Category: Bob Small

Unsafe to be a Pedestrian in Pennsylvania

Unsafe to be a Pedestrian in Pennsylvania

By Bob Small

On Tuesday Night of April seventeenth of this year, seventeen year old Damien Hocker was run over while crossing the intersection of Fairview and Macdade in Ridley.

While shopping in Swarthmore, we saw this petition for pedestriansafety , with Damien’s photo. This has been organized by his father, Doug Hocker. They are requesting the following changes; creation of footbridges at two intersections on Macdade, more pedestrian crosswalks, “Enforce existing laws for both drivers and pedestrians “, and the banning of drivers using cellphones, among others. This should be seen as the beginning of the discussion.

In Philadelphia this year there were 65 total traffic deaths, 30 of them pedestrians, as per the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and these fatalities led to their petition demanding concrete barriers, which over 5,000 people have signed.. Other demands include replacing “no parking” signage with “no stopping” signs, etc.

The next change.org petition originates in Newark, Delaware, where we now visit two of our longtime movement friends. This is also the home of the University of Delaware where Noellia Gomez, an 18- year old freshman, was recently killed by a speeding motorcyclist. This petition — Ensuring Pedestrian Safety for University of Delaware — requests improvement of the bus service and visibility of the traffic lights, etc.

Pennsylvania is the 35th listed state for pedestrian safet while Philadelphia is listed as number 6.

This is a problem but we need to consider how we try and make the streets safer for pedestrians, while not unduly burdening drivers of all vehicles. We have to also consider how much of this is the personal responsibilities of both drivers and pedestrians, i.e. driving and walking while aware and sober. We also have to decide how much is required of government and vehicle makers.

It’s also mentioned, in this article, that “Pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 77% between 2010 and 2022, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, while all other traffic fatalities increased just 22%.”

Dating myself, as Sargeant Phil Esterhaus used to say in “Hill Street Blues”., “Be careful out there”.

Unsafe to be a Pedestrian

Unsafe to be a Pedestrian in Pennsylvania

More Democrats for Trump; Not Just RFK JR

More Democrats for Trump; Not Just RFK JR

By Bob Small

Donald Trump will be announcing more Democratic supporters besides Bobby Kennedy Jr.

“Trump is going to make a series of announcements about other Democrats who joining his campaign. I want to make America healthy again, and so does President Trump,” said Bobby in a Fox News interview.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, added The Unity Party plan “to defeat the Democratic Oligarchs is underway”.

In 2020, there were a number of Democrats who endorsed then candidate Trump. We expect more to join this time.

So far Democrats endorsing The Donald include Rod Blagojevich, Rubin Diaz, Sr., Tulsi Gabbard, Kwame Kilpatrick and Andrew Stein.

We should also include Joe Exotic aka The Tiger King.

Another testimonial comes from Andrea Peyser who says “ I’m a pro-choice, anti-gun, gay-marriage-friendly Democrat. And I’m voting for Donald Trump.”

She says Trump has signaled a moderate approach to the social issues.

“I ardently believe the government has no business butting into, including going against traditional Republican opposition to same-sex marriage,” she says.

Adam P. Coleman says “I was a Trump hater until I learned the truth of the media’s ‘very fine’ lies. (see video)

Turning to Wikipedia, you enter the phrase “Republicans who oppose Donald Trump, there’s a list of approximately 28 pages. Asking for pro-Trump Democrats, brings less than half the number.

We couldn’t find any similar listing that included the name Kamala Harris. Does this mean anything?

Lastly, let’s turn to Jared Golden of Maine. After the attempted assassination of Trump in July, he wrote on X “It should not be misleadingly portrayed as a struggle between democracy or authoritarianism, or a battle against fascists or socialists bent on destroying America. These are dangerous lies.”

More Democrats for Trump; Not Just RFK JR

More Democrats for Trump; Not Just RFK JR

Forward Party Moves Forward to the Ballot In Pennsylvania

Forward Party Moves Forward to the Ballot In Pennsylvania

By Bob Small

The Forward Party was founded on Oct. 5, 2021, by former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang. The current co-chairs are former NJ Gov. Christie Todd Whitman and Penthera CEO Michael S. Wilner.

The Forward Party on July 27, 2022 merged with Renew America Movement and the Serve America Movement.

The basis for the party is the Andrew Yang book Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy Among other aspects, they declined to run a candidate for the 2024 election, thus avoiding a series of challenges. They have formed coalitions with the Common Sense Party of California and the South Carolina Independence Partyamong others.

Additionally, in some way there are members of the Forward Party who are, for want of a better phrase, bi-party.

Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala now consider themselves “Forward Republicans”. Meanwhile Pennsylvania state senators Lisa Boscola and Anthony H. Williams are “Forward Democrats.

