Several Republican Lawmakers Disapproved.

The Grayson County News-Gazette of Thursday, June 22, 2006 noted:
Local News
"Poll shows some blahs
"LEXINGTON - Whatever the reason - post-election hangover, apathy, or the perception of endless scandal - more Kentuckians think less of elected public officials now than they did only nine months ago.
In a new Preston-Osborne/Lane Report tracking poll, the job performance of a number of elected officials, past and present, was compared to a baseline study conducted last August. Respondents were asked to rate the job performance of each official as excellent, good, fair or poor. Ratings fell for nearly every official.
"For example, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell's performance rating fell from 55 percent excellent or good in August 2005 to 48 percent in May. Decline in favorable numbers also were reported for members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Ed Whitfield, 65 percent in August to 55 percent in May; Ron Lewis, 51 percent falling to 36 percent; Anne Northup, 60 percent to 48 percent; Geoff Davis, 44 percent to 34 percent; Hal Rogers, 78 percent to 59 percent, and Ben Chandler, 59 percent to 55 percent. Sen. Jim Bunning's approval rating rose slightly during that time, from 34 percent to nearly 36 percent, The Lane Report says. The survey fieldwork started the day before the May primary election and only four days after indictments were handed up against Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
"The poll shows Kentuckians are divided on whether the investigation is warranted or is politically motivated. In August 45 percent thought it was warranted; 46 contended it stemmed from politics. By May those saying the investigation was warranted had risen only slightly to just under 47 percent, while those saying it was political stayed put at around 46 percent.
"Neither of the main players in the investigation fared well. Gov. Fletcher's approval rating slipped from 38 percent to 33 percent, while Stumbo held steady at slightly under 30 percent. Compared with several previous governors, Fletcher received relatively high numbers in both “best governor” and “worst governor” categories.
"Respondents were also asked how they would rank the Kentucky General Assembly's performance (most said fair to poor); whether they would support tax incentives to encourage alternative fuel production here (vast majority support incentives). Respondents also expressed concern about the future of the economy and a strong desire for a better educated workforce.
"The Lane Report has been Kentucky's business news source for over 20 years. Published in Lexington, The Lane Report is available at newsstands in Kentucky's largest cities, by subscription, or online at www.lanereport.com."
I interpret that poll to mean that, if the November general election were held today, that Republican members of the U.S. Congress Ron Lewis, Anne Northup, and Geoff Davis would all be replaced by Democratic Congressmen from Kentucky.

To bring home the troops, you have to rely on the Democrats.

We recently had two votes in the U.S. Congress concerning bringing home our troops from Iraq. The U.S. Senate had a resolution supporting keeping American troops in Iraq and not setting a withdrawal schedule; that resolution which Senator Kerry opposed, passed approx 96 to 4. I didn't see the figures, but I'd wager that all the votes against the measure were Democrats or an Independent. In the House of Representatives, a similar resolution was presented, and all but approx. 4 Republicans voted for that resolution supporting keeping American troops in Iraq and not setting a withdrawal schedule; an overwhelming majority of the Democratic House members voted against that "continue the war" resolution, but approx. 52 Democrats voted with the Republican majority. To be an anti-war activist within the Republican Party in 2006 is to waste your time. The Republican rubber-stamp Congress gives President Bush all he asks for, and he is asking permission to ship American soldiers and Guardsmen to fight in a never-ending war in Iraq. A challenger candidate running against an incumbent Republican Representative or Senator in a primary can hope to get at best fifteen or twenty per cent of the vote. If any incumbent Republican Senators or Congressmen are replaced this year, virtually all of those replaced will be replaced by Democrats in the general election. President Bush has a lock on the Republican Party. You won't see any serious scrutinizing or blocking of President Bush's proposals by the rubber-stamp Republican Congress. President Bush's misunderestimating the degree of opposition within Iraq to the American military occupation of Iraq is costing American lives. The only practical way to get the U.S. troops out of Iraq any time soon is to elect more Democrats to the U.S. Congress. The Democratic Party is a broad umbrella: you have pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Democrats; you have pro-gun Democrats and anti-gun Democrats; on most issues, you find some Democrats on one side, and some on the other side. On the other hand, you have a Republican rubber-stamp Congress that votes the Republican party line on every issue, and gives President Bush what he asks for every time. President Bush wants to be remembered as a wartime President. Elect more Democrats, and we can end the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and bring the American troops home to America where they belong.

Iraq Military Occupation contrasted with Viet Nam War.

