Luzerne County Home Rule

A guest post.


Luzerne County Home Rule


Gort has been writing about the Luzerne County Government Study Commission (GSC) since it was created by a referendum last November. I've been advocating for the separation of executive and legislative responsibilities in the new charter in the comments here, on Facebook, to my fellow LCCC students, to anyone who will listen at blogger meetups and elsewhere around the intertubes.


Everyone I have conversed with is in agreement that we need an executive, who would be elected at large and charged with vetoing or approving new policy that has been passed by the legislative body. Despite this consensus, the commission is "hell bent" on another idea that would be a slap in the face to all who believe in checks and balances.


Our current three-Commissioner-system is a consolidation of power because they are both the legislative and executive branches. If two or more of them agree they can do just about anything that does not violate Pennsylvania's law. Most of this system was set up by Harrisburg over 175 years ago and does not reflect the best thinking of our time, or even their time.


Counties, school boards and other local governments with similar consolidations of power also have persistent problems with corruption. The only way to alter this course is a fundamental change in our system, not a quick fix personal change. I am all about throwing out the bums but if we fail to strike at the root of the problem we will continue to fill our most important government positions with a disproportionate amount of bums.


Charmaine H. Maynard informed "Separation of Powers for LC", a new Facebook Page, that the commission is going with an appointed manager. This would be similar to how a school board picks their own executive, instead of voters, who is then a rubber stamp for the board or quickly out of a job. Insignia would not have been able to swindle 7 figures from our school districts if they had execs who would not be updating the resume if they decided to grow a spine. The immediate past President of LCCC asserts this as well in his allegations against their board. Conahan and Chiveralla would not have been able to privatize our juvenile detention system. That would take authorization from at least the executive.


Another way the commission is being used to consolidate power is to limit what the voters can accomplish with a referendum. According to this well written letter to the editor, voters will not be able to approve or deny expenditures for capital projects which is another common sense way we could have stopped the crooked judges and other problems. It is a means to increase the power of the people both directly by allowing them more direct control over their county and by increasing the opportunities for more of the electorate to become educated and involved.


No one system is perfect but the one we've been rocking fails in theory and practice and needs to be replaced, not augmented. As Gort has written, the 2003 charter, though I disagree with much of it, accomplished the very basic goal of some real checks and balances. If they wanted to help the people then their work was already done.


They will listen to popular demand so come out to the meetings held every Wednesday evening at the Stettler Learning Center at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston at 7 PM because they have a time for citizen comments. You could also leave a comment on the GSC Website, email them, Facebook them or join the Separation of Powers page here.


Thanks
Austin Smith Ford

Yuddy get's a big labor endorsement

119th State Rep John Yudichak picked up a plum endorsement from the Northeast PA Building and Construction Trades Council.



The Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council is made up of 16 Regional Council and more than 115 local unions from 15 International Building Trades Unions.

The local unions come from the following Internationals:

•International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers
•International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers
•International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
•International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
•International Brotherhood of Teamsters
•International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
•International Union of Elevator Constructors
•International Union of Operating Engineers
•International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
•Laborers International Union of North America
•Operative Plasterers and Cement Mason's International Union
•Sheet Metal Workers International Association
•United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
•United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
•United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers


This is a big deal in a Democratic primary. Many endorsements, especially from sitting or past office holders, are good for a press release then forgotten the next day but the ones that count come from unions or organizations that can bundle money. On the Republican side the Club for Growth can steer some money to a candidate if they are pure enough and sign on to their agenda. In a Democratic primary union endorsements are coveted because they can provide boots on the ground and spend independent money communicating with their members.


Yudichak Receives Unanimous Endorsement of NEPA Building and Construction Trades Council


John Yudichak, Democratic State Senate candidate in the 14th Senatorial District, received the unanimous endorsement of the Northeast PA Building and Construction Trades Council. The announcement was made April 1st by Mike Rozitski, Business Manager for the Trades Council.
“John Yudichak has an outstanding voting record on labor issues,” said Rozitski. “He has always been very union-oriented and a true friend of labor. Our endorsement of John was unanimous and extremely enthusiastic.”

The Northeast PA Building and Construction Trades Council represents 15 different construction industry unions and approximately 15,000 union members. This coveted endorsement for Yudichak follows last week’s unanimous endorsement by the Fraternal Order of Police, Wyoming Valley Lodge No. 36. More major endorsements of Yudichak will be announced in the coming days.

“I am honored to have received the unanimous endorsement of the Building and Construction Trades Council,” said Yudichak. “My father was a union miner and my mother was a lifelong AFSCME member. At an early age, they instilled in me an appreciation for the American labor movement and the principles of fair wages and working standards that unions hold dear. I have always stood with the labor movement and I always will.”

