Update on Lake Cumberland

An outside group of engineers wants an additional 30-70 feet lowered to take pressure off of the Wolf Creek Dam at Lake Cumberland. It will be interesting to see how this develops given the long-term effects on the economy as it is a seven-year project.

An outside group of engineers recommended a much more drastic lowering of Lake Cumberland than the 10-foot drop the Army Corps of Engineers began last week.

Those experts backed lowering the lake level an additional 30 to 70 feet to take pressure off the leaky Wolf Creek Dam as a safety precaution, according to a senior corps official.

But David Hendrix, manager of a project to fix the dam, said corps officials decided that an extreme drawdown wasn't necessary. They believed they could protect people who live downstream by lowering the water level to 680 feet above sea level, he said.

"Public safety is our No. 1 concern," said Hendrix, who is overseeing a $309 million, seven-year project to shore up the aging dam.

Two local Democrats and one Republican are playing big roles in the House of Representatives.

Charged with advising the party leadership and helping to round up votes are: Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, who has been appointed an at-large whip for the Democrats; Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, who is an assistant whip for Democrats; and Rep. Geoff Davis, R-4th District, who is a deputy whip for Republicans.

I beg to differ with CQPolitics as to the status of Mitch McConnell's current seat in the senate. I would have probably differed in late 2005. However, the times have changed and circumstances are much different. Without the shadow of a doubt, McConnell is vulnerable. The Democrats will likely start the process to field a candidate after the 2007 gubernatorial elections. Things will be much different in 2008 for Mitch McConnell.

Speaking of the 2008 elections, Katrina Swett is one of the latest candidates to be looking to challenge Senator John Sununu in New Hampshire. Swett is the daughter of Congressman Tom Lantos and husband of former Congressman Richard Swett.

The military draft debate is starting to heat up yet again. Here's how some local congressman see the debate.

Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Versailles, said he wasn't in favor of reinstituting a military draft and that he didn't believe the American people were in favor either. Chandler said the way the issue has surfaced "is indicative of the strain our government is placing on our military and the growing dissatisfaction over the war in Iraq."

"I understand the point Chairman Rangel is trying to make with this bill, which is that the country is less likely to go to war if more of our citizens are required to participate," Chandler said. "With that said, this bill is not going to have my support."

Chandler said he thinks the country should focus on building up intelligence agencies, special operations forces and advanced equipment and technology. "While the draft would produce large numbers of military personnel, it does not lend itself to the years of training and motivation necessary for the well-trained military that I believe we need," he said.

The Army had 732,000 active-duty soldiers during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. It now has about 512,000 active-duty soldiers.

Lunsford-produced movie wins Sundance awards

Grace is Gone, a movie produced by Louisvillians Bruce Lunsford and Ed Hart, won two awards at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

The film, a tear-jerker starring John Cusack as a father who takes his young daughters on a road trip to postpone breaking the news that their Army sergeant mother has been killed in Iraq, won the audience award for favorite U.S. drama as chosen by balloting among Sundance movie-goers.

Writer-director James C. Strouse won the Waldo Salt screenwriting award for “Grace Is Gone.”

Lunsford is currently an all-but-announced gubernatorial candidate. Hart was a key political advisor to Lunsford in the 2003 election.

Bruce Lunsford-Greg Stumbo?!?

Please tell me that I am reading the following headline, Lunsford, Stumbo may form ticket, wrong! To contradict what Danny Briscoe said, money doesn't buy a political election as you saw what happened with that of Ned Lamont in Connecticutt. While I certainly like Charlie Owen and think he is a great guy, I just do not see him as a viable candidate after losing three elections in a row.

Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford will run for governor with Attorney General Greg Stumbo as his running mate, a former law partner and close friend of Stumbo's said yesterday.

"He called me and told me I could tell my people that he's running for lieutenant governor" with Lunsford at the top of the ticket, said Mike Bowling, a former state representative from Bell County.

In some other news, this does pave the way for Jack Conway to run for Attorney General.

Among other things, Stumbo's decision clears the way for Louisville lawyer Jack Conway to run for attorney general. After learning last night of Stumbo's decision, Conway said he would talk with his wife and consider making a race.

Mark Riddle, Conway's longtime political consultant, said he believes Conway will run.

"In my opinion, Jack will be the Democratic party's consensus candidate for attorney general, and I fully expect Jack will be filing his papers to run next week," he said.

Here's more on an update with a rumored Charlie Owen-Ed Hatchett ticket.

Former state Auditor Ed Hatchett said last night that he has been talking with Louisville businessman Charlie Owen about possibly being his running mate in the governor's race.

"No decisions have been made," Hatchett said. "Charlie is doing his homework very methodically."

Owen ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1998 and was Chandler's running mate in 2003. Hatchett said he's not sure how Lunsford and Stumbo's entrance would affect Owen's decision.

I won't lie that I voted for Ed Hatchett in the 2003 primary for the Attorney General's race. I'd rather see Hatchett run for Treasurer than Lt. Governor given the large Democratic field which may end up being larger than that of the 2004 presidential primary at this pace.

My condolences to the family of Sen. George McGovern on his wife's passing at the age of 85.

Presidential candidate John Edwards has hired James Katz to serve as his New Hampshire Political Director.

2008: Curt Schilling for Senator (Massachusetts)

Uh, wow, what can I say. The fact that people are willing to draft future Hall of Fame pitcher Curt Schilling into the race speaks something.

Schilling is pretty popular in Massachusetts where he helped lead the Boston Red Sox to the World Series against my beloved St. Louis Cardinals.

Curt Schilling seemed surprised yesterday by the sudden groundswell of local supporters hoping to draft him into national politics and a 2008 Senate run against John Kerry.

The Red Sox [team stats] pitching hero didn’t flatly rule out the idea, either, though he didn’t sound like he was about to hit the campaign trail anytime soon.

“I couldn’t rule it out because it’s not something I ever thought about in a serious capacity,” Schilling told the Herald.

“I envision that I will probably be pretty busy in 2008,” he said. “But I’m flattered as hell to even make this phone call.”

The chatter around Schilling taking on Kerry in a senate race started on talk station WRKO-AM (680) yesterday, when a caller to the Todd Feinberg show suggested Schilling would be the best candidate for the job.[...]

Schilling, who is planning to retire from baseball after this season, did give a glimpse of what he would do in a political office. His first task would be to “fire everybody and anybody who had anything to do with the Big Dig,” he said.

Schilling said in 2008 he’ll vote either for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom he called a personal friend, or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). “If they are both on the ticket it will be a tough choice,” he said.

Schilling, who spoke passionately about various political issues, said his own future is centered around winning another World Series, running his charitable foundation for ALS research and heading up his new video game business, Green Monster Games.

Filings...

A few more people have filed in the past couple of days, including Todd Hollenbach.

I've updated the list of 2007 candidates to mark who is still considering what based on what I have heard. The list is constantly changing as people are deciding what they will do and will likely make their final decisions over the weekend.

That said, Bob Bullock's entrance into the Attorney General's race does change things. I certainly look forward to hearing what he has to say and what he would do if elected.

One final thing, I still have Peppy Martin listed as I've not heard otherwise with regards to her running or not running. If she is running, it would likely be as an independent if she does not file by 4 PM next Tuesday.

That's it until LATE tomorrow night.

Illegal Subsidies and more

Senators Evan Bayh and Susan Collins are both calling on the government to crack down on illegal subsidies.

“It is essential that American manufacturers, farmers and workers have all the tools at their disposal to deal with unfair trade practices in China,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “China’s trade surplus with the United States continues to explode, fueled in large part by subsidies provided by the Chinese government to favored industries in China. As Chinese exports have grown, the impact of unfair government subsidies on the U.S. economy has increased.”

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is still considering the Republican nomination for president. Hagel is what one would call a maverick. He and the administration are both in disagreement over the way that the war has been handled so far.

Both parties have their Iraq war contrarians. For the Democrats, it is Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, whose steadfast support for President Bush nearly cost him his seat last year and forced him to run as an independent. The Republican version is Hagel, a career maverick from Nebraska and the only GOP senator to call for an end to the war.

Hagel's sharp criticism of the war has placed him squarely in the mainstream of public opinion on Iraq and revived long-dormant speculation about his presidential ambitions. Hagel has been eclipsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading contender for his party's presidential nomination who has vigorously endorsed the president's war policies.

But with McCain appearing increasingly isolated on the issue as public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against the war, Hagel is acting like a politician who believes his stock is climbing. In other words, he is considering a White House run.

