#kentucky general assembly

[rickmaynard]

2-9-24: Georgetown News-Graphic cartoon. There are plenty of reasonable, compassionate, thoughtful, smart Republicans in the Commonwealth. It's just that none of them are in the General Assembly.

[todaysdocument]

An Act to Establish the Federal Courts of the United States

Record Group 11: General Records of the United States GovernmentSeries: Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of CongressFile Unit: Public Law, 1st Congress, 1st Session, Part 1: United States Judicial Courts. September 24, 1789

In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress established with great particularity a limited jurisdiction for the district and circuit courts, gave the Supreme Court the original jurisdiction provided for in the Constitution, and granted the Court appellate jurisdiction in cases from the Federal circuit courts and from the state courts where those courts' rulings had rejected Federal claims. The decision to grant Federal courts a jurisdiction more restrictive than that allowed by the Constitution represented a recognition by the Congress that the people of the United States would not find a full-blown Federal court system palatable at that time. For nearly all of the next century the judicial system remained essentially as established by the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Congress of the United States,

begun and held at the City of New York on

Wednesday the fourth of March one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

[centered heading/title:] An Act to establish the Judicial Courts of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

That the Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a Chief Justice and five associate justices, any four of whom shall be a quorum, and shall hold annually at the seat of government two sessions, the one commencing the first Monday of February, and the other the first Monday of August. That the associate Justices shall have precedence according to the date of their Commissions, or when the Commissions of two or more of them bear date on the same day, according to their respective ages.

And be it further enacted, That the United States shall be, and they hereby are divided into thirteen districts, to be limited and called as follows, to wit: One to consist of that part of the State of Massachusetts which lies easterly of the State of New Hampshire, and to be called Main [sic] district; One to consist of the State of New Hampshire, and to be called New Hampshire district; One to consist of the remaining part of the State of Massachusetts, and to be called Massachusetts district; One to consist of the State of Connecticut, and to be called Connecticut district; One to consist of the State of New York, and to be called New York district; One to consist of the State of New Jersey, and to be called New Jersey district; One to consist of the State of Pennsylvania, and to be called Pennsylvania district; One to consist of the State of Delaware, and to be called Delaware district; One to consist of the State of Maryland, and to be called Maryland district; One to consist of the State of Virginia, except that part called the district of Kentucky, and to be called Virginia district; One to consist of the remaining part of the State of Virginia, and to be called Kentucky district; One to consist of the State of South Carolina, and to be called South Carolina district; and one to consist of the State of Georgia, and to be called Georgia district.

 [complete document and transcription at link]

[hellyeahscarleteen]

"Getting a new doctor. Holding hands. Walking into a bar. Using a public bathroom. These everyday situations have become fear-inducing for over 60 percent of transgender Americans, according to new polling from the left-leaning firm Data for Progress.

Amid a growing effort by far-right politicians and conservative policy groups to curb LGBTQ+ rights — a movement built on targeting transgender people with hostile legislation and rhetoric — this hostility is taking its toll on trans Americans’ sense of safety.

However, a political shift in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation may be under way. The Human Rights Campaign and several state advocacy groups believe the tide is turning against anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Florida and West Virginia ended their legislative sessions passing only a single bill each, and Georgia Republicans failed to pass any anti-LGBTQ+ bills this session. Kentucky is likely to be next on the list of states to block all of its anti-LGBTQ bills, as the state’s general assembly did not advance any such legislation in time to meet its deadline for veto-proof bills."

[thepsychologicalpeacock]

Take me with you, everywhere you go 🫶💙

In the spirit of justice and equality, let us be reminded that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere 🫶.

It has come to our attention that in the Kentucky General Assembly, Senate Bill 147, among a series of 11 bills, has been introduced. This particular bill directly impacts drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community. Senate Bill 147 seeks to categorize drag performances as inherently sexual and label them as adult-oriented business enterprises, consequently prohibiting public performances where minors could be present.

For a more in-depth understanding of the bill, you can access an unofficial copy that was filed at https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/sb147.html.

