GOP's Two Step! LOL.

American President "Right Of Passage": Start A War During Your Term In Office!

it's seems like it's a "right of passage" (so to speak) for every #americanpresident to have his own war during his term in office. so why should #barackobama be any different -- #nobelpeaceprize notwithstanding?!

*SIGH!!*

I Greatly Asked For, And Support, President Barack Obama's Decision To First Seek Authorization From Congress's Authorization Before "Hit And Run" Missile Strikes Against Syria. That Is Exactly What I Have Argued Our Constitution DEMANDS! Watch Video.

For Some Reason This Cartoon Seems Rather Appropriate Now!

Kentucky Supreme Court Reinsytates $42 Million Phen Fen Verdict Against Now-disbarred lawyers William Gallion, Shirley Cunningham Jr., and Melbourne Mills.

Court reinstates $42 million verdict in drug case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A group of 431 people sickened by the diet drug fen-phen should be allowed to collect a $42 million judgment from their former attorneys who pilfered a massive settlement with the drug's maker, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

The unanimous decision moves the group closer to reclaiming the millions improperly kept by now-disbarred lawyers William Gallion, Shirley Cunningham Jr., and Melbourne Mills. Justice Daniel J. Venters, writing for a unanimous court, found that there is enough evidence to back the claims that the trio of attorneys grabbed far more than their contract with clients entitled them to.
"The attorney-client relationship is a fiduciary relationship that subjects the attorney to the duties of honesty, loyalty and good faith," Venters wrote.
Failing to honor a contract with a client violates the "most elementary aspect" of an attorney's duty to the client, Venters wrote.

The former clients sued Gallion, Cunningham and Mills in 2005, claiming they mishandled the settlement and improperly kept a significant portion of the funds for themselves, while keeping clients in the dark about the full amount of the agreement to end the litigation.
Special Judge William Wehr awarded the former clients $42 million in 2007, saying the evidence supported their claims that the attorneys raided a $200 million settlement. Wehr found that Gallion, Cunningham and Mills kept $126 million, more than 63 percent of the settlement, for themselves and took another $20 million in "excess funds." The men distributed about $74 million to their clients, who were never told about the total amount of the settlement or the fees kept by the lawyers.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned the judgment in 2011. The ruling Thursday reinstated the damages award.

Wehr declined to include former class-action specialist Stanley Chesley of Cincinnati in the judgment, even though he had been sued with the others. Wehr ruled that there were genuine issues of fact to be decided when it came to Chesley. The high court upheld that decision.
Any damages or liability on Chesley's part have yet to be determined by the trial court in Boone County.
"Since I believe that Chesley was the chief architect behind the cover up of the fraud, we will be seeking a very large verdict on punitive damages," said Angela Ford, who represents many of the 400 plaintiffs.

The fen-phen case has evolved over more than a decade from a $200 million settlement into a series of criminal, civil and legal disciplinary cases that claimed the careers of at least six of the lawyers involved.

Gallion and Cunningham, one-time owners of champion racehorse Curlin, are serving federal sentences after being convicted of bilking their clients out of millions from the settlement. Both resigned from the bar. Mills was acquitted at a federal criminal trial, but disbarred for his role in the scheme.

Gallion, 62, is serving a sentence in a federal prison in Oakdale, La., and is not scheduled to be released from federal prison until 2029; Cunningham, 58, is being held in a federal prison in Yazoo City, Miss., and won't get out until 2025. A federal appeals court upheld their convictions in January 2012.

Federal prosecutors have seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings by Curlin to disburse as restitution to victims in the criminal case.

The high court disbarred Chesley in April for his role in the settlement. Chesley, who has denied any wrongdoing in the settlement, has since retired from the legal profession.

A former associate of Gallion's, David Helmers of Lexington, and retired state judge Joseph F. "Jay" Bamberger, have also been disbarred in connection with the fen-phen settlement. Bamberger, a circuit court judge in Boone and Gallatin counties from 1992 until his retirement in 2004, signed off on a deal that gave attorneys nearly two-thirds of the settlement and didn't disclose to clients the terms of the deal.

The state's high court disbarred Bamberger in 2011, finding he mishandled the settlement and later received money from the settlement.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Is Not The Only One With A Dream. GOP Has A Dream, Too!

Nigerian Scammers? Well, Maybe Not!

Read more here.

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Prison Disciplinary Committee Must Demonstrate Reliability Of Informants It Relies On For Inmate Hearings.

Court: Info about informants can't be withheld

The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that prison officials cannot withhold all information about confidential informants used in prison discipline cases.

The justices concluded that while the full slate of legal rights don't apply to disciplinary cases, an accused inmate cannot lose privileges and good time off their sentences without knowing something about the witnesses against them.


The ruling on Thursday came in the case of 39-year-old Ontario Thomas, who was sent to segregation for 180 days and docked two years of good time for allegedly striking a fellow inmate at the Northpoint Training Center in Burgin.
The disciplinary board relied on the word of a lieutenant, who testified that two confidential informants saw Thomas strike another inmate in a dispute.

Editor's note:You can read the court's opinion here.

Breaking News: This Is Huge! IRS Will Now Allow Same Sex Married Couples For Tax Purposes Regardless Of Differing State Laws!!

 

I.R.S. to Recognize All Gay Marriages, Regardless of State

WASHINGTON — All legally married same-sex couples will be recognized for federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the state where they live recognizes the marriage, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

The change stems from the Supreme Court decision in June that struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which found that same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits.

“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax-filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide,” Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said in a statement. “This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”

The Treasury said that the ruling applies to “all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, claiming personal and dependency exemptions, taking the standard deduction, employee benefits, contributing to an I.R.A., and claiming the earned income tax credit or child tax credit.”

The ruling applies to all legal marriages made in the United States or foreign countries. But it does not extend to civil unions, registered domestic partnerships or other legal relationships, the Treasury said. Same-sex spouses will be able to file as married couples for the 2013 tax year, the Treasury said, and will also be able to file amended returns for certain prior tax years, meaning that many couples might be eligible for refunds.

George Zimmerman's Wife, Shellie, Pleads Guilty And Is Sentenced For Perjury, Suggests Her Marriage Is Strained. Well, Duh, You Better Get Out Before He Uses FAKE "Self Defense" On You! WATCH NEWS VIDEO.

  Breaking News

Russia Moves Warships To Syrian Coast To Match U. S. Anticipated Military Moves. So Let's Let Loose The Dogs Of War From A Warmongering USA Nation!

Bowling Green Police Seek Help Apprehending Serial Rapist, 42 year old Corey James Butts.

update: butts has been captured! see updated information.

More GOP Reactions To Obamacare!

My Thought On The Anniversary Of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Speech And The March Everywhere To Set The Captives Free.

in commemoration of martin luther king, jr's speech in washington d.c. and those who marched everywhere to set the captives free, let me once again, remind everyone that it is not the actions of vicious racists that concern me. rather, it is the actions of those who by their silence tacitly show their approval and encourage them!

Obama must honor King with more than words

Time for policies aiding blacks suffering under his administration

By Tavis Smiley

Since the White House announced that President Barack Obama will speak to the nation on Wednesday from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, I have been peppered with the same questions again and again:

Is it appropriate for the president to occupy that sacred space? Does Obama have the moral authority to speak where King spoke? Does anyone?

