The B Ark

To Infini-Tea And Beyond: 'Tea Party In Space' Aims To Stop NASA's 'Socialism'


Andrew L. Gasser launched Tea Party In Space in June as a way to "bring fiscal responsibility" into the space program, he told TPM Tuesday. He called the group, which was formed in conjunction with the South Florida Tea Party, the first "issue-specific" tea party in the country.

Gasser explained that the group aims to bring the free markets into the space program, because right now, he say, there is only the government -- which amounts to socialism. "It is socialism when you have the government coming down and saying, 'this is what we want to build, and this is how we want you to build it,'" he said.



Get your tea in zero G


The TEA Party's core values are just what America's space endeavors need right now in this volatile economy. NASA is being forced to fund programs that are behind schedule and ridiculously over budget. It's time to ask: 'how much is enough?' Both NASA, and the American taxpayer deserve a better plan and that's what our platform provides.

I have some news for Mr. Gasser. NASA is being privatized


Privatization of the Space Industry


The problem with the government funded space administration is that it is government funded. While private firms are free to spend exorbitant amounts of investor’s money, sometimes resulting in bankruptcy, they are allowed to take risks that are very unprofitable in the short term that are very profitable in the long term. NASA has to meet the standard of the government, which means they have to regularly and routinely show that they are needed and are valuable to America’s interests

The Shuttle program has ended and NASA is now funding scientific missions that are decided by, um, scientists. Not that teabagers care about science since global warming can't be true because it still snows in the winter.

The Apollo program paid many dividends in addition to putting a man on the moon

Apollo spinoff

I love this from John Cole at Balloon Juice. The headline and the comment.

Tea Party Plans Free Market Colonization of Uranus

Maybe we can get all these guys together, shoot them into outer space where they can do less damage. Plus, if they have their way, the rockets will be made by the lowest bidder, and I am ok with that.


Or put them on the B Ark. In the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy the most useless people were put on a spaceship fleeing a dying planet who then reecked havoc on an unsuspecting Earth. Much like what is happening to the United States today.

42

Remembering Jonathan Balaster

This Saturday friends of Jonathon will get together at

Lakeside Skillet Deck and Ballroom
279 Lakeside Drive
Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania

Starting at 5PM

The details are on the Luzerne County Republican Party website you can also check it out at this Facebook event page

Jonathan Balester Memorial Family Picnic

Unfortunately we won't be able to attend because we will be at the beach that day. My fondest memory of Jonathan was mediating a dispute he had with a Luzerne County elected official who mistakenly accused him of dredging up some unfavorable information about him. They kissed and made up after I proved to the elected official that he wasn't the source because another blogger found it in public records. Jonathan was very forgiving and gracious as anyone who calls themselves a Christian should be.

The disturbing thing is that the police have not made an arrest in this case. Jonathan was the victim of a violent murder and the person (s) who did it is/are still walking around.

His family is offering a reward for information.

2nd reward offered for info linked to man’s killing

The S&P downgrade, so what

My friends on the right seem to cheering the S&P downgrade of US debt to AA saying it's the death knell of the Obama presidency. They ignore the reports assertion that


"Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act."
The Lu Lac Political Letter

So they dropped the credit rating of the United States Government because Republicans won't agree to raise taxes to cut the deficit and Republicans cheer. Why do these people hate America?

The S&P has some credibility problems that the Treasury pointed out.

Just the Facts: S&P's $2 Trillion Mistake

The reaction of the markets was to buy more US Treasury bonds and sell off stocks, go figure that out teabaggers. I wish someone would lend me money at 2.3% for 10 years.

The deficit is a long term problem but the immediate problem in that people don't have jobs.

Apostate Bush underling explains


The Downgrade Rally

The bond market has reacted to the S&P downgrade of US debt with a big rally in US Treasuries. As I write, the US government can borrow money for 10 years at about 2.3% and for 2 years at under one quarter of a point. The market wants to buy, buy, buy US debt.

What the market wants to sell are stocks: ie, claims on the future earnings of private-sector companies.

In other words, the market is saying: We fear recession and deflation. The Washington consensus is that we need to fight debt and inflation. It’s utterly upside down, utterly perverse.

I don't agree with David Frum and Andrew Sullivan about everything but respect that they are open minded. A quality sorely missing in American politics today.

A side note: I put in buy orders for 2 stocks that I like if the price falls far enough. I'm an optimist who believes in American Exceptialism and believes the stocks I buy today will be worth more 10 years from now.

Local reaction has been a bit over the top:

See you at the thrift store


The Lu Lac Political Letter


McGruff

You Tube weekend

INXS was a rainout at Pocono Downs.

They played 4 songs before the skies opened up.

Suicde Blonde and Devil Inside

Navel Gazing and Blogroll Maintenance

When I took this site off line a few months ago I got many requests to put it up again just because people liked using my blogroll to keep up with our local scribes. You didn't care what I had to say but I had the shortcuts.

I added 2 new blogs to the sidebar and deleted some dead links.



THIS JUST IN

is a blog written by former local news guy Kevin Jordan who briefly ran the Luzerne County Elections Bureau.

Posts from the Fringe

is the musings of my friend James O'Meara, Sr. who is running for Plains Township Commissioner.

Kevin will be happy that I fixed the link to The Valley Scanner so you get his latest post. I replaced the link to The Dave Madeira Show with a link to his daily screed Under the Liberty Tree. Sorry pal you are only getting one link.

Michelle is back. She stopped updating her blog a few years ago and went all a Twitter. We now have some updates on


mhryvnak.net

Idiot Watch

N.M. Mayor & Dem Rep Candidate: I Was Drunk When I Signed Contracts


Mexico border town mayor and congressional candidate Martin Resendiz was drunk when he signed nine contracts with a California company that is now suing the city for $1 million, according to a deposition in the case.

“The day I signed . I had way too much to drink. It was after 5 p.m. and I signed it (the contracts) and I didn’t know what I was signing,” Sunland Park, N.M., Mayor Martin Resendiz wrote in response to questions from lawyers for the architectural design firm Synthesis+. “My sister had to pick me up.”

