403. Rednecks for Barack

I got an email from one of my Shelby County cousins, one of those “you might be a redneck if” analyses. At the end, there is a line that explains “if you got this email from me, it is because I believe that you, like me, have just enough Redneck in you to have the same beliefs as those talked about in this email.”

My Shelby and Franklin county cousins, which are numerous, think of me and my brother as city kids, as we are from Louisville, and they are from places like Waddy, Graefensburg, Bridgeport, Bagdad, Choateville, and North Benson. Then my friends from Louisville keep a wary eye on me, given that they are from Louisville, while I am from Okolona, South Park, or even Fairdale. It’s all relative. The particular cousin who sent me this is just a few days older than me. And we are affiliated with the same political party. So it stands to reason we have similar views.

One of the lines in her “you might be a redneck if” analyses reads “You know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.” I’ve been accused of such thinking for most of my life, so I guess I qualify. But in the litany of “you might be’s” are several others and I’d like to comment on them, vis-à-vis the upcoming election. I think this is important since one of the reasons these emails are being passed about may be political.

So, first I’ll list the “you might be” as received in the email followed by my comments.

You might be a Red Neck if it never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase “One Nation, Under God.” This is an easy one. I’m not offended at all by that statement. I’ve written many times about my beliefs in God, God as creator, God in general. I also know that phrase is officially fairly recent in America’s history. The idea originated with the Knights of Columbus in 1951. After attending a sermon delivered by the Rev. George McPherson at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. on February 7, 1954, President Eisenhower agreed to take up the cause. The picture at right was taken that day. A bill adding these words was signed by the president on Flag Day, 1954.

You might be a Red Neck if you’ve never protested about seeing The Ten Commandments in public places. This one is different. I’ve never personally protested. I do belong to the ACLU and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, both of which do protest such things. I have a problem with state-sponsored support of religion. I take it seriously. When I was a candidate for the Metro Council, one of the questions I was often asked was how or if I would support so-called “faith-based” programs for the needy. My response was I wouldn’t. Giving money to churches is not something a government should do, under whatever auspices. I do believe in government sponsored welfare of needy individuals; I do not believe in government sponsored welfare for churches, who then determine who is and isn’t needy. So, by extension, I have a problem with The Ten Commandments as an official government posting or in an official government placement. That doesn’t mean I’m anti-Ten Commandments. Nor does it mean I’m anti- people who support The Ten Commandments, of which I am one.

You might be a Red Neck if you still say Christmas instead of Winter Festival. Like Barack Obama, I am Christian. I do still say Christmas, and I never use an “X” as in abbreviation such as “X-mas.” I also keep track of solstices and equinoxes, and full, waxing, waning, and new moons, which probably makes me suspect.

You might be a Red Neck if you bow your head when someone prays. Another easy one. I pray and I believe in prayer. And I bow my head when I do or when someone else does. I've prayed for any number of things including the current presidency. I've prayed for successes in plans and help with the weather. I've prayed for good health and good jobs, both for me and others. At least once a week I pray the Lord's Prayer, which includes the line "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Take note of that measurement, asking for forgiveness in the measure which we personally dole it out.

You might be a Red Neck if you stand and place your hand over your heart when you someone plays the National Anthem. Another gimme. And I love to go to baseball games and do it with a whole bunch of other people at the same time. I even tend to do so when it is played on TV. One of the greatest feelings in the world, literally in the world, is when Americans win medals at the Olympics and the whole world gets to hear my national anthem.

You might be a Red Neck if you treat our Armed Forces veterans with great respect and always have. I was raised by my maternal grandfather, a World War Two United States Navy veteran. He served in Europe and the Pacific. When I learned to play the piano as a kid, he made sure I learned all the service branch-hymns so I could play them for his buddies up at the Okolona VFW Post 8639 on the old piano in the original hall. I still play them. I still respect him, his friends, and those who have gone on to serve in his place since he is no longer here. Just last week I went on Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s website where he has a program where you sign up to get a button saying you are voting for a Veteran. I signed up, listed my grandfather and his service in the 114th Battalion of the Seabees, WW2. I got my button in the mail and will wear it Election Day.

You might be a Red Neck if you’ve never burned an American Flag not intend to. Well, I have properly burned one, actually several, to dispose of them. But I’ve never burned one myself. But, like our hopefully outgoing United States Senator Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr., I support our United States Constitutional right to do so. And I oppose a Constitutional Amendment to change that right, thereby abridging one’s freedom of speech.

You might be a Red Neck if you know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter who is listening. That’s what I am doing here!

You might be a Red Neck if you respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same. I’ve only fulfilled one-half of this obligation as I have no kids. But, I’ve tried not to impose my beliefs on my nieces and nephews, even though I have helped in their raising from time-to-time. And I say “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am” to most everyone as a rule, irrespective of their age.

You might be a Red Neck if you’d give your last dollar to a friend. I’ve been down to my last dollar a few times, so I’ve had that opportunity, but I’ve never actually had to give it away. But, I think I would. Others, many others, have been helpful to me. And, as Saint Paul tells us in his First Letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 13, “And now faith, hope, and charity abide, these three; and the greatest of these is charity.” Charity is often translated as love in this passage, and the same holds true. Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. He didn’t put any limitations on it. There were no suggestions that we limit our love to our spouses, significant others, children, or the people next door; nor to Americans, or English-speakers, or our softball friends; nor to UK supporters, left-handeds, or fraternity brothers.

On the whole, as I stated at the beginning, I qualify for the "you might be a Red Neck if." Now, does the fact that I am fairly liberal, like the idea of spreading the wealth, believe in a program of Universal Healthcare, and am committed to voting for Barack Obama next week nullify that?

I think not.

402. Bus #402

I suppose you thought you'd be reading a political entry this close to the election. If not for the entry number, you probably would. But, now and then an entry number appeals to my memory for a trip into the crevices of my personal past. 402 is such a number.

I began elementary school at Blue Lick Elementary School in September, 1966, the year Blue Lick Elementary School opened on the road by the same name, on a field about one mile south of Blue Lick Road's intersection with South Park Road. In those days, kindergarten was optional, so one's first year of school was First grade, a logical name. I went to Blue Lick for two years. My mother had actually enrolled me at the old South Park Elementary School on National Turnpike over in Fairdale in anticipation of Blue Lick's fall opening.

Where I lived was just - just - over a mile from the school which, under school board policy at the time, required a bus route. The kids who lived on my street had a very short ride on the bus as we were the closest to the school. As such, we were the last stop to be picked up in the mornings and nearly the first stop to be let off in the afternoon. The one difference in the two routes - going and coming - was Old South Park Road. The logical sequence of stops in the afternoon should have placed us as the first off in the afternoon. But because Old South Park's western intersection with South Park was (at that time) essentially a fork or a "V", the route followed Old South Park the same way going and coming. Driving west on Old South Park allowed for a wider turn back to the east on South Park. This intersection is obliterated today by the relocation of both of these roads due to the construction of the Gene Snyder Freeway in the 1980s. Both roads were relocated slightly to the north. (As an addendum, back then there were two other "Old South Park Roads" further to the west. One of those is entirely gone, while the other is now referred to as South Park Court. Where South Park Court now meets South Park Road is where the original South Park village was located). But, I digress.

The bus route from Blue Lick School to my stop consisted of three streets - Blue Lick, South Park, and Old South Park. Before the opening of Blake Elementary School a few blocks to the north, kids from the subdivisions on either side of Blue Lick south of Fishpool Creek (which is just south of Foreman Lane) were assigned to Blue Lick Elementary. It was up and down Blue Lick to get these kids that my bus travelled before the detour west along South Park and Old South Park. Kids north of Fishpool Creek went to Okolona Elementary School, as did those east along South Park east of the creek. To the west, over I-65, kids on the north side of South Park went to Minor's Lane Elementary School, while those on the south side went to Fairdale Elementary School, and later Coral Ridge Elementary School. There were no Jefferson County schools to the south. Once into Bullitt County, another mile south of the school, on the east side of Blue Lick was the Overdale School district, while the west side was served by Brooks Elementary.

And, the bus I rode through all of First and Second grades was #402. Someday, I may write about the methodology of school bus numbering in the Jefferson County Public School System. For now, I'm just thinking about the fun I had on Bus #402.

401. KFTC's Voter Guide

In an entry on October 23, 2007, after receiving my Kentuckians For The Commonwealth Voter Guide, I commented on some specific answers given by a Republican candidate in last fall's election, naming that entry "Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due." This year's guide offers yet another opportunity for me to mention a Republican whose views on immigration I find enlightened and appropriate.

As I said last year, as a member of the governing body of the Kentucky Democratic Party, I have an obligation to vote for and help elect Democrats throughout the commonwealth. The Sixth Congressional District, which at one time began just a few miles east of Louisville at the Shelby County line, but now doesn't do so until just past the 48 Mile Marker on Interstate 64 upon entry into Franklin County, pits the incumbent Democratic Congressman Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler III against Republican Jon Larson, who, quite frankly, I did not know was running until receipt of my KFTC Voter Guide.

