appalachia. Democratic Appalachia has long been friendly turf to the Clintons, but the WE says this time the support may have much to do with Obama’s skin color.

Sadly, he’s right. But the calculus is more complicated than that. First, many machine pols, and Appalachian politics is all about machines, remember fondly the good ol’ days of Bill Clinton and his KY allies, Guvs Brereton Jones and Paul Patton. It’s easy for them to look back on these days of Frankfort and DC plenty and think that these times might be resurrected. Secondly, there’s the cultural calculus. It’s always hard to separate dislike of a race from dislike of culture, but suffice it to say, a Chicago pol named Barack Obama isn’t as in tune with hillbillies as Bubba Bill Clinton who spent 20 years courting voters from the Ozarks. Then there’s coal. Bill Clinton’s ‘fur it’, Obama, near as we can tell, is ‘agin it’. He talks about banning strip mining, she won’t even condemn mountain top removal and stumps on clean coal.

But I think there’s something more basic at work here. For the past 6 years I’ve been married into a family of Yellow Dog Democrats. Being a politically outspoken Republican from the Old 5th Congressional District (a district that’s voted Republican since shortly after the Civil War and Whig before that), I’ve had more than my share of arguments. I can tell you that above all else the Democrats want to win. Those Dems who vote in primaries know that John McCain is going to be tough to be beat, and that this is their chance to get the party back on the ground it was on when the first Clinton took it away from the Dukakis-Mondale crowd. They’re not at all anxious to see their party turned over to a man who sits in the pews while his pastor raves about God damning America.

Originally Posted at Cyberhillbilly Blog

Guv Beshear Mugs with George W. Bush and Elliot Spitzer??

Now that I have your attention, see pic left. It’s a recreation of a 1908 picture with then President Teddy Roosevelt at the start of a Governor’s Conference that brought focus on national infrastructure needs. According to America 2050, the 1908 conference resulted in “a national conservation plan…of energy generation, conservation and restoration projects, and economic development to underdeveloped regions of the U.S. that had not benefited from the wealth of the railroad age, which was mostly accrued in the Northeast and Midwestern United States. Projects like Roosevelt Dam in Phoenix (1911), the Colorado River Compact (1922), and the Hoover Dam (1931) came about because of this effort."

The modern photo, with Gov. Beshear at the far right (or left, depending on your angle and your politics) was restaged as a way to highlight national infrastructure needs in the 21st Century.

It doesn’t appear that the positioning of the 2008 photo follows the same order as the one in 1908, so there’s no way to tell if that’s Governor Augustus E. Willson (yes, Willson with two “L’s”) similarly standing at the end of the older pic.

Willson was one of 7 Republican Governors in Kentucky in the 20th century. Born in Maysville but orphaned at an early age, he was raised in New England where he hobnobbed with the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Although the world has changed greatly over the past 100 years, infrastructure remains a key priority for “undeveloped regions of the U.S.”… like Willson’s birth region, greater Appalachia.

Cross posted at Cyberhillbilly blog

There is NO time for me to "rest on my [blogging] laurels", so let us start by blaming this one on the blogosphere.

Blame the blogs, ya'll.

***** OsiSpeaks! named Kentucky's BEST Political Blog! *****

Today Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, who blogs politics as the Fix, has named this blog, OsiSpeaks.com!, as the BEST of Kentucky State's Political Blog.

Thanks to ALL of our readers. Since you made this award possible, the HONOR belongs to you.

We PROMISE to keep bringing you the BEST political news in the world -- NOT just from Kentucky -- TRUTHFULLY and WITHOUT BIAS, if you PROMISE to keep coming back for more.

Some make a big deal out of Steve Beshear standing on stage with "BILLARY" Clinton, but what should we have expected Beshear to do -- snub her?

Some who predicted that Governor Steve Beshear will endorse "BILLARY" Clinton on Saturday were disappointed when he made it clear that he won't. Now the same folks are making a great deal out of the fact that Governor Steve Beshear went on stage with "BILLARY" on her visit to Madisonville (NOTE: that Governor Steve Beshear had NO choice. He had to be there for the Democratic event for Ruby Buffoon day. Guess where the Governor's Chief of Staff was? Yep, you guessed it. Jim Cauley was at the opening of Barack Obama's headquarters in Louisville).

But we expected the Governor to do what he did -- that is, not snub the former first lady on her visit to Madisonville, Kentucky, where the Governor was already appearing anyway.

And of course we expect Beshear to extend the same courtesies to Obama when he comes to Kentucky that he extended to "BILLARY".

But I guess some do NOT want to believe Steve Beshear when he says he's not going to endorse anyone, and want to fan the flames of disunity amongst Kentucky Democrats.

