By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Aug 11, 2013 at 9:00 AM ET
So powerful.
Please watch and share.
From Slate:
“From One Second to the Next,” the rather unlikely film below, came together when AT&T approached the legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog and asked if he would direct a series of short films warning people about the dangers of texting while driving.
The result is haunting. It focuses on four accidents, some of them fatal, and Herzog aims his camera squarely at the faces of both victims and perpetrators, asking them to describe in detail what happened and the aftermath. Herzog emphasizes the change in civilization he perceives in part by examining an accident in which an Amish family was killed and another in which a horse-shoer’s truck was involved.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Aug 9, 2013 at 2:00 PM ET Between Breaking Bad and Homeland, looks like I won’t be getting out much this fall. Here’s the new official trailer that I will be analyzing with Talmudic-like intensity, in honor of one of my favorite Jewish TV characters, Saul Berenson, played by the sublime Mandy Patinkin.
New season begins September 29.
[And hey you, CBS and Time Warner Cable — get your beef worked out by then! Need me some Homeland.]
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Aug 9, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET Will Walter White’s TV run end with a bang (a la Omar Little) or with a whimper (like Tony Soprano)?
I can’t wait to find out, beginning with the Sunday premiere of the show’s final season.
For the uninitiated — GET WITH IT. And catch up with this informative, and hilarious, 8 minute recap.
(Plenty of SPOILERS):
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Aug 8, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET From Think Progress:
EconomicPolicyJournal.com released a recording of McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton talking about his current job with Dennis Fusaro of Reformed Theological Seminary. Benton, who used to work for Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), suggests he is only working on McConnell’s campaign to prepare for Rand Paul’s re-election campaign in 2016.
“Between you and me, I’m sorta holdin’ my nose for two years, cause what we’re doin’ here is gonna be a big benefit to Rand in 2016, so that’s the long vision,” he said.
UPDATED: 2:00 PM
From The Weekly Standard:
McConnell campaign aide Allison Moore emails a statement from Benton:
“It is truly sick that someone would record a private phone conversation I had out of kindness and use it to try to hurt me. I believe in Senator McConnell and am 100 percent committed to his re-election. Being selected to lead his campaign is one of the great honors of my life and I look forward to victory in November of 2014.”
From GOP primary challenger Matt Bevin:
From WFPL’s Phillip Bailey
From Justin Barasky, Press Secretary for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee:
UPDATE #2 7:00 PM
And now the McConnell campaign’s official response:
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Aug 7, 2013 at 5:00 PM ET Provocative video from the Brave New Foundation, in partnership with the Drug Policy Alliance.
What say you?
What Breaking Bad REALLY Tells Us about the War on Drugs from Brave New Foundation on Vimeo.
By RP Nation, on Wed Aug 7, 2013 at 4:30 PM ET Nick Simon, the well-respected CEO of Publisher’s Printing in Sheperdsville, Kentucky, has submitted the following response to Jonathan Miller’s column this week in The Daily Beast: “McConnell’s Fancy Farm Monster Comes Back to Haunt Him.” Enjoy:
If the McConnell-Grimes U.S. Senate race in Kentucky in 2014 turns out to be as close as you think, McConnell has an “ace in the hole.” This is the State Constitutional provision denying felons the right to vote. The right can only be restored by a formal pardon from the Governor. This provision was established in the Kentucky State Constitution of 1892 and modified by Section 145 ratified in 1955. Section 145 was proposed by the General Assembly in 1954 and ratified by the voters in 1955. To the best of my research, both the 1892 Constitution and Section 145 were enacted with Democrats controlling both the Governor’s mansion and both Houses of the General Assembly.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky does not keep official records on the number of felons in the state. But from two websites, the Sentencing Project and Federal Probation, I got estimates that range from 125,000 to 240,000. Surveys of felons who have the right to vote in other states show they break for the Democratic candidate by 2.5 – 3 to 1 over the Republican candidate.
