Month: November 2011

Fumo Judge Disgrace To Federal Bench

Fumo Judge Disgrace To Federal Bench 

By Chris Freind

 

Get a hit just one out of three times, and you’re in the Hall of Fame. Get nine out of ten problems right on a math test and you’re a star student. Nail one of the biggest political dirtbags in Pennsylvania history with 100 percent success — gaining convictions on every one of 137 federal counts — and you’re the bad guy. You’re the one who gets roundly reamed out in very public fashion. You’re the one criticized for disregarding the law.

In becoming the new poster boy in the “What the F&*# was he thinking?!” category, United States District Judge Ronald Buckwalter did the unthinkable — again — by giving former State Senator Vince Fumo a Get Out Of Jail (Almost) Free card.

Convicted of charges in 2009, ranging from public corruption to tax offenses, and from fraud to
obstruction of justice, Fumo received the appallingly light sentence of
just 4 ½ years. People routinely get sentenced to a whole lot more for a
whole lot less.

But this Judge, who before the trial was viewed
as somewhat competent, made a series of mistakes after conviction,
including incorrectly reading the sentencing guidelines. So he was
forced by an appeals court to re-sentence Fumo.

Despite the fact that:

A) Every one of the convictions still stood,

Federal sentencing guidelines called for 17 to 22 years,

C) The public and legal community had been outraged at the original lenient punishment, and

D) Fumo showed absolutely no remorse — none —, which the Judge acknowledged,

E)
Buckwalter gave Fumo six more months. That’s not a typo. Not six more
years, which itself would have been woefully inadequate, but six short
months.



Just writing that is enough to make you vomit.

Ronald
Buckwalter is an absolute disgrace to the federal bench, and his
flagrant disregard for justice calls into the question the very nature
of lifetime judicial appointments. There is simply no rational
explanation for his pig-headed decisions regarding Fumo, but making the
sin mortal was chastising the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

That’s like a parent blaming the teacher because his child bombed the test.

The
investigation, which started under then-U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, was
thorough and professional, without so much as a single black mark. The
investigators brought what they believed to be an iron-clad case against
Fumo, and a jury of Fumo’s peers obviously agreed.

In appealing
Buckwalter’s original sentence, the Office again acted responsibly,
correctly noting Buckwalter’s mistakes, and seeking the only thing that
everyone but Fumo and his dwindling posse wanted: justice.

An
appropriate punishment at the original sentencing should have ended the
Fumo saga, but like the referee who feels compelled to upstage the
players and become the center of attention, Buckwalter seemed to want
the headlines for himself.

Mission accomplished Judge. But at what price?

His
disparagement of the U.S. Attorney’s office without a doubt provided
ammunition for future defendants to argue that they too are the victims
of overzealous, politically-motivated prosecutors. Wittingly or not,
Judge Buckwalter opened a Pandora’s Box that will be very difficult to
close.

In calling the prosecution excessive, Buckwalter stated
that Fumo should not have been charged with so many counts, when in
reality, he could have been charged with more. He even went so far as to
label the prosecution’s efforts “unfair.”

Unfair?



No, the prosecution was more than
fair. They didn’t commit the crimes. Vince Fumo did. What’s patently
unfair is letting him off easy because he was an “effective” legislator
(which, by the way, is one of the biggest myths in all of Harrisburg,
but that’s another story.) and because he was involved in charitable
works.

Excuse us, Judge, but what does that have to do with anything?

You
do the crime, you do the time. It’s that simple. And for the other
factors that may have played a role in leniency, they too should have
been irrelevant.

If, because of poor health, Fumo would have died
in prison if given a longer sentence, so be it. If, because he would
have been a very old man getting out of prison had he gotten the lengthy
punishment he deserved, that’s his problem. No one held a gun to Fumo’s
head to embark on a life of crime.

To give Fumo what is
perceived by most to be special treatment is, in some respects, the
biggest crime of all. Not illegal, of course, as sentencing is at
Buckwalter’s discretion, but criminal in the sense that justice was not
adequately served.

