Courtesy of Judy McGrane
The USGS has determined that the epicenter of the Virginian earthquake was in a graveyard just outside of DC. The cause appears to be all of our Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves
Joey Vento R.I.P.
Joey Vento R.I.P. — Joey Vento, the owner of Geno’s Steaks in South Philadelphia and a Tea Party supporter, died yesterday, Aug. 23, at his Shamong, N. J., home of a heart attack. He was 71.
Mr. Vento opened Geno’s Steaks at 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue in 1966 and began what became a nationally famous competition with the long-established Pat’s King of Steaks across the street.
Mr. Vento became a political figure when Mumia Abu Jamal, who murdered Philadelphia police officer Danny Faulkner n 1981, became a pet cause of the mindless yet fashion-conscience leftist establishment that tried to convince the world that Jamal was a innocent victim of a police frame. Mr. Vento helped keep the memory of Officer Faulkner alive and helped keep the focus on the overwhelming evidence of Jamal’s guilt.
Mr. Vento became a national figure after placing a sign in his window saying “This is America: When ordering please speak English” which prompted a discrimination complaint from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations in 2006.
Unlike most business owners, Mr. Vento stood up to the bullies and the Commission caved two years later with a finding that the restaurant was not in violation of the city’s laws.
An irony rarely mentioned is that Geno’s is adjacent to a Mexican restaurant that is covered in signs in the Spanish language.
Mr. Vento became active in the Tea Party movement and produced popular radio advertisements criticizing Sen. Arlen Specter and non-enforcement of immigration laws.
“Joey was a great supporter of our Tea Party group and the Tea Party movement,” said Teri Adams, president of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association. “He was the most beloved conservative figure regionally and was well known and well respected nationally. We lost a one-of-kind hero who told it like it was and leaves a tremendous void. He was such a good man. Our hearts are broken!”
Mr. Vento practically died on the job. He had gone to the restaurant yesterday morning as he normally did and phoned in a bread order from his home at 6 p.m. He told his wife, Eileen, he wasn’t feeling well then went to lie down in the bedroom, where he was found.
Mr. Vento is also survived by a son, Geno, for whom the restaurant is named.
Joey Vento R.I.P.
Pa.’s Liberal Dailies Form Cross-State Alliance
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News — which is now calling itself one publication with regard to circulation — announced, yesterday, Aug. 22, that it has made a formal agreement with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “will result in more shared content and joint endeavors for both editorial and business purposes.”
Yes, this means they will be offering advertising packages.
This also said the will “work together to avoid duplication of stories.”
One foresees some more media layoffs in Pennsylvania.
The Inquirer/Daily News is the largest newspaper in the state with a circulation of 343,710 as of March 31.
The Post-Gazette is the third largest with a circulation of 187,237.
The conservative Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is second largest with a circulation of 190,625.
Last month, Alden Global Capital — the hedge fund with a “significant stake” in the corporate owners of the Inquirer/Daily News — announced it acquired Journal Register Co., the company that owns most of the newspapers in suburban Philadelphia.
New York State Of Decline
New York State Of Decline — When lamenting the decline of Pennsylvania — it was the second most populous state a century ago — just look north to feel a tad better.
The New York Post is reporting that 1.6 million people — about a population about the size of Philadelphia — left New York State in the last decade.
The number is balanced somewhat by New York City being a immigration magnet — U.S. Census figures actually show the Empire State gaining 400,000 people between 2000 and 2010 — but it appears they start to flee soon after arriving.
New York is ruled by “progressives.” Progressive policies equal poverty and decline.
New York State Of Decline
Ray Stevens Off The Internet
Best Patients — Off The Internet
Courtesy of Donna M
Best Patients — Five surgeons from big cities are discussing who makes the best patient to operate on.
The first surgeon, from New York , says, “I like to see accountants on my operating table because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered..”
The second, from Chicago , responds, “Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded.”
The third surgeon, from Dallas , says, “No, I really think librarians are the best, everything inside them is in alphabetical order”
The fourth surgeon, from Los Angeles chimes in: “You know, I like construction workers… Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over.”