Most of theDemocratic House members voted against the Republican resolution not to set a withdrawal-from-Iraq date. I am proud to be a Democrat. Hal Rogers voted not to set a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq date.An attorney I know recently said, "Who expected we'd be in another Viet Nam?" There are ways that the Iraq occupation has less justification than the American military presence in Viet Nam when I was in college. In Viet Nam we sent U.S. troops there as part of the SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization) alliance military force to help South Viet Nam; here, we are not participating in any regional military alliance to help any faction in Iraq. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Anti-American forces in Viet Nam, was a party to the international communist conspiracy that intended the overthrow of the government of the U.S.; Saddam Hussein was a local dictator that had no intention of conquering the U.S.A., and he is now a prisoner. There has been no proof of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. There has been no proof that Saddam Hussein was involved with the Taliban, nor Al Quaida. There has been no proof that Saddam Hussein was a socialist nor a communist nor a part of any international conspiracy. There was a domino theory in the 1960's concerning Viet Nam; there is no domino theory that the fall of Iraq to the insurgents will result in the fall of any neighboring country. Iraq is further away from the United States that Viet Nam, and of less strategic importance. So, Iraq is no Viet Nam, and we have less reason to have troops in Iraq than we had in Viet Nam. One big difference, we lost 58,000 men inViet Nam, and we have only lost 2,500 to date in Iraq. I say let's get all United States troops out Jan. 8, 2007 from Iraq. Kenneth Stepp.

House vote on withdrawal from Iraq.

I was saddened today to learn of the results of the House vote on withdrawal from Iraq. The U.S. House of Representatives had voted to "stay the course" on American military occupation of Iraq. I am proud to say that most Democrats in the U.S. House voted 'NO' on the resolution to "stay the course" in Iraq. If only Democrats had been in the U.S. House, a majority of the vote would have been "NO". Hal Rogers and his Republican cronies voted "YES". Please vote for Kenneth Stepp for the U.S. House, and when a Congressman, I will vote to get the U.S. troops out of Iraq. Kenneth Stepp.

More on coal mine safety

[note: this was previously posted in May. A comment by a CNN lady was posted today to it. I tried to republish the whole thing with comments today. The comments don't republish. Please go down this page and punch Archives May 2006, and you will have this same blog on our screen, with two comments attached. Basically the lady said that President Bush was scheduled to sign the new coal mine safety bill into law this morning. I pray it will be sufficient, and that you won't be reading about any more coal miners suffocating in the mines. If I am in Congress next January, I plan to try and get on the coal mine safety subcommittee.]
Kenneth Stepp worked in Harlan County, Kentucky in 2002-2004 as an Assistant Public Advocate for the Kentucky State government. It grieves me to read about unnecessary death and destruction in Harlan County--"bloody Harlan" as it used to be called in the old days.
I had previously contrasted the watered-down coal mine safety House bill supported by incumbent Republican Congressman Hal Rogers requiring coal mines to supply one hour of storage oxygen to each miner, to the strong coal mine safety proposal of that California Democrat requiring coal mines to supply two days' supply of storage oxygen to each miner working in underground coal mines.
The Militant, said the following about the recent tragedy in Harlan County Darby Mine:
"Harlan County coroner Philip Bianchi told the press that two of the miners died from the impact of the explosion and three from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Following the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia, where 12 miners were trapped underground after a blast and died after running out of oxygen, MSHA issued emergency regulations requiring companies to provide self-rescuers with two hours of oxygen rather than one hour as currently required, said Smith. 'But MSHA has allowed the operators to go for months without implementing the new rule, saying they need time to order new devices,' the UMWA official said.
Miners have reported that even the current devices often don’t work properly. Jeff Ledford said in an interview published in the May 21 Lexington Herald-Leader that his brother Paul, who survived the Kentucky Darby blast, told him that his self-rescuer lasted only five minutes, not one hour. Paul Ledford reportedly passed out twice while crawling toward the mine’s entrance."
It is a shame that Hal Rogers in unwilling to use his power as a Congressman to protect the underground coal workers from large corporations cutting costs by cutting back on oxygen breathing equipment used in coal mines. Vote for Kenneth Stepp for U.S. House, KY-5 and vote for better coal mine safety through more effective Federal regulations of coal mine safety.

Grassroots Support.