Hagel would be a strong candidate if he were to be nominated by the Republican Party.

Haaretz reports that Iran may be about to launch a spy satellite into space.

Trouble for Carter?

Just a few days after it appeared that the trouble for President Carter was finished, this piece of news breaks.

Former President Jimmy Carter once complained there were “too many Jews” on the government’s Holocaust Memorial Council, Monroe Freedman, the council’s former executive director, told WND in an exclusive interview.

Freedman, who served on the council during Carter’s term as president, also revealed a noted Holocaust scholar who was a Presbyterian Christian was rejected from the council’s board by Carter’s office because the scholar’s name “sounded too Jewish.”

Joe Gandelman says that the president's name is most definitely out of the running as a candidate for the B'nai B'rith Leader of the Year award.

It's disappointing that Carter sees things this way. While the Jewish people were not the only people to be executed in mass genocide during the Shoah, we had the most people slaughtered by ruthless racists who are being punished even to this day.

Update on Greg Stumbo

The latest update on the status of Attorney General Greg Stumbo's decision is that he has ruled out running for Governor. However, he did not discount running for the position of Lt. Governor on someone else's slate. Three remaining potential candidates have yet to make a final decision:
Charlie Owen (Businessman)
Bruce Lunsford (Businessman)
David Armstrong (Former Mayor of Louisville and Attorney General)

Why I didn't post on the false Obama article...

A while back, I got an email detailing how Sen. Obama was brought up. I decided against posting it and here's why. I was unsure if it was true and the last thing I want to do is participate in "character assasination." Turns out, the article that I was emailed was completely slanderous seeing as how CNN investigated into the article and found out it was completely untrue.

Furthermore, as I've been growing religiously over the past few years (These days, I'm probably closer in beliefs to Orthodox Judaism.), while I do not force my religious beliefs upon you, there is this thing in Judaism called Lashon Hora, the sin of gossip. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, here is some background on the definitions as defined by the Chafetz Chaim:

Lashon Hara - any derogatory or damaging (physically, financially, socially, or stress-inducing) communication.
Rechilut - any communication that generates animosity between people.

It's one of thirty-one positive or negative mitzvot relating to speech--and it's also one of the reasons as to why I'm rarely blogging about the other participants of the governor's race.

Lev. 25:17 - "You shall not wrong one another" which the Talmud (Bava Metzia 58b) explains that this means saying anything that will insult or anger someone.

Our religious beliefs may be different but when it comes down to it, we are all human and no matter how hard we try, no one is perfect.

However, character assasination will not be tolerated by this blog. I admit right now that I have deleted comments in the past few weeks after seeking the advise of some close friends. I believe in free speech and it can only go so far. However, I reserve the right to moderate comments if things do get out of hand so please try and be civil. Name calling will not be tolerated here nor will character assasination. I have zero-tolerance for those that deny the Shoah (Holocaust) and I just deleted a comment this very evening which I interpreted as borderline anti-Semitic.

I think I've said my $.02.

The Return of Responsible Government

The Miller-Maze team released their plan for the Return of Responsible Government. Anyway, here is an excerpt from the email:

Kentucky Democrats are ready for new leadership.

The working families of Kentucky are tired of the recycled, failed politics of the past.

Having visited all 120 counties as state Treasurer, I know the people of Kentucky are looking for a change. Real change, not stale, vague promises or soundbites.

I am running for Governor to bring just that real change: a new approach and a new generation of leadership to get this state back on track.

Together with Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze, we will bring new leadership that packs a strong law-and-order punch.

That's why today Irv and I officially filed our candidacy to lead Kentucky in a new direction and we wanted you to be one of the first to know.

A new generation of leadership that soundly rejects back-room deals and an unethical government that operates behind closed doors.

A new way of solving problems that puts common sense back in charge.

A new way of solving problems that gets beyond the political bickering and endless debates to deliver real bottom line results for Kentucky families and small businesses.

Irv and I have a record of openness, fairness, and a commitment to putting people first.

Whether it's making a college education more affordable, protecting our military families, cracking down on deadbeat dads, or forcing government to do better with the money it already has -- we've made a difference in people's lives.

Now, on to proposals announced within the detailed plan:

Campaign Finance Reform:
Miller-Maze will take up Trey Grayson’s task force proposal for a 60-day pre-election report and expand it to 90 days. Their campaign will voluntarily report 90 and 60 days before this May’s primary election and before this November’s general election. Our campaign requests all other candidates to follow suit.

Lobbying Reform:
Miller-Maze will require annual reports by lobbyists clearly showing their last five years of contributions to lawmakers. Disclosures will be made on line because the public has a right to know which lobbyists have contributed to which members of the General Assembly. Miller-Maze will eliminate legislative trusts and caucus funds. They will put an end to the loophole around current contribution restrictions. They will extend the current ban on lobbying by former state executive branch officers and elected officials who currently can be on special interest payroll just six months after leaving office and can be lobbying state lawmakers just one year after leaving office. Miller-Maze will work to extend from six to 18 months the ban on which former officials can get a job with special interests and from one year to two the ban on which they can lobby.

Open Budget Process:
Miller-Maze will fight to make conference committee meetings public when lawmakers are discussing the budget. Just last year, lawmakers met for hours to discuss the state budget with no public vote taken on compromises made and with expenditures that likely would never have seen passage if the votes were up to public scrutiny. Miller-Maze will work to require on-line posting of all conference committee bills at least 24 hours in advance of any final vote. Disclosure would include names of General Assembly members who sponsor any pork-barrel project. Miller-Maze will also fight to see that if lawmakers don’t pass a budget, they don’t get paid.

Fair and Open Contracting:
Miller-Maze will put an end to no-bid state government contracting. Kentucky does billions of dollars of business each year with private contractors. To ensure citizens get the best service at the best price, all bids on state contracts will require bidding, except in cases of emergency. Miller-Maze will fight to require that our bidding process is fair and open. All contracting should be brought into the open with an on-line database for public disclosure of the bidding process and an explanation of each decision.

Accountability:
All political appointees, including administration “volunteers,” will be required to sign and uphold a strict Code of Ethics. If an appointee or volunteer breaks the Code, he or she will be removed immediately from the administration. Miller-Maze believes those who break the rules must pay the price, period. Miller and Maze will put an end to political pardons and will create a bipartisan, independent commission to fully investigate charges of both ethical and criminal wrong-doing. People who courageously expose waste and fraud in our government must be protected from intimidation. Miller-Maze will remove from office managers who try to punish whistleblowers. An important part of whistleblower protection is making violations of the merit laws a felony instead of the current status of misdemeanor. Miller-Maze will expand the enforcement resources of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission by creating an independent task force to battle corruption. The new task force will report to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission and will operate within the Kentucky State Police. Miller-Maze will also take the politics out of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission by ending partisan appointments to the body.

Openness for Public Protection:
Juveniles are increasingly committing most violent crimes at earlier ages, but only about 10 percent of these cases are remanded to Circuit Court where records become public. For public protection and public confidence in our court system, Miller-Maze will work to lift that confidentiality for violent offenders.

2008 candidates on Israel and more

Mark Warner will not be a candidate in 2008 despite some rumors that were surfacing a while back after Sen. Bayh dropped out of the race.

Senator Jim Bunning believes that Anne Northup will appeal to the rest of the state. I'll say this in response. No candidate from Louisville has ever been elected to the position of governor and I highly doubt that it will happen in 2007 despite the sitting governor's lack of popularity.

The big story at this past week's Herzliya Conference was the threat of Iran. It's no surprise at all. Iran is a serious threat to the free world. The problem lies in how we will address that problem.

At Israel’s premier strategic forum this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was invoked more often than Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Tehran dwarfed Tulkarem, and nuclear proliferation trumped suicide bombs.

The central role of the Iranian threat at this year’s Herzliya Conference, sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), reflected the shift in Israel’s strategic agenda over the last 12 months. If a year ago, Israelis were still debating unilateral pullbacks and settlement dismantlement, the month-long war with Hezbollah and the escalating showdown over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions now figure as the primary challenge for Israeli policy makers.[...]

U.S. presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney, John Edwards and John McCain, along with Newt Gingrich, were in Israel, seemingly competing to see who can be most strident in defense of the Jewish state during personal or video appearances at the conference here, just north of Tel Aviv.

The four politicians called for ways to prevent Iran’s government from acquiring nuclear weapons. While stressing the strong U.S.-Israel ties, the presidential hopefuls all agreed that the U.S. has to ratchet up sanctions on Iran and leave the possibility of a military attack “on the table.”