To voice your concerns and stance on Senate Bill 147, please contact your representative. You can do so by calling the legislative hotline at 1-800-372-7181 and leaving a message clearly expressing that you do NOT support SB 147. Let our collective voices stand against any legislation that threatens the inclusivity and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

[wheelscomedyandmore]

From 1953-1979 all Corvette's were built in St. Louis, Mo. And, on today's date in 1981, the last STL 'Vette rolled off the line.

1953, General Motors hand-assembled the first 300 Corvettes on a small prototype assembly line within the Flint Chevrolet plant.

This temporary setup allowed GM designers and engineers to innovate and perfect new manufacturing techniques.

On December 28, 1953, Corvette production transitioned to St. Louis, Missouri.

The massive General Motors Union Boulevard Complex became the new home for the Corvette, ramping up production slowly.

By 1954, 3,640 units were produced, with sales initially sluggish. However, production grew steadily, reaching 30,000 units per year by 1969 and peaking at 53,000 units in 1979.

The St. Louis plant faced challenges. Workers endured tough conditions, with no air-conditioning and a glass roof that turned the factory into a furnace. Despite the hardships, their dedication ensured the Corvette's success.

On August 1, 1980, Chevrolet moved Corvette production to a new state-of-the-art facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This transition marked a new chapter for the Corvette, with improved production techniques and better working conditions.

Bowling Green continues to be the home of the Corvette, and the loss of the Corvette is still remembered every year in St. Louis.

#ChevroletCorvette #CorvetteHistory #AmericanMuscle #ClassicCars #VintageCars #CarHistory #AutomotiveExcellence #FlintMichigan #StLouis #BowlingGreen #CarEnthusiast #GM #NationalCorvetteMuseum

[abellinthecupboard]

Tall as a Cypress

Taller men, in general, want petite women (to bolster their egos), but something went off in the construction of me, some mis-soldered wiring perhaps, when I was only a project in God's heavenly factory plants, touring the conveyor assembly line beneath those sky-blue, diamond-cross-braced ceilings, with only an arm and a leg screwed into place when my mother decided to have unprotected, Pope-ordained sex with her Uniformed husband in anti-Catholic Kentucky territory, all to give birth to a great wood-pile of baby eight long months later, after two days of labor, because, in the end, I was born a tall, gangling cypress grown outside Avellino by a Franciscan monastery and felled in the Year of Our Lord 1482 for much-needed firewood during one especially cold winter. I lived and I died providing shade for that monastery, watching two centuries of monks come and go from the crest of the road that hemmed in their gardens. My ankles were slashed and I fell to the earth, and my trunk was cut open and my limbs were hacked off. My ribs were hung over the hearth in the great hall, while the rest of me was stacked up out in the yard. Being, as I was, torn asunder, my mind turned to splinters, and a part of my whole desired a weedy genius who'd serenade me with glowing talk of the universe, while the rest of my mulch longed for a bodybuilder who'd hold me close in the flex of his arms. I developed these desires from watching the peasants, strong-armed and broad-backed, toiling in the fields, and hearing the monks, swathed in their dark robes, preaching their sermons with learning and eloquence. I was capable of conscious thought, as all trees are, yet rooted in spot, unable to speak, ever-silent beneath the stars of cold nights, so I was quite glad when I was finally felled, and my life cut short by the monks in their need. I've always longed to be closer to God, and I've always wanted to be of use toward others. I was not holy, but the monks were ever fond of my shade, so when the Robed felled me I was given pride of place, and two of my branches were saved, and blessed sacred. And, as the rest of me burned in their stoves, my ribs heard their prayers through my cousin the rood screen. Throughout all the centuries I've hung in their great hall, providing them shade in the cool and damp air. My mother knew of my shade as well, in her youth, but she left for America, and forgot all about me. Mostly, I just want a man who is taller than me, to censer my name with the smoke of his prayer.

