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Pothole Time: Ed Wants Fed Road $ For Public Transit
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that Gov. Rendell is plotting to use money the feds kick back to Pa. to keep its share of the national roadway system passable to bail out the Port Authority of Allegheny County, which is Pittsburgh public transit system and is facing a $47 million deficit.
"You're robbing Peter to pay Paul, but that may be the only choice I'm left with," Not-So-Fast-Anymore-According-To-Polling Eddie said.
Hmmm. So the only way to solve this mess according to those we voted to rule us is to let our national roads go to pot? Edddie says yes because wiser minds kept him from creating traffic bottlenecks on I-80 as a government revenue raiser.
How about this to solve this crisis:
And it's about time we recognize that we are allowed to get mad about it.
"You're robbing Peter to pay Paul, but that may be the only choice I'm left with," Not-So-Fast-Anymore-According-To-Polling Eddie said.
Hmmm. So the only way to solve this mess according to those we voted to rule us is to let our national roads go to pot? Edddie says yes because wiser minds kept him from creating traffic bottlenecks on I-80 as a government revenue raiser.
How about this to solve this crisis:
- We cut salaries for all state workers until revenue increases which would be when Pennsylvanians start finding jobs, getting raises and buying things?
- We limit state pensions to $50,000 ex post facto (It would certainly be as moral as taxing a widow out of her home albeit those who vote themselves $313,000 annual pensions would disagree, I'm sure.
- We repeal strange and onerous laws that burden local taxing authorities such as Act 195, the 1970 law that prohibits school boards from replacing striking teachers and the passage of which saw a dramatic increase in school cost and a correspondingly dramatic decline in educational quality.
- We end prevailing wage requirements to allow public projects to be built in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
- We embrace the 21st Century in the conveyance of information.
And it's about time we recognize that we are allowed to get mad about it.
Sneers For Sarah But No Mocking Of Mosque
The IthinkI'msmart set has been sneering at Sarah Palin's Twitter post of a few days ago regarding the proposed $100-million mega-story mega-mosque at the site of 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers. For the many who have forgotten, 2,605 innocent persons died there that day at the hands of those motivated by the teachings of Mohammed.
Sarah tweeted "Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate"
"Ho, ho, ho," the IthinkI'msmarters said. "Doesn't the bumpkin know that there is no such word as "refudiate?" Meanwhile not a peep on the in-your-face plan to build a structure dedicated to the expansion of the philosophy that inspired the murders on that sky-blue September Tuesday; a philosophy that treats rape as a crime -- by the victim; a philosophy that demands horrible punishment for those with sexual weakness; a philosophy that exults in the destruction of archaeological treasures.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is defending the planned mosque saying stopping it would be "unAmerican". You think he would be saying the same thing if it were Evangelicals that had bought a spot near the attacks to make a 13-story unapologetic point?
The IthinkI'msmarters are fools and bigots and it is imperative that we as nation quickly recognize this.
Gov. Palin corrected her grammar in a subsequent tweet. She has not, however, let up on the proposed mosque.
How's this for a proposal, the city takes over the proposed mosque site for use as a park? If Bloomberg needs more justification, he can pretend he runs a pharmaceutical company .
Sarah tweeted "Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn’t it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate"
"Ho, ho, ho," the IthinkI'msmarters said. "Doesn't the bumpkin know that there is no such word as "refudiate?" Meanwhile not a peep on the in-your-face plan to build a structure dedicated to the expansion of the philosophy that inspired the murders on that sky-blue September Tuesday; a philosophy that treats rape as a crime -- by the victim; a philosophy that demands horrible punishment for those with sexual weakness; a philosophy that exults in the destruction of archaeological treasures.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is defending the planned mosque saying stopping it would be "unAmerican". You think he would be saying the same thing if it were Evangelicals that had bought a spot near the attacks to make a 13-story unapologetic point?
The IthinkI'msmarters are fools and bigots and it is imperative that we as nation quickly recognize this.
Gov. Palin corrected her grammar in a subsequent tweet. She has not, however, let up on the proposed mosque.
How's this for a proposal, the city takes over the proposed mosque site for use as a park? If Bloomberg needs more justification, he can pretend he runs a pharmaceutical company .
Joe "Wall Street" Biden Broke Law; Gets Fined
Chalk it up to things you haven't seen on CBS or any of the dino media.
