Who Pays For It

Who Pays For It

Sometimes government is sheer lunacy. Some may say idiocy and it is tempting to agree with that characterization but that is non-productive. Sometimes, when I look at what passes for decision making in the various arms of government I ask myself if those whom we elect have ever been exposed to governmental theory or philosophies of government. Now, I realize that there are many who will ridicule me for bringing this up since, in their eyes, it is just plain common sense and anyone should be able to see it. As I have often said, sometimes what we need is some uncommon sense and that is in short supply and often drowned out when articulated.

The Pulaski County Magistrates are exploring closing the detention center (that is what the jail is politely called these days), perhaps to make it sound like it is not a place where we confine people against their will to protect our society from their harmful influences. And that is exactly what we are doing, or should be doing, with our jails although they have become as much debtor's prisons and profitable enterprises as anything else.

The Magistrates are upset that it costs money to run a jail and that some people who are not inmates are unhappy with the way they are being treated. As the Jailer said, it is an inherently dangerous job so prospective employees should not be surprised when they find themselves in undesirable situations. That being said it is also up to the Jailer to use practices that minimize the threat when working with the inmates and safety always costs money. The Jailer's salary is set by constitutional authority and he gets paid whether or not there is a single prisoner inhabiting the building. Some Jailers in this state are doing just that.

It seems that most of the Magistrate's concerns are that detention center employees are complaining about working conditions at the jail and they are complaining to them. Magistrates are geared toward dealing with complaints, preferably without offending a prospective voter so it is difficult for them to look at the issues dispassionately. However, I would suggest that if the Fiscal Court finds these issues difficult to deal with they could ask for an audit from the state auditor who, as Somerset found out, would be only too willing to comply. It being that the respective governments are from the same political party may be beneficial.

Jailer-David Moss

But, here's the deal. Jails, detention centers, Sheriff's departments, City Police and all other agencies that detain offenders are acting at the will and direction of the public they serve. Supposedly they are doing that to keep those offenders from acting in harmful ways toward those societies but is that strictly true? If the society being protected wants this kind of law enforcement then shouldn't the taxpayer pay for it? The problem is that society does not want to pay for it. As a result all sorts of court fees, fines and judgments are assessed and the Jailer is expected, unrealistically, to operate his facility with those resources and to do it in a way that society will not be offended or the inmate will not be treated inhumanely. What this does is places the fiscal burden of running these facilities, the purpose of which is to protect society, squarely on those who are in many cases the least able to afford it. We might as well face it. If you are flush with money you most likely will not become a resident of the Pulaski County Detention Center. Then when those destitute people can't pay those fines, etc. they are declared in contempt of court and jailed which is a fine end run around the proscription of debtor's prisons. Some prisoners at least are assessed fees for being graciously housed against their wills and then held in contempt when they can't come up with the money they couldn't make while they were in jail. In addition, the state pays a per diem for each prisoner held so there is an corrosive incentive to putting more people in jail. This is no surprise nor is it happening only in Pulaski County. This is one of the things that the investigative committee found in Ferguson, Missouri after the riots there. The practice is endemic to our country.

So, if a society demands that offenders be housed in jail for whatever offenses the public demands then who should foot the bill? Well, it is the taxpayer who insisted they be put there and it is the taxpayer who should pay. If the taxpayer does not want to pay that much money then the answer is simple. Don't put that many in jail. This is not rocket science. Someone has to pay the piper.

Kentucky jails more people than another other state in the union. If Kentucky were a nation it would rank 7^th in the world in incarceration of its citizens. It is estimated that from 70% to 80% of those inmates are there for offenses related to drugs. Some serious and some for simple possession or sale of small amounts. People who represent no imminent threat to the citizenry. But we do not need to just ignore them. We need to do the counseling and rehabilitation necessary to free them from addiction and diminish their burden on the treasury. Yes, I know there will be failures but doing this will result in a smaller bill to the taxpayer and, hopefully, a productive citizen for our society.

So, here's My Take. STOP PUTTING SO DANGED MANY PEOPLE IN JAIL. If we are going to put people in jail then we have to pay for it because it is something that we demanded. If you demand that someone come do something for you do you expect to get it for free? And, Magistrates, you have the responsibility for taking care of the county's business and you should do it without being so concerned with re-election. If a constituent complains then either take care of it if the complaint is just or educate the constituent as to the points of the issue. Quite a few issues here in Pulaski County could be dealt with by doing this.