— Sean Eaton, published by Impossible Archetype (source, pg. 47)

[iww-gnv]

As the summer marked by nationwide labor movements continues to heat up, another major national corporation with deep roots in Kentucky may soon face a strike. The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, or UAW, is applying pressure on the Big Three automakers, which include General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands — by hosting a nationwide strike authorization vote. Ford Motor Co., which operates both the Louisville Assembly Plant, LAP, and the Kentucky Truck Plant, KTP, in Louisville is facing a strike authorization vote from union members at UAW Local 862 as national UAW negotiations continue ahead of a nationwide contract expiration on Sept. 14. UAW Local 862 represents roughly 12,000 rank and file workers at both LAP and KTP. While a strike authorization vote is often seen as a formality and a common tactic for unions to take during negotiations, it will allow the UAW to strike if deemed necessary in order to secure a contract it feels is best for its membership.

[Read the rest]

[rabbitcruiser]

Drive Your Corvette to Work Day

Many Corvette owners own other cars as well, and often only drive their Corvettes on special occasions. Corvettes are regularly driven on beautiful days or are taken to car shows, but usually aren’t used as commuter cars for work. But, today is different—today is Drive Your Corvette to Work Day. Sponsored by Mid America Motorworks, a supplier of aftermarket Corvette parts and accessories, the day has taken place since 2001. The goal is to get as many Corvette owners as possible around the world to drive their car, in order to show how popular the car is. It takes place on the Friday closest to June 30, the day in 1953 when the first Corvette came off the General Motors assembly line.

Harley J. Earl was no stranger to designing cars. He redesigned the LaSalle in the late 1920s, designed the Buick Y-Job—which is seen as being the first concept car, and also designed the GM Le Sabre. He then began working on “Project Opel,” which would turn into the Corvette. In its design, he took inspiration from the Jaguar XK120. On January 17, 1953, the Corvette was introduced at GM’s traveling Motorama display, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Later that year, on June 30, the first Corvette for consumers came off the assembly line at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan. Tony Kleiber, a worker at the plant, drove the first car off the line. The Corvette had been named by Myron Scott, a photographer for Chevrolet. After looking in the dictionary for a word that started with a “C,” in order to give the make and model phrase an alliterative effect, he found “corvette,” the name for a small warship that was fast and easy to maneuver.

At a time when most cars were built out of steel, the Corvette was the first sports car with a body made completely of fiberglass. There were only 300 built the first year, all of which were white convertibles with red interiors and black canvas tops. They otherwise used standard Chevrolet parts, such as the “Blue Flame” six-cylinder engine, and the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. Still, they could go from the speed of 0-60 in 11 seconds and could reach a speed of 110 mph. They had no exterior door handles, and no windows as well, just plastic curtains. They had a sticker price of $3,513, which is $32,979 in 2018 dollars. All were equipped with a $91 heater and $145 AM radio, which was added to the sticker price. 1953 models are worth much more now: the third Corvette produced was sold for 1.06 million dollars in 2006.

As of 2018, there have been seven generations of Corvettes (C1-C7). V8 engines were an option beginning in 1955, and 9 out of 10 buyers selected the option that year; all Corvettes have since been equipped with V8s. By the 1960s, the Corvette was known as America’s favorite sports car. The second generation (C2) of the car was produced from 1963-1967 and was known as the Sting Ray. One of the most popular Corvettes of all time is the 1963 model, which is unique for having a split rear window.

Corvettes have been produced in Flint, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and since 1981, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the National Corvette Museum also is also located. There were issues when making the 4th generation of the car, thus only one 1983 model exists, and production was continued with the 1984 models. The lone 1983 model can be seen at the Corvette Museum. Years after the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line, they still are towards the top of the pack for speed and acceleration. They have also been continually produced longer than any sports car or passenger car in the world.

Drive Your Corvette to Work Day is being observed today! It has been observed the closest Friday to June 30th since 2001.

Source

[ultrajaphunter]

Pennsylvania Settles Voter Roll Lawsuit with Judicial Watch Removes 180,000 Inactive Names from Registration Rolls (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it settled its federal election integrity lawsuit against Pennsylvania and five of its counties. 

