Jimmy Brannon Blog

“Sexting” bill goes back to committee and that may be a good thing-

A bill that would make “sexting” criminal has been sent back to a legislative committee and if good sense prevails over emotion it will stay there. The idea of kids under 18 sending nude pictures of themselves over a phone rightly is repulsive and should be discouraged. The question here is what is the right way to do it. What ever happened to the idea of a parent taking a cell phone away from the kid or exacting some other kind of non lethal punishment like not letting them drive the car or having to stay home after school or some such. The last thing in the world that needs to happen is to have some otherwise good 17 year old kid hailed into the court system because of a picture on a cell phone sent to another 17 year old kid. Well intending people who are offended by this kind of thing, as we all are, are unaware of the effect of this hail everything into court procedure that seems to be the rage these days. For one thing, what do you expect the judge to do? For another thing, when these kids get hailed into court for something like this, they go back to school and the court system become the laughing stock of every kid in the school. Nobody wants to have this kind of activity going on, but this may be one of those things handled best by reference to the old “Jed Clampett” method: “I think I am going to have to have a talk with that boy.”

This is a problem with an easy solution and one that doesn’t need courts and lawyers to add to the atmosphere. Parents should inform their children of what kinds of activities are permissible on cell phones and which ones are not. If children don’t comply then parent takes the cell phone and the case is solved.

Bourbon Middle School Chorus performs well at UK's Singletary Center

Bourbon County Middle School's chorus under the direction of Mrs. Lynn White gave an excellent performance at UK Singletary Center today. There were a number of middle schools present who did a good job but i was impressed with the Bourbon County contingent. A highlight of the field trip was a trip to Fayette Mall which i didnt take part in. My daughter Sarah wanted $30.00 to spend at the mall and when she came back with nothing for her i was surprised. "Well my group wanted to go to some kind of 'Victoria's Secret' place and there wasnt anything i wanted there," Sarah said. I wanted to look for games or somthing fun, she said. Needless to say perfume and makeup is not something Sarah is interested in. In any event everyone seemed to have a good time.

A Judge friend from western Kentucky recently asked about a newspaper commentary I had written about the incident last year when a defendant spit in the face of the District Court Judge..Due to his interest and interest of others I have reprinted it here

Commentary-Judge Turns Other Cheek;Elevates Judicial System

Last week’s news flash of a prisoner, Bass Webb, spitting in the

face of the District Court Judge made great television footage and

generated much fodder for dinner table gossip.

For those of us who try to humor ourselves in the face of such

events, it brought back memories of the Andy Griffith show when

that fellow named Bass, last name not first, went around Mayberry

throwing rocks through his would-be paramour’s windows and

was even brash enough on one show to throw a rock through the

Courthouse window while an infuriated Barney Fife searched his

front pocket for his single bullet. A composed and judicious Sheriff

Andy Griffith tried to soothe the feathers and search his soul for the

greater good and at one point took the young man, Ernest T. Bass,

to his home to try to teach him proper courting manners.

Bass, all the while exclaiming, “you ain’t seen the last of Ernest

T. Bass.”

We’re not going to suggest that Judge Vanessa Dickson take the

young man who spit in her face into her home in an effort to teach

him the finer points of public etiquette. (Although we have to wonder

how the matter might turn out).

But we do believe that the import of this temporary news flash

pales in significance to the much greater good which the Judge,

perhaps unwittingly, has bestowed upon the judicial system by her

measured and judicious response.

Many people who have little exposure to the Court system may

be unaware of the day to day trials and tribulations those in the

system deal with.

Most people who come before a court do so because they have

a problem that hasn’t been resolved.

They may be a victim who has been injured or a family member

of a victim who has felt the pain of seeing a loved one injured or

killed. They may be a witness to something, usually bad, that has

occurred in their presence. They may be a person charged with a

crime. Among those charged with crimes there may be those that

are truly “bad guys”, but there are also those that have problems

of their own, emotional or otherwise. Then, of course, there are

those that are innocent but have nonetheless been jailed or deprived

of their rights.(The “innocence project” has with DNA proof freed

over 200 innocent people in the last few years that were erroneously

convicted by Courts and who have in some cases served many,

many years for a crime it has been proven they did not commit.)

A few things can be said for certain.

1 Emotions often run high and people, good and bad, rich

and poor, guilty or innocent have made bad choices or found themselves in bad situations.

