628. Solstice summary

1. We did what the governor wanted us to do Saturday and named Dan Logsdon as the Kentucky Democratic Party chair. Now comes the reports of his giving money to Republicans, including the one which ran against the governor. In this year's Democratic Primary for mayor, I supported and worked for a guy who gave money to Anne Northup a decade ago. His opponents tried to use it as a campaign theme, but, given he won with 45% of a eight-way race, I guess that didn't matter to the voters. But Mr. Logsdon is now chair of the Party. We should have vetted better. One of our group suggested doing so but we didn't follow up. Stay tuned to see what happens. Sometimes Jacob Payne's comments on the KDP are quite on target. This may be one of those time.

2. My friend Ken Herndon, who is celebrating a birthday today - for the record, he is many, many years older than me - is trying to be seated as the 6th District Councilmember here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. There are nineteen others seeking to do the same thing. I know about six of them including all of those who seem to be the frontrunners. The County Attorney's office is vetting them to make sure they actually live and vote in the 6th District and have for the requisite twelve months as of the vacancy as well as meeting the age requirement, which is 21. I'm pretty sure all the candidates are 21 or older. I'm not as sure they all meet the residency requirements, especially those related to how long they've lived in the 6th District. Not only is it hot outside of City Hall, this race is making for some interesting heat inside.

3. My garden, about which I've not written this year, is really doing good. There are five tomato plants (two different varieties including little cherry tomatoes which are best eaten off the vine), three bell pepper plants, two banana pepper plants (one of which is "hot"), three cucumbers hills, and pumpkin vines everywhere. The pumpkins are "volunteers," left over from the my jack-o-lantern from last Hallowe'en. I've got to keep an eye on the pumpkins or they'll take over the entire space.

4. This weekend in Holy Family's Picnic. Although I've left the membership of that church (where I belonged for thirty years), I'm still volunteering as the announcer on Friday night, something I've done for many, many years. The picnic is Friday and Saturday, on Poplar Level Road, three blocks north of the Watterson Expressway.

Yesterday was the longest day of the year. What did you do to celebrate? Happy Solstice.

627. The Kentucky Democratic Party meets tomorrow

The State Central Executive Committee (SCEC) of the Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) will be called into session tomorrow at 11:00 am. Typically, the members receive an agenda telling us the business to be discussed but that has not happened for this meeting. We have all received an email from Governor Steve Beshear informing us of his pick as the new chair of the Party, Dan Logsdon, presently a staffer in his office and the son of former Agriculture Commissioner Ed Logsdon. Mr. Logsdon's name had been circulated as the governor's choice for about two weeks. I'll add I've never met Mr. Logsdon nor do I ever recall his presence at the KDP headquarters on Democrat Drive in Frankfort.

Article VIII, Section D, Paragraph 1 of the KDP By-Laws provides that "If there is a sitting Democratic Governor or an elected Democratic Nominee for Governor, he or she may present an individual for consideration and vote to the State Central Committee." It has been my experience through the years that if the governor wants a particular person to be chair of the Party, we the members of the Committee are very likely to seat that person. I fully expect that to happen tomorrow.

But the by-law setting forth that situation provides for an interesting scenario. Presently, a campaign is being conducted by the sitting Democratic governor for his re-election. What would happen if he were challenged in 2011 and that challenger won the nomination? Who, then, would have the authority to "present an individual for consideration and vote to the State Central Committee" - the sitting Democratic governor or the elected Democratic nominee for governor? The current by-law isn't clear.

There is a reason why by-law amendments should be seriously and timely considered. Occasions arise without warning which aren't always covered by the existing by-laws, or occasions arise where there is no clear direction from the by-law, something which can and should be avoided.

Although there is no agenda for tomorrow's meeting, at the last meeting a proposed by-law amendment was presented and it was announced that that presentation served as the proper notice for that proposal to be heard and voted upon at the next meeting, which is tomorrow. I am hopeful that tomorrow's meeting will not be the simple ceremonial ratification of the governor's chair-appointee, but will also consider the business matters at hand, one of which is a by-law proposal from the last meeting.

All Democrats are welcome to attend the meeting.

*****

Unrelated, today is the birthday of my oldest niece, Lindsey Shea Noble, who is now pushing her mid-20s. Happy Birthday Lindsey.

626. Untimely Passing; Timely By-Law

Several years ago I proposed an amendment to the Kentucky Democratic Party's By-Laws, specifically to a by-law pertaining to Special Elections in Jefferson County. That was 2003. For the most part, I was ignored by the powers-that-were (and in many cases still-are) and my proposal went nowhere.

I was told that one way to have my idea heard by a bigger audience was to speak with members of the Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Executive Committee, the body that would or could ultimately approve or not approve my proposed change.

In 2004 several friends, including Aaron Horner, his former wife Mary Ellen, along with Ted Shlechter, and others suggested I run for a seat on that committee as a Third Congressional District voting member. I knew the drill as I had been nominated (mostly self-nominated I might add) at every state convention I had attended back to my first one in Frankfort in 1980. I had lost all of the previous elections.

The race for Third Congressional District Committeeman was a three person affair - the two incumbents and me. I defeated one of those incumbents and went on to serve a four-year term. I first formally discussed my proposed by-law amendment at one of the "road" meetings then-Chair Jerry Lundergan held. I'll be honest; I don't remember where it was, it may have been in either Carrollton or Henderson. Shortly thereafter, I became ill, suffering from a brain tumor and a very slight stroke. I was hospitalized the summer of 2005 and recovered in the fall, during which time my proposal went by the wayside.

Throughout my term, I worked with then By-Laws Chair George Blackburn of Rockport, a small village on the Ohio County side of the Green River, opposite Muhlenberg County, just north of where the Western Kentucky Parkway crosses into "Paradise." Despite George's help, my by-law proposal was never fully heard, although it was scheduled to be heard at the 1st Quarter meeting of the Committee in 2008.

That day's meeting ran very, very long. At one point, the Vice Chair of the Committee, Nathan Smith of northern Kentucky, simply got up from the meeting and left. When the time finally came to hear my proposal, the discussion was blocked by Jefferson County Chair Tim Longmeyer, saying we could table it until the next meeting. I pointed out to Tim that the next meeting was the state convention, meaning that it would not be heard until at least September. He suggested I run for re-election and bring it back up. Rather than table the item, he moved to adjourn the meeting and his motion passed.

I took Tim's advice (for once) and ran for re-election. After some work, I was finally seated on the Committee in September 2008 at a meeting at KenLake State Park in Aurora, just inside Calloway County where the new KY80 finally leaves its long sojourn with US68 across southern Kentucky. Although I requested to be placed on the By-Laws Committee, as I had served there for the previous term, then-Chair Jennifer Moore failed to name me to any committees. I remain a member of none of the KDP's various committees, all of which are appointed by the chair.

In April 2009, I made a call to the new By-Laws Chair George Mills, an attorney from Lexington. I eventually addressed my concerns with him and through his hard work and that of his committee, my proposal was finally heard and passed, taking effect just over three months ago.

The jist of my proposal was to expand the voting body of special committees which have the power to name candidates in certain cases, such as when a candidate resigns or, perhaps, dies. The old rules allowed for some of these special nominations to be wholly controlled solely by one person, an idea I felt undemocratic and unbecoming the Kentucky Democratic Party. The amendment calls for a minimum of three people (and in some cases more) to make such a nomination. While no one ever expects or seeks the need to use the rules, it is necessary to have rules in place to assure a continuity in governance. Most people felt the adoption of my proposal wasn't all that important given that such needs are rare - few and far between.

Last week one of Louisville's Metro Council members collapsed at City Hall and later that same evening passed away. While it is important for individuals to mourn the loss of a civil servant, it is also important to have rules in place for the continuity in governance, as I previously stated. One set of rules, the Kentucky statutes, governs an interim appointment to be made by the Council. Due to the timing of this great loss, there will also be required a Special Election this November to serve out the term of the deceased councilman. This process is laid out by the Kentucky Constitution. And the rules on how the Kentucky Democratic Party will nominate their candidate for this special election in Jefferson County are governed by the very recently amended By-Laws of the Kentucky Democratic Party, amended by a proposal first made in 2003.

*****

REST IN PEACE - George Dorsey Unseld. May his soul and all the souls known to God rest in peace. +

625. From DC to NYC and then back to Louisville

I left off with a planned coffee visit with Preston as he was arriving to Washington very close to the hour I was departing. We ended up meeting at a coffee shop just south of Dupont Circle on 19th Street NW. I waited for him as he was arriving from the Metro Red Line and there was an up-escalator there on 19th where I could see him as he arrived. We chatted for about 40 minutes, mostly on political economy and philosophy, with very little actual discussion about Democrats or Republican or Independents. Playing drums in the background over in Dupont Circle was the all-female percussion group Batala - visit their website at batalawashington.com. They had been practicing for at least an hour before Preston arrived and were still playing as we departed.

