PAWaterCooler.com

Oh the hypocrisy.

Ever since Arizona passed its controversial law allowing police to check a suspect’s immigration status, the federal government had been intimating that it would file suit to stop the measure. 

Which it finally did.  (Although, in a moment of utter embarrassment, Attorney General Eric Holder testified of his intention to file suit despite his admission that he’d NEVER READ the ten page Arizona law!) 

And the results of the lawsuit?  Wholly predictable.

The Right is furious, the Left satiated, and, as always, common sense people are still out in the cold.

Fact is, the Arizona law, signed by a Republican Governor and a red-meat issue to the GOP base, is 100% meaningless.  Beyond providing fiery agenda-driven rhetoric — for both sides —, it’s just the latest futile attempt to solve America’s out-of-control illegal invader problem.

Why the hypocrisy? Because instead of focusing on the real issues, like building a border wall and cracking down on employers who hire illegals, the Administration is trying to score political points by hoping the Republican position alienates Latino voters.

If Obama and the Congress were really concerned about reigning in a state for doing its own thing — against the wishes of the federal government —perhaps a better lawsuit would be one against those who are in flagrant violation of federation immigration law. After all, these states are the biggest obstacle to sound immigration policy.

New Mexico would be a good start.

*****

After we get through the white noise of Arizona’s law being one that harasses the good illegals who have broken America’s laws to get here, or conversely, that such a measure is mandatory to protect our citizens from the invaders, it would be nice to stop and actually ask the most basic question:

How, exactly, are the police supposed to check the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally? What document proving citizenship will they be seeking?

There is no national ID card, and probably about six people nationwide even know where their Social Security card is, so, for the most part, that leaves the driver’s license.

Granted, not everyone drives, but it would be a good starting place. 

Well, except for one small thing.

Several states still issue drivers licenses to illegal invaders.  States like….New Mexico, which just so happens to border Arizona.

(This practice does not comply with Federal Real ID Act requirements.  The Act mandates that, in order for a license to be recognized by the U.S. Government, states may issue licenses only after determining “proof of identity and lawful status of an applicant” and “verification of the source documents provided by an applicant.”)

So when Juan Valdez is pulled over for a traffic stop, on suspicion that he is an illegal, he will be required to prove his status as a citizen or legal immigrant.

As he whips out his license from New Mexico, Utah or Washington, or any of the eight other states that until recently issued licenses to known illegals, along with car insurance (because you can’t get car insurance without a license), a sly smile will creep across his face. There will be no deportation this night.  God Bless America!

Of course, it doesn’t stop with licenses….

Read more at Philly Mag’s Philly Post and post a comment:

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/07/27/arizonas-immigration-law-well-intentioned-but-meaningless/

About Chris Freind:

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

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Nice guy.

Watch it all.

Tip to Larry O’Connor @ Big Government

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Moe Lane: “This is kind of a big deal, actually”

Either Sestak is lying about this, in which case he’s, well, a liar who did so for crass political gain; or Sestak’s telling the truth about this, in which case he’s pretty much explicitly participating in a cover-up of a felony. Either way, talking in general terms is not really acceptable. Unless there was an active conspiracy permeating the entire Executive Branch to bribe Joe Sestak, somebody in the White House is innocent of this crime – but until we get the full details of what happens, we won’t know who. And while I may have been heavily critical of the unprofessional behavior of the White House’s staffers, I think it’s hardly fair of Sestak to talk about this scandal in a fashion that implicates all of them.

3 wood: “Joe Sestak & the Chicago Way”

Questions…I have questions:

1. How this is different from what Rod Blagojevich is alleged to have done?

2. Anybody out there think that Holder will investigate this potential felony? Me neither.

3. You know that if this was a Republican Congress would hold public hearings. Anybody think that will happen here?

4. Is this a good example of the “most transparent and ethical administration” ever?

Dick Morris: Bribery is an Impeachable Offense

When Nixon’s advisors said there was nothing to see and to move along, it brought down an administration. When Obama’s advisors say there’s nothing to see and to move along, the lapdog media moves along.

Senior adviser to the president David Axelrod said Monday evening that there is “no evidence” that White House officials tried to keep a Democratic congressman from entering the Pennsylvania Senate race by offering him a high-ranking government job.

“When the allegations were made, they were looked into. And there was no evidence of such a thing,” Axelrod said on CNN’s “John King USA.”

It’s a shame that Admiral Sestak is a dirty liar.

Ace: Axelrod: When We Illegally Offered Sestak the Bribe of a Federal Job to Not Seek Office, We Were Careful to Leave No Evidence of Our Crime

What’s classic in this cover-up is that the White House won’t permit anyone with actual knowledge of the call or the subsequent (alleged) investigation to answer questions about it; these flacks can say whatever they like, without fear of a perjury charge (or something like that, in the court of public opinion) because they are speaking, by their own assertion, from a position of perfect ignorance.

The people who aren’t ignorant of the facts, the details, the supposed legal analysis, are not only not permitted to discuss the matter, but the White House conceals their identities so that no one can ask them.

Darrel Issa (R-CA), professional troublemaker, is calling on any US Attorney in America to look into this, noting they all have the power to do so, even without permission of the AG. And he’s put it out there the crime involved is “impeachable.”

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Why does it seem that every time a politician takes on corruption, his motives are called into question?

We often hear that investigations of this sort are “politically motivated,” but rarely whether or not the charges are true.

