PAWaterCooler.com

The American Dream is dead because people and politicians like Jim Matthews have killed it. And now they are taking this opportunity created by their chronic mismanagement and cronyism to try to expand their power base.

What’s the definition of chutzpah again? Oh yes: It’s the kid who murders his parents then begs for mercy on the grounds he’s now an orphan.

Montgomery County under Matthews-Hoeffel is a microcosm of the United States under Obama-Pelosi-Reid. Party affiliation doesn’t matter. It politics as usual ie. a relentless expansion of government power vs. strict constitutionalism.

Email LisaMossie, Start the discussion or Share This...

 

Philly can spend a half a million dollars on an anti litter campaign while public safety is being slashed.

 

 PHA Board chairman John F. Street on Tuesday said the board’s five members will meet next week to discuss the federal probe into the agency in the wake of the scandal involving executive director Carl Greene. 

The meeting, called “to discuss current agency activities and the board’s investigation,” is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Board’s offices, 12 S. 23rd Street. 

The Board suspended Greene on Thursday, with pay, while it conducts an investigation over the next month into four separate sexual harassment cases against Greene. Three were settled for $648,000 and a fourth is proposed for $250,000. The FBI and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General have also opened a criminal investigation. LINK 

Once again the familiar narrative of our beloved, corrupt Philadelphia government is  playing out. This time it’s the story of the thoroughly unsavory Carl Green. The story of Carl Green, Director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is pretty much common knowledge around these parts. It’s such a typical and disgusting example of Philly corruption that I haven’t given it much play. But it’s a story worthy of further scrutiny. 

Our Governor Ed “Fast Eddy” Rendell appointed Green years ago to run the dysfunctional Philadelphia Housing Authority, even though Green has a highly volatile personality and a history of sexual harassment charges. Rendell brought Green here from Detroit where he was dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. Why we even have a public housing department is another matter. 

(more…)

Email Denny Merrigan, Start the discussion or Share This...

What kind of dire straits does Montgomery County find itself in when a simple sound byte about combining municipality provided services on a county-wide basis renders this quote:

“The next generation down is starting to realize now that the old idea of the American Dream that this generation is better than the last one is dead. Those days are gone. It’s gonna be a struggle out there.”

… and the right guy to manage that decline is Jim Matthews (brother of Chris “Obama leg tingle” Matthews), your candidate in 2011.

The Matthews-Hoeffel administration is seriously considering taxing county residents more because they’ve done such a bang up job of it these past four years. … and they want to hire your cops for you.

Email AlexC, Start the discussion or Share This...

Not the time to rest, Mr Corbett, but still good news.

New polling from Pennsylvania has moved the state’s gubernatorial race from Leans Republican to Solid Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Gubernatorial Scorecard.

Voters will elect governors in 37 states this November. Nineteen of those governorships are now held by Democrats, while Republicans sit in the governor’s chair in 18 of the states.

The Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard shows Democrats solidly ahead in six states, with two more leaning their way. Republicans are running strongly in 15 states, and six more are leaning GOP.

Hawaii and Connecticut are the only states with a Republican governor that are considered likely to elect a Democrat in November. But five states now headed by Democrats – Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming – are seen as likely GOP pickups.

Email AlexC, Start the discussion or Share This...

Confused by a recent DSSC attack on Toomey as a “wheeler-dealer”, I’ve attempted to construct what sort of organizational chart Democrats must assume a typical (evil) corporation uses…

(more…)

Email Joe Collins, Join the other 2 commenters or Share This...

My husband and I spent this past Fourth of July weekend at Gettysburg, PA. I blogged about it upon my return, but felt then and still feel now that my words were inadequate in describing the experience. As I noted then, the 2 1/2 hour Segueway tour we took on Sunday was the perfect way to see the Battlefield and really get a sense of what happened there. I am ashamed to admit that prior to my visit, my knowledge of the Battle of Gettysburg was woefully inadequate.

In any event, I feel now that the experince of Gettysburg moved me like no other trip ever has. Touring the battlefield’s gently rolling, peaceful hills, while in my mind’s eye, superimposing the images of battle, dead and wounded was an experince I won’t soon forget. Indeed, I am currently reliving it through a book one of my readers recommended, called “The Killer Angels.” Whether I am finding this book so engrossing because it so vividly brings the story alive, or because I found the experience of Gettysburg so emotionally touching, I don’t know, but like my reader, I highly recommend the book (Thanks, Art!).

Prior to my visit, I used to think that the re-enactments had a flavor of hokiness, but after seeing a couple, I have come to view them as a way to honor history and keep it alive. To be sure, the town of Gettysburg has it’s share of honky-tonk attractions: ghost tours, “dramatized” battlefield tours, privately run tourist trap museums, tee shirt shops with pictures of Lincoln wearing an iPod, etc. These things run the gamut from mildly exploitive to offensive, but they all are predicated on what happened at Gettysburg.

