Far out, man.

LEO’s cover story last May showed that unbeknownst to Metro Government and Louisville Zoo officials, Dismas sent inmates with a violent criminal record to work at the zoo, including one who was arrested for an attempted rape of an employee of the Kentucky Humane Society shortly after being transferred from the zoo. Prisoners with such a record were supposed to be excluded from eligibility to work for city agencies. The story noted the glaring lack of supervision at the zoo and the complaints of AFSCME, the city workers’ union, alleging this is both a public safety issue and a violation of city policy by using free labor to avoid hiring more horticultural workers (who are actually paid).

A subsequent LEO story in December showed that despite the mayor’s office pledge to make sure Dismas inmates with a violent criminal record were no longer used by city agencies, the most recent inventory showed 22 percent of Dismas workers used by the city had such a record. An internal audit of the city’s Dismas worker program oversight released that month gave it the lowest grade available, finding lax record-keeping, insufficient training for city workers, and warning that allowing inmates with a violent criminal record to work for city agencies “increased exposure to liability risk.”

In explaining the zoo’s decision to end participation in the Dismas program next Saturday, spokeswoman Kyle Shepherd says, “It is impractical for us to manage the program based on the new Metro policy.” When asked what this new Metro policy is, Shepherd told us we’d have to file an open records request.

However, Fischer spokesman Phil Miller confirmed to LEO that the new policy in question — a direct result of last year’s audit, and going into effect June 1 — requires city agencies using Dismas workers to have city employees transport the inmates back and forth from the halfway house and the job site. Dismas inmates at the zoo had previously taken TARC in both directions by themselves.

Miller tells LEO he is not aware of any other agency discontinuing the use of Dismas workers because of the policy, which is “simply aimed at increasing supervision and accountability.”

I admire her gumption, even if those chicken-scratch notes are mine and mine alone. Wesley was one of 39 Family Scholar House participants honored last night for earning a post-secondary degree. Family Scholar House assists low-income, single-parent college students who have experienced homelessness or unstable housing.

“They gave me a lot to think about,” says Wesley, a headstrong mother who graduated earlier this month from the University of Louisville. “They allowed me to become a real citizen of this community.”

In addition to housing assistance, participants like Wesley received help writing résumés, applying for jobs, and preparing for interviews. They were also paired with a local professional for mentoring.

Jessica Stivers, another new Family Scholar graduate, utilized many of the program’s resources, but one seemingly small perk warranted extra excitement: “I got business cards!”

The touch of professionalism really registered with the recent U of L grad and mother of a 4-year-old son. While she waits to hear back from JCPS on hiring for next school year, Stivers has already started bargain shopping for nametags, Post-It notes and other classroom supplies. She expects to get hired to work at a high-risk school, and she’s ready to give back. Her Plan B is substitute teaching.

“I’m a believer in karma,” she says. “I hope that all my hard work pays off.”

Perusing through a binder of résumés from Family Scholar House grads, many seem to be aiming for work in fields that give back to the community — social work, nursing, etc. Most have volunteer, work or externship experience — all indicators of increased chances at full-time employment down the road.

“This program works, if you work it,” Wesley says.

Currently, 175 families with 278 children live at Family Scholar House residential facilities in Kentuckiana. Those who graduate have 90 days to relocate to new housing. Waiting to fill those vacated spots are more than 700 families registered in the pre-residential program.

Based on McConnell’s longstanding relationship with irresponsible exaggeration — especially when there’s unrequited Tea Party courting to be accomplished in preparation for an election — I’ll refrain from collapsing onto my fainting couch.

But considering all of this political hay McConnell is trying make for himself using the IRS, the following poll number jumped out at me.

According to CNN’s new poll, the IRS has a 34 percent favorable rating among Americans.

When McConnell was polled nationally by CNN this March, his favorable rating was at… 24 percent.

I guess that’s almost within single digits, right?

And look at it this way: McConnell is a full 2 percent more popular among the voters of his home state than the IRS is nationally.**

So Mitch, in honor of Louisville’s recent prestigious visitor… you’ve got that goin’ for you?

* We were just trying to be nice, but 10 percent really isn’t that close.

** In all honesty, McConnell has no reason to fret yet, as it looks like his favorable rating would have to get all the way down to 20 percent in Kentucky before a viable Democratic candidate summoned the guts to get into the race against him.

Who are Judson Phillips and Tea Party Nation, you ask? Well, they are the one and only Tea Party group in America labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Why the hate group label? Bear with us, there’s a lot to go through, as much of this has to do with hate, but much of it just irresponsible insanity:

- Phillips sent out a TPN email saying that Rep. Keith Ellison should be defeated because “He is the only Muslim member of congress.” He later defended this statement by saying: “I am not going to apologize because I’m bothered by a religion that says kill the infidel, especially when I am the infidel.”

- Phillips says that it would make sense to disenfranchise Americans who are not property owners.

- Phillips blamed “liberals” for the Gabby Giffords massacre in Tuscon, says that Obama is intentionally shielding the real perpetrator of the Boston Marathon bombing.