Pennsylvania admitted in court filings that it removed 178,258 ineligible registrations in response to communications from Judicial Watch. 

The settlement commits Pennsylvania and five of its counties to extensive public reporting of statistics regarding their ongoing voter roll clean-up efforts for the next five years, along with a payment to Judicial Watch of $15,000 for legal costs and fees. In November 2021, Judicial Watch filed an amended complaint in an ongoing National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) lawsuit. 

The amended complaint sought to compel Pennsylvania and five of its counties (Luzerne County, Cumberland County, Washington County, Indiana County and Carbon County) to comply with their voter list-maintenance obligations under Section 8 of the NVRA (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al.(No. 1:20-cv-00708)). In the settlement agreement, Pennsylvania agreed to publish the total number of registered and eligible voters (active and inactive) in the five counties by June 30 of each year on the Department of State’s website, for the next five years. 

It also agreed to publish the total number of address confirmation notices sent to registered voters and the number returned as undeliverable or not responded to.

 It also will publish the total number of voters removed from the registration rolls on account of death, or for failing to respond to an address confirmation notice and failing to vote in the two most recent federal general elections. Judicial Watch alleged a “multi-year failure” to take reasonable steps to maintain accurate voter registration lists as required by federal law. 

On April 22, 2021, Judicial Watch sent a notice-of-violation letter to the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth setting forth a range of violations by the Commonwealth and 27 identified counties.

In September 2021, 

Pennsylvania informed the court: Upon receiving the [April 22, 2021] letter, the Secretary [of the Commonwealth] immediately took action by investigating the issues raised and working with the identified 27 counties to remove outstanding inactive voters who had failed to return a confirmation notice and did not participate in the subsequent two consecutive federal elections. 

With the Secretary’s assistance, the counties removed every single inactive voter eligible for removal from the rolls. 

The total inactive voters removed was 178,258.

Separately, a 2020 letter from Judicial Watch to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania led to the removal of 69,000 outdated registrations. 

According to a January 14, 2020, CBS news report, “This mountain of faulty registrations has now courted the attention of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.” David Voye, Elections Manager for the county told CBS, 

“I would concede that we are behind on culling our rolls,” and that this had “been put on the backburner.” Allegheny County later confirmed to Judicial Watch on January 31, 2020 that the removals had occurred. “Pennsylvania’s election rolls are cleaner – and will remail cleaner – thanks to Judicial Watch.  

This federal lawsuit settlement is good news for voters in Pennsylvania who want to ensure that only eligible voters are on voter rolls,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. 

“Judicial Watch’s remarkable run of litigation successes resulted in well over 2 million ineligible registrations being removed from voter rolls across the nation in the last two years!” Judicial Watch is a national leader in voting integrity and voting rights. 

As part of its work, Judicial Watch assembled a team of highly experienced voting rights attorneys who stopped discriminatory elections in Hawaii, and cleaned up voter rolls in California, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, among other achievements.

In March 2023, Colorado agreed to settle a Judicial Watch NVRA lawsuit alleging that Colorado failed to remove ineligible voters from its rolls.

��The settlement agreement requires Colorado to provide Judicial Watch with the most recent voter roll data for each Colorado county each year for six years.

In February 2023, Los Angeles County confirmed removal of 1,207,613 ineligible voters from its rolls since last year, under the terms of a settlement agreement in a federal lawsuit that Judicial Watch filed in 2017. Judicial Watch settled a federal election integrity lawsuit against New York City after the city removed 441,083 ineligible names from the voter rolls and promised to take reasonable steps going forward to clean its voter registration lists. Kentucky also removed hundreds of thousands of old registrations after it entered into a consent decree to end another Judicial Watch lawsuit.

In February 2022, Judicial Watch settled a voter roll clean-up lawsuit against North Carolina and two of its counties after North Carolina removed over 430,000 inactive registrations from its voter rolls.