I need some more grassroots support. The DFA organization wants to know how many people support my candidacy. Please punch http://www.dfalink.com/campaign.php?id=1589. and put in a good word for me, to help the Kenneth Stepp for Congress campaign. Kenneth Stepp

Election Statistics

The election statistics for the Kentucky Fifth Congrssion are available at the Kentucky Secretary of State's web site. For total voter registration, the Kentucky Fifth District has 232,922 Democrats registered, and 209,354 Republicans registered. In the recent Democratic Primary 28.9% of the registered Democrats voted. Of the registered Democrats that voted in the Primary, 47,362 or 70.4% voted for Kenneth Stepp, and 19,928 or 29.6% voted for James W. Tapley. A box of absentee ballots had been recently found in Whitley County, I believe, and added to the total, but I think that is the final count. Now James W. Tapley is the Kenneth Stepp County Campaign Chairman for McCreary County and for Wayne County.

Activity Report

Kenneth Stepp has had a busy week. It was good to get out for some mountain hiking. My family (my wife Wilma, and my sons Carson and Conrad) and I went hiking Sunday after church and lunch at the Natural Bridge State Park. We all walked up the side of the mountain to the Natural Bridge, and walked across the Natural Bridge. We walked along the ridge a while then walked back down the mountain. I don't know what my 68-year-old opponent did Sunday.
On Monday, my wife Wilma and I went to Prestonsburg, and I spoke there at the Democratic Women's Club meeting in the library at Prestonsburg. I argued that we need to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by January 8, 2007, that we need a Democratic U.S. House of Representatives, that the Republicans are giving us a ten trillion dollar national debt ceiling, that a majority of the registered voters in the Fifth District are Democrats, and that we need to carry Floyd County and the Kentucky Fifth Congressional District for the Democrats in November.

Gun Control and Natural Rights.

One of the, I presume, Democrats criticized my opinion against gun control legislation. He concluded with something like, "There is no more god-given right to own firearms than a god-given right to fly in airplanes." That brings up the subjects of gun control and of natural rights. Concerning gun control, the United States Constitution in Amendment 2 states, ". . . the right to bear arms shall not be infringed." I know courts make strange interpretations of some words, and the word "infringed" could have many different meanings in many different courtrooms. I believe that the words in the Constitution and the statutes should be accorded their most common meanings. I believe that you don't have to look at legislative history and committee notes to figure out what a Constitutional Amendment means. I believe "infringed" means "infringed" and I will not vote for a statute that infringes your right to bear arms. Another question is the question of natural rights. Civil rights and civil liberties are not confered upon the people by the government. Civil rights and civil liberties are not given to the people by some generous despot, that has the authority to take away those rights on a whim. No, civil rights and civil liberties are given by God, and are what our country's founding fathers called "natural law". Governments are instituted to protect the rights of the people, and the rights of the people are enshrined in the United States Constitution and in the State Constitutions. No, people two hundred years ago did not fly around in airplanes, but people in America had the recognized right to own firearms, assemble peaceably in public places, and speak their opinions. There are some that would throw out part of the American Bill of Rights, but if elected to Congress I will defend the Bill of Rights.

County Campaign Chairmen

The Stepp for Congress campaign has county campaign chairmen for Floyd, Martin, Rowan, McCreary, and Wayne Counties.

Remember Elian.

A few years ago, a kid named Elian Gonzalez and his mother tried to escape from Cuba to live in the U.S.A. His mother died in the attempt. Elian Gonzalez lived with relatives in the U.S.A for a while, until the United States Government had him deported back to Cuba. If I am your Congressman, I plan to introduce special legislation to confer United States citizenship upon Elian Gonzalez, his father, his step-mother, and their children, upon affidavit. Remember Elian.