My honest answer to these questions: I don't know. But here is what I do know. The future of our democracy is inextricably linked to how seriously we take King's legacy. A legacy of unarmed truth and unconditional love. A legacy of brilliant prose and prophetic witness.

The president's decision to honor the march is proper and commendable. But when he stands where King stood and delivers a speech of his own, he inevitably invites comparisons between his words and King's. I hope Obama rises to the challenge to be truly King-like, not just King-lite. His speech cannot be full of great sound bites but devoid of sound public policy.

Obama's election in 2008 was a good down payment on King's dream of racial equality, but it did not fulfill the dream. Instead of lecturing black audiences about personal responsibility, as he so often has, now is the time for the president to bear witness to the unrelenting pain and suffering of his most loyal constituency — a constituency still denied true economic freedom by institutional and structural barriers that have yet to be addressed, much less alleviated.

Following the recent not-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin, the president did finally give voice to the struggle for human dignity that black men in particular endure almost daily. "There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me," Obama said. And the decision this month by Attorney General Eric Holder to no longer seek mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses — citing the "shameful" racial disparities in sentencing — is smart public policy.

But we have known for 40 years that mandatory minimums are a bad idea. Why so long? Could not an administration committed to social justice have done this in the first term?

The unsettling truth is that during the Obama era, black America has fallen even further behind. The African-American unemployment rate, for instance, remains stubbornly and disproportionately high at 12.6 percent, compared with the national rate of 7.4 percent. And while private-sector jobs are experiencing a slight uptick, the lack of public-sector jobs is suffocating black livelihoods. Sadly, a few black chief executives notwithstanding, race still matters in the private sector. Education is not the great equalizer. I know too many black Ivy League graduates whose degrees cannot close this gap.

Black misery is the fierce urgency of now. Do we want history to record that black folk fared even worse under the first black president? I certainly do not.
We all understand that Obama is a politician and King was a prophet. But does that mean that the president, even with the structural and political constraints of his high office, cannot speak more truth?

I have often wondered what the bust of King in the Oval Office would whisper to the president when he's working alone late at night. The symbolism of King's presence in the White House is powerful; symbols do matter. But the substance of his "I Have a Dream" speech is being ignored half a century later.

For me, the brilliance of King's speech was his ability to unapologetically rebuke the nation for its sins yet still present America a vision for how she could be greater. He did this not by trying to transcend who he was — a black Baptist preacher — but by authentically embracing his full citizenship as a black American.

This is why it's so troubling whenever Obama says that he is not "the president of black America," but "the president of all America." Actually, he's both. He would never say that he is not the president of gay, Latino or Jewish America. So why the defensive posture when it comes to his fellow black citizens?

Sociologist William Julius Wilson recently highlighted the opportunity Obama has in Wednesday's speech. "If you don't have skills or a decent education in this global economy, your chances for mobility are limited," Wilson told The Washington Post. "It would be great if the president raised such issues when he comments on the March on Washington, because I strongly believe he is fully aware of them."

After the 1963 march, King wrote his third book, Why We Can't Wait. In it, he admonishes those who want his people to "quietly endure, silently suffer and patiently wait." He also warned America, in his speech at the march, against taking the "tranquilizing drug of gradualism."

It's no secret that 50 years later, despite all the progress we have made, class and race are still undeniable factors holding back too many citizens of all colors and creeds, but disproportionately black Americans. When you make black America better, you make all of America better.

This president is fond of making history. Well, sometimes the best way to make history is to let history come to you. It's abundantly clear by the staging of Obama's address that the White House sees this historic moment as an opportunity to burnish the president's legacy.

But if Obama is to be transformational and not just transactional, a statesman and not just another politician, a thermostat and not just a thermometer, then it's time for him to use his power to help regulate the temperature of our society and not just settle for recording the temperature of public opinion. It's time to take some risks. To tell the truth about the suffering in America that's being rendered invisible simply because we choose not to see it.

Poverty is threatening our democracy; it is now a matter of national security. As King said, war is still the enemy of the poor. Our education system, in many ways, is still separate and unequal. As King lived under constant surveillance, our government seems now to be spying on all of us.

In the end, it's about what kind of nation and what kind of people we choose to be. There can be no distinction between what we believe and what we do. It's time for more than just celebrating King with our words. It's time to start emulating him with our deeds.

Joel Pett Is Correct About Barack Obama And Syria.

Paul Shobe Arrested In Bowling Green Domino's Pizza Robbery, Bail Set At $1 Million.

Man arrested in slaying

 

Shobe charged with murder, jailed on $1 million bond after shooting outside Domino's Pizza.
In the wake of Monday’s arrest in the shooting death and robbery at a Domino’s Pizza, those who live and work in the area are expressing surprise and concern.

Police chased and arrested John Paul Shobe, 20, 2116 Rockcreek Road, Apt. 1, shortly after the robbery and shooting death of Harold Dean Johnson, 51, of Bowling Green, according to a BGPD news release.

Read more at Bowling Green Daily News website.

Ted Cruzing To A Presidential Race, Appealing To IDIOTS!

For First Time In Its History, Budget Reality Forces Kentucky State Police To Lay Off Troopers. Watch Video.

WDRB 41 Louisville News

Bowling Green Police Investigate Fatal Armed Robbery Of Domino's Pizza Joint, Off Veteran's Memorial Boulevard.

Police investigate fatal shooting at pizza place

Police say a southern Kentucky man is dead after an attempted robbery of a Domino's Pizza.
Media report that officers were called to the Bowling Green store early Monday and spokesman Ronnie Ward said they found a man who had been fatally shot outside the restaurant.

Police say the shooting occurred as the result of an attempted armed robbery after the facility closed. There were others inside the building at the time, but no one else was injured. Police weren't sure whether any money was taken.

The identity of the victim wasn't immediately released.

The Dream?!

Words To Live By, Words Of Wisdom, And Words To Ponder.

Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus...

-- The Bible,  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

 

This Here Cartoon Is Funny!

Kentucky Rep. C. B. Embry Won't Chllenge Jim Descere In Newly Created House District, Will Instead Challenge Senator Jerry Rhoades In Newly Created Senate District.

Plans gain approval, governor's signature

Embry won't challenge DeCesare in newly drawn House District 17

A longtime Butler County state representative says he won't run for re-election in the House if redrawn districts approved Friday in the General Assembly stand.
The legislature gave final approval Friday to redistricting plans for the House and Senate. House Bill 1, which included both the House and Senate plans, was approved in the Senate by a vote of 35-2 and in the House by a vote of 79-18. Gov. Steve Beshear signed the bill soon afterward.

Three federal judges will have the final say on the districts' constitutionality.

Redistricting plans for the House and Senate were passed following the 2010 census, but the Kentucky Supreme Court in February 2012 struck down those plans, saying that they weren’t balanced by population. The court ordered lawmakers to run in old legislative districts and that the lines be redrawn.

Under the House plan approved Friday, Reps. C.B. Embry Jr., R-Morgantown, and Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, would be placed in House District 17.

However, Embry said that if the districts are upheld, he doesn't plan to run for a seat in the House.

"I do not plan to run for re-election in the new district," he said.

Embry will instead consider a run in Senate District 6, which includes Butler, Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties. Sen. Jerry Rhoads, D-Madisonville, currently represents that district.