In March 2022, a Maryland court ruled in favor of Judicial Watch’s challenge to the Democratic state legislature’s “extreme” congressional gerrymander.

In May 2022, Judicial Watch sued Illinois on behalf of Congressman Mike Bost and two other registered Illinois voters to stop state election officials from extending Election Day for 14 days beyond the date established by federal law. Robert Popper, a Judicial Watch senior attorney, leads its election law program. 

Popper was previously in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, where he managed voting rights investigations, litigations, consent decrees, and settlements in dozens of states.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.28 (after 1960)

1961 – Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International. 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as its first leader. 1968 – Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 crashes near Nala Sopara in India, killing 30. 1974 – Northern Ireland's power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists. 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States. 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside. 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community. 1987 – An 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War. 1995 – The 7.0 Mw  Neftegorsk earthquake shakes the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt. 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas, Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud. 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually. 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display. 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City. 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane. 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq's interim government. 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty. 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers. 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year. 2016 – Harambe, a gorilla, is shot to death after grabbing a three-year-old boy in his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, resulting in widespread criticism and sparking various internet memes. 2017 – Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato wins his first Indianapolis 500, the first Japanese and Asian driver to do so. Double world champion Fernando Alonso retires from an engine issue in his first entry of the event.

[mariacallous]

Elon Musk hasn’t been sighted at the picket lines in Missouri, Ohio, or Michigan, where autoworkers are striking against the Big Three US carmakers. Yet the influence of Musk and his non-unionized company Tesla have been everywhere since the United Auto Workers called the strike last week. In some ways, Tesla—the world’s most valuable automaker by market capitalization—set the whole thing in motion.

Tesla’s pioneering electric vehicles kicked off a new era that has turned the entire auto industry on its head. In a scramble to compete with Tesla and make that transition, the legacy automakers targeted by the current strike, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, have each pledged billions in global investment and have begun dramatically restructuring their operations. For workers, the “green jobs” being created can be scarcer and worse paying. Electric vehicle powertrains have many fewer moving parts than conventional gas-powered ones, and so they require 30 percent fewer vehicle assembly hours, according to one estimate. Plants that make EV batteries are generally outside the core, unionized auto supply chain. The United Auto Workers has seen a dramatic drop in membership due to jobs moving outside the US—it lost 45 percent of its members between 2001 and 2022. A future with more electric vehicles could mean fewer union jobs overall. “This strike is about electrification,” says Mark Barrott, an automotive analyst at the Michigan-based consultancy Plante Moran.

The new assembly plants that the legacy automakers need to pull off the transition have been stood up mostly in US states hostile to union organizing, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. And because many of these plants are joint ventures between automakers and foreign battery companies, they are not subject to previous union contracts.

The UAW did not respond to a request for comment, but UAW president Shawn Fain told CNBC last week that the electric transition can’t leave workers behind. “Workers deserve their share of equity in this economy,” he said.

Tesla’s rise over recent years has also put ever-ratcheting pressure on the legacy automakers to cut costs. Including benefits, Musk’s non-unionized EV company spends $45 per hour on labor, significantly less than the $63 per hour spent in the Big Three, according to industry analysts.

Musk’s willingness to upend auto manufacturing shibboleths has also forced his legacy competitors to seek new efficiencies. Tesla led the way in building large-scale car casts, stamping out very large metal components in one go rather than making a series of small casts that have to be joined together. And it pioneered an automotive chassis building process that can be easily adapted to produce different makes and models.

Tesla’s Silicon Valley roots also helped it become the first automaker to envision the car as a software-first, iPhone-like “platform” that can be modified via over-the-air updates. And the company aims to automate more of its factories, and extract more of the materials it needs to build its batteries itself.

Tesla’s novel production ideas could soon lead the company to put even more pressure on legacy automakers. Musk said earlier this year that Tesla plans to build a new, smaller vehicle that can be made for half the production cost of its most popular (and cheapest) vehicle, the Model 3.

