The Guvmint We Deserve

CHOICES OUR GUVMINT MAKES FOR US EVERY DAY

In some quarters, the hurricane Katrina disaster has evolved into a debate over whether the Bush tax cuts crippled the country’s ability to fund FEMA and shore up the levees in New Orleans. One side believes the guvmint (in honor of our fellow Americans suffering on the Gulf Coast, I am using the pronunciation “guvmint”) was shortchanged by the tax cuts and had to cut essential programs and the other side believes it has plenty but wastes too much of what it has.

I have listed below some state, local and national funding questions our guvmint has faced over the years. Would you have answered the funding questions the same way as our guvmint officials did?

Do we spend $500 Million or more to upgrade the levees protecting the 500,000 residents of New Orleans so the levees will withstand a Category Four hurricane? Most experts say there is only one chance in two hundred (or less than 1%) that a Category Four hurricane will occur.

Do we spend $88 Million for nostalgia/ambience reasons to refurbish 18 trolleys and put them back in service to replace the perfectly good buses on the Route 15 mass transit line that serves Girard Avenue in Philadelphia? You know, I rode the Route 15 trolley almost every school day from 1966-1970 and darned if I saw any ambience back then- the trolleys were just real slow. Is slow another word for ambience?

Do we spend $625 Million for a state economic development fund called Growing Greener whose objective is to promote so-called smart growth and subsidize environmentally-correct remediation and re-development of the core areas of Pennsylvania’s decaying small towns? Arithmetic whizzes say this program costs $50 to every man, woman and child in the state. That does not include interest expenses nor law firm fees on the bond issue.

Do we spend approximately $30 Million a year to pay the salaries and perks for 253 Pennsylvania state legislators? That figure includes the recent 17% pay raise this fine group recently approved for itself at the end of a very long workday. And FYI, the state of Pennsylvania has just 20 members (two senators and 18 representatives) in the US Congress.

Do we spend $1.2 Billion per year to subsidize Amtrak’s operations? Amtrak carries approximately 25 million passengers so the annual subsidy works out to $48 per passenger. Or should we just shut down Amtrak and leave a bunch of hideously-painted hybrid cars at each station so train buffs can carpool between stations. To curb misuse, we could ask the Pentagon to rig the hybrids to automatically self-destruct if anyone deviates too far from the designated train route. FYI- $1.2 Billion would pay for 48,000 well-appointed hybrid cars. The bad news is I am not sure what the Pentagon would charge to arm each car to self-destruct. The good news is the cost of GPS systems is falling fast.

Do we spend $250 Million to help pay for a football stadium where only 10-11 games are played a year? Recent estimates place the value of the Philadelphia NFL franchise at about $1 Billion not including the stadium. That is second only to the value of the Washington Redskins. I am confident many of you are thrilled to have helped the Eagles reach this lofty and valuable perch!

Do we spend $250 Million to help pay for a baseball stadium which will hold 81 games a year? Most urban planners agree investments in baseball stadiums provide the taxpayer with a good payback since it generally revives a city’s downtown area. Philadelphia has shown to be the exception to that rule. Several unnamed experts have gone out on a limb to suggest it may be due to the fact the Phillies stadium was built several miles from the downtown area.

Do we give away millions in stadium parking lot revenues to the owner of the area’s NBA/ NHL franchise because he never fails to remind us he paid for his own stadium (but neglects to mention we gave him the land for almost nothing)?

Do we establish a Levee Committee or Board, whose reason de’etre is to manage the New Orleans levees, and expand its authority and purview to include the establishment and oversight of riverboat gambling and casinos?

Do we establish a Delaware River Port Authority, whose reason de’etre is to manage the bridges connecting the city of Philadelphia to New Jersey, and allow it to expand its authority and purview to include many types of large economic development grants and multi-million dollar donations using the funds provided from bridge toll receipts?

The above are real examples of the choices our guvmint made on our behalf. A fair person may conclude our guvmint has plenty of money to devote to essential programs. But as some are so fond of saying …”we only get the guvmint we deserve”.

Prescient Flood Story Posted On A Delaware Blog

The website link below has an excellent story written a year ago in National Geographic magazine. The story sounds like it could have been written AFTER the levee broke.

http://colossus.mu.nu/archives/116047.php

Baldilocks (the blog) Offers Her Insights

Below is a post from a blogger named Baldilocks. She always makes a lot of sense.

Baldilocks quote..."I have no pertinent commentary about the unsurprising racial angle that some are bringing into the mix of toxic water, dead bodies and thousands of homeless people, except to say this: there were two things that disturbed me nearly as much as the death, destruction and lawlessness. As a matter of fact, one could say that those two things were by-products of the lawlessness. "...."I’m sure that I’m not the only one who noticed how many husband-less women and girls there were who had babies and children along with them. And I’m betting that I’m not the only one who cringed as more than one man near my dad’s age wailed plaintively about why no one was doing anything for him them."......"Back when I was growing up, real men took charge and made decisions. They protected women and children--especially their own children--and got them out of harm’s way; out of the way of things like hurricanes, especially when they had days of advance warning. And if they made the wrong decision, they tried to make things right and/or took the consequences. Like young Jabbar Gibson. "....."They didn’t expect someone else to be the protector—be the man—and then whine about how the substitute man wasn’t being the substitute man fast enough."...."No one should wonder that gangs of thieves, terrorists, rapists and murderers plagued the refugees. Such are the rotten fruit of fatherless societies--societies with a dearth of real men."

Dumb Media Comments

Friday Sept 2nd about 730AM . I was watching either CNN or MSNBC and the talking head is trying to berate FEMA's chief and she says "it's been almost a week since the hurricane". Fortunately, I was not dressed yet so was able to use my toes to check her math... let's see the hurricane was Monday (that's less than four full days ago) and the levee broke on Tuesday (that's less than three full days ago) . So someone send those networks a calendar or provide a remedial course in how many days in a week, month, years etc.

Saturday Sept 3rd- watching CNN in the erly evening. A military physician is being interviewed and he reports they examined about 6-7,000 people in the last 48 hours. Thr CNN talking head (something Jones) asks " what was the general condition of those you examined?" Great question right but I made that up. Jones didn't really think to ask that.

Instead, the talking head had his focus on what or who screwed up so he asked the doctor what he wished he had (obviously hoping the doctor said more troops or supplies, etc.). The doctor disapointed him when he replied "more time to plan". Good for the doctor to ram it up the talking head's butt.

MSM- worthless agenda-driven dopes. Let's remind them we just want the facts. And you get the facts simply by asking who, what, when, where, why and how.. Got It??

Oh What A Conundrum For The MSM & The Libs

Just heard the news Chief Justice Rehnquist has died. RIP.

Now the MSM and the Libs have a dilemma....continue to give the flood top billing in the news or get onto a seond Supreme Court nominee battle. It will be so interesting to see the Sunday morning news shows- I am sure they were loaded for bear to beat the crap out of Bush over the Katrina response. Now what will they do??? I predict Katrina gets 2nd billing from this moment forward!

Big-Time Kudos to Mayor Street

Philly's mayor has offered to house and pay for 1,000 families left homeless by Katrina! I extend my congratulations to the mayor - he has stepped up to do the right thing! All big cities should follow his example!

Below for your reading pleasure is the link to the story.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/
hurricane_katrina/12544837.htm

Eagles (Amateur) TV Network

Let me take another shot at the Eagles...I watched about 5 minutes of their exhibition game last night and caught Dave Spadora telling viewers about the stadium's new computer system that enables fans to order food without leaving their seat in the stadium.

Spadora and the whole production struck me as rank amateurs. I understand it represents another way for the team to make more money by televising exhibition (NFL hates it when anyone uses this term anymore) games on its own "network". But at least try to meet industry standards of competence and professionalism.

What Do The Eagles Do With The Money Under The Salary Cap

The Philadelphia Eagles recently cut Corey Simon and saved $5 Million in salary for their once designated franchise player. That means the team is now $15 Million UNDER THE LEAGUE MANDATED SALARY CAP OF $85 Million. Or 18% below salary cap!!!!

Over the last few years, the Eagles have consistently been way under the salary cap. And every year, a friend of mine always asks "what happens to that money when a team is under the cap?" And every year, I give him the same answer..."Damned if Iknow".

Well, I provided a link below which may provide the answer if you want to research. I prefer to remain in the dark (afterall it's just a sport and I refuse to do homework on sports) and am perfectly contented to continue to curse the Eagles management for, in my opinion, being far too tightfisted.

http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/faq.asp

Good Article Except For The Predictably Nasty Final Paragraph

Former NY Times editor and a disaster himself, Howell Raines, wrote an oped piece today in the LA Times. Raines is a Nawlins native and he skillfully writes about his anguish of worrying about the safety of his daughter in law and grandchild. (At the same time, Raines unashamedly gets in a commercial plug for his son's "funk band" and its current venue in Seattle).

But predictably and unfortunately, Howell's column degenerates in the last part into bashing Bush, Bush's father and evil corporations. Here is the last paragraph :

"The populism of Huey Long was financially corrupt, but when it came to the welfare of people, it was caring. The churchgoing cultural populism of George Bush has given the United States an administration that worries about the House of Saud and the welfare of oil companies while the poor drown in their attics and their sons and daughters die in foreign deserts."

For your reading displeasure, I have provided below the link to Raines' article.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-raines1sep01,0,7077142.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Every State Should Chip In $5 For Each Of Its Own Residents

I suggest every state (except MS, AL, LA and FL of course) make a donation for the survivors and victims equal to $5 for every resident in their own state.

For, example, Pennsylvania would send about $60 Million or $5 for each of the approximately 12 million residents in Pennsylvania. Since the state of Pennsylvania has an annual budget of about $4 Billion, giving away another $60 Million is less than a 1.5% increase. Hell, Governor Rendell spends that much each year on cheesestakes.

