News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Did you ever eat gruel? It’s actually something you drink rather than eat. It is a cereal boiled in water or milk. Malt is gruel. If you ever drank Ovaltine, you’ve had gruel.
Porridge is also cereal boiled in water or milk but thicker. Have you ever eaten that? Oatmeal is porridge, as is Cream of Wheat. Yes, you probably have eaten porridge.
Wolf Ignores Budget Restrictions By Leo Knepper 
Included in the 2014-2015 budget was $200 million in additional funding for schools. The budget also included language that required “enabling” legislation to spell out how the new funds would be distributed. That enabling legislation was the “Fiscal Code”, which the governor vetoed. In other words, Governor Wolf is breaking the law in spending the money.
Adding insult to injury, the Governor is spending the money according to a formula he essentially made up on his own without input from the legislature. The Fiscal Code included changes recommended by a bipartisan education funding reform commission. Governor Wolf ignored those recommendations in determining how he was going to distribute the funds illegally.
The Harrisburg Patriot-News highlighted some of the discrepancies between the Governor’s distribution and the distribution spelled out in the vetoed Fiscal Code:
“Philadelphia’s share of the $200 million in new education funding is $76.8 million – a full 38 percent – under the restoration formula, wheras [sic] under the bi-partisan-backed formula, it would have received $42.4 million.
“Pittsburgh receives $7.5 million under the governor’s formula; $3.1 million under the one lawmakers would prefer be used. Chester-Upland receives $16.3 million under the restoration formula compared to $2 million under the other distribution system. ”
The changes in those three school districts’ funding levels under Wolf’s illegal plan, consume over $53 million in funding designated for other schools. The Governor’s decision to redirect a quarter of the new money to three schools districts, without legislative authorization, is one more example of Wolf’s “my way or the highway” approach to governing.
It is worth noting that according to the news article mentioned about, the legislature is looking into taking legal actions against the Governor to stop his latest executive overreach.
Russia had galleys in their navy well into the 19th century. The last time galleys were used in action was in 1854 during the Crimean War.
Joseph Stalin’s granddaughter lives in Portland, Ore.
Villanova makes Delaware County proud. Congrats to the Wildcats. Now only eight places have more NCAA Division I basketball champions than Delaware county.
If you count Division II it goes up to nine. 
Casacio Confident Of Win — Stan Casacio expects to beat incumbent 7th District Congressman Pat Meehan in the April 26 Republican Primary.
He said it tonight, April 4, in an interview with WPHT talk show host Dom Giordano before a crowd of about 50 at the Newtown Square Knights of Columbus Hall.
The event was sponsored by the Delaware County Patriots and featured other political notables such as Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale and Joe Peters who is running for Pennsylvania attorney general. Peters’ long law enforcement resume includes the murder conviction of Philly mobster Nicky Scarfo.
“We are going to win,” Casacio said confidently. It was his answer to a question of a possible third party candidacy if he should lose.
Casacio, 68, is a Montgomery County builder who has long been active in Republican politics.
Casacio was motivated to run after Republicans failed to advance the agenda they rode to landslide victories in 2010 and 2014.
He said that Meehan was a nice guy but has been in opposition to necessary Washington reforms far more often than not. One group has him voting with conservative reformers just 31 percent of the time, Casacio said.
Casacio pointedly noted Meehan’s votes to increase our debt ceiling which has led to our debt now being over $19 trillion. He also noted that he was the only Republican to vote against the VA Accountability Act of 2015 which would have made it much easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to demote or fire employees based on poor performance and offer increased protection for whistleblowers.
Both he and Giordano, blamed Meehan’s close ties to Philadelphia union leaders, especially John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty who runs the powerful Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, for his curious VA vote.
Casacio, who is strongly pro life, also took issue with Meehan’s vote to pass a federal budget that provided funding for Planned Parenthood. Meehan’s reasoning is that failure to do so would have shut down the government. Casacio noted there was nothing to stop Congress from sending funding bills piecemeal to the president which is much the same way the Pennsylvania Legislature recently forced Gov. Wolf’s hand.
He noted that doing so would require Congress to work harder, however.
Casacio also noted that regulation must be brought under control and that every regulation made should require a direct vote by Congress. He also said he supported term limits and a bill requiring such would be one of the first things he would sponsor.
He said corruption is almost inevitable for someone who spends a long time in Washington. He said his age means that he is automatically term limited.
John Haenn of Springfield made the introductions. Gale also spoke briefly as did Giordano before starting his interview. Giordano criticized the Delaware County Republican Party for their choice of candidates in recent elections and gave a shout-out to Lisa Esler, who was in the audience, for her independent run in last summer’s special election for the vacated 161st District State House seat after the GOP picked union boss Paul Mullen as their candidate.
Peters was the last to speak. He described his background which included being a beat cop, deputy State Attorney general, and federal prosecutor. He noted that State Sen. John Rafferty, the political insider endorsed by the state party, has taken union money and sabotaged reforms to make state government cost-effective and accountable.
What is Major League Baseball’s oldest continually running franchise? You’ll never guess. It is the Atlanta Braves. And what was its original name? You’ll really never guess. The original name of the Atlanta Braves was the Boston Red Stockings.
Springfield Streets Closed By Fallen Tree — This is Springfield Road at South Rolling Road in Springfield, Pa. shortly after 11 p.m., April 3. South Rolling was still blocked at the intersection and the street light there remained an an obtuse angle. A windstorm that morning felled a large tree knocking wires into South Rolling and closing off the street at Cascade Road and Windsor Circle. Power was out for about an hour in the afternoon while PECO did repairs.
Kudos to the township for a fast response.
So what happened on this date in 1882? That’s right Anthony, it was when that dirty little coward shot Mister Howard.
Mister Howard of course was Jesse James.
Here is the song describing the event.
What was the St. Louis Perfectos? That was the name for the St. Louis National League team before it became the Cardinals. St. Louis only used the name for the 1899 season. Before that they called themselves the Browns not to be confused with the later American League franchise of the same name.