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TERRY’S TIDBITS

By Terry Gray

WOULD THE MAYOR WALK A MILE?

This mayor is the most wishy-washy jackass to step into office in Louisville.  At least when Dave Armstrong screwed something up he screwed it up until the end.

Way back when, Mayor Jerry opened the door to a smoking ban in Louisville and then ducked behind his door to let everyone fight it out.  He stuck his head out a few times and mumbled, “I’m for it” or “I’m against it.”  His people must be like the proverbial secretary hoping the boss likes sugar in his coffee TODAY.

I see the politics here.  Councilman Downard recently said that he is done with Mike Kuntz and Smoke Free Louisville.  "Mike Kuntz and Smoke Free Louisville have done an entirely terrible job of educating this community," Downard said. "I'm through talking to them because it's never enough."  He’s right.  But Downard is a Republican and Abramson is a Democrat.  “Well if the President of the City Council, a Republican, doesn’t like Mike Kuntz and Smoke Free Louisville then as the mayor, I do like them.  I think they are spiffy.”

The mayor just got a new puppet in Dr. Troutman of the Board of Health.  The mayor thinks that getting the Board of Health involved will serve to educate the citizens of this community.  The Board of Health is all for a smoking ban, and they listen to every lie that Smoke Free Louisville sobs.  They listened last year during their public meetings.  They heard real American patriots stand up tell them that the facts do not support smoking bans.  They listened to Smoke Free Louisville’s group of cry babies tell tales of doom and death.  But they didn’t have… fanfare please…Dr. Troutman.  Dr. Troutman is a black man.  I think it is refreshing to see a black man in his position.  He obviously earned his credentials; so why does he want to dumb down now?  Not only that, why would a black man in his position want to take rights away from a minority – smokers?

Councilman Tom Owen is one of two councilmen out of 26 that support a smoking ban.  He is now running around talking about whole loaves and pieces of loaves.  Hey Tom, over here buddy.  S-M-O-K-I-N-G-B-A-N-S.

Mayor Jerry has got to go.  I’ll be working against him in his next campaign, and I don’t care who is running against him.  Downard is playing both sides of the fence.  This isn’t about smoking bans when it comes to city hall; it’s about control.  Do you folks like the “leaders” of this community grappling over things that should be left up to adult citizens to decide?  Do our “leaders” have nothing better to do?

While I’m on the subject, let’s see if any of you believe this to make sense.  What is wrong with signage?  “Smoking is allowed here, enter at own risk.”  It is all very simple isn’t it?  What better way to lay the issue to rest?  With this proposal, the owner of the business has a business decision to make.  The patrons have patronizing decisions to make.  Everybody wins except an overactive group of do-gooders named Smoke Free Louisville.  But, alas, this isn’t about common sense and free choice.  This is about politics and sadly, protecting us from ourselves.

Terry Gray
Candidate 2004
Kentucky House of Representatives
38^th District
www.terrygray.net
Paid for by Terry Gray

MY CONFFESSION

It started in 2000, without fanfare or production.  Just one wouldn’t hurt I thought, there are a lot of people doing it.  At the time, some backstreet groups were saying it was bad and this added allure.  But more importantly, doing it felt nice.  The satisfaction was overwhelming and that feeling lasted so much longer than I ever anticipated.

After several months, maybe a year, I found myself experiencing the craving more than occasionally. Sometimes at lunch I would sneak my addiction.  Sometimes I’d go out in the late evening using the excuse that I needed something from the store, just so I could indulge secretly.  I began the dreams too.

I guess it was about a year ago when I finally accepted that I had a problem.  I didn’t want to accept for several reasons - it made me feel weak to admit it, I liked doing it, but mostly I knew that I would never be cured, it would be a life of fighting and controlling the disease.

I tried to quit on my own but I just couldn’t do it.  I needed help.  The activist groups saw our plight and came along pushing for legislation.  Thank God, I cried in my weakness, we need a law to protect me from myself.

Last week, for the first time in a long road ahead I heard myself mutter, “Hi, I’m Terry and I Super Size.”