Truth or Consequences

From time to time I like to go to lunch alone and leisurely eat stuff I'm not supposed to eat and read the news. Sometimes I will run into an acquaintance and we will pass a few minutes with some pleasantries. Sometimes I will run into an acquaintance who is aware that I write opinion columns and who takes the opportunity to sound off about how insanely misguided I am and who will run through every catchphrase about the liberal media, godless Hollywood, the Muslim horde, the mark of the beast and how our currency is going to collapse requiring said mark if one wishes to survive. Of course, this is also justification for survival training, arms and ammo caching and keeping an eye on the misanthropes in D.C. who are all selling us down the river. Now that the President has been to Cuba we're back to the Red Menace and did you know that the President took 32 people with him to Cuba and it cost us billions of dollars? I found out, too late of course, that if one attempts to refute these arguments with facts (those pesky things) then the conversation gets louder than a stump preacher on Easter. In addition it is inevitable that there will be a reference to scripture that commands us to allow people who won't (or don't) work to starve. Then comes a constitutional reference to some part of that document but for some reason he or she will not have a reference to all of the court cases and amendments that have defined that document. Everyone the scholar.

One of the things that I have a problem with concerning the (liberal, except for Fox) media is that they seem to think that they should treat ignorance with the same respect as logic, truth and reason. I am aware that my characterization of that will no doubt generate some controversy but it will not alter the fact. Why isn't media asking for proof of outrageous statements or allegations. Why do we allow misstated facts to occupy the same space as truth? We are all, indeed, entitled to Freedom of Speech and the right to express our opinions but we are not entitled to our own facts. Facts are absolute and a just defense against lies and accusations. Why is media not doing more to establish what the facts are and showing the darkness of the lies? It is simplicity itself that ignorance does not deserve the same space as truth and fact.

If only truth and fact were all that is required to combat ignorance and tamp it back into the hole that it crept out of we would be all right. But we also have to deal with those who demand the public's attention to ignite the fires of tribal hatred to fan the flames of ignorance and that is the deadly enemy of the Republic. Even if all people have the right to free expression is there some right that we give it equal consideration?

A person that I encountered on one of my pleasant retreats was making sure that I knew of every insolent thing that he disagreed with and told me that until we killed a few hundred thousand Muslims we would never be safe from the Jihad. I told him that we had already easily killed that many but I was informed that they were not killed the right way. I didn't delve into what would be the right way because, frankly, I was still hoping to get back to my lunch which was by now becoming more difficult to eat and keep down. I was told of how the Koran was an evil book and that Islam is a murderous religion. That ISIL is the real Islam and that all the others are apostate and set to be decapitated. I reminded him of how our Judaic heritage was not devoid of mass murder and pillaging but that did not seem to be of any consequence.

So, I have known this person for some time and know that he professes Christianity but I was left there wondering where the Christ is in all of this. How does a faith whose leader and founder professes such tenets as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount inform such a world view? When that source says that His kingdom is not of this world how does that factor in? Personally, I am a Separation of Church and State guy. To my way of thinking the two are not compatible. So, when I am talking about politics my opinion is informed by my faith but my faith bears no supremacy in matters of government. I believe that the First Amendment meant Freedom of Religion and that it lacks reason to insist that the writers were all Christians and just didn't think of it. I don't believe that it is incumbent upon the United States to defend Israel no matter what that country does just so we can avoid the curse attributed to scripture. I don't believe that when when Jesus returns that the New Jerusalem is going to be in St. Louis. As a matter of fact I don't believe that those things should have any bearing on the conduct of the government of the United States of America any more than they did on the government of Rome. Different ballpark. I am quite content to defend Freedom of Religion and be free to practice mine.

So, why are we compelled to give equal treatment to ignorance and fact, to truth and lies, to love and hatred, to peace and violence? One of our political parties is mired in the morass left from allowing fear, hatred and violence to be used for political advantage. It is not right. Opinion can vary but truth and facts do not.

My Take is that I am under no illusion that this missive will change any minds. What I would hope is that where there is stridency there will be peace, that where there is disagreement truth will prevail and that people will do their darnedest to treat each other with love and respect and that hatred and ignorance be tamped back into the pit from whence it came.