Romney, who served one term as governor of Massachusetts, called for economic sanctions against Iran “at least as severe” as those imposed on South Africa during its apartheid era. He compared the challenge posed by Iran and militant Islam to the clash of the West with 20th century conflicts with fascism and totalitarian communism.

“It is time for the world to plainly speak these three truths,” Romney said at the conference. “One, Iran must be stopped. Two, Iran can be stopped, and three Iran will be stopped.”

Gingrich, who spoke by a satellite video link, said that the existential danger to Israel has never been higher since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The former House speaker also said that many in Israel as well as the U.S. don’t fully appreciate the nature, size or scope of the threat posed by Iran.

“I have two grandchildren,” said Gingrich, “and I think there is a greater danger of them dying in an action than I faced during the cold war.”

For presidential hopefuls, the conference gives them an opportunity to float policy positions and reach out to Jewish voters.[...]

Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) said he supported exploring a strengthening of ties between Israel and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as a means of easing Israel’s insecurity.

“A friendly democracy under siege should be closer partners to the world’s most successful security alliance,” he said, speaking via a satellite link. “American support for Israel should intensify. The enemies are too numerous, margin of error too small, and shared values too great.”

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), the only Democratic presidential hopeful to address the conference, sounded similar notes of toughening sanctions and the threat of military force. But he was the one speaker to suggest that the U.S. needs to open a dialogue with Iran.

“I support being tough, but I think it’s a mistake strategically and ideologically not to engage them on this issue,” he said. “American should engage directly on this issue.”

Here's more on President Jimmy Carter's speech at Brandeis. However, here's how Kenneth Stein, a historian and former friend of the president, sees things.

The 2007 Wendell Ford Dinner has been set for February 24, 2007 at the Clarion Hotel in Louisville. My guess is that all of the Democratic candidates for governor will be there.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and his fellow mayors have asked senators in Washington for more aid.

With major cuts in federal aid to cities in recent years, the mayors can do only so much, Abramson and the others said.

The mayors said they were deeply disappointed that President Bush, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, talked about violence on the streets of Baghdad but not about rising violence in the streets of American cities.

The State of the Union "was not a list of every ongoing commitment and important issue before the president," White House spokesman Blair Jones said later. "The president remains dedicated to working with Congress to provide … (funding for successful) programs dedicated to fighting crime and bettering community development."

He said those commitments will be reflected in the president's budget proposal next month.

But Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, two of a dozen Democratic senators who met with the mayors, said they share the urban leaders' concerns.

"What about the safety of our citizens here at home?" Bayh asked.

Stabenow said Bush's per-capita spending on Baghdad would equal $11 billion in funding for American cities.

Enough already!

Naomi Ragen is taking the lead in Israel to end the segregation of bus lines.

Orthodox novelist Naomi Ragen is leading efforts by Israeli women to end sexual segregation on some bus lines in Israel.

Ragen and five other women this week petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice to order the national bus lines not to go along with demands from fervently Orthodox communities that female commuters sit in the back and dress modestly.

The biggest bus company, Egged, says that 30 of its lines are segregated by gender at the passengers’ request.

Ragen told Israel Radio that her campaign was prompted by the experience of being ordered to the back of a bus by a male passenger.

“The driver didn’t even open his mouth in my defense,” she said.

“I got off the bus with the dreadful, dreadful feeling that in my country I have to take a public bus home that is under Taliban rule.”

The candidates for president in 2008 have already started to outreach to prospective supporters within the Jewish community. With regards to Democrats running, it appears that almost all of them have pro-Israel voting records or have gone on record with policies in favor of Israel.

Some rare maps of Israel have been found and posted online.

Typepad down?

I'm assuming it as I can't access any typepad blog on my favorites right now.

Stumbo has a primary

Should Attorney General Greg Stumbo decide to run for re-election, it should be noted that Robert V. Bullock, a former Assistant Attorney General, has filed for that race.

Should Greg Stumbo decline to run, both former State Auditor Ed Hatchett and Louisville attorney Jack Conway are still considering the race.

Pol Watchers has more. Apparently, Bullock worked in the AG office from 1968-2000.

2008: John Kerry bows out

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has removed his name from consideration in 2008 for the presidential election. This was a good move given his 2004 campaign which focused only on battleground states and the botched joke that almost ruined the 2006 Democratic tsunami. Senator Kerry, thank you for doing the right thing.

Senator John F. Kerry plans to announce today that he will not run in the 2008 presidential race, and will instead remain in Congress and seek reelection to his Senate seat next year, according to senior Democratic officials.

Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, plans to say he will remain in the Senate to recommit himself to efforts to extricate the United States from the war in Iraq. His decision to stay out of the presidential race reflects a realization that he would have had an uphill climb in capturing the Democratic nomination, given the other party heavyweights who are already in the race, according to the officials, who spoke to the Globe on condition of anonymity.

Kerry plans to make his plans known with a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon, and is taping a message to e-mail his supporters to explain his decision.

Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee, has been acting like a 2008 candidate virtually since he lost to President Bush -- traveling the country, spreading money to other Democratic candidates, and keeping in place a campaign infrastructure that was ready for another presidential bid.

But according to Kerry associates, the senator's plans changed dramatically in the fallout of his election-eve ``botched joke" about the education levels of US troops. The harsh reaction to that incident -- from many Democrats as well as Republicans -- displayed to Kerry the extreme skepticism within his own party about whether he should mount another run.

In the meantime, Massachusetts will continue to not have an open senate seat.

DNC ignores own charter

Please sign this petition dealing with the DNC's ignorance of their own charter.

2008 primary, Democratic Response, and more

Could John Edwards be the candidate that benefits most from an early primary in California? Edwards has a lot of support from within the labor community. Should California decide to move their primary to Super Tuesday, I believe it would be an advantage for the former senator.

Senator Evan Bayh is one of four senators to ask the IRS to expand their audits of businesses.

Here is how some of our local area congressmen reacted to last night's annual State of the Union address.

But Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, called the president’s Iraq policy a failure and said the health insurance was a “diversion” that would not make medical care more affordable.

“He failed to do what I think everyone was hoping he would do, which is explain why this new strategy has a better chance for success than the others over the last four years,” Yarmuth said in an interview.

Yarmuth said Bush’s energy proposals were good, but he questioned how much the administration and congressional Republicans would push them.

“It was an excellent speech,” the congressman said. “If another president was giving it, I might have had more confidence in what was in it.”

Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, didn’t hear much he liked.

“I hope the President will reach across party lines in the next two years to back up his rhetoric with sound policy,” Chandler said in a statement. “It certainly would be a refreshing change if his actions matched his words.”

On Iraq, “the president has promised a safer America, but his policies are creating a world more dangerous and an America less safe,” Chandler said.[...]

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said Bush’s energy proposal was “a positive step toward achieving energy independence, but we can do more.”

Bayh called on Bush to support what the senator called a more aggressive plan he is sponsoring, along with Lugar and others in both parties, to cut dependence on foreign oil.

Newly elected Virginia Senator Jim Webb delivered the Democratic response to the president's address.

Webb accused the president of taking the country into Iraq "recklessly" and forcing it to endure "a mismanaged war for nearly four years."

"Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary; that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism; and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable," Webb said.

Webb held up a picture of his father as a young Air Force captain. As a small boy, he said, he took the picture to bed with him to remind him of his father's sacrifice. Now, Webb's son is serving in Iraq as a Marine infantryman.

"We need a new direction," said Webb, a decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War. "Not one step back from the war against international terrorism, not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos, but an immediate shift toward strong, regionally based diplomacy."

Democrats owe their newfound control of the Senate to Webb's slim and improbable victory over former Virginia senator George Allen. Webb -- who served as secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan -- also embodies his party's central message: a determination to oppose the Iraq war while supporting the troops who are there.

Webb has become a folk hero among liberals and Democratic bloggers for brusquely telling Bush at a White House event that questions from the president about Webb's son are "between me and my boy."

Caption Contest

Choose your favorite caption for this photo from last night.

Edwards' response to the SOTU

This was sent to his supporters.

EDWARDS STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESSChapel Hill, North Carolina - Senator John Edwards released the following statement in response to President Bush's State of the Union address.

"President Bush's address tonight was heavy on rhetoric, but light on everything else. The American people said they wanted change and what they got was more of the same - small ideas that won't make a difference in the lives of working Americans.

They said they wanted straight talk and a vision for the future, what they got was a rationalization for the failed policies of the past.