Perhaps more than any other city, Philadelphia
has a reputation for rampant, institutionalized corruption. For
decades, the bad guys always seemed to operate with impunity. From
rigged elections to pols illegally living it up on the taxpayers’ dime,
the perception, rightly so, was that the politically-connected could
operate above the law, and the average Joe got the shaft.

But
then a funny thing happened. After witnessing numerous convictions at
the city, county and state levels, most notable in the Bonusgate
scandal, the public started to believe again. Hope was renewed. Turns
out that the people, through their honest, hard working prosecutors,
were fighting City Hall — and winning.

Faith in truth, justice
and the American way, now restored, hit its pinnacle when Vince Fumo,
once untouchable, was brought back down to Earth, led away in handcuffs.
But when the original sentence was announced, the collective breath of
our society was forcibly expelled, the result of an immense kick to the
gut.

Yet hope remained, if by a delicate thread. It wasn’t over.
Maybe, just maybe, things would be made right, and Vince Fumo would
finally “get his” at the re-sentencing. But as before, the people were
left devastated, angry, and dumbfounded. Somehow, Fumo escaped the fate
he deserved.

And with that, all the goodwill and hope that had
been cautiously accumulating evaporated in a heartbeat. Fool me once,
shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.



The bitter hardness that is
Philadelphia’s attitude just got stiffer. As a direct result of the Fumo
travesty, no longer do folks believe in fairness, but instead have
reverted back to the “they’re all corrupt, they’re all in it together”
mentality. And who can blame them?

No matter how you slice it,
the bad guys came away with the better hand, and the good guys finished
last. Thank you, Judge Buckwalter.

There is no worse death that the end of hope. And more than anything, that’s why Philadelphia is dying.

Case closed.

Thanksgiving 2020 — Off The Internet

Thanksgiving 2020 — Courtesy of Kate Rainey

“Winston, come into the dining room, it’s time to eat,” Julia yelled to her husband.

“In a minute, honey, it’s a tie score,” he answered.

Actually, Winston wasn’t very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and Washington.

Ever since the government passed the Civility in Sports Statute of 2017, outlawing tackle football for its “unseemly violence” and the “bad example it sets for the rest of the world”, Winston was far less of a football fan than he used to be.

Two-hand touch wasn’t nearly as exciting. Yet it wasn’t the game that Winston was uninterested in.

It was more the thought of eating another Tofu Turkey. Even though it was the best type of Veggie Meat available after the government revised the American Anti-Obesity Act of 2018, adding fowl to the list of federally-forbidden foods, (which already included potatoes, cranberry sauce, and mincemeat pie), it wasn’t anything like real turkey.

And ever since the government officially changed the name of “Thanksgiving Day” to “A National Day of Atonement” in 2020, to officially acknowledge the Pilgrims’ historically brutal treatment of Native Americans, the holiday had lost a lot of its luster.

Eating in the dining room was also a bit daunting. The unearthly gleam of government-mandated fluorescent light bulbs made the Tofu Turkey look even weirder than it actually was, and the room was always cold.

Ever since Congress passed the Power Conservation Act of 2016, mandating all thermostats – which were monitored and controlled by the electric company – be kept at 68 degrees, every room on the north side of the house was barely tolerable throughout the entire winter.

Still, it was good getting together with family. Or at least most of the family.

Winston missed his mother, who passed on in October, when she had used up her legal allotment of life-saving medical treatment.

He had had many heated conversations with the Regional Health Consortium, spawned when the private insurance market finally went bankrupt, and everyone was forced into the government health care program.

And though he demanded she be kept on her treatment, it was a futile effort.

“The RHC’s resources are limited”, explained the government bureaucrat Winston spoke with on the phone. “Your mother received all the benefits to which she was entitled. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Ed couldn’t make it either. He had forgotten to plug in his electric car last night, the only kind available after the Anti-Fossil Fuel Bill of 2021 outlawed the use of the combustion engines – for everyone but government officials.

The fifty mile round trip was about ten miles too far, and Ed didn’t want to spend a frosty night on the road somewhere between here and there.

Thankfully, Winston’s brother, John, and his wife were flying in.

Winston made sure that the dining room chairs had extra cushions for the occasion..

