Month: April 2010

Categories
hopkinsville

Is WKAG still independent?

NEW WAVE COMMUNICATIONS IS PURCHASING LOW POWER HOPKINSVILLE TV STATION WKAG EFFECTIVE MAY 1ST, WITH NEW WAVE SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER STEVE BUTTRAM TO BECOME THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE STATION.

I think it’s rather obvious that something had to happen or else WKAG would shutdown completely. What does this mean for the station’s news reporting? On the positive side, the station will now get a major upgrade in equipment/manpower resulting in a better quality broadcast. I’m hoping for a more robust web presence for WKAG.

The concerns I have for WKAG revolve around New Wave’s relationship with city government. During the AT&T U-verse controversy, the city failed in maintaining neutrality. Even to the point of suing AT&T to prevent U-verse from being activated. New Wave has already proven they will be very aggressive in defending their interests. If this includes manipulating the news coverage then the usefulness of WKAG will be very limited.

Categories
hopkinsville

Tea Party Video

Here’s video of two speeches Bill Streets and Dr. John McCubbin.

Categories
hopkinsville

Hopkinsville Tea Party photos

Here is a selection of all the photos I took on Tax Day. The rest I am uploading to Picasa. I have video of two speeches that will be coming soon also.

Categories
hopkinsville rant

Interest-free loans and Unicorns

Again with the “interest-free” nonsense. The new middle school is going to be built with interest-free bonds funded with Federal stimulus dollars.

IF THE DISTRICT HAD USED A TRADITIONAL BOND PROGRAM TO FINANCE THE NEW SCHOOL, THE FINAL BILL WOULD HAVE BEEN ROUGHLY 41-MILLION DOLLARS, BUT WITH THE 14-MILLION DOLLARS SAVED FROM NOT PAYING INTEREST AND THE 7-MILLION DOLLARS EARNED IN INTEREST FROM THE ESCROW FUND, THE NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL WILL BE BUILT AT A COST OF 20-MILLION DOLLARS TO THE TAXPAYERS OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.

The money being spent here doesn’t magically appear because somebody chased down a leprechaun and stole his pot of gold. The money is generated via three methods all of which are very bad for us. The first is through selling U.S. Treasuries that earn interest to the investor. We already have a crushing level of debt; we can’t afford to borrow another penny period! The second is through the printing of paper currency. The unregulated printing of paper demeans the value of all dollars in circulation. The third and final method is through direct taxation. Which will be the number one topic on April 15th.

WKDZ normally provides excellent news coverage but this story is really no better than if the station had reported unicorns flying through the streets of Hopkinsville. The concept of an interest-free loan does not stand up to any kind of smell test at all. To borrow money is never free unless someone else agrees to eat the cost of not charging interest.

Categories
rant

Get Green, Go Broke

straw hut
Stimulus-funded Vegetative Dwelling

A few years ago I got on the CFL bandwagon believing they were a good idea. Today, the house has been fully installed with CFL bulbs. They suck big time. CFL bulbs are not any brighter than incandescent bulbs. I don’t believe they burn long enough to be a cost saver. That’s the general problem with everything that is labeled as “Green” and so called alternative energy.

At the state level I wish it were only faulty CFLs that Gov. Beshear was granting money for. Governor Beshear’s plan is to spend $500,000 on some incredibly expensive ‘improvements’ to an abandoned building. The money is meant to convert a larger building into a new firestation for Russellville. A new firestation would be a wonderful thing except for the unnecessary embellishments.

The new station will be fitted with the latest sustainable materials and technologies mandated by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design U.S. Green Building Council standards, including a vegetative roof, wind turbine, solar panels and recycled roof rainwater.

The vegetative roof, wind turbine, and solar panels are all superficial additions. I don’t believe for a second that these changes will ever pay for themselves. Ultimately, Kentucky doesn’t have the money to pay for this because Beshear is borrowing it from Federal stimulus funds. The Federal government doesn’t have the money because the Treasury was emptied of all value many months ago. The actual source of the half-million dollars to build this new firestation will be either borrowing from foreign creditors or simple printing of worthless paper.