BluegrassBulletin.com

Update On Obama's Reaction To State Sovereignty

Yesterday I commented upon the Obama administration's request for over $1 Billion to impose gun control.  Today I was alerted to this development:

The National Guard is following a direct order — but it’s not happy with it.

All of the Guard’s AH-64 Apache helicopters are scheduled to go to the active Army, and there’s nothing its top brass can do about it. [Washington Times]

Some have interpreted this move by the POTUS to have more sinister implications.

As if the Obama administration's purchase of more than 2 billion rounds of ammunition, and nearly 3,000 urban tanks, along with their unprecedented (and highly illegal) domestic spying program was not enough to convince you that the federal government is about to suspend the Constitution once and for all, the man who once vowed to run "the most transparent administration in history" has just rather inexplicably, ordered the U.S. Army to seize every Apache attack helicopter currently in use by the National Guard.

In all, the Defense Department will confiscate 192 Apaches from National Guard units around the country and give them to the active duty Army.

In exchange for the heavily armed and highly maneuverable choppers, Guard units will receive 111 UH-60 Blackhawktransport helicopters from the Army, Defense One reports.

Last week, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, claiming that the measure will save taxpayers $12 billion, over the next three years.

So, what could be another, more reasonable explanation?

The Apache, which began service in 1986, is armed with a 30 mm M230E1 Chain Gun (with 1,200 rounds), Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and 70 general-purpose 70 mm rockets. In short, it is capable of fending-off any enemy, foreign or domestic.

Obviously, these helicopters could pose a substantial obstacle to say, a tyrant drunk on his own power, with an army at his disposal. [Washington Examiner]

Time and time again this administration gives the impression that something is afoot which has bad written all over it.

According to one group the BLM agents at the Bundy ranch were in fact supposed to engage in violence in order to incite a larger scale crackdown centered around the expected death of some of the agents after a shootout.

Where does your state stand on the growing tension between "The People" and the Federal Government?  And perhaps to my fellow Kentuckians, which candidate for the US Senate has been tapped by none other than the First Lady as a reliable vote in favor of her husband's gun control efforts?

Trey Grayson Leaves Harvard Post

Former Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson has announced that he is leaving his post at the Harvard Institute of Politics.  Some are speculating that he will return to Kentucky and seek elected office again.

Considering that Rand Paul faces legal difficulties in his desire to run for both Presidency of the United States and his Kentucky US Senate seat at the same time, Grayson may be eyeing an opportunity that he was denied in 2010.

However, as popular as Grayson was among many Kentucky establishment republicans four years ago, his stature as a viable republican candidate has not been helped by his activities or the changes to the political landscape since he left Kentucky.

Grayson, along with former Clinton administration official Robert Reich, were named as co-chairs of a PAC dedicated to electing only democrats. [Washington Post]

In addition, the forces of the TEA party which gained strength in the Commonwealth largely on the shoulders of Rand Paul have gotten far more organized in Grayson's former home county of Boone.

Thank You Barack For Slapping The Hillbilly Sticker On Eastern Kentucky Again

I am aghast.  Barack Obama announces a big federally funded program to help the po' folks around the country and on any other day, in this political climate, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell would be railing against runaway spending, "great society" programs and creating greater dependence on government.

But, because a chunk of the money is coming to Eastern Kentucky they stand up and cheer, along side the president, in the White House.  It's not that I have any personal position on the program it's just that my exposure to politics over such a long time has once again confirmed my belief that little of what politicians say they stand against they wouldn't lie down for at the right price. (Yes, that association was intentional)

So what did the Obama cash for Kentucky do in the media?  Re-awakened LBJ's photo op on the front porch of Tom Fletcher's cabin in Martin County and start the discussion of how poor and impoverished the people of Kentucky are.  Just take a look at some of the words written in response to this newly announced program published in the National Review:

"There are lots of diversions in the Big White Ghetto, the vast moribund matrix of Wonder Bread–hued Appalachian towns and villages stretching from northern Mississippi to southern New York, a slowly dissipating nebula of poverty and misery with its heart in eastern Kentucky, the last redoubt of the Scots-Irish working class that picked up where African slave labor left off, mining and cropping and sawing the raw materials for a modern American economy that would soon run out of profitable uses for the class of people who 500 years ago would have been known, without any derogation, as peasants. Thinking about the future here and its bleak prospects is not much fun at all, so instead of too much black-minded introspection you have the pills and the dope, the morning beers, the endless scratch-off lotto cards, healing meetings up on the hill, the federally funded ritual of trading cases of food-stamp Pepsi for packs of Kentucky’s Best cigarettes and good old hard currency, tall piles of gas-station nachos, the occasional blast of meth, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, petty crime, the draw, the recreational making and surgical unmaking of teenaged mothers, and death: Life expectancies are short — the typical man here dies well over a decade earlier than does a man in Fairfax County, Va. — and they are getting shorter, women’s life expectancy having declined by nearly 1.1 percent from 1987 to 2007.

