Pauls Ponderings - January 3, 2008

Well, here we are starting another new year. To me, it seems like it’s way too early to begin 2008, because 2007 didn’t last that long. When I was a child, and especially when I was a teenager, a year seemed to drag on and on and on –lasting at least 500 or 600 days. Now, the older I get, the faster and faster a year passes. Whoever coined the old saying “Time flies” was definitely over 50 years old at the time.
I spent quite a bit of time over the past few days compiling our annual “Year in Review” that takes up a large part of today’s issue (Actually, I only had to write about half the year, as my assistant, Lawrence, and I split the year up). For the most part, I enjoy going back and reflecting on what all happened in our community during the past year, especially when there actually was a lot that did happen like it did in 2007.
The year of 2007 was a year of significant milestones in the county, and things that at least got started last year will have a significant impact on our community for years to come.
The most significant thing to occur, at least in my opinion, was the fact that work finally got started on the bypass we’ve been promised for the past 20 or 30 years. Hopefully, sometime this year or at the latest early 2009, the bypass will be finished and some – hopefully a large part – of our downtown congestion will be alleviated. And, the new road should be a boon for economic development as well.
Throw in the completion of the new KY 61 South-Louie B. Nunn Parkway interchange, the start of construction on a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, the awarding of a new contract to finally build our new judicial center (on which work is supposed to start any day now), the continued successes of the students in our school system – academically, athletically and musically – along with the continued growth of Lindsey Wilson College, more road and bridge projects, and a lot of good things too numerous to mention, and it was truly a good year for us. Let’s just hope and pray that things continue to progress on the same scale in 2008 and the years to follow.

Speaking of our new year of 2008, we’d better be prepared for almost a year-long barrage of politicking, as we will elect a new President of our country this year.
While there are still so many candidates from both parties that it’s hard to keep up with all of them without a scorecard, the field will start to be narrowed in the near future, starting with the party caucuses in Iowa this week.
This year, we’ve got one of the most diverse fields of candidates that we’ve ever had, with a viable woman candidate, a viable mixed-race candidate, along with candidates of different religions and a lot of different backgrounds. The one thing that about all the candidates from both parties seem to have in common though, is the desire to distance themselves as much as possible from our current President (and with the mess he has created, you can’t blame them one bit).
Now, if we can only get the candidates to speak truthfully about what needs to be done to help solve the many problems that are facing our nation, and how they are going to do to solve them, we might have something. Instead of caring more about what they look like in front of a television camera, or saying the right thing to appease the voters in whatever particular state they’re campaigning in at the time (or not saying the wrong thing that might offend some voters, even if it is the truth), or bashing their competitors, they should just concentrate on the issues. But, we know that’s not going to happen.
Sadly, whoever ends up being our next president is probably going to be determined by one thing – the thing that has determined who was elected in the past several elections – and that is money. Who has the most money to spend. And that’s not the way it should be.