An open letter to Hal Rogers

Hello, Hal Rogers.
I had challenged you to a debate in a previous open letter to you on this web site, but you never replied. Like I say, I'd be glad to debate you any normal waking hours time, any place in the Fifth Kentucky District for the U.S. House or in Lexington, Kentucky.
What I wanted to talk with you about tonight is illegal campaign contributions from corporations to your campaign account. According to 2 United States Code Section 441(b), it is "unlawful . . . for any corporation whatever . . . to make a contribution or expenditure in connection with any election at which . . . a Senator or Representative in . . .Congress are to be voted for, . . . or for any candidate, political committee, or other person knowingly to accept or receive any contribution prohibited by this section, or any officer or any director of any corporation . . . to consent to any contribution or expenditure by the corporation . . . prohibited by this section."
Hal Rogers, in your Fourth Quarter 2005 campaign report, HAL ROGERS FOR CONGRESS received a one thousand dollar ($1,000.00) contribution from Bell Engineering, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky; received a four thousand two hundred dollar ($4,200.00) contribution from Image Entry, Inc. of Dallas, Texas; and received a two hundred fifty dollar ($250.00) contribution from Adobe Palm LLC of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Hello. "Inc." means it is a corporation. "LLC" means it is a corporation. I don't intend to report this to the FEC until you have had a chance to refund these political campaign contributions to these corporations, and have notified me of it. I notice from your campaign report that you have not been able to get any ten dollar and twenty dollar campaign contributions from the coal miners, loggers, housewives, and other working people of our district. You have gotten a lot of $4,200.00 contributions and some $5,000.00 contributions from corporation Chief Executive Officers and their housewives. Please keep it legal. Please advise me when you have refunded these corporations their money, and if it is done quickly, I plan to take no further action about it. Kenneth Stepp, Democratic Candidate for KY-5 U.S. House of Representatives.

Kenneth Stepp opposes the new Immigration Bill.

Kenneth Stepp opposes the new Immigration Bill. If it passes, you'd better brush up on your Spanish and French, because the Senate intends to open the floodgates of immigration. Naturally rubber-stamp Republican Congressman Hal Rogers of the KY 5th District will vote in favor of the Republican Immigration Bill in its present form. The Immigration Bill is explained in the following article recently published in The New American magazine:

"Overrun With New 'Citizens'" (Excerpt)by William F. Jasper June 12, 2006
"If the Bush-Kennedy immigration plan in the Senate is enacted, the United States could be flooded with more than 200 million new legal immigrants in the next 20 years!
"The first part of President Bush's televised May 15 immigration speech was carefully crafted to appease his conservative base, which he has alienated with his open-borders policies. Hence, the address was front-loaded with references to sovereignty and security and promises to beef up border enforcement with more Border Patrol agents and a temporary deployment of National Guard units. The back end of the address was a salvo aimed at prodding Congress to adopt his proposals of amnesty for millions of illegal aliens already here as well as a continuous flow of foreign 'guest workers.'
"Millions of viewers watched President Bush's speech. Many of them, no doubt, focused on the front end (as the speech writers had planned) and came away optimistically hopeful that the president had gotten the message and was finally getting serious about our border crisis. However, on the same day as President Bush's speech, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions released an impact analysis of the Senate immigration bill - which President Bush supports - that will shock and dismay any who are putting hope for sane immigration policy in proposals coming from the White House or the Senate leadership.
"The numbers are staggering and mind-numbing. According to the detailed analysis by Sen. Sessions and his staff, if the Senate bill is allowed to pass, we could expect to see up to 217 million legal immigrants enter the United States over the next 20 years! Have the president or the Senate leaders in either party given the American people even the slightest hint that this immigration tsunami is hidden within the fine print of the 614-page bill? Of course not; that would be political suicide for any politician supporting the bill. But enacting the bill into law would amount to national suicide, as no nation has ever, or could ever, survive such an immigration onslaught.
"As Senator Sessions points out, the bill 'allows at least 6.5 million, and up to 60.7 million new guest workers to come to the United States over the next 20 years. There is nothing 'temporary' about these workers. Employers may file a green card application on their behalf as soon as they arrive in the United States, or the worker may self-petition for a green card after four years of work." The bill would also allow 'at least 7.8 million, and up to 72.8 million immediate family menbers of low-skilled workers to come to the United States over the next 20 years.'
"Furthermore, the Senate bill dramatically multiplies the number of H-1B visas for skilled workers by increasing the annual cap of 65,000 to 115,000, and by automatically increasing the new cap by 20 percent each year the cap is hit. In addition, it creates a new exemption to the cap for anyone who has an 'advanced degree in science, technology, engineering, or math.' In other words, unlimited visas for everyone with real or fake degrees from any foreign university.
" . . . . And these numbers do not even include what is commonly referred to as 'chain migration,' which occurs when an immigrant becomes a citizen. Ciizens have a legal right to bring in family members other than spouses and children. They can bring in their parents, their adult siblings, and the spouses and children of their adult silings, causing exponential immigration growth.
* * *
". . . . In August of last year, the Pew Hispanic Center released the results of a national survey it had conducted in Mexico showing that 46 percent of Mexicans indicated they would move to the United States if they had the opportunity and the means. What does that mean in real numbers? Mexico is the twelfth largest nation in the world by population: 107 million. Forty-six percent of that total is around 50 million. . . ."

