Thanks to some extensive data collecting by Strive Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (See the “2009 Striving Together: Report Card”), I just got a chance to compare some performance measures such as high school graduation rates and ACT scores for Kentucky Catholic Schools to those of nearby public schools.


In Northern Kentucky, Catholic Schools offer the major school choice option for those who can afford it. It’s clear in the graph above why many parents take this school choice option, but there are some additional surprises, as well.

First, note that the Covington Diocese, which covers Northern Kentucky, runs away with the best-by-far Freshman Graduation Rate. This rate is the ratio of graduates in the 2007-08 school year (counts obtained from the Graduation Rate Excel spreadsheet here)to the number of freshmen who entered each school system as ninth graders in the 2004-05 term (which can be found in the Excel 2004-05 “Growth Factor Ethnic Membership” spreadsheet here).

Keep in mind that this rate tends to return figures a couple of points below the true graduation rate because of a lot of kids who are held back in the ninth grade, but federal research indicates that this approximation calculation is still among the most accurate available.

The Catholic system also outperforms on the ACT college entrance test.

The graph also shows the percentage of disadvantaged kids in each system, which is derived from the percentage of kids who are eligible for the federal free and reduced cost lunch program. Clearly, most of the Catholic students are well-to-do compared to the public school memberships.

However, here is the first surprise. The Ludlow Independent schools have a much higher school lunch rate than either the Kenton County or Campbell County school systems, but Ludlow does a much better job of graduating its students.

Also, note that Ludlow’s ACT college entrance test Composite Score is quite competitive with other public school systems, as well. Clearly, Ludlow is a district worth watching. Also, as Ludlow borders Covington, it could even be a system of choice for parents of modest means who have the ability to move to this relatively low housing cost area.

In any event, it is clear that while the Covington and Newport Independent school districts face strong poverty issues, that they have a long way to go in educating their students successfully. Graduation rates and ACT scores in both systems are way below what they need to be.

One more note on transparency of data. Covington and Newport both provided a “graduation rate” to the Strive folks. These are based on the “official” calculation used by the Kentucky Department of Education. Covington reported a graduation rate of 90 percent, and Newport claimed a rate of 81 percent.

Notice the sharp contrast to the graduation rates in the graph above. While federally research indicates the rates shown in the graph above are probably a bit low (though they are calculated in the same way the Catholic system uses, so the comparison is fair), there is no reasonable way that the rates in the graph can be so far off from the rates Covington and Newport provided to Strive.

In fact, when the data underlying these rates from Covington were audited in 2006, the finding was that the data was grossly under-reporting the true seriousness of the situation.

For example, Covington had twice as many dropouts as they owned up to, and Newport had five times as many. Because dropouts are used to calculate the Kentucky Department of Education’s untrustworthy graduation rates, the result was that graduation rates for both school systems were grossly overstated by the “official” numbers.

Yet, the deception continues three years later. These bogus numbers even showed up in the new Strive report, though Strive warns not to try to compare them to the graduation rate for the Catholic system.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson told the Metropolitan Republican Women's Club last night that fundraising for his exploratory committee is going strong.

Although Grayson will not reveal the exact number of his second quarter contributions until Monday, Grayson did say that he has received donations from approximately 1,000 individuals, mostly Kentuckians, in the range of $5 to the the statutory maximum.

Sen. Jim Bunning, meanwhile, has done little in the way of fundraising and his second quarter filing will no doubt reflect that. Look for Bunning to announce that he will not seek reelection within the week.

Grayson took questions, most of which focused on health care reform. He demonstrated a real mastery of the subject -- particularly for someone who has not worked in the field -- and a hunger to learn all he can.

He argued that it is not enough for Republicans to oppose the Kennedy-Dodd monstrosity now flailing around Congress; we must propose creative solutions that will control cost and improve quality without rationing.

