William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 4-3-15
Excruciating comes from the Latin term “cruciare,” or, to crucify. Remember the Sacrifice.
Holy Cross Church Beautiful Music
We have a tradition in which we visit three churches on Holy Thursday. The last one is Holy Cross Church in Springfield, Pa. with the visit happening well after 10 p.m. 
The last few years the upper church has been closed at the time so we went to the lower one where a Korean celebration has been taking place and when we arrive it is near the end.
And that is about the time for a choir performance that is among the most beautiful music that we have ever heard.
It is one of Delaware County’s hidden treasures.
Holy Cross Church Beautiful Music
Havering Joe Sestak Pulls Vids
More bad news for Admiral Joe Sestak. Joe has had to pull the videos of his recent Pennsylvania walking tour in his “military grade boots” because he used “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” from the Scottish band The Proclaimers without their permission.
And this is a shame because it kind of fits him. He is, afterall, the man who is havering onto us.
Joe, did you try offering them $1.78 per hour to use the song?
We will help him out. As we are not running a political campaign i.e. seeking to spend your money as we see fit, we can show you what Joe wanted you to see.
Havering Joe Sestak Pulls Vids
State Worker Pensions Extreme In Pa.
By Sen. Scott Wagner 
Beginning on Monday, March 16 and concluding yesterday, April 2, the Senate Appropriations committee held 35 hearings at which time each state department acting secretary testified to the committee as to their specific department budget for the 2015-2016 year.
Sen. Pat Browne from Lehigh County is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Browne is a certified public accountant and attorney. He also was a tax manager for Coopers and Lybrand from 1990 to 1994 and a tax supervisor for Price Waterhouse from 1986 to 1990.
I would like to point out that I am impressed with Sen. Browne’s leadership on the Appropriations Committee, his level of expertise in tax matters, his knowledge of the law as it relates to the budget and his knowledge of the Pennsylvania budget.
I am also honored to be working with other senate members who have spent a great deal of time and effort getting a grasp on Governor Wolf’s breathtaking budget.
The committee hearings were very informative and went into great depth of each department.
The area that I find most troubling is the excessive cost of benefits for state employees.
In the private sector world the percentage of benefits over and above an employee’s annual compensation would rarely ever exceed 50 percent and in most private sector industries the percentage is closer to 40 percent.
The documents show the largest driver of the benefits are health care and pension costs – they are wildly out of control.
For example, the Department of Corrections benefits are in the range of 73.5 percent to 79.3 percent over the annual compensation of each employee.
The average corrections worker makes approximately $55,911 annually – add on 73.5 percent for benefits for a grand total cost per corrections employee of $97,005 annually – the benefit cost is a staggering $41,095 per employee.
Using the private sector benefit factor of 50 percent on a corrections employee’s annual compensation of $55,911 annually the benefit cost would be $27,955 per year instead of $41,095 – a reduction of $13,949 per corrections employee.
The Department of Corrections has 14,770 employees – multiply 14,770 employees times $13,949 per employee and the Department of Corrections is paying at least $206 million dollars more in benefits than the private sector using a 50 percent benefit factor.
If I used a 40 percent benefit factor instead of 50 percent the state is paying $276 million dollars more than the private sector just for the Department of Corrections.
The Department of Corrections is only one department and the silent creeping of benefit costs for PA state employees is why we are financially where we are today.
Include all departments in the state and PA is clearly paying in excess of $1 billion dollars annually more than the private sector and has been creeping up for years – this year just happens to be the year to pay up.
I will continue to send any pertinent budget information to you all as we get closer to the June 30 budget deadline.
My prediction is that we will not meet the June 30 budget deadline and it is going to be a long, hot summer in Harrisburg.
At this link are documents that detail the state departments benefit rates.
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th Pennsylvania Senate District.
State Worker Pensions Extreme In Pa.
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 4-2-15
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 4-2-15
About 8.333 percent of the rain that falls in the United States comes in April. That’s a ratio of 1 : 12
Selma Envy Motivates Gay Marriage Movement
Lutheran pastor Hans Fiene has maybe the best explanation of the Gay marriage movement and the outrage about Indiana’s religious liberty law that we have seen.
He says in part:
The answer is “social studies.” My generation engages in straw men, misinformation, and lies because, in every year of social studies class, we studied the civil-rights movement not as history, but as hagiography. We didn’t just learn what events happened on American soil, we were encouraged to mimic the segregation-defeating holy ones and merit for ourselves a place alongside them in glory. Combining that admonition with our general aversion to hard work, we concluded that the only thing necessary to be as righteous as the saints who fought racial injustice was to decry an injustice that no one else was. And we became so desperate to find that injustice, we lost our minds in the process.
It’s a long article and you can read it at The Federalist.
Selma Envy Motivates
Labor Backs Delco GOP Slate
Pete Peterson has informed us that the GOP Delaware County Council ticket has been endorsed by The Delaware County Committee of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council.
That’s probably not going to increase its standing among my readers.
The ticket is all incumbent: Colleen Morrone of Concord, John McBlain of Aldan, and Mike Culp of Springfield, who is serving out the remainder of new state Sen. Tom McGarrigle’s term.
Union endorsement aside, I’m going to have no problem hitting the button for them this November. Complain all you can about the state and federal Republicans but Delco is one of the better run Pennsylvania counties.
Pete points out that Delaware County has an unemployment rate lower than the national average and is experiencing job growth. The county Republicans deserve undeniable credit for this as it was the policies of the other party that almost sent it into the tank.
I’ve actually worked with McBlain on an issue and found him to be serious, decent and dedicated.
The ticket is unopposed in the May 19 primary and may very well be unopposed in the General Election on Nov. 3. For the record, the Dems should be allowed on the ballot.
Labor Backs Delco GOP Slate
Apple Hypocrisy Saudi Expansion
Apple CEO Tim Cook has called for a boycott of Indiana because of the state’s new religious freedom law which prevents business-owners from being compelled to participate in activities that violate their religious principles.
Meanwhile, as Examiner.com, notes, the company is expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia.
Hypocrisy and hipster have more in common that just merely starting with H.
In a related matter rich, white, middle-age male MSNBC 1% Ed Schultz was so flummoxed by Heritage Foundation’s Ryan Anderson’s reasonable explanation of the law that he cut off his mic.
Schultz was calmly corrected by Anderson on numerous points when he tried to claim the law was something it was not.
As it is highly unlikely you saw it we will post it for you.
Sestak Living Wage April Fool
Sy Snyder of PoliticsPa.Com has a story about Sestak for Senate’s fine young staffer Jason Turner who just sent out a ghostwritten yarn for the Admiral about how the minimum wage must be raised.
“How can we expect anyone to live on $7.25 per hour?” asked Jason.
Jason is being paid $448.50 ever two weeks, reports Snyder, which comes out to $1.78 per hour.
Hey Jason, it’s April Fool’s Day. Joe is just goofing with you about you getting a raise.
Sestak Living Wage April Fool
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 4-1-15
William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 4-1-15
U.S. President Barack Obama was the world’s fifth test tube baby.