Thursday afternoon deep thoughts

Why doesn't David Williams move to Russia and run for PM?

Something to look forward to

Kathy Stein getting in David Williams' face and not taking any shit from him.

Good times and righteous drama lies ahead.

(btw, Kathy Stein is so far the only KY legislator to officially go on the record in supporting our Operation Gooch. Naturally, she rocks the hizee, and we fully support her, in return.)

Yawn

A day after indicting great investigative reporters like John Cheves as amateurs, Bluegrass Report comes up with the self-described earth-shattering expose that David Williams is corrupt and there are shenanigans in KY Transportation contracts.

Wow.

In other news, Jim Gooch is a tool of King Coal. And the sky is blue.

John Cheves could do this blindfolded with his right arm tied behind his back before breakfast.

(and what's up with the Houchens worship?)

(and to clarify, not saying this is a bad post at all, but what's with all that ridiculous hyperbole preceding it???)

David Williams buys Monkey-Robots

Not only has Republican Senate Leader David Williams bought himself a 60 inch plasma TV with our taxdollars, he's now using what's left of our dwindling budget to build a luxury Senate lounge and caucus rooms with kitchens.

But what I've just learned from a trusted confidential source is the most alarming...

... the lounge and kitchens will be equipped with... Monkey-Robots.

Sure, they might cut down on the cost of human labor, but when they take over Frankfort (and, oh, they will), there's no over-exaggerating the hell they will unleash on the citizens of Kentucky.

If you thought David Williams and the Republicans were bad.. wait until you've lived under the iron fist of the Monkey-Robot overlords....

To paraphrase the great Kent Brockman from one of my favorite Simpsons episodes: "Ladies and gentlemen, er, we’ve just lost the picture, but, uh, what we’ve seen speaks for itself. (Frankfort) has been taken over — ‘conquered’, if you will — by a master race of (Monkey-Robots). It’s difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive (Kentuckians) or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain, there is no stopping them; the (Monkey-Robots) will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new (Monkey-Robot) overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted (political blogger), I can be helpful in rounding up others to…toil in their (banana fields).

(posting will be light to non-existent this weekend, have a good one everybody)

Cheves does it again, shows Williams' buffoonery

Say it with me: the Herald-Leader's John Cheves is the best damned journalist in the state.

His series on the embarrassing KY prison system forced Beshear and the legislature into action, instead of ignoring the problem as they had been.

His article showing that our tax dollars were going to outright propaganda for the coal industry caused an uproar that brought about change.

And now, he exposes Republican Senate Leader David Williams as the heartless buffoon that he is. As our budget is being sliced and diced: education, college tuition, public defender funds, special needs hospitals, keep going down the list... what are we spending possibly up to $1.4 million on:

The Kentucky Senate is renovating its offices at the state Capitol Annex in Frankfort, while public health programs, law enforcement, education and other state services face more cuts.

On Tuesday, the state requested bids for construction on the Annex’s second floor, to build new Senate offices, caucus rooms with kitchens, a press conference room and a Senate lounge.

The 5,250 square feet of space previously was used by executive branch agencies, which are slowly being evicted as the General Assembly claims more space in the Annex. New furniture, appliances and electronics will be purchased.

Senate President David Williams said he won’t know the project’s cost until bids are opened next week. But lawmakers can afford it.

While the legislature this winter told Gov. Steve Beshear to cut $230 million from the executive branch’s $9.1 billion budget, it awarded itself 13 percent more over two years, taking it up to $55.6 million in 2010. It tucked about $1.4 million for capital projects into this year’s budget .

“It’s nothing very extravagant,” said Williams, R-Burkesville. “Each one of the senators will have an appropriate office now. We have at least one senator who has a rather small office.”

A Senator with a small office... aww, poor thing.

But it's not like we have anything else to spend this on, right?

“We wish the 52,000 children eligible for health insurance coverage through KCHIP, but not enrolled because of inadequate funds, would receive the same level of attention as the 5,250 square feet of Senate office space now being renovated,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “The emphasis on these self-serving projects over the needs of real people is sadly becoming the norm.”

What do you say, Ernesto?

“This just adds insult to injury,” Scorsone said Wednesday. “With all of the cuts to human services, to education, to proceed with the expansion and renovation of our Senate offices is sinful. How can we expect the public to hold any confidence in our actions if these are the kinds of priorities we have?”

And can we start repeating this Williams quote over and over and over again?

Williams denied that state budget cuts are inflicting real pain.

“We’re in relatively good shape with our state budget compared to what some other state governments are going through,” Williams said.

Regarding the Health and Family Services Cabinet and the Justice Cabinet, both of which are reporting sweeping program cuts, he said, “You’re talking about people who you couldn’t print enough money for. I don’t accept the premise that they’re cutting anything to the bone.”

