http://www.kentucky.com/349/index.xml News, sports, and entertainment from Kentucky.com en-us Copyright 2008 Kentucky.com Opinion 60 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:00:35 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's Workbench webmaster@kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:17 EDT http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:17 EDT http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/610655.html http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/610655.html Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:15 EST
Mean-spirited piece offensive, unfair

How sad. Our country is involved in two wars, the Dow is volatile, our economy is going down the drain, we are losing thousands of jobs each month, many of our veterans are homeless, and many people are going to bed hungry.

However, on Nov. 19, the Herald-Leader chose to put on its front page an article about a mobile home that was being moved on U.S. 68.

At first, I thought reporter Mary Meehan must be a novice in her profession and was willing to give her a break. However, I understand she has many years in the profession. I am very offended because I feel the article was ambiguous and mean-spirited. It made the people of Carlisle and Nicholas County appear like a bunch of illiterate nincompoops and was most unfair to our local sheriff. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/612553.html http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/612553.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
Now that the presidential election is over, one of the surest ways to set off a heated discussion at your neighborhood coffee shop or diner is to pose this question: Should Washington bail out Detroit?

Let me assure you, I'm certainly familiar with the arguments against the federal government helping the U.S. auto industry survive the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Somehow the fact that I'm a General Motors dealer doesn't stop close friends or total strangers from telling me that, if GM, Ford and Chrysler can't make it through this crisis on their own, well, too bad for Detroit but it really doesn't affect anyone else.

Or does it? The reality is that every state, and virtually every community, in America has a stake in the future of the domestic auto industry. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/611440.html http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/611440.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:42 EST
I recently read a presentation by Mayor Jim Newberry about reducing the unfunded liability of the Lexington Police and Firefighters Pension Fund.

I am opposed to of quite a few of the recommendations, but I am quite concerned about one in particular: a mandatory minimum to our cost-of-living adjustment.

I am well aware the retirement fund has a severe problem with unfunded liability. The fund needs more money because the Urban County Government failed to put enough dollars into the pension fund.

I started in 1982 and it didn't take long before some of us noticed that, although all the police officers and firefighters contributed what the actuaries suggested, the city did not. Previous administrations and councils have chosen to ignore each actuarial study and fund this pension plan at a reduced level, a level they felt the city could afford. Now it's time to pay the piper, but the city can't afford it now, either. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612552.html http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612552.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
There's every reason to believe that Kentucky, with persistent low rankings in so many areas, can learn from other states.

So in some cases it certainly makes sense for legislators to travel to out of state meetings to collect ideas to improve the lives of Kentuckians.

But that's a long way from endorsing the $1.3 million in expenses and salary that, The Courier-Journal reported Sunday, legislators have burned through on out-of-state trips since 2006.

The report is troubling, particularly in light of other signs of a sense of legislative entitlement when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Is the air so rare in Frankfort that legislators believe spending so much on themselves is OK when the government can barely meet its most basic obligations in education, health care, social services and a host of other areas? ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612551.html http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612551.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
One of the changes that voters wanted this year is competence in government.

So it's premature to point to President-elect Barack Obama's appointments of seasoned government veterans as evidence that he's backing away from his promise of change.

In response to such criticisms, Obama has said that the vision for change will come from him.

Turning vision into reality requires knowledge and experience, though. Obama is wise to fill his cabinet with people who have plenty of both. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/974/story/586023.html http://www.kentucky.com/974/story/586023.html Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:08 EST
FRANKFORT . Leftovers from a transformational national election that bypassed Kentucky:

After Bruce Lunsford gave Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a scare in the closing days of the fall campaign, some Democrats may be playing the "what if" game.

As in: What if U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler or state Auditor Crit Luallen had been the party's candidate instead of the baggage-laden multimillionaire Louisville businessman?

But Democrats who let their minds wander in that direction ignore several important points. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/610655.html http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/610655.html Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:15 EST
Mean-spirited piece offensive, unfair

How sad. Our country is involved in two wars, the Dow is volatile, our economy is going down the drain, we are losing thousands of jobs each month, many of our veterans are homeless, and many people are going to bed hungry.

However, on Nov. 19, the Herald-Leader chose to put on its front page an article about a mobile home that was being moved on U.S. 68.

At first, I thought reporter Mary Meehan must be a novice in her profession and was willing to give her a break. However, I understand she has many years in the profession. I am very offended because I feel the article was ambiguous and mean-spirited. It made the people of Carlisle and Nicholas County appear like a bunch of illiterate nincompoops and was most unfair to our local sheriff. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/612553.html http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/612553.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
Now that the presidential election is over, one of the surest ways to set off a heated discussion at your neighborhood coffee shop or diner is to pose this question: Should Washington bail out Detroit?

Let me assure you, I'm certainly familiar with the arguments against the federal government helping the U.S. auto industry survive the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Somehow the fact that I'm a General Motors dealer doesn't stop close friends or total strangers from telling me that, if GM, Ford and Chrysler can't make it through this crisis on their own, well, too bad for Detroit but it really doesn't affect anyone else.

Or does it? The reality is that every state, and virtually every community, in America has a stake in the future of the domestic auto industry. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/611440.html http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/611440.html Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:42 EST
I recently read a presentation by Mayor Jim Newberry about reducing the unfunded liability of the Lexington Police and Firefighters Pension Fund.

I am opposed to of quite a few of the recommendations, but I am quite concerned about one in particular: a mandatory minimum to our cost-of-living adjustment.

I am well aware the retirement fund has a severe problem with unfunded liability. The fund needs more money because the Urban County Government failed to put enough dollars into the pension fund.

I started in 1982 and it didn't take long before some of us noticed that, although all the police officers and firefighters contributed what the actuaries suggested, the city did not. Previous administrations and councils have chosen to ignore each actuarial study and fund this pension plan at a reduced level, a level they felt the city could afford. Now it's time to pay the piper, but the city can't afford it now, either. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612552.html http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612552.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
There's every reason to believe that Kentucky, with persistent low rankings in so many areas, can learn from other states.

So in some cases it certainly makes sense for legislators to travel to out of state meetings to collect ideas to improve the lives of Kentuckians.

But that's a long way from endorsing the $1.3 million in expenses and salary that, The Courier-Journal reported Sunday, legislators have burned through on out-of-state trips since 2006.

The report is troubling, particularly in light of other signs of a sense of legislative entitlement when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Is the air so rare in Frankfort that legislators believe spending so much on themselves is OK when the government can barely meet its most basic obligations in education, health care, social services and a host of other areas? ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612551.html http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/612551.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:34 EST
One of the changes that voters wanted this year is competence in government.

So it's premature to point to President-elect Barack Obama's appointments of seasoned government veterans as evidence that he's backing away from his promise of change.

In response to such criticisms, Obama has said that the vision for change will come from him.

Turning vision into reality requires knowledge and experience, though. Obama is wise to fill his cabinet with people who have plenty of both. ]]> http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html http://www.kentucky.com/594/story/569082.html Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:17 EDT