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McDonald for ?family court judge?
Family Court Judge Dee McDonald is seeking reelection. Let me refresh your memory. This judge heard the case of two Trinity athletes in a case where they undressed and physically violated 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich and distributed photos of the assault on social media. Savannah’s attorneys alleged that Assistant County Attorney Paul Richwalsky, a Trinity alumnus and booster, had assigned himself to the case. Savannah swore that he told her to “let it go and move on” and “get a therapist” — that “jail time was for ‘real’ rapists.”
Judge Dee McDonald gave the boys a plea bargain and sentenced them to a treatment program and 50 hours of community service. A gag order was supposedly placed on Ms. Dietrich; she had no supposed knowledge and the judge said it was a juvenile matter. Nonetheless, victim Dietrich was charged with contempt for naming her assailants and faced a large fine and jail time.
The story went viral, and over a quarter million people signed petitions to drop charges and remove those in office. Please Google it. As a wife, a mother and a daughter, I feel that Dee McDonald has no place in Family Court. Her opponent, Mark Gaston, has a 25-year career in law and has been a community leader. He needs to bring decency back to the court.
Linda Steidle Sparrow, 40206
Vote NO to six more years ?of obstruction
As minority whip, Senator McConnell has led the Republican Party’s determination to obstruct and defeat any and all [of] the president’s program of recovery from the absolute economic disaster the Bush/Cheney administration left our country with.
Senator McConnell has made it his purpose to know and use the rules of the Senate more consistently than he follows the Constitution, and he uses them to obstruct and create gridlock to keep bipartisan legislation from even getting a hearing.
He does this by encouraging his minions to introduce amendments that defeat the purpose of even bipartisan bills, which in turn make the legislation useless. He then uses the constant mantra of the Republican Party to blame the president for not having a plan for recovery from the near collapse of the U.S. economy before Obama took office. He does this while constantly changing his critique of the current administration when data clearly shows the programs are working, like the constantly increasing job market.
McConnell and his colleagues have blocked so much constructive legislation that they brought our government to a virtual standstill on at least two occasions by refusing to vote to fund our government until the very last minute. This has [had]devastating and long-lasting effects on the effectiveness of government agencies and services, like building roads, veterans’ benefits and the Secret Service. He does this consistently by using the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to approve any bill, instead of a simple majority vote (51). This […] refusal to allow his Republican colleagues who agree with legislation he knows will help the nation […] is treachery.
We need constructive leadership for change and real progress. Alison Grimes fits THAT bill.
James McMillin, 40207
Where is the LMPD ?racial profiling study?
The public has the right to know the results of the Louisville Metro Police Department racial profiling study. The LMPD has been trying very hard the last few years to improve their public image and encourage the Louisville community to become more involved with them. I don’t think withholding information from the public helps in either of those areas.
Mickey Thomas, 40259