LATEST AND GREATEST

Many stories have been coming to light over the last few days so we will use this space to outline just a few of them.

Constable David Whitlock is in trouble yet again. Thanks to a story by WLKY's Andy Alcock WLKY, Whitlock is now being accused of sexually harassing a Denny's waiter. We can't make this stuff up folks. Actually we could but the truth is oh so much more endearing. In fact this is just one sample of the many charges of harassment by Whitlock. Stay tuned for much more I assure you.

Seems Mayor Greg Fisher can't even keep his own insiders on board with MSD. According to this story his latest Board appointee has withdrawn from consideration because he is worried he may actually have to do some work on the Board of MSD. CJ

Real-estate developer Marty Cogan, Fisher's latest hand picked MSD Board member has decided to take himself out of consideration based largely on the fact that he anticipates the board will have extra work to do next year, after the release of an investigation of MSD management and governance by Kentucky State Auditor Crit Luallen.

So  what does he think does he believe he should be appointed to a Board without having to do any work? Well, yes probably since Abramson always told them what they will do and they really just follow directions.

So much for something different eh?

Finally, Occupy Louisville goes head to head with Light Up Louisville in Jefferson Square. WHAS.

Does anyone else have a problem with this? I certainly do. Jefferson Square is open to the public and I have a right to enjoy Light Up Louisville without having to deal with the chants and ignorance of Occupy Louisville protesters.

By all means guys have your protest, but do it somewhere else until after the ceremony. We just don't want to be bothered with your movement during a festive occasion. Considering stories like this one, Occupy Wall Street, I just don't think we really care right now about this. from the reports I have been receiving, and personal experience, it is time to move on.

See you next time folks.
Listen daily from 7-8pm at The Ed Springston Show. Also visit Louisville Politics for more details and in depth coverage of local political and news issues.

Ed Springston Show, Louisville Bridge Updates

Louisville Kentucky needs three local access bridges. Where is the plan?
Rob Chapman rants about local access bridges, KIPDA's failure to plan and Louisville's complete lack of political will. Ed and Ed get mad and throw down the gauntlet.
Will any of our local leaders take the lead?
Occupy Wall Street gets ugly and Occupy Louisville gets a new location.
Constable David Whitlock is facing sexual harassment charge from local Denny's employee.
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Listen daily from 7-8pm at The Ed Springston Show. Also visit Louisville Politcs for more details and in depth coverage of local political and news issues.

OCCUPIERS: LET THE CRYING BEGIN

This article has been edited to reflect that Zuccotti Park is a privately owned park. My apologies to the readers.

First let me state I am all for peaceful protests. In fact I am very outspoken about the need for people to take to the streets in protest. The problems I have are not with legitimate protests but with the lack of consideration by some protesters themselves.

Take the latest out of New York for example. Typically the unions and others are jumping up and trying to denounce the move by Mayor Bloomberg to oust the occupiers from Zuccotti Park at 1 am last night. NYC ousts occupiers.

Seemingly this was by design to break up the movement itself right?

Wrong.

WHAT ARE THE PROTESTERS OCCUPYING IN LOUISVILLE ANYWAY

We continue to read stories about "Occupy Louisville,"  which is nothing more than assuming the role of the original Occupy Wall Street movement. These "occupy" protests are cropping up all over the Country and we have covered them before. Interestingly enough even after all this time no one seems to know what they are occupying or what they are there for.

I have been by Jefferson Square numerous times on different days and typically see less than 7 or 8 people actually occupying anything. So much for the mass movement lamestream media keeps trying to convince us is happening right here in good ol' Louisville Ky.

I mean think about it. The thing that we continue being piped into our head is the occupiers want fairness. Seems like a great idea, but if it was so great why aren't over 700,000 Louisvillians involved? More importantly, fairness of just what exactly?

Nothing is free in this world so the whole concept of fairness is a moot point. How can it be fair that one guy has money and can go spend say a grand at the boat. Is it their fault an occupier does not have that disposable income? Does the occupier deserve the same money without taking in consideration of the work ethic involved?

Is it "fair" that one guy works his tail off, assumes all the risk of opening a business and someone else "deserves" equal money for having absolutely nothing to do with it?

