News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Holy Myrrh-Bearers Easter Food Sale 2016 –Orders are now being taken Easter kielbasa and Paska bread at Holy Myrrh-Bearers Eastern-Rite Catholic Church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, Pa. 19o81.
The high-quality kielbasa can be purchased $12 per ring or four links for $10.
Also home-made traditional Paska Easter Bread can be purchased for $10 per loaf.
To order email HMBChurch@verizon.net or call Kathy at 610-328-4731.
Pickup will be noon, Saturday, March 19 at the church.
Real Cold Forgotten By Modern Americans
By Joseph B. Dychala
“You don’t know what cold is”.
I can still hear my father saying these words to me now.
“You don’t know what cold is”…and he is right.
Today we move from our heated homes, to our heated automobiles (with heated seats) to our heated offices and complain about the cold we are exposed to for five minutes or less in many cases. Imagine sleeping on a steam vent in a big city, while people walk by you as if you don’t exist. We have the most plentiful and varied resources at our fingertips, oil, coal fired electricity, thermal technology, chemical packs when crushed can provide hours of heat inserted in our socks and gloves. Natural gas has never been so plentiful or inexpensive as it is today.
“You don’t know what cold is” and he is right. I thought heat came from turning a dial or pushing a button, heat isn’t free he would often remind me.
We live in a nation of plenty, all types of natural and man made fabrics readily available as coats, gloves, blankets and so forth. No shearing sheep for wool, no spinning on a loom. Just go to the nearest store and purchase what you need. But everyday I see clothing discarded on the streets, as if there was no value to the items. As if the legacy of cotton is king means nothing. Same plantation, different location. Occasionally I wonder why some professional athletes and Hollywood personalities continue to bring up the stain of slavery that is the reality of the United States yet have no remorse in taking large sums of money from sneaker companies to promote a product that is essentially made with slave labor somewhere in the developing world.
“You don’t know what cold is”…and he is right. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater if you are cold he would say to me…
Imagine the pain of the bitter cold at Valley Forge, Ypes, Verdun, Ardennes in the winter of 44- 45 one of the coldest recorded, the “Brotherhood of the Frozen Chosin”, imagine the heartache of waking up huddled next to your foxhole buddy who died from exposure over night perhaps wondering why him and not you. Losing toes or fingers to frostbite and having to continue on to do your job. I’ve never know such things, and try as I may to imagine I can never fully appreciate their sacrifices.
“You don’t know what cold is”…and he is right. Camping in the frozen mud without a tent while wearing a summer uniform and leggins instead of proper boots, that is what he endured for two brutal winters in the Italian Alps with Nazi artillery raining down on them…
The Rapido, Moletta, Cassino, Anzio, Mussolini Canal, The Winter Line, The loss of the entire 142nd Regiment, the blizzards and drifting snow, zero visibility. Pack mules because the terrain was impassable to any other other form of supply lines. There are a few pictures of my father from the war wearing a rather colorful scarf, I can only imagine that was one of his most prized possessions and may have literally saved his life from the cold as sure as a dog face’s helmet could potentially stave off German shrapnel.
“You don’t know what cold is”…and he is right. Stop your complaining and eat a hot bowl of oatmeal, it will warm you up and stick to your ribs he would say to me after coming in from playing on a snow day off from school…
So please remember in your thoughts and prayers this weekend from the comfort of our heated home or business, while sipping a hot beverage, with shorts on and the thermostat set to 75 degrees that the only reason this is possible is because the simple fact that there are good, descent, honorable folks that aren’t going to promise you free health insurance or a free college education or other economic impossibilities but that there were and still are good people willing to lay down their very lives for their country and love of fellow man and make that which seems impossible a reality.
Better still, turn down that thermostat and put on a sweater.
Most of us will never truly know what cold is. Be thankful, be very thankful for that.
May God Bless you and yours and may God Bless the United States of America.
Happy Saint Valentine’s Day!
The hottest pepper in the world is the Carolina Reaper with a Scoville scale measurement of 2.2 million. It is about 20 times as a hot as an habanero, which was the world’s hottest back in 1999.
It is 2,000 times hotter than a jalapeno.
Governor Wolf Handshake Dishonorable by Sen. Scott Wagner
Governor Tom Wolf delivered his 2016-2017 budget address for Pennsylvania, Feb. 9.
