Crane Collapse in New York City

My niece lives in the 300 block of E. 91st and the crane collapse was at 333 E. 91st. Same damn block! Fortunately, she was out of her apt and on her way to work on the subway when the crane fell!

Of course, she fielded a bunch of phone calls in her classroom from family, etc asking if she was OK.

{Click on the post title to see some NY Post video}

Bob Dole

I enjoy naked, brutal honesty so I liked this email from Bob Dole to Scott McClellan. Read it - we could use more honesty like this in Washington.

Memorial Day Pics

Memorial Day pictures- like my new flag? Plus you can see a bit of my big front yard behind my truck.

Saying Stuff Like This Is Guaranteed To Get You Votes (Not)

Obama said this today: "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said. "That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.

I don't see this statement as a big vote-getter. Of course, Obama is a DEM and I am not. That means his supporters will claim his statement is chock full of nuance and context that I just am not getting.

One in Four Americans Has A Tattoo

This is according to a Fox News survey. But the Inquirer claimed in a Saturday idiotorial that about one in ten voting-age Americans is unable to get a government ID. And it claimed almost all of these sad sacks are Democrats. Jeez if one in four Americans is dumb enough to get a tattoo, how much dumber must the others be if they can't get an ID.

Inquirer link: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080517_Editorial__Voter_ID.html

The Groom left jail alone, sporting a black eye, torn tuxedo pants, a bloody t-shirt and one shoe

What a wedding! This is why, when you get married, it is very important that you wear rented clothes! Don't risk ruining your own hard-earned duds!

Newlyweds jailed after brawl at Pittsburgh-area hotel
Apr 28, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) —
A newlywed couple spent the night in separate jail cells — she in her wedding gown — after police said they brawled with each other, then members of another wedding party, at a suburban Pittsburgh hotel. The fight started Saturday night after a reception when he knocked her to the floor with a karate kick in the seventh-floor hallway of a Holiday Inn — and escalated when she attacked two guests from another wedding party who came to her aid, police said. The melee moved to an elevator and then to the lobby, where the couple threw metal planters at the two good Samaritans, causing minor injuries, police charged. "It was pretty wild," Ross police Sgt. Dave Syska said.

Dentist David W. Wielechowski, 32, of Shaler, and Christa Vattimo, 25, had married a month earlier in the Bahamas but repeated their vows Saturday at a reception for 150 guests. They were checking into their room when the argument began, police said. Police arrived to find the dentist lying on the lobby floor and his bride, seemingly highly intoxicated, screaming. Authorities charged each with simple assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, and the bride with an additional count of public intoxication. They face a May 7 preliminary hearing. A district judge considered issuing a restraining order against Wielechowski, but his new bride declined the measure. The couple declined comment upon their release Sunday morning.
She left with her father, still dressed in her white gown.
Wielechowski left alone, sporting a swollen eye, tuxedo pants, a bloody T-shirt and one shoe.

Another Cop Killed - Dig Deep & Make A Donation Please

Click on my post title to see how you can make a donation; the slain policeman has 3 school-age kids.

My Annual Advice To The New Grads (a reprise)

Just click on the blog title to see a reprise of my advice to today's college grads. I first wrote this in 2005 and re-post every year in May.

Barbara Walters Was Sleeping With A What........

Many Americans were shocked and disgusted to learn that MSM pioneer and TV icon Barbara Walters had an affair thirty years ago with a U.S. Senator and he was...........................................................a Republican! The Horror!

President Obama

Ann Coulter is damn funny. I say this is funny no matter what your politics are:

"If it takes Obama 20 years to notice that his pastor is a traitorous, racist nut-job, it will probably take him his full term of office to realize that the U.S. has been invaded and subdued by al-Qaida.

Let's just hope President Obama pays closer attention during national security briefings than he did during 20 years of the Rev. Wright's church services. "

Why The City's Elected Officials Suck

Below is an editorial from the Philadelphia Inquirer today about the demise of a non-profit beloved by the last mayor, John Street. The group probably got more than $200 million from the city in the last 8 years but see the money quote I bolded below: THE INQUIRER SAYS the non-profit "was always known as STREET'S PLAYGROUND". In other words, the city money went to the non-profit and Street's puppets there dished the loot as they saw fit. There is no other way to say this- the Inquirer editorial staff has been a bunch of pussies. They kissed Street's ass while he was in office and now almost five months after he is gone, they finally find the guts to kick him. Don't get me wrong, Street was scum just like most of the other city pols.

Editorial:
Safe and Sound - Over and out
Neither the city's at-risk children nor its taxpayers should miss Philadelphia Safe and Sound when the agency closes its doors. The directors of the nonprofit voted last week to cease operations by June 30. Their action comes while the agency is under continued scrutiny by the city and state into how Safe and Sound spent tens of millions of dollars on after-school and anti-violence programs.

