News opinion 2008-06-13 Andanh.com

Welcome back, Hot Rod Reunion Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:04:59 -0500
It’s been official for quite some time now, but the National Hot Rod Reunion is back in town and it gets under way today at Beech Bend Park. Residents will see muscle cars and their drivers in town through Sunday for the sixth annual racing event. Large numbers of people started pouring into town this week for the racing event, which moved elsewhere last year due to the road dispute between Beech Bend Park owner Dallas Jones and nearby local landowner Matt Baker. This was an unfortunate matter, but it has long since been resolved and the event is back in our city. Bowling Green and Warren County have done a lot since the venue left last year to bring it back to Beech Bend Park. The state, with the help of Warren County, spent $300,000 on the park to help make the turn into Beech Bend easier for big rigs. Jones bought out Baker so he could have an additional entrance and Jones also spent $200,000 adding lanes to the entrance of the race track. Although this was a high price to pay to bring the venue back to Bowling Green, it was money well spent. It is a popular event with local residents as well as tourists. Race fans and participants will also feel less stress with better traffic flow at the main entrance with the addition of lanes. The event will also be very good for local hotels and restaurants, which will be housing and entertaining out-of-town guests for the weekend. Vicky Fitch, executive director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the estimated economic impact of the event is about $4 million. We are glad that the National Hot Rod Reunion is back in town and we hope that everyone who attends the event has a safe and fun time.

What hypocrisy Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:05:12 -0500
Al Gore claims that “good enough for government work” once implied that such work met the highest standards of excellence. Maybe. But in the U.S. Senate’s kitchens, “good enough for government work” means any meal that doesn’t require a stomach pump. The first time I was invited to the Senate for lunch, I was jazzed to sup in the corridors of power. By the time I got my meal, which seemed to have sat under a heat lamp since LBJ was running the place, I felt more like Robert Redford in the 1980 film “Brubaker,” when the new warden, pretending to be an inmate, eats in the prison dining hall, where the food often moves on its own. As befits a government-run commissary, the Senate cafeteria has a decidedly Soviet attitude toward variety. It has averaged only two new menu items a year over the last decade. The food is so bad, every lunch hour Senate staffers rush to the House side of the Capitol like starving New Yorkers of the future storming the last Soylent Green vendor. According to auditors, the chain of restaurants run by the Senate food service, including the snooty Senate Dining Room, has almost never been in the black. It’s lost more than $18 million since 1993 and has dropped about $2 million this year alone. If the food service doesn’t get an emergency bridge loan of a quarter-million dollars, it won’t be able to make payroll. So how will the Senate fix the problem? Well, with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein taking the lead, the Democrats - that’s right, the Democrats - have called a classic Republican play: Privatize it. The House of Representatives made the switch in the 1980s, and its food service is now better. And profitable: The House has made $1.2 million in commissions since 2003. True to the Founders’ vision of the Senate as the more slow-moving branch of government, the Senate has taken 20 years to follow suit. This was a painful decision for many Democrats who believe that privatization cannot be justified simply because it delivers better service and higher quality for less money. “What about the workers?” they cried. Apparently, some Democrats feel that the top priority in the restaurant business is to generate paychecks for people who are bad at their jobs. Feinstein, head of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, was forced to deal with reality. “It’s cratering,” the Washington Post quoted Feinstein as saying. “Candidly, I don’t think the taxpayers should be subsidizing something that doesn’t need to be. There are parts of government that can be run like a business and should be run like businesses.” Yes, yes, go on, Dianne. Run with that thought. Explore it, as the therapists say. Perhaps you might meditate on the District of Columbia’s public school system, which spends roughly $14,000 a pupil in exchange for one of the worst educations in the country. Every year, one of the greatest mysteries in the nation’s capital is whether textbooks have been delivered to the right kids, or even to the right schools. It can take until Christmas to get it all worked out. FedEx Corp., meanwhile, can tell you where any of its millions of packages are in more than 100 countries, right now. (Why not just FedEx the textbooks to the kids?) Or you might ponder the hilarious example of New York’s OTB. For most of the last 40 years, these state-run betting parlors have actually lost money. Apparently, the house always wins - except when Uncle Sam is the bookie. Look wherever you like, it’s not as if there’s a shortage of examples. And more are on the way. Indeed, all augurs point to a tsunami of government ambition in the years ahead, particularly if Barack Obama wins in November. Obama promises a national health insurance plan overseen by the kith and kin who serve the Senate its navy bean soup. He believes that the failure of public schools - like D.C.’s - is largely attributable to the under-funding of education. D.C.’s schools already are among the best-funded and worst schools in the country. By all means, let’s have more of the same! Feinstein, to her credit, witnessed an abject failure of government right under her nose - on her plate, in fact - and did something about it. “It’s clearly not the sort of thing that I ran for the Senate to do,” she said, according to the Post. “But somebody has to do it.” Alas, the possibility that she or her colleagues will make a similar call about anything that doesn’t affect them directly in less than another 20 years seems too much to hope for.

