Ferrick's Letter & Comments Blog

U.S. House Financial Reports

2006-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

CANDIDATE NAME	DIST	Raised	Spent	Cash on Hand	Date of Last Report
BRADY, ROBERT A	1	$558,180	$466,461	$837,631	9/30/2006

FATTAH, CHAKA	2	$697,638	$531,189	$226,919	9/30/2006

GERLACH, JIM	6	$2,865,469	$1,813,873	$1,201,495	9/30/2006
MURPHY, LOIS	6	$2,766,891	$1,930,417	$873,074	9/30/2006

FITZPATRICK, MICHAEL G	8	$2,480,867	$2,260,539	$446,038	9/30/2006
MURPHY, PATRICK J	8	$1,614,968	$982,949	$632.019	9/30/2006

WELDON, CURTIS W.	7	$2,306,687	$1,485,960	$1,129,268	9/30/2006
Sestak, Joe	7	$2,312,779	$750,907	$1,561,872	9/30.2006

CARNEY, CHRISTOPHER	10	$868,442	$585,726	$271,907	9/30/2006
SHERWOOD, DONALD L.	10	$1,489,376	$1,257,196	$436,093	9/30/2006

IREY, DIANA	12	$563,689	$406,396	$157,292	9/30/2006
MURTHA, JOHN P MR.	12	$2,566,294	$2,189,737	$1,210,178	9/30/2006

BHAKTA, RAJ PETER	13	$400,259	$352,470	$47,789	9/30/2006
SCHWARTZ, ALLYSON	13	$2,466,286	$1,766,174	$724,644	9/30/2006

Los Angeles Times 2004 Article on Weldon

2006-10-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times
All Rights Reserved
Los Angeles Times

February 20, 2004 Friday

Lucrative Deals for a Daughter of Politics;
Karen Weldon, whose dad is a Pennsylvania congressman, is a lobbyist for three foreign clients who need his help, and get it.

BYLINE: Ken Silverstein, Chuck Neubauer and Richard T. Cooper, Times Staff Writers

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:

Karen Weldon, an inexperienced 29-year-old lobbyist from suburban Philadelphia, seemed an unlikely choice for clients seeking global public relations services.
Yet her tiny firm was selected last year for a plum $240,000 contract to promote the good works of a wealthy Serbian family that had been linked to accused war criminal Slobodan Milosevic.
Despite a lack of professional credentials, she had one notable asset -- her father, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who is a leading voice in Washington on former Eastern Bloc affairs.
She got the contract after he championed the efforts of two family members, Dragomir and Bogoljub Karic, to win U.S. visas from the State Department, which so far has refused them entry.
Intelligence officials warned Weldon that the brothers were too close to Milosevic, who is accused of leading the "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslav federation.
But the congressman has praised the Karics, who own a vast empire of banking, telecommunication and other firms, as model business leaders and humanitarians. He has portrayed them as victims of faulty intelligence reports and, last month, asked the CIA to sit down with them and sort things out. He has repeatedly pressed the State Department to give them visas.
Karen Weldon said her father "developed a rapport" with the Karics and introduced her to them. But her firm, Solutions North America Inc., won the consulting contract on its merits, she said. Her father declined to answer questions for this article.
The congressman also has gone to bat for at least two of Solutions' other clients, both struggling Russian companies.
Together, the three contracts are worth almost $1 million a year to her firm for services that have included joining her father on congressional trips and in meetings with clients.
The Weldons are the latest example of special interests hiring relatives of important members of Congress as lobbyists and consultants. Over the last year, The Times has identified 11 other House members and 17 senators with relatives who lobby or consult, many of them for clients the members have helped through legislative or other action.
Congressional ethics rules provide few barriers to the practice. They do not forbid members of Congress from helping companies or others who are paying their relatives.
But Weldon has brought his daughter so deeply into his official activities that they sometimes appear to be working in tandem.
For example:
* After a Russian aerospace manufacturer hired Karen Weldon's firm for $20,000 a month plus 10% of any new business it generated, Rep. Weldon pitched the company's saucer-shaped drone to the U.S. Navy, which signed a letter of intent to invest in the technology. And Weldon, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees $60 billion in military acquisitions, has been working to get funding for the project, Navy officials say. A lawyer for Solutions said the firm did not collect the finder's fee and it was later removed from the contract. Federal law bars companies from paying commissions to lobbyists on government contracts.
* The congressman helped round up 30 congressional colleagues for a dinner at the Library of Congress to honor the chairman of a Russian natural gas company, Itera International Energy Corp., that had just agreed to pay his daughter's firm $500,000 a year to "create good public relations." Records show Solutions North America helped arrange the privately funded affair for the company, which has been trying to improve its image with U.S. officials after questions were raised about its acquisition of vast natural gas fields in post-Soviet Russia.
* Karen Weldon's firm paid for her father's chief of staff to take a "fact-finding" trip to Serbia, where he met with U.S. Embassy officials about the Karics' visa problems. The congressman approved the arrangement, travel records show. House ethics rules bar members or staff from taking official trips paid for by lobbyists or registered agents of foreign companies. The chief of staff, Michael J. Conallen Jr., said he reimbursed Solutions with his own money last week after The Times raised questions about the trip.
Conallen said the congressman's actions on behalf of Karen Weldon's clients posed no ethical concerns.
"I just don't think there's anything strange about it," he said. "If Curt wanted to he could snap his fingers and divert a lot of business to Karen, and that hasn't happened."
Karen Weldon has a partner in Solutions, Charles P. Sexton Jr., 67, the former finance chairman of Rep. Weldon's campaigns. Neither has lobbied Weldon nor asked for his help, Conallen said.
"The fact that they have contracts with these clients hasn't influenced anything Curt has done," he said.
The congressman was advocating for the Karics and other Eastern European business interests long before his daughter opened her firm, Conallen said.
In a written statement Thursday, Conallen added, "The congressman is generally aware of his daughter's company and the work she does for several of her clients. But the congressman has not discussed the specifics of Solutions North America's agreements with their clients or the nature of their representation."
Karen Weldon declined to say whether she discussed her clients with her father. But she said her firm's success was not due to his position in Congress.
"Because of who he is, people have questioned me all my life about whether I'm qualified and if I can do the job," she said. "I have nothing to hide. I haven't done anything inappropriate."

Going Into Business
Rep. Weldon, a former school teacher, was first elected to Congress in 1986 from the Republican suburbs southwest of Philadelphia. Over nine terms, he has moved up in seniority on the House Armed Services Committee. He is vice chairman -- the second-ranking Republican -- and chairman of its tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
Weldon, a Russian studies major in college, also is a noted advocate of closer relationships with the former Soviet Union. He has made more than 30 trips to Russia as a member of Congress. He is the founder and chairman of the Congressional U.S.-Former Soviet Union Energy Caucus and founder and co-chairman of the official interparliamentary exchange between the U.S. and Russia.
Today, Conallen said, "There is nobody in Congress more knowledgeable about Russia than Curt Weldon." That judgment is shared by many of Weldon's House colleagues.
Until she launched Solutions, Karen Weldon had been following a different career path. She had an undergraduate degree in education and a graduate degree in information systems.
She spent six years, she said, working on "learning and training programs" for Boeing Co., which has a helicopter plant at the edge of Rep. Weldon's district. Conallen said Weldon did not help his daughter get the job at Boeing, which is a frequent beneficiary of his work in Washington and one of his top campaign donors.
When she and Sexton opened their business in September 2002, Solutions' office consisted of a cubicle in a suburban Philadelphia office suite that provided a common receptionist and conference room for all 120 of its tenants. A few months later, Solutions opened a similar office in downtown Washington.
Karen Weldon said Sexton "makes a lot of the business connections" for their firm. Her partner is a political power broker in Weldon's district and the former owner of a security guard company, which he recently sold for $6 million.
She described her role as "legwork and project management," including graphics and Web development.
She said she doesn't work on legislation and called Solutions "more of a business consultancy than a lobbying firm," though she and Sexton have registered with the Justice Department as foreign agents for their three clients. Lobbyists representing overseas clients must file disclosure reports with the department's Foreign Agents Registration Unit.
She would not say who else she and Sexton represented beyond the three clients reported in Solutions' disclosure forms.
Karen Weldon said the idea for Solutions originated with Sexton. He was already talking to Itera, the Russian energy company, she said. Sexton declined an interview request from The Times.
She said they became 50-50 partners, and Itera became Solutions' first client. It paid $170,000 of its annual fee up front -- a timely infusion of cash for a start-up firm, especially one that had little experience or presence in Washington.

Russian Relations
Itera needed friends in Washington.
Questions had been raised by Russian energy and investment companies about how Itera had gained title to billions of dollars worth of natural gas resources from a state-controlled conglomerate called Gazprom.
William Browder of Hermitage Capital Management, a large Russian investment fund with a stake in Gazprom, said the conglomerate transferred the assets for little or nothing.
Itera officials declined to be interviewed.
The controversy has been a cloud over Itera's efforts to gain access to Western investment capital and markets. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency withdrew an $868,000 grant to the company in March 2002 after questions were raised about Itera's background, said Leocadia Zak, an agency lawyer. It was a setback to the image of the company, which is seeking to expand its natural gas, timber and real estate holdings in the United States.
Two months later, Rep. Weldon led a congressional delegation to Moscow in connection with a visit by President Bush. Weldon toured Itera's offices and, according to a company news release, praised it as a "strong and well-established company," and recommended it as "a great source" for U.S. energy firms seeking partners for joint ventures.
When he returned home, Weldon blasted the Trade and Development Agency's decision at a news conference and made calls to the State Department on the company's behalf, though to no avail.
On Sept. 5 and 6, 2002, Itera paid for Weldon's lodging in New York so he could do an interview with Russian radio about energy, Conallen said.
A week later, Itera sent e-mails to Karen Weldon telling her the company would complete the terms of a contract with her firm at an upcoming dinner in Washington that her father was co-hosting to honor Itera's chairman.
The dinner took place Sept. 24 at the Library of Congress. That day, Rep. Weldon had introduced a resolution in the House that encouraged U.S.-Russian cooperation on developing energy resources. Two days later, in a floor speech, he gave House colleagues a glowing report on Itera.
On Sept. 30, Itera signed the $500,000-a-year contract with Solutions, which agreed to work on creating "good public relations so in the future Itera may sell goods and services to U.S. entities," according to foreign agent disclosure filings. They show the Library of Congress dinner as one of the firm's first efforts on Itera's behalf.
When Rep. Weldon led a congressional delegation to Eastern Europe two months later, Itera paid for Karen Weldon to join him. Father and daughter met with the president of Georgia, and the congressman helped Itera resolve a costly commercial dispute with the government. During a stop in Moscow, Rep. Weldon called for increased U.S. imports from Itera and other Russian energy corporations.
By January 2003, Itera had enough confidence in its prospects here to open an expanded U.S. headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. The company flew the congressman down for the gala marking the event, according to his travel records.
"I can think of no other company that represents what Russia is today and offers for the future," the congressman said, according to a local news report.