Embry previously served as Ohio County judge-executive and Beaver Dam mayor. He said he thinks he would have a chance of winning the Senate seat.

"That's a challenge, but it's doable," he said.

At the end of his current term, Embry will have been in the House for 12 years.

Though he has ties to Warren County, including having a degree from Western Kentucky University, Embry said Warren County is an expensive area in which to run for elected office. If Embry ran, he would be pitted against DeCesare, who he said is one of his best friends in the legislature and has a voting record similar to Embry's.

"He's an outstanding young legislator," Embry said.

While he believes the House redistricting plan meets constitutional requirements in terms of population, he has concerns about the map that could potentially lead it to being overturned, Embry said.

"It was the best of the three plans that House majority leadership presented us with," he said.

Some of his concerns are that cities such as Radcliff, Georgetown and Madisonville are split into multiple districts and that some districts appear drawn in ways that suggest gerrymandering, Embry said.

DeCesare said Friday that he will run for the House seat in the new District 17.

"I think legally and technically it is a fair plan," he said.

The plan had bipartisan support in both chambers of the General Assembly and potentially puts two sets of Democratic incumbents and two sets of Republican incumbents in districts together.

Under the plan, Warren County would be split into six districts, but DeCesare said that because of the large population of the county relative to surrounding counties, it was natural that it be split.

Rep. Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said he believes redistricting plans for the House and the Senate are constitutional. Creating plans that meet all requirements is a challenge, he said.

"I really do think that the House plan and the Senate plan are very fair," Richards said.

Richards said having six districts located wholly or partially in Warren County is positive. There are now only four districts located wholly or partially in the county.

Even those who represent only small portions of Warren County will be interested in what happens here, he said.

"The Warren County caucus will be quite a large caucus," Richards said.

Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, said he believes the Senate plan will not run into any judicial problems.

The plan is fair and pits no incumbents against one another, he said.

"From the Senate side, it was unprecedented," Wilson said.

He said he's sorry that he will no longer be representing Butler County, but Warren has grown to the point where it is almost a perfect Senate district.

Wilson said he's not so sure the House plan will be considered constitutional.

However, the bill was approved with a severability clause, which means that if the House plan is deemed unconstitutional, the Senate plan will stand, he said.

Middle East Democracy.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear Signs Redistricting Bill Passed By A Fruitful But Unnecessary "Special" Session.

 Governor signs redistricting bill into law

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear signed a bill into law Friday that changes boundaries for legislative districts, potentially ending nearly two years of wrangling by lawmakers over how to redraw the maps.

Three federal judges overseeing the legislature's efforts will have the final say on the constitutionality of the House and Senate districts that the two chambers signed off on Friday before Beshear signed the bill into law.
"I expect these maps will withstand legal scrutiny, so all Kentuckians can be assured of appropriate representation in the General Assembly," Beshear said in a statement.

The House had voted 79-18 Friday morning to approve the redistricting bill soon after the Senate had passed it 35-2, reflecting broad bipartisan support.
Beshear had called lawmakers into special session Monday to redraw boundaries around legislative districts. He urged them to complete their work as quickly as possible because of the cost of a special session: $60,000 a day.

Kentucky's legislative process requires a minimum of five days to get a bill to final passage. By wrapping up Friday, they limited the overall cost of the special session to about $300,000.
Redistricting is undertaken every 10 years to account for population changes recorded by the Census Bureau. The state's overall population rose from 4 million to 4.3 million from 2000 to 2010, and it shifted largely from rural communities to urban areas.

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, and Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo, of Prestonsburg, said the plan is fair and constitutional.

The bill Beshear signed Friday is a stark contrast to a measure passed last year that was struck down as unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court. That plan would have essentially forced some Republican representatives and Democratic senators out of the legislature. The partisan bickering that resulted from those efforts led to lawsuits that slowed Kentucky's enactment of new boundary lines.

The Senate State and Local Government Committee made slight changes Thursday to the 13th Senate District in Lexington, held by Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein. The committee removed five precincts from Stein's district, including the home precinct of Elisabeth Jensen, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Central Kentucky's 6th Congressional District.

Jensen acknowledged Friday that she had been asked to consider seeking Stein's seat in the event that Stein is appointed to a vacant seat in Fayette Circuit Court. Stein has previously said she would be honored to be considered for the judgeship.
Jensen, though, said she remains focused on running her congressional campaign.
"I have not paid that much attention to it," Jensen said. "If it was something that would make sense for the party, I said that I would look at what the district would look like after the maps were finished."

Stivers, the Senate president, said Friday that a Democratic official in Fayette County requested the changes in the precincts, but he declined to name the official.
Stein said she didn't know who asked for the changes. Stivers and Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington did not request the changes.

Friday's legislative action is likely to trigger a new round of court motions asking the federal judges to review the new boundaries.
Chris Wiest, a lawyer who represents several Northern Kentucky residents in the federal lawsuit, said there have been concerns that many Republican districts have higher numbers of voters than Democratic districts in the new House map.

The redrawn House boundaries put four incumbent Democrats and four incumbent Republicans in the same districts. The Senate proposal would pit no incumbents against each other.

The proposal had broad bipartisan support, but not everyone is happy.
Republican Reps. Myron Dossett of Pembroke and Ben Waide of Madisonville would share District 9, setting up a potential primary election battle. Republican Reps. C.B. Embry and Jim DeCesare would both be in District 17.

In northeastern Kentucky, Democratic Rep. Kevin Sinnette would potentially be pitted against powerful Democratic House Floor Leader Rocky Adkins in District 100. And two veteran Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Hubert Collins of Wittensville and John Will Stacy of West Liberty, would share District 97.

Kentucky Lawmakers To Receive Sexual Harassment Training After John Arnold Is Outed As A Serial Harasser.

Lawmakers to Receive Sexual Harassment Training

 
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- House lawmakers would have to undergo annual sexual harassment sensitivity training under a resolution approved Thursday, after three legislative staffers filed sexual harassment complaints with the Legislative Ethics Commission.

The allegations against Democratic state Rep. John Arnold of Sturgis triggered a public outcry, forcing House Speaker Greg Stumbo to address the matter on the floor Thursday evening. He assured angry colleagues the matter "will be dealt with responsibly" and that Arnold could be expelled from the House if the charges are proven.

Arnold refused to answer questions about the allegations on Wednesday and was absent on Thursday.
In the complaints, first reported by Louisville public radio station WFPL-FM, the staffers alleged that Arnold had touched them inappropriately and had made vulgar comments over a period of years.

How NSA Keeps Us Safe!

Not So Funny.

Kentucky House Acts All Grown Up, Passes Bipartisan Redistricting Bill. Now, Let's See If The Senate Will Act Grown Up, Too!

Kentucky House approves redistricting map; plan heads to Senate

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed new legislative district lines that would create four new House districts and pair eight incumbents in four other districts.
 
The plan now heads to the Senate, which will attach its newly-drawn Senate districts to House Bill 1. Republican Senate leaders have said they believe they will have near unanimous support for the new Senate legislative district lines.
Leaders hope to pass both maps by Friday, the fifth day of a special legislative session that costs $60,000 a day.