Musk says a lot of things, and many don’t come to pass. (The world is still waiting for the 1 million Tesla robotaxis promised by the end of 2020.) But Tesla has been disruptive enough to leave legacy automakers, including Detroit’s Big Three, “in a quest for capital,” says Marick Masters, who studies labor and workplace issues at Wayne State University's School of Business. Detroit’s automakers have made good money in the past decade—some $250 billion in profits—but also paid a significant chunk of it out in dividends. Pressure from Tesla and the EV transition it catalyzed has left them feeling as if they need every penny they can corral to keep afloat as the industry changes.

“They have little money to concede for union demands,” says Masters. The UAW’s wants include significantly higher wages, especially for workers who have joined the companies since their Great Recession and bankruptcy-era reorganizations, which left some with less pay and reduced pension and health benefits.

So far, the UAW has shown little patience for the idea that the automakers it is pressuring are cash-strapped and under competitive pressure. “Competition is a code word for race to the bottom, and I'm not concerned about Elon Musk building more rocket ships so he can fly into outer space and stuff,” UAW president Fain told CNBC last week when asked about pressure from Tesla. He has argued that production workers should receive the same pay raise received by auto executives over recent years.

When automakers have taken the opposite tack, insisting that they’re well capitalized and making plans to put them ahead of the electric car maker—well, that set up conditions for this strike too. The three American automakers are forecasted to make $32 billion in profits this year, a slight dip from last year’s 10-year high. “The more they toot their own horns about profitability, the more the union looks at them and says, ‘We want our rightful share,’” says Masters.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, but Musk has, in typical fashion, chimed in. He posted on X last week to compare working conditions at his companies with the competition, apparently seeking to turn the dispute he helped foment into a recruiting pitch. “Tesla and SpaceX factories have a great vibe. We encourage playing music and having some fun,” he wrote. “We pay more than the UAW btw, but performance expectations are also higher.” A UAW attempt to organize Tesla workers in 2017 and 2018, as the company struggled to produce its Model 3, failed. The National Labor Board ruled that Tesla violated labor laws during the organizing drive; the carmaker has appealed the decision.

[beardedmrbean]

Shortly after her death in late 2022, fans of country music legend Loretta Lynn began circulating a petition to get a state park renamed in the Kentucky native’s honor.

Now, in 2024, that campaign may be making some inroads as the Kentucky Department of Parks officially explores options for honoring the star.

The Change.org petition has drawn more than 25,000 signatures, and during 2023 legislative session, the idea won support in the form of Senate Resolution 110.

That resolution, sponsored by state Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, “urges the Department of the Parks to create a committee of diverse stakeholders to identify the best methods of honoring Loretta Lynn in our park system.”

The resolution also requests the parks department report to the Legislative Research Commission possible solutions and “a recommendation for future legislative action” by Jan. 1, 2024.

Now, the department seems to be following up on that request.

In a recent memo to the director of the LRC, Kentucky Parks Commissioner Russ Meyer detailed some of the options the department is proposing. The agency shared the letter in response to a Herald-Leader query.

A portion of that letter reads, “Through discussions with diverse interests and assessment of the system needs, the Department recommends the following potential solutions:

“1) The construction of a statue of Loretta Lynn to be placed in the grassy area of the roundabout at the entrance to Paintsville Lake State Park. While there is no funding currently available for this honor, private funds could be leveraged through a partnership with the Kentucky Parks Foundation and a fundraising campaign.

“2) In the future after current statewide park needs have been addressed, perform a feasibility study on the construction of a new lodge at Paintsville Lake State Park named for Loretta Lynn. The evaluation will include reviewing area occupancy rates, park visitation rates, planning and construction costs, existing park funding sources, and the overall system wide needs of the Department,” Meyer’s letter states.

A spokesperson for the LRC referred comment about project updates to the state parks department.

It remains unclear whether specifically renaming Paintsville Lake State Park in Lynn’s honor is currently under consideration, though that is the stated goal of the fan petition.