Attorney General Tom Corbett is a good example.

Despite great success in rooting out legislative corruption — an investigation known as “Bonusgate,” — Corbett, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, continues to be accused of using his office for political gain.

Unfortunately, too many of the Attorney General’s critics fail to look at the facts before they open up with both barrels.

Bonusgate was not the brainchild of an ambitious man looking to generate headlines for a gubernatorial run, but an investigation dropped into his lap by a newspaper’s investigative reporting.

In fact, Bonusgate was investigated using the evidence as a guide, wherever it happened to lead. At first, that was the Democratic Caucus, where ten felony convictions have been achieved thus far.

Later, it was the Republican Caucus, where a host of GOP insiders have been indicted, including powerful former Speaker John Perzel.

Because of the investigation, Corbett has said he will take neither campaign donations nor endorsements from legislators. 

So how alienating an entire legislative body, including members of your own Party who normally contribute over a million dollars to a gubernatorial candidate’s war chest, is politically beneficial, remains a mystery.

But the criticism continues unabated.

Corbett has come under more fire recently, this time for obtaining a grand jury subpoena against Twitter to ascertain the identity of an anonymous blogger who had repeatedly criticized the Bonusgate investigation.

The Attorney General believed that Brett Cott, a convicted Bonusgate defendant, was the mastermind behind the blog.  And since Cott was scheduled for sentencing, it was Corbett’s intention to show that Cott lacked remorse for his crimes, and therefore deserved a long prison term.

Was Corbett within his legal right? Certainly.

Was it damaging to his political aspirations? Absolutely.  Of this, there can be any doubt.

And that, in a very real sense, is what would make Tom Corbett an effective governor.

*****

A veteran of the political arena, Corbett knew the subpoena would unleash a torrent of negative press only five months before the election. Despite this, he chose to move ahead, and in the process, provided an insight into the type of governor he would be.

The easy road would have been to forget the subpoena.  After all, Cott was already convicted, and that’s the only headline he needed to be perceived as successful.

But Corbett, a prosecutor to the end, made the decision to see the case through in the manner he deemed most appropriate —political repercussions be damned.

Whether or not one agrees with the Attorney General’s decision…..

Read the rest at Philadelphia Magazine’s Philly Post:

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/05/25/corbett-shows-his-independence-with-twitter-subpeona/

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Philly.com

Lower Merion began using the system after deciding to give each of its nearly 2,300 high school students a laptop. The program started in 2008 at Harriton High School and expanded this school year to Lower Merion High.

In addition to the photos and screenshots, the technology also used the laptop’s Internet address to pinpoint its location. The system was designed to automatically purge all the images after the tracking was deactivated.

Hockeimer said that lawyers from his firm, Ballard Spahr, and specialists from L3, a computer forensics firm, have used e-mails, voice mails, and network data to piece together how often, when, and why school officials used the technology.

The “vast majority” of instances, he said, represent cases in which the technology appeared to be used for the reasons the district first implemented it in 2008: to find a lost or stolen laptop or, in a few cases, when a student took the computer without paying a required insurance fee.

About 38,500 images – or almost two-thirds of the total number retrieved so far – came from six laptops that were reported missing from the Harriton gymnasium in September 2008. The tracking system continued to store images from those computers for nearly six months, until police recovered them and charged a suspect with theft in March 2009.

The next biggest chunk of images stems from the five or so laptops on which employees failed or forgot to turn off the tracking software, even after the student recovered the computer.

In a few other cases, Hockeimer said, the team has been unable to recover images or photos stored by the tracking system. In about 15 activations, investigators have been unable to identify why a student’s laptop was being monitored.

Hockeimer said that the investigation found that administrators activated the tracking system for just one student this year who failed to pay the $55 insurance fee.

Robbins says he is that student. Hockeimer declined to confirm or deny that.

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Not. Good.

A suburban Philadelphia school district says it secretly captured 56,000 webcam photographs and screen shots from laptops issued to high school students.

Lower Merion School District lawyer Henry Hockeimer says an internal investigation shows students likely were photographed inside their homes. He says none of the images appears inappropriate.

A tracking program took images every 15 minutes to find missing computers. Hockeimer says the program sometimes was turned on for months.

Well. Someone is getting a hefty payout soon here.

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It’s no secret that Philadelphia has a long and proud history of political corruption.

Once-powerful state senator Vince Fumo has donned prison orange after being convicted on all 137 counts of political corruption. Former City Treasurer Corey Kemp is doing hard time for fraud, extortion, welfare fraud, and filing false tax returns. And Rick Mariano, former City Councilman, still calls federal prison home after his conviction on honest services fraud.

But fraud and corruption are not just limited to public officials. It’s been a Philly tradition that dead people vote on a regular basis.

While that feat seems to defy the laws of nature — one which would seem impossible to top — we do indeed have a situation that does just that.

Believe it or not, the deceased have retained legal counsel to challenge the petitions of people running for Republican Ward Committee posts.

I’m not sure what’s more fascinating — the deceased figuring out which lawyer to hire, or the attorney brilliant enough to so creatively expand his client base.

And just who is the uber-barrister responsible for this miraculous act?

Michael Meehan, General Counsel and de facto head of the Philadelphia Republican City Committee, who also chairs the powerful five county Southeast Republican Caucus.

*******

Meehan’s powers apparently don’t stop with the dead. He seems to have an incredible talent for communicating with the living in very unorthodox ways, using this unique ability to find clients without ever actually talking to them.