If every non-affected state did their share, the aggregate total would be more than $1.2 Billion dollars! That's a good start, heh?

So call your governor and tell him you approve the state donation!

Blame It Oil On Global Warming (and the USA of course)

I think I just penned a song title for the tree-hugging crowd......"Blame it Oil on Global Warming and the USA".

Ross Gelbspan, former journalist and professional Chicken Little has carved out a nice little career for himself over the last 10-15 years warning about the evils of Global Warming.

Yesterday, Gelbspan had a column in the Boston Globe where he blames Hurrican Katrina and almost every other natural dissater else on the USA and its reluctance to approve the Kyoto treaty, etc.

In my opinion, people like Gelbspan are dangerous- he is not a scientist- he is a journalist but he gets an audience for his alleged substantive arguments as wide as if he were an Einstein. In fact, you or I are just as qualified to form an opinion. I am not yet convinced there is a global warming crisis.

Btw, I wonder how many square feet Gelbspan's home is? It's pretty common for these lib enviro whackos to decry SUV's but live in humongous houses. I will try to find out how big Gelbspan's house is- he lives in Brookline, MA.

For your reading pleasure, I have provided the link below so you can see what a nutcase he is and how much he disdains America.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/
08/30/katrinas_real_name/

Good Takedown of So-called Smart Growth Advocates

Wish I could think,argue and write as clearly as this guy, Thomas Sowell, who takes apart so-called smart growth advocates and assorted civic groups / planning commissions. Sowell's column claims these groups including "naturists" actually help to inflate the cost of real estate and homes.

For your reading pleasure, here is the link to the story via real clear politics via jewish world review.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell1.asp

You Must Admit The Web Is Full Of Funny Stuff

Here is a humorous post at a website called www.blamebush.com

The site is a spoof of those who blame Bush for everything. For your reading pleasure, I have provided the link below:

http://blamebush.typepad.com/blamebush/2005/08/farewell_uncle_.html

Hurricane Makes Detroit Look Good

New Orleans has hosted more Super Bowls than any other city. Today, even Detroit (the site for this year's game) is looking like an excellent Super Bowl site when compared to post-hurricane Nawlins!

Unfortunately for New Orleans, the latest news clips suggests many looters may have re-located to New Orleans from their home turf in Detroit.

Help The Hurricane Victims If You Can

Here are links to the Red Cross and to the Salvation Army if you'd like to make a donation.

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/

https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

More Proof of Growth In Non-Profit Sector

Here is an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer that substantiates a prior post where I stated the non-profit sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.

The most interesting tidbit (to me) in the article was the wide variation in the average wage paid to employees (depending on which segment of the economy employed them). According to the story, the government sectors pay the highest average wage today AND I would venture it also provides the most expensive benefits and pension plans. Here are the average weekly wages by sector for the state of Pennsylvania in 2003:

• Non profit sector $641
• For profit sector $679
• Local govt. $737 or 9% higher than for profit sector
• State govt. $843 or 24% higher than for profit sector

So our government workers are the highest paid and get the best benefits. Sweet huh! Below I have provided the link to the story.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/12493895.htm

When Hijackers Were Just In It For The Money

Here is a good story that re-caps a time when airplane hijackers were just in it for the money.

This guy, called D.B. Cooper, hijacked a plane, got $200,000 then parachuted from the plane over the woods of the Pacific Northwest. He was never found or caught and the story was pretty astounding and appealing on some level to me and the gang I hung around with (we were 19-20 years old at the time).

For your reading pleasure, I have provided below the link to the LA Times story.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dbcooper28aug28,0,4127944.story?coll=la-home-headlines

I'd Like a Starbucks and a Bagel With My Free WIFI

Here is a NY Post story regarding government-provided wireless internet service. I generally oppose taxpayer-funding for what I would call a semi-luxury or non-essential commodity. But I thought the Post report is a good and balanced story.

Here is a very telling quote from a program bureaucrat (Dana Spiegel, Executive Director of NYC Wireless). I assume she heads up the incipient and free (?) WIFI program for New York city..."Just like the grass and the trees and the benches are provided by the city, we think that broadband internet access should be provided as well".

Let's think about this for a minute.....the city must be pretty well off if it can afford to spring for free WIFI for all its citizens. So I think the city should throw in a free delivery of the morning paper, a Starbucks coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. Cause I really can't start my web-browser without those accoutrements! Then I would support the program.

For your reading pleasure, I have provided below the link to the story.

http://www.nypost.com/business/51774.htm

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Excellent Unmasking of the NEA Agenda from Hube (a teacher) at the Collosus of Rhodey

Dave Huber links to a good and scathing analysis of the National Education Association's latest platform.

Here is the link below to Dave's post. He now posts at the Colussus of Rhodey.

http://colossus.mu.nu/archives/114398.php

Suspect's Photo Released by Cops But Paper Fails To Publish It

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a news item reporting the police had identified a rape suspect and the police had also released a photo of the suspect. For some reason, the paper failed to include the photo with its story.

I will email the reporter and ask him. Interestingly, the reporter, William Gibbons is a former Philadelphia cop who was shot on duty almost thirty years ago and then took up a career as a crime reporter.

Below is the link to the article.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/12489206.htm

Philly Zoo Elephants 1874-2005 RIP

The Philadelphia Zoo has housed elephants since it opened in 1874. And to the best of my knowledge, there have been no incidents of mistreatment or egregrous neglect of the pachyderms.

Now, the AZA ( American Zoo Association) has set new guidelines for how AZA/ member zoos must house and care for elephants. The AZA wants elephants to have acres of space to roam around just like they were still in the wild. The bottom line is the Philly zoo may transfer its elephants to better-suited zoos and our kids would no longer have a chance to see elephants at the Philly zoo.

That's crazy!!! Elephants have been well cared for at the zoo for 131 years!! And now some meddling, buttinskis are telling Philly what to do. AND I do understand this threat is a not-so-subtle attempt to blackmail the donor and government community to force them to ante up millions of dollars so the zoo can build a habitat for the elephants that meets the AZA new standards.

Here is a quote from the Philly Zoo chairman, Peter Gould ..."we need to do the right thing by the animals. It's clear the status quo is not a long-term, sustainable status quo." Blogger's comment .....UNLESS YOU CONSIDER 131 YEARS LONG-TERM!! GOULD MUST BE A WEENIE AND AN IDIOT. HE SHOULD TELL THE AZA TO GO POUND SAND. I BET THE ZOO WON'T DARE POLL ITS ANNUAL SUBSCRIBERS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS TO SEE HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT LOSING THE ELEPHANTS.

Here is the story's link below.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/12493913.htm

This Is Funny & Yes I Admit I Hate Her

Dear Abby,

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning, and when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows he cheats on me. It is so humiliating. Also, since he lost his job three years ago he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does is buy cigars and cruise around and jokes with his pals, while I have to work to pay the bills. Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I am a lesbian. What should I do?

Signed
Clueless

Dear Clueless:Grow up and dump him. For Pete's sake, you don't need him anymore, you're a United States Senator from New York, act like it.

Note this joke was borrowed from Atlas Shugs via Rightwingsparkle(because it was too funny not to)

Good Article Re Lack of Conservatives in Academia

For your reading pleasure, I provided below the link for an article that discusses the dirth of conservative voices among America's college faculties. It's not a revelation but the articlequotes some of the leading libs at their bestest. Enjoy- here is the link:

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/08/26/johnson

Non-Profits Can Be Corrupt Too

I have been told the non-profit sector of our economy is the fastest-growing part of our economy. That said, I believe there is a lot of fraud, personal greed and deceit in this sector and that does not include the highly-compensated (overpaid) execs running many of the non-profits.

The financial data for all non-profits should be 100% transparent and available for public scrutiny. There are three types of non-profits in this country:

• The traditional church or religious organization that pays its employees below-average salaries and pays even less to its priests/ministers and nuns.
• The small and struggling non-profit that scrapes by on its meager donations and the work of its volunteers.
• And the mega non-profits like the Pew Foundation, bureaucratic paper-pushers like the United Way and mega churches like that run by Pat Roberson.

This last group (like Robertson's) is where the gross malfeasance typically occurs. Just today, the WAPO (link provided below) reported today that Pat Robertson is making a bundle in a for-profit company selling his special milkshake and he may have screwed one of the product developers out of the lucrative deal.

The Pew Foundation has billions of dollars and one of its initiatives is "The Internet and American Life" or some other such bull-crap. Can you imagine what the original Pew family donors would think about their gigantic bequest being wasted on something like that??? Yes, I said wasted. The Pew Foundation is always butting their noses into public issues like sufficient spending on education- why doesn't PEW (as an experiment) give a billion or so of its loot to a single school district to see if great gobs money can really solve education problems? Nah, that would never happen cause then the Pew Foundation would go out of business and the high-paid execs would lose their jobs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501806_pf.html

Beloit College Annual List- A Neat Tradition

Beloit College in Wisconsin now publishes an annual list that lists things that are normal for their entering freshmen (i.e Starbucks) or before their time (Jackie Gleason) or an anachronism (the ability to tie a necktie).

I think the list is kinda neat so I have provvided the link below. Re the neckties, I have a friend who used to just loosen the ties because he was somewhat challenged at tying the knot correctly. Once he came home and was dismayed to see his new live-in girlfriend had done some housecleaning including untying the knots in all of his ties.

Lastly, the Beloit list reminds me of the game every generation plays by telling younger listeners how tought it once was. My favorite is to tell them that when we were their age, we only had three TV channels to choose from. I think that scares the crap out of them.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0825/p09s02-coop.html

The Obit As Printed By the Pottsville Republican

James J. Lynch, of Rhawnhurst, died on Sunday. He was in his 89th year and was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Margaret McGee. Mr. Lynch was born in Phoenix Park and was a son of John and Lottie Lynch.