The next President will have to do more than just undo this President's mistakes - the next President must offer a vision for fundamental change that will transform America and ensure our greatness in the 21st century.

America needs leaders who will do more than propose half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold change.

And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush's decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war. Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving. Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war. Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on Congress to stop President Bush's misguided plan to escalate the war. Congress has the power to stop this escalation - they should use it.

We also need real leadership to address the health care crisis in our country. Since President Bush took office in 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by 8 million. While it is nice that he is finally talking about America's health care crisis, President Bush's proposal will do little to help working Americans, and is it unlikely to reduce the number of uninsured because it encourages companies to drop coverage, but does nothing to help people buy their own insurance. President Bush's proposal offers much more help to a family making $300,000 than one making $30,000. The time for patching up our health care system has ended. We need universal health care in this country and we need it now.

Finally, America will never break its dependence on foreign oil without bold leadership. After years of catering to the oil industry, President Bush says he is finally ready to take action and curb our dependence on foreign oil. But neither his actions nor his proposals match his rhetoric. The President has the authority now to raise fuel economy standards if he wants to, but the standard has been at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1985. Under his leadership, we are now importing 60 percent of our oil, up from 53 percent in 2000. In order to curb our dependence on foreign oil and address global warming, the United States needs a major investment in energy innovation, on a scale that this President isn't talking about. We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war and involve everyone - government, industry, and individuals - in the solution.

Tonight, the president once again made it clear that we cannot count on him to be honest about our challenges or offer the bold solutions we need to meet them.

But we know that the great power of America lies in the hands of the people of America. If we take responsibility and take action together, we can build a nation lives up to the greatness of America's promise."

I did not watch the SOTU but I will catch the highlights this evening on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Boswell update

A source close to the Kentucky Democrat has told me that State Senator David Boswell is tired of David Williams and is interested in possibly leaving the Senate. Boswell is still considering running as Lt. Governor for a gubernatorial candidate. This same source has told me that if Boswell is not an announced candidate for 2007 then he can be considered a likely candidate for the second district congressional race.

Boswell is an advocate for expanded gaming.

Blogger is acting up so I'll post this when it cooperates.

Dershowitz Debate

You can listen to Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz at Brandeis right here. It's a live stream. Some will be paraphrased summaries, others might be direct verbatim.

Dershowitz thanks Brandeis for letting him speak. He thinks a debate would have been better and more informative (audience applause).

Carter used it to make clear and clarify matter's related to the book. The book and TV interviews were quite different then what Carter said today on stage.

He said he wished he could work with Carter to bring about peace in Israel.

Both favor a two-state solution, end of settlements, etc. Dershowitz is not a defender of every single policy.

Says to read the Israeli newspapers. Visit Israel.

Talks of how he first met President Carter. Gives him credit for accomplishments.

Both are pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. Would like both states living side by side in peace. A safe and secure Israel that does not have to worry about terrorism.

Some things absent from Carter's speech that were absent:
Dershowitz agrees with the Clinton-Barak offer from either 1997 or 2000. Dershowitz supports the Camp David Accord but Carter rejects it. If Palestinians had accepted it, we wouldn't have had the second intifada.

Dershowitz believes it is a self-inflicted wound. The Palestinians had a state in 1948 but rejected it. They could have had a state, they said no. They could have had one in 1967 (excluded from the book). Israel accepted 242 but the Arab states denied it.

They could have had one in 2000 and 2001. They said no. It would have been a contiguous states (see Dennis Ross' book). Clinton and Ross are telling the truth and that Arafat's refusal to accept was a crime--this was excluded from Carter's book.

Dershowitz was in the audience during Carter's speech. Quote's Brinkley on Carter working with Arafat in the 1990s. Answer the question: Were you ever asked to give your advice on Camp David...did you advise Arafat to turn down the offer? If the answer is yes, to what extent is Carter responsible?

Wonders if he influenced them on turning down Olmert's offer. Thinks he is pressuring Palestinians to not compromise for peace. Dershowitz believes Israel should give some territory to the Palestinians. Dershowitz helped Goldberg draft 242. Purposely left out the before territories. Insists on reciprocity only on condition that they are recognized by the Arab states.

The Arab plan called for a return of all the Palestinian refugees which would turn it into a radical Islamic state. Israel will not, could not, and should not accept this offer from 2002. Nothing was mentioned today.

Israel tried land for peace. This never worked. They gave back Gaza and eliminated check points. Many Israelis are reluctant to give up the West Bank because of rocket attacks. Carter thinks it is simple. It's not.

Carter left out Iran today. Not a mention of a nuclear power threatening to annihilate Israel. Palestinians cheered the SCUD's during the first gulf war. Carter didn't talk much about Hezbollah. They hide behind civillians and fire rockets on civillians.

Heard simplicity, not complexity.

They had to put a wall due to snipers. The wall is justified by the need to prevent terror. The wall was the idea of the peaceniks. Would like to see the wall and fence come down.

Carter thinks Israel's future should be left in the hands of Russia, UN, and EU. The UN is the same one that won't let Israel serve on the Security Council. They said Zionism was racism. Nothing against Libya or Syria. UN was so one-sided. Russia has their own problems and doing everything to not sanction Iran. He joins with Carter to try and start negotiations again. Palestinian legislature is dominated by Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Dershowitz believes in democracy. The electoral success of Hamas have consequences in that other countries don't give money to groups that buy rockets. Carter is wrong that Hamas doesn't fire rockets any more. Dershowitz then reads off a list.

Carter says rockets should not be equated with terrorism. Today, he corrected it.

There are two different Jimmy Carter's: the one on Al-Jazeera and the one at Brandeis.

Ends with Peace, Shalom, Salaam. Large applause

Now takes questions from audience.

ETA: Here is this update from the Boston Globe on today's event's.

"This is the first time that I’ve ever been called a liar, and a bigot, and an anti-Semite, and a coward, and a plagiarist," Carter said to a hushed audience at the predominantly Jewish university, referring to the reaction to his book.[...]

In response to a question, Carter apologized for a sentence in his book that he acknowledged seemed to justify terrorism by saying that suicide bombings should end when Israel accepts the goals of the roadmap to peace with Palestinians.

"That sentence was worded in a completely improper and stupid way," Carter said. "I’ve written my publishers to change that sentence immediately in future editions of the book. I apologize to you personally and to everyone here."

But he defended the use of the word "apartheid" in his book title.

"I realize that this has caused great concern in the Jewish community," he said. "The title makes it clear that the book is about conditions and events in the Palestinian territory and not in Israel. And the text makes clear on numerous occasions that the forced separation and the domination of Arabs by Israelis is not based on race."

Miller-Maze to file on Thursday

The following was sent to supporters with the following media advisory. I would anticipate that a series of official announcements will be starting soon.

I am excited for Jonathan Miller and Irv Maze. They have the leadership needed to carry this state forward into the 21st Century. I look forward to doing what I can for the campaign.

Miller-Maze to file with Secretary of State
Policy announcement to follow in Capitol AnnexJonathan Miller and Irv Maze will file their official paperwork to run as a slate for Governor and Lieutenant Governor at the Secretary of State's office at 10:00am on Thursday, January 25. After filing, Miller and Maze will announce the first of a series of major policy initiatives in room 111 of the Capitol Annex.

AGENDA for Thursday, January 25, 2007

10:00am
Jonathan Miller and Irv Maze file paperwork to run for Governor and Lt. Governor
Office of the Secretary of State
State Capitol, Suite 152

10:15am
Jonathan Miller and Irv Maze introduce a major policy initiative
Capitol Annex, Room 111

PSA: Request for help...

Nope, not me. However, one of the fans of the worst video ever made in the history of rap videos...why bother bringing that up again...is looking for a name for his ESPN Radio show which will be heard in Louisville on Saturday's from 10 AM to 12 PM.

Political news here in the states

Given the entrance of more candidates into the 2007 governor's race here in the commonwealth, I fully expect that we will have a run-off election in the Democratic primary given that there are several candidates so far--including those that have yet to file with the the Secretary of State's office. Those candidates have exactly one week to file with that office!

Presidential candidates are just now starting to organize in Florida, at least of the Republican candidates. Democratic candidates have been a bit on the silent side.

Floridians are hearing less from and about the Democratic candidates, and some Democratic donors and dedicated campaign volunteers are starting to wonder why.

"I've had no contacts, and I'm pretty surprised," said Tampa lawyer Chris Griffin, a veteran of Democratic campaigns including those of former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis. "I would think there would be some more visible activity in this area by now."