House Bill 1 cleared the House 83-17 after more than an hour of debate. This is the third time the Democratic-controlled House has passed a redistricting plan. The 2012 redistricting plan was found unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court. The House passed another redistricting plan during the 2013 General Assembly but the plan was never passed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

During debate on the floor, House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said the plan was fair. It splits 24 counties into multiple districts, the minimum number allowed.
Eight incumbents — four Republicans and four Democrats — were pitted against another incumbent in the plan. The 2012 map, in contrast, pitted nine incumbents against another incumbent, including eight Republicans and one Democrat.

House Floor Leader Rocky Adkins, the second most powerful Democrat in the House, was removed from his home district and pitted against another Democrat in the plan approved Wednesday, Stumbo noted.
"It's an attempt to be fair. It's not meant to punish anyone," Stumbo said.

House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said the plan was much improved from previous maps but he still had serious concerns that will likely be part of an ongoing federal court case.

Hoover said the plan creates 76 districts where the majority of voters are Democrats and 24 districts where the majority of voters are Republicans. Many of those Republican-majority districts have more voters than Democratic-majority districts.

Similar issues were raised in a redistricting case in Georgia that was later overturned, Hoover said.
Stumbo said the House is required to split the minimum number of counties possible and at the same time stay within the ideal population of about 43,000 per district. Putting higher numbers of people in some Republican-leaning districts was not done to gain a political advantage, Stumbo said.

Many lawmakers spoke against the plan because of the way it treated certain high-growth areas.
Rep. Rita Smart, D-Richmond, objected to having Madison County split into five different districts.
"We are being punished" for growing quickly, Smart said of Madison County.

Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, also lamented that Hardin County has been split into six districts. More than 60,000 of the more than 100,000 people in Hardin County will probably be represented by someone who does not live in the county, Lee said.

Rep. Ryan Quarles, R-Georgetown, said fast-growing Scott County will suffer from being carved into three districts.
"How is it fair to cannibalize Georgetown?" Quarles said.

Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, said he voted against HB 1 because Fayette County, which has six districts entirely within the county, did not receive a seventh House district. Instead, more of Fayette County will be represented by someone who lives in a different county, he said.

Smart and Rep. Jimmie Lee were the only Democrats to vote against the plan.

Hoover also said during debate Wednesday that he doesn't believe that the Democrats who were paired in the same districts will run against each other in 2014.
The plan passed Wednesday pairs Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, and Rep. Kevin Sinnette, D-Ashland, in the 100th House District, which is in Boyd County. It also combines Democrats Rep. John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty, and Rep. Hubert Collins, D-Wittensville, in the 97th House District, which includes Morgan and Wolfe counties.
Adkins has said he may move to an open seat. Stacy and Collins have both said they will run in May 2014.

Republicans paired in the plan are Rep. Myron Dossett, R-Pembroke, and Rep. Ben Waide, R-Madisonville, in the 9th House District, which includes Christian and Hopkins counties, and Rep. C.B. Embry, R-Morgantown, and Rep. Jim DeCesare, R-Bowling Green, in the 17th House District.
House and Senate leaders are under the gun to pass a legislative redistricting plan. Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of Northern Kentucky residents sued the state for failing to redraw the districts nearly three years after the 2010 census.

If the legislature doesn't deliver a constitutional redistricting plan to federal court in coming days, a three-judge panel will redraw Kentucky's legislative boundaries.

The panel ruled last week that the legislature could not use district boundaries drawn in 2002 for any future elections. Stumbo had asked the court to amend its order so that special elections held before November 2014 could use the old boundary lines.
The court refused Wednesday to alter its previous order. The panel did not make clear what would happen if a special election is called.

Surprise, Surprise (In My Gomer Pyle Voice)!: NSA Surveillance Reach Broader Than Publicly Acknowledged!!

 

NSA surveillance reach broader than publicly acknowledged

The National Security Agency's surveillance network has the capacity to spy on 75 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Citing current and former NSA officials for the 75 percent figure, the paper reported that the agency can observe more of Americans' online communications than officials have publicly acknowledged.

The NSA's system of programs that filter communications, achieved with the help of telecommunications companies, is designed to look for communications that either start or end abroad, or happen to pass through the U.S. between foreign countries. However, the officials told the Journal that the system's reach is so broad, that it is more likely that purely domestic communications will be intercepted as a byproduct of the hunt for foreign ones.

The system works by using algorithms that act as filters, designed to let high-value information through amid more benign chatter. However, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, a former to intelligence official told the Journal that the government changed its definition of "reasonable" intelligence collection, enabling the NSA to widen the holes in the "filtering" system.

The details are the latest to emerge about the NSA's operations and capabilities, as authorities in the U.S. and other countries try to stop the release of more information about the elaborate surveillance network. Members of Congress on the intelligence committees, as well as past intelligence officials, recently have spoken up in defense of the agency, particularly after a report showing the agency had broken privacy rules and overstepped its authority thousands of times.

The NSA programs described by the Journal differ from the programs described by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in a series of leaks earlier this summer. Snowden described a program to acquire Americans' phone records, as well as another program, known as PRISM, that made requests from Internet companies for stored data. By contrast, the Internet monitoring systems have the capability to track almost any online activity, so long as it is covered by a broad court order.

The NSA programs are overseen and approved by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. An NSA spokeswoman told the Journal that its actions were both legal and respectful of Americans' privacy. In a statement made to Reuters, the NSA repeated the assertion, saying, "We defend the United States from such threats while fiercely working to protect the privacy rights of U.S. persons.
''It's not either/or. It's both."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/21/nsa-surveillance-reach-broader-than-publicly-acknowledged/#ixzz2cblCZ4h1

... But Barack Obama's Father Was Born In Africa, But Ted Cruz's Was Not! There's THE Difference. Certified IDiOTS, I Tell You!!

This Is Funny. LOL.

Turmoil On First Day Of Kentucky's COSTLY "Special" (Wink) Legislative Session.

Court ruling creates turmoil in special legislative session on redistricting

FRANKFORT — A special law-making session to redraw state legislative districts started Monday with high hopes that it would end Friday with bipartisan agreement, but a complex legal ruling brought turmoil on the first day.

It's uncertain whether a federal court order entered last Friday could drag the session out beyond an expected five days, at a cost to taxpayers of $60,000 a day.
A panel of three federal judges ruled that the state could no longer use legislative district lines drawn in 2002, declaring them unconstitutional. With the 2002 boundaries tossed, it's not clear what geographic lines election officials would use in the event of a special election to fill a vacant seat, said lawyers for House Speaker Greg Stumbo.

Pierce Whites, general counsel for Stumbo, argued during a telephonic conference call on Monday that the court should alter its order to say that the 2002 district boundaries should remain only in the case of a special election between now and November 2014.
Whites said Kentucky law is very clear in its requirement that any special election to fill a vacant legislative seat must be held in the same specific geographic area as the original election.
If the three-judge panel does not modify its order, the House may have to put an emergency clause on its House redistricting plan, which means the newly-passed legislative lines would take effect immediately.

A bill carrying an emergency clause must win approval from a constitutional majority of the House, which is 51 of its 100 members. Regular bills can pass with a simple majority, which can be as few as 40 votes, depending on how many lawmakers vote on the bill.
The impact of the court's ruling "infringes on the bright line of separation required by the Kentucky and federal constitution," Whites wrote in a brief before the court.