He was one of ten children and is survived by his daughters, Barbara, wife of Michael Pumple, and Judith, wife of Michael Gullotti; his sons, Anthony and Timothy; eight grandchildren; a great-grandchild; his two brothers, Gerard and William Lynch. He was preceded in death by his sisters, Margaret, Anne, Catherine and Mary; brothers John, Edward "Ted" and Francis "Pat."

The son of a coal miner, Mr. Lynch was an Army veteran of World War II, having entered the service in February 1942, and was stationed in the Aleutians Island during the war. Before moving to Philadelphia, Mr. Lynch was a teacher and baseball coach at Branch Township, his alma mater, in Minersville. Mr. Lynch earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree.

He taught math, science and physical education at the Shawmont Elementary School in Roxborough for more than 25 years and retired in 1979. He was a graduate of Kutztown State Teachers College, where he was known as the Irish Flash for his exceptional speed in the 100-yard dash. Unfortunately, neither his high school nor Kutztown had a track team in those days, but Mr. Lynch claimed the Kutztown football team would pause its team practice to watch him show off his speed in the 100-yard dash.

He also gambled a bit at Kutztown and hinted the walls of his dorm room still had dice marks from the many games of craps they played.

He was a lifelong sports fan and coached baseball for several years for the Rhawnhurst Athletic Association. He loved watching sports on TV and was a big fan of the Phillies, Eagles, college basketball, horse racing, women's softball, the little league world series and pool, to name a few. In fact, when he retired, his fellow teachers gave him a pool cue as a retirement gift.

As a young boy, he had seen the powerful Pottsville Maroons play. They were a forerunner of the NFL teams and laid claim to a league championship that is disputed to this day.

He was an avid reader, had an encyclopedic memory and never forgot a birthday for one of his grandchildren. Just one week before his death, during a phone call he learned a grandson had visited Ithaca to check out potential colleges. Mr. Lynch spontaneously launched into a rendition of a fight song he had heard 50 years ago when the University of Pennsylvania football fans would mock their Thanksgiving opponent, Cornell, located in Ithaca.

The family requests Mass cards or a donation to a charity of choice. A viewing will be held at George Fox Funeral Home, Philadelphia, tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at Resurrection of Our Lord Church.

Dad's Obit As Printed in the Philly Inquirer

James J. Lynch Teacher, coach, 88
James J. Lynch, 88, of Rhawnhurst, a teacher and coach for more than 25 years, died of congestive heart failure Sunday at Nazareth Hospital.
One of 10 children of a coal miner in Schuylkill County, Mr. Lynch earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1937 from Kutztown State Teachers College. He taught and coached baseball at his high school alma mater, Branch Township in Minersville, until being drafted by the Army in 1942. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands before being discharged at the end of World War II.
Mr. Lynch returned to teaching in Minersville, then moved to Roxborough to teach math, science and physical education at Shawmont Elementary School for more than 25 years. He returned to college to earn a master's degree in education from Temple University in 1961. Mr. Lynch retired in 1979.
He enjoyed horse racing, women's softball, the Phillies and Eagles, and playing pool. His colleagues gave him a pool cue as a retirement gift.
"My dad liked to act up," said son Anthony. "Two of his four sisters would not get married in their hometown because the six Irish brothers were rowdy and drank too much at weddings."
In addition to his son, Mr. Lynch is survived by son Timothy; daughters Barbara Pumple and Judith Gullotti, eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers. His wife of 31 years, Margaret McGee, died in 1980.
Friends may visit at 7 tonight at George Fox Funeral Home, 7026 Castor Ave. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Resurrection of Our Lord Church, Castor Avenue and Vista Street in the Northeast. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem.

Goodbye Dad

Below is the obituary I just wrote for my father. I also submitted to the Philadelphia Inquirer and to the Pottsville Republican (his hometown newspaper to which he still subscribed).

James J. Lynch, of Rhawnhurst, died on Sunday, August 21 2005. He was in his 89th year and was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Margaret McGee. Mr. Lynch was born in Phoenix Park, Pennsylvania in Schuylkill County and was the son of John and Lottie Lynch. He was one of ten children and is survived by his daughters, Barbara (Michael) Pumple, Judith (Michael) Gullotti, his sons Anthony and Timothy, eight grandchildren as well as two brothers Gerard and William Lynch. He was preceded in death by his sisters Margaret, Anne, Catherine and Mary and brothers John, Edward (Ted), and Francis (Pat).

The son of a coal miner, Mr. Lynch was an Army veteran of World War II, entered the service in February of 1942 and was stationed in the Aleutians Island during the war. Before moving to Philadelphia, Mr. Lynch was a teacher and baseball coach at Branch Township (his alma mater) in Minersville.

Mr. Lynch earned a bachelors degree in education and a masters degree. He taught math, science and physical education at the Shawmont Elementary School in Roxborough for more than twenty-five years and retired in 1979.

He was a graduate of Kutztown State Teachers College where he was known as the Irish Flash for his exceptional speed in the 100-yard dash. Unfortunately he attended Kutztown before the school established a track team but Mr. Lynch claimed the football team would pause its team practice to watch him show off his prowess in the 100-yard dash. He also gambled a bit at Kutztown and hinted the walls of his dorm room still had dice marks from the many games of craps they played.

He was a lifelong sports fan and coached baseball for several years for the Rhawnhurst Athletic Association. He loved watching sports on TV and was a big fan of the Phillies, Eagles, college basketball, horse racing, women’s softball, the little league world series and pool to name a few. In fact, when he retired his fellow teachers gave him a pool cue as a retirement gift. As a young boy, he had seen the powerful Pottsville Maroons play. They were a forerunner of the NFL teams and laid claim to a league championship that is disputed to this day.

He was an avid reader, had an encyclopedic memory and never forgot a birthday for one of his grandchildren. Just one week before his death, during a phone call he learned a grandson had visited Ithaca to check out potential colleges. Mr. Lynch spontaneously launched into a rendition of a fight song he had heard fifty years ago when the University of Pennsylvania football fans would mock their Thanksgiving opponent, Cornell (located in Ithaca).

Here is the song: “ On the shore of Lake Cayuga, there was a horrible smell. Was a pack of sons of bitches, called themselves Cornell”. The family requests mass cards or a donation to the charity of your choice. A viewing will be held at the Fox funeral home on Tuesday evening from 7-9PM, the funeral mass will be at 10AM on Wednesday at Resurrection of Our Lord church.

Aidan Delgado Re-surfaces

I was watching Hardball last night. Nora O'Donnell was subbing for Chris Matthews and she was spending much of the program on Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas. They briefly stated there was an Iraq war vet participating in Sheehan's protest and who do they show but Aidan Delgado! He is the vet profiled in the NY Times Bob Herbert column in early May. In that column, Herbert repeated Delgado's claim that American soldiers in Delgado's unit smashed Coke bottles over the heads of Iraq civilians as the soldiers rode by in their convoys.

The blogosphere got wind of Delgado's very questionable accusations and neither he nor Herbert ever offered any additional proof or names to support his claim. Delgado then seemed to disappear but it looks like he came out of his spider-hole to join the Crawford protest.

I am fine with Delgado joining Sheehan's protest as that is his fundamental right as an American, but Hardball should learn to do a little homework regarding their (however brief) guests. Do the MSM folks even know how to google someone? Delgado's background (he got discharged as he became a conscientious objector and his spurious claims to the NY Times columnist) is information that the MSM should share with its audience! Don't you agree?

Ten Best Places To Live

Here is a recent magazine list of the ten best places to live. I always enjoy perusing these lists. I am partial to the Reno/ Tahoe area myself and Oregon is as green as can be but in return you get above-average rainfall. Can picture living in Tahoe area one day:

• Charlottesville, VA
• Sante Fe, NM
• San Luis Obispo- Paso Robles, CA
• Santa Barbara- Lompoc, CA
• Honolulu, HI
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Atlanta, GA
• Asheville, NC
• Reno NV
• Corvallis, OR

And I provided the link below if you'd like to read the whole story.

http://houseandhome.msn.com/Move/BestPlacestoLive.aspx

Ted Rall Wants Bad News From Iraq

Here is a story where the cartoonist, Ted Rall, admits he should not have bought into bullshit data that the number of soldiers killed in Iraq was 9,000 or 5 times the 1800 dead (the actual number to date).

Rall wants very hard to believe bad news and he wants that bad news to actually be far worse. He claims to have awaken to his own idiocy when his friend asked how the government could hide the inflated dead from their survivors. Duh!

I have provided the link below:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001013511

Great Story About An Amercian in Ireland

I have attached a story written by an American on her visit to Ireland. It's very well written an I enjoyed it. Gotta get there soon myself. Below is the link:

http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/004957.html

Air America Flights (of fancy)

This is a new category. I will occasionally listen to the Randi Rhodes radio show on Air America and report without comment what she is talking about. I will try to quote her accurately and refrain from editorial comments.

Today Rhodes :

• Claimed there are true and irrefutable stories of rape rooms being operated by American military contractors in Iraq.
• Discussed one alleged incident in Afghanistan where about 180 or so of 200 Afghani (Taliban??) prisoners died after being trucked miles and miles across the desert by the US military.
• Said America is no longer the greatest country in the world. But said it once was the greatest.
• Said Bush is either an unelected or illegimate president.
• Said Cindy Sheehan is a great American while
• Rhodes failed to mention newstories that appear to contradict Sheehan's earlier positive response to her meeting with Prez Bush in 2004.

I admit when I am wrong & crow when I am right

Modo is back at work and I admit when I was wrong.......I had predicted she was burned out and would take an early retirement.