To be honest, Ben has suddenly grown more Democratic this year, endearing him to a wider swath of voters than may have been enchanted by him back in 2003 when he was a candidate for governor. This is most noted in his early endorsement of United States Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary earlier in the year. Ben's Republican opponent has the proverbial snowball's chance in Hell of being elected. That gives Ben the freedom to make endorsements like Barack Obama and Mr. Larson the freedom to part with his Party on issues like immigration.

The following is the KFTC's question and candidate Larson's answer on the subject of immigration.

KFTC: Undocumented immigrants are a growing part of Kentucky’s workforce, culture, and communities as they are for many states across the US. This has caused friction in many areas. Some Kentuckians think that undocumented workers are problematic because they take jobs and government services needed by citizens. Other Kentuckians say that immigrant communities make substantial positive contributions to our state and that their needs are just as important as citizens’ needs – and furthermore our economy couldn’t function without them. What is your stance on immigration and undocumented workers?

MR. LARSON: Too many Republican politicians have publicized impractical anti-“illegal” immigrant proposals. In contrast, I want to express a few common-sense reasons why our government should offer amnesty (non-quota, non-“touchback” paths to citizenship, with immediate issuance of easily renewable federal identification cards). As a true conservative, an anti-bureaucrat, valuing financial welfare for other Americans, I must state the obvious: There is no realistic way to detain and deport more than seven million undocumented Hispanic workers and their dependents.

Our immigration laws are like a discouraging maze, fostered by years of racial (“Chinese exclusion”) and anti-Southern and Easter European, anti-Irishmen, and lately anti-Hispanic prejudices. America is the “Land of Immigrants,” but we have allowed the tired, hungry and poor of the world to become disappointed by our bureaucratic roadblocks. Historically, Liberty (Ellis) Island did not send immigrants back to their birth countries to wait 5-14 years, to be solicited to pay bribes, just so they could legally re-enter our “Home of the Free.” We should never be afraid to welcome fresh blood into our National melting pot.

Please understand that the negative publicity unreasonably frightens immigrants and irritates our American-born Hispanic citizens, discouraging border cooperation. Many hard working and admirably productive undocumented immigrants have been financially victimized, some raped (and more than 450 have dies, some horrifically) along our Southern border. These same individuals, still fearing deportation, cannot obtain basic identification documents, to their disadvantage and our ultimate loss (of insurance and safety protections).

Turn these people into 100% tax payers who can use their ID’s to bank, cash checks, shop and purchase medical and automobile insurance.

*****

Let me add that I concur with Mr. Larson's response.

400. Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Committee Appointments

Members of the Kentucky Democratic Party State Central Committee have received their (our) committee assignments for the upcoming term. The appointments were made by KDP Chair Jennifer Moore, at left, in a letter dated October 17, 2008. This letter also announced the next meeting of the Committee slated for 1:00 pm on Saturday November 22, 2008 at the Wendell H. Ford Headquarters, just outside Frankfort on Democrat Drive.





Here are the assignments:

By-Laws Committee
George Mills, Chair
Chad Aull
Jamie Jameson
David O' Neill
Harold Robinson
Kerry Morgan

Communications Committee
Tim Longmeyer, Chair
Allison Amon
Carla Arnold
Gary Best
Ann-Lynn Ellerkamp
Nathan Smith

Finance Committee
Charles Wells, Chair
Jennifer Moore
Jeremy Horton
Kathy Jo Stubblefield
Winnie Townsend
Bill Ryan
Marcus Woodward
Denzil Allen

Organization and Membership Committee
Millie Diehl and Jane Jensen, Chairs
Queenie Averette
Chrystal Chappell
Betty Morrow
Georgia Quisenberry
Roy Sizemore
Lisa Tanner
Charlotte Lundergan

Steering Committee
Steve Gold and David Tandy, Chairs
Sheryl Edge
Clay Ford
Martha Jane King
Michael Meeks

Faith-Based Caucus
Brad Bailey
Martha Jane King
Betty Morrow

Labor Caucus
Allison Amon
Gary Best
Phinis Hundley

Minority Outreach Caucus
Micheal Meeks
Jeff Noble
David O' Neill

Women Caucus
Carla Arnold
Queenie Averette
Sheryl Edge
Ann-Lynn Ellerkamp
Georgia Qusineberry
Kathy Jo Stubblefield

Young Democrats Caucus
Chad Aull
Chrystal Chappell
Jamie Jameson
Clay Ford
Lisa Tanner
Marcus Woodward

*****

Let me make some comments on these assignments.

First, I've sent an email to the Chair expressing my desire to "aggressively attempt to move the Party forward in matters of importance in the various minority communities where my input is appropriate." The Chair has included Michael Meeks and David O' Neill in this caucus. I've known Mr. Meeks for nearly thirty years and have confidence in his ability to serve in this caucus as well as the overall Committee. My experience with David O' Neill is less lengthy, only knowing him during his recent service on the Committee in his role as the Fayette County Democratic Party Chair. I attempted to make State Party By-Law changes which would have affected both Fayette and Jefferson County during my previous term on the Committee, a move in which I did not have his support. I am hopeful I can work with Chairman O' Neill to complete that task, educating him in my belief that such changes are necessary for a more democratic Kentucky Democratic Party. Further, I intend to use my voice on the Committee to further values important to various minority communities, such as Gays and Lesbians, others who share my beliefs on immigration (surely a minority group of its own given my personal stance on the matter, and further as the immigrants are a minority body themselves), and others whose voices are sometimes lost, or can only be found on blogs here and there, blogs usually ignored or ridiculed by those in positions of power within the Party. I am hopeful I can help these voices be fully heard, and I fully expect the current Chair to listen.

Next, I wish to express my great disappointment with the Chair's failure to reappoint me to the By-Laws Committee, a request I specifically made at the meeting at KenLake where I was appointed to a newly created seat on the Committee. I have expressed this disappointment in an email. I worked assiduously with the former By-Laws Chair, George Blackburn, for four years, along with several others in crafting changes we believed were needed in our By-Laws. I believe there is much work left to be done.

I am looking forward to advancing those beliefs on to those appointed by the Chair for the new term of the By-Laws Committee. I do not know Mr. Mills, but I have known of him for years. He has served Kentucky Democrats well for some time, most recently working as part of the Governor's transition team after his election in 2007. I have great confidence in the professionalism he will bring to this committee with his wealth of experience. I know each of the other members of the Committee, and with the exception of those serving at the pleasure of the current chair, I have a similar respect for the work and support they can offer the Party, especially Harold Robinson of Frankfort, a former Franklin County magistrate and good friend.

Those are the two sets of the Chair's appointments I am most concerned about - those of the committee I sought and those of the caucus where she placed me.

As for the other committees and caucusses and their members, I offer the following. The inclusion of Lisa Tanner on the Organization and Membership Committee is a mark of genius on the Chair's part. Lisa is one the most knowledgeable people I know where it comes to organization within the State Party. I saw this first hand during my involvement with Governor Beshear's campaign, and am seeing it again in the reelection campaign of my congressman, John Yarmuth, where she holds the position I held two years ago, that of Field Director. The truth is, when this election is over in fourteen short days, some effort should be taken by whoever is in charge of the KDP to better and more fully utilize her talents in some high-paying position at Party headquarters, perhaps the only high-paying one there. I am confident Lisa's presence there would bring a more focussed energy as well as a degree of fairness which is presently missing. And we need to keep in mind that those in charge of such decisions are, ultimately, the State Central Committee members themselves and not the Chair, the Vice Chair, or the Executive Director. But, that is another discussion for another day.

Looking at the Steering Committee, my only thought is Steve Gold is a good man and, like Mr. Mills mentioned above, puts the needs of the Party well ahead of other interests and we are well served by Gold's chairmanship of this committee. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Gold.

The chair has created a Faith-Based Caucus. This frankly concerns me. As someone who has written at length herein about my personal faith, as well as my belief in God, in "in the beginning God," and other "faith-based" values, I am hopeful that it is not the intention of the Chair or this committee to force into our Party policy or further, to force into our governments more than is already there, any additional support of "church" by "state," something I think is ill-advised and unConstitutional. At yesterday morning's mass, the Gospel reading came from Saint Matthew, Chapter 22, Verses 15 through 22. It is a discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees about the divide between church and state. Jesus responds to the Pharisees' questions about paying taxes with the famous retort, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." In the older versions many of us learned as children it was "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's." Even Jesus Christ, the man for whom Christians named their [our] religion, was a proponent of the separation of church and state. I think we should follow Jesus' lead in this matter. I do not have a problem with individual expressions of one's faith, as I do from time to time here in the blog, but to memorialize those beliefs into a Party creed or platform is, for me, a bridge too far to travel. It is a bridge that is already travelled far too often in government.

