Tag: politics

With Trump moving closer to renomination, rewriting Jan. 6 attack gains urgency – The Washington Post

…another op-ed I read this morning that I thought was worth sharing:

A large number of Trump supporters make their way up Constitution Avenue en route to the U.S. Capitol after President Donald Trump gave a speech at the Ellipse and encouraged them to march on Jan. 6, 2021. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
A large number of Trump supporters make their way up Constitution Avenue en route to the U.S. Capitol after President Donald Trump gave a speech at the Ellipse and encouraged them to march on Jan. 6, 2021. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

“…everything about what unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, implicates the cultural leader of the Republican Party — and because pretending that a mystery exists benefits him — we approach the third anniversary of that day with renewed efforts to rewrite its history.

“What Trump is doing now, 340-odd days before the 2024 general election, is amplifying self-serving falsehoods and finding a hungry audience for them. This is also precisely what he was doing in the weeks before the Capitol riot.”

Author: Philip Bump
Source: With Trump moving closer to renomination, rewriting Jan. 6 attack gains urgency – The Washington Post

…head on over to https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/27/jan6-donald-trump-truth-lies/ to read more.

Opinion | Trump wants to kill Obamacare again – The Washington Post

Nice little op-ed that caught my attention this morning…

Protesters against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act protest outside the Capitol in May 2017. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)
Protesters against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act protest outside the Capitol in May 2017. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

“And while the Obamacare brand might have been unpopular, most of Obamacare’s actual provisions were well-liked. Nearly every major plank of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — such as guaranteeing coverage to people with preexisting conditions, expanding Medicaid, and allowing children to stay on their parents’ insurance plans for longer — was and continues to be favored by the public.”

Author: Catherine Rampell
Source: Opinion | Trump wants to kill Obamacare again – The Washington Post

…head over to https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/28/trump-threatens-obamacare-popularity-repeal-aca/ to read more.

I didn’t realize how little time was left in the children’s school year, until I read yesterday’s post by Taron’s teacher; guess I don’t have much time left to find materials to begin schooling the kids over the summer. Yes, you read that right–I’m planning on schooling the kids during summer vacation.

For years, Diana and I have discussed homeschooling the children–Taron, in particular–in an effort to try and give them more, and to reduce instances of negative behavior; a few months ago these talks resurfaced, leading to more in-depth research on “how” to school the children at home. Honestly, making the decision and informing the school district is easy–thanks to a little line in the “Bill of Rights” included in the Commonwealth’s constitution:

“…nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed;”

Granted, this statement is secured under the rights of religious freedom; however, it seems to leave the door wide open for individuals to educate their children in any manner they desire, so long as documentation–in the form of a notice of intent–is supplied to the school district, in order to satisfy the requirements of compulsory attendance. Confused? Okay, I’ll try and explain…

Let’s say I discover that the educational system is failing–imagine that; I can then decide to withdraw my child from the common school on the basis of my beliefs that he is not being provided the care and instruction that he needs. Then what? I have to send him to some private school? No, again–based under the same established right–I do not have to enroll him into one of the established alternates, citing differences in opinion over instruction and social interaction. My child is, however, required to be receiving educational instruction in some form, as required by KRS 159.010:

Except as provided in KRS 159.030, each parent, guardian, or other person residing in the state and having in custody or charge any child who has entered the primary school program or any child between the ages of six (6) and sixteen (16) shall send the child to a regular public day school for the full term that the public school of the district in which the child resides is in session or to the public school that the board of education of the district makes provision for the child to attend. A child’s age is between six (6) and sixteen (16) when the child has reached his sixth birthday and has not passed his sixteenth birthday.

KRS 159.030 provides the exemption for homeschools under the label of “private”:

The board of education of the district in which the child resides shall exempt from the requirement of attendance upon a regular public day school every child of
compulsory school age:

(b) Who is enrolled and in regular attendance in a private, parochial, or church
regular day school. It shall be the duty of each private, parochial, or church
regular day school to notify the local board of education of those students in
attendance at the school…

…it has been argued that a homeschool has not been legally defined as a private school; for this, however the remedy is simple–call your homeschool a private school!–(This is actually recommended by the Kentucky Department of Education–how cool is that?)

