The Active Republican Blog

The City of Louisville Inspections, Permits, and Licensing Deparment admitted today that the flowers growing in Teri West's garden that it thought were illegal weeds (over ten inches tall) was actually Kentucky Goldenrod, the state flower, and has dropped all charges against the West's. The IPL has been hassling us for months, possibly because I feel that since Chris Thieneman was elected by his legislative district caucus to be their LD chair and member of the nominations committee, that he should have served, and that IPL chairman John Flood (husband of city councilwoman Madonna Flood) hatred of Chris has been documented (see Ed Springston's blog at http://springston.blogspot.com/), that all this was politically motivated.

 

With this part of our life thankfully over with, I can now get back to doing things that I had been wanting to do, like keeping up with this blog, and work on a certain computer program for a non-profit organization.

I apologize for not posting very much, but since the IPL (Louisville’s Inspections, Permits, and Licensing Department) has been hassling us lately over “weeds” over ten inches tall (don't they know what Kentucky Goldenrod, the state flower, looks like?) and not noticing that our woodpile was on concrete (and thus legal), and not on ground as they charge, my wife has made me work on improving the property. We have been taken to court by them and will continue to fight it to the best of our ability.

 

The head of the IPL is John Flood, who is the husband of Metro Councilwoman Madonna Flood, who, of course, helps sets her husband's budget and salary. Can someone explain to me why this is not a conflict of interest? Can someone also let me know why the other council-people, especially the Republican ones, haven't complained about this before? John Flood is, I have been told, a convicted felon. He should NOT be a position of such responsibility.

 

I am afraid that John McCain will lose to Barack Obama big-time. This is quite unfortunate, as I believe that if (when?) Obama is elected, we will start to lose our freedom as the people of Venezuela have under Hugo Chavez. However, there is still some hope. Here are my suggestions for McCain:

 

1. Document and broadcast the link between Chavez and Obama -- show where there are similarities between the two (which includes their mutual friend, William Ayers). Most people are aware of the loss of freedoms in Venezuela, but you may need to document them as well in order to emphasize what will probably happen here if Obama wins.

 

2. Do whatever is necessary to get Ron Paul's endorsement, including his going to Montana and Louisiana (where is on the ballot) and California (where some people have placed him as a write-in candidate) to urge people to vote for McCain and not for himself. Yes, this will mean repudiation of those in the party (including the Jefferson County Republican Party leadership) which have tried to stifle those who actually believe in the (unfortunately former) Republican principles of small government.

 

3. Speaking of which, McCain needs to increase his distance from George Bush’s actions, especially in those areas where Bush has been acting as a Democrat (such as increasing the size of government and government spending). Have you heard lately McCain’s promise to name names when it comes to putting pork in legislation? He lost the opportunity to show that he would really do it when it came to the so-called bailout bill, which contained a lot of pork. This loss of credibility is one reason why he is losing. He should state “I was wrong in not naming names like I said I would. Here are the names …”, then he should state “When I am wrong, I will admit it and make amends. Will Obama admit it when he is wrong?”

 

4. He should set a conditional “timetable” for Iraq. Let people know that we will not be there as fighting forces forever. Yes, we should have a “permanent” presence just as we have in South Korea. We should let people know that as soon as North Korea is no longer a threat to the South Koreans, we will peacefully depart -- the same thing for Iraq and its terrorists.

 

5. Adopt my earlier recommendation on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When land (or water) is opened for oil exploration, ten times that amount should be set aside for preservation elsewhere. This is a win-win for the environment as well as for our energy needs.

 

6. Emphasize more Obama’s radical views on abortion. Most people would say that if an abortion attempt results in a live birth, that the baby should not be set aside to die, but not Obama. Obama is to the left of 99% of Americans on this. Advertise this fact in such a way as to get that 99% to vote for McCain.

 

7. State that you will eliminate all payroll taxes placed on employers up to a certain amount ($250,000 perhaps), providing that the person employed is a legal American citizen. This will encourage employers to hire more people, since some of the expenses in regards to new employees would be eliminated, and will eliminate some of the benefits companies currently have to send jobs overseas. (Find a way to make up the tax revenue when jobs are exported.) This is another area that McCain should distance himself from Bush in regards to.

 

8. Finally, emphasize that McCain has always been an American, while Obama has been a Kenyan and an Indonesian as well. In 2004, Democrats emphasized Kerry’s service to our country and Bush’s supposed lack thereof. Funny how this has not come up as an issue this time, isn’t it.

 

For Mitch McConnell, he needs to emphasize the dire consequences of what will occur if the Democrats (indeed, any party) gets 60 senators, and the likelihood of that occurring if he should lose to Lunsford. I like the Chicago ads, but they need to include a copy of the actual bill-of-sale for Lunsford’s Arizona property which he purchased this spring that states his actual Chicago address. I saw a picture of it on PageOneKentucky during the primary. McConnell should also emphasize that Lunsford has never criticized McConnell talking about the $134,000 fine on his Veteran’s homes, and show the actual documentation (proof) regarding that as well.

 

I like the fact that Anne Northup is finally mentioning that John Yarmuth dropped the ball in regards to the bridges, not surprising, since Yarmuth is a leader in River Fields, the NIMBY group that has cost Third District residents this much needed means of transportation. If they can build a whole new bridge to replace the one that fell in Minneapolis in less than two years, why is it taking so long to get our bridge built? Sodrel needs to emphasize Hill’s inability to push the bridge forward as well. Speaking of transportation, Northup also needs to emphasize her own abilities in regards to getting new busses for Louisville, as opposed to Yarmuth.  Question: How much did the TARC increase fares during Northup’s ten years versus Yarmuth’s two years? Anyone who supports public transit, whether they ride the busses or not, should vote for Northup.

 

If you see someone on Hurstbourne Parkway holding up a McConnell sign in the next couple of days, that’s me waiting for the bus going to or from work. Perhaps I should be holding up a Northup sign instead.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader is coming to town on Friday at the University of Louisville Floyd Theatre.

More details as I get them.

Since I was not invited to be a delegate or alternate, and unable to attend the Republican National Convention, I've been watching it on CSPAN.

After Sarah Palin's great speech they had the roll-call of states.

All the votes went to John McCain except for two votes for Romney from Utah and 15 votes for Ron Paul (5 from Alaska, 4 each from Oregon and Washington, and two from West Virginia). However, the announcer never announced Ron Paul's votes (she did for Romney) and at the end convention chair John Boehner announced that Ron Paul got only five votes. The annouced total for McCain was 2372 votes, which would have implied that 17 votes were cast for others.

CSPAN incorrectly had the totals as 2386 McCain and 13 others.

Even my wife thought it was unfair what they did to Ron Paul. I think if the party was smart they would have allowed someone to nominate Ron Paul, but give his speech in such a way that would have encouraged Ron Paul supporters to support McCain-Palin instead of Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin. I am afraid that their actions may have cost the ticket a few votes.

Also, if I was designing parliamentary procedures, I would require a vote to make a nomination unanimous to be unanimous. One could hear a few nays.

Did anyone else notice that one of the states casted their votes for "George McCain"?