Finally, I wish the Chair well for the remainder of her term, however long or short it may be, and pledge to work with her for its duration. I am looking forward to working with my old friends and new on the Committee as we move the Party forward during the next several months and years. As 2009 is a non-election year in Kentucky, we have the great chance to capitalize on gains I am confident we will make on November 4. They will be our guide as we head into the 2010 elections, where our goal will be to take back the Kentucky Senate, add to our numbers in both the state and federal Houses, and defeat whichever Republican advances to November in the election for the United States Senate, whether it be Jim Bunning, who I know we can beat, Trey Grayson, who I think we can beat, or Richie Farmer, who is a nice young man.

There are fourteen days remaining until this November's election. There are (as of right now) 91 days and a little over 14 hours left in the administration of George W. Bush.

Thanks Be To God.

399. Late Seating on Main Street

Last night my friend Preston and I took in the Late Seating performance at Actors' Theater of Louisville, downtown on W. Main Street. This is the third season for the Late Seating series, supporting a variety of local art and artists.

Last night's performances began at 10:30 pm with a 1940s style radio-script, the kind you hear if you, like me, are a regular listener to Garrison Keillor and a Prarie Home Companion on American Public Media (WFPL, 89.3 here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606). The acting troupe, one of whose number is a friend of mine, came complete with an organ player and sound effects guy. It was a cute script about an invasion of Detroit. Imagine, invading Detroit - intentionally. We needn't worry. The world is safe.

That was followed by a brief conversation with the leader of the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society. They are into places like the Waverly Hills Sanitarium. Jay Gravatte, a friend who is a waiter at my favorite local eatery, the Third Avenue Cafe, at Third and Oak streets, is also a part of this organization.

This was followed by a short performance with three actors and a teddy bear, set in an airport waiting area. It had an interesting ending.

An interview with Ashley Cecil, the Painting Activist, came next. Early in the life of this blog, one of Ashley's pieces was featured, as I recall someting from Corydon, Indiana. You should check out her website, www.ashleycecil.com, for more information. She is a very interesting artist.

After an intermission, music was provided by Dangerbird, a Louisville-based foursome - drums and three guitars, two singers. The rock music was heavy on guitar jam sessions, something I really liked. They are a mixture of Allman Brothers, Skynard, Led Zeppelin, and some dreamy Jackson Browne, with a lead singer sounding remarkably like Axl Rose, who I like. I really enjoyed the band.

Eventually the night came to an end, by this time being early the next morning. Preston went on his way, and I went to the local Taco Bell for my Fourth Meal before retiring.

Dangerbird is playing tonight at the Rudyard Kipling, one of Louisville's most original venues, just west of Fourth Street on Oak. Check out their website at myspace.com/dangerbirdlouisvilleky.

A good time was had by all.

398. From Sweat to Sweater

What a difference a day makes. After a beautiful full moon on the 14th, the weather here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606 was a somewhat uncomfortably warm 86 degrees. There was a slight breeze and you could smell the rain somewhere in the distance. Evening came and morning followed.

This morning's temperature at the bus stop was 56 degrees. The mercury rose only to the low 60s, a frankly more appropriate temperature for mid-October than what we've been experiencing. Tonight's low is supposed to dip into the 40s.

There will be some Indian Summer later in the year. For now, the arrival of Autumn, officially occuring three weeks ago, is complete.

Happy Birthday to my friends Irving Montero, who is 38, and John David Miller, who is 35.

397. Moose or Truffles

My grandparents, Grace and Gene Noble, were bakers. They owned and operated bakeries at Central and Colorado avenues in South Louisville and later in the Strickland Shopping Center on Poplar Level Road in the Newburg area. The last year of business for the old Noble's Bakery was 1972, when my grandfather turned 65. I was 11.

Having grandparents in the bakery business as a kid seems like a pretty good gig. And it was. My brother and I always had the latest, coolest, and biggest birthday cakes, and other family celebrations were faithfully accompanied by the freshest baked goods of many different varieties. Oftentimes on Sunday mornings, my brother and I had the run of the back part of the bakery, where the icings were made, the doughnuts were fried, and the bread was sliced. What a life.

A few years later, as a fourteen year old, I went to work in my frist job at the old Tas-T-O Bakery on Blue Lick Road. It was my first of several jobs at different entities in the Silver Heights Plaza, an older shopping center which grew up as a commercial center for the Blue Lick Road subdivisions of Silver Heights and Treasure Island, developed by David Dulworth and Ed Caven, respectively. There I learned the delicate art of when to turn the doughnuts in the deep fryer and - a lesser job - how to use a broom. The bakery was housed in a trailer which is still there out in the northern end of the shopping center parking lot thirty-four years later.

Eventually, being around all of those sweet things took its toll on my tastebuds. For several years - nearly two decades - I've been missing a sweet tooth. I've actually been ,issing several teeth, but that is a different story. On my birthdays, my mother has always provided me with either a cheesecake or a butter kuchen - not a cake. I don't like cake and I don't like icing for the most part. I do like chocolate ice cream but not most chocolate candy - especially anything made of milk chocolate. Hallowe'en always posed a problem.

But there are times when sweet things find their way into my food chain. Such was the case earlier this summer when I was invited to a friend's alleged "28th" birthday party, notwithstanding the fact that he was born 31 years ago. Whatever. Among the many food items available for consumption was a kuchen/pie looking gastronomical creation, brought to the bacchanalia by the former Vice Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party, State Representative Joni Jenkins, Democrat of the 44th House District, representing Jefferson County precincts along the west side of Dixie Highway from Millers Lane all the way out to damn close to Watson Lane. Joni was first elected to her Frankfort position in 1995. She is the daughter of the former mayor of Shively, the Hon. Jim Jenkins, and the aunt of one John Andrew Jenkins, better known as Drew, who is a very determined young man helping to elect Democrats here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. She is currently seeking a leadership post in the Democratic caucus, hoping to defeat the current Speaker Pro-Tem Larry Clark of Okolona for that position. But, I digress.

Joni's food offering for my friend's party was what I called a Chocolate Mousse Pie. She calls in a Fudge Truffle Pie. We joked in an email exchange about the Chocolate Mousse Pie sounding like a Sarah Palin concoction, while Fudge Truffles definitely has an Obama-possibly elitist sound to it. Imagine, the entire election reduced to dessert descriptions. Except that Sarah is into Moose pies and not chocolate mousse. Sarah is probably into some other odd habits, but we'll leave those revelations to her actions and your imaginations.


Representative Jenkins has promised me one of these chocolate mousse/fudge truffle pies of my own - for my birthday - which was last month. Joni herself is celebrating a birthday soon, one of those "big ones" coming up on the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas. Hopefully, we can celebrate together with a slice of pie.

396. To Points East - and then back.

I took a Sunday drive yesterday, which I guess made it a Saturday drive . My friend Preston was supposed to make the trip with me but couldn't. The Battle of Perryville Reenactment was on our agenda, but that changed since I had the freedom to drive where I wanted and not where I had promised.

So, here are the numbers:

Out of Louisville on 65 to 61 to 62 to 52 to 457 to 84 to 68 to 34 to 150 to 52 (again) to 27. That was the trip there.

The return trip had fewer numbers. 27 to 4 to 60 to 9002 to 127B to 62 to 127 to 512 to 395 to 64 into Louisville. Actually, the trip should have been a little different. From 27 I had intended to go east on 169 to the Valley View Ferry, then to 1156, Clay Lane, and Cassius Clay's White Hall, then to 75 and then west, but I missed the turn in Nicholasville, which means at some point I'll have to go back and do it all over again.

Along the way, I passed some places of note. One of those was the Parksville Knob. In an early entry on the blog, I indicated that the Parksville Knob was the next closest hill in elevation to Jeptha's Knob in Shelby County. This isn't exactly correct but it is close. Jeptha rises to 1184 feet above sea level. Parksville rises to 1364 feet. The nearby Mitchellsburg Peak, which I also passed, rises to 1302 feet. By comparison, Jefferson County's highest point , South Park Hill, is listed at 902 feet. I do not remember if I have been through these parts before, but I went through yesterday. Getting to that point, I had passed the new Marion County Court House in Lebanon as well as the old Saint Mary's College, outside of Lebanon, which now serves as one of Kentucky's correctional facilities. Lebanon is also home to a National Cemetery.

Once past these Boyle County summits, I ventured into Danville and Constitution Square where Kentucky's official statehood roots were established in the 1780s and 1790s. I followed KY 52 from there and ended up in downtown Lancaster, the county seat of Garrard County, and former (and possibly future) home to my UK Sigma Pi fraternity big brother Mark Metcalf, a former Garrard County Attorney who several years ago fell four votes short in a Republican Primary for Congress to a little known Fayette County state representative named Ernest Fletcher. While that is a different story, I can only imagine how the want of five votes may have changed the recent history of the Commonwealth. But, I digress.

