Kanjo News

Our own PA 11th district Congressman Paul Kanjorski has been in the news this week for some colorful remarks.

After getting feedback from a few town meetings he felt that people have lost trust in the government and he said “I’m in fear for the survival of the republic,” he said. “People want to get their deer rifles out and go to the barricades.” Then he offered a technical government speak solution to ward off the revolution. Sorry Paul, hyperbole is not your strong point.

But he didn't stop there and and offered some criticism of the appropriations process when responding to an emergency. There is a rule that Congress won't OK more than $100 million in immediate disaster relief to a state for any one incident. They can always approve more money later if it's warranted. The collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis is the type event that the $100 million rule applies. The rule was ignored in this case when Minnesota asked for more ($250 million) and Kanjorski objected even though he voted for it, go figure. Nobody has ever accused him of being a fiscal conservative and his reaction would be funny if someone bitched about a piece of his pork.

"They discovered they were going to get all the money from the federal government and they were taking all they could get,” he said. In essence they took the opportunity “to screw us,” he said of the funding grab.

This quote got all kinds of attention. Think Progress picked up on it then spread it all over the place.

Kanjorski comments on bridge collapse spark fierce backlash

This is an interesting story because it cherry picks the comments from Think Progress but doesn't but doesn't cite the source. I'm sure the reporter sourced his story but it was edited out. What is it with the local rags unwillingness to give credit to the blogosphere? And as far as the rumors that he may hang it up his mouthpiece, Ed Mitchell, said he has no plans to retire. Kanjo himself hasn't been able to be reached because he is off on his annual trek to New Mexico. I hope he is as lucky as was on his last trip when he won 20 grand playing blackjack.

Kanjo gets lucky

CV:
On a Christmas visit last year to his daughter’s New Mexico home, U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski popped by the Cities of Gold casino in Pojoaque north of Santa Fe, hit a hot streak and won $19,500 playing blackjack.


“I’m usually not a good gambler,” Kanjorski said. “This was a real run … I got so far ahead, it got real ridiculous. It was exhaustion that took me out of the game.”The Nanticoke Democrat said he’s played blackjack for fun for 40 years and plays at casinos where he travels a couple of times a year. He jokes that it’s “his only major vice that I’m going to discuss at this time” and said it’s a good way to get to know the area he’s visiting.

“I’m not a winner, I’m a loser,” he said. Ironically, he’s not a big believer in having casinos everywhere.“Because I don’t see it as creating wealth. It only transfers wealth from winners to losers, losers to winners,” he said. And some times to a congressman.

I agree with him about casinos. I'm not looking forward to the one coming in Plains. It's going to create more problems than it will solve. He is against casinos but goes into one when he has the opprotunity. Hmm.