But the fifth surgeon, from Washington DC , shut them all up when he observed: “You’re all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There’s no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains, and no spine. Plus, the head and the ass are interchangeable
Global Warming May Cause Alien Attack Says PSU Pundit
Global Warming May Cause Alien Attack Says PSU Pundit — An astrobiologist affiliated with Penn State and NASA has co-written a paper suggesting signals to space be curtailed since they might inspire aliens to attack us due to our slowness in dealing with global warming.
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, along with fellow scientists Seth D. Baum, and Jacob D. Haqq-Misra, issue this dire warning in their paper Would contact with extraterrestrials benefit or harm humanity? A scenario analysis which is now making international news.
Granted these smart people posit possible positive contacts with ETs such as advancement in knowledge and such.
And they note that in the event of a hostile encounter we might heroically triumph over them or be saved via intervention by a second group of aliens.
And you kind of wonder how much tax money went into producing this stuff.
Those who support shoveling this money at Domagal-Goldman et al are the same ones who laugh at those who have expressed skepticism of evolution such as Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann.
It seem the less you fear God the more likely you are to fear invisible men in the sky.
It should be noted that TV and radio broadcasts are among the signals we send into outer space.
Global Warming May Cause Alien Attack Says PSU Pundit
Drainage System For Cop Hill
Drainage System For Cop Hill — The photo shows the status of the drainage system being placed on “Cop Hill” in Springfield, Pa. as of 2:30 the afternoon of Aug. 18.
“Cop Hill”, is the local name for the popular sledding spot in front of the township building/police station that slopes to South Brookside Road.
The unearthed boulders that have aroused the curiosity of some township residents are going to be used by contractor A Gargiule & Sons for a project in another township.
Drainage System For Cop Hill
Mayor Nutter’s Curfew Isn’t A Solution
Mayor Nutter’s Curfew Isn’t A Solution
The televised images of violence and looting triggered one recurring thought in many people: This isn’t supposed to happen in our civilized cities. No, we’re not just talking about in London, but right here in Philadelphia, as flash mobs have grown more frequent—and more violent.
To deal with mobs—which keep residents barricaded in their homes and visitors out of the city—Mayor Michael Nutter has instituted a citywide curfew. In and of itself, the curfew isn’t a bad idea, but that seems to be the Mayor’s only answer, and that’s the real problem.
Curfews are short-term, reactive tools of government, a tactic rather than a strategy. While people feel safer—which is important to keep society functioning—the false sense of security that a curfew provides often evaporates when the situation doesn’t stabilize or the curfew is lifted.
They are simply too expensive and resource-intensive to be permanently maintained. Police become bogged down in the menial work of processing curfew violators and contacting their parents (who will be hit with fines they can’t afford), instead of focusing on the real criminals prowling the city.
The other downside is that curfews create resentment among those affected—most of whom are law-abiding citizens—because an entire group now becomes classified as criminals for doing something that two weeks ago was perfectly legal. The majority are punished for the actions of very few.
Measures that are perceived to unfairly target people based on age, skin color and gender will only enflame tensions, not soothe them. And as a result, people take on the persona of that which they are accused of being.
Curfew aside, perhaps the focus should be on targeting actual crime, and concentrating on the arrest of actual criminals (not curfew violators). If police catch the bad guys, prosecutors gain convictions, and judges hand down tough sentences, we’d be light years ahead of where we are today.
Here’s the bottom line: You don’t solve a crime problem by making something a crime that is now not a crime. So why do we do these things? Because they’re easy and make good 30-second sound bites. While the Mayor wants us to believe that the curfew will make everything right, in reality we are left with a city that is no safer in the long run.
Beyond the curfew, what does the Mayor suggest to solve the problem? He says parents and children need to “get their act together” and that there will be a “zero tolerance” for this type of behavior.
Some parents absolutely need to get their act together, but for many, they are doing all the right things yet are still swimming against the tide. Things that would improve their situation are out of their control, and the person who could fix the problems—the Mayor—chooses not to.
Too bad Michael Nutter doesn’t employ a zero-tolerance policy where it’s needed most: educational failure and businesses fleeing the city.
