Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces.
J.K. Rowling
Upbeat Delco Ticket Takes 2 Hours Of Questions In Havertown — Republican candidates had a two-hour conversation, tonight, Nov. 1, with Delaware County residents at the Nunan – Slook American Legion Post in Havertown, Pa.
They were upbeat and united. They happily noted how their opponents were dumping beaucoup dollars into advertising filled with over-the-top smears.
Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones, who is seeking a seat on County Council, said they were going to do to the incompetent incumbents what Buster Douglas did to Mike Tyson.
Granted, Tyson was never considered incompetent.
Jones grew up in Camden, N.J. but ended up in Delco after falling in love with a girl moving to Drexel Hill. He married her and that’s where he ended up raising his family.
He said those running for office either “seek power or seek principle” and all the county Republican candidates are in it for the principle.
“We are not doing this to be attorney general,” he said, giving a dig at incumbent District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer’s already begun campaign to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general.
Jones talked about how Upper Darby schools are in decline and truancy has exploded. He said this happened when the district raised the start of the school day to 9:45 a.m.
Parents have to be at work hence not around to make sure their kids get to class, he pointed out.
He said former Democrat opponents are helping him in his council race.
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski, who is running for district attorney, with county council candidates Joy Schwartz, Bill Dennon and Jeff Jones
Bill Dennon
Jones’ running mates for council are Upland mayor Bill Dennon and retired school teacher Joy Schwartz.
Dennon, whose full-time job is as a maintenance mechanic, grew up in the trades. He said his father, a truck driver, made him help him fix his cars as a boy before freeing him to play.
He said crime is out of control is his community which borders Chester due to the county Democrats’ woke policing policies.
Dennon said the D.A. is putting serious offenders on ankle bracelet monitoring due to closure of Delco’s juvenile facility. He said the youths are cutting the bracelets off without repercussions. The bracelets cost over $1,000 apiece.
Joy Schwartz
Mrs. Schwartz noted she is the daughter of immigrant parents who lived in tyrannies. Her father grew up in the Soviet Union and her mother in Franco’s Spain. She said her paternal grandmother spent nine years in a gulag and her maternal grandfather spent a year in a concentration camp on the Canary Islands as one of Franco’s political prisoners.
Mrs. Schwartz taught history in the William Penn School District for 20 years before retiring just before Covid. She took the school’s the mock trial team to state competitions.
The Democrats are attempting to frame Mrs. Schwartz as an “election denier” because she has been questioning the actions by Democrat-controlled council that do the opposite of creating confidence in voting.
Mrs. Schwartz said she prefers the term election verifier and has noted during her campaign that the council’s new spending will increase the tax bills of residents by 35 percent next year and the increases won’t stop if they keep power.
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski
Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski, who is running for district attorney, said her long legal career has included being a Delco prosecutor where she convicted rapists and murders and ended up running the DA’s juvenile division; being a public defender; and having a well-established private practice specializing in elder law and estate planning.
She said crime is up 25-percent in Delaware County; murders are going unsolved, and that a murder in Upper Darby last week has caused the township to literally double its five-year annual average with two months remaining in the year.
She said Upper Darby has but eight police officers on the street at any given time when not so long ago the number was 20.
And Stollsteimer is refusing to prosecute petty theft cases, a point reinforced by Bill Dennon, who described his personal experience with an incorrigible local thief, and audience members who said Stollsteimer has directed police chiefs to not prosecute shoplifters.
She brought up the incident where the unstable Stollsteimer berated her at a public event for daring to contest the re-coronation to which he feels entitled.
She said the county legal bills were four times higher than under the Republicans due to its reliance on expensive outside law firms.
The only county-wide candidate missing was Dawn Getty Sutphinwho had a prior commitment. She’s running for Common Pleas Court judge. She is far more qualified than her opponent.
With regard to lack of concern about election concerns, why was this election cart in the Nunan – Slook American Legion Post, Nov. 1, almost a week before the election?
Gary Heasley To Speak At United4Delco –Gary Heasley of ChescoUnited is speaker at tomorrow’s (Nov. 2) meeting of United4Delco at Gatsby’s Bar and Grill, 4936 Pennell Road, Aston, Pa. 19014.
Topics will include elections, school boards and the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La4).
In attendance will be local and county candidates.
The event is free but attendees are asked to order a drink or one of Gatsby’s delicious meals.
The women fighting for the Delaware County Common Pleas Court seat open this Nov. 7 are Democrat Rachel Ezzell Berry and Republican Dawn Getty Sutpin.