But I crow when I am right too .... and her column today shows I was right that Modo has lost her once-unique voice. She no longer says anything that isn't heard at many far-left liberal enclaves. Reading her anymore is like watching the same boring play in slow motion over and over and over and over .

Advice to Modo-- retire already so you might re-discover that once irreverent voice. For your reading annoyance, I have provided the column link below:

http://nytimes.com/2005/08/10/opinion/10dowd.html

50 Cents Says He Is Dumb As A Stump

MARTIN REFUSES TO MEET BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN has snubbed British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR's invitation to meet him at his London residence - because the YELLOW star feared it would damage his image.

A galaxy of stars, including rockers OASIS and SIR ELTON JOHN, have accepted invitations to Blair's Downing Street home. And Martin respects the British premier, but does not want to be seen publicly socialising with the leader of the Labour party, for fear of offending his fans who may disagree with Blair's political goals and stance over the war in Iraq.

He says, "I'm not going to go. I really like Tony Blair. He's interested in the same things as I am - he plays the guitar and he always gives the impression of doing what he can to help. "But I don't particularly want to be photographed with him at the moment."

Howard Dean Sounds Like This Every Week - Does that count as a message?

Howard Dean is always saying the Dems need a message to combat the superior Republican "propaganda" machine. I swear Dean is quoted almost every week saying just about the same thing.....Dems need a message.

I suggest Dean spend some time crafting a message but first the Dems have to sculpt some core values. Can't have a message without those! Here is a sample of what the energetic Dr. Dean was quoted as saying 3 days ago....

"We have to be out there. We have to be vocal. We have to be pushing our version of the facts because their version of the facts is very unfactual." [Blogger's note- rumor has it the term "unfactual' is first taught in medical school.]

After visiting 30 states in the first six months as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Dean said Monday he has found "There are Democrats everywhere."

"We need to position ourselves as the party of change," he said. "I think we have learned that when big changes happen in the House and Senate, they happen because one party nationalizes the race and becomes the change agent." [Blogger's note- Dr. Dean is trying to say the Democratic party sucks, the voters knew it, decided to become change agents themselves and made the necessary changes via the ballot box]

In his speech Dean talked about the growing diversity in America and how well that diversity meshes with the message and membership of the Democratic Party. “The face of the Democratic Party is such that it looks like all of America will look in 2050," said Dean. [Blogger's note- The Dems diversity meshes with its message but Dean admitted it does not yet have a message. Dr. Dean will be about 100 years old in 2050 and his face and that of anyone else who is alive today will be wrinkled, old and ugly.]

I also provided the article's link below:

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Dean_Fundraiser.html

Rendell As Expected Waffles on Support for War

It was just two weeks ago that Governor's Rendell's office issued a statement that the state of Pennsylvania did not take a stand or position pro/con regarding wars and other national issues.

But there he (Fast Eddie) was on Hardball on August 5th and here is what he told Chris Matthews when asked about support for the war among Pensylvanians......

"Well, for the first time since the war began, less than half of the people of the Pennsylvania support the president‘s handling of the war. And I want to make it clear that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support our troops. It is not like Vietnam. But support for the war effort and the way the president is handling it is beginning to wane significantly in Pennsylvania. And that‘s in great part because the death tool and the injuries have mounted. We have 84 dead. I think that‘s the fifth highest in the nation, Chris, and over 500 wounded, and some of them very severely wounded. And that affects all of us. And—and I think the people of Pennsylvania are a little at unease because they don‘t see a way out. "

So there it is from a high-profile Democratic governor. In my opinion, he is taking advantage of recent high number of casualties in Iraq. But that's what I always expect of Governor Rendell.

Looks like J Lo read Santorum's book

Saw this in the news. Jennifer Lopez said she may retire to have a family because she thinks it is too difficult to raise kids and have a high-profile career. Is there any chance J LO became enlightened by reading Senator Satorum's recently released book? I have provided the story link below:

http://www.examiner.ie/breaking/story.asp?j=126737900&p=yz673849x&n=126738589&x=

More gun deaths due to suicide than murders!

News Item from the Philadelphia Daily News on August 5, 2005

"Most of the people killed by guns in Pennsylvania during 2001-03 were suicides, according to a report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council and the state Health Department. Suicides accounted for 2,112 - nearly 59 percent - of the 3,588 firearm deaths in the state during the three years - far more than assaults, accidents or any other reason, the report said. In rural counties, the proportion of shooting deaths that were suicides was much higher - nearly 86 percent. In urban counties, the figure was 55 percent, the report says."

I help out as a volunteer treasurer for a small non-profit that focuses on stemming the number of suicides especially among the young. But this stat was pretty amazing to me anyway. I did know that most male suicides use a gun but did not know that suicides exceeded murders from guns.

Time to Boycott Phillies Games??

The idea just came to me. Is it time to stay away from Phils games until they do something to improve the everyday roster?

I love baseball but the General Manager just doesn't get it. My pet peeve involves two of the team regulars, David Bell and Mike Lieberthal- they can't cut it anymore and are without a doubt the least productive at their respective positions in the entire league.

The team and the fans would be better off if these two were sent home ( I know the Phils owe them millions for a few more years but I don't care!) Get them out of here and find two young players, playthem everyday and let them get some major league experience!

I found a schedule for the Reading Phillies and I may get my fix there. Maybe a boycott by alot of fans will drive the message home.

America Coming Together Came & Went

Here is some very predictable news.

The liberal, activist group 'America Coming Together' (aka ACT) which was formed with the millions of George Soros and Peter Lewis is now defunct because Soros and Lewis have decided they will no longer fund it and at least 28 people were informed they will lose their jobs soon.

I equate this to a little kid who loses the game and so the kid is unhappy and he decides to take his ball and goes home. That is essentially what Soros has done. He thought he could form an activist group, buy some ads or enroll some voters and influence the election so his guy would win. Unfortunately, his guy lost, so Soros is taking his ball (the money) and going home where he will hatch up some other inefective idea on which he will waste another $50 Million or so next election. YOU KNOW IF I HAD ANY SENSE I WOULD HATCH UP SOME IDEAS FOR SOROS AND SEE IF I COULD GET IN ON THAT BIG GRAVY TRAIN IN 2008!

Lastly, in its story about the demise of ACT, the Washington Post reported "By all measures but one, ACT and the Media Fund were a great success, helping to turn out record numbers of new voters. But that one measure was the one that counted. After Bush's reelection and GOP gains in the House and Senate, Soros and Lewis pulled the plug on their support."

Now is that statement by the Post true, documentable and provable? Great Success??? I may email the WAPO authors and ask how they can back up that statement? I remember turnout was a record but are they saying the Kerry turnout was primarily attributable to ACT and the Media Fund?

Let's Shoot for a Real Clean Sweep

I heard a new organization was formed as a reaction to the pay raise grab by Pennsylvania state legislator. It's called PA Clean Sweep and it intends to try to field a primary candidate against every incumbent legislator.

That is a great idea but suggest it be taken one step further because the legislator are a big problem but the root of the problem are the two corrupt political parties which breed these filthy scoundrels. So, why not try to disembowel the two parties by fielding candidates from a new party called "The Clean Sweep" party. If a majority were elected, the Dems and Reps would lose statewde power and the new legislators could start to clean up the state government cesspool.

The beauty of a new party is it adresses the oft-heard complaint that there is no differnce in the parties . The Clean Sweep party now needs a platform and that is clear-cut..... spend our tax money wisely and primarily to pay the cost of police, highways, schools, aged, the sick and the young sufficiently. And the hell with the rest .... ie. get rid of the turnpike commission, the gambling board, and all the other quasi-goverment boards unless absolutely necessary.

And enact general referendums so taxpayers can approve or disapprove proposed spending programs over a certain amount (I propose $10 Million); the referendum must be during the general elections (not in a primary). Lastly, the Clean Sweep Party will not get involved in national party politics nor elections so it will not issue collective opinions regarding abortion, wars, SCOTUS judges, etc.

That is simple enough. Perhaps best of all, I volunteer to help formally write the constitution and organize a Clean Sweep Party organizing convention.

Quote for the week

Care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible." - Anonymous.

Modo is Back

Maureen Dowd returned to the pages of the NY Times with a very touching story about her mother who died last week. Here is the link below. This story shows Modo can still write with passion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/weekinreview/24dowd.html?

Russian Spammer Found Murdered

Come on admit it- there have been times when each of us have wanted to exact some vengeance on those pain in the ass spammers and spyware companies. Well, it looks like someone may have acted on those impulses since a Russian spammer was just found dead. It seems he may have repeatedly struck himself in the head with a blunt instrument (just kidding- someone else did that to him). Here is the story below:

Russia’s Biggest Spammer Brutally Murdered in Apartment
Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an e-mail, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday. He died after suffering repeated blows to the head.

Kushnir, 35, headed the English learning centers the Center for American English, the New York English Centre and the Centre for Spoken English, all known to have aggressive Internet advertising policies in which millions of e-mails were sent every day.

In the past angry Internet users have targeted the American English centre by publishing the Center’s telephone numbers anywhere on the Web to provoke telephone calls. The Center’s telephone was advertised as a contact number for cheap sex services, or bargain real estate sales. Another attack involved hundreds of people making phone calls to the American English Center and sending it numerous e-mails back.

But Vardan Kushnir remained sure of his right to spam, saying it was what e-mails were for. Under Russian law, spamming is not considered illegal, although lawmakers are working on legal projects that could protect Russian Internet users like they do in Europe and the U.S.

Disgusting Behavior from current lieutenant governor

Recommend you read the post noted above on a good website called Irish Pennants authored by Jack Kelly.

Suburban Gorilla

I am amazed at the vile and hatred-filled stuff I see written on some websites. For instance, there is a Philly-area blog named The Suburban Guerilla (www.susiemadrak.com) who spews forth on a daily basis.

