GREG FISCHER'S JOBS PLAN: MORE OF THE SAME

Today Greg Fischer put forth his 10 step plan to job creation. Trust me no one I have spoken with is remotely impressed. And why should they be? This is the most lackluster and none productive jobs plan I have seen yet. details are below with my comments of course in italics. Enjoy:

Greg Fischer will put Louisville back to work and lead the way in making the city competitive nationally and globally by:

1. Making Louisville the Long-Term/Aging Care Capital of the World. There are more aging care companies - such as Kindred, Almost Family and Signature Healthcare — headquartered in Louisville than in any other city. Boston is #2. With the aging of America, this sector has huge growth potential - much like Louisville's embrace of the logistics sector. In the early 1980s, UPS had fewer than 200 employees in Louisville. Today, because of the city's logistics strategy, logistics, UPS employs more than 20,000. Greg will ensure the city's workforce development and economic policies align with the needs of this industry.

Actually Greg this is wrong. As usual. UPS certainly had more than 200 employees in Louisville in the early 1980's. In fact in 1981 they added even more employees to start the whole 2nd Day Air plan that evolved into the UPS operations we have in Louisville today. Additionally, Greg if this is your plan for jobs keep it. The majority of UPS jobs in Louisville are part time and no one can live on that.

Do we want to be known as the aging capital of the World? Seriously? That is not manufacturing growth and in fact Kindred itself has had so many lawsuits for substandard care, why would you base your jobs plan on continuing that tradition. Of course we all know Almost Family is owned by the Democrats current favorite son John Yarmuth and they get more than 80% of their funding on our tax dollars through medicare/medicaid.

FAIL

2. Reclaiming Louisville's historic manufacturing economy through new 21st Century clean-energy jobs. Louisville should be known as the world's leader in manufacturing energy-efficient appliances at GE and fuel-efficient cars at Ford. Greg will work hand-in-hand with the top executives of GE and Ford and other companies to bring more manufacturing jobs to Louisville. As a co-founder of an international manufacturing company, Greg has the experience needed to attract, retain, and grow this sector.

Explain your leadership experience to Louisville in regards to attracting jobs. You have not brought one job to Louisville that is verifiable. In fact GE and Ford have been well on the way to this marketing approach already. Ford will be retooling starting in December and will shut down for 10 months to accomplish just that. GE already is manufacturing energy efficient appliances because of consumer demand. Of course many of those are imported from Mexico and other places.

FAIL

3. Slashing government red tape that hampers local businesses by reducing the time for permitting construction and other projects. Greg will make Louisville an easy place to do business by implementing a "Make It Happen!" policy in city government - closely monitoring and continuously improving the time it takes businesses, contractors, and residents to receive city approvals. Greg will make Louisville an easy place for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses.

Since you have spent the majority of your time working outside of Louisville you have no relevant experience to bring to this effort. In fact while many have been leading the way towards trying to streamline the red tape towards a faster way of getting business done your brethren and leader Abramson has abused the Planning and zoning department for his own benefit. How so? By "closely monitoring" all aspects and forcing business out of here when they didn't pay to play.

FAIL

4. Making Louisville a leader in GREEN — green construction, green buildings, green jobs. Greg will put incentives in place to encourage the construction of green buildings, especially LEED-certified structures (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), in everything from homes to business offices. Greg will also place a renewed emphasis on the revitalization of Brownfields, such as the Park Hill corridor, and he'll use the 100-mile Louisville Loop and the city's renowned arts, parks and neighborhoods to attract companies and people to Louisville.

Once again no substance. What incentives will you put in place? Green buildings? We already are screwing up those that we have pursued. Renewed emphasis on Brownfields? Sorry Greg that just does not compute. Th e100 mile loop is yet another example of por planning and wasted resources and will do absolutely nothing, even when completed and if it worked as designed, to bring new business to Louisville. Companies do not relocate here because of the loop they relocate here because of friendly government. Way to reach out to the River Fields base.

FAIL

5. Building a 21st Century business park in the Renaissance Zone. The Louisville Regional Airport Authority has hundreds of acres of land south of the airport available for redevelopment. Known as the Renaissance Zone, the area could be Louisville's next major commerce center, similar to Riverport. Greg will help lead this effort by convening the city and airport leaders with local developers, MSD and state and federal officials to build the necessary infrastructure (roads, sewers, etc) that will attract development and industry.

One more fail Greg. If we are to compare the Renaissance Zone to Riverport than we must be honest. For starters the Renaissance Zone is still not empty as was promised years ago. The last figure I know of to relocate the rest that are stuck was $20 million and that was a few years ago. Until this is done no real discussion can take place.

Additionally. Riverport is a revolving door of temporary worker jobs. With a majority of those jobs low wage distribution jobs that rely on temporary workers to succeed this is not a great argument for Renaissance Zone.

FAIL

6. Developing the next generation of logistics in Louisville. One of Louisville's biggest competitive advantages is our logistics sector and the city's location in the center of North American commerce. Greg will identify the next generation of logistics. Instead of just shipping products, for example, Louisville should become a leader in adding value for companies. For example, UPS Third Party Logistics center not only ships computers, it repairs them in Louisville.

Um Greg? You just admitted you didn't know what the next generation of logistics are. Additionally you just outlined yet another plan for few jobs if any and mainly part time low wage jobs at that.

From a logistics standpoint we have everything already that we can build on. Air, Rail, water. We also have the foundations for what you list above with distribution possibilities that are already existent.

Once again Yawn.

FAIL

7. Building the bridges and Museum Plaza for immediate and long-term jobs. Greg will build two new bridges, starting with the East End bridge immediately as planned in the Record of Decision, which will create tens of thousands of construction and other jobs. He will also do everything possible to start construction of Museum Plaza and the new VA Hospital, which also will create thousands of construction and permanent jobs.

First Greg has been on the record as wanting to fulfill the ORBP plan in its entirety even though the majority do not want it. After being called to task on it several times he backpedaled a bit and finally agreed to build the East end bridge first. Of course this was after his competition in Hal Heiner had already stated he would. By the way his theory of producing tens of thousands of jobs has already been proven false by just about anybody. At best it will create a few thousand jobs, not the ens of thousands he is still trying to portray, and they will be temporary construction jobs.

The VA hospital is just one more area Greg is proving t be out of touch on. The majority of the citizens and Vets do not want the VA hospital moved to a Downtown location at a cost of over $700 million.

FAIL

8. Growing the local food economy to create jobs and help Louisville feed itself. Create the Urban Agriculture Program to attract people from across the country to live and raise food in urban areas and on vacant lots. Greg will also help develop food processing plants so local growers can process their goods for the market and utilize UPS to ship fresh Louisville produce and products globally.

Not feasible Greg. Even now we are trying to establish "Farmer's Markets" and a fresh food approach. It isn't working well for one main reason. The local government continually tries to manipulate the farmers in this regard. Case in point? Check out the Okolona Farmer's Market on any day they are open. They have maybe 2 or 3 booths and they are not allowed to self price their products. In short they cannot sell their products at a price they want. Price control kills this initiative Greg.

Additionally nice spin wording on utilizing UPS. Anyone can utilize UPS now without any help from you. Let's see the co ops and private growers sell their products locally on their own competitive terms first then make a case.

Nice pandering though.

FAIL

9. Linking Louisville and Fort Knox and making Southwest Jefferson County a hub for the military/defense sector. Greg will lead an effort to position Louisville-Fort Knox as a civilian military jobs hub by attracting security and defense manufacturing jobs, and transforming Southwest Jefferson County into a thriving business and recreational center between Fort Knox and downtown Louisville. This will be part of a larger military jobs hub that is developing from Indianapolis to Ft. Campbell and includes military defense contractors and military posts.

