Government

In December, The Advocate-Messenger published a column by Leland Conway opposing tax relief for the Noah’s Ark theme park in Grant County. Then he added, “ ... the government will eventually get enough of our money,” and “a business exists to make a profit from fulfilling a societal need.” But take a deeper look. David Brooks recently wrote, “It’s not the size of government that matters but its effectiveness.” Sure, government gets our money.

It is clear to me that the majority of our politicians are bought and sold in this country. Federal government is owned by Wall Street. We live under a shadow government, and the government had rather have our nuclear secrets stolen than to have the truth come out about Wall Street. Wall Street is a huge casino gambling with the people’s money. Now, false reports spew forth about the status of Social Security, in order to allow Wall Street to steal the Social Security Trust Fund.

Who in their right mind doesn't think a constitutional amendment that makes our elected leaders pass a balanced budget isn't the right thing to do? Only somebody with a mental issue wouldn't want a balanced budget. Obama saying he would veto anything cutting spending and making a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget is totally wrong on so many levels. The only reason for not passing it would be to rob the taxpayers of even more money for social programs that have gotten us to this point.

A small group of people have started a dialogue about the structure of Nicholasville’s government. Since discussion is a good thing, I’d like to toss out some questions on this topic for your consideration: • Do you prefer that all four city government representatives work on your behalf rather than just one out of four, or, even worse, one out of as many as 12 if we were to go to another form of government? • Do you prefer that your elected leaders make decisions as a team for the overall welfare of the city rather than each looking out for only one segment’s interests?

Some say we can fix America’s problems by changing the party in power. I don’t agree. While strategically, I do believe that some Republicans should be granted temporary access to power, from a long range perspective a much more important change needs to take place in Washington — a change of character. Recently, Michelle Obama visited the Gulf of Mexico and told Americans to “vacation down here,” then the first family set off on their own vacation to Maine.

In response to Roger Bowman's letter to the editor, I would be happy to turn down Social Security and Medicare. I believe Social Security, Medicare and the income tax are three of the biggest mistakes this country has ever made. If Obamacare is allowed to stand, it will be the fourth. Perhaps Mr. Bowman and the rest of the socialists out there are the ones who need to get educated about the founding of this nation and the meaning of the Constitution. The Founding Fathers feared nothing more than an all powerful central government and wrote the Constitution to protect us as individuals from the government.

Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein stated on MSNBC’s “The Daily Record” that the text of the U.S. Constitution “is confusing because it was written more than 100 years ago, and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done.” Klein never states what exactly confuses him about the 223-year-old Constitution.   This part seems pretty clear to me: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Government can make us all feel like rats in a maze. Mounds of paperwork, waves of words, and page after page of rules and regulations can confuse and criminalize even the most well-intentioned among us. Exhibit A is the judgment against the city of Nicholasville in the case regarding firefighter pay. I do not know for certain that there was no intention to slight the firefighters from pay they deserved. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt to city officials who seem genuinely flummoxed by the decision.

Dear Editor, Boyle County is favored with an excellent team of elected officials. With Harold McKinney as judge-executive, Richard Campbell as county attorney, Marty Elliott as sheriff and Trille Bottom as county clerk, we have had competent, solvent, understandable government in Boyle County. I urge my fellow citizens to re-elect them all. Beau Weston Danville

As it currently operates, the Nicholasville City Commission has four part-time commissioners and a part-time mayor who oversee operations in the city’s departments. But a group known as the Council Petition Committee is circulating a petition seeking to change the city’s form of government from a commission to a council-ward form of government. CPC chairman Perry Barnes said the committee needs to collect 2,001 signatures by Aug. 9 to have the issue appear on the ballot this November.

In light of the economic doldrums Boyle and other counties have experienced in recent years, it was downright thrilling to hear even sketchy details about Corning Inc.'s plans for their once and future factory on Valksdahl Road. We are preliminarily excited to welcome the company back to what has been the Philip's Lighting plant since the 1980s and applaud the work of economic development officials in apparently making it happen through preliminary incentives. We wish those incentives didn't include public money for any part of an environmental clean-up.

I read this recently in a story posted on Yahoo.com: “Confronting bipartisan criticism, President Barack Obama conceded Saturday his proposed budget is not his 'ideal plan' but said it offers 'tough reforms' to the nation's benefit programs while closing loopholes for the wealthy ...”  Just think about it: If our austere president gets his way Medicare and Social Security will be cut - again. If that happens, the elderly could have their time cut short because they lack the ability to get proper medical care.

The yard teemed with cats. Sheree Cunningham counted 38. Thirty-eight cats to be caught. The haul from that yard is one of the biggest from one site  Cunningham has done. And she's trapped and hauled many, many cats. Cunningham, who is on the board of and volunteers with Jessamine County's Trap/Neuter Return Program, said Jessamine County is struggling with an overpopulation of cats. The trap-and-return program, started in 2006, is an effort to control the population, she said.

I have been wondering about this fiscal cliff deal. Perhaps an economist who might read this could explain it better. I was wondering, first off, what is the fiscal cliff? I looked it up online and got a simple definition of what it is. What I found on Wikipedia said, “The deficit - the difference between what the government takes in and what it spends - is expected to be reduced by roughly half beginning in the first days of 2013. This sharp decrease in the deficit in such a short period of time is known as the fiscal cliff”.

The question: “Are you in favor of the proposal to change from the current commission form of government to mayor-council-ward form of government for the city of Nicholasville?” was answered election night. Unlike the vote that took place in 1972, this one wasn't close. Slightly more than 56 percent of Nicholasville voters (5,004) said “No” to the measure, compared to 3,879 who voted “Yes.” On Nov. 7, 1972, a 559-to-557 vote count changed the city's government from a council to a commission form.

A lawsuit filed in Jessamine Circuit Court on Wednesday, Oct. 24, alleges that the questions on the Nov. 6 general election ballot regarding Nicholasville's form of government is illegal. The lawsuit was filed by Jesse D. Willis and The Committee Against Big Government and Wasteful Spending, which was filed by Nicholasville attorney David Marshall, against Perry W. Barnes, chairman of the Petition Committee for election to reorganize form of government. The crux of the lawsuit revolves around the public question that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot, which asks, “Are you in favor of the proposal to change from the current commission form of government to mayor-council-ward form of government for the city of Nicholasville?

The proposed change to the structure of the Clark County Fiscal Court could have financial ramifications. On the Nov. 6 ballot, voters will be asked to respond to a question on the size and system of the Fiscal Court, which consists of three comissioners and a judge-executive. The commissioners represent districts but are elected by voters throughout the county. The proposed change would be to return to a magistrate system. Six magistrates would be elected by, and represent, six seperate districts in the county.

On Nov. 6, the residents of Nicholasville will be asked to make a choice to keep the current commission form of city government or switch to a council-ward form of government. Two months ago, The Journal asked representatives from both sides to pen a guest commentary presenting their cases. Nicholasville Mayor Russ Meyer, who has publically stated he does not plan to seek re-election in 2014, wrote the pro-commission view, while Perry Barnes, chairperson for the Nicholasville Council Petition Committee, penned the pro-council view.

Malai Yousufzai said, “I don't mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is education. And I am afraid of no one.” On Tuesday, Oct. 9, the Taliban shot this 14-year-old Pakistani girl on her way home from school because she promoted education for girls.  Amnesty International stated, “Education is not just a human right - it's also a crucial safeguard against violence and discrimination.” The Republican candidates for...