What Does Our Military Look Like Going Into The Next Decade?

I have a good bit of personal experience in the military (10+ years) and a good working knowledge of its proficiencies and faults as a result. Even though it's been a couple of decades since I served, I can only imagine a number of the same ills plague our military do as they did back then.

I recently read an article in Forbes Magazine that disturbed me a good bit.  You can read it here.

I was aware our Army was shrinking, underfunded and under-trained but not to this degree. And all this in the midst of two active wars with several others pending. These deficiences are directly attributable to our government's leadership (or lack there of).

I would encourage everyone to take a look at this piece, it has a very sobering effect. If this isn't corrected right now, we could be in for a long, cold winter in rendering for our national defense.

McConnell Says Bringing Jobs To Kentucky Not His Job, And It's Not

Mitch McConnell has been (and continues to be) faulted by Allison Grimes and the Democrats for a statement he made in Beattyville in April 2014. He said, "It's not my job to bring jobs to Kentucky. Economic Development is a Frankfort issue."

And he is 100 percent correct. It's the job of state, not federal, legislatures to bring industry to individual states.

The United States Senate is one half of Congress and is made up of 100 elected officials, two for each state in the union. These representatives initiate new laws and provide "checks and balances" to the executive branch of the United States government.

Their primary function is to safeguard the interests of their constituents from harm by legislation enacted at the federal level and to oversee the welfare of the Republic. They may influence economic development options at the federal level that may directly benefit their state if they are assigned to a committee involved in such legislation.

They do not, however, participate in state level legislation or economic development. At least not any further than their duties at the federal level allow them to do. Economic development at state level is the direct responsibility of whatever mechanism that individual state has in place for that purpose, the governor's office and cabinet.

This makes me wonder if Allison Grimes actually knows which office she is running for (or if she's actually seeking a position on the Governor's ED Committee instead).

Who Won The Debate Between Allison Grimes And Mitch McConnell?

Seems no one wants to be associated President Obama these days. Grimes again refused to say if she voted for Obama in 2012. She said it was a matter of principal. I say she was dodging the question.

I hope all of you in Kentucky realize the Democrats have controlled the State Senate for too long as well. Just think if Mitch McConnell wins and the Republicans win the majority in the United States, Mitch will have the power to get those 342 bills passed that have been stalled on Harry Reid's desk in the Senate.

3rd Kentucky U.S. Congressional District Candidates Debate

The Principals:

Republican Party Michael Macfarlane
Democratic Party John Yarmuth - Incumbent
Independent Greg Puccetti

Well, as expected, this ended up pretty much a two-sided affair between the two major parties. Also, pretty much as expected, the left stayed left and the right stayed right, with the middle leaning more right than left.

There now... confused? Yeah, me too. Well, at least about everything but the likely final outcome. I believe the incumbent walks away with a certain win if the field doesn't narrow by one. While Dr. Macfarlane put up a good, articulate fight for the right, I fear it was for naught if the spoiler Puccetti stays in the race.

Don't get me wrong, I like Puccetti, he seems like a fine man of great character, but I'm just not "feeling" him. He comes across as the disappointed loser in the conservative primary that lacks the luster needed to defeat Yarmuth.

Macfarlane will have an uphill struggle himself, but at least he has the charisma and knowledge of the conservative right to put up the best fight. Yet he will certainly lose if Puccetti stays in the race siphoning off the possible handful of conservative votes needed for Macfarlane to win.

This might actually be a race if Puccetti dropped out, short of that get ready for two more years of John Yarmuth.

Who Is The Real Enemy In The War On Coal?

As we listen to the back and forth between the candidates placing blame for the "War on Coal" on one another, it's hard to know who to believe. This recent article by Bill Straub looks at the slow demise of the coal industry in Kentucky and the causes of it. It's probably not what either political camp wants to hear because it removes a lot of political capitol from their grasp. Read the article here and tell us what you think:  Drought of political courage persists as candidates hack away at EPA

The Kentucky General Assembly Simplified

The government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is comprised of three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. This post will take a short look at the overview of the legislative branch. The legislative branch, or General Assembly, is the convergence of both the State Senate and House of Representatives. It is broken down as follows in its current incumbent status

Kentucky General Assembly

 

Senate 

Kentucky has 38 State Senate members: 14 (Democrats), 23 (Republicans), 1 (Independent). Length of term: 4 years.

House of Representatives

Kentucky has 100 State House members: 54 (Democrats), 45 (Republicans), 1 Vacant.  

Length of term: 2 years. The Kentucky legislature convenes in regular session on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January for 60 days in even-numbered years and for 30 days in odd-numbered years. It convenes in special sessions at the call of the governor. The Kentucky Constitution mandates that a regular session be completed no later than April 15 in even-numbered years and March 30 in odd-numbered years.

To better understand the duties and processes of each of these Houses, refer to these references: Kentucky Constitution

Rules of Procedure for the 2014 Regular Session of the House or Representatives

Rules of Procedure for the 2014 Regular Session of the Senate

In subsequent posts, we'll take a deeper look at how it comes together. Hope to see you then.

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Website Overview: Kentucky Conservative is not a party specific site. Rather it encompasses the ideology of the conservative movement as a whole. The one thing it is NOT is liberal or “progressive” in any way, shape or form.