But a look at Philadelphia court records of numerous election law cases last month shows that Michael has not perfected the living-people-telekinesis-thing yet. Seems that for the vast majority of cases, Meehan’s communicative powers were a one-way street.

Turns out, Meehan was not only representing people he had never spoken to, but who had never even met or heard of him — and who had never signed any petition challenging those running for Republican Committee.

You don’t need hypertechnical legalese to call a spade a spade. That kind of action, even by Philadelphia standards, smacks of fraud and deceit.

*******

Here are the facts of this case:

On March 19, Meehan filed 44 petitions challenging candidates for Republican Ward Executive Committee (ward Committeemen), primarily in minority areas of the city. If successful, the challenges would have removed the candidates in question from the ballot. At the hearings, Meehan was accompanied by the Chairman of Republican City Committee, Vito F. Canuso, Jr., also representing some objectors to the candidates.

Why the top two Republican officials in Philadelphia were challenging members of their own Party, including some who were running unopposed to fill vacant Committee slots, is for another column.

READ THE REST, WITH COURT DOCUMENTATION —INCLUDING AFFIDAVITS— at FreindlyFireZone.com:
(Download File just above Freind Bio)

http://www.freindlyfirezone.com/index.php/component/k2/item/38-should-philadelphia-gop-boss-michael-meehan-be-disbarred?

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

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O’Reilly, Conservatives Wrong in Supporting Lawsuit Against Military Funeral Protestors

A frequent target of “Freindly Fire’s” wrath is frivolous lawsuits — the kinds that make healthcare costs skyrocket, put manufacturers out of business, dissolve personal responsibility, and yes, those that eat away at our most basic freedoms.

Worst of all, many of these lawsuits erode the very foundation that makes America unique — freedom of speech.

A case that has garnered national headlines recently is that of Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq. Snyder brought suit against the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church in 2006 after some church members staged a demonstration at the funeral of his son, Matthew.

The reason for suing? The demonstrators inflicted emotional distress on the family and invaded their privacy. Additionally, the plaintiffs stated that the church members sought to attack the memory of their departed hero, to strip their loved one of dignity, and to use abuse and intimidation as a tool for preventing surviving family members from reaching closure over their loss.

In 2007, in an act of pure insanity, a federal jury awarded Snyder $11 million in damages.

(That award was overturned on appeal last year, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.)
Recently, a Court of Appeals ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 in legal fees to the Church’s leader, Fred Phelps.

That caused an outpouring of national support for Snyder, including FOX commentator Bill O’Reilly, who offered to pay the legal fees owed to the Church.

While a nice gesture by Bill, he has, unfortunately, completely missed the point.

By supporting Snyder’s lawsuit, he and many conservatives who love to bandy around words like “freedom” and “liberty” are, ironically, contributing to the loss of both.

Are we in third grade? Should attacking someone’s memory be a crime?

What am I missing?

READ THE REST AT PHILLY POST— Philadelphia Magazine’s new online endeavour:

http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2010/04/13/bill-o%e2%80%99reilly-is-wrong-in-supporting-lawsuit-against-military-funeral-protestors/

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

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KDKA

Sources close to the investigation of State Sen. Jane Orie tell KDKA’s Marty Griffin the grand jury finished its work a week ago.

The jury recommended what are being described as “significant multiple count” indictments against Jane Orie and a staff member.

Jane Orie is the Republican Majority Whip and the third-ranking Republican in the State Senate.

The grand jury investigation focused on allegations made by former and current employees.

Their claim is they were ordered to do campaign work on behalf of Orie’s sister, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin and that it was taking place in Orie’s Senate offices.

From the outset of the investigation, Orie and her attorneys have called the allegations “baseless, slanderous and defamatory.”

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And as an added bonus, a vivid display of how flash mob delinquents are created. (Hint: It’s not Facebook)DN:

The mother of a “flash mob” rioter was arrested yesterday after she exploded in shouts and shrieks in response to a Family Court judge’s convicting her son of two felonies and two misdemeanors.

“Lock me up,” Theresa Guyton demanded. “That’s my baby,” she yelled, as six deputy sheriffs and court workers subdued, handcuffed and hustled her from the courtroom after she refused to calm down.

“As much as you love your mother, her conduct is childlike,” Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty told the woman’s son, a 17-year-old Bartram High School student.

The defendant’s attorney told the judge that the family has been in and out of homeless shelters and that the teen often has to care for his younger siblings.

“That’s the problem. That’s why you are here,” the judge said to the weeping teen. “Your mother thinks of you as the man of the house.”

Dougherty ordered the Department of Human Services to investigate the family.

The outburst came on the second day of trials for teenagers who took part in at least one of three recent flash-mob riots, the latest crime fad to hit Philadelphia. The riots of Feb. 16 and March 3 were marked by hundreds of teenagers’ converging on Center City streets and stores. Many had been prompted to participate by messages sent to their online social-network accounts. (The most recent incident was on Saturday night, when teens ran amok on South Street.)

I wonder if City Councilman Jim Kenney is paying attention.

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NBC10:

A Perkiomen bus driver lied to authorities about the accident that took the life of a man, injured another and endangered more than 40 children, says the Montgomery County D.A.

Fredrick Poust III, 38, was charged Monday with homicide by vehicle and almost a dozen counts of failure to stop at a stop sign in connection with an accident outside Perkiomen Middle School West on February 17, authorities said.

