Governor Steve Beshear Wants "In God We Trust" License Plate. Amen To That.

Read more here.

On this site, I had been promoting this same license plate and I am glad to see Governor Steve Beshear agree to lead the effort to get one created for Kentucky.

As I Predicted, The U. S. Supreme Court Says The Second Amendment Secures Individual Rights To Bear Arms. Amen To That!

The case is DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER, 07-290 (2008), and represents the FIRST REAL DEFINITE statement from the Court on what the Second Amendment's provision that "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" means.

The Court in a SHOCKINGLY SURPRISING 5 to 4 opinion (yes, you read it -- 5 to 4, NOT UNANIMOUS -- you go figure who could dissent from the CLEAR provision) held that the Second Amendment secures our collective individual right to bear arms, subject to REASONABLE regulation.

The nearly 160 page decision demands a read, but if you can't read it, I'll leave you with the Court's summary below:

District of Columbia law bans handgun possession by making it a crime to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibiting the registration of handguns; provides separately that no person may carry an unlicensed handgun, but authorizes the police chief to issue 1-year licenses; and requires residents to keep lawfully owned firearms unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.
Respondent Heller, a D. C. special policeman, applied to register a handgun he wished to keep at home, but the District refused.

He filed this suit seeking, on Second Amendment grounds, to enjoin the city from enforcing the bar on handgun registration, the licensing requirement insofar as it prohibits carrying an unlicensed firearm in the home, and the trigger-lock requirement insofar as it prohibits the use of functional firearms in the home. The District Court dismissed the suit, but the D. C. Circuit reversed, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess firearms and that the city’s total ban on handguns, as well as its requirement that firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional even when necessary for self-defense, violated that right.

Held:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Pp. 2–53.
(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.
(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Anti federalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved.
Pp. 22–28.
(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.
(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms.
Pp. 30–32.
(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47.
(f) None of the Court’s precedents forecloses the Court’s interpretation.
Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual rights interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.
2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.
Pp. 54–56.
3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this
prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement.
Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56–64.
478 F. 3d 370, affirmed.

Editor's (QUICK) comment: I believe the Majority is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in its opinion.

The decision by the Court was the CORRECT one.

Our country's Founders mistrusted government and RIGHTFULLY concluded that the BEST check against DESPOTISM is to give the people the power to ARM themselves!

As for the opinion, I love how Justice Scalia uses the dissenting Justices premise against them. Thus, while the dissenters will urge an approval of the gun ban because of the high crime in Washington D. C., Justice Scalia retorts that THAT is precisely why people of the District need to own hand guns.

I love the man's UNBRIDLED INTELLECT.

If only the people of Zimbabwe had their own Second Amendment, their President, Robert Mugabe, might NOT turn out to be a Mad man intent on killing ALL his opposition!

George Will: Obama Should Reject Hillary. AMEN To That!

Obama should reject Hillary

WASHINGTON -- An axiom. When voters watch a presumptive presidential nominee considering this or that running mate, they think: What if the president dies? When the presumptive nominee considers this or that running mate, he thinks: What if I live?
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Which brings us to the dotty idea that Barack Obama should choose to have Hillary Clinton down the hall in the West Wing, nursing her disappointments, her grievances and her future presidential ambitions while her excitable husband wanders in the wings of America's political theater with his increasingly Vesuvian temper, his proclivity for verbal fender benders and his interesting business associates. That this idea survived her off-putting speech Tuesday night, after Obama won the right to choose a running mate, is evidence that many Democrats do not fathom the gratitude that less-blinkered Americans feel for Obama because he has closed the Clinton parenthesis in our presidential history.

After some of the boilerplate geographic pitter-patter that today's candidates consider Periclean eloquence (" ... from the hills of New Hampshire to the hollows of West Virginia ... "), she obliquely but clearly identified herself as the person who would be "the strongest candidate and the strongest president" and, pointedly, the person most ready to "take charge as commander in chief." There is a fine line between admirable tenacity and delusional denial, and Clinton tiptoed across it.

