MICA SIMS

Botany Bay Raid: I'd like to report a crime.

noreply@blogger.com (Sally Oh) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:46:00 +0000

UPDATE: Video is now online at Decriminalize Kentucky.

I witnessed an armed robbery in broad daylight. The thieves were bold, armed, wore no masks, didn’t hurry. They weren’t afraid of being caught. Although, it turned out they sure didn’t want anyone watching.

The Herald-Leader reported this robbery. They got a couple of facts wrong, starting with calling the looting of a retail store an “enforcement action.” To the handful of us recording the siege, it was hard to distinguish this “enforcement action” from a 7/11 smash and grab.

I arrived just after nine grown men had swarmed into the Botany Bay on Winchester Road. After they handcuffed the four young unarmed employees, aged 18 to 24, the looting began.

Much of it is on video shot through the front window. The entire raid would have been recorded except that the first thing the vandals did was rip out the security cameras. (They also stole the modem and router. Why? Did they feel compelled to further punish the tax-paying law-abiding business owner? They appeared to be all in for that enforcement action.)

The safe was open so they took the few hundred dollars there. They must have been disappointed they didn’t get to actually break into the safe because they destroyed it anyway.

Although the warrant was for alleged contraband that would have fit into a Sponge Bob lunch box, the team arrived with their own large packing boxes into which they deliberately dropped fragile glass merchandise wiped from the store shelves. No bubble wrap. As boxes of glass were taped shut, other heavier boxes were dropped on top of them.

When asked if they were taking an inventory as required by law, they answered, “No.” They seemed pretty pleased with that answer.

Only one alleged cop identified himself by name, yet refused to show any credentials. No one wore a badge except a lone uniformed officer. The rest of the gang were dressed in either street clothes or SWAT gear.

Way cool expensive SWAT gear at that: ballistic vests and Black Tees with POLICE written across the middle, mace, tasers, special “tactical” gloves and cuffs, an array of spiffy black “special ops” equipment. One dude wore two pistols Jesse-James style, tilted at a rakish angle for quick access. I’m sure that’s completely necessary here in Lexington, what with our violent crime wave and all.

“Enforcement action” presumes the enforcement of a law. Those charged with enforcing our laws are public employees.

The police, however, are not ordinary public employees. They are a special group to whom we have granted a monopoly on unprovoked violence. It is hard to overstate the danger of such a grant of power, just as it is hard to overstate the danger of failing to supervise those to whom we have granted it.

It appears we have completely failed in that respect.

The attitude of the public servants looting the Botany Bay was one of smug, smirking,
untouchability. We asked one guy, "How do I know you're a cop?" He answered, “You don't,” visibly pleased with himself.

The longer our video cameras were pressed against the front windows, however, the fewer of our brave crimefighters could be seen. One by one, they slipped into the back room, out of sight, taking their bravado with them.

Were they ashamed of their behavior? Ha. I doubt it. More like annoyed at being caught. They told the handcuffed boys that the witnesses “weren’t helping” their situation. Really? The only situation harmed by witnesses was unfettered looting.

The cops also asked the boys to identify us. The cops would not identify themselves, would not show their badges, but they wanted to know our names.

The fact is this search warrant could have been conducted by two police officers and the aforementioned lunch box. Instead, these guys came en masse, dressed to intimidate, equipped to steal. Undercover cops visit the store all the time. They knew there was no danger presented by the kids who work there.

When challenged on their thieving, one of the officers responded: “When police take stuff, it's called seizure."

Seizure is the defining aspect of predatory, profit-driven law enforcement, where the enforcers get a cut of the loot they swipe from their victims. Coincidentally, the Institute of Justice just released an informative podcast: Policing for Profit. Predatory law enforcement is a huge problem in the U.S., not just in Kentucky.

Real police involved in real law enforcement -- law enforcement that protects us -- have nothing to hide. These Lexington cops became, by definition, “secret police”: a roving gang of armed enforcers encouraged to operate just outside the law, dispensing justice by vandalism.

“Secret police” are anathema to a free society. Infamous for abusing their own people, Nazi Germany’s gestapo, the post war STASI in East Germany, Soviet Russia’s KGB, and other innumerable gangs of state-sponsored thugs have terrorized peaceful people the world over.

It can’t happen here? Clearly, it already is. And has: Prohibition. Prohibition ended when we’d finally had enough with the corruption, murder and mayhem.

This is the new Prohibition: gangs of cops break into your property, take your children and “seize” all your valuables to protect you from smoking pot. Your life is destroyed, but at least you aren’t on drugs!

Here’s the question we should be asking: who benefits?

(Hint: who is getting the loot?)

At the end of the day, the cops drove off in two trucks loaded with 40+ boxes of merchandise. So far, it looks like $100,000 worth. None of the boxes were labeled. “How will you know what belongs to the Bay when you get to the warehouse? Where is the inventory?” we asked. Our questions were ignored.

Is this how a lawful seizure is conducted? Is there such a thing?

Whether or not you like what the Botany Bay sells, it sells only legal products to consenting adults, just like a liquor store or tobacco shop. Nothing they sell is lethal or even mildly dangerous. Whiskey and Pall Malls are verifiably dangerous... but those shops haven't been raided since Prohibition.

More importantly, the Bay’s owner is breaking no laws. Yet, she is allowed to be persecuted at the hands of law enforcement without the least bit of due process.

When a law-abiding small business owner is allowed to be abused by local peace officers, we are all in trouble. Serving a warrant is one thing. Confiscating illegal merchandise is one thing. Making an arrest is one thing. Nameless thugs vandalizing our property, stealing from us and enjoying it, that is something else entirely.

The sooner we open our eyes to what is happening to us and to our neighbors, the sooner we say enough, the sooner we will be safe in our homes.

When the video of the raid is posted, it will be announced here.

Operation Fast & Furious - Obama's Watergate

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:50:00 +0000

I was bemused to hear that Attorney General Eric Holder called the vote by Congress to hold him in contempt of Congress for his stonewalling and lies "a grave disservice to the country".

Hundreds of people died as a direct result of the Fast & Furious operation, Congress tries to do its job to learn why this tragedy happened, and Holder thumbs his nose at Congress, Obama invokes executive privilege to block access to the DOJ documents, and somehow Congress is at fault for finding Holder in contempt of Congress?!? Really?

What passes for a news media in this country keeps reporting that the Department of Justice approved the sale of guns to illegal buyers in order to track them, and a majority of those guns have been lost and one was used to kill a border agent last year. That makes it sound as if this was simply another case of federal government incompetence. In fact, it’s far more sinister than that.

Early in his first term, president Obama made the claim that 90% of guns used in Mexican drug war violence originated in the US, and we need to do more to keep US guns from arming Mexican drug cartels. This official party line was parroted by other high ranking officials in the administration. Then it was learned that 90% OF THE 7% THAT COULD BE TRACED came from the US. That's a huge difference... like the difference between a lie and the truth. Many of those weapons from the US were determined to have been sold in the 1960s and 1970s. They were a far cry from the military styled weapons that were accompanying the administration’s bald faced lie as it was broadcast by the sensationalistic anti-gun media. The facts showed that despite record gun sales during the Obama administration (the only industry this administration has managed to benefit), there is no real problem with legally purchased US firearms crossing the border.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Rather than slink away and wait for their lies to dissipate, this administration doubled down on a bad bet. They cynically and with malicious intent used the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to deliberately “walk guns across the border”, and other DHS agencies were in on the plan as well. It wasn’t a rogue agency with a dangerously inept operation. It was a directive from way up in the administration to use government agencies in a manner that was diametrically opposed to their charters, with callous disregard for human lives that they knew would be forfeited in order to advance this administration’s political objective.

That objective was to further circumvent the second amendment of our Constitution and infringe upon the unalienable right of the People to keep and bear arms.

The low level agents knew this plan of walking guns across the border was insane and made no sense. It was exactly the opposite of what they had been doing. The only reasonable explanation, disgusting as it is to admit, is that this administration needed hundreds or thousands of innocent people to die so that US gun sales could be blamed in order to force gun control on the American people, just as they forced socialist health care on us.

This isn’t about incompetence. It’s about evil intent. That’s why this administration is doing everything it can to prevent Congress from doing its job and exercising their constitutional power to provide a meaningful check against this tyrannical executive branch.

Speaking of political motivations… I’m glad that Representative Ben Chandler voted for Holder to be held in contempt of Congress, even if he crossed party lines to do so in order to prevent Andy Barr from attacking him for taking part in the big coverup behind Operation Fast & Furious. This is one of the few times when his constituents were watching and Chandler was forced to actually represent them instead of being Nancy Pelosi’s lap poodle.

Did Rand Paul Betray the Liberty Movement?

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 02:08:00 +0000

Rand Paul has been accused by some in the Liberty Movement as somehow betraying not only the Tea Party and the Liberty Movement, but also, his father through his endorsement of Mitt Romney.