This is a modification of Richard Winger’s great chart at www.ballot-access.org. (Not tabled because Windows Spaces doesn’t handle tables too well.) On it, I have added information regarding write-ins, as well as more detailed information on what is required to get on the ballot for President. This is still a work in progress. If you have any suggestions for changes or corrections, please let me know.
Last updated: Friday, September 5, 2008, at 11pm EDT

sig’s = signatures
Req. = requirements

 

Alabama (9)  http://www.sos.state.al.us/downloads/election/2008/pba-2008.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  20% of popular vote in last statewide race
   Req.: New Party Petition: 37,513 sig’s (3% of last gubernatorial vote) by June 5 plus hold a mass meeting -- Value of 37,503 on Libertarian Party page (http://www.lp.org/ballot-access) is in error.
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,000 sig’s by Sept. 5 [value of Sept. 8 on ballot-access.org may be wrong]
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  allowed, no forms or fees, all votes counted
   Libertarian (Barr): on-ballot
   Green (McKinney):  write-in
   Constitution (Baldwin): finished
   Independent (Nader): on ballot

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Alaska (3)  http://www.elections.alaska.gov/index.php
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg) 7,124 (3% of last vote cast)  by Aug. 6
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 3,128 sig’s by Aug. 6 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  letter of intent (form A-34) by Oct. 30
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin) [Alaskan Independence Party], Independent (Nader)
   write-in: Green (McKinney), Frank Moore/Susan Block

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Arizona (10)   http://www.azsos.gov/election/2008/general/IndependentCandidates.htm, http://www.azsos.gov/election/2008/general/WriteInCandidates.htm
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg) approx. 16,000
   Req.: New Party Petition: 20,449 sig’s by 5pm Mar. 6
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 21,759 sig’s by 5pm?, June 4 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  Notorized form (http://www.azsos.gov/election/Forms/Nomin%20Paper_FED_DUP_Write-In.pdf) with 10 electors by 5pm, Sept. 25
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Constitution (Baldwin) [write-in]

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Arkansas (6)  http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/elections/elections_pdfs/2008/20080828_Candidates_for_Nov_4_Election.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by June 30
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s by Aug. 4 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader), Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva)

 

California (55)  http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election_2008/shortlist_gen2008.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg) 88,991 [1% of #voters in gubernatorial election] by Dec. 31, 2007
   Req.: New Party Petition: 889,910 sig’s [10% of #voters in gubernatorial election]  by June 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 158,372 sig’s from Apr. 25 to Aug. 8
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: 55 notorized forms, no fee, by Oct. 21. See http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/election_2008/qualifications/wi_pres_nov2008.pdf
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader) [Peace and Freedom Party], American Independent Party (Alan Keyes)

   not on ballot: Constitution (Baldwin)

 

Colorado (9)  http://www.elections.colorado.gov/WWW/default/Candidates/2008%20GENERAL%20CANDIDATE%20LIST%20-%20WEB.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg) 1,000
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by June 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: $500 fee by June 17
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: notorized form with 9 electors by Aug. 26
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), American Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader), Socialist Workers (Harris), Socialist (Moore), Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva), Prohibition (Amondson), Alan Keyes (U), William R Koenig (U), Frank McEnulty (U), Charles Jay (Boston Tea Party), Jonathan Allen (Heartquake ‘08), Thomas Stevens (Objectivist), Bradford Lyttle (Pacifist)

 

Connecticut (7)  http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CandListNWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11/04/2008-General, http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CLWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11/04/2008-General
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  poll 1% of vote for that office in last election
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 7,500 sig’s by Aug. 6 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: state form (http://www.ct.gov/sots/lib/sots/electionservices/electforms/electforms/ed622preswrite-inappl2008.pdf) by 4pm Oct. 21
   Libertarian (Barr):  finished
   Green (McKinney): write-in
   Constitution (Baldwin): write-in
   Independent (Nader): on ballot 

 

Delaware (3)   http://elections.delaware.gov/filed.shtml
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg)  284
   Req.: New Party Petition: 284 sig’s  by Aug. 12
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,674 sig’s by July 15
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin), Socialist Workers (Calero)

   on ballot according to BAN, but not state website: Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader) [Delaware Independent Party]
   Socialist (Moore): under way

 

D.C. (3)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  7,500 votes in last election
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 3,833 sig’s by 5pm Aug. 19
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: Form with 3 electors by 5pm Oct. 28
   Libertarian (Barr): write-in
   Green (McKinney):  on ballot  [Statehood-Green Party]
   Constitution (Baldwin): not on ballot
   Independent (Nader): on ballot
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot

 

Florida  (27)   http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/canlist.asp
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  be organized by Sept. 2
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 104,334 sig’s by July 15
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: Form DS-DE85 (see http://election.dos.state.fl.us/forms/pdf/DSDE85.pdf) from July 1 to noon, July 8, with 27 electors by Aug .29
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader) [Ecology Party], Socialist (Moore), Socialist Workers (Harris), Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva), Prohibition (Amondson), Objectivist (Thomas Robert Stevens), America's Independent (Keyes)

   write-in:  Gary Nettles

 

Georgia  (15)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  20% for Pres. nationally
   Req.: New Party Petition: 44,089 sig’s by July 8
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 42,480 sig’s by July 8 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: Form and newspaper ad by Sept. 2
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [write-in], Independent (Nader)

 

Hawaii  (4)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  10% in any statewide race
   Req.: New Party Petition: 663 sig’s by 4:30pm Apr. 3   http://hawaii.gov/elections/factsheets/fsbo121.pdf
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 4,317 sig’s by 4:30pm Sept. 5  http://hawaii.gov/elections/factsheets/fsbo123.pdf
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent Party (Nader)

 

Idaho  (4)    http://www.idsos.state.id.us/elect/candidat/08cangen.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 11,968 sig’s by Aug. 29
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,984 sig’s by Aug. 25
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: notarized form by Oct. 21
   on ballot:   Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney)

 

Illinois  (21)   http://www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionInformation/SelectSearchType.aspx?id=22
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  5% last governor’s race
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 25,000 sig’s by 5pm June 23 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: notarized statement to each county (102) and board of elections (8) by 5pm Oct. 28
   on ballot:  Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Independent], Independent (Nader), New (John Joseph Polachek)

 

Indiana  (11)   http://www.state.in.us/sos/elections/pdfs/2008candidate/Abbrev_Candidate_List_082208.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 32,741 sig’s plus forms CAN-19 and CAN-20 by noon June 30 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: notarized form CAN-3 with at least one elector by noon, July 3
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr)

   write-in:  Michael L. Faith (Americas...), Darrell L. Castle (Constitution), Cynthia A. McKinney (Green), Chuck Baldwin (Ind.), Lawson Mitchell Bone (Ind.), Kevin Mottus (Ind.), Ralph Nader (Ind.), John Leroy Plemons (Ind.), "Louo" Kujawski (Republica...), Brian Moore (Socialist)

 

Iowa  (7)     http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/staff/Gencandlist2008.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  2% for pres. or gov. candidate
   Req.: New Party Petition: (reg) 850 plus a candidate on ballot within last 4 years
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,500 sig’s by noon Aug. 15 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: allowed, no requirements
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Independent], Independent (Nader) [Peace & Freedom Party], Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva), Socialist Workers (Harris), Socialist Party USA (Moore)

 