No one complained more than John about the pain of sitting down so soon after the government-mandated cavity searches at airports, which severely aggravated his hemorrhoids.

Ever since a terrorist successfully smuggled a cavity bomb onto a jetliner, the TSA told Americans the added “inconvenience” was an “absolute necessity” in order to stay “one step ahead of the terrorists.”

Winston’s own body had grown accustomed to such probing ever since the government expanded their scope to just about anywhere a crowd gathered, via Anti-Profiling Act of 2022.

That law made it a crime to single out any group or individual for “unequal scrutiny,” even when probable cause was involved.

Thus, cavity searches at malls, train stations, bus depots, etc., etc., had become almost routine.

Almost.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the statute, but most Americans expect a Court composed of six progressives and three conservatives to leave the law intact.

“A living Constitution is extremely flexible”, said the Court’s eldest member, Elena Kagan. “Europe has had laws like this one for years. We should learn from their example”, she added.

Winston’s thoughts turned to his own children. He got along fairly well with his 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, mostly because she ignored him. Winston had long ago surrendered to the idea that she could text anyone at any time, even during Atonement Dinner.

Their only real confrontation had occurred when he limited her to 50,000 texts a month, explaining that was all he could afford.

She whined for a week, but got over it.

His 16-year-old son, Jason, was another matter altogether. Perhaps it was the constant bombarding he got in public school that global warming, the bird flu, terrorism, or any of a number of other calamities were “just around the corner”, but Jason had developed a kind of nihilistic attitude that ranged between simmering surliness and outright hostility.

It didn’t help that Jason had reported his father to the police for smoking a cigarette in the house, an act made criminal by the Smoking Control Statute of 2018, which outlawed smoking anywhere within 500 feet of another human being.

Winston paid the $5,000 fine, which might have been considered excessive before the American dollar became virtually worthless as a result of QE13.

The latest round of quantitative easing the federal government initiated was, once again, to “spur economic growth.”

This time, they promised to push unemployment below its years-long rate of 18%, but Winston was not particularly hopeful.

Yet the family had a lot for which to be thankful, Winston thought, before remembering it was a Day of Atonement.

At least, he had his memories.

He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized his children would never know what life was like in the Good Old Days, long before government promises to make life “fair for everyone” and they realized their full potential..

Winston, like so many of his fellow Americans, never realized how much things could change when they didn’t happen all at once, but little by little, so people could get used to them.

He wondered what might have happened if the public had stood up while there was still time, maybe back around 2011, when all the real nonsense began.

“Maybe we wouldn’t be where we are today if we’d just said ‘enough is enough’ when we had the chance,” he thought..

Maybe so, Winston. Maybe so.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2020

The Media’s Undoing

The Roar

Used to be, before this “age of information,” the American voter would decide without undo media influence.  Although the selection of candidates were above the periphery of public input, there still existed conventions where surprises lurked.  This uncertainty was most notable with the Goldwater and Reagan nominations.

Back in those days, the media still had a heavy input into the general elections but it was after the fact of the nominations.  Still, they didn’t miss a beat, as was the Goldwater example, when they scared the voters towards their more peace loving LBJ preference.

Today, the voter is presented with a parade of “debates” which is nothing more than a media circus designed to whittle down the candidates to the one they have already anointed.  It’s a process which entails either inciting arguments between the hopefuls, trying to get them to misspeak or flub an answer or overload the questions onto the most inexperienced of that particular field.

As with the most recent Perry flub, not being able to come up with his third cabinet department, which he deemed in need of abolishing, it followed that this one instance disqualified him as a worth while candidate.  All the while, the media’s unmistakeable soft Romney approach suggests that his selection is their priority.

Now, as embarrassing as are the spoken gaffes, once again the media takes a vacation when it comes to Obama’s misspeaks.  And there are sadly too many to replay.  Again, protection of their chosen ones.

As previously detailed, the despicable treatment allotted to Cain, has produced an overdue negative public response with regards to the media’s blatant bias.  This repulsion now seeps into that former granite like hold on public opinion which Rather, Cronkite and Jennings relished.