'Flying Saucer'
Kaen Weldon said she found her second client, a Russian aerospace company, through a family friend.
The friend was Philadelphia lawyer John J. Gallagher, who has worked with her father to foster U.S.-Russian business ties.
Gallagher said he introduced Solutions to Saratov Aviation Plant in December 2002, because the company needed help promoting its products in the United States. One of its most promising creations was a drone that could deliver supplies to war zones, a device the company sometimes called its "flying saucer."
Karen Weldon, or her partner Sexton, in turn sparked Rep. Weldon's interest in the company's technology, according to chief of staff Conallen.
A Saratov official recalled hearing from Rep. Weldon "quite unexpectedly" in early January 2003. The congressman expressed "an acute interest" in the unmanned vehicle, said company director Alexander Ermishin.
Weldon visited Saratov's plant later that month, accompanied by his daughter, who by then was negotiating a deal to consult for the company, according to Solutions' disclosure reports.
It was an official trip for Weldon, who had congressional business in Russia and Austria. Karen Weldon's travel was paid through Solutions.
They each attended meetings with Ermishin and other company officials. The congressman expressed enthusiasm about the saucer technology, Ermishin said. Within weeks, Saratov sealed a contract with Solutions to promote the company's products, according to foreign agent disclosure filings.
Ermishin described the congressman's assistance on the project as "really invaluable." He declined to discuss why he hired Karen Weldon's firm.
According to the contract that Solutions filed with the Justice Department, Saratov agreed to pay Solutions $20,000 a month with two contingencies: The cash-strapped company did not have to start paying until Solutions attracted new business. And Saratov would pay a 10% finder's fee if the company "strikes a deal from a lead supplied" by Solutions.
After the Weldons returned from Russia, the congressman took steps to get a deal going. He contacted the Naval Air Systems Command, or Navair, which is based near Washington, about the Saratov saucer, Conallen said.
Robert Carullo, a Navair staff member, said Weldon asked him to arrange for Ermishin to meet with Navair. The meeting took place in March. Solutions' disclosure reports say the firm also helped set up the meeting.
Karen Weldon also helped arrange a follow-up meeting between Navair and Saratov in Russia in September, disclosure reports show. At the conclusion of that visit, Navair and Saratov signed a nonbinding letter of intent that called for Navair to seek funding to develop the saucer technology and fly a prototype by 2005. Ermishin said the technology needs between $10 million and $14 million as initial capital.
John Fischer, Navair's director of research and engineering sciences, who led the delegation to Saratov, said he was impressed with the company's technology.
In an interview, Fischer credited Rep. Weldon for bringing Saratov to Navair's attention, calling him "a very proactive member of Congress."
He said Weldon was looking for money for the project. "The money is a sensitive question, but we are confident it will come," Fischer said.
Conallen said Weldon had not yet taken steps to get the funding authorized by Congress.
Asked later about Karen Weldon's involvement, Navair provided a written response saying that Fischer met with her twice during the discussions with Saratov but did not realize she worked for the company.
"Dr. Fischer was aware that Ms. Weldon was Rep. Weldon's daughter, but he was not aware that she had a business relationship with Saratov," the response said. "She did not identify herself other than by her name, and Dr. Fisher [sic] assumed her to be doing staff work for Congressman Weldon."
Solutions' attorney, Joseph M. Fioravanti, on Thursday said the firm's finder's fee was eliminated under a new contract with Saratov signed in November. That contract was transferred to a new firm that Sexton and Karen Weldon formed last year. Fioravanti declined to provide more information on the new firm, Solutions Worldwide Inc. He said Saratov began paying the new firm $20,000 a month in December.
At least four laws prohibit companies that receive federal contracts from paying contingency fees to lobbyists, according to Tom Susman, chairman of the ethics committee of the American League of Lobbyists.
"We realized that with government contracts you're not supposed to get a percent, so we revised it," Karen Weldon said. "We were worried that it might look inappropriate."

A Family Affair
Clearing the Karic family name in the United States has become something of a crusade for Rep. Weldon.
Their relationship dates to 1999, when he led a congressional delegation to Vienna that tried to broker a deal to end the war between Yugoslavia and the province of Kosovo.
By then, Milosevic's record of atrocities had been thoroughly documented. NATO had gone to war with the Belgrade regime, and U.S. bombers had pounded the capital to force the Yugoslav leader to withdraw from Kosovo.
In public statements about the trip, Weldon has said that he and his colleagues met Dragomir Karic, who was introduced as a confidant of Milosevic who could negotiate a deal with the United States. His brother, Bogoljub, was a member of Milosevic's cabinet.
Weldon later told Congress that he had received a report on the Karics from U.S. intelligence officials that said a family member had bankrolled Milosevic's election, and that the family's bank had tried to finance a missile sale to his regime.
Because of evidence that the Karics had supported Milosevic, the Treasury Department placed them on a list of Serbians banned from doing business in the United States. They all had been removed from the list by last year, as the United States normalized relations with Serbia, but they still cannot get visas.
In a written statement, a spokesman for the Karics said, "Regarding the alleged links of the Karic Group or family to the Milosevic regime, we can only reiterate that these allegations are the product of groups or individuals from our country who have been themselves profiting from ties with the former regime."
Rep. Weldon came to adopt the view that the Karics, whose businesses thrived under Milosevic, were being unfairly portrayed as sympathizers of the former leader. "The story we get from the Karics is that Bogoljub was from the pro-democracy side, and Milosevic said your life and business depends on your working with me ... and he did," Conallen said. "Curt believes in these guys and that their support for Milosevic was the result of innuendo and threat."
On Oct. 8, 2002, Weldon sent a letter to Dragomir Karic inviting him to Washington to discuss the "extensive humanitarian and charity projects" sponsored by the family's Karic Foundation. The letter praised the Karics' business group and commended it to "U.S. companies seeking to establish business relationships in Serbia."
Weldon's invitation was signed by 18 colleagues. According to Conallen, it was an effort to pressure the State Department to grant visas to the Karics.
In March 2003, the Karic Foundation hired his daughter's firm on a renewable one-year contract paying $240,000. In disclosure forms, Solutions said it would assist the foundation in "establishing and developing a U.S. presence."
"I did a proposal for them," Karen Weldon said. "I worked my butt off, and they liked it."
The Karics' written statement said that they hired Solutions on the strength of its proposal and that "no American member of Congress" influenced their decision.
In August, Weldon led a congressional delegation to Serbia. An association of Serbian businessmen headed by Bogoljub Karic helped plan the trip.
In November, Solutions paid for Conallen to travel to Belgrade. He said he went on the invitation of Karen Weldon's partner, who received an honorary degree from a private university owned by the Karics. While there, Conallen said he met with U.S. Embassy officials to discuss the Karics' visa problem. His airfare, lodging and meals came to $2,403.30.
Conallen said he did not know at the time that Solutions represented the Karics. He said he consulted the House Ethics Committee after The Times raised questions about the payment and was told that he needed to reimburse Solutions. He said he has done so.
In December, Conallen said he called State Department officials again about the Karics. He appeals so frequently on behalf of the Karics, he said, that State Department officials know why he's calling without asking.
The Karic brothers sent Weldon a letter Jan. 13 to thank him for his support and assure him of their "lasting friendship." The letter requested a meeting with intelligence officials "in the hope that this will finally clear our good name."
Weldon delivered the Karics' request to the CIA. Conallen said the congressman has not heard anything from the agency. The CIA declined comment.
Weldon invited the Karics to the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5. Since the State Department would not grant them visas, they were unable to attend. The congressman's efforts for the Karics, Conallen said, are "ongoing."
So are Karen Weldon's efforts for the Karics and their foundation. "It's one of my main projects," she said two weeks ago.

Vote for Governor by Media Market 2002

2006-10-10T03:26:00.000-07:00

Media Market	Registration	Votes	Turnout	Fisher	%%	Rendell	%%	Rep. Margin

Erie	253,997	116,102	46%	65,469	56%	46,752	40%	18,717
Harrisburg	1,097,951	530,848	48%	332,079	63%	186,609	35%	145,470
Johnstown	457,060	222,152	49%	135,307	61%	81,858	37%	53,449
Other	211,740	91,754	43%	57,658	63%	32,343	35%	25,315
Philadelphia	3,182,447	1,458,903	46%	439,132	30%	995,113	68%	(555,981)
Pittsburgh	1,847,834	807,028	44%	384,986	48%	400,605	50%	(15,619)
Wilkes-Barre	784,746	355,202	45%	174,777	49%	169,955	48%	4,822


Pennsylvania	7,835,775	3,581,989	46%	1,589,408	44%	1,913,235	53%	(323,827)

Ed Rendell's Major Contributors

2006-09-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

From the latest campaign finance reports (Cycle 4) top contributors to the Rendell campaign:

