Mediaboss Marketing

Hemp farmers and processors in Murray presented progress and problems in growing the crop to U.S. Senator Rand Paul on Thursday. Paul is in the region as part of a tour discussing healthcare options and made a stop in Murray to talk hemp ahead of visits to other communities. Afterwords, he also commented on North Korea and health care reform options.

Joseph Kelly operates West Kentucky Hemp LLC. and works with Kentucky 21st Century Agri. He led much of the presentation, briefing Paul on some of their processes and procedures, ambitions and challenges. Kelly and others involved in hemp described its various uses: leaves (producing CBD), floor material (buds) for extracting oil, seeds (as grain and pressed for oil) and other uses involving the fiber.

Farmers say regulations are the 'biggest problem' and much of that has to do with its listing as a federally-controlled substance.

Paul said regulations and 'big government' need to 'get out of the way' of the country's burgeoning hemp industry. He expressed dismay when farmers told him hemp couldn't be used as livestock feed.

"I don't like the idea that we would have to ask somebody in Washington for permission to feed the root of the plant to a chicken or a cow. I think things that God gave us and that grow on Earth really the government shouldn't be preventing you from feeding them to your livestock," Paul said.

Farmers handed Paul a bag of edible hemp seeds for humans imported from Canada and suggested with fewer regulations similar products could be produced in Kentucky. Paul says hemp restrictions make the U.S. less competitive and will seek to address issues in the next farm bill.

Following-up, Joseph Kelly said he is glad to hear Paul involved in hemp and willing to take a look at legislation. He felt Paul's biggest takeaway was the livestock issue, which he said is personally important for his farm and company.

Other topics discussed include trials for herbicides and banking and insurance issues.

Kelly said a processing facility is under construction nearby. He's also looking to expand his hemp crop from 700 acres to 940 acres. Once the processor is up an running, he said, he'll be looking to hire. Describing both the growing acreage and new processing, Kelly emphasized the possibility for job growth in the commonwealth as this could naturally magnify elsewhere. Pointing to hemp's versatility as a crop, Paul also suggested that hemp could be viable in areas of Kentucky that might not be as agriculturally abundant.

"I think hemp has been a step towards a brand new product that has nothing to do with marijuana and has a lot of value as a new crop for us," Paul said.

More about the hemp industry in Kentucky.

North Korea

Senator Paul said both the United States and North Korea should ratchet down the rhetoric and find a peaceful solution.

Paul is referring to rhetoric "in general" and not specifically President Donald Trumps recent fire and fury comments.

Paul said politicians should assure the North Korean regime that there is no desire to occupy or invade their country. He says when people are fearful of invasion there is a danger of an accident occurring.

If I could do anything I would say lets try to ratchet down the rhetoric. Lets try to ratchet down the fear and the bellicosity on both sides. And see if we can get to a peaceful solution," he said.

He said North Korea should be reminded that the U.S. is allied with South Korea and should they unleash an attack it would be the last thing they ever do. He also said the U.S. isnt interested in a preemptive attack and that war should be a last resort.

Health Care

Senator Paul said President Donald Trump could act unilaterally on changes to the health care system. Paul is touring Kentucky discussing efforts to expand group insurance options across state lines. He said he recently spoke with President Trump to consider taking action without new legislation.

We talked about letting people join groups like co-ops or association health plans and I believe that he can act unilaterally through presidential authority to expand the definition," Paul said.

As an example, he said, the National Restaurant Association - of more than 40,000 members - could be legalized to form a group to buy insurance as one body and negotiate a discount in prices. Paul says he believes Trump is very interested in this option.

He said he is disappointed that politicians who promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act went back on their promise but is holding out hope for other options. Three Republicans broke ranks and voted against a proposed Skinny Repeal of the ACA last month.

A bill expanding association health plans passed the House and is now in the Senate.

Read more:
Rand Paul: 'Big Government' Needs to Back Off of Hemp - WKU Public Radio

A recent Politifact fact checkfound that California Senator Kamala Harris statements arguing that it costs $33,000 a year nationally to incarcerate an inmate are in fact correct.

Harris told the incarcerated womens advocacy group Women Unshackled in Washington D.C. in July that it costs $75,000 a year to lock up an inmate in California.

Lets look at the fact that there is an issue around how much we are paying and again, this gets back to the economic cost it costs us about $33,000 a year to lock somebody up. In California it costs about $75,000 a year, Harris told the forum.

