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This is from WFPL news director Rick Howlett and the AP.
THE FBI IS INVESTIGATING THE HANGING DEATH OF A U.S. CENSUS WORKER NEAR AN EASTERN KENTUCKY CEMETERY. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL SAYS THE WORD “FED” WAS SCRAWLED ON HIS CHEST.
THE BODY OF BILL SPARKMAN, A 51-YEAR-OLD CENSUS FIELD WORKER AND OCCASIONAL TEACHER, WAS FOUND SEPT. 12 IN THE DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL FOREST IN RURAL SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY. INVESTIGATORS HAVE SAID LITTLE ABOUT THE CASE. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL, WHO WAS NOT AUTHORIZED TO DISCUSS THE CASE AND REQUESTED ANONYMITY, TELLS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WORD “FED” WAS WRITTEN ON THE DEAD MAN’S CHEST.
FBI SPOKESMAN DAVID BEYER SAID THE BUREAU IS HELPING STATE POLICE DETERMINE IF SPARKMAN’S DEATH WAS THE RESULT OF FOUL PLAY, AND IF SO, WHETHER IT WAS RELATED TO HIS CENSUS WORK.
Here’s what we reported on today:
- Poverty Task Force Begins Work In Frankfort
- Preservation Groups Work to Move Civil War Monument
- Louisville Receives Stimulus Grant For Firehouse
- Berman Reacts to District Accountability Scores
- Clark Co. Lawyer Joins Medicaid Fraud Unit
- Plans Announced For Botanical Garden
- Bank Executive Opposes Regulating Financial Industry
- Norton/Anthem Officials To Meet
Here are your updates for the 2010 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
Politico catches Senator Jim Bunning dozing off in a meeting. Maybe he’s dreaming about retiring.
Rand Paul‘s moneybomb is today. He’s been telling everyone about it.
The Trey Grayson camp is fairly quiet. But will the Secretary of State come out against cancer?
A while back, we reported on Congressman John Yarmuth‘s flirtation with reconciliation. While Yarmuth isn’t in the Senate, he said the possibility of Senate Democrats invoking reconciliation to pass a Healthcare Overhaul was strong. Reconciliation is a procedural tactic that allows a simple majority to pass legislation without the possibility of a filibuster.
Senator Mitch McConnell said yesterday that Democrats will be hurt if they attempt reconciliation with a healthcare bill.
“Let me say…budget reconciliation has never been used to structure one-sixth of the American economy,” said McConnell. “If that option were chosen, there would be a severe, negative, and I think appropriate reaction from the American people.” (from Politico)
McConnell’s statement could be an empty threat, and he admits that Republicans are no strangers to reconciliation votes.
In fact, here’s Wikipedia’s list of recent reconciliation votes:
- Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980, Pub.L. 96-499 (1980)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Pub.L. 97-35 (1981)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982, Pub.L. 97-253 (1982)
- Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Pub.L. 97-248 (1982)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1983, Pub.L. 98-270 (1984)
- Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA), Pub.L. 98-369 (1984)
- Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), Pub.L. 99-272 (1986)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, Pub.L. 99-509 (1986)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, Pub.L. 100-203 (1987)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, Pub.L. 101-239 (1989)
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub.L. 101-508 (1990).
- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub.L. 103-66 (1990).
- Balanced Budget Act of 1995, H.R. 2491 (vetoed December 6, 1995)
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, Pub.L. 104-193 (1996)
- Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Pub.L. 105-33 (1997)
- Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Pub.L. 105-34 (1997)
- Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999, H.R. 2488 (vetoed September 23, 1999)
- Marriage Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000, H.R. 4810 (vetoed August 5, 2000)
- Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), Pub.L. 107-16 (2001)
- Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, Pub.L. 108-27 (2003)
- Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-171 (2006)
- Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA), Pub.L. 109-222 (2006)
- College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Pub.L. 110-84 (2007)
Metromix has a short profile on indie rockers Yo La Tengo. The band is in town for a show tonight. I recommend the article and the concert. Let’s hope tonight’s show goes better than the one chronicled in The Onion.
If you’re an avid WFPL listener, you’ve already heard a snippet of Yo La Tengo’s work. Their song Moby Octopad is the backing track for the current promo for this blog.
Here’s a fun sampling of YLT’s mentality and sound, with help from the guys at the long gone HBO comedy series Mr. Show.
Here’s what we’re working on today:
I’ll follow up on the Norton/Anthem dispute and their negotiations today.
Rick will cover the announcement of a new attraction at former landfill site off River Road.
Stephanie will get tape from JCPS on how Jefferson County fared in the NCLB results released this morning.
Stephanie will also cover the meeting over the Bloedner monument. It’s the oldest Civil War monument in the country.
Today on SOA…from the Idea Festival…”Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose”
Here’s what we reported on today:
I just got back from the “Mad As Hell Doctors” tour stop on Gray Street. Seeing all of the doctors reminded me to post a link to a story about Humana being under investigation.
Earlier this month we told you about Rand Paul‘s second money bomb, which is billed as a fight between Paul’s grassroots base and Trey Grayson‘s apparent elitism. The money bomb drops tomorrow and while the Paul campaign says it has nothing to do with the fundraising, Jake points out that Paul sure is promoting it a lot.
This post comes to us from WFPL arts and humanities reporter Elizabeth Kramer.
You may have heard that funny tidbit Steve Inskeep talked about on Morning Edition today just before the news on the half hour: it was about a fake version of The New York Post newspaper that hit the streets yesterday morning. The front page headline reads “We’re Screwed” and inside are articles about climate change. The prank was by The Yes Men, who’ve also put their prank newspaper online. The prank involved hundreds of volunteers who handed out the fake papers just before today’s United Nations summit on climate change.
This isn’t the first time the Yes Men have parodied a newspaper. Last year, the team, led two guys who call themselves Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, put out fake copies of The New York Times.
They’ve been staging their mix of political theater and activism for nearly a decade now and documented a lot of it. They’ve posed as spokesmen or scientists from major corporations and international organizations. Some of it is in their 2003 DVD release The Yes Men, and some of it is astonishing. In 2004, they talked about that venture and more in an interview on Fresh Air from WHYY. They came out with another film called The Yes Men Fix the World, which premiered at Sundance this year and was on HBO this summer. The theatrical release is set for Oct. 7, but so far the list of locations doesn’t include Louisville or any nearby cities.
To get an idea of the reactions to yesterday’s prank, here are a few videos.