To that end, he pointed to the medical specialties of dental and eye care as two areas with the most competition (because consumers can and do shop around). In both specialties, quality has improved due to innovations like LASIK surgery and competition has driven the cost of these new procedures steadily downward. The same is true in the dental field for braces, sealants and implants. (Of course, the same argument applies with equal force to the field of cosmetic surgery, but Grayson was to much of a gentleman to go there. )

This is exactly the sort of creative thinking that Republicans need. We must identify success stories and figure out how to replicate them.

Well, if you thought the strong arm tactics used by the horse tracks during the special session last month to try to get their bill through the House were questionable, you ought to get a load of their newest techniques to intimidate those who refused to vote for the legislation which would have allowed the tracks to operate slot machines while getting about a 50 percent cut.

John Forgy, nephew of State Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr (R-Lexington), was fired on Wednesday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission because of his aunt's vote in committee against the slots bill, which would have paid the tracks protection money. Oh, and it didn't help that his father, Larry Forgy, has been an ardent opponent of expanded gambling in the state.

But things could have been worse. He could have woken up to find a horse's head under his sheets. Let's face it, the tracks have a few to spare.

No one got a good look at the plates as the car sped away, but word on the street is that the contract on Forgy was issued by Governor's office after he was threatened because of his inauspicious family connections.

Francene, are you there? Francene?

When Cynthia McKinney first splattered onto the national scene she accused President Bush of having advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Then she was remembered for having said Al Gore didn't have enough of a "negro tolerance level". She was defeated as a Congresswoman from Georgia after her anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian/Arab sentiments became widely known. Her father blamed it all on "J_E_W_S" After being elected again in 2004 she once again splattered onto the national scene when she was stopped by security after walking around a metal detector at the Longworth House Office Building. The security officers said she was...

7/3/2009 9:41:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

For the first seven years of our marriage my wife and I were young students, barely making it week to week. We were healthy, as are most young people, and since we had no money we stayed home alot, which meant we didn't engage in many dangerous pursuits. The last thing we even thought about buying was health insurance. We just couldn't afford it. Now that doesn't mean that we didn't go to the doctor from time to time. In fact, once I needed a root canal. I told the doctor that I had no money but would gladly make...

7/3/2009 9:41:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

After it was reported by the blog POLITICO that the Washington Post had sent out a flier looking to sell access to high ranking Obama officials for $25,000, the paper has now canceled those plans. Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors. With the Post newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Weymouth...

7/3/2009 9:41:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

Who ordered, directed and/or approved the dismissal of John Forgy from his state position as general counsel to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission? So far no one is saying, but his aunt, State Senator Alice Forgy Kerr thinks he lost his job as "retaliation" for her vote against race track casinos. In a report by Jack Brammer at the Lexington Herald Leader he says Senator Kerr thinks that it stinks. “My nephew was a hostage in this situation,” said Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington. “He’s losing his job in retaliation for my vote against predatory gambling in this state.” [H/L]...

7/3/2009 9:41:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

The first tea party to protest taxation without representation occurred on Dec. 16, 1773. We’ve come full circle and are now almost back where we started.

Lots of folks I speak to like to overpay their federal and state taxes through the year. That way, come April 15th, they get a tax refund from Uncle Sam and their state capitol. Now comes a good reason NOT...

7/3/2009 1:25:00 AM By Conservative Musings

On Monday, the New Haven Firefighters won their case in the Supreme Court which overturned a decision from high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

In 2003, the firefighters were unfairly denied promotions because of their race.

"The ruling could give Sotomayor's critics fresh ammunition two weeks before her Senate confirmation hearing."

I've been blogging about this case for quite a while. It's a nice glimmer of hope in the midst of so many negative decisions coming from Washington.

Story here.

David Adams, a respected voice of conservatism in Kentucky, has announced that he is suspending his involvement with the widely regarded political blog, "Kentucky Progress" to take a position as a consultant with the Rand Paul exploratory committee. MORE HERE

7/2/2009 10:00:00 PM By BlueGrass Bulletin

The End For Horse Racing?

