News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Arlen Specter was praised by fellow Democrats, Jan. 25, after casting the 10,000 vote of as senator during a reign that began in 1981.
From the “magic bullet theory” to getting Ira Einhorn free on bail to an imaginative citation of Scottish law to keep President Bill Clinton in office after his impeachment, Arlen Specter has certainly made himself part of history.
May 2010 be the last year he casts a Senate vote.
Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer had several stories involving school violence, and with the exception of one rather one-sided whine, all concerned serious incidents involving city schools.
This one, for instance, has girl gangs brawling outside of Bartram High school over comments on Facebook. Their fight ended up with three people — one girl and two boys — getting shot apparently by the boys they brought along. The boys were in critical condition as of this morning.
This one –granted it’s from the Daily News but the Inky had a similar story — concerned a hearing incidents at Audenried High School in which a mother described how officials failed to discipline a school bully who had broken her son’s ribs, and how a teacher watched helplessly as a group of 20 students barged into her classroom and attacked a girl.
And this is on top of the incidents last December in which parents of Asian students kept their children home because of the unwillingness of officials to act against those attacking them.
If parents were allowed to chose their children’s schools most of these problems would go away. Schools and officials who did not respond to bullying would soon be weeded out because the parents would have the ability to cut off their money simply by choosing to send their children elsewhere.
This would also apply to incompetent teachers.
The biggest opponents to school vouchers are, in fact, inattentive officials and incompetent teachers.
If the state legislators summed enough courage to oppose the teachers unions and approve school vouchers, parochial schools such as St. Joseph Grade School in Collingdale would be saved, and the kids who want an education in Philly would not have to attend class in fear.
Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa7), who is seeking to replace fellow Dem Arlen Specter as Pennsylvania senator, said in a Jan. 22 interview with TalkingPointsMemo.Com that the Democrats running the Senate lack courage especially piling on Harry Reid of Nevada.
He said he thought Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island should be leading things.
Reed responded by saying he’s endorsing Specter for re-election and Dingy Harry as Majority Leader.
Pennsylvania’s Right To Know law still has some bugs to be worked out.
The law, Act 3 of 2008, took effect Jan. 1, 2009, and was much-needed improvement over the existing Sunshine Act.
But then who could have guessed the implicit conflict between the right to protect the privacy of public school teachers and the right to know where dog owners lived?
Yesterday, Delaware County Daily Times columnist Gil Spencer described how Lauren Marks wanted to know where dog owners lived in four zip codes in Delaware County. Ms. Marks runs a pet-sitting service and was looking for potential customers. Businesses have long used lists of registered voters, taxpayers and real estate transfers for similar things.
Ms. Marks made requests in Montgomery and Chester counties without issue.
Delco, however, felt uncomfortable about releasing the information. County Clerk and Open Records Officer Anne Coogan checked with Solicitor Frank Catania, who recommended the request be denied citing a recent court injunction barring the release of the home addresses of public school employees.
Ms. Marks appealed and the state directed Delco to release the information — after removing the names of the public school employees.
This is a ridiculous and an almost impossible demand, especially since Spencer says state Open Records Officer Executive Director Terry Mutchler has expanded the rule to prohibit the release of the addresses of every public employee in the state.
Spencer says Senate Majority Leader Domenic Pileggi (R-9) is preparing a fix.
And may people wake up to the understanding that transparency is much better than hiding behind a false sense of privacy.
The $800 million Pennsylvania borrowed via tax anticipation notes (TAN) authorized Dec. 7 is due June 30.
Along with $6.5 million in interest.
The law gives these notes the first right of revenue. Revenue from state business taxes arrive in March followed by personal taxes in April.
The debt is scheduled to be paid off with $300 million in May and $500 million in June.
This year’s Pennsylvania budget is about $27 billion not including $1.2 billion in federal American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money. It is expected to rise between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
This was the state’s first TAN offering since 1997.
State Of The Union Bingo
Something being passed around the web to make tonight’s State of the Union speech bearable.
Event Instructions
Obama says “let me be clear”
Do one shot
Obama says “change isn’t easy”
Do one shot
Obama says “make no mistake”
Do one shot
Obama says “Let me be clear, change isn’t easy, make no mistake.”
He’s screwing with you to get you drunk, do five shots
Joe Wilson yells something
Do two shots
Obama yells back
Finish the bottle
Obama says “jobs”
Do one shot, two if you’re unemployed
Obama says “health care”
Do not drink, you will not be given a replacement liver
Nancy Pelosi claps like a seal
Do one shot
Nancy Pelosi becomes a seal
STOP DRINKING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
Obama mentions Bo
Put beer in your dog’s water bowl
Joe Biden nods-off/laughs inappropriately/starts talking before the speech
is over
Do three shots
Obama uses the term “Congressional leadership”
Do two shots carefully as all that laughing will make it difficult to
swallow
Obama says he’s “fighting for you”
Do one shot, two if you believe him
Obama mentions Haiti
Text “Haiti” to the number 90999 and donate $10 to the Red Cross
Athony J. Frascino, Obama’s New BFF — Step aside Ellie Light, here comes Anthony J. Frascino of Swedesboro, N. J.
Friday’s Philadelphia Inquirer published this letter from Frascino in which he described the independents in Massachusetts who elected Scott Brown to the Senate as voters having “no loyalty” and “switch parties like underwear” and are “America’s insurgents”.
“Welcome to the new age of anarchy,” he said.
Yesterday’s Boston Globe published this letter from Frascino in which n which he described the independents in Massachusetts who elected Scott Brown to the Senate as as voters having “no loyalty” and “switch parties like underwear” and are “America’s insurgents”.
“Welcome to the new age of anarchy,” he said.
At least Frascino is consistent as to where he lives.
Kudos to James Taranto’s Best of the Web for the tip.
Taranto notes that Frascino wrote a letter to the Inquirer in April, not available on the web, in which he praised Sen. Arlen Specter for switching parties, and that he found this letter to the Inquirer in which he said that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct) “makes Judas Iscariot look like Mother Teresa!”
Obama Losing Obama Girl — Amber Lee Ettinger, who spent 2008 singing of her crush for Obama, has fallen out of love.
On the eve of the President’s State of the Union address she is giving him a B-minus.
“In my opinion, I feel like he should be focusing a lot more on jobs and the economy,” she said. “He did create some jobs, but most of them were government jobs and that doesn’t really help the middle class.”
Ms. Ettinger notes she still does not have health care.
“I can’t afford it, ” she says.
Adolph Replaces Civera — The members of the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus, yesterday, elected William Adolph to replace Mario Civera as Appropriations Chairman for the rest of the 2009-2010 legislative session.
Civera, who represents the 164th District, won a seat on Delaware County Council last November and will be resigning from the legislature, according to House GOP Leader Sam Smith of the 66th District.
Adolph represents the 165th District and lives in Springfield.
Greg Skrepenak, the former NFL lineman who became a Luzerne County Commissioner, has pleaded guilty to accepting payoff from a developer who got a government-subsidized loan through the county.
Skrepenak, a Democrat, got $5,000 for his yes vote for the $1.1 million loan. Skrepenak faces
a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but will likely spend
33 to 41 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
Skrepenak played for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and the Carolina Panthers.
In other Luzerne County news, former county Sheriff Michael Savokinas is being investigated for improperly selling firearms belonging to the county including an antique Thompson submachine gun for $20,000.