This didn’t happen overnight.  One remnant from Obama’s 2008 election was the public’s perception that his success was due in part from his preferential media treatment.  This impression is hardly debatable given the questioning of McCain’s qualification to be President, due to his birth outside of our Country verses the complete pass given to Obama.

Another lesson learned was the manner in which the media continued their anti-Palin attack during the post election years.  In short, there are ample examples that serve and strengthen this growing distrust for media authority.  The recent boos directed to the moderator’s revisiting of the Cain controversy provides ample proof to a hand which the media over played.

For as long a I can recall, it’s always been referred to as “the liberal media.”  Their bias could be found from day to day and it was largely accepted to a degree.  However, that slant for interpreting has since morphed into witch hunts which at times, employs varying degrees of calumny.  It is this tactic which has caused their disfavor and rightly so.  If running for our Presidency includes unsubstantiated questioning to one’s reputation, well then, our Republic will truly become that fearful entity known as a democracy.

Jim Bowman, Author of,
This Roar of Ours

Occupy Wall Street? Better Washington, DC!

Occupy Wall Street? Better Washington, DC! —

When  you read this article carefully a couple of the points    jump out and  deserve to be further publicized!!!

Clearly,Occupy Wall Street needs to bring their list of “complaints’ to Washington,DC

Some examples:
1)Rham Emmanuel earns $18 million in 3 years after he leaves the White House,as
an “advisor” to a hedge fund :this should read “Unregistered  Lobbyist”..And that’s from just one ,er….one “engagement”.Wanna bet there are a lot more…..

2)The partial list of ex- politicians who earn huge fees for “advising” private equity firms.
While it’s obvious that they are paid for providing high level access to the government,they do  not have to be registered as lobbyists!!!
We are talking big money here!!!

IMO:Most politicians  have never worked  in the private sector ;so clearly there”advice” to smart,savy, hedge fund /private equity managers is limited to a few phone calls and accompanying  the “money people” to a meeting with the right Federal or State public official.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/bill-clinton-financial-firm-doug-band-declan-kelly-hedge-fund_n_1088203.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl10%7Csec3_lnk3%7C112419

Pamela Anderson to Play the Virgin Mary

Pamela Anderson to Play the Virgin Mary — Give me a break…just some more  not so subtle Christian bashing  from an increasing secular world.

Next we could  find JeffreyDahmer ,getting parole,so he can play Tim Tebow in the new movie: “Christians in The Huddle”

http://www.aoltv.com/2011/11/14/pamela-anderson-virgin-mary-russell-peters-canada/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl2%7Csec3_lnk1%7C112444

Frazier Choice Brings Questions At PSU

Frazier Choice Brings Questions At PSU  — The Penn State  Board of Trustees’s choice of Kenneth Frazier to head its investigation is, well, interesting.

Frazier, whose assignment was announced Nov. 12, is the CEO of Merck & Co, the major pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Does Frazier have any experience investigating crime? Does he have a history of pursuing dark evidence down twisting alleys to whatever truth  leads?

No. He does, however, have a track record of winning liability lawsuits. He made his bones at Merck generally successfully defending the company during the Vioxx lawsuits.

So if minimizing exposure — i.e. keeping things hidden — is the goal, Frazier might be the guy.

If the Board really does want to get the institution it directs back into the public’s trust perhaps it should reconsider Frazier’s appointment and see if Frank Keating is available.

Keating is the former Oklahoma governor, one-time FBI agent and practicing Catholic who chaired  the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops‘ National Review Board examining sex abuse by Catholic Priests, much to the dismay of those who hired him hoping for a tame investigator.

Penn State, it should be noted, is not governed by the state. It is considered a “state-related” university and the state, while it provides about 10 percent of its funding, has no direct control over it. Only 10 of the 32 members of the Board of Trustees that run it are government officials or appointees of the governor.

Frazier, who received his undergraduate degree in political science  from Penn State in 1975, is a member of the Board.

Frazier graduated from Harvard Law School in 1978.

For my friends with any concerns about new world orders, he is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Merck, by the way, has been a consistent donor to Jerry Sandusky’s The Second Mile being among the many  giving between $1,000 and $10,000 annually from at least 2006 through 2009.