Kentucky is one of three states (the others are Florida and Virginia) that disbar felons from voting for life. So let’s say Kentucky had more “normal” state rules – felons could vote after their sentences are completed, including completion of all parole and probation. Let’s be conservative with the number of felons in the state and take the low figure of 125,000. Let’s say they only break 2 to 1 Democratic, Kentucky being more conservative than the nation as a whole, so their felons might be a bit more conservative also. Of these felons, let’s say only 25% register and vote – 25% of 125,000 is 31,250 votes. They break two-thirds Democratic and one-third Republican 20,834 Democratic votes – 10,416 Republican votes equal a 10,418 net vote margin to the Democratic candidate.
So this 10,418 vote deficit is McConnell’s ace in the hole. Because of the restriction of the franchise to felons in the state, Allison Lundergan Grimes will start election night with a tally of negative 10,418 votes, versus what she would start out with in one of the 47 other states in the Union (excluding Virginia and Florida). I did not research the number of felons in the state in 1984, but arguably McConnell’s victory margin of 5,269 votes over Dee Huddleston in 1984 was because of this restriction of the franchise. So on election night in 2014, if McConnell ekes out a victory of 10,418 votes or less, he needs to send a bottle of bourbon over to State Democratic Headquarters in Frankfort. For it was voting rules restricting the franchise of felons established by Democrats who will have made his victory possible – McConnell’s 10,418 vote “Ace in the Hole”.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Aug 5, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET The RP had the number one clicked piece in Sunday’s The Daily Beast: “McConnell’s Fancy Farm Monster Comes Back to Haunt Him.” Here’s an excerpt:
For those uninitiated in Bluegrass State politics, the Fancy Farm picnic is neither fancy nor on a farm. The picnic, held annually on the first Saturday in August in a tiny, far-Western Kentucky hamlet called Fancy Farm (population 458: Salute!), is hosted by St. Jerome’s Catholic Church, which bills the event as the “world’s largest one-day BBQ.” While the day’s menu features bingo, 5k runs, and some of the world’s most savory sandwiches (Try the mutton… seriously), the main event begins at 2:00 PM when the state’s most powerful politicians (and occasionally a few national figures such as George Wallace and Al Gore) take the stage for five to ten minute riffs on the year’s hottest campaigns.
Over the past few decades, the picnic’s celebrity has generated a full long-weekend’s worth of satellite activities all over the Jackson Purchase: four days of small-town meet-and-greets, skeet shooting competitions, watermelon smashes, bean suppers and country ham and egg breakfasts. It’s politics just the way the old-timers remember it: plenty of hand-grabbing and bear-hugging and back-slapping and tall-tale-telling. Best yet, it’s the one weekend that the most remote area of the state (and one of the country’s most economically-struggling regions) receives the full respect and attention of the big city slickers, capital politicos, and budget-debilitated Frankfort press corps. This is grassroots politics at its finest.
The Fancy Farm political speaking forum used to have a similar old-fashioned feel. Al Cross, the dean of Kentucky political journalists, remembers that Fancy Farm used to be a “traditional community gathering with the focus on the interests of Western Kentucky,” with a small-town, state-fair sort of ambiance.
But that all changed dramatically in the 1980s, when the picnic’s political forum devolved, according to Cross, into “a piece of political theater”: a hyper-partisan, name-calling screaming match, a microcosm of everything that Americans hate about politics.
The primary culprit? Cross points squarely at Mitch McConnell, and few would disagree. Al Smith, a retired journalist who’s such a Kentucky legend that the state’s major journalism award bears his name, argues that the Senator must assume significant responsibility for the precipitous decline in civility at Fancy Farm: “McConnell was the first with the idea to bus in hundreds of noisy supporters from the rest of the state, and maybe out-of-state as well…[and he] was the first to use the stage as political theater,” cutting down his opponents with elaborately designed, choreographed productions, dressing up his staff to make fun of his opponents.
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Aug 4, 2013 at 9:09 AM ET Subscribe FOR FREE to The RP’s KY Political Brief – an email prepared every weekday morning by former journalist Kakie Urch – with links to all of the day’s Kentucky political news. Click here NOW.