See, there really aren’t any requirements for private schools in Kentucky, other than those provided in KRS 159.040, 158.070 and 158.080. In a nut-shell, these statutes state:

159.040 – Schools must keep record of grades and attendance.

158.070/158.080 – Schools should instruct for a minimum of 185 days, or the equivilent of 175 six-hour instructional days–making the requirement a total of 1050 hours of instruction.

158.080 – Schools should use the English language, and teach courses required in 156.445; KRS 156.445 states that materials should be comprehensive and at the student’s grade level. Additionally, 156.445 refers private schools to 156.160.

156.160 – Private schools can elect to use KDE approved materials, or have their own materials “certified”; nowhere does is state that following the KDE or acquiring certification is mandatory. Side-note: Private schools–in the “true” sense of the word–must have their materials certified in order to be accredited. Homeschools, unfortunately, have no means of being accredited.

…back to the homeschool as a private school, thing…

To “enroll” the child and inform the school district the parent simply writes a formal letter–a sample is even provided by the KDE–stating that the child(ren) will be schooled privately for that academic school-year. The purpose of this letter is to comply with the “compulsory attendance law”, where the school district is responsible for making sure that every child in that is attending school. Additionally, the law allows for the district’s “director of pupil personnel” to come and request attendance records. Ah-ha!–a sticky/scary point! Law requires the district to check up on the school! Well, no, not really…

…law requires that the district verifies that the kids are in school; inspection of the school building/environment/materials is not required; attendance records and any other materials that the district may request for review can be shown at any neutral location–something that is recommended by every homeschool organization, and the KDE.

(OPINION) Pulaski Co. student totes loaded firearm to school.

“Should the student be punished since he tried to right his wrong? Should the parents be punished for this?”

…um, yes; yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!

Okay, first, how can someone “forget” that they have a handgun in their pocket? Sure, okay, the article states it was in the pocket of his cargo pants; we can assume that he likely had it in the leg pocket, so there wasn’t a nice tight bulge–but what about the weight of the thing? Wouldn’t walking around with it banging against his leg reminded him of it, before he got to school? Aside from that, why in the hell would he have had a pistol in his pocket to begin with? (…and I’m curious of the type of pistol–not that it makes much difference…)

…should he be punished? Yes, he should. The student–irregardless of whether he “tried to right his wrong” or not–violated school policy as well as state and federal gun legislation. While I am all for saying, “hey, son, you did a good job in bringing the gun forward,” I can’t see where not issuing some form or fashion of punishment would be beneficial; do we want to give this kid the idea that “get out of jail free” cards exist in real life?

Should the parents be punished? Yes; the question is how. Personally, I believe that the parents should have the weapons confiscated and the rights of ownership revoked until a time that the child–and any other children that may be in the home–leaves the home or reaches “legal” age; unfortunately, I do not know of any way that such could occur. There aren’t any applicable laws on the books–that I know of–through which the parents could have these rights revoked.

…so, now the questions should turn to, “Will the student and parents be punished?”

I doubt it. If the student is punished, I see it going only so far as being suspended from school for a short period of time; though expulsion is likely the recommended punishment if the school district followed the letter of their law. If the parents are punished, it would be for some other charge that may surface in relation to the “investigation” being conducted.

Parents question how 11-year-old made it to class with loaded gun. http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Pulaski-student-brings-loaded-gun-to-school-204162361.htm

UPDATE:

Well, I’ll be damned. Charges have been filed, and the school district has “removed” the student. From the Commonwealth Journal:

Bringing a gun to school is a felony charge, noted Wood, but the ultimate penalties remain unclear due to the unusual nature of the offense.

“For an adult, a Class B felony like this would carry up to a five-year sentence,” said Wood [Pulaski County Sheriff], “but for a juvenile, I would not even care to speculate.”
Wood said the boy’s father, with whom he lives, spoke to the sheriff’s department at length yesterday, and once all the facts of the case are ascertained, authorities will determine if additional charges may be placed against anyone else, such as the father.
According to the Commonwealth’s article, the kid had not realized that he had left the gun in his pocket from the night prior. The Commonwealth also shares the following message from assistant school superintendent, Sonya Wilds:

…despite the apparently innocent circumstances under which the gun was brought on school grounds, the school system still treats the situation with “the utmost concern and seriousness” and will pursue “any criminal charges as allowable.”