Rachel Berry is Delaware County’s register of wills having won the post in 2021. She graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was the book review editor of the Michigan Law Review. she served as law clerk to Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Stephanie Klein of the Delco Court of Common Pleas. and also worked at Dechert LLP law firm
She started at Delaware County Community College while working evenings as a waitress and coffee barista in Media. She now lives in Middletown with her husband and children.
Dawn Getty Sutphin received her J.D. from Widener University School of Law and her L.L.M. from Villanova University School of Law. Her resume includes practicing at Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, handling environmental compliance and litigation matters for PECO. She has served in the public defenders office representing indigent juveniles in the Court of Common Pleas. Besides her practice, she is an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College.
She has worked for Bob Edgar’s campaign for the US House and, while at Penn State, interned with the Penn State Police Department, among other stops on her journey.
Delco Concedes Election Code Change Is Ambiguous In Hearing Before Judge Bradley — Judge James P. Bradley heard arguments this morning, Nov. 1, for a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of changes to the election code passed by Delaware County Council, Jan. 18.
The Pennsylvania Election Code requires all county election boards to have a minority party member.
The law passed by the Democrat-controlled council requires the minority party to submit a list of three and allows them reject it if not satisfied with the choices restarting the process.
Attorney Wally Zimolong representing Delaware County GOP and GOP Chairman Frank Agovino, said that the state code says the county legislative body “shall” fill vacancies from a list provided by the chairman of the minority party leaving no ambiguity that the choice is the minority chairman’s.
The attorney representing the county argued that the request should be rejected as Agovino would no longer have standing if the Republicans should take control, Nov. 7.
Zimolong notes that Agovino has standing now which is all that matters and that the legality of the ordinance means it would be required to be addressed even if Agovino should become leader of the majority party.
Bradley asked the defense what would stop council from rejecting the minority lists in perpetuity or until they got someone who would be a true minority watchdog
The defense conceded that the law was ambiguous and maybe didn’t prevent that but council would never do that, well, because.
Judge Bradley did not promise a fast decision.
Democrat politicians and candidates have taken to smearing those concerned about election integrity as “election deniers” but the reason why so many have developed election skepticism is because of stunts like this.
Why change the election code to weaken minority oversight? Really, help us out. Give us an answer as to how that instill trust in government.
Monday, we attended a hearing before Judge John Capuzzi involving a suit by Robert Mancini of Media against Delco.
Mancini says the county is in violation of the state code because it fails to perform hash validation before each election.
The county argued that while it may be best practice to do so the county is only obliged to do so when installing new software.
If the county is right regarding the law, we expect the judge to rule in its favor.
But why isn’t it using best practices?
Mancini filed several right to know requests last year that the county rejected but that Mancini won on appeals to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
Did the county concede things to put the issue to rest?
No, it appealed the appeal to Common Pleas Court.
Among the things that Mancini wants are the correspondence with Fort Orange Press of Albany, N.Y., which prints the county’s mail-in ballots.
Why the secrets?
Why isn’t Delaware County, Pa. making its elections as transparent as possible and doing everything it can to assuage all fears of fraud?
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.
P. T. Barnum
Delco Candidate Town Hall Tomorrow — Republican candidates for Delaware County seats will hold a town hall, 7 p.m., tomorrow, Nov. 1, at America Legiion Post 338, 2200 Grasslyn Ave., Havertown, Pa. 19083.
Scheduled to answer questions are Betrh Stefanide who is running for district attorney; and county council candidates Jeff Jones, Joy Schwartz and Upland Mayor Bill Dennon.
Two seats are up on Pennsylvania Superior Court and those seeking them are Maria C. Battisa and Harry F. Smail Jr. on the Republican ticket; and Jill Beck and Timika Lane on the Democrat one.
The court was established in 1895 and is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts. It hears appeals in criminal and most civil cases from county courts of common pleas; and matters involving children and families.
Terms are 10 years and the court is headquartered in Harrisburg.
Maria C. Battista
Maria C. Battista received her Juris Doctorate from Ohio Northern University. She has worked with the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and currently works for the Judge group in Wayne, Pa..
She has been endorsed by the Pennsylvania FOP.
Jill Beck
Jill Beck is a graduate of Duquesne Law School. She has worked at Kids Voice a private nonprofit representing Allegheny County abused, at-risk, and neglected children. At Blank Rome, she was co-chair of their working group aimed at protecting the right to protest. She worked for a decade as a clerk with Justice Christine Donahue. She has also focused on representing “low-income criminal defendants.” Shlives in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh with “her husband, two children, and their rescue dog”.