So when I heard about a developer who wanted to build a casino on Emmitsburg Road a mere half a mile from the boundary of Gettysburg National Park, it just didn’t seem right. Inky:

The developer of a proposed casino in Gettysburg today called the historic community “the last untapped gaming marketplace” in Pennsylvania, and contended that his project would create jobs and revitalize the area while respecting its rich history and tradition.

David LeVan, the Adams County resident proposing the casino, told state gaming board officials at a packed hearing that his $75 million Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino project would have a “tremendous economic development” impact on the county and would not affect Gettysburg National Military Park, one of the nation’s first “hallowed” grounds.

He also said that many other towns and communities – including Philadelphia, Valley Forge, and Deadwood, S.D. – have shown that gambling and “heritage tourism” can successfully coexist.

“This can be done right,” LeVan said. “This will be done well.”

The “Mason-Dixon Hotel Resort and Casino?” Even the name sounds hokey. And sorry, I’m not quite buying “the last untapped gaming marketplace in Pennsylvania” line. I don’t want to question Mr. LaVan’s motives here, but why Gettysburg if not to capitalize on the tourist base that already comes here to honor history? Somehow the flashing lights and bells of slot machines, cheesy lounge acts, scampily clad cocktail waitresses and drunken revelry don’t seem in to be in keeping with the spirit of sacrifice and destiny that lives at Gettysburg.

Just as there should be no mosque at Ground Zero, just as there should be no shortcut road through Fernwood Cemetary to Spring-Ford High School there are ways to respect hallowed ground and there are definite ways to disrespect it.

After hearing pleas from several members of the public about the potential impact on Fernwood Cemetery, the Spring-Ford Area School Board shelved its plan for an easement for a driveway to connect the high school to Walnut Street.

The board voted 5-3 against a resolution that would have authorized acquisition of an easement on parcels owned by PD Roy L.L.C. and Royersford Cemetery L.L.C. The proposed driveway was intended to reduce traffic on Lewis Road because of the high school.

Monica Rebbie, of Limerick Township, acknowledged that the planned driveway would not have disturbed any graves in the cemetery. But she told the board that the proposed route was only yards from where her baby was buried.

Rebbie said she recognized that there was a need to alleviate traffic on Lewis Road. “I don’t think going through the cemetery is the answer,” she added. Rebbie said the driveway would create noise in the cemetery, and she asked the board members if they would want that to happen where their loved ones were buried.

In the case of Fernwood Cemetary and Ground Zero, relatives of the dead can speak on behalf of the departed regarding how they want them to be honored and conversely, how they don’t want the ground where they died treated. In the case of Gettysburg, we all must speak on behalf of the honored dead. We owe that to the men who sacrificed their lives for this country.

No one is questioning LeVan’s right to build the casino; we are questioning the wisdom of building a casino in this location.  We are asking to keep this ground sacred and remember what happened here, not cheapen it with an exploitive tourist attraction.

No casino at Gettysburg.

Email LisaMossie, Start the discussion or Share This...

Without question, Avalon is one of the best beach towns on the South Jersey coast. Jutting a mile further out in the Atlantic than other shore points, its cool ocean breezes and pristine beaches make for a fantastic family vacation.

That is, unless you happen to cross the Avalon Beach Patrol, who seem to relish acting like storm-troopers.

A case earlier this month illustrates just how out-of-control the Beach Patrol — and by extension, Avalon itself— has become.

As is the case with most shore towns, beach tags are required. This policy has long irked the vast majority of beach-goers, who believe they more than pay the cost of beach preservation by the many taxes and fees levied on them.  And they also believe, not unjustifiably, that the beach belongs to everyone, and no one should have to pay to use it.

Disdain aside, most comply.  Incredibly, though, that wasn’t good enough for the Avalon Patrol.

Most days, beach tag inspectors guard the entrances to beaches, checking to ensure that beachgoers have tags.

On a recent weekend, a woman with three young children — including one with a broken arm — was entering the beach. Asked for her tags, she informed the 14-year old inspector that her husband had them on the loaded beach cart. He was 50 feet behind her, in clear view. The woman’s two youngest then sprinted to an open spot near the life-guard stand, where they always set up camp for the day.

No problem, since the woman and her husband had seasonal tags — just as they had for the past 11 years.

Or so it seemed.

As the husband approached, he showed his tag, and started onto the beach.  The checker asked if he was with “that other woman.” Having no clue to what she was referring, he inquired what she meant. After discerning it was his wife, he showed the second tag (children under 12 do not need tags).

He had no issue showing the beach tags at the entry point, but stated his frustration over continually getting harassed throughout the day by teams of roving tag inspectors. These teams work the beaches, routinely awakening people, interrupting conversations and even demanding swimmers leave the water to show tags (many people have their tags affixed to bags or chairs.)

The point the man was making was simple.   Logic dictates that if tags are inspected upon entry, then inspectors walking the beaches aren’t necessary.

At that point, the inspector snapped, “That’s enough out of you.  Keep quiet. I don’t want to hear another word.”  This, from a 14 year old girl!

