What group constitutes the largest voting bloc in the U. S.? Would you be surprised to find that it is neither the Democrats or Republicans? It is, instead, a group of voters who have chosen to regard themselves as independent of either of the so-called major parties, or some 40% of the electorate.
And how have these voters been rewarded? In Kentucky, they are disenfranchised. Kentucky has a closed primary law. In other words, if you want to have a voice as to which candidate will be on the ballot in the General Election, you have to declare allegiance to either the Republicans or Democrats.
But what is it that requires the state to be so beholden to just two political parties? Nothing, really. The state constitution, like the U. S. Constitution, does not mention either one by name.
What have the two major parties achieved by excluding Independents? Well, they greatly diminish the amount of people they must contact in the primaries and this makes for an easier time of it for each party’s candidates in the spring.
But they are, arguably, also responsible for low voter turnout. After all, Independent voters aren’t allowed to vote in the spring, and this decreases by a lot, the number of voters in the primaries. And if they have no say as to who will be on the ballot in November, it could also be reasoned, these Independent Voters aren’t likely to go out of their way to cast a vote in the fall.
What is being done to correct this situation? This year, a bill was introduced in the State Senate (SB53) that would amend KRS 116.055 by allowing the independent voter to choose a party’s primary in which to vote on Election Day. This bill passed the Senate, mainly along party lines, by a vote of 25-12. The bill was favored largely by the Republican majority.
What do the Republicans suddenly realize/? Perhaps they realize that they could
reap the benefits of allowing the Independent voter to participate in every facet of the election process. If an Independent voter chooses to vote in one of the two party’s primary, perhaps that voter will be more likely to vote for the party’s nominee come November.
What is likely to be the fate of this effort? Sadly, it is likely to come to naught in the State House. There, the Democrats have the majority, and it is doubtful that it will even be reported out of committee.
This is sad, really, because, if these two entrenched political powers are finally forced to recognized the Independent voter in both the primary and general election, perhaps they could finally realize that it might be more important to act on the behalf of the voters of this country rather that the political party to which the office holders belong.
For my part, I would like to see a situation wherein the voters are required to do no more than prove they are eligible to vote in the district where they live when they register. Why should the state do work for the Democrats and Republicans? If the party leaders want to know which one the majority of the voters prefer, let them work on passing laws that will benefit every voter.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Esau and the Magical Goose
There are many stories called parables, concerning real people. or fables, concerning fictional people, that have been used since humanity first learned the art of writing, to help guide us through the perils that await us as we go through life. These come from many sources, such as books of the Bible, or ancient writers, such as Aesop.
From the first source, specifically, Genesis, chapter 25, there is the story of Esau and Jacob, twins and the first born sons of Isaac and Rebekah. In those days, it was the eldest who was heir to the father’s estate, and in this instance, that ought to have been Esau.
Sadly, one day, Esau came home hungry, just as his brother had finished cooking up a pot of pottage. The aroma was more than Esau could bear, and so, for some of his brother’s cooking, Esau made a mess of things by selling his birthright to Jacob, who, as luck would have was, was holding onto his brother’s heel as the two left the womb, thus helping to fulfill the prophecy that the elder son, Esau, would one day serve the younger son, Jacob.
This story has come to mean selling something very valuable for a mere pittance. In Esau’s case, he knew what he was giving up, In other cases, the sellers may not have known what they were giving up, yet the outcome is still the same.
Take, for instance, those inhabitants of Appalachia who, in the era following the Civil War, were sweet talked into surrendering mineral rights to the land they lived on for less than nothing. This has resulted in literally billions of dollars worth of coal, natural gas, and timber being taken from this part of the world, while the Esau’s, the sellers, many of whom later worked in the mines, now live in poverty.
And what about those who bought the minerals, the modern day Jacobs? How have they thrived? Alas, they have behaved as the main characters in a fable by Aesop, called “The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs”.
In this story, a man and his wife have a unique fowl, one that laid eggs made of gold. One might suspect that, having an animal with this ability, these people would protect it and care for it. After all, it was providing them with a comfortable living.