Kansas  (6)   http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_upcoming_candidate_display.asp
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available. Kansas is the only state that requires voters to choose a party on voter reg. forms that doesn’t provide a blank line.
   Req.: New Party Petition: 16,994 sig’s by noon, June 2
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,000 sig’s (no fee) by noon Aug. 4
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: form (see http://www.kssos.org/forms/Elections/WP.pdf) by noon, Oct. 27
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin) [Kansas Reform Party], Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot:  Green (McKinney)
 

Kentucky (8)   http://apps.sos.ky.gov/elections/candidatefilings/statewide/default.aspx?id=1
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  receive 2% in previous presidential election. NOTE: You must also notify the Secretary of State. The Reform Party qualified for full access in 1996 but didn’t ask for it.
   Req.: New Party Petition: not allowed
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,000 sig’s plus $500 and Form SBE 64 by 4pm Sept. 5 (party label) (date of Sept. 2 on ballot-access.org is wrong)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: Form SBE/SOS/02 with 8 electors plus $50 by 4pm EDT Oct 24
   Libertarian (Barr):  on ballot
   Green (McKinney):  100 [There is no Green Party organized in Kentucky. The petition drive will hopefully start this week, with people from Illinois coming in, and with a mailing to registered Greens in Kentucky hopefully helping.]
   Constitution (Baldwin/Robert E. Thornsberry): on ballot
   Independent (Nader): finished
   write-in: Kieth Russell Judd / Morty Wayne Judd; Leonard C. Habermehl / Steven K. Miller

 

Louisiana (9)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  (reg) 140,000
   Req.: New Party Petition: (reg) 1,000 by May 22
   Req.: Independent Candidate: pay $500 by Sept 2
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): under way
   Prohibition (Amondson): on ballot
   Reform Party (Ted Wiell): on ballot

 

Maine  (4)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  5% for pres. or gov. candidate
   Req.: New Party Petition: 27,544 sig’s by Dec, 14, 2007
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 4,000 sig’s by noon Aug. 15 (party label) [Aug. 8 on ballot-access may be wrong]
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file notarized form with four electors by Oct. 29
   on ballot:  Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader)

   not on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin) [write-in]

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Maryland  (10)  http://www.electionsmaryland.com/elections/2008/documents/2008_general_candidates.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% for pres. or gov. candidate
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by Aug. 4
   Req.: Independent Candidate: est. 32,500 sig’s by noon Aug. 4
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file notarized form by 5pm Oct. 29 [Wed. before election]
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin) [Other Candidates]

   on ballot according to BAN but not on state website: Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader) (Maryland Independent Party)

   write-in:  Blaine Taylor (Democratic), Lawson Mitchell Bone (Unaffiliated), Theodis (Ted) Brown, Sr. (U), Ronald G. Hobbs (U), Frank Moore (U), Lynne A. Starr (U)

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Massachusetts (12)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  est. (reg) 40,500 by Feb. 1
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 10,000 sig’s by 5pm Aug. 26 (party label) [Date of July 29 in ballot-access.org wrong; see http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepres/presidx.htm]
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file form with 12 electors by 5pm Sept. 5 (60 days before election)
   Libertarian (Barr):  [in court, hearing Sept. 12]
   Green (McKinney):  on ballot
   Constitution (Baldwin): on ballot
   Independent (Nader): on ballot

   Socialist (Brown): filing for write-in

 

Michigan  (17)   http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/candlist/08GEN/08GEN_CL.HTM
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 38,024 sig’s by July 17
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 38,024 sig’s by July 17
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file notarized declaration form with 17 electors by Sept. 5
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [US Taxpayers Party], Independent (Nader) [Natural Law Party]

 

Minnesota  (10)   http://candidates.sos.state.mn.us/CandidateFilingSearchResults.asp?x=2
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  5% for any statewide office w/ 1 vote in every county, in 2 consecutive elections
   Req.: New Party Petition: 110,150 sig’s by July 15
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 2,000 sig’s between July 1 and Sept. 9 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: must file a written request with the office of the Minnesota secretary of state no later than Oct. 28, 2008, the seventh day before the General Election with at least one elector.  (M.S. §204B.09, subd. 3(b))
   Libertarian (Barr):  finished
   Green (McKinney): on ballot
   Constitution (Baldwin): finished
   Independent (Nader): 1,500
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): under way

 

Mississippi  (6)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  be organized by Jan. 10
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s by Sept. 5
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: allowed only if a candidate dies
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin)
   Independent (Nader): finished
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot

   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Prohibition (Amondson): on ballot
   Reform Party (Ted Wiell): on ballot

 

Missouri  (11)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by July 28
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 10,000 sig’s by July 28
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file notarized form with 11 electors by district by 5pm Oct. 24  See http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/writein.asp
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney)

 

Montana  (3)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 5,000 sig’s by March 13
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,000 sig’s by July 30 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: file notartized form with 3 electors by 5pm Sept. 26
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin)

 

Nebraska (5)  http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/pdf/candidate%20list.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Ballot status for 3 cong. candidates
   Req.: New Party Petition: 5,921 sig’s by Aug. 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 2,500 sig’s by Aug. 26
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  notorized affadavit (and 2,500 sig’s?) by Oct. 24
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Nebraska Party]
   Independent (Nader): finished

   Socialist (Moore): under way

 

Nevada  (5)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% of all registered voters
   Req.: New Party Petition: 5,746 sig’s by July 3
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,746 sig’s by July 3
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Independent American Party], Independent (Nader)

 

New Hampshire  (4)  http://www.sos.nh.gov/intents-2008.htm
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 12,524 sig’s by Aug. 6
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 3,000 sig’s by Aug. 6 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  no fees or forms
   Libertarian (Barr): on ballot
   Green (McKinney):  too late
   Constitution (Baldwin): too late [write-in]
   Independent (Nader): on ballot

   Libertarian (George Phillies): on ballot

   Socialist (Moore): write-in

   Yonyuth Hongsakaphadana: filed declaration, not yet qualified 

 

New Jersey  (15)  http://www.njelections.org/2008results/08generalelection/certification-memo-pres.pdf
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  10% vote in last Gen. Assembly elec
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 800 sig’s by 4pm, July 28 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  forms only if candidate wins by Nov. 5; only counted if it might effect election
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Ind.], Independent (Nader), Socialist Workers (Calero), Socialist (Moore), Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva), Jeffrey Boss/Andrea Marie Psoras (Vote Here)

 

New Mexico  (5)  http://web.state.nm.us/sos-Pres08.html
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  0.5% in gov. or pres. race in last election
   Req.: New Party Petition: 2,796 sig’s by Apr. 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 16,776 sig’s on June 4 9am to 5pm
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  Declaration of intent by Oct. 21
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent Party (Nader)

 

New York  (31)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  At least 50,000 votes in last governor’s election
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 15,000, at least 100 from each of 15 cong. dists in state between July 8 and Aug. 19 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: Notorized Form, with VP and at least one elector by Oct. 14
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Constitution (Baldwin) [write-in]
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): under way

 

North Carolina  (15)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 69,734 sig’s by May 16
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 69,734 sig’s by June 12
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  Form plus 500 sig’s by noon, Aug. 6 (90 days before election)
   on ballot:      Libertarian (Barr)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney) [in court]; Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)

   write-in:        Socialist (Moore)

 