Terry Gray
Candidate 2004
Kentucky House of Representatives
38^th District
www.terrygray.net
Paid for by Terry Gray

BEEN SCALPED LATELY?

Isn’t free enterprise an American institution?  If you find a valuable item at a bargain price and sell it at a profit, haven’t you done a good, commendable thing in terms of capitalism?  It is even better when the item is legal and in demand.  It’s the American dream.

Tell that to the girl in Cincinnati that was charged with ticket scalping – and she wasn’t even trying to make a profit.  That should be the crime.  It’s Un-American to not make a profit.

You say, “But if scalping were legal, then big criminals would buy all the tickets and the common guy wouldn’t be able to afford the scalped price.  It wouldn’t be fair.”  Bologna!  How long would that continue?  When people stopped being able to afford the tickets, the scalping would stop; supply and demand, you know.  Besides, ticket prices for basketball games are arbitrary.  Where is it written that they have to cost $25 or $10?  Who makes up the rules?  Why do the prices go up for important games?  Wouldn’t that be legal scalping?

The girl was trying to dump her ticket at face value because she was no longer interested.  Using this scenario, if she tried to give her ticket away she could still have been charged with scalping.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Terry Gray
Candidate 2004
Kentucky House of Representatives
38^th District
www.terrygray.net
Paid for by Terry Gray 

PETTY POLITICS

You may be wondering why I am inserting a disclaimer after each Tidbit.  Well, it seems that the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance has received a complaint against me partially stemming from some of my articles in the Jefferson Review.  The complaint contends that in my stories where I mention my candidacy I must use the disclaimer, “Paid for by Terry Gray.”  Even in articles where I do not mention my candidacy but my email signature block appears, which promotes my campaign, the complaint alleges that I am in violation.

The rules are unspecific on internet activity.  It is very hard to follow the rules when the rules aren’t clear.  More importantly, though, are the specifics of the disclaimer.  “Paid for by Terry Gray” is the format that is used when campaign information is distributed.  So all the disclaimers that you see from me in the Jefferson Review are and will be lies.  The law makes it very clear, except for internet publications, that I must lie.

There is a campaign contribution consideration called “in-kind contributions”.  This means that, should I receive anything of value as a contribution for my campaign, I must list it in my campaign financial discloser.  Assuming that it is printed material, I must use a disclaimer as well.  Some printers that are friendly to real American political candidates will provide a certain amount of free printing.  Other “in-kind contributions” may be the use of a billboard at a discount price, the use of a speaking hall at a discount, or any other service that contributes goods or services to a campaign.  The difference in price between the retail value and the value paid by the candidate must be listed as an “in-kind contribution”.  There is no fee to anyone publishing articles in the Jefferson Review.  I paid nothing and received no “in-kind contribution”.  Therefore, I must lie to you.

It is well known that I am running an honest campaign, a truly unique approach.  My whole campaign is based on freedom.  I owe this to the kind of person that I am, a patriot seeking to represent the people of the 38^th district.  It is time for the citizens of this country to wake up and realize that the government belongs to them.  That is what I’m taking to Frankfort. 

I have not engaged in negative campaigning.  My opponent may, of course, do as he likes.  I refuse to cheapen myself and my campaign by stabbing my opponent.  It would do nothing but make me look small.  It is called leveling the playing field by reducing both candidates to whining name-callers.  In my case, the only way that I can level the playing field is by complimenting my opponent, thus inflating his stature to match mine.  I refuse to do this as well.

The complaint against me was not filed by my opponent.  When I attend the hearing in Frankfort, I must only face my accuser; my opponent will be free to walk the district in my absence.  For this reason, I must apologize in advance if I miss speaking with you on the campaign trail.  I also apologize for having to provide deceitful disclaimers and lie to you, but the law is the law.  When my opponent comes around to speak with you, hear him out and let him know that you’ll be thinking of him when you go to the polls.

Terry Gray
Candidate 2004
Kentucky House of Representatives
38^th District
www.terrygray.net
Paid for by Terry Gray

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