Who Represents the People?

Who Represents the People?

How proud we must be here in Somerset of our state senator Chris Girdler. He is a real man of the people. This is said tongue in cheek because if there is a single thing that he has done that benefits the people over the interests of business I am unaware of it. Rarely will you find a representative of the people who is more ideologically inimical to anything that prevents businesses from maximizing profits.

During the last session of the legislature he sponsored a bill that would prevent any governmental entity from engaging in private enterprise. This was in response to the City of Somerset making it's gas pumps open to the public in the face of wildly fluctuating gasoline prices at the pump. It was speculated that distributors were arbitrarily raising prices by up to 30 cents per gallon over the prices of our neighboring communities. The cause was subject to some disagreement and local distributors resisted appearing before local councils to explain the reasoning for such increases but it is difficult to refute the fact that the actions by the city have resulted in a much less volatile market for consumers. The bill failed to gain traction last year in the face of strenuous domestic disagreement but is receiving a more favorable reception after the previous election. The City of Somerset is appropriately concerned since it engages in a wide network of selling natural gas from its proprietary sources. This bill was said to be narrowly written in order to not infringe on the natural gas business of the City but City Government is concerned that it opens the door to later attacks on this enterprise. It is concerned that this bill will encroach upon that source of city income and expose it's citizens to the vagaries of the private market. In addition, the low rates that the city is able to generate are a potent boon for the attraction of industry to the area.

This session Senator Girdler has been especially busy taking care of business with Senate Bill 297 which will relieve the state agency responsible for inspecting mines of its obligations leaving the onus entirely upon federal inspectors. Not only does this remove a layer of safety precautions from the hazards of mining but it abdicates the state's rights and responsibilities to govern its own affairs. I suppose the conservative value of state's rights is only applicable when it suits ones proclivities. The state agencies have far more power to be responsive and demand accountability than does the federal agency.

In a gift to the travel and tourism industry, according to their own evaluation but not confirmed by any other independent agent, Senate Bill 50, again sponsored by our Senator Girdler, would allow school districts to change the starting date for classes to a later date. The districts will not be required to have a scheduled number of classroom days but will have to have the required number of classroom hours per year. The is to be done by allowing the schools to change the length of the school day. This being done because the evaluation of the Travel and Tourism Commission says that Kentucky is losing over $400 million by starting school too early. It does not go without notice that the district that Senator Girdler represents includes several marinas and various accommodations that are directly related to the very commission that issued the study report and, to my knowledge, there has been no other authoritative study done examining this issue. It seems that it has not been that long ago that we were actually discussing going to a year round schedule in order to make up for the shortfall of educational levels compared to other countries. In addition, with the loss of coal jobs over the last decade, re-employment of those out of work miners and employment of new workers will demand a higher skill and educational level. Once again the future is bargained off in favor of present gain.

Senator Girdler has removed himself from the constraints of having to seek re-election by declining to do so. Freed from such encumbrance he can push his (and others) agenda without fear of voter backlash. But, not to fear, there is a candidate now standing for the soon to be vacated position who is politically and ideologically prepared to pick up where Senator Girdler leaves off.

My Take is that the people should take a good look at what the candidates want to do about actual issues that they may have to deal with.  Good advice for any time.

A Winter's Day

Back in July I wrote a column after the Master Musician's Festival in which I mentioned only a few of the performers who had been particularly effective at leaving me rapturous. I ended that column with a promise of more later. I love promises like that because they are so open ended that it is hard to accuse me of defaulting on the promise. Well, now is later.

Ben Knight and the Well Diggers came to the festival being unfamiliar to me but Ben's Uncle Chris Knight has been to the festival several times and is a crowd favorite. I think Ben could become that also. When I listen to a live performance I listen for something in the delivery that makes the performer unique. Perhaps something that gives them a connection to the audience. One of the first things I noticed was that Ben Knight's voice was not a pristine one. There were flaws in how he held a note and sometimes drifted just a bit off key but what I heard was a uniqueness. I searched for someone to compare him to and decided that Rob Thomas of Matchbook Twenty was a pretty good likeness. Both of them have a little catch in their singing that let's you know that there are no tricks here. Just straight forward music. You know from that that the music is from the heart, most likely self-penned and hasn't been corrupted by some studio manager somewhere. It is the kind of music that speaks to the heart and soul and draws you closer to see what it is that the musicians have to tell you. It causes me to listen more intently to the lyrics and try to find out what the message is about because I know that it is something that is important for the purveyor to say and for me to hear. Sometimes it isn't worth the effort but with Ben Knight and the Well Diggers it certainly was. I was so impressed that I made my way to the merch tent to purchase the CD and talk to the band. I complimented Ben on the strong lyrics to his songs and he assured me that they were self-penned and not a cover in the bunch. I told him was that I have never heard of strong lyrics hurting a record. This was the kind of band that one could do a lot of listening to without getting bored.