Obama's choice of a running mate will be the first important decision he makes with the whole country watching, so it will be a momentous act of self-definition. If he chooses her, it will be an act of self-diminishment, especially now that some of her acolytes are aggressively suggesting that some unwritten rule of American politics stipulates that anyone who finishes a strong second in the nomination contest is entitled to second place on the ticket.

Behind the idea that Obama should run in harness with Clinton is this wobbly theory: Because the Republican Party is in such bad odor, if you unify the Democratic Party, that will suffice to win the election, and she is a necessary and sufficient catalyst of unity. But she is neither. She would be a potent unifier of John McCain's party, thereby setting the stage for exactly what the nation does not need, another angry campaign of mere mobilization rather than persuasion.

Surely she, the most polarizing Democrat, is not the only Democrat who can help Obama appeal to the voters who rejected him in Kentucky and West Virginia. And as his running mate, she would nullify his narrative. The candidate embracing the "future" should not glue himself to Washington circa 1993. Someone promising to "turn the page" should not revert to an earlier chapter. Someone whose mantra is "change" should not embrace her theme of restoration -- that the 1990s were paradise and Democrats promise paradise regained.

She, whose experiences as First Spouse have not impressed Obama as acquisitions of national security expertise, would not help him deflect McCain's predictable attack on his thin curriculum vitae. And the more she seems to be pushing Obama to choose her, the more resolutely he must resist. Otherwise, at the beginning of a contest in which McCain will portray him as a flimsy figure, Obama will define himself as someone who can be pushed around.

On the eve of the battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson, addressing his captains on the HMS Victory, picked up a fire poker and said: It does not matter where I put this -- unless Bonaparte tells me to put it a particular place. Then I must put it someplace else. Is Obama Nelsonian?

Selecting vice presidential candidates has recently become more serious than it was when Richard Johnson became Martin Van Buren's running mate in 1836 partly on the strength of the slogan "rumpsey dumpsey, rumpsey dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh," a distillation of the unsubstantiated story that he personally killed the Shawnee chief at the Battle of the Thames in the War of 1812.

In 1964, Barry Goldwater did not reassure queasy voters when he said that one reason he chose to run with Bill Miller, an obscure upstate New York congressman, was that Miller annoyed Lyndon Johnson. And remember the frivolousness that produced Maryland Gov. Spiro Agnew as Richard Nixon's running mate in 1968 and Missouri Sen. Tom Eagleton as George McGovern's in 1972.

Clinton, having risen politically in her husband's orbit, is a moon shining with reflected light. Were Obama to hitch himself to her, he would reduce himself to a reflection of a reflection.

George F. Will is a syndicated columnist with The Washington Post. His e-mail address is georgewill@washpost.com.

Editor's comment: Mr. Will: You got it right about BILLARY Clinton.

Barack Obama is GUARANTEED a Loss in November if he FOOLISHLY picks her -- with BUBBA Clinton in tow -- as VP!

Barack Obama Is SMART To Adopt A 50 State Campaign Strategy. Forget the Blue State Red State Crap -- Can I Say CRAP!?!

Read more here.

This election portends to reshape the now misused notions of a blue state/red state electoral map of the old, and make ALL the 50 states in play for presidential candidates of both parties, not to talk about improving his very good chances of winning the General Election.

And we thank God for that.

Enough division already!

Aborted Baby Survives, Expected To Live Normal Life.

Read more of the "God works in mysterious ways" story.

Pope Benedict XV1 Continues Tour Of America, Examines Society.

Pope Benedict XV1 continued his American tour today where he examined American society, saying he detected anger and alienation, increasing violence and a "growing forgetfulness of God."

According to the Pope, "Americans have always been a people of hope." Continuing the Pope said: "Your ancestors came to this country with the experience of finding new freedom and opportunity. To be sure, this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land; one thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves."