Kakie Urch, the longtime Kentucky journalist who prepares The RP’s KY Political Brief every weekday morning, has outdone herself and found everything that was written, taped and videoed about yesterday’s Fancy Farm picnic, and compiled it for our growing list of KPB subscribers. Enjoy your free sampling below:
FANCY FARM *EXTRA*
On Saturday, Aug. 3, the 133 annual Fancy Farm Picnic was held in Graves County, Ky. The annual event features BBQ, crazy hats, cars, signs, costumes and rowdy crowds. It sets the tone for the Kentucky political season, which this year features the heavyweight bout for the U.S. Senate 2014. KPB’S IN-DEPTH ROUNDUP OF COVERAGE:
PRE-GAMING: PARTY BREAKFASTS, BEAN SUPPERS ARE THE UNDERCARD
ON THE BUS: ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES ON ISSUES, FINALLY
One of the calls from the press throughout the pre-Fancy Farm festivities was “When Will Alison Take A Question?” The candidate glided past press lines without addressing issues. But in this pre-FF interview, she tells HuffPost’s Howard Fineman that she is pro-choice down the line and would delay the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for small businesses. She also talks about female mentors. And the Chippendale Dancers. [HuffPost]
THE MAIN EVENT: MUTTON, PORK BBQ, EIGHT STUMP SPEECHES, 12,000 PEOPLE
CANDIDATES SPAR AT ANNUAL PICNIC
Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave report from Western Kentucky. McConnell says “This is an election about where America is going to go.” Lundergan Grimes says, “Come 2015, you can call me “Senator.”
[H-L]
MCCONNELL: ‘I TAKE KENTUCKY’S FIGHT TO THE LIBERALS EVERY DAY’
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in his Fancy Farm speech, highlighting the strength of his leadership position and the way it allows him to represent Kentuckians against the Obama agenda. [The Daily Caller]
COURIER-JOURNAL: FANCY FARM PACKAGE
The Courier-Journal pulls its special package layout for its Web presentation of Fancy Farm coverage. Includes several strong videos by Matt Stone, coverage by Joe Gerth, et al. [www.courier-journal.com]
QUIPS, JABS, RIPOSTES, SMACK: CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL, IT’S FANCY FARM
Ronnie Ellis of CNHI News Service rounds ups what you really came for – the quotable quotes. The bon mots. Whose kidding whom, there’s very little “bon” going on. But it’s the red meat they came for. [CNHI in Ashland Independent]
MCCONNELL TALKS TOUGH ON OBAMA AT FANCY FARM
Ronnie Ellis of CNHI reports from the picnic. {CNHI News Service in Ashland Independent]
THE SENATE RACE SPEECHES: GRIMES, BEVIN, MARKSBERRY 3-on-1 AGAINST MCCONNELL
Ryan Alessi takes a comprehensive look at the Senate speeches. With speech highlights video. [CN|2}
MCCONNELL, BEVIN, LUNDERGAN GRIMES TRADE BARBS AT FANCY FARM
Jonathan Meador takes the trip to Fancy Farm. Here’s his take. [WFPL]
MCCONNELL NATIONALIZES HIS RE-ELECTION: A VOTE FOR MY OPPONENT IS A VOTE FOR REID
Looking at the way Mitch McConnell went on the offensive, but not at all specifically against challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. [CN|2]
FANCY FARM PUTS KY IN THE POLITICAL SPOTLIGHT
Scott Wartman reports from Fancy Farm [KY ENQUIRER]
IN KENTUCKY, MCCONNELL AND GRIMES TRADE BARBS AT QUIRKY CAMPAIGN STOP
Here’s the account of Fancy Farm running in today’s Washington Post. {WaPo]
MCCONNELL, LUNDERGAN GRIMES TEE OFF IN KENTUCKY SENATE RACE
A look at Fancy Farm from USA Today. [USAT]
KENTUCKY’S SENATE RACE OFF TO A WILD START AT ANNUAL PICNIC
Buzzfeed’s Kate Nocera makes the scene in Graves County to take a look at Kentucky’s annual political tradition. [Buzzfeed]
