Sestak Explains Vote To Impoverish Children

I just got a response from Congressman Joe “I-Believe-The-World-Is-Burning-To-The-Ground” Sestak  explaining why he disregarded  my request and voted for the Impoverish American Children Act  that passed the House, June 26.

The bill sets limits on U.S. energy production ostensibly to fight global warming.

Sane people understand that it will dramatically raise the cost of everything from heat to food to transportation to clothing to Christmas toys and make our lives poorer. 

Especially the children.

Sestak’s response was basically a long data dump that said he believed the world is burning to the ground and that his experts were right and the experts cited by those that don’t share his view are wrong.

See the response here.

Since life is short and should be enjoyed let’s discount–except for maybe a snicker or grimace —Sestak’s experts that say economic disruption will be minimal, and get right to the world is burning to the ground part.

Now, we can have a fight of my experts vs your experts about this but we don’t  have to do that either.

Let’s just use common sense.

Say you really, really were convinced that CO2 emissions were going to cause a huge increase in temperature that would kill tens or hundreds of millions and drastically change life as we know it for the worse for those that survive.

Would you support this cap and trade garbage? 

Of course not.  It would be like trying to bail out the ocean with a tablespoon.

What you would do — assuming you were rational and of average intelligence — would demand that every CO2 emitting electrical generator be replaced within 18-months by a non-CO2 emitting nuclear or hydro-electric plants. It should go without saying that you would be screaming against the plans to remove the hydro-electric dams on the Klamath River on the California-Oregon border that provide electricity for 70,000 homes.

But Sestak’s not doing that. He’s actually defending the fact that the bill does not count electricity generated by nuclear power by renewable energy standard designed to encourage windmills.

You would also be fighting to make shipping and motor vehicular transportation more efficient by waiving affirmative action and Davis-Bacon requirements for road construction at the sites of traffic bottlenecks and making the West Coast longshoreman unions concede to reforms allowing for faster shipment turnarounds.

But Sestak isn’t doing that either.

What Sestak is doing is trying to lead us into Foxy Loxy’s den.

ObamaCare, Edward G. Robinson and Soylent Green

Buried on pages 425-431 of  the 1018 page ObamaCare health bill are mandates for end-of-life counseling. The wording is very reasonable but don’t kid yourself — the idea is that people dependent on government compensation are going to try sell you something and, given human nature, that something is going to be guided by their own convenience and not your or your loved ones’ benefit.

To get an idea as to what the convenience would be rent Soylent Green and imagine yourself as Edward G. Robinson on that last conveyor belt.

If you are more heroically inclined rent Logan’s Run and think of yourself as leading Jenny Agutter to freedom.

That those who provide service can’t be harmed financially if you fail to use it is the big problem with government programs that for some reason is not taught in our government-run schools, which, coincidentally I’m sure, are staffed by people who can’t be harmed financially if you don’t use the service.

The entire 1018-page bill can be found at http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Hello Emma Maureen Guertin

Financial wizard extraordinaire Jerry Guertin and wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of Emma Maureen who was born July 3 six hours before the 4th.

She weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 oz.
Jerry is a vice president and financial consultant at Citizens Investment Services. Among the Citizens Bank branches  from which he works is  the one on Woodland Avenue in Springfield, (Delaware County) Pa. 

Who Is Jim Thompson?

Who Is Jim Thompson? — MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann heard via “whisper down the lane” that the conservative newsgroup FreeRepublic.Com had posted obnoxious (and racist)  comments about President Obama’s daughter after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace-sign.

Well, rather than checking things out as a non-sports journalist would do and learn that the vile statements were quickly removed and repudiated he decided to name FreeRepublic’s founder and owner “Jim Thompson” as “worst person in the world”.

What happened, however, was that Olbermann’s incompetency was displayed to the world. The founder and owner of FreeRepublic.com is named Jim Robinson, and by all accounts is a pretty tolerant and decent guy.

Olbermann, however, did manage to start a meme:

Who is Jim Thompson?

He’s the one that’s all around in the dark. He’s the one that’s everywhere–wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat; wherever there’s acop beating up a guy.

He’s in the way guys yell when they’re mad and in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready

And when our people eat the stuff they raise, and live in the houses they build, he’s there too.

That’s who Jim Thompson is.