Asked for more specifics about what goes into the decision-making process, including whether renaming the park was on the table, a Kentucky Parks Department spokesperson told the Herald-Leader, “In regard to Senate Resolution 110, the recommendation information has been provided to the General Assembly, and they will make the next step.”

Addressed to Gov. Andy Beshear and the state’s legislature and congressional delegation, the petition pushes for Paintsville Lake State Park, located in Lynn’s native Johnson County, to be renamed after the “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

“Loretta Lynn is not only Kentucky’s daughter; she is a national treasure,” the petition by organizer Carla Engle reads. “Loretta Lynn touched the nation’s heart with her down-home country charm, life story of surviving poverty and overcoming insurmountable obstacles to reach the pinnacle of success. Loretta Lynn impacted our culture and altered the course of country music forever.”

Kentucky’s own ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’

Born in Johnson County in 1932, Lynn married young. At age 20, she’d had four children with her husband, a U.S. Army veteran she met at a community pie social when she was 15. Though she would later pick up the guitar and begin singing in her spare time, talents that won her fame and success, Lynn considered herself a wife and mother above all.

“If I’m anything in this world, I’m a wife and mother,” she said in 1990. “I do enjoy my performing and musical career, but it’s my family that means most.”

Lynn’s background and family values informed her voice as an artist, spurring her signature song “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which she recorded in 1970.

But she was also notable for her distinctly feminine point of view. With songs like “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and birth control anthem “The Pill,” Lynn blazed the trail for women in the country music industry.

Even upon her death, she remained the most-awarded woman in country music.

Some of her many firsts include becoming the first woman in country music history to earn a certified gold album, the first woman named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association and the first female country music artist to be honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

Allen Branscum, a Kentucky supporter of the petition, admires Lynn for her humility and for not forgetting her roots.

“She never forgot her hometown. After the coal mine disaster of 1970 where 38 miners were killed close to her area, she worked tirelessly for days promoting a benefit show she organized at Freedom Hall to benefit the families of the miners killed,” Branscum told the Herald-Leader in an email. “She’s very deserving of a lasting tribute in her home town of Paintsville.” ______________________

There shouldn't be any real opposition to this move I wouldn't think.

She's more than deserving of the honour

[heidipfeiffer]

was that [JOSEPHINE LANGFORD ] spotted in the lobby of the infamous arconia hotel? must just be, [HEIDI PFEIFFER] the [ TWENTY THREE ] year old [ HOUSEKEEPER]. whenever i hear [ ITS BEEN A LONG DAY BY SPACEY JANE it reminds me of them. [SHE/HER] is known for being [ NAIVE] and [ DISTANT] but they make up for that by being [ RESILIENT] and [ HARDWORKING ]. they have been working at the arconia for [ ONE WEEK ].

NAME: Heidi Pfeiffer AGE: 23 OCCUPATION: Housekeeper HOMETOWN: Bonney Lake, Washington CURRENTLY: New York, New York

POSITIVE TRAITS: Resilient, determined, humble NEUTRAL TRAITS: Distant, aloof, NEGATIVE TRAITS: Naive, cold, distrusting

BACKGROUND

Heidi dropped out of school during her senior year to follow her much older boyfriend across the country, supporting his latest business endeavour.

The pair were married and living in Utah before Heidi was old enough to legally drink.

A few years down the track, Heidi was living on an isolated ranch in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky with just a few of her husband's friends, followers and associates to keep her company. The 'dude-ranch' business he'd alleged had turned out to be a hotbed of criminal activity and Heidi was caught in the middle of it.

Having cut almost all ties back home and failing to keep in regular contact with her family, she didn't have much of an option but to stay, despite her growing concerns.

The decision to leave the ranch was made for her when she was escorted off the premises in handcuffs following a raid that exposed the farm's illegal gun assembling and trafficking operation that stretched all the way to Bridgewater, NJ.

Despite her minimal involvement, she was dragged down with the rest of the ranch without entirely realizing she was an accomplice to some pretty hefty crimes. Heidi ended up serving a minimum term of one year in prison for the class 4 felony of unlawful selling/delivery of firearms.