Another band that was on the bill was Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds. I had never heard of them prior to this day but when they came out on stage I knew it would be all right. They were fronted by a lithe, smallish woman but what I really noticed was the HORNS. Horns just do the trick for me. And with the type of music this band delivered the horns were a existential part. This little woman started off with a low growl that one would not have expected and built it to a roar with a voice sort of like Beth Hart or Susan Tedeschi and set off prowling non stop about the stage in the stifling heat. There are a lot of bands running over with good music that we just never get to see and some of them benefit greatly from being seen live. This band is one such band. I caught them a few weeks later on the TODAY SHOW and the music lacked that edge that was present at the Master Musician's Festival. Rock and Blues almost has to be delivered with an edge that almost betrays the musicality inherent in the song. It is the attitude and empathy that accompany the song that cuts right to the heart. This band calls Brooklyn home but the music is straight out of the Southern Soul Sound that is so familiar to aficionados of the old Stax and Muscle Shoals sound and that sound carries me away. I never tire of it.

It was a strong festival showing. From the Bluegrass of Sam Bush to the traditional Mountain sound of Abigail Washington. From the jazz influenced banjo of Bela Fleck to the Caribbean influenced sound of Ben Sollee. From the nontraditional Americana sound of Ben Knight and the Well Diggers to the soulful blues and raucous delivery of Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.

I once asked Carol Young of the Greencards what it was that caused her and her bandmates to leave Australia to play the festival circuit in the United States. She told me that it was the opportunity to practice her art. She said that such a festival circuit did not exist in Australia. Playing the festival circuit is not an easy lifestyle but nowhere else is such freedom of expression afforded an artist willing to pay the toll. The chance to get to see bands like these is a treasure. Personally, I think the very best music being made is heard at the festivals outdoors. We are very fortunate to the the Master Musician's Festival call Somerset home.

Already thinking about July. And that's My Take for this cold January day when reverie drifts to a more pleasant and joyful time. See you there.

Calm the Rhetoric-Be Brave

How can it be that in the most powerful nation the world has ever known there can be so much fear?   When one turns to the news all one can hear is how much fear there is in the United States.  Especially after the San Bernardino attack.  I turned to PBS to get a balanced look at the news and even the wise talking heads there were criticizing the President for not doing more to combat terrorism and calm the fears of the populace.   I had to ask (no one answered) just exactly what one could expect him to do?  Bomb the terrorists?  Check.  Build a coalition to take the fight to them?  Check.  Try to get the regional powers to give a hoot?  Check.  Discover and cut off funding for the terrorists?  Check.  Trample all over civil liberties to spy on citizens to see if they might have nefarious purposes?  Check.  Use more drones to remotely kill people we hope are terrorists?  Check.  People rail on and on about the President not doing enough but no one has any substantial suggestions as to what to do.

President Cruz would turn the sands to glass.  President Carson would kill them all and let God sort them out.  It would be more merciful. President Trump would spy on the mosques (there’s something going on in there, I don’t know).  In the meantime he would deny refugees admittance to safety on the basis of their faith (where have we heard that before)?  Presidents Rubio, Christie, Bush, Fiorina (have I left anyone out) would all just talk tougher.  That might work as well as it did for President Bush the Second when he looked into the camera and said, “bring it on.”  I can just envision portly middle aged men and the NRA fanatics jumping out of their Lay-Z-Boys and pumping their fists in the air and shouting in unison, “YEAH!”  The country would feel safer instantly.