Poust was making a turn into the school around 7:30 a.m. when the bus collided with a Honda Civic. Richard Taylor, 27, a passenger in the car, was killed and the driver, Freddy Carol, 41, was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries. Five children also suffered minor injuries.

Poust told authorities he slowed to make the turn when the Civic rammed into the bus.

But surveillance video from onboard the bus depicts a very different story.

The bus driver not only didn’t slow before turning into the school, but also was caught blowing 10 stop signs along his route that day, according to investigators.

Inky:

Between a sleepless night at his second job, conversation on his cell-phone headset, and fiddling with the iPod at his side, Frederick R. Poust III appeared to save little concentration for the job he was supposed to be doing on Feb. 17: driving a school bus loaded with 45 children to Perkiomen Valley Middle School West.

According to authorities, he wound up running 10 stop signs before causing a wreck for which he is charged with homicide by vehicle.

His bus company’s own cameras caught the recklessness, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said Monday.

“You’re not dealing with someone who’s sliding through stop signs,” Ferman said. “You’re not dealing with someone who’s slowing down. You’re dealing with someone who just thinks he’s master of the road.”

Onboard cameras caught Poust’s bus running 10 stop signs, barely slowing for some. Then the cameras show his bus’ speed easing only slightly before the vehicle turned fatally left into a car’s path in front of the school in Lower Fredrick Township.

A decade after Poust ran a Bucks County stop sign while on a cell phone and caused a wreck that killed a 2-year-old girl in late 1999, he showed the same disregard for proper driving in last month’s wreck, which killed Richard Taylor, 27, and endangered dozens of others, Ferman said.

“Knowing that past history and then seeing the driving that was going on that day just outrages all of us,” Ferman said. “It is impossible to think that someone who had taken the life of a child could be so reckless on this particular day while carrying more children.”

Ferman Monday announced one felony count of homicide by vehicle, 46 counts – one for each passenger on the bus and the driver of the Honda in which Taylor rode – of recklessly endangering other persons, and 10 counts of running stop signs.

Here are the people Poust killed:

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Ignorance of the law is no excuse, of course, but jeeez.

Under Pennsylvania liquor law, manufacturers of malt or brewed beverages must pay a $75 annual fee to register each brand. About 2,800 beers are now registered in the state; manufacturers submit applications to the liquor board, showing the agreement they have with the wholesaler.

In the recent raids, a tipster contacted the state, saying the bar owners were selling unregistered beers, said Sgt. William La Torre, commanding officer of the Philadelphia office of the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, which enforces the liquor laws. Statewide, police say there are typically fewer than 10 complaints a year about unregistered beer.

Maida and her husband, Brendan Hartranft, don’t know who filed the complaint. They believe the problem largely results from archaic liquor laws and misunderstandings about formidable beer names that often get abbreviated.

The liquor code, they say, is no match for beers with names like Dogfish Head Raison d’etre and a dark ale called ‘t smisje BBBorgoundier. The rigid code also isn’t able to account for when they abbreviate Allagash White Beer to “Allagash Wit” on their menus.

At one bar, Maida had a beer listed as “de dolle Oebier gran reserva;” the beer itself was “de dolle oerbier,” but the police had it spelled as “de rolle oebier,” she said.

This state has the stupidest liquor laws on earth.

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Jihad Jane Shows The Need For MORE Profiling!

The arrest of “Jihad Jane,” a white American woman accused of plotting with known terrorists, is both good and bad.

Good, of course, because those associating with terrorists should be brought to justice. (Colleen LaRose, Jane’s real name, showed her genius by publicly posting her intention to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who had drawn Mohammed in a way she found offensive).

So yes, she’s a freak, and was a threat. Enough said.

But bad, because of all the politically correct morons who have once again come out of the woodwork, ranting that “profiling” is racist and doesn’t work. After all, they tell us, LaRose was one of us, and didn’t fit a terrorist profile, so therefore all profiling should cease.

It’s truly incredible how seemingly intelligent people can be so obtuse.

Take Richard Clarke, the former Counterterrorism Czar to two Presidents.

For our purposes, we’ll just call him “Dick.”

On a news program discussing the Jihad Jane case, Dick stated that, “profiling…has no value.”

Sure, Dick. You bet it doesn’t.

And along that line of thinking, I have only one more thing to add: your proctologist called, Dick.

He found your head.

Read the rest of Freindly Fire’s Jihad Jane column below and please post a comment!

http://www.freindlyfirezone.com/index.php/national-news/item/25-jihad-jane-shows-the-need-for-more-profiling

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And no, suing Facebook is NOT one of those steps.

A couple of clear-eyed first steps at addressing violence and crime in Philadelphia back to back from different directions:

First, a jarring cover story in yesterday’s Daily News placing blame on a source which heretofore daren’t be named: The Parents.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman recently urged parents to take responsibility for their children’s actions and school success in light of increasing instances of youth violence, staggering truancy rates and poor school performance.

The problem has reached such proportions — particularly in schools in poorer neighborhoods — that state Sen. Anthony Williams recently reintroduced legislation that would fine or lock up parents of students who are truant or threaten or assault students and school staff.

“We need parents to step up and play their roles,” said Drexel Professor Charles Williams, who worked with the families of troubled youth who were sent from the school district for counseling. “I can’t do everything. The schools can’t do everything. The politicians can’t do everything. “We need our parents to do the basic things, like read to their kids.”