During his past 12 years as State Representative, Yudichak was instrumental in creating many good paying jobs for Building Trades members in northeastern PA, including the currently-under-construction Culinary Institute at Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, which is being built with a 90% union workforce.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton will probably not get the nod from the firefighters union.

Vacation this week

Happy Easter everyone.


I don't know if I will posting less or more because I some time on my hands. Mrs. G has a long 'honey do' list for me and the weather is supposed to be great. I plan on doing some dog training in addition to getting my outside work done.

The only place we will be visiting is Porchville and will be watching Baseball! Our long national nightmare (5 months) is over and the national pastime will resume this evening. Although I agree with Dana who said "My biggest pet peeve is that baseball has ended the tradition of the first game on opening day being the first Cincinnati Reds game. That, to me, is sacrilege."

Well said my friend. Part of the reason I like College Football and Major League Baseball is the history and traditions. But every year they do something else to screw it up.

This might be the year that I get my dream World Series.

Go Phillies and Red Sox!


Update: The Red Sox win 9-7

The Reddddddddd Soxxxxxxxxx win!

Bite me John Sterling.

Tidbits

I've always posted about things that are not political but I thought were interesting or just personal on Gort42. Now I find that I put that sort of thing on my Facebook page . I have it set up that whatever I put on the blog will automatically post on Facebook so should I continue to bore you about my everyday pet peeves and pictures of my pets?

Another Monkey predicted a few months ago that Facebook and Twitter will kill blogging. Ed Mitchell sent me this link a few weeks ago arguing the same point.

I think blogs will be around for awhile and even grow in the political sphere of influence but they may decline as a version of an online diary because other than your friends very few people are interested in what you had for breakfast.

So I will share some of my pet peeves .

Cell phones. I don't have one and I don't understand why people are glued to the things especially when they are driving a car. What the hell can be that important? You are slaves to those machines.

TV audio. Whenever the show you are watching goes to commercial the ad is a lot louder than the program.

Flashing lights. The radio towers on Penobscot Mountain now have a strobe light that I think is dangerous to people with epilepsy and blinding to many others.

Talking elevators. I can look at the buttons and figure out what floor I am on and don't need to be told to watch my step.

Change. I was in the F&B business for a long time and I always taught my people was not to put the customer on the spot. A server should never ask "do you need change" after you plopped down your cash on the check. The proper response is I will be right back with your change .

Plastic. Whenever you buy some sort of electronic product it comes in a well built plastic package that you need a chain saw to open.

Enough bitching. Pictures of the Pets are in order.

Quincy keeps an eye on Ptolemy who keeps an eye on Quincy.

Santorum 2012

I've been told that I somehow hurt the feelings of the Mean Old Man as if such a thing is possible. To cheer him up here is an update on former Senator Rick Santorum's (R-VA) quest for the presidency.

Like all pretenders to the throne Santorum has a PAC that "is committed to helping candidates and causes who share Sen. Santorum's commitment to conservative principles." The problem is that the PAC raises a lot of money but not much of it actually is used to support candidates.

PG: In the second half of 2009, according to federal filings, the PAC raised $710,000. Of that total, $557,000 was spent on direct mail and related expenditures -- building a nationwide base of donors and supporters for Mr. Santorum. Just $38,500 was donated to candidates or causes.

He is not the only prospective Republican Presidential candidate that has a PAC that tells people it's purpose is to support like minded candidates but actually sends very little money to them.

Mitt Romney raised $3.57 million in 2009 for his PAC but gave about $70,000 to candidates and causes.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raised $824,000 through his Huck PAC last year and the the PAC spent $40,000 on giving to candidates and causes.

Sarah Palin pulled in $2.13 million last year spent about $57,000 on candidates and causes.

Rick was in Iowa again and told an overflow crowd of 30 people at a diner that ‘It’s gut-check time’ to oppose the reduction of nuclear weapons and accused the President of supporting "leftist dictators" in Latin America. He dropped by Lincoln, Nebraska to sing the praises of the Tea Party movement and said today's partisan polarization and the abusive or violent rhetoric sometimes directed at President Barack Obama is no worse than what President George W. Bush endured. He also wants to repeal Health Care Reform and backs Israel's interests.

Longtime Santorum fan GrassrootsPA points out this story from Politics Daily

Why We Should Take Rick Santorum's Presidential Ambitions Seriously

Nonetheless, his most damaging misstep involved the fact that, though the Pennsylvania senator resided in Leesburg, Va., he used taxpayer money from the Penn Hills School District to cover online school tuition for his children.



But Rick Santorum is now essentially a man without a state.

