3 May, 2026
Thoughts on the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
I need to take a few minutes to share some thoughts about the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
First, this decision, in my opinion, is not about voting rights. No one will lose the right to vote due to this decision. It won’t make it any more difficult for anyone to vote either.
That’s because the Supreme Court decision was NOT about voting rights. It was about REPRESENTATION. It was all about how we elect those who represent us.
Voting districts are set up, gerrymandered, to favor whoever it was that drew them up.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 basically said that lawmakers could still draw districts to favor the Republicans or the Democrats, but that they could not take race into account. This meant that voting districts had to be drawn in order to leave at least the appearance of a chance that a Black voter could possibly have a Black candidate to vote for.
With this Supreme Court decision districts will be able to be drawn in a way that is expected to lower minority representation in Congress from many states. In other words, minorities will have the same right to vote for the white candidates that the white people have.
HOW DO WE FIX THIS:
First, we follow the law and our legal traditions. We’re not supposed to redraw Congressional districts until after the 2030 census. Every state legislature and governor should have told President Trump NO when he made has unethical request for states to change their own rules to suit him. But that didn’t happen and here we are.
Second, every state should amend the redistricting process. They get others to draw the map and select one that best reflects the people themselves.
Each state legislature, in a non-partisan way, needs to make a list of requirements on how they want districts to be fairly drawn, in a way that suits their state.
Once the list of requirements is compiled, they accept redistricting proposals from civil rights groups, political parties and other voting organizations, such as the League of Women Voters. The legislature accepts public opinion on the proposals. Maybe they will even send the proposals back with suggestions to try again.
Finally, once all the stakeholders are as happy as we can reasonably expect, the state legislature must vote on it. And, for good measure, let’s require at least a 60% majority for the districting map to pass.
The goal is to have common sense voting districts which provide representation that reflects the people of each district and the state.
Everything below I copied off the internet. I liked what it said and I wanted to add something about what a good district map should look like.
A good voting district should be compact, contiguous, and maintain shared social, economic, or cultural interests while having roughly equal population sizes. They should follow logical, established boundaries like city or county lines rather than having jagged, irregular shapes designed to favor a specific party or candidate.
Population Equality: Districts must have roughly equal numbers of residents to ensure equal representation, known as the "one person, one vote" standard.
Compactness & Contiguity: A district should be geographically tight and logically connected, meaning all parts are physically connected to one another.
Respect for Political Subdivisions: District lines should follow existing borders such as county, city, or ward lines rather than splitting them.
Competitive Representation: Good districts often promote competition rather than creating "safe seats" that protect incumbents and ignore minority party voters.
Racial Equity: The districts must comply with the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting the dilution of minority voting power through methods like "packing" or "cracking".
(This last part I highlighted, because it is the part that our US Supreme Court says is not necessary. I believe that it is and that it should be considered when drawing a proper map with respect to REPRESENTATION for all)
Democracy thrives in rural Kentucky!
31 March, 2026
Breckinridge County Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum
Over the past week the Breckinridge County Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau have hosted a candidate forum in the BC High School. We got to hear candidates for Magistrate, Judge Executive, Sheriff, Jailor and, last night, for the 10th District state House of Representatives seat.
I am so proud to live in Breck County and see all the good men and women stepping up to serve the public.
Last night was my chance to speak, along with Rep. Calloway and Ms. Cantwell. The questions asked were well thought out and important for our district.
I'd also like to give a shout out and thank the folks at WXBC for moderating and filming the event.
Below is the link to the State House portion of the program:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi8LDsbgJs0&t=23s
28 March, 2026
The Day after No Kings Day
My response to a Facebook comment
I shared my last blog post on facebook and got a comment from a young man in our county. I’m going to share his post and my response.
His comment: BS if you're going to a Kings rally, and you're a Democrat, and you're running for office as a Democrat. You're actually going there to protest President Trump and the Republican party. Just stop the BS in admit while you're going with fewer words.
My response: I don't make judgements about Republicans, I take them at their word. You've never given me any reason to doubt you, or question your words, please don't question mine.
Do I approve of the way President Trump is doing his job? No. Not at all. And I have no problem admitting that. I think that he's over stepped his authority and Congress needs to reign him in.
But yesterday was not about President Trump for ME. I was not there because of him, or his conduct. I was there because I believe in the Constitution.
Do you think we need an American King? No, I am sure you don't. So it looks like we agree, doesn't it? At least on Kings in America. And I bet that if we were to sit down and talk we'd find a whole lot more we agree on.
Maybe you don't think that it is necessary to demonstrate in favor of the Constitution. That is your choice. But there are a lot of people out there right now who do, both Democrat AND Republican.
I think that we ought to demonstrate for the Constitution every single day, regardless of who is president or what party they are.
We give the president an enormous amount of power. And then Congress, foolishly, gives them even more. I do NOT trust anyone with that much power. I don't give a damn if it's Trump, or Biden, Obama or Bush. When they start getting close to crossing the line they ALL need to be reminded.