If the people here weren’t 98.5 percent white, we’d call it a reservation."

Great.

We finally achieved some serious clout in Washington DC with the power of Mitch McConnell.  We finally proved that we are capable of thinking outside the box with the ascendancy of Rand Paul and his brand of "new think".  And we finally captured back to back basketball championships in the NCAA and look what Barack Obama has done with the stroke of a pen.

It's back to possum holler.

Oh, and for you Republicans who can still think, don't let this one slip past you.  There is a US Senate race in Kentucky this year and the lady challenging the republican just might need some more votes out of the mountains than the hands of the republican power brokers in that part of the Commonwealth would ever deliver to her. 

Think, think, think.  Her buddy Barack just opened the door for her there.

Ky Court Shredding The Constitution Behind Closed Doors?

Because there is a statute making the proceedings in Kentucky juvenile cases confidential I am not at liberty to discuss any particular case or reveal anything that could identify a child or the proceedings in a Family Court case.  In otherwords, the public is prevented from seeing what is going on.

But I'd like to ask you this: suppose a Kentucky judge has, behind these closed doors, made these ruling:

Based solely upon the claim by a social worker that an anonymous caller accused two Kentucky parents of smoking marijuana in the presence of their children suppose the judge ordered both parents to submit to a blood test within 24 hours and to give statements to the government about their home life.

It is quite clear in the law that a blood test is a search and a seizure.  It is also quite clear that before a search can be conducted there must be presented probable cause that a crime is being committed.  And it is also quite clear that an anonymous tip cannot alone form the requisite probable cause to order a search.

It is also the right of every citizen to remain silent, that is no person can be compelled to become a witness against himself, in other words be forced to give a statement to a government official. 

But suppose a Kentucky judge ordered two citizens to submit to a blood test and give statements to government officials in a juvenile case behind closed doors in which the officials admitted under oath that the results of the blood test and/or the statments could expose the parents to criminal charges.

By what power would this judge be acting?  The answer is simply this: the power to punish the citizens for contempt if they do not comply, putting them in jail for up to six months, all behind the closed doors and out of view of the public under the protective cloak of the juvenile court confidentiality statutes.

The Kentucky Child Protective Services has been under close scrutiny for some time and has been the subject of at least one heated legislative hearing earlier this year.

And as a lawyer I can tell you that this agency of the government feels quite at ease intruding into the lives of ordinary citizens under the guise of "protecting children" when in fact these agencies themselves all around the country, and in Kentucky have had some serious questions raised about their ability to protect children in the past.

It should be of concern to every liberty loving Kentuckian that the rights of citizens not be violated and that the Kentucky Cabinet For Health and Family Services operating as a government agency be constrained by the Constitution rather than be permitted to engage in their intrusive behavior by judges operating behind closed doors and out of public view.

Kentucky's Obamacare Website Requires Permission To Snoop And Share

Hey there kids, are you ready for Kentucky's Obamacare Insurance exchange where you can go and check out all the insurance options for you and your family?  Sounds great doesn't it?  Well come on let's go....oh and by the way, don't forget, you will have to consent to give up your privacy and let law enforcement have your information.

Oh and not only will you have to consent to let law enforcement in on your information, the government has the right to share what they collect from you even with "foreign" law enforcement, whatever that means.

Just go to the website, click on "Individuals & Families" then click on "Let's Get Started" and take a look:

(click photo to enlarge)

Did you read the fine print on the log in screen where you have to go to set up an account?

"Any or all uses of this system and all files on the system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized state government and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign."

Did you read that? "Intercepted, monitored, ...audited....and disclosed to...law enforcement.....both domestic and foreign".

May I say, with the utmost respect......WTF?

***UPDATED*** Supreme Court And AOC Make Questionable Decision

Lawyers all across Kentucky need access to information from court case files and court dockets and all of these things are part of the public record.  Until recently  Kentucky attorneys in good standing could access most of this data through the Court of Justice website.  But soon, in addition to paying dues, attorney's will have to subscribe, for an additional fee, to get access to public records.

We attorneys are officers of the court.  The ability to access court records is necessary in order to render competent, timely and responsible representation.  Charging an additional fee to get this data?  Okay, I get it, there are additional features like getting access to closed files and other bells and whistles included in the new system and the cost of creating and maintaining it must be met somehow, but let's be clear.

There are thousands of lawyers paying hundreds of dollars each to be members of the mandatory bar association.  In addition, the Court of Justice has a current budget of over $350 million and yet somehow charging officers of the court a minimum of an additional $180 per year to access public records makes sense?  That is questionable.

This from the Administrative Office of The Courts:

KBA members who want real-time access to civil and criminal case information online can now subscribe to CourtNet 2.0 with the click of a button. The Administrative Office of the Courts has simplified its subscription process since the initial rollout of CourtNet 2.0 in March 2013. During the first weeks of the application’s launch, the AOC asked attorneys to request an invitation to subscribe to allow time to process the influx of early subscribers.