How this works out in Caucuses and Primaries has yet to be worked out.

The two 2024 Pennsylvania Forward Party candidates are Attorney General candidate Eric Settle (Montco) and Treasurer Candidate Chris Foster (Pittsburgh).

Settle was Deputy General Counsel to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, and has a lengthy job history. Foster is a graduate of Emporia State University in Kansas and has spent two decades in health care settings.

Because challenges are still going on for other alternative parties, the candidate listing is not yet finalized.

The Forward Party battleground state strategy is listed here.

Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. I Saw the Hollowness Inside Andrew Yang’s New Third Party by Mary Ann Mancuso, former National Press Secretary for the Forward Party. This lengthy article is well worth reading.

This is not related to The Forward (forverts) What happened to The Forward?, founded in 1897 as a Yiddish language daily socialist newspaper, still active online, unlike many socialist papers I used to read.

Lastly, why couldn’t we create a Common Sense Party in Pennsylvania? Because this is Pennsylvania and we don’t have any…

Forward Party Moves Forward

Forward Party Moves Forward

Harris And False Murder Convictions

Harris And False Murder Convictions

By Bob Small

Where does the buck stop?

Harry Truman, former US President, had a sign on his desk saying “The Buck Stops Here”. Evidently, Kamala Harris never heard of that sign, or of that concept, involving her fellow democrat, as the following case will show.

Jamal Trulove, an emerging movie and tv entertainer, was convicted in October 2010, of a murder he did not commit. To be clear, Kamala, though the San Francisco District Attorney at the time, did not prosecute the case directly, but oversaw the case and was in the courtroom frequently.

Frequently enough to be aware that the conviction was based almost solely on the single testimony of one Priscilla Lualemaga.

Trulove appealed his 50-year to life sentence, and in 2014, his conviction was overturned by the California Court of Appeals, citing “highly prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct” by Harris’ office, including falsely and improperly inflating the personal danger Lualemaga had been in.”

Trulove was acquitted at his retrial in 2015. Linda Allen, a prosecuting attorney in the case, was later fired. Oh, and Trulove was awarded $13 million and change for his unlawful incarceration. Harris, btw, has never publicly commented on the case.

In 2020 he voted the Democratic ticket. He stated that “The people that I work with in Hollywood, they’re all on the left,” he added. “I really had no other choice.” .

He explained his switch to Trump thusly “When we look at what our life was like when Trump was in office we felt like life was good compared to right now,” “We wasn’t in no wars, right now we’re in wars. Illegals wasn’t coming in, but they’re coming in now.”

For some other decisions of Kamala Harris see Kamala Harris’ Record on Criminal Justice: What to Know

She did strictly enforce anti-truancy laws.

“Before he was acquitted, Trulove spent years in maximum security prisons, where he was stabbed “ Kamala Harris didn’t frame and prosecute a man for murder is technically a true statement, as it was done by her office, not her personally.

We do know three facts from this case;

The murderer of Seu Kuku has never been caught,

Jamal Trulove was falsely imprisoned.and may never have the career he should have had

Kamala Harris has never expressed regret.

See also Harris laughed when wrongfully convicting me, SF actor says

Jamal Trulove

Jamal Trulove – IMDb

Harris And False Murder Convictions By Bob Small Where does the buck stop? Harry Truman, former US President, had a sign on his desk saying

Who Are The Republicans For Harris?

Who Are The Republicans For Harris?

By Bob Small

It’s easier to go negative then tell the truth.

In any political campaign, possibly starting at class president, it’s easier and more profitable to go negative on the other candidate than to tell the truth about yourself. Most of the TV/Radio ads on the airwaves are negative this year.

There’s a new Republicans for Harris ad which features such stalwarts as Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (formerly of the House Freedom Caucus) who calls Trump an “inveterate liar” and a “conspiracy theorist”.

Locally, Matthew McCaffrey, Upper Merion GOP leader, is now the ex- GOP leader, for his endorsement of Kamala Harris in a July op-ed. The Montco County GOP Chair Christian Nascimento said “Our bylaws are pretty clear that if you want to serve as a committee person in the party then you support the endorsed ticket”.

A number of Republicans including former Rep Adam Kinzinger who opined that “Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.”

However current Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) criticized these speakers as suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” on NBC’s This Week. He continued “The Democratic Party under Kamala Harris has gone so far to the left that you actually had a Kennedy endorse a Republican.”

Of course, they’re reaching out to some of the former President’s critics though to no real effect as of yet. There are implications that they are planning events in Pennsylvania this September.

Lastly, where did this RFH campaign come from? “Speedily and bluntly put, Republicans for Harris is to 2024 what the Lincoln Project was to 2020:” This article goes on to mention that one Amy Cookson, a Harris staffer, is one of the main contacts for Republicans for Harris. One should read the whole article from westernjournal.com.