In 2004, he endorsed Sen. Arlen Specter during a tough primary challenge from Rep. Patrick Toomey. (Many believe Santorum's team was involved in whisper campaigns suggesting to conservative voters that Toomey was not solidly pro-life.) There are several possible reasons for the endorsement, including pressure from the Bush administration or that Santorum simply believed only Specter was strong enough to hold the Pennsylvania seat for Republicans. But some observers think Santorum resented the possibility of having to compete with another young conservative senator in his home state. Regardless, Santorum's backing helped Specter fend off Toomey's tough challenge. That was six years ago, and it has haunted Santorum ever since, serving as a lone, but serious, asterisk on his otherwise impressive conservative resume, especially given Specter's eventual switch to the Democratic Party.


On a side note congrats to Chris for having one of the best April Fools gags of the day.

Carney vs. Kanjo

The lost seat on Appropriations Committee is still sticking in the craw of Congressman Chris Carney according to Borys.

The PA delegation voted to recommend Philly area House member Patrick Murphy take the place of the late Jack Murtha. The vote was 6-4-1 with Erie Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper voting for herself. Kanjo won't say he who he voted for because it was a secret ballot and Borys asks If he voted for Mr. Carney, wouldn't he just say that?

Murphy has a relationship with Kanjo dating back to his days at Kings College and his brother JJ works for Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton.

Kanjo and Carney are tight lipped about this tiff sort of

The two congressmen refuse to say much about their spat, but their silence and veiled swipes at each other are raising eyebrows over Kanjorski's role in the recommendation and whether Northeastern Pennsylvania lost a chance at a larger share of federal funding.

Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, refuses to disclose his vote, saying it is "confidential."

"And unfortunately, the people that are talking about it obviously have interests," he said Tuesday after a public meeting at the South Side Senior Citizens Center. "And I think they've made major political errors in breaching confidential relationships."
He did not name "the people."

Carney told Norton

“I'm not going to comment on the internal workings of the delegation," Carney said to the Examiner. "What I will say is that I had counted on the support of my colleagues in maintaining geographical balance from the state on the Appropriations Committee. I will continue to do everything I can to fight to ensure projects throughout northeast and central Pennsylvania get their deserved share of federal funds. And I will always put our region ahead of politics when making these critical decisions."



The Pocono Record reports that Carney won the pork race this year pulling in $20.6 million in earmarks to Kanjorski's $17 million.

Kanjo's primary opponent, Corey O'Brien, pounced


Paul Kanjorski has still failed to provide a reason for why he voted against his neighboring Congressman, Chris Carney, who was seeking a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. That important vote wasn’t just against Chris Carney, it was against our entire region and the millions of federal dollars that could have been used here to create jobs, build infrastructure, and secure our region’s future for decades to come. So much for Kanjorski’s “seniority” as dean of the Pennsylvania delegation.

A look at the records of former Congressmen on the Appropriations Committee demonstrates just how much we may have lost:

- Congressman Dan Flood used his seniority on the House Appropriations Committee to steer I-80 and I-81 through his congressional district and ensured that Scranton and Wilkes-Barre would be connected to other major centers of commerce such as Philadelphia and New York City.

- During Joe McDade’s tenure on the same committee, he fought for the Tobyhanna Army Depot, established the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area, and created the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton.

- As chairman of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Defense, Jack Murtha controlled billions of dollars in federal defense spending.

In 2010, Paul Kanjorski’s 26 years of “seniority” resulted in fewer federal earmark dollars for our district than 2-term Congressman Chris Carney was able to secure for his district. While Carney has been working hard for his district, Kanjorski has demonstrated that he is more interested in raising money from his friends on Wall Street (over $4,000,000 and counting). And while our opponent likes to take credit for “reforming” Wall Street, he conveniently forgets to take credit for the 14 years he spent as the highest ranking Democrat overseeing the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression and allowing Wall Street’s payout of billions in bonuses.

Paul Kanjorski can talk about his “seniority,” but clearly it isn’t the kind of “seniority” our region needs or wants.

The Hook strikes again

Our own version of Batman is in the news again. Some poor guy parked in the Penn Plaza parking lot then walked across South Main St. in Wilkes-Barre to grab his lunch returning 15 minutes later to find that his car was gone. He thought is was stolen but he was just another "customer" of City Wide Towing. His lunch ended up costing him 152 bucks.

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City Wide is owned by Bob Kadluboski who was once described by Citizens Voice Columnist Mike McGlynn as the closest thing Wilkes-Barre has to a terrorist. Councilman Bill Barrett is looking to stop predatory towing.

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Kadluboski has always been a colorful character.