While in Lancaster, I stopped in Napier's Clothing Store on the square. Well-known Republican State Representative Lonnie Napier, who is also a Realtor, auctioneer, and farmer, is the store's proprietor and he and I had a very nice discussion about the state of the State's political scene. While neither of us gave away any secrets, I went away feeling a little better about next month's political prospects here in Kentucky. Representative Napier is an easy going and likable fellow, a well-known legislative orator, something of a southern gentleman, but not someone who votes in any fashion as I would have him do. But, he does vote as the good people of Garrard and Madison counties would like as he has held his office since 1984. It was Representative Napier who told me my old friend Mark Metcalf, now residing in Florida and addressed as Judge Metcalf, may be returning to Garrard County.

Lancaster was as far away as I travelled from the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. From there I went northwest on 27 through Bryantsville and into Jessamine County, where I visited the Camp Nelson National Cemetery. This National Cemetery hold the remains of some 1600 soldiers from Camp Nelson, including over 600 African-Americans who fought on the Union side in the Civil War. Many of the dead from various Civil War battles in Kentucky have been re-interred here, including a number from the Battle of Perryville. Veterans and spouses of many veterans since that time are also interred therein. Visiting National Cemeteries can be a sobering experience, reminding those of us who never served of the sacrifices made on our behalf by those who did. On Friday, I was at another National Cemetery, this one in New Albany, Indiana, for the burial of the father, a Marine Corps veteran, of a dear friend.

Leaving the Camp Nelson cemetery, I missed the turn on KY 169 and found myself trying to get into Lexington when everyone from the UK-South Carolina game was trying to get out. In 1984, I lived for a few months on East Reynolds Road, just east of its intersection with Nicholasville Road, the road I found myself on yesterday. I spent 21 minutes travelling the 1/2 mile from East Reynolds to the westbound ramp to Lexington's New Circle Road, numbered as KY 4. From there I went out of town on Versailles Road, passing Calumet, Keeneland (which is open for a meet through October 25), the Castle, and the road over to the Pisgah Cemetery where Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler is buried. I detoured southwest along the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway to Lawrenceburg, following north into and out of the city. Rather than take the "four-lane" up to I-64, I followed the old road into Alton. Alton was once known as Rough and Ready, named for the only Whig president who resided in the Commonwealth, Zachary Taylor, whose homestead on Brownsboro Road in Louisville is the site of yet another National Cemetery.

I left the Alton Road and ventured onto the Alton Station Road, eventually making my way out of Anderson County and over to the Shelby County community of Waddy, an old railroad town about two miles south of the well-known "Waddy-Peytona" exit off I-64. And from that intersection, I returned home. It was a nice trip. I wish Preston had made the trip with me.

395. I missed the 30,000th visitor

This will be brief. I've been busy. It is election season, and not just any election season. So, in my absence, I had a visitor from Bergen University in Bergen, Norway, a place I cannot get to driving the backroads of Kentucky and Indiana. Below are some of the details from their visit. Thanks to all of you for reading.

-- Jeff

*****

Domain Name uib.no ? (Norway)
IP Address 129.177.30.# (Bergen University, Norway)
ISP Bergen University, Norway
City : Bergen
Lat/Long : 60.3911, 5.3247 (Map)
Distance : 4,000 miles
Language unknown
Time of Visit Oct 10 2008 5:45:11 pm
Page Views 1
Time Zone unknown
Visit Number 30,000

394. Congressman Yarmuth's Letter on the Financial Bill

This blog debuted on January 4, 2007 with the opening of the 110th Congress. I don't think I've ever printed anything directly from Congressman Yarmuth's website, but I could be wrong. Below is the letter he has posted on the vote yesterday, one of the most important votes he or any other member of Congress has ever made. I have copied the link as well.

http://yarmuth.house.gov/?sectionid=14§iontree=3,14&itemid=410

*****

Yarmuth Issues Open Letter on Recovery Bill
Friday October 03, 2008

Dear Friends,

Today, I made one of my most difficult decisions since being elected to serve Kentucky’s Third Congressional District. I was faced with two awful choices: voting for a bill that I hate or doing nothing to stop an economic meltdown that would lead to massive job loss in Louisville and throughout the country. I am angry that this is the only option we were given. However, I voted for it in order to stave off economic catastrophe—not for CEO’s on Wall Street about whom I could not care less, but for the people of our streets in Louisville.

There were significant improvements to this version of the bill to ensure that it protected taxpayers and was not a blank check for Wall Street. It authorizes only half the $700 billion requested, limits CEO compensation, and eliminates golden parachutes. The bill approved today increases accountability, provides a tax cut to millions of middle class Americans with a patch of the alternative minimum tax, extends the child tax credit and property tax credits, offers tuition assistance, invests in renewable fuel, and helps small businesses by offering FDIC insurance on deposits up to $250,000.

Still, it infuriates me that this bill is unfair to the people who played by the rules, paid their bills and taxes on time, and took out mortgages they could afford. But what would have been even more unfair is if no action had been taken today, and those same hard working people lost their jobs, houses, and savings. That is the dilemma that we faced today, and I chose to take action.

I have spoken with many Louisville business owners, and across the board, they told me if action was not taken immediately they would be forced to cut jobs-- a lot of jobs, and many felt they would have to close their doors for good. This would come on the heels of more than three-quarters of a million lost jobs in America so far this year. At Ford, Louisville’s second biggest employer, sales were down more than a third last month. Resolving the credit crunch is critical for Ford to rebound and fulfill their plans to expand and keep jobs in Louisville.

Other examples can be found with the homebuilders who are having trouble getting bonds and homeowners with no access to loans; both of which are crucial to restoring our housing market. Failure to act immediately would cause widespread foreclosures that would devalue all our homes, a credit freeze that would devastate the middle class and working families, and the loss of pensions and savings for many seniors and others about to retire.

For weeks, I have urged Congressional Leadership to devise an alternative, and for weeks they have said there was not enough time. I am dismayed by their failure to lead on this point. Yet, with all that is at stake for our community and country, I felt it would have been irresponsible not to act. As much as I hate this bill, the alternative—doing nothing—would have been far worse for working families and retirees in Louisville.

I know this decision will make a lot of people unhappy, and I don’t blame them. This unprecedented step is intended to fend off unprecedented devastation, and put simply, I could not sit back and let that happen to the community or country I love.

This is not the end of our economic turmoil. While the bill may avert immediate catastrophe, we still have a lot of work to do. I pledge to continue to put the working people of Louisville first, and to put an end to the deregulation that got us to this point of national emergency.

Sincerely,

John Yarmuth
Member of Congress

393. Lame Lame Duck; October's Opening Opinion

The American history books will tell us that the British expression from the 18th century "lame duck" was first applied to the United States presidency during the closing months of the term of James Buchanan. It has come to mean a president (or any office holder) who is unable to be elected again, is on the down side of her or his term, and is essentially impotent.

My younger friends use the term "lame" as an expression meaning out of touch or unsophisticated, not far from what is has always meant - disabled, impaired, or unsatisfactory - essentially impotent. And all the erectile dysfunction medicine ol' Bob Dole has ever peddled can't correct the current lameness of the current lame duck holding court at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in our nation's capital.

When George W. Bush took the airwaves after the failure of the House to pass the Financial Bailout bill, it occurred to me to ask, "Why in the world does this man think anybody pays him any attention?" Handed defeat at the hands of conservatives in his party and liberals in mine, he was and is the absolute personification of a lame duck and lame-ness. Has there ever been a president in a weaker position than this man? I think not.

I see bumper stickers on cars proclaimimg "Richard Nixon, No Longer the Worst Presdient Ever." In truth, Mr. Nixon, while criminal, wasn't a bad president, even if he was a strange one. I've argued here before that he was one of the last of the great New Deal presidents, in line with FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy (to a point), Johnson - especially Johnson, and even to a degree Ford, who followed the disgraced Nixon in the White House. As a New Dealer myself, I see what good could have come from the federal largesse of programs had they been handled in a responsible way, which admittedly in many cases they weren't.

The worst president in my lifetime, up until the current occupant, was Ronald Wilson Reagan. He drove us to near bankruptcy while opening up the old Soviet empire, and increasing our relations with China, or as Jacob Payne always calls it, Red China. And what has the end of communism as we knew it brought us? Competition. Capitalistic competition for we which we were and are unprepared. But, Ronnie, may God rest your soul, you have been replaced in my mind as the Republic's worst president by one of your disciples. And for others, even those for whom Ronnie holds a dear place in their heart, they've found a new president worse than - who? - FDR, LBJ. Whoever.

George Walker Bush, the lamest of the lame ducks.

