It’s silly to protest this North Carolina nutjob. He’s so crazy that a protest isn’t necessary. His words do all the work for you. [HuffPo]

The paper in Lexington felt it was necessary to run a NYT piece about the 4th District race. Instead of writing about it on its own, that is. [H-L]

Here comes Mittens Romney pretending that he knows a lot about and cares about public education. [Reuters]

The feds are cracking down on food stamp fraud. We’re left wondering when they’ll start cracking down on disability fraud, which is rampant in Kentucky. [NPR]

The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee has called on President Barack Obama to order an investigation into the case of Clarence Aaron, a federal prison inmate whose quest for a presidential commutation was the subject of a ProPublica investigation. [ProPublica]

Can you imagine what life would be like if rail travel was part of Kentucky’s reality? [Politico]

You can’t even beat somebody until their school fractures in Barbourville without being arrested these days. [WKYT]

Unemployment rates fell in 110 of Kentucky’s 120 counties in April, according to data released Thursday by the state’s Office of Employment and Training. Maybe because more people fell off the jobless rolls? [H-L]

The Kentucky Supreme Court today reversed the three murder convictions of Lloyd Hammond, who was sentenced to life without parole in 2010 for killing William Sawyers, Terrell Cherry and Kerry Williams. [C-J/AKN]

Yep, the wingnuts are all in a tizzy over the Creation Myth Museum not being the top most important vacation destination on the planet, amen. [Wonkette]

Yep, we know, the Times-Picayune is on its deathbed and is just cold producing fewer papers each week – just three days. Yep, A Kentucky Newspaper will soon be in that same boat. [HuffPo]

Senate appropriators voted 18-12 on Thursday to reinstate funding for family-planning programs abroad, setting up a clash with the House. You know Rand Paul will be losing his elfin mind over this. [The Hill]

You won’t often see us hyping anything that lame duck hack/retributionist Steve Beshear promotes but this is one rare instance.

The first round (nearly $2 million will be handed out in total) benefits 81 farming families and 36 counties. The program provides 25% reimbursement of energy saving items up to $10,000. Things like: energy audits, energy efficient building components, on-farm energy upgrades, on-farm energy efficiency training.

From a release:

Examples of on-farm efficiency investments include Henkle’s Herbs & Heirlooms, of Jessamine County, for greenhouse improvements and Gray Poultry Farm, of Clinton County, for poultry house improvements. Examples of renewable energy investments include Kelley Farms, of Carlisle County, to invest in solar panels for their farm operations and Mac Farms, of Taylor County, for an anaerobic digester to produce gas for heating poultry houses.

And here’s a list of the recipients:

Adair County
Big Creek Poultry – Poultry – $10,000
Clayridge Poultry Farms, Inc – Poultry – $10,000
Greg W. Hatcher – Dairy – $10,000
Gregg D. Burton – Dairy – $2,267
Grider Farm, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
H and H Dairy, Inc. – Dairy – $2,417
Marshall Irvin – Dairy – $2,217
Rowe Farms, Inc. – Dairy – $1,985
Steve L. Burton – Dairy – $8,404

Allen County
Ben Langman Farm LLC – Solar – $7,500

Barren County
Meadowbrook Farms, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Trailsend Farm – Poultry – $4,375

Bourbon County
Mahan Farms, LLC – Grain – $10,000

Breckinridge County
Joseph Kyle Snyder – Poultry – $10,000

Caldwell County
C&C Farms – Farm shop – $6,411

See the rest of the list after the jump…

Calloway County
Gary Brame – Solar – $10,000
Houston Family Properties, LL – Solar – $10,000
James Ray Murdock – Solar – $10,000
Mark & Pam Beane – Solar – $10,000
Shea Sykes – Solar – $10,000

Carlisle County
Kelley Farms – Solar – $10,000

Clinton County
Gray Poultry Farm – Poultry – $10,000

Cumberland County
Allen Creek Poultry Farm – Poultry – $10,000

Daviess County
Brey Farms – Grain – $10,000
Glenn Farms – Grain – $10,000
Robert B. Moorman – Grain – $10,000
Stephen Farms, LLC – Grain – $ 0,000

