Breaking GREAT News: U. S. Supreme Court Upholds Portion Of Arizona Law Punishing Businesses For Hiring Illegal Immigrants.

The case is CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ET AL. v. WHITING ET AL., No. 09–115.

Click on the case name to read the opinion.

Here's how the Justices ruled:

ROBERTS, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to PartsII–B and III–B. SCALIA, KENNEDY, and ALITO, JJ., joined that opinion in full, and THOMAS, J., joined as to Parts I, II–A, and III–A and con-curred in the judgment. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GINSBURG, J., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion. KAGAN, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

NOW, believe it or not, this is the BEST way to combat illegal immigration, and all remaining 49 states should IMMEDIATELY jump on the Arizona's bandwagon and enact similar "punish businesses for illegal hiring" laws.

Did you hear: IMMEDIATELY!

American Airlines Continues To Implode With Canceled Flights, As Frontier Airlines Becomes Third Airline To Fold Or Seek Protection.

Today, Frontier Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection. By doing so the airline now joins other troubled airlines, like ATA Airlines Inc. and Aloha Airgroup Inc., which also recently filed for bankruptcy and discontinued operations. The airlines blamed their problems on soaring fuel prices and a slowing economy. Whether Frontier is forced to also discontinue operations remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, there is more trouble in the airline industry, as American Airlines has been canceling flights all week -- more than 3000 since Tuesday. American Airlines woes may also be related to the fuel prices, though the company's official explanation is that its actions are due to the need to ground airlines due to safety reasons.

Wal Mart Has A Change Of Heart, Drops Lawsuit Against Cancer Patient, Deborah Shank.

You can read the story here.

Wal Mart has a heart after all.

Donors with equine and casino interests bankroll the Bluegrass Freedom Fund. So what?

The Herald Leader has done an excellent job of following the money trail concerning the financing of the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, a 527, whose VERY effective ads were largely responsible for the demise of the Fletcher administration.

According to the H-L's story, a whopping 70 percent of BFF's contributions came from those interest groups, with one of them, Bill Yung, a Fort Mitchell-based casino and hotel owner, giving $1 million to the fund -- the biggest contribution.

Here is a list of those contributors:

HORSE AND CASINO INTERESTS

• $1 million from William Yung, president of Northern Kentucky-based development company Columbia Sussex, which owns several casinos and hotels, including the embattled Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Atlantic City and the Aztar in Evansville, Ind.

• $250,000 from Churchill Downs Inc., the Louisville racetrack's parent, that is looking for a casino.

• $250,000 from Phoenix Capital, a limited liability company formed in August by Keeneland, the Lexington thoroughbred track.

• $250,000 from EP Acquisitions in Louisville, which is owned by Ronald Geary, who bought Ellis Park in Henderson and also is interested in casinos.

• $125,000 from Turfway Park in Florence, which is co-owned by Keeneland and Harrah's.

• $60,000 from Lexington Trots Breeders Association, which owns The Red Mile harness racing track.

• $50,000 from Hideout of Lincoln County, LLC, of Palm Desert, Calif., owned by R.D. Hubbard, who has apparently recently dropped out of the Sprint Racing Partners seeking a quarter horse racetrack in London, Ky.

• $50,000 from Edward Allred, owner of Los Alamitos Race Course in California, who has also dropped out of Sprint.

• $50,000 from Will Farish of Versailles, who owns Lane's End Farm.

• $50,000 from Tracy Farmer, the Midway horse farm owner who staunchly backed Gov. Steve Beshear.

• $25,000 from Bruce Rimbo, president of Hubbard's Ruidoso Downs quarter horse track in New Mexico, and who is still part of Sprint Racing.

• $25,000 from Paul Blanchard, owner of the Downs of Albuquerque, who also has dropped out of Sprint.

• $10,000 from H. Greg Goodman, owner of Mount Brilliant Farm in Lexington.

• $10,000 from John Oxley, a horse breeder and owner from Tulsa, Okla.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY GROUPS

• $600,000 from the Democratic Governors Association in Washington, D.C.

UNIONS

• $200,000 from AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the national public employee union.

• $50,000 from SEIU PEA International, the Washington D.C.-based Service Employees International Union.

• $25,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers in Washington, D.C.

• $15,000 from the Jefferson County Teachers Association in Louisville.

• $5,000 from the Carpenters' Legislative Improvement Committee in Washington, D.C.

• $5,000 from the Plumbers Pipe Fitters & M.E.S. Local 392 PAC in Cincinnati.

OTHER

• $20,000 from the American Association for Justice in Washington, D.C.

• $25,000 from the Kentucky Justice Association, Inc.

Total: $3,150,000

My question is: considering their "business interest" of building casinos in Kentucky, who do people expect these "gaming" folks to give money to -- Steve Beshear, who supports their interests, or Ernie Fletcher, who doesn't?