I struggled with this as well when I first heard about the endorsement. Not that he had abandoned us but it did make me scratch my head and silently think, "What the heck is he doing?!?"

Once I got over that initial feeling, I started to ask myself some questions while stepping back and looking at the big picture. I challenge you to ask yourself these same questions. Is this the same Rand Paul we worked so hard for and sent to Washington? Has he ever done anything other then what he promised to do for years on the campaign trail? Any Rand supporter knows the answers to those question, just like I did myself.

Along with his dad, Ron Paul, Rand has been an ever present voice in Washington for our movement. He's fought for fiscal integrity, personal liberty and limited government. He's stood against the Defense Authorization Act, the TSA, the EPA, and the Patriot Act. He has stood in the Senate, sometimes alone, fighting for our liberty and freedom while often going against the majority of the Republican Party. Like just this week, Rand introduced legislation to stop drones spying on our citizens.

Beyond fighting for these things on the national level, Rand strongly supported Thomas Massie right here in Kentucky. Along with Rand's help, Thomas secured a massive win in the 4th district. Massie received more votes than his two top establishment challengers combined. Thomas took on the establishment candidates and won a [massieve] victory.

Does this sound like someone who has abondoned us or betrayed our cause or the liberty movement? Do you for one second think Rand would have made the endorsement without Ron’s approval? Do you think for one second that Rand would ever betray his father? If you are uncertain about those last 2 questions, then I would certainly question your support and knowledge of the Paul family.

Ron and Rand have shifted the course of this country. In a year and a half in DC and many more months on the campaign trail, Rand has earned my trust and I trust his judgment. I know Rand well enough that I do not think that this endorsement of Romney is just some go along-get along deal where Rand compromised his principles.

The fact remains as this, Ron Paul does not have the delegates to secure the nomination and has stopped campaigning. For example, instead of campaigning in Kentucky, he lent his staff and support to help Massie. So like it or not, Romney will be the nominee.

So why endorse Romney now? Why not wait until after the convention? I love Ron Paul as much as anyone. I would have loved to see Ron win the nomination and be elected President. But let’s have a reality check. That is not going to happen. Mitt Romney will be the nominee of the Republican Party.

There were reports this past week that Romney had interviewed Rand for a V-P slot. I believe those reports are wrong. Instead, I believe Rand interviewed Romney to determine if Romney was worthy of his endorsement. Rand, as he said in his announcement, found common ground with Romney on many of Rand's principles. Romney is not in any way a perfect candidate but Rand will now have Romney’s ear and will hopefully be able to influence his course of action.

Also think of this... The Romney folks are organizing the national convention. They make the decisions. They decide who speaks and when. By endorsing Romney now, Rand may well have secured a prime speaking slot for Ron as well as himself. Remember what those slots meant to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama?

In the end, we must ask ourselves- Where do we want the Liberty Movement to go? Do you really believe that the Pauls can continue to change the course of this country? Do you want the Liberty Movement to be the leader in that change? How about this one, do you want to see a President Paul one day?

A new and larger campaign has begun but it will not be won overnight. It may take four years or eight years or longer. But the conclusion of that campaign, if successful, will see a President Rand Paul. But that could never happen if Rand stayed on the outside doing nothing more than throwing stones. Instead, he must go through the Republican Party and win by their rules. In using his position and influence, Rand is giving the Liberty Movement a seat at the table.

Much like Ron Paul, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan before him, Rand is continuing to transform the Republican party. Rand's endorsement of Romney is not a betrayal. It is one more step in the larger campaign. And when the day comes that President Rand Paul is sworn in, the happiest and most proud person in the country (other than Carol Paul) will be Ron. On that day we will all know the the the Legacy of Ron Paul has been fulfilled.

I trust Rand and I hope you will join me in this. I think he knows what he is doing and I don't ever see him abandoning us. So we should not abandon him.

Bluegrass Institute Churns out Personal Agenda in a Recent "Report"

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 04:07:00 +0000

The Bluegrass Institute has always been an organization that I respect highly and have enjoyed working with in the past. The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions (Bipps) published a report this past Monday titled Future Shock: Kentucky Politicians' Opulent Pensions have Become a Modern-Day Gold Rush that delved into Kentucky's pension program. Most anyone involved in the political scene in Kentucky (conservatives at least) know that KY's pension program is at best atrocious. It absolutely should be subjected to a much needed scrutiny and should be reformed- yesterday!

I wish this was the approach that Bipps took with the report; unfortunately it is not. It is with much disappointment in Bipps that my conclusion of the report is that is was an attack piece with a personal agenda that the author conveniently used Bipps to propel. I'm saddened that Bipps has fallen for this type of reporting on such Draconian issues in KY such as the pension program.

After initially reading the report I sent several inquiries to the Bipps staff who played a part in the published report. I received several disheartening responses to my questions. Bipps staff adamantly stated that they support the responses 100% and gave me permission to publish. (The email exchange is posted below.)

The primary topic that the Bipps report delved into was the ramifications of HB299 in 2005 which was the legislation that fattened the pensions of part-time legislators. At first I was excited in the fact that Bipps took on this issue. My excitement however diminished upon my first observation of the analysis. My concerns of the report are not what was included but the glaring facts that were excluded. The report only tells a small piece of a much broader issue while omitting (conveniently) major players and major events. Instead, Bipps chose a very suspicious route in attacking Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.

The report is 25 pages in length. After the cover page and introduction, there is a 2 page piece complete with multiple commentary on Comer's role in the legislation. Comer voted in favor of the bill HB299 in 2005. Sure. He shoulders some of the blame. But according to Bipps in their presentation of the report, the reader will likely come away with the notion that Comer is completely responsible for this atrocity of a bill. When in all reality, he has only a sliver of responsibility compared to many key players that crafted, wrote and orchestrated its verbiage and ultimately its passing.

Let's put this in perspective...
Senate President David Williams and (then) Attorney General Greg Stumbo, the authors and orchestrators of HB299 vs.
James Comer, one of the minor players who voted for the bill but had absolutely no part in the discussions and/or the committees that it passed.

Bipps report
James Comer: A 577 word hit piece at the very beginning of a very lengthy report
David Williams: Mentioned 2 times buried on pg. 11
Greg Stumbo: Finally mentioned on pg 14 (The report states that Stumbo will accumulate over 1.24 million dollars in pension earnings vs. Comer's $426k. That's triple the amount folks!)

When did Bipps become an organization that publishes and adamantly supports hit pieces while omitting glaring details of the facts?

Thankfully, David Williams was right there on Monday to save the day! He's going to form a task force to "fix the problem." How dumb can Kentuckians be? Are we going to trust the very person that caused this mess to fix it? Can you say fox running the hen house, anyone? Williams will be on Sue Wylie's morning show tomorrow on WVLK 590 AM. I dare my readers to call in and ask Williams why we should trust him to fix this draconian problem when he was the biggest proponent of this direct assault on the KY taxpayers.

Below is the email transcript between Bipps, Lowell Reece and myself. (published with permission from Bipps President Jim Waters)

1. Who supported HB299 in 2005? I'm not referring to the sponsors as you and I can easily look them up, but I'd like to know if Bipps knows who actively supported this bill e.i. Who were the legislators that pursued their colleagues to garner support of said bill?

Reese: The language of the bill originated in the Senate State & Local Government Committee, chaired by Sen. Damon Thayer, who was a freshman doing exactly what the Senate leadership demanded. Damon probably had no clue about it all. So, who supported the bill? In the Senate, four of the five-member GOP leadership, David Williams, Dan Kelly, Dan Seum and Richie Sanders voted for it and therefore supported it…only Stine did not vote for it; she took a puff. On the House side, Rep. Jeff Hoover refused Williams’ request and would not, did not, vote for nor work for the bill…to which Williams got a little upset with Hoover. The bill was greased in the House … it passed the Senate and House the same day, March 8, 2005, I believe it was. The Dem leadership in the House was Jody Richards (speaker), Larry Clark, Rocky Adkins, Bob Damron and Joe Barrows…all voted for it, except Damron, who took a puff.

Damon Thayer (a legislator in the Senate where the language was written) is given a free pass in this response for being a "freshman" and "doing what was told by leadership" and "probably had no clue about it." James Comer was still new as well during this time and certainly didn't chair the committee that HB299 went to. In fact, James Comer was never a part of any of the discussions and/or committees regarding the bill.

Mr. Reese somewhat retracts this in another response because my question was who actively supported it and pursued their colleagues. Greg Stumbo was Attorney General at the time and actively pressured the D side to support this bill. On the R side it was Senate President David Williams who actively supported it and pressured his colleagues to do so as well. Which is interesting and glaringly void in the report because Williams championed the legislation at the time and has always been vocal on his aspirations to higher office. A stark contrast to James Comer who had never vocalized such goals. And further, James Comer did not actively support it nor pursue colleagues.