That attitude should be grounds for dismissal for any employee, but for a minor to speak to an adult in that manner is utterly unacceptable. This fresh-mouthed child was completely out of line as a representative of Avalon.

The man asked who she thought she was to speak to anyone like that, whereupon she made a beeline to the lifeguard stand and reported that someone actually had the “gall” to speak back to her.

Within minutes, four guards showed up in trucks, and began interrogating the husband and wife, while Little Miss Personality was high-fiving one of the lifeguards.

The Lieutenant — yes, they take that army title way too seriously — then proceeded to demand answers from the man, asking, “Do you think it was right to talk to a 14-year old girl like that?  That’s harassment!”

The man replied that the Lieutenant had not been there, took the word of one of his own as gospel, and didn’t even ask what had actually occurred.  So much for due process.

At this point, the Lieutenant’s “backup” — a Captain, and obviously the real brains of the group — stated that he could have the man “arrested for harassment.”

How so?  Because the husband had his arms folded while he was talking.  This, he was told, “…was harassment.  It’s a defensive posture, and I know about these things, because I deal with bad people like you all the time.”

How’s that for incoherence?

The end result was that the wife was issued a citation for $80.  The “crime?”  Failure to have beach tags.

Even though she had a seasonal tag.

Go figure.

And the icing on the cake?…..

Read the rest at Philadelphia Magazine:

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/08/31/vacation-in-avalon-think-twice/

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris’ recent bestseller “Catastrophe.”

Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Email Chris Freind, Join the discussion or Share This...

If I could force every Republican operative in the country to read just one thing this week, this would be it.

Ehlinger is the guy who made those outstanding Dale Peterson ads for Alabama Ag Commish.

Among other (important) things, Ehlinger gives voice to my persistent irritations about the party’s fetish with self-funding candidates, abandoning potentially viable candidates without so much as an intern or congratulatory email, writing off districts as un-winnable, and in certain circumstances making petty deals with Democrats to keep unruly Republicans out of office.

You really should go read the whole thing, but here are some of my favorite bits, tucked under the “more” link for mildly salty language (–Ace is in italics, Ehlinger is in standard font):

(more…)

Email Joe Collins, Join the discussion or Share This...

While I don’t have the time to devote to outlining all of the details of the event, I’d like to focus on a number of highlights . . . from start to finish.

The Start

The debate began with a coin toss. Mike Kelly chose heads and won. It was his option on who would make the first opening statement. Mike said “Ladies first”. It was cute, but many of us laughed out loud. We all know that this is NOT a race that involves any type of chivalry, so the attempt was laughable.

Kathy Dahlkemper’s opening statements outlined her achievements from her first 20 months in office. She mentioned securing Medicare, improving health care for seniors, and attempting to secure Social Security. Kathy also stated that she didn’t like the “direction that our country was going” and she felt that we need to invest in our children and invest in infrastructure and move forward . . . rather than moving back to the near collapse of our economy. For a minute . . . just a minute . . . she sounded like a TEA Partier. Hmmmm.

Mike Kelly’s opening statement started with “I’m not here as a politician”. I laughed out loud. He went on to say that he would be speaking from the heart today because he, too, is concerned. He highlighted his thoughts by saying things like “things are not good” and “the future is not rosey”. He rallied the TEA Partiers in the crowd by saying that it isn’t “We the People” anymore . . . it is “We the Government”. In closing he stated “the beneficiary should be the American people . . . not a Party”. For a minute . . . just a minute . . . he sounded like an Independent. Hmmmmm.

The Middle

The questions started with predetermined questions from AARP including topics like the economy, stabilizing Social Security, Medicare, and the deficit.

The line of questioning then moved to questions that were submitted by attendees of the forum. Those questions ranged from Cap and Trade, farming, education, tort reform, and international relations.

The topics were diverse, but the answers to the questions from both candidates were extremely interesting. Not so much in what they said but how they said it . . . if you know what I mean.

My Scoring

To explain and rate the general conversation, allow me to provide a few examples and score some of the highlights of the debate accordingly:

Kathy Dahlkemper claimed that the problems that we have were there before she was elected . . . Kelly responded by saying “don’t blame Bush”. [+1 for Kelly]

Kathy Dahlkemper stated that Social Security is the only program that never contributed one cent to the national debt and, instead, it is a source to borrow from. She feels that it needs to be protected in a “lock box” . . . which received groans from the crowd (including myself). [-1 for Dahlkemper]

In response to a question regarding the recent cut in Medicare payments by 21%, Mike Kelly blamed health care reform legislation. Kathy Dahlkemper had to explain that Mike obviously didn’t understand the question as the change in Medicare had nothing to do with the recent health care legislation bill that was passed. [+1 Dahlkemper]

Regarding the deficit, Dahlkemper stated that she is a Blue Dog Democrat and believes in fiscal responsibility . . . and we all laughed. [-1 Dahlkemper]