According to the Mayor a few execs of the company got him shitfaced then he signed the contracts and a city councilman who was there (who was also blasted) backs up his story. The company disputes his version of events. Resendiz was in the running for the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Congessman Steve Pearce

Patte's Sports Bar loses liquor license

Maybe


According to the TL Pat Patte's license has not been renewed but he can appeal the decision and will almost certainly will. I predict that the place will keep it's license even if he loses the appeal by selling the place, on paper anyway, to one of his kids.


To refresh your memories Pat is serving 3 years probation for running a gambling operation out of the place and avoided having the business seized by the Feds by paying a $100,000 fine. As I pointed out earlier it was one of the worst kept secrets for years that you could place a friendly wager on a sporting event at Patte's among other North End bars in Wilkes-Barre. When I was a kid I got an education about the meaning of the point spread in the place.


You can but a lottery ticket a few blocks away or spend your unemployment check 2 miles to the north at the Mohegan Sun but you can't wager that the Patriots will beat the Dolphins by 3.

If you go there on a Monday night you can enjoy a great meal and my friend Jim Dougherty will direct you to the Men's room.


Patte's changed over the years going from a corner bar into a hangout for the local political elite.


I even ran into this guy on election eve in November 2010 at Patte's

Taxes are the price we pay for civilisation

102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes

There are more if you click the link

So, you’re a Republican that hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, please kindly do the following

1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
12. Do not live in areas with clean air.
13. Do not drink clean water.
14. Do not visit National Parks.
15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.

26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.
27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.
28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.
29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.
30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.
.
33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.
.
36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.
37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.
44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.
45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.

52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…
56. Do not visit the National Archives.
57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.
58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.

71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.


77. Do not hunt or camp on federal land.
81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.


86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.
92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.
94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.
95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.


The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries.

Lost it

I just wrote a long post about the debt ceiling. But it didn't publish. Aaargh

The Debt Ceilings is raised

The Republicans have been pretty good at playing this game. Last December they threatened a shutdown of the federal government and this time they were willing to crash the world economy unless they got everything they wanted.

Rick Santorum for President

My favorite Republican Presidential candidate had a disappointing fundraising second quarter pulling in just $582,347 with only $ 229,114 cash on hand. He is in single digits in most national polls and even trails Michelle Bachman and Mitt Romney in the latest Pennsylvania poll.

To top up his coffers he has decided to pick a fight with gay sex columnist Dan Savage sending out a fundraising email about his now famous google bomb that will lead you to this site. If you do a search for Santorum it's still the top result. This reminds me of when some magazine did a story on the 10 dumbest members of Congress and one of them called a news conference the next day to deny it.

If you don't want to follow the links I will provide a summary. In an interview in 2003 Rick Santorum said


he didn't believe in a right to privacy regarding sexual acts between adults. "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything."

When the Associated Press asked, "So if somebody is homosexual, you would argue that they should not have sex?" Santorum replied, "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."

Savage responded by adding his definition of Santorum

Function: noun
1. The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.

2. Former Senator Rick Santorum

Savage is now threatening to redifine Rick

A question for Big Dan and the rest of you. Shall I use the ice cream cone pic instead of the powder blue suit for future posts?

Patrick Murphy for Attorney General

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy is running for Pennsylvania Attorney General. I'm a bit disappointed that he is not trying to regain the PA 8th District seat that he exchanged with Mike Fitzpatrick but I think he would be a good AG.


He went to King's College here in Wilkes-Barre and if I remember right he was the President of his class who had the honor of introducing President Bill Clinton in the gym after the Prez inspected the latest flood damage. Kanjo got Clinton to visit the area and I still remember seeing Air Force One on the tarmac at Avoca.




Murphy was a Captain in the 82nd Airborne and a JAG in Iraq. After he was elected to Congress he led the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discriminatory policy that prevented gay men and women from serving openly in the military. I was in the military in the 1970's and we knew who was gay but didn't give a shit. All that mattered was if you could do your job.

He will be a tough but fair prosecutor unlike the last guy who had the job who only prosecuted Democrats for campaign violations but not Republicans for doing the same thing. .

Murphy has a lot of local support

Patrick Murphy has picked up the support of some big names in Luzerne County Democratic politics.

At a fundraiser tonight in Wilkes-Barre, Murphy will be joined by Congressman Paul Kanjorski, Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton, and State Representatives Michael Carroll, Phyllis Mundy and Eddie Day Pashinski.


His Website is

Patrick Murphy Attorney General

Kanjo is such a tease

Former Congressman Paul Kanjorski's interview with the TL last week has the local chattering classes all a twitter. When asked if he would run again he kept the door open.


He gave answers such as, “I can’t say yes or no;” “I can honestly say I haven’t given it any thought,” and “I’m enjoying the fresh air.”

PittstonPolitics jumped all over it even before the TL story was published. Joe also threw out a few other names of people who may or may not be contimplating a run against Lou Barletta depending on what the district will look like after redistricing. I think Luzerne County DA Jackie Mo is a long shot and Wilkes-Barre legal guy Bill Vinsko is already in.

The most intriging name in the mix is former 10th District Congressman Chris Carney depending if our salons in Harisburg try to make the district more Republican friendly by including Susquehanna County in the 11th. Technically Carney can run in the 11th even if he doesn't live in the district as the Constitution only requires that a member of Congress shall live in the same state modled after the British Parliment. It's rarely done but anything is possible. My first choice for this seat would be former state rep Kevin Blaum but that's just me. Eddie Day Pashinski and Phyllis Mundy would also be good candidates.


Back to Kanjo. Mrs G just told me she would always vote for him but I think he should write his book. He had many accomplishments that he can proudly point to but it's time to move on. But then again, anything is possible.

Barletta sent out a fundraising email yesterday about this news. It said:

Querido amigo -

Ayer por la tarde, Pennsylvania medios de comunicación comenzaron a informar que el ex congresista Paul Kanjorski - que usted me ayudó a vencer en 2010 - "está considerando lanzar su sombrero en el anillo para el asiento que estaba perdido" (PoliticsPA.com).