This is original? Welcome to the bandwagon. Myself, Chris Thieneman, and many others have been advocating including the SW for years. The unlimited growth potential is enormous in this area because of the Ft Knox connection. We have advocated for it and we have also included one phase you have not. The Southwest corridor bridge at the Gene Snyder. By building it you complete the South portion of the loop and give us another alternative means of transportation which will be more attractive in building business here as well.

FAIL

10. Making Louisville a business-friendly, entrepreneurial "can do" city. Greg will create the Economic Innovation Center to build on the exclusive strengths of Louisville's economy, from aging care to logistics to the 100-mile Louisville Loop. The office will focus on the business sectors and industries that make Louisville unique and set it apart from other cities - and determine how to grow those sectors. On top of this strategy will be a relentless entrepreneurial focus by Greg, who will infuse city operations with a "can do", attitude where we use our size as a competitive advantage to be quicker and better than the cities we compete against.

This is a synopsis of everything above that will be a dismal failure with a Fischer Mayor.

What sets us apart now is our inability to compete because of high taxation and an overreaching local government. A dictator style of governing and a strong arm Mayor.

Unfortunately, Greg Fischer is more of the same............

ONE MAN'S OPINION ON THE BECK RALLY

And no it isn't mine. While the mainstream media continually tries to make Glenn Beck a racist this writer actually gets it. While not a Glenn Beck fan myself, I always pay attention to how the mainstream portrays anything or anyone they disagree with and Beck fits that mold. This article can be found here: A Black Man Goes To Glenn Beck's Rally - HUMAN EVENTS

Here is the text:

A Black Man Goes To Glenn Beck's Rally
by Jerome Hudson

08/31/2010

To hear the mainstream media tell the story, you would have thought that I, a black man, had walked into a hornet’s nest of racists when I decided to attend Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally. In reality, my experience was the complete opposite.

Instead of hooded Klansman frothing with hate and venom, I made dozens of new Facebook friends and gained a hundred Twitter followers.

One lady from New Jersey asked me if I was "afraid" because I was one of the "few blacks in attendance?"

I looked at her square in the eye and said, "Ma'am, the only thing I'm afraid of is that if I don't hurry, I'm not going to make it to the restroom in time."

We spoke of family, laughed, shared and she wept as she embraced me with hugs and kisses while thanking me for being there. (What a complete bigot, that lady!)

Beck's rally was meant to restore faith hope and charity in America. And that was the spirit of the day.

To be sure, I was one of the few blacks there that historic day. I'm sure to many I stuck out like a sore thumb. Or, perhaps more aptly, like a chocolate chip smack dab in the middle of a giant sugar cookie.

Perhaps that's why I was interviewed by at several news outlets.

When asked how long I had been waiting for the event to begin, I turned all three interviewers' faces to stone when I replied, "about 24 hours." I'm sure they thought I was kidding, but I wasn't.

Like most Americans, I've had enough with this administration's policies. I was fed up and fired up.

I am even more so in the wake of the most moving gathering I've ever been privileged to be a part of.

At one point, some of the people attending the Rev. Al Sharpton's "counter rally," coined "Reclaiming King," stopped me. I guess they must have been judging me by the color of my skin not the content of my character, because they asked if I was going to come join them.

"No, I won't be there," I told them. "Why?" one of them asked with a grimace on his face. I looked at him and said, "I want to be where the Lord is and the Lord is in this place."

One of the older black women in the group asked me if I felt like I was "selling out" for being one of the "tokens" in the Beck rally crowd?

I laughed and said "Ma'am, Al Sharpton is a pretender. He is going to tell you to pretend that the color of your skin matters. He is going to ask you to ignore the now overwhelming proof that 50 years after the Civil Rights movement, blacks are now destroying each other faster than the KKK could have dreamed."

As I walked away, the group stood frozen, not knowing how to reply.

Later, as Sharpton preached a divisive message void of actual solutions on how to "close the education and economic gap" in the "black community," Dr. Alveda King, Martin Luther King's niece, invoked the spirit of her slain uncle proclaiming, "I too have a dream, that white privilege will become human privilege and that people of every ethnic blend will receive everyone as brothers and sisters in the love of God.”

Her comments on restoring the "foundation of the family" in America were met, not with boos, but with a thunderous applause.

(What bigots those white folks! Having the audacity to cheer Dr. King's niece like that. Racists the whole lot of them!)

I was probably the only 24-year old black college student in the crowd. It's hard to know, because we had over 300,000 people there. But that didn't matter to me. As we all stood hand-in-hand, American shoulder to American shoulder, our myriad faces streaked with tears as we sang "Amazing Grace." It was a moment I will be proud to tell my grandkids about one day.

What that moment taught me is this: Something profound is happening in America that runs far deeper than politics. The ground is shifting, and it's in freedom's direction.

As a nation at war, standing in division and debt, Beck challenged the crowd to return to God.

The message I took away is that we cannot continue to pick at the scab of America's past but must become the balm that heals it. That's the way forward—arm in arm, moving together, toward a better future.

Standing in a crowd that stretched from the Washington Monument to Lincoln Memorial what happened on 8/28 was the most inspirational thing I had ever experienced.

Standing there, unhyphenated and united, this black man has never felt more free in his life.

JUDGE SHAKE RULES ON GARRETT: OPEN SEASON ON WHISTLEBLOWERS

The whistleblower case brought about by Metro employee Eric Garrett just got more interesting to say the least. Judge James Shake overruled an injunction by attorney Shane Sidebottom to halt the order forcing Garrett to take a psychiatric exam. I disagree with this ruling for many reasons.

You can read more about the Eric Garrettt whistleblower case here: http://springston.blogspot.com/search?q=eric+garrett

First of all, there was no evidence presented whatsoever that showed Mr. Garrett was a threat in any way. In fact just the opposite. Loretta Broadnax was the aggressor and this was backed up by witness testimony from Keith Saddler on April 14, 2010.

Secondly, it is very clear from the record that none of these so called charges were brought about until AFTER Garrett had contacted everyone in March including Jennifer Maupin of Human Resources, yep former Deputy Mayor Rick Johnstone's daughter, Janet Black in the ethics Department, and Councilman Hal Heiner.

Third, how in the world can a sitting Judge not see the conflict of interest in this case considering that Broadnax has a history of threatening violence in the workplace, Younis was the one Garrett filed charges against, and has a questionable past herself, and even Jennifer Maupin when she testified stated that she was "only doing what she was ordered to do." Sounds like the Germany-Nuremburg defense; "I was only following orders of the furor…….. " and sadly that is exactly how things are run under the Abramson regime.

Judge Shake even used the testimony of the HR Director Bill Horning who stated that the evaluation was tied to the complaint by Loretta Broadnax and not Garrett's complaint against management.

This would maybe fly if the evidence did not clear Garrett in the charges by Broadnax and she did not have a history in the workplace even going so far as to threaten another employee with a drywall knife. Where is her psych evaluation? How is she still employed? Anyone in the workplace who would do this would be terminated immediately, and before anyone blames this on the union, the union could not save your job in this type of case.

All this because the Abramson cronies are in serious trouble with the feds when the Energy Star Program they have lied about is outed.

The argument in this case was one of "irreparable harm" and is hard to prove admittedly, however, how is there not irreparable harm in this case?

According to Shake's ruling there is no irreparable harm because Eric Garrett can always sue for more money thus reimbursing him for any harm done to him. Huh? The judge is actually telling Garrett that he should sue for more?

Interesting in itself considering that this lame Louisville government ran by the Abramson machine, and those like Younis and Ted Pullen, cost us millions in lost lawsuits.

Yet how else can there be irreparable harm? Simple.

If Garrett is forced to seek a job in the public sector the psych eval will have to be included in his medical disclosure if asked. I know firsthand how this is irreparable harm as I had knee surgery in 2007, was off work for over a year because of complications, and when I searched for work had to disclose this.

I was told by one hiring manager that this was the reason I was not hired. I had not worked since the surgery at that point, thus could not prove that the knee would hold up, and they didn't want liability.