My car was parked around the corner in front of the Honk Kong Trade Office (shown at left) at 18th and Church streets NW. From there I left for New York City, the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, the city So Nice they named it twice. While my stay in Washington was a combination of business and pleasure, the trip to New York had the sole purpose of helping a friend of mine move from an apartment in the Bronx to another one in Brooklyn, and then to bring him back to Louisville to witness his brother's graduation from Ballard High School which took place last night. When he found out I was to be in washington he suggested that "while I was in the neighborhood" I could give him a ride back to Louisville. His moving from the Bronx to Brooklyn was never a part of the "no-plans" vacation, but it did become so.

Thus I left from DC along the I-95 corridor which would take me to Baltimore and points to the northeast. Somewhere outside of Batlimore I stopped at a rest areas where a Boy Scout Troop (and their parents) were serving coffee, lemonade, and hot dogs. While they weren't charging, buckets were available for donations and I made mine. I passed through (and literally under) Baltimore Harbor on I-895 before returning to the parent route en route to Delaware. As I recall there were two tolls booths along the short route of I-95 in Delaware. In New Jersey, you are somewhat force-fed onto the New Jersy Turnpike, and another toll road. Tolls were about to become a big part of my trip.

Riding along the New Jersey Turnpike is, frankly, boring. It is a four to six lane divided highway with groves of trees along both sides, devoid of anything other than concrete and cars. There were maybe six intersections along the entire route. You get a toll-ticket as you enter the turnpike and there are toll booths along each exit. I drove the entire length of the turnpike, all the way to my destination in Little Ferry, just across the Hackensack River from New York on US46. My toll for the privelege of travelling the entire distance was $9.05.

I haven't much to say about my non-tourist visit to New York City. It was mostly spent on interstates and freeways, with regular stops at toll booths to pay very high tolls, anywhere from $3.00 to $11.00 for the privelege of being in one or more of New York's five boroughs. And, getting around by car wasn't made any easier by my friend.

Keith doesn't own a car and doesn't seem to need one. He lived in the Bronx and worked in Lower Manhattan. He now lives in Brooklyn. All of these points are connected by busses, trains, and subways, and Keith's directions to and from anywhere are mired in subway stations, transfer points, and bus-stops. Unfortunately he couldn't tell me exactly how to get around in a car other than if one was close to the Brooklyn Bridge, shown at right. From sighting the bridge Keith could easily get you into Brooklyn or out of Manhattan. In Manhattan it is easy - most of the streets are numbered and the whole affair isn't all that wide. The Bronx continues the numbered street system of Manhattan which makes it a little easy. All the other boroughs have their own sets of numbered streets along with a collection of Broadways, Parks, Markets, and Mains. Keeping them all straight requires some concentration.

Given that I was in and out of New York in 36 hours, I tried to go as many different ways as I could between his two apartments, one on 238th Street in the Bronx, the other on DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. Along the ways, I may as well have travelled to others countries as I drove through areas wholly occupied by people speaking Spanish or Polish or Arabic or something else. Latinos seem to outnumber everyone else. for a while I was in an Hasidic Jewish neighborhood in Williamsburg, this on a Saturday night with everyone in their synagogue-going best. It was quite an experience.

But the whole New York thing was overwhelming - too much humanity for me. I cannot imagine existing everyday amongst so many people. Thus, there was no sorrow when the time came to leave the Big Apple and return to the relative southern comfort of America's biggest little town, Louisville.

One place I had never been was Staten Island, so the trip out of New York took us across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, America's largest suspension bridge, from Brooklyn onto Staten Island (also the name of the borough) and into the County of Richmond. Crossing the bridge brought the highest toll I paid anywhere on the trip - $11.00. I'm not sure that my $11.00 bought me $11.00 worth of goods, but it was a place I had never been before and one of the great points of driving anywhere is to visit places theretofore unvisited.



We left Staten Island and ventured northward up to Hackensack, NJ and Interstate 80. I-80 would take us across northern New Jersey, through the Delaware Valley Water Gap and into the mountains of central Pennsylvania. At another rest area we encountered more Boys Scouts doling out hot dogs and soft drinks. This time we could add chili and sauerkraut. I had one of each and made a hefty donation.

Midway across the state, we left Interstate 80 headed for Interstate 99, the highest numbered two-digit interstate. I-99 is unusual in a number of ways. First, it should not be in central Pennsylvania. I do not know what the highway located east of I-79 and west of I-81 should be numbered, but I-99 should certainly be somewhere along the eastern seaboard. But, it isn't. It is also odd in that it physically begins as PA26, a two-lane state highway. PA26 picks up US220 and then becomes I-99. Similarly, at its end, it goes back to US220. Very few interstates do not begin or end at another interstate and only 15 lay wholly within one state. I-99 takes you through rolling hills and valleys, running closeby State College, home to Penn State University.

At the end of I-99 we continued south on US220 the handful of miles left between the town of Bedford and the Maryland border, the very well-known Mason-Dixon line, or properly, Mason's and Dixon's line, the symbolic boundary between the North and the South. US220 leads into the very historic town of Cumberland, Maryland. Cumberland is a city full of church steeples, and the city itself is steeped in the history of our republic, established long before the Revolution. Because of its site on a river, canal, and rail line, it, like Louisville, grew as a transportation hub and at one time this little town stretched along the banks of the Upper Potomac River and Wills Creek was Maryland's second largest city. It is sometimes known as Maryland's Queen City.

From Cumberland it is only a small stretch along Interstate 68, formerly known as US48 over to the West Virginia state line (and therein lies a story from 1981 about a certain KYD/YDA convention, former KYD president Bobby Rowe, and me and John Warren McCauley, perhaps somewhat intoxicated, giving bad directions to a lost Morehead State University bus driver). But, I digress.

Arriving in West Virginia, I-68 comes to an end and I-79 is the southbound interstate which takes you up and down and over and across the hills and valleys of central West Virginia. While it is a well-built highway, the path it follows - the only path it could follow - leaves much to be desired. Being quite familiar with this stretch of road, I turned the driving over to one of my fellow travellers, took to the back seat and woke up, thankfully, in Kentucky. Thus, I missed Clarksburg, Charleston, and Huntington.

The final leg of the 2185 mile trip was along I-64 from Catlettsburg and Cannonsburg in Boyd County across the center of the Commonwealth. It was longer than usual because we were all tired and at this point, it was the middle of the night. We stopped alot mostly to wake up and drive a few more miles. I remember stretching out of the grass for a catnap at the rest area between Lexington and Frankfort, something I had not done since I was a UK student back in the late 1970s.

At some point around 4:15 am, we exitted I-64 onto Mellwood Avenue, then north on Frankfort, and west on Story making our way back home. It was a wonderful trip.

New #624. On The Road

I've been travelling a little and will be posting more upon my return. I've not yet graduated to the sophistication of making entries from the lowly telephone. I have learned how to take pictures with it, which I've been doing a lot of the last few days. With a little ingenuity, I'll get them from the little screen on the phone to the screen on your computer - but not tonight.

I've been on a several day tour now in its third day.

Day One took me across the Commonwealth from Louisville to Catlettsburg along I-64, noticing as I always do the especial beauty of Bath County whose hills are a different color green - a little lighter and brighter - than the rest of the countryside. It is something that has always appealed to my viewing interest. At US23, I exitted the roadway and drove north up to the city of Ashland with its downtown nestled along the main street, with short side streets emanating up into the hillsides built with big and little homes, and other streets reaching across the several-tracked CSX railroad yard and down to the Ohio River. I went as far as about 16th Street, then up the hill and a left to Lexington Avenue and alongside Central Park, and finally back south eventually to the interstate.

Crossing over into West Virginia, I made my way to that state's capital city again exitting off the highway and down into town. West Virginia's capital at Charleston, with its beautiful gold-domed seat of government, is a very large series of connecting buildings set in a park, all facing down to the Kanahwa River which courses through the entire town.

From Charleston, I took the West Virginia Turnpike (I64-I77) southward, my favorite route in West Virginia, arriving a darktime in the coal industry town of Beckley, home to Congressman Nick Rahall, one of a line of men and women by that family name who have played a role in the town for many, many years. Beckley, the county seat of Raleigh County, sits on top of a hill. I stayed overnight at the Budget Inn on Heber Street, the only motel left in the downtown area - all the others have moved out along the by-pass on what it known as Eisenhower Boulevard. Very early the next morning, I walked the streets of downtown Beckley, all of which seem to feature a hillside. One doesn't go far without going down hill at some point. Beckley has a yellow bricked United States Courthouse Building, along with its limestone Raleigh County court house, which, if I remember correctly, was built in the late 1930s. I have pictures and will add them at some point.