In response to the same question regarding the deficit, Kelly said “We need to hold elected officials accountable to the people . . . not accountable to the Party”. To this I say “Bravo”, and once again Kelly sounds (for just one minute) like an Independent and not a Republican. [+1 Kelly]

In response to Cap and Trade, Kelly didn’t answer the question. [-1 Kelly]
Dahlkemper’s response is that she voted against Cap and Trade [+1 Dahlkemper]

In an interesting twist, Kelly felt it necessary to say that Dahlkemper only voted for Cap and Trade at 5 minutes before midnight after making certain that her Party had the necessary votes to pass it. For this, Mike Kelly loses points as it was an unnecessary jab and it made him look petty

In response to a question regarding helping farmers, Kelly pointed out that a big problem is the death tax. [+1 Kelly]
Dahlkemper, on the other hand, said that the death tax is fair is not problem with a little tax planning. Ugh. Really! Seriously? [-1 Dahlkemper]

Something odd happened during the question regarding tort reform. Dahlkemper stated that tort reform is actually a state issue, but in some strange twist the conversation turned to “Cash for Clunkers”. In the end, Kelly explained that $600,000 in “cash for clunkers” money went through his dealership and was paid TO customers. He stated that he was not a beneficiary of the stimulus money. Kathy Dahlkemper, however, correctly stated that he was a beneficiary of the profits generated from the increased business that came from “cash for clunkers”. Mrs. Dahlkemper clearly won the argument and earned a point. [+1 Dahlkemper]

The End

In the closing comments, Mike Kelly explained that it comes down to “faith and trust”. He stated the “we have lost faith in the people that represent us”. He explained that they don’t vote for us but vote with their party. (once again . . . for just a minute . . . Kelly sounds more like an Independent than a Republican). He explained that this leads to a lack of trust. He said that when he comes home from Washington he wants to say “I voted the way my people told me . . . not my Party”.

For this Mike earns another point in my book [+1 Kelly]

In Dahlkemper’s closing comments, she stated that there are two things that she looks at when she votes. (1) her conscience (2) her constituents. It all sounds nice as a sound bite, but she seemed to offend a huge number of her constituents with her health care vote and it never seemed to bother her conscience a bit. I won’t discount her points for it, but it makes me say “Hmmmmm”.

However, in a horrible display of lack of self control, Mike Kelly made a series of annoyed faces in reaction to many of Dahlkemper’s remarks and markedly so during her closing remarks. I found the move distasteful and I have to discount a point for it [-1 Kelly]

Final Score

In the end, Kelly earned 1 point, and Dahlkemper ended up with 0.

Comments and Suggestions (even though no one asked for them)

Dahlkemper looked good. She looked calm, cool, collected, and confident. She held her own and kept her composure. If she can maintain this, she will do well. When she gets shaken, she makes mistakes. Mike managed to do it to her once during the debate, and the general anger of the crowd seemed to concern her (and rightly so). This could be her weakness.

Mike looked nervous, flushed, angry (something I’ve warned him about on multiple occasions), and (at times) frustrated. He needs to calm down and keep his composure. He needs to be the “loveable teddy bear” that we all like so much, and his alter ego (the “angry football player”) needs to stay tucked away for the next few months. If he can do this he will do VERY well. If not, he will self destruct.

What did I like?

I enjoyed seeing that Dahlkemper made attempts to sound like a fiscal conservative, although actions speak louder than words. So far she has demonstrated that she is only a fiscal conservative in the press . . . but not in real life.

I enjoyed hearing Kelly make numerous statements that it is about “We the People” and NOT the Party, but again . . . actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately, Mike has demonstrated that he is all about “the Party” and he is prepared to march with the GOP (even if it is off the next cliff). Why? Because that is where the money is.

Most of all, I think it is really funny that everyone wants to paint themselves as a “fiscal conservative Independent”. Unfortunately, we all know that there is only ONE of those in this area . . . and SHE is running for State Senate!

Email Roberta Biros, Start the discussion or Share This...

Then (Jan 2008):

Ultimately, my experience and priorities influenced Joe Hoeffel in his decision. Unfortunatley, some people left out of courthouse influence, one with ambition to be MCRC Chairman and others who think they will by your anger, would like you to believe that I caved-in on my budget and my platform to get Joe’s vote. First of all, the county is neither a dime nor a person over budget since reorganizing. For example, Jim Maza and the new Assistant Solicitor, Jeff Albert (Incidentally both Democrat friends of Joe Hoeffel… and Albert’s predecessor never left. ed), joined the staff at less cost than their predecessors. Second, there is no cost to discussing the others team’s ideas, which will all be subject to public scrutiny and my tight-fisted record.

Now:

it would be hard to imagine how the government could continue to function if 750 of its 3,000 workers were given pink slips.

And Matthews agrees wholeheartedly.

“That’s absolutely not an option,” he said.

His extreme one-in-four proposal Tuesday was meant to illustrate the “absurdity of the choices” facing officials this budget cycle.