No I won't out who it was because I respect honesty. Most won't be honest and they have no obligation to be by law if you are turned down for a job.

Is this irreparable harm? You bet. It cost me a job and income.

Now what do you think an employer will think who only sees your application and sees you have been under psychiatric care? Do you think you will get an interview and the chance to explain why? Nope.

Irreparable harm is done.

What message does this send to anyone seeking protection under the whistleblower act?

It says that the government will not protect you if you use the law they provided for you. It tells an employer they have the right to retaliate against you for doing your job and alerting them to problems.

It tells us just once again in this case why having a union is important. Without it this case would be gone and no one would ever be the wiser on how things really are in Metro.

This truly is a case of harassment, intimidation, and retaliation and most certainly has and will cause irreparable harm to Eric Garrett.

Stay tuned there will be plenty more to come I assure you...........

MONDAY ROUNDUP

I'm a little under the weather today so here are a couple of stories to start your week. Enjoy!

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL FUTURE: Local Governments Give up Public Hospitals

There are problems looming with public hospitals such as University across the United States and faced with such a bleak economy we have to wonder if this is next here?

Faced with mounting debt and looming costs from the new federal health-care law, many local governments are leaving the hospital business, shedding public facilities that can be the caregiver of last resort.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this health care bill hurts more than it helps if this statement rings true. At a a time when many feel we do not have enough hospitals, or Doctors in the US as it is, what happens when up to 20% close because of the health care reform? Read further.

More than a fifth of the nation's 5,000 hospitals are owned by governments and many are drowning in debt caused by rising health-care costs, a spike in uninsured patients, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and payments on construction bonds sold in fatter times. Because most public hospitals tend to be solo operations, they don't enjoy the economies of scale, or more generous insurance contracts, which bolster revenue at many larger nonprofit and for-profit systems.

Pay close attention folks this situation will only get worse across America and will eventually find its way here as well.


WILLIAMS/FARMER FOR GOVERNOR: Al Cross over at the CJ had an interesting article on a Williams/ Farmer Gubernatorial run on Sunday. Williams/Farmer ticket is a go. According to Cross:

Barring any 11th-hour misgivings, Williams appears to have persuaded Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer to run for lieutenant governor on his slate. He needed Farmer in order to make an early announcement, which now seems to be forthcoming.

I spoke with David Williams a couple of weeks ago at a Dan Seum fundraiser and I came away 99.9 % sure this was a done deal. If it proves true (and I am sure it will) this will be the most formidable challenge to Beshear next year. While everyone knows Abramson hurts Beshear for a reelection there ha s not been anyone strong enough announced yet to beat him.

Of course this is assuming Beshear doesn't implode after Abramson leaves the ticket early in the race next year due to some info coming that he just doesn't want out there. ;-) But I digress.

Republican challenger Phil Moffett and his running mate Mike Harmon have already announced but many don't see that team overcoming a Williams/Farmer ticket in the primary and rest assured at least one more candidate will make an announcement in this race soon.

Meanwhile, there is also the ever vigilant Gatewood Galbraith independent candidacy going on. Gatewood and running mate Dea Riley have already been campaigning for over a year and it will be interesting to see just how much grassroots support they have been able to muster up in the interim.

Meanwhile Cross also states:

A cn2 poll last month gave Beshear a 69 percent job-approval rating, but a Rasmussen Reports poll at about the same time had it at 54 percent. That is still good for a Kentucky incumbent in the party of Barack Obama, but Williams says his polling shows that Beshear's support is soft and many voters are persuadable. Last month he released a memo from his pollster saying a survey showed him and Farmer running only 1 percentage point behind Beshear and Abramson.

There simply is no way Beshear's rating is as high as cn2 reported. Honestly, at this juncture the cn2 polls in any race should be discounted. They simply have not measured up in my opinion to the proven pollsters.

Wiliams has already taken a bold step by making this announcement last week with Senator Dan Seum. JCPS Busing plan

THIS GUY SHOULD BE OUR NEXT COUNTY ATTORNEY: MICHAEL WILSON

Finally. Yep just one more example of the Louisville political hacks getting it wrong. Read this from the CJ today Michael Wilson gets it right. A recent Kentucky Supreme Court decision could impact how Jefferson District Court hears future appeals of citations issued under Louisville’s smoking ban.

But what this means goes so much deeper than the smoking ban and goes to the heart of the power plays by the code enforcement board itself. I have outlined so many stories of abuse of power throughout this site on this board that I just can't repeat them all here.

From corrupt officials like Councilwoman Madonna Flood's felon husband John Flood, to Bill Schrek and Charlie Cash. I even included those such as former Chair Judith Francis and yep even Metro Councilman Jim King.

The state’s high court ruled Thursday that district courts can hear new evidence and testimony in cases appealed from local code enforcement boards. Previously, district courts made rulings based solely on a review of the code enforcement board’s record of the cases.

With this ruling we finally have at least one avenue of redress in code enforcement cases.

Previously, as noted above, the courts routinely just glanced at what was given them by the board and basically rubber stamped the outcomes. Now they will have to allow more evidence, and presumably this would include live testimony etc, so the courts ultimately cannot rubber stamp but must rule on the merits.

In short, we now have a chance to at least make sure the courts are aware of ALL evidence instead of the handpicked evidence by the code enforcement board itself. That is a good thing towards the sunshine we are all seeking.

Meanwhile, what does all this have to do with Michael Wilson?

Everything.

Michael has been pursuing this particular case, in regards to the inept smoking ban, on behalf of charitable gaming, led by President Kaven Rumpel, who spent thousands as instructed by the Metro Council for separate smoking facilities only to have the Abramson Democratic hacks screw them on the expenditure.

The city’s original smoking ban allowed exemptions for facilities operated by private organizations. The law has subsequently been changed twice and now allows no such exemptions.

And this has been the rub. Most of the charitable bingo halls are privately owned and the charities are private charitable organizations. They were first told to have separate ventilated facilities and spent tens of thousands of dollars per establishment to comply.

This added expense to the halls was then thrown right back in their face when the Democrat hacks in the Abramson regime disallowed even separate facilities that they themselves told these businesses that this would bring them in compliance. They forced these businesses to pay for the facilities while knowingly working on a way to ban them as well. It was deceitful and possibly illegal.

Of course current County Attorney candidate Michael Wilson was right and won this case.

Government had overstepped its bounds costing even more money to the business and charities involved.

The city’s original smoking ban allowed exemptions for facilities operated by private organizations. The law has subsequently been changed twice and now allows no such exemptions.

This is a key statement as it shows they had to change the law twice to get what they wanted. A total ban.

While the idiots in government were trying to figure out how to accomplish this they erroneously kept piling up fines and harassing those who were in compliance with the law and that is unacceptable.

Jefferson District Court had ruled that Wilson’s clients should not have been cited under the original ban. That decision was appealed by the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office. The case eventually made it to the high court.

And here once again the County Attorney's office, led by the ring leader Abramson appointee himself Mike O'Connell decided, *cough* entirely on their own, to waste our money trying to defend yet another poor decision by the Abramson machine. Of course since O'Connell was appointed by Abramson the law had to be set aside when Abramson told him just do it right? O'Connell apparently must do as he is told to protect himself after all.

And that is not conducive to trusting someone we must trust to uphold the law as it is written. It is just one more reason I like this decision.

Michael Wilson beat this Democratic political hack Mike O'Connell because the law is supposed to be followed not used arbitrarily in a quest for personal gain. Wilson argued at the Supreme Court and won.

Does anyone realize how hard that is to do? O'Connell certainly could not have done it as evidenced by his party partisan hack ways in this case.

The sad part is this may not be over.

Thanks to the asinine way this was handled, as is usual by this office and the Abramson appointees, I wonder what the cost will be to we the taxpayers when the charitable halls win their lawsuit to reimburse them for the tens of thousands they lost because the City told them separate ventilated areas were legal knowingly misleading them.