The House is scheduled to take a vote on its redistricting bill at 10 a.m. Wednesday. But as of Monday night, leaders did not know if the bill would need an emergency clause.
The three-judge panel on Monday night allowed other attorneys involved in the case to file responses by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union and a group of Northern Kentucky residents sued the state earlier this year for failing to pass a redistricting plan that reflects population shifts in the 2010 U.S. Census.

The House and Senate approved redistricting maps in 2012, but that plan was later declared unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
If lawmakers fail to approve a constitutional redistricting plan in its special session, the three-judge panel has said it will redraw the boundaries for legislative districts.
Lawyers for the ACLU and Northern Kentucky residents argued Monday that they should have time to address the issues raised Monday in the House Democrats' motion.

Chris Wiest, an attorney for the Northern Kentucky residents, said some previous court rulings suggest that any special election could be held "at-large," meaning everyone in the state could vote in the special election.

House Democrats dismissed the idea, calling it unrealistic, costly and contrary to previous court rulings.
Meanwhile Monday, one of four House Democratic incumbents who would face another incumbent in a proposed House redistricting plan presented an option that might keep him and his opponent in the legislature.
House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, who lives in Boyd County, said he is considering moving into the newly proposed 99th District of Elliott, Rowan and Lewis counties.

The redistricting plan that House Democratic leaders unveiled last week pairs two sets of Democratic incumbents: Adkins and Kevin Sinnette of Ashland in the 100th District, made up of Elliott, Rowan and Lewis counties, and John Will Stacy of West Liberty and Hubert Collins of Wittensville in the 97th District, made up of Johnson, Morgan and Wolfe counties.
Adkins said the House plan is balanced and fair. He said northeastern Kentucky lost population, making it difficult to put a map together for that area of the state.
His old 99th District of Boyd, Lawrence, Elliott and Rowan counties, he said, was put into three districts under the new plan.
"In doing that, there is an open seat of Elliott, Rowan and Lewis counties," Adkins said.
He said he was raised in Elliott County, played basketball at Morehead State University in Rowan County and has "a lot of friends in Lewis County."
Moving to the new 99th District is "an option I have and will make a decision soon."
Sinnette said his main concern is to keep the 100th District in Boyd County. He said he plans to run in 2014 for the seat.
But, he said, "It's still early in the game, and a lot can happen between now and 2014."

Both Stacy and Collins have said they will run for the 97th House District seat in southeastern Kentucky. Collins, who has been in the legislature since 1991, said despite being pitted against Stacy, he will support the House Democratic plan.
House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said he has not yet decided whether he'll support the House plan, but he said he thinks many Republicans will vote for it. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the chamber, 55-45.
"I think there will be some Republicans that will vote for it based on what they've seen before," Hoover said.

Many more incumbent Republicans were pitted against each other under a 2012 redistricting map that was later deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
However, Hoover said many Republicans were concerned that Scott County and Georgetown had been split into three districts. Hoover said that was done to help former Democratic representative Charlie Hoffman, who lost the last two elections to Republican Rep. Ryan Quarles.

Steve Nunn Found Liable To Amanda Ross' Estate For More Than $20 Million In Damages.

Former state lawmaker Nunn found liable for more than $20 million in damages

Amanda Ross was fatally shot by former legislator Steve Nunn after she obtained a protective order against him.

Fayette Circuit Judge James Ishmael ruled Monday that former state lawmaker Steve Nunn is liable for $20 million in punitive damages and $3,827,968.97 in compensatory damages for causing the death of Amanda Ross.

Overall, Ishmael said Ross's estate is due $4,253,298.00 in compensatory damages. Nunn is expected to foot the majority of that bill; Opera House Square Townhouse Association, the gated community in downtown Lexington where Amanda Ross, 28, was shot to death in 2009, was liable for ten percent of the compensatory damages. An out-of-court settlement was reached in the civil lawsuit between Diana Ross and the townhouse association last week. That amount was kept confidential.

Included in Monday's award was the loss of what Amanda Ross would have been capable of earning over her lifetime. For that, Ishmael awarded the estate more than $3 million. Before making the ruling, Ishmael told Diana Ross that he was sorry for her loss.
"No matter what I order, nothing can bring Ms. Ross back," said Ishmael. "I wish that I could enter an order to that effect."

The judge awarded Amanda Ross's estate more than $23,000 in medical expenses that she incurred after being shot and more than $27,000 in funeral expenses.
"Diana and Amanda's family are very pleased with the court's decision," Diana Ross's attorney Lucy Pett said after the hearing.

Nunn, 60, the son of former Gov. Louie B. Nunn, is serving life without parole in a state prison in Muhlenberg County. He pleaded guilty in June 2011 to first-degree murder with an aggravating circumstance.
Nunn did not appear at Monday's hearing.
I
n the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Ross's mother, Diana Ross, Ishmael ruled in 2012 that Nunn was liable, setting the stage for Monday's hearing.
Ishmael issued the ruling after listening to more than four hours of testimony in the hearing in Fayette Circuit Court. There was no jury.

Transylvania University Professor William Baldwin testified that if Amanda Ross had kept her state job for the rest of her working life, Amanda Ross would have accumulated more than $3 million in her lifetime.

Ishmael awarded the estate $1 million for Ross's pain and suffering before and during the shooting. Dr. Cristin Rolf, who performed the autopsy for the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort, testified that Ross received wounds and abrasions possibly indicative of a struggle in addition to the gunshot wounds.

Testimony came from Amanda Ross's neighbors, who heard high pitched screams and gunshots on the morning of Sept. 11, 2009.
Ross's neighbor Carl Schreiber testified that he heard four or five gunshots, screams and Ross saying something to the effect of "No, no, Don't do it!"
Lexington Fire Captain Les Fryman said Amanda Ross was not breathing when paramedics arrived, but she had a heart rhythm.

Lexington police detective Todd Iddings told Ishmael that Ross successfully obtained a domestic violence order against Nunn, and she was carrying the order in her purse, along with a gun that she had legally obtained, when she died.
Ishmael listened to a 911 call from earlier in 2009 when Ross called authorities and told them that Steve Nunn had struck her three times in the face and broken a lamp.

Kentucky Department of Insurance Commissioner Sharon Clark, Amanda Ross's boss, said that Ross told her that Nunn, angry that he had lost his job as a top official in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, would kill her no matter what she did to protect herself.

Diana Ross said that Amanda Ross did not want Nunn to lose his job after the domestic violence episode. Amanda Ross just wanted Steve Nunn to stay away from her because "she was terrified of him," Diana Ross testified.
"This was an intentional killing, an assassination, an ambush," Pett told Ishmael. "It was the worst conduct imaginable and should be punished accordingly.

"He was a person of privilege and opportunity. He was the deputy secretary for the Health and Family Services Cabinet. He was charged with protecting children and vulnerable adults and I think that makes his conduct that much more reprehensible," said Pett. "He was an abusive person. He stalked her. He would not stay away from her. She did everything she could to protect herself. But she could not protect herself, could not protect herself in the end."

Asked after the hearing how an imprisoned Steve Nunn was going to pay the damages that the judge had ordered, Pett said, "That will be the next question for us to answer, for him to answer."

Hooray. Kentucky Starts Another Recurring Annual "Special" Legislative Session.