RELATED:Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democrat Kamala Harris are teaming up to seek bail reform

Harris, a Democrat, recently teamed up with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on bipartisan bail reform legislation toprevent accused minors from sitting in jail for their offenses if they cant afford bail.

An op-ed written by the senators targets the current discriminatory and wasteful bail system and its crippling effects on young offenders.

Our justice system was designed with a promise: to treat all people equally, the op-ed reads. Yet, that doesnt happen for many of the 450,000 Americans who sit in jail today awaiting trial because they cannot afford to pay bail.

The Senators argue that an accuseds jail time is often determined by their economic status or available connections.

Whether someone stays in jail or not is far too often determined by wealth or social connections, even though just a few days behind bars can cost people their job, home, custody of their children or their life.

Harris and Paul argue that bail reform could potentially save American taxpayers roughly $78 billion a year.

Politifact analyzed Harris figures and other reports and found her statistics to be correct.

We interpreted Harriss claim about per inmate expenses to mean the operational costs to house male and female inmates, including security, health care, facility upkeep and employee compensation, Politifact said. Advocates for criminal justice reform often argue that just looking at the operational costs of running prisons ignores the social costs of incarcerating Americans.

We looked at those costs as well, but based our rating primarily on the evidence supporting the numbers Harris cited in her Women Unshackled appearance.

RELATED:Congress can get rid of a lot of unconstitutional mass surveillance by doing nothing at all

A Vera Institute report examined the cost to house inmates at prisons nationwide. Data from 45 states found the total cost per inmate to be approximately $33,274 a year.

Additionally, a June 2017 article by the Associated Press estimates that it costs the state of California $75,560 per fiscal year to house an inmate. This number comes from funds Governor Jerry Brown set aside in the 2017 budget Californias Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Sen. Kamala Harris recently claimed it costs us about $33,000 a year (nationally) to lock somebody up In California it costs about $75,000 a year. A recent study that examined costs in 45 states plus data from Californias departments of corrections and finance support the senators statement. The evidence supports the figures she cited. We rate Harris claim True, Politifact concluded.

Link:
Fiscal conservatives should support Rand Paul and Kamala Harris' bail reform bill - Rare.us

Tyler Eschberger | Daily News Sen. Rand Paul at Middlesboro ARH for a roundtable discussion concerning important healthcare issues.

Middlesboro ARH welcomed Sen. Rand Paul to a roundtable discussion concerning ways to improve and implement healthcare needs of the hospital and Bell County.

Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) Community CEO Michael Slusher introduced Paul to the room of various physicians and hospital personnel and opened the floor for discussion on different market forces the hospital has found challenging.

MARH Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer Vicki Thompson was the first to address Paul regarding the patient population of the area.

Bell County ranks 115 out of 120 counties representing the overall health condition. Theres a lot of reasons for that. We have a higher rate of obesity, smokers. 38 percent of our counties lives below the poverty line; 52 percent of that being our children. And that is very distressing to all of us, she said.

Another problem we face here in Bell Countyour opioid crisis. We at one point from 2012 and 2015 were the second-ranked county for the worst overdose and overdose deaths here in Kentucky with heroin and narcotics being the main culprits.

Discussion of the shift from opioid addiction to heroin addiction was raised, with Paul asking if the medical community shared some guilt with having too many people on opioids to begin with.

Slusher stated that he didnt feel guilt was the right term, citing the pain is the fifth vital sign push as part of the problem with opioids.

Pharmacist Steve Weaver stated that the hospital is now using the drug Naloxone as a way to treat opioid dependence and overdose. The drug is prescription free. A protocol has been developed for dispensing Naloxone, he said. First responders, school workers and concerned family members are all able to receive the product with the proper education on the subject.

I think the drug company shares some blame in this too for saying Oxycontin is no big deal and its not really addictive and this a great drug for your patients, they wont get addicted to it. That may have been a lie, said Rand.

Paul went on to say that the spread of opioids was more rapid in areas of high Medicaid and high disability.

Disability you can understand, theyre taking medication for painin most of the counties that have expanded Medicaid they have a worse problem now because, again, more legal opioids because its free. We do need to think through what we can do to make it better, said Paul.

Reach Tyler Eschberger at 606-248-1010, ext. 1126 or on Twitter @TylerEsch89.

Tyler Eschberger | Daily News Sen. Rand Paul at Middlesboro ARH for a roundtable discussion concerning important healthcare issues.

http://www.harlandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_rand.jpgTyler Eschberger | Daily News Sen. Rand Paul at Middlesboro ARH for a roundtable discussion concerning important healthcare issues.