- Warned of the extinction of white Americans in an email, stating: “All of these programs, ideals and ideologies are doing one thing and one thing only — reducing America’s core TFR to the point of no return. The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) population in America is headed for extinction and with it our economy, well-being and survival as a uniquely America culture.”

- Phillips demanded that President Obama prove that he’s not a crack addict that enjoys smoking crack and having sex with men.

- Phillips called Wisconsin union members Nazi stormtroopers and says “the left” has “killed a billion people in the last century.”

- Phillips called for overturning and stealing the 2012 presidential election results so that Republicans could install Mitt Romney as president.

- Phillips called for disbanding the Methodist Church, which he calls “the first Church of Karl Marx.”

- Phillips called the NAACP “a liberal hate group.”

- Phillips called for Republicans to walk out of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, describing the president as “Hitlerian” and liberals as “Nazi-like.”

- TPN sent out an email asking Colin Powell’s family to “get his Alzheimer’s treated already.”

- Birther freaks.

I’m going to go ahead and stop there, because there’s so much more.

So why is Mitch McConnell — the Senate Minority Leader, we remind you — giving a big ol’ bear hug to these demented hate-mongers, whom even many in the Tea Party keep at arms’ length because they are so fringe?

Well, when you’re that afraid of the Tea Party — and desperate to hide how much they hate you in your home state — I guess you’re willing to embrace just about anyone available with a tri-cornered or tinfoil hat.

Leadership.

Here’s the new Hollywood trailer from the folks at Team Mitch:

In all fairness to Baiano, it’s very difficult to turn the likes of Pawlenty and McConnell into super hero action figures of Liberty, though you’d have to wonder why a campaign would even try to make such an attempt. Anyway, we wish them luck turning the most cynical master of accumulating self-interested political clout into a selfless action movie star of American idealism.

David Adams, the Kentucky Tea Party leader who is (still) looking for a primary challenger to McConnell, was not impressed by Team Hollywood, in this statement given to LEO:

“Beautiful production quality and a shockingly effective use of two minutes to put forth the false idea that Mitch’s approval of corporate welfare, the “war on drugs,” military adventurism, currency debasement and fiscal recklessness haven’t greatly damaged our ability to protect freedom and prosperity in America. Mitch suggests falsely he did not support bank bailouts, does not support the growth of government and opposes “every other assault on Liberty” and supports “freedom in all its varieties” in rapid succession. Best lying money can buy.”

The first Baiano joint might have missed the mark, but hopefully there will be several more attempts to turn Mitch into the love child of Thomas Jefferson and Bruce Willis.

Or these four dudes (free tip!):

From that interview:

“Here’s the distinction — I have never argued against any technology being used against having an imminent threat or an act of crime going on,” Paul said. “If someone comes out of a liquor store with a weapon and $50 in cash, I don’t care if a drone kills him or a policeman kills him, but it’s different if they want to come fly over your hot tub, or your yard just because they want to do surveillance on everyone, and they want to watch your activities.”

After facing serious backlash from supporters scratching their heads at Paul giving the thumbs up to a drone killing someone for carrying money and a gun — aren’t we all supposed to be carrying guns, expressing our second amendment rights? — without any warrant, charges or trial, Paul’s office released this statement that said he hadn’t suddenly flipped:

“My comments last night left the mistaken impression that my position on drones had changed. Let me be clear: it has not. Armed drones should not be used in normal crime situations. They only may be considered in extraordinary, lethal situations where there is an ongoing, imminent threat. I described that scenario previously during my Senate filibuster.”

That’s actually correct, as he did describe a somewhat similar — though certainly not identical — position in his filibuster:

But here’s the thing… this is the exact same position that the Obama administration took on drone strikes in the United States, that they could only conceivably be used in extraordinary circumstances where there is an imminent threat. The two positions are identical.

Yet Rand Paul somehow convinced people that Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder were giving the green light to their ability to launch drone strikes against citizens in cafes, while he was bravely protecting our rights.

Rand Paul has not dramatically switched his position, nor has he switched from his status as someone who is willing to grandstand over manufactured fears.

But if we want to talk about drones assassinating citizens overseas — an actual travesty — yes, by all means, let’s have that discussion.

Even though 90 percent of Americans and 82 of Kentuckians support universal background checks, both Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul voted no.

President Obama later spoke in the White House Rose Garden, and as you can see below, he was pissed. Obama castigated the minority in the Senate, blatantly called out Rand Paul for calling the Newtown families “props,” and correctly noting that the gun lobby “willfully lied about the bill.”

Congressman John Yarmuth tweeted, “Extremely disappointed in Senate’s lack of courage today on the #backgroundcheck bill. Shame on them.”

Progressive group Americans United for Change released the following statement:

“Who’s celebrating Mitch McConnell’s obstruction today? The big gun makers that want to keep up business as usual putting as many guns in as many hands as possible, background checks be damned. Criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill are breathing a sigh of relief that they can go right on exploiting the gun show and internet loophole.