I can't say that's a bad strategy, if your SOLE interest is in spreading disunity amongst your political enemies, rather than presenting the facts as they are.

Obama campaign headquarters opening news, while "BILLARY" Clinton brings her campaign of lies to Kentucky.

Thanks to the guys at Page One, we know the opening of Obama's campaign headquarters in Louisville was a success. Check it out.

Meanwhile, "BILLARY" Clinton has brought her lies to Kentucky today. The guys over at the Arena have more, but the cartoon below should bring you some chuckles:

Could Chelsey Clinton be thinking about Monica Lewinsky's (Lewinskey's) blue dress?

Could she?

Hillary's soccer and other fantasies: can you believe ANYTHING this woman says?

Here's more from Dick Morris, a guy who should know:

Hillary Clinton’s made-from-whole-cloth fantasy about the perils of her trip to Bosnia was no unique foray into a world of make-believe accomplishments.

She’s been doing that for a long time.

Here’s another telling example: At a 1997 race-relations forum for teenagers in Boston, Hillary recalled the “pain” of a “childhood encounter” that helped her to grasp the injury suffered by the victims of bigotry. Her comments came as her husband was launching his second term in office by calling for a national dialogue on race and reconciliation. In an effort to empathize with her audience and inject herself into the discussion, she made up yet another incident that never happened.

“During a junior high school soccer game” on a cold day, Hillary claimed “a goalee told her ‘I wish people like you would freeze.’” Stunned, the future first lady asked how she could feel that way when she did not even know her. “I don’t have to know you,” the goalee shot back, “to know I hate you.”

Nice story, but it never happened.

While today’s generation of young girls routinely play on multiple soccer teams in their schools and towns, Hillary’s generation had no such opportunity. Hillary may have attended lots of Chelsea Clinton’s soccer games, but, that seems to be the sum total of her soccer career. As a school sport, girls’ soccer teams didn’t exist when Hillary went to middle or high school. In 2004, the Athletic Director for South Main High School in Park Ridge — and a 34-year veteran of the school system — confirmed that there were no girls’ soccer teams of any kind in Hillary’s school district in the 1960s.

Hillary seems to have simply conjured up the tale, like the one about the Balkans and the one about Chelsea jogging around the Trade Center on 9/11 and the one about being named after Sir Edmund Hillary, to appear more relevant to her listeners and to establish a bond of empathy with them.

(Girls’ soccer was catalyzed by the passage of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972 which mandated that girls and boys sports be treated equally in public education. It was only well after that law went into effect that girls' soccer teams sprung up. Unfortunately, Hillary was 25 at the time and well past her intramural days).

These “embellishments” of Hillary’s biography are similar to those of Al Gore during his race in 2000. But her claims to foreign policy experience and domestic policy influence in the White House are far more important. Nobody ever questioned the experience of competence of the Vice President as he ran for the top job based on his decades of serving in federal office. But Hillary has had just seven rather uneventful years in the Senate (and she hasn’t shown up for the last year while she was campaigning for president.) We have to take Hillary’s word about what role she played in the Administration’s policy formulation. And her word has been increasingly disputed.

Just this week, former Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay, one of the original sponsors of the Family Leave Act, challenged her claim that she played a major role in passing the landmark bill. Hillary Clinton “never had anything to do with it,” he said. Clay pointed out that the bill had been passed several times by the Democratic Congress before Bill and Hillary ever arrived in Washington, but was subsequently vetoed twice by former President Bush. It was a no-brainer that Clinton would sign the bill — as he did just 15 days after taking office. And, during that time, Hillary’s official schedules never mention the words “Family Leave Act.” Her tight calendar in those two weeks included lots of health care meetings, attending the funeral of Thurgood Marshall, joining the president at the National Prayer Breakfast (her schedules notes: no formal role for the First Lady), attending a week-end session at Camp David with her latest new age guru, and hosting a dinner dance for the National Governor’s Association. But nothing about the Family Leave Act that she worked so hard to pass.

As we learn more and more about her propensity to make up stories and read herself into history — a modern Forrest Gump — we can be forgiven if we take her claims to have been central to everything from the economic recovery to the Irish peace process with a large grain of salt.

Why does she feel the need to enhance her relevance or dramatize her story with fantasies? When it comes to personal whoppers, like the soccer one, it’s likely that it’s because she’s seen how effortlessly Bill relates to his audiences, conveying empathy by biting his lip or with a tear in his eye. Hillary knows that she can’t do that. So she invents circumstances that compensate and put her in the midst of the action, at the center of events. She tries to create empathy, become close to the audience, through contrivance since she can’t project it adequately without resorting to fiction. It’s crazy, but relatively harmless.