Todos recordamos Kanjorski de "grandes éxitos", ya sea llamando a dólares de los contribuyentes "dinero gratis" o votar por un paquete de un billón de dólares de estímulo que no produjo los empleos que necesitamos o empujar Obamacare. Lo importante es que no podemos volver a los mismos políticos que nos metieron en este lío.

El informe señala los medios de comunicación, "el dinero será un elemento clave en esta carrera y estoy seguro de Kanjo todavía tiene un poco guardados." Es cierto, si se decide a un reto para mí en 2012, Kanjorski se gastan millones para cubrir por encima de su registro y inducir a error a los electores sobre la mía.

Tenga la seguridad, voy a luchar fuerte contra Kanjorski, pero necesito tu ayuda para hacerlo. Una primera contribución a mi campaña ahora pagará grandes dividendos en el largo plazo.

Gracias por su continuo apoyo.

Atentamente,

Lou Barletta

Front Row

We just spent a couple of days in Philadelphia and had a good time as usual. We had dinner at Donnelly's on South St. near Penn's landing as we always do but skipped running around town because it was just too damn hot. I like it hot but even I have my limits.

The highlight of our stay was the Phillies game on Friday night that the fightin's won 3-1 with Cole Hamels going 8 innings striking out 10. We were not in the front row but pretty darn close. The down side was the heat. The last time I remembering sweating so much while doing nothing was when I was in basic training in Texas many moons ago. It was so hot I couldn't even drink any beer and the vendors were selling bottles of water for the low, low price of $4.25 a bottle. According to the Phillie's website there are 20 water fountains in the park but I couldn't locate any of them. 20 fountains for 45,000 people? To top it off one of the elevators in the Holiday Inn next to the stadium where we always stay was out of action just like every other time we have been there and our room was on the 10th floor.

Anyway, these were the best seats I have ever had for a Phillie's game and despite the heat we still had a great time. I'm a lot like Elwood P Dowd.

Bill Vinsko for Congress

From the inbox:


BILL VINSKO TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARDS CONGRESSIONAL RUN
Vinsko, Lifelong Resident of the 11th Congressional District,
Vows a Common-Sense Campaign in 2012


Wilkes-Barre, PA- July 21- Bill Vinsko has taken the first step necessary to be the Democratic nominee for the United States Congress by forwarding the required paperwork to the Federal Election Commission. Vinsko would face Republican Congressman Lou Barletta in the 11th Congressional District.

“People in our communities have told me that common sense and practical values of Northeast Pennsylvania are absent in Washington” said Vinsko. “I remember fighting hard as a student at King’s College for what is now the Arena at Casey Plaza. The entire community worked hard to voice their opinions, make sure they were heard and found a way to get it done. We can do that again, and I am ready and committed to lead the fight against the right-wing extremists we currently have in Congress, who are supporting radical cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Education. It is time to renew our passion and band together to create jobs for our future, to give paychecks to our people, and preserve our word to our seniors and veterans by keeping Medicare and Social Security strong.”

Bill has a history of helping create jobs in Northeast Pennsylvania. As an attorney, Bill and his brother, Brian, formed Vinsko and Associates, a full-service law firm handling real estate, estate planning, business and municipal law. Additionally, Bill is the President and Chairman of the Board of VPharm, Inc., a local pharmacy serving nursing homes and assisted living facilities, designed to help fill the needs of local senior citizens, who are able to obtain prescription drug medication a reasonable costs, without foregoing good service. During a down economy, Bill and his family have managed to expand their businesses to now employ over 30 local residents.

Vinsko has hired nationally prominent political strategists Snyder Pickerill Media Group as media consultant and The Strategy Group as campaign advisors. Snyder Pickerill has worked on competitive campaigns throughout the country from State House and State Senate races through contests for the U.S. House and Senate. The Strategy Group has advised multiple Presidential Candidates, as well as various other high profile campaigns across the country. Kyle Donahue has been named campaign manager.

Vinsko intends to formally announce his campaign in the next few weeks. Please join Bill and help achieve these goals for Northeast Pennsylvania. Visit the campaign website at http://www.billvinsko.com/ to join the cause.

Bill Vinsko was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre PA. †He worked during his years at Bishop Hoban High School as a janitor and concessions clerk at the FM†Kirby Center. † Also at that time, Bill met his future wife, Paula VanFossen, as the two worked together as on-air personalities for†Froggy 101 - a local radio station, under the names "I.B. Green" and "Cricket" respectively. Bill continued working full time while†attending Kings College, Wilkes-Barre. Their children Mercedes, Will, and Margaret Marie are the fourth generation of Vinskos to be raised in Northeast Pennsylvania. His parents, Bill and Joan, currently live in Wilkes-Barre.

Bill Vinsko became one of the first students at Penn State University history to earn a Masters Degree in Public Administration and his Law Degree from and Dickinson School of Law at the†same time. Upon returning to Wilkes-Barre he became the youngest person to ever serve as Assistant City Attorney for his hometown. Several years later he founded Vinsko and Associates to represent area residents in their real estate transactions, estate planning other legal needs. †His wife, Paula, has been the business manager of the firm since its inception.

Vinsko is deeply active in his community, having volunteered for the local United Way, the Luzerne County Mental Health/Mental†Retardation Program, and St. Nicholas Church Parish Council. †He has†won local leadership awards and recognition for his volunteer work on behalf of his community from the Rotary Club International and the Volunteer Action Center of the Wyoming Valley. Law and Politics Magazine has named Vinsko a “Super Lawyer Rising Star,”†every year since 2005, including this year, 2011.

Steve Flood RIP

1. 
   
   
   My very first post about local politics was my disapointment that Steve Flood wasn't reelected. Before that I was writing about baseball so we will keep up the mix.
   
   I wrote this at the time:
   
   
   Watchdog Goes Down
   The powers that be in Luzerne county win again. Steve Flood Lost the Controllers race to the party favorite. The reasons they did not like him are the reasons I did. We need rabble rousers and bomb throwers. I even miss Fred Williams radio show on WILK. I did not agree with him on many things, but I like the way he stirred the pot. Steve was good at asking questions and just saying no. The way this county has been run during my lifetime I found him to be way overdue. When I lived in other areas I described m y hometown as a place that never got over the great depression, the best redevelopment project was the Agnes flood and the political reforms of the 1890's have yet to hit. Sadly, not much has changed.
   