Well, problem is that the President thinks he is talking to reasonable adults.  Truthfully, he has probably figured out by now that is not true but, heck, he only has another year to go so why change now?  Remember when he said he was going to get everyone concerned around a big table and hash our problems out?   Remember how we all said, “suuuuure?”  I think he has caught on by now but he is going to continue to treat us like adults even if we throw ourselves on the floor in a hissy fit. 
So he goes on television and explains what the United States is doing as if he expects us to understand and act as if we have good sense.  He tells us that we live in dangerous times and that we can expect to see these kinds of attacks from time to time.  While there are many that are stopped before death is the result these kinds of attacks from within our own citizenry are difficult to predict as we know from Sandy Hook, Columbine and an endless litany of others.

I am often reminded of the FDR quote, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself” and our best marched off into the last existential battle in our history.  What bravery!  Our armed forces today are just as brave but they are denied the internal resoluteness of knowing they are fighting for the salvation of our country and the ideals that make our nation unique in the world.  It is difficult to determine why we are fighting in some forsaken sandbox half way around the world.  Terrorists use bloody attacks on our citizens to dissuade us from interfering in their affairs.  It doesn’t work because no matter what they do it is unlikely to affect us on an individual basis.  Only a tiny fraction will risk life and limb to fight there.  The families grieve and we grieve with them until the next news cycle.  We haven’t even established a tax to pay for the wars fearing a voter backlash.  We just put it on the credit card and try to balance it out by cutting essential services to our citizens.  If it doesn’t cost us anything and we can’t see the body bags we’re cool.  That is until some enemy does something that hits a little close to home then we throw our arms up and wail about why no one is keeping us safe.

Well, we are safe.  At least from terrorists.  I, for one, am not the slightest bit afraid of terrorists when I go to Wal-Mart.  I am a little concerned about the guy next to me with the bulge in his back pocket.  We are 350 million people; they can’t kill even a significant number of us.  If you are worried about terrorists storming your business or other gathering place then you have a problem with irrational fear.  I really don’t believe people are that scared.  I think most are just lemmings dashing off the cliff of hysteria and want someone to hold their hands.

My Take is that people should just man up (or woman up) and be at least as brave as those we send off to die for us.

On another note, after the Paris attacks the local Islamic Council sponsored a vigil to demonstrate solidarity with the French and to denounce radicalism.  I decided to attend because I sensed the discomfort they must feel with so much careless rhetoric flying about.  It was a good time of unity and I was glad to see some well known citizens there.  What I didn’t see were local government officials and anyone covering the event for the news.  The only fear I experienced was a discomfort that some vigilantes might decide to raise a ruckus.  I am glad to report they did not.  Just one note.  If you are going to visit a mosque be sure to wear socks.  I didn’t and felt conspicuous being the only one who was barefoot.

http://www.thenation.com/article/the-us-militarys-best-kept-secret/

Changing The Dynamic

This chart caused no small number of us some consternation for a few reasons. We approach decision making in a rational manner or so we think but some recent research into brain science may indicate that is not always, or even mostly, the case.  The links I have provided indicate that our use of free will may be far less important than we thought in decision making.  To a large degree genetics will control the way our decisions are made.  Other research emphasizes the immense role that social networks influence decion making.

The implications for political elections are mind boggling and it seems that the Bevin campaign made good use of these proclivities, wittingly or unwittingly.  What does this mean for political campaigning?  To me it means that we must be proactive in interfering with those processes that influence voting patterns naturally.  We must step into those social and cultural associations and alter the reward/loss dynamic.  It will be difficult.  Negative advertising is all that it will take to reinforce those patterns but positive advertising will never be enough to change them.  What that will take is physically intruding into those groups and forming new cultural and social affinities.

The Appalachian coalfields used to be solidly Democratic because of the struggles of the party to unionize the mines.  With the diminishing coal related jobs that influence has waned and the increasing focus on cultural issues by the opposition has formed new bonds.  To once again alter those bonds will require more than charts and television ads.  It will require personal relationships.  There are still people there that understand the rationale of voting one's economic interest and it will be necessary to empower them by giving them resources to begin to change those bonds and it is not likely to happen anytime soon barring a cataclysmic event.

If we wish to change the vote then we must change the dynamic.  Return to organizing at the precinct level and win local offices.  Jack Conway, the worst political campaigner I have ever seen, said that campaigns are not won that way any more.  Thanks for that.


 http://video.pbs.org/program/brain-david-eagleman/




http://video.pbs.org/video/2365564819/