But you would be wrong. No, these people were too impatient for such niceties. They had an idea that the goose was holding out on them. They decided that since its eggs were made of gold, the insides of the goose must be made of gold, as well, To get this gold more quickly, they decided to kill the goose, but upon cutting it open, surprise, nothing but goose meat, and, sadly, now worth no more than the price of one meal, with perhaps some leftovers.
In the coalfields of Appalachia, the owners of a magical goose, the mineral rights of the area, have now begun carving up the body of the goose that once laid the golden eggs. They call it mountaintop removal. Well, the goose is dead, so what else is there to do with it? Nothing, I suppose.
Oh, well! So much for morals from stories such as these.
From the first source, specifically, Genesis, chapter 25, there is the story of Esau and Jacob, twins and the first born sons of Isaac and Rebekah. In those days, it was the eldest who was heir to the father’s estate, and in this instance, that ought to have been Esau.
Sadly, one day, Esau came home hungry, just as his brother had finished cooking up a pot of pottage. The aroma was more than Esau could bear, and so, for some of his brother’s cooking, Esau made a mess of things by selling his birthright to Jacob, who, as luck would have was, was holding onto his brother’s heel as the two left the womb, thus helping to fulfill the prophecy that the elder son, Esau, would one day serve the younger son, Jacob.
This story has come to mean selling something very valuable for a mere pittance. In Esau’s case, he knew what he was giving up, In other cases, the sellers may not have known what they were giving up, yet the outcome is still the same.
Take, for instance, those inhabitants of Appalachia who, in the era following the Civil War, were sweet talked into surrendering mineral rights to the land they lived on for less than nothing. This has resulted in literally billions of dollars worth of coal, natural gas, and timber being taken from this part of the world, while the Esau’s, the sellers, many of whom later worked in the mines, now live in poverty.
And what about those who bought the minerals, the modern day Jacobs? How have they thrived? Alas, they have behaved as the main characters in a fable by Aesop, called “The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs”.
In this story, a man and his wife have a unique fowl, one that laid eggs made of gold. One might suspect that, having an animal with this ability, these people would protect it and care for it. After all, it was providing them with a comfortable living.
But you would be wrong. No, these people were too impatient for such niceties. They had an idea that the goose was holding out on them. They decided that since its eggs were made of gold, the insides of the goose must be made of gold, as well, To get this gold more quickly, they decided to kill the goose, but upon cutting it open, surprise, nothing but goose meat, and, sadly, now worth no more than the price of one meal, with perhaps some leftovers.
In the coalfields of Appalachia, the owners of a magical goose, the mineral rights of the area, have now begun carving up the body of the goose that once laid the golden eggs. They call it mountaintop removal. Well, the goose is dead, so what else is there to do with it? Nothing, I suppose.
Oh, well! So much for morals from stories such as these.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A truly miraculous day
It was apparent that Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 was to be a day of miracles Yes, there was that Super Bowl ad that featured David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno, with Letterman intoning, “Worst Super Bowl Party ever!” Oprah was between these two seemingly implacable enemies, but if these two could exist in the same room together on the same couch, heck, that makes World Peace seems like an attainable goal.
And there was the stunning news the day after that Super Bowl XLIV had passed the final episode of MASH to become the most watched show in television history.
But the first real sign of a miracle was that the Saints made it there at all, and the best sign that they might win was that Indianapolis was their opponent. Yes, the Colts, who had the league MVP in Peyton Manning, but who had given the team MVP award to Patriot coach Bill Belichick. Bill, you will recall, went for it fourth and one deep in the Pat's own territory and turned it over to the Colts, thus allowing for the first of several “miracle” come-backs. This also gave the illusion that the Colts were the favorites in this game.
Perhaps the most amazing miracle, though, took place in 2005. This was when Drew Brees, then the QB for the San Diego Chargers, fumbled the ball in that season’s last game against Denver and dislocated his shoulder trying to recover it. In a report on ESPN, Brees’s doctor said that not one in one hundred athletes could have come back from this.
Because of this injury, Brees was forced out at San Diego, and there weren’t a lot of other NFL teams willing to take a chance on him. It was the Saints who eventually signed him, and the rest, as they say, is history. Oh, and the stupidity of that decision by the Chargers to pass on Brees makes even the one by Belichick to pass on a punt against the Colts look sort of smart, by comparison.