So, why is this news? Is this not the "American way"?

Bill Gates wants to Yahoo, for $44 Billion!

That's a whole lot of dead presidents to pay to be a Yahooligan. Yesterday Yahoo's stock closed at $19 a share. Bill Gates is offering $31 a share!!

LOUISVILLE'S TOWERING INFERNO

It hasn't even been built yet and Louisville's Museum Tower complex is in flames. Taxpayers were promised two years ago this was a privately funded project, but the Metro government would be "giving" the developers the valuable riverfront land.

Then it transpired the project needed an especially one-sided TIF agreement and tens of millions in public improvements for the area. Then last week the mayor revealed the Metro needed to chip in $45 million to "get things started", money the government must bond and assume the debt for.

Even in the face of declining Metro revenues, Mayor Abramson is apparently committed to ramming through the additional funding, which will only exacerbate the ongoing fight over funding things suburbanites want, such as new libraries.

The deal itself looks worse with every turn. The developers, mostly the liberal side of the billionaire "whiskey Browns", have never done any project remotely like this and I think they are in way over their heads. With a national downturn in the real estate market, this project may get nixed anyway if the banks pull the plug.

I would hope if there are any more delays, the Metro Council has the courage to take back the property and open up the land to all comers, presumably some group not intent on feeding at the public trough.

For too long Louisville's elite politico/business leadership has wanted to take short cuts to building a great city, ignoring the hard work of attracting solid businesses to the county and instead wasted time and money on glittery ornaments for downtown. Now it looks like we lose on both counts. It's sad to realize this, but Louisville may be in for some really hard times if there is any sort of national recession.

On the bright side, that means lots of folks here will have the time to take in our great museums.

Senator McConnell wants to "reverse the sting" of the Alternative Minimum Tax; He might as well be speaking to Fletcher and the General Assembly.

Senator Mitch McConnell has a fine piece in the C-J this morning decrying the federal Alternative Minimum Tax.

Read it here.

Frankly, I think the Senator might as well be speaking to Ernie Fletcher and the General Assembly about Kentucky's (no tax pledged) Alternative Minimum Tax/Calculation -- or whatever you choose to kill it.

I call it the Small Business Incentive Killer or SBIK!

Either way you slice it, if it's BAD on the federal level as the Senator contends, is there ANY doubt that it is also BAD here in Kentucky?

MEMO to GOP: Your Lock on the Business Community Is Slipping

The Wall Street Journal has a must read front page story that should scare the bejeezus out of Republicans. Here’s the title: GOP Is Losing Grip On Core Business Vote; Deficit Hawks Defect As Social Issues Prevail; 'The Party Left Me'.

Here are the opening and closing paragraphs:

The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

New evidence suggests a potentially historic shift in the Republican Party's… "brand." The votes of many disgruntled fiscal conservatives and other lapsed Republicans are now up for grabs, which could alter U.S. politics in the 2008 elections and beyond.

[…]

Some business leaders are drifting away from the party because of the war in Iraq, the growing federal debt and a conservative social agenda they don't share. In manufacturing sectors such as the auto industry, some Republicans want direct government help with soaring health-care costs, which Republicans in Washington have been reluctant to provide. And some business people want more government action on global warming, arguing that a bolder plan is not only inevitable, but could spur new industries.

Nationally, support for some… causes espoused by social conservatives and hawks has declined… as Americans [grow] more concerned about economic matters… Between 1987 and this year, for example, support for "old-fashioned values about family and marriage" had dropped 11%. Those who said gay teachers should be fired dropped 23% [and] support for U.S. global engagement and "peace through military strength" also shrank.

But the number of Americans who share some classic Democratic concerns has risen. [75%] of the population is worried about growing income inequality, Pew found, while [2/3rds] favor government-funded health care for all. Support for a government safety net for the poor is at its highest level since 1987.

"More striking," …was the change in party identification since 2002. Five years ago, the population was evenly divided -- 43% for each party. This year, Democrats had a 50% to 35% advantage.

Let me summarize: in the eyes of the business community there’s a gap between what the GOP pushes and what they want. That gap means fewer businesspeople will give GOP. Fewer biz donations to the GOP mean far less money. Far less money mean the party has trouble competing with the liberal message of the MSM and the labor unions and other liberal special interests. Less message means fewer GOP Congressmen and Senators. In other words, find a way to appeal your message to biz's or go the way of the dodo bird!

A footnote: Can the GOP survive as a viable political alternative if it loses both the business community and the Hispanic votes? Is the Democratic party big enough to accomodate busiensses, labor, abortion righters, environmentalists, anti-war demonstrators and the GLTG crusaders? Is it time for a third party?