Today, the blog's author, Susie Madrak, wonders if Ed Gillespie (former RNC Chariman) and Charles Krauthammer are so angry (in her opinion) because they can't find a good plastic surgeon to improve their looks. Now, Krauthammer is a long established and nationally syndicated columnist. And it is widely known that he was once a talented physician but has been a paraplegic for many years after being severely injured in a car accident. Almost everyone knows that about Krauthammer. Madrak must be one mean-spirited and hate-filled bastard to make such a nasty comment about Krauthammer.

Next, she wonders if the Bush Administration planned the London bombings to boost Bush ratings...here is the quote below regarding one suspect who at one time was under investigation in the United States:

[Quote taken from www.susiemadrak.com website on 7/24/05] - "Now, that is a great question, isn’t it? Excuse me while my imagination runs wild. Yet, as wild as my imagination gets, it just can’t quite keep up with the machinations and sheer amorality of BushCo. You don’t suppose this creature (the suspect -my clarification) was one of ours, do you? I mean, Fearless Leader would never, ever set a bombing in motion because his ratings are in the toilet. Would he?"

So basically, she is suggesting Bush and America may have been involved in the London bombing. In summary, I don't think it's sufficient to simply dismiss Madrak and her comments as the sour grapes from a bitter whackjob loser. I think she deserves a dose of her own medicine if she does not apologize for her comments.

Philly Police Commissioners: Dumb as Foxes or Just Plain Dumb

Philadelphia's police commissioner was asked about doing random bag searches in Philly ala New York and D.C. Here is what he said..."I don't think so (said a chuckling City Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson). It raises serious questions about people's constitutional rights.....you remember, the mayor didn't even want his bag searched at the movies".

Meanwhile Philly's mass transit system, SEPTA, has a it own police commissioner, Richard Evans, who also said people's bags would not be checked on buses or subway because it's an awful lot of work. Here is Evan's quote..."that wouldn't be the wisest use of our people. The volume of passengers is too large. We have 52 million riders per year. How many can you check? We can use our resources more effectively. I'm not criticizing New York. They have a different problem."

So let me ask you. Are the Philly commissioners just being coy by not openly stating what steps they will take to tighten security on our mass transit lines? Or are they just dumb and don't plan to do anything extra? I have to say I am amazed at the film footage of New York where cops are stopping people and looking at bags? New York has evidently found a way to get extra cops and resources to try to meet this challenge!

SCOTUS Judges tend to stay a while

Did some really simple number-crunching after I heard John Roberts would be the 109th Supreme Court judge. Wow, I thought- there have been only 109 Supreme Court judges while there have been 45 presidents to date. Since there are nine SC judges, that indicates the judges tend to serve far longer than the average president. I realize that's a pretty well known fact but I crunched the numbers anyway.

Facts - there are nine SCOTUS judges and I think that has been the case since 1776. There is only one president (not counting the co-prez Hillary) at a time. So I divided the 109 total judges by 9 to get me the quasi "full-time equivalent" to a single president. [ 109 / 9 = 12.1]

Next I divided the 45 presidents by the 12.1 FTE judges. That gives the term or length of service equivalency for the average SCOTUS judge vs. the average president. [ 45 / 12.1 = 3.71] . In other words, the average SCOTUS judge serves 3.71 times as long as the average president. Since 1776, we have had 45 presidents who served an average of 5.1 years.

Bottom line is the average SCOTUS judge serves 18.9 years vs. the average president who serves 5.1 years [calculation was 5.1 years for president X 3.71 = 18.9 average years for a judge]. To me, this is an eye-opening stat and certainly speaks to the potentially significant impact of a SCOTUS appointment. Especially in these supposedly litigous times! On the other hand, it somewhat defuses the DEMS complaint that Roberts will likely serve a very long time. If the average has been 18.9 years, Roberts will not reach that until he is almost 70 years old and once you reach that age, anything can happen.

Another Great Quote re "Fanatic"

"A fanatic is someone whose mind can't be changed and who won't change the subject". Isn't that a good one? I know I have been a good example of a fanatic on occasion but isn't everyone at times? I will find out who first said this- may have been Mark Twain.

Great Quote

"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimension"- what a great quote to try to live by. I have seen this attributed to two people and I don't know which is the true originator. The two are Oliver Wendell Holmes and Alfred North Whitehead.

Three Years in Prison for stalking

Some poor wackjob got a three year prison sentence for stalking Catherine Zeta Jones. That seems excessive to me. Has anyone ever heard of a case where judge handed out such a long sentence when the stalking involved a non-celebrity? This sounds like another case where an expensive team of attorneys can get you off (i.e OJ/ Robert Blake/ etc) or help you (Michael Douglas and Zeta Jones) send someone to prison for a long time. Don't know or care about specific details of the case as I am just thinking out loud but I will admit it explains why I only stalk non-celebrities who don't have much money.

Tipping Point in European Opinion

I started to think about this on Wednesday when I heard England beat out France for the 2012 Olympics. France had again taken a devastating loss to its self-esteem and I predicted this latest bodyblow could finally wake them up to start rehabilitating their image among many Western nations. To wit, I expect they will begin to try to cast off the bad vibes and stubborn ways so that France could start again to feel welcome and comfrotable with the West (especially America and England).

Keep in mind this was before the bombings in London. Well now I am more sure of this vision but now I see it expanding to Germany, perhaps Spain and other of the European nations that failed to offer significant support to the Iraq war effort. The Olympic vote and the London bombing will cause a resurgance in European opinion and spine against the terrorists. In fact, the terrorists have made a major blunder of accidentally timing the sabotage just after the Olympic vote and during the G8 summit. American, European and perhaps World resolve will combine to rout the hearts and minds of these bastards! And France will recast its image as a country that saw the errors of its ways and wants to leave that history behind forever.

Live 8

Made it to the Live 8 concert in Philly on Saturday for a couple hours. Took the train to 69th Street elevated terminal, got off at 30th Street then walked to the suthwest side of the Art Museum where I had a good view of the stage, screens and good audio too. I was surprised at the video and audio quality since I had not been to such an outside event in 3-4 years. Last time was the July 4th concert in probably 2000 or 2001. And back then the audio sucked.

Philly had a big and well-behaved crowd. Due to lack of beer I would assume- it was a very sober crowd. I was most impressed that the bike path has been finished south of the Art Museum and condos are being built right on the Schuykill. In fact there were a bunch of boaters sitting in the river just listening to the Live 8 concert. I took a picture on my camera-phone and will upload to this blog when I figure out how! Took a couple shots of the concert crowd and equipment trucks in front of the museum.

The vendors were selling shirts that said something like (feed Africa and finally get justice). That makes no sense to me. It's not a justice issue; it's a common sense issue. Corruption sidetracks (kindly put) the delivery of food and charity to those in need. And disease (AIDS) exacerbates the level of hardship on the continent. Isn't it time for someone like Jesse Jackson to exhort Africans to use condoms and cut down on promiscuos behaviors.

Helicopter crash news is awful slow

Has anyone else noticed how slow the news is forthcoming regarding the helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Tuesday? It seems there must have been some risk about attacks on rescue teams plus I just heard the BBC reported there may be seven soldiers missing. Is is possible they survived but were then captured by the Taliban?

Could have bought his own airline

One of the Walmart owners was killed yesterday in the crash of an ultra-lite aircraft. As I understand them, an ultra-lite is essentially a homemade one-man airplane. The victim was only 58 years old and was worth $18 Billion! Jeez now that I think of it, he could have bought his own airline company or two.

Common Thread

In my opinion, the SCOTUS ruling on eminent domain and the overriding emphasis the court assigned to economic development reveals a more ominous trend. For instance, in the Philly area, it sheds some light on a common thread where the monied elitists, corrupt government hacks and MSM activists team up to steamroll their grand plans into reality without full community and / or voter deliberation. For example, the Pew and Lenfest Foundation hijacked the Barnes Museum (with the court's assistance and the full-throated editorial support of the Inquirer ) and basically violated the express wishes of the will of Albert Barnes!

So we now have the perfect storm of elitist money and power determining what is best (i.e smart growth and Growing Greener) for an area and the little people be damned. I say let's get the torches and pitch forks out before it's too late.

And don't tell me Growing Greener was approved by the voters; it was on the ballot in a primary year where no major candidates were decided so less than 10-12% of eligible voters actually went to polls. So, about 700,000 voters approved a $650 Million state expenditure in a state with almost 13,000,000 residents. In the future, the voters should insist that at least 40% of registered voters must approve a financial referendums of this magnitude. That would make it much harder to sneak through a program like this in a primary vote.

Finally Healthy Food I like

Just tried McDonald's new fruit and walnut salad. It is great! It has apples, grapes and candied walnuts - all are things I like. No crappy salads made by wusses that generally contain ingredients I hate including pickles, onions, any salad dressing but thousand islands, sour cream, radishes and all that other stuff they use to ruin my salad (tomatoes and lettuce only please you idiot!). Is that so hard to do?

Anyway, McDonalds has gained a new customer! My sincere thanks to whoever at McDonalds figured I was a demographic they were overlooking- wonder how long before they discontinue this from the menu or start to add stuff I don't like? I'll guess six months- let me remind you it ain't easy being me!

SCOTUS & Eminent Domain

Private property rights took a body blow today when the SCOTUS ruled towns could take private property (via eminent domain) in order to pave the way for perceived to be better economic development plans. In my opinion, the ruling tracks with all the so-called "smart growth" proponents that think the guvmint (and unelected groups like editorial boards and regional development authorities) can better judge how to develop an area. It's an arrogant worldview and I recommend Americans wake up and fight this one in their state and local legislative bodies.

