Thorns & Roses: The Best, Worst And Most Absurd (2/12)

Thorn: No Get Out Of Jail Free Card

So, you got arrested but then the charges were dismissed? Forget about a jail fees refund, the state Court of Appeals said. The court issued this ruling in a lawsuit filed by a man who was jailed for 14 months while awaiting trial and then was billed about $4,000 after his charges were dismissed. WDRB reporters Jason Riley and Katrina Helmer examined the state law and wrote that the 2-1 ruling went “against the intent of the law passed in 2000 meant to let a judge decide once a case ended if a person could afford to pay jail fees and how much is owed, if anything.” The lone dissenting judge wrote: “A person unjustly jailed — upon his release — can look forward to becoming an instant debtor through no fault of his own.”

Thorn: Bullets > Teachers + Textbooks

Let’s get this straight: The first education legislation to pass the General Assembly is to arm school resource officers, not to spend that money on, you know, improving education for our kids? Oh, and lawmakers rejected amendments for officers to wear body cameras and allow school districts to arm them with only non-lethal weapons. How will we pay for these guns? Will Gov. Andy Beshear sign this bill and still be able to make the $2,000-per-teacher raise he promised on the hustings? 

Rose: CJ Front Page Became Op-Ed Page 

The Courier-Journal’s front page Monday had just three pieces: An op-ed from U.S. Sen. Mitch “At Any Price” McConnell explaining how the Senate acted as a “firewall” against the House and preserved tRump’s lunacy (OK, our words), and an op-ed from U.S. Rep. John “Read LEO First” Yarmuth explaining how the Constitution framers meant impeachment as “the only option for preventing these officials from continuing to abuse their power.” The third was on local reaction. The package offered a powerful summation of the issues, giving this crucial issue the prominence and weight you would expect only in… LEO.

Thorn: All The Bait That Gets The Clicks

Speaking of prominence and weight, a thorn goes to The CJ for running a short story on its website about a lone heckler at Mayor Greg “Nothing To See Here” Fischer’s State of the City address. Yup, one heckler gets his own story. It found its way to the top of the web page because click bait. Granted, the heckler was justifiably razzing Fischer for supporting oligarch Michael Bloomberg for president, but… proportionality anyone?

This article appears in February 12, 2020.