Then there were the on-field miracles. Down 10-3, and with time running out in the first half, and on a fourth and goal to go, the Saints seemed to reprise the Belichick fiasco by going for it. They didn’t make it. But in their first show of determination, they forced the Colts to punt and drove close enough for a 40-plus yard field goal, the second of three from that distance, and so went to the locker room down 10-6.
Then there was the onside kick to start the second half. If that doesn’t show determination, what does? I mean, failure here could have put the Colts up 17-6. But the Saints prevailed and scored a TD that put them up 13-10.
And there was that pass for the two-point conversion after their second TD of the half. A completed pass would put the Saints up by 7, but it was ruled incomplete. Here the miracle came courtesy of instant replay that showed the pass was good, and that put the Saints up 24-17.
Finally there was the errant pass by Peyton that was intercepted by Tracy Porter and returned 74 years that sealed the Colts fate and set the final score: Saints 31, Colts 17.
And there was the stunning news the day after that Super Bowl XLIV had passed the final episode of MASH to become the most watched show in television history.
But the first real sign of a miracle was that the Saints made it there at all, and the best sign that they might win was that Indianapolis was their opponent. Yes, the Colts, who had the league MVP in Peyton Manning, but who had given the team MVP award to Patriot coach Bill Belichick. Bill, you will recall, went for it fourth and one deep in the Pat's own territory and turned it over to the Colts, thus allowing for the first of several “miracle” come-backs. This also gave the illusion that the Colts were the favorites in this game.
Perhaps the most amazing miracle, though, took place in 2005. This was when Drew Brees, then the QB for the San Diego Chargers, fumbled the ball in that season’s last game against Denver and dislocated his shoulder trying to recover it. In a report on ESPN, Brees’s doctor said that not one in one hundred athletes could have come back from this.
Because of this injury, Brees was forced out at San Diego, and there weren’t a lot of other NFL teams willing to take a chance on him. It was the Saints who eventually signed him, and the rest, as they say, is history. Oh, and the stupidity of that decision by the Chargers to pass on Brees makes even the one by Belichick to pass on a punt against the Colts look sort of smart, by comparison.
Then there were the on-field miracles. Down 10-3, and with time running out in the first half, and on a fourth and goal to go, the Saints seemed to reprise the Belichick fiasco by going for it. They didn’t make it. But in their first show of determination, they forced the Colts to punt and drove close enough for a 40-plus yard field goal, the second of three from that distance, and so went to the locker room down 10-6.
Then there was the onside kick to start the second half. If that doesn’t show determination, what does? I mean, failure here could have put the Colts up 17-6. But the Saints prevailed and scored a TD that put them up 13-10.
And there was that pass for the two-point conversion after their second TD of the half. A completed pass would put the Saints up by 7, but it was ruled incomplete. Here the miracle came courtesy of instant replay that showed the pass was good, and that put the Saints up 24-17.
Finally there was the errant pass by Peyton that was intercepted by Tracy Porter and returned 74 years that sealed the Colts fate and set the final score: Saints 31, Colts 17.
Monday, February 1, 2010
A Tale of Three Kitties
The tag end of this last week saw another blast from Old Man Winter, one that was accurately forecast by The Weather Channel, of all things. Speaking of which, you know how the Weather Channel always precedes its seven-day forecast with “Your week ahead”? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I am more concerned with my week behind. But I digress.
This snowfall, BTW, was better behaved than its immediate predecessor, in that we weren’t all left freezing and in the dark. In fact, those of us who have access to Wazoo, the new sports channel carried by Intermountain Cable, were able to watch most of the Touchstone All A Classic, starring the Shelby Valley Wildcats.
And speaking of Wildcats, I am a fan of three such basketball teams. There is the local version, the Shelby Valley Wildcats; the statewide favorites, the U. K. Wildcats; and this team’s counterparts at that venerable institution of higher learning, and perhaps the least known of the three, U. K.’s Lady Wildcats. Oddly enough, the three teams each had similar experiences in that they dropped a crucial game before coming back to show that they were far from done.