American Ingenuity

John Rigas, the founder of Adelphia Cable, was just sentenced to prison. I have no comment on that but it reminded me of a great story which may or may not be true. My grandmother lived in Minersville, PA and she had cable TV for as long as I could remember. Now, keep in mind, she passed away in 1977 and had had cable for about 15-20 years. That means cable was available in her town around 1960 or two decades before it became available in Philly.. Why was that you ask? There were two reasons for that. Number one is she lived in a mountainous area of Pennsylvania and the TV signals without cable were really bad. Number two is that Philly is corrupt and inept and so cable companies were kept out until the pols agreed how to carve up the payoffs from the cable vendors.

But I digress- the great story is that cable service was devised in my grandmother's area by a guy who owned a TV store. He could not get a good TV signal at his store so he built a high antenna out back of the store and hooked it up to the TV set in his store's window. He figured that would help him sell more TV sets and he noticed people on the street lingering outside and watching his TV with the great reception from his improvised antenna. But very few of them purchased a TV from him. When he asked why, many replied that they could not get as good a reception at their homes so why would they buy a TV. That set a light bulb off in his head and he began to develop a cable TV service. Now, this story may or may not be about Adelpia's John Rigas but in any event it is a great story about American ingenuity!

Guess all those editors had off for Father's Day

I just read a well-writen LA Times article about gender vs. science aptitude (and it included actual success stories by females in science). It was written by Laurie Reitman and was pretty well done.

But in her story, Reitman included the following sentence "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spoken of writing as a child to NASA asking how she could become an astronaut after watching the first men walk on the moon, only to be told the program didn't accept women"

It's a heartbreaking story for any little girl with big dreams but the facts in this story could not possibly be true. Afterall, Senator Clinton was born in 1947 and so she was at least 21 years old when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969!

It appears Reitman got her facts a little wrong and her editors all had the day off for Father's Day.

Candor from the NY Times

I was watching C-Span over the weekends. They do a good job providing film of commencement speeches given by celebs and politicians. Gretchen Morgensen,a business reporter for the NY Times, spoke at her alma mater, St. Olaf College. Her speech was self-affacing and recommended the grads learn to be kind to others. It was a nice speech and I was surprised when she described how much of an asshole Howell Raines was when he served as the NYT top editor. I am not much for the "inside baseball" stuff about any industry, sport or business. So perhaps it was very well known that Raines was a self-absorbed jerk but I did not know that. I just thought he was another left wing liberal. However, I did not realize some on the NYT staff held that much disdain for him. In any event, kudos to Morgensen for a nice speech and for her candor about her workplace.

Hello Again

Have not posted in more than a week; I was out of town on business for five days (1400 mile business trip by car down to South Carolina and then back home through Virginia- this is a pretty country) and then had to catch up on my work and sleep. Feel great now.

I started this blog in February as a test to see if I liked it and could post often enough. I think I have been averaging 2-3 posts per week. Not bad for a beginner. But almost no visitors in that time. I did help to generate one national issue I think when I posted a comment on Mudville Gazette regarding a soldier named Aidan Delgado who claimed his unit in Iraq regularly smashed Coke bottles over the heads of pedestrians as Delgado's convoy drove through a town ( I originally read Delgado's claim in the NY Times and as far as I know neither Delgado nor the NYT author, Bob Herbert, has not provided any third-party evience that his story's claims are in fact true).

Recently, I decided to try and make blogging something bigger so I registered the domain name of www.blogadelphia.com and will use that to try to create a family and friends joint blogging effort and maybe make some money at the same time. I see it as a blog that speaks to the Philly area and what it is today and what it could become with a little ingenuity and vision.

I also registered a second domain name of www.notaarp.com in reaction to my disgust with AARP. I have been a member for almost 3 years (tells you I am at least 53 years old) to take advantage of their hotel discounts, etc. But their newsletters, monthly magazine etc have evolved into tiresome liberal far left screeds against such things as social security reform (which I favor). And AARP does not poll its members as far as I know- the AARP owners just decide what AARP will support and damn the members' opinion (you know just like labor unions). Anyway, I figure a website called www.notaarp.com could siphon off some business from AARP. Not sure how I will start, but I will figure it out.

Anyway it is good to be back and I will try to post my Sunday feature tomorrow called "TWFM" or This Week's Fuzzy Math.

Philly Showcase

Went to Philadelphia's annual bike race Sunday morning- the 156 mile Wachovia Bank race. It was fun. I walked and ran the 4 to 5 miles from my home to Manayunk. When I got there, a mandatory part of any race visit is to hike up to the top of the Wall (that's what they call Leverington Street which is the toughest part of the race route since Leverington Street is a steep hill whose elevation climbs about 500 feet in a quarter mile). The Wall is the best place to watch the race. It has the best parties and it is neat towatch the riders struggling up that section of the race (and they do it for 14 laps or so).

And I strongly recommend a hike up the wall as a good and cheap substitute for annual cardio test. If you don't die, you are good for another year. The race route is packed with fans and large group of partiers. One group was selling T-shirts that said Everest- K2-Manayunk which facetiously compared the Wall to the Mt. Everest and K-2 mountain peaks. Of the three, I have only trekked up the Wall so I can't say with absolute certainty that they are using excessive hyperbole.

BTW, I took the train back to my home as I was too beat to do any more exercise. Great day for me and I recommend it as one of Philly's greatest events held every year on the first Sunday in June. It's as much fun as the Mummers Parade and the weather is much better in Phily in June than in January.

Tilting at windmills

Just read the front page article in the Sunday NY Times about the horror that the super rich are getting richer and putting even more distance between themselves (in terms of size of their wallets) and schlubs like me and (I suspect) you my readers - all three of you. Jeez tell me something I didn't already know. The writer seemed to be trying to make the readers outraged but let's face facts- there will always be people that make fantastic amounts of money.

And ironically the Times Sunday Magazine, which I read next, seems to require that its advertisers pitch products that only those dastardly super rich could afford.

When you juxtapose the magazine ads next to the front page article, it could make you wonder if the front page story was hatched as a kinda "inside joke" by the Times staff. On second thought, that would mean the Times staff was clever and had a sense of humor so scratch that line of thought.

This Week's Fuzzy Math

I think I am in the wrong business- should be in the environmental reclamation racket. There was an oil spill on Philly's Delaware River oh 6-7 months ago. They just tallied up the clean up cost for the 267,000 gallons of oil that were spilled.. it was only $167 Million which equates to $630 per gallon!! What did they use to clean it up ?? Gold plated teaspoons?

They should have just offered to buy the river - Mayor Street would have seriously considered any and all offers.

Watergate Ruined Newspapers

The Deep Throat revelation (who really cares about this story except "journalists"?). I saw one blog that described the media frenzy as reminiscent of a Married With Children episode where Al Bundy is celebtrating his glory days on the gridiron. How apt!

I feel Watergate actually ruined journalism. Prior to Watergate, journalism was an uncelebrated career- it had a lot of talented and hard-working people and many were only high school grads who had worked their way up from more lowly positions. They tended to resemble what you'd see in an old movie where the reporter would hustle into a regular bar, take a seat with the regulars and quietly describe the latest scandal he was uncovering about the politician/ businessman/ tycoon who happened to be dining next door at the oh so expensive restaurant. In other words, the reporter was a regular Joe and was only interested in muckraking and was not consumed with advancing his own career.

Watergate changed all that. The Ivy Leaguers and the privileged flocked to careers in journalism- they wanted to bag their own president like Woodward and Bernstein. Not only that, they changed the way sports was covered. Before Watergate, if a player got rip roaring drunk, it didn't make the news because he was probably drinking with at least one reporter- players and reporters had similar backgrounds- working class. After Watergate, the Ivy League reporter felt (that word again) superior to the dumb middle class athlete but was jealous of the money the athlete earned. Thus the new emphasis by the media on the economics of sports (which I hate reading about on the sports pages- should be in the business section) and the antics and foibles (both legal and ilegal) of the professional athletes!

Today, the journalists are activists versus reporters. They want to organize and participate in civic projects and butt their noses in where they don't belong. For instance, how can they objectively report on the success or failure of a school board's new school building plan if the journalist was part of the planning meetings. Hell, in Philly, they invited themselves to the planing meeting as participants (not observers). THAT IS NOT THE JOB OF A JOURNALIST.. My advice to journalists is threefold. Simply report the news - good or bad- like a good observer. Learn to get comfortable sitting at a bar with the regulars. And forget about Watergate.

Would be a nice, new trend

I read an article that told of the Olin Foundation, which was closing its doors. It seems when the Olin family set up their multi-million dollar trust, they specifically mandated the funds be spent within one generation. I thought that was a novel idea....set up a charity or foundation then actually give away all the money to projects or groups per the donor's intent.

Just think if some other foundations were to do that. Jeez, the enormous Ford Foundation has enough money to try and fix every problem in the city of Detroit if the foundation was determined to spend all its funds. What a grand experiment that would be!

Unfortunately, most foundations only spend a miniscule percentage of their available funds each year (5-10%). They tend to evolve into big bureaucracies that provide a lotta high-paying jobs to (it would seem) career bootlickers. It would be enlightening to compare the bequest instructions (or founder's mission statement) to the activities of the actual foundation years later. Don't you think?

Prediction

The NY Times announced it is lopping almost 200 jobs. I predict we may have seen the last of Maureen Dowd's regular column. I bet she may get a sweet offer to take early retirement and might accept it. And let's face it - she has been rudderless in her writing for a long time. All she does is rant against Bush and she has forgotten what she stands for.

Annual Advice Letter to Graduates

This is a copy of a letter I wrote to my nieces and nephew at their graduation. Since they claimed to enjoy my advice, I will publish this once a year around graduation time.