Note to the next president: Watch Pakistan Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:05:13 -0500
The most urgent foreign policy problem that the next U.S. president will face won’t be Iraq. Nor will it be Iran. The next terrorist attack on America is likely to originate, according to the top U.S. military commander, Adm. Mike Mullen, in a place you’ve probably never heard of: the FATA. That’s the acronym for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of northern Pakistan. The FATA is a lawless expanse along the Afghan border where al-Qaida, the Taliban, and other jihadi groups now base. From these safe havens they attack NATO troops in Afghanistan, plan terrorist attacks abroad, and threaten Pakistan itself - a nuclear state. Neither Pakistani officials nor the Bush administration have a strategy to curb FATA’s jihadis. Indeed, the situation seems to be getting worse. Under U.S. pressure, Pakistan sent troops into FATA, but they were bloodied and unsuccessful. Geared up to fight their arch enemy India, the army was incapable of combating an insurgency. The election of a new civilian government last December held out the promise of change. Before she was assassinated, Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto argued bluntly that the war against jihadis was Pakistan’s war, not just - as many Pakistanis believe - a war thrust on them by America. Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party won the most seats, and still carries this message. The new government hoped to develop a counterinsurgency program that included economic aid and would entice tribal leaders to reject the jihadis. But it has been distracted by Pakistani political infighting. Moreover, civilian officials have not yet been able to exert control over Pakistan’s military and intelligence services. The military, rattled by a growing number of suicide attacks, has been negotiating a deal with militants in FATA aimed at quieting the domestic violence. Details of the pending deal are murky. A senior Pakistani civilian official insisted to me that the government wouldn’t authorize a deal unless the militants met three key conditions: No cross-border attacks into Afghanistan and no safe haven for foreign jihadis. Lastly, if the militants don’t accept Pakistani rule and violate the agreement, the government has the right to strike back. Civilian officials are also discussing setting up a new counterterrorism force under the Ministry of the Interior. But U.S. officials worry that the militants will pocket a FATA accord and regroup, as happened with previous deals. The Pakistani army already appears to be pulling back its troops from the tribal areas before the deal is inked. I met this week with one of the most knowledgeable experts on the FATA and the Taliban, Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid. He said that Pakistani army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, has told the U.S. military officials he won’t retrain troops for counterinsurgency fighting. Rashid’s new book, “Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia,” should be required reading for both presidential candidates, and anyone who wants to understand the jihadi problem. It provides an up-to-the-minute history of how the FATA became a haven for the world’s most dangerous militants. Rashid lays out the double game Pakistan’s army and intelligence agencies have played with America: continuing to support the Taliban and other militants as a weapon against India. President Musharraf did not reverse that strategy. Indeed, during his rule, he undercut the political structure in FATA that was essential for dialogue with the tribes. I asked Rashid what approach a new president should take to the FATA problem. His first response: President Bush should stop publicly backing Musharraf. “U.S. leverage is decreasing,” Rashid said, “because it is tied to Musharraf, who is on his way out.” The recent elections were a stinging repudiation of the Pakistani leader, who originally took power in a coup. Second, Washington should go along, for now, with the negotiations over FATA. “This is a process that has to happen,” Rashid says. The public wants this process, and the new government must show it isn’t in America’s pocket. What the United States can do to hedge against collapse of a FATA pact is retrain Pakistan’s paramilitary forces - the Frontier Corps - from the bottom up. No longer should military aid be given to the Pakistani army without pre-conditions ($10 billion since Sept. 11 has gone mainly for arms to fight India). Moreover, the United States should encourage Pakistan and India to move on the Kashmir issue. That would counter the Pakistani army’s focus on the border with India. Most important, says Rashid, “The U.S. must give sustained support to a civilian government.” Unless the civilian Pakistani government can take control of its army and intelligence agencies, the double game that created al-Qaida’s safe haven will go on.

Horse sense Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:14:00 EST
So much silliness now permeates the discussion of racehorse safety that there is danger that some real issues will be left behind like overmatched longshots.

Put air safety first Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:16:00 EST
For years, the Federal Aviation Administration has made the right deal with pilots, airports and air carriers: Report problems anonymously and the information will be used to improve safety, not to punish truth-tellers.

A winner for baseball Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:17:00 EST
While the nation marveled at Barack Obama's presumptive capture of the Democratic Party's nomination for president last week and measured the country's racial progress against his achievement, the long march toward justice passed another milestone at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Florida.

Forget? Apparently never, and that's too bad Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:17:00 EST
The Confederate flag is never really out of the news. But sometimes it muscles its way to prominent placement. It was big news recently, for example, that the Sons of Confederate Veterans plan to fly what they've boasted will be the "world's largest."

'Doesn't get it' Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:18:00 EST
Once again, a liberal member of Congress doesn't get it. John Yarmuth said, "We have taken control of Congress; that's why the American people have confidence in us."

'For-profit' insurance system must change Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:18:00 EST
While insurance company profits soar, Kentucky families of varied ages and backgrounds are hurting, feeling the harsh realities of a health-care system in which our health is little more than collateral damage to a seemingly uncaring system.

