Deana Martin Friday Webcast — Deana Martin, who is Dean Martin’s daughter, has had a webcast featuring songs and humor for three years.
We just found it on Twitter. Check it out. She’s great.
Deana Martin Friday Webcast
Month: June 2023
Swarthmore Getting LGBTQ Rainbow Crosswalk
Swarthmore Getting LGBTQ Rainbow Crosswalk
By Bob Small
Swarthmore Borough (population 6,523 as of 2023) will have its very own LGBTQ rainbow crosswalk, probably the smallest municipality by population to attain this distinction.
During the public safety segment of the June 12 Council meeting — at about hour 135.30 — it was announced that $1,000 will be donated by the Borough for paint. All the work is volunteer. (
For what it’s worth, this we believe this is the first Borough Council we missed in 20203.
While we agree with the sentiments behind this project, we wondered what local other towns have done this.
The June 12 notes will not be voted on until July 10th, then to be entered online.
In Phoenixville (population 19,354) the painting party became a community lovefest.
“Together, we ensure every person is safe, loved and celebrated,” said Mayor Peter Ueschel
In Doylestown (population 8,532) there was opposition to the painting decision.
“What about Chinese Flags? What about the hammer and sickle?” asked Resident Art Larson.
“If we’re looking to have a better understanding of each other, there are probably things that work better than painting,” said business owner Jona Franklin.
It was noted that “installation and ongoing maintenance costs will be covered by the Doylestown Pride Festival”.
In Canada, Leithbridge has a “permanent transgender pride flag crosswalk and a permanent rainbow crosswalk”.
We can also add Toronto and Vancouver to this list of cities with pride designations. Besides Philadelphia, we have Key West, Long Beach, Miami Beach, San Francisco, West Hollywood, and many others.
What Threatens The Children
Be slow in choosing a friend William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 6-30-23
Be slow in choosing a friend William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 6-30-23
Vod ec gsdr mkedsyx sxnevqo dro cezzycsdsyx drkd wybkvsdi mkx lo wksxdksxon gsdryed bovsqsyx. Bokcyx kxn ohzobsoxmo lydr pyblsn ec dy ohzomd drkd xkdsyxkv wybkvsdi mkx zbofksv sx ohmvecsyx yp bovsqsyec zbsxmszvo.
Qoybqo Gkcrsxqdyx
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.
Benjamin Franklin
They Have No Rules
Plaintiffs Accuse Delco Of Staging Evidence
Plaintiffs Accuse Delco Of Staging Evidence — The plaintiffs in the case regarding access to Delaware County election envelopes from the 2023 primary election are accusing Delaware County officials of “preparing and staging materials” in anticipation of the July 11 hearing before Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.
The plaintiffs are Republican County Council candidate Joy Schwartz; and election integrity activists Gregory Stenstrom, Leah Hoopes and Paul Rumley.
Defendants are Al Schmidt, acting secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Delaware County; Delaware County Park Police Department; Delaware County Director of Elections James Allen; and Delaware County Park Police Chief John S. Diehl.
Allen and Diehl are being sued in their personal capacities.
The plaintiffs say there is a 14,289 ballot disparity between what was observed being counted at the county’s Wharf Centralized Counting Center and the 24,289 recorded the night of the May 16 election.
A request to examine the ballot envelopes was initially fought by the county who then conceded to it just before an expected ruling by Commonwealth Court.
This June 2 examination was called off, however, when the county insisted on covering the envelope signatures, which are not just public record but the only way to determine if the envelope came from a legitimate voter.
The envelope signatures cannot reveal how a vote was cast and the names of those who vote are obviously and necessarily public information.
The plaintiffs again appealed to Commonwealth Court.
In their latest filing, they say:
- The BOE has been active in the Wharf Centralized Counting Center setting up plastic barriers on the tables next to the envelope racks, and continuing to stage boxes with unknown contents in the secure storage room with closed door access immediately next to the expended, opened Mail In Ballot (MIB) racks.
