Interests

The current economic crisis raises interesting public policy questions: When does a firm become so large relative to the economy that the government cannot allow the firm to fail, and do these large firms require special regulation due to the potential instability their size imposes on the economy? If the firm is too big to fail, then the decisions made by the firm's managers have implications for both the firm's owners and for taxpayers. If the firm is unregulated, taxpayers do not have a seat at the table.

The Clark County Ethics Committee is suggesting some minor revisions to the county's new ethics forms as officials seek to clarify several ambiguous financial questions that caused mass confusion earlier this year. At the request of the Clark County Fiscal Court, committee members reviewed the forms Wednesday and developed three suggestions to submit to the court before a vote is taken on the matter. "I think it is in pretty good shape," said committee chairman Mike Irwin. "These three suggestions to me should clarify everything and make it a very simple and easy form for everybody to stay in compliance with from now on. " The two-page forms were rewritten last month to contain clearer and more expansive language in eight questions that pertain to income sources or business interests for county officials.

Dear Editor, One of the staggering aspects of city government that defies logic is the debacle that has been taking place across from Constitution Square on Main Street. A church, a bakery, a hair salon, an investment office and a small business on the corner have endured the meandering of a contractor who has all but closed activities in this block and has done so for the last seven weeks. This project, while not a secret, is not one that is well known. Who is paying? Rumor says it is grant money, and this block was left out of the sidewalk improvements of decades ago. Maybe.

A Jessamine County woman has been found in contempt of court for selling securities related to the 1901 Spindletop oil strike in Texas without state approval. In June 2006, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate had ordered Jewell Robbins, 74, to stop selling fractional shares in the Spindletop litigation. After she was found to have continued to sell the shares, in Franklin Circuit Court last Thursday, Wingate wrote, "The court finds this continued conduct to be a willful, knowing violation of the court's prior order.

Dear Editor, I feel that I have been "thrown by the wayside" by our Kentucky Congressmen. The, and I use this word loosely, Honorable Ben Chandler and Mitch McConnell have become part of the big government machine and no longer care about their constituents. I have a real problem that specifically deals with U.S. code that these congressmen refuse to recognize. I have called Mitch McConnell's office in Washington, D.C., and left a message and have yet to receive a return call - that was three weeks ago. I did receive a "form" letter from Ben Chandler's office stating that they could not help me. It is time that those of us, who proudly say they are Kentuckians, stand up and hold those who are accountable to the fire for their actions and irreprehensible attitude toward the common man. Without us, in theory, they are powerless.

"Miracle at Philadelphia" by Catherine Drinker Bowen is a delightful book that describes the deliberations that took place among 55 delegates from 12 states in the summer of 1787, from May through half of September, the result of which would be the United States Constitution. Thirteen states would have been involved had Rhode Island not refused to send delegates. The word "miracle" is probably not too strong a term to describe what transpired that summer, the delegates being so different from one another, and representing states whose interests were so diametrically opposite: the mercantile North against the agrarian South, moneyed interests against those who sought to broaden rights to all individuals regardless of their monetary or landholding status, large states versus small.

The recent announcement of package store permits in Danville, effectively granting a cost of product advantage to three “out of town” enterprises, revealed the continuing practice of state officials to respond to those deeply hidden political maneuvers that deliberately insert “favored” business entities into local communities. The thrust of the recent vote to allow package stores was to keep money in Danville and Boyle County. It is clear that most of the money generated in the “outside” stores will quickly disappear into the cavernous accounts of the larger and more widely spread stores that have no ties to local interest.

The last time we were at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, my long time doctor said to me rather bluntly, "Jean, you are not growing old gracefully!" And I, bluntly answered, "You bet I'm not and I have no intention to do so. " Because he is not only our doctor for 20 years, but also our friend, he knows our hearts and our spirits. He just looked at Gene and shook his head like, "Oh boy. " After that day we talked about growing older gracefully. And today, probably five years later, we still mull this question.

Dear Editor, The new concert season, as announced and published in The Advocate, will demonstrate that George Foreman, artistic director of the Norton Center, has compiled what is arguably the finest compilation of artists to perform in a single season. It is not likely that any of us can comprehend the details, schedules, availability and costs that are demanded in securing, year after year, the performers that are internationally recognized as artists of the first magnitude - and they perform here!

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when if you wanted a job with the state — whether at the highway garage or in the halls of the Capitol — you first had to pass muster with the county “patronage” man. It was no secret, and that really is what he (it always was a he) was called. He often was the leader of the local chapter of whatever party happened to hold the governor’s mansion. In Kentucky, that has almost always been the Democrats, but when Republicans got their chances, they were every bit as guilty of the practice, which no one tried to hide.