“You can’t cut a quarter of your prison guards, your registered nurses, you can’t cut aging and adult services,” he said. “We have reached the point of the absurd.”

Having kept property taxes down for nearly a decade, Matthews said he’s reached the inescapable conclusion that next year, tax rates will have to rise if residents want the county to keep the parks, trails and libraries open to the public.

“There is no choice but to raise taxes,” he said. “If there are any alternatives, I want to hear them.”

How much can we get back of the $105 million that was sent to the patronage filled “Economic Development Fund”?

How about trimming the patronage jobs that have been larding up Norristown since January 2008? He cites the savings on Maza & Albert, but went ahead and created a CFO position, increasing that salary by nearly $40,000 over the Finance Director’s.

I’ve got another idea. This one is comes from the “no cost to discussing the other team’s ideas” pile. Two Damsker-Hoeffel campaign promises.

* “Property tax cut in 2008 AND creating a rainy day fund.”

* “Competitive county contract bidding”

Tight-fisted.

More like a open handed slap in the face of the county’s voters.

Email AlexC, Join the other 3 commenters or Share This...

What with all the attention focused on the reprobates in Washington and our efforts to depose them, let’s not forget about all our own reprobates in Harrisburg and the fact that some of the have gotten their due.

As a powerful state representative, Mike Veon for years was perfectly coiffed, wore $1,000 custom-made pin-striped suits, smoked expensive cigars and sipped Makers Mark bourbon with lobbyists. He zipped around on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, attended conferences in Las Vegas and flew back and forth to Harrisburg in a state plane.

He dispatched a legislative staffer to retrieve his dry cleaning, arranged for his clothes to be tailored every time he lost or gained a few pounds and never wore the same tie twice on days the Legislature was in session.

Times have changed.

These days, the former House Democratic whip wears a brown Department of Corrections uniform, gets monthly haircuts from the prison barbershop and shaves with a 95-cent disposable razor bought from a prison commissary.

His leisurely dinners have been replaced by food mixed in huge vats and served on trays passed through a slot in a Plexiglass wall that runs between the kitchen and prison dining room. Inmates file in and sit four to a table. Talking is allowed, but there is little of it because inmates scarf down food in the precious few minutes allotted to eat. Meals lately have included hot dogs, braised chicken, baked beans, roasted potatoes and watermelon.

Oh, Mikey. How far you’ve fallen. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Admittedly, as I read the article, it occurred to me that this facility is more daycare than prison, but still there are no lobbyist lunches, no limousines, an no rubbing elbows with the high and mighty. In fact, it looks like Mike Veon Inmate #JP4741 is getting
a taste of what it’s like to be a plebe just like the rest of us.

Email Fred Mullner, Start the discussion or Share This...

On a recent weekday at Annunciation B.V.M. Church in Havertown, a Mass was celebrated to pray for and honor police officers — both those on the front lines and those who have fallen in the line of duty.

It was an emotional service, especially given the number of police who have been brutally slain in the last several years.  The thought of a lonely and distraught spouse raising young children — including some unborn who never even glimpsed their father— was so heartbreaking as to be unthinkable.

The worst part is that there’s no rational way to explain, let alone overcome, the absolute senselessness of why these officers were slain.

Where is our country headed when cops are being killed with abandon?  

While all innocent human life is sacred, there is something different about shooting a law enforcement officer. It breaks down the last barrier of respect, and it violates the code that most criminals follow – you don’t take shots at police. Period.

Like anything else in life, once that taboo is broken, all bets are off.  In Philadelphia’s case, it is now obvious that cops are fair game. The breakdown of the city is virtually complete.

With civility and respect quickly becoming a faded memory, further imperiling our children’s future, people are increasingly asking what, if anything, can be done to reverse this deadly course.

The answer is simple.  It’s just not easy:

School choice.

*****

We have just witnessed the murder trial of cop-killers Eric Floyd and Levon Warner.  Both owners of long rap sheets, they heinously gunned down Officer Stephen Liczbinski in 2008. These animals deserve the death penalty, plain and simple, but that doesn’t answer how you stop such an atrocity from occurring in the future.

If you’re looking to politicians for help, you’ll be blind before that happens.

Every time there’s another crime in the headlines, Mayor Michael Nutter spews the same monotonous babble that the violence epidemic will be curtailed.

But nothing has changed. In fact, despite all the resources put into fighting crime, it’s only getting worse.

Whether its flash mobs, citizens getting gunned down, brutal subway attacks —or cops in the crosshairs, it’s clear that respect for authority is non-existent, and no one is off-limits to the predators.

Philadelphia’s murder, violence and homeless rates are among the highest in the nation, and there’s absolutely nothing to indicate that the situation will improve anytime soon, if ever.

Three things have become readily apparent:

1) The way we did things in the past hasn’t worked.

2) What we’re doing now isn’t having an impact.

