William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-12-15
Wild Bill Hickok’s original nickname was “Duck Bill”. He didn’t like it.
Mizzou Mess Caused By Cowardice, Hypocrisy
College has become outrageously expensive, leading many to question if higher education is worth it.
But not so fast.
After witnessing the events at the University of Missouri this past week, it’s apparent that college can still teach priceless lessons – lessons that are reverberating around the nation, and sowing the seeds for more to come.
Unfortunately, they’re all the wrong ones.
Both the president and chancellor at Mizzou resigned this week due to pressure from a small group of students who were – what else? – “offended.” Their issue was a perceived lack of action by the administration in dealing with a few “racial injustices” on campus.
Like clockwork, the demonstration grew, since the new modus operandi in America is joining the dissent du jour, protesting against every damn thing under the sun that isn’t to one’s particular liking. Once upon a time, our protests actually carried relevance (civil rights movement, Vietnam), where people of all races united behind common-sense ideas rooted in fairness. But now, demonstrations have devolved into it’s-all-about-me affairs, with the professional protesting class more concerned about getting on TV and becoming “viral” social media sensations than fighting for anything of substance. It doesn’t matter that objectives are usually vague pie-in-the-sky rhetoric, or that many protesters don’t actually know what they’re protesting. As long as the protesters’ narcissism quota is met, life is good for the “aggrieved.”
As the media exposure at Missouri grew, so did the ranks of the offended, including one student hunger striker, a football team that went on “strike” by boycotting team activities (actions condoned by the coach), and some faculty threatening a walkout, all with the goal of forcing President Tim Wolfe out the door.
Well, they succeeded, and then some. But not because of admirable goals, but the cowardice of university officials who redefined “caving in.” It’s bad enough to capitulate, but to do so because you think appeasement will solve anything – while getting zero in return – is not just naïve, but idiotic. And it sets the bar higher for the next protest, where it’s a certainty that even more ludicrous demands will be made – and met – to the benefit of a few, and the detriment of everyone else.
Let’s look at the “lessons learned” in the Missouri debacle:
1) Cluelessness: It’s great to be anti-administration, but A) specifically, what did the protesters expect the president and chancellor to do, and B) did they really think their resign-or-else demands fit the “injustices” that occurred?
Let’s talk about the white elephant in the room: The incidents on campus, which, while unfortunate, were mere words:
• People in a pickup truck yelled racial slurs at a student. (Which brings up a not-so-insignificant point: Since we don’t know who they were, it’s possible they weren’t even students, rendering President Wolfe with no recourse).
• An allegedly drunk white student used racial slurs against the Legion Of Black Collegians. While abhorrent, does that really merit calling for the president’s ouster? (A president who had already ordered diversity and inclusion training, and whose administration called racial bias deplorable and “totally unacceptable.”)
The biggest impediment to closing the racial gulf is the feeling of resentment among many that protesters don’t want equal opportunity for all, but special treatment for some. We will never progress as “Americans” until we view each other through color-blind glasses, and no amount of protests will change that immutable point.
• There was a swastika smeared on a dorm wall; that is a crime (defacing property), and should be dealt with by both the university and law enforcement.
Reports Wednesday indicated a longer series of incidents that have troubled the campus community for years, but specifically that’s what the current focus erupted over.
Not to downplay those acts, but that’s it. This whole uproar is because of a few insults. That’s an ugly part of life, and thankfully only a very small percentage of people stoop to that level, but ousting a university president and chancellor over them is not keeping the situation in its proper perspective.
And while we need to teach the values of justice and equality to our children, people need to grow a thicker skin. What’s next? Protesting bosses who don’t ooze compliments every five seconds, but instead may use harsh language to demand accountability? Calling for coaches to be fired who use colorful (but not racial) words to motivate a team?