Also, the boy has been “removed from school” at this time, said Wilds.
“Regardless if it was a mistake, it was a mistake with serious consequences,” she said. “We want parents to be fully informed and have all the facts before rumors get started. Having a gun on school grounds is non-negotiable.”

Cofflubreak & a Dead Commission

This morning, on WCYN’s Coffeebreak with Rick Chasteen…
Guests were Crystal Caudill & Spencer Cathey of WEDCO. Topics of discussion bounced from finances, civic activities, community health, and so on.
One point of discussion which I found entertaining revolved around influenza. Rick had noted that it had seemed that there hadn’t been much news on the flu this year, and that it seemed that within recent weeks word of flu related illness had increased. Crystal advised that the local Health Department still has enough vaccinations in their stockpile for anyone interested in receiving a flu shot.
Continue reading “Cofflubreak & a Dead Commission”

Coffeebreak featuring Helen Lovejoy

I tuned in to this morning’s Coffeebreak a tad bit late this morning, and was awarded with a nice surprise. I had expected the usual banter of “this morning, I’d like to talk about,” when i turned the dial. Instead, I hear Rick nearly bite Chris’ head off. I’m not sure if it was Chris readying a call, or cuing the music for the commercial outro, but Rick snapped with a “could you please stop that for a minute,” asking to continue the rant he already had in progress, without interruption.
Ahh… so it’s one of those days…
This morning’s show revolved around Rick being completely fed up with the matters related to recreation and our community’s un-involvement in trying to keep our children unharmed and out of trouble. I’m not quite sure what caused his anger and frustration to blow this morning, though I believe that a portion of it involves a Recreation Department meeting he attended yesterday. Very lightly he had mentioned speaking with the director (I hadn’t even known that one had been found and that his interim stay was over) and hearing complaints of things not being done/moving forward/what-have-you for various reasons.
The conversation Rick had with us on the radio this morning led to the announcement of a “civic” fund being established to get things moving.
This isn’t the first time that Mr. Chasteen has headed a fund to do work at the “new park”. Approximately five years ago (has it really been that long?) he raised money to erect a pole and flag atop the hill, near the old house. Cynthiana and Harrison County had been a buzz with excitement when that project went through.
Since then, what do we have? Our own little “bridge to nowhere” which serves as the entrance to a field with a walking trail and a locked concession stand/restroom facility. (And don’t forget the parking lot which is currently underway. A lot which will most likely stir up more controversy when Harrison County hands Cynthiana their portion of the bill.)
Eh, but who knows. Maybe this new spirit Rick’s trying to stir up will do something. Maybe we can finally go forward with the park. Maybe the community can finally provide for itself.
Maybe.
But I’ll be strongly surprised.
“Lead, follow, or get out of the way” was a phrase Rick used a few times on this morning’s show. If you are tired of the problems, do something about it. Become the head of the movement, or at least support it as best you can; otherwise, step to the side as your actions are merely a hindrance. It’s my belief that most of our citizenry would rather “get out of the way” and “step aside”. What’s worse is that on occasion I, too, join those ranks. (More on that in a forthcoming post.)
My question is, are there still enough people in the community who care? There was a great number of citizens who participated in the “Tomorrow” surveys and are amongst the varying “Tomorrow” sub-committees. There are also a few other newly-born civic groups desiring change and pledging themselves to make a better safer community and environment. But, really, is that enough? We know that there are a few who care. What of the rest of us? What is keeping the rest of us from actually giving a damn?
Is it that we are too busy? I find this to be one of my most frequent excuses (again, more later).
Is it that we are selfish and desire to see the personal benefit? (not one of my excuses)
Is it that we have grown so accustomed to not seeing anything happen; therefore why bother to join the fight? (not one of my excuses, but one i’ve heard from numerous acquaintances)
Actions (or the opposite thereof) relating to those questions are what I see and hear on a regular basis in our community. Surely, I can’t be the only one noticing those positions. And if others see what I see, do they find themselves as depressed as I? Maybe that is the real problem. A collective of people who are just so brought down by the outlook of everyone else that they cannot find a course of action.
For the sake of the community I hope that I am completely wrong. I hope that there will be a difference made. I hope that the community will prosper.

