News opinion 2008-05-16 Andanh.com

Minton will make a fine chief justice Fri, 16 May 2008 10:54:36 -0500
Kentucky Supreme Court Justice John Minton has proven through the years that he is a capable jurist who knows the law to the letter and we can think of no one better to become the next chief justice of the state’s highest court. On Monday, Minton, 56, was chosen by his colleagues to become only the fifth chief justice of the court. He will take the oath of office June 27 to replace current Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert, who announced his retirement last month. The Bowling Green resident has had quite an impressive career in the legal profession since graduating with honors from Western Kentucky University in 1974 and from the University of Kentucky School of Law in 1977. Minton practiced law for 15 years before becoming a Warren County Circuit Court judge in 1992 and served in that position until 2003, when he was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. While a circuit judge, Minton helped create the Warren County Drug Court and his commitment to these programs continues. In 2003, the Kentucky Bar Association honored him with its outstanding Judge Award. Minton is also a graduate of the National Judicial College. He was appointed to the state’s highest court in July 2006 and was elected to the post in November of that year. On the bench, he has served with distinction and integrity. As chief justice, Minton will be responsible for overseeing the schedule of the Supreme Court and the entire Administrative Office of the Courts. Everyone who knows Minton has nothing but fine things to say about his impeccable character and his integrity. Local attorney Steve Thornton has been close friends with Minton since they became fraternity brothers at Western. Thornton said Minton has been a mentor to him and that he introduced him to the bar when he became a lawyer. “It’s a pretty longstanding relationship,” Thornton said. “He had done a lot of things that I wanted to do.” Thornton says that Minton is a multifaceted person. “He’s so involved with his church, his family and children and his parents. He’s such a humble person and really understands the plight of those who are less fortunate.” Thornton said Minton is on the cutting edge of many things. “When he went on the high court two years ago there were already people speculating that he would be chief justice.” He said he believes that Minton will make a fine chief justice. Thornton also said he could see Minton on a higher court some day. “Judges are remembered for what they do on the bench and I believe John will be remembered for a long time for all he has done,” Thornton said. We agree with Thornton’s assessment and believe that Minton is a man with the integrity, character and judicial temperament to make a fine chief justice of the state’s high court.

Spotting an outsider Fri, 16 May 2008 10:54:24 -0500
WASHINGTON — “A full-blooded American.” That’s how 24-year-old Josh Fry of West Virginia described his preference for John McCain over Barack Obama. His feelings aren’t racist, he explained. He would just be more comfortable with “someone who is a full-blooded American as president.” Whether Fry was referring to McCain’s military service or Obama’s Kenyan father isn’t clear, but he may have hit upon something essential in this presidential race. Full-bloodedness is an old coin that’s gaining currency in the new American realm. Meaning: Politics may no longer be so much about race and gender as about heritage, core values, and made-in-America. Just as we once and still have a cultural divide in this country, we now have a patriot divide. Who “gets” America? And who doesn’t? The answer has nothing to do with a flag lapel pin, which Obama donned for a campaign swing through West Virginia, or even military service, though that helps. It’s also not about flagpoles in front yards or magnetic ribbons stuck on tailgates. It’s about blood equity, heritage and commitment to hard-won American values. And roots. Some run deeper than others and therein lies the truth of Josh Fry’s political sense. In a country that is rapidly changing demographically - and where new neighbors may have arrived last year, not last century - there is a very real sense that once-upon-a-time America is getting lost in the dash to diversity. We love to boast that we are a nation of immigrants - and we are. But there’s a different sense of America among those who trace their bloodlines back through generations of sacrifice. Meanwhile, immigration trends have shifted dramatically in the past 40 years, as growing percentages of Americans are foreign-born. In 1970, just 4.7 percent or 9.6 million people of the total population were foreign-born. By 2000, 11.1 percent or 31.1 million individuals were foreign-born, according to the Census. Contributing to the growing unease among yesterday’s Americans is the failure of the federal government to deal with the illegal-immigration fiasco. It isn’t necessarily racist or nativist to worry about what these new demographics mean to the larger American story. Yet, white Americans primarily - and Southerners, rural and small-town folks especially - have been put on the defensive for their throwback concerns with “guns, God and gays,” as Howard Dean put it in 2003. And more recently, for clinging to “guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them,” as Obama described white, working-class Pennsylvanians who preferred his opponent. The “guns, God and gays” trope has haunted Democrats, and Republicans have enjoyed dusting it off when needed to rile the locals. It’s an easy play. But so-called “ordinary Americans” aren’t so easily manipulated and they don’t need interpreters. They can spot a poser a mile off and they have a hound’s nose for snootiness. They’ve got no truck with people who condescend nor tolerance for that down-the-nose glance from people who don’t know the things they know. What they know is that their forefathers fought and died for an America that has worked pretty well for more than 200 years. What they sense is that their heritage is being swept under the carpet while multiculturalism becomes the new national narrative. And they fear what else might get lost in the remodeling of America. Republicans more than Democrats seem to get this, though Hillary Clinton has figured it out. And, the truth is, Clinton’s own DNA is cobbled with many of the same values that rural and small-town Americans cling to. She understands viscerally what Obama has to study. That God, for instance, isn’t something that comes and goes out of fashion. That clinging to religion isn’t a knee-jerk response to nativist paranoia, but is the hard work of constant faith. Likewise, clinging to guns isn’t some weird obsession so that Bubba can hang Bambi’s head over the mantel. To many gun owners, it’s a constitutional bulwark against government tyranny. As Condi Rice has noted, it wasn’t long ago in this country that blacks needed guns to protect themselves when the police would not. Some Americans do feel antipathy toward “people who aren’t like them,” but that antipathy isn’t about racial or ethnic differences. It is not necessary to repair antipathy appropriately directed toward people who disregard the laws of the land and who dismiss the struggles that resulted in their creation. Full-blooded Americans get this. Those who hope to lead the nation better get it soon.