*****

You know, I really hate beginning October with this rather sour sounding entry. October is, without question, my favorite month of the year. There is potential for, at least this year, November passing October is favor, given we can change the country and the planet with our federal elections by throwing out the plutocrats posing as patriotic Republicans - and there are many of them. The deadline to REGISTER TO VOTE in Kentucky is Monday, October 6. If you aren't registered to vote, get registered in the next five days. The future of our Republic may well depend on your vote. Now you may say it is a foregone conclusion that Kentucky will support McCain and not Obama. You are probably right and that is a shame. Shameful for the people of Kentucky many of whom are rejecting Obama out of fear and more than a few out of pure racism. But, the presidency isn't the only thing we will be voting on in November.

The Minority Leader of the United States Senate is a Republican from Kentucky. George W. Bush's right hand man at the table is Kentucky's Senior Senator of twenty-four years, Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. As Kentucky has the earliest poll-closing time in the nation, the results from the race between Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr. and Bruce Lunsford could have an effect on states whose polls close much later. How great would it be for the Senate map to light Kentucky up Blue on election night.

We can do that.

We should do that.

392. Reunion Weekend

Last night I realized I was older than I remembered being. I went to the Durrett High School Class of 1978 30th Reunion - my gradution class. There were maybe 100 of us there, including some spouses and non-1978 grads, at Masterson's looking at each other's faces for more than a second before giving in to looking at each others' name tags trying to identify ourselves to each other with folks we had spent 3, 4, 6, or in some cases 9 years with every classroom day. Truthfully though, most names came back pretty easily despite some gray hairs (or lack of hair) and few pounds on some of us - the clear exception being Grant Lane, who looked pretty damned impressive for a 30 year reunion. Amazingly, most of us still live here in Louisville, and more than a few live within a few miles of our Alma Mater, located at 4409 Preston Highway, but now called Louisville Male High School as opposed to Sallie Phillips Durrett High School. Still, a comment I heard over and over was that despite our close proximity, few of us ever see any of us.

We had dinner and drinks and dancing, with entertainment provided by the bank R U O K, a Durrett original, with two of the members part of the original foursome being former Durrett students, Jerry Rubieau ('78) and Joe Shaw ('79). For several numbers, band drummer Tony Schnell, also a Durrett grad, relinquished his post to the band's original drummer, Grant Lane.

Stories were told and memories recalled, although not all of them all that clearly. For most of the night, I sat with Liz Calloway and her husband, Tammy Scott and her husband Mike Hoerter (also a '78 grad), Dana O' Leary and her husband, and Jackie Frost, who like me was there unescorted. Quite a few members of the athletic prowess of the Class of '78 was on hand including Greg Butler, a multi-sport standout who worked the room like a seasoned politician, greeting and chatting with every one there. Jimmy Hayes, now a retired Marine, was someone I don't think I've seen since graduation day back on June 2, 1978.

The event was organized by Elaine Curry (now married to Lindsey Sibert, who I think was an '81 grad), Ron Huff, Sheila Murley, and Mary Shaughnessy. Our class president, Missy Cook, was missing but our faculty sponsor, Judy Newsome, wasn't. When the time came for the class picture, she resumed her former role, organizing us basically by shouting out orders as to who should stand where.

Eventually the end of the night came and hugs and well-wishes were offered around the room. It was a really good time.

Today, I'm headed for a different reunion, a family reunion in Frankfort for the descendants of my mother's mother's parents. This one will be held at the Game Farm and a much bigger crowd is expected than the event I attended last night. Mostly this will be a time to see the remaining brothers and sisters of my grandmother, who passed away in 1976, nine years after her mother and three years before her father. We'll also see whose kids have kids, and which of those kids have more. I generally know a lot of these folks seeing three or four at a time through the years. There will be lots of food and drink and probably some homestyle music as well, as the family has its share and amateur (and one young up-and-coming professional) musicians.

I had a great time last night and am looking forward to today.

Have a good week.

391. Dear Senator McCain --

Dear Senator McCain --

What's next?

First you politicise then hide behind your POW status.

Then you politicise and hide behind Hurricane Ike and cancel parts of your convention.

Then you politicise and hide behind the skirts of your running mate.

Now you are trying to politicise by hiding behind the economic crisis.

And next you want to cancel any real discussion about any of this in tomorrow's scheduled debate.

When are you going to stop running and hiding and start running for president?

-- Jeff

390. Lewis/Hockensmith/Noble

The second entry of this blog, posted on January 5, 2007, mentioned inter alia my great-grandmother Rachel Scott Brawner Lewis. She has been mentioned several times since that second entry which was entered on what would have been her 112th birthday. She died in March, 1967. I bring this up because of an advertisement which ran recently in the Frankfort State Journal. It concerns the upcoming Lewis family reunion.

In addition to pictures of my great-grandparents, Robert and Rachel Brawner Lewis, there are others of Linda Brown Sanford, Luretta Sharp Sims, and James (Jimbo) Lewis, Jr., all first cousins of my mother. They are the three behind the gathering which is to take place next Sunday. Here is the article from the State Journal:

In celebration of Linda Brown Sanford, Luretta Sharp Sims, and James (Jimbo) Lewis turning the big 50, we would appreciate all of our family and friends joining us at the Game Farm on September 28 for an afternoon and evening of fun and getting to know all the relatives we have never seen or have never met. Our grandparents had 12 children. Some have died [including my grandmother Vivian "Tommie" Lewis Hockensmith] and most are in their 70s and 80s, and a lot of the family would like to see how many of the family could take the time and come and join us. We are asking it to be like a big potluck - everyone bring something and share in a great meal together. If you're not sure if you are family ,ask William (Bill) and Betty Lewis, Charles and Garnett Lewis, Lura and Garnett Brown, Dorothy and Jake Henry, Frances Moore, Elbert (Egg) and Sarah Lewis, James (Jimmy) and Liz Lewis, and Virginia and Walter Sharp. We have rented both pavillions at the Game Farm so there will be plenty of room and we have it till dark. If you have a cornhole game, badminton set, or any other outside games we would appreciate any entertainment we can get. Even if you want to bring musical instruments and have a little jam session, whatever floats your boat. Even if you can only come for a little while or come and stay all day we would be thrilled to have you. If you're old friends or new friends of ours you are invited also. If you have any questions on what to bring just give us a call (239-283-8819 or 239-826-2004). We may not get your call but please leave a message and someone will return your call. If you know of family, please pass this on [which is what I am doing here]. Word of mouth will be our best advertisement. This is a big family so let's see what we can do. Some of us have lived in Florida for 29 years, and have missed out on a lot but it seems like ever since my Papaw Lewis died in 1979 this family has drifted further and further apart. Please take the time to join us and there will also be a guest book for everyone to sign. Please make this a very special day for all of us. Can't wait to see everyone.

The Game Farm, technically the headquarters of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, is out on the west side of town on Louisville Road, just before the new four-lane part of US 60 ends. For the record, here below is my line to the Lewis family.

Jeff Noble, son of Barbara Hockensmith
Barbara Hockensmith, daughter of Vivian "Tommie" Lewis
Vivian "Tommie" Lewis, daughter of Robert and Rachel Scott Brawner Lewis.

Finally, forty-eight years ago today, at 12 noon (Louisville was on the Central Time Zone at the time) at the old Norton Infirmary at S. Third Street and W. Oak Street, my mother gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, her first of two. Her first born was named Jeffrey Thomas Noble.

389. The Last Sunday of Summer

This morning the rector at the Episcopal Church of the Advent likened the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard to the ongoing restoration of electricity here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. The laborers, you may recall, were hired at differents times of the day but when the payroll came at the close of business all were paid the same and for some, specifically those who worked all day, this was unfair. The vineyard owner's response was simply it was his money and he paid everyone what they were promised. He asked if some of the complainers were jealous in some way.

This is one of those parables which makes us question our own desires vis-a-vis those around us. No one really rejoices in the moral argument made here. The sermon used the example that, despite Advent's congregation being small, about 30 people, most were still "in the dark." The church itself, at the top of Broadway on Baxter Avenue, had power, while the neighbors and members closest to it, did not. I am about nine blocks away; my power is on. He asked if anyone had complaints that Frankfort Avenue, Valhalla, downtown, and other areas had power while they did not. Something about the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Something about we are all one body. He could have added, but didn't, the lines about "that which you do to the least of mine" as a reference to how some without power felt about those who had it. As I said, it is an uncomfortable parable, one without much acceptance in today's societal requirements of instant gratification and the me first attitude of the past generation. At least I liked the LG&E analogy.

As I said, this week promises to be busy. In between the planned "plans" I need to get to Mom's for some general yardwork unrelated to the storm, and I have been spending most of my free time visiting my father, who has been hospitalised for most of this power outage. That isn't likely to change until later in the week. And my brother's moving - that should be interesting.

As to my brother's moving, as well as a futon I've promised to my friend Preston, I need a truck. I've owned a truck most of my life, up until this February. My trucks have been used to move me, my relatives, my friends, my friend's relatives, and any number of others, some of whom I've met only once, over the years. When I promised the futon to Preston earlier this summer, I failed to remember moving it required a truck. When my brother moves at the end of this month, it will be his first move in two decades without the assistance of his dear old brother's truck.

