When Emmit Thomas of Penn Star Satellite of Wilkes-Barre told council no other municipality has a satellite dish ordinance, Mayor Lou Barletta said it wouldn't be the first time Hazleton was the first city to initiate legislation. Legislation that tries to overrule federal law is a bad habit to get into.
America's Mayor is still trying to retire the debt from his last unsuccessful campaign for Congress telling potential donors that if he can pay off the $250,000 he still owes mostly to himself he may make another try for the office. What a tease.
His Republican primary opponent Christopher Page calls this bullshit on his campaign blog.
Sadly, I'm the only candidate in this race who can promise that everything you donate will be used for the campaign, and I'm the only candidate who can promise that I won't take a penny from campaign funds. Most politicians wait until they are elected before they start taking your money, but Lou Barletta has sunk to a new low.
Incumbent Congressman Paul Kanjorski has ignored all this posturing and has been busy doing the job of governing which is not an easy thing. His amendment to the Financial Stability Improvement Act that would break up companies that are judged "Too Big to Fail" was voted out of commitee and Wall Street will do everything they can to defeat it on the House Floor.
The Kanjorski amendment would empower federal regulators to rein in and dismantle financial firms that are so large, inter-connected, or risky that their collapse would put at risk the entire American economic system, even if those firms currently appear to be well-capitalized and healthy. Therefore, American taxpayers should no longer be on the hook for bailouts, as financial companies would not be able to become "too big to fail." The Kanjorski amendment outlines clear and objective standards for regulators to examine financial companies and reduce the level of risk their activities pose to our financial stability and our economy.
The Congressman has found one of the rare subjects that is both good policy and smart politics not to mention common sense. He also voted for the Health Care bill that passed in the House.
His Democratic primary opponent Corey O'Brien has been going door to door . I asked O'Brien how he would vote on the health care bill but he didn't get back to me. I have left voice mail messages on his cell phone asking for comment on this and other issues and I'm awaiting his reply.
Sorry but I'm suspect of anything Kanjorski does with regard to banking. His campaign committee has accepted a small fortune from the bank's PAC's so sorry, I'm way over the edge skeptical of Kanjo. I think it's time for Kanjo to GO!
ReplyDeleteUhhh, accepting campaign donations to retire a debt owed to yourself after the election has passed is illegal. Mr Barletta can accept campaign donations to pay off debts owed to other people, but not to pay any personal loans he made to his own campaign.
ReplyDeleteWell Dana considering Barrletta's limited understanding of anything pertaining to the law,I am sure he doesn't get it. Didn't he do something with the pension fund in Hazelton that the state said was a no no?
ReplyDeleteThis guy is an empty suit and needs to just go away!
Dana, can you advise where you found that law? This is not a shot, it is a serious question. I never heard of such a law and would like to read it. Thanks
ReplyDeleteMy friend Gort...tsk tsk tsk..can't let this one go unnoticed.
ReplyDeletehttp://sightsonpennsylvania.blogspot.com/2009/03/profs-kanjo-subject-to-scrutiny-over.html
U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski recently warned the heads of several large banks that took government bailout funds they’ve put themselves in a situation that opens them up to tough questions and criticism.
“You once lived behind a one-way mirror, unaccountable to the public at large,” said Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, during the Feb. 11 committee hearing. “When you took taxpayer money you moved into a fishbowl.”
Two local professors said Kanjorski needs to heed his own warning.
Kanjo has been just as much a part of this disaster but it appears he hopes the public has a short memory. Rewind the Kanjorski Youtube videos
At a hearing in September, 2003 these are Kanjorski's words with Mr. Steven Barlett, chairman of the Financial Services Roundtable representing the financial industry.
Mr. KANJORSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Listening to that discussion, I tend to agree that this is a very delicate area on how we handle mission and how we deal with what really independent strong role plus regulation will be and to tailor those two situations to these particular entities, not counting the fact that we have some earlier testimony about throwing in the Federal home loan bank system, which creates an entirely different problem we would have to address.
