Adolph To Speak To Patriots

State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165) of Springfield will be speaking to the Delaware County Patriots, 7 p.m., May 19 at the Knights of Columbus Hall,  327 N. Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.

Adolph chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

The Patriots is the county’s Tea Party group.

Insurgents Fall In GOP State Races; Dem Battle Close

The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judges who actively sought Tea Party support fell handily  to the endorsed candidates in the Republican Primary state judicial races.

With 97 percent of the returns tallied, Paula Patrick was trailing Harrisburg attorney Vic Stabile  361,772 votes  to 190,231 in the Superior Court race, while Paul Panepinto had 167,455 votes to Anne Covey’s 386,751 in the Commonwealth Court race.

The 15-member Superior Court is the intermediate appellate court for civil and criminal cases from county Common Pleas Courts. The nine-member Commonwealth Court is the
intermediate appellate court for issues involving taxation, banking,
insurance, utility regulation, eminent domain, election, labor
practices, elections, Department of Transportation matters, and liquor
licenses
.

On the Democrat side, party-endorsed Kathryn Boockvar, a private attorney known for her work with activist groups, was leading Barbara Behrend Ernsberger 300,389 votes to 297,635 to be the Commonwealth Court candidate.

On some local notes, incumbent Springfield (Delco) 6th Ward Commissioner Bob Layden appears to have held off a challenge from former commissioner Jim Devenney, who resigned after a minor scandal involving family memberships to the township swim club. The unofficial tally is 437 to 396.

And Tea Party activists Lisa Esler and John Dougherty 3rd will be on both party ballots in this November’s Penn Delco School Board race. Elections are being held for five seats. Cross filing is allowed in Pennsylvania school board races which means that in this fall’s race ticket totals will be combined to determine the winners.

Mrs. Esler had the most votes of six candidates on the Democrat side with 424, and had the third highest tally out of seven candidates on the GOP side with 1,239.

Dougherty had the most votes on the GOP side with 1,534 and the second highest total on the Democrat side with 377.

The candidates who won on both tickets — additionally Kevin Tinsley and Kimberly Robinson — while having a significant advantage do not have a guaranteed victory. Lewis Boughner appears to have failed to win on the Democrat ticket while James S. Porter 2nd appears to have failed to win on the Republican one, so there will be six people seeking five seats. It is in the realm of possibility that a person appearing on just one ballot will be among the top five votegetters.

In Newtown, embattled supervisor Linda Houldin was crushed 1,732 votes to 480 votes  in her GOP primary by former Marple Newtown School Director Edward C. Partridge. Partridge had sought Tea Party support.

The Sweet Life Of A Pa. Mandarin

Reader TomC has sent me a link to this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story noting that two dozen state employees in education-related agencies earn $200,000 or more, and that they are among nearly 3,600 state employees paid at least $100,000 annually.

And, that doesn’t even count those in superintendents, and assistant superintendents and assistant to assistant superintendents in local education who rake in $100,000-plus.

And that doesn’t even count their health packages and taxpayer-bailed out pension plans that will allow them to earn near that much after they become officially unproductive.

Primary Election Day 2011 In Pa.

Pennsylvania voters will cast ballots tomorrow, May 17, to determine the candidates in November for municipal, school board and judicial elections.

The state defines municipalities as counties, cities, boroughs and townships.

Turnout in these election is usually low with the turnout in the primary usually being even lower. The only state-wide races involve the Supreme Court, Commonwealth Court and Superior Court.

Seeking the Republican nomination to Superior Court  — a 15-member body that is the intermediate appellate court for civil and criminal cases from county Common Pleas Courts — are Vic Stabile and Paula Patrick.

Stabile, who has been with the law firm Dilworth Paxon LLP since 1987 and has been a managing partner since 1992, is the endorsed candidate. He has never served on the bench.

Ms. Patrick, an African-American, is a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge who is fearlessly taking on the establishment by seeking out the support of Tea Party groups.
She unabashedly told the Delaware County Patriots on March 24 that she is   pro life, pro Second Amendment, pro traditional marriage and a Born Again Christian.

Democrat David Wecht is uncontested in the Democrat Superior Court race.

Seeking the Republican nomination to Commonwealth Court — a nine-member body that is the intermediate appellate court for issues involving taxation, banking, insurance, utility regulation, eminent domain, election, labor practices, elections, Department of Transportation matters, and liquor licenses — are Paul P. Panepinto and Anne Covey.

Ms. Covey is the endorsed candidate and, like Stabile, is a private attorney who never served on the bench.

Panepinto, like Ms. Patrick, is a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge who is seeking Tea Party support and touting his pro-life, pro-Second Amendment views.

Ms. Covey is also touting her pro life beliefs and has endorsements from the major pro-life groups.

Facing off on the Democrat ticket are Kathryn Boockvar and Barbara Ernsberger. Both are private attorneys. Ms. Boockvar is the endorsed candidate and has a history of working with legal activist groups.

Up for retention elections this November are:

Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin, who won election to the court in 2001 as a Republican and is known for writing decisions in rhyming verse. To his credit, his biggest critics of this practice have been former Supreme Court colleagues Stephen A. Zappala and the late Ralph Cappy, neither of whom was known as shining examples of jurisprudence.