All the time leading up to the session and throughout the session we were inundated with pleas to save the horse industry. If we didn't pass slots then the racetracks would just disappear from Kentucky. In fact, the situation was so dire that Ellis Park owner Rob Geary said that he have to shut down his track at the end of the year. Since slots didn't pass I guess Ellis Park will be closing at the end of the year. Well, not so fast.

Ellis Park owner Ron Geary left open the possibility Wednesday that the western Kentucky track could remain open for racing in 2010, although he called it a "longshot."

We’ve got to do one of two things, and I’ll take either one of them. We’ve either got to change some of the senators’ minds, or we’ve got to change some of the senators.” - Gov. Beshear.

The one Senate resolution, whose chief sponsor was Sen. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, that wasn't approved would have adjourned the Senate “in loving memory and honor of Dr. George Tiller.”

Tiller was the abortion doctor who was shot and killed May 31 in Wichita, Kansas, as he was guiding people to their seats at the Reformation Lutheran Church.

It’s understandable that there might not be a lot of enthusiasm for the public to know that organizations supported partially by taxpayer dollars have garnered the attention of state Auditor Crit Luallen for their “excessive spending” and “inadequate oversight.”

And no … we’re not talking about Congress or the Kentucky General Assembly.

Rather, we’re referring to the top five officials in the Kentucky Association of Counties spending “nearly $600,000 in two years on travel, meals and other expenses.”

Then there’s the matter of Kentucky League of Cities Executive Director Sylvia Lovely’s $315,000 compensation package. It’s very taxpayer-friendly like of Lovely to decide “she would discontinue several corporate perks, including … holding League functions at a restaurant co-owned her husband.

I wonder if she will also now reverse the league’s recent decision to stop complying with reporters’ open-records’ requests. Even if she does, it will be with all the enthusiasm of a vegetarian at an Independence Day hog roast.

Dear Grammar Guy:

If the platform by which we communicate to the world is called "Twitter," then why do we call any discrete instance of it a "tweet"? Shouldn't we call it (or perhaps one who engages in it) a "twit"?

--Terminologically Confused

Dear Terminologically Confused,

You have a great point. Of course, the term 'twit' and the term 'tweet' have two entirely different conno...

[Sorry, your 140 character limit has been exceeded. Sorry for the inconvenience--The Twitter Team]

Well, we have knock down, drag out discussion on Biblical interpretation going on in the comments section of a previous post. So, while we're on the topic, maybe the chief combatants, Lee and Thomas, could address something that I have been chewing on for a year or two, which is encapsulated by some things Wendell Berry said in his essay "The Burden of the Gospels." It is well within the parameters of the discussion on the other post, and might help to focus things a bit.

Here's the section that interests me:

I need to say also that, as a reader, I am first of all a literalist, as I think every reader should be. This does not mean that I don’t appreciate Jesus’ occasional irony or sarcasm ("They have their reward"), or that I am against interpretation, or that I don’t believe in "higher levels of meaning." It certainly does not mean that I think every word of the Bible is equally true, or that literalist is a synonym for fundamentalist. I mean simply that I expect any writing to make literal sense before making sense of any other kind. Interpretation should not contradict or otherwise violate the literal meaning. To read the Gospels as a literalist is, to me, the way to take them as seriously as possible.

But to take the Gospels seriously, to assume that they say what they mean and mean what they say, is the beginning of troubles. Those would-be literalists who yet argue that the Bible is unerring and unquestionable have not dealt with its contradictions, which of course it does contain, and the Gospels are not exempt. Some of Jesus’ instructions are burdensome not because they involve contradiction, but merely because they are so demanding.

The proposition that love, forgiveness and peaceableness are the only neighborly relationships that are acceptable to God is difficult for us weak and violent humans, but it is plain enough for any literalist. We must either accept it as an absolute or absolutely reject it. The same for the proposition that we are not permitted to choose our neighbors ahead of time or to limit neighborhood, as is plain from the parable of the Samaritan. The same for the requirement that we must be perfect, like God, which seems as outrageous as the Buddhist vow to "save all sentient beings," and perhaps is meant to measure and instruct us in the same way. It is, to say the least, unambiguous.

