Carry On the Bambi
Dear Bar Belle,
I can understand why the Bambi Walk must seem an apparition in the night to a neophyte drinker such as yourself (LEO Weekly, May 22). All those beers and so little time!
It was achievable once upon a time — and that time was 1973 when the route was shorter, and neither restaurants nor establishments off the main drag were included. Lastly, there were far fewer drinking parlors. I was motivated out of curiosity to research the city directory to find out just how many stops there were, but I was able to get over it and leave it in the realm of a fond memory.
Yes, the landscape has changed over the last 40 years, and now, like the Appalachian Trail, it must be completed over a period of time.
I nominate you, Bar Belle, to redefine the mission so that a Louisville tradition may be carried on. In the meantime, I urge you to practice your craft as diligently and as often as possible.
T.J. Taylor, Fort Smith, Ark. (former Louisvillian)
Fighting Fires
At some point, the local media stopped reporting the government’s side of the story on the Louisville firefighters’ lawsuit. I can’t remember when that started. It was several years ago, apparently.
Steve Shaw’s recent column (LEO Weekly, May 15) reflects the current media stance. He quotes a mayoral spokesperson as saying, “We think the judge was wrong in the ruling.” What are their reasons for thinking that? Shaw mentions a difference of opinion about including training pay and clothing allowances in the firefighters’ overtime calculations. But that’s only partly correct as I remember the story.
Bear in mind that the firefighter training pay comes from state government, not local government. It’s provided by the state budget. When and how much to pay is determined by the Kentucky General Assembly. That was reportedly the reason why the City of Louisville, and later Metro Louisville, believed they were only forwarding state pay to the individual firefighters. Other Kentucky cities made similar assumptions and faced lawsuits, too. So, eventually the General Assembly changed the law in 2009 to resolve the issue in favor of the cities for future state budgets. That leaves the cities on the hook for prior years, though. Anyway, let’s remember that there are two sides to every story.
Tom Louderback, Highlands
Guns and God
Nowhere in the 4,500 words of the U.S. Constitution did the framers of the document adopt the slogan “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Jefferson, Madison and the others did mention “arms.” A militia was regarded as all able-bodied men capable of defending home, hearth and country. We had just come off a bloody, bankrupting revolution. Funding a standing army to throw off the troops of a tyrannical and, some would say, insane king had left the nation believing in the gun, not in God’s providence.
Nowhere in the written scriptures of the seven great religions of this planet are texts for a proscribed constitutional republic. Not anywhere. The Constitution is by the hand of man and, like all such documents, is subject to change. It does. It amends itself. It is why government is in every aspect of your life from the water you drink to the air you breathe.
And if you think your government can’t take your personal property, ask again. The Fifth Amendment allows for such action if duly compensated. So theoretically it would break the Constitution and possibly bankrupt the nation further on a massive gun buyback.
Personally, when it comes to restoring order out of chaos, I’d rather have a gun than God. Ya never see God. He’s never around when you need him. And besides, as Daddy always said, it’s stupid to take a knife to a gunfight. Ask the dead Russian in Florida.
Rich Givan, Crescent Hill