This literally will cost a million easily, and dependent on punitive damages, quite a bit more.

Assistant Jefferson County Attorney Bill O’Brien declined to comment on the ruling, saying his office needs to study it and determine its implications.

Translation? We know we are screwed so who do we "owe" that can fight this losing battle and increase the costs down the road. That is what we are used to right? Look at the police, the firefighters, and practically every other case this Abramson machine has fought AND LOST with appointee Mike O'Connell as County attorney. Deny and delay has worked out well for them so far hasn't it?

Wilson, who is the Republican candidate running for Jefferson County Attorney and argued the case before the Supreme Court, said he thinks the new ruling will mean his clients don’t have to pay the $50 fines.

He said there are dozens of such cases waiting to be resolved.

And this will cost us plenty.

As usual thanks Jerry.

COME ON FEDS GET REAL

As almost anyone with half a brain knew or could have predicted the economy is NOT getting any better. According to this, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=ORROS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT, new figures issued Friday show the economy struggled this spring, growing at a meager 1.6 percent annual pace. The initial estimate was 2.4 percent, and even that was anemic. Analysts say the summer should be disappointing, too.
You don't say.

The fact is this economy has been going in the wrong direction for many years and the only ones benefitting from it are the banks thanks to our elected leaders shortsightedness.

Shortly after the government's revision, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said the Fed was ready to take additional steps to prevent a second recession, if the economy deteriorates further. But he stopped short of promising any action.

He can't promise any actuion as they have no plan. Thereis only so much money you can print without backing it up with securities and it is gimmicky at best anyway. There also can be no "second" recession if we are still in the current one. Most of us know that. why don't they?

The Fed "will do all that it can to ensure continuation of the economic recovery," he said.

Like what? Even more bank bailouts, that by any measurable standard have failed to accomplish what they were intended to do, and all from the working man's taxes.

In the first quarter of the year, the economy grew much faster, at a 3.7 percent pace. Since then, though, the housing market has slumped after the expiration of a homebuyer tax credit, and business spending and manufacturing activity are both cooling off.

We all knew that the home buyer credit was gimmick financing and once expired would eliminate the illusion that the housing market was making a recovery. In fact, if the banks had been willing to work with homeowners in the first place the industry may be far better off.

Manufacturing base? What base? The manufacturing in this Country has been downsized so far that we have to consistently rely on imports and that is totally unacceptable. America has always been a powerhouse because of our manufacturing base not the gimmick money policies that have become a way of life from the Fed.

If banks were doing their job working with homeowners, for example, the rate of foreclosures in the Country would be far less than what we have today. The banks foreclose, show the homes as a loss on the books, and inflate their earnings while many lose everything they have worked for their whole life. Instead of taking bailout tax money they could focus on loan mods and get something in return. Instead they have opte dto have us pay trhem and then watch as these foreclosed homes sit on the market and deteriorate in our neighborhoods.

They don't suffer and why would they? We have clearly shown that the same taxpayers that they are foreclosing on will bail them out through the fed.

Bernanke, speaking to a Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., acknowledged the economy has slowed more than policymakers had anticipated and said it is "vulnerable to unexpected developments."

Unexpected? The only thing most Americans do expect is that the economy will get much worse.

Bernanke outlined several options, including having the Fed buy more securities, most likely government debt or mortgage investments, as a way to drive down interest rates on all sorts of debt and spur more spending that might get the economy going.

Been there done that. The fact is that shoring up Fannie Mae for example has really not helped much. There has been practially no loan mods approved that were supposed to help reduce interest for homes already. Why would we expect any different now? Hold the banks accountable for their failures not we the taxpayer.

Bernanke made clear "he is willing to act to ensure that the recovery remains on the right path," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities.

That reassured the financial markets, which rose sharply after the Fed chairman's speech. The Dow Jones industrial average finished 164 points higher and back over 10,000, and broader markers registered solid gains.

The market is making money so here is a question for each of you? Have you benefitted from Bernanke's statements? Are these the same statements we have been hearing over and over again?

The fact is that most who benefit from the market fluctuations are not the average citizen but the money elite. The market has not generated any jobs that would alleviate our problems and will not in today's uncertain future. Need proof?

How much the government could help at this point is an open question. The Fed has already lowered its key short-term interest rate to nearly zero, but that has yet to rejuvenate the economy. The benefits of federal stimulus programs are fading, and Congress has declined to pass any major new aid.

Bernanke said the prospect of high unemployment for a long period is a central concern for the Fed...

The Fed chief said the foundation is being laid for stronger growth in 2011: Households are saving more and healthier banks are more willing to lend. That should boost consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

You cannot have stronger growth in 2011 without stronger growth in the small business sector. And you most certainly cannot have stronger growth if the banks are not doing their job instead opting to shore up their own interests with our tax bailout money. From the many businessmen I speak with everyday the banks simply are not lending money.

Until this is resolved we will continue hearing the same old rhetoric and achieving the same old results. In short nothing will change. In 2011 or beyond.

Still, the report for April to June showed that economic growth was reduced by a surge of imports in June and a smaller buildup in business inventories than previously estimated.

Without the trade deficit, the economy would have grown at a healthy 5 percent pace. Instead, the gap essentially subtracted 3.4 percentage points, the biggest hit from a trade imbalance since 1947.

Notice where it says the trade deficit screwed us? I agree. This shows the need for America to wake up and become self sustaining once again. We owe nothing to the rest of the world, in fact I would say they owe us.

How many Nations do we support financially with borrowed funds at our own expense? How much of this money could we use here at home today?

Bernanke and many private economists seem to think that was mostly an aberration. As businesses pare back their spending on inventories and reduce investment in new equipment, imports should decline and come more into alignment with exports, they say.

I don't know about you, but it is past time we keep falling for the rhetoric, and start getting involved in changing the leadership that has created this mess in the first place.

Wake up America your Country needs you!

MARTIN RELEASE ON DISMISSAL

The Ed Martin campaign released this statement late yesterday on the dismissal of the charges by the GOP. While he may have been gracious in his response I most certainly will not be. The GOP should be held accountable by their actions in this case.

Considering that the charges were brought about by a mentally challenged man in David Caldwell Louisville News and Politics: CALDWELL DISMISSES HIMSELF FROM CHARGES AGAINST MARTIN, with disregard for him, and the fact that the Vice Chairman of the local GOP himself Cordell Lawrence aided and abetted no this should not be forgotten or handled graciously.

Exerting political pressure with yet another insider suspect individual, attorney and LD chair Vincent Heuser Jr., while knowing the state of Caldwell was inexcusable. I work with and on behalf of those physical and mentally challenged individuals in our community, including my own godson, and I most certainly do not take this situation lightly accordingly.

Meanwhile, here is Ed Martin's response:

Ed Martin received notice Friday afternoon that Jefferson County Republican Party vice chairman Cordell Lawrence has voluntarily dismissed the suit challenging the Libertarian candidate’s right to appear on the ballot for the 3rd District Congressional seat.

The suit alleged that at least 115 signers of Martin’s petition for inclusion on the ballot were not registered in the district and that several signatures did not belong to the person listed on the petition.

“We believed this lawsuit was baseless and it looks like the Republicans have come to their senses.” Martin said. “Quite frankly, bullying a grass roots third party campaign through the legal system comes off kind of desperate, and that’s no way win the hearts and minds of the people. To their credit, I think they realized that.”

A similar suit against independent candidate Michael Hansen was also dropped.

Lawrence’s change of heart came just one day after Martin campaign chairman Ronald Seiter sent an email to the Todd Lally’s campaign asking that the Republican candidate publicly call for the suit’s dismissal.

The Lally campaign has denied any involvement in the suit.

Seiter said he was just glad to have the whole thing resolved.