Vice President and famous Phillies fan Joe Biden, that union-lovin' regular guy of the people, has been fined by the Federal Election Commission for accepting donations above the legal limit for his failed 2008 presidential run.
These illegal donations included a deeply discounted flight on a private jet owned by Clinton Group , a New York hedge fund that manages $1.1 billion for domestic and offshore clients and $5 billion collateralized debt obligations, which includes things like, well, mortgage-backed securities.
Why would a hedge-fund heavily involved in mortgage-backed securities back a union-lovin' regular -guy-of-the-people Phillies fan like VP Joe? I'm sure they have their reasons .
Anyway, the fine was for $219,000.
Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander says the fine was "'relatively small." Hey, it was probably just a week's worth of pay for Clinton Group manager and Biden bud George E. Hall.
Vice President and famous Phillies fan Joe Biden, that union-lovin' regular guy of the people, has been fined by the Federal Election Commission for accepting donations above the legal limit for his failed 2008 presidential run.
These illegal donations included a deeply discounted flight on a private jet owned by Clinton Group , a New York hedge fund that manages $1.1 billion for domestic and offshore clients and $5 billion collateralized debt obligations, which includes things like, well, mortgage-backed securities.
Why would a hedge-fund heavily involved in mortgage-backed securities back a union-lovin' regular -guy-of-the-people Phillies fan like VP Joe? I'm sure they have their reasons .
Anyway, the fine was for $219,000.
Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander says the fine was "'relatively small." Hey, it was probably just a week's worth of pay for Clinton Group manager and Biden bud George E. Hall.
Stations Rescind Surrender To Sestak After Finding Ads Claims Legit
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ads pointing out Congressman Joe Sestak's support for job-killing economics and his lock-step voting record with San Francisco limousine liberal and crony-capitalist Nancy Pelosi are back on WPGH and WPMY in Pittsburgh after station management investigated the complaints by Sestak and found them unfounded.
Sestak, who represents Pennsylvania's 7th District, is the Democrat nominee to replace Arlen Specter in the U.S. Senate.
He had objected to the ads because they claimed he voted with Pelosi "100 percent" and he had voted against an amendment on the DISCLOSE Act, a bill which would impose restrictions on campaign financing.
Bill Miller, the Chamber's senior vice president of political affairs, noted that Sestak voted entirely with Pelosi on every bill of substance including the final version of the DISCLOSE Act .
If you want to be technical the Washington Post says Sestak has voted with Pelosi 97.8 percent of the time.
Sestak, who represents Pennsylvania's 7th District, is the Democrat nominee to replace Arlen Specter in the U.S. Senate.
He had objected to the ads because they claimed he voted with Pelosi "100 percent" and he had voted against an amendment on the DISCLOSE Act, a bill which would impose restrictions on campaign financing.
Bill Miller, the Chamber's senior vice president of political affairs, noted that Sestak voted entirely with Pelosi on every bill of substance including the final version of the DISCLOSE Act .
If you want to be technical the Washington Post says Sestak has voted with Pelosi 97.8 percent of the time.
Unfair! Joe Didn't Know They Were Terrorists
Joe Sestak not helping raise money for CAIR at a 2007 $50-per-ticket CAIR fundraiser.
Joe Sestak, a Springfield native and the Democrat's hope to replace Arlen Specter as Pennsylvania senator, has filed complaints regarding two ads being run against him and has threatened to take the broadcasters to the FCC if they continued being shown.
The ad produced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce takes Joe to task for supporting bizarre anti-consumer policies and claims Sestak voted with House Speaker and San Francisco leftist Nancy Pelosi 100-percent of the time.
Not true, says Sestak. It was only 97 percent of the time.
Anyway WPGH and WPMY of the Pittsburgh area which were among the 14 television stations airing this ad succumbed to Sestak's threats and pulled it.
Update: It was reported today, July 17, that WPGH and WPMY have rescinded their surrender and have restored the ads.
Meanwhile the Emergency Committee for Israel has produced an ad highlighting the criticism in which Sestak has joined regarding attempts by Israel to keep the Gaza strip from being used as base for Islamic terror attacks, and Sestak's 2007 appearance at a fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which the FBI has determined to be a front-group for Hamas, an Islamic terror group that seeks to replace Israel with an Islamic state.
Sestak's response is basically hey, the FBI didn't say it was a terror front-man at the time and I really wasn't raising funds at the fundraiser.