Maybe not having a truck is a good thing.

By the way, Summer ends tomorrow.

Day Six - Out of the Heart of Darkness

Day Six, Saturday

Power has been restored through a large portion of town, but pockets still remain, many closer to town, especially in the Highlands, Germantown, Camp Taylor and other liberal-voting parts of town, where there are more trees and more exposed wires. I'm sure the late Reverend Falwell would attribute that to their voting patterns, but power also lacks in parts of Okolona, Valley Station, and Jeffersontown, where people voting Republican outnuber those of us of the left. The school systems (public and Catholic) have announced classes will resume on Monday. Stores have been restocked and refrigerators have been wiped clean, ready for some new purchases, which everyone has to make.

So, how have we fared? Honestly, given the enormity of the storm, I think we’ve done quite well. There has never been anything like this in the history we are aware of – such widespread destruction and the resulting lack of power. Most people either on their own or with the help of neighbors and friends, and even folks they don’t know, have cut up the limbs, swept up the leaves, and have probably made their trip to Kroger for restocking.

But there are still about 60,000 homes without electricity in Louisville, which is about 1/8 of LG&E’s entire service area. That number is still about 80% of those which were out in the aftermath of the April 3rd tornado thirty-four years ago. There is still much, much work to be done.

One of the things that has come out of this is an awareness by folks who live in the old City of Louisville, the only government in Jefferson County which was wiped away by Merger, that people in the area outside of the old City want to use City taxes to pay for tree removal. People in the old City pay both a City and a County tax to receive more services. Those services include Fire protection, street lights, sidewalks, and solid waste removal. The mayor has always argued that the old City money has never been spent in the area outside of the old City, although, frankly, I have always doubted that statement.

Thursday, for the first time since Merger came in (five years ago), a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office finally acknowledged that City folks pay double taxes (City and County) and those extra dollars are only to be spent in the old City. I’ve never heard his office expressly say that before – it is something City taxpayers have been waiting to hear since 2003. The old City also used to get the dividend payment from the Louisville Water Company, a company solely owned by the old City of Louisville. That money is now spent throughout the County, an obvious slight to the former shareholders, that is the people of the former City of Louisville.

In so many ways, the government voted in by the people in November, 2000 has been a failure. For the record, I voted no, as I usually do on any ballot measure. I also wrote a number of letters to the editor of the Courier-Journal on the subject, letters which were used against me in my 2002 race for the Council, one I admittedly lost in an overwhelming fashion, letters used to accuse me of not being a team player. Those accusations were wrong in that I was a team player, I just wasn’t playing for the mayor’s team. Now there are a number of people out in the County upset that the mayor is using City tax dollars for City residents only. It is a novel idea, something he should have been doing for the last five years and nine months. Several County members of the Council are introducing an ordinance to force the mayor to spend that money in the County. They should be introducing an ordinance to raise taxes in the County so they wouldn’t be needing the City’s money to solve their problems. But that isn’t going to happen – I know that is simply wishful thinking on the part of City residents who think the County residents are taking them for a ride with the consent and support of the mayor and members of the Council. We see what happens in the showdown at City Hall next week.

But, I digress.

All in all, the mayor and his team have responded as well as could be expected with such a large amount of work to do and they have done a good job under the circumstances. There are still limbs and wires down, streets closed, and homes and businesses without electricity. But everyday a little more work is done. The weather had, up until Friday, been cooperating with warm days and very cool evenings, but Friday’s temperature climbed back toward 90. Today has been mostly an overcast day of pleasant temperatures. That's been good for the 20,000-plus visitors here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606 in town for the interantional golfing event known as the Ryder Cup. It is being shown on NBC.

As with all things, we’ll survive.

*****

The upcoming week promises to be busy. There are political events almost every night, my 30th high school graduation reunion is this week, a big Lewis family reunion will be one week from tomorrow in Frankfort, and I'll be 48 on Tuesday.

Day Three of Darkness in Louisville

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

*****

When I was a kid, my grandmother regularly made references to the ’37 Flood as if it had happened last Thursday. Thirty plus years afterward, the flood was a regular talking point in her conversations about Mother Nature.

Anyone my age or older will recall where they were April 3, 1974, when the tornado passed through Louisville (and most of Kentucky, the South, and the Midwest), tearing up trees and houses and leaving a mile wide path of devastation in its wake.

On a more whimsical but nonetheless destructive note, folks living in Old Louisville, Park Hill, and the U of L area will recall the morning of February 13, 1981 when Louisville’s sewer system in that area literally blew up creating traffic jams for several months as streets and sewers were rebuilt for a fairly large section of town. “Where were you when the sewers blew?”

Now, for the next generation, Sunday, September 14, 2008 will have a place of significance in Louisville weather-lore, the day when what was left of a hurricane blew through in a big way.

The remnants of Hurricane Ike began its passage through Louisville shortly after church let out around 12 noon. By 1:30 pm , strong winds were constant and most folks began losing electricity. Unlike the tornado which comes and goes in a manner of minutes and tends to follow a reasonably narrow path of maybe a mile wide, the winds from Ike did not let up at all for nearly four hours, gusting at times to 75 miles per hour, and covering everything between Lexington west to Saint Louis, about 325 miles wide. The howling of the wind made for some interesting noises. There was no lightning or rain as was predicted, just wind. With the winds, both trees and power lines came down, along with stoplights, signs, roofs, and all the flotsam and jetsam that seems to accumulate along the sides of roads and highways in the curbs and ditches. Many homes all across the region have uprooted trees and in many cases open roofs where the trees landed. It is estimated that at one point about 80% of the customer base of the Louisville Gas and Electric Company were without power. That was Sunday. Most still have none today and we’ve all be told that it may take a week for full restoration. The schools are closed in a seven-county area and many are closed until next week; several businesses are shuttered, and the sound of chain saws is beginning to permeate the air, although the local Home Depots and others are now reporting they are out of chain and generators. From the reports in the paper and on the internet, it seems that no part of town, or for that matter anywhere in Kentucky and Indiana, was spared.

Monday I drove out to my mother’s where my chainsaw (and clippers and trimmers) happened to be. I would have needed my tools to go to my dad’s where his one tree, a not very tall tree which has been beat up in previous storms, was mostly in his and his neighbor’s front yards. But, before I could do that, his neighbors, who also lost trees, took care of him. I'll forgive them their Northup for Congress yardsign for the moment. They are very good neighbors to my father. I spent most of the day with him as he was concerned about using his oxygen tanks without the aid of electricity. He has a backup tank which he is now using. When I drove in today, I went through his neighborhood which is still without power.

So, the clean up has begun, or at least makes pretensions of beginning. Until power is restored, very little clean up can take place other than gas powered saws, or saws using power generated from gas powered generators.

But, the sun came up again Monday, as it tends to do on the mornings after, as it did on Tuesday, and again today. And if the power is still out tonight, as it promises to be, there are sparkling stars and a bright, full moon hovering in the sky giving light where otherwise there is none.

While an argument could be made that the city and our foreign owned utility company aren't providing, the Lord does, as the words of Genesis above tell us.

386. Betting on Elections; the Repeal of Prohibition; Saint Paul's First Letter to Titus and his remarks on the Love of Money

Don McNay is a financial analyst, counselor, and writer in a city back east - east of Lexington at least, which for many is a great line of demarcation for many things. McNay is from Richmond. You can view his website at www.donmcnay.com. I am on his email list and very much enjoy his columns. Now and then I respond, as was the case today. So, first I reprint Don's column, and follow it with my response, which admittedly wandered a little from Don's original premise.

*****

Don wrote:

2008 is a turning point in my life. I quit watching pundits and rarely look at political polls. I have the answers, long before political "experts" do.

I track who is betting on political races.

A futures trading website called www.intrade.com allows you to "buy" futures contracts on the outcome of the presidential race.

There is supposedly a difference between betting and buying futures contracts. I have no idea what it is. It looks like gambling to me.

I grew up around bookmakers and the people at www.intrade.com figured out how to make it legal.

I've followed www.intrade.com for the past year and found it to be amazingly accurate. Look at it and see.

By going to www.intrade.com you eliminate the television blowhards and avoid polls like the one that picked Obama to win the New Hampshire primary.

I have not sent www.intrade.com any money. I have no idea who is behind it or where they are. I don't like to bet but want to know how other people are betting.

The political futures market is a great example of an economic theory called "the wisdom of crowds." Following money movement is a great way to predict outcomes.

When many people put their money up, sentiment and emotion are minimized as factors.

The www.intrade.com numbers are an interesting mix. The bettors favor Brack Obama to win over John McCain, but if you look at the betting on a state by state basis, McCain has a slight lead in the electoral votes.

Al Gore will tell you that winning the popular vote doesn't mean anything unless you get the electoral votes.

Looking at the state by state breakout, I'm stunned at how many states has already been "decided" one way or another.

