Month: March 2015

Curt Shilling Rocks Defending Daughter

If Curt Shilling, our favorite all-time Phillie, needed yet another reason for his deserved inclusion into the Hall of Fame, the rousing defense of his daughter, Gabriella, last week against cyber-bullies is an excellent one. Curt Shilling Rocks Defending Daughter

Curt tweeted, Feb. 25, a short proud papa note about Gabriella’s acceptance by Salve Regina University in Rhode Island and how she will be pitching for the softball team.

Well, the next week brought froth the vilest comments on Twitter regarding the young girl.

He noted the worst of the worst came from males attending college including college athletes; a vice president of a fraternity at Montclair State University, and college radio disc jockey.

He said it was not hard to find their identities. He said they were “pretty much ALL white, affluent, college attending children, and I mean children.”

He said he informed the athletes’ coaches and several were suspended and made to apologize.

“Gone was the tough guy tweeter, replaced by the “I’m so sorry apology used by those only sorry because they got caught,” Curt said. “It was EXACTLY like the Scared Straight episodes you watch where “tough” kids get brought to tears when they face the real world.”

He noted that some of this crap is going to follow these guys forever and deservedly.

Curt is an outspoken conservative Republican. The ones attacking his daughter don’t like him. We suspect they get their cues from David Letterman, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart. We suspect that  easy access to abortion is the political issue most dear to their hearts.

And we are certain that those proclaiming that conservatives “wage war on women” are just fine with having them as friends and allies.

To read Curt’s rant (language warning applicable as he posts some of the tweets against his daughter verbatim) go to his blog 38 pitches.wordpress.com.

Hat tip Carlos Perez at PJMedia.com

Curt Shilling Rocks Defending Daughter

Westtown Farm Market Coming

An Acme store that has been sitting vacant for a year  in Chester County is going to become an Amish farmer’s market sometime in early summer. Westtown Farm Market Coming

The business at routes 202 and 926 in the Westtown Village Shopping Center will be known as the Westtown Farm Market and be run by Amos Stolzfus of Lancaster and his family.

Items expected to be sold include bakery goods, wines, sandwiches, barbecue chicken, soft pretzels, salads, meats, cheeses, candy, candles, Amish furniture and flowers.

It’s expected to be open just Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 a.m.

Hat tip Barbara Ann Zippi.

Westtown Farm Market Coming

William Lawrence Sr. Omnbit 3-6-15

William Lawrence Sr. Omnbit 3-6-15

It takes seven hours to build an igloo.

Transition Town Media Free Store

Peg Degrassa of Delaware County News Network has a great story about the Transition Town Media Free Store in the The First United Methodist Church of Media, 350 W. State St. Media, Pa. 19064. Transition Town Media Free Store

Everything is free. The store run by  non-profit Transition Town Media circulates items donated items to those who want them without charge.

It’s a great way of getting rid of useful items that are just taking up space and doing some socializing.

Mentioned in the story are Julie DiRemigio, a founding member, and volunteer Kate Rainey who is sometimes a commentator here.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 12 to 5 p.m., Saturday; and 12 to 4 p.m., Sunday. Drop off donations during open hours only.

The store’s website is here.

Transition Town Media Free Store

Wolf Budget Costs Family Of Four $1419

Wolf Budget Costs Family Of Four $1419
Wolf Budget Costs Family Of Four $1419

By Bob Dick

Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal expands the size of government and shrinks the size of your wallet.

The governor argues that his property tax relief plan would offset the brunt of these tax hikes, but this relief is delayed until 2016-17. In the meantime, the state will collect higher taxes and retain those funds.

Should Gov. Wolf’s property tax plan pass the General Assembly, there’s no guarantee school districts will stop raising property taxes. Even if local governments did manage to hold the line on property taxes, Pennsylvanians would suffer a net tax increase of $4.3 billion in the 2016-2017 budget.

These tax hikes will grease the wheels for record levels of spending. Under Gov. Wolf’s plan, true General Fund spending in 2015-16 would reach $31.6 billion (Governor Wolf moves $1.75 billion in school pension payments to a new fund, which makes the General Fund increase appear smaller). This amounts to the largest spending increase in 25 years.