Well, because of Steve Flood many things have changed. Just after he was elected as Contoller I met him at a wedding of some Mrs. G reletive. He got me to support Ed Rendell over Bob Casey for Governor although I was going there anyway. We had a great fundraiser in Plains.

30 people have been inticted or convicted in Luzerne County because he went to the FBI over the 20 year Juvie Center lease. After he was defeated for reelection the new controller dropped the whole thing

My fence needs to be painted

Maybe I should hire this guy who is down on his luck


WILKES-BARRE – Former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella is painting for a living these days. On Thursday, Ciavarella was painting a porch at 313 McLean St. owned by Bob Kadluboski, owner of City Wide Towing.

Cupcake, as Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton affectionately calls him, has been in the news lately for engaging in his favorite pastime of disrupting city council meetings complaining about his competitor LAG Towing suggesting some sort of corrupt bargain. Kadluboski is a civic minded person who has taken time out of his busy crime fighting schedule to be a such thorn in the side of W-B city council that they are considering changing the rules about public comments at their meetings.

I have to commend Mr. Kadluboski for giving a convicted criminal a way to make a living while he awaits sentencing.

For some reason this reminds me of a book I recently read


"I Heard You Paint Houses"

It's not about the deficit

The Democrats have offered a deal that Bob Dole and Howard Baker could never have dreamed of. John Boehner seemed to want to go for it but his caucus won't go for it because it involves some tax increases. So it now looks like the Republicans are going to blow up the government and possibly the world economy because they can't accept a deal that favors them. The GOP doesn't want to balance the budget they want to destroy the government. How stupid are these people?

Baseball

One of the great joys of our national pastime is every once in while you see something that you have never seen before. The home plate umpire just tossed the Florida Marlins catcher for aurging balls and strikes. The rookie Phillies pitcher just won a game 1-0.

Independent's Day

I've always had a soft spot for people who decide to run for office as minor party candidate or an independent. It's a big hill to climb and they almost always fail but I'm always heartened by their dedication to the democratic process despite the history.

Local Libertarian chairman Lou Jasikoff sent me a couple of emails this last week about petition drives for Libertarians, Greens, obscure 3rd parties and true independents trying to get enough signatures to get on the ballot for various offices. Pennsylvania has one of the worst laws in the country regarding 3rd party access, just ask Carl Romanelli who is still dealing with the fallout over his doomed effort to be a US Senator. Taking all that money from the head of Blackwater didn't help.

I'm glad to see that our local Lib's and Green's are trying to get people on the ballot for local offices and are working together. But they are still shooting for the Moon trying to get Marakay Rogers and Mark Kaisoglus on the ballot for the appellate Judge's spots.



Locally I think that Libertarian Tim Mullen has good shot as being an alternative to the Dem's and Rep's for Luzerne County Council. He gathered a bunch of signatures for his run in his run for state rep against Mundy and Goldsworthy but that didn't translate into votes. Still he got 15% which just may work that into a winning campaign this time.


Shane Novak wants to be the Green Party candidate Luzerne County Council. There should be more.

We all know Charlie Hatchko who is running as an American Independence Party candidate. Bible Buck is quick to quote the scriptures but I have to ask is he a member of Popular Front or the People's Front. Splitter.

For those of you that have beating me up in the comments I have a request. Send me links to the candidates websites and Facebook fan pages

Of course, I always welcome guest posts.

My Yahoo email was hacked

Sorry about that folks. Yesterday I took a quick glance at the spam filter and saw that there were bunch of Mail Daemon messages which I thought was odd because I hadn't sent any emails over the weekend.

As far as I can tell the worm didn't get a hold of my entire address book but enough of it to annoy many of my friends. Again my apologies. So if you see a subject line from gort42@yahoo.com titled Re:, Re:7, Re:8, etc or Re:Hi! It’s only for you! The most interesting site, Re:I suppose you’ll be delighted after you try it! You know it wasn't sent by me.

I'm sure most of you figured that out and deleted it immediately but if you didn't and clicked on the link there is a possibility that your computer has been infected by a virus. I'm running all the protection software to combat this but it may not be enough so I think I will take the computer to the shop to get a thorough cleaning. Although what I have been reading they may have got a hold of my address book on other computers.

I don't favor the the death penalty for the most part but the bastards who did this deserve a slow, painful death.

Jim O'Meara for Plains Township Commissioner

I had a nice chat with James O'Meara Sr tonight who is running for a place on the Plains Township Board of Commissioners. He doesn't have much of a chance as a Republican running in an overwhelmingly Democratic town but you never know. He had previously run for State Representative against Eddie Day Pashinski because no one else would and wanted to give the voters a choice and got clobbered. You have to admire that commitment to the democratic process.

In the Plains Township race he said much of the same thing. I asked who was the last Plains Republican Township Commissioner and neither one of us could up with an answer. Help me out trivia people.

The big issue in our little burgh is how to spend the windfall for being the host of the Mohegan Sun Casino. For the most part that has been put to good use paving streets and adding police patrols to deal with the problems that the place has produced.


In addition to the host municipality fee Plains Township gets for putting up with the place there is another pot of money for the health, safety and economic development projects in those counties where the casinos are located. In the last 3 years the Plains Twp Board of Commissioners have kicked backed a million dollars a year to the Casino to pave the parking lot that is located on top of the old East Side Landfill neglecting other needs such as purchasing a new ladder truck for the fire department. My friend Kevin Blaum documented that a few years ago. Such nonsense, we are supposed to make money off the place not subsidise it. Jim will oppose that and question why it happened in the first place.

We need a watchdog in Plains Township instead of 5 yes votes for everything.

Another contract not approved

How many times have we seen headlines similar to these over the last few years

Controller won't pay bill without contract

Pact signed by official disputed

The 3rd class county code is clear that only the county commissioners have the authority to approve a contract but some people still haven't got the word. Recorder of Deeds Red O'Brien hired a NY company to do some scanning work for $31,000 with the possibility of more work but never got the Luzerne County Commissioners to approve it. So Controller Walter Griffith is refusing to pay the latest invoice unless the Commissioners approve the arrangement. Solicitor Vito Deluca has been hot about this illegal pratice for the past few years. It looks like the money to pay this company comes from the records fund that LRW Solutions was so good at getting. See Betty for more on that.