First of all, is anyone on the panel aware of a crisis situation where we have to do this in the next two or three weeks?
Do you really believe that some of the issues that have been raised here in the discussion with this panel, that this can all be accomplished with deliberative speed in a short period of time, like two or three weeks?
Mr. BARTLETT. Mr. Kanjorski, our organization and our companies have been quite concerned about this from a safety and soundness as well as a mission for the last several years. We have communicated that concern. But recently, that concern seems to have been highlighted by a number of factors.
So, yes, sir, I believe there is an urgency that is to the tune of some $3.3 trillion that is either owned or guaranteed by these two agencies that all the testimony that you have heard today bring in some question as to whether they are being properly regulated. So we think they are not being properly regulated. And we believe that with $3.3 trillion, you do not want to wait too long. And now is the time to act.
Mr. KANJORSKI. I would not suggest that everyone has questioned whether or not we can construct a better regulatory authority than what we presently have. I do not know whether we want to put a qualitative standard on what has existed. But my question is, we have so many fundamental questions, particularly missions and what is a strong independent regulator.
It seems to be we are going to have to wrestle a lot of things. Somebody suggested we write the mission. I think it was Mr. Raines. I venture to say I could anticipate taking weeks and weeks and weeks hammering that around and just what that description in statute should be of what the mission is so that it can be more readily applied.
Where was Kanjorski in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008? Wasn''t that enough time for him to figure out how to regulate the industry?
He is just a smoke and mirrors guy.
Gort, you surely jest about his crap without questioning what he sends out.
When is government too big?? They own the auto industry, the financial industry, and now want the healthcare industry. Talk about too big to fail..How solvent is Medicare and Social Security??
ReplyDeleteSince Kanjorski's last election is the country in a better or worse position?? Unemployment, immigration, economy, ... woow...
Did you read the article about hospital that had to close its dialysis unit that was taking care of illegal aleins to the tune of $50,000 per patient? It was either close the unit or close the hospital. What's Kanjo's plan for that??
Finally what is the metric of too big to fail? Are we not bailing out the wind and solar industry as we speak with their grants? Those projects would not happen without our tax dollars. The return would not lure investment. Do we own a piece of them or do we just give them our money??
ReplyDeleteGM just lost $1.2 billion but the spinmeisters called that success.. There is a call for a second stimulus.
Does the United States have a stash of cash we don't know about or are the Chinese going to own us lock, stock, and barrel?
Over 100 banks closed this year, mostly small ones. So if Kanjo wants to break up the bigger ones into smaller ones what is that really going to accomplish???
Kanjo is an opportunist crafted by Mitchell just as Emanuel crafted Obama. Let's see if next election Kanjo wants to stand side by side with Obama??
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/23/news/economy/bank_failure/
ReplyDeleteWhile larger financial institutions have received aid from the federal government, smaller banks have found themselves left adrift. Like their larger counterparts, many of these banks made risky loans to individuals and real estate developers during the boom years and are now facing large numbers of defaults as the recession drags on
Chris Paige--hedge fund guy. Yikes! Can anyone say "Wall Street collapse contributor"??? Here's what's particularly curious--Paige was a Democrat, only changing his party affiliation recently. Smells like the Dems found a closet donkey willing to work to create an ugly R primary in pathetic to pave road for the Dems. Unfortunately for Paige, everyone already has his number and his attack tactics on Barletta are merely strengthening R support for Barletta. It's not working, kiddo!
ReplyDeleteI think both Chris Paige and Corey O'Brien need to complete puberty before running for Congress...they are both far too emotional/driven by hormones. Paige is a Democrat posing as a Republican...the attempt of a "spoiler" for the strong R this year...it's a sad attempt. Paige is already a laughing stock in many R circles and among committee talks.
ReplyDeleteAs for Corey O'Brien, good luck getting him to comment on much of anything. We at NEPArtisan.com have been trying, but to no avail.
ReplyDeleteIf you crack the code and can figure anything out, let us know. :o)
http://nepartisan.com/?p=266
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