The naivete alone should disqualify Sestak from any position of responsibility but when one wonders why CAIR was throwing its significant Philadelphia influence behind him, the implications are frightening.
Here's the Emergency Committee for Israel ad.
Philly Hearts AZ
The scene at 9th and Passyunk at 6:14 p.m., July 14. Note the counter-demonstrators across the street.
Philadelphians flocked to 9th and Passyunk yesterday as Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento held a rally to support the state of Arizona in light of the lawsuit filed by the Obama Administration against its recently passed law that requires police check onthe immigration status of those they "stop, detain or arrest" if they should be unable to produce acceptableidentification i.e. a driver's license. Now, this standard is the norm for just about every police agency in existence albeit some are purposely directed to ignore this for certain people.
Perhaps, if the Arizona law had been written by the New Black Panther Party, Obama would end its strange interference.
Regardless, polls show Pennsylvanians to be soundly behind the people of Arizona and a bill which would give Pennsylvania a similar law has been submitted in Harrisburg by State Rep.Daryl Metcalfe (R-12)
Metcalfe was among those participating in the rally as was Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer; Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio; Hazelton Maylor Lou Barletta, who is the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania's 11th District congressional seat; and former U.S. attorney Pat Meehan, who is the the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania's 7th District congressional seat.
There was a contingent of counter-demonstrators which shouldn't be surprising since every other business in the Italian Market seems to have signage in Spanish. Still, if one was really hungry for a steak, Pat's across the street might have been a better choice since it appeared less crowded.
Lancaster County Considers End For HRC
Lancaster County is pondering making a leap for progress by getting rid of its human relations commission. The county is proposing rescinding a 1991 law giving its HRC enforcement powers. This would eliminate the nine-member commission and save the taxpayer about $470,000 per year.
The dino media is predictably outraged. LancasterOnline.Com, the website for Lancaster Newspapers Inc., carries a hand-wringing article about how eliminating it would've kept a teacher from getting back a security deposit because she hadn't realized before she signed the lease that a relative of the previous tenant had smoked.
Oh, the humanity.
Human relations commissions were born in the era of civil rights with the honorable goal of helping blacks overcome commercial discrimination. Now, as earlier noted the real problems facing blacks were not bigoted shopkeepers but government -- laws, or their non-enforcement -- that prevented blacks from competing with whites or white-owned business from pursing blacks as employees or customers; along with strange and pervasive concepts held as scientific facts and taught in our leading academic institutions that blacks were genetically inferior and must be subject to segregation and, well, even elimination.
Still, those first human relations commissions had a noble goal. The problem came when those who live to rule others realized that expanding the definition of those needing protection was a great way of expanding their own power and acquiring wealth. Disability laws were passed and life got harder for the small business-owner as the bureaucrats found new excuses to harass them. Circa 1993, for instance, every newspaper in the state received a notice from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission warning them that accepting classified real estate ads containing phrases such as "walk-in closet" or "spectacular view" would subject them to investigation and possible penalties. Why? The former phrase discriminated against the crippled while the latter discriminated against the blind.
Really.
Most of that silliness has been shaken out but the mind-set remains of those who man these bodies and the fewer mandarins with which we must deal the happier almost all of us will be.
Even if it means having to open a window to air out the apartment.
So may Lancaster County succeed in its quest to progress to greater freedom and commonsense.
The dino media is predictably outraged. LancasterOnline.Com, the website for Lancaster Newspapers Inc., carries a hand-wringing article about how eliminating it would've kept a teacher from getting back a security deposit because she hadn't realized before she signed the lease that a relative of the previous tenant had smoked.
Oh, the humanity.
Human relations commissions were born in the era of civil rights with the honorable goal of helping blacks overcome commercial discrimination. Now, as earlier noted the real problems facing blacks were not bigoted shopkeepers but government -- laws, or their non-enforcement -- that prevented blacks from competing with whites or white-owned business from pursing blacks as employees or customers; along with strange and pervasive concepts held as scientific facts and taught in our leading academic institutions that blacks were genetically inferior and must be subject to segregation and, well, even elimination.
Still, those first human relations commissions had a noble goal. The problem came when those who live to rule others realized that expanding the definition of those needing protection was a great way of expanding their own power and acquiring wealth. Disability laws were passed and life got harder for the small business-owner as the bureaucrats found new excuses to harass them. Circa 1993, for instance, every newspaper in the state received a notice from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission warning them that accepting classified real estate ads containing phrases such as "walk-in closet" or "spectacular view" would subject them to investigation and possible penalties. Why? The former phrase discriminated against the crippled while the latter discriminated against the blind.