But what, for example, are we to make of Luke 14:26: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own also, he cannot be my disciple." This contradicts not only the fifth commandment but Jesus’ own instruction to "Love thy neighbor as thyself." It contradicts his obedience to his mother at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. It contradicts the concern he shows for the relatives of his friends and followers. But the word in the King James Version is "hate." If you go to the New English Bible or the New Revised Standard Version, looking for relief, the word still is "hate." This clearly is the sort of thing that leads to "biblical exegesis."

>My own temptation is to become a literary critic, wag my head learnedly and say, "Well, this obviously is a bit of hyperbole -- the sort of exaggeration a teacher would use to shock his students awake." Maybe so, but it is not obviously so, and it comes perilously close to "He didn’t really mean it" -- always a risky assumption when reading, and especially dangerous when reading the Gospels. Another possibility, and I think a better one, is to accept our failure to understand, not as a misstatement or a textual flaw or as a problem to be solved, but as a question to live with and a burden to be borne.

And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the land called America , having lost their morals, their initiative, And their will to defend their liberties, chose as their Supreme Leader that the person known as "The One"

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning;but He Hypnotized the people telling them, "I am sent to save you. My lack of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, And my association with evil doers are of no consequence.For I Shall save you with Hope and Change."

"Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the land that he who Preceded me is evil that he has defiled the nation, and that all he Has built must be destroyed."

And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not what "The One" would do,he had
promised. That it was good; and they believed. And "The One" said "We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me Change everything about it!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah! Change is Good!" Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats." And the People said "Sock it to them!" "And redistribute their wealth."

And the people said, "Show us the money!" And then He said, "Redistribution Of wealth is good for everybody" And a plumber asked, "Are you kidding me? You're going tt steal my Money and give it to the deadbeats??" And "The One" with his minions in the media ridiculed and taunted Him,and the plumber’s personal records were hacked and publicized.One lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?"

And she was banished from the kingdom! Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and having zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with radical Terrorists?"And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk with them and show them how nice we really are; and They will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

And the People said,"Hallelujah!!We are safe at last, and we can beat our Weapons into free cars for the people!"Then "The One" said,"I shall give 95% of you lower taxes." And One, lone voice said,"But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes." So "The One" said,"Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats Pay!"

And the people said,"Hallelujah!! Show us the money!"

Then "The One" said,"I shall tax your Capital Gains when you Sell your homes!"And the people yawned and the slumping housing market Collapsed.

And He said, "I shall mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage. And I shall give every person Unlimited free health care and medicine and transportation to the clinics."

And The people said,"Give me some of that!"

Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs Overseas." And the people
said,"Where's my rebate check?"

Then "The One" said "I shall bankrupt the coal industry and Electricity rates will skyrocket!" And the people said, "Coal is Dirty,coal is evil,no more coal! But we
don't care for that part About higher electric rates." So "The One" said, "Not to worry. If Your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we shall bail you Out.
Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!"

Then He said,"Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted.Let's grant them
amnesty, Social Security, free education,free Lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed Housing..."

And the people said "Hallelujah!!" And they made Him King! And so it came to pass that employers,facing spiraling costs And ever-higher taxes,raised their prices
and laid off workers.Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy sank like Unto a rock dropped from a cliff.

The banking industry was destroyed.Manufacturing slowed to a crawl.And more of
the people were without a means of support..

Then "The One" said,"I am the "The One" -The Messiah - and I'm Here to save you!
We shall just print more money so everyone will Have enough!"But our foreign trading partners said unto Him, "Wait A minute.

Your dollar is not worth a pile of camel dung! You will Have to pay more..." And the people said,"Wait a minute. That is Unfair!!"

And the world said,"Neither are these other idiotic programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a second-rate power.Now you shall play by our rules!"