Day Two took me eastward across the mountains along I-64. As I have always done in this stretch of roadway, I dropped off onto the "old road" (US60) and travelled through the village of White Sulphur Springs, with its famous resort, very little of which can be seen from the village's main street, called Main Street. Most of the resort sits behind a two-mile long green wood fence which wouldn't pass code regulations back along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. I made it back to I-64, stopping along the way at a one-lane wide town which had a Sunoco station, as I was beginning to run low on fuel. The town's name was Collinsburg as I recall, and eventually the roadway climbed back up to I-64.

Once in Virginia, I again took the old road, again US60, down into and through the towns of Lexington and Buena Vista and back up again, where I left US60 and spent about 50 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a two-lane wide peaceful, even lonely ride, along the ridge, headed northwards toward Charlottesville, and maintained by the National Parks Service. For those fifty miles, I encountered only a few other vehicles, mostly motorcycles, a few bike-riders, and a few hikers. The elevation at one point reaches 3294 feet above sea level. For comparison, the highest point in Jefferson County is 902 feet (sometimes listed as 888 feet) at South Park Hill out near I-65 and the Bullitt County border. The courthouse in downtown Louisville is 462 feet, marked by a geological survey marker down along the left bottom of the front steps facing out toward the Thomas Jefferson statue and Jefferson Street itself. But, I digress.

My venture once off the Blue Ridge Parkway was along US250 down the hill eventually arriving in Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia. I drove a little around town and through the college campus, finding my way out of town on US29, my route, for the most part a four-lane divided full access highway from here to my first major destination, our Nation's Capital, from which I am now writing. Ok, I'm not exactly in DC at this point, but rather at a motel out by the Dulles Airport in Sterling, Virginia, about 23 miles from downtown. Each of my travels from the motel into DC have taken about an hour. Northern Virginia is full of four-lane highways which seem to go on for miles and miles, but few of them take you into DC.

Yesterday I did some sightseeing as well as some business-seeing while in the District of Columbia, but did very little else. My evening plans were changed around some and I eventually made it back to the motel for the night, just in time for a big thunder-and-lightning party which dropped quite a bit of rain. I watched it all from my third-floor window.

Day Three (today) was mostly spent inside the buildings of our federal government. I went on tours, walked through all the connecting tunnels, and, at the invitation of my favorite congressman, my congressman John Yarmuth, climbed the 370-or-so steps to the top - the very top - of the Capital Dome - actually to a platform on top of the dome. Again, at some point, I'll communicate this with pictures. It was a most exhilirating view. On a clear day, as today was, you can see for miles and miles. I thought about President Abraham Lincoln, whose presence here is felt, looking into the hills to the northeast towards Hyattsville and Bladensburg and seeing the cannon-smoke during the War Between the States. Looking westward to the hills in northern Virginia, again I could almost hear the sounds of gunfire over in Manassas knowing the troops of the Army of Northern Virginia planned their takeover of the United States government from places which I could now see atop the nation's most famous legislative building. Although I had toured the entire facility, and got to sit in on some of the Jobs Bill-Extension of Unemployment Benefits debate where the Democrats were for it and the Republicans were, as is their wont, strictly saying no, it was from up here on top the building that, being able to see the entire metropolis, well into Virginia and Maryland, and perhaps to the northwest into West Virginia, that I got a full sense of the history of the place. The entire trip could have ended there and been a great success.

Of course, once finished with that "full sense of history" I had to come back, literally, down to earth along those same 370-or-so steps, one at a time, slowly and steadily. Back in the real world, I met briefly with Congressman Yarmuth who related the story of a 19th century Kentucky congressman killed by a Courier-Journal reporter on one of the interior stairwells. I'm not familiar with the story and will do some research on it upon my return to Louisville. I also met a young reporter outside the House Chambers who is a graduate of Louisville Male High School and reminded him that before the building in which he attended Male was Male, it was Durrett, from which I graduated 32 years ago next week, long before he was born. While we were talking the bells went off and John quickly ducked into some room marked "Members Only" to cast a vote, one in a series of seventeen votes expected for the day. For the record, there are lots of rooms in the capitol marked "Members Only."

After the afternoon of touring inside, I walked outside and down onto The National Mall, which is being prepared for Memorial Day festivites, with the city being filled up with tourists, especially Vietnam Veterans on motorcycles - thousands of them everywhere. There will be concerts on the front lawn of the Capital and a huge motorcycle parade on Sunday beginning at Arlington Cemetery winding through the District and ending at the Lincoln Memorial.

I'll miss it. I'll be leaving tomorrow for New York. But, before leaving, my dear friend Preston will be arriving for a few days stay in Fairfax for some educational purpose and we are going to meet for a coffee.

One other note - while out for a walk today along New Jersey Avenue SE, I ran into one of my old bosses and dear friends, Denis Fleming. Denis has served for many years as Chief-of-Staff to Kentucky's Sixth District Congressman Albert B. Chandler, III. I've not seen Denis in years and we quickly caught up with each others' lives during the interim. We had a pleasurable discussion about the passage of the Don't Ask-Don't Tell legislation, which had passed the House last night, carrying not surprisingly the support of my congressman, but certainly a little suprisingly, the support of his boss.

That's all for now.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend and Happy Birthday to my #3 nephew Elijah Gene Noble, who will be 7 tomorrow.

Entry 624A has been removed

623. A Statement from Congressman John Yarmuth

From the Desk of Congressman John Yarmuth

May 20, 2010

Statement on Senate Candidate Rand Paul's Comments on Civil Rights Act

The comments by Senate candidate Rand Paul opposing the Civil Rights Act are simply appalling, and make it abundantly clear that he has no place holding public office in Kentucky in the 21st century. Our Commonwealth was the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to establish a Commission on Human Rights dedicated to ending discrimination and we have worked hard to show the nation that Jim Crow laws are a distant part of our history.

Rejecting the fundamental provision of the Civil Rights Act is a rejection of the foundational promise of America that all men and women should be treated equally -- a promise for which many Americans have lost their lives.

Leading is not hypothetical debating; its about solving real problems. It is the job of a Member of Congress to represent the needs of every one of their constituents, not to allow businesses to segregate or discriminate against them.

Rand Paul has already embarrassed Kentuckians in the eyes of the world. The Commonwealth deserves better because we are better - and I call on Mitch McConnell and my other colleagues in the Kentucky Congressional Delegation to join me in condemning his despicable views.

622. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow; and a set of predictions just for fun

Kentucky's longest political season in recent memory will come to an end tomorrow night at 7:00 PM after the polls close in the Central Time Zone. Garnering national attention for Kentucky are the two Parties' races for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Jim Bunning. One might argue that the seat was mentally vacated years ago; Bunning hasn't been much in the way of a thousands points of light or any other scale. By any measurement, he has been fairly useless to the good citizens of the Commonwealth.

On the Dark Side of the Aisle, Secretary of State C. M. "Trey" Grayson is expected to lose to newcomer Rand Paul, a doctor of some sort from Bowling Greeen who has courted the so-called tea-party voters. Some are calling the Republican Primary a referendum of sorts on Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr., the man who built the Kentucky Republican Party from scratch in the mid-1980s into a powerhouse full of young wolves, wolves apparently willing to turn now on their creator. It is a great story line.

Running as Democrats are two statewide office holders, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo of Hazard, who ran as part of Governor Steve Beshear's slate in 2007 and Attorney General Jack Conway, a Louisvillian who ran for Congress in 2002. As I did in 2002, I am supporting Conway for a number of reasons. One big one is his age. I believe he is 39 or 40. His chief opponent is 49, to be 50 on the 4th of July. I'll support either of them this fall, but I believe it would be better for Kentucky in the long haul - meaning fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years from now - to elect the younger of the two, so as to create some senior status for a Kentucky senator. The United States Senate pays close attention to seniority; were it not for Mitch McConnell's long-term service, Kentucky would barely show up on the US Senate radar. Other than some campaign finance law, McConnell does a poor job of representing my values in DC. But he does bring highly needed dollars back to the state. We need to elect someone who can build a level of seniority as Mitch has. In that case, Jack has a ten-year advantage over Mongiardo. I'm also supporting Conway for a number of other reasons, and at least one of them has nothing to do with him, but rather is tied closely to his opponent and a certain piece of legislation he sponsored and supported in 2004.