Just a warning, but the last two links are to pdf files.


Frazier Choice Brings Questions At PSU

Frances Cabrini Female Dynamo Honored

Frances Cabrini Female Dynamo Honored — This comment is not an attempt to glorify a saint of the Catholic Church. It is an attempt to  a recognize a single immigrant  woman’s courage and achievement. This courage , despite  poor health, in a not to long ago period ,when women had little or no “voice” is remarkable!(Remember the 19th Amendment ,giving  women the right to vote, only passed less than 100 years ago  in 1920).

Frances Cabrini was an unbelievable dynamo working tirelessly to help poor Italian immigrants
in the USA.The religious order she founded ,ultimately established orphanages,hospitals, and schools all around the world.”Mother Cabrini” is how she is affectionally referred to;others recognize the name in “Cabrini College” or “Cabrini Hospital”.

Her reach ws wide:
On my annual trip to fly fish in Granby, Colorado several years ago,I accidentally took a wrong turn .Helpless lost, I stopped to ask for directions(yes, some men do ask for directions) in Golden,CO.

After looking at my map on the car hood,I glanced up to find a shrine honoring Mother Cabrini!Apparently, she went to Golden,Colorado to help minister physically ,as well as spiritually,to a group of Italian immigrants and their families working in the mines there.

Take a few minutes to  read for yourselves the story of the first naturalized US citizen to be canonized a saint .What an inspiration!!!
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=278

Tom C

Inaugural Honor Flight Lands

 

Inaugural Honor Flight Lands

Units from the Manoa and Bon Air fire companies, an honor guard from American Legion Post Manoa 667, and flag waving supporters greeted the contingent of Vietnam veterans returning this afternoon, Nov. 12, from an overnight trip to the monuments in Washington D.C.

Several veterans were noticeably touched with some saying it was the best greeting they ever received.

The trip was sponsored by History channel and Honor Flight Philadelphia. It was the first event for Honor Flight’s Philadelphia hub which is expected to begin regular trips this spring.

It went smooth with the only hitch being a minor bus breakdown a few blocks from the staging point at Hope Methodist Church, Steel and Eagle roads, Havertown.

History recorded parts of the event in D.C. and will feature it on an upcoming broadcast.

Manoa Post 667, which is adjacent to the church, treated the vets to beer and food after the greeting.

Honor Flight transports veterans to Washington, D.C. to
visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.
It is free of cost to the veterans. It is normally restricted to World War II and terminally ill veterans.

 Inaugural Honor Flight Lands in Manoa

Honor Flight Philly, History Channel Tribute To Vietnam Vets

Honor Flight Philly, History Channel Tribute To Vietnam VetsHonor Flight Philly, History Channel Tribute To Vietnam Vets — Vietnam veterans gather this morning, Nov. 11, in the parking lot of Hope Methodist Church in Havertown before boarding a bus to Washington D.C. to visit the monuments as part of a special trip organized by Honor Flight Philadelphia and History channel.

The vets got a free breakfast from the McDonalds on Township Line Road and escort by four Haverford Township motorcycle cops.

This is the inaugural trip for Honor Flight Philadelphia which became an Honor Flight in September. Honor Flight transports veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.


It is free of cost to the veterans. It is normally restricted to World War II and terminally ill veterans.

Honor Flight Philadelphia will be running regular trips starting this spring.

The hub was organized by Andrew Schiavello of Springfield, who is its president.

The Vietnam veterans are returning between 4:30 and 5 p.m., tomorrow, to the church at Steel and Eagle roads. Those wishing to give them a rousing greeting are welcome.

Honor Flight Philly, History Channel Tribute To Vietnam Vets

Gleason No Cause To Smile

Gleason No Cause To Smile
By Bob Guzzardi


Pennsylvania Republican State Committee Chair Rob Gleason is taking credit for Anne Covey’s election to Commonwealth Court and Republicans taking control of 12 county courthouses.  He is taking credit for wins that are not his and blaming others for losses which are and gets away with it.  Rob Gleason profits from his politics. Why should he not smile?