The reason may be because the Democratic field has been so unsettled, with two major candidates dropping out, Barack Obama dropping in, and the front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, preoccupied until November with her U.S. Senate re-election.[...]

The leading Democratic candidates - Clinton, John Edwards, Obama and Bill Richardson - are working on the beginnings of Florida organizations.

Their Florida backers say they've been in Florida, and they're working hard: Clinton, Edwards and Obama campaigned for Florida candidates during the 2006 election or came here to raise money for the party.

Since then, they've been making some further efforts:

•Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who was John Kerry's running mate in 2004, held fundraisers in South Florida and Orlando last week and will return in the coming week, said Mitchell Berger, a prominent Democratic lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who's backing Edwards.

•The Democratic candidates are starting to snap up experienced Florida operatives. Clinton and Obama are hiring or recruiting former members of Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's phenomenally successful 2006 campaign fundraising staff, and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden has hired former Democratic Party Executive Director Luis Navarro.

•Richardson, New Mexico's governor, who could be the nation's first Hispanic president, has held meetings, including one in Tampa, with small groups of potential backers.

Interesting. Is John Edwards going to be the e-candidate? It certainly looks like he will be.

Israeli-related news

I've got emails out with most, if not all, Democratic presidential campaigns asking as to where they stand on issues relating to Israel, especially when it comes to moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

Today is the big face-off at Brandeis University except that it's not exactly a face-off. If it were an actual face-off, I have no doubt that Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz would win it. When it comes to the issue of Israel, Dershowitz knows what he is talking about and believe me, I can say that not as oppinion but fact.

Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is touring Israel.

Romney, who just ended a term as Massachusetts governor, is addressing this week’s influential Herzliya Conference, which draws top Western policymakers to discuss the Middle East.

He will also have private meetings with top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

His tour is sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Romney was to have visited Israel this summer during the war with Hezbollah, but had to postpone his trip because of difficulties with a massive Boston construction project.

Filmmaker Jonathan Demme is willing to risk arrest to film Jimmy Carter confronting his critics while at Brandeis.

A new poll shows that Americans support sanctions against Iran even if it means increasing gas prices by nearly twenty percent. Some of the major findings are below:

-Majority of Americans want end to Palestinian terrorism and recognition of Israel before a new Palestinian state is formed;
-73 percent of Americans support the international community placing and enforcing economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran, even if those measures increases fuel costs in the United States by 20 percent;
-86 percent of Americans support a ban on all international weapons sales to Iran;
-72 percent of Americans are worried that Iran might develop nuclear weapons.

Israel is looking to join NATO according to a report in the Jerusalem Post.

The paper is being drafted by an interministerial committee made up of representatives from the Defense Ministry and the Foreign Ministry and headed by the National Security Council. The committee plans to complete the paper by the end of February and present it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for approval.

Meanwhile Monday, in an exclusive interview, former Spanish prime minister Jos Mar a Aznar told the Post that "Israel needs to join NATO as soon as possible."

According to Aznar, the Iranian threat serves as "an excellent occasion to enforce [Israeli] deterrence by making Israel a member of NATO."

The former Spanish leader and current president of the FAES Spanish think tank said that if Israel became a member of NATO, "the perception in Iran would change, knowing that it's not only Israel [they are dealing with], but all of NATO."

Aznar said that NATO needed to change its focus to counter the growing threat of global terrorism.

"The threat today is terror and we need to restructure NATO to deal with this threat," he said.

Here's how Senator John Edwards viewed things relating to Israel while he was at the Herzliya Conference.

"Iran is serious about its threats," former US Senator John Edwards told the Herzliya Conference at the Interdisciplinary Center on Monday.

"The challenges in your own backyard -- represent an unprecedented threat to the world and Israel," said the candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, referring mainly to the Iranian threat.

In his speech, Edwards criticized the United States' previous indifference to the Iranian issue, saying they have not done enough to deal with the threat.

Hinting to possible military action, Edwards stressed that "in order to ensure Iran never gets nuclear weapons, all options must remain on table."[...]

Edwards also spoke against the Palestinian Authority, saying the Hamas government was no partner, and that Israel should make efforts to strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against Hamas.

He also said the Palestinian government must know that foreign aid should not be take for granted, and that the US and Europe must do everything possible to make sure the money does not go to terrorists.

Until Israel has a real partner, according to Edwards, Israel has the right, and indeed the obligation to defend itself, and should be strengthened militarily, politically, and economically.

In a further display of support for Israel, Edwards went so far as to suggest that Israel should even be made a member of NATO, saying it was only natural that the organization would seen to include Israel next.

79th Annual Academy Award nominations

Here's the full list of nominations for the 2007 Academy Awards with my predictions bolded.

Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen."

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

Directing: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"; Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Stephen Frears, "The Queen"; Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

Foreign Language Film: "After the Wedding," Denmark; "Days of Glory (Indigenes)," Algeria; "The Lives of Others," Germany; "Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; "Water," Canada.

Adapted Screenplay: Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"; Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men"; William Monahan, "The Departed"; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"; Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal."

Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen."

Animated Feature Film: Cars, Happy Feet, Monster House.

Art Direction: "Dreamgirls," "The Good Shepherd," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "The Prestige."

Cinematography: "The Black Dahlia," "Children of Men," "The Illusionist," "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Prestige."

Sound Mixing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Dreamgirls," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Sound Editing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Original Score: "Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla; "The Good German," Thomas Newman; "Notes on a Scandal," Philip Glass; "Pan's Labyrinth," Javier Navarrete; "The Queen," Alexandre Desplat.

Original Song: "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge; "Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven; "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett; "Our Town" from "Cars," Randy Newman; "Patience" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

Costume: "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Marie Antoinette," "The Queen."

Documentary Feature: "Deliver Us From Evil," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Iraq in Fragments," "Jesus Camp," "My Country, My Country."

Documentary (short subject): "The Blood of Yingzhou District," "Recycled Life," "Rehearsing a Dream," "Two Hands."

Film Editing: "Babel," "Blood Diamond," "Children of Men," "The Departed," "United 93."

Makeup: "Apocalypto," "Click," "Pan's Labyrinth."

Animated Short Film: "The Danish Poet," "Lifted," "The Little Matchgirl," "Maestro," "No Time for Nuts."

Live Action Short Film: "Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)," "Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)," "Helmer & Son," "The Saviour," "West Bank Story."

Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Poseidon," "Superman Returns."

Previously Announced Winners
HONORARY AWARD: Ennio Morricone

JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Sherry Lansing

Could Lake Cumberland cause a massive flood?

Seems like they need to upgrade the dam at Lake Cumberland here in Kentucky according to this report that the dam could break.

Officials have begun lowering the water level on Kentucky's Lake Cumberland. They're hoping to reduce pressure on the weakened 240-foot-high dam. A break would flood communities downstream, possibly killing people and causing (b) billions in damage.

The dam, which has a concrete core surrounded by earth, was built in the early 1950s. A Corps commander says water has been seeping under the dam and eroding the limestone on which the concrete rests. He says crews are pumping grout into the ground to counter the erosion.

But, the preventive measure could have a major ecological and economic effect as well. The Corps says people can expect fish kills, and boats could be left high and dry at marinas.

While it may not exactly be a hurricane, it sure does not sound like good news at all.

Here is the take from Tom Loftus at the C-J.

Happy Birthday, Sen. Bayh!

Happy birthday to Senator Birch Bayh.

Whole lotta bloggin' goin' on

Catching up with news over the weekend, other than the fact that my beloved Indianapolis Colts are playing in the SUPER BOWL, it looks as if Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will be making his decision soon regarding another run in 2008.

Chris Dodd is running for president and as such, he will not run for the Senate again. Dodd has ties to Kentucky as he earned his law degree from the University of Louisville.

John Edwards is running on his beliefs and I believe that, in the end, he will be elected the next president. The fact that he is running a populist-based campaign certainly helps within the blogosphere but he will need to outreach to more than just bloggers.

Alabama has moved up their presidential primary to February, right behind South Carolina with regards to the states southern portion of the country due east of the Mississippi River.

An admirable trait by Montana Senator Max Baucus to help out his fellow colleague.

State Rep. Rick Nelson wants to repeal the runoff law with regards to the gubernatorial race, given how crowded the primary will likely be.

Pence interviews Robinson

Indianapolis Colts are Super Bowl-bound

About those predictions, all I can say is Peyton Manning is due for a ring.

After being down 21-6 at the end of the first half, the Indianapolis Colts managed to comeback and beat the New England Patriots.