KENTUCKY TEA PARTY CANDIDATE BEVIN OFF TO A GOOD START
Matt Bevin, of Louisville, is a challenger for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014 and made his Fancy Farm debut on Saturday. Looks like a thumbs up from Howard Fineman. [HuffPost]
MCCONNELL, SENATE CHALLENGERS SHARE STAGE IN KY
Sen. Mitch McConnell and the challengers for the Kentucky U.S. Senate seat took the stage in Fancy Farm, Ky. [AP in Boston Herald]
FANCY FARM INTRODUCES START TO POLITICAL SEASON
Report with video [WDRB]
GATEWOOD GALBRAITH’S SPIRIT CARRIES ON AT FANCY FARM
When perennial gubernatorial candidate and Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith passed away in 2012, Kentucky lost one of its most unique political voices. Known for running on the legalization of marijuana, for riding in Willie Nelson’s hemp oil powered Mercedes, for a big cigar and a big hat, Gatewood embodied the spirit of Fancy Farm. “Gatewood’s Army” carries on the memory. [C-J Blog]
ANALYSIS: NOTHING IN KENTUCKY HAPPENS OUT OF CONTEXT
TOM EBLEN: MCCONNELL’S DAY AT FANCY FARM SHOWS LONG 15 MONTHS AHEAD
Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen was on the scene at Fancy Farm and puts what he saw there through his long experience with Kentucky politics. His finding: Mitch McConnell may have gotten a glimpse how rough his road back to the Senate may be, with two challengers on the stump. [H-L Eblen]
BURNT ENDS, TWEETS AND SWEET TEA
The RP site hosted a live tweet feed, which you can review from the website if you missed the real-time fun. Includes some great one-off photos from politicians’ and reporters’ Twitter and Instagram feeds. [The Recovering Politician]
IMAGES: PICTURES
HERALD-LEADER PHOTO GALLERY [H-L Photo]
C-J PHOTO GALLERY [C-J Photo]
VIDEO: INSTAMENTARY, SOUNDBITES, COLOR
STATE REPRESENTATIVE DOCUMENTS FIRST FANCY FARM ON “INSTAMENTARY”
State Rep. Jonathan Shell (R-Lancaster) used his Instagram feed to create an “Instamentary” of his first Fancy Farm. [http://instagram.com/jshellky]
THE PEOPLE MAKE FANCY FARM
Links to a great people feature and player for all other C-J Fancy Farm video. [C-J Video]
RP ON THE SCENE WITH :30 VIDEOS OF MOVERS, SHAKERS
The Recovering Politician Jonathan Miller (former Treasurer of KY) was at Fancy Farm covering the action as a “civilian” for the first time. He got video comment from many of his former government colleagues. [The Recovering Politician]
GOVERNOR’S RACE:2015 GOVERNOR’S RACE HEAVILY OVERSHADOWED AT FANCY FARM
With several potential candidates in attendance and several others not making an appearance at 2013 Fancy Farm, the usual hinting and hat-tossing about the real power position in Kentucky politics – the governor’s chair – took a back seat to the marquee Senate race. But with big names like Abramson, Conway, Comer, Edelen, Luallen and others in the hopper and Alison Lundergan Grimes’ name out because she is in the Senate fight, it won’t be long. [C-J]
TRIO GETS OFF TO A START ON 2015 GOVERNOR’S RACE
Come for the Senate race, stay for the governor hints. Ronnie Ellis takes a look at some of the people at the annual Fancy Farm picnic who may be eyeing the 2015 governor’s race. [CNHI News Service in Ashland Independent]
AG JACK CONWAY (D) AND AG COMMISH JAMES COMER (R) ON GOVERNOR HOPES
Herald-Leader video. Asks two possible candidates the question that is often answered at Fancy Farm: Will you run for governor next time? [H-L Video]
ON THE KENTUCKY SHOWS:
“One To One with Bill Goodman,” KET 1 p.m. Sunday Aug. 4: Guest, David Gergen
“Fancy Farm Highlights Show,” (with Renee Shaw and Bill Goodman) KET 8 p.m. Monday Aug. 5
.