2. Who wrote the verbiage in HB299-05?

Reese: I could look it and be more precise, but HB 299 was a House, as the letters HB imply; the original language of the bill that came over to the Senate from the House dealt with senior judges, as I recall, and the Senate leadership gutted the bill,gutted its language in its entirely, keeping the bill number, and replacing the language with the change to the legislators’ retirement system. There was no hearing held on the bill, which is highly unusual for a subject of this importance — suggest the leadership of the House and Senate knew for sure it would die in the sunlight. As to who actually wrote the language used as a substitute for the original language of HB 299, no one will ever know. except those who it. According to procedure, the language would have been written by a nameless LRC staff person, whose job it was to do that, under the direction of a nameless legislator. However, it is my belief, based on a most reliable source, that Greg Stumbo, “orchestrated” the bill from his position as Attorney General. Stumbo told my source that he did. We can’t prove it, of course, as it would become he said, she said.

It was the Senate substitute that passed with the house language gutted. Just from these words here it is rightly to assume that Williams and Stumbo wrote the language or at least supported it and "orchestrated" it's passing. Another example of a glaring omission in the report.

3. Since this bill was enacted, who has benefited from it the most (excluding James Comer)? In reading the report is it right to assume that the observation of Bipps is that Greg Stumbo has been the largest benefactor?

Reese: Greg Stumbo is not the biggest beneficiary. In terms of the size of annual pensions; he is third, behind Harry Moberly and J.R. Gray. Other large beneficiaries to date are Charlie Borders and Dan Kelly.

So where is Comer in this line of the largest offenders? The report suggests that Comer is one of the highest recipients. I think this is very irresponsible of Bipps to produce something that is so misleading and misguided.

4. In deciding the layout of the report, why was the piece on James Comer put on pg 4 of a 25 pg report? (This inquiry of course is a matter of opinion versus the previous questions which are regarding facts. Please indulge me on this as it is a very interesting placement within the report.)

Reese: It was my decision, as the author of the report, to put it where it is, which so-happens to be Page 4-5. That Comer enhanced his legislative pension an estimated $462,000 (minimum, based on him living as long the Social Security Life Expectancy Table says he should), it is the major news story in the report, in terms of individuals, as most, though not all, of the other individuals named in the reported had been previously reported by KY Roll Call. As a professional journalist I would have been negligent to bury the Comer story simply because he’s an emerging, likeable Republican. In fact, as the author, I would not have stood for it. The institute could either take it I had written (with non-substantive editing) or risk having no report at all.Absolutely, I would not play politics or favoritism on this, or any other matter, dealing with the report, as my reputation, which I value highly, was and is at stake. I placed it, not the institute; and I am pleased that the institute supported by professional judgment. That Comer voted in favor of HB 299 had no bearing on the placement, but his vote made his self-enrichment indefensible.

This is probably one of the most shocking and appalling statements I've ever heard from a "professional journalist." The "major news story" is a small time player of an atrocious bill because the major offenders have been previously reported on? And not only has Bipps not reported on it, Reese references his own site "KY Roll Call", a blogspot that has published but 2 articles in 2 years and less then 40 in it's entirety. I understand he did a paper publishing but not in many many years.

Senator McConnell Still Doesn't Get It

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:43:00 +0000

In an article on cn|2 Politics today, Senator Mitch McConnell is crediting The Money as the reason Thomas Massie crushed his northern Kentucky GOP establishment opponents in the May 22nd KY-4 GOP congressional primary.

So, senator McConnell isn't crediting the TEA Party, the liberty movement, and the rock solid Republican voting base that's fed up with career politicians who run as conservatives and then vote for taxpayer funded Wall Street bailouts, even though those are the reasons that Thomas Massie credited in his victory speech?

I'm not surprised, but I'm unsure whether senator McConnell is saying this because he's trying to dump cold water on the constitutional conservative brush fires that are popping up all over Kentucky, or whether his message is intended to reassure himself after senator Rand Paul defeated establishment candidate Trey Grayson in a Randslide (Grayson was McConnell's hand picked replacement for senator Bunning) and Thomas Massie just crushed the best the establishment GOP could throw at him, earning more votes than Webb-Edgington and Moore combined.

For those just tuning in, Senator McConnell not only voted for the unconstitutional and obviously not conservative TARP-1 bailout of Wall Street, he also twisted the arms of Republicans in Congress or it wouldn't have passed. McConnell's top five campaign contributors that year were big financial interests that stood to gain plenty by privatizing their unearned profits and then nationalizing their well earned losses onto the backs of hard working tax payers and their children who were sold into debt slavery by the Bankster Bailout.

There is a HUGE difference between the Wall Street bankster money that funds Mitch McConnell's campaigns and the money from individuals that funded Rand Paul and Thomas Massie. We the People contributed money to take back our country from the wolves that fund most political campaigns, and thus own most politicians.

Thomas Massie didn't win because of money. Sure, money is needed to fend off the vicious lies from the desperate establishment party candidates in the primary, but Kentuckians voted for Thomas Massie because he isn't an establishment hack who puts himself above everything else and his party ahead of his nation, while shunning our Constitution after swearing an oath to defend it.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, lost 14% of the vote in the 2008 Republican primary to a truck driver who spent so little money that his campaign website was a free hosting site with annoying popup banner advertisements compelling us to "Meet Russian women for friendship or marriage". That 14% was the "anyone but McConnell" vote in 2008, and Kentuckians are MUCH more awake now.

Senator McConnell's establishment colleague and mostly silent partner in the US Senate, Bob Bennett, was defeated by TEA Party candidate Mike Lee in Utah in 2010. In fact, Bennett, the incumbent with very strong establishment support, was eliminated early in the state convention ballot process, finishing third. That's something for conservatives in Kentucky to think about as we all look forward to the 2014 election, when the real conservative activists are going to be out in force. Hey, Mitch... remember THIS?

Kentucky voters not only remember the TARP-1 Bankster Bailout betrayal, but more and more are learning about it all the time. That issue is not going away because it symbolizes all that's wrong in Washington DC, and We the People mean to change that. We are changing it. One election at a time.

Best of luck to Thomas Massie, swimming with the sharks in DC. Go with our extreme gratitude for your sacrifice. You're too nice a guy for such a fate.

Liberty TEA Party Wins Big - Thomas Massie

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:05:00 +0000

Thomas Massie is Super Liberty Man!

Ready to defend truth, justice, and our Constitution!

When the dust settled, the darling of the TEA Party, the overwhelming favorite of the burgeoning liberty movement, and the friend of the rock solid fiscal conservative base of the Republican Party in Kentucky won handily over the establishment candidates, Alecia Webb-Edgington and Gary Moore.

The mood was very festive at the Thomas Massie victory party, with huge cheers every time the big screen TV flashed up the latest election returns, which consistently showed Thomas in the lead over Alecia Webb-Edgington and Gary Moore, by a decisive 45-29-15 margin.

Expect some savvy political analysis to conclude that the establishment Republicans will learn not to run two establishment candidates against a TEA Party candidate, but you don't need a master's degree in engineering from MIT to realize that even if Moore had dropped out and every single one of his votes went to the other establishment candidate, Alecia Webb-Edgington, Thomas Massie would have still won the race... at least based on the 19 of 20 counties reporting at the time this blog went to press.

My favorite part of the evening was Thomas' victory speech. I usually don't enjoy these, as the candidates are exhausted from the stress and insane hours of a long and hard fought campaign, and even those who are natural public speakers gush a bit and then fall back on the same trite and shop worn talking points that could as easily have been uttered by their primary opponents. Not this time. Thomas referred to the TEA Party several times. Even more amazing was the way he specifically called attention to the liberty movement as an entity distinct from the TEA Party on each of these occasions. Knowing this distinction was too subtle for the clueless mainstream media by four orders of magnitude, he called their attention to it and almost dared them not to cover it.

I haven't counted yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas said "liberty" twenty times in his victory speech. I had the impression that maybe someone told Thomas that the rowdies in the back of the room had decided to make a drinking game of his victory speech, agreeing to take a drink every time he said "liberty", and Thomas was just messing with them.

Nah. That's not it. Thomas just really likes liberty... a LOT.

Thomas also specifically called out the establishment. He wasn't petty or rude about it, but he certainly wasn't pandering to them either. It was clear that he wanted everyone to know this was a win for liberty and a repudiation of RINO establishment politics as usual. He certainly wasn't simply pandering to the TEA Party and liberty loving crowd at his victory party either, because he disparaged the political establishment while the seven or eight TV cameras were filming. His comment was very much a public statement, zinged in the direction of the Republican establishment.

If there was any doubt that this was TEA Party versus The Establishment, that doubt was put to rest.

The official festivities began with congratulatory comments from US Senator Rand Paul, delivered via Skype. Rand wasn't shy about going full court liberty, either. There was a decided feel of a liberty revolution in the air, and there was talk among the crowd of forming a liberty caucus in Kentucky.

Thomas Massie's race was sold as Rand 2.0, and it certainly felt that way tonight with the big Thomas Massie win.

However, Thomas wasn't the only liberty candidate to post up a win tonight.

Chris Hightower FTW!