- Multiple people have access to the back office and side storage room. This room has two access doors to the back office where there are no cameras, and to the main counting room door next to the racks where they are storing expended MIB envelopes.
- In 2020, Plaintiff Gregory Stenstrom was told by Delaware County, Clerk of Elections, Laureen Hagan that only she and James Allen had keys to the storage area where there are controlled election results that include primarily ballot bags from the precincts with cast ballots. Multiple people entering and exiting these areas without access control and sign in / out, is a problem by itself, as these are official election records.
- On June 21st, 2023, Lauren Hagan, BOE (Bureau of Elections) IT (Information Technology) Director Robert Wright, and an unidentified male BOE employee, were observed entering the back storage room together (Camera 9) with a hand cart and placing brown cardboard boxes, that were on the floor behind stacked precinct ballot bags out of sight of the cameras, onto the cart. The boxes are somewhat heavy based on the effort they exerted lifting them and estimated to be about 20-30 pounds. They were placed on the cart and wheeled next to the door that opens next to the racks of expended MIB envelopes.
- On June 23rd, 2023, Robert Wright supervised two BOE employees setting up large clear plastic barriers with a slot on the bottom, placing them on the 8’x4′ card tables set up next to the racks that are lined up along the windows with opaque plastic boxes with blue folding lids that contain expended MIB envelopes.
- Also on June 23 , 2023, another unidentified male wheeled in another hand truck with two brown cardboard boxes sealed with red tape and a white shoe box into the room, transferring the boxes to the hand truck staged by the door that opens to the racks with the expended MIB envelopes, and the right rear corner of the main counting room.
- The unidentified male returns to the hand car by the door with access to the MIB racks, after wheeling the hand cart he used to wheel the (new) boxes in the room and seems concerned with the logo and label and moves the white shoe box on top of the newly placed brown cardboard boxes.
- In the videos of remarkable behavior to date, IT Director Robert Wright appears to be acting in a supervisory role, and is aware of the public access monitoring cameras.
- The County BOE seem to be preparing and staging materials in anticipation of the July 11th, 2023, hearing at the Commonwealth Court and a subsequent order from the Court that Plaintiffs be granted their Act 77 rights to inspect the expended MIB envelopes for their declarations.
The entire filing sent is below:
The reason why two-thirds of this country are convinced that our elections have become untrustworthy is behavior like this. The good people in our government have to defend transparency and put an end to the strange games being played by officials in Delaware County and elsewhere.
There is no honest reason to hide those envelopes or their signatures.
British Movies About The American Revolution
British Movies About The American Revolution
By Bob Small
I have been thinking about how British movies have treated The American Revolution, with July 4 approaching. Well, there are only three such movies that come to mind, and that’s partially because the Revolutionary War is barely taught in Britain.
Many British considered Britain and the colonies to be like a mother and her whining teenager, as this article makes clear.
“The Madness of King George” (1994), a joint British-American production, speaks of George III, who was the king during the war. The film takes place in 1788. “When King George III goes mad, his lieutenants try to adjust the rules to run the country without his participation.”
Note: all plot summaries are from IMDB.
To add to this, the British Prime Minister at the time was Lord Frederick North.
Briefly, there are only three British or British-American films dealing with the war. “The Devil’s Disciple” from 1959 is one of multiple versions of the George Bernard Shaw play, and it has the best cast — i.e., Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, and Lawrence Olivier.
The plot summary is ”the black sheep of a family and the local minister discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.”
Next, we have 1985’s “Revolution”, starring Al Pacino. This plot is “a trapper and his young son get pulled into the American Revolution early as unwilling participants and remain involved through to the end.” It’s actually a British-Norwegian production, and it was widely criticized for having been made in England. Though it tanked at the box office and critically, it’s now being re-appraised.
There’s also 1929’s early Brit talkie “The American Prisoner”, whose plot summary is “an American prisoner of war escapes and saves a squire’s daughter.” I did not find any online reviews.
Lastly, there’s a BBC TV series entitled “Rebels and Redcoats” (2003).