North Dakota  (3)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 7,000 sig’s by Apr. 11
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 4,000 sig’s by Sept. 5 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  Form SFN-18440 by 4pm Oct. 14
   Libertarian (Barr):  on ballot
   Green (McKinney):  600 {There is no organized party in North Dakota. North Dakota does not have formal voter registration, so the overage number wouldn't need to be high, and out of state petitioners can do the whole thing. Minnesotans have gone in to North Dakota but no numbers were available.}
   Constitution (Baldwin): on ballot
   Independent (Nader): finished

 

Ohio  (20)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  "have support"
   Req.: New Party Petition: 20,114 sig’s by 4pm Aug. 21
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 5,000 sig’s by Aug. 21
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  Form 13-A with 20 electors by 4pm Sept. 3
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin)
   Independent (Nader): finished
   Socialist (Moore): on ballot

 

Oklahoma  (7)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 46,324 sig’s by May 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 43,913 sig’s by July 15
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: not allowed
   Libertarian (Barr):  in court
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)

 

Oregon  (7)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% of vote in statewide race and registration of 0.1%, or registration of 0.5%
   Req.: New Party Petition: 20,640 sig’s by Aug. 26
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 18,356 sig’s by Aug. 26
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: form (see http://www.oregonvotes.org/forms/sel141.pdf) by 5pm Dec. 19, 2008
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader) [Pacific Party]

 

Pennsylvania  (21)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  2% of highest vote getters total
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 24,666 sig’s by Aug. 1
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: allowed, law says all 21 electors must be filled in, but this is usually not followed
   Libertarian (Barr): on ballot
   Green (McKinney):  too late
   Constitution (Baldwin): 31,000  [in court, filed Aug. 29]
   Independent (Nader): on ballot

 

Rhode Island  (4)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  5% for President or governor, in either of the last two elections
   Req.: New Party Petition: 18,557 sig’s by May 30
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s by Sept. 5 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate: allowed
   Libertarian (Barr): finished
   Green (McKinney): on ballot
   Constitution (Baldwin): finished [Independent]
   Independent (Nader): on ballot
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): under way

 

South Carolina (8)  http://www.scvotes.org/08GENNames.html
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by May 4th
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 10,000 sig’s by noon July 15th
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader) [Petition]

   on ballot according to BAN, but not on state website: Green (McKinney)
   Socialist (Moore) [trying to get on with United Citizen’s Party]

 

South Dakota  (3)  http://boe.sd.gov/crystalreportviewers115/htmlviewerbridge_cache.aspx?id=291931&apstoken=ESPR1WEB14.STATE.SD.LOCAL%40612612J7CvY1Cb0ZyRC3mP612610JvmHUfmbAh63SfwL&PromptOnRefresh=0&init=dhtml&Promptex-CountyID=99&jobId=66085fba-7889-4aab-afe7-df720bd304bc&skey=qfnrxo45igd54v55vmhtrkit
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 8,389 sig’s by March 25
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 3,356 sig’s by Aug. 5
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  not allowed
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr) [Ind.], Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   not on ballot: Green (McKinney)
 

Tennessee  (11)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 45,254 sig’s by ???
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 275 sig’s by Aug. 21 [Each elector must get 25 in his/her district]
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  submit form with 11 electors by district between Aug. 22 and Sept. 15
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   Socialist (Moore): finished

   Boston Tea (Jay): finished

 

Texas  (34)   http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/general/2008gensbs.shtml
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% in last governor’s election
   Req.: New Party Petition: 43,991 sig’s by May 26
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 74,108 sig’s by May 12
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  file a notarized declaration with 34 electors between July 27 and 5pm Aug. 26
   on ballot:       Libertarian (Barr)
   write-in: Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader), Socialist (Moore), Alan Keyes/Marvin Sprouse, Jr., Jonathan Allen/Jeffrey D. Stath, Thaddaus Hill/Gordon F. Bailey

 

Utah  (5)   http://www.elections.utah.gov/2008Candidates.htm
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 2,000 sig’s by Feb. 15
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s by Sept. 2 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  submit notarized form with Lt. Gov. by Oct. 5, no fee.
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader) [unaffiliated]
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot according to BAN, but not on state web site
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): on ballot

 

Vermont  (3)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: be organized by Jan. 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s by Sept. 12 (party label)
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  votes listed as “scattering”
   Libertarian (Barr):  on ballot
   Green (McKinney):  200
   Constitution (Baldwin): on ballot
   Independent (Nader): 1,500
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): on ballot [Liberty Union]
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): on ballot

 

Virginia  (13)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  >10% in one office in either two statewide votes
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 10,000 sig’s (at least 400 from each cong. dist.) by noon, Aug. 22
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  file notarized form with 13 electors by district by Oct. 25
   Libertarian (Barr):  on ballot
   Green (McKinney): on ballot
   Constitution (Baldwin): finished
   Independent (Nader): on ballot

   Socialist (Moore): under way

 

Washington (11)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  5% in one office in last statewide vote in previous even-year election
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 1,000 sig’s and $4,000 by July 26
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  submit notarized form and $4,000 or 4,000 sig’s by Nov. 3 [day before election]
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin) [Independent], Independent (Nader)
   Socialist Workers (Calero): on ballot
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): on ballot

 

West Virginia  (5)   http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/data/OfficeResult.asp?ElectionYear=2008&Type=CA
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% in last governor’s election
   Req.: New Party Petition: not available
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 15,000 sig’s and $2,500 by Aug. 1
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  submit form by Sept.23, no fee
   on ballot: Green (McKinney) [Mountain Party], Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)

   write-in: Lawson Mitchell Bone, Keith Russell Judd, Charles G. "Bud" Railey, David L. Rice, Gene Zarwell

   not on ballot: Libertarian (Barr)

 

Wisconsin  (10)
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  1% in any statewide race
   Req.: New Party Petition: 10,000 sig’s by June 2
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 2,000 sig’s by Sept. 2 (party label)  http://165.189.88.185/docview.asp?docid=1869&locid=47 
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  submit form EB-1 with 10 electors by district by Oct. 21
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr), Green (McKinney), Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)
   Socialist (Moore): under way
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (LaRiva): under way

 

Wyoming  (3)  http://soswy.state.wy.us/Elections/WyoPresElectorInfo.aspx
   Req.: Full-Party Access:  Not available
   Req.: New Party Petition: 3,868 sig’s by June 1
   Req.: Independent Candidate: 3,868 sig’s by Aug. 25
   Req.: Write-in Candidate:  file form and pay fee by Nov. 7 (after you win)
   on ballot: Libertarian (Barr)
   on ballot according to BAN, but not on state website: Constitution (Baldwin), Independent (Nader)

 

TOTALS:
   Libertarian (Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root):                                44 states (486 electoral votes)

         maximum possible: 46 (507) off in WV [could be write-in]; disputed/in court in LA, ME, MA, OK; finished in CT, MN, RI; write-in in DC
   Green (Cynthia A. McKinney/Rosa Clemente):                     32 (368)

         max.: 35 (371) off in AK, CT, GA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MO, MT, NH, NC, OK, PA, SD, TX, WY; petitoning in ND, VT; not trying in AL
   Constitution (Charles O. "Chuck" Baldwin/Darrell L. Castle): 35 (278+) 

         max.: 37 (318) off in AZ, CA, CT, DC, GA, IN, ME, MT, NH, NY, NC, OK, PA, TX; finished in MN, RI, VA; petitioning in AL
   Independent (Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez): 46 (456)      off in OK; write-in in GA, IN, NC, TX
   Socialist Workers (Roger Calero or James Harris/Alyson Kennedy): 14 (142)
   Socialist (Brian Moore/Stewart A. Alexander): 6 (61)
   Party for Socialism and Liberation (Gloria LaRiva/Robert Moses): 8 (83)
   Prohibition (Gene Amondson):                    4 (51) {on in CO, FL, LA, MS}