$265,000	PSEA PACE	Harrisburg	PA	State Teachers Union
$224,000	Democratic Governor's Association	Washington	DC	Dem Governors PAC
$100,000	Reynolds Construction PAC	Harrisburg	PA
$100,000	Philadelphia Area Carpenters Union	Philadelphia	PA
$100,000	Dennis Alter	Fort Washington	PA	Chairman	ADVANTA Corporation
$100,000	James A. Shiner	Tucson	AZ	Attorney	Self-Employed
$100,000	Lynn K. Shiner	Pittsburgh	PA	Attorney	Self-Employed
$100,000	Thomas W. Wolf	Mount Wolf	PA	Chief Executive Officer	The Wolf Organization
$56,000	Jack B. Piatt	Cannonsburg	PA	Chairman of the Board	Millcraft Industries
$50,000	L. Robert Kimball & Assoc. PAC	Ebensburg	PA
$55,000	LAWPAC	Harrisburg	PA
$50,000	Daniel Berger	Philadelphia	PA	Attorney	Berger & Montague, P.C.
$50,000	David Berger	Philadelphia	PA	Attorney	Berger & Montague
$50,000	DeCotiis Fitzpatrick Cole & Wisler, LLP	Teaneck	NJ	Partnership
$50,000	William A. Graham, IV	Gladwyne	PA	Chief Executive Officer	The Graham Company
$50,000	Dorrance H. Hamilton	Wayne	PA	Retired	Two Eighteen Enterprises
$50,000	Thomas F. Karam	Waverly	PA	President & COO	Stonegate Capital Partners
$50,000	H. Laddie Montague, Jr.	Philadelphia	PA	Attorney	Berger & Montague, P.C.
$50,000	Jack B. Piatt	Cannonsburg	PA	Chairman of the Board	Millcraft Industries
$50,000	Reed Smith LLP	Pittsburgh	PA	Partnership
$50,000	Phyllis Rizzo	Mendham	NJ	Owner	Tamiment Resort
$50,000	Lawrence T. Simon	Shawnee on Delaware	PA	President	LTS Builders

Lynn Swann's Major Contributors

2006-09-29T05:28:00.000-07:00

Extracted from this week's campaign finance filing, here is an annotated list of the top givers to the Lynn Swann campaign during the most recent reporting period.

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Jerrold Perenchio 1999 Ave.Of The Stars Los Angeles CA Businessman $125,000
(Perenchio is founder of Univision, the Spanish-language TV network and a big Republican giver.)

Bob and Doylene Perry PO Box 34153 Houston TX Owner $100,000
(A Texas homebuilder with close ties to the Bush White House

Republican State Committee of PA 301 Market St Ste 900 Harrisburg PA Principal $92,000

PA Future Fund PAC PO Box 5028 Harrisburg PA Principal $85,000
(The Political Action Committee controlled by former party chair Bob Asher)

Kim & Terrence Pegula 32 Wexford Club Dr Hilton Head Island SC Pres. & CEO $63,773
(An oil and natural gas co. executive)

James Pallotta 61 Bristol Rd Wellesley Hills MA Executive $50,000
(A hedge fund manager and part owner of the Boston Celtics)

Wayne Huizenga 4200 N Flagler Dr West Palm Beach FL Owner $50,000
(Blockbuster video founder and also owner of the Miami Dolphins)

PA ABC PAC 135 Shellyland Rd Manheim PA Principal $45,000
(Pennsylvania Builders & Contractors PAC)

Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. 601 Pembroke Rd Bryn Mawr PA Chairman $30,000
(Physician, son of financier Sir John Templeton & head of the Templeton Foundation)

A Pen Dipped In Bile

2006-09-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

Perhaps instead of the Inquirer, the name "Hoplophobe Crier" would be more suitable for your newspaper.
Yesterday's local section really had a lot of "bang for the buck" going for it's usual antigun preachy venue. The "Crier" has the body count at 271 and I'm sure it hopes that will quickly rise, for time is short.
Philadelphia's ghetto sections are only slightly ahead [ by two ] of where they were on this day last year, not much different per capita for the last two or three decades, by your own "statistics" in other articles -- what a tangled web we weave...
Since this is conspicuously, an all-out assault on the Second Amendment rights of the evil "gun people" in an election year, and the inept Democratic party that has been putting the local economy in a death spiral for over a decade now, your party of choice, needs as big a smokescreen as your disgustingly liberal paper can help it muster.
[ Not to mention the childish anti-freedom and Bush bashing graphic concepts by that charlatan snob, artist want-to-be, Tony Auth. ]. I was surprised to see the letter "allowed" printed in Thursday's Local News section by Steve Cain. He was right on target with the whole scenario. Drugs, lack of education, and laissez-faire use of police intelligence are the real culprits in our Badland sections of the city.
That was the token five or so percent pro-gun letter, which of course simply had to be lumped in with that no-thought-process, knee-jerk piece two letters below it: "Guns in the house" where "Brady Nanny" brainwashed Barbara Gold, spouted some of their "statistics catechism" about guns causing normal people to uncontrollably shoot friends, simply by the guns' being there.
Sure, there is always going to be a small percentage of people that will kill themselves in stupid ways with guns; many more comparatively with cars, motorcycles, farm machinery and other potentially lethal devices, especially when mixed with excess quantities of alcohol.
Now to advocate banning cars, bikes etceteras, wouldn't stand a chance in a public forum; yet when it comes to guns, we are all required to agree with the antigunners' "Nanny knows best" philosophy that prattles on, that 'banning them' [ firearms, especially handguns ] is the only way. If you dare disagree, you must be a barbarian that eats live babies and worships the freaking devil. Getting back to yesterday's local section, we have hoity-toity John Grogan doing his best Dr. Phil imitation [ 'What were they thinking?' ] about the parents that left the gun under their mattress which led to their dysfunctional 17 year old "boy" [ many 17 year old men and women hunt and fight wars without shooting their "friends" ] getting drunk, finding the gun, and shooting one of his classmates.
His parents should have had the gun with them, but you know Jersey and it's archaic gun laws -- they were probably afraid to chance crossing the border with it. It should have been kept in their trunk unloaded, with any ammo in another [ as in the passenger compartment ] section of the car, and that would have satisfied the freaky antigun Jersey laws. Personally I find it hard to believe that their son had "no interest" in guns. Perhaps his parents were just "too busy" to do the right thing by at least giving their son some minimal awareness of gun safety, being that they owned and kept a gun in their house.
As a parent myself, I took the responsibility to instill in my children a healthy respect for firearms and taught them how they function; that they are not something you use unsupervised, or casually show off to your friends; and eventually how to safely shoot a gun [ they should be at least eight or so for a low recoil weapon of .22 caliber ]. My children are not avid shooters, however, they are also not likely to [ Youngest is twenty now and both have managed to stay alive without mindlessly shooting anyone else for shits and giggles -- so far, so good! ] use firearms foolishly since we went over the dangers and the defensive advantages they possess many moons ago. Hopefully they will eventually opt to get a carry permit to protect themselves from the violent predators that we all hope will never chose them or anyone's loved ones for that matter, as victims.
I personally feel much safer with a loaded .357 over a frantic 911 call, but that is me, which brings us to another aspect of yesterday's local antigun bash in your misinformation guide to hating gun possession. Beyond know-it-all John Grogan's rant about the drunk 17 year old murderer, there was the letters section in which [ probably some closet case, typically over eighty old fart ] Inquirer "believer," Philip Zebley from Swarthmore, was apparently completely duped by that drivel session by your Tom Ferrick about how the Congress will "insulate" the evil gun people with the help of that demon Curt Weldon.
'Oh, Chicken Little Tom,' the senile geezer gushes, 'lets vote for some better congressman that will give us even more "sensible gun laws" to go with the ones that all the liberals have either chosen to ignore or have refused to enforce, that we already have on the books now.'
Gosh Tom, thanks....you're swell! The streets of Swarthmore must be covered in blood or that guy is clueless, I'd bet on the latter. Then to further insult the intelligence, the next one by Greg Barnes from "da hood" in rough and tumble Haverford reminds us that 'guns in the home kill us,' they morph legs and the ability to shoot the residents all by themselves, I presume he means -- better lay off the coffee and sci-fi channel there Greg. Next page headline: 100 leaders join to fight gun violence in Pa. by your Vernon Clark. "On Sept.26, busloads of activists will urge the state legislature to take steps against the problem."
Let's face it, you can blow smoke up a lot of your readers asses regularly, but anyone that attends these sort of events knows the drill. The "free cheese people," many of them straw purchasers themselves to supplement their welfare checks, will take a free ride to pretend they care about the punks that they let rule their neighborhoods, because they don't work anyway, so what to hell else have they got to do.
The usual welfare whores from act up will be waltzing around selling their "the world owes the ignorant-by-choice a living" bullcrap. Street, Abraham, and some antigun by party affiliation "police spokesperson" from Philadelphia will all be there, armed to the teeth themselves as usual, bodyguards in tow.
At least the Pennsylvania State Police are endorsing Mr. Swan for Governor, a Republican who supports enforcement of current gun laws, unlike Rendell, who basically supports himself. The "Brady Nanny" groups will be hamming it up for the press and the union hacks, Men United for a Better Philadelphia [ Don't Snitch Inc. ], Physicians for Social Responsibility [ Liberal Doctors that don't have to sweat being victimized because they don't live in, or have to work in the ghetto areas or even drive through them in their BMWs ] will all have a little pompous speech to make into the bullhorns.
The usual boring travesty. Dwight Evans will be there to avoid the issue that his inner city black caucus constituents are their own worst enemies, while espousing legislation to disarm decent people that are stuck in Philadelphia and can't depend on the police, most of the time, for protection, so that when his perceived voting block gets tired of shooting each other, they can be safer carjacking, raping, and killing law abiding citizens with less chance of facing a potentially armed victim [ Genocide by Dwight Inc. ].
He knows that the gang-bangers won't care about violating the goal law of the whole charade: namely, making Philadelphia's political prostitutes able to circumvent State gun laws the way they did before the people demanded uniform right to carry, statewide back in 1995 and have had virtually no revocations [ In Philadelphia and Statewide ] by permit holders in the more than a decade since the common sense law was enacted. You will have a microcosm of the aformentioned phonys from Reading, Pittsburgh, and every other little holler with a ghetto area; all there to cover their own failures as politicians and citizens, by lambasting the "demon gun culture."
Don't you people ever tire or feel embarrassed at all, promulgating these sideshows of anti-Constitutional debauchery? What a Joke!

Gregory Niblock
Philadelphia, Pa.