Dear Michele, Christine & Gabe:
Before I wrote this, I looked in a dictionary for the definition of the word “commencement”. The dictionary states commencement refers to “the act or process of bringing or being brought into existence; inauguration, inception, incipience, initiation, leadoff, birth, dawn, genesis, start”.Therefore, commencement suggests your lives are just beginning (and that is true in some respects). And by calling graduation ceremonies a “commencement”, our institutions of higher learning have sorta decreed you can’t really take that first step until they have conferred a degree on you. That’s somewhat presumptuous but I guess by promoting the necessity and value of a degree, the schools can make a buck too. And there is no law against that.

Essentially, I wish you two things: interesting people and interesting places. By that, I hope you find, see and keep both of those close to you for all your years. If you do that, you will lead rich, rewarding and fulfilling lives.

And try very hard to understand the primary goal in life is to get very old. I know you won’t agree with that statement right now but believe me you will one day. Put more simply, it is exhilarating to be both available and sufficiently lucid to give the eulogy at a friend’s funeral.

I know it is hard to resist the urge to follow the crowd. But do try to be your own person- so don’t routinely and rigidly adopt all of the latest fads and trends. Find music, books and other hobbies you enjoy and make time for them. Endeavor to be a leader to others. Christine, you are a born leader. And there is much evidence you were born with the ringleader gene. That’s the mischievous cousin of the leader gene. And that is a good thing- you love life and you show it.

Each of you should try to stand up for what you believe is right even:
When your opinion is unpopular·
When it’s not the easiest path to take and·
When you have not been right about anything in a very long time (cause the law of averages says everyone is right sooner or later).

You will be a part of many groups and organizations in the next 60-70 years. Don’t just go along for the ride. Give your best effort. Develop a reputation as an impact player. You can do that by making a strong personal impression and offering your support to the group’s goals (i.e unforgettable PARTAYS, improve annual sales, beat the Villa Gorillas every other year).

Never stop learning and never stop asking questions (there are almost no dumb questions). Set out to identify mentors and role models from whom you can learn valuable life and career lessons. A good mentor will be happy to freely give you career and life advice for years to come. Strive to be a role model yourself. Be generous to others with your time and knowledge. No one can leave much of true value in this world except those gifts you plant in the hearts and minds of those you leave behind.

Be open-minded and learn to think for yourself. Don’t be afraid to question the prevailing wisdom or latest news story. For example, a national news program recently ran a story that “the exercise done on Infomercials accounted for more than 50% of the total exercise done in America”. That “news” story first originated as a spoof in a satirical magazine. The news network picked it up as “real news”. I cringed and laughed when I heard it and wondered if any of you (had you worked on that program) would have thought to question the ridiculous premise. I believe each of you would have (Especially Gabe since he reads the magazine though until now he probably thought its “news” stories were legit).

Take very good care of yourself both physically and mentally. There is a time to party and a time to “not party”. Try to learn the difference way before you turn forty (so you can still run for President).You only get one chance in this world and life is much better when you are fit and ready to take advantage of all it offers. Make strenuous exercise a regular part of your routine and add a large helping of mental exercise and challenges to keep the mind in top shape. If you smoke, quit.

With regards to your career, as you know there is a secret to success. Unfortunately, it is a secret so I can’t share it with you. So, you will have to settle for my own priceless advice:
NO MARKETABLE SKILL= ZERO JOB OPPORTUNITIES= NO MONEY
MARKETABLE SKILL = JOB OPPORTUNITIES= PAYCHECK= REGULAR PARTAY
LOTTA MARKETABLE SKILLS= MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES= MORE MONEY= REALLY BIG PARTAY

So what does that mean you ask? Just this. Be smart and work hard. Pick some marketable skills and develop those skills. Regularly polish, hone and improve those skills with practice and repetition. Enhance your skills with regular study and learning and MAYBE you will always have a job and make money. Ideally you will choose skills (as I said that are marketable) in jobs and professions where:·
You enjoy the work (i.e. barfly, world philosopher, expert recounter of Seinfeld episodes, social director for former dorm mates)·
It is in demand by employers and customers and·
You are good at it and like it.

It would be great if you could find a career that has all three of the above criteria, But you will survive and likely thrive even if you choose skills that only have two of the above criteria. And remember, there are no guarantees in life and life can be unfair. That’s just the way it is. Bitching about bad breaks won’t help. It will just make you very unpleasant to be around.

Be confident in your abilities and self-worth. Be persistent in pursuing what you want.Michele- with your focus and drive you could achieve anything you set your sights on. So set your sights high!Gabe, you could do anything. You just have to convince yourself you CAN do anything instead of finding reasons for why you can’t do something.

Remember you are most fortunate to have been born in this country. Though not without its faults, it is the greatest country on Earth.

Always honor and respect the elderly though I know it is especially hard when they don’t wear their hearing aids. Always value and cherish your family even when they ask a bazillion questions about your latest escapade. Remember where you came from, respect traditions, and perhaps start your own traditions.

Stay informed about current events - it makes you a more interesting person and give you a big edge on your peers. Be faithful to your core values and beliefs, your religion, your lover and one day your spouse.

You will make mistakes. Most mistakes are minor and can be fixed. However, try to avoid the really big mistakes (i.e always wear your seat belt). Observe other people and try to learn (and maybe get a good laugh) from their big mistakes.

But you also have to take risks in life. Without risk, there is little reward. Just do your homework before you take those risks.

Set priorities and establish goals and objectives- it makes life a bit more interesting to look back and see how you did.

And try to recognize the difference between what is important and what is not.You each have what it takes to be very happy and very successful. Keep that in mind and let the fun begin. Just know I’ll be watching you. Love and all the best to each of you,
U.T.

Idiotorials

I am starting a new weekly posting and will call these "Idiotorials". They will take issue with (mock) the inane idiotorials I read in various newspapers like my fav the Philly Inquirer. Is it possible idiotorials is in fact the correct name but was changed a long time ago to editorial? By some newspaper that was way too embarrassed to tell their kids they wrote idiotorials for a living.

Methinks my first idiotorial will deal with the Inky putting itself forth as an expert regarding the care and treatment of elephants in a zoo. In the 20th century, a common saying was "those that can't- teach". In this century, that should be changed to "those that can't - write idiotorials"... wait a minute that's what I am doing right now! So that make me an idiotorialist- I may have to revise this post.

This Weeks' Fuzzy Math (TWFM)

In the Washington Post this week, columnist Robert Samuelson lamented runaway and bi-partisan federal spending. His column was called Deficit Disorder. He gave several examples of government waste and one related to Amtrak. I thought it was a great example- he described the Amtrak annual subsidy this way.."it received $1.2 Billion for carrying about 25 million people". That is a government subsidy of $48 per rider. Can you believe that ? In effect, taxpayers are forking over an average of $48 to every person who steps onto an Amtrak train to cover the actual cost of their train ride over and above the cost of their ticket. That is insane - why don't we just shut down Amtrak, buy a bunch of cars (hybrids of course) and any traveler can use them to drive from station to station.. just park the car and leave the keys inside for the next mass transit loving traveler (oh and fill the gas tank or charge the battery whatever you do with a hybrid). Btw, this post ties in nicely to our Fuzzy Math post from two weeks ago which coincidentally also dealt with the vague cost versus benefits of Amtrak.

Highly Unoriginal Complaint

As my post's title points out, I am not about to say anything original as if I ever have. BUT and you knew that was coming (and perhaps I should ask this question first.."Is this blogsite owned and operated by Microsoft? ")

If it is, I am just joking about what I am about to say...Microsoft's software sucks!!!!!! Why should it take my laptop five minutes to boot up and start up every day. That is a ridiculous waste of my time!! Do you agree? Let's see there are probably 100 million humans using this software everyday and how much time per day does that five minutes represent to all of us? This software just sucks big time.

State Borrowing Blues

The AP reported that the state of New Jersey has climbed to number three among all 50 states when measured by total state debt. NJ has about $29 Billion in debt which equates to $2,900 per resident. In 1994, debt was $780 per resident.

So in eleven years, NJ debt has increased by 270% or 25% per year. NJ now trails only California and New York in total state debt and those states are far larger in terms of population. The AP story indicated NJ climbed over Massachusetts and Illinois (when compared to rankings from prior years) to reach this ignominious #3 ranking.

Have you noticed that, of the five states I mentioned, each is a "blue" state? That strikes me as siginficant. What are the odds of that - anyone help me out there? It's way too long ago that I took probability in college.

I am going to do some more reasearch and see if I can track down state debt for all 50 states (data above was from a Moody's Investors Services report acording to AP) and see if there is a patern of higher average debt per resident in the blue states.

Maybe All Time Worst Mayor

It's the 20th or 25th anniversary of the Move fire that killed 10-11 Move members. The fire erupted when the city of Philadelphia decided to bomb one its naughtier neighborhoods. I will never forget watching that fire on the news...it kept getting bigger and brighter but every 15 minutes or so Mayor Goode would be quoted as saying "we have it under control".

I voted for Goode once but a thousand years from now I predict he could win a contest for the worst mayor of all time in the entire universe! And Philadelphia still re-elected him as mayor after the fire (I only voted for him before the fire).

And this is a little known fact straight from my fact book- Governor Rendell owes a good deal of his own political fortune to Mayor Goode. Rendell followed Goode as mayor and Rendell had it awfully easy following Goode's bad act. All Rendell had to do was scarf down cheesesteaks (came naturally to him), do some belly flops while opening swimming pools and give the keys to the city to his anyone who asked including his many corporate and law firm buddies. Hell Rendell was even anointed as America's Mayor - and could not help but look good when compared to his predecessor. I wonder if Rendell ever thanked Goode for doing such a horrible job as mayor?