Lawmakers return to Frankfort for redistricting

Lawmakers began arriving at the Capitol on Monday morning for the start of a special legislative session to redraw boundaries around House and Senate districts.
Pressed to get the work done quickly because of pending lawsuits, legislative leaders will push to complete the task by Friday.

Unlike recent efforts to deal with the often divisive issue, both the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-led House have unveiled proposals that all sides are generally happy with.
"It's very warm and fuzzy," said state Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville. He is chairman of the House State Government Committee, which will hold hearings on the legislation in coming days. "The House plan pits the same number of Democrats and Republicans against each other, which brings fairness to it. I think this will pass the House with very strong support, and, from what I'm hearing, there's very strong support in the Senate for their proposal."

Redistricting is undertaken every 10 years to account for population changes recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau. Kentucky had major population shifts between 2000 and 2010, requiring reconfiguration of legislative districts in both the House and Senate. The overall population rose from 4 million to 4.3 million. But that growth tended to be in urban areas, while rural communities declined.

With federal judges watching over their shoulders, Kentucky lawmakers put together redistricting proposals absent any overt attempts at political one-upmanship.
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo unveiled a House proposal last week that would redraw legislative boundaries in a way that would put four Democrats and four Republicans in the same districts. The Senate proposal, also released last week, would pit no incumbents against each other.
Because Kentucky lawmakers have been slow in redrawing legislative boundaries, voters filed two separate federal lawsuits earlier this year to speed up the process. As a result, a three-judge panel is closely watching the Legislature's efforts and is poised to step in if lawmakers fail to resolve the matter in the special session.

The latest proposals out of the House and Senate are stark contrasts to the divisive measures passed last year only to be struck down as unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The plan adopted by the Democratic-controlled House last year would have essentially forced some Republicans out of the Legislature. The Republican-led Senate's plan would have done the same to Democrats.

The Kentucky high court struck down lawmakers' initial redistricting plan last year, finding that the proposed districts weren't balanced by population and didn't comply with the federal and state "one person, one vote" mandate. When lawmakers didn't rework and pass a plan earlier this year, Gov. Steve Beshear called them back for the special session.

In the latest House proposal, Republican Reps. Myron Dossett of Pembroke and Ben Waide of Madisonville would share District 9, setting up a potential primary election battle. Republican Reps. C.B. Embry and Jim DeCesare would both be in District 17.

In northeastern Kentucky, Democratic Rep. Kevin Sinnette would potentially be pitted against powerful Democratic House Floor Leader Rocky Adkins in District 100. And two veteran Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Hubert Collins of Wittensville and John Will Stacy of West Liberty, would share District 97.

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them.

Words To Live By, Words Of Wisdom, And Words To Ponder.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

-- The Bible, King James version, Galatians 1:10

Chatter!

With The Clintons It's Always Money, Money, Money And More Money!

Money, Money, Money, Money, MONEY!

Why is it that America’s roil family always seems better in abstract than in concrete? The closer it gets to running the world once more, the more you are reminded of all the things that bugged you the last time around.

The Clintons’ neediness, their sense of what they are owed in material terms for their public service, their assumption that they’re entitled to everyone’s money.

Are we about to put the “For Rent” sign back on the Lincoln Bedroom?

If Americans are worried about money in politics, there is no larger concern than the Clintons, who are cosseted in a world where rich people endlessly scratch the backs of rich people.

They have a Wile E. Coyote problem; something is always blowing up. Just when the Clintons are supposed to be floating above it all, on a dignified cloud of do-gooding leading into 2016, pop-pop-pop, little explosions go off everywhere, reminding us of the troubling connections and values they drag around.

There’s the continuing grotesque spectacle of Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin. And there’s the sketchy involvement of the Clintons’ most prolific fund-raiser, Terry McAuliffe, and Hillary’s brother Tony Rodham in a venture, GreenTech Automotive; it’s under federal investigation and causing fireworks in Virginia, where McAuliffe is running for governor.

Many Israelis were disgusted to learn that Bill Clinton was originally scheduled to scarf up $500,000 to speak at the Israeli president Shimon Peres’s 90th birthday festivities in June. I guess being good friends with Peres and brokering the accord that won Peres the Nobel Peace Prize were not reasons enough for Bill to celebrate. The Israeli branch of the Jewish National Fund had agreed to donate half a mil to the Clinton foundation. Isn’t the J.N.F. “supposed to plant trees with donor cash?” Haaretz chided before the fund pulled back. “I guess money does grow on trees.”

I never thought I’d have to read the words Ira Magaziner again. But the man who helped Hillary torpedo her own health care plan is back.

In a Times article last week headlined “Unease at Clinton Foundation Over Finances and Ambitions,” Nicholas Confessore and Amy Chozick offered a compelling chronicle about an internal review of the rechristened Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation that illuminated the fungible finances and tensions between Clinton loyalists and the foundation architects Magaziner and Doug Band, former bag carrier for President Clinton.

You never hear about problems with Jimmy Carter’s foundation; he just quietly goes around the world eradicating Guinea worm disease. But Magaziner continues to be a Gyro Gearloose, the inept inventor of Donald Duck’s Duckburg.

“On one occasion, Mr. Magaziner dispatched a team of employees to fly around the world for months gathering ideas for a climate change proposal that never got off the ground,” Confessore and Chozick said.

We are supposed to believe that every dollar given to a Clinton is a dollar that improves the world. But is it? Clintonworld is a galaxy where personal enrichment and political advancement blend seamlessly, and where a cast of jarringly familiar characters pad their pockets every which way to Sunday.

“Efforts to insulate the foundation from potential conflicts have highlighted just how difficult it can be to disentangle the Clintons’ charity work from Mr. Clinton’s moneymaking ventures and Mrs. Clinton’s political future,” Confessore and Chozick wrote.

The most egregious nest of conflicts was a firm founded by Doug Band called Teneo, a scammy blend of corporate consulting, public relations and merchant banking. Band, a surrogate son to Bill, put Huma, a surrogate daughter to Hillary, on the payroll. Even Big Daddy Bill was a paid adviser.

As The Times reported, Teneo worked on retainer, charging monthly fees up to $250,000 and recruiting clients from among Clinton Foundation donors, while encouraging others to become foundation donors. The Clintons distanced themselves from Teneo when they got scorched with bad publicity after the collapse of its client MF Global, the international brokerage firm led by the former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine.

And Chelsea is now shaping the foundation’s future, and her political future. So there may not be as much oxygen for her troublesome surrogate siblings.

As George Packer wrote in The New Yorker, Bill Clinton earned $17 million last year giving speeches, including one to a Lagos company for $700,000. Hillary gets $200,000 a speech.

Until Harry Truman wrote his memoirs, the ex-president struggled on an Army pension of $112.56 a month. “I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable,” he said, “that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency.”

So quaint, Packer wrote, observing, “The top of American life has become a very cozy and lucrative place, where the social capital of who you are and who you know brings unimaginable returns.”

The Clintons want to do big worthy things, but they also want to squeeze money from rich people wherever they live on planet Earth, insatiably gobbling up cash for politics and charity and themselves from the same incestuous swirl.

Civil Settlement Reached By The Opera House Square Townhouse Association And Diana Ross, In Amanda Ross Killing By Steve Nunn.

