KENNETH STEPP IS A VETERAN . . .
I went into the U.S. Navy as a Seaman in November 1968, during the height of the Viet Nam War, and was proud to wear the uniform of a United States Navy Seaman--an enlisted man. Seaman Kenneth Stepp was trained to handle a rifle at the United States Navy boot camp at Orlando, Florida, marching, standing watch, and attending class. After completing basic training in early 1969, I worked at the Recruit Training Command in Orlando, Florida, while awaiting further orders.
I was ordered to the United States Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island beginning March 1969. Once again I was drilled in marching and attending classes--this time in Naval Operations, Weapons, Engineering, and Navigation. On July 18,1969, I was commissioned an officer in the Navy, and ordered to report to the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California for further schooling.
In Monterey, California, I, pictured at left, attended postgraduate classes with United States Naval and Marine officers, and Naval and Marine officers from approximate thirty allied or friendly countries, including some NATO countries, and even Iran, which was considered a U.S. ally at the time. In 1970, I graduated from the United States Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Science degree in Management. Next, I was assigned as the Gunnery Assistant on the USS Blakely (DE 1072) where I was JOOD Underway (sometimes commanding the course and speed of that warship), and in charge of supervising maintenance of the five-inch caliber gun, the AIM-7E point defense missile system, and the small arms (rifles, pistols and machine guns) locker. After I was transferred from the Blakely, the Blakely crew served with distinction patrolling the waters off the coast of Viet Nam. After my time on the Blakely, I was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range (AFWR) in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. My first position at AFWR was as Assistant Inner Range Officer, supervising Naval Gunfire Support exercises on Culebra Island and on Vieques Island. My next position at AFWR was as Assistant Underwater Range Officer supervising underwater submarine exercises and torpedo and (Anti-Submarine Rocket)ASROC firing exercises at the AFWR Underwater Range at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. I was aboard surface ships and submarines,and on one submerged submarine, in addition to being the Navy's highest ranking officer present on the Navy test facility at St. Croix, observing the various anti-submarine rocket, torpedo, and submarine tests. After five years in the United States Navy on active duty (Nov. 1968 through Sept. 1973) I resigned my Lieutenant (junior grade) commission with the United States Navy and entered Law School.
. . . THAT SUPPORTS THE EQUAL PAY ACT.
"And once more,U.S. Senator "Mitch" McConnell has blocked popular, bipartisan legislation from a vote, as only 57 Senators favored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act recently. Add women to the growing list of constituents that Mitch McConnell enjoys screwing over (sick kids, union workers, troops, veterans, etc….) . . . ."
You have a clear choice this year. Mitch McConnell used the power of filibuster to block the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Kenneth Stepp, a Kentucky Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and supports equal pay for women, black people, Hispanic people, and older workers. Of the nine remaining Kentucky candidates for U.S. Senate (there are two Republicans in the race, you remember), only Kenneth Stepp, as a trial lawyer has filed a Federal Civil Rights suit against an employer on behalf of a woman employee by alleging that the employer discriminated against the woman because she was a woman, and a different Federal Civil Rights suit on behalf of a black person by alleging that the employer discriminated against her because she was black, and against an older worker against a power corporation by alleging that the employer discriminated against him because of his older age. Of the nine remaining candidates for U.S. Senate, Kentucky, only Kenneth Stepp would be active and on the first day on the job defending the interests of women, black citizens, Hispanic citizens, older workers, sick kids, union workers, troops, veterans, and ordinary people like yourself.
If you want six more years of War with 6,000 more U.S. troops dead, then vote for McConnell; otherwise vote for Stepp. If you want torture, rendition for torture, and waterboarding by U.S. Federal employees, then vote for McConnell; otherwise, vote for Stepp. If you want U.S. Federal employees listening to your telephone conversations with warrantless wiretaps, the vote for McConnell; otherwise, vote for Stepp. If you want a repeat of the recent cut in Federal spending on education, the vote for McConnell; otherwise vote for Stepp who favors full government payment of education expenses for regular public college students. If you oppose the Lilly Ledford Act and want to allow pay discrimination against women, then vote for McConnell; otherwise vote for Stepp, who--as a civil rights lawyer--has filed Federal Civil Rights Suits including a suit for a woman against her employer alleging discrimination against women, a suit against a supervisor alleging discrimination against a black person, and a suit against a big power corporation alleging age discrimination against an older employee. Vote for the candidate that is ready to stand up for you in the Senate. Vote for Stepp!