If the odds are 90% in one candidate's favor, 60 days out, they are normally going to win an individual state.

Barring something extremely weird, a vetted candidate is not going to screw it up.

According to the trading, most of us are sitting the 2008 election out. If you are an Obama supporter in Kentucky, the odds are 98% to 5% (there is a margin of error) against your candidate. If you are a McCain supporter in Maryland, you are also out of luck. Obama has 93% there.

Most of the states that were for Bush in 2004 have a 90% or better rating for McCain. The Kerry states are generally going for Obama.

Virginia, Nevada Ohio, New Hampshire and Colorado are where the battle will be fought. Virginia, Nevada and Ohio have small leads for McCain and the other two slightly favor Obama.

All five states went for Bush against Gore and all but New Hampshire went for Bush against Kerry. If Obama is going to win, he needs to get all the states that Gore won in 2000 and add one.

Any one will do.

The good news is that we won't care about Florida. The betting favors McCain by about 65%.

Every now and then, I fall into the trap of political gossip and I wonder where some people get their information. I read that some Democrats were worried about California. 93% of the bettors disagree with that concern.

I thought that Obama would have a hard time winning Pennsylvania because he struggled against Hillary Clinton. 74% of the futures traders think otherwise. Just last week, I argued that Pennsylvania was in play. The futures traders have smacked down that notion.

A prediction does not mean that results are locked in stone. Someone can screw up or have a scandal break.

I doubt that McCain or Obama have a girlfriend (or boyfriend) on the side. On the other hand, I never dreamed that John Edwards had a mistress.

If Edwards had still been a viable candidate, his bettors would have lost big time.

For every person that wins a bet, there is another person that loses. Just like an election.

With tools like www.intrade.com, we have a better idea as to will be victorious.

As the late Mayor Daley of Chicago would say, "don't make no waves, don't back no losers."

*****

Here is my response:

You know the old saying, "If it walks like a duck . . . ." Intrade is gambling. But to consider it so, one must also consider any "official" trading as gambling. The Stock Market is licensed gambling as are any casinos where states have approved them. The only differences are the middle men (or women). In licensed trading at the Stock Market, or via a state Lottery - all gambling, the profits of the middlemen are taxed, thereby making them a friend of the government. In most true gambling rackets, those profits by-pass the IRS and go into the pockets of the middlemen undiminished.

Consider the imposition of Prohibition in this country - by a Constitutional amendment no less. Despite all the temperance leagues in the world, one of the biggest but unspoken arguments in favor of prohibition was the government's inability to control the distilling and distribution of alcohol. This was especially true just after the First World War when our economy and those of much of the civilized world were under seige in a depression. What brought about the change in Prohibition? One thing was the government needing a new tax source during the depression. The other was all about control. With the advent of cross-country railroads and the coming on of cross-country highways, alcohol could be taxed as it became an economic interest of interstate commerce. But first the government had to legalize it. Then they created tax stamps. And if they couldn't tax it at the production house, they used railway inspectors as tax collectors imposing fees as an item of interstate commerce. The Repeal of Prohibition was a revenue enhancement scheme, to borrow a phrase from President Reagan.

The lack of reveue enehancement schemes are some of the reasons I believe we are in the economic throes, the great transfer of wealth that T. Boone Pickens has suddenly become interested in. But this transfer isn't new. It has been growing and growing since the late 1970s, since Proposition 13 in California, House Bill 44 in Kentucky, and all the tax-reducing pieces of legislation at all levels of goverment since that time. As people were taxed less and less, thereby putting more money in their pockets, as opposed to the governments, people found more and more opportunities to invest. And those opportunities weren't limited to the good ol' US of A. More and more of those dollars which used to be invested in the government of the United States of America (as taxes) were now being sent overseas and across international borders where both labor and materiel costs were far less. And not all of it came back in return. The great transfer of capital out of the United States is a direct result of the tax-lowering policies which put the Republican Party in power in this country and kept them there for a generation, by politicians promising lower taxes or no new taxes, a scheme which can ultimately be the downfall of a nation.

We are now feeling, at all levels of government, the impact of this transfer of wealth out of our Republic. And we are now faced with what the politicians like to call "doing more with less" but what is in reality "doing less with less." Until and unless there is a stop to the wealth going overseas, there will be a dearth of it homeside. One way to prevent that is put more money back into the government - investing in the country - which will force less of it to be available to leave in the form of foreign investments or off-coast tax shelters, benefitting only a few and ignoring the many.

But most Republicans and for that matter many Americans of all political stripes, have lost the enthusiasm and desire to invest in their government. The politicians have made doing so something less than honorable. When I see people using the flag as a political backdrop, or relying on expressions like Country First, and the politicization of events like September 11th, I remind myself they are frauds - nothing less.

If they aren't willing to invest in the government, which means paying more taxes, as opposed to investing in private enterprise and overseas banking concerns, they should haul down their flags, put away their firecrackers, and forget the words to the Star Spangled Banner. They aren't deserving of these accountrements of patriotism, because they aren't patriots. They are rather the people of whom Saint Paul wrote in his First Epistle to Timothy who love their money, the desire of which is described as the root of all evil. They are America's great Evil-doers. And before our country falls as did Rome, they must be stopped.


*****

A final note -- The most important line in Don's entry is this four-line whopper: "Any one will do." We need one more state than Al Gore got in 2000 to begin to change the country, the way we began to change it back on November 6, 2006 when we elected the 110th Congress. Again, as Don points out, any one will do.

385. Return from Kenlake

Ok. I promised a trip back to Louisville from Aurora. Here it is.

After the meeting, I returned east across the Eggners Ferry Bridge, leaving Marshall County and re-entering Trigg County and the Land Between the Lakes, on US68/KY80. This would be the only portion of the return trip over the same roads. A new intersection is currently under construction for US68/KY80 and The Trace, the LBL’s north-south route. Remnants of the old intersection remain and I used them to exit down onto The Trace and taking the first right stopped at the Visitors Center, which also houses a planetarium. Of the nine cars in the parking lot, mine and two others were from Kentucky. I changed out of my “meeting” clothes and into some lighter and looser fitting garb. After walking around there, I ventured north several miles, entring into Lyon County, before cutting east along the Old Eddyville Ferry Road, which once connected the now submerged cities of Eddyville on the east side of the Cumberland River (which was relocated after Lake Barkley was created) and Birmingham on the west side of the Tennessee River (which wasn’t relocated after the creation of Kentucky Lake). On old maps of Kentucky, this road which crosses the LBL from southwest to northeast was marked as KY58. At the end of the road I did my traditional dipping of the toes into the waters of the Cumberland, one of the most historic rivers of early America, a river which both starts and ends in Kentucky.

I returned to The Trace and continued the journey northward in the LBL. At the North Welcome Station, there is a hiking path known as the Canal Loop Trail which, if followed in its entirety, allows views of both lakes as well as the connecting canal between the two. I walked a very short part of about 1¾ miles of the part closest to the Welcome Station, a circular route which follows down the hill to Kentucky Lake and then back up. That was my exercise for the week. I need to do that more and keep making plans to do so, plans which typically remain just that – plans.

Finishing the hike, I finished my visit to the LBL, driving north out of the area and out of Lyon County and into Livingston County, which begins just north of the connecting canal on KY453. At US641, multiplexed at this point with US62, I turned east and headed back into Lyon County through Eddyville to the point where US62 and 641 divide, at which point I took the road less travelled, US641. US641 runs northward, out of Lyon and briefly into Caldwell County at Fredonia where I’ve made a mental note to inquire of Ray Crider if he has people there, as one of the crossroads in Fredonia is Crider Street, running between Grove Street and Dycusburg Road. From there US641 continues over into Crittenden County near the little town of Mexico, at the intersection with KY70. A few miles north of here is the city of Marion, seat of government for Crittenden County. At Gum Street, US641 is joined by US60, which would be our route most of the rest of our journey within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

US60 leaves Marion on a northeast bend of the N. Main Street, there becoming Sturgis Road. Heading northeast carries one through the village of Mattoon which is very near the village of Repton, a little to the south along the railroad line. Crossing the Tradewater River over into Union County brings you into the small town of Sullivan. At a fork in the road, US60 bears left (or north) towards Sturgis. Along the way, on the left side of the road, was something I haven’t seen in a while – an unpaved road with a state highway number, KY923. I of course noticed first the number of the route, 923, a number (or date) of some importance to me. The route enters from just south of US60 where it makes a 90 degree curve, crosses 60, then juts west only a mile or so. I’ve since learned it is called Claysville Road. I’m not sure how many unpaved state highway routes remain or if there is some good reason this one is not. It did catch my attention.