I'd like to give a big shout out to my friend, Chris Hightower, who pulled off a 53-47 win over his Republican primary rival in the battle for Kentucky's 16th House seat. We're all behind you Chris, and we'll be there to support you in the uphill battle against the incumbent Democrat in November. Many of you remember Chris Hightower as the first person Rand hired to help with his US Senate race. There are little brush fires of liberty popping up everywhere!

There were some liberty and TEA Party losses, as well.

Kelly v. Barr - In the KY-6 congressional race in central Kentucky, establishment favorite Andy Barr pulled 83% of the vote, and the liberty candidate, Patrick Kelly received 12% of the vote. That's not as bad as it sounds. Andy Barr was the front runner in that race two years ago, and has for the most part continued campaigning ever since. He had all of the money and all of the name recognition. Patrick's 12% is very impressive when we consider that A) he's 26 years old, B) he ran on almost no money, C) he only started campaigning two months ago, and D) his yard signs had his name in small print and most of the sign real estate was devoted to some sort of Rorshach ink blot test to promote his unconventional (to say the least) I Like Beard website. Many people thought the beard looked like a manta ray, a dog bone, etc., but a lot of people liked Patrick's message, which really wasn't that different from Thomas Massie's message. There's no doubt that Patrick easily beat Andy Barr in terms of votes per dollar.

Butler v. Givens - Don Butler ran in Kentucky's 8th House district Republican primary against incumbent David Givens. Don famously and effectively ran on the anti David Williams platform, but it's very difficult to overcome the incumbent advantage, and Givens prevailed 76-24.

Polston v. Girdler - From what I've heard, Chris Girdler is running in Kentucky's 15th Senate district, on the very well funded coat tails of Hal Rogers, and he prevailed over Mark Polston, 50-40.

Flaig v. Wuchner - In Kentucky's 66th House district in northern Kentucky, establishment candidate Addia Wuchner defeated liberty candidate Cathy Flaig, 53-42.

Bruce v. Linder - In a race receiving little media attention, liberty candidate Scott Bruce was defeated by Brian Linder in Kentucky's 61st House race primary.

Treitz v. Rowland & Harbison - Liberty candidate Richard Treitz finished third in the three man Republican primary race for Kentucky's 53rd House seat, with 14% to Bart Rowland's 61% and Freddy Harbison's 25%.

All of the above TEA Party and liberty races were in Republican primaries, with many of the candidates more liberty leaning than TEA Party leaning, although there is certainly a lot of overlap between the two factions. However, there was an interesting Democratic primary with a TEA Party candidate.

Caswell v. Meeks - Wendy Caswell is a well known Louisville TEA Party leader, who was defeated 80-20 by Reginald Meeks in the Democratic primary for Kentucky's 42nd House seat.

Win lose or draw, I'd like to express my sincerest appreciation to all of the TEA Party and liberty candidates who ran for office this year. Thank you for standing up to the establishment political machine that has brought our country to the brink of disaster. We need good candidates to represent the people, by upholding the wise and noble principles conveyed in our Constitution. As Thomas Massie observed in tonight's victory speech, if we simply followed our Constitution, we wouldn't be in this big mess.

If you'd like to see the results of any other races in Kentucky's 2012 primary, the best place to find all of the official results in one place is the election results page on the Secretary of State's website.

There was one final race worth mentioning that didn't have any TEA Party or liberty candidate. Our incumbent president Barack Obama pulled off a narrow 58-42 victory over Uncommitted in Kentucky's Democratic presidential primary.

I'm not sure, but this may actually be more embarrassing than the West Virginia Democratic presidential primary, where president Obama defeated a convicted felon, currently serving his time in a Texarkana prison, by a mere 59-41 margin. In the West Virginia primary, at least there was another person in the race. In Kentucky, with an 8% swing, president Obama would have lost to NOBODY. Apparently, nobody is 1% more popular than a convicted felon, and 16% less popular than president Obama.

Q: What could possibly be more embarrassing than that?

A: When Mitt Romney loses to this Obama joker in November.

How's that lesser-of-two-evils voting thing working out for you?

The real news tonight wasn't news at all. It's a familiar theme. If the Republican Party wants to win, they need to run better candidates. That means no more RINOs or career politician hacks. Run candidates who balance budgets and respect individual liberty and free market economics.

UPDATE: Here's Thomas Massie's excellent 17 minute victory speech. By my count there were six references to our Constitution, nine mentions of liberty, eight references to the TEA Party, and Thomas directly called out the political establishment (career politicians, elite) seven times. There were also numerous references to fiscal conservatism.

5 Out Of 6 Kentucky Congressmen Voted To Make The US Into A Tyrannical Dictatorship

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Have you been following the flap over the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act? Basically, sections 1021 and 1022 authorized the executive branch of the federal government to use US armed forces to capture and detain US citizens on US soil, without any due process at all. All that would be needed would be for president Obama or his henchmen to put you on a list, and you get a black bag over your head and you disappear.

I know. You're thinking that can't be right. Not in America. Heck, they don't even do that in many brutal dictatorships. Well, think again. Search for 2012 NDAA and read the law for yourself.

As part of the 2013 NDAA, Congress had the chance to right their previous wrong. Many of them had claimed that the legalese was buried and the 2012 NDAA bill summary said nothing about a US presidential tyrant nabbing US citizens off the street and throwing them into a cell to rot... as if not reading the bill before voting to make it a law is an acceptable excuse.

Only one Kentucky congressman, John Yarmuth, voted for the Smith-Amash amendment that would have reversed the unconstitutional indefinite detention clauses in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. The other five - Chandler, Rogers, Davis, Whitfield, and Guthrie - all voted against restoring our right to habeus corpus when they voted against Roll Call 270.

There was a fake repeal amendment of the unconstitutional parts of the 2012 NDAA, and Kentucky's congresscritters switched sides, with Yarmuth voting against Roll Call 291 and the other five voting for it. The fix was in. The fake amendment actually makes the unconstitutional provisions more confusing (more open to government interpretation) and adds further constitutional insults to the previous injuries. As usual, this is a dodge they use to vote for a more oppressive federal government and then be able to bluff their way through a question from an irate constituent when they return home, by telling the assembled crowd, "I voted for the other amendment that fixes the unfortunate wording and protects America from the dirty terrorists next question please."

I can only conclude that these five congressmen intend for the federal government to exercise the power to arrest and indefinitely detain US citizens on US soil anytime they like, without due process, and entirely in violation of our Bill of Rights. That's treason.

I heard Brett Guthrie on Leland Conway's radio show soon after the 2012 NDAA was passed, and he tried to say that the two offensive clauses don't mean what they clearly do mean. Leland read the clauses and 'splained it to him. Then Guthrie tried to sell the audience on the belief that, even if it might be interpreted that way, no agents of the federal government would ever actually do something like that. It sounded a lot like the old adage that only the small lies need to be kept, because the big lies are too unbelievable, so few people will believe them. Nobody wants to think their government is going to put a black bag over their head and make them disappear.

Well, Brett Guthrie had months to study the 2012 NDAA provisions related to the indefinite detention of US citizens without due process, and have his staffers explain it to him in itty bitty words so he could understand it. He had the chance today to fix his earlier mistake, if that's what it was. Clearly, it wasn't anything close to an honest mistake. His big government handlers told him how to vote, and that's how he voted... for big government and against the people who voted for him. Hopefully the voters in Kentucky's 2nd congressional district will correct their mistake at the earliest electoral opportunity.

Chandler, Rogers, Whitfield, and Davis are just as guilty. If you'd like to tell the person who works for you as your representative that you like habeus corpus and you don't like them voting to allow Eric Holder to put your name on an Enemies Of Obama list and snatch you in the middle of the night....

Brett Guthrie
270-842-9896
202-225-3501

Ben Chandler
859-219-1366
202-225-4706

Hal Rogers
606-679-8346
202-225-4601

Ed Whitfield
270-442-6901
202-225-3115

Geoff Davis
859-426-0080
202-225-3465

I don't often have a good reason to thank John Yarmuth, but I think I'll call and thank him for his vote on Roll Call 270 in support of the Smith-Amash amendment.

John Yarmuth
502-582-5129
202-225-5401

I try to look for a bright spot, but it's almost never found within the dark halls of Congress. It's rarely found in the federal judicial system either, but this is one of those rare moments. Katherine Forrest is a US District Court judge in Manhattan. She was appointed by president Obama, and she issued an injunction this week preventing any US citizen from being unconstitutionally arrested or detained under the provisions of the 2012 NDAA. That took some guts, because Obama signed the 2012 NDAA and in a signing statement he claimed that HIS administration would never use that executive privilege, but his administration has consistently supported the unconstitutional provisions of the 2012 NDAA. I wonder if Hallmark makes a Thank You card for protecting our rights? Judge Forrest should get a nice fruit basket or something.