And the people cried out,"Alas, alas!!What have we done?" But yea verily, it was too late.The people set upon"The One" and spat upon him and stoned him, and his name was dung.

And the once mighty nation was no more;and the once proud people were without sustenance or shelter or hope.

And the change"The One" had given them was as like unto a poison or plague that had destroyed them and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish," Give us back
our nation and our pride and our hope!!"

But it was too late, and their homeland was no more.

You may think this is a fairy tale, but it's not.
You are in it and the nightmare is just beginning!

I am suspending publishing of the Kentucky Progress blog immediately to take a position as a consultant with the Rand Paul for U.S. Senate Exploratory Committee.

More about that soon.

This site has been both very hard work and a lot of fun. I expect to return to it at the conclusion of this new project. Meanwhile, the site with its existing posts will remain up as will my contact information at the top of the page.

I've met a lot of fantastic people in my decade of political activity and during the 4 1/2 years on Kentucky Progress. Hope to see you soon!

David

Coincidentally, the document that declared the independence of the United States was officially sanctioned on 04 July 1776 in Philadelphia and the turning-point battle of the Civil War that preserved the resulting Union was fought on 04 July 1863 at Gettysburg. Thus, in the span of little more than one average lifetime as measured by today’s standards, the nation was founded and saved. Actually, the Constitution was officially ratified in 1788 and the first president and first Congress officially took office and “founded” the nation in 1789, so the actual birth and salvation of the new country took place in the span of just one lifetime.

The Revolutionary War had been on for more than a year when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. The Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 were battles that took many lives. By the end of the day, British troops had lost 273 soldiers, while the Colonists lost only 94. Eighteen of these Colonists had died during the battle at Lexington. The Revolutionary War had begun. So…the nation was birthed and saved through the shedding of much blood. An estimated 25,000 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in the eight-year Revolutionary War, and an incredible 624,000 died in military action during the four-year Civil War, nearly half of all deaths in all the wars in which this country has engaged.

Nearly all the deaths and all the many times more in number of the wounded have occurred in the never-ending battle against tyranny of one kind or another, whether the despicable despotism of the British in the 1770s or inculcated by monster dictator Adolf Hitler in the 1930s-40s or the tyranny of terrorism inflicted upon this country on 09 September 2001 by monster Muslim Osama bin Laden. The battles against tyranny will never end, and the major – almost only – bulwark against tyranny today is the United States, to which the nations of the world look to be the international stabilizer.

Tyranny
The muffled sound of drum and fife
And musketry in mortal strife
And voices raised in anger, pain,
Or mourning those among the slain
Are sensed when contemplating still
The carnage of a Bunker Hill,
When only battles - bloody, fierce -
The wall of tyranny could pierce.

Then comes to mind the gory scenes
From Queenston Heights to New Orleans
When tyranny again was banned
Upon the sea, upon the land;
And one can sense again the sound
When roaring cannons shook the ground
And mortal men...to make men free...
Would enter immortality.

On Shiloh’s bloody ground that day
They died with valor in full sway,
Or Gettysburg...Chancellorsville,
Where brothers each might brother kill;
One hears the massive, tragic groan
As tens of thousands would atone
- With blood - for hated slavery...
The vilest form of tyranny.

When jaded beasts oppress the poor
And close to them sweet freedom’s door,
It falls upon the free...the strong
Throughout the world to right this wrong;
At Santiago, brave men fell,
And San Juan Hill became a hell,
But men who found eternity
Gained entry scourging tyranny.

Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood,
Where thousands died, but others stood
Their ground with blood and sweat and fears,
And buried comrades through their tears;
And one can sense the frightful sounds
Of tanks and planes emitting rounds
From lethal, modern weaponry
To end the threat of tyranny.

To end the threat of tyranny? -
Ah...no...remember Normandy,
Or Iwo Jima, Anzio,
Where once again the blood must flow;
And one may close the eyes and see
And hear the mighty guns at sea
And wonder why it all must be...
But knows deep down...end tyranny.