3) Unless a bold leader takes steps to institute true reform and eschew band-aid solutions to gaping wounds, the city —and the region —will continue its plummet into the abyss.

Here’s the part no one wants to admit. There is NO short-term solution.

*****

We can talk all day about fairy-tale feel-good “solutions” by invoking vague rhetoric: community partnerships, town watches, more police, and of course, the ultimate panacea, banning guns.

But since we’ve been hearing that for decades, ad nauseum, here’s a newsflash to our leaders: none of these things work. And they’re not going to, either, because they are tactics without the benefit of a strategy.

Enter school choice.

The dire situation in which we find ourselves boils down to our horrendously bad educational system, and, as a direct result, the lack of hope in our young people.

With no possibility of receiving a quality education, and the prospects for a…..

Read the rest at Philadelphia Magazine’s Philly Post:

 http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/08/24/could-school-choice-prevent-cop-killings/

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris’ recent bestseller “Catastrophe.”

Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on the Philadelphia-area talk radio show, Political Talk (WCHE 1520), and makes numerous other television and radio appearances.  He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

Email Chris Freind, Start the discussion or Share This...

Plus a video from the Rally!

Email TaniaGail, Start the discussion or Share This...

MLK March August 28th, 1963

Restoring Honor, August 28, 2010

Dr. Martin Luther King, would be proud of the Americans gathered for Restoring Honor, keeping his dream alive.  His niece, Alveda King spoke to the 100,000 gathered on the anniversary of MLK’s speech.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the organizers at Independence Tea Party Association for organizing buses to this event. They filled 28 buses for this rally! They deserve a huge round of applause for this herculean effort.

This was a curious event for my to cover, as I’m not overtly religious and try not to mix politics with my faith. As most of the speeches were televised on CSPAN, I decided to take a closer look at the attendees. The crowds near the jumb0trons and the stage were nearly impossible to push through, so I wandered through the crowds between the WW2 Memorial and the far edge of the reflecting pool. Media of all description were interviewing attendees and I stopped to listen to some of the interviews. I even taped a snippet of one as well. Please note that you will have to turn your volume up to hear the interview; more importantly the focus of the interview was health care, not religion.  Every attendee interview that I encountered appeared well versed in the subject matter of the questions directed to them. The best interview I witnessed was one conducted by a French news agency with two counter protesters. The ‘man’ dressed as Sarah Palin, when asked by the reporter, admitted he felt safe to don his costume in this crowd. How ironic is it that another ‘man’ with the same political outlook as this tool feel free enough to assault me at a Sheepdog rally in 2008. It gives you a real clear idea of where todays political climate of hate and violence really stem from.

My good blogging buddy, Andrew Ian Dodge, has stated in his review of an event he did not witness:

As a result of this event ( Ed. Note: Restoring Honor), Republicans will not win the Senate and it may also hurt their chances to win the House.

I have to vehemently disagree with Andrew on this. What I found at this rally were American patriots from all walks of life who are concerned with this administration’s fiscal instability, over-reaching government intrusion in private industry, and the Obamacare disaster. Oh, they just happen to be openly religious and vote. So what. Somehow, Andrew Ian Dodge finds that condemnation enough.

This gathering of  primarily evangelical Christians, most well informed on the issues, clearly and politely made their case to the lurking main stream media at this event.  I even spied GOProud stickers at this event and missed the opportunity to photograph the stickers as I’m damn sure the MSM ignored it.

What happened at this rally was one not-so-religious blogger found common ground with with the overtly religious.  No, no one tried to convert me (Thank you very much!), but common ground was found in fiscal responsibility, limited government intrusion in our personal lives and in replacing Obamacare.  Even from differing religious perspectives, the uplifting principle of Americans free to build their dreams and creating a better nation for all was clearly communicated at this rally. It is truly the resurgence of the American Dream.

That is the take home message from this rally. Martin Luther King, Jr would be proud of this day and proud of our nation.

I look forward to  November.

FYI: As always, the rally area was left cleaner than it was that morning and safer than normal. I had a great opportunity to remind folks of this at the rally. While walking to the rally, a woman a several feet in front of me unknowingly dropped a considerable amount of cash on the ground. A man behind me quickly alerted her and I could not resist in reminding the crowd around us that if that had happened at an anti war rally, her money would have been history. Quite a few chuckled in agreement, including the lady who recovered her funds.

Email TaniaGail, Start the discussion or Share This...

Keep this in mind when you see his ads in the coming weeks. He’s so independent of the Democrat leadership, they’ve given him permission to distance himself.

[Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen] also indicated that Democratic leaders had given vulnerable members permission to distance — and in some cases outright criticize — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in campaign ads, as Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly, Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire and North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre all have done.

“I think the Democratic leaders have said the job of the members is to reflect the views of their constituents as best as they are able,” he said.

Email AlexC, Start the discussion or Share This...