I think the biggest reason I voted for the home rule charter is that eliminates the row offices. Too many power centers and lack of accountability. Do we really need to elect 11 people to what are essentially administrative jobs without responsibility for policy? However I don't like taking away the Controller's responsibility for paying bills or the unelected county executive but those problems can be fixed in the near future without going through the whole charter writing exercise again.

Still ln Phirst

The Phillies dropped 2 out of 3 in Seattle but are still on top of the NL East. So coming into St Louis we have the big 3 on the mound. Halladay and Lee should be good but Oswalt has not good been light's out lately. Hammels starts Friday. There a lot Philies blogs out there, this is one of my favorites Phillies Nation

Phyllis on the job

Mundy calls for improved gas drilling oversight


HARRISBURG, June 21 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne, today joined House Democrats, environmental advocates and residents who had their water supplies contaminated by natural gas drilling to demand better oversight of the industry.

Speaking at a rally in the Capitol, Mundy said the state has issued more than 6,600 Marcellus Shale drilling permits, and more than 2,800 wells have been drilled.


"I agree that the drilling industry is bringing economic benefits to our state and to some of our citizens," she said. "However, anyone who travels to Dimock in Susquehanna County as I have, or reads about countless drilling accidents that have occurred across the state, knows that we are not properly regulating drilling operations in the Commonwealth."

Several residents of Bradford County, where a large spill recently took place during Marcellus Shale fracking operations, attended the rally.


Mundy has introduced five pieces of Marcellus Shale-related legislation this year.

H.B. 233 would put a one-year moratorium on new Marcellus Shale drilling permits to give the legislature time to enact necessary protections in law and regulations. H.B. 230 would create a 2,500-foot drilling buffer around drinking water supplies. H.B. 234 would create an online tracking and reporting system for Marcellus Shale waste, such as drilling mud and chemically treated water used to fracture shale to release gas. H.B. 232 would restrict drilling and site preparation in floodplains, improve the disposal of waste water and better control erosion and sedimentation where gas is drilled.


In addition, Mundy attempted to amend a bill so Marcellus Shale wastewater would be designated as hazardous waste under the state's Vehicle Code. The amendment, which was blocked by Republican procedural maneuvers, would have ensured drivers transporting frac water for treatment are held to the highest standards.

Mundy said new state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer has recommended more than 20 amendments to the state's Oil and Gas Act that mirrors legislation she and others have repeatedly introduced. She said she hopes the amendments become law soon.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it," she said. "If we as Pennsylvanians learned nothing from the legacy of the coal industry, shame on us."

If you think that this gas drilling is some jobs panancea take a look at this report from the Keystone Policy Center.

My blog buddies were out on the river this weekend and had the nerve to object to the gas drilling companies sponsoring Riverfest.

Kayack Dude documented the lies and The Blogfather wrote it all up.

Speaking of Mark, he took a shot at me the other day and I think he was trying to get me to start posting again. Well if if you wanted to get a rise out of me pal you have succeeded!


I talked to him recently, and I was stopped dead in my tracks when he said he thought Barack Obama was doing a “good” job. And even though his comment resulted in tiny bubbles coming out of my nose, I sought out no point/counterpoint exchange.

I know that the rest of you will be surprised that Mark and I disagree on national politics although we are almost on the same page on what is going on locally. Yes, I have been disapointed with this President. I voted for him to end the wars not to start a new one in Libya or Yemen. On the domestic front I think he inherited an enourmous mess that is going to take time to fix. It doesn't help that he is dealing with a Republican Party that is hell bent on economic sabotage. You don't take money out of the economy when growth is slow. The people who are bitching about deficits now didn't care about them the last decade.

We need another stimulus. Instead of a payroll tax cut of $120 billion spend that on fixing our roads, bridges and isolate the storm water runoff from sewage systems that pollute the Susquehanna River and many more accross the country. I think that would please Kayack Dude.


And please find another color for your exceperts of the local papers. It's hard to read.

You Tube weekend

He used to cut the grass.
just a couple of quarts of beer

Phustrating Phillies still in Phirst

They can't score runs like they used to but the starting pitching has been outstanding.

Endeavour lands

One more shuttle mission to go.


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

Memorial Day

RIP Jonathan Balester

I had run into Jonathan at various Luzerne County Republican events over the last few years and thought he was a good guy. So the news that he has been apparently murdered really hit me hard. I didn't know him that well but he struck me as a gentle soul who would help anyone he could. I'm sure we learn more over the next few days.


Suspicious death is investigated

Police seek information on homicide victim's activities


Also Rusty Flack has died. Another good guy.

What a storm

I arrived home last night to find that the internet and many cable channels on the telly had been knocked out by the electrical storm that went through the area during the evening. Thus I wasn't able to post or watch my favorite talking head shows. Thankfully no tornadoes touched down in the vicinity. I blame Al Roker.

How they doing?

The people of the 10th and 11th Pennsylvania Congressional Districts traded in Democrats Chris Carney and Paul Kanjorski for Republicans Tom Marino and Lou Barletta in the last election so how are they doing representing your interest? Has unemployment been reduced or has the deficit been brought under control? Are there less illegal immigrants lurking in your neighborhood? Is your health care secure?

They both voted for the Paul Ryan budget that will phase out Medicare and want to continue giving oil companies tax payer subsidies despite the fact that they continue to rack up record profits. They have both voted for bills in the house that have no chance of passing the Senate about abortion and other things.

Vote in the poll on the side bar and sound off in the comments.

You Tube weekend

Today is the big day


Clock ticks down on May 21 rapture prediction

Not the first time it has been predicted.

22 is not enough

As we wander into the uncharted waters of electing 11 members of the new Luzerne County Council a few more waves have hit the bow. At least 4 independent or 3rd party candidates are looking to get on the November ballot. Expect a few more.


More eye county council
The November ballot for the legislature could get independents, others.

