There will be a pancake breakfast, 9 a.m. to noon, March 22, at American Legion Post 667, 1112 Steel Road, Havertown, Pa. 19083 to benefit the women’s auxiliary.
Cost is $5.
On the menu are hot-buttered flapjacks smothered in warm maple syrup, hot sausage, orange juice and coffee.
Sen. Tom McGarrigle (R-26) sent the following letter, March 9, in response to a constituent query regarding his opposition to Mary’s Law or SB 501:
Dear Constituent:
Thank you for contacting my office to question why I voted against the legislation that would enact “Mary’s Law”, also known as paycheck protection. This legislation has been introduced as Senate Bill 501. To be accurate, I did not vote against Senate Bill 501. On March 2, 2015, I voted against a proposed amendment to the bill. Senate Bill 501 has not yet been advanced for a vote on final passage. I do, however, intend to vote against the bill should that event occur.
I believe Senate Bill 501 unfairly singles out state and school employees. Union members and non-members already enjoy a well-established legal right not to contribute to union political spending. Unions cannot force employees to have money for representation or political activities automatically deducted from their paycheck without authorization. Paycheck-protection legislation does not provide workers’ with any rights they do not currently enjoy, but it deprives choice from workers who want a union with an effective political voice. Finally, I cannot justify Senate Bill 501 on the rationale that it will save money, since payroll deduction has almost zero cost to taxpayers.
Thank you again for contacting me in regard to my position on this issue. Sincerely,
Thomas J. McGarrigle, Senator
OK, some background. Mary’s Law is named for Mary Trometter, a professor at Pennsylvania College of Technology, in Williamsport and a 20-year member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association which is the state’s main teachers union.
Just days before the Nov. 4 election, leaders from the national and state teachers unions sent a letter to her husband, urging him to “Please join Mary in in voting for Tom Wolf for Governor.”
Mary had no plans on voting for Wolf. She initially ripped it up and threw it in the trash then started thinking about it. She investigated and found out that the letter was sent using money from the NEA Advocacy Fund.
Now, Sen. McGarrigle is correct in the sense that that state law says “no employe(e) organization shall make any contribution out of the funds of the employe(e) organization either directly or indirectly to any political party or organization or in support of any political candidate for public office.”
So, um, why did Mary’s husband get the letter? The union says the law doesn’t apply to communications with members of the union. LOL.
Mary also found that the PSEA publication The Voice, which is funded with union dues, took a strong pro-Wolf stand. She thought that was kind of unfair as well as she obviously couldn’t stop her dues from being used to pay for the union’s newsletter.
How about Sen. McGarrigle, you do what’s really fair and just end the automatic deduction of dues from public employee paychecks? If the union actually provides value for its members it will do just fine. If not, well, look what happened in Wisconsin.
People not being made to pay for something they don’t believe is the definition of fairness.
Question Sen. McGarrigle: If Scott Walker is the Republican nominee will you campaign for him.
Hillary Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business. This was illegal as per the Federal Records Act and with good reason. Records are not kept of necessary communications. Others, (the President, Congress, Department of Defense) have to know what is being discussed with foreign leaders after all. Further, private email is not notoriously insecure. Here’s an irony: China might know what Mrs. Clinton told a particular representative of another nation — or rich foreign person seeking to give her and her hubby money — while Obama might not.
Tom Conigliaro has pointed out to us that Gen. David Petraeus found himself with a misdemeanor conviction and saw his long public life end with a far less willful act of irresponsibility.
That certainly should be Mrs. Clinton’s fate.
Will it?
Many still want her as president.
If you want to see an illustration as to how much danger this country is in watch the below all-time scary video:
Scott Wagner will speak in Delaware County on April 6.
The Republican who has become an outspoken critic of the GOP’s Delaware County contingent in the Pennsylvania Senate will be speaking on enemy turf, Monday, April 6.
Scott Wagner of York County and the 28th District will address the Delaware County Patriots, 7 p.m., in the Knight of Columbus Hall, 327 N. Newtown Street Road (Route 252), Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.
The hall is in the 26th District which is represented by newcomer Tommy McGarrigle, who was one of the five Wagner called out last week for opposing a rather mild pro-worker measure called Mary’s Law, which would have prevented state public employee unions from using the money automatically deducted from worker’s salaries for political campaigns.
The bill, SB 501, failed due to opposition from the Philadelphia-area Republicans.
Wagner, in his missive, was especially harsh on McGarrigle’s fellow Delco Republican, Dominic Pileggi of the 9th District, saying that since losing his leadership post he is a bitter person and will do anything to undermine the PA State Senate’s new leadership; and John Rafferty of the 44th District (Montco, Checo and Berks) saying he is is self-serving and badly wants to be Pennsylvania’s Attorney General.
So, how do you really feel, Sen Wagner?
The Patriots say invitations have been sent to the Delaware County legislators to attend the event.
The Fizzano truck that pulled the Delco Veterans Memorial in last year’s St. Patrick’s Parade
Barbara Ann Zippi of Artemis Productions has let it be known that veterans are being sought to ride on the Delaware County Veterans Memorial’s float in the Springfield (Pa) Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, which will be held on Saturday, March 14.
To participate show up at Halderman Field, 570 W. Springfield Road, Springfield, Pa. 19064, between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. and get on the big green Fizzano flatbed truck that will be decorated with the appropriate signs and banners.
The truck will enter the parade line at 11 a.m. The parade ends at 1 p.m. and Delco Memorial Participants will be returned to Halderman Field.
If Curt Shilling, our favorite all-time Phillie, needed yet another reason for his deserved inclusion into the Hall of Fame, the rousing defense of his daughter, Gabriella, last week against cyber-bullies is an excellent one.
Curt tweeted, Feb. 25, a short proud papa note about Gabriella’s acceptance by Salve Regina University in Rhode Island and how she will be pitching for the softball team.
Well, the next week brought froth the vilest comments on Twitter regarding the young girl.
He noted the worst of the worst came from males attending college including college athletes; a vice president of a fraternity at Montclair State University, and college radio disc jockey.
He said it was not hard to find their identities. He said they were “pretty much ALL white, affluent, college attending children, and I mean children.”
He said he informed the athletes’ coaches and several were suspended and made to apologize.
“Gone was the tough guy tweeter, replaced by the “I’m so sorry apology used by those only sorry because they got caught,” Curt said. “It was EXACTLY like the Scared Straight episodes you watch where “tough” kids get brought to tears when they face the real world.”
He noted that some of this crap is going to follow these guys forever and deservedly.
Curt is an outspoken conservative Republican. The ones attacking his daughter don’t like him. We suspect they get their cues from David Letterman, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart. We suspect that easy access to abortion is the political issue most dear to their hearts.
And we are certain that those proclaiming that conservatives “wage war on women” are just fine with having them as friends and allies.
To read Curt’s rant (language warning applicable as he posts some of the tweets against his daughter verbatim) go to his blog 38 pitches.wordpress.com.
An Acme store that has been sitting vacant for a year in Chester County is going to become an Amish farmer’s market sometime in early summer.
The business at routes 202 and 926 in the Westtown Village Shopping Center will be known as the Westtown Farm Market and be run by Amos Stolzfus of Lancaster and his family.
Items expected to be sold include bakery goods, wines, sandwiches, barbecue chicken, soft pretzels, salads, meats, cheeses, candy, candles, Amish furniture and flowers.
It’s expected to be open just Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 a.m.