But the stories about her fake co-president experiences are another issue entirely. Her tales of stopping the recession or speaking up for Rwanda (when no one — even the president — knew about the genocide or had any meetings about the issue) or being "instrumental" in the Irish peace process are not reminisces of her days in the White House. They’re the calculated fantasies of a person who changes her stories when the truth is too prosaic or not sufficiently politically relevant. That’s Hillary Clinton.

Does anyone STILL believe "BILLARY"? Ever wonder why her poll ratings continue to "tank", notwithstanding her daughter Chelsey's unbelievable answer that her mom will make a better President than her dad (though it is understandable since she may be speaking of Monica Lewinsky's blue dress!)?

AGONY continues for Democrats, as Bill "BUBBA" Clinton declares "Not big on quitting"?

Below is the email the Clinton's mass emailed to their supporters -- I suspect the filing will determine with "BILLARY" does, don't you?:

Here's the most important thing you need to know about this race: it's neck-and-neck.

Only 130 delegates separate Hillary from Senator Obama -- and that's not counting Florida and Michigan. The difference in popular vote is less than 1 percent, and millions of voters have yet to make their voices heard. This election should be about their choice.

But now we're hearing people -- elected officials, party members, and Obama campaign surrogates -- call for Hillary to pull out.

With the race this close, it sure doesn't make sense to me that she'd leave now -- does it make sense to you?

There's no better way to tell Hillary that you support her staying in than to make a contribution to her campaign -- and no better time to contribute than right now. If you've never donated online before, now is the time to do it. Even as little as $5 can make a difference.

We're facing a big deadline on Monday. Our opponents and the media will scrutinize our fundraising reports and look for any sign of weakness. By making a contribution today, you can help make sure we show nothing but strength.

Contribute $5 by our midnight Monday deadline to help us show our strength.

I know that Hillary never forgets exactly why she is running. Her commitment to the people of this country never wavers.

At this critical moment, all of us supporting Hillary must make sure we are just as focused as she is. With all the talk of the state of the race, all the people telling her she should just give up, you and I must make sure she has everything she needs to stay in this race.

With our big fundraising deadline coming up midnight Monday, we need to show the critics and the doubters that this campaign is running full steam ahead with the determination to win.

Contribute $5 now to help us reach our $3 million goal by midnight Monday.

My family isn't big on quitting. Hillary's in this race to win, and she's in it thanks to you.

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton

Kentucky House MUST pass Senate bill 3, to move filing deadline to after legislative session.

If you wonder why, one reason is spelled out by Governor Steve Beshear's response to why he waited so long to introduce his "gaming" bill, as reported by the Courier-Journal:

Beshear defended the timing, saying House members didn't want the bill out in public until after the deadline for candidates to file for this year's elections.

Call your House member and ask him/her to pass David Williams' Senate Bill 3, which has been languishing in the House since January 31, 2008!

UNLESS we move the filing deadline, we can expect these kinds of political self preserving maneuvers from our elected officials in the General Assembly.

Person for the week: Barack Obama.

While there were many, like "Billary" Clinton (who travelled to Kentucky in search of votes), Muqtata al Sadr (the Muslim Cleric who started the Iraq war all over again), Senator David Williams (who proved that he controls the Kentucky Senate -- and the House), and many others who contributed to the week's news, we can't help feeling that the week belonged to Senator Barack Obama.

So it is then that Senator Barack Obama proves newsworthy enough to be our Person for the Week -- again.

Peggy Noonan's scathing declarations: Either you know Hillary Clinton or you don't.

Read WSJ.

And it's true: either you know "BILLARY" or you don't know Jack!.

Back to "BILLARY" Clinton.

YES, indeed.

Are there any independent candidates out there? Then read this SOS release.

Here is the press release:

(Frankfort, KY) Candidates seeking public office as an independent or political group candidate for a partisan office must file their Statement-of-Candidacy form with the Secretary of State by Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. in order to be placed on the ballot for the November 4th general election. The Statement-of-Candidacy form for independent candidates is required by KRS 118.365(5) which was enacted by the 2003 General Assembly.

“The requirement for independent candidates to file a Statement-of-Candidacy form is relatively new in the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of State Trey Grayson. “Candidates are encouraged to contact our office to receive the necessary paperwork in order to be eligible for candidacy or if they have any questions.”

There is no filing fee for the filing of the Statement of Candidacy, but the failure of candidates required to file the Statement of Candidacy shall result in the rejection of any nominating petition submitted to the appropriate filing official by the August 12, 2008 deadline for attaining ballot access in the November 4, 2008 general election.

The following offices that file with the Secretary of State are scheduled for a regular election in 2008 and would require the filing of a statement of candidacy:

Kentucky State Senate (Odd Districts)

Kentucky State House

Candidates for federal offices, nonpartisan offices, and partisan city offices in cities of the second to sixth class are exempt from filing the Statement of Candidacy.

