Churches Charities Allowed Better Prizes

Churches Charities Allowed Better Prizes — A grand isn’t what it was, so the Pennsylvania legislature has for the first time since 1988 updated the state’s Small Games of Chance Act to increase  limits for prize payouts for contests run nonprofit associations, charitable organizations and other civic groups.

The law raises the limit from $500 to $1,000 for daily drawings, from $5,000 to $25,000 for weekly drawings and from $5,000 to $10,000 for raffles per calendar month.

The bill amending the act, HB 169, awaits the governor’s expected signature.

The Senate amended the bill to include measures that permit fire and emergency services to hold a raffle with $50,000 prize limits and to require clubs with liquor licenses to submit semi-annual reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

Hat tip State Rep Jim Cox (R-129)

 

Churches Charities Allowed Better Prizes

Medicare Fraud Connection Mitt’s Latest Headache

Medicare Fraud Connection Mitt’s Latest Headache — Democrats and supporters of Newt Gingrich are now bringing out Willard Mitt Romney’s connection to Damon Corp, a medical testing company, which  paid  $119 million in fines and civil settlements concerning Medicare fraud in 1996.

Damon was taken over by Romney’s Bain Capital in 1989 and Romney sat on its board from 1990 until 1993 when it was sold to Corning Inc.

The fraud — in which Medicare paid for unnecessary lab work, and a lot of unnecessary lab work it was — allegedly occurred during Romney’s tenure.

Here is a link to the web expose produced by Winning Our Future, a pro-Gingrich super-PAC.

Hat tip, Tom Flocco.



Medicare Fraud Connection Mitt’s Latest Headache

Bill Gives Women Right To See Sonogram

Bill Gives Women Right To See Sonogram — In the month marking the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, several House members held an event in Harrisburg this week to urge action on the Women’s Right-to-Know Act, said State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

House Bill 1077 would offer every pregnant woman in Pennsylvania seeking an abortion the opportunity to view and receive a printed copy of an ultrasound image of her unborn child. In addition, any questions a woman would have as a result of the ultrasound, including those involving gestational age and general developmental health, would have to be answered fully and completely. The bill would not require a woman to view the ultrasound and would waive one in the event of a medical emergency. Similar legislation has been introduced in 20 other states.

The bill is in the House Health Committee.

 

Bill Gives Women Right To See Sonogram

Roger Howard Explains Pileggi Challenge

Roger Howard Explains Pileggi Challenge — Roger Howard in his own press release spells out why he is challenging Pa. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) in this April’s primary.

Here it is, with a hat tip to Bob Guzzardi:

Roger Howard will be challenging Senator Dominic Pileggi in the Republican Primary.  This is the first ever Primary challenge for Pileggi.

Howard, who is seeking to be a citizen legislator, was moved to enter politics after watching the Republican Senate leadership in Harrisburg fail to pass badly needed reforms.  Reforms, he says, which are critical to growing the economy of the District and the Commonwealth.  Unfunded pension liabilities, fraud and abuse of entitlements and a continuation of the Harrisburg ‘political favor factory’ are among top of the list.

“Harrisburg has me worried,” Howard said, “When the Republicans took over Harrisburg in the 2010 elections we, the voters, were promised bold action.  What we have seen is maintaining the status quo; which is to spend now and let future generations pay later.  I can’t sit by and do nothing, as our legislators have done.”

“We are truly a grassroots movement against politics as usual in Harrisburg.  People are fed up and are being energized and involved to secure the financial future for our children and grandchildren.  We are tired of seeing our kids grow up here, get the best education here and then have to leave because there are no jobs,” Howard said.

Roger Howard is a retired chemical engineer who has lived in the 9th Senatorial District for over 20 years.  He served honorably in the 82nd Airborne Division.  He is the proud father of 5 daughters and grandfather to 8 grandkids.  As a patent holder and small businessman he understands how to support entrepreneurs and small businesses.   He is a member of the Coalition of Advancing Freedom in Chester County and has volunteered on local campaigns.  In addition, Howard teaches free Constitutional classes with a focus on securing the blessings of liberty by being informed and involved in government at all levels.

 

Roger Howard Explains Pileggi Challenge

Exercise Tips For The Day

Experts say that just about the best exercises for the time-constrained office rat are squats, which work the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves; and push ups which strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs.

For the squat, stand with feet hip-width apart and toes straight ahead. Bend the knees to the
floor, keeping the torso straight and abs pulled in tight. Keep your
knees behind your toes. Do not go lower than 90 degrees. Do 10 reps a day.

For  push-ups, face the floor, balancing on
your toe and hands. The hands should be wider than shoulders and the body in a straight line.  Neither sag nor stick your tail in the air.

Bend your arms and lower your body
to the floor, stopping when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Exhale and
push back up. Do 20 and take a 60-second break. Then do 20 more on your knuckles. You can vary this by putting your feet on a chair.