Amen to that.

The Pope's tour took him to New York City today.

GREAT news.

Yep, GREAT news.

In case some of us forget "the reason for the season".

In case some of us, in our gluttonous frenzy to shop and exchange gifts, forget "the reason for the season".

"And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in this day in this city of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

-- Luke 2:10-11

Another Governor (of Kentucky south) tackling ethics in government.

Another southern Governor, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana (jokingly referred to as Kentucky South, or is Kentucky Louisiana North) is setting the stage to tackle ethics and corruption in his home state. We wish him well, too. Here's his news release:

Dear Friends,

Educating the nation about Louisiana’s upcoming ethics reforms

I am in New York today sharing with business leaders and members of the national media that Louisiana is serious about strengthening our ethics laws and creating an environment that will help attract new businesses and help businesses and industries already here to expand.

I will tell them that our state’s residents are excited about the fresh start that is occurring in Louisiana. The nation’s perception of our state as corrupt must be replaced with the new reality that what you know is more important than who you know when doing business in Louisiana.

Changing our state’s image will not come overnight and will take dedication and hard work from everyone – from Legislators to the general public. I plan to call the Legislature into a special session to strengthen our ethics laws and send a message to the rest of the country that Louisiana has embraced a fresh start.

Helping Move our State Forward

We continue to hear from impressive people across the state that are interested in serving Louisiana by working to implement the detailed plans that I laid forth during the campaign. It is invigorating to see the passion and commitment from everyone interested in helping our state.

Last week, I appointed to my cabinet several of these highly-qualified individuals who are dedicated to moving our state forward. These people represent the excellence, the passion and the commitment that we are looking for and Louisiana needs.

Those appointed last week are:

* Tim Barfield, Secretary of the Department of Labor
* Cynthia Bridges, Secretary of the Department of Revenue
* Lane Carson, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
* Angèle Davis, Commissioner of Administration
* Jimmy LeBlanc, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections
* Stephen Moret, Secretary of the Department of Economic Development

You can read more about these individuals below.
Governor-elect Jindal Announces Cabinet Secretaries

Working toward solutions

Transition Advisory Councils last week focused on ethics reform, transportation, health care, social services, veterans’ affairs, and workforce development. At each of these hearings, we heard about solutions that are working in parts of our state or around the nation that can be implemented statewide.

For example, during a hearing in Shreveport last week, the Ethics Transition Advisory Council heard from ethics administrators in Ohio and Georgia about campaign finance disclosure in each state and potential conflicts of interest involving elected officials and government employees. As I stated earlier, ethics reform will be the cornerstone of my administration and will send a strong message to the country that Louisiana is on the move.

We also heard from the Transportation Advisory Council about the need to invest in our roads by dedicating and spending the existing transportation taxes and fees for what they were designed to do -- improve our infrastructure, emphasize road quality and reduce traffic congestion - instead of using that money for general state expenses. Investing in our infrastructure is a key step in improving our economy. This means investing our dollars in projects such as the completion of Interstate 49 and improving our port facilities.

This week, we will continue to hold hearings around the state and I invite you to attend.

Hearings this week include:

Wednesday
Business Retention and Recruitment (Baton Rouge)
Hurricane Recovery (Lake Charles)

Thursday
Natural Resources (Lafayette)

Friday
Higher Education (Ruston)
Youth Development (Baton Rouge)

Speaking to Police Jury Association and CABL

Last week I addressed two statewide groups about our efforts to bring a fresh start to Louisiana. On Thursday, I spoke to the Policy Jury Association of Louisiana about the importance of improving transportation infrastructure throughout our state. We must have the necessary infrastructure in place if we are going to expand economic development in all 64 parishes. I look forward to working with local elected officials across Louisiana as we begin a new chapter in our state's history.