More on Football and Politics

If there is one thing out there that can bridge the gap between politicians on both ends of the spectrum, it's sports. You saw it in St. Louis this past October where both a Democrat (Mayor Francis Slay) and a Republican (Governor Matt Blunt) shared the stage at the World Championship Rally for my beloved St. Louis Cardinals.

Anyway, back to the issue of sports and politics, here is the latest from our good friends in Indianapolis:

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson may be in different political camps, but they're both Indianapolis Colts fans.

Peterson invited Daniels and his family to join him in the city's suite at the RCA Dome to watch today's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots -- an invitation the governor was pleased to accept, along with two of his daughters.

In addition to being a Colts fan, Daniels sounded a lot like a Peterson fan Friday.
Speaking to reporters at his semiregular media availability, Daniels had lots of kind words about Peterson -- a Democrat who is weighing whether to run for a third term as mayor this year or to run for governor in 2008, most likely against Republican Daniels.

Daniels was so complimentary of Peterson that he was asked whether he envisioned a bipartisan Daniels-Peterson ticket.

"That's an idea," Daniels said with a smile. "Look, I like the mayor a lot. Always have. He's doing a good job under very difficult circumstances. I'm always looking for ways to support him.

"The more I know him, the more I like him," he added.

While the idea of a bipartisan ticket sounds very interesting, the governor has been losing popularity in Indiana. I'm sure this article will come back to haunt the Governor in the 2008 election. Should Senator Evan Bayh become the Vice Presidential candidate and then get elected for that office in 2008, maybe Gov. Daniels, assuming he is not defeated, would appoint Mayor Peterson to the senate seat?

NFL Predictions

AFC: Indianapolis Colts
NFC: Chicago Bears

Super Bowl winner: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

FEMA Director Michael Brown comes clean...

The admission of error by the government is a nice step and I, for one, am pleased that Michael Brown thought the federal government should have federalized the entire operation and not just that of Louisiana only.

When it comes to national emergencies like that of Hurricane Katrina, the issue of political parties should have been thrown aside.

We are all Americans that should be acting mature and responsibly.

It disgusts me that the President wanted to federalize Louisiana and leave Mississippi alone on the basis of party politics and party politics alone.

Here are some excerpts from the AP article:

Political storm clouds gathered again over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina as former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown said party politics influenced decisions on whether to take federal control of Louisiana and other areas affected by the hurricane.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the partisanship Brown described was "disgusting," while a White House spokeswoman said Brown was making "false statements."

Brown told a group of graduate students Friday that some in the White House had suggested the federal government should take charge in Louisiana because Blanco was a Democrat, while leaving Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, in control in his state.

Brown, speaking at the Metropolitan College of New York, said he had recommended to President Bush that all 90,000 square miles along the Gulf Coast affected by the devastating hurricane be federalized — a term Brown explained as placing the federal government in charge of all agencies responding to the disaster.

"Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking, 'We had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor, and we have a chance to rub her nose in it,'" he said, without naming names. "'We can't do it to Haley (Barbour) because Haley's a white male Republican governor. And we can't do a thing to him. So we're just gonna federalize Louisiana.'"

Brown, 52, declined to say who in the White House had argued for federalizing the response only in Louisiana. He said that he'd later learned of the machinations through Blanco's office and from federal officials.

Blanco reacted sharply to Brown's remarks.

"This is exactly what we were living but could not bring ourselves to believe. Karl Rove was playing politics while our people were dying," Blanco said through a spokeswoman, referring to Bush's top political strategist. "The federal effort was delayed, and now the public knows why. It's disgusting."

The administration denies the claims that Brown has made.

Mellencamp favors Colts

John Mellencamp believes that the Indianapolis Colts will go all the way.

John Mellencamp's football loyalties are hometown all the way. The Indiana native is backing the Indianapolis Colts, who will host the New England Patriots on Sunday (January 21st) in the AFC Championship Game. Mellencamp told us he's sure the Colts are Super Bowl-bound, for two reasons: "Oh, I think they're gonna go. They've already beat New England at home, and you don't beat (quarterback) Peyton Manning at the Hoosier Dome."

Mellencamp also told us that he's planning to go to the Super Bowl to support the Colts in person, though he didn't say whether that might include a performance of some sort.

Pardon me for asking, but isn't it the RCA Dome? Have they renamed it?

ETA: The Hoosier Dome was the name until 1994 when RCA purchased the naming rights.

Quote of the Day

"I've been running for president since I was 5."
--Amy Poehler as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Saturday Night Live, January 20, 2007

Shavuah tov!

Hope your day was as relaxing as mine was.

The National Journal has released their latest rankings for the 2008 election. While former Senator John Edwards is currently ranked in third, I believe he will move up by the end of the year and win the Democratic nomination.

Uh, wow, I did not know that about George Bush. No, not that George Bush but apparently a distant cousin according to Wikipedia. Anyway, I will be adding Israeli historian Michael Oren's book, Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present, to my list of books to read. The Jerusalem Post has an interview with the author which can be found here.

Steve Reed will not be a candidate for Lt. Governor. Previously, his name was one of those rumored in November 2005 to have been interested in the congressional race.

House Speaker Jody Richards and former Secretary of State John Y. Brown III will announce their candidacy on Wednesday morning at 8 AM in Bowling Green as opposed to Tuesday which was previously rumored. The locations on Wednesday will be Bowling Green, Louisville, Frankfort, and Lexington. The locations for Thursday are not confirmed as of this time.

Emory Professor Deborah Lipstadt wrote an column in the Washington Post. Without the shadow of a doubt, this article is by-far a must read and here are some excerpts from the article here.

One cannot ignore the Holocaust's impact on Jewish identity and the history of the Middle East conflict. When an Ahmadinejad or Hamas threatens to destroy Israel, Jews have historical precedent to believe them. Jimmy Carter either does not understand this or considers it irrelevant.

His book, which dwells on the Palestinian refugee experience, makes two fleeting references to the Holocaust. The book contains a detailed chronology of major developments necessary for the reader to understand the current situation in the Middle East. Remarkably, there is nothing listed between 1939 and 1947. Nitpickers might say that the Holocaust did not happen in the region. However, this event sealed in the minds of almost all the world's people then the need for the Jewish people to have a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland. Carter never discusses the Jewish refugees who were prevented from entering Palestine before and after the war. One of Israel's first acts upon declaring statehood was to send ships to take those people "home."

A guiding principle of Israel is that never again will persecuted Jews be left with no place to go. Israel's ideal of Jewish refuge is enshrined in laws that grant immediate citizenship to any Jew who requests it. A Jew, for purposes of this law, is anyone who, had that person lived in Nazi Germany, would have been stripped of citizenship by the Nuremberg Laws.[...]

Carter has repeatedly fallen back -- possibly unconsciously -- on traditional anti-Semitic canards. In the Los Angeles Times last month, he declared it "politically suicide" for a politician to advocate a "balanced position" on the crisis. On Al-Jazeera TV, he dismissed the critique of his book by declaring that "most of the condemnations of my book came from Jewish-American organizations." Jeffrey Goldberg, who lambasted the book in The Post last month, writes for the New Yorker. Ethan Bronner, who in the New York Times called the book "a distortion," is the Times' deputy foreign editor. Slate's Michael Kinsley declared it "moronic." Dennis Ross, who was chief negotiator on the conflict in the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, described the book as a rewriting and misrepresentation of history. Alan Dershowitz teaches at Harvard and Ken Stein at Emory. Both have criticized the book. Because of the book's inaccuracies and imbalance and Carter's subsequent behavior, 14 members of the Carter Center's Board of Councilors have resigned -- many in anguish because they so respect Carter's other work. All are Jews. Does that invalidate their criticism -- and mine -- or render us representatives of Jewish organizations?

On CNN, Carter bemoaned the "tremendous intimidation in our country that has silenced" the media. Carter has appeared on C-SPAN, "Larry King Live" and "Meet the Press," among many shows. When a caller to C-SPAN accused Carter of anti-Semitism, the host cut him off. Who's being silenced?

Moving on to the issue of sports and politics, the rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots have led to a frenzy of friendly wagers between politicians in Indianapolis and Massachusetts.

“The only thing I love more than watching the Patriots play is watching them beat the Colts,” said Sen. John F. Kerry, who placed a friendly wager with Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh. Kerry promised to send Bayh a helping of Boston clam chowder if the Colts win.

Mayor Thomas Menino went even bigger: He promised Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson a lobster dinner with chowder and littlenecks if the Colts live up to their hype this year.[...]