It's critically important that we elect people to represent us in Congress who understand and obey their oath to protect and defend our Constitution, from all enemies, foreign and domestic. We have a good chance to do that in our 4th congressional district next Tuesday. If you live in the 4th district, please vote for Thomas Massie like your life and your liberty depend on it... because they probably do. Mine too.

Moore Baseless Attacks On Massie

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:59:00 +0000

From the outset, the TEA Party has viewed Thomas Massie's race as Rand 2.0, with good reason.

The vitriolic attacks from Gary Moore and Kevin Sell (Alecia Webb-Edgington's agent) are Too Kooky For Kentucky 2.0.

That attack didn't work the first time and we now have Rand Paul in the US Senate, working hard to restrain the growth of government and curtail deficit spending, instead of another establishment RINO who simply talks about these conservative values when running for office and then falls into lock step with the Big Government Machine in DC once elected.

Kentucky voters are seeing through this charade.

"Fool me once... shame on... shame on you.... Fool me, can't get fooled again."
George W. Bush

Sure, there are some people who will believe the desperate lying attacks of Gary Moore, but most voters see through his attempt to detract from Thomas Massie's well earned TEA Party support.

The election math is fairly simple.

Gary Moore is counting on his establishment support, so all he needs to do is peel off some votes from the large and growing electorate that leans toward the TEA party.

However, his attacks are so obviously untrue, so desperate, and so vicious that they lose all credibility, even among casual observers.

These desperate and baseless attacks are actually good news for Thomas Massie. When everyone is ganging up on him with attacks that are completely without substance, it's obvious that they're desperate and running scared. It's also obvious that they have no factual attacks or they'd be using those instead. They must have internal polling that shows Thomas Massie in the lead, and probably with the momentum advantage.

Thomas Massie has been THE choice of the TEA Party from the start. Trying to convince people that he's not is a fool's mission, and frankly, quite lame. As shameful as it is for candidate Gary Moore, it's even more shameful for 4th district Republican Chairman Kevin Sell. I thought the district chairman was supposed to remain neutral throughout the primary? The Republican establishment brought back Sell to fill that position when Alecia Webb-Edgington vacated it to run for Congress. To outsiders, this might be seen as an attempt at fairness and impartiality, but it's now clear that the only reason to do this would be to generate more credibility when Kevin Sell was stumping for Webb-Edgington than she could ever garner campaigning for herself as a party official.

The Liberty For All Super PAC dropping over half a million dollars into advertising for Thomas Massie was huge, and really took the establishment by surprise. They don't know what to do, so they lash out in fear and frustration. Sucks to be outspent five to one, doesn't it? The shoe is on the other foot this time and the establishment is crying like a baby.

Rand Paul Is Endorsing Thomas Massie

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:23:00 +0000

Most hardcore TEA partiers already knew that Rand unofficially endorses Thomas Massie in the KY-4 congressional race, but now it's going to be official.

Rand had avoided endorsing, preferring to stay out of Republican primary races so the candidates can communicate their values directly to the voters and run on their own merits. Rand has avoided endorsing in many other primary races, but is now weighing in on this race.

Paul said an official endorsement of Massie would come soon. “It’s not that I dislike the other candidates. And I probably wouldn’t have gotten involved, but other people got involved endorsing one of the other candidates and so I felt, to level the playing field, I’m going to get involved,” he said.

It's also worth noting that Rand seems to be taking the attitude of "in for a penny, in for a pound". He has made a TV ad and is recording a robocall.

It's good to have friends.

There was a lot of speculation in the TEA/liberty camps that Bunning and Davis endorsing Alecia Webb-Edgington might persuade Rand to endorse Thomas, and there was a bit of disappointment when that didn't happen immediately, but good things come to those who wait, and the timing of this endorsement is very good. It could have been buried a bit in the news of the other endorsements. Now, it should enjoy a full news cycle as its own unique story.

As if there was any doubt, now it's obvious to everyone that this race is...

ESTABLISHMENT VS TEA PARTY

TEA Party for the win!

There are a lot of Kentucky voters who don't claim TEA Party affiliation because they didn't attend any rallies, but really, other than Warren Buffett, who isn't Taxed Enough Already? A significant percentage of Kentuckians are closet TEA partiers, and this endorsement will convey a strong message to them... both in the primary, and in the general election as the conservative Democrats and independents flock to Thomas Massie. He'll be unbeatable in November.

It also doesn't hurt that the Liberty For All Super PAC is spending well over half a million dollars in advertising (30 second video) to promote Thomas. That's more than the reported campaign donations from every candidate in this race.

Political Fashion News: If this liberty fashion trend continues, I may need to get a perm. I'm not blessed with naturally curly liberty locks.

Moore Lies & Moore Deception

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:27:00 +0000

I called my 80 year old mom on Wednesday night and she told me that she had received one of those political mail pieces from Thomas Massie and it didn't make any sense. She read a few fragments and I quickly realized what it was, and she confirmed it when she read, "Paid for by Moore for Congress." It was the mail version of the same lies that Gary Moore's campaign has been airing on cable TV ads.

The televised ads were so inaccurate that cn|2 Pure Politics, the news channel of Insight Communications where the Moore ads were being aired ran a news story entitled, "New Gary Moore Ad Takes On Thomas Massie Over County Budget - But Is The Claim Accurate?" In short, the cn|2 Pure Politics article exposed the cherry picked data that led to the ad's false conclusion.

This is Kentucky. We expect campaign ads to torture and abuse the truth, and distort it to fit their mud slinging message, but the Moore campaign's attacks on Thomas Massie have crossed the line into utter fabrication without a tincture of truth. The Moore campaign is desperately trying to confuse my 80 year old mom and others like her. It's so shameful that I feel ashamed for them, because apparently they're all so steeped in politics that they're incapable of feeling shame or remorse. They only know what is politically advantageous. Haven't we had way too many of these creeps in Congress? In fact, doesn't that DEFINE what is wrong with Congress?

A couple of weeks ago, I thought the Republican establishment had chosen Alecia Webb-Edgington and would force Gary Moore to exit the race to avoid having these two candidates split the non-TEA Party vote. Instead, they took the low road. Gary Moore stayed in as their attack dog. He slings all of the muck he can at Thomas Massie. There's not a scintilla of truth to the vicious lies, but if you chuck a stick of dynamite into the outhouse, there's gonna be a big stink.

Moore's negative liar ads essentially tear down Gary Moore and Thomas Massie, leaving Webb-Edgington to sail by unsullied. It's so diabolically evil that I wonder if the strategy wasn't hatched by Karl Rove.

Rand Paul had to endure similar unfounded attacks by the establishment that wants nothing more than to appoint another one of their RINO stooges to deliver more of the big government tonic that's killing our country. Fortunately, Rand had the money to respond to those baseless attacks and set the record straight. Hopefully, Thomas Massie will be able to respond to the lies with truth as well, with a loud enough voice that the voters understand how they're being conned into maintaining the politics-as-usual status quo - in short, voting against their own interests.

The TEA Party needs to punish not only the liars, but the entire establishment that's running this crooked game.

Senator Dick Lugar was soundly tromped in the Indiana Republican primary this week by TEA Party candidate Richard Mourdock. Not unexpectedly, Lugar gave a whiny cry baby concession speech and lashed out at the Republican who had bested him in the primary despite the advantages afforded to Lugar by his 35 year tenure in the US Senate. As fellow neocon Bob Bennett can attest, we've entered into a TEA Party political climate where being a career politician is more of a liability than an asset. It's about time!

The TEA Party in Kentucky is the vocal minority but most Kentucky voters are leaning heavily in the same direction. As big government run by the Two Parties That Are One fails us to an ever larger degree, We the People are waking up and realizing that voting for the party's anointed candidate or voting for the candidate endorsed by another career politician is not the answer we need.

In Kentucky, we need to send Thomas Massie to represent us in DC. He's not doing it for the money or the power. He's not participating in the lucrative congressional pension plan, nor is he taking advantage of the generous congressional health care plan which is vastly better than the ObamaCare they're trying to foist off on us. Thomas wants to go to Congress for all of the right reasons. They're the same reasons that compelled him to run for Lewis County judge executive. They're reasons that We the People can understand. He wants to fix the problems by ending the waste and corruption.

Such worthy candidates are rare and the TEA Party needs to support them if we'll have any hope of restoring our once great republic. Speak out to your family, friends, and coworkers. Educate them. Make sure they know the truth about these candidates so they can vote accordingly. Your endorsement will count a lot more with your mom than anything that any politician could say, or any lying ad that may be shamelessly run on TV or mailed to easily confused little old ladies.

We still have a week and a half to go. It's limbo time. How low can they go? What other shameful tactics can we anticipate?

Richie Farmer - Lessons Applied To National Elections

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:35:00 +0000

The Republican Party of Kentucky neocon establishment told you to vote for Williams & Farmer in last year's gubernatorial race. Their establishment candidates lost the general election by a humiliating 21%, and Richie Farmer is now under investigation for numerous felonies stemming from outrageous abuses by an elected official that are egregious even by the standards of corrupt Kentucky politics. Now these same people are telling us that we must vote for Mitt Romney, even though there is no substantive difference between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. In case that news is so shocking that your mind is reluctant to accept it, let me do the math for you.