So listen!...hear the muffled roar
Of new jet planes now bound for war,
Of new invasions from the sea,
The dying fighting tyranny;
And names like Inchon, Pork Chop Hill,
And Bloody Ridge - remembered still -
Assault the mind, yet augur peace,
In hope that tyranny will cease.

But hope, though strong, has little worth
As long as despots roam the earth,
As long as beasts whose prime resource
Is tyranny...forge brutal force;
So listen...as the jungle screams,
And those who die are shorn of dreams
At Pleiku, Khe Sanh, and Da Nang,
Where flags from coffins daily hang.

No…evil tyranny survives,
Each generation robbed of lives
Attempting to wipe out its curse,
Each war the next one to rehearse;
Recall the battle in the sand -
Exploding missiles as they land
On Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Iraq,
Mad tyranny again to block.

As in most centuries before,
The twenty-first begins with war
When evil men in Allah’s name
Torch innocents in jet-fuel flame;
Their leaders learn that they will pay
In Afghan mountains day by day,
Or in Iraqi towns and sand
An awesome price when good men stand.

************

In tranquil fields throughout the world,
Our dead are marked by flags unfurled,
Or marked by nature’s restless waves,
Beneath the seas in timeless graves;
Yes, thus it is, and thus will be...
Until God’s final, terse decree...
But until then, now strong and free,
The decent must kill tyranny.

And so it goes.

Jim Clark

This Reuters report on Yahoo this morning: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the government said on Thursday in a report that showed a labor market continuing to struggle with a deep recession. The June job losses were more than 100,000 greater than the 363,000 consensus of Wall Street economists polled by Reuters and broke a four-month trend of moderation in job losses. The jobless rate of 9.5 percent compared with 9.4 percent in May and was the highest since a matching unemployment rate...

7/2/2009 10:12:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

The Washington Post, desperate for revenue, has resorted to stripping off its clothes and crawling around naked on the floor for dollars. In a recent flier the paper has announced that for a price it will arrange a private dinner for highly placed individuals with an interest in the "health care" debate to be joined by Obama officials. The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says,...

7/2/2009 10:12:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

EDITORIAL I just saw a TV commercial pushing the message that "It's Time" for everyone to have "health care". It displayed the politically correct assemblage of racial and age diversity as one "ordinary" citizen after another told their tales of woe. A working class white guy had lost his job, and now his family didn't have "health care". An older woman said that her husband had heart trouble and they couldn't afford treatment. A black woman said that the cost of her "health care" had doubled and "who can afford that". Let's be honest, what they are talking about is...

7/2/2009 9:23:00 AM By BlueGrass Bulletin

We are now taking bets that Ellis Park, which, along with the rest of the racing industry, tried to shake down the legislature for a bailout through the slots at tracks legislation during the special session that just ended last week, will not close this year. The odds of staying open could increase as we read more stories like this one:

Ellis Park owner Ron Geary left open the possibility Wednesday that the western Kentucky track could remain open for racing in 2010, although he called it a "longshot."

Ummhmm. First it was that the track was definitely closing if we didn't vote for slots, and now it's a "longshot." Watch Geary slowly creep from "longshot" to "maybe" to "let me consult my horoscope" to "probably will" to actually filing the application for horse racing dates in 2010. I say 2-to-1 he does it. And after all those threats he made to the General Assembly last week that he was definitely shutting down. Mmmm mmm. An industry lobbyist told me that on September 7th, they were closing their doors.

Going into 2010 having not seen what we were told would undoubtedly happen if slots didn't pass isn't going to look real good for the slots lobby.

Geary is also claiming he has lost money:

Under the current framework relying on pari-mutuel betting, Geary said he has lost money every year since buying Ellis from Churchill Downs Inc. in 2006. He lost $2.7 million in 2007 but said he doesn't want disclose other financial specifics.