Affordable Medicare Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:18:00 EST
Congress will soon decide whether to increase Medicare Part B premiums even more to cover the cost of increasing payments to physicians. There are other options but Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning want to lay the cost directly on the 715,000 Kentuckians who rely on Medicare to stay healthy and alive.

Clinton's historic run … Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:19:00 EST
When Hillary Clinton announced for president in January 2007, she did everything to downplay her gender short of dressing herself in men's clothes. In a taped video, with no audience and no family members, she presented herself first and foremost as a senator and experienced Washington hand, ready to fight for Democratic goals and unintimidated by threats from the GOP.

… Progress or setback? Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:19:00 EST
So is the glass half full or half empty? Or to pick a better metaphor, is the "highest, hardest" glass ceiling now half shattered by the 18 million cracks or does it look as impermeable as ever after this unsuccessful battering?

Who speaks for the poor? Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:20:00 EST
A few words about white trash. I've always found that term offensive, its ubiquity notwithstanding. I have a number of reasons, but the most important is that it is a gratuitous insult to the white poor. Of course, they are one of the few groups remaining one can insult with relative impunity.

Readers' views Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:42 EDT
COMMENTARY TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF FAULTY LOGIC

As a college logic instructor, I was delighted to read developer Joe Hacker's commentary, "Don't fall for hysteria over 'carbon footprints,'" in Monday's paper.

It is a rare treat to find so many examples of rhetorical techniques devoid of solid reasoning in so short an essay. Ad hominem, strawman, rhetorical analogy and more -- just in the first three paragraphs. It will make a great learning tool for my students.

As a citizen, however, I found the piece disturbing. I suppose Hacker thinks himself clever. But someone who wants to be taken as an authority on urban-planning issues should supply us with reasons for disregarding the recent Brookings Institution report that rated Lexington so poorly in managing carbon emissions.

Once I sifted through the distortions and distractions of Hacker's commentary, all I found remaining was a call to ignore people who study urban issues ("educated elites" as portrayed by Hacker), reassurance that everything will be fine if we keep wishing for $2-a-gallon gas and that change is to be feared.

Burgoo: Something to stew over Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:49 EDT
"I always ask ... if they know anybody who's had their gun taken away, and then I ask if they know anybody who's had their health insurance taken away. Nobody knows anyone who's lost their guns, but everyone knows someone who's lost their health care."
WEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN NICK CASEY ON WHY HE THINKS THE ECONOMY WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT TO APPALACHIAN VOTERS THIS YEAR THAN SOCIAL ISSUES SUCH AS GUN CONTROL

Many threads bind Kentuckians, Chinese Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
"Dad, is everything made in China?"

My second-grader fired that shot around the world shortly after her enthusiasm for reading spread from books to labels on her clothes -- from T-shirts to dresses -- and to tags on her toys -- from Webkinz to American Girl dolls.

The 7-year-old's inflection combined childlike wonderment with teenage exasperation, and it was enough for me to launch a two-year exploration of Kentucky's connection to China. A growing web, strengthened by news coverage, is pulling Kentucky closer to China along the strands of commerce, education and the arts, religion, adoptions, sports and health care.

Lately, two Herald-Leader items struck a chord across the web: a letter to the editor, "Chinese Russian roulette" and an article, "Groups seek donations for Chinese."

The first was a plaintive cry: How dare America trade with China despite massive recalls of dangerous products, such as toys, toothpaste, tires, pharmaceuticals, pet food and baby cribs?

Keep rainy-day fund Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
It was long overdue when Lexington finally got serious about it's rainy-day fund.

It's too soon to set that good intention aside.

Mayor Jim Newberry, faced with a grim revenue picture and big budgetary demands, recommended eliminating the $50,000 monthly payment into the fund that the council mandated a few years ago.

The council should keep the contingency-fund payments in the budget.

It's prudent management to have a line item in the budget to set aside money for unforeseen circumstances, even in a bad year.

Wise choices for higher ed board Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT
Despite his late flameout, Paul Patton was one of Kentucky's more accomplished governors, in no small part because he knew when to temper vision with pragmatism.

So it was with higher education reform, his signal achievement.

Patton knew that wresting the community colleges from the University of Kentucky and creating a strong independent system of two-year campuses would be a big fight. And it was. The results have been worth it.

Going beyond that to unify the four-year universities into a system driven by a statewide strategic vision could have triggered a fatal political firestorm from their patrons and lawmakers. So Patton didn't go there.

His reforms left higher education under the discipline of an agency that has little statutory strength. The Council on Postsecondary Education is supposed to make up for that with expert leadership and dynamic advocacy.

Bush, Cheney (gasp!) deceived (no!) U.S. on Iraq Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:38 EDT

Publisher’s Notebook: Desperation over oil prices beneficial in long run
Outrageously-high gas prices don’t stress me out like they used to, even though we’re paying more than double for a gallon of gas than we did last year.

CHEERS and JEERS: Cave City Council gets to work
We would like to take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate the work of the Cave City City Council of late.

Honey bees do a buzz
And now, a look at what’s trivial, mundane and, perhaps, interesting this week.

Chinese Dir