Meet the Press Transcript

2006-09-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

MR. RUSSERT: Another issue that’s risen in this campaign, particularly in western Pennsylvania, is the issue of residency.
SEN. SANTORUM: Yeah.
MR. RUSSERT: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had this editorial: “Five Santorum children have been home-schooled at their house in Leesburg, Virginia, through the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, an education paid for by the Penn Hills district to the tune of $38,000 a year, until it became apparent that they don’t live in Penn Hills.” They go on. “The [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] sent a letter to Rick Santorum at his home address, at least the one that he claims. Back from Penn Hills came the letter with a sticker from the U.S. Postal Service checked as ‘Not Deliverable As Addressed—Unable To Forward.’”And what people point to, and particularly the media in the western part of the state, is in 1990 when you ran for the House, you ran against the incumbent Doug Walgren, and ran this commercial repeatedly. Let’s watch.

(Videotape, 1990 Santorum campaign ad):
AD ANNOUNCER: There’s something strange about this house. It belongs to our congressman, Doug Walgren. What’s so strange? Instead of living in his own congressional district, Congressman Walgren lives in this house, located in the wealthiest area of Virginia.
(End of videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: And now the State Education Department, state taxpayers are going to have to—have agreed to give the Penn Hills school district $55,000 to compensate for your children’s’ tuition while they were in Virginia taking a cyber course. And based on that commercial...
SEN. SANTORUM: Yeah.
MR. RUSSERT: ...isn’t that rather hypocritical of you?
SEN. SANTORUM: No, not at all. Look, look, first off, that commercial, you didn’t play the rest of it, that commercial criticized my opponent. First off, he never owned a home in the district, ever, in 14 years. Let me finish. He never owned a home for 14 years, never had a residence there.
MR. RUSSERT: OK, you own a home, but...
SEN. SANTORUM: Number one, I own a home and always owned a home.
MR. RUSSERT: But since you’ve owned your home at 111 Stevens Lane, how many nights have you personally spent there?
SEN. SANTORUM: I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve spent there. What I say is...
MR. RUSSERT: Roughly, roughly.
SEN. SANTORUM: I don’t know. I—what I, what I spend is...
MR. RUSSERT: I mean, a handful?
SEN. SANTORUM: I, I probably spend maybe a month a year, something like that.
MR. RUSSERT: A month a year...
SEN. SANTORUM: On nights.
MR. RUSSERT: ...in that house?
SEN. SANTORUM: Yeah, probably. I mean, the, the, the bottom line is that I, I have—I, I own a home there, I pay all—I pay my local taxes, I pay my state taxes, income taxes, I pay real estate taxes, and I have, and I can—and my driver’s license there, I vote there, my dentist is there. I mean, the bottom line is, yes, I have a job here in Washington, that’s what the people of Pennsylvania elected me to do. And I pay all my taxes there, and, and I want to be a father who’s with his children. And I own a home, I pay my taxes. My opponent didn’t own a home, and he didn’t pay his taxes. Number one.
Number two, and this is very important, he didn’t spend any time in the district. Not only didn’t he own a home, but, but the rest of that commercial was he only spent 28 days in the entire year in that district. I spend—I get to every single one of 67 counties of Pennsylvania every single year. I spent hundreds of days, thousands of days probably during my term—in Pennsylvania. There’s no one—you heard, you heard the—you heard Governor Rendell, no one works harder, no one spends more time, no one delivers more for Pennsylvania. The issue is not where I put my head. I put my head where my—I want my children with me, and that’s because I care about my six children and my wife, Karen, and I want to be a good husband and a good father.
MR. CASEY: Tim?
SEN. SANTORUM: But I also have a record of being one heck of a hard worker for the people of Pennsylvania.
MR. CASEY: (Unintelligible)

Philadelphia Police on the Payrol

2006-09-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia Uniformed Police on the Payroll As Of


June	1999	6,768
June	2000	6,947
June	2001	6,901
June	2002	6,766
June	2003	7,044
June	2004	6,762
June	2005	6,473
August	2006	6,440

Ed Rendell's Contested Elections

2006-09-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

Pres. & Senate 2000 by Media Market

2006-07-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Senate 2000				R		D
	Total	%%%	Total	Rick	R	Ron	D			Plurality
Media Market	Reg.	Turnout	Vote	Santorum	%	Klink	%	Others		Santorum
Erie	252,518	61%	154,911	88,555	57%	63,291	41%	3,065	2%	25,264
Harrisburg	1,099,023	63%	692,146	450,840	65%	223,915	32%	17,391	3%	226,925
Johnstown	462,261	63%	291,031	178,092	61%	104,165	36%	8,774	3%	73,927
Other	207,705	62%	129,791	81,739	63%	45,630	35%	2,422	2%	36,109
Philadelphia	3,170,339	59%	1,863,160	881,691	47%	949,306	51%	32,163	2%	(67,615)
Pittsburgh	1,823,974	63%	1,143,636	540,157	47%	579,434	51%	24,045	2%	(39,277)
Wilkes-Barre	766,177	60%	460,441	260,888	57%	189,167	41%	10,386	2%	71,721

Pennsylvania	7,781,997	61%	4,735,116	2,481,962	52%	2,154,908	46%	98,246	2%	327,054
President 2000
Media Market	Total Reg.	Trnout	Total Vote	R	D	D	D	Total	O	Plurality
		%		Bush	%	Gore	%	Others	%	Bush

Erie	252,518	65%	163,197	77,175	47%	80,186	49%	5,836	4%	(3,011)
Harrisburg	1,099,023	65%	714,591	439,433	61%	254,838	36%	20,320	3%	184,595
Johnstown	462,261	64%	294,916	170,074	58%	116,151	39%	8,795	3%	53,923
Other	207,705	65%	135,360	80,328	59%	50,903	38%	4,153	3%	29,425
Philadelphia	3,170,339	61%	1,948,840	748,586	38%	1,145,908	59%	53,687	3%	(397,322)
Pittsburgh	1,823,974	64%	1,166,041	527,766	45%	605,248	52%	32,842	3%	(77,482)
Wilkes-Barre	766,177	64%	489,274	237,544	49%	232,731	48%	18,819	4%	4,813
										-
Pennsylvania	7,729,303	64%	4,912,185	2,281,127	46%	2,485,967	51%	145,091	3%	(204,840)

Allegheny County: Detail of Grants

2006-07-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Investments (By County) Allegheny

1. Citizens Job Bank............................... .$1,717,500
2. CFA Projects.........................................$46,898,552
3. DCED Projects.................................. $100,960,254
4. DCNR State Parks & Forests........................ $22,900
5. DCNR Projects....................................... $9,236,755
6. DEP Projects.......................................... $8,413,204
7. Downtown Leases................................. $16,118,389
8. Farmland Preservation.......................... $4,784,758
9. Keystone Innovation Zones...................... $969,424
10. Main Street/Elm Street......................... $4,150,890
11. PENNDOT Aviation..............................$13,677,041
12 .PENNDOT Hometown Streets...............$11,190,866
13. PENNDOT Projects........................... $484,756,120
14. PENNDOT Rail Freight.......................... $9,783,810
15. PENNVEST......................................... $13,640,420
16. Fish & Boat Commission.......................... $573,000
17. PA Game Commission........................................ $0
18. PHFA Projects................................... $201,330,974
19. PHMC Projects.......................................... $426,190
20. Redvlpmnt Assistance Capital.......... $132,775,000
21. Research Investments.........................$60,765,947
22. Tourism Grants................................ ...$11,508,709

Grand Total.......................... $1,133,700,703

Grants & Capital Expenditures 2003-2006

2006-07-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

No...County..............Pop............Total Grants.......Per Cap

1	Snyder	37,546	$342,000,000	$9,109
2	Union	41,624	$330,000,000	$7,928
3	Juniata	22,821	$177,000,000	$7,756
4	Somerset	80,023	$376,000,000	$4,699
5	Tioga	41,373	$173,000,000	$4,181
6	Mifflin	46,486	$188,000,000	$4,044
7	Northumberland	94,556	$373,000,000	$3,945
8	Centre	135,758	$277,000,000	$2,040
9	Elk	35,112	$71,600,000	$2,039
10	Blair	129,144	$235,000,000	$1,820
11	Jefferson	45,932	$79,900,000	$1,740
12	Sullivan	6,556	$9,300,000	$1,419
13	Clinton	37,914	$52,600,000	$1,387
14	Fulton	14,261	$17,300,000	$1,213
15	Monroe	138,687	$157,000,000	$1,132
16	Lycoming	120,044	$135,000,000	$1,125
17	Columbia	64,151	$71,600,000	$1,116
18	Dauphin	251,798	$258,000,000	$1,025
19	Lehigh	312,090	$319,000,000	$1,022
20	Bedford	49,984	$50,200,000	$1,004
21	Cameron	5,974	$5,900,000	$988
22	Bradford	62,761	$61,300,000	$977


23	Cambria	152,598	$148,000,000	$970
24	Schuylkill	150,336	$144,000,000	$958
25	Clearfield	83,382	$75,900,000	$910
26	Greene	40,672	$36,600,000	$900
27	Butler	174,083	$151,000,000	$867
28	Potter	18,080	$15,600,000	$863
29	Allegheny	1,281,666	$1,100,000,000	$858
30	Lebanon	120,327	$100,000,000	$831
	State Average			$781
31	Forest	4,946	$3,800,000	$768
32	Luzerne	319,250	$240,000,000	$752
33	Carbon	58,802	$43,200,000	$735
34	Lawrence	94,643	$68,500,000	$724
35	Perry	43,602	$29,900,000	$686
36	Warren	43,863	$28,800,000	$657
37	Erie	280,843	$174,000,000	$620
38	Wyoming	28,080	$17,300,000	$616
39	Susquehanna	42,238	$25,700,000	$608
40	Montour	18,236	$10,900,000	$598
41	Indiana	89,605	$53,200,000	$594
42	Huntingdon	45,586	$26,700,000	$586
43	Northampton	267,066	$151,000,000	$565
44	Armstrong	72,392	$40,800,000	$564


45	Bucks	597,635	$334,000,000	$559
46	Franklin	129,313	$71,900,000	$556
47	Mercer	120,293	$65,400,000	$544
48	Philadelphia	1,517,550	$825,000,000	$544
49	Wayne	47,722	$25,600,000	$536
50	Adams	91,292	$48,100,000	$527
51	Cumberland	213,674	$111,000,000	$519
52	Fayette	148,644	$76,500,000	$515
53	Washington	202,897	$104,000,000	$513
54	Lackawanna	213,295	$108,000,000	$506
55	Clarion	41,765	$20,700,000	$496
56	Montgomery	750,097	$355,000,000	$473
57	Lancaster	470,658	$219,000,000	$465
58	McKean	45,936	$21,000,000	$457
59	Beaver	181,412	$81,200,000	$448
60	Chester	433,501	$178,000,000	$411
61	Westmoreland	369,993	$151,000,000	$408
62	Crawford	90,366	$36,200,000	$401
63	Berks	373,638	$135,000,000	$361
64	Pike	46,302	$16,200,000	$350
65	Venango	57,565	$17,000,000	$295
66	Delaware	550,864	$106,000,000	$192
67	York	381,751	$45,800,000	$120

Source: Rendell for Governor Committee, U.S. Census 2000

No "Race Card" Here

2006-07-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure but I strongly suspect you have little or no history living in NE Philly.