Should the president have banned certain behaviors and imposed a speech code? And who would determine what that censorship should entail? If there is a zero-tolerance for racism and insults, will it still be acceptable to play music with questionable lyrics, and those calling police “pigs,” and glorifying the killing of cops? Should single-race fraternities and clubs still be permitted? Or will those things be acceptable because they don’t “offend” the protesters?
Censorship and selective “justice” solve nothing, and only throw gas on the fire. Yet clearly, we still haven’t learned our lesson.
2) Cowardice: Instead of resigning with a whimper, the president should have come out strongly with the following message: “Any football player who boycotts a team activity loses his scholarship – immediately. You want to protest, do so on your own time, and own dime. But under no circumstances will you abuse the taxpayers’ money; since the university is publicly funded, your scholarships are, in fact, subsidized by the people. And if you lose it, you pay your own tuition bill (just like everyone else), or you’re gone.”
(Out of curiosity, one wonders how many football players who went on “strike” continued to eat university-provided food, sleep in university dorms, and enjoy the lavish benefits afforded them. If they really believed the president presided over a racially insensitive campus, they should have manned-up long ago and eschewed those things in “protest.” I’m guessing none did.)
The same message should apply to teachers: Protesting is your right, but when it affects your job (and disenfranchises tuition-paying students), you need to go. Period. There should be zero tolerance for that type of behavior.
3) Hypocrisy: Good thing the protests were about racial equality, and that the media was a godsend in broadcasting the demonstrators’ message. Except it became abundantly clear that neither were true.
After ”winning,” protest organizers turned hostile to the media, trying to boot them from the protest area – except that, since they were on public property, that request held no weight. And the hunger striker who was given headlines across the country? Sorry. He couldn’t be bothered giving any more interviews.
Protesters sent out a number of tweets lambasting the media for not “respecting black spaces.”
Gee, with leadership like that, it’s great knowing the systemic oppression of racism and inequality at the University of Missouri will finally be banished. Except, of course, when it comes from them. But since they are part of the offended entitlement movement, they can do no wrong.
Before rushing blindly into the next misguided protest – and fawning over narcissist organizers – maybe the media should keep both eyes open so it doesn’t get burned again by the very people it puts on a pedestal.
When are we going to wake up and realize that appeasement doesn’t work? That double standards are wrong? And that attempts to solve racial discontent with solutions rooted in race will continue to backfire?
Evidently, not anytime soon. And that’s the most tragic lesson of all.
Mizzou Mess Caused By Cowardice, Hypocrisy
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-11-15
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-11-15
After the bombing of Dresden in World War II only one statue remained intact — the Allegory of Justice.
Leo Knepper Guest of Delco Pats
Leo Knepper of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania (CAP) will be speaker at the Nov. 18 meeting of the Delaware County Patriots. 
It’s 7 p.m., at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 327 N. Newtown Street Road (Route 252), Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.
CAP has created a link for those who wish to make their voices heard regarding the proposed 21-percent sales tax hike being pushed by Gov. Wolf and being considered by the State Legislature.
Pennsylvania does not have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem.
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-10-15
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 11-10-15
America’s longest traffic light is at Route 23 and Clinton Road in New Jersey. Motorist have been known to sit at the light for up to five minutes.
Wagner Explains Budget
By State Sen. Scott Wagner
A week ago (Nov. 3) voters across Pennsylvania elected three new Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices to the PA State Supreme Court.
The three new Justices elected were all Democrats – many parties consider this a blow to the Republican Party – Philly.com reported that as much as $16 million was spent on this race.
In reality, the Democrats raised approximately three quarters of the $16 million – the majority of the money the Democrats raised came from unions and trail lawyers – the Republican candidates were outspent four to one – the Democrats resorted to many negative and inaccurate ads about the Republican candidates.
The PA State Supreme Court is now five Democrats and two Republicans.
This week is a new week – it is time to move on.
I would offer this advice to the new Justices – you can either choose to be a mediocre Judge or be a great Judge.
To be a great Judge will require you to not be influenced by unions and special interests – history, your actions and decisions will judge you.