ROMNEY = OBAMA

Still don't believe me? Hear both candidates in their own words.

There's no real chance that Romney will win if the inevitable economic calamity can be forestalled past November, just as we were never in any danger of Williams and Farmer winning. The danger lies in allowing the GOP oligarchy to pick one candidate and the Democratic oligarchy to pick another candidate in their Two Parties That Are One race to the bottom to see who can pick the worst candidate, as we all go to the ballot box and once again are forced to choose between the lesser of their two evils.

There is no chance that the Democrats are going to nominate anyone but Barack Obama, so the only chance is for the Republicans to nominate a much better candidate. In Kentucky, We the People need to stand up on our hind legs and tell the Republican Party of Kentucky that we have "Massachusetts moderates" here in Kentucky. We call them "Democrats". Pick a fiscal conservative instead of a flip flopping neocon... or we'll all lose again.

Kentucky Proud?

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:55:00 +0000

I still haven't read the entire 187 page audit describing some of the countless wrongdoings of Richie Farmer as Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture, but I've read a significant portion of it - all that I could stomach - and I must say that the impact is actually much worse than the brief highlights presented in various news articles. When all of these abuses of power are read in consecutive order, there is a cumulative effect. The details paint a picture that makes it clear that there were not a few isolated lapses in judgment. There was a persistent pattern of entitlement and malfeasance. Farmer seemed to believe that he was special and was above the law, and the world should bend to provide anything he wants just because he's so awesome.

I'm particularly interested in the stolen rifles. The BATFE 4473 forms showed 13 Remington 770 rifles in a variety of popular hunting calibers transferred to Richie Farmer on June 4th, 2008, and there were good pictures of the seven rifles that he returned on January 17th, 2012, including a closeup of the Department of Agriculture's "Kentucky Proud" logo engraved into the receiver. Yeah. Irony.

The audit describes 25 rifles purchased even though only 16 would have been needed for the officials from other states who were attending the 2008 SASDA conference. The rifles cost the taxpayer $11,225 and the rifle cases cost $2,124. Including $250 to have a licensed gun dealer attend the SASDA event and transfer the rifles to the out-of-state recipients, Kentucky taxpayers spent $13,599 on the rifles. One of the .300 magnum rifles was specifically ordered to be engraved "#32", which was Richie Farmer's jersey number when he played basketball at UK.

A maximum of 16 rifles were needed as gifts if all commissioners attended, yet Farmer ordered 25 rifles in a variety of popular hunting calibers. Only 12 commissioners attended the event, each received a rifle, and Farmer kept the other 13 rifles, which he later picked up at the gun store, where he completed the federal forms to transfer the rifles into his name. That can't be an accident. Richie Farmer knew the Kentucky taxpayers bought these 13 rifles, scopes and cases. There is federal paperwork proving that Farmer deliberately took possession of them. His signature is on the transfer forms. He couldn't order a state employee to steal firearms for him by proxy. He's since returned 6 rifles, leaving 7 rifles still missing and unaccounted.

Farmer also spent $4,678 of our tax money on Case knives. 17 of them were engraved "SASDA" and were apparently distributed at the conference. The other 35 knives were engraved "Compliments of Richie Farmer" and were delivered to Richie Farmer's house.

There is an unbelievably long string of similar abuses detailed in the audit, with the Kentucky taxpayer buying stuff that Farmer wanted, and the theft from Kentuckians was clearly premeditated.

There is at least $53,000 in state employee salaries that could be directly traced to personal errands and personal work done for Richie Farmer, and probably a lot more that can't be accounted years afterward.

If you voted for the basketball player and you think you might do something like that again, I urge you to please read as much of the actual audit as you can tolerate before the bile starts backing up in your throat. If this doesn't offend you, then you are one of the few sociopaths who has what it takes to be a weasel career politician.

If you campaigned for Richie Farmer as late as his doomed 2011 lieutenant governor's race... please stop. You're killing our country and making our state the butt of a lot of stupid corrupt hillbilly jokes.

Please think about this audit the next time you go into a voting booth and are reaching for the straight party lever. Don't you dare pretend you did your civic duty when you are the problem. Mindless voting is more harmful to our society than drunk driving.

Et tu, Canada?

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:34:00 +0000

Canadians were told that Canadian banks didn't need extensive bailouts as American and European banks needed, and only received some short term liquidity support. Now, Canadians learn that their banks were completely under water, and in some cases, the bailouts that weren't bailouts were more money than would have been needed to buy the banks outright. In other words, their banks were bankrupt. Their bailouts WERE bailouts, and they lasted for years, not months. A large part of the Canadian bank bailouts came from the US Federal Reserve.

http://www.canada.com/business/Canadian+banks+received+secret+bailout+Think+tank/6540917/story.html

These are not sound banking practices or monetary policies. These huge emergency bailouts are global phenomena, and they're indicative of serious underlying problems. Papering over these problems by printing money out of thin air and giving it or loaning it to the banks at below market interest rates is not a long term strategy for success. In fact, it's more of what caused the problems, and it'll only lead to an even bigger crash in three... two... one....

We Told You So

noreply@blogger.com (Liberty4Ever) — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:10:00 +0000

It wasn't that long ago that a lot of us were trying to elect Phil Moffett as our next governor. We tried to convince many establishment Republicans to forgo David Williams and Richie Farmer because they were unelectable. For those Republican Party insiders who put party before principle, we abandoned all of the good reasons and just addressed the issue of electability. If you want a Republican governor and lieutenant governor, choose Moffet and Harmon, because Williams and Farmer is THE losing ticket... guaranteed.

Of course, they didn't listen, and the results of that election are history. Steve Beshear was not a popular governor and was a weak candidate, and his running mate Jerry Abramson wasn't popular across the state. But the Williams/Farmer ticket managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the general election. They flamed out in grand style, losing by a whopping 21 percent, largely because some of Richie Farmer's misdeeds as our Commissioner of Agriculture started coming to light during the election. The 150 page audit results have now been announced, and there is much shame for Richie Farmer, and one would think, for the establishment Republican party members who kept insisting that Richie Farmer was a great guy who was worthy of our political support.

The audit describes an over-the-top culture of elitist abuse and self appointed privilege, and a mountain of malfeasance with our tax dollars. We had already heard about the fleet of SUVs, lavish junkets, disappearing refrigerators and laptop PCs and high end big screen TVs. Now we're hearing some of the details. The TVs were purchased and parts were expedited so Richie Farmer could watch the NCAA championships. Farmer's ex-wife was using one of the refrigerators at her place of business. The auditor recovered that fridge. Farmer had several laptop PCs for his own personal use, and didn't return all of them. Farmer had state employees build a basketball court in his back yard and the state paid them to do it. State employees were used to chauffeur Richie's dog.

Farmer spent $96,000 on a conference that was to have about 200 attendees, including the purchase of some fairly lavish gifts such as mall shopping cards, cigar boxes, watches, rifles, and rifle cases. Farmer took most of those redneck shopping spree gifts home after the conference, including 13 rifles! Transferring a new rifle requires a federal BATFE form 4473 to verify that the recipient can legally own the firearm. Stealing rifles purchased with tax dollars is different from stealing dorm fridges or PCs. It's uncertain how the firearms were transferred and whether the federal paperwork was completed as required. Farmer has since returned seven of the 13 rifles. Where are the other six rifles? Did any of these firearms transfers constitute a straw purchase?

Farmer had a state employee drive him, in his state provided SUV, to go hunting. Farmer shot a deer from the vehicle, which is illegal in Kentucky. Farmer had the employee field dress the deer for him while the employee was on the clock.

The audit took longer than expected because of the large number of improprieties and illegalities. All in all, there is a very long string of abuses, excesses and violations of state laws and possibly federal laws.

I'm not holding my breath for anyone from the RPK establishment to admit that Phil Moffett and Mike Harmon would have been much better candidates than David Williams and the running mate that he chose, Richie Farmer.

What are the odds they'll listen when we respectfully suggest a congressional candidate, or a presidential candidate?

ONE Good Thing Frankfort Did This Session

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:34:00 +0000

As many of my followers and readers know, I'm not a part of the fringe movement of the "R" party that loves sitting back and throwing bombs. I am at my core about getting the current government to stop and think about the fiscal ramifications that their so called "it's the right thing to do" bills under control. In doing so, I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a vital part of a very important bill that was passed and signed into law just this past week.

About 7 months ago I started to look at an issue that came very front and center in the national news which started right here in Kentucky. 12 Amish men were arrested for not adhering to the state laws that required them to place an orange triangle symbol on their horse driven buggies.

I immediately took notice of this national media frenzy highlighting my state and our very intolerant religious freedom laws. I went to work researching these underlining laws that restricted law abiding citizens of their rights to freedom of religion. During my research I found that this particular Amish sect was not objective to the safety requirements but more to the issue of the "very loud color orange" of the triangle symbol. I also found that the triangle symbol itself was viewed from this group as a symbolic image of the "trinity." Many Christian organizations refer to the Trinity as representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This particular Amish group do not recognize the Trinity in their religion.

