November 4, 2008
Louisville, Kentucky
Needless to say I’m very disappointed that Bruce Lunsford didn’t beat Senator Mitch McConnell, but I can take comfort in knowing that I gave it my best shot to get rid of Mitch McConnell’s slimy ass and I also realize that Bruce Lunsford must be disappointed because Bruce gave this race his all. The way I see it the best man didn’t win, but on the brighter side the policies of Senator Mitch McConnell inspired the rest of America to elect Barack Obama.
I suggest if the Republicans are smart they will ditch Mitch McConnell as their Senate Minority Leader, but I hope they don’t because Mitch McConnell inspired millions of Americans all across this land to vote for Barack Obama and helped the democrats gain House and Senate seats. Nationally Mitch McConnell is the gift that keeps on giving and if the Republicans keep Mitch McConnell as their minority leader Mitch will lose them more House and Senate seats in 2010. Keep up the good work Mitch.
As a Kentuckian I apologize to the majority of of the citizens in the United states of America that we didn’t get rid of senator Mitch McConnell and I thank all of the states that voted to elect Barack Obama as the next President of the United States of America.
Last night we saw history being made and I just couldn’t let this moment go by without trying to capture it so I put my camcorder next to a flat screen TV and videotaped Kentucky folks watching Barack Obama giving his victory speech. As I videotaped these folks watching Barack Obama, with tears of joy running down my 70 year old cheeks, I knew I was at the right place at the right time even if it was Kentucky.
The video is below.
December, 2007 we submitted a request for the Selective Service Classification Records for Senator Saxby Chambliss, Rep Tom Tancredo and Senator Mitch McConnell. When we received the Selective Service Classification Records from the Selective Service System all of the records were included with the exception of Senator Mitch McConnell’s and his was an extract put together by Richard Flahavan, Associate Director for Intergovernmental Affairs. When Richard Flahavan was questioned about sending us an extract of Senator Mitch McConnell’s Selective Service Classification Record, he responded in writing that " Selective Service no longer has access to Selective Service records for men born prior to 1960." Knowing that we had already received the full Selective Service Classification Records for Senator Saxby Chambliss, Rep Tom Tancredo born in 1943 and 1945 respectively we felt that Richard Flahavan was possibly covering for Senator Mitch McConnell. In Richard Flahavan’s extract he writes "the U.S. Army ordered him to undergo an Armed Forces Physical Examination which he did July 9, 1967. Apparently, he did not pass because he was released from the U.S. Army Reserve August 15, 1967." I just love that word apparently!
Several correspondences later we decided to request the information we needed from the National Archives Southeast Region in Atlanta and they sent us Mitch McConnell’s complete Selective Service Classification Records and when we looked under column 7 Armed Forces Physical Examination it was blank , indicating that Mitch McConnell did not receive a Armed Forces Physical Examination as stated by Richard Flahavan, in his extract. If the Selective Service Classification Record is correct and Mitch McConnell didn’t receive Armed Forces Physical Examination, then how could he flunk the Armed Forces Physical Examination he didn’t take and what is the real reason Mitch McConnell didn’t serve his country during the Vietnam war?
Senator Mitch McConnell has an obligation to clear this up and I’m suggesting he publish his military discharge papers for all of us to see and until that time we have good reason to believe he has something to hide.
October 25, 2008
Radcliff, Kentucky
The big boys were in Hardin County, Kentucky today and they were fired up and ready to go. Among those at the rally were former Nebraska Governor and former U.S. Senator J. Robert “Bob” Kerrey, former Governor John Young Brown Jr., Governor Steve Beshear, Congressman John Yarmuth , David Boswell , Bruce Lunsford , Mike Weaver, former Senator Walter"Dee" Huddleston, Greg Fischer, State Rep Jimmie Lee and more.
This tells me the Democratic party is leaving no stone unturned to win in November. I have put together 4 fairly short videos of the event and they are below. I also managed to get a few photos, click here to view them.
October 24, 2008
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Right here in red state Kentucky folks were standing in the cold rain waiting to get in the Bowling Green airport to hear and see former President Bill Clinton stump for US senatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford and Kentucky’s 2nd district congressional candidate David Boswell .
I feel Kentuckians are ready for change and I base this feeling on what I’m seeing and I’m seeing it all over Kentucky. Hell Western Kentucky is one of the most conservative places on earth , a Mitch McConnell strong hold and folks there Thursday October 23, 2008 were chanting "Ditch Mitch " at the Kentucky Dam Village Convention Center McConnell/Lunsford debate site. This sort of thing would not have occurred a year ago. I’m tellin’ ya Mitch is in real trouble.
Videos of the event are below. I also managed to get a few photos. Click here to view photos.
A Republican campaign aide for U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has filed a criminal complaint against Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford and his top consultant alleging that the two stole a digital recorder and intentionally erased it after a debate Thursday morning in Western Kentucky.
Richard St. Onge III., a staffer working for National Republican Senatorial Committee, filed the complaint Thursday afternoon charging Lunsford and Achim Bergmann with petty larceny and destruction of property, according to a statement from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
After the final debate between the U.S. Senate candidates, Republicans with McConnell ’s campaign accused Bergmann of taking and then erasing the GOP staffer’s digital recorder.