“I have no doubt that we would have prevailed in court, but I’m glad we don’t have to deal with the distraction. Now we can focus our full attention on the issues and showing the people of Louisville that Ed has real solutions to the problems they face,” he said. “I think the actions of the Republicans prove that our candidacy is credible and legitimate. Now we are going to get busy demonstrating that to the people of the 3rd District.”

YARMUTH OPENS MOUTH AND INSERTS FOOT

Anyone who is following politics at all, and those that need to after all it is OUR future at stake, really should not let this pass. While perusing the internet today I found this article http://kentucky.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/08/yarmuth-stumbles-into-the-truth/

3rd Congressional District incumbent, and Democratic candidate John Yarmuth, appeared on Mandy Connell’s show on WHAS Aug. 27. From the article:

During a discussion on the federal health care bill, Connell asked Yarmuth where he believes Congress gets the authority to require every American to purchase health insurance.
Predictably, Yarmuth appealed to the commerce clause.

So Connell asked the logical follow-up question: what can’t the federal government do if it can mandate citizens to buy a product?

In a candid moment, Yarmuth provided a revealing answer.

“It really doesn’t prohibit the government from doing virtually anything – the federal government. So I don’t know the answer to your question, because I am not sure there is anything under current interpretation of the commerce clause that the government couldn't do."

Interesting enough right? Yet the article went on to state the obvious:

But as a supporter of the recently passed health care legislation, Yarmuth clearly embraces a broad enough interpretation of the Constitution to assert that the government possesses the power to require Americans to buy something.

Consider that John Yarmuth has a multi million dollar investment in his family's Almost Home business, run by his brother, and they derive over 80% of their income from medicare and medicaid payments, this is an alarming statement.

The healthcare legislation passed essentially requires that we must purchase health insurance. Guess who benefits. 3rd District Democratic congressman John Yarmuth.

The fact that a sitting US Congressman led a major role in the passage of this healthcare reform, while stating that the government can do anything it wants to, surely should alarm all of us. In fact, there should be serious repercussions for any sitting congressman/woman who is allowed to vote on any legislation that they will directly benefit from in the first place.

And whether he realizes it or not, his elastic view of constitutional authority just ran him smack-dab into a very frightening truth. If the Constitution doesn’t mean what it means, it means nothing at all.

I can't say it any better. If we do not believe in the intent of the Constitution then we have serious fundamental issues in this Country that go beyond the divisive issues so many get hung up on. Indeed this goes to the heart and soul of America itself, and we must stand together regardless of party affiliation to get back to what the hell we are supposed to be about..

Yarmuth essentially asserts that the federal government has power over everything. This is a blatant disregard by Yarmuth, and in my opinion shared by many others on both sides of the aisle, of just what we are to be. It also explains why we are falling so much further behind and cannot seem to get on track as a people in our great Nation.

What once was the greatest Nation on earth is slowly losing its ability to remain so. Thanks in large part to the attitude now vocalized by Congressman Yarmuth.

If this statement is true as the author writes, "And the federal government has sweeping power – over everything. Also known as tyranny."

Then one question remains.

What will you do about it?

CHARGES AGAINST ED MARTIN DROPPED

This just in and yep it is an exclusive! The suit brought about by the GOP against 3rd District Libertarian Ed Martin, and Independent Michael Hansen, has been dropped as of this afternoon.

According to the dismissal:

Plaintiff Cordell Lawrence, by counsel, and pursuant to BR41.01, voluntarily dismisses this action.

As we know co plaintiff David Caldwell voluntarily withdrew yesterday citing his inability to continue. Now we have even more questions.

What exactly was the Republican Party leadership thinking in the first place? Seriously, everyone knows the local GOP has been hijacked by a Washington lobbyist insider in John McCarthy but is this the legacy they want to be known for? The local GOP is making pathetic desperate mistakes since it was hijacked and it is hurting good legitimate people in the party accordingly.

Why would they withdraw now? Perhaps because they got caught using someone who needs professional help to do their dirty work for them. Personally I think they just verified it.

Did Vice Chair Cordell Lawrence act on orders from the Executive committee? If he didn't he must be removed from his position. Did he act on behalf of Todd Lally? If so he must be removed from his position.

Accordingly, since Attorney Vincent Heuser Jr. pursued this because of political pressure on behalf of the party, and presumably Todd Lally, then he has some serious ethical concerns to be checked out and should be removed from the LD Chair.

I may have to check into the bar and the JCC to see if there are any charges to be brought. No biggie I have done it before. Remember Jim King? I won that one and will again if I go that route.

When asked about the dismissal Martin stated:

"I am glad this is behind us and look forward to making this race primarily about issues instead of tactical politics."

While I agree with focusing on issues instead of party politics, I also believe that this erroneous power play by the party is THE issue right now. I left the Democratic party because of asinine leadership pulling these cheap political stunts. I joined the Republican Party primarily to vote for my candidate in the Republican Party primary. I stuck around for a bit in hopes that maybe the Republicans could inspire me.

I should have known better.

Todd Lally is no choice for anyone in this election. He has no ideas, no solutions, and apparently no integrity. This is what led to this whole fiasco. Instead of manning up and speaking with Martin directly, like I told Lally to do many times when he kept asking what it would take to get Ed out of the race, he chose instead to hide behind this childish erroneous attempt to get him out of the race.

He couldn't man up and do the right thing by contacting Ed to discuss the situation instead he opted to hide behind this theatrical production. That is not a leader but a scared child in the making. We cannot have that in Washington folks. The stakes are too high and our problems too serious to pin our hopes on someone who can't even do the right thing here at home.

More importantly the fact that all involved used, and tried to hide behind, someone who has serious problems and needs professional help should be a sign for everyone that they are about as bad as it gets.

I have often believed that you could tell the character of someone by how they treat old people and animals. I believe that should apply equally to how you treat those who cannot help themselves as well.

The Lally campaign and the local GOP that includes a Vice Chair named Cordell Lawrence, a Washington lobbyist named John McCarthy, and an apparently bought and paid for attorney called Vincent Heuser, Jr, should be greatly ashamed of themselves and resign from any political position and/or campaign immediately.

I will be looking into charges against the attorney for knowingly using someone who was not of "sound mind" in David Caldwell. I will additionally be looking into possible charges against Cordell Lawrence and the GOP, as well as, candidate Todd Lally.

None of us deserve this from any of them.

MARTIN TELLS LALLY DISMISS THE SUIT

3rd Congressional Libertarian Candidate Ed Martin sent this out in response to the Lally campaign apparent attempt to try and get him off the ballot. Here is the press release.

Martin Urges Lally Campaign to Ask for Dismissal of Suit

LOUISVILLE - On Thursday, the Ed Martin campaign called upon Republican Todd Lally to publicly ask for a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit attempting to keep the Libertarian candidate, along with independent candidate Michael Hansen, off the ballot.

Martin received notice of the suit on Tuesday. The complaint, filed by David Caldwell and Jefferson County Republican Party vice chairman Cordell Lawrence, challenges Martin’s eligibility to appear on the ballot in the race for the Kentucky 3rd Congressional District seat currently held by Democrat John Yarmuth. The suit alleges that at least 115 signers of Martin’s petition for inclusion on the ballot are not registered in the district and that several signatures did not belong to the person listed on the petition.

Caldwell has since had his name removed from the suit.

Martin asserts that the suit lacks any merit.

In an email to Lally, campaign manager Jay Hill, Martin campaign chairman Ron Seiter called upon the Republican to publicly ask that the suit be dismissed.

"When Ed filed his paperwork, Jay told cn2 politics that Lally welcomed us into the race and even said it would be good for America," Seiter said. "Well, if that’s the case, it would seem Todd would be eager to see this lawsuit dismissed so we can get on with the campaign and the work of presenting Louisvillians with some real solutions to their problems."