The election also added a 31st Senator to the Pennsylvania Senate – Republican Guy Reschenthaler won a seat representing the 37th Senate District (Pittsburgh Area).
The State Senate is now 31 Republicans and 19 Democrats.
When the State Senate reaches 34 Republicans we will have veto over-ride power over the Governor – I predict that will occur with the 2016 elections.
The Republican Party is strong in the Pennsylvania House and Senate – Republicans continue to gain seats in both chambers.
Second Subject:
On Oct. 19 The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed titled “Washington’s Revenue Windfall.”
An op-ed could be written about Pennsylvania that would be identical to the Washington article.
It boils down to this – “Give government more money and we can be guaranteed they WILL spend more money.”
I continue to pound on the table that “Harrisburg does not have a revenue problem – it has a spending problem.”
I serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee – as a member I am supplied massive amounts of financial information.
The two most important lines on this report – Sales and Use Tax, and Personal Income Tax tell the revenue story.
The General Fund Summary shows that the 2013-14 year had $28.6 billion received – from 2013-14 to 2019-20 (estimated) each year has $1 billion or more being added in revenue.
Personal income taxes and sales taxes continue to grow each and every year.
What does this mean?
It means wages are going UP, so people are paying more income taxes – last month at one of my companies we purchased a new Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck – the final price was $43,000 – sales tax of 6 percent was assessed ($2,580), I went back to 2005 at the same company and pulled the invoice for the same model truck purchased in 2005 for $29,000 and sales tax paid was $1,740.
The price of the truck purchased in 2005 went up 50 percent over a 10 year period and the sales tax went up almost 50 percent over 10 years – the sales tax increase is approximately 5 percent per year – the rate of inflation from 2005 to 2015 was anywhere from 1 percent to 2.5 percent per year – in fact, the 2008 year had negative inflation.
It is important to note that Harrisburg has a number of expenses that are eating money like a monster – pensions and healthcare – currently there is no end in sight – below is an expense summary.
Harrisburg only understands two words – “more money” – not the same – not less, but always “more money.”
Governor Wolf has not presented one single idea or initiative to reduce waste or spending.
It is time to have a financial day of reckoning in Pennsylvania – we need a Governor who has the guts and backbone to put Harrisburg on a serious diet – Tom Wolf is not the man for the job.
I have been meeting with and having conversations with non-profit leaders over the last several weeks – they are running out of money, many are on their lines of credit.
The general fund budget for the 2014-15 year was $29.1 billion.
The budget presented to Governor Wolf by the Republican House and Senate for the 2015-16 year was for $30.1 billion , an increase of $1 billion.
Governor Wolf wanted a budget passed of $33.5 billion, an increase of $4.5 billion.
The $1 billion increase over last year’s budget is an increase of 3.5 percernt – the current rate of inflation is almost flat.
Here is another fact – From July 1 until Oct. 31, the state has collected $8.9 billion in various taxes, and this money is sitting in the state’s bank account earning virtually zero interest.
As a result of the budget impasse, entities across Pennsylvania are forced to borrow money, which may be approximately $2 billion as of Oct. 31.
The monthly interest cost to borrow $2 billion is approximately $6 million per month borrowing at the prime rate of 3.5 percent.
I have been a private sector business owner for over 35 years, so I consider my experience in finances to be strong.
The budget impasse and the pain that everyone is feeling is because of one person’s ego, and that is Governor Wolf.
I voted for a responsible budget on June 30 – to be clear I will not be voting for any tax increases – it is time for accountability for the money we already send to Harrisburg.
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District.