Settlement reached in civil lawsuit involving Steve Nunn case

An out-of-court settlement has been reached in the civil lawsuit between Diana Ross, mother of Amanda Ross, and the Opera House Square Townhouse Association, the gated community in downtown Lexington where Amanda Ross was shot to death by former Kentucky lawmaker Steve Nunn in 2009, an attorney said Friday.
"The claims against Opera House Square have been settled," said Perry Bentley, one of the attorneys representing Diana Ross. "The terms are confidential.
"I know from the plaintiff's point of view, the matter was resolved to everyone's mutual satisfaction," Bentley said.

A trial had been scheduled to start Monday in Lexington but it is now canceled. Instead, a hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday to determine how much in damages Nunn is liable for, Bentley said. Fayette Circuit Judge James Ishmael Jr. alone will decide that; there will be no jury.
Nunn, 60, the son of former Gov. Louie B. Nunn, will not attend.
On Sept. 11, 2009, Amanda Ross, 28, was found shot while in the parking lot outside her home at Opera House Square. She was pronounced dead at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital.
Nunn is serving life without parole in a Muhlenberg County prison after he pleaded guilty in June 2011 to first-degree murder with an aggravating circumstance in the shooting.

According to an itemization included in the court file, Diana Ross had sought $23,873.27 in past medical expenses incurred for Amanda Ross; $27,471.58 in funeral expenses; $5 million for Amanda Ross's physical and mental pain and suffering prior to her death; more than $3.5 million, or whatever expert testimony is offered, for loss of future earning capacity; and $25 million in punitive damages.
Diana Ross alleged that Opera House Square allowed Nunn to gain access to her daughter after Amanda Ross told the townhouse association she had an active emergency protective order against him.

Diana Ross claimed the lighting in the parking lot was inadequate and allowed Nunn to hide in the darkness and ambush her daughter before she could take steps to protect herself.
Opera House Square had said it was not negligent because the murder was not foreseeable. The townhouse association said it took reasonable steps to accommodate a request from Amanda Ross to improve security.

Opera House Square also said there was no evidence that the lighting was inadequate at the time of the murder or that the lighting caused or contributed to the murder.
In a written response to questions filed in the court documents, Nunn said he entered Opera House Square "by using a gate key to open the Bruce Street pedestrian gate. While I was living with Amanda Ross, she made a copy of the pedestrian gate key for my use, as well as a post office key."

Nunn said he returned the "clicker" used to open the Short Street automobile gate to Opera House Square after his relationship with Amanda Ross had ended. And he said, "I never thought about what the gate (punch) code was" after the relationship ended.

In recent weeks, Nunn had refused to answer more questions. In a July 31 letter he wrote from prison to Judge Ishmael, Nunn said he declined "to answer any questions related" to the civil suit.
"I have no attorney," Nunn wrote. "I have had access to my (former) attorney's case file for less than 6 weeks and I am in the process of pursuing post-conviction remedies available to me.
"I believe it is in my best interest to invoke my 5th Amendment rights (against self-incrimination) at this time," Nunn concluded.

Lawyers for Opera House Square had twice tried to take a deposition from Nunn. The first time was July 11 at Green River Correctional Complex, the prison where Nunn is being held. Nunn "essentially refused to answer any questions at his deposition," a motion said.
Opera House Square then asked Ishmael to compel Nunn to give a deposition on Aug. 5, but Nunn notified the court that he would decline.
Opera House Square filed a motion compelling Nunn to attend the now-canceled trial. Opera House Square cited a criminal rule that says an individual who is otherwise exempt from appearing at trial who failed to give a deposition can be compelled to come to court and testify.
Ishmael sustained that motion on Aug. 9.

Claims against another defendant, Cincinnati Insurance Co., have also been settled, Bentley said. The original suit filed in 2010 claimed that Cincinnati Insurance denied to cover medical expenses for Amanda Ross even though she "paid dues which were used to purchase the policy with Cincinnati."
Diana Ross claimed that Cincinnati Insurance had "breached the applicable policy by, among other things, failing to compensate plaintiff for ambulance, medical, hospital and funeral services."
Still unsettled are negligence claims against Nunn's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Nunn of Glasgow, Bentley said. The claims against the daughter stem from accusations that Steve Nunn illegally transferred property in Glasgow to her to avoid having the Ross family claim it as damages.
"I think we'll go after that later," Bentley said. "That's not part of what this (Monday) hearing is about."

Nunn served in the state legislature from 1991 through 2006 and was a former Republican gubernatorial candidate. He resigned his position as deputy secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services after Amanda Ross successfully sought a domestic violence protection order against him.
Nunn's father served as governor from 1967 to 1971.
When he turns 62 on Nov. 14, 2014, Steve Nunn will be eligible to receive his full state pension of $28,210 annually, based on his legislative and executive department service. State law permits pension benefits to former lawmakers unless they commit a crime while in office.

New York Post Says Elliot Spitzer Should Be Indicted Not Get Office, As The Newspaper Endorses His Opponent Scott Stringer.

Vote Scott & give ‘Client 9’ the hook

In a few short weeks, New Yorkers will choose between two candidates for city comptroller in the Democratic primary. One is Scott Stringer, a conventional Manhattan liberal. The other is a completely unhinged Manhattan liberal.

His name is Eliot Spitzer, and for a man who styles himself the “Sheriff of Wall Street,” his real expertise is operating outside the law. As attorney general, he acted like some hick-town bully with a badge and a speed trap. But where it counted — in the courtroom — this sheriff seldom got his man.

Then again, Spitzer’s goals in office have always been less about serving the people’s interest and more about feeding his insatiable ego, his giant ambitions and his basest appetites. This fundamental character flaw, and the dysfunction it bred, brought down his governorship. And these failures, notably his meltdown in office, started long before the public learned of Ashley Dupre or the Emperors Club escort agency.

Spitzer came to office with an approval rating in the 70s — only to see the numbers completely flip in scarcely a year. It was entirely self-inflicted. His governorship read like a script for FX’s “Anger Management,” with Spitzer unable to get along with anyone: not Republicans, not Democrats, not even members of his own staff.

Now he’s seeking to be put in charge of city contracts and $140 billion in pension funds. It is a job that requires a working relationship with the mayor, the City Council and many stakeholders — not to mention the 58 trustees, who are unlikely to react well to a “steamroller.”
But once again, he’s made clear the normal work of that office — say, negotiating better management fees — is beneath him.
“Office is ripe for greater and more exciting use,” he tweets. Translation: Putting me in charge is like going away for the weekend and leaving your teenage son an open liquor cabinet and the keys to a Ferrari.

We would not trust Eliot Spitzer to manage our 401(k), much less take our teenage daughter to the movies — so why should the city trust him with its entire pension fund? If he uses the funds to target Wall Street and punish companies he doesn’t like, the likelihood is that the funds’ returns will suffer.

And guess who is on the hook to make up the shortfall? You, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.
In an election year where Carlos Danger is competing for mayor, Client 9 felt empowered to jump back in and turn New York into the laughingstock of America — thanks for that, Anthony!

But Anthony Weiner’s weird psychosexual thrill from public humiliation seems honest in comparison to Spitzer, whose version of “contrition” gives off a distinctly Charlie Sheen vibe.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway Lacks Kahuna, Only Makes Decisions Based On Political Expediency.