In a Courier Journal story published Thursday, the Lally campaign denied any connection with the suit. But Hill admitted that Martin could pull some conservative votes from Lally, telling the paper, "Martin certainly won't take votes from John Yarmuth."

And Vincent Heuser Jr., the attorney who filed the suit, admitted to the Courier Journal that one of the motivators for legal action was fear that Martin and Hansen would take votes from Lally, and that the ideal outcome was to have both candidates off the ballot.

This stands at odds with Hill’s statement when Martin entered the race back in June.

"At this critical junction in our country’s history, we need people with great ideas and we want to welcome Mr. Martin to the race," he told cn2 Politics. "Because in the long run this race is about Americas future and we need all the ideas we can get."

Seiter said that he just wants to get the issue behind him so he can get on with presenting Martin’s solutions to the problems facing citizens in the 3

"The GOP in this city needs to quit these desperate tactics. Let's all run a nice clean campaign, and for once, stick to the issues. While the GOP is focusing on 'winning', people can’t find jobs, businesses are going under, and none of the politicians are offering any solutions. It is getting disgusting."

REALLY GREG FISCHER? THIS IS HUGE?

While browsing the blogosphere today I ran across this the latest from Rick Redding over at ulocal on WLKY Developers Get Behind Fischer - Louisville, KY, United States, 40299 - WLKY's u local Local Voices post - u local, Your Kentu.... This is just more proof of why Greg Fischer does not need elected and is just more of the same as the Abramson power regime.

Fischer apparently thinks that this big fundraiser he is having tonight will have such a dramatic effect on Hal Heiner because these are Contractors and they like Fischer. Um Greg get a clue. You yourself contributed money to both sides during elections and know full well that that is how the game is played.

Redding stated this:

I'll bet a lot of folks on this list are also giving money to Heiner, hedging their bets in what looks to be a close election by showing support to both sides. Developers and builders, as much as any industry, need the help of local government when it comes time to get favorable zoning decisions. And local government is behind a lot of construction contracts. So this is just how the game is played.

Of course it is.

The fact is most of these business donors do contribute to both sides thus covering their base. Old game tried and true. No Greg, Hal Heiner will be just fine and will receive his share. The fact that Fischer is trying to act like this is a huge deal tells you just how desperate he really is in this election.

Looking at the names on his donor list proves it even more. Though his list of names does include some of the same boring old money interests, that have held Louisville back in so many ways I can't count, there are a couple that clearly stand out and show Fischer is more of the same. I will name two of them.

Jack Dulworth you may recall has been the subject of a couple of articles on this site and was one of the biggest crooks of all while serving with Planning and zoning. Pay to play was alive and well and Jack controlled the strings. You did it his way, bought him off, or were blackballed for standing against him. Read more here for a brief history: Louisville News and Politics: Search results for jack dulworth

The second name that has come on the radar is none other than Bill Bardenwerper. Bardenwerper was complicit in many of these schemes. Maybe not for doing the dirty work himself but certainly for jumping ship out of fear of Dulworth. Not a great sign for an attorney you hire to represent you. He was scared to stand up to corruption for fear of Jack and his own personal interests. No wonder he became a part of the machine. Protection. Sounds like mob racket doesn't it?

In fact listen in below to this tape of a convo with Chris Thieneman in 1998 where Bardenwerper confirms that Chris was intentionally being screwed by Bardenwerper for revenge. He also said Hal Heiner was on Jack's shit list as well.

For a long time now Chris has been portrayed as some whack job for standing up against injustice. In Bardernwerper's own voice he clearly shows Thieneman was right and Chris has been fighting against the injustices since. The actual conversation is about 45 minutes long. This version only has roughly the first 10 minutes of it to make for easier listening.

Check it out:

And these are just a couple of examples of why Greg Fischer should not be Mayor. Quite frankly we have had enough of these people and way of life from the Democratic machine here in Louisville. During the 2006 Mayoral race I had a program I called the DTS program. The Drugs,thugs, and slugs program. It was my personal public safety plan of what I intended to do to clean up the streets.

I have since come to the conclusion that until we clean up government the elected leaders like the streets just fine. How can they put together programs to clean up crime when they are part of the crime itself?

We must pay close attention to the thugs and slugs in the Democratic machine politics today. Fischer is proving more and more he is part of that machine. To move forward we must get rid of those that would destroy us for their own personal gain.

That most certainly includes Greg Fischer....

CALDWELL DISMISSES HIMSELF FROM CHARGES AGAINST MARTIN

Lead plaintiff David Caldwell, who filed charges challenging the candidacy of 3rd District Congressional candidates Libertarian Ed Martin and Independent candidate Mike Hansen, has voluntarily dismissed himself from the case leaving GOP Vice Chair Cordell Lawrence as lead plaintiff in this suit. The story given for Caldwell's dismissal was that he was too busy to pursue the case, however, as in most cases there is more to the story.

WLKY's Andy Alcock carried the story tonight. http://www.wlky.com/politics/24775385/detail.html

As my partner Ed Martin is famous for saying in a word? WOW.

Apparently Caldwell was found in front of a computer in the U of L campus library on Friday in a compromising position. LMPD was called and Caldwell was arrested for indecent exposure. I guess he was excited since Friday was when the charges against Martin were made. In the meantime, I know David. Though this does not surprise me in the least I also know David has some serious problems and needs help.

More alarming to me is that the Republican party leadership knows this as well but have no qualms using him as a hound dog for their personal business. David is as gung ho as it gets when he is focused on a problem and the party loves nothing better than to keep him focused. I also believe that they were intricately involved in helping him "decide" on his own to file these erroneous charges by convincing him it would help Todd Lally. Why else did the Vice Chair not stand alone when filing them?

If there is any one thing David is adamant about it is his loyalty to the Republican party. He is one that follows the party blindly and believes any Democrat is a bad one. In many ways, though I am not making excuses for his behavior, it is not his fault.

David was in an accident a few years ago where he was hit by a bus. Most would not have survived it and David has suffered through some problems since then. Guess where. It is quite possible, and many would say probable, that the seed planted to go this route was planted to David by the Republican leadership or a candidate he supports. It is possible the reason that the Vice Chair was put forward as a co complainant is to lend credibility to the case just in case David's troubles became known. They simply did not want to take a chance on losing their perceived credibility in this matter.

By the way the attorney representing the GOP, Vincent F. Heuser is also the 30th LD chair for the GOP. Big surprise huh? And this is not purely intentional harassment? But I digress.

To be used in this manner, whether Caldwell filed the charges himself or with guidance from others, by the Republican Party knowing his difficulties is a testament to just how low they will go just to get elected. It is shameful and it most certainly hurts David and we the voter as well.

Maybe I am being too harsh, maybe not. I fully expect to be chastised by the party over this article but I don't really care. David needs real help not this kind of help.

Because of the implicit behavior of the republican party in this situation I have decided once again to help the Lally campaign myself by giving them a free slogan.

Yep no thanks necessary guys.

From now on you will be affectionately known as the "Lally whackers." I can see the T shirt now with a picture of Todd smiling on the front and the slogan beneath "I am a proud Lally whacker"

Kind of has a familiar ring to it doesn't it?

PRESTON BATES RESIGNS

I have to say I did not expect this. For those who have been following this story Democratic political consultant, and Democratic LD Chair in the 48th District, Preston Bates resigned his post last night prior to the Democratic monthly meeting. You can read what led to this here: Louisville News and Politics: THURSDAY EVENTS.

I phoned Preston to get his side of this situation and was surprised once again. He actually took my call and agreed to meet with me. Considering how I vehemently pursued the Jim King case and Preston's past history working for King I wasn't sure he would.

The first thing I noticed was that Preston was quite open in his responses. The second thing I noted was that though we were polar opposites politically, he truly does care about the party and his beliefs in it. He appears to be a young man who truly does want to make a difference.

So why did he write the letter in question?