In order to help candidates seeking political office, the Office of the Secretary of State previously developed a ballot access procedural manual titled: Declaring Your Candidacy. This publication provides Kentuckians with a quick guide to filing for political office.

Although the manual focuses primarily on candidate filing procedures, sample forms for attaining ballot access, and qualifications for each elective office, it also includes other important and pertinent election information that may affect candidates. The publication contains an election schedule, sample filing forms of various types, contact information for state election agencies, and answers to candidates’ most frequently asked questions.

The filing deadline for candidates’ names to appear on the ballot for nonpartisan judicial positions has already passed.

For more information, please visit the Office of the Secretary of State’s website at: www.sos.ky.gov.

More Kentucky happenings: Adventure Tourism Bill becomes law.

Here's the press release from Governor Steve Beshear's office:

Governor Beshear Announces Passage of Adventure Tourism Bill

FRANKFORT, KY (March 28, 2008) – Gov. Steve Beshear announced that he will sign Senate Bill 196 which today passed the Senate unopposed. The “Adventure Tourism Bill,” sponsored by Sen. Brandon Smith (R-Hazard), allows the state to enter into agreements with private property owners for the use of land for recreational activities such as horseback riding, hiking, fishing, hunting and motorized vehicle use. Under the current law, property owners face liability issues if they allow the public to use their land.

“This bill allows our outdoor enthusiasts to cross the commonwealth by trail from as far west as Columbus to as far east as Phelps and from as far north as Rabbit Hash to as far south as Ashlock,” said First Lady Jane Beshear, a supporter of the bill. “It makes all 120 counties in Kentucky a destination for outdoor adventure tourism.”

The bill also had the strong backing of Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo. “Thanks to the passage of this legislation, we will see economic development in all 120 counties,” said Mongiardo. “For example, last year in Harlan County 70,000 people used a public ATV trail. Those who stayed spent an average of $180 a night.”

Gov. Beshear applauded the bipartisan effort behind the passage of Senate Bill 196. “Sens. Smith and Robert Stivers (R-Manchester) and Reps. Robin Webb (D-Grayson), Keith Hall (D-Phelps) all came together to see this legislation through the House and Senate,” said the governor. “I congratulate each of them for helping us promote Kentucky as a premier frontier for adventure tourism”

The commonwealth’s state park system is regarded as one of the best in the nation. It is made up of 53 state parks and historical sites, 17 of which offer overnight accommodations and are considered “resort parks” – the most of any state. They offer biking, hiking, camping, golfing, fishing, off-roading, horseback riding, boating and swimming.

“With all of these opportunities for adventure tourism at our doorstep, each legislator must encourage their counties to build on their individual strengths,” said Sen. Smith. “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Kentucky to the world.”

Kentucky happenings: Senate wins tax increase battle; woman at the center of U of L hostage situation charged; John McCain poised to win Kentucky.

Speaker Jody Richards has pretty much declared the Senate the winner in the tax increase tussle this legislative session. Says Richrads: "I still support it [cigarette tax and other tax increases] ... but if you can't get the votes, you can't get the votes."

In other Kentucky news, the woman at the center of the University of Louisville hostage situation reported here yesterday has been charged with 2 counts of murder and held on half a million dollar bond.

And in the other news, SURVEYUSA poll has found that 61% of respondents in Kentucky will not vote for Obama for President regardless of who his Veep is (50% say the same for Clinton and 28% for McCain).

Wanna know more about the rest of the states? Then read more.

Something tells me Obama will NOT need Kentucky, if he is the nominee. Something also tells me that McCain will, as the Republican nominee, and he will win Kentucky.

John McCain releases first general election ad.

Watch it and tell us what you think.

Why "BILLARY" Clinton has trouble telling the truth.

Ain't that the truth!?!

Senator Chris Dodd: "I think it's very difficult to imagine how anyone can believe that Barack Obama can't be the nominee of the party."

Read the rest of the Senator Dodd's interview.

Does anyone suppose "BILLARY" Clinton is reading and listening?

Update: Senator Dodd has now called "BILLARY" Clinton to Quit.

Obama says he would have left church had Pastor Jeremiah Wright not retired. Can "BILLARY" Clinton say the same about philandering husband Bill?

Watch the video above and read the story on CNN.

Can she say that about Philandering husband Bill, who she has stuck with for 20 years?

Breaking news: Pennsylvania U. S. Senator, Bob Casey, will endorse Obama today.

Ahead of the Pennsylvania primary, Pennsylvania's U. S. Senator, Bob Casey, will endorse Obama for President and join his campaign bus tour today.

More bad news for "BILLARY" Clinton. Someone needs to tell her it's all over for her.

Update: Here's the embed: