Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Notes On Letcher County

Don't lose hope! Don't lose heart!

Hello. I'm Johnathan Masters, and I'm a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

In 2014, $100M was spent for a US Senate campaign, and as a Kentuckian, I'm disappointed with the conversation. We have real issues we need solv'n here.

Getting some running water for all Letcher County citizens would be one of my biggest priorities. Letcher County needs some running water, municipal or wells, or something else. Right now. Letcher County is a coal county for god's sake. We're beggars sitting on mounds of black gold.

I understand poverty. I am poor. Currently, I bathe out of a bucket. I use a bucket to get my water out of my cistern, which I pay a guy $55 to haul to my rural trailer in Breckinridge county, and I heat my water on a hotplate, and wash my dishes and myself that way. I don't think I'm any less of a person for living this way, and I make the best of it, but I know better. I need some running water. Thankfully, for me, I have a city water line running near my home that I can connect to.

Like me, Letcher County needs some running water. But unlike me, many in Letcher County have to figure out novel solutions to their water issues.

As a candidate for Lt Gov, I am advocating for a Kentucky Renaissance. Then we can fulfill the promise of the Enlightenment Era, but first, we need a Renaissance.

I say we need a Renaissance first, an explosion of culture, which is what a Renaissance is, because you can't move a sleeping people. To get action, first, the people must wake up. So...

Kentucky, wake the fuck up!!!

xxxXxxx

I'm happy to read that Letcher County has a homeless shelter. Breckinridge County can learn a thing or two from Letcher County. So can Gallatin County. Any county that doesn't have a homeless shelter, or a protocol for handling homeless folks... that opens the door up for cold-blooded murder. All counties should have a homeless shelter.

Letcher County has 2 public access cable channels, which is more good news. The Fiscal Court runs a channel, and Letcher County Public Schools operates the other channel. I don't know of any cable TV that Breckinridge Co has.

A good idea, for Letcher County... the Fiscal Court TV, and the Letcher County Public Schools... they should invite all of the candidates. They should have forums and debates. Being non-political is inherently political... you're trying to pretend you do not belong to the organization of society, when we all are vital to it's health and function. Not talking about politics is censorship, and we all should have our ear on the ground, paying attention to our so-called representatives, making sure they aren't corrupt. We need 100s more Operation Boptrots. We need to cut Kentucky's grass, and throw out all the corrupt officials, on the asses. $20B Frankfort spends every year, $30B with federal funds, and somehow, 800,000 Kentuckians continue their poverty. Fuck Kentucky's poverty.

Be proud of yourself and your accomplishments. But understand where you are on the social-economical scale. LBJ and RFK didn't visit Appalachia because of it's pride. They visited because it's the frontlines of the War on Poverty.

That was 50 years ago. 50 years ago...

Don't be proud of ignorance, stupidity, tyranny, lying, or hypocrisy.

Letcher County has 2 public access cable channels. Those are incredible resources. The public should have full and complete access to their public media stations. If they don't, then they should take them over. It's Fiscal Court TV and Letcher County Schools TV... both paid with Kentucky blood, sweat, toil, and tears. It's our media... just like this coal here in our dirt... it's our fk'n coal, and it's our fk'n media.

So I don't know who controls those Letcher County resources, but it should be available to anybody in the public. That's a great resource to reach many households, as long as there's equal opportunity for all citizens of Letcher County to use it.

There's 2 newspapers here... Mountain Eagle and Letcher County Community Press. Hardinsburg only has 1 newspaper. With the Internet, we all have the ability to be newspapermen... citizen-journalists... keeping our eyes and ears open, making sure folks act the way they're supposed to act.

I'm excited to see that Letcher County has a Democratic Sheriff, County Judge, and Attorney here. The entire County Triumvirate is Democratic. In Brak Co, only the Sheriff is a Democrat. The County Attorney and Judge-Executive is a Republican. In Letcher County, only the Coroner is a Republican here. I hope that's beneficial to y'all.

Your County Triumivirate is all Democrats. That sounds like a good sign... I hope it is.

A few more Comparisons between my western Kentucky county to asoutheastern Kentucky county:

Brak population is 20,000. Letcher County is 24,000. Letcher County has more citizens than Breckinridge County does.

Letcher County is 339 square miles, and Brak Co 586 square miles. So Brak has more land, and less people. So even though Brak Co is 6th largest county in Kentucky, there's more folks in Letcher County than in Breckinridge County. There's also more registered Democratic voters in Letcher County.

Letcher County has less land and more people. There's a higher concentration of people in Letcher County than Breckinridge County. There's more folks on a square block in Letcher County than Breckinridge County.

I heard that Letcher County was a Dry County, except the Highland Winery, Whitesburg, and Jenkins... but I stand corrected. Wikipedia doesn't know shit... but it's available for anybody to change it at any time. You don't even need to sign up for it. Just correct it... so everybody's on the same page.

Prohibition hasn't worked in the past, doesn't work now, and won't ever work. Brak Co just went wet 2 years ago by popular vote. Letcher County should do the same. They should also opt out of the War on Drugs.

In fact, I think we should make alcohol illegal until Cannabis becomes legal. Alcohol is a horrible drug. The worst one on the market. One creates peace; the other, war.

An odd observation was that I noticed that both your Circuit Court Judge and District Court Judge is of the 47th District... we're in the 46th District, Breckinridge County that is... which I thought was odd, being so far away, yet only 1 number away... we're 46th, and Letcher County is 47th... somebody messed up in the numbering of the gerrymandered Judicial districts.