Jack's race hasn't been ran as nicely as I would have liked. However, under the recent guidance of Jonathan Drobis, he has made up considerable ground and is now closing in on a win. I am hopeful he does win and for him to do so will require quite an effort tomorrow, especially here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606.

Another race I am following should be an easy one, that of my former boss, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell. Mike is a wonderful guy, someone I've known for nearly thirty years. He was appointed to the post mid-term to serve out Irv Maze's time, after Irv moved over to the Circuit Bench. Mike shouldn't have much trouble, but one should never take a race for granted, and he hasn't.

Finally, the race I am closely involved with, in a professional way, is that of Greg Fischer, candidate for Mayor, for whom I have worked as a strategist and researcher. According to all the polls, including those of his opponents, Greg is set to win tomorrow's Primary. I think the polls are right, but I also think they may have Greg's lead slightly overstated and his opponents' support slightly understated. The latest poll showed Greg with 42%, leading his second-place opponent by a 2-1 margin, and the third-place guy by more than a 3-1 margin.

What follows are my predictions - just for fun - on who will run 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro's 26 council districts. This is kind of like picking the 1st and 2nd round in the NCAA tournament. It is mostly just a big guess. But, like March Madness, it is fun. So, here goes. Wait - one final thought in case you don't want to read through all of this. Here are my final percentages for tomorrow's balloting, hoping of course that the polls are right and I am wrong: Fischer - 36; King - 24; Tandy - 18; Allen - 13; all others 9. Now for the breakdowns, again by Council District.

1st MCD - Tandy, King, Marshall
2nd MCD - King, Tandy, Fischer
3rd MCD - Tandy, Fischer, King
4th MCD - Tandy, Fischer, Allen
5th MCD - Tandy, King, Marshall
6th MCD - Fischer, Tandy, Allen
7th MCD - Fischer, Tandy, Allen
8th MCD - Fischer, Allen, Tandy
9th MCD - Fischer, Allen, King
10th MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
11th MCD - Fischer, Tandy, King
12th MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
13th MCD - Fischer, King, Tandy
14th MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
15th MCD - King, Tandy, Fischer
16th MCD - Fischer, Tandy, King
17th MCD - Fischer, King, Tandy
18th MCD - Fischer, King, Tandy
19th MCD - Fischer, King, Tandy
20th MCD - Fischer, King, Tandy
21st MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
22nd MCD - Fischer, Tandy, King
23rd MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
24th MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
25th MCD - King, Fischer, Tandy
26th MCD - Fischer, Tandy, King

We'll see.

The polls are open from 6am to 6pm. Vote early; Vote often.

621. First, the Wendell Ford Dinner; then later, some plagiarism from Barefoot and Progressive

Last night was the regular renewal of the Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Party's Annual Wendell Ford Dinner, honoring the former legislator, Lieutenant Governor, Governor, and United States Senator, Wendell H. Ford, the 85 year old godfather of Kentucky politics. The event was held at the Crown Plaza Hotel, the renewed and bejeweled former Executive West, on Phillips Lane at Freedom Way. After a singing of the National Anthem by Lisa Tanner and a prayer by the Reverend Dale Josey - I didn't know he was a reverend until tonight - the evening's ritual of drinking, dining, and speaking began. With no "headline" name on the dais - in fact no dais at all, the night was a series of annual awards given for various achievements followed by a series of speeches by six of the gentlemen whose names will appear on the May 18th Democratic Primary ballot followed by a few more speeches. I attended the dinner with my friend Jessie Phelps and we were seated with current and former staffers of Third District Congressman John Yarmuth.

The first up was Greg Fischer, the man I am supporting to succeed Jerry Abramson as Mayor of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro. Greg, 52, is an innovative entrepreneur, a successful businessman, husband to a doctor, and father to four children. Greg gave a variation of his stump speech, focussing on inclusion, intergrity, and innovation. These are the values that have drawn me to his campaign and I am confident we have engaged in the type of positive, upbeat effort that voters appreciate, something which is apparent from the high numbers he has in all the polls, including those of his opponents.

Next to speak was Councilman Jim King, in his late 50s, a banker, CPA, and community activist who has served on the Metro Council since his election in 2004. He, in fact, was elected to a seat which I had considered running for and really wanted to having waited for 24 years on Cyril Allgeier's retirement, but decided against it after a lengthy meeting with Jim in December 2003. Jim outlined his accomplishments on the Council, covering the legislation he has passed, especially that of ethics reform and labor union protections. He also spoke of his role in the Democratic leadership of the Metro Council and said he wore as a badge of courage [I believe he meant honor] the Republican votes cast against him when he ran for president of the Council. In his speech he mentioned his wife Debbie, who is a friend of mine, as well as his media adviser Larry O'Bryan. He also had good words to say for his opponents (including those not present), acknowledging that it will take all of them together as they [likely] face Hal Heiner this November.

The third speaker was David Tandy, about 38, a bulk of a man who formerly played football while in college at Vanderbilt. Tandy is my Louisville Metro councilman; he is a most pleasant fellow. We also serve together on the State Democratic Party Executive Committee, where he serves a second role as State Party Treasurer. An attorney, he is a native of Owensboro (which worked to his advantage last night as Senator Ford is also from there). Tandy is married and has three young children. And it could easily be said, he gave quite a speech. Strong, powerful, and dreamy, it focussed on what Louisville could and should be in the future. He has used the "Why Not?" mantra attributed to Bobby Kennedy throughout most of his campaign, and in fact, that same mantra was invoked by the Rev. Josey in his Invocation earlier in the evening. Josey is a staffer for the Tandy campaign. Tandy's speech was reminescent of the kind Wendell Ford once regularly gave, especially up on the platform on the first Saturday of August down in Fancy Farm. And Tandy more than once in his speech referenced the work he did in Senator Ford's senatorial office. He certainly had everyone's attention in a very good way.

Tandy was followed by Tyler Allen, who I suppose is about 40. Tyler is well known as the leader of the 8664 group (of which I am a longtime member and supporter as demonstrated by the 8664 sticker on my car). This group opposes the construction of a new Spaghetti Junction downtown and advocates for a levelled I-64 through town and a new East End Bridge connecting I-265 in Jefferson County, Kentucky with IN-265 in Clark County, Indiana. My candidate for mayor and I disagree on this matter. Following Tandy's revivalistic sermon did not serve Allen well, who seemed smaller than he actually is. Allen is a successful businessman, married and has two or three young children. Allen approaches the mayor's race from an entirely different perspective in his opinion - that of an outsider looking in. While the polls indicate his support is small, it is of an activist type nature, people not easily swayed from their candidate.

The other four Democratic candidates for mayor were not present.

The next series of speeches were offered by the two candidates seeking to succeed Jim Bunning as the junior senator from Kentucky. Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo spoke first. Dan will be 50 on July 4th. He is married and is a recent father. He talked a lot about his earlier run, in 2004, where he came within a whisker of defeating Bunning, who, thankfully, is retiring. I had spoken to the lieutenant governor earlier when he visited our table, telling him of my familiarity with the property he owns on Louisville Road in Frankfort, property which has become an issue in the campaign. It is located very near the Game Farm , also on Louisville Road and backs up to lands which run off Pea Ridge Road to the north. My grandmother, Vivian "Tommie" Lewis Hockensmith was born and raised back in that area. Much of my family farmed acres of land owned by a long-since gone distant cousin, Taylor Collins. [For the record, I presently have another cousin named Taylor Collins, a student at Wake Forest University, although, to my knowledge, I have never met him]. Yet another distant cousin, Irvine Carroll Moore, once operated the old Whippoorwill Springs Golf Course in this area, although his land is now part of the Capital City Airport. But, I digress.

Governor Mongiardo was followed by Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway. I am supporting Conway, just as I have in all of his races. Jack will be 40 (I think) on July 5th. He is also recently married and a new father. Jack covered his accomplishments as Attorney General, and hopes to carry those accomplishments as a base for his work as a United States Senator. Although I support Jack, I've been sorely disappointed in his absolute adherance to Kentucky's Death Penalty laws, laws which I believe are inhumane. The night before he was elected into office me and my friend Jessie addressed that matter with him, She, like me, opposes the law as well. She asked me why Jack didn't make it over to our table and I reminded her of our pre-election discussion with him on the matter. Jack's speeches always seem a bit too serious for me to be honest.