Now, if you are the type of person who tries to do wheelies on a bicycle at age 50 you’ll have probably broken your leg by now. Feel free to ignore this advice. You cannot do these exercises with a broken leg.

GOP Should Not Deny Secret Ballot For Endorsement Vote

By Chris Freind

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA),
commonly known as “Card Check,” is the misnamed legislation promoted by
Organized Labor to stop the hemorrhaging within union ranks. (From a
high near 40 percent after World War II, union representation in the
private sector has plummeted to just 7 percent today). It would make
organizing a union infinitely easier by eliminating the current secret
ballot vote used to determine whether employees wish to unionize.

Common
sense tells us that whenever a secret ballot is not employed, many
people will not vote their conscience. Instead, they fall victim to
intimidation and arm-twisting, and end up casting a ballot in favor of
the person whom they are strongly encouraged – AKA “told” – to support.
The result is a rigged, Banana Republic election, anything but “Free
Choice.”

The Republican Party, on both the state and national
level, has vigorously opposed Card Check, not only because it is grossly
unfair to companies, but much more important, because it would
cavalierly discard that most fundamental American bedrock value: free
and fair elections. It is a right that has been held sacred in this
nation, and has allowed the people to chart their own course and make
their own decisions, free of outside influence and intimidation.

Given
this, it seems extremely hypocritical that the Republican State
Committee of Pennsylvania — while opposing Card Check – jettisons free
and fair voting for its own members by refusing to allow secret ballot
votes on important issues, such as Party endorsements.

And now,
on the eve of the meeting in which the Committee will vote whether to
endorse a candidate for the U.S. Senate (or not endorse at all), that
issue has become a firestorm that is only growing in intensity.

The
big question centers on whether the Party will endorse millionaire
Steve Welch, a favorite among several GOP leaders, including Republican
Gov. Tom Corbett. The problem many have with Welch is that he voted for
Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary and supported former
Congressman Joe Sestak, a stalwart liberal consistently to the Left of
Obama. Welch claims he left the GOP out of frustration that it wasn’t
conservative enough, leaving more than a few Republicans perplexed.

(In
an email to PoliticsPA this week, Sestak wrote of his meeting with
Welch: “He expressed support of me and what I stood for. He seemed nice
and, separately, supportive of the Democratic Party and its efforts.”)

So
would the Party really risk massive damage to itself by endorsing an
Obama-voter, and make the sin mortal by doing so without a secret
ballot?

They can’t be that dumb.

But this being Pennsylvania’s Republican Party, all bets are off.

Should they endorse Welch, it will
be a double whammy, throwing the entire Party into a quagmire from which
it would be difficult to escape.

State Committee would cement
the perception that its endorsements are behind-the-scenes deals by
inside powerbrokers hell-bent on executing individual agendas – the
rank-and-file Party faithful be damned. More damaging, it would play out
– in full public view – exactly how ruthlessly efficient Card Check
tactics are, making unions blush with envy.

How could Party
leaders possibly explain with a straight face that the process was fair,
and that no political pressure and intimidation took place – when Gov.
Corbett and certain State Committee leaders were openly pushing Welch?
Would it really be plausible to believe that the message “do it for the
Party, and do it for your Governor – or else your political career stops
here” wouldn’t be made loud and clear?

Even more telling, how
could the Party explain Committee members’ change of heart in endorsing
Welch after only one of five State Committee regional caucus straw polls
voted for Welch as their candidate of choice? In other words, of the
five regional “pre-election” votes that took place – voted on by the
very same people who are now being asked to change their vote and
endorse Welch -only one made Welch a winner. Significantly, Welch’s own
Southeast Caucus refused to hold a straw poll, and Corbett was not even
able to deliver his hometown Southwest Caucus for Welch.

This is
by no means an indictment of Steve Welch. It has nothing to do with him,
and everything to do with the Republican Party. Clearly, in this
particular situation, the wisest course of action would be to ignore the
Governor’s misguided endorsement and refuse to endorse any candidate.

In
allowing grassroots Republicans across Pennsylvania to make their
choice, free of Party endorsements, a civil war inside the GOP would be
averted, and the best candidate — the people’s choice – would emerge
to take on incumbent Bob Casey. And if Welch wins a non-endorsement
primary, his victory would not be tainted with the perception that he
“bought” his way to the nomination. Regardless of the outcome, no one
can argue with the results if rank-and-file Republican voters make that
decision.

Besides gaining immense credibility with many
Republicans should it not endorse a candidate, State Committee could
score a huge coup by then amending its bylaws to allow for that which is
uniquely American: secret ballot elections.

Otherwise, it will become known as Republican State Committee, Local 666.