Bergmann called it a mix-up because the recorder was on Lunsford’s podium during the debate and he picked it up with his papers.
Bergmann called the charges ridiculous.
"It’s a distraction," Bergmann said. "It’s a distraction. It shows desperation on their part." Read more.
October 23, 2008
Kentucky Dam Village Convention Center:
As we all know this is the last debate Senator Mitch McConnell agreed to have. After this debate there will be no more because Mitch McConnell has turned down all of the others , including the KET offer that would have been televised for the whole state to see. Once again Senator Mitch McConnell picked a time and venue that made it difficult for his constituents to see him in action. This was an early morning debate and live streamed via the web. Surely Mitch understands that most folks are working this time of day and wouldn’t be able to see him tell us how good things are and surely he knows that it takes high speed internet service to watch live streaming video, but I guess Mitch felt this was the patriotic thing to do.
Plenty of folks were outside the convention center to greet Mitch (snark), but they never got a glimpse of Mitch. Some say he slipped in the back door and others say he waited in a local gasoline station until the protestors left before he went into the Convention Center. Hell who knows, but I do know this Bruce Lunsford walked in the front door of the Convention Center like a man on a mission. Bruce didn’t dodge anyone.
It was a real sight to behold. Right there in Western Kentucky Mitch McConnell’s stronghold and folks were chanting Ditch Mitch and 24 years is enough. I suggest to you these folks are the real patriots and I’ll bet the ones there that served in the military would be more than happy to show you their military honorable discharge papers. How about that Mitch? When will you show us yours?
Click here and here to view photos. Special thanks to Mike Watt for the photos.
Former Presiden Bill Clinton will be in Bowing Green and Paducah, Kentucky to stump for Bruce Lunsford Lunsford Friday October 24, 2008 (see details below). Unlike Mitch McConnell, Bruce Lunsford doesn’t hide from regular Kentucky folks and this event is free and open to the public.
WHO : President Bill Clinton and Bruce Lunsford
WHAT: Lunsford Senate Campaign Rally in Paducah
WHEN: Friday, October 24, 2008
Press call time is at 9:15 a.m.
Doors open at 10 a.m.
Program begins at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Robert Cherry Civic Center
2701 Park Ave Paducah
WHO: President Bill Clinton and Bruce Lunsford
WHAT: Lunsford Senate Campaign Rally in Bowling Green
WHEN: Friday, October 24, 2008
Press call time is at 11:15 a.m.
Doors open at 1 p.m.
Program begin at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport
Lunsford argues that pork projects don’t make up for the economic policies McConnell has shepherded through the Senate. “Kentuckians don’t have a chance to vote out George Bush,” he says, “but they do have a chance to turn out his henchman.” Election Day will determine whether voters are angry enough to do just that. (more)
Mitch McConnell has said a lot of untrue things about Bruce Lunsford during the course of this campaign, but a new radio ad placed on McConnell’s behalf by the American Energy Alliance charts new territory by repeatedly calling Lunsford a "lobbyist." Bruce Lunsford is not and has never been a lobbyist. The ad blames Bruce Lunsford for high gas prices, a claim earlier called "nonsense," "ridiculous and "simply not true" by leading media outlets.
The American Energy Alliance (AEA) is the grassroots arm of the Institute for Energy Research (IER) .
Robert L. Bradley, Jr., is the founder and chairman, Institute for Energy Research. Now get this : Bradley was previously Director of Public Policy Analysis at Enron , where he wrote speeches for Kenneth Lay .
Steven F. Hayward, F . K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow, American Enterprise Institute is a Institute for Energy Research board member. Check this quote made by Steven F. Hayward "So welcome to Earth Day, 2004. Not only has global warming theory all but evaporated, but the Earth — and particularly the United States — are in far better shape than eco-activists would have us believe. In fact, recent U.S. environmental trends have nearly all been positive." Steven F. Hayward has also worked at the ultra conservative Heritage Foundation.
These are the folks working for Mitch, what a shame.