Peterson said he expects an “epic” contest tomorrow. “When time runs out in the fourth quarter, I hope to be on the phone to Mayor Menino placing my order for some world-famous, East Coast lobster,” said Peterson, who promised a steak and shrimp dinner to Menino if the Pats win.

Lt. Gov Tim Murray put seafood and locally brewed beer on the line in a bet with Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman.

“I look forward to feasting on some fresh seafood as the Colts take their talent all the way to New Orleans,” Skillman said in a statement.

No word yet as to whether Mitch Daniels and Mitt Romney have placed any friendly wagers. As for me, I'm a Colts fan so I'll be rooting for them over the New England Patriots!

Democrats on Northup

The following was in the H-L:

Ward, now a consultant on land-use issues, said that with Fletcher's incumbency and Harper's wealth, Northup will find herself as much a target as she was an aggressor in past campaigns.

"We're going to see as much negative campaigning on TV against Anne as she put out against her opponents over all these years," Ward said. "I wonder if she'll be able to take it as good as she dished it out."

Jack Conway, a Democrat who barely lost to Northup in a hard-fought 2002 congressional campaign, said he likes Northup personally, but said her competitiveness comes with "a bit of an edge." He said she tends to "see the world in black and white. You're either with her or against her."

Blogging the news...

I really dislike having to post all these things on Carter but the fact that he interceded on the behalf of a murderer really disgusts me.

Neal Sher, a veteran of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigation, described a letter he received from Carter in 1987 in an interview with Israel National Radio’s Tovia Singer. The letter, written and signed by Carter, asked that Sher show “special consideration” for a man proven to have murdered Jews in the Mauthausen death camp in Austria.[...]

"In 1987, Carter had been out of office for seven years or so,” Sher recalled. “It was a very active period for my office. We had just barred Kurt Waldheim – he was then president of Austria and former head of the United Nations – from entering the U.S. because of his Nazi past and his involvement in the persecution of civilians during the war. We had just deported an Estonian Nazi Commandant back to the Soviet Union after a bruising battle after which we were attacked by Reagan White House Communications Director Patrick Buchanan.

“Also around that time, in the spring of 1987, we deported a series of SS guards from concentration camps, whose names nobody would know. One such character we sent back to Austria was a man named Martin Bartesch.”

Bartesch, who had immigrated to the U.S. and lived in Chicago, admitted to Sher’s office and the court that he had voluntarily joined the Waffen SS and had served in the notorious SS Death’s Head Division at the Mauthausen concentration camp where, at the hands of Bartesch and his cohorts, many thousands of prisoners were gassed, shot, starved and worked to death. He also confessed to having concealed his service at the infamous camp from U.S. immigration officials.

“We had an extraordinary piece of evidence against him – a book that was kept by the SS and captured by the American armed forces when they liberated Mauthausen,” Sher said. “We called it the death book. It was a roster that the Germans required them to keep that identified SS guards as they extended weapons to murder the inmates and prisoners.”

An entry in the book for October 10, 1943 registered the shooting death of Max Oschorn, a French Jewish prisoner. His murderer was also recorded: SS guard Martin Bartesch. “It was a most chilling document,” Sher recalled.

The same evidence was used by the U.S. military in postwar trials as the basis for execution or long prison sentences for many identified SS guards.[...]

“It always bothered me, but I didn’t go public with it until recently, when he wrote this book and let it spill out where his sentiments really lie,” Sher said. “Here was Jimmy Carter jumping in on behalf of someone who did not deserve in any way, shape or form special consideration. And the things he has now said about the Jewish lobby really exposes where his heart really lies.”

As a Louisvillian, I know how much we need those bridges in Jefferson County. As the mayor said, we cannot wait another 15-20 years before it's built. We have to start the financing of the bridges this year and start saving up all the money. By building them now, money will be saved.

Louisville can't wait until 2024 for the Ohio River bridges project to be completed, so officials need to consider how to speed up and reduce the cost of the $3.9 billion plan, Mayor Jerry Abramson said yesterday.

"The sooner we build it, the cheaper it will be," Abramson said during his "State of the City" address to the Louisville Rotary Club.[...]

"In my judgment the bridges and the redesign of Spaghetti Junction leads that list. It's No. 1," Abramson said.

In an interview after his speech, Abramson said the city plans to work with consultants before the 2008 legislative session to develop financing options in addition to the state and federal funds committed for the project.

In 2006, the Kentucky General Assembly allocated $789 million for the bridges during the next six years, but that plan is evaluated every two years. Lawmakers will revisit the funding in 2008.

State transportation officials increased the price tag for the bridges by 60 percent late last year, a result of factoring in inflation for construction during the project.

Back to Carter, he will be speaking at Brandeis University near Boston next week. Following that, there will be an event where Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz will give a rebuttal. Unfortunately, Dershowitz will not be allowed to be in the vicinity of President Jimmy Carter as it is for the Brandeis community only.

It looks as if Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is running for re-election.

He may not be a presidential candidate any more but Sen. Bayh is out there promoting energy efficiency along with alternative fuels.

Calling it "one of the defining challenges of our generation," Bayh participated in a panel discussion with congressmen and experts to discuss the importance of energy independence.

After the panel, Bayh announced the reintroduction of energy legislation aimed at reducing oil imports by 75 percent over the next 20 years through steps such as vehicle efficiency, tax incentives and the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol.

"Our ability to make progress on the energy issue will determine whether the United States of America is strong, whether we are prosperous and whether we are free," Bayh said. "In a very real sense, it will define the kind of world our children will inherit from us one day."

Bayh introduced the legislation with fellow Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Ken Salazar, D-Colo. The congressmen criticized President Bush for not taking action on what Bush called "an addiction to oil" in last year's State of the Union address and emphasized the need for immediate action.

"What America needs now is a new declaration of independence -- a declaration of energy independence," Bayh said.

The proposed act aims to reduce use of oil by 7 million barrels per day by 2026. It also constructs a long-term blueprint for energy independence, beginning with conservation and emphasizing alternative fuels.

Barring any breaking news in the next hour and a half, this is the final blog post of the day as I will be offline until after sundown tomorrow evening.

Dick Robinson announces for Secretary of State

Dr. Dick Robinson announced today that he would run for Secretary of State in the Democratic primary. Here are some excerpts of an email that he sent out.

In the past our state has been among the leaders in the nation in our election process. It is important that we build upon those strengths while examining additional ways to improve that process.

As Kentucky’s chief elections officer, I will aggressively seek expanded voter participation. We can begin with voter education through civic outreach programs in our schools.

As the chief elections officer of the state, I would favor continually seeking expanded voter participation programs through increased voter education, especially civic education programs in out schools.

Other states have recently implemented 1) programs for early voting, 2) providing a paper trail to validate voter accuracy and confidence, and 3) expanded voting hours. There are benefits and there are drawbacks to each of the potential changes. I will strive to examine both benefits and drawbacks to see if any such changes can be made to improve our voting system. Two significant events have improved the Kentucky system. The Elections Reform Task Force headed by former Attorney General Fred Cowan resulted in significant advances that were adopted by the General Assembly. That, and the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, have well-positioned Kentucky’s election process.[...]

I am running as the Democratic Party candidate for Secretary of State because I believe our Party offers citizens a change for the better. I believe that a majority of Kentuckians do not agree with the direction that has been taken by the executive branches of our state and federal governments. I believe that a majority of Kentuckians want a change. I am glad to be part of this opportunity for change.

Managing his campaign will be Bill Bishop. His honorary co-chairmen will be former Joe B. Hall and Denny Crum.

He's ready!

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is ready to run for political office. However, there is a catch. He will only run for Senate if and only if HRC wins the presidency.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. is ready to run.

The Riverkeeper champion tells Oprah Winfrey in the February issue of her mag, O, that if Hillary Clinton runs for President, he’d be up for entering the race for her New York Senate seat.

Kennedy was 14 in 1968 when his father, Bobby Sr. (himself a senator from New York), was assassinated after winning California’s Democratic presidential primary. The younger Kennedy, one of 10 kids, overcame personal difficulty to become one of America’s great environmentalists.

The 52-year-old father of six tells Winfrey that he won’t run for the Senate or for governor now because “my friends are in those offices, and I’m not going to run against them.”

Kennedy, who worked during his 20s as an assistant district attorney, last year mulled a run for state attorney general, a race won by his former brother-in-law Andrew Cuomo.

While I cannot support HRC, I would most certainly support Bobby Kennedy, Jr.!