   America's Independent Party (Alan Keyes): 3 (91) {on in CA, CO, FL}

   Boston Tea Party (Charles Jay):                 2 (36) {on in CO, FL}

   Objectivist Party (Thomas Stevens):           2 (36) {on in CO, FL}

   Reform Party (Ted Weill):                          2 (15) {on in LA, MS}

 

   everybody else: 0 (0)   write-in in AL, CT, IA, NH, NJ?, OR, RI, VT, WY

The Louisville Courier-Journal had a front page article on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008, regarding the problems that our bus service, TARC, is having. See http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/NEWS01/808030476

 

I wonder if anyone else notices that the article basically says that for ten years (mid-1990's to mid-2000's) the bus system received the federal money that it needed to survive, but these last couple of years it has gotten very little.

 

Gee, I wonder if the fact that Northup was congressman during the good times for TARC and Yarmuth was congressman during the zilch period not being mentioned was just an oversight. The only new busses recently were provided by Jim Bunning, not John Yarmuth (see http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Mayor/News/2007/TARC+Hybrid+buses.htm).

 

I also don't see how they can say TARC has only increased by 5% in a year. In the last couple of months the route I usually take has gone from a dozen empty seats to standing-room only. The main problem I have with TARC is with its scheduling. There are three Fern Creek Express busses that leave downtown, but only one of them is after 5PM when most people get off work.

 

I think the Northup campaign should capitalize its good record and Yarmuth's dismal record when it comes to TARC, perhaps with some advertisements on and in buses themselves. Does anyone know the exact numbers to the following:

   Buses provided through the efforts of Anne Northup: 100+

   Buses provided through the efforts of Jim Bunning:       9

   Buses provided through the efforts of John Yarmuth:     0

 

My kudos to party Chairman Brad Cummings for going through with the picnic. I felt that it was a success, and all the other blogs that I've read seem to think it was also -- even the partisan Democratic ones.

 

I think it is interesting that the local Democrats staged an "open house" at their party headquarters at the same time (source: http://pageonekentucky.com/2008/07/24/almost-friday-youre-all-taking-long-wekends) to compete with the picnic. Funny, I don't see any reports on whether that was successful or not, or how many showed up. When an opposition blog says your event was a success, without even mentioning their side's competing event, I would consider that a home-run. Congratulations, Brad.

 

The only problem with the picnic is that it went behind schedule. When I told my wife that the speeches were scheduled to end around 7, she promised my son that I would take him to the Frankfort Avenue Trolley Hop to help out at Mariposa, an art studio he participates at. Unfortunately, they had just started serving supper at that hour, so I missed all the speeches except for Anne Northup's. Given how much gas prices have gone up since the Democrats took over Congress, it is important that John Yarmuth be replaced and that Anne be elected again.

 

Here is my next suggestion for the party: Schedule breakfast buffets/pot lucks for early mornings on Oct. 18, 25, and Nov. 1 (and possibly even Oct. 11). Invite everyone again, then after the breakfasts, give everyone yard signs to put up, brochures to hand out door-to-door, etc. Coordinate with the candidates to have "precinct packets" where all Republican candidates of a given precinct have their brochures packaged together. That way, we can multi-task by handing out multiple candidates' materials at the same time. The larger precincts should be split up and the really small ones combined. If there are 1200 packets, and 400 show up each week, then the entire County will be covered. I don't think that has ever been done before. If more than that show up (or people take multiple packets), additional packets could be created after the first weekend's success so that precincts that candidates want hit twice could be done on the following Saturdays.

 

Note: Don't forget Brett Guthrie in those precincts that are in the second congressional district.

The Ralph Nader campaign is having a contest to increase their mailing list.

Rather than spamming a bunch of friends (and risking them not being friends any longer), I decided to post what they would send here.

If you can, please click the link below (and tell your friends to do so as well). The deadline is August 7th.

If I win the dinner with Nader or his running mate, I'll post the fact here and will ask for questions you would like me to ask him.

The first thing I would do would be to thank him for trying to eliminate the many barriers to a free democracy that the Democratic Party aparatus has put up. Years from now candidates for President (perhaps even those supporting your positions) will thank Ralph for what he is doing in this regard.

The Democratic leadership hates Ralph and is trying to stop him -- that is enough of a reason for me to support his right to be on the ballot.

I also like the fact that he is the only major candidate to come out in support of expanding Amtrak. In case of a mass evacuation of a major city, whether it be from a terrorist attack or a weather emergency, wouldn't it be nice if we had a way to transport people that wouldn't clog up the freeways?

 

Here is the text that the Nader campaign wants me to spam you with:

 

Friend:
I've entered a contest.
It's sponsored by Nader/Gonzalez.
And first prize is a dinner with Ralph Nader.
There are a bunch of other prizes.
Like -- an autographed copy of Ralph's classic -- Unsafe at Any Speed.
But I want to win the dinner with Ralph.
The contest works this way:
The person who brings in the most e-mail sign-ups to Ralph's web site wins the dinner with Ralph.
Nader/Gonzalez will set up a leaderboard to keep track of how I'm doing.
But, I need you to sign up.
And for you to be included on the list of people who I got to sign up, you have to do it in a certain way.
By signing up, you will get a daily message from Nader/Gonzalez -- they are always politically interesting -- and sometimes funny. And you can unsubscribe at any time.
But for me to win a dinner with Ralph, you have to sign up.
So, please, do it for me.
I want dinner with Ralph!
Help me out.
To sign up and help me win, click here:

[link not included -- please e-mail me and I will send it to you]

After reading it, it has to be yours, also   :-)

 

 

     In other news, be sure to attend "the 1st Annual Republican Round Up" at Charlie Vettiner Park [formerly known as Chenowyth Park] on Friday, July 25th from 5 to 9 pm. Take the Snyder Freeway to Billtown Road, go north about 2 miles and turn right on MaryDell. If you get to Jeffersontown you've gone too far. For more information you can call the JCRP at 584-7111 or info@louisvillegop.com.

     When our kids were younger, we used to go to that park all the time. They have playground equipment for the kids, and also tennis courts and even a fishing pond.

     The county party leadership should mostly all be there. If you have ever wanted to tell Brad Cummings and/or Merv Brandes what you think about how they are doing their jobs, now is your chance.

     Note: It is a potluck, so if your last name begins with A-H, bring a dessert (Hey Merv, I like Oreo Cheesecake, hint-hint), I-O a salad (no onions, please, in case someone wants to talk with you afterwards), and P-Z a vegetable or side-dish. (Question to organizers: Would potato chips be considered a "vegetable or side-dish"?)

     Anne Northup and other candidates will be speaking afterwards.

     Remember, the leadership of the party didn't have to do this -- they could have done what Jack Richardson did and just keep to themselves with their private dinners and such, and then blog on Jeff Poole's site on how awful we are. We should accept this as an olive branch and try to use it in order to unify the party and find some common ground.