A preliminary report by the state Department of Public Welfare found that Safe and Sound was doing a poor job with taxpayers' money. Among the findings were weak accountability, soaring administrative costs, and spending on programs that did not appear to benefit the most at-risk children. The demise of Safe and Sound culminates Mayor Nutter's mini-crusade against irresponsible spending decisions by his predecessor.

As mayor, John Street pushed through a $21 million increase for the agency, to $75 million, shortly before he left office. Safe and Sound was created in 1998 by then-Mayor Ed Rendell, but it was always known as Street's playground. His wife, Naomi Post Street, ran the agency until 2002.

It received no-bid contracts to coordinate and funnel money to hundreds of youth programs serving 27,000 children. But it's still not clear what value the city got from an outfit that essentially passed through money to other vendors who did the real work. Nutter decided to seek bids for this work, which is what the city should have done years ago.

Soon after Nutter's decision, Safe and Sound officials decided to fold. Chairman Ernest E. Jones said the agency had lost staffers and had no commitment for any funding. If they were so committed to the work they were doing, why not submit a competitive bid for the job? With Safe and Sound closing its doors, Nutter's team must ensure continuity of needed youth programs. The quarrel was never with beneficial programs; it was with rising administrative costs and a lack of accountability.
There isn't much time to evaluate bids and get a new coordinating team up and running. Nutter was correct to raise questions about Safe and Sound, but now he needs to do everything within his power to keep delivering worthwhile services beyond June 30. Neither should Safe and Sound's decision to go out of business stop a full accounting of its past expenditures. The Department of Public Welfare report raised questions about the effectiveness of some youth programs, finding there was a "significant risk" that they were not serving the children most in need of help. The city needs to ensure not only that its money is being spent carefully, but also that the children who are most at-risk receive services that will do them good.

Treemendous Treehouse

How about this treehouse being built on Atwick Street in Baltimore. Look closely - it has one of those "rope bridges" to the house on the left!

We saw the Dad hard at work up there but no sign of the kids who will be using it. What is up with that? Maybe it is gonna be Dad's hangout?

Omar Gets The Keys To His New Home From My Nephew

Habitat For Humanity Home by Loyola College

I attended a ceremony yesterday where Loyola College students had built a home for a Baltimore family. My nephew was the student coordinator for the project and it was the first time a home had been completed in a single school year. I am very proud of him and his schoolmates.

How about these hair styles?

Who cares about another weird Texas cult- that ain't news. But how about these hairdos - a new fashion trend perhaps?

Worst Political Ad Ever

Click on the post title to listen to possibly the worst Philadelphia accent of all time. John Dougherty, union bigwig, was running for state office and this is his ad.

Dougherty's nasally voice had to frigging cost him votes. When I heard this ad on my TV, I was tempted to kick it in. Interestingly, Dougherty sounds a bit like New Yorker sports talk radio host, Jody McDonald.

John Marzano - Rest In Peace

This is a great pic from the Inquirer today of Philly boy, John Marzano. In the picture, Marzano, then playing catcher for the Mariners, is manhandling Paul O'Neill of the Yankees.

Johnny Marz was a popular radio/ TV personality and great baseball analyst for WIP610, Comcast Sportsnet, MLB.com and others. He died suddenly yesterday, was only 45 years old. He will be missed.

Marzano played at Central High and Temple University and played about ten years or so in the big leagues mostly as a backup catcher.

The Old Horse Finished 3rd At Delaware Park.

Here are some pics of Sky Heat which ran at Delaware Park today and finished 3rd in the 2nd race. Her jockey was Jeremy Rose, who had some fame as the rider of Afleet Alex named after the little girl who founded Alex's Lemonade Stand. Enjoy.

Prediction For Pennsylvania Primary

I am here with boots on the ground in Pennsylvania covering all the latest news on the upcoming Pennsylvania primary just four days away (not really doing that; I actually live here).

I predict Clinton will win by fifteen points something like 57 - 42. Yes I know all the media and young voters have literally swooned for Obama but my primary meter predicts Clinton by almost a landslide.

Where is my damn ice cream?

It drives me frigging nuts that the grocery store bags your groceries into as many bags as it can. Don't get me wrong. it's not a green thing- I really don'tgive a damn about the environment. No, it seems if I buy 12 items, they use like 6-8 bags !!!

So tonight I go the freezer to get the ice cream I bought two days ago- and it ain't there. I look on my store receipt and it is there- I paid for it but the stunod policy of these frigging stores must be "Don't overload the bags cause a frigging customer may sue us" and so when I left I must of grabbed just 7 of the 8 bags and left my god-damn ice cream at the store. I may have to kill somebody.