“Over 3,000 people have been gunned down in the four months since 20 six-to-seven year olds and six adults that were massacred in a matter of seconds in Newtown by a severely disturbed young man armed with a military-style assault rifle. The response from Congress these victims’ families deserved: assurances everything that can be done to keep guns of the hands of dangerous people will be done so other families don’t have experience the incredible loss they suffered. The response victims’ families got from the gun maker apologists like McConnell in the Senate: ‘We couldn’t care less what happened to your family.’ Easy access to guns isn’t the problem, it’s the solution, many belligerently argued. These politicians voted to put gun manufacturer profits ahead of public and children’s safety, and voters will be reminded of their dangerous priorities again and again and again.

“Backed by 82% of Kentuckians, this legislation was the very least and most uncontroversial thing Sen. McConnell could have gotten behind to help prevent future gun violence and tragedies like Newtown. Instead McConnell voted to keep the door wide open for criminals to get guns any time over the internet, no questions asked. Now the only question is: how does Mitch McConnell sleep at night?”

Sen. McConnell’s post vote statement? His official Senate Facebook page posted this picture:

Ha ha. You sure showed all those whiny “props,” didn’t you, senator?

NRA lobbyists and their dishonest, paranoid talking points win again. Better luck next time, America.

***** UPDATE *****

State Rep. Reginald Meeks of Louisville had some words for Sen. Rand Paul on Facebook:

After failing to pass any of the three (3) bills to address the growing problem of gun violence, Rand Paul commented on the vote.

He noted that the lobbying efforts of the families & victims from around the country amounted to emotional blackmail; and that it was sad to see them used by the President as props…

I ask you — and you Paul supporters, PLEASE DO respond — does Mr. Paul REALLY BELIEVE these victims have NO RIGHT to “weigh in”, as the President said, on this very issue which has changed their very lives??

How shameful that The Senate minority would reject even these milquetoast versions of gun safety as a beginning step.

And how shameful of ANYONE to ridicule these families, who have suffered so much, for being actively involved in advocating for real change…especially when the ridicule comes from one who could have supported these families, and choose not to.

We are completely outraged by the events in Boston. But these are “terrorists”. The fact that over 30,000 citizens are victims of gun violence matters not to the minority in the Senate which killed each bill.

Would someone remind me of the difference between Sandy Hook, or 32nd & Greenwood for that matter, and the Boston Marathon finish line, other than the choice of weapon?

***** UPDATE *****

Gabby Giffords calls the senators who voted no shameful cowards in this NYT op-ed.

The Newtown families wished to merely speak with Sen. McConnell personally to tell their story and plead with him to enact stronger laws that could prevent further gun victims in America. According to the Washington Post, he declined.

While Sen. Rand Paul hasn’t met with them, he did have these words for the family in a speech this morning:

“I’m a parent, and I have three boys, and I hate to see them using people I think as props and politicizing tragedy,” Paul said when asked about gun control during a breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

How’s a little insult to your intelligence to go with that devastating personal tragedy, eh?

But there’s good news today for gun manufacturers, felons and the mentally ill seeking guns, and paranoid conspiracy theorists, as it now appears the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan compromise on background checks only has 59 votes in the Senate right now. Being the Senate, and not a functioning democracy, this of course means that it will be filibustered and a vote will not be allowed.

If you want to know what this means for the dangerous people who will continue to seek guns online, we suggest you read this great investigative piece by The New York Times today. If you want to know what the failure to enact common sense gun control will mean for America, just wait and keep up with the news…

As you can see below in his interview with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC, Prouty stressed why it was not only important that he not go public with his name as the recorder of the video, but that he not even tell his closest family and friends, lest he risk his identity being revealed. By staying out of the spotlight, Prouty kept the entire focus on Romney’s reprehensible words and not on himself.

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In stark contrast to Prouty, let’s look at way the Keystone PAC of Progress Kentucky handled their recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s campaign advisers laughing at the opportunity to attack Ashley Judd because of her history of depression and suicidal thoughts as a 12-year-old.

While it’s not yet clear whether one or both of the Progress Kentucky Wonder Twins broke the law by recording the conversation through a door in the hallway, let’s just hypothetically say that they avoid any prosecution. Now let’s also hypothetically say that instead of allegedly bragging to “at least 20 people” about recording McConnell’s meeting, they had managed to keep their vanity and ego in check by taking the Prouty approach, sending the tape to David Corn at Mother Jones and not telling anyone else about it.

If they had taken this course of action, McConnell’s campaign surely would have cried foul and blamed their enemies (“The Left”) of “wiretapping” and “bugging,” but without any evidence to back this up, the majority of the media’s focus would have been on the actual words on the tape, including the admission that the campaign was using federal employees to do its opposition research on Judd. Instead, the focus has been on the FBI zeroing in on Progress Kentucky, gay escorts, blackmail, a general “Democrats in disarray” narrative, and drama drama drama.

But Progress Kentucky didn’t take the Prouty approach, because they were too busy bragging about how clever they were to actually care about what real effect their tape would have on McConnell. Which, if you’ve been following the group since January, is pretty much par for the course with them.

**** UPDATE ****

If you think I’m being hard on Progress Kentucky, check out Rep. John Yarmuth from the end of his appearance on MSNBC this weekend:

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Ouch.