Whether you agree or disagree with their religious beliefs is irrelevant. I am a pastor's kid and have grown up under a Christian theology that I still adhere to today. My beliefs within my biblical teachings are founded on the truth that all religion are of a true understanding with absolutely no coercion. Therefore, I as a Christian will forever do what I can to be a proponent of any and all religious beliefs. I do not think that the God that I serve would muster the ever-ending push for those to believe in Him.

With all that said, I am very proud of my work with the ACLU and Take Back KY and the Catholic Conference and Republican and Democrat legislators alike on getting this very simple but very important legislation passed.

Thanks to Sen. Ken Winters and Sen. Damon Thayer for taking a lead on this much needed legislation.

Gov. Steve Beshear signed the bill into law last week and I was very proud to be a part of the bill signing ceremony.

rEVOLution Profiles: Thomas Massie by Jack Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:28:00 +0000

Great profile and endorsement for candidate Thomas Massie. Congratulations!

My favorite part of this is when Jack calls out Alecia Webb-Edgington for declaring that the Republican party doesn't need any more "socialists, communists, or libertarians" in the party.

Judge Nap on The Patriot Act and Natural Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Farewell Leland Conway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:31:00 +0000

"You tell 'em I'm coming and Hell's coming with me."- Leland Conway

Today, my dearest friend Leland Conway will be hosting his last show of The Pulse of Lexington on Newsradio 630am WLAP at 3:00. Please tune in and wish him well. He is moving on to bigger and better things and we wish him the best at his new gig in Virginia. As his producer Josh would say... Leland's Pulse Stops Today!

As his loyal listeners for the past 5 years, we thought it would be nice of us to warn, I mean advise Leland's new VA listeners of some of Leland's... shall we say quirks? So we compiled a few tips that may be useful to them that we have titled "Leland Conway's Survival Guide."

Here are some noteworthy things about Leland his new listeners should know:

Leland has his own recipe for 4oz steaks and loves to be asked about it
He is a huge greeny and loves Earth Day so much that he holds his own annual event called the Freedom 500
Has a tendency to steal co-workers cars
Sometimes can be found sitting on an empty trolley riding around the city for no reason on company time
Loves Pork Rinds and has a weird thing about sending them to his favorite Congressman
Sometimes will randomly shout out "FEAR THIS!" (It's okay, just means he's off his meds)
Has an obsession with cats that he has his own cat room in his house
Can sometimes be found in the downtown area video taping city trash cans
Loves Christmas music and will want it played 2 months in advance
Has a tendency to make fun of US Congressmen's "balls" or lack therof
Likes to take Mayors to clean up the city's plaques
Gets a weekly mani-pedi (he's a little sensitive about this one)
And most of all- Leland is a die hard DUKE fan!

Besides these, he's a pretty cool guy! We will miss you Leland!

Signed,

Your Loyal Lexington Listeners

Readers: I'm sure I missed a couple dozen more of Leland's quirks so please feel free to add to this list in the comment section.

*Disclaimer: Half of these are true and half for fun. (I had to include this for my own safety's sake for fear of retribution for that last one.)

Louisville Tea Party April 19th

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:53:00 +0000

LOUISVILLE TEA PARTY of KY
www.thelouisvilleteaparty.com

“Now More Than Ever” Rally

Thursday, April 19th, 6-8pm

@ The Grand Belle Room

Ramada Plaza Hurstbourne

The Louisville Tea Party is excited to announce that the program for its 4th annual tax season event will be headlined by author, TEA-Party activist and proud conservative, Kevin Jackson. Many of you may remember that Kevin was featured at the Rally at the State Capitol in Frankfort, in July 2010. Kevin is a dynamic speaker whose fresh, entertaining style mixes humor and truth with an uncommonly energetic personality. He is one of several reasons why this event should not be missed.

The April 19th Rally’s Theme:
The TEA Party: Needed Now More Than Ever.

The program, being finalized at press time, will also feature:

Jim Coyle (105.1 FM, WLRS, Master of Ceremonies)
Mandy Connell (Talk Show Host, 84 WHAS-AM)
Bobby Alexander (Sgt. Major Ret. US Army)
Sarah Durand (President, Louisville Tea Party)
Dan Blanchard (“My Declaration of Independence”)
Ryan George (Attorney)
Rand Paul (US Senator, R-KY, tentative)
Music by The Over-Reactors and Water’s Edge
And…YOU! Lovers of Liberty in Louisville!

More details to come. Mark your calendar. And set aside your Thursday evening, April 19th to be informed, inspired and energized to make a difference in this all-too-important year in our nation’s history.

Gary Moore: "I want a Mob Rule"

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:06:00 +0000

Well, he didn't say that exactly but he might as well have.

News Flash Mr. Moore: We don't live in a mob-rule society.

Massie has it right in his response: Don't put raising taxes on the ballot, just stand up and vote against them.

CN|2 Highlights Relief Efforts in Morgan, Magoffin

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:55:00 +0000

Please watch this video and read this article by Ryan Alessi at CN|2. As we go on with our daily lives, many folks in Eastern Kentucky are still struggling daily to regain theirs after the devastating tornadoes last month. Please don't forget them. West Liberty and it's surrounding counties have received the most media attention (although in my opinion still not enough). However as I wrote about before, Morgan and Magoffin Counties were hit just as bad and the damage is indescribable.

Do what you can to help all of the counties that were torn apart through this tragic event whether that be by donating items, monetarily, or giving of your time. But above all keep them in your prayers.

Ryan sat down recently with Grayson Smith of Magoffin County to discuss the recovery efforts. Grayson now works under James Comer in the Ag Dept and I had the pleasure of working with him on the campaign trail with Jamie. Grayson and I certainly don't agree on everything. (He was a Trey Grayson guy at the same time I was a Rand Paul gal.) But, Grayson is as real and down to earth as they come. I have much respect for him in what he is contributing to the relief efforts in his community. In addition, Grayson has been a huge part of the newly transformed Agriculture Department under Commissioner Comer.

*Take note of the answer Grayson gives in reply to Ryan asking him about federal relief aid for the counties.

Tornado recovery brought Morgan, Magoffin counties together; 2 schools could be totaled

The destructive March 2 tornados that leveled downtown West Liberty and many structures around Salyersville have brought the communities together and sparked an outpouring of support from faith-based and community groups, said Magoffin County resident Grayson Smith.

Smith, a former University of Kentucky football player, now serves as executive director of administration in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. He said the recovery will take months, if not years and will cost tens of millions of dollars just in Morgan and Magoffin counties.

Early estimates had the cost of damage in Magoffin County at around $45 million, as reported by the Salyersville Independent , which Smith co-owns.

But the damage to two schools in Magoffin County could exceed that total by themselves, Smith said.

“Herald Whitaker Middle School — the roof is completely gone. You see steel trusses pulled away from the back of the building. There’s no doubt that you have a loss there,” Smith said (3:30).

“It appeared, according to one structural engineer, where the tornado actually lifted the school up and set it back down,” he said.

Smith said the Magoffin County School District will need some “state support” to help rebuild those schools but he said much of the costs will be covered by insurance and money from the restricted funds that have been in the district’s emergency account.

Thomas Massie Commercial

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:27:00 +0000

Apparently, some people in NKY are freaking out because Geoff Davis "did not endorse Thomas Massie." Umm, ok? Where did it say or even imply that Rep. Davis did? I think it's a great commercial with the words of the Congressman mentioning Thomas on the floor in 2010.

Two letters appeared in the Ashland Daily Independent on Tuesday regarding Thomas Massie:

Many reasons to vote for Massie

Why would anyone vote for Thomas Massie for U.S. Congress?

Could it be he will address the national debt? Could it be he will work for a balanced budget amendment? Maybe it is because of his strong belief in the Second Amendment. Businesses like his stand on reducing regulations that hurt the business climate.

I personally like his pro-life and family commitment. Most Kentuckians support his stand against confiscatory taxes and stopping the stupid spending by the federal government. When he votes in Congress, sending our money to foreign counties will be a no-no.

Most politicians are like snakes. They shed their skins when they get in Congress and voters really get to see who they are. Thomas Massie is cut from the same cloth as Sen. Rand Paul in that what you see now is what you will get when he gets to Washington.

Thomas Massie believes veterans, the defenders of our freedoms, should be better provided for and not forgotten. He does not want our military cut in light of the turmoil in the Middle East.

These are but a few of the reasons why Kentuckians will never be sorry they elected Thomas Massie.

Lloyd K. Rogers, Alexandria

War destroying the Constitution

Americans have witnessed our troops going to war without the constitutionality-required declaration of war for more than 60 years.