Childhood today is no work and all play Fri, 16 May 2008 10:54:24 -0500
Childhood is an elastic concept, fashioned by parents, fostered by societies, mined by the marketplace, and protected by governments. Well, occasionally and then only by some. For centuries, childhood barely existed. If a child could walk, he could work. A daughter was to be bartered. Today, this remains true in many of the world’s poorest countries and Schleicher County, Texas. Historically, wealth - for the few who possessed it - translated into spending as little time with their progeny as possible. This guaranteed that their lives would be emotionally miserable despite being swaddled in comfort, giving rise to boarding schools, psychotherapy, divorce lawyers and cosmetic surgeons. Today, American children are a mixed breed. They’re culturally sophisticated - if by culture, you mean “Grand Theft Auto IV” and “Gossip Girl” - and transportationally challenged. They text at the speed of sound, spout fluent IMese, yet can’t follow a transit schedule. They’re brilliant and stupid. Just like their parents, who subsidize the flotsam and, as designated Sherpas, drive them everywhere. For nine months every year, children study hard, some very hard so they can apply to the same 27 colleges and have their young souls crushed like beetles for no apparent reason other than unrealistic expectations and pack mentality. Then, for three endless months of summer, adhering to an antiquated agrarian schedule dating back to Little House on the Prairie, they’re released into the wider world, where they’re equipped to do absolutely nothing other than master “Grand Theft Auto IV” or deconstruct “Gossip Girl” because - let’s face it - their greatest skill is hanging while spending other people’s money. Which is brilliant for them, perhaps they can grow up to be lobbyists or state senators, and stupid for the rest of us. Parents expect the same moppets who can’t be bothered to fluff and fold to get into Yale. Our children want to save the Earth, castigating the very same parents who Sherpa them everywhere for not being ecosmart, yet won’t weed. They’re growing up too fast and, then again, too slow. A few weeks ago, for a few hours, the citizenry was troubled by “backless” photos of Miley Cyrus - Shirley Temple wore less - a manufactured crisis where Disney and Conde Nast profited, when the truly troubling images were of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints’ underage brides. Our concern shouldn’t be confined to them, but for pregnant teenagers anywhere, cast away by society, girls confusing motherhood for maturity and some semblance of affection instead of a one-way ticket to poverty and dependence. Our children are more sophisticated, certainly about consumption, yet profoundly naive about responsibility. Libraries are published on parenting, but less on the children. Apparently, parenting is now a career. There are books on how to be a cool mother or a hot mother, which seems like a lot of work while upping the ick factor for the kids. I saw one book about “slacker moms,” an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one. In the end, the advice remains the same. Spend more time with the children. Listen more. Be patient. Hold your breath and try to get through adolescence. You can worry. And then you can worry more. It won’t work as well as spending time with them and listening. It might help if we all drove less, either separately or together. And guided them to be as responsible as they are culturally sophisticated. Weeding would be a good start.

It's about the kids Thu, 15 May 2008 22:41:00 EST
Brent McKim, president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, has a big job: to protect teachers. He's a union guy, and that's what union guys do: protect the interests of their members.

Knife show Thu, 15 May 2008 22:43:00 EST
Next weekend, May 23-25, the National Knife Collectors Association will hold its biannual knife show in your area. Our association was established in 1972 and has held two shows a year in Louisville and/or the surrounding area since 1975, with even Louisville's former police chief, the late Col. C.J. Hyde, officiating as our president in the late 1980s.

Voting is a moral obligation Thu, 15 May 2008 22:43:00 EST
It's that time of year again – the time when politicians try to get the backing of this denomination or that religious group. I, for one, am glad that the Catholic Church doesn't allow political candidates to speak in our churches or allow voting guides to be passed out.

Obama campaign confronts racism Thu, 15 May 2008 22:44:00 EST
Danielle Ross was alone in an empty room at the Obama campaign headquarters in Kokomo, Ind., a cell phone in one hand, a voter call list in the other. She was stretched out on the carpeted floor wearing laceless sky-blue Converses, stories from the trail on her mind.