Let us look at some details omitted by Chairperson Gleason and let us look at Montgomery County where Rob Gleason played a large role losing, with one exception (fn 2 below)  and Lehigh County where he played no role in general election win and a losing role in primary loss by his candidate, Dean Browning.

Lehigh County, which Chairman Gleason failed to mention and where Democrats out register Republicans by a substantial margin, Republican swept 4 for 4 on County Board of Commissioners changing a 5 to 4 shaky Majority (which had included Rob Gleason supported Dean Browning who broke ranks with other Republicans to enable a 16% Democratic Tax Increase and then lost in the primary) to a 7-2 Majority of reliable fiscal common sense Republicans. Scott Ott analyzes his opposition to Cunningham-Browning 16% Tax Increase.

Fiscal common sense MyLehigh Republican Glen Eckhart , in a surprise win, defeated Democratic incumbent for County Controller 53-47 for the first time in long memory.
County Judicial candidate Republican Doug Reichley, supported by MyLehigh,  also won his election. ( In MontCo, The two Republican County Judicial candidates lost by significant margins.)

Rob Gleason played no role whatsoever in general election after his disastrous intervention on behalf of loser Dean Browning in the primary. Perhaps this is why Lehigh County’s stunning turnaround from weak fiscal common sense to solid fiscal common sense Majority is not mentioned by State Committee Chair.

Rob Gleason invested time, money and resources in MontCo which went Democratic for the first time in 140 years. The Rs, also, lost the judicial races and both Vic Stabile and Anne Covey lost in MontCo.

Rob Gleason’s magic touch was, also, inversely evident in Lehigh County’s primary where, below the radar, he backed an incumbent Republican sell-out Dean Browning who voted for a 16% tax hike proposed by Union Democrat County Executive Don Cunningham.
The “MyLehigh” team ran on a simple and consistent fiscal common sense message of opposition to that tax hike and took three of the four seats. The fourth seat went to Republican Brad Osborne ran on a record of fiscal common sense as South Whitehall Township Commissioner.

Party Chairman Wayne Woodman, who does not profit financially from his political work and, in fact, contributes significant amounts of his own money to Republican Party and candidates gets no credit from the county chair, perhaps, a petty payback for defeating Rob Gleason’s candidate.
This was an open primary where the Republican base chose its candidates without endorsement or manipulation from the top. As a result, the base was invested in these candidates, MyLehigh’s Scott Ott, Lisa Scheller and Vic Mazziotti as well as Brad Osborne.

In the general, the My Lehigh Team hammered the message of rolling back the Democratic Tax Increase while the Republican Osborne stressed his “no new tax” record over 7 years as South Whitehall Township Commissioner.

Does Winner Wayne feel bad that he “don’t get no respect” from loser Rob?

Fyi Wayne and I went to the same charm school. I graduated with honors and Wayne made Dean’s list. Lesson Learned: a consistent, clear message of fiscal common sense delivered by credible candidates with a voter base invested in their political success wins. Ego driven personalities (I think you all know to whom I refer ) fracture party unity with their self-centered focus on themselves and not the message or the team as MontCo Row Offices can attest. MCRC Chair did nothing, except take candidate money.

A budding new leadership will be meeting soon and I expect will be adopting the Lehigh County Republican Model.

Notes:
1 Statewide  Republican Commonwealth Court Candidate the well-qualified and highly competent, team player and not a hack Anne Covey  won over Democratic Leftist Kathryn Boockvar 52.4 versus 47.6 while Rob Gleason’s hand picked hack, Vic Stabile, lost 54.6 v. 45.5 to Trial Lawyer financed David Wecht.

In MontCo, both Anne Covey and Vic Stabile lost by significant margins and won in Lehigh County by significant margins: In MontCo, Democrat Wecht 52.3 to Stabile 47.7 where as in Lehigh County Democrat David Wecht lost to Republican Stabile 47.7 to 52.3 and in MontCo Democrat Boockvar defeated Republican Covey 50.9 to 49.3 whereas in Lehigh County,  Democrat Boockvar lost to Republican Covey 45.9 to 54.1

In MontCo, both county judicial candidates lost by substantial margins while in Lehigh County the judicial candidate won by substantial margin.

 

Gleason No Cause To Smile