U. K’s teams first, as each lost to the same opponent, South Carolina. The Lady Cats were there on January 14, and failing to find a way to contain that team’s center, 6’5” Kelsey Bone, lost by the score of 79-71. Coupled with an earlier one-point loss at Georgia, this was a disappointing start to the SEC part of the schedule, as they were 1-2 after the first three games.
All they did, though, was set a school record by winning the next five SEC games, the last two on the road at LSU and Mississippi State. These Cats are not only ranked now, they are in second place in the SEC, behind only perennial powerhouse Tennessee, a situation I predict they will rectify when they pay the Volunteers a visit on February 27 (live on CBS).
The men’s team, who had just run roughshod over Arkansas the week before, went to South Carolina, and underplayed this game as much as they over performed in the previous game. In their first game as the nation’s top-ranked team, they came away the loser 68-62. But in the very next game, this team came back against a dangerous Vanderbilt, who were, prior to this game, first in the SEC. No need to worry as the Cats bested the ‘Dores 85-72.
And finally, the Shelby Valley Wildcats dropped a heartbreaker to Christian County the week before they started defense of their all-A title. Well, if anyone had any doubts, these Cool Cats soon erased them. In short order, the Cats took down all comers, starting with Ballard Memorial (73-34), then Danville (80-56), University Heights, and old friend, coach Randy McCoy (67-54), and in the championship game, Louisville DeSales (46-37).
And get this, not only did they repeat in the all-A, but this year, in the Sweet Sixteen, there are only two top-ranked teams in the lower half of the bracket, Shelby Valley and Clark County. This is no guarantee, but if these Cats can keep their cool, Pike Countians might see one of their schools bring home a Sweet Sixteen championship
This snowfall, BTW, was better behaved than its immediate predecessor, in that we weren’t all left freezing and in the dark. In fact, those of us who have access to Wazoo, the new sports channel carried by Intermountain Cable, were able to watch most of the Touchstone All A Classic, starring the Shelby Valley Wildcats.
And speaking of Wildcats, I am a fan of three such basketball teams. There is the local version, the Shelby Valley Wildcats; the statewide favorites, the U. K. Wildcats; and this team’s counterparts at that venerable institution of higher learning, and perhaps the least known of the three, U. K.’s Lady Wildcats. Oddly enough, the three teams each had similar experiences in that they dropped a crucial game before coming back to show that they were far from done.
U. K’s teams first, as each lost to the same opponent, South Carolina. The Lady Cats were there on January 14, and failing to find a way to contain that team’s center, 6’5” Kelsey Bone, lost by the score of 79-71. Coupled with an earlier one-point loss at Georgia, this was a disappointing start to the SEC part of the schedule, as they were 1-2 after the first three games.
All they did, though, was set a school record by winning the next five SEC games, the last two on the road at LSU and Mississippi State. These Cats are not only ranked now, they are in second place in the SEC, behind only perennial powerhouse Tennessee, a situation I predict they will rectify when they pay the Volunteers a visit on February 27 (live on CBS).
The men’s team, who had just run roughshod over Arkansas the week before, went to South Carolina, and underplayed this game as much as they over performed in the previous game. In their first game as the nation’s top-ranked team, they came away the loser 68-62. But in the very next game, this team came back against a dangerous Vanderbilt, who were, prior to this game, first in the SEC. No need to worry as the Cats bested the ‘Dores 85-72.
And finally, the Shelby Valley Wildcats dropped a heartbreaker to Christian County the week before they started defense of their all-A title. Well, if anyone had any doubts, these Cool Cats soon erased them. In short order, the Cats took down all comers, starting with Ballard Memorial (73-34), then Danville (80-56), University Heights, and old friend, coach Randy McCoy (67-54), and in the championship game, Louisville DeSales (46-37).
And get this, not only did they repeat in the all-A, but this year, in the Sweet Sixteen, there are only two top-ranked teams in the lower half of the bracket, Shelby Valley and Clark County. This is no guarantee, but if these Cats can keep their cool, Pike Countians might see one of their schools bring home a Sweet Sixteen championship
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