Clooney to speak at UK, Jonathan's new book

They ended the case against a UK basketball player the other day. I'm glad that the case is over as it wouldn't look good on the basketball program.

It appears that both Nick and Nina Clooney will be visiting UK to show his son's film, Good Night, and Good Luck. I met both Nick and Nina on the campaign trail last year. They are nice people and a nice family. Maybe NKU can get something similar done over here? That would be nice to see the Clooneys again.

Barack Obama will be speaking with Jon Stewart next Monday. That should be interesting to watch.

With the lack of knowledge on how to govern a state, Ernie Fletcher has decided to create 35 new jobs with the creation of new agencies. This would be in the 2.5 million price range.

"This really just seems like another way to fill out the political hierarchy with their friends, at the wrong time and in the wrong place," said Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, vice chairman of the House State Government Committee.[...]

Graham, the Frankfort legislator, said the cabinet appears to be buying itself a makeover, at no small cost to taxpayers.

"They got caught doing something they shouldn't be doing, and now they're going to try to legitimize it," he said.

Samuel Alito is a member of the Federalist Society. Is that even news at all?

You can visit Paul McCartney's website to view the video for his next single, "Jenny Wren." It's very similar to "Blackbird" with the folk-esque fingerpicking.

I will have another interview up after lunch.

In other news, this email just popped up in my inbox dealing with The Compassionate Community:

Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin's Press - one of the nation's largest publishing houses - will publish late in 2006 Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller's THE COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY.

In THE COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY: Ten Values to Restore Faith in American Politics, Treasurer Miller shares his vision for an American democracy that harnesses new ideas and technologies, while reflecting on the traditions of faith and the enduring, universal value of compassion for others.

Talk of "faith" is nothing new in America's political discourse. What is new - or perhaps just louder - is the debate between conservative voters who fear being marginalized by our culture's indifference to religious virtue and those Americans who fear that the injection of faith into politics is the first step on a slippery slope to a Christian theocracy. Jonathan Miller's Compassionate Community is a place where Americans of all faiths can meet and, together, build a stronger America. Miller urges us to design public policies that reflect the fundamental moral value of compassion for others. THE COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY is a unique and accessible blend of lessons and leadership, clearly written and structured around ten American values and illustrated with Miller's interpretations of the Bible stories he shares with his Sunday School classes.

I look forward to reading that book. Miller will be donating all the profits to charity.

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack wants your ideas on education and policy.

The discussion on and off the HeartlandPac.org website ranged from early childhood education to high stakes testing. In the past few weeks we have heard from teachers, administrators, parents, students and elected officials including Gov. Mark Warner, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, and former Gov. Jim Hunt.

We want to bring ideas from all those who took part in the discussion and anyone else who wants to join us – and use them to create a document to send to incumbent Democratic governors and candidates to infuse their agendas with bold new ideas and best practice.