Franklin County
Wilson Nurseries, Inc. – Greenhouse – $10,000

Fulton County
Dennis W. Jones – Grain – $10,000
Elliott Farms – Poultry – $10,000
Grace Farms, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000

Graves County
Larry Alan Colley – Solar – $10,000
Robert Mills – Solar – $10,000

Grayson County
Valley View Poultry – Solar – $10,000

Hardin County
Joseph Mobley Farm – Grain – $10,000

Henderson County
Triple E Farms – Grain – $10,000

Hickman County
Fuller Poultry Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Hopper Farms Inc – Farm shop – $10,000
James Neil Mathis – Poultry – $10,000
Joe Stinson – Poultry – $10,000
Morrison Poultry – Poultry – $10,000
Stephen O. Sarten – Poultry – $10,000
Tommy Ward – Poultry – $10,000
Troy Carter – Poultry – $5,850
Westbrooks Poultry, LLC – Poultry – $10,000
Wilson Workman – Poultry – $9,743

Jessamine County
Henkle’s Herbs & Heirlooms – Greenhouse – $5,679

Livingston County
K&K, Inc – Poultry – $407

Logan County
Gary L. Hendricks – Solar – $10,000
Robey Farms, LLC – Grain – $ 10,000

Marshall County
Becker Poultry – Poultry – $ 10,000
Robert Johnson – Solar – $ 9,900
Ronald and Heather Davis – Solar – $10,000

McCracken County
Dewain Gipson – Grain – $10,000

McLean County
Chick Valley Farm – Poultry – $3,986
Evans & Butler Poultry – Poultry – $3,730
Henpecked Farms – Poultry – $10,000
Twin Lakes Poultry – Poultry – $6,584

Metcalfe County
Crist Dairy Farm – Dairy – $9,990
Triple T Poultry, LLC – Poultry – $10,000

Monroe County
Freetown Farms – Solar – $10,000
Grand View Acres, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Pebblebrook Angus – Solar – $10,000

Muhlenberg County
Drum Sticks Poultry – Poultry – $2,808

Robertson County
Troy D. Fooks – PTO Pellet Mill – $1,396

Russell County
B & H Dairy, LLC – Dairy – $2,617

Simpson County
Albert H. Perkins Jr. – Solar – $7,500

Taylor County
Mac Farms, Incorporated – Anaerobic digester – $10,000

Trigg County
River Bend Farms – Grain – $10,000

Union County
Roy Robinson Farm – Grain – $10,000

Warren County
Billy W. Thomas – Solar – $10,000
Bush Farms, Inc. – Grain – $10,000
Charles G. Dodson – Solar – $7,500
Dancing Wind Farm – Solar – $10,000
Don E. Hughes – Solar – $7,500
Dotson Hay Marketing, LLC – Solar – $10,000
Idle Acres Farm – Solar – $7,741
L & J Rocky Stables, LLC – Solar – $10,000
Mathews Poultry – Solar – $7,781

Washington County
Riney Dairy – Dairy – $10,000

Wayne County
Williams Farms – Grain – $10,000

A study finds that – yet again – Fox News viewers are the least informed of all. You’re so shocked, we know. [HuffPo]

Two top U.S. financial regulators said on Tuesday the issues around the initial public offering of Facebook should be reviewed, putting fresh pressure on the company, its lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, and the Nasdaq stock exchange. [Reuters]

The UofL Indigent Care Board got its ass handed to it in the latest audit by Adam Edelen. [The 'Ville Voice]

Wonder why Republicans are having trouble with Hispanics this cycle? Maybe because they’re comparing immigrants to dogs. [Politico]

How rural America got fracked. The environmental nightmare you know nothing about. [Mother Jones]

You should check out the comments from this school psychologist. Nope, not racist at all. And you wonder why America is effed up the goat butt. [Wonkette]

The Kentucky State Police will add a new tool to help solve crimes and analyze crash scenes. [WKYT]

Pakistan has sentenced the doctor who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden. And the U.S. continues to throw millions at that jacked up country of awful. [HuffPo]

Let’s take a look at the conservative fantasy history of civil rights. Yes, mouth-breathers, this means you. [NY Mag]

Mittens Romney versus Liberty Christ Rand Paul in 2016? Rand wishes. He believes he is the chosen one. [NPR]