Really.
Most of that silliness has been shaken out but the mind-set remains of those who man these bodies and the fewer mandarins with which we must deal the happier almost all of us will be.
Even if it means having to open a window to air out the apartment.
So may Lancaster County succeed in its quest to progress to greater freedom and commonsense.
Pa. Becomes Top Beggar Under Rendell
The dynamic leadership of Gov. Rendell has lead Pennsylania to a number one ranking in each year of his administration in the category of money spent on lobbying Washington. In other words, Pennsylvania had dedicated more state taxpayer money to attempting to leech off the federal taxpayer than any other state.
Pa. snatched the crown in 2003 walloping second-place New Jersey $890,000 to $400,000.
By 2009, the winning streak was John-Woodenesque with Pennsylvania outspending second-place Nevada more than 5 to 1 at $1.48 million to $280,000.
"We've done awesome in getting funds from Washington both under the BushAdministration and the Obama Administration," said Rendell.
Hat tip to Pennsylvania Independent and GrassrootsPa.Com
Pa. snatched the crown in 2003 walloping second-place New Jersey $890,000 to $400,000.
By 2009, the winning streak was John-Woodenesque with Pennsylvania outspending second-place Nevada more than 5 to 1 at $1.48 million to $280,000.
"We've done awesome in getting funds from Washington both under the BushAdministration and the Obama Administration," said Rendell.
Hat tip to Pennsylvania Independent and GrassrootsPa.Com
Philly School Supe Gets Extra 65Gs From Taxpayer. Why?
Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is getting $65,000 on top of her ever-rising $325,000 salary, Commonwealth Foundation is reporting .
Why? Is 325G and a desire to serve children not enough to inspire her to do her best? Or maybe the state-appointed School Reform Commission had some extra money -- hey, there's a budget crisis ? -- and thought spreading it around would bring some good karma. It's easy to be nice guys with other people's money.
2009 was certainly not a year about which Ms. Ackerman could brag. Her most noted action was her strange non-response to violence and harassment of minority students that plague the district.
But then, why work if someone is going to give your $65,000 for sitting on your tail?
Why? Is 325G and a desire to serve children not enough to inspire her to do her best? Or maybe the state-appointed School Reform Commission had some extra money -- hey, there's a budget crisis ? -- and thought spreading it around would bring some good karma. It's easy to be nice guys with other people's money.
2009 was certainly not a year about which Ms. Ackerman could brag. Her most noted action was her strange non-response to violence and harassment of minority students that plague the district.
But then, why work if someone is going to give your $65,000 for sitting on your tail?
The Angst Of The Fat Cat Democrat
With drastic regulations looming and massive economic incompetence having been demonstrated the fat cat Democrats of Wall Street are turning off the spigot to the party of their hope and in some cases are actually giving money to Republicans, providing the Pub drinks the right kind of chardonnay and doesn't take going to church all that seriously.
Jamie Dimon, head of J.P. Morgan Chase gave $65,000 to theDemocratic committees in 2006 and 2008, but has given nothing this cycle. He has, however, sent a $2,000 check to Mark Kirk who is running for Obama's former Senate seat in Illinois. Yes, Kirk is the right kind of Republican.
Jamie Dimon, head of J.P. Morgan Chase gave $65,000 to theDemocratic committees in 2006 and 2008, but has given nothing this cycle. He has, however, sent a $2,000 check to Mark Kirk who is running for Obama's former Senate seat in Illinois. Yes, Kirk is the right kind of Republican.
Leon Black,co-founder of Apollo Global Management, along with wife, Debra, gave over $200,000 to theDemocratic committees in the last two elections. This year the Blacks have given the donkey party nada.
And Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein who ponied up $50,000 for the Dems in '06 and '08 has also cut off Obama, Reid and Pelosi.
So why did these barons of capitalism swoon over the party of socialism in the first place? Crony capitalism was somewhat involved -- and in Blankfein's case it actually paid off a bit -- but the main reason was their loathing of those who think the reality of God is relevant to governance and lifestyle.
In other words, their desire to kill babies trumped their desire for wealth and freedom. You reap what you sow. If they would read the Bible they would know that.