The town of Sturgis in Union County is growing. It is well known for its smaller version of the bike rally held in a city of the same name in South Dakota. From Sturgis, US60 goes up Blueberry Hill, along a ridge, then levels back down as you enter the Union County seat of Morganfield. Morganfield has a By-Pass around the south and east sides, but I trekked through town to get a look at the Court House and downtown. US60 courses along Morgan Street, a somewhat narrow street with high curbs in the residential section west of the Court House. The more industrial parts of town are located east of the Court House along US60, going past Flournoy and into Waverly. One of UK roommates is a native and current resident of Waverly, Chris Greenwell. I hadn’t seen Chris in several years until he showed up at the Democratic State Convention back in June as a Union County delegate.

US60 runs generally due east out of Union County and into Henderson County, whose county seat is a city of the same name as the county. But before arriving in the city of Henderson, it is necessary to pass through Corydon, hometown to a Kentucky legend, former Governor and United States Senator Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler. The towns boasts an elementary school named for Happy.

Henderson (the city) is a large long drawn out affair of a city with wide streets and cross streets, something I like in a town but a lot of European afficianados do not. It gives you the wide open feeling of a midwestern town. Henderson is on the left bank of the Ohio River, which at that point runs in a north-south course. It is a few miles south of Evansville, Indiana and about 25 miles west of Owensboro, Kentucky. The main intersection is that of Second Street and Green Street. Green Street takes one to US41, which takes one north of downtown, past the entrance to the John James Audubon State Park, across the Ohio River but still in Kentucky, and alongside Ellis Park Race Course, eventually crossing the stateline into Indiana.

Once in Indiana, I met with an old friend of mine and we walked along the beautiful brick riverwalk along Riverside Drive in downtown Evansville, the county seat of Vanderburgh County, Indiana. The original part of Evansville is laid out in a grid pattern on an offset southwest/northeast pattern of crossstreets. The Ohio River makes a huge and narrow bend opposite this part of the city, a bend less than a mile in width, much like it does much further upriver in Meade County, Kentucky.

We made our way out to the Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve, a very neat forest area right in the city, much like Louisville’s Beargrass Nature Preserve, except that Wesselman is fairly flat for the most part. One side of it runs along the old Wabash and Erie Canal path. After some time spent there, I was ready to say bye to my friend and head north back to the Left Bank of the Ohio near Milepost 606, a ride of just over 110 miles, along Interstate 164 north from Evansville to Interstate 64 over to Louisville.

384. Weekend Travel to Kenlake

As many of you know, I took a trip over the past weekend down to the southwestern part of the state to Kenlake State Park, which is advertised as being in Hardin, Kentucky, but is in fact only in the Hardin zip code, actually being located in the small village of Aurora, which doesn't have a zip code of its own. Aurora is made up a several mobile home courts and other "camps" along the western shores of Kentucky Lake in far southeastern Marshall County. It is about ten miles due east of downtown Hardin on KY402, which up until a few years ago was known as KY80. The last time I visited Kenlake (other than a few weeks ago when I drove around that part of the state during the annual jaunt to Fancy Farm) the park was located on KY94. That road has been replaced by the new KY80, a wide four-lane currently finished from the Eggners Ferry Bridge west to US 641. Someday the KY80s will all be connected again, but not yet.

Although I was supposed to have made the trip with at least one and possibly two others, neither came with me which left me to my own devices along the highway. Following my old rule of not going and returning by the same route, and given that I had just been to the west a few ago, I changed course early on, exiting the long and boring Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway at Leitchfield, on KY 259 south in Grayson County. I had not been down this road since the summer of 1991, when I was taking my friend Rob to his girlfriend's grandfather's camp on Nolin Lake at Conoloway. But instead of turning left to go over to Peonia and out KY88 to the camp, I turned right, staying on KY 259, through the little towns of Annetta, Moutardier, and Broadway, bringing me into Edmonson County. Moutardier is one of those words that the locals use to know "you ain't from here." My aunt and late uncle have a place on Moutardier Shores, which my uncle would jokingly pronounce "moo-tar-dee-ay" as if it were French. But, like Versailles, which isn't pronounced as if it were French, neither is Moutardier, which is pronounced something like "moody-deer." I played little league at Okolona with a Moutardier and he taught me many years ago the Kentucky way of saying his name.

Towns along the way to Brownsville, the county seat of Edmonson, included Bee Spring, Woodside, Sweeden, and Lindseyville. Kyrock is in there somewhere although not directly on KY259. In Brownsville, there was a farmers market getting started on the Courthouse square, which is offset from the main road - this was about 6:55 am their time. I chatted with the two farmers who were setting up, getting into a political discussion, which wasn't the smartest thing, me being from Louisville and they each being God-fearing Republicans from Edmonson County. The conversation ended admirably.

Although I meant to head west out of Brownsville, I realized that being south of the Green River meant I would be continuing generally south rather than west for a few miles. KY259 is joined by KY70 south of Brownsville and the road is currently being widened once you get passed the Dairy Queen, one of the must-stop places in a small town if one wants to gauge the political climate, which I usually like to do.

At a town named Rhoda, KY259 bears to the east back toward Mammoth Cave. I went south on KY101, leading out of Edmonson and into Warren County, shortly after passing through the town of Chalybeate. I've never known if that word is pronounced "kal-ee-be-ett" or "chal-eh-beat." I've heard both. Once in Warren County, I turned south on US31W, known in Bowling Green as Louisville Road. I stayed on 31W into the outskirts of Bowling Green, alongside Barren River and the CSX RR (formerly the Louisville and Nashville) and further meaning I didn't go up the hill, at the top of which is Western Kentucky University, instead turning on the US68 By-Pass called Veterans Memorial Lane winding around the north and western edges of the city adding about five miles to the route which would have otherwise skirted me along the western edge of Western's campus. Eventually I made my way to the Russellville Road, heading southwest on Kentucky's Southern Corridor, US68/KY80, which I've written about before back in August 2007. Leaving Warren takes you into Logan, named for Benjamin Logan, the brother of an ancestor of mine - if the research is correct - through my paternal grandmother's family.

Logan's communities are South Union (which sits on the Memphis Junction line of the L&N and is now owned by the R J Corman RR, which also serves as the boundary between Logan and Simpson counties), Auburn, and Russellville. Beyond Russellville, at least along US68, there are no discernible smaller towns. The next county is Todd. Up on the southern side of the highway, along the old road, is the village of Daysville or sometimes just Days. You must turn off the four-lane US 68 onto the old road to head into the county seat of Elkton, population about 2000. Todd County's population is about 12,000. Last year when going through Elkton, I became ware their old court house in the center square is now a museum. But I couldn't find the new one, if there is one. Because I was on a schedule, I didn't take the time to look. But, given the whole town is only two miles square, it must be there somewhere. West of Elkton, the old road jumps to the the northside of the four-lane where one will find the town of Tress Shop. I do not know the origin of this name. Still further west, on the Todd-Christian County line is the village of Fairview, birthplace of Jefferson Davis, the one and only president of the Confederate States of America, which site is marked by an obelisk, also previously mentioned in a previous entry. A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Preston Bates, called me from this site informing me of his presence there. I returned the favor but only got his voicemail.

Like the western side of Logan County, the eastern side of Christian has no small towns that I noticed. It isn't long before you pass the southside By-Pass (variously called Eagle Way and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Way) and begin the descent down McLean Avenue and into Hopkinsville, the county seat, a town which appears much larger than it is recorded to be. I have a confession. I always lose my bearings in Hopkinsville, heading north which I take to be west. I've done it at least three times. The key is to stay on the numbered streets, particularly 7th and 9th, and avoid the named streets such as Virginia and Main, both of which I always think will take me where I intend to go, although neither of them do. 7th Street eventually makes a right turn and dead-ends into 9th, where one should make a left if it their intention to "Go West Young Man" as John Soule and later Horace Greeley both famously suggested people do. As thus I did.

West of Hopkinsville, and just before the Trigg County line is Gracey, Kentucky, again off on the old road to the south of the highway. Crossing into Trigg means crossing under Interstate 24 and through what was once called Montgomery but now seems to be just a commercial area at the highway intersection, a few miles east of Cadiz, the Trigg County seat. I did not exit the four-lane and venture into Cadiz as I normally do, as it was closing in upon the time of the meeting I was attending still twenty minutes away. The new US68 runs well south of Cadiz heading directly into the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) at Canton, an old river town which is mostly gone.

Within the LBL, the highway is being rebuilt as a wider road. But, the bridges on either end, the one leading in from Canton, and the other leading out to Aurora, are both old and narrow. I do not know if there are eventual plans to replace the bridges.

Crossing the Eggners Ferry Bridge out of the LBL and up the hill into Marshall County, US68 forks off to the right. Kenlake State Park is just ahead on the left, on the new KY80. My meeting started at 10:00 am Central Time. I arrived at 9:55, greeting State Party Chair Jennifer Moore in the lobby of the Lodge, as she was just arriving from the Lone Oak Ham Breakfast, held over in Lone Oak in McCracken County, at her high school Alma Mater.

The next entry will describe the journey back to Louisville.