Timka Lane
Timika Lane has her law degree from the Rutgers University of Law-Camden. She was elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2013 and has also served as a chief legal counsel for the Pennsylvania Senate. Her philosophy is that “litigants are not just names on a pleading”.
She sees the greatest threat to the practice of law as “ keeping up with the changes of technology and its effect on traditional methods of litigation.”
She also worked for Habitat for Humanity during Hurricane Katrina,.
Judge Harry F. Smail Jr.
Harry F. Smail, Jr. has been a Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court judge since being appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014. He attained his Duquesne University of Law Degree while working as a full-time Probation/Parole Officer. He has also worked for the Federal Public Defender’s Office of indigent defendants.
‘I do not legislate from the bench; rather, I apply and enforce the law as intended as the third branch of government providing the checks and balances that make our government functional,” he said.
He is a member of The Federalist Society
He states his opinions “have a 97 percent affirmation rate.”
He said that his decisions about setting aside ballots without the required dates were affirmed by Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
He lives in Westmoreland County with his wife and two daughters.
Recently, San Diego’s Customs and Border Protection officials issued an intelligence notice alerting its agents that “Hamas and Hezbollah militants may potentially be encountered at the Southwest border.”
The memorandum added, in part: “Individuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border.” The intel document showed various insignias associated with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups. The document also informed CBP personnel to be vigilant of young men wearing military gear and traveling alone. CBP’s alert coincides with San Diego’s latest border encounters data that show a dramatic increase; September 2023’s 26,000 encounters reflect a 67 percent increase from last year’s 15,000.
From the view of the cartels and coyotes, nothing has been better for their multibillion-dollar businesses than the Israel-Gaza war. As little attention as Biden has paid to border enforcement during his presidency’s three years, the Middle East warfare has pushed Southwest security completely out of the White House’s line of vision. Potential terrorists are well-aware that the border is open. They know that now is the ideal time to take further advantage and ratchet up crossings.
Through the 12 months ending October 21, 169 people on the FBI terror watch lists were encountered between southern border ports of entry, a number that exceeds not only fiscal year 2022’s record-setting total, 98, but the last six fiscal years combined. With encounters between ports at the northern border included, the total for fiscal year 2023 was 172.
Ample evidence exists that terrorists are already present, and plotting. U.S. Customs and Border Protection warned agents that someone who is planning to torture, if not murder, them is looking for their addresses. One text that CBP intercepted read: “We will pay for any addresses of border patrol agents!!”
The sender offered to pay $200 for an agent’s address and $1,000 for “they mommas [sic] address.” Another message read, “I’ll post us torturing any bp agent u send.” Perhaps the texts, a federal felony, are a hoax; no one knows. The FBI, as is its practice, will neither confirm nor deny that an investigation to locate the sender is in progress. But if and when a probe gets underway, the FBI should have little trouble pinpointing the source. When motivated, the FBI operates with peak efficiency. The Department of Justice has, for example, identified and charged nearly 1,200 people who participated in the January 6 protest, the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history.
With the loss of life mounting in Israel and Gaza, and hostages’ fates unknown, the Biden administration is focused exclusively on the Middle East. And on the domestic front, the administration is focused on appeasing Israeli and Palestinian supporters. But the invasion of the U.S. continues, and more migrants are on the way. In September alone, more than 75,000 migrants crossed the roadless Darién Gap jungle on foot, the second-highest monthly tally recorded by Panamanian officials, only a few thousand less than the 82,000 reported August crossings.
In total, more than 400,000 U.S.-bound migrants, many of them Venezuelans, have crossed the treacherous jungle route this year to enter Central America, a record and once-unimaginable number. Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombia’s ambassador to the U.S., called illegal immigration through the Darién Gap “an unsustainable crisis” that poses serious safety risks to all who attempt the trip.
Murillo added, disingenuously, that Colombia and the U.S. are working together to dissuade those who contemplate the dangerous journey from taking their first step. Truth be told, Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s left-wing president, has said his government will not physically stop illegal aliens from entering the jungle. He argued instead that migration must be dealt with in a humanitarian way – translation, no impediments to the journey further north. The U.S., for its part, has imposed no deterrents to stop the invasion.
Biden’s criminal disregard for breaking immigration laws ensures either bad or tragic results. The bad – crime, bankrupt communities, a lost America – is terrible. The worst, an attack on the homeland, is unthinkable.
Joe Guzzardi is a Project for Immigration Reform analysts who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org.
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces.