Next up was my favortite congressman, my congressman John Yarmuth. John gave one of his typical, broadbased speeches, extolling at length the virtues of the Democratic Party. He covered all the points, all the legislation, all the good and great reasons that many of us, from all parts of the political spectrum, join together under the big tent as Democrats. John left nothing out and he was right on every point. And, at its base, that joining together is a great belief in the WE, as opposed to the ME. We - Democrats - believe we are all in this together, all better off because of each other, all partly responsible not only for ourselves but for each other. It is a fundamental difference with the ME generation fostered by Ronald Reagan, whose extreme nationalism - and at times jingoism - will someday be recorded as the beginning of the end of the Great American Empire. Reagan destroyed some of the collective fabric which joined Americans together as "we the people." But, again, I digress. But I will come back to John's speech later in the "plagiarism" part of this entry.

It was a long night, but the best was saved for last. Congressman Yarmuth had the honor of introducing the Guest of Honor, Wendell Ford. The eighty-five year old statesman quickly and forcefully made his way to the podium. And while many thought David Tandy's speech was a barnburner (and it was), Tandy's only served as the junior associate to that of his very seasoned mentor. Ford gave a strong speech on unity and hope - hope for a Democratic State Senate in Kentucky, hope for a Democratic Senator from Kentucky in Washington this fall, and hope for the demise of the powers of Mitch McConnell. His raised his voiced, waved his arms, and brought everyone to their feet in an ecstasy of support. He went on for several minutes, all to the enjoyment of everyone there. It was vintage and classic Wendell Ford and for those present was a special treat.

I've known Wendell Ford all my life. I remember him coming to Okolona when he was a candidate for governor. He and his running mate, Julian Carroll, who was also present tonight, walked in a parade from the old "B" District Democratic Headquarters, opposite the old Okolona Elementary (where the present Okolona Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library now sits) down to the old Okolona Little League ballpark, now the site of the Home Depot at Preston Highway and Blue Lick Road. I participated in that parade, probably at the behest of my grandmother mentioned earlier in this entry. That was in 1971. I've enjoyed nearly all of the almost forty years of politics since then.

The night closed with the crowd joining in the singing of My Old Kentucky Home, led by Jefferson County PVA Tony Lindauer.

*****

The title of this entry mentions plagiarism. I try not to plagiarise and when I do I always acknoweldge it. Back in March, entry #603 covered, inter alia, a Facebook discussion on the role of a liberal activist government - the type of government I believe in, the type of government I believe was fostered by many of the Founding Fathers. Entry #603 was mostly a back-and-forth between my young friend Preston Bates (with whom I've not spoken in some time) on the right side of the issue (although he claimed libertarian interests) - along with a few supporters of his, and a few of us older and allegedly wiser liberals on the left. It was a great discussion. I'm not sure who won, or if anyone won.

Earlier today I was reading one of my favorite blogs, barefootandprogressive.com, a Lexington-based politically progressive and often irreverent take on central Kentucky. A writer, pseudonominally known to readers as Ronnie Cottonpants, offered a commentary today which mimicked the arguments and beliefs Ken Herndon, Bruce Maples, and I used in our dialogue with Preston, as well as mimicking the speech given by Congressman Yarmuth last night. Mr. Cottonpants' entry is aimed at libertarianism and the Rand Paul campaign, but along the way he states many of the creeds many of us on the left firmly hold.

As I said, their writing is far more irreverent than mine and the commentary below contains language I normally do not commit to writing. But it is commentary worth reading and with which I wholly agree. Thus, below is copied Ronnie Cottonpants entry from Thursday. Any comments will be appreciated.

*****

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Sense

A liberal mind requires faith in humanity combined with a generous portion of self-loathing. A conservative mind requires a love of America and a hatred of Americans. A Tea Partier's mind requires the sort of bitterness and paranoia that can only be cultivated through seven months of in-utero binge drinking. Finally, a libertarian's mind requires an equal amount common sense and insanity.

I say that because I think I really get Libertarians. Honestly. Not in the condescending way that atheists think they "get" Christians, or how insufferable pricks say they "get" jazz. Some of my favorite people in the world are Libertarians. My friends, my cousins, they all tell me that the government has no business in our day to day affairs. While their tone and level of interest often changes, they are united by one common-sense principle: they don't want anyone taking their pot.

And why should they? Our drug laws in this country are insane. I wholeheartedly support a "Get Your Laws Off of My Mellow" policy. The same applies to marriage laws. Gays (some of those Americans Republicans pretend don't make up America) should be allowed to marry whoever they want without government interference. Will gay marriage lead to legalized polygamy? Who gives a shit? I stand with my Libertarian brethren on both drugs and marriage: we have the inalienable right to fuck ourselves and fuck others as we so choose.

But Libertarians are insane as well. Many of them have a philosophy that goes no deeper than Ronald Reagan's famous quote, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" For one, it's decidedly untrue--much scarier nine words, "I am from the government and you have AIDS"--but, worse, it's built on an old and harmful lie. That is the lie of "None of my business."

Does it matter if your neighbor dies broke and alone? On the surface, it's none of your business. But to believe that his success or failure has no bearing on your success or failure requires such a monomaniacal delusion that insanity seems too kind a word for it. Why is it when one store goes broke, other stores around it go broke as well? Is it because when people are out of work, there's less money to spend? Or is it because, Who cares, it's none of my business? When schools go broke, what happens to the students? If you said, private interests will take care of them, then open your eyes and describe your sphincter, because you're head's in your ass. In a community (and like it or not, that's what you live in) you rise and fall with others.

Of course, if the government didn't exist, what would take it's place? Private business, of course, which has to answer to the will of the marketplace. Does it matter if your hospital has a Pepsi sign on it or your policeman give you Wal-Mart coupons along with your speeding ticket? That depends if you believe that private companies have your best interests at heart. When executives refer to their "bottom lines" are they talking about the health and safety of their communities?

Given what the private banks have done, what BP has done, what the Massey Mines have done all in the last few months, no serious person can argue that private companies left to their own devices will work for communities rather than for themselves. I'm familiar with the argument that "A few bad apples don't spoil the bunch," but aren't the stakes too high for that type of thinking? If you eat a bad apple, you throw it away and get a new apple: if your mine collapses on your head because it was too expensive to make it safer then you're dead.

That's my problem with the Libertarian philosophy, but unfortunately, my problem with Libertarians (at least the ones making all the noise in Kentucky) runs a little deeper. I have to ask, what does it say about Libertarians when they're proven right and won't claim victory? They say that the government can't be trusted, that it is mad with power, and that the real goal is to grab you without reason and put you away. Last week, with the passage of the Arizona immigration law, their worst fears were confirmed. What have the Libertarians said about it? Not a peep. Is that because it's none of their business, or is it because it doesn't effect white people?

I'd love to think the Rand Paul voters are sensible and insane, but the longer this silence stretches on, the more they come across as craven and bigoted.

*****

One more comment on the Wendell Ford Dinner. I spoke briefly at the end of the night with former Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Moore about her prospects for a statewide candidacy in 2011 and offered my support should she make such a run.

620. The Sun Shines Bright on My Old Kentucky Rail

When I woke up this morning it was, as forecasted, raining. The National Weather Service had forecast a very wet Derby Day although they did not forecast a rainy Derby. Throughout the day the forecasters watched the radar stretching back to the southwest from Louisville to Owensboro and Evansville and into northern Missouri. As the storms moved throughout the day, everyone was holding out for the sun to shine on Churchill Downs for the 136th Kentucky Derby, which was scheduled to go to the post at 6:28 pm.

I remember Derby Day 1977. I was at the track in my jeans and a Durrett High School t-shirt. The race went off an hour earlier in those days. It had been a mostly sunny day but clouds did gather to a drizzling point sometime around 4. An older gentleman, probably around 40, joined me as I stood along the old Paddock fence line. He asked me if I thought it would clear up for the Derby and I assured him it would - based on what I have no idea. Everything I knew about weatherforecasting I had just learned the year before in Mr. Shield's 10th grade Science Class. It did, in fact, clear up and my new friend rewarded my forecasting skills with a very nice afternoon, seeing horse racing's second most recent Triple Crown champion win the first leg of that three-legged series - Seattle Slew. Seattle Slew was foaled on February 15, 1974; won the Derby on May 7, 1977; and died twenty-five years later on May 7, 2002; and remains my favorite Derby winner.

Today's weather was unlike that day in 1977. It rained all day - 1.62 inches as of this writing. But, miraculously, the rain abated about 5:30 pm. The Churchill Downs race crew furiously went to work getting as much water off the track ahead of the big race, although the track was still muddy when the Derby was ran. Then, as the horses were being led to the Starting Gate, sometime around 6:25 pm, here came the Sun in all its glory. A round of applause went up from the nearly 156,000 people in attendance. It was the first time all day the sun had peered through the clouds. As the twenty horses were loaded into the gate, the sun came out full and broad, shining bright on Kentucky.