Did I vote for Donald Trump? No. But not because he's a Republican. I didn't vote for him because I consider him unqualified for the job. But he's there now, and as long as he follows the Constitution and obeys the rule of law I am prepared to sit and count the days until he's gone. Just like his first term. I believe that whoever comes next, Republican or Democrat, will have a lot of work to do fixing the damage he's caused.
My feelings for Trump don't make me deranged, any more than your feelings about him make you delusional. Like I said, we probably agree on many things. We shouldn't let our opinions on the president define who we are.
On your final comment, I have all kinds of respect for the Republican Party. I have been registered as a Republican, and voted for MANY Republicans in the past. I have no doubt that I'll vote for a qualified Republican in the future. And, just so we're clear, there are MANY Democratic politicians I am not happy with either.
It's not about party, Bobby. It's about the law
27 March, 2026
Why I will be at the No Kings Day Demonstration
First off, I do not believe that we should be protesting. You protest AGAINST things. Racism. Authoritarianism. Pineapple on pizza. When we protest we are setting up sides, US vs THEM, and it should always be US. United We Stand, Divided We Fall.
Instead I prefer to demonstrate. It’s more positive. We demonstrate FOR things. The Constitution. Rule of Law. Popular sovereignty. Democracy and Republicanism. Limited Government. Separation of Powers. Checks and Balances. Federalism. Individual Rights. These are all GOOD things, right?
When we demonstrate FOR things we are giving everyone a chance to get on board. I don’t think that we can find any American who is against the principles of the Constitution. So let’s start where we can agree and demonstrate our support of the Constitution!
The name of the event, NO KINGS, is a reminder. We threw off our king and established a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Let’s all work on protecting that, shall we?
As a candidate for office people often ask me, “If you had a magic wand, what would you change?”
Well, my answer, on “No Kings Day” is that I would have every member of the US military wear a patch on their uniform saying “250 YEARS NO KINGS IN AMERICA”. Because sometimes we need a reminder of what George Washington and the Continental Army fought for all those 250 years ago. No Freaking Kings.
This is why I will be demonstrating FOR our Constitutional rights on this No Kings Day and every other. Because I was a Soldier and swore an Oath to Uphold and Defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and I still live by that Oath.
God Bless America, and God protect the men and women serving in our Armed Forces.
25 March
Reply to question from a concerned voter.
I got the below message from a young man on Facebook doing the right thing, asking questions to be an informed voter. I know that others may have the same questions so I posted my reply here.
What are your plans to help job opportunities, and support for families? What will you try and do for the education system? Where do you stand on recovery and the recovery homes, as well as mental health? Where do you stand on medical marijuana? Just a few things for me to really understand before I decide my vote.
Cody, thank you for asking these questions. Sorry that it has taken me so long to reply.
First, when you ask about job opportunities, remember, I am running for the 10th district house, which is both Hardin and Breckinridge counties. Right now I believe that the best place to build jobs is in Hardin County, to begin with. They have much more infrastructure than Breck does. But I think that it is better for Breck county folk to drive to Hardin County than it is for them to drive all the way to Louisville. Especially with the price of gas.
The thing about jobs in Hardin County is we need stability. Gov. Beshear had a deal all worked out to build batteries in Hardin County until Ford walked out on them. We need to develop partnerships we can rely on.
In Breck county we need to build on our strengths. We put out some well trained, professional students at the tech center. And some superb students in the medical program. We need to build opportunities for them here in the county.
As far as families go, the last time the minimum wage was raised was 2009. I believe that families relying on low paying jobs need a boost. I think that a gradual increase, up to $15 an hour, would do a great deal to helping families. And for those already making that it would push their wages up as well.
Also, I want to add another comment about families. Recently New Mexico became the first state to pass no-cost Universal Child Care Legislation. I think that this is something Kentucky needs to look at and consider if it will work for us.
The Republican party has failed to support public education. They brag about how much they invest, but they hide the truth in the numbers. SEEK funds are terribly out of date, they need to be raised by 15%, not the dribs and drabs the Republicans are putting in. They underfund schools, and then criticize the school districts. Any problems the districts are having is the fault of the Republicans writing legislation. They demand steak dinners on a hot dog budget, and then accuse local school districts of poor performance0.
Also, there is a piece of legislation called KERA, the Kentucky Education Reform Act, passed in 1990. It made Kentucky a model for public education in the United States. Since then the Republicans have whittled away at KERA reforms and now it is nothing. I believe that it is time for KERA 2027. We need to pass legislation to reform and update our public education practices in Kentucky.
I consider health care a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold by insurance companies. This includes recovery and mental health. Currently we push off this kind of care to non-profit and religious organizations. It is time the state took recovery and mental health seriously.
I know that medical marijuana helps a lot of people with treatment for ailments like epilepsy, PTSD and other neurological issues. When someone in my family was suffering from cancer treatments the only relief they had was from marijuana bought illegally on the street. This was a terrible risk, not just because it was illegal but because you didn’t know what else was in there. I consider medical marijuana to be another tool in a doctor’s kit. It can help or it can be abused. We need to make sure it only ends up in the hands of those who need it.
Thank you again for your questions. I hope my answers help.
John