Libertarian Tim Mullen was working the crowd at Blogfest gathering signatures as was Charlie "Bible Buck" Hatchko and the TL reports that Jere Packard, Kingston, and Richard Williams, Slocum Township, are jointly circulating petitions to run as Independents.

Stefanie Salavantis for District Attorney

Like most political junkies I hate unopposed elections so I was glad to see that Jackie Mo will have an opponent in November.

CV: Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll will have competition in the November general election.

Stefanie Salavantis, a Republican attorney from Kingston Township, won the Republican nomination with 713 write-in votes in the primary election May 17, according to Luzerne County Election Bureau officials, who counted the write-in votes today... Musto Carroll garnered 311 write-in votes on the Republican ballot.

I was surprised that the local GOP couldn't recruit a candidate after the success they had in the 2009 row officer races and go the usual route of gathering signatures on petitions but better late than never.


I haven't found a website for her but she has a Facebook fan page.

Looking to the fall-Luzerne County Council

What a cluster**** this primary has been. 49 candidates for 22 spots on the ballot and most of the nominees I still don't know very much about.

I'm looking for links to campaign sites and Facebook fan pages so help me out. I found some via The Nothington Post.

Dems



Stephen A. Urban

Linda McClosky Houck

Jim Bobeck

Edward A. Brominski

Jane Walsh-Waitkus

Eileen M. Sorokas

Salvatore Licata

Tim McGinley

Michelle Bednar

M. Theresa Morcavage

Elaine Maddon Curry



Republican nominees

Stephen J. Urban

Rick Morelli

Kathleen M. Dobash

John Ruckno

Harry Haas

Blythe H. Evans III

William Bill James

Eugene L. Kelleher

Gina Nevenglosky

Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt

Michael Cabell

Looking to the fall-Luzerne County Judge

I got it wrong last night as 5 (not 4) candidates won both nominations. Barring some unforeseen scandal 5 of our 6 new Judges of the Court of Common Pleas will be:

Fred Pierantoni
Michael Vough
Joe Sklarosky
Lesa Gelb
Jennifer Rogers

I base that prediction on the fact that almost 10,000 people voted the straight party ticket in the 2009 election and the top vote getter in the Judicial election won with just over 38,000. Dick Hughes is again the odd man out topping the ballot on the GOP side but like 2009 he failed to garner the Democratic nomination. Molly Hanlon Mirabito snagged the Dem nomination so it is down to those 2 for the remaining fitting of robes on the 3rd floor. I have been hearing a lot of carping today that Terry Casey and Luzerne County GOP couldn't deliver the vote for the other 3 Republicans ( Haggerty, McMonagle, Saporito) on the ballot. I think that is unfair as judicial races are strange creatures. Let's see how the Republican candidates for county council do before we make judgements on his leadership. But I do think that they miss the organizational skills of Renita.

Another observation is I really don't like cross filing. The fewest voters have just decided an important election. The same goes for school director races. And don't get me started on state wide judicial elections.

Luzerne County Council

Republicans The top 11


Stephen J. Urban . . . . . . . . 8,865 8.02
Rick Morelli . . . . . . . . . 8,769 7.94 8,529 Kathleen M. Dobash . . . . . . . 8,081 7.31 7,853 John Ruckno. . . . . . . . . . 7,875 7.13 7,670 2
Harry Haas . . . . . . . . . . 7,747 7.01 7,532
Blythe H. Evans III . . . . . . . 7,081 6.41 6,866
William Bill James . . . . . . . 6,747 6.11 6,526
Eugene L. Kelleher . . . . . . . 6,664 6.03 6,422 2
Gina Nevenglosky . . . . . . . . 6,601 5.98 6,402 1
Joyce Dombroski-Gebhardt . . . . . 6,586 5.96 6,392 4
Michael Cabell. . . . . . . . . 6,582 5.96 6,402
Linda J. Urban. . . . . . . . . 6,349 5.75 6,160


The Dems

Stephen A. Urban . . . . . . . . 12,142 5.24 11,681 461
Linda McClosky Houck. . . . . . . 11,001 4.75 10,683 318
Jim Bobeck . . . . . . . . . . 10,526 4.54 10,221 305
Edward A. Brominski . . . . . . . 10,299 4.44 9,891 408
Jane Walsh-Waitkus . . . . . . . 9,488 4.09 9,169 319
Eileen M. Sorokas. . . . . . . . 9,357 4.04 9,006 351
Salvatore Licata . . . . . . . . 8,967 3.87 8,658 309
Tim McGinley . . . . . . . . . 8,948 3.86 8,617 331
Michelle Bednar . . . . . . . . 8,818 3.80 8,485 333
M. Theresa Morcavage. . . . . . . 8,106 3.50 7,835 271


Tough choice in the fall

Final returns

Republican Judge


Dick Hughes. . . . . . . . . . 9,622 10.55 9,622 0
Joe Sklarosky Jr.. . . . . . . . 7,097 7.78 7,097 0
Michael T. Vough . . . . . . . . 7,078 7.76 7,078 0
Fred A. Pierantoni . . . . . . . 6,941 7.61 6,941 0
Lesa Gelb . . . . . . . . . . 6,165 6.76 6,165 0
Jennifer Rogers . . . . . . . . 6,081 6.67 6,081 0


Democratic Judge

Michael T. Vough . . . . . . . . 14,700 9.01 14,700 0
Joe Sklarosky Jr.. . . . . . . . 13,549 8.31 13,549 0
Lesa Gelb . . . . . . . . . . 13,359 8.19 13,359 0
Jennifer Rogers . . . . . . . . 12,669 7.77 12,669 0
Molly Hanlon Mirabito . . . . . . 11,797 7.23 11,797 0
Joseph F. Saporito Jr. . . . . . . 11,307 6.93 11,307 0


Overlap

4 cndidtates won both nominations

Mike Vough

Joe Skalarsky

Lesa Gelb

Jennifer Rogers

The scramble will be for the other 2 spots.