Ed note: Yesterday, Nov. 10, State Rep. Mike Vereb posted this on Facebook:
So by now you have heard there is framework agreed to on the budget. I caution that framework means the parties agree on major issues but the next 72 hours are important to keep it together. I myself am not committing either way and will await more details. So far we know they want to increase the sales tax to 7.25 from 6 on items already taxed. They also want to add to the cigarette tax as well as tax e cigarettes and hand rolled cigarettes. In exchange there is also framework on pensions and property tax relief (not elimination which I favor and apparently liquor modernization. That’s what I know tonight. More details to follow. Because of house and senate rules, if a bill was ready to go tonight, it will still take two weeks to get it to the governor. As of right now I favor overriding the Govs veto if the democrats would come on board. But again when more details become available I will let you know.
Wagner Explains Budget
William Lawrence Sr Omnbit 11-9-15
William Lawrence Sr Omnbit 11-9-15
Maximum darkness is the complete absence of photons. This can only happen at absolute zero.
Philly Veterans Day Parade
Philadelphia held its first Veterans Day Parade, yesterday, Nov. 8, and among those on the Delaware County Veterans Memorial float were Margaret Lozinak Lawrence and noted actor and director Peter de Feo.
Mrs. Lawrence, a Korean War veteran, will be among the recipients of this year’s Freedom Medal bestowed by the Memorial and Delaware County Council.
Way to go Mom.
The float was supplied by Guy Fizzano of Fizzano Brothers and the arrangements were made by Barbara Ann Zippi of Artemis Productions.
The Delaware County Veterans Day Parade is 11 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11 — the right date for it — on State Street in Media. It starts on Edgmont Street and ends on Veterans Square in front of the Courthouse.
Philly Veterans Day Parade
GOP Candidates Have Issues
About the only thing worse than seeing Christmas (sorry, “Xmas,” to be politically correct) merchandise in September is presidential election coverage two years before the election. Not only has that coverage been meaningless, but, to make the sin mortal, many of the “experts” are completely wrong in their assessments.
Blame it on pundits’ short memories and the desire of networks to create, then sensationalize, juicy stories with no substance. The result is average voters tuning out, and the bases of both parties blindly leaping at red meat thrown out by candidates who think inflammatory rhetoric will win the nomination.
So let’s cut through the spin and analyze the races on both sides.
Democrats: This one is easy. Hillary Clinton rolls. Barring an indictment for using a private email server for her State Department work (an act of sheer stupidity, creating an issue where there wasn’t one), Clinton will cruise to the nomination.
First and foremost, she has no competition. Sen. Bernie Sanders (the Democrats’ Ron Paul) excites the extreme left, and articulates his positions clearly, so he will perform better than expected when the primaries start. But his support runs only so deep, and the Democratic rank-and-file sees Clinton, because of her name, background and fundraising prowess, as the candidate with the best chance to retain the White House. Joe Biden knew this all too well, which is why, despite the grandstanding, he never had any intention of entering the fray. About the only thing more annoying than the V.P. playing coy on running was the immense media coverage of such a no-brainer non-event.
Does Hillary have baggage? Of course, but much of that was aired in 2008. Her biggest negative is the massive money given by foreign nationals to the Clinton Foundation — people who had business dealings with the United States, and the State Department in particular. To say there were conflicts of interest would be a monumental understatement.
But Hillary will win the nomination, and likely the presidency, because of her secret weapon: The Republican Party. Leave it to the GOP geniuses to give Clinton exactly what she needed to jumpstart a thus-far lackluster campaign: A platform making her look incredibly presidential. And that’s exactly what they did.
The marathon congressional hearings on Benghazi allowed Hillary to showcase endurance, poise under pressure, the ability to think quickly on her feet, and, perhaps most of all, her sense of humor — all attributes Americans look for in a leader. The kudos she received (even begrudgingly by many conservatives) bolstered her national standing, and she scored points because of the (correct) perception that she was the victim of a witch-hunt (as embarrassed U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy made clear by proudly stating that his Benghazi Committee took a toll on Hillary’s poll numbers).