Preston stated he did that for a couple of reasons. First to assure the party and John Yarmuth that many were working to get him reelected. Secondly, to let other Democrats know just one way they could help assure a Yarmuth victory. His focus is solely on helping the party to that end.

Considering the content of the letter there was no real surprise with what he stated. The fact is that the tactics he outlined are commonly used and is no secret to anyone who follow Democratic politics. When I was a *cough* Democrat this tactic was frequently explained to many of us so I never felt it a big deal when Preston stated the obvious anyway.

Why resign now?

Preston felt he had no choice. Tim Longmeyer and others were making phone calls and demanding support to oust him immediately and the plan was to use the monthly meeting last night to do just that.

Preston told me he believes that at this crucial juncture during the election season the party did not need such a trivial distraction. He said he feels there were just so many more important things to focus on in helping the Democratic candidates get elected, or reelected, that to waste valuable time over this would harm the purpose.

Though he says the power play by Longmeyer and others is used quite frequently to oust anyone who doesn't do what they are told, he didn't feel that the time to play power politics within the party is now.

Quite honestly there have been many insiders calling me to complain about Longmeyer's strong armed attempts to run the party. Many have told me that Jim King is the one pulling the strings. They tell me that the only reason David James got the nod from the Dems for the 6th District is a political payback from King for James help in the Mayoral primary. Plus the fact that he cannot stand Ken Herndon. They also say many of the Dem faithful do not support James and Longmeyer is playing power politics because of King.

So who really runs the party anyway? Does the Chair run the party, Tim Longmeyer, or does a known criminal run it like Jim King. More importantly why would anyone give King that power. It isn't like he came close in the Mayoral election he lost HUGE, and trust me he will not come close when he tries to run again. I guarantee it.

Anyone who would be led blindly like this certainly does not represent we the people. They represent their own personal wants and desires and the power elite that is destroying us. Longmeyer needs to go. But that's another story on another day. Back to Bates.

Preston says that even though he had plenty of support, and felt he would be victorious if he chose to fight, he decided to resign rather than let Longmeyer use this as a way to divide the party 70 days from election over something so insignificant.

Finally, I asked where that leaves him today and if he planned on leaving the Democratic Party because of these power politics.

Preston said though he disagrees with the party power game he plans to remain in the Democratic party and help get good Democrats elected to office. He maintains he is fully in support of John Yarmuth and is actively campaigning on his behalf.

He even tried to get me to support Yarmuth. I politely declined.

In the meantime I must say I came away impressed with Preston. He seems to be what would be considered a "good" Democrat who truly does not appreciate the way the party has been hijacked for the power elite instead of focusing on those they wish to serve. He seems intent on changing the party for the better.

I may disagree with his stances on many issues but I have to admit.

I kind of like his style.

MARILYN PARKER RESPONDS

I just received a response from Marilyn Parker to the recent Todd Lally article I did Louisville News and Politics: DOES TODD LALLY HAVE ANY REAL SUPPORT?. though Ms. Parker intended it to be a comment to the article itself I will not post it in its entirety which is why I chose this route.

Why? Because the first part of her response I presume was about the article but one paragraph into it she wanted me to post her speech from the JCPS Board meeting the other night and attached it to the comment. This has absolutely nothing to do with this article and I am not giving free publicity to a non candidate on any speech they may have given at this time.

Here is Marilyn's response minus the speech and my comments to them:

Marilyn has left a new comment on your post "DOES TODD LALLY HAVE ANY REAL SUPPORT?":

Ed and Ed. I respect both of you gentlemen. I respect both of your efforts to run for office as I know how time consuming it is. However, the most prudent choice for a libertarian or independent candidacy to be SUCCESSFUL, is to run under the blanket of-- Republican. There is so much at stake in these political runs especially such as a time as this, that it often times gets rough as you well know, exemplified by your necessity to print this article.

Just as I have respect for the two Ed's I also have the utmost respect for two of the finest, conservative gentlemen I know, Todd Lally and Larry Hausman.

Just a couple of things if I may.

First, Ed Martin does not now, nor has he ever had, any ownership interest to the Louisville News and Politics website whatsoever. I began this website long before I met Ed Martin and every article and opinion is mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted.

The extent of Ed Martin and myself has been as co owners of the MyViewMatters Radio Show.

The show is now on hiatus while I work on a new direction for funding. One of the biggest reasons for this is that Martin was Chief financier for the show and since he is a candidate we jointly decided to take this approach. We will not in any way let Martin be accused of any illegal activity, though it is not illegal to do so, by any role he has in funding this show.

We worked for a long time making this show successful, and we compete with just about anyone in town now, as such we will not discredit the MyViewMatters Radio Show in any way. While Ed took the right approach and stepped away, at the same time WKJK refused our ad plan, so we will be on hiatus for a bit longer until I work the funding out.

Secondly, I have seen nothing that would prove the Republican party is any different from the Democratic one. No party will control me or my right to my opinions and voice. I tried the Republican party run during this past primary, after being practically begged to run in the race, and promised great support when I flat out said I did not have the time to run this campaign myself.

None of which came through thus proving to me this party is no different than the other one.

In fact I was a bit encouraged during the last session in Frankfort as the Republican Senate approved SB 53 which would allow independents a voice in the primary. Republican Senator Dan Seum did an excellent job and it got out of committee only to be left alone. I thought it was a great start by the Republicans to become inclusive of all. It was a start to real change by a party on behalf of the people yet today the local Republican Party, and Lally and crew, are trying to deny that right to the outside candidates once again.

By the way they will lose on Monday I am sure of it. then of course they will appeal and and tie it up so Martin can't be on the ballot again. They did it in 2008 and the same old tired game is being played today. This runs contrary to what I hoped was any party finally trying to be inclusive.

Once again proving they have no substance.

When you have the facts on your side and have a real plan with substance to get there you don't resort to these tactics. I certainly expected better than this.

Just my opinion.

I do agree with may of your comments posted in the article. One in particular "Mostly he talks about himself and not the issues." I called Todd on that when he first announced and he has still not even today come up with a plan. He even admitted it to me just a couple of weeks ago at Wildwood.

That is a problem.

Thanks for the kind words I really do appreciate it. But while I also respect your right to do what you do, I simply do not agree with your tactics or most stances.

Thanks again.

UPDATES: ED MARTIN AND PRESTON BATES

Just a couple of quick late updates for you fine folks.

ED MARTIN: Apparently, Ed Martin's accusers have dropped in half. Todd Lally loyalist David Caldwell dropped out of the charges against Martin today citing lack of time or something to that effect. The real story many believe is that he was told to drop out because of the publicity surrounding his closeness to Todd Lally.

Who says we don't make a difference. I am being told by Lally insiders that Caldwell backed out specifically because they are alarmed at what I will divulge. Yep I have much info to share and will continue doing so regardless.

On the other hand, since Todd got worried and Caldwell was asked to back out accordingly, the GOP Vice Chair is still going ahead. Of course he can afford to he is acting like it is a serious concern for the Repubs. I can't wait until Monday when he is proven wrong. They will never learn I guess.

Stay tuned for more as I get it.

PRESTON BATES: I just received a phone call from a Dem insider telling me that Preston Bates voluntarily resigned his position as LD chair for the party. I am told the reasoning was that Preston did not want to put the party through turmoil during election season. I hope to speak with Preston soon to get his side of the situation as he has been dragged through the mud over what many believe is essentially nothing. Hopefully he returns my call.

I wil update more as it becomes available.

DOES TODD LALLY HAVE ANY REAL SUPPORT?

Since the recent attempt to discredit 3rd Congressional candidates Libertarian Ed Martin, and Green Party candidate Michael Hanson by the Lally campaign and the GOP, I decided that in the interest of fairness in negative campaigning I would oblige by their rules. After all the Lally camp has been whining about not getting equal and fair coverage from the media right? Lally chose this right and made this a media event so I will oblige them in the manner they want.