 

This falls into the "other stuff" category:

Can someone explain to me why they specifically exclude Louisville from their truck contest?

See http://bass.advanceautoparts.com/rules.asp

Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth, and I am sure other Democratic congressmen, state that the answer to the oil crisis is for oil companies to use up their current leases, rather than tapping into the large oil wealth of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The response to that has been that in most cases, there is no oil in the unused lease areas.

If you look at the Rand-McNally map of Alaska in their atlas, you will notice several things:

1. There is a large area in the northwest part of the state called the "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska." This area is larger than ANWR itself. I am assuming that much of this area is where the leases are where there is no oil.

2. Adjoining this area are the Noatak National Preserve and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

3. The Continental Divide is located partly in the Petroleum Preserve (according to the Rand McNally map), and if the part south of the divide was drilled for oil, some of the effluence would go into the watershed of Noatak, harming it.

 

Here is my solution:  For every acre needed for petroleum drilling in ANWR, ten acres must be transfered from the National Petroleum Reserve to the Noatak National Preserve, starting with the area south of the Continental Divide and the area bordering the Gates of the Arctic National Park.

 

The result of this is that we will both get more oil, as well as ultimately save more land due to the 10 for 1 swap, including the parts of Noatak below the Petroleum Reserve land and next to the National Park, saving both from the potential problems of oil drilling. This win-win solution is what Anne Northup and the other Republicans ought to be promoting, rather than just drilling in ANWR by itself, which the Democrats have twisted into Republicans not caring about the environment. 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

Separate related question: If National Wildlife Refuges are so sacred, then why are there at least 35 towns in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (again, according to the Rand-McNally atlas)?

If you go to maps.google.com, and zoom down to Louisville, you will see a button called "Street View." Click it and you will see most of the streets turn blue. Double-Click on one of the streets, and you will see a visual picture of the street-scapes.

 

Obviously I checked our house, and although they had the address number wrong, you could tell that my son is smoking a cigarette on the front porch (we won't let him smoke in the house.) It has a car that was totalled in October 2007, so the photo was taken before that. In fact, the photos have been taken on many different days, judging by the gasoline prices ($2.70 at a Swifty, $2.53 at a BP). I could tell the one at the BP was taken on a Sunday because there was a person selling newspapers in the center of Bardstown Road. I also saw a billboard for a gun show on Sept. 15-16.

 

If you are planning to do a door-to-door campaign in an unfamiliar area, this site will allow you to get familiar with it.

 

Louisville and a lot of other cities, including Lexington, were added within the last couple of weeks, as I did not notice them when I looked at google maps in May. Indianapolis has been there for awhile, but the coverage has been extended down to Seymour.

 

Occasionally I like to go on "virtual trips" to see, for example, the house we owned in Texas (there is a new Krogers and Kohl's a couple of blocks away, and the house still cannot grow grass on the front yard), and a couple of places where I grew up in California. I even let my fingers (using the mouse) do some walking in Alaska.

 

Some things, like the posting on the sign at the Fern Creek Fire Station, were blurred out.

 

I also noticed that coverage in southwest Louisville was very spotty. Doug Hawkin's house, for example, is unavailable.

 

There are some errors in the program. For example, it confuses Strawberry Lane with Louisville Avenue, jumping back and forth across the tracks near Woodlawn Ave.

 

So, do you feel this is an invasion of privacy, or something useful? Let me know what you think. Also post a comment if you find anything unusual.

Yeah, I go to the county party meetings when I am not (yet?) a member of the committee. I need to get a life, don't I. Changes this month include letting the executive committee members know the exact numbers in the Treasurer's report (I don't know how much detail they were given on what the money was spent on). I still don't understand why they won't let the rest of us know the numbers -- perhaps someone can enlighten me. It's not like the Democrats are going to do anything different because we have $20,000 in the bank instead of $2000 (or whatever the numbers are). As a "wise" person once said, "if you have nothing to hide, why hide it" (I'm paraphrasing, of course). If it's because it's a Republican Party of Kentucky tradition -- well, some of the RPK traditions need to change, such as allowing the nominations committee only one hour to meet, and not allowing any input from rank-and-file members at the various conventions. I don't buy the "RPK tradition" excuse. Come up with something better!

 

There is going to be a pot-luck picnic at Charlie Vettiner Park. It's located off of Billtown Road on Marydell next to the Charlie Vettiner Golf Course. It used to be known as Chenoweth Park. The picnic will be on Friday evening, July 25th. I don't think the starting time was mentioned. There is supposed to be activities for the children. Spread the word.

 

I noticed that they corrected the website for Renay Davis from 39th to 38th LD. I was told that the South Jefferson Republican Club has disbanded. I'm not surprised, given the party leadership's attitude towards this part of the county.

I apologize, but I was not able to go to the Kentucky State Convention on Saturday for several reasons, the main one being that my son was hit in the eye on Friday and had not yet calmed down.

But from what I heard, it was just another railroading of previously made decisions. For example, in regards to the resolutions, from what I was told, most of them were passed en-masse without the resolutions even being read. If this is true, it is more of a reason why we need to stay active and work towards improving the party by 2012.

I don't know all of the delegates to the National Convention, but as she-who-should-not-be-named is on the list, the list does not include your average Kentucky Republican, a vast majority of whom are pro-life, for example, but extremists on one side. I wonder if they actually read the essays written by people wanting to be delegates.

 

For one account of the convention read the following (especially the comments):

 

This whole thing reminds me a little bit of the politics of Mexico. There, one group of people, the PRI, controlled things with an iron fist and won every election. Eventually they were so rough that people started to rebel. Over a couple of elections, the results were close, but the PRI still won because they controlled the election process [this is the state that Kentucky Republican politics is in now]. Finally, the opposition party won an election, and things are somewhat better in Mexico because the leadership actually has to listen to the general public and do what is best for the public if they want to stay in power. Wouldn't it be nice if they had to listen here as well.

 

We need to come up with a plan on how we can return the party to the people by 2012.

My suggestion: In 2008, let's concentrate on the election of good Republicans to office. Since there will be no elections in 2009, we should meet on a regular basis to create a step-by-step plan, which would include not only how to handle parliamentary procedures, but also how to handle meeting chairpeople who don't follow them, for example.

CHAIRMAN CUMMINGS CALLS ON MAYOR ABRAMSON FOR TRANSPARENCY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
June 9, 2008

Contact: Bradford Cummings   502-644-1454  bradford.cummings@gmail.com

Louisville – Jefferson County Republican Chairman Brad Cummings calls on Mayor Abramson to follow Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s lead and make Metro Government expenditures transparent.
“The people of Louisville Metro deserve to see how their tax dollars are being spent through an online database that can be accessed through Google or any other search engine” Cummings said. “Secretary Trey Grayson has shown great leadership on this very important issue with Governor Steve Beshear recently proving to be a willing student of Trey’s vision. Our Mayor should sign up for the same class while seats available.”
Twenty four states including neighbors Ohio and West Virginia have started to put their financial figures online as a measure to earn trust and accountability with their citizens. With more Louisvillians going online everyday, this sort of addition is an extremely cost effective way to bring government and people closer together.
“Louisville should be a leader in our great Commonwealth but on this issue Mayor Abramson is allowing our city to lag behind” Cummings said. “It’s this brand of absent leadership that destroys the public trust and easily explains why our citizens voted down his library tax 2 to 1. They simply don’t trust our Mayor and the Democratic Mayorionnettes in the Metro Council to do what is best for Louisville.”
At the beginning of the year, Republican Metro Councilman Ken Fleming pushed for financial transparency in Metro Government. Unfortunately, the Mayor and his staff stonewalled the effort.
“It’s not that complicated” Cummings added. “You shouldn’t have to hide anything if you don’t have anything to hide.