Cost of fruitless investigations and ridiculously long hearings: Millions. Taking hard-hitting shots by angry, politically motivated Republicans for 13 hours, yet emerging unscathed (and as a much more likeable person), courtesy of a GOP that still doesn’t understand that there’s no smoking gun with Benghazi: Priceless.
Republicans: Since there seems to be more GOP candidates than the population of Wyoming, and only a few can win the nomination, we’ll look at the major players:
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie should have been on the list, but encountered a smorgasbord of problems that eliminated him from contention. The two biggest? His appearance for one, and he’s wrong that weight doesn’t matter. It does. Americans may be obese, but they don’t want their leaders to be. Second, his involvement in Bridge-Gate, as he either knew about it, or should have. Both negatives combined to bring the curtain down on Christie’s bottom-dwelling candidacy.
• Jeb Bush, the establishment’s choice all along, has raised significant money. But his candidacy has been sinking because : The forgotten ones (the rank-and-file) prefer elections over coronationsBush is Romney-lite, but even stiffer (if that’s possible); he Bush name is toxic, even to many Republicans; and he has come across as woefully unprepared. Jeb’s fundraising has now taken a nosedive, he’s slashed staff payroll, and he finds himself floundering without direction. If, by some miracle, he squeaks by, he will get steamrolled by Hillary.
• Unfortunately, Rick Perry dropped out, which has been a serious blow to the late-night comedy shows.
• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the Tea Party favorite, which would be great if there were a Tea Party. But there’s not, and his insane antics (pushing a government shutdown over Obamacare, hanging his House colleagues out to dry in the process) make him unelectable in a general election.
• Ben Carson, the unexpected new frontrunner has as much chance of getting the nomination as Bill Cosby. Despite being vastly out of his league, he remains near the top of the polls, perhaps because some polled Republicans don’t want to be perceived as bigoted (even to themselves) if they support someone else. How else to explain backing someone who doesn’t understand the difference between the debt ceiling and the budget; stated that he would not visit the victims’ families in the wake of the Oregon mass shooting (“I would probably have so many things on my agenda”); and, asked what he, if president, would be doing as a Category 5 hurricane approached, answered, “I don’t know.”
The fact that Carson is polling high shows how absolutely meaningless such barometers are. Look for Dr. Carson’s campaign to go on life-support when the primaries begin, as the GOP electorate awakes from its boredom-induced anesthesia.
• Donald Trump will ultimately fall, a descent entirely of his own making. While some of his positions are simply egomaniacal (taking credit for Ford Motor Co. not relocating to Mexico), many are common sense ideas (such as building a border wall, and the Middle East being better off with strongmen such as Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi in power — ideas that have appeared in this column years ago).
But he has acted more like a reality-TV entertainer than presidential candidate, and his insults, which made for good theater during the slow summer news cycle, have grown old. People want a tough-as-nails leader, but one who also shows compassion. And Trump seems wholly incapable of admitting when he is wrong, doubling down on boneheaded statements, or blaming “interns” for such mistakes instead of manning-up.
Trump also made a huge error by not spending $100 million on a nationwide ad campaign showing a kinder, gentler Donald Trump. Since he is the only one who could afford such a blitz, he could have defined the campaign, leaving his opponents powerless to respond. Incomprehensibly, he did the opposite, putting away his checkbook and accepting campaign contributions. That sent the message that A) he’s too cheap to spend his own money, making many question his commitment, and B) he can now be bought by deep-pocketed special interests, just like all the rest. In doing so, he lost his biggest trump card, and he will fade away as more viable candidates emerge.
Who will they be? Watch Marco Rubio (perhaps the candidate with the greatest Reagan-esque vision), Carly Fiorina (who, more than anyone, can nullify Hillary’s gender advantage), and, as a dark horse, John Kasich (a successful governor of electorally-critical Ohio, who also brings Washington experience). Or maybe, with so many candidates and an ornery electorate, there could be a brokered convention.
But one thing is certain: If the GOP remains the Party of No, without bold ideas, they’ll be calling Hillary “Madam President.”