Haditha Drama Ends With Near Exoneration

Haditha Drama Ends With Near Exoneration — The big story of ’05 is over and it turns out that U.S. Marines did not murder 24 innocent Iraqis in a blood-thirsty, kill-crazy rage in complete violation of the laws of war and Uniform Code of Military Justice despite the claims to the contrary by Time Magazine, the British film industry and a deceased Pennsylvania congressman.

And you saw all the headlines and broadcasts declaring such, right?

SSgt Frank Wuterich pleaded guilty to one count of “negligent dereliction of duty” on Jan. 23. He will be reduced in rank to a private but serve no jail time.

He had been charged with murder.

Of the seven other Marines indicted charges were, over the years, dismissed against LCpl. Stephen Tatum, LCpl. Justin Sharratt, Capt. Lucas McConnell, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, and Capt. Randy Stone, while Lt. Andrew Grayson was found not guilty on all counts and no misconduct was found by LtCol Jeffrey Chessani.

On Nov. 19, 2005, a 500-pound improvised explosive device destroyed a humvee killing Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas and seriously wounding two others in Haditha, Iraq. Wuterich’s squad was ordered to clear out some nearby houses to find the bomb’s triggerman and suppress snipers. The Marines threw hand grenades into the buildings before entering. Many of the dead were women and children.

Bad, yes, but as the trials unfolded it became clear the Marines had not acted for vengeance or were in violation of their training.

Wuterich accepted guilt for negligent dereliction of duty because he admitted uttering “shoot first, ask questions later” in the heat of battle.

Compare that to the statement by the late  John Murtha (D-Pa12) who ascertained on May 17, 2006 in the comfort and safety of the floor of Congress: “There was no firefight, there was no IED
that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the
pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood”.

Murtha’s  malicious claim authoritatively stated as fact  was instrumental in sending  eight men — men who had forwent comfort and risked their lives to keep this country safe —  through a half-decade of hell.

Murtha died in 2010. He has an airport named for him in Johnston, and a statue in a city park.

Kudos to warchronicle.com which provided excellent day-to-day coverage of the Wuterich trial.

 

Haditha Drama Ends With Near Exoneration

Coalition For Romney

The forces pushing for Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee include — as one expects — the don’t-rock-the-boat crony capitalists and government insiders for whom the status quo has given comfortable lives.

Joining them, however, are erstwhile firebrands such as Ann Coulter and Matt Drudge, whose DrudgeReport this morning, Jan. 26, featured nine wildly anti-Gingrich stories.

What’s up with that?

It seem the common denominator for Romney supporters are the never having felt the fear of meeting a payroll filled with people one knows and likes, or wondering how one is going to stay in business with the cost of transportation, energy and supplies exploding.

Or working for someone one knows and likes and sees sweating over what sacrifices to make.

Drudge, by the way, is not simply anti-Newt. He was hard on Rick Perry and Herman Cain as well.

I’d vote for Paris Hilton over Barack Obama, but Willard Mitt Romney is my last choice as the GOP nominee.

Meehan Only Hero In ConocoPhillips Tragedy

Meehan Only Hero In ConocoPhillips Tragedy — ConocoPhillips announced billions in profits, yesterday, shortly before it was expected to layoff its workforce at its refinery in Trainer, Pa.

This has resulted in outrage, and there should be outrage. Not just an employer but a major part of our industrial infrastructure is shutting down.

Where is the attempt to save it?

ConocoPhillips spokesman Rich Johnson explained the reasoning for the closing as being “based on the level of investment required to remain competitive in the U.S. East Coast refining market that has been under severe market pressure for several years.”

He cited product imports, weakness in motor fuel demand and costly regulatory requirements as the cause of this market pressure.

Where were our politicians in demanding relief from these requirements? Congressman Pat Meehan (R-7) is the closest thing we have to a hero on this and even he could have been a lot louder.

Congressmen Bob Brady (D-1) and Chaka Fattah (D-2) have been dead silent on the issue. One of the similarly endangered Sunoco refineries is in Fattah’s district and Brady’s district includes many of refinery workers.

How about the union leaders? Notice Johnson was not blaming labor costs for the closings? Why do they continue to support politicians who want to regulate away our industry?

Our senators Pat Toomey (R) and Bob Casey (D) haven’t been particularly outspoken on providing relief for the refineries and their workers.

And of course there is President Obama. Obama didn’t even make the feeblest effort to save them and it would have been likely been all that it would have taken. Does Obama want to destroy our industry? I fear the answer to that.

So outrage is warranted but don’t direct it all at the oil company.

Springfield (Delco) To Crack Down On Yard Sales

The Springfield (Pa) Commissioners, Jan. 10, had the first reading of an ordinance that would restrict yard sales by residents.  Residents would be limited to two a year and have to pay a $10 fee per sale.

Whose egregious abuse of residential zoning is causing such action to come about? You know who you are on West Springfield Road and on North Rolling Road.