All wars fought by the United States since the end of World War II, an average of one every decade, have begun with the United Nations’ authorization and fought with U.N. oversight. As a result, Americans have become accustomed to war and its impositions. With the exception of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, resistance to unconstitutional war is rarely seen.

The main component of America’s foreign policy is war. Most people seem unaware war changes the human condition. Much can be done to alter society through the use of war: more taxes, more regulations and more controls over business, travel, commodities and real money.

As our country is pushed into a state of perpetual war, we’re witnessing the destruction of the U.S. Constitution and the cancellation of freedoms for the American people

Nick Bell, Covington

Thank Goodness It's Over!

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:09:00 +0000

This session in Frankfort has probably been the worst session ever. Absolutely nothing was accomplished. Same bickering by the same culprits that believe that they are right and wouldn't know the foundational principles of small government if it smacked them in the face. (I say that but there are fortunately a select few that actually do understand these principles.)

Despite the atrocious budget and the snot tax bill and the redistricting debacle, at least they had a moment (even though very brief) of clarity and pulled their heads out of their butt and passed the Religious Freedom Amish Bill.

And as tradition, it would not be a complete KY session without ending it by imposing more laws to protect us from ourselves. HB481 passed yesterday with only 2 no votes. HB481 bans synthetic marijuana. Which ones? Who knows? The bill is so broad with no specifics. But it sounds great right?

This is the third year in a row, our wise overlords in Frankfort have seen fit to pass even harsher laws to ban some new synthetic drugs. Each year as they have banned the substances, new ones have immediately popped up to take their place. More and more kids have been effected each year, as sales of these things have been pushed to the internet where no one can be accountable. Instead of just putting some common sense restrictions on these, they are pushed to the underground, where the problems associated will continue. We will probably stop hearing about them once the legal commerce is killed, though, as that seems to be the true intention here.

The bill also turns the power to add substances to the ban list over to a bureaucracy, bypassing legislature. As bad as they want to ban allergy meds, this trend concerns me as it should everyone.

We expect this behavior from many of the nanny staters in Frankfort, but what happened to Senator Perry Clark? Perry has been making eloquent speeches regarding the futility of the drug war and voting no on these things every year. This year he even sponsored SB 129, The Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act. Perry could have easily stuck to his principles and voted no, even if he wanted it to pass, because he knew it would.

Shame on Perry Clark for flip-flopping. And kudos to Senators Damon Thayer and Katie Stine for voting no on furthering the nanny state, perhaps listening to their hundreds of constituents who called in on this issue.

Readers Weigh In on Earlier Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:55:00 +0000

Earlier today I posted a letter from Sen. Rand Paul to Steve Robertson and the RPK executive committee. A comment was posted under the blog that I found very intriguing and profound that I didn't want it to be bypassed. Here is the comment that was in reply to this post.

Bruce Layne said...: It's outrageous that a Democrat or Republican needs two signatures to be on a ballot and anyone else needs 5000, which is really more like 8000 by the time those who can't be immediately verified are discounted. The two parties are now both two wings of the same big government bird, and they have a near monopoly on the political process, to the detriment of the voters and our country. We're trying to imbue the empty vessel that is the Republican party with values, but they aren't interested in our values. They want to keep pushing party over principle, even to the extent of ignoring the party platform to promote party insiders who are very poor representatives of the party's stated values. For the record, Ken Moellman was a far superior candidate to KC Crosbie. I signed Ken's petition and I voted for Ken, because it's immoral to vote for an inferior candidate based on party loyalty. Unfortunately, most of the establishment Republicans don't see it that way. They want obedient mindless followers who vote as we're told. Sorry, but this isn't your father's Republican Party. We're making some changes. They use dirty tricks to fight us, but those dirty tricks are ultimately their undoing. We're on the right side of this issue and we will prevail. We'll elect REAL conservatives, and not the RINO pretenders. Now that I've publicly admitted to voting for Ken, I'll probably be disqualified as a precinct captain. No big deal. I was already black listed so I had no chance to be a Fayette County delegate, even though delegate slots were given to those who have done far less for Republican candidates, and in fact, delegate positions were awarded to those who didn't bother to show up at the precinct elections or county mass convention. Fayette County didn't seat about 60 alternate delegates, because they ran out of insiders. From what I could see, the delegates were those who worked on the losing campaigns, and those who worked hard to elect our junior Senator were excluded. It's shameful. To the RPK - If you want to win elections, run better candidates. To Senator Rand Paul - Thank you speaking out... for decency, and for common sense.

Sen. Rand Paul Writes Letter to RPK

noreply@blogger.com (Mica Sims) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Uh Oh. Looks like Sen. Rand Paul just took Steve Robertson and the RPK to the wood shed. Good for him!

Most everyone knows (especially within the Tea Party circles) that non-establishment Republicans have been treated like the red-headed step child for quite some time by Steve Robertson and the RPK. Sen. Rand Paul doesn't seem quite happy about the treatment that his core group of supporters have been receiving from the State and Local parties. Check out this letter from Rand to Steve Robertson and all of the RPK Executive committee.

(Emphasis mine)

Dear Steve,

I wish to convey to you my concern over efforts by some Republican Party officials in Kentucky to exclude certain individuals from participation in leadership roles in our local GOP organizations. Actions taken by some of our local party committees to arbitrarily and retroactively disqualify registered Republicans, without the benefit of due process as required by the Republican Party of Kentucky rules, are alien to the fundamental principles of our party.

Last year, the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC) debated whether to ratify Rule 2.09 (e)(i)-(iii), which had been adopted by the State Executive Committee. That rule would have required the automatic disqualification of any individual seeking an office within the Republican Party if that individual had made a public statement opposing the election of a Republican nominee; had made a campaign contribution to an opponent of a Republican nominee; or had participated in a petition effort, including signing a petition to assist a third-party candidate in challenging a Republican nominee. The RSCC declined to ratify that rule, however, so it never took effect.

Now it appears that in some cases local party officials have unilaterally decided to ignore that decision of the RSCC and have excluded some Republicans based on the preamble to the RPK rules. However, as Rick Brueggemann pointed out in his March 16 letter of support for Mr. Eric Hermes (an individual who was disqualified from serving in a leadership position in the Campbell County Republican Party), the preamble is not a rule in and of itself. Moreover, in relying on the preamble to disqualify individuals who signed a ballot-access petition for Ken Moellman, the Campbell County Republican Party stands in direct conflict with the will expressed by the RSCC when it voted to exclude such disqualifications from the RPK rules. The Campbell County Party appears to rely on an arbitrary and disingenuous construction of the rules to exclude such individuals. That invalid construction of the rules violates all principles of fair play, and it will alienate many Republicans who are needed to build the party.

It should also be noted that, in his letter, Mr. Brueggemann correctly identified an RPK rule that appears to have been ignored by the Campbell County Party. Specifically, in automatically disqualifying Republicans who had been elected to Party office, the Campbell County Party failed to follow Rule 4.11, which provides due process for the removal of local county committee members. It is important that the actual rules be followed and that the will of the RSCC be respected.

Furthermore, it is obvious that disqualification decisions have been directed at conservatives who signed a ballot-access petition for Mr. Ken Moellman to be placed on the ballot as candidate for Kentucky State Treasurer. My position on this is very clear. Signing a ballot access petition is not an act of disloyalty. In fact, it is a fundamental right of Americans to have and pursue access to the ballot, and Republicans should not be punished for helping a potential candidate in this way. As noted, the RSCC declined to adopt such a position.

This principle is true especially in light of the ballot access rules in Kentucky that require 5,000 signatures before an independent candidate’s name can be placed on the ballot, instead of the two required for Republican or Democratic candidates. Republicans should seek to win elections by the power of our platform, and we should welcome all candidates to the marketplace of ideas.

Singling out individuals for retroactive punishment unnecessarily divides Republicans at a time when unity is more important than ever. In the wake of last year’s statewide election losses, reason would dictate that the Republican Party in Kentucky would proactively work to expand its membership and find every opportunity for willing individuals to participate. If we want to win again, our goal should be to grow our party – not drive people away.

We were successful during my campaign for U.S. Senate in 2010 because we worked together – rank-and-file Republicans and a lot of new faces, many of whom had never been active in politics before. If we follow that example, we will grow our party. And we will win again.

I want to be clear - I did not and will not endorse specific candidates for party organizations. This isn't about whom I or anyone else supports. This is about encouraging more and more activists to be part of the structure that will ensure our victories in future elections. In order to do that, I firmly believe in encouraging participation rather than attempting to discourage it. I have strongly advocated for more grassroots activists to come out and have their voices heard.

For many reasons, I wanted to raise this issue with you. I understand that when you became aware of some of the exclusions, you were instrumental in trying to assure such actions did not occur elsewhere. I sincerely appreciate your efforts in attempting to bring unity to the Republican Party, and I hope this matter will be addressed in that spirit.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul

cc: Republican Party of Kentucky Executive Committee.

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Did you catch that, Steve? Discouraging new members, alienating registered Republicans, and disqualifying willing participants might not be the best way to grow the party. Imagine that?!?