I also spoke with the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) about my plans to reform ethics in our state, and improve education across the board. For too long, our state has fallen behind in these areas, and now is the time for real change. You can read more about my speech to CABL below.
Governor-elect Pushes Education

Building up our community and technical colleges
Jay Leno speaks with Supriya Jindal, Governor-elect Bobby Jindal and Baton Rouge Community College Chancellor Dr. Myrtle Dorsey.


In order to increase economic development in our state, we need to further develop our workforce into one that consists of highly-trained and highly-skilled individuals who are prepared for work on day one. One way we can tackle this issue is by expanding and improving our community and technical colleges throughout the state.

In California, more than 80 percent of children continuing their education after high school start at a community or technical college, compared to less than 30 percent in Louisiana. The facts are clear – not every student will go to college and we should encourage a dual track system, as well as dual enrollment programs between high schools and technical and community colleges.
Governor-elect Bobby Jindal and his family were honored to kick off the holiday season recently by participating in the Natchitoches Christmas Parade.

To support this effort, my wife and I attended a fundraiser with Jay Leno on behalf of the Baton Rouge Community College this weekend. It was a great night of entertainment for a very worthy cause.

Sincerely,

Signed: Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal

Governor Steve Beshear: "The status quo is unacceptable to me." Neither is it to us.

Governor Steve Beshear
Inaugural Address
Frankfort, KY
December 11, 2007
2 p.m.

Honored and distinguished guests.

My fellow Kentuckians: Once more, our Commonwealth is at a crossroads. The course we set out upon today will help to determine whether or not we pass on to our children and grandchildren a Kentucky that's better and more prosperous, and more promising than the one we live in today.

We can choose the path of least resistance; the status quo.

Or, we can choose the path of progress. This path will involve new thinking and new ideas. It will require cooperation and patience. And it will demand courage.

The status quo is unacceptable to me. There's too much to do. We need to act.

We often look to the past to find clues to the future. Our challenge as Kentuckians is to hold fast to the values that embody Kentucky's past, and learn from them as we create our own future.

Kentucky was America's first frontier. The first state west of the Appalachians.
Our ancestors succeeded by creating opportunities, working hard, building communities, and putting their faith in God and in each other. That is the legacy they left to us.

We need to get back to those values so that we can be proud of the legacy we leave to our own children.

However, in many ways, the Kentucky of today has stood still while others have moved forward.

When it comes to economic and educational opportunities, Kentucky has fallen behind.

When it comes to investing in our people, we've too often fallen short.

When it comes to hope for the future, we've become resigned to watching helplessly as many of our children move to other states where better opportunities beckon them.

But it doesn't have to stay that way. If we address the challenges that face us, and take bold steps to meet them, I believe that we can make Kentucky America's Next Frontier.

A frontier of imaginative solutions;
A frontier for new technology and new industries;
A frontier that protects the environment, while creating opportunities;
A frontier that attracts entrepreneurs, tourists, retirees;
A frontier that keeps our own graduates right here at home.
My administration will be about our shared future. We have a responsibility to work together and I have a responsibility to lead. I take that responsibility seriously because our prosperity is at stake.

I ask everyone in this great commonwealth of ours – Democrat, Republican and Independent, white, black and brown, from Pikeville to Paducah, from our bustling cities to our small towns, to our farms both large and small – to join hands with me in meeting this challenge.

We have just come through the time-honored American rite of a hard-fought campaign; as a result, it is easy to see what divides us. Instead, what I want to see, and what I do see today, is what unites us.

As Kentuckians, and as Americans, we share the same basic values.

We're passionate about our freedom, we celebrate our differences, we cherish our faith, and we love our families.

Our history is filled with examples of overcoming division. During the Civil War, our Commonwealth was split between those siding with the Confederacy and those favoring the Union.

The years following the war were hard, but our ancestors came together to build the foundation for a modern Kentucky. Eventually, they worked through their differences for the sake of the future.

It's time to focus again on what unites us. Only then will we achieve truly great things.