As for the Senate’s office improvements, Williams said, “You could go through a lot of things (in the state budget) and ask ‘Is this proper?’ or ‘Is that proper?’ But it’s in the budget for the legislature, and it needs to be done. ... We can’t shut down the legislature or fail to maintain the premises we have.”

Yes, because the legislature will shut down if you don't have your 60 inch plasma TV in your office and a luxurious Senate lounge.

Buffoon.

Can we please start raising hell about this and stop it?
.

What Moberly says

Our Democrats caved to David Williams by getting bought off. Plain and simple.

Polwatchers:

"We're like puppets on a string for the president of the senate," he said, adding the House has become "a subservient body."

"I just want you all to know what you're doing. In the future, he will feel no hesitation to underfund education and underfund human services, which they don't care about," he said.
"They know all they have to do is put some projects in the budget, and we'll go along with it."

Moberly made similar comments earlier in the day in an interview with the Herald-Leader as he reacted to passage of a compromise budget that includes a new deal to add projects.

Moberly called the agreement a "diabolical deal with the devil."

"I would have gotten more out of it," he said sparking some applause.

"They want to buy us off to punish education -- they want to buy us off with projects," Moberly said.

He said the House was about "trade a few projects for the future of the commonwealth."

Plenty more updates on the clusterfuck that is our budget at PolWatchers today, go read.

The right to an attorney? Williams says whatever...

Hey Lexington... tired of being screwed by Dudley Webb? Well, David Williams wants a turn at you too.

Williams wants to cut ALL state funding for the Lexington Public Defender's Office, leaving this totally up to our city to fund. The Department of Public Advocacy rightly says I Don't Think So:

FRANKFORT, KY (March 26, 2008)  The Department of Public Advocacy is astonished by the budget passed by the Senate, which slashed funding for public defenders. “The House budget had already cut $1 million from an amended $40 million base in FY09,” stated Public Advocate Ernie Lewis, “and now the Senate cut an additional $1.8 million.” In addition, the Senate’s budget appears to cut all funding for the Lexington Public Defender’s Office, and places the entire funding responsibility on the City of Lexington.

Senate language in the budget bill states that public defender services will be the obligation of local government, and then funds nothing for those services. “If passed, this will devastate the state-wide public defender system and disrupt the criminal justice system in Lexington,” stated Ernie Lewis. “We are faced with the possibility of serious cuts to an already severely inadequately funded criminal defense system where the lives of 10,000 clients in Lexington are hanging in the balance.”

The Senate budget affects 10,000 persons in Fayette County charged with crimes who are too poor to afford counsel. Public defenders in Lexington represent some of society's most vulnerable individuals. They represent the poor who cannot afford a defense, including children who have run away from home or who have been abused, persons with mental illness and addictions to drugs and alcohol, and persons charged with nonviolent felonies who without a public defender will not get the diversion to treatment that they need and who will be prison bound.

The Senate budget imposes the responsibility for funding of indigent defense on the City of Lexington even though indigent defense is a responsibility of the state under the administration of the Department of Public Advocacy. “This is inconsistent with the entire statutory scheme in Chapter 31 and is an unfunded mandate on local government,” states Lewis.

It has been purported that Lexington is simply being treated like Louisville. “While Louisville does have a specific statute that was written at the inception of DPA in 1972 authorizing it to maintain its own office, Louisville Metro Government puts in $1 for every $2 state dollars.” In contrast, Lexington has chosen not to include any funding for the public defender system in their current budget and the Mayor asked the state to take over responsibility. The State through DPA took over running the office in August of 2007. “All of the 25 employees were hired as state merit employees and became part of the state retirement system. Computers were purchased for attorneys who previously were operating without computers and a new director was hired. Today, DPA is well on its way to putting the office back on its feet,” states Lewis. Now the jobs of those employees are in jeopardy.

The Senate’s proposal would be highly disruptive to the efficient operation of public defender services in Lexington. The Senate budget would stop all progress on the building of a decent public defender system in Lexington, and would require Lexington to start from scratch in putting an office together as of July 1. Even if Lexington had $2.6 million, which DPA believes is what is required to build an office there, it would be virtually impossible to get the office up and running by July 1.

This proposed budget widens the gap between prosecutors and public defenders. Commonwealth’s and County Attorney’s Office in Fayette County receive $5.9 million from the state whereas Lexington public defenders would receive no state appropriation. “The lack of parity is disturbing and unfair,” states Ernie Lewis.

To fund Lexington out of the existing state budget would require an additional $1.8 million in cuts in the other 29 offices across the Commonwealth. “The FY09 budget of $37.2 million will require me to cut an additional 16 positions, or 66 positions overall from the agency. The effect will be far reaching and will include Louisville, Covington, all other offices where caseloads are already at unethical levels,” stated Lewis.