I also read that Sam Wright was given 8 more years of Judicial power, and Kevin Mullins was given 4 more years of Judicial power just recently. After 4 years, Kevin Mullins will make $440,000, and after 8 years, Sam Wright will make over $1 million dollars.

Sam Wright is a lawyer-million... do we get a million dollars worth of justice? And he's trying to become Supreme Court Judge... running against a Stumbo... Janet Stumbo... Greg Stumbo is one of the best politicians in Kentucky. He had a plan to fix the Pension Debt Crisis, but some folks want to kill all pensions... and have all of the State Workers get zilch. No Social Security. No retirement. Nothing. Just a swift kick in the ass, a “get the fuck outta here!”, and a door slam. Thanks for dedicated your entire lives to educating our children... now get gone.

I see this as a major problem with our ailing failing democracy. The Kentucky Constitution only allows lawyers to become Judges, as if farmers, car salesmen, fry cooks, bus drivers, teachers and doctors aren't able to impartially preside over a court case and make a decision.

We all can be Judges... but some of us humble people believe, judge not, lest ye be judged...

So either we change the law, or Letcher County will have to raise some children up to be incorruptable lawyers, who will fight for the people, the masses, the good folks, and nominate them to become Judges. There at least needs to be some competition. Without competition, then the candidates won't ever have their feet to the fire, they won't have to polish themselves up, and get our approval. We the taxpayers and the voters must approve of these folks... but so far, Kentucky has low dismal turnout rates.

13% in 2012 primary. Last year, Letcher Co had a 34% turnout rate. The majority aren't voting... and it's not that we aren't registered... we are. Registered by the bushel. We''re just aren't going out to go vote.

Letcher County... go vote. Get everybody else out to vote. 18 year olds... skip school that day. It's too important for you to be locked up in a cage all day... take the day off, read about the candidates, and vote before 5pm... or 6pm. I think it's 6pm, but get there at 5p just in case. That way you'll have enough time.

For god's sake... go fuck'n vote! Wtf is your problem? It's not always fun... and if you don't like the candidates, then become one of them! It's one of the easiest things a person can do... just raise their hand. That's it. Or get somebody else to raise their hand. My god... if you don't turn on politics, politics will turn on you, and you'll be governed by your inferiors.

I notice WYMT, Mountain News, reported that Letcher Countians were protesting the new prison being proposed here. I like to see activism. The new prison wouldn't be dangerous, in terms of dangerous criminals... if somebody broke out, they wouldn't hang around and create mischief. They'd want to get the hell outta dodge. But I do hate the culture that prisons create, and Kentucky was constructing new prisons at one of the fastest rates in the nation. But it does provide jobs too. Like any idea, there's it's pros and cons.

So I can see both ways. Prisons too many times are torture chambers, and we aren't focused on rehabilitating as much as smashing people, human beings... our neighbors, family, friends into submission, killing their humanity, instead of giving them the only antidote many need: love. With the worst of the worst, that's how they should be treated, jailtime, fines, punitive damages... but only as a last resort. With others... we can't save folks with more hate and violence. Only love can save them.

More compassion. More common sense. More amicable solutions to conflicts... a phone call should be able to handle many situations, and a mediator for the rest. If a resolution can't be found, then a trial may be necessary. So do your citizen duty, and judge and determine who is right and who is wrong. You have the right to jury nullification... the judge isn't the judge in that case; you are. That's you the citizen having power. That's a good thing. Get power. You're the public... and don't convict folks for dumb shit. Defend good folks. Throw the bad folks in jail.

Prisons also make me think of education, and how education is a preventive measure. With a greater focus on education, we empower ourselves to better trades, jobs, and transferable skills, to make ourselves as valuable as we can be in the marketplace.

For every $1 we spend on education, we save $2 on prison costs. I'd hate for the children of Letcher County to see this prison as a dungeon that they too may be captured, and put into. Letcher County should be a place of hope and opportunity for the next generation.

30 year old Brandon Collier of Neon, the former Letcher County Dog Wardon, was caught driving while taking his prescription medication. Now, he's got an indictment that says while he was an inmate in the Letcher County Jail he possessed klonopin and subutex. Personally, I do not care what grown ass adults do to their own bodies. I'm more impressed that he was able to get drugs while in prison. And that shows a corrupt culture in the Jail system. On one hand, he's able to get the drugs, but on the other, you've got Nazi storm troopers trying to ruin his life over it.

I say, free Brandon Collier. Stop fucking with his life. It's not like he was abusing prescription pills, nor was it like he hurt somebody while driving on them. We need to be more tolerate of folks, especially when there's no victim. If there's no victim, then there's no crime. Now Brandon Collier, locked up for dumb reasons, is getting more and more charges put on him... when does it stop? Is his life ruined? So... in order to protect Brandon Collier from being a pillbilly, we arrest him, and jail him, for the rest of his life?

“What you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.” ~Matthew 25:40

The two prison sites in consideration are about 753 acres in Payne Gap owned by Pike County road builder Leonard Lawson and 700 acres in Roxana owned by Letcher County residents Rondall Meade and Sherwood Ison.

Leonard Lawson... somehow, he's always getting his palms greased. I've heard he's financing Hal Heiner and Jack Conway's campaign. I guess that's how business gets done. Instead of picking your favorite candidates, just pay them both, and make them both shut the fuck up, and get all of the construction contracts that you can get your hands on.

That's something I'm not able to do... like me or not, I'll tell you the truth. Instead of being a plastic fake politician, who smiles a bunch, shakes your hand, and smoozes the voters, but doesn't have any substance, I'll always tell you the truth.

Good honest regular peasant commoner uncorruptibles untouchables speaking truth to power. Always in the good name of the people of Kentucky.



Thank you

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