As a 58 year resident of the NE, I can relate strongly to Bhakta's point and as far as the "race card" goes, it seems you have plucked that from the deck.

Bhakta's point about rising crime rates are right on target and any resident who knows the NE will tell you that it has seen a rapid decline in recent years.

Section 8 housing and absentee landlords bringing renters to neighborhoods which were previously occupied with home OWNERS has been a major contributor to this decline.

These folks (regardless of race) are far more likely to "not value the safety, cleanliness and civic mindedness" than the long time homeowners.

I realize that the liberal solution is to give everything away to those who are "underprivileged" but this practice has never been successful anywhere in the World, let alone in Philadelphia.

John Street has declared war on the NE by his lack of concern for the area, as far as city services (exemplified by his strong support of closing the NE branch of City Hall).

To make an issue of a "typo", John White vs Ron White, is a childish liberal cheap shot (a crook is a crook whether John or Ron) .

Obviously if Allyson Schwartz supports the Street administration, she is supporting widespread, rampant corruption, regardless of the names mentioned.

No concerned, honest citizen should ever cast a vote for someone who has supported a Mayor who should be in jail alongside his "pay to play" buddies.

Something tells me we haven't heard the last of Raj Bhakta and I think that is a real positive thing for this once great City.

The scandal ridden Democratic machine will probably be too strong for Bhakta to defeat this November, but his future is bright among hard working, responsible voters.

Let's hope for Philadelphia's sake, we've heard the last of John Street and his political supporters come November.

Denny Hannigan

A Giant Whooshing Sound

2006-07-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Why is it wrong for anyone besides African-Americans to play the race card in politics?

John Street said the brothers and sisters are running the city and barely a peep is heard. All of you apologists in the media say he was misunderstood. No he wasn't.

He has a lingering hatred for white people that he just cannot hide.

He has helped to wage war on the Northeast by implementing his NTI in North Philadelphia.

He has given free reign to developers there and in the process has displaced the population, largely African-American, and forced their move into Northeast Philadelphia.

While everyone is whistling by the graveyard downtown, saying property values are soaring, life is great, we here in the Northeast are preparing to leave our city.

Why? Because for the longest time, we were the only neighborhood worth a damn and due to the fact we have jobs and obligations, we haven't been able to organize and protest the fact that we get short shrift of city services. We could stand that. We took that as just a fact of life.

Now we're being inundated with the people displaced from North Philadelphia who move here, steal our children's toys, bikes, our lawn ornaments/furniture and threaten our well being and safety.

So that whoosh you hear will be all of us leaving, the cherished and irreplaceable middle-class, if we don't get someone like Raj to represent our needs.

Thanks for reading my comments,

Mike Ulrich.

The Most Ignorant Stupid Sort

2006-07-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Franklin on German immigrants.

Excerpts from a letter written to his friend, Peter Collinson.
Collinson was an English Quaker, a botanist and a member of the Royal Society who was instrumental in having Franklin's experiments in electricity circulated in Great Britain.

Philadelphia May 9th 1753

Sir,

...I am perfectly of your mind, that measures of great Temper are necessary with the Germans: and am not without Apprehensions, that thro' their indiscretion or Ours, or both, great disorders and inconveniences may one day arise among us…

Those who come hither are generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation, and as Ignorance is often attended with Credulity when Knavery would mislead it, and with Suspicion when Honesty would set it right; and as few of the English understand the German Language, and so cannot address them either from the Press or Pulpit, 'tis almost impossible to remove any prejudices they once entertain.

Their own Clergy have very little influence over the people; who seem to take an uncommon pleasure in abusing and discharging the Minister on every trivial occasion.

Not being used to Liberty, they know not how to make a modest use of it; and as Kolben says of the young Hottentots, that they are not esteemed men till they have shewn their manhood by beating their mothers, so these seem to think themselves not free, till they can feel their liberty in abusing and insulting their Teachers.

Thus they are under no restraint of Ecclesiastical Government; They behave, however, submissively enough at present to the Civil Government which I wish they may continue to do:

For I remember when they modestly declined intermeddling in our Elections, but now they come in droves, and carry all before them, except in one or two Counties…

Few of their children in the Country learn English; they import many Books from Germany; and of the six printing houses in the Province, two are entirely German, two half German half English, and but two entirely English; They have one German Newspaper, and one half German.
Advertisements intended to be general are now printed in Dutch and English; the Signs in our Streets have inscriptions in both languages, and in some places only German: They begin of late to make all their Bonds and other legal Writings in their own Language, which (though I think it ought not to be) are allowed good in our Courts, where the German Business so increases that there is continual need of Interpreters; and I suppose in a few years they will be also necessary in the Assembly, to tell one half of our Legislators what the other half say;

In short unless the stream of their importation could be turned from this to other colonies, as you very judiciously propose, they will soon so out number us, that all the advantages we have will not in My Opinion be able to preserve our language, and even our Government will become precarious.

Yet I am not for refusing entirely to admit them into our Colonies: all that seems to be necessary is, to distribute them more equally, mix them with the English, establish English Schools where they are now too thick settled, and take some care to prevent the practice lately fallen into by some of the Ship Owners, of sweeping the German Goals to make up the number of their Passengers.

I say I am not against the Admission of Germans in general, for they have their Virtues, their industry and frugality is exemplary; They are excellent husbandmen and contribute greatly to the improvement of a Country.

Jay Poole - Yardley, Pa.

2006-06-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Tom,

Not permitting a mayor to make laws that contravene the state's constitution should be held inviolate, and not championed. The state is more than just Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I live in Yardley, Bucks County...and guess what? We are awash in firearms up here! I was out shooting yesterday, and there were 3 AR-15's, 1 M1A, and at least a dozen handguns...between 4 people. Why don't we have the same gun violence problem up here?

Oh yeah...because it has nothing to do with guns! It is a CULTURAL problem, brought about by liberal, social engineers, who have decimated the Black and Latino cultures in our urban areas. They have ruined the family unit (allowing the state to provide), promoted welfare as an acceptable way of making a living (allowing the state to provide), removed all personal responsibility for one's actions (the culture of victimization), and then they blame their self-inflicted/city endorsed problems on inanimate objects (the culture of blame)...the same inanimate objects that, when present in a different culture just a few miles away, cause no such problems. And with almost half of the murders being suicides, maybe it just says that Philadelphia is just a depressing place to live...probably because of the stuff I just referenced! Amazing.

One cannot assign agency to an inanimate object. A gun must be loaded and wielded by an individual, and it is with that individual that the responsibility lies. I don't hear you liberal journalists call for banning or limiting access to doctors (who kill 80,000+ patients a year via medical misadventures), or alcohol (which is a scourge on families when misused), or a bunch of other things (I have a list somewhere) that kill a lot of people.

No, go after our state's constitution, that will solve the problem...NOT! And as for the support in the suburbs to contravene our state's constitution, I don't see you getting it. Too many people are wise the corrupt nature of Philadelphia (ever dealt with the Convention Center, Traffic Court, Procurement, etc?), and understand that these problems don't exist in the burbs because we don't allow them to exist, not because of how many guns we buy or how many guns we own, but because of how we choose to live our lives!

I look forward to seeing who opposes your anti-gun schemes next week...because they'll each be getting a check and a letter of appreciation that they believe in upholding our state's constitution.

Jep Poole,
Yardley, PA
Tel. 215-295-6868

Inquirer's Citizen of the Year

2006-06-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Inquirer's second annual Citizen of the Year award honors three people who shook democracy to its core in Pennsylvania in 2005.

The three men who share the award led a popular uprising to restore accountability in state government.

More than any other citizen-activists, these three orchestrated the grassroots revolt that forced state lawmakers to repeal their sleazy pay raise and toppled a Supreme Court justice.

In so doing, they gave hope to those who dream of smarter, cleaner government - in Harrisburg and throughout the state.

The second annual Inquirer Citizen of the Year award goes to Timothy Potts, Russell Diamond and Eugene Stilp.

On July 7, in a vote taken literally in the dead of night, around 2 a.m., state legislators rammed through hefty pay raises for themselves and other state officials, including judges.

The Harrisburg crowd thought it knew how this story would play out. A brief burst of public anger would flare but fade from memory by the time lawmakers went back to work in September.

As for November 2006, when lawmakers would next ask voters to rehire them, the pay raise vote would barely be remembered. Or so the conventional wisdom went.

And with good reason. Politicians in Harrisburg had been doing business this way for a long time, without consequences.

Nothing seemed to raise voters' ire to job-threatening levels, not a spate of felony convictions for sitting members, not news stories about ghost voting or fancy car leases, not endless stalemate on major issues.

In 2004, for example, 193 House members ran for reelection; only two lost. About half had no opposition.

Many citizens, it seemed, had adopted a fatalistic view of state government.

They were accustomed to the legislature doing much of its work in relative secrecy, approving important legislation such as the slots gaming law in late-night sessions with little or no public debate.

Many Pennsylvanians felt powerless.The lawmakers who slipped themselves these nice raises were counting on that apathy.

But they hadn't counted on Potts, Diamond, Stilp and others mounting a furious campaign against arrogant business-as-usual in the state Capitol.