The race went off at 6:32 pm. For the second time in two years, and the third time in four years, a Louisville-based jockey, Calvin Borel, rode the Derby winner. Super Saver ran the race in 2:04 and 2/5, a slow time on a muddy track. Borel had won two races earlier in the day, riding the inside rail in each of those victories. And that is how he won the 136th Kentucky Derby, riding the rail, running ahead of Ice Box and Paddy O'Prado.

I had bets on Noble's Promise, Stately Victor, Jackson Bend, and Homeboykris, the latter just for fun. They placed 5th, 8th, 12th, and 15th respectively. Continuing the trend of most of today's winners, Super Saver made for a decent return on a $2.00 bet, paying $18.00, $8.00, and $6.00.

Thus another name is etched into the annals of Louisville and Horseracing history - Super Saver. And Calvin Borel's stock climbs in like manner. Happy Derby.

619. Luck Was A Lady

We ended the last entry with a song sung in the 1950s play Guys and Dolls. Staying with the theme, today's entry reminds us of a song performed in the 1955 movie version of the play. A very sultry and handsome Sky Masterson, portrayed by a 31 year old Marlon Brando, sang Luck Be A Lady. That was the story in today's running of The Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

A record crowd of just over 116,000 watched the favorite Blind Luck (on the left in this Courier-Journal photo) win her race over Evening Jewel by a lucky nose's length on what could only be described as one of the prettiest days weatherwise in many years here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. Rafael Bejarano rode the filly to a win in the 136th renewal of the classic race for fillies. A winning two dollar ticket paid $4.60, $3.60, and $2.80. Blind Luck ran the 1 1/8 mile race in 1.50.70 according to the Courier-Journal.

Tomorrow's weather promises to be wet and windy. If the sun is to shine bright, let's hope it does so late in the day for the 136th running of The Kentucky Derby. I placed my bets today on Stately Victor, Jackson Bend, and Noble's Promise. Odds at the time were 30-1, 15-1, and 12-1 respectively. As is my wont, I rolled some perfecta and trifecta boxes, hoping for a payoff worthy of today's weather. We'll see. As Sgt. Sarah Brown of the Save-A-Soul Mission sings in Guys and Dolls, come tomorrow night, I'll know.

Happy Derby.

618. I've got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere . . . .

A little over two days and five hours from now will be the 136th running of The Kentucky Derby. I've got plans to bet on three horses - rolling them together in a perfecta box and a trifecta box. The horses are Jackson Bend, Stately Victor, and Noble's Promise (in the photo at right).

Below are the words from a song sung in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls. It is called Fugue for the Tinhorns. It's about a horserace.

Happy Derby.

*****

NICELY NICELY
I got the horse right here
The name is Paul Revere
And here's a guy that says that the weather's clear
Can do, can do, this guy says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do, can do, can do.

(Benny starts singing his part at this time, while Nicely continues:)
Can do - can do - this guy says the horse can do
If he says the horse can do - can do, can do.

(Rusty starts singing his part as the time, while Nicely and Benny continue:)
For Paul Revere I'll bite
I hear his foot's all right
Of course it all depends if it rained last night

Likes mud, likes mud, this X means the horse likes mud
If that means the horse likes mud, likes mud
Likes mud.

I tell you Paul Revere
Now this is no bum steer
It's from a handicapper that's real sincere
Can do, can do, this guy says the horse can do.
If he says the horse can do - can do - can do.
Paul Revere. I got the horse right here.

BENNY
I'm pickin' Valentine, 'cause on the morning line
A guy has got him figured at five to nine
Has chance, has chance, this guy says the horse has chance
if he says the horse has chance, has chance, has chance

I know it's Valentine, the morning work looks fine
Besides the jockey's brother's a friend of mine
Needs race, needs race, this guy says the horse needs race
If he says the horse needs race, needs race, needs race.
I go for Valentine, 'Cause on the morning line,
The guy has got him figured at five to nine
Has chance, has chance, this guy says the horse has chance
Valentine! I got the horse right here.

RUSTY CHARLIE
But look at Epitaph. he wins it by a half
According to this here in the Telegraph
"Big Threat" - "Big Threat"
This guy calls the horse "Big Threat"
If he calls the horse "Big Threat",
Big Threat, Big Threat.

And just a minute, boys.
I've got the feed box noise
It says the great-grandfather was Equipoise
Shows class, shows class.
This guy says the horse shows class
If he says the horse shows class
Shows class, show's class.

So make it Epitaph, he wins it by a half
According to this here in the Telegraph.
Epitaph! I got the hore right here!

617. Full moon of Kentucky keep on shining.

There is a beautiful full moon out there. It is hanging way up in the sky somewhere over the knobs out around Boston, Kentucky. I've been sitting out in my front yard, ate a tin of smoked oysters in hot sauce, and then smoked a cigar. Life is grand.

616. A Free Day, Finally; Thus A Ride

I've been busy - thus there's been very little posting. As I've written before, I am involved with a mayoral campaign - that of Greg Fischer, the front-runner according to all of the polls in the Democratic Primary, which is set for May 18. Most of the last month or so has been a series of meetings and meetings, and other meetings, with EXCEL sheets and other data thrown in. It has been somewhat exasperating, but, as my candidate is in the lead, it is paying off.

This last week has been one of the campaign's best, with a widely broadcast debate earlier in the week where Mr. Fischer's three closest opponents took aim at him with their questions, giving him not only time to explain his positions, but then further time to make them clear (or clearer). Poor stategy on the part of the other campaigns; never give the front-runner additional airtime. Mr. Fischer's question went to the guy in third place, not second, a much wiser tactic. The two African-American women in the race properly aimed their questions at the African-American gentleman also in the race as that is arguably their best possible candidate from whom to pick up votes.

Mr. Fischer was also endorsed by three more state legislators as well as the very popular former Congressman Ron Mazzoli, a member of the United States House of Representatives for twenty-four years and a resident of one of his opponents' Metro Council districts. Those endorsements were capped by that of Dave Armstrong. Armstrong formerly served as both Mayor of the old City of Louisville and as well as Jefferson County Judge/Executive, the two positions whose duties were combined to create the duties of Louisville Metro Mayor, the office Mr. Fischer is seeking.

As stated, it has been a great week politically. Nonetheless, I've really needed a day where I neither went to my regular nine-to-five or had obligations as a campaign consultant. Today, for a variety of unrelated reasons, became that day.

Ergo, I declared a holiday. I have that power, at least over those people under my command, a total populace of One. For argument's sake, April 24 should be a holiday for writers, of which I count myself as one, anyway. The first newspaper in America was published on this date in 1704 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Library of Congress, the great repository of America's written works, was established on this date in 1800 by President Adams. Today is the birthday of one of America's great poets, Robert Penn Warren, born in Guthrie, Kentucky (down on the Tennessee line) in 1905. Sue Grafton, another American writer, a native of Louisville, and known for her Kinsey Millhone detective novels, was born on this date in 1940. Finally, my youngest niece, Aubreana, celebrates her eleventh birthday on this date. I'm sure she does considerable writing in her classes at Hite Elementary School in eastern Jefferson County.

So, with a reason to celebrate, a holiday declared, time on my hands, and a full tank of gas, I called a friend and asked him if he was up to a ride. I knew he was as his week has been as exasperating as my month - the time away from the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606 would be a welcome respite for both of us.

We headed south on I-65 to Elizabethtown. The first stop was in the Lebanon Junction area where a company along KY61 (S. Preston Highway in Bullitt County) sells metal trailers for trucks, something my friend has been interested in buying for some time. We found a few that might merit a second trip, then moved on toward our as-yet-undetermined destination. Trips with as-yet-undetermined destinations can be the best kind. Neither of us were interested in going anywhere in particular; we just wanted to go somewhere.

Reaching E'town, we ramped westward onto the Western Kentucky Parkway. He remarked we had made this leg of the trip before, back in 1999, when we drove a 1968 Red Mustang Convertible down to the Fancy Farm Picnic. I assured him we weren't headed to Fancy Farm as I had someplace to be late tonight - and still do.