Superior Court Judge John T. Bender, who won as a Republican in 2001

Superior Court Judge Mary Jane Bowes, who won as a Republican in 2001.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, who won as a Republican in 2001. She is the wife of former State Sen. Majority Leader Robert Jubelirer, who was turned out of office in his party’s primary in 2006 due to the pay raise scandal.

Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt, who won as a Republican in 2001

Robert “Robin” Simpson, who won as a Republican in 2001.

On a local note, Lisa Esler  of the Delaware County Patriots is seeking a seat on the Penn-Delco School Board.


Quote Of The Day From Honest Abe

I will not affirm that the Democratic party consider slavery morally, socially and politically right, though their tendency to that view has, in my opinion, been constant and unmistakable for the past five years.

Sept. 13, 1858 in Edwardsville, Ill.

Illegals Collect Benefits

Dot Hayer, our correspondent for Northeast Pennsylvania, reports that our Federales, as one suspects they will soon be calling themselves, forced the release of a Mexican man who had been living illegally in this country  for six years while apparently fraudulently collecting benefits.

Oswaldo Tlamis-Perez, 30, was stopped by Beaver Meadows Police Chief  Michael Morresi for speeding and showed him a Mexican registration card as identification along with two public benefit Access cards bearing different names. He also had $3,000 in cash.

The Access card is an electronic benefits transfer card now used in Pennsylvania in lieu of food stamps.

Tlamis-Perez was taken to the State Police barracks in Hazleton and agents of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  were contacted. ICE determined Tlamis-Perez had been living in the U.S. illegally for six years then told Beaver Meadows to let him go as he was not “a priority case”.

So Chief Morresi cited him for speeding and driving without a license and dropped him off at the Luzerne County line. Beaver Meadows is in Carbon County.

State Rep. Tara Toohil (R-116) and Congressman Lou Barletta (R-11) are demanding answers from the Obama administration.

And the people of Luzerne County are likely thinking a moat filled with alligators would look pretty good on the border.

Illegals Collect Benefits

Illegals Collect Benefits

4 Newtown Officials Face Charges

(From correspondent Pattie Price)

Criminal charges were filed Monday, May 9, against two Newtown Township employees and two township elected officials. All four are facing charges of theft by unlawful taking and theft of services in connection with the Federal Express investigation.

Newtown Supervisor George Wood, 68, of the 4000 block of Goshen Road; Newtown tax collector Marie Richards, 58, of the 300 block of Pomona Avenue; Newtown assistant to the township manager George Clement; and secretary Gwen Toyzer are charged with using the township Federal Express account of their personal business.

According to the affidavits filed by CID Detective Robert Lythgoe, an investigation of the alleged fraud revealed $1209.99 was paid to Federal Express for personal business.

Mrs. Toyzer sent seven packages totaling $1,086.57; Wood sent two packages totaling $21.45; Mrs. Richards sent two packages totaling $32.66; and Clement sent four packages totaling $90.76.

The affidavit also states that when the four were confronted with the allegations they all admitted the illegal use of the township’s Federal Express account and all made restitution.

A hearing scheduled May 26 in Newtown District Court will most likely be transferred to another District Court.

N.J. Asks Your Papers, Please

N.J. Asks Your Papers, Please — What some have come to enduringly take for granted others find to be a revelation.

A discussion the other day with some friends from New Jersey unveiled to me what they must go through to renew their drivers license, namely a series of identification documents identity one which may be the old drivers license with others being birth certificates or passports.

It’s almost like one was running for president.

Just kidding.

My friends told me further that if one used a birth certificate the name must perfectly match what was one drivers license records, which could cause headaches if a woman began using her husband’s name or one stopped using a  middle initial.

Then one also had to provide proof of address such as a utility bill or property tax statement.

Contrast this with Pennsylvania where one merely takes the card PennDOT sends you to a drivers license center and one gets a new photo snapped.

New Jersey, of course, is not alone in its paranoia but as Benjamin Franklin said “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

The Garden State certainly seems ignorant about the directions as to how one catches a wild pig.

 

N.J. Asks Your Papers, Please

Stupidity, Death And Eric Holder

A shameful scandal concerning the death of a Border Patrol agent is starting to creep into the public consciousness.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) began a program in 2005 called Project Gunrunner in which American dealers knowingly sold guns to straw buyers for transfer to criminals in Mexico to set them up for arrest.

By early 2009, it had resulted in charges being filed against 1,400 persons.

In October of that year, the ATF decided to stomp on the accelerator with a Project Gunrunner operation they named “Fast and Furious”.

This plan was objected to by agents on the ground and by the gun dealers as well, but arms were twisted to get them in line and it went into effect. Within 15 months almost 1,800 weapons, most of which were AK-47 semi-automatic rifles, went over the border. The Mexican government was never told. These guns were used in the commission of a host of crimes including the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on Dec. 14, 2010.

Terry’s murder led to ATF agent John Dodson going public with the travesty.

And this has led to congressional hearings.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who oversees the ATF and under whose watch Fast and Furious happened, had this heated exchange Tuesday, May 3, with Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA49) during a hearing before the House’s Judiciary Committee.

Stupidity, Death And Eric Holder

Stupidity, Death And Eric Holder