Heidi served nearly two years in State Prison and is currently serving part of her eighteen months of supervised release. Thanks to a very generous parole officer (and agreeing to increased reporting to the parole board) she was authorised to leave Kentucky and secure employment at Arconia through JobLink.

FACTS

During high school she was a horrible person and regrets every moment she spent torturing other kids for her own gain.

Her sentence humbled her a lot and now as a convicted felon without formal education and a dubious marriage status, she is experiencing life at the bottom of the food chain. She hopes to make up for her past transgressions by being less of an asshole.

[alphaman99]

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

His portrait is on the $2.00 Dollar Bill.

Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary

Also could write in Greek with one hand, while writing the same in Latin with the other.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America," and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia, succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected President of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of the Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the nation's size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello.

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly, created the University of Virginia and served as its' first

president.

At 83, died on the 50th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, along with John Adams.

Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied, the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, His laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today.

Jefferson really knew his stuff..

A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House, with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe." -- Thomas Jefferson

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." -- Thomas Jefferson

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its'own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on, would save one-half the wars of the world." -- Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes, the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." -- Thomas Jefferson

Something every American ought to know.

[thepsychologicalpeacock]

I’m looking at 1,000 versions of myself, and we are all phenomenal 🫶

Breaking the cycle? Oh, we're not just breaking it; we're dismantling it piece by piece, darling. Fear is not our foe; it's our ally in the fight for justice. What's it motivating? It's that deep, fierce love for a world where everyone can authentically be themselves. Imagine fear as the rebellious sidekick to change and growth, doing a voguing routine in the face of discrimination. It's a fierce dance, and we're leading with unapologetic flair.

In the spirit of justice and equality, let us be reminded that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere 🫶.

It has come to our attention that in the Kentucky General Assembly, Senate Bill 147, among a series of 11 bills, has been introduced. This particular bill directly impacts drag performers and the LGBTQIA+ community. Senate Bill 147 seeks to categorize drag performances as inherently sexual and label them as adult-oriented business enterprises, consequently prohibiting public performances where minors could be present.

For a more in-depth understanding of the bill, you can access an unofficial copy that was filed at https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/sb147.html.

To voice your concerns and stance on Senate Bill 147, please contact your representative. You can do so by calling the legislative hotline at 1-800-372-7181 and leaving a message clearly expressing that you do NOT support SB 147. Let our collective voices stand against any legislation that threatens the inclusivity and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

[theworstfoundingfathers]

Who is the worst founding father? Round 4: Benedict Arnold vs Henry Clay?

Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740] – June 14, 1801) was an American-born military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort there to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became, and has remained, synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold’s treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was:

[A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family’s fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?

---

Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1824, 1832, and 1844 elections. He helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the “Great Compromiser” and was part of the “Great Triumvirate” of Congressmen, alongside fellow Whig Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun.

[Clay and his family] initially lived in Lexington, but in 1804 they began building a plantation outside of Lexington known as Ashland. The Ashland estate eventually encompassed over 500 acres (200 ha), with numerous outbuildings such as a smokehouse, a greenhouse, and several barns. Enslaved there were 122 during Clay’s lifetime with about 50 needed for farming and the household. 

In early 1819, a dispute erupted over the proposed statehood of Missouri after New York Congressman James Tallmadge introduced a legislative amendment that would provide for the gradual emancipation of Missouri’s slaves. Though Clay had previously called for gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he sided with the Southerners in voting down Tallmadge’s amendment. Clay instead supported Senator Jesse B. Thomas’s compromise proposal in which Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, Maine would be admitted as a free state, and slavery would be forbidden in the territories north of 36° 30’ parallel. Clay helped assemble a coalition that passed the Missouri Compromise, as Thomas’s proposal became known. Further controversy ensued when Missouri’s constitution banned free blacks from entering the state, but Clay was able to engineer another compromise that allowed Missouri to join as a state in August 1821.