See also Republicans for Harris | Facebook

See also ‘Republicans for Harris’ rallies members of GOP

Who Are The Republicans For Harris?

Wallingford Swarthmore Superintendent Is Gone, Gone, Gone

Wallingford Swarthmore Superintendent Is Gone, Gone, Gone

By Bob Small

One of the five demands at a contentious Wallingford Swarthmore School Board meeting was an independent review of Superintendent Wagner Marseille.

It was announced, Aug. 16, “the Board and Marseille . . . have mutually agreed to pursue an amicable conclusion to Dr. Marseille’s service as district superintendent”.

A special meeting was held Aug. 22 to vote on the terms of the separation agreement.

Jim Scanlon, a former West Chester superintendent, is expected to be voted in as the interim superintendent.

As noted in previous articles, parents accused Dr. Marseille of alienating staff members with his high- handed approach, and questionable spending decisions, such as hiring more administrators in lieu of staff, teachers, and repairs on the physical plant.

In the article in the Glenside local, we had some of Dr. Marseille’s backstory. He was a former track star who represented Haiti in the 1996 Olympics. He is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson where he was a Division 1 All-American.

He served at Cheltenham schools from 2015 to 2021. He received the annual President’s Award from the Cheltenham area NAACP Branch in 2012. He is enshrined in Princeton High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

See also Wallingford-Swarthmore schools superintendent is out

Possibly a more diverse school board, including both academics and business people (with a history of hiring employees) could learn from each other and might provide a better model than the all-academic current board.

Just sayin.’

Today, the Swarthmorean newspaper returned from vacation (probably down the shore) and had an article which mentioned that, in his first seven months “he paid more than $70,000 for consultants and audits”. It also noted the recent resignations of Strath Haven Principal Greg Hilden; Wallingford Elementary School Principal Gabe Savage; and Assistant Superintendent James Conley.”

The School Board will meet Tuesday, August 27.

This has gotten very little play in local and regional media. Perhaps Swarthmore is not as important as we all think we are. No, I did not say that!

.

Wallingford Swarthmore Superintendent Is Gone

Walk Away Campaign Was Censored By Facebook, Never Forget

Walk Away Campaign Was Censored By Facebook, Never Forget

By Bob Small

On Jan. 8, 2021 Facebook closed the #WalkAway Campaign because founder, Brandon Straka, allegedly caused it to violate Facebook ” terms of use” because Straka had participated in the events of Jan. 6.

He was tried and received three years probation for his role. What he did could best be described as incitement but nothing beyond that.

So what is #WalkAway campaign? It was founded in 2018 by Brandon , a recovering liberal. He explains his reasons on one of the many videos on this website for walking away from the Democratic Left.

One reason “is the movement fighting back against Democratic exploitation of minority communities” through identity politics.

The website also lists the $10,000 Video Testimonial Challenge which should not be the reason for a person to join this movement.

There, however, is a Walkaway chapter in Pennsylvania which I just joined. How it remains on Facebook is beyond my understanding.

What happened after the initial Facebook ban is that Matt Taibbi , former contributing editor of Rolling Stone, who now publishes Racket News on Substack would not leave well enough alone.

This is Taibbi’s statement from a Congressional hearing on March 9, 2023. Wvery American should read in it’s entirety. it’s only five pages)

Taibbi refers to what Michael Schellenberger calls the “Censorship-Industrial Complex” also inspired the infamous “Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798,” which outlawed “any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against Congress or the president “

Legislatures have been passing laws prohibiting censorship by social media companies. George passed one in 2022, and Texas and Florida passed similar laws.

Federal judges have been putting them on hold on the grounds that social media companies have a First Amendment right to exercise discretion over the content on their platforms.

Similar laws from Texas and Florida were put on hold by federal judges last year on grounds that social media companies had First Amendment rights to exercise discretion over the content published on their platforms.”

On May 21, the Georgia legislature held hearings to investigate social media censorship and discrimination. It was sponsored by Georgia Representative Mesha Mainor who did her own walkaway from Democratic to Republican.

When can we expect these hearings in Pennsylvania?

Walk Away Campaign Was Censored By Facebook

Joseph Kishore Is The Socialist Equality Party Presidential Candidate

Joseph Kishore Is The Socialist Equality Party Presidential Candidate

By Bob Small

“The historical crisis of mankind is reduced to the crisis of the revolutionary leadership” .Leon Trotsky 1938

This quote greets you at the Facebook page of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP)

SEP has, at least, two Facebook pages.

One for each tendency, we suppose.

The SEP was formed in 1995 in a split with the Socialist Workers Party.