Lunch With...Jafar Hadizadeh Thu, 15 May 2008 22:51:00 EST
Each seismic region has got several geologic fault zones in it. When we talk about the New Madrid seismic zone, Southern California zone, Northern California zone, you're always talking about the major fault zone at the heart of the region. These fault zones are not the same at all. Each has its own signature "return time" and signature behavior.

Is that a relative? Thu, 15 May 2008 21:42:00 EST

Become a Hot Spot blogger Thu, 15 May 2008 22:45:00 EST
The Courier-Journal seeks young writers for the third cycle of its Hot Spot blog. Fifteen to 20 high school seniors and college sophmores and juniors from throughout The C-J's circulation area (Kentucky and Indiana) will be chosen to blog about subjects mostly of their own choosing.

READERS' VIEWS Fri, 16 May 2008 02:05 EDT
FAILURE TO DEFINE 'BLACK VOTE' IS UNCONSCIOUS BIAS

On May 8, I again saw language that made me wonder about unconscious biases. This time, a McClatchy Newspapers article repeated the often-cited fact that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won less than 10 percent of the "black vote" in Indiana and North Carolina. Yet all media reports I have seen or heard refer to her base of support as "young, less educated, white males."

I am curious to know -- regardless of candidate affiliation -- why African-American voters are lumped into one category and other demographics are described by multiple specific identifiers.

Is it not important to know the voting preferences of young, less educated, black males? Or older, educated black females? Or should we simply examine the "white vote"?

In other words, is there really just a "black vote"?

Vote Baber in 72nd District Fri, 16 May 2008 02:05 EDT
The voters in the 72nd District are fortunate to have three qualified candidates. Beyond that, the differences among us are staggering.

I am the only candidate who has managed a government entity and has done so successfully as county judge-executive and mayor for 10 years, bringing millions of dollars to the community.

I am the only candidate who has managed large corporations as CEO and administrator in the health care industry for 15 years managing the health issues of thousands of patients, managing hundreds of employees, directing multimillion dollar budgets and negotiated health insurance contracts for my employees.

I am a socially and fiscally conservative candidate. I am not a tax-and-spend candidate, but the state legislature must look for acceptable ways of funding state government. The process should be more proactive, as opposed to reactive.

As to casino gambling, the issue was rushed and not studied enough. Most voters I talk with want to see specific line-item expenditures before deciding how to vote on the issue.

We have too little voice in our form of democracy Thu, 15 May 2008 02:04 EDT
In a recent interview on ABC, Vice President Dick Cheney was presented with the fact that two-thirds of Americans think the Iraq war is not worth fighting. Cheney responded, "So?"

It is shocking that he does not care about the will of the people, but the truth is that he does not have to care. This is a representative democracy, and the people have no say except on Election Day.

The problem is that for the last 200 years, we have been hoodwinked under the soft tyranny of representative democracy, and very few of us consider whether there is an alternative.

There is: participatory democracy.

Most Americans think "participatory democracy" means getting involved in politics, writing to elected officials or running for office. But participating actively in representative democracy does not make that form of government less limited.

Democrats should choose Obama Fri, 16 May 2008 02:05 EDT
Voters are feeling bruised and conflicted as a long, grueling battle for the Democratic presidential nomination comes down to the wire.

So, before Kentuckians go to the polls Tuesday in one of the last primaries, let's just pause to savor this moment in history: For the first time in 232 years of nationhood, an African-American or a woman will lead a presidential ticket.

That alone makes this election a hopeful turning point.

The opportunity for national renewal will be even greater if, as appears almost certain, Sen. Barack Obama is the nominee.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has waged a tough campaign. Her experience and mastery of the challenges facing the next president are impressive. So is her ability to connect with voters. She has emerged as a political force in her own right, outside the orbit of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Exert control over development plans Thu, 15 May 2008 02:04 EDT
The careful language of management consultants can be hard to translate.

So it is refreshing, although alarming, that the consultants who produced a mammoth review of Lexington's city government were crystal clear on one topic.

The way we handle engineering plans for new development is "unique," they said last week in a meeting with the Urban County Council.

It's uniquely bad.

In simplest terms: We've outsourced oversight of those plans to the developers themselves.

Swift boat Fri, 16 May 2008 08:16 EDT

Direct Kick: Two more Laurel athletes college bound

Heartbreak Hotel lookin’ good
While we sit in our crumbling castle, pale-faced, we wonder. How long will it be before the next thing goes wrong?

Publisher’s Notebook: Smoking bans gain momentum, except here
Seventeen communities ban smoking in public places or workplaces, and the list is growing every day.

Move makes head ache
Is there anything more frustrating than moving?

YOUR VIEW: It’s time to take action and vote
Kentucky’s, and in turn Glasgow’s, time is now.

CHEERS and JEERS: Relay was bright again
This year’s Relay for Life of Barren County was again a success.

Calendar flaunts its wares
As I type this, I’m drooling.

Chinese Dir