Though the article mostly focuses on getting parents involved in the education of their children, I would argue that just getting these parents involved in their children’s lives in any way would make a significant impact. Even absentee or parents who are divorced (or never married) can take an interest in the neutral ground of a child’s education. So kudos to the DN for calling out these absentee parents, and especially to Professor Charles Williams, above who states the obvious to most of us. For far too long, too many people have been abdicating their roles in the family because the constant encroachment of the State into our lives. What started out as a safety net for a few unfortunates has become a nice comfy hammock that makes shirking one’s familial responsibility everybody else’s problem.

Secondly, in a response to the Inquirer’s hard hitting expose on the catch and release criminal justice system in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania high court has named a panel to probe the Philly court system. From today’s Inky:

Alarmed at a Philadelphia court system plagued by low conviction rates, entrenched witness fear, and a high number of fugitives, the state Supreme Court has appointed a blue-ribbon panel of legal experts to help craft a reform agenda.

State Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery said the group would work with outside consultants to develop a detailed timeline for change, with deadlines, that would address the failures outlined in an Inquirer series that depicted a criminal justice system in crisis.

In response to the stories, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille appointed McCaffery in January to lead a review of a court system that Castille said was facing “alarming and serious trends.”

The panel named yesterday is a key part of a reform effort that McCaffery said could bring a “sea change” for the Philadelphia court system.

Named to the panel :

Former Common Pleas Court Judge John L. Braxton, who served on that court from 1981 to 1995. A former city prosecutor who led the Municipal Court unit in the District Attorney’s Office, he now works as an arbitrator and mediator.

Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr., the county’s district attorney from 2000 to 2008.

Steven L. Chanenson, a law professor at Villanova University and a former federal prosecutor in Chicago. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.

A. Roy DeCaro, a former federal and city prosecutor who now works as a plaintiff’s trial lawyer in civil cases.

Charles J. “Joey” Grant, a defense lawyer and former federal public defender. He was also a top city homicide prosecutor.

Michael J. Kane, a former state and federal prosecutor who is executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner, the former head of the Defender Association and a former Pennsylvania deputy attorney general.

Walter M. Phillips Jr., a former city, state, and federal prosecutor who won renown fighting police corruption in Philadelphia in the mid-1970s. Now a criminal-defense and civil litigator, he is also chairman of the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Alan M. Rubenstein, a Bucks County Court judge and the former district attorney of Bucks County

Says Montco’s Bruce Castor:

Castor said he hoped the panel could help overhaul a city court system that he said was “causing criminals to go free.”

He said he was disturbed by the findings of the newspaper’s December series: “I think The Inquirer’s expose is a starting point. I read that with horror.”

Among other issues, Castor said he was troubled by the pervasive problem of witness fear in Philadelphia. He urged prosecutors to select key cases and send a tough message that witness intimidation will not be tolerated.

Clearly, there is a long row to hoe here as this problem did not develop overnight and will not disappear in short order. But overall, I find these two events tremendously encouraging. Philadelphia has the potential to be a truly great city, but if we let the criminals take over, it will not be long before it is completely lost. Plus, those of us that live in the surrounding suburbs have a vested interest in what happens in Philly, because crime tends to seep beyond it’s borders (see the story on the recent crime wave in tory Bryn Mawr, for one example)

This is far more than the simple political posturing that we have become accostomed to: the knee jerk reaction of politicians to do something, anything, that makes it look like they are addressing the problem to keep their constituents quiet. I think things have progressed in Philly and in the country beyond the point that the public is going to be fooled by impotent political gestures anymore.

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No, I got that exactly backwards.

Witness: Pennsylvania taxpayers saved Dems $1 million

A former campaign coordinator for Democrats in the Pennsylvania House testified Wednesday that his candidates saved more than $1 million by being able to use the Legislature’s taxpayer-supplied high-volume e-mail system.

Dan Wiedemer told jurors in the public corruption trial of a former state lawmaker and three ex-aides that the blast e-mail system was only part of the public resources commandeered to run elections while he served as executive director of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, a nongovernmental campaign organization, from 2003 until 2007.

Wiedemer said the e-mail addresses themselves — purchased with public funds — can cost between a nickel and $1.50 each, and millions of them were used on behalf of candidates. Blast e-mail systems, which distribute material to large mailing lists, cost money in staff time and computer server capacity, adding to the total savings, he said.

“In my mind, it would have been certainly over a million dollars” that was saved, Wiedemer said under questioning by a prosecutor from the State Attorney General’s Office.

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Pennsylvanians may remember the name Morgan Lee Pena. Morgan was two years old and buckled into the back of her mother’s car when she was killed by another driver who ran a stop sign at 45 miles per hour and broadsided her mother, Patti Pena’s car.

Because he was talking on the phone.

As a result, Patti Pena was significant voice in drawing attention to distracted driving and getting laws passed that prevent talking on a cell phone while driving. Because of Patti’s tireless efforts, Morgan’s story gained national attention. From an article in the April 18, 2000, Family Circle Magazine:

After Morgan’s death, Patti Pena made a choice to go public with her family’s pain to put a human face on a cell phone bill pending before the Pennsylvania state legislature. “I could have retreated, done nothing,” she says. “But I had these images of Morgan in my head, and I knew I just had to make a difference.” So Patti called her state senator, Joe Conti, who, two months before the accident, had introduced Senate Bill 1085, which would prohibit the use of handheld mobile phones while driving, except to make emergency and good Samaritan calls.