Ky. AG staying out of same-sex privilege issue

Kentucky's attorney general is staying out of a dispute on whether a law exempting spouses from testifying against each other applies to same-sex couples.
A judge in Louisville was told by a local prosecutor Friday that Attorney General Jack Conway's office doesn't intend to weigh in on the matter.

Conway's office says the state is adequately represented by the local prosecutor.

The dispute has arisen in the case of Bobbie Joe Clary, who is charged with a 2011 murder.
Prosecutors claim her partner, Geneva Case, heard Clary admit to the killing and argue she must testify because Kentucky doesn't recognize same-sex civil unions or marriages.
The couple joined into a civil union in Vermont. Defense attorneys say that denying them the same marital rights as others would violate the Constitution.

FBI! LOL.

Beshear opens Kentucky's 'Obamacare' insurance call center

(In above picture, Connie Harvey, Xerox Corp. vice pres. and chief operating officer, spoke during the grand opening of the kynect contact center at a Xerox call center 2436 Fortune Dr. in Lexington, Ky., Friday, August 16, 2013. The contact center, a major component of the Affordable Care Act, is operated through a contract with Xerox. This makes Kentucky one of the first states in the country to open a toll-free health benefit exchange call center for its citizens. Gov. Steve Beshear is on the right).

• BY THE NUMBERS
  640,000: Kentuckians eligible for health insurance
  332,000: Those eligible for Medicaid
  60: Current call center employees
  100: Center employees expected by Oct. 1
  5,000: Call center daily volume when fully staffed
  2: Languages available at the center, English and Spanish
  107: Languages available through a translation service
  SOURCE: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services
  

About 640,000 Kentuckians will soon be signing up for health insurance, and Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday a new call center answering questions about the process is an important first step.
"This is an exciting morning because today we reach an important milestone in our historic effort to bring affordable healthcare coverage to every single resident of the commonwealth of Kentucky," Beshear said at a press conference.

Beshear said some 640,000 Kentuckians will be signing up for insurance through the website KyNect.com that is supported by the call center. Beshear said roughly half will qualify for Medicaid and most of the rest will qualify for subsidized rates on health insurance.

The call center, which opened Thursday at Fortune Drive in Lexington, currently employs 60 people. Operators, contracted through Xerox, are answering questions about how to sign up for insurance as part of the Affordable Care Act. People can begin to sign up for coverage Oct. 1 via the website. No coverage becomes effective until Jan. 1. Everyone, with very limited exceptions, is required to have health insurance by March.

Beshear said Kentucky is ahead of many states in the process to access health insurance. He said the call center is important in helping people seeking insurance for the first time navigate a complicated system.

He said those who are still complaining about "Obamacare" should accept the fact that it is the law.
"Some people inexplicably see the decision to participate as a referendum on the popularity of our president. I don't agree with them," Beshear said. "I believe these critics are blinded by a disease that I would call knee-jerk partisan politics, and that disease clouds their vision and quite frankly I sometimes wonder if it doesn't harden their hearts a bit."

---

BY THE NUMBERS640,000: Kentuckians eligible for health insurance
332,000: Those eligible for Medicaid
60: Current call center employees
100: Center employees expected by Oct. 1
5,000: Call center daily volume when fully staffed
2: Languages available at the center, English and Spanish
107: Languages available through a translation service
SOURCE: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Mary Meehan: (859) 231-3261. Twitter: @bgmoms. Blog: BluegrassMoms.com.

Kentucky House Democrats Belatedly Redraw Constitutionally Mandated Congressional Districts, Pit Eight Incumbents Against One Another In Four Districts. Senate Expected To Do Likewise.This Out To Be Fun. Where's My Popcorn?

FRANKFORT — Kentucky House Democratic leaders presented a map of redrawn House districts Friday that pairs eight incumbents against each other in four districts — four Democrats and four Republicans.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said at a Capitol news conference with other House Democratic leaders that the new redistricting plan is fair politically and meets all legal requirements.
State lawmakers are to begin a special session at noon Monday to tackle their third attempt to redraw legislative districts to conform to population changes recorded in the last U.S. Census. The session is expected to last five days at a daily cost of more than $60,000 to taxpayers.

If the lawmakers don't do their jobs, a panel of three federal judges is ready to redraw the districts in response to lawsuits filed by a group of Northern Kentucky citizens and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

The Democrats' plan, which is expected to win approval, splits 24 counties into multiple districts, 22 of which are too large in population to have a single House district. The other two counties with multiple districts are Trigg and Harlan counties.

The plan also creates four new open districts: the 36th in Jefferson County, the 49th in Bullitt County, the 53rd in Anderson, Spencer and Bullitt counties and the 99th in Elliott, Rowan and Lewis counties.

In Lexington, the new House plan tweaks the boundaries of several districts. Six of the 10 lawmakers representing portions of Lexington will live in the county.
"It was my hope that we would have a seventh legislator because we have the population for a seventh legislator but when you create partial districts ... that takes away the population that would have given us a seventh legislator," said Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington.

Democratic incumbents pitted against each other in the new plan are House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins and Kevin Sinnette in northeastern Kentucky's 100th District and John Will Stacy and Hubie Collins in Eastern Kentucky's 97th District.

Republican incumbents paired are Myron Dossett and Ben Waide in Western Kentucky's 9th District and C.B. Embry and Jim DeCesare in Western Kentucky's 17th District.
Stumbo said none of the paired incumbents have told him they would not be running for re-election next year.

Adkins said both Sinnette and he support the new map and they will discuss their political futures. Sinnette could not be reached for comment.
Stacy predicted he would prevail if challenged in the new district. Collins could not be reached for comment.
"There ain't no combination of counties that you could put me in with Morgan County that I can't win," Stacy said.

Embry is considering a possible run for a state Senate next year. DeCesare, Dossett and Waide could not be reached for comment.

The upcoming special session will mark the third time lawmakers have tried to redraw their districts.

A plan passed the General Assembly last year but was declared unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court. Earlier this year, the two chambers could not agree on when to perform the task.
Senate President Robert Stivers of Manchester and other Senate GOP leaders presented their redistricting plan Thursday.

Republicans control the 38-member Senate and Democrats are the majority in the 100-memberr House.
House Republicans released a plan last week that Stumbo dismissed a day later.
"I'm pleased that Speaker Stumbo is, at least on its face, moving toward a fairer plan for redistricting," House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, said Friday.
Hoover said Republicans would review details of the Democrats' plan before the special session starts Monday.

Stumbo acknowledged that the court's oversight of redistricting played a large role in how Senate and House leaders drew their new maps.
"What the court really told us to do is draw a plan and prove that this system is functional," Stumbo said. "It is, and I think Senator Stivers' actions yesterday and our actions today show that the system's functional."

In Fayette County, the boundaries of most districts shifted slightly.

The 56th District, now represented by freshman Democrat James Kay of Versailles, covers a smaller portion of western Fayette County. The 45th District represented by Republican Stan Lee in southern Lexington claims some of the territory previously in the 56th District.

The 72nd District represented by Democrat Sannie Overly of Bourbon County moves further west into the northern part of the county. She will represent the Kentucky Horse Park instead of Republican Rep. Ryan Quarles of Georgetown.
Quarles, in the 62nd District, will represent a smaller portion of Fayette County.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/08/16/2770351/kentucky-house-democrats-present.html#storylink=cpy