Abraham Lincoln, whose 200th birthday we will begin to celebrate 2 months from now, said in his first presidential inaugural address:
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break, our bonds of affection."

Lincoln's plea for unity in 1861 is no less relevant today. While we have made extraordinary progress as a people since that time, we still must work to overcome our differences and not allow them to impede our progress.

Sixty years earlier, in his 1801 inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson said: "every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle."

Now, some may disagree with me on opinions, but let's agree on principles and goals.

We can accomplish much over the next four years, but only if we work together for the common good.

Only if we're open about the challenges we face and honest about the solutions.

Only if we're open to new ideas and new ways of thinking.

Only if we put the interests of all Kentuckians ahead of the interests of political parties, individuals and special interests.

The great Kentucky Senator Henry Clay once said:
"Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people."

Let us remember those wise words as we begin the difficult and exciting task of creating a new Kentucky for the 21st Century.

A Kentucky where the youngest among us have expanded learning opportunities that will serve a lifetime;

A Kentucky where the oldest among us are not forced to choose between food and medicine;

A Kentucky where citizens trust that their leaders are doing the people's business, not their own;

And a Kentucky where it doesn't matter if an idea is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea, as long as it's a good idea.

My administration will be looking for good ideas to help Kentucky innovate and become a leader among the states.

I expect to earn your trust, not to simply be given it. I expect my administration to be accountable – and it starts at the top, with me.

That's why one of my first official acts as governor will be to require all my top appointees to take extensive training in laws relating to ethics and the merit system, and to pledge to follow them.

In addition, one of my first proposals to the legislature will be a package of new ethics laws to govern us – increasing penalties for violating the ethics code, strengthening protections for whistleblowers, and changing the way appointments to the Ethics Commission itself are made.

We need to get our own house in order before we can be trusted to do the people's business. I look forward to working with legislators of both parties to pass tough new ethics and accountability standards we can all be proud of.

We've seen too often what happens when the people don't trust their government. Enacting new ethics standards will help to regain some of that trust.

So will governing effectively, efficiently and with humility. This, I pledge to you.

And that starts with being honest about the serious challenges we face as I take office today.

The current state of the economy means that we will need to be jealous guardians of the public's money. We will need to make difficult choices and set clear priorities. We will need to show the courage to cut back where we can now in order to invest in what we must in the future.

My priorities are ones we all share: investing more in the education of our people to better prepare them to compete in the global economy; creating more opportunities by attracting better paying jobs throughout Kentucky, in industries that promise long-term growth not just for today's workers but also for tomorrow's; and making health care more affordable for all our people so that every family can provide their children the care they deserve, and so that no senior need go without the medications they need.

We must address these challenges if we are to preserve and protect our quality of life and build the future that we all hope for.

A future where our children don't need to move away to find good-paying jobs with benefits;

A future where new ideas will create new opportunities and new industries; A future where Kentucky is competing not just with our neighbors, but with the world.

I see Kentucky as one big family. We may have our disagreements, but we share the same values and we want what's best for our children and our grandchildren. And we want to keep our families together.

Wouldn't it be something if we could build a Kentucky that our children would not want to leave and that would attract many others because of the opportunity we would offer them here?

The Bible states, in Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 17:
"So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land."

That, my friends, would be something!

This inauguration is a new beginning. Now is the time to put aside our preconceived notions and our ideologies.

Instead, let us strive to work with those who differ with us and forge new alliances. Let us consider new ideas and revisit old ones. Let us demand excellence and honesty. And let us listen. For if we listen, we will never forget why we're here or who we're here to serve.

I will never forget that I serve the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Thank you. God bless you.

Now let's get to work!

Thank you, Governor. We join you in getting back to work, to undo the unacceptable status quo.

Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo: "First, we must restore trust in our government." Amen to that.

Here is a text of Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo's Inaugural Address, given at Frankfort, KY, on today December 11, 2007, at 2 p.m.