Now my purpose here is not to advocate one way or another for laws against distracted driving. My purpose here is to let you know that the man who killed Morgan Lee Pena with his careless driving has killed again.

But this time, he was on the job.

Times Herald:

LOWER FREDERICK – A Perkiomen Valley School bus driver involved in a crash on Wednesday that killed a Gilbertsville man riding in another car is the same man who was involved in a 1999 Bucks County crash that left a 2-year-old girl dead, according to sources.

Frederick Poust III, 38, of Schwenksville, who was driving a 2005 Blue Bird school bus that was involved in a 7:26 a.m. crash on Route 73 that killed 27-year-old Richard Taylor, was involved in a November 1999 crash in Hilltown, allegedly running a stop sign while talking on a cell phone, that killed toddler Morgan Lee Pena, according to law enforcement sources who didn’t want to be identified.

The Pottstown Mercury has the story of the accident:

A Gilbertsville man was killed early Wedneseday when the car in which he was riding was hit by a Perkiomen Valley school bus carrying 45 students.

State police at Skippack said a 2005 Blue Bird school bus, operated by Frederick Poust III was traveling west on Route 73 and turned left, attempting to enter Perkiomen Valley Middle School West, in front of an eastbound 1999 Honda Civic operated by Freddy Carroll.

Richard Taylor, 27, of Gilbertsville, a passenger in Carroll’s car, was killed on impact during the 7:26 a.m. crash, state police said. Carroll, 41, of Perkiomenville, had to be extricated from the Honda and was flown by medical helicopter to Hahnemann Hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

This is the wreckage:

One would think that a man who has previously killed a little girl with his negligent driving habits would be somehow prohibited from getting a job driving a school bus. Somebody’s head needs to roll over this.

My heartfelt condolences not only to the Taylor family who lost Richard in an accident that should have never happened, but also to the Penas to whom this news can only open up fresh wounds barely healed over.

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In Philly, the police are reacting to this week’s flash mob. Daily News:

The district plans to share information and intelligence “to eliminate this behavior,” Golden said.

The new “no tolerance” policy “issues a strong warning to them about the consequences they will face in planning and engaging in disorderly conduct away from school,” he said.

As a result of the teens’ antics, police are now deploying more officers to the area, both as a visual presence and as plainclothes officers, said Inspector Edward Kachigian, with Central Detectives.

Late yesterday afternoon, the police presence was evident: 10 officers were stationed outside City Hall on 15th Street between Market and JFK Boulevard; two officers stood at 13th and Market.

Also, a Highway Patrol car was parked in front of Macy’s.

The department had already beefed up patrols in the area around the Gallery because of problems with smaller groups of students.

Police averted a flash-mob rampage in December because of a tip it had received about the plans.

The would-be participants instead headed to nearby streets and attacked at least one pedestrian.

The department has had discussions for a couple of months over the teen flash mobs with officials from the school district, Center City District, the District Attorney’s Office, SEPTA and the court system, Bethel said.
Golden said there’s been “trouble” at the Gallery for some time.

“Since the beginning of the calendar year, it has evolved into a significant challenge for all of us,” he said.

But it exploded on Tuesday.

The 16 students arrested were enrolled in the following high schools: Simon Gratz, George Washington, Bartram, Olney West, Lincoln, Ben Franklin, and the disciplinary school Ombudsman Hunting Park.

Seven of those arrested were from Gratz.
Most of the arrested students live in Nicetown or West Philadelphia, police sources said.

And as City Council is wont to do, Councilmen Frank DiCicco and Jim Kenney want to hold the social networking sites accountable:

In the letter, Kenney and DiCicco requested “cooperation in pursuing the possibility of a lawsuit against Facebook, MySpace and Twitter” – if it turns out that the teens arranged their mob gathering through one or more of the Web sites.

And again, Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel has the quote of the day:

“We do question where the parenting is in relation to this.”

The answer to that question would be “Completely absent.” Here is eactly what the City is facing with this phenomenom, that has been described as urban terrorism:

Deejay Walker, 18, a senior at Strawberry Mansion High School, has traveled in after-school crowds since he was 16. Often, he said, he and his friends head for the Gallery.

“Everybody hangs out here,” Walker said. “We call this our territory.”

It’s not uncommon for tempers to flare, he said, and on Tuesday afternoon, when, police said, about 150 teenagers took to the streets outside the mall and wreaked havoc on the neighborhood, it all started as a fight near the food court.

“If you’re somewhere and you see a lot of people, it just triggers something. You just act wild,” Walker explained. “It’s fun.”

Yesterday, Philadelphia police responded by taking a “hard line” against young troublemakers.

Officers and the mall’s security guards swarmed the Gallery with radios and guns, patrolling walkways, leaning over railings to survey the crowds, and gathering at key positions to make their presence known.

The officers were deployed to the mall and surrounding areas in response to a rampage Tuesday, when a mob of teenagers flooded the Gallery and spilled into surrounding blocks. The crowd vandalized the nearby Macy’s store, started fights, knocked pedestrians to the ground, and turned a usually peaceful shopping district upside down for the second time in two months.

Trouble often starts, Walker said, when shoulders brush or bump. One or both people feel insulted, so they curse or shove back.

“You can do whatever,” Walker said. “Your boys will back you up.”

Boredom. Entitlement. Resentment.