There are also a few more films that were made as joint US-Canadian ventures. To be continued.
Young men to utter maxims William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 6-29-23
Young men to utter maxims William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 6-29-23
Kn buxf rw lqxxbrwp j oarnwm, buxfna rw lqjwprwp.
Knwsjvrw Oajwturw
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims.
Aristotle
Check out the Dom Giordano Show on WPHT 1210 AM
In A World Of Propaganda, The Truth Is Always A Conspiracy
Students Want Tech Jobs, But Americans Need Not Apply
Students Want Tech Jobs, But Americans Need Not Apply
By Joe Guzzardi
After decades of frustration in their efforts to make major employment breakthroughs in the IT industry, black tech workers may have found a valuable ally. Nex Cubed founder and Chief Executive Officer Marlon Evans has identified tech as an industry where talented individuals affiliated with Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) might land well-paid jobs.
Nex Cubed describes itself as a global accelerator that invests in diverse founders dedicated to solving the nation’s most pressing problems. The venture firm’s website states that its goal is to provide seed capital that will empower startups and investors to develop new technologies.
Recently, Nex Cubed announced that, backed by Costco Wholesale’s $5 million financial assistance, the venture capital firm would launch the Historically Black College and University Founders Fund (HBCUFF). This $40 million accelerator will invest in startups where at least one founder is a student, alumni or faculty member of an HBCU.
Led by North Carolina A&T State University, Howard University and Spelman College, HBCUs are responsible for 25 percent of all African-American STEM graduates. With the layoffs of both directly employed and contracted tech workers, Nex Cubed sees openings for black students currently untrained, unrecruited and unemployed in their chosen field.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s data shows that big tech’s demographic mix is 68 percent white and 64 percent male, statistics that the “Stem News Chronicle” noted. A McKinsey report predicted that the gap in tech employment – the total of black IT workers compared to white – will widen over the next decade. Across all industries, technology jobs – those in data science, engineering, cybersecurity and software development – are expected to grow 14 percent by 2032, but over the same time period, the black tech workers’ percentage is expected to grow only 8 percent.
Nex Cubed understands the reason why U.S.-born tech workers struggle to get gainful employment. From its bulletin: “One of the biggest myths surrounding the [H-1B] program is that it fills labor shortages. While this was Congress’ intent for the program, the U.S. Department of Labor has botched its implementation so badly that H-1Bs are regularly used to replace U.S. workers.”
But understanding what’s going on in the tech employment market – the displacement of skilled, experienced American workers by less qualified, cheaper H-1B visa holders – and affecting a positive pro-U.S. IT employment market are two different things.
Establishing the HBCUFF and emphasizing the underutilized talent that HBCU graduates offer to tech employers are steps in the right direction. But a Net Cubed goal must be to encourage Congress to reform the H-1B visa so that American tech workers, black and white, get the first shot at filling tech jobs. Before COVID-19 and the recent layoffs, the Silicon Valley tech workforce was three-quarters foreign-born. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services-authorized-to-work nonimmigrant H-1B visa holders are doing jobs that U.S. tech workers are fully qualified to fill.
Because of tech’s mass layoffs – more than 200,000 with more firings anticipated, and possible fraud charges pending against CEOs for improprieties related to the annual H-1B visa lotteries to import H-1B foreign-born contract workers – job openings should be plentiful for HBCU graduates. The CEOs who oversee many of the second- or third-tier white-collar subcontracting firms may face federal investigation. Consequently, the firms in question, many based in India, are closing up shop, and the executives are fleeing to the home country just ahead of federal prosecution.
Every stakeholder in the battle to put American workers first needs to enter the fray and lobby Congress for meaningful H-1B visa reforms that place U.S. tech workers at the top of the hiring line. The H-1B is the arch enemy of high-skilled but unemployed or underemployed young Americans. In the name of fairness, the visa must either be revised or, better yet, eliminated.
Joe Guzzardi is a Project for Immigration Reform analyst. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com.