The US could fall off a “fiscal cliff” if tax rises and spending cuts due to take effect at the end of 2012 are not avoided, auditors have said. [BBC]

Four in ten Democratic voters chose someone other than President Obama on Tuesday in primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky. [The Hill]

http://www.propublica.org/article/billion-dollar-bait-switch-states-divert-foreclosure-deal-funds

States have diverted $974 million from this year’s landmark mortgage settlement to pay down budget deficits or fund programs unrelated to the foreclosure crisis, according to a ProPublica analysis. That’s nearly forty percent of the $2.5 billion in penalties paid to the states under the agreement.

-SNIP-

What stands out is that even states slammed by the foreclosure crisis are diverting much or all of their money to the general fund. In California, among the hardest hit states, the governor has proposed using all the money to plug his state’s huge budget gap. And Arizona, also among the worst hit, has diverted about half of its funds to general use. Four other states where a high rate of homeowners faced foreclosure during the crisis are spending little if any of their settlement funds on homeowner services: Georgia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Maine.

And Kentucky is a part of it. Though, the funds aren’t rolling to the General Fund:

The Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky … shall direct the payment of $19,198,220 to the Commonwealth in a manner consistent with the terms of the Consent Judgment to which this Exhibit B-2 refers, such that any funds distributed by the Attorney General shall be used for purposes intended to avoid preventable foreclosures to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute financial fraud or unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to address the collateral consequences of such conduct, and to compensate the Commonwealth for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants. Such payments shall include:

i) $5,048,220 in agency restricted funds to directly compensate the Office of the Attorney General for the reasonable costs of investigation and litigation of the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants, and to finance, within the Office of the Attorney General, ongoing consumer protection actions including, but not limited to, actions addressing any conduct similar to the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants by any entity not released by the State Release contemporaneously executed within this Consent Judgment; any civil and criminal investigations emanating from any allegedly improper conduct not released pursuant to the State Release perpetrated by any Defendant or any other person or entity; investigations and potential litigation pertaining to MERS or any related entity involving mortgage assignments in the Commonwealth; and claims of fraud or improper mortgage assignments in the Commonwealth; and claims of fraud or improper conduct relating to the pooling of, marketing of, or sale of any securities product involving or containing mortgage related payment streams; and

ii) $14,150,000 to be distributed at the express direction of the Attorney General to agencies, organizations or entities to avoid preventable foreclosures, to ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis, to enhance law enforcement efforts to prevent and prosecute financial fraud or unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to address the collateral consequences of such conduct, and to compensate the Commonwealth for costs resulting from the alleged unlawful conduct of the Defendants, including, but not limited to, the following:

a. The Kentucky Housing Corporation, for purposes including, but not limited to, mortgage assistance to Kentucky homeowners, down payments and/or closing costs assistance for qualifying homebuyers, state and local foreclosure prevention and mediation programs, housing rehabilitation and anti-blight projects;

b. The Kentucky Homeownership Protection Center, to provide homeownership and mortgage-related credit counseling to Kentucky consumers;

c. The four federally-funded civil legal aid service organizations within the Commonwealth, to provide housing-related legal assistance to low income consumers;

d. The Commonwealth’s Unified Prosecutorial System (“UPS”), to support and sustain new and ongoing investigations and prosecutions relating to the foreclosure crisis and consequential criminal conduct plaguing local communities throughout the Commonwealth;

e. The Commonwealth’s Department of Financial Institutions (“DFI”), to assist in regulatory and educational efforts targeting financial services institutions subject to DFI’s jurisdictional oversight, and consumers purchasing products and services from such institutions;

f. The Commonwealth’s Department of Public Health, to support and maintain consumer safety and injury prevention programs, including but not limited to, lead abatement programs affecting low income individuals or communities; and

g. Within the discretion of the Attorney General, any other organization or entity substantially able to implement, manage, develop or support any program consistent with the aims of this settlement.

Funds directed to any agency, organization or entity by the Attorney General pursuant to the terms of this paragraph shall be appropriated, administered and expended consistent with terms of KRS Chapter 48, as applicable.

But that doesn’t mean those piddly millions Kentucky received won’t get gobbled up for other purposes.