Faced with a budget crisis of his own making (with implicit collaboration /leadership from Joe Hoeffel), Jim Matthews is looking for politically expedient ways to get Montco out the mess and still get re-elected. Peggy Gibbons has the story at The Intelligencer:

“What we are looking for over the next several months is ideas, solid ideas,” said Matthews. “What is not tolerable is second guessing after the fact. That is not helpful to anyone.”

How to pass a tax increase to pay for your cronyism without making it look like you are passing a tax increase to pay for your cronyism? Crony Jim Maza, who makes $90,000 a year in his capacity as a part time county employee, has an idea:

If the county labeled the tax a “public safety” tax, most would not object to paying higher taxes, said Deputy Chief Operating Officer James W. Maza. But when it is listed as just a tax increase for government, most would object “because they think government is a waste,” said Maza.

As usual, Commissioner Bruce Castor is being especially “unhelpful” in solving Matthews’ and Hoeffel’s image problem caused by the budget crisis, caused by they themselves:

While Republicans across the country snapped to attention when the economy collapsed and realized our country could not spend its way to prosperity, and that the times called for austerity, Jim Matthews teamed up with Joe Hoeffel to oversee a massive expansion of our county government spending fueled by borrowed dollars.

Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the way Barack Obama is running the Federal Government. Flashback to the 1990s, a time I referred to during the 2007 campaign as “Hoeffel I.” We find ourselves in exactly the same place we were when Hoeffel was commissioner before: broke. You see, in the 1990s, Hoeffel pushed the sham “bipartisan” government against the wishes of the voters and the result was a disaster. In fact, when Jim Matthews announced his run for Commissioner in 1999, he said he was running to oust the “traitor” who aligned himself with Democrat Hoeffel to bring the county to the brink of financial ruin. Ironic, isn’t it? In 2007, I said we couldn’t afford “Hoeffel I” and we can’t afford “Hoeffel II.” Well, thanks to Jim Matthews, we got “Hoeffel II.” And the results, predictably, were the same. Some say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Welcome to the asylum.

My guess is that a new “public safety tax,” will indeed be coming to your Montgomery County household soon.

Email LisaMossie, Join the discussion or Share This...

These Philadelphians and their crafty money making schemes….

Fear not, cupcake connoisseurs. The Philadelphia cupcake truck wasn’t out of business long.

Buttercream cupcake truck owner Kate Carrara says the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections confiscated her truck Tuesday in the University City neighborhood, saying she was vending in a prohibited area.

She did have a license to do business in Philadelphia though, unlike those pesky bloggers.

Carrara says inspectors cornered her truck to prevent her from leaving before driving it away themselves. She says they gave her a removal report and a violation for vending in a prohibited area and left her on the street.

It cost her $200 to get her vehicle / bakery back.

So the city treasure is up overall.

Friends of business, that city.

Friends of business.

Email AlexC, Start the discussion or Share This...

Believe it or not, I understand and sympathize Chairman Jim Matthews’ reasoning here, which basically amounts to this: If Montco funds prenatal care for the uninsured—most of which are illegal aliens—they will end up saving the hospitals money, since the cost of of a complicated birth can be triple that of a normal birth. Prenatal care can head off most of those complications.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not going to bash Matthews, or the rest of the commissioners, for their stance on this issue; instead I’d like to take this opportunity to point out the very real economic consequences of illegal immigration. Times Herald:

In recent years, Norristown area hospitals have been inundated with Latina women, many of whom have no medical insurance. This year, Montgomery Hospital is projected to deliver more than 1,000 babies, though that number could climb higher, according to local officials. Births skyrocketed this year at the Norristown medical center after Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton closed its obstetrics department.

Why did Mercy Suburban close it’s Obstetrics department?

On average, Montgomery Hospital loses $2,500 for every baby born there and could rack up a total of $16 million in uncompensated care in 2010, according to a hospital official in June.

The statistics on illegal births are elusive and can only be estimated, but those estimates are staggering:

“There’s been anecdotal discussions that nationally right now, as high as 15 percent of all births in the United States are from undocumented mothers, and it is bankrupting out hospitals,” Matthews said.

An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008 were the offspring of “unauthorized immigrants,” according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center released in August.

The figures are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2009 Current Population Survey, augmented with the Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis of the demographic characteristics of the illegal immigrant population in the U.S.

The analysis finds that nearly four in five, or 79 percent, of the 5.1 million children under the age of 18 of unauthorized immigrants were born in this country and therefore are U.S. citizens. In total, 4 million U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrant parents lived in this country in 2009 alongside 1.1 million foreign-born children of unauthorized immigrant parents.

Accurate estimates of how many Hispanic people live in the Norristown area are elusive, though recent estimates are between 10,000 and 20,000. And though the Norristown medical center is burdened with increasing numbers of uninsured mothers in its obstetrics program, the hospital claims it does not gather data on birth mothers’ immigration status.

“We have births running eight to 12 on a daily basis in Montgomery County in Montgomery Hospital,” Matthews said. “Two weeks ago, there was 13 one day, and the previous Thursday nine or 10, and there’s no (insurance) money.”

