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This and that as we continue searching for the winning ticket we’re fairly sure we bought between the fourth and fifth (or was it the sixth and seventh) glass we hoisted in honor of Saturday’s blowout at Churchill Downs:
With March Madness still semi-fresh in the memory, think of the 2008 General Assembly from a basketball perspective. This session should have played out as a two-on-one break, with a Democratic governor and a Democratic House majority taking the offense to the Republican-controlled Senate.
What a fitting end to the 2008 General Assembly.
Two days to go, two days for state lawmakers to try to redeem themselves for blowing nearly $60,000 a day on a legislative session in which their main accomplishment has been a regressive budget that mistreats education, human services and other crucial programs such as legal aid so badly it ought to be indicted for assault in the first degree.
Critics of the projects package that purchased a sufficient number of votes to win House passage of an ugly budget last week might be tempted to bring the P-word into play, as in that staple of American politics known as pork. They should resist this temptation, at least in regard to the projects we've seen so far.
Former Gov. Ernie Fletcher's little buddy, the Efficiency Fairy, didn't vacate the state Capitol when his master did. He hung around and found new friends on both sides of the aisle in the General Assembly.
When House and Senate leaders announced that budget conference committee meetings would be open to the public, no one really believed the down-and-dirty part of the negotiations would take place in front of the TV cameras and the outsiders granted access to the meetings. It never happens that way.
This and That, The Rest in Peace Casino Gambling Edition: Journalists have to ask the question. It comes with their whole First Amendment, freedom-of-information, open-records, open-meetings, public's-right-toknow, let the sun shine on government at work territory.
On the 52nd day of a 60-day General Assembly session, Gov. Steve Beshear presided over a modest Capitol Rotunda pep rally. Fittingly enough, coming the day after Easter, it was a rally aimed at resurrecting his casino gambling initiative, if not from its grave, at least from its death bed.
This and that as the 2008 General Assembly session staggers toward a conclusion or a collapse in the gutter (I'm not sure which): Interesting Good Friday, what with Senate President David Williams and House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Harry Moberly verbally crucifying each other.
Gov. Steve Beshear says the House balanced its budget with "funny money," in part because it projects $85 million in annual savings from closing what folks in state government refer to as the "high-three window" that enhances retirement benefits.
-->Throughout this year’s gubernatorial campaign, Gov. Ernie Fletcher bragged about the great budgetary balancing act his administration has performed during his term.