What about my rights? What is fair about my rights being violated by walking through Jefferson Square and getting attacked by the 3 people that are normally there wanting to waste my time trying to compel me to join their fight.

Is it "fair" for these people to try and force me to listen to them when all I want is to sit in the park my tax dollars paid for in peace? My taxes paid for the public use of that park and I should be able to enjoy it without the vultures violating my privacy right?

We also continue to hear about how the occupiers want "free education, a living wage," and a whole host of other things no one seems to get but them.

So just why do these people think they deserve a free education? Teachers must be paid they depend on their job to support their families as well. Should I pay more in taxes so those that decide to stay n school as a career don't have to contribute?

A living wage? Define living wage. While I want people to get the pay they deserve there are many out there who just don't deserve to be paid.

Why would I work my tail off to separate myself from the rest, and deserve a raise for my efforts, when all I have to do is just show up and do nothing and get paid the same as the gung ho guy trying to do better?

Where is the incentive for the worker?

More importantly just why do these "occupiers" think they are entitled to something for nothing? Where did they learn that from?

That is just one of the most basic fundamental problems that concern America today. No one understands or knows anymore just what our fight is, was, and shall be as a Nation. Our Nation itself is as clueless when it comes to a direction as I believe these occupiers are.

We don't teach civics in school anymore so where would anyone learn? We don't believe in personal responsibility anymore and have created the whole, "it is someone else's fault" mentality that denies us true accountability for our own actions.

And of course our politicians love it because they can screw us all at will.

Here you go occupiers. Here is a plan.

Want a job? Go get one. It may not be the $100 an hour pay you want but you have to start somewhere. Are some of  you too good to work at a warehouse for $10 an hour instead choosing to take my tax dollars and not produce? 

If you choose to go to school? Know the market and trends. Study something that is marketable. Just about everybody has a degree in business management these days. Just how much do you think those degrees should be worth? Just how many chiefs do you think any company needs? Study a career that is in need not one that is overused.

Don't like Wall Street and the bailouts? Get involved in a political campaign and get rid of all the incumbents. They make the rules not Wall Street or corporations.

The only one who owes you anything is YOU. Period. The end.

If you truly want change then quit whining and get busy. Bring some solutions to the table that make sense and are affordable. All it requires is a one word concept. The word?

WORK.

Go to work and earn your keep but quit whining about your plot in life. Your life is what you make of it not anyone else.

But for you 7 or so people who actually show up for the occupy events?

Please stay the hell away from me. I really don't want to listen to the whining or be included in your own personal drama. I raised my kids I don't want to raise you.

I have a real life. I work at everyday.

Listen daily from 7-8pm at The Ed Springston Show. Also visit Louisville Politics for more details and in depth coverage of local political and news issues.

MSD, OCCUPY WALL STREET, AND MORE! THE ED SPRINGSTON SHOW

Louisville, Ky's only local hard hitting radio show. MSD bankruptcy in Jefferson County, Alabama. Occupy Wall Street, and more on the Ed Springston Show.

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Listen daily from 7-8pm at The Ed Springston Show. Also visit Louisville Politcs for more details and in depth coverage of local political and news issues.

OCCUPY WALL STREET, STAR PARKER, AND MORE!

My good friend Mike Maharrey over at the tenth amendment center posted this recently and you should read it. www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2011/10/08/occupy-wall-street-a-blank-slate/ . Seems the roots of this whole occupy Wall Street movement are imported. Can we in America not even organize ourselves anymore?

For those of you who know of Star Parker, Ms. Parker will be the featured guest on The Ed Springston Show Tuesday night at 7 pm and can be heard live at www.blogtalkradio.com/myviewmatters. Star Parker is the President of CURE and a nationally syndicated columnist. Check out more on Star at http://www.starparker.com/ and remember to tune in Tuesday. This is one show you won't want to miss.

Seems there are all kinds of questions about the Metro Council redistricting and of course the fab four in the South/Southwest Council districts can't even answer simple questions. Yep Louisville Metro Council members Blackwell, Yates, Henderson, and Welch couldn't even answer basic info about which precincts would be changing in their proposed redistricting plan.

Funny how other Louisville Metro Council members such as District 19 Councilman Jerry Miller has had this info available for his constituents for some time now. Shouldn't we expect better by now from our elected leaders in the South/Southwest?