No thanks necessary Todd and crew.

They wanted more media I guess this was there way of getting it. I have always maintained that anyone who chooses to run for office should have equal opportunity to be heard. Lally and the GOP apparently do not believe that. Wonder what they would do if they were not the major party and candidate and the roles were reversed. They would scream about injustice as they already do at every turn.

I have now begun researching the Lally camp and those that supposedly support his candidacy.

For example, Lally has openly courted the Tea Party vote and actively sought support from them. One of the biggest voices within the Tea Party in Louisville is none other than Marilyn Parker. You may recall we had Mrs. Parker on the MyViewMatters Radio Show months ago as an announced, though unofficial candidate, for the 3rd District Congressional race against Todd Lally, Larry Hausman, Jeff Reetz, and the rest.

Here are some excerpts from Parker's facebook page from May in regards to Lally after she dropped out of the race. Why is this important? Simply because Parker is out campaigning for Lally and courting the Tea Party on his behalf.

Check these out.

Marilyn Parker If you like John McCain you will love Todd Lally. Mr Lally is even more liberal than John McCain supporting the UN, staying in Afghanistan for "literacy and women's rights" working in "bipartisan fashion" eliminating earmarks for only one year admittedly hasn't read the KY. constitution and has no plan for jobs creation or healthcare reform. Please forward this to voters.

Marilyn was challenged on her facebook page here:

Justin Ford Heckel Mrs. Parker where did you get all this info on Lally? This time dont ignore me please. Thats crazy to even use Lally in the same sentence as McCain! Hausman was registered Democrat up until June 09. That means he stayed a Democrat all the way through the Clinton and worst of all the Carter years! He says he has been a business man for 20+ years... See More but in that 20+ years he has been in the Tewligans business, doing crack, pot and being a alcoholic! Being a democrat that long should pose a serious question to all CONSERVATIVE voter like I thought you were, "Can we trust his CONSERVATIVE" values? Please let me know where you got this info on Lally. We will see if its true or not. Send the info my way

Her response?

Marilyn Parker I got his stance on the UN when he was interviewed on Clear channel on the ED and ED show and he reiterated it at the TEA debate. He made the bipartisan comment at the TEA debate and also again on the Mandy Connel show where she called him ...out on it. Afghanistan- TEA again. Earmarks off one of his flyer's. Hasn't read the constitition statement ,he didn't know what the tenth ammendment referred to at the debate again and stated that he hadn't read the KY constitution because he has been too busy putting out 2000 yard signs. Look at his website, no plans for jobs or HC. Mostly he talks about himself and not the issues.

I could go on and on but why bother. This is the person who is now trying to use the Tea Party to get a substandard guy elected who she admits is unqualified. Trust me there is a whole lot more. They are discrediting the Tea Party movement obviously. This is one example of why the Tea Party will have trouble sustaining itself because of people like this.

David Caldwell who filed the complaint with the Vice Chair of the GOP openly told Ed Martin at a fundraiser that if Lally did not win the primary he would work for him and help him get elected. So much for "Party" loyalty I guess.

One other comment from Parker?

Marilyn Parker ........once Mr. Reetz turned around and thanked him for his military service after he slung mud at him. I am not a REETZ fan but Lally did what he thought he needed to do,- expose- and he hasn't thought twice about going negative.

The history of negativity is already there and that is what we do not need in our elected officials. We are craving solutions not attacks and Lally falls way short of that even within the network of supporters he surrounds himself with.

In fact I have met so many people at these Republican fundraisers that I cannot count them all but they all have one thing in common. They say they are only voting for Lally to get rid of Yarmuth. None of them have any idea what Lally will do or any idea of any solutions to the problems we all face.

They will vote for Lally simply because they disagree with Yarmuth. That is not a resounding endorsement of Lally.

Recently I listened to a replay of the Les Naiman show from May 16, 2010. The show was obviously pushing a Larry Hausman candidacy but it was interesting when Les stated this at the beginning of the show.

"We are who we are, we are who we hang with, we are who we know."

Though Mr. Naiman and others in the Tea Party are publicly stating they support Lally in this show these words are interesting. If they indeed hold true what does it say about a Lally candidacy supported by those who do not support Lally himself?

More to come...........

GOP VICE CHAIR AND TODD LALLY RUNNING SCARED FROM ED MARTIN

Yesterday I gave you a couple of reports on the plight of 3rd Congressional District Libertarian candidate Ed Martin because of bogus charges filed by his competition Todd Lally and the local GOP. Of course Lally will deny any knowledge but we know better based on previous first hand conversations I have had with him.

Today I received the documents and here they are:

They are even trying to nail Trey Grayson in this.

9. The Secretary of State and County Clerk are charged with certifying that the submissions are “regular on its face”. When an error becomes apparently, those officials are required to notify the candidate and prohibited from allowing the candidate on the ballot.

10. The Respondent officials have failed and refused to observe the defects in the filing and the wrongfully refused to acknowledge that the filing do not satisfy the requirements for ballot access as mandated by the statute cited.

11. As a result of the breach of said duty, Respondent Secretary of State and County Clerk have or will have wrongfully caused the name of Respondent Martin to be placed on the official ballot of the 2010 Kentucky General Election for the 3rd District of the U.S. House of Representatives.

They go further by accusing Martin of receiving more than 115 names that were signatures of people that are not in his District, non registered to vote, and even accusing him of falsifying signatures.

13. Respondent Martin’s filing is defective in that more than 115 of the names are not proper for several reasons including that many were not registered voters in the 3rd Congressional District, numerous persons listed were not registered to vote at the addresses claimed; several of the persons listed were not the actual signature of the individual voters as claimed.

This clearly is an attempt to get rid of Martin because Lally is scared as well he should be.

Ed Martin is a man of honor period. He would not falsify signatures just to get on the ballot in a race he is under funded for and the odds are stacked against him ever winning. The fact that the local GOP is involved is not big surprise either.

This is hardball and the local GOP has been hijacked by the McConnell bunch and this is business as usual for them.

The funny thing is Lally really is as clueless as many think. Take the ridiculous River City Polling pols out of the equation, as I know who really is behind that group and trust me nothing scientific is done with their "polls," Lally is down by over 20 points by any credible poll out there.

So why run scared against a guy who cannot compete financially and is a party outsider as well?

Simple. To force them to waste what little resources they have fighting for their integrity. It is also a way to change the focus from your own shortcomings. Trust me Lally has many and the GOP knows this as well.

Why do you think they have been so reluctant to jump on board to help him until they had no choice in the public eye?

Using this tactic is one way to force your opponent to waste what little time and resources they have defending themselves even though they are innocent. When you are under funded in a political race and have to waste time and money defending yourself against false charges then you have less time and resources to get a real message on the issues out.

As an outsider to the party machine with very little help and resources available to you anyway this is a huge and costly distraction. The GOP knows that and so does Lally.

That is negative campaigning at its finest and both parties are perfectionist at it. It is the one thing they do well. I just wish they would put forth the same effort in representing us as they do to protect themselves at our expense.

Think about the "platforms." For example, one tried and true Republican statement for any candidate, "I am against raising taxes and will lower them."

How do you avoid telling people exactly how you will accomplish lower taxes and how you will pay for services accordingly?

Simple. Instead of answering those questions, because you really don't know, you attack your competition by stating stupid things like, "well did you hear Ed Martin is a ........"

It is pathetic and childish and quite frankly undeserving of our vote for anyone who has to resort to this. But in the interest of fairness since this race is not about issues any longer but attacks as usual I will join the fray.

So Todd Lally and the GOP crew get ready. You actually held a whiny rally Saturday at the CJ because you don't feel you get equal press? Fair enough now you will at least by me.

You want press coverage? It is time now to hold you to the same standard you are trying to force on we the voter. You want negative politics instead of substance?

No problem. I will oblige but know this.

Your 15 minutes are over.........