Suing Facebook should solve the problem.

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This is a delightful new trend:

A flash mob of 150 teens slammed into Center City yesterday afternoon like a tidal wave of stupidity, flooding the streets with chaos and fear.

The mob of mindless miscreants gathered at the Gallery mall about 4:45 p.m. for a fight that police suspect may have been arranged earlier in the day on the Internet, police said.

Mall security guards chased the marauders, only to watch them stampede through the nearby Macy’s, causing $700 worth of damage, said Lt. George Ondrejka of Central Detectives.

The teens, including numerous students from Simon Gratz and Benjamin Franklin High Schools, then wreaked havoc as they moved en masse across Market Street toward City Hall, Ondrejka said.

Traffic came to a halt as the youngsters began pelting cars, pedestrians and one another with snowballs, Ondrejka said. They knocked down numerous bystanders and some members of the mob even turned on each other. Philadelphia police and several SEPTA cops swarmed the scene and collared 15 participants – 14 boys and one girl – near City Hall, Ondrejka noted.

The boys, ages 14 to 17, were charged with disorderly conduct and rioting. Ondrejka said the girl, 15, was charged with assault for kicking a teen boy in the face.

One teen, who was believed to have been a part of the mob, was hospitalized after being knocked to the ground from behind and kicked and stomped, Ondrejka said.

The quote of the day, however, belongs to Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel:

“This is unacceptable, and I don’t think they realize what they’re doing to the image of the city.”

That’s right. If only these disaffected, entitled youths knew they were hurting the City’s pristine image, I’m sure that flash mobs would quickly fade into the abyss from which they sprang.

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Blame Trial Lawyers For Seattle Child Beating
BY CHRIS FREIND
“FREINDLY FIRE”

The now-infamous video of a 15-year old Seattle girl being brutally attacked while not one, not two, but THREE security guards — and numerous other bystanders — literally stood by and took no action is stoking outrage nationwide.

Americans are wondering why the victim, robbed and knocked unconscious after repeated kicks to the head, wasn’t assisted in any way. Most chilling is the sight of one of the guards standing directly over the girl as the events unfolded— doing absolutely nothing.

The private security firm, contracted by Seattle Metro Transit, follows a policy of “observe and report,” not getting involved in any way except to call police. And unfortunately, this is a common practice nationwide.

To the guards’ credit, if you can call it that, they certainly followed that policy to a tee. It made no difference to them that the victim could have been paralyzed, brain-damaged or even killed. They were just following orders.

Hmm. “Just following orders.” Haven’t we heard that excuse somewhere before?

Seattle police defended the guards, stating they were following protocol.

According to the Associated Press, one police officer said, “If you’re a bank teller and you do something other than give them the money, you’re going to get fired…we don’t expect civilians to take police action. In this case, it was a violent fight, and they were outnumbered by this pack of people 3-to-1.”

Is he serious?

Number one, bank tellers aren’t security guards. Since their job description doesn’t include the words “security” and “guard,” that comparison is ludicrous.

Number two, what’s the point of having security guards if they neither secure nor guard? Why not just rely on security cameras?

Number three, you can’t have it both ways. Are they not supposed to get involved at all, or only step aside when they’re outnumbered 3-to-1, in this case by teenagers?

And what of all the other people who watched and did nothing? Sadly, such inaction has become all too common, but it wasn’t always that way.

Americans used to be a people who would lend a hand to anyone in trouble, whether you had a flat tire, suffered a fall, or yes, if you were getting beaten and robbed.

And status didn’t matter: family member, neighbor or total stranger, it made no difference. The decency of human nature, common sense and an innate feeling of civic duty were the orders of the day, and we were a better country — and a better people — because of it.

From the unique fighting spirit of the Founding Fathers, to the pioneers who explored and settled this great land, to the Greatest Generation that saved the world in World War II, Americans came to be known as the most generous and caring people on Earth.

But somewhere along the way, a parasite emerged on the American landscape, leeching onto the hard-working spirit of Americans and destroying it from within. Unchecked, this toxic force has grown exponentially over the last several decades, and now threatens the very fabric which made America so upstanding.

Enter the ambulance-chasing trial lawyers. Perhaps the only people who can make used car salesman and politicians look like saints.

We have become an over-the-top litigious nation, so much so that the urge to sue has become ingrained in the citizens’ collective psyche.

Don’t like the way a co-worker looked at you? Sue. Get fired because you didn’t do your job, but happen to be ethnic or female? Sue. Spill coffee on yourself —an honest mistake, but your own fault nonetheless — sue. It has gotten so out of hand that if a medical mistake occurs, we sue everyone. The doctors (some of whom may not have even been present during the occurrence), the hospital, the medical device companies….and on. And on. And on.

From cowardly insurance companies all too willing to settle because of their short-sightedness, to jackpot juries awarding insane amounts of money because they’ve been suckered by snake oil salesmen trial lawyers who tell them that all “evil” corporations have deep pockets anyway, the legal costs for America’s companies, doctors and individuals have skyrocketed.

And we are all paying the price, literally.

Products are more expensive, lifesaving drugs are manufactured elsewhere, defensive medicine has made healthcare costs all but unaffordable, and the workplace has become a bastion of political correctness and inefficiency.

Now, just the threat of a lawsuit leads to companies making ill-fated decisions (see accompanying “Freindly Fire” June 20, 2007 column on cowardly Kellogg’s: http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2007/06/20/import/20070620-archive.txt ).