Senate passed $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill. “The Senate on Wednesday upped pressure on the House to pass a $700 billion rescue for Wall Street by strongly approving a plan that supporters said would avert a potential economic disaster.” [USA Today, “Senate OKs $700B bailout,” 10/1/08]
Enquirer: “$700 billion might be only the beginning;” area economists predict price tag as high as $1.5 trillion. “Washington’s $700 billion bailout deal might stem the carnage in financial markets, but local experts disagree if it’s enough to contain the growing credit crisis. Finance experts and economists say some injection of cash into the market is necessary to keep banks lending to businesses and to each other and to stabilize a weak economy… Michael Ferguson, a finance professor at the University of Cincinnati, said Sunday night that authorizing the Treasury Department to purchase troubled assets could be enough to revive the markets. He said just buying some securities might be enough - that act alone could prop up the market value of mortgage-backed debt. ‘They may not have to use the whole amount,’ he said… Steve Wyatt, chairman of the finance department at Miami University, expressed concern federal officials were moving too slowly with too little funding. He thinks authorization to purchase $1.5 trillion of toxic assets wouldn’t be excessive. Congress may be called back to do still another bailout in the coming weeks or months, he predicted.” [Enquirer, “$700B might be only the beginning,” 9/29/08]
Herald-Leader: McConnell received $4.3 million from Wall Street. “McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, is a beneficiary this last 20 years of more than $4.3 million in donations from the financial sector, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group.” [Herald-Leader, 9/25/08]
McConnell voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which removed Depression-era regulations on the financial industry. According to the Washington Post, “the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act aimed to make the country’s financial institutions competitive by removing the Depression-era walls between banking, investment and insurance companies…the legislation also helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments.” David Hawpe from the Courier-Journal wrote that McConnell “voted to deregulate Wall Street banking and investments.” [S. 900, Vote 354, 11/4/99; Washington Post, 9/17/08; Courier-Journal, 9/28/08] McConnell approved deregulating credit default swaps. McConnell supported the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which “banned regulation of credit default swaps, an insurance-like product bought by financial services companies to cover their risky subprime mortgage investments. American International Group, rescued by the Federal Reserve… is one of the biggest sellers of these swaps.” [H.R. 4577, Voice Vote, 12/15/00; Politico, 9/20/08]
Associated Press: CEO pay skyrocketing despite economic crisis. “As the American economy slowed to a crawl and stockholders watched their money evaporate, CEO pay still chugged to yet more dizzying heights last year, an Associated Press analysis shows. The AP review of compensation for the heads of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index finds the median pay package added up to nearly $8.4 million. That’s a gain of about $280,000 from 2006. The 3.5% pay increase for CEOs came even as the economy was choked by a housing market in free fall, layoffs and soaring prices for fuel and food.” [Associated Press, 6/20/08] Financial industry CEO salaries from 2005-2007, according to USA Today:
• Countrywide CEO: “$362 million in salary, bonuses, stock-option gains and perks ranging from country club fees to personal use of corporate aircraft.”
• AIG CEO: “$25.4 million, including $322,000 for private use of corporate aircraft, $153,000 for car and parking, $160,000 for home security and $41,000 for financial planning.”
• Former Lehman CEO: $187 million.
• Merrill Lynch CEO: “$66 million, including $357,000 for car services and personal use of aircraft in 2007.”
• Citigroup CEO: “$42 million, including $180,000 for corporate aircraft, ground transportation and security services.”
• Goldman Sachs CEO: “$76.2 million, including $233,000 for car and driver services and $61,000 for financial and benefits counseling services.” [USA Today, 9/28/08]
Associated Press: Bush Administration proposed “radical bailout plan with a jaw-dropping price tag” at taxpayers’ expense. “The Bush administration laid out a radical bailout plan with a jaw-dropping price tag — a takeover of a half-trillion dollars or more in worthless mortgages and other bad debt held by tottering institutions.” [Associated Press, 9/20/08]
Senator Mitch McConnell is dodging debates faster than a cowboy can dodge wooden arrows . The latest debate dodge is Centre College. Senator Mitch McConnell has also dodged debates to be sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Kentucky and KET .
Senator Mitch McConnell did agree to debates sponsored by the Kentucky Farm Bureau and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
The Kentucky Farm Bureau debate was not televised but video of the debate was posted on their site a day or two after the debate . That’s nice but folks without a computer or high speed internet access have no way to see it. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce debate was live streamed but once again folks without computers or high speed internet access were left out. It’s not difficult to understand why the Chamber of Commerce would try to limit folks from seeing Bruce Lunsford kick Mitch McConnell’s ass in a debate after all these are the same folks airing TV ads against Bruce Lunsford and using quotes from the Republican rag the Paducah Sun.
Senator Mitch McConnell has proven he’ll go to any length to avoid reporters even to the extent of using the bathroom excuse ! That’s either childish or chickeshit. How can Senator Mitch McConnell expect our troops to fight and die in Iraq and Afghanistan when he, senator Mitch McConnell, doesn’t have the guts to debate his opponent Bruce Lunsford during these troubled times?
Last night Bruce Lunsford unveiled his "Women’s bill Of Rights" in Lexington Kentucky. With the race getting tighter than anyone imagined (3 points ) Bruce Lunsford is tightening the noose on Senator Mitch McConnell by appealing to women voters here in Kentucky. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot video of many politicians , but last night I shot video of a man speaking from his heart about all the right things and that man was Bruce Lunsford!
Maybe I’m naive, but I really believe this man’s heart, Bruce Lunsford, is in the right place and I’m damned sure he, Bruce Lunsford, will represent my children and grandchildren better than Senator Mitch McConnell.
The video below is nearly 10 minutes long and that’s about 7 minutes longer than I like, but I cut all of it out that I could and believe me that was tough because there were so many good speakers at the event and Bruce’s speech was so good that I had to leave at least 30 minutes of very good video on the cutting room floor.
So where do we go from here? Well, as I have said in a previous post, we have a chance to make history here in Kentucky so let’s get the job done.
Click here and here to view photos of the event.You might see someone you know!