DAYS UNTIL : Next fundraising deadline: 57 … Primary Election filing deadline: 177… Ky. 2014 Primary Election day: 289 … Fancy Farm 2014: 363 … 2014 General Election day: 457
TODAY’S FRONT PAGES: The Courier-Journal … Lexington Herald-Leader … The Kentucky Enquirer …Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer … Bowling Green Daily News … The Winchester Sun … Danville Advocate-Messenger … Maysville Ledger Independent … Madisonville Messenger – Note: Some front pages are not available daily.
TODAY IN POLITICAL HISTORY: 1987: Repeal of the FCC Fairness Doctrine which required equal coverage in political races by broadcast radio and television.
BIRTHDAYS – Blowing out candles today: President Barack Obama, 52…Jeff Gordon, 42…Billy Bob Thornton, 58…Actor Richard Belzer, 69…Author Dennis Lehane, 42.
JOHN Y’s MUSINGS FROM THE MIDDLE – John Y. Brown III: ICYMI Check out John Y.’s Fancy Farm reflections, a beautiful account of his moment in the (hotter than expected) sun, on The Recovering Politician site in Fancy Farm Memories. (It goes with the “boxing” theme we’re using today.)
COMING MONDAY: Your regular edition of KPB – right to your inbox. Click here to subscribe,
By Jonathan Miller, on Sat Aug 3, 2013 at 10:50 PM ET At this year’s Fancy Farm picnic, The RP cornered nearly all of Kentucky’s major political players — elected officials, campaign strategies, and media experts — and interviewed them for 30 seconds. While no earth-shaking news was broken, these videos are a lot of fun, and show a glimpse behind the curtain of some of our state’s most influential people. Enjoy:
Where Attorney General Jack Conway Teaches His Lessons of Cursing:
Where Agriculture Commissioner James Comer Denies Smoking Hemp:
Where State Auditor Adam Edelen Defends His War with Mississippi:
Where Melissa Edelen Shares the Most Annoying Thing About Her Husband:
Where State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach Discuss the Mess He inherited from his Predecessor:
Where Republican State Party Chairman Steve Robertson Deals With an Intruder:
Where Democratic Party Chairman Dan Logsdon Denies a Bell-Bribe of Matt Bevin:
Where House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins Advises Alison Lundergan Grimes on her Basketball Technique:
Where Former Secretary of State Trey Grayson Announces His 2015 Intentions:
Where Potential Attorney General Candidate Andy Beshear Denies a Fetish with Uniforms:
Where Former Bush White House Aide Scott Jennings Shares the Nickname the President Gave Him:
Where the Dean of Kentucky’s Political Journalists, Al Cross, Gets to Finally Ask Alison Lundergan Grimes a Few Questions:
Where Comer Chief of Staff Holly Harris Denies Slashing Democratic Tires:
Where Political Consultant Turned Filmmaker Mark Nickolas Names the Top Three Political Films:
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Aug 2, 2013 at 12:05 PM ET Subscribe FOR FREE to The RP’s KY Political Brief – an email prepared every weekday morning by former journalist Kakie Urch — with links to all of the day’s Kentucky political news.
This year’s Fancy Farm picnic promises to be a doozy — the political speech-a-fying will mark the unofficial launch of perhaps the top 2014 political battle in the nation — as U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell fights to hold his seat against the dual challenges of Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, and Tea Party businessman Matthew Bevin.
The RP and a cast of Kentucky political and media luminaries will be tweeting from the events in far Western Kentucky, and you can follow them LIVE below. You will especially love all of the fun, 15-second video interviews of the state’s top politicos that The RP will be posting.
And you too can join the fun. Simply go to your normal Twitter account and use the hashtag #fancyfarm. Your tweets will appear below LIVE!
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