My response to Brad:
Brad:
I just want to tell you that I agree with 100% of your press release. It is good to see a County Chairman criticize Democrats instead of fellow Republicans.
As you know, I think it would be great if the local party would do the same thing you are asking the city to do.
Perhaps you should call a news conference and announce your break with the old traditions that Jack Richardson had of hiding our finances. It would show that you are your own man, and not a "Medvedev". They have to be sent to the FEC on a regular basis anyway, so you're not really hiding it -- just making it harder to get at, making the party less transparent.
I still wonder if there is (or was) a "Jessica Hahn" or something similar in the party's budget.
After all: “It’s not that complicated” Cummings added. “You shouldn’t have to hide anything if you don’t have anything to hide.”

P.S. In other organizations I belong to, there is an audit committee that checks over the Treasurer's numbers. I think it would be a good idea for the JCREC to have something similar in the name of being good stewards to the donated money.

 -- Larry West

I've been asked by several people (okay, four people) about the Kentucky State Convention coming up this Saturday in Bowling Green.

I'll be honest with you -- I've never been to a state convention before, so I don't know what to expect. But it is important that as many people who believe in liberty and believe in a Republican Party where both the social conservatives / grass roots people and the economic conservatives / country club people should both be involved together (and not one side eliminated as has been the norm the last several years here in Jefferson County) attend, so that we can better plan for a unified party in 2012.

 

Judging by the fact that the Nominations Committee is again only given one hour to do its business, expect the decision of who to seat at the National Convention and other positions to again be chosen by some group in advance, without any input or much discussion involved at all. Unless I am convinced that those chosen are not some kind of "slate," and that these people represent a broad spectrum of the party, I plan on voting against the first round of people, and I will vote against any slate that involves Jack Richardson and/or Merv Brandes. These people should not be rewarded for their exclusionary tactics. I do hope the state party will look at the letters the poeple who want to go to Minneapolis wrote -- the 3rd district committee ignored them.

 

It would be nice if we could get a chance to talk to and meet the nominees before voting for or against them. The first thing I would ask the new State Executive Committee to do is extend the Nominations Committee to beyond one hour, and to accept nominations from the floor. The second thing I would ask is that they reduce the power of a County Executive Committee and increase the power of the Legislative District Committee, especially in regards to choosing who leads them.

 

In other news, I got an e-mail from Bradford Cummings that the new louisvillegop.org website is up and running. I hope that it is maintained, and I hope that all the candidates will use it to drum up some volunteers and let people know about their fundraisers. It will be interesting to watch. There are several good things here. On the candidates page, there is a link to the web page of the candidates. If you know of a candidate without a link on this page, contact the party to add it in. That way, if people ask us "do you know where Bob Heuglin's webpage is," we can tell them where to find it. (Earth to Bob, you need to have a webpage. Even if it only gets you two more votes, ask Renay Davis how important that may be.)

 

Things found on the website: The 44th LD is missing its duly elected LD Chairman, and the 38th is listed as 39th. Also, since Betty Drexler is already on as the 3rd District KFRW Chair, in would be nice if she resign her at-large seat so that it can be given to someone else. I would recommend Barbara Davis myself.

 

On the club page, the South Jefferson Republican Club is missing.

 

There should also be a links page as well. You can get to the county page from the state page, but not vice-versa.

I'm still looking for car-poolers.

Remember that your application to the Kentucky State Party needs to arrive there by Monday for you to be considered. Best of luck to all of us.

With gas prices at $4 per gallon, you may not think it is worth it to go to the Republican State Convention in Bowling Green on Saturday, June 7th, especially since they charge a $20 admission fee. I have a solution -- let's car pool! E-mail me if you are interested.

More details later.

With Corley Everett dropping out, there is now no question regarding who to vote for on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008.

I am voting for Chris Thieneman and I would urge you to also.

 

Chris is fiscally conservative and strongly pro-life. He is very much a Republican in his viewpoints.

As I stated before, a strongly anti-religious Libertarian Party candidate has used Anne Northup's views on religion as a reason to support his candidacy. (Anne voted against a Constitutional Amendment that would forbid outlawing prayer in public places.) Anne's views on this topic are out of the mainstream.

 

I especially like Chris's view that some of the abandoned military bases should be converted to oil refineries. Now I can understand why people have NIMBY attitudes towards new oil refineries, but most old military bases have a large enough buffer around them that this shouldn't be a problem. Plus, when a military base is closed, the employment of that area decreases, but oil refineries will take up some (if not all) of that slack. The only problem I foresee is that number of pipelines will need to be increased since most oil wells are not near military bases, but this too will increase jobs and will spread out the oil wealth more evenly across the country. The subsidies that we currently give to oil companies should be used to build these oil refineries. Anne Northup has received a lot of donations from oil executives. Do you think she is going to make any of these much needed changes?

 

The Republican Party leadership, which supports Anne Northup, has lost three special elections for Congress this year, including Trent Lott's old seat. It is time to send them a message that changes are needed, both in the Republican Party and in the nation as a whole.

 

A vote for Chris Thieneman is a vote for much needed change. Please let your friends know that Chris deserves their vote.

I went to the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting again on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Since the Louisville Dulcimer Society, of which my wife and I are members, meets later the same evening, it is actually easier for me to attend the meeting than go home after work and immediately have to leave again. Plus, I wanted to see if Jack Richardson would go quietly or not.

Brad Cummings and the rest of the new leadership won their positions by acclaimation (although there were no nays, one could tell by the volume that not all said aye, nor did those who did do so enthusiastically).

I have mixed feelings about Brad Cummings' acceptance speech. On the one hand, he praised Jack Richardson, whom many consider to be the worst chairman this county has ever had. On the other hand, he did say he would have an "emphasis on connection," which hopefully was a repudiation of Jack's policy of trying to disenfranchise large parts of the local party, then joke about it. He also said he would "give Jerry [Abramson] a migrane." Jack Richardson filled the board with people who had donated to Abramson's campaigns, so this will be a nice change if it happens.

Brad also said that he would work on recruiting more candidates. I hope that this is a condemnation of Jack's policy of discouraging people from running, but it wasn't so stated. Brad also said he is going to have a better website, start a newsletter, and have a picnic where all Republicans can get together (and not just those able to pay $75 or $100 at a Lincoln Day dinner) -- all good ideas.

 

Anne Northup also showed up at the meeting. It would have been nice if the other candidates have shown up. It would have been nice if some certain Legislative District Chairpeople could have attended also.

 

Mention was made of a fundraiser with Mike Huckabee. They sort-of implied that the cost was "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." (See http://www.rpk.org/images/KY/Huckabee_Flyer.pdf). I was able to mention the fact that the Ron Paul meeting on Saturday, May 17th from 1 to 4 at the Louisville Palace was FREE.