"Their efforts in keeping the pay raise in the public eye played a large part in having it repealed," said Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware).

These three men receive this award on behalf of the many advocates for good government who rose up in 2005. Potts, Stilp and Diamond simply stood out in leading the charge.

"They caught a moment in the state's history," said G. Terry Madonna, a prominent political analyst. "Their role was hugely significant. But they came to it from different routes and different roots."

He's right. Potts, Stilp and Diamond have been trying independently to reform state government for years, but with divergent policy goals. The pay raise brought them together in a way that no other issue had, or could.

Potts, 56, of Carlisle, had for years directed the Pennsylvania School Reform Network. His main aim was to fix the state's lousy, inequitable system for paying for public education.

In 2004, frustrated by how the bad habits of Harrisburg politics stymied policy reform, Potts cofounded a group called Democracy Rising PA., a coalition of five nonprofit organizations looking to foster integrity in state government.

"A lot of my zeal comes from my conviction that the legislature is not serving the people," Potts said.

Potts arrived at that conviction after spending a long time in the belly of the beast. He was as a low-level state bureaucrat in the 1970s.

He became a speechwriter for Cabinet secretaries before serving as press secretary in the mid-1990s to powerful state Rep. William DeWeese (D., Fayette).

"We had a lot of difficulties with my reformist tendencies and his back-slapping ways," Potts said. "He'd look at me and say, 'This is not Plato's Republic.' I'd say, 'It doesn't have to be Dante's Inferno, either.' "

The two men became adversaries on the pay raise issue, with DeWeese being one of the last House members to defend the hikes.

Stilp, 55, of Middle Paxton Township, is a consultant in emergency communications who is a volunteer firefighter and a certified EMT. He considers politics "the art of making people indebted to you."

The Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979 turned Stilp into an activist with a flair for the theatrical.

He helped lead a rally in Washington against nuclear power and discovered a talent for designing political props.

During the pay raise revolt, he revived a 25-foot-high inflatable pink pig - used in earlier protests against corporate greed - to highlight a rally in Harrisburg in September.

"It's about timing, and the right prop," Stilp said of his specialty. "I really do enjoy that: How do you boil it down to a few words to explain and educate? You're an entertainer, performer and educator."

Diamond, 42, of Annville, owns a firm that manufactures compact discs and DVDs.

In 2004, Diamond ran for the statehouse and Congress simultaneously on the Libertarian ticket and was, as he puts it, "soundly defeated."

Within days of the legislature approving the pay raise, Diamond created a Web site called Operation Clean Sweep, devoted to defeating all incumbents.

In two days, he received about 2,300 e-mail."Then I knew I was riding a lightning bolt," Diamond said.

At the same time, Stilp was preparing a lawsuit to stop the pay raise.

He had done the same thing when the legislature approved a pay raise in 1995, to no avail. But, this time, he said, angry citizens had the Internet to rouse and connect them.

"The Internet is the best thing to happen to democracy since the printing press," Potts agreed. "It's just so cool. It's political wildfire."

Said Diamond: "It wouldn't have been possible without the Internet. That is the most distinct advantage the citizens have over the politicians."

The public's anger was stoked even hotter by news reports that, although the pay raise would not take effect until late 2006, many lawmakers were taking the money right away in the form of "unvouchered expenses."

The state Supreme Court had ruled the practice legal several years earlier.

As the protests grew, Potts, Stilp and Diamond began contacting each other to stay abreast of developments. Soon they were coordinating efforts weekly.

"We were all standing around a big, rotten tree, swinging axes," Diamond said. "We wanted to make sure we weren't hitting each other."

As the repeal movement gained momentum, Potts slowly convinced his comrades to pursue another goal: defeating the retention election bids of Supreme Court Justices Russell Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman.

His reasoning: The state Supreme Court had issued a series of rulings that enabled lawmakers' shady habits, such as substituting one very different bill for another at the last minute.

After four months of barbed protest, the legislature voted to repeal the pay raise on Nov. 2, but left itself a sneaky out.

Less than one week later, voters stunningly defeated Nigro, the first time a high court judge seeking retention had lost.

Another week later, the legislature repealed the raise for real.

Here's a statistic that speaks to how much the Internet has changed political activism: Potts says he spent all of $32.16 on the "vote-no" campaign for the retention elections.

Potts, Stilp and Diamond are swift to credit fellow good-government advocates, including Barry Kauffman of Common Cause and Matthew Brouillette of the Commonwealth Foundation, and above all the folks at the grass roots."

The credit really goes to all those Pennsylvanians out there who understand what's wrong," Diamond said. "Without them, I'd be just some dude with a Web site."

The three honorees say their effort in 2005 was only the beginning of a larger movement to bring integrity and transparency to the legislature.

Diamond has recruited about 80 candidates to run for the statehouse next year. Potts vows to make 2006 "the year of integrity" with an agenda to restore voters' trust in government.

He'd like to see a constitutional convention that would rewrite the state's charter to forbid many of the legislature's worst habits - including crazed lame-duck sessions - and enshrine good ethics as a matter of law, not whim."

We're going to see more competition [on the ballot] in 2006," Madonna said. "And there is now a serious reform agenda. They will add a dimension to the elections that we have not seen in 30 to 40 years. And these three guys were at the center of it."

Said Potts: "I'll look back at this year [2005] as one that made me more hopeful than any year I can think of. We saw people stand up and say, 'I want my government back.' "

Standing right in front were three guys named Potts, Stilp and Diamond - The Inquirer's Citizens of the Year.

Jon Delano's Memo

2006-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

Date: May 31, 2006

Dear Politically Savvy Friends,

Either U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is a clever, calculating political strategist whose actions these past ten days have reignited why the junior senator is the odds-on favorite to win reelection -- or -- he just freaked out by allowing a vituperative Penn Hills couple to get so under his skin that he launched an arguably baseless attack on his Democratic opponent, state treasurer Bob Casey.

In this special PSF, let's see if we can sort through some of this. Stick with me if the Santorum-Casey imbroglio strikes your fancy.

This is a somewhat complicated story with roots going back 16 years ago to Santorum's upset of then U.S. Rep. Doug Walgren of Mt. Lebanon. Rick charged that Doug did not live in Pittsburgh because Walgren kept his wife and kids with him in their home in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. Walgren, who grew up in Pittsburgh, used his life-long family residence as his domicile for voting and taxes. As for his family, Walgren said a member of Congress should keep his young family close to him where he works. That counsel was lost on Santorum who had just married Karen Garver, had no children yet, and wasn't as focused on "family values" as he is today. [WTAE-TV's Bob Mayo ran a clip from that 1990 campaign last night where Santorum back then said, "We're going to raise our family here."].

But while that ancient political history incites Rick's opponents to shout "hypocrite," the modern day version of this tale really begins nine years ago, during Santorum's third year in the U.S. Senate. In late 1997, the Santorums bought a 3-bedroom house on Stephens Lane in Penn Hills for $87,800 (now assessed at $106,000). It's a beautiful neighborhood with modest homes and very nice people. [I've talked to many of them.] It's also familiar territory to the Santorums, since Karen grew up in the much bigger home next door, still occupied by her parents. Universally, the neighbors speak very highly of the Garvers with "wonderful people" being the most common accolade. That contrasts sharply with their view of Santorum, at least as articulated in 2006.

Initially, neighbors tell me, the young Santorum family actually lived in that house, but it wasn't long before Rick moved his clan to the Washington suburbs. Today, the Santorums live on Tobermory Place in Leesburg, Virginia, in a $757,000 home that looks pretty posh by most standards. [I have seen several pictures of the place]. This is Santorum's second home in Virginia, bought in 2001, after one first purchased in 1995 in that state was sold. Karen home-schools her six children in Leesburg. Back in Pittsburgh, neighbors say the Stephens Lane home was left empty, although in recent years, it was occupied by Alyssa DeLuca (Karen's niece) and her husband Bart. Neighbors say that this couple moved out before Easter this year, leaving the house empty again.

Enter Ed and Erin Vecchio, a Penn Hills couple, who even their friends describe as a bit whacky, opinionated, and, well, unpredictable. Erin is the chair of the Penn Hills Democratic Committee and a member of the Penn Hills School Board. It's in that latter capacity that she first received some notoriety for her relentless attacks on the senator over the infamous cyber school issue.

Even as his kids were being home schooled in Virginia, the Santorums enrolled five of their children in the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, charging the Penn Hills School District for the cost thereof. Vecchio says Santorum owes more than $100,000 in tuition fees for committing a fraud on Penn Hills taxpayers when he was no longer a resident of Penn Hills. Once the objection was made, the Santorums withdrew their kids from the cyber school, or at least no longer made any claims against the school district, but refused to reimburse the Penn Hills School District for past fees paid on behalf of their kids.

The school district took up the case, arguing before a hearing officer of the PA Department of Education that the Santorum children were not residents of Penn Hills, notwithstanding their parents paid school property taxes on the Stephens Lane home, and that back payments were owed. Unfortunately for Penn Hills, last July hearing officer Barry Kramer ruled, on a technicality, that the school district was too late in making this claim. Kramer said the district only had seven days from the time of enrollment to object to the Santorum's enrollment of their children, and so could not object on December 8, 2004, to enrollments made on July 9, 2003, and July 23, 2004.

Santorum immediately called a press conference with Karen in front of the State Office Building in Pittsburgh, and claimed "the school district's allegations have been rejected." Not exactly. The allegations of residency, in fact, were never heard on their merits because, as any lawyer knows, the case was dismissed for not being filed in a timely matter. In any case, the senator claimed victory, eager to move on. The Vecchios, to no one's surprise, won't let it drop. Not only is the cyber school matter being appealed, but they moved on other fronts.

On Primary Election Day (May 16), Rick and Karen Santorum showed up early to vote at the Forbes Elementary School, not far from Stephens Lane. One nearby neighbor said the Santorums were in residence on Stephens Lane for the Mother's Day weekend which coincided with election day. The neighbor said, before their arrival, she saw several mattresses being delivered to the house. When the Santorums arrived at the polls, Ed Vecchio was there to greet them, sort of. [In 2004, Erin Vecchio had accosted Rick at this same polling place in an altercation that both Rick and Erin would later describe as rather ugly]. This year's greeting consisted of Vecchio challenging the senator's right to vote, asking the local judge of elections at the polling place to deny the Santorums a ballot.