Discusses opioid issues

.

View original post here:
Paul visits Middlesboro ARH - The Harlan Daily Enterprise

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is known for his support of free market principles, but that apparently changes entirely when it comes to bail. He is championing legislation alongside Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) that would use federal grants to effectively destroy the bail bonds industry, putting thousands of small businessmen at risk of losing their livelihoods. Our justice system was designed with a promise: to treat all people equally, Harris was quoted as saying in a news release. Yet more than 450,000 Americans sit in jail today awaiting trial and many of them cannot afford money bail. In our country, whether you stay in jail or not is wholly determined by whether youre wealthy or not and thats wrong.

Harris and Paul published a joint op/ed in the New York Times where the lawmakers referenced the policies of New Jersey as an example of what their proposed federal grant money would influence states into adopting. New Jersey has become a stunning example of the unintended consequences of government solutions to the supposed bail problem.

NBC New York conducted an early expose of what happened after New Jersey effectively dismantled the bail bonds system in their state. What they found was a tremendous lack of accountability, increased government control and spending, and the empowering of criminals to commit more offenses. From the report:

On January 1 of this year, New Jersey overhauled its criminal justice system and virtually eliminated the old cash bail structure, replacing it with one that relies heavily on a mathematical risk assessment formula

From January 1 through March 31, 10,193 eligible defendants were processed. Preventive detention was ordered for only 12.4%. Nearly 85% were given pretrial release, some with conditions

Outraged mother June Rodgers of Millville blames bail reform for the murder of her son. He was shot to death on a street in Vineland in April after a verbal dispute with a man driving a car. Cops arrested career criminal Jules Black, whod been picked up on a separate gun charge four days before, and released with no bail

The state has created a Division of Pretrial Services to monitor defendants. The funds come from court fees. There have been 173 employees hired so far. The projected spending for next fiscal year is expected to be in the range of $36 million to $38 million dollars.

The Office of Administrative Courts was unable to provide any statistics on the number of released defendants who have re-offended since January 1, or the number of those who have failed to appear for scheduled court dates.

Under Pauls proposal, $10 million in federal grant money would be earmarked toward coercing states across the country to adopt these policies. Matt Maddock, a conservative activist and bail bondsman from Michigan, has lobbied on behalf of his industry for many years. He believes that Pauls plan is misguided and unbecoming of the tea party values that got him elected to the Senate in 2010.

Outlawing bail bond agencies and eliminating money bail is not the solution to the problem of the criminally accused from languishing in jail unable to post bail, Maddock said. User-funded bail bond agencies are the only mechanism that effectively reduce the number of fugitives in our communities because they have skin in the game, and they go out and bring fugitives back into custody.

The streets may not be safer, government may not be limited, and small businessmen may have to worry about their livelihood, but at least Paul will have a decent photo-op with a Democrat and series of media appearances to boost his political aspirations. The legislation is not expected to pass.

Enjoyed the article? Make a contribution to support our work via Patreon!

Read more:
Rand Paul Abandons Market Principles In His Attempt To Nationalize Bail Bonds - The Liberty Conservative

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul had an interesting article in The Hill last week about an easy way to make health insurance more affordable -- and better.

"What if I told you that much of what was attempted through ObamaCare could actually happen if the government could go the opposite direction and get more out of the way in the area of health insurance?" he asked.

"If you have insurance through a large employer, say, Toyota or General Motors, certain things are true," Paul wrote. "You don't have to worry about preexisting conditions, because the large group plans don't stop you from joining. You have better coverage at better prices -- because you have the power of tens of thousands of people banding together to drive down prices."

"Competition is key to health reform," he wrote.

Paul said, "It is very clear the original language of the law allows for far more wide-reaching groups than the Department of Labor's bureaucratic rules permit today. The Department of Labor should revise its rules to allow virtually any group to become a group for insurance purposes."

He added, "From the chamber of commerce to the credit unions, from the NRA to the ACLU, from the Realtors to the restaurant association, there are many groups who could almost immediately begin to offer insurance to their members."

And Paul wrote, "As a physician, I can tell you this: Insurance was bad before ObamaCare. Why? Because the power was too often on the side of Big Insurance. I want to turn that on its head as we debate repeal."

It all sounds great -- if it would actually work.

But then, I thought, what is the largest association in the country?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 325 million of us last week -- and counting.

So, instead of a bunch of smaller associations, why don't we just form one for the whole country?

I think you're onto something, Senator.

Here is the original post:
Will Rand Paul's insurance idea work? - messenger-inquirer