Whiskey Soldier

06/19/2026

For who are proud of their history, I can’t imagine honoring a higher good, than the expansion of liberty, freedom and justice.

commemorates June 19, 1865.

The day enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free — two years after the emancipation proclamation.

of America, celebrate American freedom.

06/19/2026

BLUF: An informed citizen is essential to self-government.

The Kentucky Civic Calendar identifies key dates that affect every citizen of the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky General Assembly writes laws, appropriates funding, and sets policy. Local governments make decisions on schools, roads, public safety, utilities, and development. Elections determine who serves in those roles.

Most citizens know Election Day.

Fewer know when government actually conducts its work.

Review the calendar.

Know the dates.

Participate in the process.

A Republic requires more than voters.

It requires informed citizens.

06/18/2026

When local elected leaders, tell their citizens that illegal to ban businesses they’re being disingenuous at best and they’re deliberately lying to their citizens at worst either way, they’re not protecting or listening to their citizens.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 America is fighting back against the AI land grab — and the numbers don't lie. As of this month, 69 U.S. jurisdictions have active moratoriums blocking new AI data center construction. Four of those bans are permanent.

One year ago, only eight such bans existed across the entire country. From March to April alone, 14 new restrictions were enacted. The wave is accelerating — and it's crossing party lines.

The reasons are hard to argue with. A single AI data center can gulp down 5 million gallons of water every single day. In Minnesota, just 13 proposed facilities would demand the same electricity it takes to power all 2.3 million homes in the state. For rural communities already straining under drought conditions and grid pressure, the math doesn't work.

The bans are coming from red counties and blue cities alike. Conservative communities are pushing back over water rights and power grid strain. Progressive cities cite environmental destruction. Tech companies warn the restrictions will slow innovation and cost American jobs. But so far, those arguments aren't moving the needle — the bans keep piling up.

Four of them are now written in permanently. Seventy-eight total restrictions are now on the tracker — up from eight a year ago. This isn't a local trend anymore. It's a national reckoning.

Share this to every local you know and follow for more data center updates that matter📰☝️

06/18/2026

The moral courage in this man. Kentucky has some of the best folks.

A family in Mason County, Kentucky, refused offers approaching $8 million for farmland connected to plans for a major AI data center development.

The land is reportedly part of a large area being explored for a hyperscale-style data center campus. In one account, Dr. Grosser's property covers about 250 acres.

The buying effort reportedly began with an offer of about $4 million. It later rose to more than $8 million, and the family was eventually asked to name a price.

Even then, Dr. Grosser refused to sell.

For the family, the farm is not just land with a dollar value. It represents family history, heritage, and a legacy they want to preserve for future generations.

The situation has also raised wider concerns in the community. Residents have questioned what a large data center campus could mean for land use, transparency, local planning, energy demand, water use, and the future character of the area.

Research on large data center developments has found that these projects can bring major infrastructure demands and long-term local impacts. That is why communities often look closely at how land is acquired, how plans are shared, and how public concerns are addressed before such projects move forward.

06/18/2026

Data centers aren’t always bad. There are communities and contexts they can bring more promise than they do problems.

But it’s clear there are many communities that are being honest about their problems.

Community backlash just put a massive AI data center on hold.

Spokane-based utility company Avista has halted negotiations for a proposed 500-megawatt data center following intense pushback from local residents and regional leaders.

The planned facility—of unprecedented scale for the region—would require enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes under normal conditions, raising sharp questions about its long-term impact on local infrastructure, water resources, and energy costs. In response to the outcry, Avista's leadership emphasized that existing utility customers must not bear the financial burden of upgrading grid infrastructure to support massive new commercial operations, pledging that future agreements will require rigorous engineering studies and state regulatory approval.

This local clash underscores a rapidly expanding national crisis, where the physical demands of artificial intelligence are colliding with local resource limits. While the digital tools of the AI boom feel weightless, they depend on sprawling physical facilities packed with power-hungry servers running around the clock. Supporters advocate for the job creation, tax revenue, and economic investment these centers promise to bring.

However, as tech companies rush to secure the massive electrical capacity needed to power next-generation AI models, communities are increasingly rejecting these projects, forcing a reckoning over who ultimately pays for the environmental and financial toll of our digital future.

source: Coeur d'Alene Press. (2026). Avista pauses data center talks after community response.

06/16/2026

The impacts are not good.

Federal officials are declining to comment on potential impacts from a proposed Cave City data center near Mammoth Cave National Park.

Large-scale data centers have drawn environmental scrutiny nationwide over electricity demand, water use and potential strain on local infrastructure and power grids.

Potential environmental impacts from the Cave City proposal have not been publicly identified, and it remains unclear what environmental review, if any, will be required.

🔗: https://tinyurl.com/4pjmz2nt

06/15/2026

Efforts are underway to restore the voting rights of more than 350,000 independent, tax-paying Kentuckians by giving them a voice in the primary elections that often determine who will ultimately hold public office.

Among those affected are countless Kentucky veterans. The small group of citizens who volunteered to swore an oath to defend America’s republic, yet are denied a voice in many of the elections that help determine who will lead it.

Veterans for All Voters (Veterans for All Voters) is leading the effort to ensure that the citizens who defended American interests abroad can fully participate in their interests at home.



📸 — Matt Rommel + Bluegrass Creative Media

06/15/2026

“They speak about closed-loop water cooling, or even air cooling, as an alternative to water consumption and contamination. These are also more costly and hence less likely to happen. Close-loop water cooling is still dumped, monthly rather than daily, and has far more concentrated toxins and heavy metals when they do, and they use even more electricity. Making an already energy-intensive effort more draining.“

More on the WHISKEY SOLDIER substack.

wku

06/14/2026

This is not a technical study. This is more like finely tuned deductions and an outline of reasonable and valid and serious public concerns based on known factors like energy demand, grid strain, water use, tax incentives, land use, jobs created, public opinion, and long-term community impact.

06/14/2026

This is a symbol of freedom. This is a symbol of selflessness. This is a symbol of hope. This is a symbol of embrace. This is a symbol of collaboration. This is a symbol for unity. This is a symbol of resilience. This is a symbol of love.

May you have a reflective Flag Day.