The Governor’s budget address was delivered on the back of an unfinished 2015-2016 budget.
Governor Wolf did not mince words when he placed all of the blame for the 2015-2016 budget mess on House Republicans.
I must confess that I was taken back by the Governor’s comments and arrogance – during his budget address he made this statement to PA House Members – “If you won’t take seriously your responsibility to the people of Pennsylvania – then find another job.”
The Governor directed blame towards the House Republican Leaders for the budget impasse.
Governor Wolf stated, “We had a deal. And then the House Republican leaders walked away.”
How ironic – I had a similar personal experience with Governor Wolf.
On Dec. 20, I attended a holiday Open House at a home in Southeastern PA – Governor Wolf showed up at the Open House – after a brief period I was approached by a Democratic Senator to ask if I would have a discussion with the Governor – a discussion took place with another Republican Senator, the Democratic Senator, the Governor and me.
I was asked if I would help the Governor and consider talking to Republican House Members that I have relationships with about the budget and help bridge the gap.
I agreed to meet with the Governor and the other two Senators on Tuesday – Dec. 22 – I asked the Governor to clear three hours of time so we could have the discussion and come up with various resolutions – the Governor looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said “we have a deal.”
When we arrived on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. for our meeting at the Governor’s office, I immediately sensed that something had changed – the Governor commented that he had another meeting in 35 minutes – so much for the three hour hand shake deal.
The Governor was quick to let me know that he knew that I was focused on reining in out of control spending – he stated, “I have to get this budget done and then next year in January we can meet to discuss spending controls” – January has come and gone – no call from the Governor – in the private sector business world when someone shakes my hand and says we have a deal, I take that gesture as a gesture of honor – Governor Wolf broke that gesture of honor.
My prediction is that Governor Wolf is going to play the same hostage game as he did last year with schools and non-profit agencies.
Yesterday afternoon (Feb. 11) a mass email was sent by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to readers kicking sand into the faces of Republican House and Senate Leaders, two other House members, and myself for saying no to Governor Wolf’s tax increases.
I can only speculate that as a child Governor Wolf was picked on at his elite boarding school – little rich bullies run up and kick sand in the other kids faces and run away – Governor Wolf is attempting that same technique with the legislature and then running to his public sector union friends to defend him, and then asking them to give him millions of dollars collected from their members paychecks to fund negative TV ads and mailers in Republican House and Senate Districts slamming those members, and now yesterday’s email blast directed towards leaders and members of the legislature because they didn’t vote for his tax package.
Governor Wolf has quickly driven a wedge into any relationships that might have been possible with House and Senate Republicans – to be clear – Governor Wolf has gone toxic – and he has burned many bridges and may have lost any opportunity to have a positive outcome with his remaining time in office.
It is also worth pointing out that most Democratic House and Senate Members do not want to vote for any tax increases either – these same Democrats are being thrown under the bus by their own Democratic Governor – many Democrats will secretly agree with my assessment but their leadership is keeping them in line with intimidation tactics.
I have a different perspective of the budget and the Pennsylvania economy – very different from the perspective of Governor Wolf.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I along with other Senate colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, will begin to participate in budget hearings over the next six weeks with all state agencies.
I have an advantage coming from the private sector – I continue to operate several business so I get to see first-hand the current business climate.
I continue to see massive amounts of waste and out of control spending in Harrisburg – if you have been regularly receiving my emails you will know I have not changed my opinion on this.
Many businesses in Pennsylvania are laying off employees because of weak business conditions.
The oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania, and the rest of the country, has been clobbered because of historic low oil and gas prices – the ripple effect to suppliers and service providers of the oil and gas industry have also been affected.
Click here for one example: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-air-products-posts-quarterly-earnings-20160129-story.html
Governor Wolf and his administration have not delivered any sizable cost reductions or efficiency savings over the last year – Governor Wolf cares about one thing – raising taxes on Pennsylvanians.
It is time to “Restructure Harrisburg” – the time is now, not next week, next month, or next year.
The bad news is that Governor Wolf will not do any “Restructuring” while he is office – so the next three years are going to be tough for everyone – especially Pennsylvania Taxpayers.
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.
West Virginia Goes Right To Work — Legendary labor powerhouse West Virginia — the land of Matewan and the UMWA — just went “right to work”.