Company is coming…

I actually managed to wake up at a decent time this morning, though I was still slow moving and reluctant to get out of bed. I’ve had troubles with getting to bed at a decent time for months now, which has understandably led to me having a late start of the morning. I’m hoping that as fall sets in I’ll be able to work passed this…
Since I actually managed to roll my sorry and tired buttocks out of bed at a decent hour I found myself able to listen to this morning’s installment of Coffeebreak. This morning’s guest was Billy Grayson of the Battle Grove Cemetery. While most of the topics were fairly dead (bad pun, sorry–i just couldn’t avoid it), there were two phrases used which for some reason seemed to strike me. Continue reading “Company is coming…”

coffeebreak? neah… pottybreak.

ok… i need to pick up a copy of the paper, because there’s a letter to the editor which has sparked some hot discussion on coffeebreak… and the democrat hasn’t updated the opinion page on their site.
anyway, the noise apparently has something to do with Rick locking the bathrooms when there aren’t any games. well, i don’t really know as if i can truly say that Rick made the decision, but i believe that i can safely assume that the decision bears his seal of approval, where he is on the recreation board and is acting as interim director.
i’ll try and give my thoughts later this evening, once i’ve read the writing being referenced…

Coffeebreak – 3/12/2008

On this morning’s Coffeebreak:
Rick’s guest was Harrison County Sheriff Bruce Hampton.
Comment was made of the FEMA trailers neighboring the Sheriff’s Office.
Rick asked Hampton to speak a bit more on the burglaries that took place this past Sunday on Old Lair Road.  Sheriff Hampton explained that when Kevin Landrum came home, he wasn’t aware that his home was being burglarized. Mr. Landrum proceeded to his bedroom, when he found the suspect, Thomas Perysian, climbing in through a window. On a related note, Rick asked Sheriff Hampton about a service that the Sheriff’s Department will be offering citizens, with regard of “digitally recording” property. Sheriff Hampton explained that work on the effort has been slowed due to the office being busy with recent activities. Hampton also announced to the public that his office is currently short one deputy; Deputy Wayne Fryman is currently on medical leave for recovery from heart surgery.
Rick asked Hampton how he has been able to keep the office staffed with local personnel, noting that he had noticed that the Cynthiana Police Department has numerous new faces, many of which from out of town. Hampton said that he was simply lucky.
A story covered by local television raised a question on the differences between area departments. Early this morning in Lexington, cattle were found loose in the area of The Red Mile. When one cow became aggressive and butted an officer, assisting officers fired and killed the animal. Rick asked Hampton if that sort of incident has ever happened to him. Hampton explained that it’s a fairly common occurrence in Harrison County for the Sheriff’s Department to respond to a call of loose livestock. While Hampton could not recall any incident of killing a charging cow, he states that often they have been faced with having to put down an animal which has been struck by a vehicle.
Rick asked whether there have been any leads in the robbery of the Oddville Avenue branch of Farmers National Bank. Sheriff Hampton said that there is a lead that is being followed. He further alluded to there being DNA evidence recovered, which is being processed against evidence in other cases.
Rick mentioned Sheriff Hampton’s return to the board of the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association. Hampton had previously served as president of the association, and currently serves as third vice-president.
Discussion was made on Hampton’s involvement with the security at the Justice Center. Hampton explained that the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department has six officers which perform security duties at the Justice Center, and that he feels that there is a need for an additional officer. Rick poised the question if any of the bailiffs have faced anything similar to the event that happened in Scott County, referring to the incident where Peter Hafer punched his lawyer in court.
Further discussion went to the topics of property taxes, conceal and carry licenses, the department’s hazardous retirement benefits, and a bill which would modify the laws regarding incarceration alternatives [SB 72].

Sponsors for this morning’s Coffeebreak were:
Shelter Mutual Insurance, Aurora Information Systems, the Harrison County Board of Education, Whalen & Company, Eastside Pharmacy, Jetubs, Cockrell’s Auto Center, and the First United Methodist Church.
WCYN makes available to the public audio copies of Coffeebreak, however recordings are only archived for a period of five business days. Cassette copies are $5 and CD copies are $10. The views and opinions expressed on today’s Coffeebreak have been those of the guest and host and are not necessarily those of WCYN staff, management, or advertisers.