 

I was leaning towards voting for Mr. Huckabee, with the idea being that the Presidential election should be about who the vice-president should be, but the differences between the Huckabee and the Paul events have lead me to support Ron Paul on Tuesday, although I am still not 100% certain.

A wacko Libertarian Party presidential candidate (who believes that abortion clinic bombers are a greater threat to America than Islamic terrorists, for example) recently quoted "Kentucky Congresswoman Anne Northrup" as a reason to vote for him instead of former congressman Bob Barr for the Libertarian Party Presidential nominee.

Having read some of the writings the anti-religious George Phillies has written, if I was Anne Northup, I would try to distance myself from him and renounce his views immediately.

She already has anti-democratic (small d) people like Jack Richardson supporting her, now she has the anti-religious as well.

 

For more information, see http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/05/02/phillies-real-libertarians-support-freedom-of-religion/

 

Here is the post regarding Phillies beliefs on terrorism: http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/04/22/phillies-issues-defense-policy-statement

Here is the letter I received from the State Party regarding the actions of the JCREC.

I am not surprised by the ruling, especially the complete ignoring of the suggestion that the Bylaws be clarified in case this happens again.

But then, that would be the state admitting to people that their votes in their Legislative District Caucuses don't really matter.

My response to Mr. Robertson is below also.

I am open to suggestions as to what to do next.

 

 

> Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:21:22 -0400
> Subject: Republican Party of KY Executive Comm. Ruling on Appeal
> From: steverobertson1@mac.com
> To: larrywest@hotmail.com
> CC: snoe@bowlesrice.com; Holly@rpk.org
>
> Dear Mr. West,
>
> In my capacity as Chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky (RPK), and
> pursuant to RPK Rule 9.04, I appointed an Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose
> of holding a hearing regarding the appeal filed by you and Mr. Chris
> Thieneman in relation to actions taken by the Jefferson County Republican
> Party Executive Committee (JCRPEC).
>
> The Ad Hoc Committee held this hearing on Thursday, April 17, 2008 and
> notice of this hearing was provided by the RPK to all parties involved in
> the appeal.
>
> As you are aware, no representative on behalf of you or Mr. Thieneman
> attended this hearing to address the Ad Hoc Committee.
>
> Pursuant to RPK Rules, the Ad Hoc Committee made its recommendation to the
> Executive Committee of the Republican State Central Committee (RSCC) at its
> next regularly scheduled meeting on Saturday, April 19, 2008.
>
> The Ad Hoc Committee's recommendation was to uphold the actions of the
> JCRPEC.
>
> The Executive Committee of the RSCC voted unanimously to adopt this
> recommendation.
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact me on this or any other matter.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Steve Robertson
> Chairman
> Republican Party of Kentucky
> P.O. Box 1068
> Frankfort, KY 40602
> (502) 875-5130

 

Dear Mr. Robertson:
 
I was unable to attend due to jury duty. I do not know the reason for Mr. Thieneman's absence.

I am not surprised at your ruling, although I still disagree with it. I don't understand why we even have a separate Credentials Committee then, or for that matter, even precinct conventions or legislative district caucuses. It seems like a waste of time if the Executive Committee can undo all the work that the committee does so easily, and then lie to the Credentials Committee chairperson about it.
 
If an Executive Committee is so out of touch with the rank and file party members (and not representative of the party membership as a whole, but just one faction), what is a person to do? You know as well as I do that Mr. Thieneman was only removed because he was a member of the nominations committee, and the votes on that committee would have gone differently if he was not removed. (The vote to choose At-Large members singularly instead of by slate lost by one vote.)
 
I do hope that the bylaws will be modified and clarified so that if (more likely, when) this situation happens again, we will know whether the Executive Committee acted appropriately or not. You need to emphasize to people that if an Executive Committee does not like how a legislative district caucus votes, they can undo it. Frankly, I would trust the people to choose their representatives more than the JCREC, and you should have required the JCREC to file a 9.04 appeal and take time off of work or jury duty to drive to Frankfort if they didn't like what the 44th District Caucus did, not me nor Mr. Thieneman.

There are serious problems in Jefferson County, and I am afraid that because of them we will again lose the Third Congressional District election. I hope that the State Party will do something to ensure that local parties involve everyone in their activities, not just one faction as was done these last two months. The State Party, in its hands-off attitude, has hurt the Republican Party.
 
Also, in Jefferson County, there needs to be more than one hour for the Nominations Committee to meet, so that real discussion can be held as to the 22 at-large members on the Executive Committee.

Larry J. West, MCSD, MCPD, MCITP, MCTSx7, MCSA, MCP, MOUS, FLMI, ACS
Thirteen Microsoft Certifications, including MCSD - Microsoft Certified Solution Developer
MCPD - Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Development
[one of only 1,085 MCPD:Windows in the world - as of January 2008]
MCTS - Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist: Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007 [one of only 244!]
MCTS - Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications
MOUS - Microsoft Office User Specialist - Access 97 Expert
Microsoft Small Business Specialist!
See my blog at http://LarryWest.spaces.live.com

If you think that only Jefferson County and the 3rd district has problems, read this:

At least we didn't walk out of the convention.

 

I was unable to attend the appeal of the JCREC actions due to jury duty. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

I attended the April meeting of the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee (Louisville, KY) on Tuesday, April 8, 2008.

 

I overheard someone saying they had to be talked into becoming an At-Large member. That angers me quite a bit as there are many active Republicans who really want to serve, and wouldn't have had to be talked into it. These are people that would have been enthusiastic, and would be able to help the party in areas that need help.

 

At least several people complained about the non-specific Treasurer's Report, which is a positive sign for change. Jack Richardson said that they don't want to tell the Democrats how much we have, as if there were Democrat spies in the room. (Some may argue that the Democrat spies are in charge!) Jack did admit it was over $20. Personally, I think the party ought to take a chance and announce the figures. I would not donate to any group that refuses to say how my donations were being spent.

Releasing an expense report, if the money is being spent wisely, should result in more donations. Hiding what you are spending the money on leads people to believe that you're trying to hide something. Is the Jefferson County Republican Party paying some money to a "Jessica Hahn" to keep her quiet? Is someone skimming hundreds or thousands of dollars? (How does a certain person pay the taxes on his house in Prospect on his supposedly meager salary?) The county party already had to pay an FEC fine once. We should release our finances, and then shame the Democrats into releasing theirs, if they don't already. Given how much bigger the Democratic Party is in Jefferson County, I really don't know how they would use the information, unless, of course, we're trying to hide a scandal.

 

They also talked about the poll-worker shortage -- 201 people short. I wonder how they are going to get those new members who really didn't want to be on the Executive Committee active in trying to find poll-workers, or active in anything for that matter.

 

There were only 29 of the 45 members present. I wonder how many of the missing also didn't want the job. I do know of 2 that were out of town and for that reason could not attend.

 

If I counted correctly, only 41 names were called, meaning up to 3 may have already resigned (the fourth person being Chris Thieneman, who wasn't there).

 

Finally, they taked about some of the Women's Club not being able to get the word out on their meetings. If I was allowed to, I would have suggested that the county party website calendar would be a good place to list all meetings, fundraisers, and other activities, although after years of neglect, it might take awhile for people to realized that it is being populated.