“Right to work” means it is illegal to make as a condition of employment joining a union or paying union dues. One can still join a union, of course, or pay dues. He just can’t be fired if he chooses not to do so. Maybe he doesn’t like his hard-earned, involuntarily taken money being used for his local’s leader’s $277,000 salary. Or perhaps, he’s really mad that it winds up as donations to politicians who support unrestricted immigration, closing refineries, and Planned Parenthood while opposing letting him have the means to defend himself if he should feel the need.
Polling shows that 74 percent of U.S. voters support “right to work”.
West Virginia follows in the footsteps of legendary labor powerhouses Michigan and Indiana which went RTW in 2012, and Wisconsin which did so last year.
West Virginia’s law was enacted yesterday, Feb. 12, when the state House and Senate overrode Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto.
West Virginian also, yesterday, repealed its prevailing wage law which is a law that mandates workers on public projects be paid at a rate set by the government rather than the market.
Pennsylvania also has a prevailing wage law. It is estimated that it adds 20 percent to the cost of public works. This means that a new high school that cost $130 million with prevailing wage would cost $104 million without it. It would be almost as if the community magically found $26 million.
If reforms such as these could happen in West Virginia, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin, there is no reason to think they couldn’t happen in Pennsylvania.
So where did Abraham Lincoln keep his bankbook? In his stovepipe hat. Really.
Poor Congresspeople — We’ve all seen lists of the richest congresspeople, but there are some for the poorest among them as well.
Can there really be poor people in Congress? The congressional salary, after all, is $174,000 not including benefits.
“The 10 on our list have millions in debt among them — from business loans to credit cards to unpaid attorney fees related to an impeachment,” RollCall.com explains. The site notes, however, that determining “minimum net worth is an inexact science” and that several on the list have multiple homes and other assets not generally associated with the poor.
Roll Calls 10 poorest members of Congress in 2015 are:
Palmer Gibbs of InsideGov.com has also compiled a list of the poorest albeit with 25 names. Some are the same, some are not and the order and valuations are different. It contains explanations for Valado’s and Hastings’ problems — namely Valado’s family dairy farm debt and Hastings 1988 bribery impeachment as a federal judge — who again hold the the first and second places.
While Fattah is the only Philly area rep that Roll Call lists, InsideGov omits him but includes Chester County’s Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6) in 11th place with a worth of -$47,944 and Philadelphia’s Brendan Boyle (D-13) in 17th with a worth of -$24,997.
Dueling US Navy — Dueling was a serious problem in the U.S Navy back in the day. Between 1798 and the Civil War it lost two-thirds as many officers to it as to combat at sea.
Penncora Decorated Parkway For Pope –Penncora, the excellent Phoenixville design firm run by Barbara Bater, provided the flowers for the Papal stages on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for Pope Francis’ visit last September.
A behind the scenes look can be found here.
Dems Save Kathleen Kane — The Pennsylvania Senate, yesterday, Feb. 10, fell four votes short of the two-thirds needed to removed a disgraced person who shamelessly ignores the law as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
In fairness the vast majority of senators — the vast majority being Republican — did realize that Kathleen Kane should be removed as attorney general. The 29-19 vote though was just not quite enough.
Choosing party over principle, all Democrats except Bob Teplitz of the 15th District voted to protect her. They were joined by Republican Stewart Greenleaf of the 2nd District, who may as well be a Democrat considering his voting history.
Ms. Kane is facing charges of perjury, false swearing, three counts of obstructing administration of law, and four counts of official oppression relating to allegations that she leaked grand jury information to the press.
The state Supreme Court suspended her law license on Sept. 21. The state Constitution requires the attorney general to be a member in good standing with the bar, which suspended lawyers are not.
The senators protecting Ms. Kane say she shouldn’t be removed because she had been elected and that her duties were managerial so forget the law and let this person remain as head of law enforcement.
And that political leaders could make this claim with a straight face is why people across the political spectrum have acquired the feelings they do regarding the political class.
Further, if the shoe were on the other foot and it was the removal of a Republican being sought for the same reasons, every one of the D’s who had voted to save Ms. Kane would have voted otherwise. We think most of the R’s would have actually voted consistently even if it was just to save themselves from the inevitable media outrage which is not going to happen in this case.