Today is a beautiful day – not because of the weather, but because it is the fulfillment of the legacy our ancestors provided us. It is democracy in action. A day everyone can celebrate the orderly transition of power. An orderly procession that began when our nation was young – when Kentucky was still America's first frontier.

Kentucky was then a place people came to strike out on a new journey, to find adventure, to seek fortune. Where brave men and women of all nations, creeds, and political beliefs came not just to find, but to create, a better life. It was a rugged land that needed taming, but our ancestors did not shrink from this challenge. They embraced it. Working together they made the American dream a Kentucky dream.

It was that same American dream that led a young man named Dominic and his two brothers to leave Italy and come to Harlan County, Kentucky a century ago. Not knowing what lay ahead, but with hope and promise, they came to work in Kentucky's coalmines. It was not easy. It took hard work, but working together they made a life for themselves. The opportunity Kentucky gave them allowed Dominic to bring his children from the Old world to the new.

The promise of America allowed his son, Jimmy, to grow and prosper. My father, with me today, left school at 15 and went to work to provide for the family. He married my mother, Katherine, bringing her from Italy. He, too, had an American dream. From nothing they built a life in Eastern Kentucky.

Like Kentucky's story, their story had hardship and pain. Their first son, my brother Dominic wom I never knew, was lost because quality health care was not available in Eastern Kentucky then. But, like Kentucky, my parents endured.

Kentucky gave my parents the opportunity to prosper and they gave me the chance to follow my dreams – through Hazard High School, Transylvania University, and to the University of Kentucky School of Medicine.

Their commitment to that American dream led me back to my home in Eastern Kentucky to practice medicine. It led me to the Kentucky State Senate. It led me here today were I am proud and honored to become Kentucky's Lt. Governor.

The story of my family is a uniquely American story, a uniquely Kentucky story.

It is from this Kentucky story that Steve Beshear and our entire administration embark in a new direction.

Working together, Steve Beshear and I want to make that Kentucky Dream available to everyone in this great commonwealth.

I'm from Eastern Kentucky and Steve Behsear is from Western Kentucky. From Hazard to Dawson Springs people have been telling us that it's time to find common ground – that it's time to put partisanship aside and get things done.

I'm proud to be serving with Steve Beshear. He's someone who doesn't just talk about bringing all sides together, he does it.

Governor Beshear will be a leader we can look up to. A leader we can be proud of. A leader everyone can work with.

The road ahead will not be easy. Kentucky's problems are many, but so are our opportunities. Working together, we can solve those problems and take advantage of those opportunities.

First, we must restore trust in our government. Without trust, it will be difficult to effect the changes Kentucky needs.

Then, we must restore a strong economy in all regions of Kentucky by strengthening our existing businesses and by fostering and attracting new businesses and good-paying jobs.

Our abundant natural resources can be developed into alternative sources of energy. This will make us less dependent on foreign oil and it will create new jobs.

We can be a national leader in adventure tourism: using our natural beauty to become a destination for people all over America.

We can tackle the problems confronting our greatest resource: our citizens. The education of our children and the health of all our people must be improved.

And we must train our workforce to give them the skills they need to compete in the global economy because Kentucky cannot afford to fall further behind.

But we will need everyone working together to achieve these lofty goals. We will need everyone's ideas and everyone's input.

When Dominic left Italy a hundred years ago he could not imagine what was before him – certainly he could not envision that his grandson would become Kentucky's Lieutenant Governor.

Likewise, we cannot see into the future. But Kentucky's history proves we can prevail. It will not be easy and the way may not always be clear, but we must be like our ancestors and meet the challenges that lie before us.

I have faith that we can conquer these challenges because I know Kentuckians have done so before.

God bless you and God bless the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Thank you.

Amen to that.

Steve Beshear's final ad promises to put "Kentucky First". Amen to that!

Steve Beshear's final ad promises to put "Kentucky First". Amen to that!