Tom Leighton wins in Wilkes-Barre

Tom Leighton . . . . . . . . . 2,603 55.67 %
Charlotte B. Raup. . . . . . . . 1,810 38.71 %
Nick Punko . . . . . . . . . . 242 5.18 %
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 21 .45 %


WITH 20 OF 20 PRECINCTS COUNTED

His opponent will be Lisa Cope


Lisa Cope . . . . . . . . . . 357 34.59 % 357 Frank R. Sorick . . . . . . . . 283 27.42 % 283 Karen Ceppa. . . . . . . . . . 260 25.19 % 260

Almost 6000 votes for the Democrats and less than 1000 for the Republicans

Early returns

Hey, where is everybod?


With 28% of the precints in the leaders are on the Democratic side:


Fred A. Pierantoni . . . . . . . 4,138 9.04 4,138 0
Lesa Gelb . . . . . . . . . . 4,117 9.00 4,117 0
Michael T. Vough . . . . . . . . 3,947 8.63 3,947 0
Molly Hanlon Mirabito . . . . . . 3,869 8.46 3,869 0
Joe Sklarosky Jr.. . . . . . . . 3,549 7.76 3,549 0

The Republican Judge hopefuls:

Dick Hughes. . . . . . . . . . 3,842 10.17 3,842 0
Jim Haggerty . . . . . . . . . 3,161 8.37 3,161 0
Fred A. Pierantoni . . . . . . . 3,138 8.31 3,138 0
Michael T. Vough . . . . . . . . 2,947 7.80 2,947 0
John Aciukewicz . . . . . . . . 2,816 7.46 2,816 0
Lesa Gelb . . . . . . . . . . 2,800 7.41 2,800 0


In about an hour we should have the final numbers.

Pennsylvania exit poll

Me and Mrs. G were voters number 212 and 213 at 4Pm at our polling place at the Plains Twp. fire hall out of 1000+. There were a number of poll workers handing out palm cards for Judge, County Council but only one pushing a Township Commissioner candidate. For the most part I think handing out cards at polling place is a waste of time as most people already have made up their minds.

Way back when I was actively involved in campaigns I got into some heated arguments with my peers over the best use of volunteers on election day. Depending on the campaign if you had enough money to phone bank along with knocking on doors and other direct contact efforts you should have identified your voters and your resources should be spent on voter recontact on election day to make sure your definite and maybe voters get to the polls. The best technique that an old pol in Massachusetts taught me was to work the room with the voter list after your guy/girl made an appearance at a senior center, etc. to ID people who might vote for them and give them a call on election day.

Wilkes-Barrre School District

One of the most important votes you will cast tomorow will be for a school board member. My taxes for the schools are more than double than the county and township combined. I have lost count of how many school board members that have been indicted and plead guilty.


The candidates are:



Dino L. Galella

Kathy Grinaway

Louis Elmy

James Susek is also running for Plains Twp. Commissioner

Maryanne W. Toole an incumbent that asks some good questions

Barry Matthews II

John Quinn was my 10th grade Social Studies Teacher, He was bit of a hot head in the classroom and on the basketball court.

Leonard Cornish deserves a vote.

The other court races

With all the attention on the six seats open for the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas and the new county council the spots up for grabs on the state appellate courts have been overlooked.

The candidates are:

JUDGE OF THE COMMONWEALTH COURT

Vote for 1 for a 10 year term

Paul P. Panepinto (R)

Anne Covey (R)

Kathryn Boockvar (D)

Barbara Behrend Ernsberger (D)


JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT

Vote for 1 for a 10 year term

Vic Stabile (R)

Paula A. Patrick (R)

David N. Wecht (D)


To save my time I'm not providing links to their websites, Facebook, etc. You can google them if you are interested but I will bet that you are not that interested.


I don't pay much attention to the statewide Judge races because the candidates run on their bio's and promise to be tough on crime with an emphasis on locking up all the drug dealers. But then every politician promises to lock up all the druggies and we all know that policy has worked out well over the past 50 years. Their campaigns are financed by the lawyers that will appear before them but they assure us that that will not influence their rulings. What a bunch of hooey.



Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts make a good case for scrapping the present system and going with merit selection of Judges. Their blog JudgesOnMerit.org documents the problems with electing appellate Judges.

I'm willing to go further and go with merit selection for county judges. Do you think Michael Conahan could have survived a background check?

In the 2009 contest for PA Supreme Court Justice we elected Joan Orie Melvin who is now in a lot of hot water along with her sister despite the assurance from a local high ranking GOP operative that said "she is an honarable person."

There has to be a better way.

Needed shake up

i predict that every person who voted in favor of home rule will have serious buyers remorse come nov. the cast of characters, rable rousers, never have beens and wanna be's who may be in charge of county gov't is frightening.
thanks to the likes of you, yonki and corbett voters reacted out of anger instead of insightful thought and deliberation.


This may be true. This was a reaction to all the corruption that has been going on forever so the voters decided to change the form of government. The good thing is the structure of the government can be changed in 5 years without reinventing the wheel. but if you want to start all over agian that is an option

The road back

I have been posting sporactly the last few weeks after shutting down the operation last November. It looks like I have lost my audience as the Sitemeter tells me my unique visitors have dropped from 400-500 on a good day to less than 100 now. I miss blogging so now my challenge is to rebuild an audience. As the Blogfather told me many moons ago the way to create traffic is content, content, content so now I will opine again on various local and natonal issues and let you my dear readers take my head off if you disagree. I have made so many friends ( and a few enemies )doing this that I just can't resist. Even Mrs. G want's me to do it again.

So what is going on?

The Blogfather has been in a full throated defense of Tom Leighton as Mayor of Wilkes-Barre, Mark is a Republican and Tom is Democrat which validates my theory that party labels don't matter much in local elections.

Another Monkey has been all over a site that has been stealing content from the rest of us. Blogger etiquitte demands a link back to the source. But it looks like this jerk has taken the site down.

NEPA Blogs has been hot with a bunch of new bloggers being listed.

The Lu Lac Political Letter has been trying to cover everything.


Common Sense Political Thought wants to play games with the debt ceiling and still thinks because it snows there is no such thing as global warming.

Steve is also worked up about the content thief

Then there is the best political blogger in PA. The Morning Call's John Micek who writes Capitol Ideas. What a natural, well informed and funny.