Lost money in 2007? How did that happen when concession sales were up 26 percent, wagering was up 5 percent, and total revenue for the track was up 14 percent in 2007 according to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's 2006/2007 Biennial Report? (see p. 88) When revenues increase at that rate, that usually means the company makes more money, not less--unless something else is wrong.

Doesn't want to "disclose other financial specifics"? I wonder why. The next time the tracks come begging to the legislature, they should be required to open their books so we can see how the tracks manage to increase their revenues and pay the executives exorbitant compensation and somehow come out poor and in need of a bailout.

We think we'll get cheaper and better health care when the government takes over? As John Stossel notes, no way! Making it cheaper just means it'll be rationed, as the Canadians have noticed. But cheer up, at least one part...

7/1/2009 11:00:00 PM By Conservative Musings

During a White House press briefing CBS reporter Chip Reid and veteran Helen Thomas take Robert Gibbs to his knees over the Obama White House attempts to "control the press". If you haven't seen this video you need to. Take a look: In a later interview Thomas had this to say to CNSNEWS.com: Following a testy exchange during today’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press. “Nixon didn’t try to do...

7/1/2009 10:03:00 PM By BlueGrass Bulletin

Lost perhaps in the recent frenzy of Congressional pillaging is the fact that President Barack Obama's labor union payoff is not yet complete. That means card check is headed back to the front burner.

U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia), speaking on a national media conference call Wednesday morning, expressed concern about the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," which wipes out secret ballot protections for workers in union elections and forces binding government arbitration on American businesses. It's called "card check" and it means unions will be allowed to vote themselves into workplaces by forcing workers to sign cards out in the open instead of voting a secret ballot. Then, if unions and management can't reach agreement, the federal government will swoop in and dictate terms.

Rep. Ben Chandler is in favor of this.

Price said he is concerned the bill sets the stage for "making employers liable for union pensions." That would represent very large costs that will ultimately be passed along to consumers.

Price also said he expects the card check bill to go through the Senate first, where Sen. Tom Harkin is putting together a "compromise." Price is skeptical that this move will work out well for workers.

"I don't think one can compromise away the right to a secret ballot," he said.

The devastating impact this bill would have on American prosperity combined with the cap and trade fiasco, another Chandler "accomplishment," should greatly concern central Kentucky voters.

I think Budweiser should make a real men of genius commercial about the members of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission. They deserve it for coming up with a by-the-mile road tax.

The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center.....

Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. That is because the traditional by-the-gallon fuel tax, struggling to keep up with road building and maintenance demands, could fall even farther behind as vehicles' gas mileage rises and more alternative-fuel vehicles come on line.

The idea of shifting to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.

"If you're committed to the system being improved then it was a no-brainer," he said.

Senator Arlen Spector's switch to the Democratic party, in order to keep his Senate seat, may end up costing him his seat anyway. As Ed Morrissey of Hotair.com notes: Arlen Specter has had a bad year, hasn’t he? The Senate...

7/1/2009 9:26:00 PM By Conservative Musings

Several years ago, I created quite a stir by arguing, in a debate in front of the Louisville Forum, that the chief health problem among the poor is not hunger, but obesity. The public health authorities (to use a technical term) flipped out. They couldn't deny my data, which I had derived exclusively from federal government sources, but they had all kinds of excuses about how what I said was misleading.

And this from people who are claiming there is a "hunger" problem in America.

Now comes more evidence that poverty in American is characterized chiefly by eating too much. The report, from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, has Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina as the five states with the highest rates of obesity. It does not make any claims about the relation between poverty and obesity, but what do you want to bet that if you took the mean income and compared it to the level of obesity, you would have a strong correlation?

– Kentucky, still has none

Perhaps partly in a reaction to strong pressure from Washington, Tennessee will significantly increase its number of charter schools.

First priority to enter them will go to Tennessee’s most disadvantaged kids and those in failing schools or with failing grades will get top priority.

Meanwhile, here in Kentucky our parents get no choices like that when their child is poor and in a school system that doesn’t meet that child’s needs.