So you can see why Kenneth Stepp opposes the new Immigration Bill that cleared the Senate, and is expected to have Hal Rogers' support, and clear the House of Representatives. You can vote for Hal Rogers and prepare for a flood of immigrants, or you can vote for Kenneth Stepp which is a vote to keep and enforce our present Immigration laws.

Hal Rogers' travel expenses.

It seems that the Kentucky Fifth District's Republican Congressman Hal Rogers has expensive tastes. The big-money people have been taking Hal Rogers to places like twelve trips to Hawaii--which Hal Rogers claims are not vacations. Yeah, be real, Hal. Next time I'm walking barefooted on Waikeekee Beach in Hawaii, I'll keep telling myself that it is all in a day's hard work, and it is not a vacation. No, I've never been to Hawaii. Most people that live normal lives don't ever get to Hawaii. Most people that live normal lives don't have lobbyists treating them to $150,000 worth of travel. Most people that get to Hawaii don't claim that it is not a vacation. Hal Rogers has lost touch with the mountain people of Eastern Kentucky, and needs to be voted out of office. Vote for Kenneth Stepp for U.S. House, Fifth District of Kentucky, Democrat, and vote to end the abuses of lobbyists providing free vacation trips to Congressmen that vote to give your tax money to the corporations the lobbyists support.
Anyway, you can read the article about Hal Rogers' travels in the Lexington Herald-Leader, or by punching: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/14749617.htm

The newspaper article is by Janet Patton, and about half of it is reprinted here:
"HERALD-LEADER WASHINGTON BUREAU
"WASHINGTON - * * *
"[T]he Center for Public Integrity . . . , in a report released yesterday on a 51/2-year study of privately funded congressional travel.
* * *
"The center's report yesterday is the second analysis of congressional travel data. The new report, which focuses on how often staffers and aides make the trips, shows that Congress has taken almost $50 million in privately funded travel, including 17,000 trips by staffers worth almost $30 million that the report says may violate ethics rules.
"The center analyzed lawmakers' reports of 23,000 trips taken from January 2000 through June 2005. These trips were paid for by corporations, trade groups, and non-profit organizations, many with business on Capitol Hill, according to the center's press release.
"'Almost three-quarters of all trips were taken by aides, who often influence how their bosses vote, negotiate in committee and interact with other government officials,' according to the report.
"Dennis Thompson, a professor of government at Harvard University, said in the report that the trips 'violate the principle of fairness. In order to get this special kind of access, you have to pay a lot of money.'
"The Kentucky delegation and its staffers have taken 327 free trips worth more than $820,000, according to the report.
"By far the biggest of Kentucky's trip-takers was Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset. As the Herald-Leader reported in February 2005, Rogers has crisscrossed the globe, often in the company of the American Association of Airport Executives. His relationship with the AAAE has been linked since then to a lucrative earmark for a no-bid Homeland Security contract and a job for Rogers' son at a related start-up.
"Rogers made 28 privately funded trips at a cost of $155,540. His staffers made almost twice as many trips, worth almost $57,000.
"In a statement released yesterday by Rogers' office, communications director Leslie Cupp said, 'These trips provide a valuable service by allowing the congressman and his staff to gain a better understanding of the political, economic and social ramifications of various issues.'
"Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, took nine trips for $19,162. And according to the center's study, his staffers took 52 trips worth almost $68,000. * * * "

Vote to end the abuses of Congressional travel and junketing paid by lobbyists and those seeking Federal money, vote for Kenneth Stepp to the U.S. House, Kentucky District 5.

Please contribute now.

Democrats should stand together.
Please contribute now. You have read my blog spots. Over 47,000 Democrats voted for me in the Democratic Primary. My former Democratic opponent James Tapley (right) stands by me in the picture, endorsed my candidacy and accepted the posts of being my general election campaign manager for McCreary County and of being my campaign manager for Wayne County. It takes a lot of money to run an effective campaign for the U.S. House. If you want to help the Kenneth Stepp for U.S. House, KY Dist. 5 campaign, please punch: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/9409 and follow the instructions on it. I do a lot of travelling around, speech making and campaigning. If you can dig in your pocket and put a few dollars in the Stepp for Congress campaign general election fund, that would be appreciated. Together, we can have a Democratic Congress elected this fall. As stated on a previous blog, one commentator has already predicted a Democratic majority in the U.S. House after the next election. Together, we can make the Kentucky Fifth District a part of that Democratic majority. Please be generous and contribute now. Kenneth Stepp.