How to Subscribe

Since March, 1,100 attorneys have subscribed to CourtNet 2.0. With the initial rush over, KBA members in good standing can now subscribe on demand – without an invitation.

After electronically signing a user agreement and selecting a monthly subscription plan, you can begin using the application immediately.

Payment plans start at only $15 a month and you can subscribe to one of five plans that best meets your needs.

The existing CourtNet KBA application will no longer be available after close of business on Dec. 31, 2013.

What do you think?

[*Note: John Myers, executive director of the KBA was called before publication but was not avaialbe.  Updates will follow.]

***UPDATE*** John Myers called and I have had the the chance to confirm with others that though the KBA did have some input, the decision to make these charges came from the AOC (which is the Supreme Court's Administrative Arm.  In fact some at the KBA objected to the charges to no avail.  For more on what the Kentucky Supreme Court is supposed to be doing as opposed to what it does click here.  For the "low information voters" out there, the Kentucky Supreme Court is a body politic, charged with administering the entire third branch of government.  It was created to streamline the delivery of justice by removing these administrative functions from the Court of Appeals and requiring the newly created Supreme Court to only hear a very few limited cases like death penalty appeals, leaving the rest up to the Court of Appeals.  However, the Supreme Court exercises it's discretionary powers very liberally and hears far more cases than required by law, slowing down the delivery of justice, increasing the costs to the citizenry and taxing the resources of the court which could and should be spent in greater measure working to improve the justice system.  It lobbies the legislature for money, works out budgets for court houses and court personnel and is far more political than they would like people to think.  Of course, when it comes to increasing costs which get passed on to consumers, how much of a vote do the people really get over that?  And don't say "well, they are elected aren't they?"  Sure, but don't try to ask them anything about such matters when they run for office, or they will once again advocate for eliminating the direct election of judges, which I suspect will be hammered again this year at the KBA convention a few weeks from now.)

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Ky. Wildlife Head Gets $218,000 Contract Approval

The Lexington Herald Leader is reporting that the head of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife is up for a contract approval that would give him $134,000 per year in pay plus another $53,000 in benefits with a cap of $218,000 subject to being raised.

Wildlife Commissioner Jon Gassett has been a good friend of sportsmen in Kentucky and his compensation has been approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission chair and the Commonwealth's Tourism Secretary.  It still needs approval from the Government Contract Review Committee. [Ky.com]

The Time For The Fair Tax Is Now

I had the pleasure of participating in the republican primary for Congress from my district last year.  Of course as I told everyone, I was more George Plimpton in the Paper Lion than a conditioned player on the field.  But I did have one take-away that I feel it is time to share.  Even those I respected most were mealy-mouthed about changes to the tax laws.

I heard nearly every candidate say, when asked, that they were in favor of a "fairer-flatter" tax.  I guess that's an homage to both the proponents of the "fair tax" and proponents of the "flat tax" and a way to show voters that you empathize with their dislike of the income tax. 

But none really committed to any effort to make a dramatic and historic change for America.  I did though.  I favored the "Fair Tax".  Yes I had some questions about the "prebate" but continue to be certain that some of the difficult details of that portion of the proposal could be worked out.

Proponents of the Flat Tax would keep the IRS, and apparently don't think the Fair Tax would pass.

But there is probably no better time for a discussion and for a strong push for the Fair Tax than right now.

Why not the Flat Tax?  The Patriot Post has done a comparison of the Fair Tax, the current Income Tax and the Flat Tax.  I suggest that you CLICK HERE to do your own comparison.

Why do I prefer the Fair Tax over the Flat Tax?  Here are a few examples.

 

I was not surprised that a candidate would bob and weave during a campaign and was thrilled to have the chance to share the stage with the others to engage in the ongoing debate about the future of our nation, but now we are at a time when talk should end and action take its place. 

Now is the time for the Fair Tax.

Kentucky's Mike Duncan Chairs New RNC Data Company

Mike Duncan of Martin County Kentucky, former treasurer and chair of the RNC will be chairing Data Trust a company which will assist the RNC in managing the processes being developed by another company called Liberty Works which has been chosen to help the RNC compete in the digital arena.

Karl Rove had been working with Liberty Works in talking with potential donors for the $15 million project though Rove is not directly affiliated with Liberty Works, Data Trust or the RNC as POLITICO reports.

Competition for this arrangement has focused on organizing voter data in a more useable manner and developing interfaces between raw data from many sources and creating a platform for communicating with the RNC's known base.

It would be my hope that the project not get pigeon holed into such a structured and limited mindset, though substantial improvement in this area is sorely needed. The bigger opportunity for the GOP lies outside of this project and dovetails with it.

Mike Duncan brings perhaps the highest level of integrity and professionalism to the project of anyone in the nation and his determination to succeed should be a huge positive for the republican cause going forward.

This is another plus for Kentucky.

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