Now, under PA law, any citizen can challenge another person's right to vote. The procedure is for the local judge of election to require the person being challenged to sign an affidavit in which the person states, under oath, that they do reside at the specific local residence. Additionally, the person being challenged must also get another voter to sign, under oath, that he/she knows the challenged person is a local resident. That did not happen to the Santorums at Forbes Elementary. The local judge of election was apparently brand new and did not understand the law. She let the Santorums vote on the electronic machine without swearing, under oath, that they lived in Penn Hills. The next day, Ed Vecchio delivered a letter to the Elections Department, asking that the department deny the Santorums a vote at this polling district in the future. The Vecchio letter has been sent to the county law department, where today Santorum's lawyer delivered a 5-page response letter, citing federal and state law that would seem to allow the senator and his wife to vote.
It was during the press interviews that Ed Vecchio had at the polls on election day that the current controversy was born. Vecchio told the media: "He [meaning Santorum] doesn't live here. The house he's registered to vote out of is vacant, no curtains, furniture, nothing in there. It's abandoned for over a month, so I feel it's my right to contest his vote."

Karen Santorum, says the senator's campaign, overheard these remarks and immediately became concerned that someone was prowling around their property, looking into windows. Instead of calling the Penn Hills Police to report these concerns, Karen chose instead to call the Capitol Hill Police in Washington, D.C. This special police force is charged with protecting Capitol Hill properties and the security of members of Congress. Late that election day, Ron Machesky, the public safety director of Penn Hills, received a call from the Capitol Police. Machesky is a veteran law enforcement official, former chief of the Uniontown Police and security official at the University of Pittsburgh. He says the Capitol Police relayed Mrs. Santorum's concerns, and he took it seriously. He beefed up patrols on Stephens Lane with officers actually driving up the driveway, getting out of the vehicle and physically checking the residence.

Whether, in fact, anyone ever really prowled around the property may never be known. The Vecchios deny ever going on the property, saying it was "common knowledge" in the neighborhood that the home was vacant. The nearby neighbors seem to confirm that general belief. Whether true or not, the place appeared empty to them.

This story might have died with no one knowing much about it had not KDKA-TV's Ralph Iannotti broke the story on Thursday night (May 18) about Penn Hills Police providing special protection for the Santorum home on Stephens Lane. By that point, the Santorums were back in Leesburg, so the police were guarding an unoccupied home. In the first story, Iannotti reported comments from John Brabender, Santorum's media strategist. For the first time, the Santorum campaign linked the alleged prowling to politics: "It's hardball politics, looking into people's homes. For someone to be stalking their house for political reasons is nothing short of unconscionable." On camera, Erin Vecchio denied any kind of trespassing. "If you want me to take a lie detector test to say I wasn't on that property, go for it, because I and my husband will take a lie detector test," she saidS, adding, "Will you take a lie detector test, Rick, to say that you ever lived in that house?"

At this point, the Santorum campaign was not linking Democrat Bob Casey or his campaign to "stalking" the Stephens Lane house, but that changed on Friday (May 19). In a "Dear Bob" letter to Casey, both Rick and Karen Santorum wrote, "We are writing to express our outrage regarding the actions of your campaign, which have put our six young children at a serious safety risk. Last night, we learned with deep dismay that a Casey operative admitted on KDKA-TV to trespassing on our property and viewing the inside of our home. Further, your campaign issued a press release yesterday that falsely says that we do not stay in our Penn Hills home. This reckless statement is not only a lie, but alerts those who may want to enter the home illegally. Your despicable actions have greatly endangered our children's safety."

On a factual level, as Iannotti noted on KDKA-TV last night, nobody admitted to him to trespassing on or viewing the inside of the Santorum home. [You can check out www.kdka.com to view Iannotti's story yourself]. But on the much more interesting political level, the Santorum campaign made a calculated decision last Friday to elevate this story by blaming Casey for the alleged prowling.

The Casey campaign responded immediately. Bob and Terese Casey issued a statement: "We are outraged that Sen. Santorum is making false and malicious charges and bringing our families and the Casey campaign into a long-running dispute he has with Penn Hills residents about his residency status." The Casey campaign went wild, charging Santorum, in essence, with calling the police to divert attention from his cyber school problems. Casey's campaign denied that the Vecchios have anything to do with their campaign, issuing this press release: "They are Penn Hills residents acting independently because they are upset that Santorum stuck them with tens of thousands of dollars in cyber school bills. Maybe Santorum doesn’t recognize them because he lives in Virginia. Why doesn’t Santorum just fess up and say he lives in Virginia? Why is he going through these contortions about his residency? Because if he says that he lives in Virginia, he’ll have to repay Penn Hills for the cyber school bill."

Now both campaigns jumped into high gear, emailing supporters and the media with charges and countercharges. Santorum himself went on Fred Honsberger's KDKA Radio show on Friday afternoon and, in an obviously angry voice, said, "What's the guy doing at my house? This is my house. My house doesn't sit on the street. It sits about 30-yards back off the street. It's okay...you want to play politics...play politics. Leave my family alone." And he again linked it all to Casey, saying, "This guy won't debate. He won't talk about issues. He won't do anything, but he'll support people who will look in my windows and find out what's going on in my house. This is ridiculous."

The Casey campaign responded, accusing Santorum of "an outrageous, false attack," and adding, "This maneuver reeks of desperation and just goes to show that Rick Santorum will say or do anything to put up a smokescreen in front of the fact that he simply doesn't live in Pennsylvania."

Again, the matter might have died over the weekend, except the Santorum campaign decided to take it a notch up. Santorum cut a radio commercial [also on the Santorum website] that attacks Casey directly: "According to a KDKA investigative report, a Casey operative admitted to trespassing at the Santorum's home in Penn Hills, peering into the windows, looking for campaign dirt." Again, nothing in Iannotti's reports has anyone admitting to that, but Santorum's campaign tells me you can draw an "inference" from Vecchio's comments that he looked into the windows. The Casey campaign, perhaps getting tired of it all, responded, "There is no evidence of anyone trespassing on property. Santorum has obviously weirded himself out and is resorting to false attack ads with no basis in reality."

Weirded himself out? Who writes this stuff?

This Wednesday, Santorum appeared on Marty Griffin's KDKA Radio show and seemed to backtrack a bit on the charge that Casey's hands are all over the alleged snooping on his property. And in response to Marty's question about pulling the negative campaign ads that credits KDKA for wrong information, Santorum said he's talked to his people and it's time to "move on." The ad seems to have been withdrawn. Casey himself has not been particularly visible, although his press people certainly have. Last night (Thursday), Casey appeared on John McIntire's KDKA Radio show where he accused Santorum of "a deliberate effort to mislead." He said Santorum needed to "be honest, be straight" about where he really lives, saying Santorum "can't pretend to live in one place when you live in another." Casey denied that the Vecchios were his campaign operatives, and he said Santorum's problem was with Penn Hills residents, not with the Casey campaign. Then, like Rick said on Marty's show, Bob said it was time to move on.

Alas, the story now has a life of its own. Turns out that the Santorums also requested a "security check" of his Penn Hills home by the Capitol Hill Police. Now congressional folks tell me that this is somewhat unusual, but perfectly legal. The Capitol Police, on request by a member of Congress, will send one of their agents to the home residence or home district office to check out security concerns.

So Wednesday afternoon, with a half dozen reporters and TV cameras camped out on Stephens Lane, one Capitol Hill Police agent, accompanied by Santorum's brother-in-law, spent an hour-and-a-quarter walking in and out of the Santorum home, taking lots of pictures and presumably assessing security needs against a presumed prowler that Casey's campaign believes is fictitious. The agent wasn't talking, but in response to a shouted out question from me -- "How secure is the home?" -- he responded, "Very secure." Of course, he's not likely to say anything else.

Penn Hills' Machesky, the public safety director, insists the extra patrols have not cost Penn Hills taxpayers money, but the patrols are coming to an end. He says the police have uncovered no evidence of prowlers on the site, and that continued "extra" patrols would be "a waste of time." Machesky told me that there is "nothing to indicate there's a threat" out at Santorum's home. Neighbors wonder what all this fuss is about. While there was a burglary in January on a nearby street, most folks think the neighborhood is safe with no signs of prowlers.

A couple neighbors suggested Santorum could install a private security system like his in-laws have, and one fellow said the best way to keep the home safe was to live in it -- not likely given the senator's obligations in Washington. All this fuss, however, is likely to bring Rick and his family back to Stephens Lane more often. The Santorums are expected to spend the week-long Memorial Day break in Penn Hills. Given that a number of his neighbors say they never see him, perhaps he should invite them all over for a picnic!

So what are we to make of all this? Did Santorum succeed in pinning a negative label on Bob Casey? Did Casey have anything to do with the Vecchios? After all, the Vecchios may have had Santorum in their sights for many years, but they ARE local Democratic Party leaders, they do support Casey, and they admit they want to "bring Santorum down." If someone says there's no furniture in a home, isn't it a reasonable "inference" to suggest they peered into a window?

Or did Casey succeed in making people question Santorum's veracity and, more importantly, resurrect the old stories of Santorum's residency in Penn Hills? Part of the problem is that Rick seems unwilling to state the obvious -- he really does not live in Penn Hills except for legal purposes. His campaign spokesperson, Virginia Davis, was straight when she said on election day that the senator has to be in Washington most of the time to vote in the Senate. She added that the senator had to "maintain" a second home. Of course, unstated, the "second" home is the one in Penn Hills, not the primary home that he and his family go home to almost every night in Leesburg, Virginia. But what's the big deal about that?

Fundamentally, all the local media focus (and some statewide and national attention as well) on Stephens Lane in Penn Hills reminds everyone of that Tip O'Neill adage that all politics is local. Santorum may be the third ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, but he's getting more attention in Pennsylvania these days on his local residency, his right to vote, and his concerns about political prowlers than about those big issues that he must confront on the Senate floor. In many ways, that's a sad comment on our political process. But Santorum got that extra scrutiny this week because of his own actions, at each stage elevating the dispute. Still, the question remains, is Rick clever like a fox, or a victim of political opportunists?