At the intersection with KY84, we exitted the parkway and headed along the two-lane across US62 and westward through rural Hardin County. KY84 runs this path for another eighteen miles, almost of all them in Hardin County, which is one of Kentucky's largest counties. [The map at left is from 1895]. With 630 square miles of territory, Hardin is more than one and one half times the size of Jefferson County. KY84 crosses Rough River in far western Hardin County, at this pont truly just a creek, and enters into Breckinridge County, like Hardin, another of Kentucky's larger counties. Breckinridge covers 586 square miles of territory. KY84 ends abruptly at KY401, which frankly is rather odd. Two-digit highways typically connect with other two digit highways, or with federal highways such as US60. To end at the three-digit number goes against the orthodoxy of Kentucky's highway numbering system. That discussion aside, we turned left on KY401 for the four-mile trek to KY259, one of the main north-south routes in this part of our state. KY259 runs from Breckinridge County south, crossing over three of Kentucky's well known rivers, the Rough, Nolin, and Green, before ending in southern Kentucky in Warren County. We travelled the route northward to the Breckinridge County seat of Hardinsburg. A friend of mine once spent some extended time in Hardinsburg, literally doing time in the Breckinridge County Regional Correctional Facility located west of town near the US60 Bypass. I visited him there on several occasions.

From Hardinsburg we headed west on US60, a very well built four-lane highway, eventually reduced to a well-built three- and then two-lane highway as it makes its way northwestwardly toward the Ohio River. The current road by-passes the old river town of Cloverport, a quaint little burg on both sides of Clover Creek, at Milepost 707.6 along the Ohio River. We drove down into and through Cloverport, over the narrow bridge (at left, built in 1922) and through the old river town, around the square and up past St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church alongside the railroad tracks, then back up the hill to US60. Cloverport is well-known in Kentucky history as the place from which a seven-year old boy named Abraham, in the tow of his parents, Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and other family members left the Commonwealth of Kentucky and were ferried across to Tobinsport, Indiana. The Lincoln family's westward movements serve as the genesis for three different state mottoes: Kentucky, Lincoln's Birthplace; Indiana, Lincoln's Boyhood Home; and Illinois, the Land of Lincoln.

Not too far out of Cloverport is the Breckinridge/Hancock County line. We stayed with US60 through the county and, unlike at Cloverport, we did not go off the main road down into the county seat of Hawesville. From Hawesville westward, US60 makes the bend to the south and becomes a four-lane highway all the way into Daviess County. Hancock has the distinction of being one of the eight of Kentucky's counties which carried for Barack Obama in the November 2008 election. (For the record, the other seven were Jefferson, Fayette, Henderson, Elliott, Menifee, Wolfe, and Rowan). But, I digress.


Once arrived in Daviess County we decided to do what most tourists do in Daviess County - that is to go have dinner at the Moonlite Bar-B-Q on W. Parrish Avenue. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea. There appeared to be some sort of combination biker rally/Gatewood Galbraith rally. Lots of motorcycles, lots of Galbraith 2011 signs, along with more than a few Boswell-sticerked automobiles. Maybe all that was coincidental; maybe not. We skipped Moonlite and drove around downtown Owensboro where they are rebuilding the waterfront on the Ohio. Owensboro was originally known as Yellow Bank or Yellowbanks. We left town driving over what was once the US231 North bridge (J. R. Miller Boulevard), but now carries a four-digit number becoming IN161 once into the Hoosier state.

The old routing of US231 heads due north for about eight miles coming to a end at a T intersection with IN66 in the community of Reo. IN66 heads eastward to Rockport, another river town which serves as the county seat of Spencer County. The new US231 (William Natcher Bridge) comes into the state just east of Rockport. The Indiana Department of Highways has been rebuilding US231 from this point north to I-64 for a number of years. They've completed about 1/3 of the project. The new road is a broad parkway-like structure which empties onto I-64 just west of the town of Dale. We stopped in Dale and ate some food at Windell's Cafe, one of two eateries in the town. The food was pretty standard American fare. I had chicken salad, my friend had an open face Roast Beef sandwich. Both came with fries and creamy coleslaw.

Once on I-64 and headed east, we really didn't intend to make any more stops. We were about 75 miles from Louisville and the winds, thunder, rain, and occasional hail prompted us toward home. Nonetheless, I can never pass by the town of Ferdinand without gazing upon the Monastery Immaculate Conception at the top of the hill on the east side of the town, about 2 miles north of I-64. The monastery was built in the early 1900s, completed in 1924, and is home to the Roman Catholic Sisters of Saint Benedict. I have visited the "Castle on the Hill" many times and am always awed by it. Today, even in the rain, was no different. We drove around the circle past the rows and rows marking the graves of deceased members of the Sisters, and back down 10th Street past the St. Ferdinand Parish church and cemetery into town and headed south along Main Street back to I-64.


From this point, we made no more stops and arrived safely back to the hustle and bustle of life along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. All is well.

615. Louisville Switches Time Zones

Like nearly all of the country, twice a year we moves our clocks, once forward, once backward. Spring forward, Fall back is the easy catchline to remember which way the clocks go when. Here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606, we have a third switch. It happens every year at some point and this year that some point is today. For the next three weeks, Louisville will be operating on Derby Time. Every thing we do is governed by this event that very few of us actually attend (although that wasn't always the case). I've written of Derby Time before.

As I said it started today which, I might add, was an exceptionally beautiful day to start. You know it is time to switch over by the sounds of the military airplanes flying overhead. The elite of the elite - creme de la creme - of our nation's aircraft ascend and descend the skies praticing for tomorrow's big air show down along the Ohio River. Some of my lefty friends object to the massive display of military arrogance the planes and their pilots display. An orgy of fuel is spent in the practice and performance over the two days. I happen to like it myself. And I particularly like that they come in on Friday for practice.

Tomorrow is the great Thunder Over Louisville event, the world's largest choreographed fireworks display which will come to an end with its eponymous self, actual but man-made thunder over Louisville sometime around 10:00 pm tomorrow night. While I love the military air show, Thunder over Louisville, which brings to town 500,000 to 750,000 people and parks them all along the waterfront, is too much humanity for me to fathom. At some point tomorrow I'll either start cleaning my kitchen, which will takes hours to accomplish - finishing well past the 10:00 thunderous termination of Thunder's events, or, as is my wont, I may take to Kentucky's backroads for a short trip.

I've got the tent already packed in the car along with a couple of sleeping bags and other paraphernalia appropriate for a one-night trip. Green River Lake is calling me, for sure. So is the Hillbilly Days Festival in Pikeville, which is a nearly a state away.

Those of you who are sticking around, enjoy the Thunder. And go ahead and take off your watches. For the next three weeks, Louisville is on DT - Derby Time.

Below is a list of the numerous street closures for Thunder. Generally speaking, if you can, avoid Louisville tomorrow if you are driving.

The following street will be closed on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. until Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.: River Road from Bingham Way to Eighth Street

The following street will be closed on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 1:30 a.m. until Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.: Bingham Way from Witherspoon Street to River Road

The following streets will be closed on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 3:30 p.m. until Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 9:00 a.m: Ramp from westbound Interstate 64 to Third Street, Ramp from Second Street to eastbound Interstate 64, Witherspoon Street from Preston Street to Brook Street, River Road from Preston Street to Witherspoon Street

The following streets will be closed on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. until Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.:

(Local traffic and pass traffic will be allowed provided there are no pedestrian safety issues. Residents and businesses within the closure area will need to contact LMPD for passes)

River Road from Zorn Avenue to Witherspoon Street
Witherspoon Street from Bingham Way to Second Street
Witherspoon Street from Preston Street to River Road
Washington Street from Preston Street to Second Street
Preston Street from Main Street to Witherspoon Street
Floyd Street from Main Street to Witherspoon Street
Brook Street from Main Street to Witherspoon Street
First Street from Main Street to Witherspoon Street
Second Street from Main Street to River Road
Third Street from Main Street to River Road

The following ramp will be closed on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.:

Ramp from Muhammad Ali Blvd. to Interstate 65 northbound

The following interstates will be closed on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.:

Interstate 65 northbound from Interstate 264 (Watterson Expressway) to Interstate 64Interstate 64 westbound from Interstate 264 (Watterson Expressway) to 22nd Street
Interstate 64 eastbound from Interstate 264 (Shawnee Expressway) to Interstate 71
Interstate 71 southbound from Interstate 264 (Watterson Expressway) to Interstate 65

Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge)
This bridge will be closed at the following dates and times:
Saturday, April 17, 2010 - All day
Sunday, April 18, 2010 - Midnight to 2:00 p.m.


Emergency Route

Only authorized emergency vehicles can use the following route from 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Muhammad Ali Blvd. from Roy Wilkins Blvd. to Clay Street
Second Street from Main Street to Jacob Street
Northbound Second Street traffic will be diverted at Breckinridge Street


Thunder Over Louisville No Parking Areas

There will be No Parking from 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 16, 2010 and all day Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the following streets.