Fuzzy Math

Pennsylvania has a program it calls "growing greener" where it touts so-called "smart growth" programs and uses government funds to buy farms, etc to keep that land out of the hands of the dreaded real estate developers. Some of the program money is also used to clean up old environmentally challenged sites. Recently, the Philly Inquirer, devoted an editorial to convince voters to approve a new bond issue to fund what is called Growing Greener II. Here is part of the editorial ....."Voters will be asked: 'Do you favor authorizing the Commonwealth to borrow up to $625 million for the maintenance and protection of the environment, open space and farmland preservation, watershed protection, abandoned mine reclamation, acid mine drainage remediation and other environmental initiatives?' Given the depth of need in every category, voters should respond, "Yes."Recognizing that environmental cleanup and economic success go hand-in-hand, Gov. Rendell proposed an $800 million environmental investment in his 2004 budget address. After more than a year of jockeying, Rendell and the legislature finally compromised last month on the $625 million proposal, which includes no new taxes or fees. It has wide bipartisan support.".......

Here is what I think - unless the Inquirer has discovered a way to repeal the law of mathematics, this bond issue HAS TO INCLUDE NEW TAXES OR NEW FEES.

Let's face it, you can't just find $625 Million - someone is going to pay back the bond holders! The state must be either increasing fees and taxes or extending the current term of existing taxes and fees. This is the second time I saw this program touted as a form of taxpayer free money; the first was in an OPED piece by a state legislator named Ruth Harper. FYI- in reality this $625 Million bond issue costs $50 to every man, woman and child in Pennsylvania. Given my druthers, I'd prefer to keep my $50- how about you?

Lastly, programs like this are very similar to what the politicians have done with the social security program. Current politicians spend the money today to garner voter support and future generations of taxpayers get the bill.

Joke of the week

I misappropriated this joke from a new blog called Irishpennants.com (and it's OK to borrow a good joke). Anyway, the blogger claimed his ethnic background is Scotch/Irish and that meant he loves to drink and get drunk but does not want to pay for it.

Making Waves

My last post about the Coke Bottles got linked (due to my emailing my post to the proprietor) to a high profile blog called mudvillegazette.com I have to say it was really cool where the topic got a lotta comments and some big-names are talking about the same topic (not all due to my post of course). See Wonkette's link to the above named blog and Michelle Malkin linked it too. And I do think I was the one that got it going over at Mudville. So, it was a beautiful day in the bloggerhood.

Coke Bottles

I read Bob Herbert's column in the NYT today. He interviewed a vet of the current Iraq war who claimed the soldiers in his unit routinely break coke bottles over the head of Iraqi pedestrians as the soldiers drive by in their Humvees.

I rarely read Herbert as I find he sounds like he is from the "cut and paste any old press release" school of journalism and tends to just phone it in but today I read his story. I am not naive enough to doubt abuses have occurred (as in any other war) but I am a little surprised and therefore have my doubts that real coke bottles are used in large numbers anywhere anymore. Can anyone out there tell me if coke bottles are actually available in sufficient quantities for the soldiers to regularly wield as weapons?

Fuzzy Math

I am going to try to make this a regular feature of my blog and I will call it Fuzzy Math in honor of one of my least favorite politicians, Al Bore.

The inaugural post is about Amtrak which is undergoing its annual budget battle. Some would like to cut and some would like to increase the budget. I don't have an opinion but all the pundits have been pitching in their two cents including Mark Schweiker, the former governor of Pennsylvania and current head of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Schweiker wrote an OPED piece in the Philly Inquirer in suport of Amtrak. One of his arguments was that Amtrak carries 12 million riders each year on its Boston-Washington DC corridor and the public certainly woud not want those riders in cars as it would further clog the roads.

Now, I like to analyze numbers so I did. Using Schweiker's own figure of 12 million, I estimated that averages to 33,000 riders per day. It's 440 miles from Boston to DC. SO.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....that's a miniscule additional 75 cars per day per mile or 3 more cars per hour per mile.Therefore, the public would likely never even notice the added traffic if Amtrak closed.

Here is a summary of my calculation (12,000,000 riders per year / 365 days = 32,876 riders per day / 440 miles = 75 cars per mile / 24 hours = 3 added cars per hour per mile).

Anti-Krugman

I just read Paul Krugman's latest broadside at conservatives, etc. Don't know why I read him as I never agree with him and he is an obnoxious dweeb.

Anyway, here is what I think America should do about health insurance. Universal availability, universal pay too. What do I mean by that? The employer is charged a payroll tax of let's say 5% of his total payroll and pays that to the govenment. Then the government issues a voucher to every credentialed American which can be used to buy their own health insurance. Notice I did not say "every working American". So, everyone has a voucher to buy their own insurance. Insurance policies must provide a minimum of "X" levels of coverage and an individual could purchase a very expensive policy (let's call it a cadillac type policy). In that case, the voucher may not cover the total cost of the "cadillac" policy so the individual has to reach in theri own pocket to cover the premium.

My plan gets the employer out of the hassle of choosing the coverage, covers everyone with some type of coverage and does not lead to COBRA type situations when you are between jobs. Plus my plan gives everyone a choice, does not require a fat and wasteful bureacracy (the libs's single payor) and is SIMPLE. Also, would require insurers to agree to do away with the old pre-existing condition factor and would not eliminate an entire industry. Plus my plan is fair- I estimate employers pay at least 5% today to cover their employees.

Lotta Talk & Little Action

Arianna Huffington is organizing a group blog, the Huffington Post, as a counter-balance to the rightward slant of the blogosphere. She has rounded all the usual suspects and assorted dim bulbs that make up the Hollywood celebrity and literati crowd.

But it has been like 3-4 weeks since she announced this great idea and to date there have been no sightings nor postings to her blog.

Sure I understand her blog will be so cool and complicated but why the big frigging delay? It took me about 30 minutes to set up my blog and it was free too! That's one of the beauties of the blog- it's instantaneous plus it's fast too!

Filtered News

It's been three days or so since Senator Kennedy's brother-in-law, Raymond Reggie, pled guilty to several bank fraud charges in a federal court in New Orleans.

During his plea, Reggie also admitted he was serving as a government informant in a case against the former finance chief of Hillary Clinton's senate campaign in 2000.

Since I am a news wonk and also like to question the motives behind the media's positioning or hiding a story, I noticed (as of today) of the big media sources, only the NY Times had reported on the Reggie case (in addition to AP). So my hometown paper, the Philly Inquirer and the Wash Post and The LA Times have essentially ignored this story for 3 days.

Do you think they would do that if the story involved Senator Santorum's brother in law? Its unbelievable because it is a BIG news story no matter how you cut it. So, why the seemingly uniform filter from three leading newspapers?

Why is he still alive?

What's it been ..about 16-18 months since Saddam Hussein was captured? How long does it take to try and execute an evil mass murderer like him? I say get that sword sharpened or start building the gallows and send that bastard off to hell now.

Fire the city drones but give them a defibrilator as a parting gift

Yesterday, an elderly man collapsed at the Philadelphia airport. In spite of the efforts of a cardiologist who happened to be at the airport, the man died. Reports say the airport had defibrilators on hand and the doctor tried to use 2 or 3 of them but none worked properly. The doctor and several bystanders were quoted in the newspaper as stating the equipment didn't work.

The head of the airport ( a city employee) immediately disputed that claim. I say fire them all if they can't admit a mistake by not maintaining this lifesaving equipment. On the other hand, I don't agree an airport should be required to have that type of equipment available BUT if they do have it at least keep it in working condition.

This is just more evidence the city has no business being in the airport business; the city should sell the airport to the highest bidder or perhaps the mayor's brother, Milton who would agree to hire many Democratic ward leaders.

Dems Losing It

I just heard the city of San Francisco is planning to enact a law that requires blogs to register with city hall if the blog dares to mention the name of a candidate for public office.

Isn't that so ironic?? The great city that helped spawn the inovators of Silicon Valley which in turn enabled the internet and email and web-browsing by and for the masses has now determined it is oh so very important to regulate blogs. I have to say it this way... democrats are truly losing their minds; they have become humorless pessimists that think new laws can solve every one of their problems. Dems rre convinced they are losing the battle of campaign money but they virtually spent as much money as the Republicans in the 2004 election even if you counted all the soft money from groups like Moveon(dems) and Swift Vets (reps), etc.

And if money is their big concern, don't forget the Dems have the by far richest cast of Senators in the land. What did Corzine spend to get six year in the Senate ....almost $75MM??

Come on Democrats. Get a grip- most blogs are just used as a form of personal OPED pages by the author. It's the newest form of diary. Would the dems do the same to some politically oriented graffiti artist? I can just hear the mayor of San Francisco confronted by a once-famous and prolific graffiti artist in Philly.... "this is the mayor- I want you to track down Cornbread and take away his spray can and brushes".

Even Willie Brown would have known better.

The Pope

Admittedly a great great man. He visited Philly in 1979 and I was there on Logan Square with a million or so other people. But I was there trying to pick up girls- the other people were a little more idealistic than me. Almost 26 years later, my father's medicine cabinet still holds a vial of holy water that was blessed that day by Pope John Paul II. I wonder how many more of those vials still exist in Philly?

What I remember most about him is that he struck you as one smart, educated and tough son of a gun. He was only in his late 50's and didn't have any sign yet of being weak or old or just another bookish religious academician (you know the type - wheenie professor or scholar). No, this Pope came from the real world. He clawed and fought his way to the top of one of the toughest Catholic leagues in the world (communist Poland). But I don't remember what event or achievement of his was the first evidence he was destined for greatness. Though I thought his great character was revealed when he took the name John Paul II to honor his immediate predessor who died only 33 days after being selected.

Felt like you knew her

No matter which way you leaned on the court and legal battle- you had to feel some sadness when Terri Schiavo died on Thursday. The 24 hour news cycle had to have an effect on you- it made her very familiar and almost close to everyone. So let's agree to wish she can now rest in peace and her survivors find a way to heal the scars each side believed the other inflicted.