All you really need to know is that the SEP supports Old Leon.

See also the World Socialist Web Site – Marxist analysis, international working and Mehring Books – Mehring Books is the publishing and book …

Joseph Kishore is the SEP’s 2024 Presidential Candidate. He has been National Secretary of the SEP since 2008.

Jerry White is his running mate. He is labor editor of the World Socialist Web Site.

For information on the Macungie, Pa. truck driver who is also a member of the SEP who was in Sri Lanka defending other SEP members, see Will Lehman defends Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka

To understand the various schisms within the Socialists is to understand that each Socialist Party believes they have the TRUE answer. See The Heritage We Defend mentioned in The Origins of Pabloite Revisionism, the Split Within … by Kishore which in 25 printed pages clarifies the different splits between Stalinism, Putinism, and Trotskyism.

The SEP has branches in the UK and other countries. The most votes they ever received in a Presidential election was the 18,693 by Edward Winn in 1988.

If only the various Socialist Parties could agree to work together…..

This is my last Socialist Party Profile, at least for this election.

Joseph Kishore Is The Socialist Equality Party Presidential

Joseph Kishore Is The Socialist Equality Party Presidential Candidate

Democrats against Democracy In Pennsylvania

Democrats against Democracy In Pennsylvania

By Bob Small

Every election cycle in Pennsylvania, once the nomination papers are turned in — Aug. 1, this year — the objections begin to the aternative party and independent candidates. How dare they challenged the duopoly!!

This year, we note, the only challenges of this type have come from the Democratic Party.

By Democratic, we mean the Clear Choice PAC

Clear Choice was founded by Pete Kavanaugh, who was deputy manager of the Biden 2020 Campaign. They fear RFK, Jr.,the most it seems

Here is some information about Clear Choice:

FEC Disclosure Form 3X for CLEAR CHOICE PAC, INC

If you still want more email them at info@clearchoicepac.com.

Though the campaign of RFK, Jr filed some 23,000 signatures, most third-party candidates require far more names than the 5,000 needed by the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian parties. This ruling, as we understand it, only applies to those three political parties, not any other political parties nor any independent candidates.

The Clear Choice PAC is filing to block all the candidates for the Constitution Party. However, their Presidential Candidate, Randall Terry, goes around saying “The Democratic Party must be destroyed” so what do you expect.

The Libertarian Party also had their state-wide candidates challenged.

Neither of these parties had any reaction on their websites as of today.

Also being challenged are the American Solidarity Party, The Forward Party founded by Andrew Yang and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Only Jill Stein and the other two Green Party candidates have escaped this year’s onslaught.

Democrats against Democracy

Pondering Different Ways Of Voting

Pondering Different Ways Of Voting

By Bob Small

My friends in the Libertarian Party continue to try to improve the voting process.

Roy Minet seeks to replace plurality voting here. Around the time of our revolution “ French scholars, Jean-Charles de Borda and Nicolas de Condorcet, pointed out some of plurality’s serious problems. A 240-year-long debate ensued.

Roy feels plurality “is a cause of the increasing polarization that is rending the fabric of our society.” We end up electing presidents because they are better then.

“People are sick of having to vote for the “lesser evil,” he said.

He advocates Approve/Approve/Disapprove Voting. One of the main advantages of this is that you can express your disapproval.

He mentions that other forms of voting ; approval voting, condorcet, Instant runoff voting and STAR don’t allow voters to ever express dissatisfaction with a candidate. Would this prevent all the chowderheads and doofuses from running? Probably not, but it might make us voters feel better.

My friend Scott from Vermont sent me an article about hand counting votes in which we learn that over 24 countries use hand count elections.

Including Canada, France, Norway and the UK.

When the German Constitutional Court ruled against using voting machines, they went on to say that the “wide-reaching effect of possible errors of the voting machines or of deliberate electoral fraud make special precautions necessary in order to safeguard the principle of the public nature of elections.” 

In Germany, the ballots are recounted “three times by different people and then once more in total.

This article goes on to say that if a country  that is 14 times the size of Arizona, with 14 times the voter turnout, competently conducts hand count elections and reports preliminary results by the early morning hours, Arizona can achieve the same results “

This article also points out that “public scrutiny and reliable examination of voting machine records are PROHIBITED.”

Unlike in Germany, we are expected to trust the process and are not allowed to audit or question the outcomes. Reminds me of a recent election in Pennsylvania.

Laura Parker, a spokesperson for New Labor (UK) said “ You can’t keep denying millions of people democratic legitimacy and hope they go away”.  Making Britain’s voting system fairer won’t enable parties like Reform – it’s the only way to challenge them

Pondering Different Ways Of Voting

Pondering Different Ways Of Voting