Gotta be one of the most bogus lies McConnell has told in a week.

Of course Paul Patton is trying to figure out a way to get even more of your tax dollars to use at his private school. [H-L]

A super PAC’s abortive plan to launch incendiary, personally charged attack ads against President Barack Obama sent a sharp warning message to candidates up and down the federal ballot: This year more than ever, they are not in control of their own destinies. [Politico]

You could fill a baseball stadium many times with the people who experts say die each year from an error, injury or infection suffered while undergoing medical treatment. Many more are harmed. [ProPublica]

After emotional appeals from parents on both sides of the case, Dharun Ravi was this afternoon sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation for bias intimidation and invasion of privacy when he used a webcam to spy on his gay roommate at Rutgers University in September 2010. [NPR]

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an Obama administration appeal arguing that attorneys, journalists and human rights groups have no right to sue over a law making it easier for U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on foreign communications. [Reuters]

A retail renaissance? The internet and mobile phones are at long last turning boring old retail banking into an exciting industry, says Jonathan Rosenthal. [The Economist]

What’ll happen in those Whitley County elections today? Will the good old boy system further its network of corruption? [Times-Tribune]

Hal Rogers’ fancy little airport is once again coming under fire. The Feds are raising questions about services contracts at the joint. [H-L]

Nope, no one is going to vote today. Turnout is expected to be worse than, well, you can imagine. [C-J/AKN]

What happens in Laurel County when you try to break up a fight? You get hit with an ax. Obviously. [WYMT]

Rick The Splooge owes all kinds of money to his mouth-breathing folks, apparently. Is he still a thing? Why are we still talking about Rick Santorum? [HuffPo]

Ampad’s a paper company that purchased and quickly closed a plant in Marion, IN – killing all 250 jobs. The company went on to shed a total of 1,500 jobs while Mittens and his investors pocketed more than 20 times what they initially invested.

Mittens loves to talk about his business experience as his main qualification for being president. His most frequent claim is that he’ll use that experience to boost the economy, create jobs and reduce the deficit.

Interesting how that works.

Like this one:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Ouch. That teabagger hypocrisy is just a little ripe.

What does tomorrow hold for the 4th District?

Comment on Kentucky will likely be a bit boring tonight on KET at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. But you should consider watching it anyway. Scheduled guests: Joe Gerth, Donna Groves, Amanda Van Benschoten’s replacement. [KET]

Can you imagine Steve Beshear – a man who can’t even say the word “gay” – doing this? Kansas Governor Sam Brownback apologized on Thursday to blacks for segregation in his state in the last century as he marked the anniversary of a ruling that struck down segregation in schools. [Reuters]

This is what you have to look forward to in the Fourth District, Kentucky! A candidate whois so embarrassingly ill-informed that a KET host has to school him and a candidate who wouldn’t know what hypocrisy was if it slammed into her special interest-driven face. [Page One]

The renewed focus on President Barack Obama’s controversial pastor is reviving the issue that neither presidential campaign wants to discuss directly: race. But the differing reactions Thursday from Obama aides and Romney officials to revelations about a planned ad campaign linking Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright shows that Obama has more to gain than Romney if race enters the 2012 campaign. [Politico]

Could this be the counter revolution? Fusty old retail banking faces its biggest shake-up in 200 years. [The Economist]

While you’re spending thousands of dollars on vacation this summer? Don’t forget those in Kentucky – especially children – who need your immediate help to avoid hunger. Yes, this is a real and serious problem in the Commonwealth. [FOX41]

This is the first story the Herald-Leader has run, really, about the 4th District Congressional race. And you wonder why voter turnout is going to be abysmal. [H-L]

Some obese white guys are freaking out over where President Barack Obama was born. Again. Because why not? [Wonkette]

Louisville makes this list of the most religious cities in America. Northern Kentucky also makes the list, kinda. [HuffPo]

One of Greg Fischer’s legacies will be the failure of Louisville Metro Animal Services. The latest embarrassing move (out of thousands – literally) only solidifies that. [The 'Ville Voice]

Let’s pretend this isn’t a complete waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Starsky, from Starsky & Hutch, was busted for having gross weed in Bowling Green. [WKYT]