2. No matter the outcome, when one “case” or problem is

solved, you can be virtually assured that next week there will be

more to come to take its place.

Judges sit atop a system that is imperfect. Under the black robe

they wear they are human beings, too, complete with all the frailties

and emotions that everyone else has, and they do make mistakes.

The real import of the behavioral malfunction in court last week

we think is a positive one.

We think that Judge Dickson’s conduct which was seen on televised

clips exemplified the very essence of what judicial conduct

should be. From public comments we’ve heard since the incident,

there is, in fact, an elevated sense of respect for the Court on account

of her line of fire display of judicial temperament. Judicial

temperament, is a commodity not possessed by everyone and one

that is certainly not taught in law schools. (Although, the Andy

Griffith show may take a pretty good whack at it.)

Put in very simple terms our whole judicial system has to be

based on the notion that the courtroom, however imperfect, is a better

way to resolve differences than the barroom, Although barroom

justice may have been more swift, it would not likely have allowed

for the kind of “lead by example” judicial temperament displayed

by Judge Dickson last week.

We’ve come along way from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount

wherein He enjoined His followers: “If someone strikes you on the

right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

But we do think that good behavior is best taught by example

and in this regard, the Judge ‘hit the ball out of the park’ by firmly

but fairly dealing with this infuriating situation.

This judge on this day in our opinion by her graceful conduct

elevated respect for the Court system and served as an example of

what our court systems should stand for.

Obama budget cut For NASA is shortsighted-

An effort by the Federal government to reduce expenditures is truly hard to oppose, but the Obama budget cut for NASA is one that is shortsighted. The Obama budget will cut NASA’s moon landing plan.

We’ll leave it to scientists to discuss the huge benefits of the moon exploration program in the past and what future manned landings on the moon may offer.

But while admittedly expensive, the moon program has benefits that are lasting and intangible. A whole generation of Americans grew up with the memory of man’s landing on the moon in 1969 and the effort to land man on the moon encouraged children to develop of a love for science.

As a human matter, the moon program in particular and the space program in general, truly represents man’s best effort, even if a symbolic one, to find new worlds and conquer a new frontier.

The space program encourages nations of the world to engage in healthy competition beyond the globe, perhaps at the diminution of less healthy competition between nation-states such as development of weapons of mass destruction.

Finally, unlike other federally funded programs that may be able to be eliminated, or absorbed by state and local governments, the private sector or charitable organizations, the moon program is one that is destined to death unless funded by the United States Government.

Thanks to all the UK heroes for helping kids dealt with cancer curse-

These kids are dancing for a good cause-

UK's Danceblue

Photos from UK Danceblue- to support UK's children's cancer clinic-

March Madness is here! A look at the top seeds…. Make your predictions here!

With March Madness upon us it is time to look at the top NCAA seeds and also a few of the bubble teams that may still have a chance to make the big dance. The top seeds are relatively easy this year but the plot thickens as you consider the some of the other top challengers. Here is an early peek at top seeds as seen from here.

One seeds: Syracuse Kansas Kentucky Duke

Syracuse should be the overall number one seed. They are well coached, have only two losses in what is still the toughest overall conference. Neither Kansas nor Syracuse has demonstrated a glaring weakness…. Kentucky’s erratic shooting may or may not become a death knell for the Cat’s in the tournament, but it is a concern. Duke is probably a step back but again a team that is well coached and has perhaps as good guards as anybody.

Two seeds: Villanova Ohio State West Virginia Michigan State

The places where I’ve varied from popular power rankings are with Purdue which I have dropped to a three seed due to the loss of their best player. They are not the same team without Hummel. I have Villanova higher than most folks do because of the Big East conference they play in. The other place I disagree with commentators is with Kansas State. Most have them a 2 seed and at one time a possible one seed. The Big 12 is a good conference but I don’t think it is a strong as commentators suggest and at the bottom of the conference is weaker than not only the Big East and the SEC but perhaps other conference such as the Big Ten. Michigan State is another well coached team that I wouldn’t be surprised hanging around in the final 8. I think Kansas State will go out much sooner.

Other teams that may make noise in the tournament: Gonzaga. Another well coached team that seems to have a lot of weapons. Louisville. Once a bubble team that I wouldn’t be surprised to see in the sweet sixteen. The Cardinals need another good signature win to get a better seed.

Here’s the challenge to blog readers. Pick a team outside the top ten or so or preferably that is unranked that you think will go deep in the tournament!