But by far, the biggest victim of the trial lawyers’ legalized extortion is the near extinction of extending one’s hand to help someone. Despite Good Samaritan laws in many states, most people now choose to look the other way when it comes to “getting involved,” thinking that doing the right thing is far outweighed by getting sued and hassled by legal thugs.

And we see that tragic mentality increasing across society, from the handicapped man lying on the side of the road (not one person stopped) to the 15-year old Seattle girl who rightfully (but now it appears naively) thought the uniformed security guards would actually protect her from her pursuing attackers.

She was right to believe it, just not correct.

So for this horrendous situation we find ourselves in, blame the plaintiff bar. They, more than anyone, are responsible for such flagrantly irresponsible policies.

If Americans — and their elected leaders — don’t stand up to the cowardly, nefarious, blood-sucking, extortionist trial lawyers, the tragic result will have proven the words of statesman Edmund Burke correct:

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil to prevail is that good men do nothing.”

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter whose news site, The Artorius News Bureau, is slated to launch in this month. Readers of “Freindly Fire” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on a Philadelphia-area talk radio show, WCHE, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances. He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

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Sen. Anthony Williams’ Racist Remarks Are Disgraceful

By CHRIS FREIND

If you’re wondering why race relations in America haven’t improved at all, look no farther than the recent comments of state Senator Anthony Williams’ concerning the current field of Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

Fueling speculation that Williams, who is black, might throw his hat into the race, the senator ranted that none of the four Democrats was giving any attention to the black community and the issues faced by that constituency.

In other words, since they are all white, they were just catering to Whitey and ignoring everyone else.

Gee, and I thought campaigns were supposed to be color-blind.
Williams is correct that none of the Democrats has workable solutions to the monumental problems we face —black or otherwise. Ironically, it is the Republican platform that holds the key to success for Williams’ people.

But here’s the bigger irony: so-called black leaders like Sen. Williams’ do more to harm their “own people” than any white politician ever could. Despite the majority of black Americans holding Republican, and in many cases conservative, values, their black “leadership” sells them out time and time again by perpetuating policies destined to fail.

A look at Williams’ hometown of Philadelphia gives a startling example.

The city has been under Democratic leadership for sixty years — one-Party rule with no competition. And how has that bastion of leadership fared?

Philadelphia has the nation’s highest rates of murder, violence and poverty. Its educational system is abysmal, with many of the public schools being deathtraps, totally devoid of all learning and where survival is the first—and only— order of the day.

But that’s just the beginning.

The city’s pensions are insolvent. The business climate continues to decline due to the brain drain of our best and brightest. The tax system is so onerous that it ranks as worst in the nation. Its court system has completely imploded. People and businesses continue to flee to more fertile areas.

And the city’s reputation for corruption and pay-to-play is legendary.
So what do people like Sen. Williams do to address these problems? And, by the way, since the city’s population is majority black, these would be the problems facing “his” people.

Here’s the cruel joke. Williams’ actions, not those of The White Man, keep his constituents down and out, ripping hope away from the very people who most need help.

Williams’ solution to the terrible business climate? Raise the city portion of the sales tax by 100 percent and make no payments to the pension plan for two years. Brilliant Anthony! Penalize those who can least afford it (it is undisputed that a sales tax is the most regressive tax) and renege on the promises made to retired workers.

And what about education? Throw huge money at the schools, appease the powerful teachers’ unions, look the other way, and pretend that the results will somehow change. It hasn’t worked in decades, and it never will.

Until we get serious about providing a quality education in a safe learning environment, our students —our future— will continue to be thrown into the world as functional illiterates. And after the last flame of hope is extinguished for these children, they resort to violent crime because they have nothing left to lose.

The cycle simply perpetuates itself. Over and over again.

It is clear that the Democratic Party doesn’t have the answers, because nothing it has tried has worked. The GOP, on the other hand, has the solutions. It just needs a powerful and courageous leader to articulate the message. But leaders in the Republican Party are in short supply.

Up until the 1930’s, the vast majority of blacks were Republican, members of the Party of Lincoln. Why the Party and one of its natural constituencies parted ways is for another column, but there’s no reason that separation has to continue.

Consider:

Who wants and needs school choice more than the black community — people who, more than anyone else, have no choice in their children’s education?

Who advocates tough-on-crime legislation and gun ownership so that neighborhoods can start to thrive again, where children don’t have to sleep on the floor to avoid bullets?

Who is hurt the most by ever-increasing taxes, fees and regulations, and who needs a healthy business climate to attract and keep the good jobs necessary to provide opportunities and sustain families?

What ethnic group more than any other opposes gay marriage?

The answer to these questions is that all Pennsylvanians benefit from these common-sense, free-market answers to our toughest problems. But for those among us who are suffering the most, these Republican-oriented ideas are more than just workable and proven solutions. They are the difference between hope and despair— life and death.

So let me shout it to those in the cheap seats one more time (that’s you, Sen. Williams): quit the race-baiting game and stop being part of the problem. If you truly want to do something for your “people,” then embrace the solutions that will get the job done.

Anything less is just….racism.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and investigative reporter whose news site, The Artorius News Bureau, is slated to launch in mid-February. Readers of “Freindly Fire” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. Freind also serves as a weekly guest commentator on a Philadelphia-area talk radio show, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances. He can be reached at CF@FreindlyFireZone.com

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