Bingham Way from River Road to Witherspoon Street
Witherspoon Street from Bingham Way to Preston Street
River Road from Preston Street to Witherspoon Street

There will be No Parking all day Saturday, April 17, 2010 on the following streets.

Main Street from Clay Street to 22nd Street
Mellwood Avenue from Spring Street to Zorn Avenue
Market Street from Baxter Avenue to Tenth Street
Johnson Street from Baxter Avenue to Main Street
Liberty Street Baxter Avenue to Roy Wilkins Blvd.
Baxter Avenue from Main Street to Broadway
Chestnut Street from First Street to Roy Wilkins Blvd.
Jacob Street from Second Street to First Street
Preston Street from Witherspoon Street to Jackson Street
Oak Street from Floyd Street to Eighth Street (south side only)
Kentucky Street from Sixth Street to Fourth Street
Washington Street from Second Street to Preston Street
Witherspoon Street from Second Street to Bingham Way
Witherspoon Street from Preston Street to River Road - this is my neighborhood
River Road from Witherspoon Street to Blankenbaker Lane
First Street from Witherspoon Street to Cardinal Blvd
Second Street Main Street to College Street
Third Street from River Road to Eastern Parkway
Fourth Street from Broadway to Winkler Avenue
Fifth Street from Main Street to Broadway
Armory Place from Liberty Street to Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Sixth Street River Road to Hill Street
Seventh Street from Washington Street to Liberty Street
Eighth Street from Washington Street to Broadway
Ninth Street from Main Street to Market Street
Roy Wilkins Blvd. from Market Street to Myrtle Street
Seventh Street from Myrtle Street to Algonquin Parkway
15th Street from Main Street to Portland Avenue
22nd Street from Bank Street to Northwestern Parkway
Portland Avenue from 15th to 22nd Street (north side only)
Lexington Road from Baxter Avenue to Payne Street
Broadway from Barret Avenue to 12th Street
Floyd Street from Witherspoon Street to Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Muhammad Ali Blvd. from Clay Street to Roy Wilkins Blvd.
Brook Street from Witherspoon Street to Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Jackson Street from Main Street to Market Street
Jefferson Street from Preston Street to Roy Wilkins Blvd
Adams Street from Witherspoon Street to Story Avenue - this is my neighborhoodSpring Street from Story Avenue to Lexington Avenue.
Frankfort Avenue from River Road to Story Avenue (Tow lot and local traffic only)Baxter Avenue from Broadway to Highland Avenue (west side only)
Bardstown Road from Broadway to Taylorsville Road (west side only)

Like I said. Stay away.

614. Kentucky Young Democrats come to Louisville

A long, long time ago - wait, there is a trivia question there. What early 1970s song began with those words?

Let me try again. That's not the answer although that is the name of another old song. Let me try to start again.

The Kentucky Young Democrats are coming to Louisville this weekend for their convention. It's good to have such an active group of young Democrats making themselves known here in our Commonwealth. A long, long time ago I was a Kentucky Young Democrat. We had several chapters here in Louisville which met in various places, usually at the old "Fourth Street Headquarters," the old Vienna Bakery building at 133 S. Fourth Street which was home to the Jefferson County Party for much of the mid-20th century. I belonged to the KYDs off-and-on from about 1977 to about 1986. It is where I first met people like retired Judge Tom McDonald, former Winchester mayor Dodd Dixon, Lincoln County PVA David Gambrel, former Congressman Mike Ward, Obama appointee to the USDA's Kentucky office John McCauley, and my long-time friend Mary-John Celletti.

We went to conventions here in Louisville, down in Bowling Green, over in Owensboro, several in Frankfort, a few in Lexington, and one in particular in Morehead. At one point we had rival KYD groups competing with each other. Bobby Rowe and Jack McLain both claimed to be president at the same time. We had a lot of fun straightening that out. We also went to national meetings in St. Louis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, Nashville, and Washington, DC. I once played My Old Kentucky Home on a piano in the assembly hall in Philadelphia as new Kentucky Governor John Young Brown, Jr. was about to speak. I didn't mention to him that I really wasn't happy with him given that he had laid me off from my part-time job in LRC on April 15, 1980, while I was a student at UK. Yes, governor, I still remember.

All, every one, of my memories with the KYD are good. We worked hard for candidates, we played hard at convention time, and more than a few of us went on to work either as candidates or advisors to candidates or both. And it is my hope that this group of young activists will someday takes the reins of our present Kentucky Democratic Party. I have met many of them over the past few years and am confident they will provide a strong sense of leadership whenever they do take control. The truth is I hope that happens sooner than later.

Let me offer you a string of numbers - 48, 39, 43, 47, 43, 46, 47, 46, 52, 58, 51, 63. Those numbers represent the age at which governors Combs, Breathitt, Nunn, Ford, Carroll, Brown, Collins, Wilkinson, Jones, Patton, Fletcher, and Beshear were inaugurated, respectively. I chose this group as these are the men and one woman who have served as Kentucky's Chief Magistrate during my lifetime. There is, in my opinion, a trend there which is troubling. Since the election of Brereton Jones in 1991, an election in which all I did was vote, our governors have gotten older. Paul Patton, who I supported in the Primary and General of 1995 was 58 - the oldest in many decades until Governor Beshear took office at the age of 63. The last time we inaugurated a governor in his sixties was in 1943, six days after Governor Simeon Willis (at left) had celebrated his 64th birthday.

It is my hope that this next generation of young Democrats, will like some generations before it, ascend to the highest offices of the Commonwealth sooner rather than later in their lives. It is time for people my age (like Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo and State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach, all of us turning 50 this year) to help this younger group however we can. There are very able leaders within the current body of the Kentucky Young Democrats. Chad Aull (in the picture with Fayette PVA David O'Neill on his right) and Coleman Elridge are two that come to mind. When they - the entire group - leave their assembly this weekend, I would ask that each return to their home counties and look for - or go ahead and create - opportunities for themselves to seek offices, whether in the State or Federal Party, or in their home courthouses, or in the houses of the General Assembly, or even statewide, and that they do so sooner rather than later.

I ran for a few offices when I was young - I lost those races - but I also waited around for the one office I thought I wanted to hold until the incumbent retired. I never dreamt my wait would take me all the way to 2004. But it did. And, the truth is, it should not have. Our cities, counties, and state cannot afford to hang on forever to the current Democrats holding office. A quick look at the successes of the past several General Assemblies makes this point all too clear. Far too many officeholders are simply that - officeholders as opposed to public servants. Our state can only afford such leadership for so long. We need these new young Democrats in a very serious way. I want to personally welcome them to Louisville and wish them well on their convention. But I also want to challenge them, especially as we look to the 2012 Party Reorganization, to take an active role in the Party between now and then and then be prepared to take control of the Party come April, May, and June of that year.

That and enjoy your youth. It comes to an end way too damn quick.

Below is the agenda for this weekend's convention.

*****

Kentucky Young Democrats
State Convention
April 9 & 10, 2010
Galt House, Louisville
State Convention Schedule:
Friday, April 9
7:00pm- Join us Friday night for the reception with Alice Germond, National DNC Secretary http://www.democrats.org/a/party/germond.html
Cost is $10 for YD’s (Included in registration for the whole weekend)
$25 for non-YD’s

Saturday, April 10
(Grand Ballroom A)
9:30am- Speaker: Daniel Mongiardo
10:00am- Presentation: Campaigning in Rural Kentucky
11:00am- Lunch Speaker: Congressman John Yarmuth
12:30pm- Break-Out Sessions: Campaign School and Chapter Building (in separate meeting rooms)
2:00pm- Speaker: Jack Conway
2:30pm- Awards/Elections

Easter

Today is Easter Sunday, the Day of Resurrection of Jesus. Without Easter there would be no reason for Christianity. With all its diverse beliefs, schisms, offshoots, sects, megachurches, tiny chapels, and divisions, through it all, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic or Orthodox or anywhere in between, all of Christendom shares with each other because of Easter. Happy Easter.

Below are the words of two old hymns I've known since I was little kid. They are two of the earliest songs I learned to play on the piano. Both remind me of my grandmother who died in 1976 and even of her mother, my greatgrandmother, who died in 1967. If I knew how, I'd provide a YouTube link for both of them. You'll just have to do that on your own.

The hymns are In the Garden and He Lives.

In the Garden
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The son of God discloses

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet that the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

Chorus:
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

He Lives
I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living, Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He's always near.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,
And tho my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading Thro' all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing Will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs To Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, The help of all who find,
None other is so loving, So good and kind.

Chorus:
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me - and He talks with me - Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He live, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart.

From the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 6: "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.