You would think a high school teacher (Blackwell), and a lawyer (Yates), would at least know how to conduct an informational meeting.

By the way check out how the number one goal of redistricting was to protect incumbent Louisville Metro Council members. From their own handout:




Finally, apparently MSD has made a great deal for Bud Shardein. There is money apparently being paid into a trust fund quietly established in 2008 and is on top of Shardein’s annual salary of $181,147 and benefits, including a government pension. If Shardein remains in the job for another 15 months he gets the money. One has to wonder where the CJ has been for all these years in regards to MSD. Now that Abramson is gone they finally do some real work?

Stay tuned this will get better I am sure.

That's it for now folks and remember to tune in to The Ed Springston Show Mon-Thurs at 7 PM to discuss all this and more!

OCCUPY WALL STREET: IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOLKS

You know I am a bit behind on actually writing about this story. Though we have covered it extensively on "The Ed Springston Show" actual writing time has been limited so here you go.

Is OCCUPY WALL STREET relevant? In many eyes, mine included, not necessarily so.

Though I have always advocated, and continue to do so, that people need to take to the streets in protest, the whole occupy wall street movement just does not seem to fit with any perceived agendas. There appear to be NO demands and NO direction. It seems that people are protesting just to be protesting with no thought to an eventual outcome.

If you are going to protest then have an agenda or an end result in mind.

It seems on the surface that this group is an ultra left wing attempt to match the TEA party success but it is doubtful they can get close.

Why would I say that?

For starters there has been an "unofficial" list of demands that have been accredited to a single individual which I find suspect to begin with. Though I am no fan of mainstream media in general, even mainstream would not blame an entire movement on the ramblings of a singular individual. Not in a mass protest of this size anyway.

OCCUPY WALL STREET demands "unofficially?"

Check out a few here:

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

The list itself of this unofficial demands is actually found on the occupy wall street website at www.occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-for-occupy-wall-st-moveme/

So why would they even list this if they didn't want someone to infer that they may be behind these demands?

Who knows but we do have to face reality here at some point. This list of "possible" demands just is not realistic.

Suppose America itself banded together and gave in to just the above demands. Would we better off? Of course not because it is fundamentally flawed.

Free education? Great I'm for it, but how will it get paid for? Taxes? So how much do you want to pay out of your income to provide for a free college education when we have done such a pathetic job of our lower education possibilities.

What is the value of a degree currently, when so many cannot even find a job within their career field. How much more value would that degree have if everyone had one.

Living wage? No problem.

Define living wage and what amount would be considered a living wage. If you base it on today's economy that number would be less than one in a different economy where everyone was making the same amount per hour.

Say you make it $15 an hour. Sounds good when you make $8 or $9 today right? But what happens when you raise the wages across the board to an equal level?

Trickle down economics come into play.

As an employer when your costs go up so does the price for your goods, or services accordingly. Those costs have to be paid for by someone. Contrary to popular belief, the regular small business guys that are the backbone of our Nation's employers simply do not work on a profit margin that would allow them to pay without increasing the price of goods or services.

I have to be honest here as well. Guaranteeing someone a "living wage" for working the counter at a Thornton's, or asking if you want fries with that at McDonald's, just doesn't seem appealing to me.

Those type jobs were always designed to be starter jobs. You want more money go work for it. Make yourself marketable. It really is that simple. To think that anyone should be guartanteed the same as everyone in an economical sense is absurd. There will always be givers and taker sin this world. It is human nature. I am not going to give to someone who doesn't want to attempt to earn it. That is a major problem today with this type of mindset.


I am as angry as anyone at Wall street. They are the greedy pigs that are destroying this Country.

But I don't blame them or the Corporations. 
I blame our elected leaders. Our President. Our Congress.

We elected them to represent our interests and they have failed miserably. We can put a name and a face on each and every one of them and know who to blame for our problems today.

The corporations themselves are a nameless, faceless entity. You want to make a difference? Quit being the ultra left wing liberals who continue wanting something for nothing. Quit playing the victim card and band together. Fight against those who have made us a welfare dependent nation. Both corporate and individual.

Start with each and every incumbent in Washington.

I am reminded of an old joke. What do you call 100 Louisville Lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start.

I would change that to say, what do you call 100 incumbent politicians at the bottom of the ocean?

Get the picture?