Predictions

It has always been a feature of this blog to predict the winners of the elections the Saturday before Tuesday but this time I have no idea. I usally get it wrong anyway.

In the race for Luzerne County Judge 16 lawyers are chasing 6 spots on the bench. My favs are Lesa Gelb, Jen Rogers, Joe Saporito and Vito DeLuca who I just might bullet vote.

The Luzerne County Council is a new beast with almost 50 people aspiring to be elected. The good thing is there will be some Republicans elected to this new body in the fall although I think the D or R label doesn't matter much in local government.

I will go out on limb and predictict that Tom Leighton will win renomination as Democractic nominee for Mayor of Wilkes-Barre and James O'Meara will be the nominee for Republican candidate for Plains Township Commissioner. Also Jackie Mo will be the next District Attorney.

Endorsements

I have long had the view that most endorsements are only good for a press release unless they bring boots on the ground or bundles of money. That being said it is better to get the endorsement of the local newspaper than not.

But just remember how the Times-Leader endorsement gave us State Rep Christine Kotsock way back when she was still a Republican. She even printed signs that said "Endorsed by the Times-Leader." She got clobbered by Eddie Day Pashinski 2 to 1 in 2006. I'm sure I can find other examples but this one comes to mind. Congressman Malcolm Derk, if he wasn't in the race I think Dave Madeira just might have topped geographically challenged Tom Marino.

The endorsement that matters the most in this election was made by a collection of Unions that natuarally pissed of many of my Republican friends. There also some hard feelings on the Dem side.
Maybe the question should be "why don't I have those protections" instead of why do "those people have them."

Anyway here is the annointed list:



http://www.timesleader.com/opinion/OUR-ENDORSEMENT-LUZERNE-COUNTY-COUNCIL--DEMOCRATS.html

Our endorsement: Luzerne County Council, Republicans

You Tube weekend

Super secret dog of war on front line in raid for Osama bin Laden

First GOP Presidential Debate

The most highly anticipated and ignored event of the Presidential pre-primary season will be held in South Carolina tomorrow.

The participants are:


former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who I like


Congressman Ron Paul, who I respect but disagee on many things

former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who I have met

former Virginia Senator Rick Santorum, who makes me laugh

and Herman Cain, I ate a lot of Godfather's Pizza when I lived in Omaha


Of these guys the only one I can take seriously is Pawlenty.

As Steve Bennen said:

I'd call this a clown debate but I don't want to insult clowns.

As far as the supposed serious candidates:

Mitt Romney declined; Gingrich won't set up an exploratory committee until next week and is therefore ineligible; Huntsman is in a similar boat; Michelle Bachmann hasn't made any formal moves; Mitch Daniels is still figuring out what he wants to do; Roy Moore and Roy Roemer can't break 1% in the polls ; and Palin and Huckabee are still on the Fox News payroll.

It's going to be tough to run against the President that killed Bin Laden.

And speaking for the Almighty we get this:


Karen Santorum says the 2012 presidential race, in which her husband, Rick, is a likely Republican candidate, is "not just another political race. It’s about going on to the battlefield and defending God’s truth in the world." [...]
She says the couple has "prayed a lot about the decision" and the former senator's decision--apparently she's referring to his forming a presidential exploratory committee--"is what God wants."

Pic is for my friend Dan

Redistricting of PA Congressional seats

This is the map I spotted on Politics PA last month. It moves the 10th west and turns the 11th into something that looks like a lobster and Tim Holden's 17th district curls up and eats Lackawanna County. I don't think this will stand but I decided to run some numbers based on the 2008 election. I broke it down and found that this configuration gave President Obama 164,290 votes versus John McCain's 151,307. The old boundaries gave the President a big victory 203,162 to 156,262. Of course this is just back of the envelope math so please don't beat me up on it. In a way I like this map because it restores Luzerne County to one CD but I don't like it because Scranton had always been the anchor of the 10th CD until 2002. I'm a traditionalist and believe that Scranton and Wilkes-Barre should have different Congressmen.

Kevin Blaum, where are you?

Kentucky Derby

The 14th annual get together of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society to watch the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 7th 4PM at Marks Pub 1287 N Washington St, Wilkes-Barre.

None of us are big horse race fans but this is just another excuse to infuse cash into the malt beverage industry to ensure it's liquidity. After all, we don't want D.G. Yuengling & Son to go the way of General Motors.



This is not a mega-meetup like the one last month a Rooney's (we will do that again in the fall) and it has not been sanctioned by the Northeast Blogging Council. But of course everyone is welcome.

Osama has just left the building

I don't know how I feel about this yet. I don't like extra Judaical killings or the death penalty in general but if anyone ever deserved to get a bullet in his head it was this guy. At the same time I can't imagine him going through our judicial system.

The question now is will the US draw down the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? 100,000 troops chasing around a couple of hundred terrorist is not an efficient use of our resources.

Of course there are doubters.

Blogfest 2011-Spring Edition

I wasn't involved in the planning and promotion of our 3rd gathering at Rooney's Irish Pub in Pittston but as soon as I walked in the door I realized how much I miss blogging. There are many people of all parties that I now call friend because of this Internet venture. I came up with the idea of having a low key gathering of politicians/bloggers/activists and helped organize the first 2 meetups that were great successes and even got some coverage from the local papers. Kudos to David and Joe for keeping it going. I noticed that many of our local political bloggers didn't make it this time but there were plenty of candidates running for various offices.



We got there around 7PM and missed the first wave of judicial candidates who were off to the 3rd district meeting, like committee endorsements matter anymore, but you have to make the rounds. I'm not going to run down of list of people that were there but if you are interested the Yonk took attendance. Keeping in the spirit the people who attended agreed to disagree without being disagreeable, there were no speeches and the dress code was adhered to. I will be more active for the Fall Edition.

Plus I got to d to my button and political paraphernalia collection.

The bloggers report:


Blog Fest report, Spring 2011 edition

The LuLac Edition #1573, April 30th, 2011

Blogfest turns out great crowd

Video from Scott of Video Inovations

Canon in D Violin Rock

You Tube weekend

No, I'm not back

So many emails.


Thank you for your encoragment but I just can't do it anymore.