Everyone has an opinion, so feel free to share yours with me. If I've missed something, let me know. And, most importantly, enjoy this Memorial Day Weekend, remembering the sacrifices of so many men and women who died protecting our right to engage in this kind of political exchange. Happy Memorial Day!

Yours,
Jon

Jon Delano
Political Analyst
H. John Heinz School of Public Policy & Management
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh

[As always, these views are my own and not those of the wonderful organizations with whom I am associated].

Greetings & Salutations 2005

2006-05-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

To the Class of 2005, I bring you greetings and salutations. I am delighted to be here today at Carl LaFong College.

I know you are disappointed that your first choice for commencement speaker declined your invitation.

But, as I'm sure you realize, other pressing personal matters prevented Michael Jackson from responding.

Another point, if I may pick a nit. Your speaker's committee may want to consider raising your fee.

I was delighted to receive the offer, but others may not find a $25 Wendy's gift certificate enough of a lure.

I never thought I'd get another invitation to speak at a graduation, due to the unfortunate incidents that followed my speech last May at the Harvey Hadley Bible College and Finishing School.

As you may have read, the police exonerated me of any role in provoking the riots and looting.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must add that the grand jury did chastise me for failing to make it clear that when I exhorted graduates to "run out and seize the world with all the gusto you can!" I was using a figure of speech.

I have thought deeply about what advice I can give that will serve you in the world beyond these ivied walls.

Ihave tried to distill my years of experience and my accumulated wisdom into a set of maxims that you can carry with you on life's journey, like a package of mini-crackers.

I have concluded that the best advice I can give you is:

First, keep your sense of humor. You are going to need it.

Second, take care of your gums. Floss daily, if possible.

If you don't, you'll find yourself facing expensive and painful surgery later in life that may include removal of some teeth.

This, in turn, will involve expensive and painful denture work.

Combined, it can run into thousands of dollars. And, trust me, your dental insurance will only cover about 30 cents on the dollar - if it covers anything at all.

My guess is, you won't even have dental insurance. It will be too expensive.

Take care of your health, too, because health-insurance costs will be out of this world.

In addition, start stashing away money today for retirement because I expect Social Security to go kaput long before you are ready to retire.

Do you want to spend your Golden Years as toothless, penniless and possibly incontinent? I think not.

So heed my words well.

May I also suggest a regimen of regular exercise, to keep up your stamina for what may turn out to be the biggest job of your life: taking care of us, your beloved parents.

We are the Baby Boomers.

We have scrimped and saved and worked like dogs to raise the money needed to care for you in the style to which you have become accustomed.

You don't think cell phones grow on trees, do you? And those iPods? They retail for $300. That cute little mini-Cooper you just had to have? It cost a mint.

As to college tuition, we're not even going to go there.

Do we want anything in return?

Of course not - except that you be happy and that you tend to us when we reach our 70s, our 80s, our 90s and even our 100s.

After all, we gave you the best years of our lives, so why not give us yours?

The good news is: We'll be close by.

With housing prices going through the roof, most of you will never be able to afford a home, so you can come live with us. We have nice, big houses.

In conclusion, dear graduates I urge you - figuratively, of course - to go forth.

Sow your wild oats. Have a ball.

We'll expect you back home in about 10 years.

We'll even give you the master bedroom.

We'll take your old room.

We don't need much. A nice stereo. Some Springsteen CDs. A big-screen TV. (Maybe cable on demand.) Hot Quaker Oats for breakfast.

And, please, take to heart my other words of wisdom:

Keep your sense of humor.You are going to need it.

Greetings & Salutations 2004

2006-05-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

To members of the Class of 2004, I bring you greetings and salutations. It is a pleasure to be here today at the Harvey Hadley Bible College and Finishing School.

I jumped at the chance to be your commencement speaker when your president, Dr. Marvin Filbin, made the offer yesterday afternoon.

I know I wasn't your first choice. But I'm sure you must realize that Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Alex Trebek, Cameron Diaz, P. Diddy, Marcel Marceau and Frankie Avalon are busy people with crowded schedules. Maybe you'll snag one next year.

As to myself, I never turn down an invitation that includes a free lunch.

After President Filbin called, I immediately scanned the Web for commencement speeches, hoping that I could pilfer one or at least lift a few choice phrases.

The speeches are many, but the themes are few.

They usually include an exhortation to follow your dreams; a plea to keep your youthful optimism intact; and an admission by the speaker that the older generation has screwed up the world and that we are counting on you to right it.

I agree heartily with all these observations, except the last. I plead not guilty to screwing up the world.

I assure you, it was screwed up before I got here. So don't blame me.

Blame your parents, as always.

As to following your dreams, I urge some caution.

When I was in college, a number of my dreams violated social and sexual norms. Do that in the real world and you will run afoul of various provisions of the criminal code.

So much for the big picture.

Let us get down to helpful tips.

When doing laundry, be sure to pay attention to the care labels. They will never lead you astray.

If someone promises to double your money, run from the room screaming.

Don't overdo the tan. It looks good now, but at 50 you'll look like an old saddle.

Bleach, applied with an old toothbrush, is effective at removing stains from the grouting of bathroom tile.

If people say, "Trust me," don't trust them.

If people say, "I always try to be candid," what they mean is: "I am about to say something that will personally offend you."

Always wear seat belts, and, if you don't, be sure to fill out an organ-donor card.

Don't have children if you are under the age of 25. They will drive you crazy.

The day will come when you will profoundly regret the tattoos.

Don't have children if you are over the age of 25. They will drive you crazy.

I noticed in some commencement addresses that the speakers mention "passing the torch" to a new generation.

That is, I assure you, only a figure of speech.

We are the baby boomers. We do not intend to pass the torch to you or anyone else for a very long time.

Thanks to proper diet and various medical advances, we plan to live well into our 90s.

The way I calculate it, the torch won't be passed until sometime around 2045. At the earliest.

It is only fair to warn you now that when we do pass on the torch - or when you pry it from our cold, dead hands - you may not want the darn thing.

For starters, you'll be saddled with a lot of debt. We plan to bankrupt the Social Security fund. Ditto for the Medicare fund. (Those darn medical advances sure are costly!)

Those tax breaks we've been enjoying? Guess who's going to pay?Sorry, we couldn't help ourselves.

Other speeches I read urged graduates to "go forth." I wish they were more specific.

Where should one go forth to?

If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have gone forth. I would have stayed behind.

Maybe collect a few graduate degrees. Hide in the dorm.

College was fun, once you exclude the going-to-classes part.

If you insist, go ahead and go forth.Don't say I didn't warn you.

Letter from John Perzel

2006-04-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 2:23

Dear Mr. Ferrick:

I read with interest your latest missive concerning SB 969 and a provision that was inserted concerning catering at the Glen Foerd Mansion. As I read your column, I wondered whether you had ever researched the background material or facts which led to this provision. I know I was unable to personally talk with you last week about the situation, but still, your other research was certainly not clear from the column, so I would like to set forth the facts.

Conroy Catering operates the Glen Foerd Mansion, and at various times, weddings, graduations and other celebrations are held on the premises. While a resident from New Jersey - more than a mile across the river - complained to the Pennsylvania State Police concerning a noise complaint, Conroy Catering never received a noise complaint from any of the more than 200 neighbors surrounding the mansion.

The Pennsylvania State Police apparently drove over the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, paid the toll, and went to see the resident in New Jersey who complained, and later, cited the owner of Conroy Catering for violation of a Pennsylvania noise ordinance in New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board again sent a sound truck to New Jersey, crossed the bridge, paid the toll, and conducted tests that proved inconclusive for high noise.

Conroy Catering, at its own expense, built a covered and enclosed dance floor at the Glen Foerd Mansion, and installed decibel meters at the rivers edge and other places around the property to monitor noise. In addition, the facility also installed an acoustic mat under the stage, and acoustically-rated walls on the east side of the facility. The decibel meters have never recorded a reading above the city's legal limit and, in fact, never recorded a reading above the Delanco Township legal limit.

Mr. Conroy is a constituent of mine and employs many Philadelphians, many of whom are also my constituents, and who pay taxes in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. To my knowledge, most people in New Jersey do not pay taxes in Philadelphia or Pennsylvania.

This amendment was a way to resolve the problem without putting Mr. Conroy of out business and hundreds of service employees out of work. I can understand Ms. Barrett's and Mr. Templeton's complaints; I get similar ones from my constituents who complain about truck traffic to and from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. My response to the constituents is the same one I have for the Barrett/Templeton's - it was their decision to live on the Delaware River. If they are not aware, please allow me to tell them now, ships travel the Delaware, and if we are successful in deepening the channel on the Delaware, more ships will travel the river. Do we limit the number of those ships? Do we limit flights from the airport because those who reside in flight patterns complain about noise? Do we penalize Amtrak for sounding whistles in residential areas? Tell me, where and when is the line drawn?

Sincerely,
John M. Perzel

Beth A. WilliamsPress Secretary to the SpeakerPennsylvania House of Representatives717-783-8125

Purpose of This Blog

2006-04-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is to post letters, comments and other editorial matter connected with Ferrick's PoliBlog 2006


				Opponents		Rendell	Rendell
Year	Election	Office	Opponent	Share		Share	Margin
1977	Primary	District Attorney	Emmett Fitzpatrick	33%	Rendell	67%	68,900
1977	General	District Attorney	Malcolm Lazin	36%	Rendell	62%	93,266
1981	General	District Attorney	William Cannon	23%	Rendell	75%	174,228
1986	Primary	Governor	Bob Casey Sr.	56%	Rendell	40%	-160,000
1987	Primary	Mayor	Wilson Goode	57%	Rendell	42%	-58,828
1991	Primary	Mayor	Lucien Blackwell	27%	Rendell	49%	67,161
1991	General	Mayor	John Egan	30%	Rendell	30%	155,656
1995	General	Mayor	Joe Rocks	23%	Rendell	77%	169,000
2002	Primary	Governor	Bob Casey	44%	Rendell	56%	149,564
2002	General	Governor	Mike Fisher	44%	Rendell	53%	323,827
2006	General	Governor	Lynn Swann		Rendell