Edwards chooses "Our Country"

This past Shabbas, which came to an end tonight at sundown, also happened to be the 15th of Shevat--better known as Tu B'Shevat. In Judaism, Tu B'Shevat is the new year for fruit trees.

With seven Democratic candidates for governor, only one will not be on the top of the ballot in any of the six congressional districts.

Any candidate should be afraid in this day and age of what they say on tape--as it could pop up on YouTube within mere hours.

I'm not surprised. With Sen. Evan Bayh out of the 2008 presidential race, I figured that someone would use John Mellencamp's single, "Our Country," as a campaign theme song. Sure enough, I was right.

During his 2004 campaign, Edwards used John Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” a reminder of the small-town roots of this son of a mill worker. This time, Edwards, who has made eliminating poverty a key part of his current campaign, stuck with Mellencamp -- but used the American rocker’s “Our Country” for both his entrance and exit music. (“From the East Coast/To the West Coast/Down the Dixie highway/Back home/This is our country.”)

Mark Neikirk pays tribute to the late columnist Molly Ivins in a column talking about all the gubernatorial candidates for Governor:

Jonathan Miller: The author of "The Compassionate Community" is the darling of the good government crowd, but has he tested this hypothesis: If everyone wants to read your book but hasn't, does this mean they want to vote for you but won't?

The Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System is in need of some help.

The Teachers' Retirement System has funds to cover 76 percent of its estimated needs, while the County Employees Retirement System can cover 81 percent of its future needs.

State Treasurer Jonathan Miller, a Democratic candidate for governor, said in a statement yesterday that the problem with the pension fund dwarfs the extra $400 million that Fletcher expects in surplus revenue in the current budget.

"I call on Gov. Fletcher to stop misleading people about this make-believe surplus, and start using this money to bolster these retirement accounts immediately," Miller said.

For those of you counting, three Kentucky Republicans in Congress have endorsed Massachusetts Republican flip-flopper Mitt Romney. Those are: Ron Lewis, Ed Whitfield, and Hal Rogers. The endorsements of Mitt Romney come on the eve of the Lincoln Day Dinner in Louisville.

Senator Max Baucus has raised $2 million so far for his re-election run in 2008. Baucus has also been raising funds for his friend, Senator Tim Johnson.