Of course, the General Fund is only a portion of Pennsylvania’s total operating budget. If each of Gov. Wolf’s proposals were enacted, Pennsylvania’s total operating budget would surpass $78.6 billion—the highest spending level in the commonwealth’s history.

Unsustainable spending growth and tax increases have been the prevailing trend in Pennsylvania since the 1970s. As a result, Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom in job, income and population growth. Governor Wolf’s proposals would accelerate this trend despite evidence of its harmful consequences.

There is a better alternative.

We need to grow the economy by limiting government. This means unleashing innovators and protecting working families—not weighing them down with higher taxes.

For a detailed look at the budget visit here.

Bob Dick is a Policy Analyst for the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives.

Wolf Budget Costs Family Of Four $1419

Ethanol Mandate Repeal Sought By Toomey

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has announced that the is working to repeal a law that drives up the cost of everything from gasoline to groceries. Ethanol Mandate Repeal Sought By Toomey

“Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and I introduced the bipartisan Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015 to abolish the corn ethanol mandate in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS),” he said.

“The RFS requires fuel suppliers to blend millions of gallons of biofuels – most often corn ethanol – into the nation’s gasoline supplies,” he said. “This results in higher gas prices, increased food costs, damage to car engines, and harm to the environment. This is nothing more than the government using corporate welfare to shower money on a favored industry and then send the bill to the general public. You deserve better.”

The mandate is strongly supported by Iowa farmers and presidential candidates notably avoid opposing the issue in that early primary state.

Guess we know Pat’s not running for president.

Ethanol Mandate Repeal Sought By Toomey

Food Drive For Needy

Due to the continued hard economic conditions, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 100 S. Penn St., Clifton Heights, Pa. 19018 is having a Spring Food Collection for the needy through Sunday, March 29. Food Drive For Needy

Those wishing to donate any canned or boxed, non-perishable food items should bring them to the Church on any Sunday before or after the 11 a.m., English Divine Liturgy.

Please help  if you can!

 Food Drive For Needy

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 3-5-15

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 3-5-15

Picasso burned his early works. He needed to keep his apartment warm.

Pension Crisis Ignored By Wolf

By Sen. Scott Wagner (R-28)

Governor Wolf unveiled his 2015 – 2016 budget on March 3. Scott Wagner Pension Crisis Ignored By Wolf

The governor is proposing to give the public school system an additional $1 Billion dollars in his budget.

I agree that our public school system needs to be a major focus.

Getting a good education is the foundation for success.

I am a firm believer that our public school system needs to “reinvent itself” to meet the needs to compete in a world economy and also to meet the needs of the ever- changing workforce required for manufacturing and the various skilled labor sectors.

Everyone knows that Pennsylvania has a pension crisis and it must be fixed immediately.

School teachers and administrators who will be retiring in the future are part of the pension system that has to be changed so that Pennsylvanians are not continuing to throw money at a problem that will continue to be a problem and will require more money in the future.

Governor Wolf is in the process of throwing money at the education problem.

Money will not solve the problem –  the problem needs to be fixed first.

In the business world, this concept is called throwing money down a black hole with no results.

There are also plenty of solutions on the spending side that should be implemented which would free up money to actually impact our children’s education.

In addition to pension reform, eliminating prevailing wage mandates on all school district capital and maintenance projects, updating the funding formula would all alleviate some of the financial burden our school districts face.

Pension Crisis Ignored By Wolf

Start Walking Joe (And Don’t Let The Door Hit Your Ass)

Start Walking Joe (And Don't Let The Door Hit Your Ass)
Joe Sestak and his little dog.

Democrat Joe Sestak is going to wrap himself up in an old military jacket  and walk across Pennsylvania in “military grade” boots   in an attempt to unseat our excellent incumbent senator Pat Toomey.

Joanne Yurchak points out that among the former admiral’s many deeds that made life worse for us was  being in the vanguard of   those insisting that one would not lose one’s current health care plan if Obamacare should pass.

This is for you Joe.  Here are the relevant lyrics:

You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin’
and you keep losin’ when you oughta not bet.
You keep samin’ when you oughta be changin’.
Now what’s right is right, but you ain’t been right yet.

Start Walking Joe (And Don’t Let The Door Hit Your Ass) would be a great title for a country song.