* * *
Solve the Problem Sure, there is an element in every society that is violent and lawless, and nothing can ever change that. The only solution for those thugs is a life in prison.
But for the majority of others, crime doesn’t have to be a way of life, but often is because of the lack of opportunities, both educationally and professionally. That’s where bold leadership comes into play, the ability to reverse years of decline with real solutions to the toughest problems.
Unfortunately, this Mayor is totally lacking in that category.
As I’ve repeatedly noted, the core reason for our situation is the horrendously bad educational system, which directly results in the lack of hope for young people.
There is simply no possibility of receiving a quality education in Philadelphia, despite taxpayers spending more than $17,000 per student, per year. Some schools are deathtraps and, incomprehensibly, many sport graduation rates in the 20s and 30s—and that’s after a huge number have already dropped out. Despite all the rhetoric promising to turn things around, they have only gotten worse.
When the most basic life skills are lacking, the prospects for a decent job are virtually nonexistent, so many of our youth see the dream of a stable and prosperous life as nothing more than an illusion. Faith is lost.
If young people feel they have nothing to live for, they resort to criminal activity. The youths committing these crimes figure that, before they are 30, they’ll either be dead or in jail. The “I’ve got nothing to lose” attitude turns them into predators, and law-abiding citizens become their prey.
When education is trumped by survival, everybody loses. But no one wants to fix the problem, instead pretending that more money is the solution. Wrong—it isn’t. Only educational competition—school choice—can turn things around. But it isn’t happening, so another generation will be lost while gutless politicians continue their inane babble that accomplishes nothing.
And speaking of competition, is it any wonder why Philadelphia can’t compete with the nation’s cities that are growing? Could it have something to do with the fact that, cumulatively, it’s the highest-taxed city in the country? And that the situation is only worsening?
Under the Mayor’s watch, property taxes have gone through the roof, the city portion of the sales tax has increased 100 percent, pension payments have been deferred, and numerous other taxes and fees have been instituted or proposed. And that’s in addition to what was already a crushing tax load.
It’s a simple cause and effect. Businesses flee the city or refuse to relocate here. The resulting lack of opportunities in turn triggers despair and increased crime. As the recently released Pew survey showed, residents who can depart Philadelphia do, leaving behind an underclass with scant opportunities and even less hope.
You wouldn’t treat a heart attack victim by giving him an aspirin, since that would only be treating a symptom. In Philadelphia, curfews and feel-good fairy tale rhetoric have become the “cure” but do nothing other than speed up the city’s death spiral.
* * *
Until leaders with a true understanding of the problems—and how to solve them—take control, citizens will continue to be held hostage to terrorizing thugs, and brazen crime sprees will increase. Whether it’s flash mobs, riots, brutal subway attacks, or cops in the crosshairs, it’s clear that respect for authority is waning, and no one is off limits to the predators.
Create opportunity, and you create stability. People with good jobs buy houses, have families and become productive, law-abiding citizens with an incentive to keep their neighborhoods safe. Ignore the problems, and you have a powder keg ready to explode. With nothing to lose, all bets are off—and society takes a hit.
Anything less than real solutions will make flash mobs more than just a flash in the pan, but an unfortunate part of everyday city life.
Mayor Nutter’s Curfew Isn’t A Solution
Yankee Hipster Go Home
Yankee Hipster Go Home — The man who made the Obama “hope” posters that were so cool back in 2008 found his buzz harshed in Denmark Aug. 7.
Shepard Fairey and his colleague Romeo Trinidad were kicked and punched outside a Copenhagen nightclub after the unveiling of his exhibit commemorating the infamous “Ungdomshuset” (youth house) at Jagtvej 69, which had been the base for city’s leftwing community until it was demolished in 2007.
Fairey’s assailants accused him of being a member of the “Obama illuminati” and told him to “go back to America”.
Graffiti was later found on his artwork saying “no peace” and “go home, Yankee hipster.”
Fairey said that the hostility from the proletariat was due to a misunderstanding, and that he wished to make it clear to the masses of little people that he was not on the side of the authorities.
Yankee Hipster Go Home