Military action in Iran

As you know, for many months, I have advocated doing something about Iran. However, military action is not the answer. It will not be an answer as we still do not have stability within the region after several years of action already fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq. I still say to this day that only Afghanistan was justified although Saddam Hussein had to leave power but in a diplomatic way.

While I don't see military action as a justifiable means of action, I do believe that something must be done but it certainly will not be diplomacy as we are dealing with someone who denies the existence of the Shoah and believes that Medinat Yisrael must be wiped off the map.

Here is an ABC News report on legislation that is currently in Congress.

bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives pushed legislation on Thursday to prohibit a U.S. attack on Iran without congressional permission.[...]

"The resolution makes crystal clear that no previous resolution passed by Congress" authorizes a U.S. attack on Iran, Jones told reporters, referring to the 2002 vote by Congress authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The joint resolution would have to be passed by the House and Senate and signed by President George W. Bush to acquire the force of law. It would waive the congressional authorization only if Iran attacked the United States or its armed forces, or if such an attack was "demonstrably" imminent.

So far, Jones' resolution has 11 co-sponsors in the 435-member House.

At the White House, Bush, asked whether there were any U.S. plans to take action against Iran, told Sinclair Broadcasting: "I have made it clear that if they're moving weapons inside Iraq that will hurt the cause of democracy and more particularly hurt our soldiers, we'll take care of business there.

We're not going to let them," he said on Thursday. "I made that abundantly clear the other day in my speech."

Bush's comment echoed remarks last week when he accused Iran and Syria of allowing the use of their territory for launching attacks inside Iraq.[...]

Rep. Martin Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat, said that while he did not trust Iran or its intentions in the Middle East, he also did not trust the White House.

I find myself in very strong agreement with Representative Meehan of Massachusetts and it worries me greatly.

Here is Congressman Walter Jones (D-NC) press release on the matter of the resolution (H. J. Res. 14) that he has authored.

One of the many lessons from our involvement in Iraq is that Congress needs to ask the right questions prior to exercising its Constitutional authority to approve the use of military force. Today, there is growing concern – justified or not - that Administration officials are contemplating military action against Iran. We are not naïve. We understand the serious threats posed by Iran, and we know that extreme elements in Iran’s leadership may even welcome military conflict with the United States. The question is how best to address those threats.

This resolution makes it crystal clear that no previous resolution passed by Congress authorizes such a use of force. And – absent a national emergency or an imminent attack by Iran upon the United States or its armed forces - the President must consult with Congress and receive specific authorization before initiating any use of military force against Iran. If the President is contemplating committing our blood and treasure in another war – then he and his administration must come to Congress and make their case. The Congress answers to the American people and must justify why it would be in our national security interests to engage militarily in Iran.

It is our Constitutional responsibility, for both chambers of Congress, to hold hearings, to ask questions, to evaluate the threats and to determine the best way to counter these threats. If military action against Iran is necessary, then we in Congress will meet our Constitutional responsibility and authorize it. If no military action is contemplated, then there should be no objection to this commonsense resolution.

One more thing on Gold...

I caught this in the Henderson Gleaner.

He had been supported by the authors of some Kentucky Democratic blogs to run for office, including one who proposed a campaign slogan: "Let's put Gold in the treasury."

In case you were wondering as to where that may have possibly came from, check here.

All the blog fit to print

I probably shouldn't be blogging right now due to the mood I am in, but I am nonetheless so my apologies in advance if I take my anger out on you.

Newly elected Virginia Senator Jim Webb will be delivering the Democratic response to the president's annual address.

It appears that many young Americans are looking to Senator John Edwards as a candidate that they can believe in.

One year out from the Iowa caucuses and the campaign is already under way. I am optimistic that Sen. Edwards will win Iowa. For our country's sake, he must win Iowa.

The following press release on yesterday's vote on House Resolution 5 in Congress was sent to my inbox. As a college student, I was pleased to see that it passed.

“Today’s bipartisan vote to cut the interest rate in half on federally subsidized student loans over the next five years will help make a college education more affordable and more accessible for our next generation of leaders and innovators. At a time when college tuition continues to skyrocket, this crucial legislation will help remove some of the barriers to a higher education.


“A college education is the best investment our nation’s young people can make in themselves, and the best investment our nation can make in its future. Democrats will continue to work to ensure that every young person that is determined to earn a higher education is able to do so. Our young people should be driven by their dreams, not weighed down by debt.”

I am very please that ALL of KENTUCKY's Congressman voted in favor of the act.

Senator Bayh recently talked about his trip to Iraq.

“What I'm concerned about is that the Iraqi's don't have their own act together. And until they get it together and do the hard things that only they can do, to decide to live in one country together as a single people- this is not going to go well. We need to put and keep the pressure on them, otherwise, all of our sacrifice will not be successful and that would be tragic,” says Senator Evan Bayh.

Richards/Brown announcing Tuesday...

I have been informed by a source close to House Speaker Jody Richards that the Speaker will announce on Tueday morning that he will run for Governor with former Secretary of State John Y. Brown, III, as his running mate. There will be an announcement tour starting in Bowling Green followed by Louisville, and finally Frankfort and Lexington.

Sometime thereafter, they will hit up Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and make the way back to Western Kentucky.

Frank Hargrove is a bigot

In an interesting piece of news from WTOP, a Republican member of the House of Delegates in Virginia, Frank Hargrove, said that African-Americans "should get over" slavery. It didn't end there. See the comments below:

In the same interview about whether the state should apologize to the descendants of slaves, Hargrove wondered aloud whether Jews should "apologize for killing Christ."

Alexandria Delegate David Englin, whose Jewish ancestors immigrated from Nazi-occupied Poland, criticized Hargrove's comments in the House of Delegates.

Hargrove then told Englin that his skin is a "little too thin." Other lawmakers gasped and groaned in disbelief.

Here is a bit more from The Daily Progress in Charlottesville:

Englin, who joined two black delegates in rebukes of Hargrove’s comments in The Daily Progress opposing a resolution to have Virginia apologize for slavery, said, “I understand that [he] means no harm...but I just want my friends and my colleagues of this body to think twice before they say such things.”

“It’s an inflammatory statement that causes a lot of pain to a lot of people,” Englin said. He then held up a picture of his 7-year-old son, Caleb, and said that Hargrove “means no harm [but false statements such as that] mean that my 7-year-old son is that much more likely to be verbally attacked, to be physically attacked.”

Perhaps somebody should tell Mr. Hargrove that the Jews were not responsible for that incident. It was the Romans as Pontius Pilate was not a member of the Judaic religion.

I don't intend to start any religious debates here but setting the record straight om this issue.

Update on Steve Gold

I recieved word late last night that Steve Gold will not be running for State Treasurer. He would have been a good candidate had he decided to run. The full press release is below:

STEVE GOLD NOT RUNNING FOR STATE TREASURERHenderson, KY (January 17, 2007) - Henderson attorney Steven R. Gold announced that he would not be seeking the office of State Treasurer this November.

“While I have been humbled by the encouragement of so many friends around the state and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from Henderson County, I have decided not to run for State Treasurer,” said Gold.

Gold praised current State Treasurer Jonathan Miller for raising the profile of the office and for highlighting the opportunities for a State Treasurer to implement innovative programs within the office.

“I’m proud to live and work in Henderson and to raise my family here. My current service to Henderson County through my private law practice, prosecuting crimes, and my community involvement is greatly satisfying. At this stage in my life, uprooting my family and moving to Frankfort just doesn’t make sense,” stated Gold.

Gold, who served as Chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2003-2004, practices law in Henderson at Gold & Gold Law Office and is an Assistant Henderson County Attorney.

“In the final analysis, it boiled down to a basic rule of politics – ‘Don’t get in a race you don’t want to win,’” added Gold.

With Gold out of the race, I would like to see a strong candidate take on Jack Wood in the primary.

Top Ten Little-Known Facts About Barack Obama

10. As as child, was taunted with "Obama's so fat jokes"
9. After finishing Harvard law, served as Doug Llewelyn's understudy on "The People's Court"
8. Follows Bush's weekly radio address DJ-ing the "Barock and Roll Power Hour"
7. Real last name: Obamawitz
6. At Senate hearings, throws on his iPod whenever John Kerry has the floor
5. Played Kenickie in the Senate production of "Grease"
4. Makes immigration speeches as hilarious, uninformed foreigner "Borat Obama"
3. Even Donald Trump can't think of anthing nasty to say about him
2. Presides over Congressional Committee to lower Al Gore's body fat
1. Only running for president to piss off Hilary

LINK

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