See: http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm

Will Ed Still Write To Vince?

Gov. Ed Rendell was among those sending a letter to U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter  praising convict Vince Fumo and urging an easy sentence. Will Ed Still Write To Vince?

Who says there is no honor among thieves?

It didn’t do that much good. Buckwalter gave Fumo –who was ranking the Democrat on the state Senate Appropriations Committee until his indictment in February 2007– 55 months today for his conviction on 137 federal corruption charges.

Hey, it’s still half-a-year less than what his predecessor as the people’s representative from  South Philadelphia’s 1st Senatorial District — Buddy Cianfrani — got in 1978. Take heart, Vince. Buddy was out in 27 months.

Also sending a letter of support for Fumo was former State Supreme Court Judge Sandra Schultz Newman, a Republican.

For an interesting explanation of Pennsylvania politics read the book by former Delaware Countian and judicial reformer (and martyr) Bob Surrick: “Lawyers, Judges and Journalists: The Corrupt and the Corrupters”. Free chapters can be found here: surrickbook.com/free.htm.

Mrs. Newman’s son Jonathan chaired the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for 4.5 years until January 2007. He actually did a pretty good job.

 Will Ed Still Write To Vince?

Marple Newtown’s Activity Fee

Marple Newtown School District is going to start charging students a fee to participate in after-school activities. The idea is to save tax dollars.

So rather than going after the special interests that wildly inflate the cost of education, the powers-that-be figure on going after a group they feel won’t raise a fuss they can’t handle — namely students who’d rather play a sport or music or take the stage than goof off in front of a TV or an X-box, and their parents.

Granted taxes can’t be raised — especially property taxes in this economy.

So what should a school board do?

Well they can ask the faculty and administration for give-backs (cue laughter). Ask the teachers to coach and direct without the extra-curricular pay, for instance, sort of like Little League coaches. (cue more laughter).

What else? How about passing a resolution demanding our legislators exempt school districts from the prevailing wage law for construction and renovation? (cue more laughter)

The prevailing wage requirement and other construction mandates hike costs up to 40 percent — IIRC — over what a business owner would pay.

Quick quiz MN math students: What’s 40 percent of the $65 million slated to go to your new high school?

And if you really want to control spending — and remove the not-so-good -teachers that afflict every district — start demanding that the state change the law to let school boards replace teachers when their contracts end.  More than enough money would be found to cover after-school activities.

And education would improve.

Joe “Soundwaves” Szczechowski

Joe “Soundwaves” Szczechowski who has been covering music for almost 30 years — much of with the Press papers of Delaware County– wrote of his rare miscues in the July 8 edition of Press Focus, one of which was using Wikipedia to get the real name of guitar legend Carlos Santana.

Joe said that Wiki still lists Santana’s full name as Carlos Augusto Santana Alves when it should be Carlos Humberto Santana de Barragan.

Check Wiki again Joe. It looks like somebody brought your concern up.

Joe’s website is http://sound-waves-column.blogspot.com.

Joe “Soundwaves” Szczechowski

 

The Law That Could Have Helped Obama’s Mama

Care facilities in Pennsylvania – citing English Common Law — have been suing the children of parents unable to pay the debts they incurred for services they provided.

If only the health care facilities that treated the late Ann Dunham — President Obama’s mother — had been aware of this.

Ms. Dunham would not have had to fear the inability to pay her bills — as Barack “My Son, the Harvard Grad” Obama, so advertised during his campaign — and young couples in Pennsylvania and other states would not have had to feel guilt over Ms. Dunham’s plight.

Are Physician-Owned Hospitals In Danger?

Investor’s Business Daily noted that physician-owned hospitals are endangered by the various medical-care reforms being considered in D.C.

According to IBD, traditional hospital groups last week reached a deal with the Obama
administration and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus,
D-Mont., to reduce their Medicare and Medicaid payments by $155 billion
over 10 years with the stipulation that physician-owned hospitals be required to have a Medicare provider agreement — necessary to see Medicare patients — retroactive to last Jan. 1.

There are about 200 physician-owned hospitals in the country with 110 under-construction.

Traditional hospitals claim that competition from physician-owned
rivals is unfair since they don’t have to take money-losing Medicaid or
uninsured patients.

So it seems the object of health-care reform is to stop physicians from providing health care.