Anyone who says that opposition to illegal immigration is rooted solely in bigotry should read this article as many times as it takes to have it sink in. Uninsured illegals are not only bankrupting our hospitals, but they are driving up the cost of insurance for the responsible members of society who are here legally and are insured, since health care providers need to make up the lost revenue somehow. It is federal law that anyone who shows up in a hospital emergency room cannot be turned away from care, yet we are supposed to believe that rising healthcare costs are the fault of greedy insurance companies.

Perhaps if illegal immigrants were denied free healthcare, they wouldn’t be so quick to come to this country. Yet denying healthcare to anyone in need would be inhumane and go against our basic American altruistic spirit. So what is the answer? The Montco Commissioners are stuck between a rock and a hard place, opting instead for the lesser of two evils in order to minimize the economic impact to taxpayers.

Yet our federal government, the very organization that is specifically charged with protecting and enforcing our borders, chooses to ignore this crisis, demonize those who want it addressed, and instead, expand into the healthcare business precisely because of a “crisis” that it helps to create by ignoring and abetting illegal immigration. 

This, not bigotry, is the reason that there is a movement afoot to amend the 14th amendment. 

Email LisaMossie, Join the other 3 commenters or Share This...

Nice.

One by one, the Phillies players walked up to Roy Halladay and shook his hand. Halladay’s smile was the widest it has been since he joined the team.

The righthander purchased around 60 Baume & Mercier watches to commemorate his perfect game May 29. He gave out the watches as gifts to everyone in the clubhouse — all of the players who were on the active roster then, the entire coaching staff, all clubhouse personnel (including bat boy Rob DiClementi), training and video staff as well as public relations officials.

The watches were enclosed in brown boxes with an inscription on the front: “We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay.”

Email AlexC, Start the discussion or Share This...

            Much has been made about the new “Blogger Tax” that Philadelphia has put in place recently. Many people have stated how this tax is malicious in the fact that typically this tax is taking 6x’s the amount of money that any person has made from their individual blog. What’s also been said is how this is just another way to show how a city that is incapable of creating anything even remotely looking like a balanced budget is just trying to figure out how to shake more money loose from people’s pockets, just like a bully in your old school yard from when we were kids.

            What most people are not recognizing though is that this isn’t about money. This isn’t about taxes. This isn’t about trying to balance a budget or receiving the proper tax money that the city feels entitled and owed. This is about control.

            Anyone that has ever experienced the wrath of a bully, like myself (I mean seriously people…how could I not with a name like Ian), knows that the point of what a bully is doing to you has nothing to do with your lunch money, or wanting to really hear you scream Uncle when your arm is wrenched behind your back, or calls you names in front of the whole school to make people laugh at you. The whole point of what a bully does is to make you dance to their tune and do as he says. He wants to flex his muscles and hurt you because he can, and because it gives him power over someone that he believes is weak or powerless to stop them. Control. “I can make you do what I want and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” That’s the credo and mantra of the bully clan, and Philadelphia just showed its true colors.

            When you decide that the voice of another person is somehow subjected to an erroneous and outrageous fee on their thoughts and words, you’re doing this not to collect the maybe couple of thousands of dollars that a city could make from such a tax, but to specifically target those individuals that have the courage to make their voices heard and speak against the wrongs of an out-of-control government. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle that the voice speaks from, the point is to shut them up or make them pay. What do you think is the likelihood that a stay-at-home mom with no extra income, and certainly none made from her blog, is going to do when the city comes along and tells her that you need to pay us $300 right now or cease and desist speaking your mind. She’s going to stop speaking her mind, and the bully will have won. This is the government version of “Gimme your lunch money or I will punch you in the face!”

             Whether this is a local borough, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the US Federal government, the City of Philadelphia, or a big dumb jerk in the playground, a bully is still a bully.

              In my younger days, when I was a small, four-eyed, scrawny little kid, I was at the mercy of these types of bullies at first. Mine was a boy by the name of Scott. After a while though, there’s only so much pain, fear, and teasing a boy can take. It wasn’t until I stood up to Scott one day on a spring morning in 4^th-grade and fought back that the teasing stopped. Sure I lost that fight, after all he was bigger and stronger than me, but it was from that moment forward that the veil of fear was lifted from him and everyone saw that even a little pipsqueak like me could make a bully bleed. Once that happens, a bully becomes nothing. A bully becomes something to have contempt and pity for, not fear.

             This is Philadelphia’s version of the bully wrenching your arm and telling you to scream Uncle. We need to stand against this intimidation, all of us who write on the web and have people who read us. We need to focus our attention on the City of Brotherly Love, like that fits right now or has for years, and verbally punch the bully in the face and make him bleed. Once that happens, he will lose all the power of a mean boy on the playground and become what he really is, a pitiful child with no self-control and something that we “Little Pipsqueak’s” should not tolerate any longer.

Email Ian Hayes, Start the discussion or Share This...