He has rammed his tow truck into suspected criminals and apprehended a fleeing felon at gunpoint showing his commitment to fighting crime. When his dogs escaped from his compound and mauled someone he defended them proving he is an animal rights advocate. When you have to deal with him after he towed your car a you get a lesson in customer service. He placed an ad before the 2006 election without disclosing who paid for it, and the paper that published it let him do it, affirming his commitment the first amendment. The ad was a clear violation of election law. Pennsylvania election code requires political ads to clearly identify the people or groups who pay for them. Haven't heard a thing about it since.


For all the effort W-B has made to bring people into the city it just takes an incident like this to setback years of progress.

Kanjo defends HCR

"My election is really inconsequential to good practice, good law and good healthcare in this country," Kanjorski said. "If I have to lose an election out of doing the right thing, so be it."


Take a position and defend it. Well done Uncle Paul.

Moon Lake

The Luzerne County Commissioners facing an enormous deficit eliminated funding for Moon Lake Park this year that I thought was a bad move but they had to find every savings possible. On the plus side it got rid of some dead weight on the payroll but many people enjoy the place. The Park has been reopened for limited use such as fishing but not camping and the facilities are still closed.

Another Monkey has fond memories of the park and frets what may become of it.

Our cash strapped county is looking at every possible revenue source and is looking at leasing the land for gas drilling. Sounds like a good idea, what could possibly go wrong?

The Sierra Club doesn't think it is legal for the Commissioners to lease the park for that purpose because there is a law in Pennsylvania that once land is given to a municipality or county or school district, the land is held in trust under the "Donated or Dedicated Property Act" and it becomes public use... County officials would have to go to court and prove that Moon Lake Park's original use is no longer practicable or possible, and no longer serves the public interest.


The Keep Moon Lake Park open! Facebook Page has over 4000 members and I doubt if many of them want to risk polluting the lake or the groundwater for a few bucks in the short term.


My friends Kayak Dude and Frack Mountain have documented many incidents of pollution, carelessness and regulatory failure.

As far as I can tell the PA Dept of Environmental Protection is way behind the curve and the EPA has been handcuffed regulating this activity.


My fear is that people will look at the short term dollars to be had but if our water is poisoned it will cost hundreds of billions to clean it up.

Yuddy on the air

John Yudichak is the first candidate in the State Senate 14th District race to start running a TV ad. Expect his Democratic rival Tom Leighton to follow shortly. Steve Urban is the only Republican on the ballot so I don't expect him to spend any money in this race until the fall unless he somehow gets the nod for Lt. Governor. Libertarian Betsy Summers has a big hill to climb just to get on the ballot.


The spot mixes pictures of his family with headlines that extol his virtues in opposing the pay raise and pension increase and smacks the Juvie Brothers. That's a lot to fit into 30 seconds. His YouTube channel also has another 30 second web ad and his announcement speech. The Yonk has a review.

Carney in the crosshairs

Last week Sarah Palin put up this graphic on her Facebook page sayin'

We’re paying particular attention to those House members who voted in favor of Obamacare and represent districts that Senator John McCain and I carried during the 2008 election... and we’re going to hold them accountable for this disastrous Obamacare vote. They are... Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3), Christopher Carney (PA-10)..
We’ll aim for these races and many others. This is just the first salvo in a fight to elect people across the nation who will bring common sense to Washington.

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Carney responded when he visited the Prompton Fire Department to deliver a piece of pork for new equipment.

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WNEP: "If this is what Ms. Palin is about, if she is saying we have to reload and put crosshairs on people that's beyond the pale," said Carney. "I'm happy she's doing that, actually. It helps us. "

Carney believes the health care bill will become more popular once people understand it. He said he isn't worried about Palin's plan. "If she wants to take us on based on a popular bill, please, please let her do it," the congressman said..."You can't vote worried about your career, you have to vote the right way," said Carney. "You have to vote your conscience and for me this was a vote of conscience."

I always like to nickname politicians and since Palin is gunning for him maybe we should start calling him Moose.

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Dave Madeira just about fainted over his remarks and wants to "tone down the rhetoric" because it gives "aid and comfort to anti-gunners ."

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On the health care vote Madeira pointed to a poll released by The Tarrance Group (Republican outfit) in early March that found 58 percent of likely voters in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District oppose the Obama-Pelosi health care plan that Carney voted for in November. The poll found only 28 percent of likely voters in the district support the current plan. http://www.naw.org/files/MultiDistrictHealthCareSurveyResults.pdf I'd like to see another after people find out what is actually what is in the bill.

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Is my friend David really saying that he would conduct a poll before he voted on a controversial issue before casting his vote then be guided by the result if he makes it to Congress? Government by plebliscite sounds good but is unworkable and the Constitution gave us a republic not a democracy.

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Since my friends on the right like to quote people that have been long dead I will offer this although he is not a founding father.

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Edmund Burke

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Blogger meetup post game

All I can say about the turnout is WOW! I was expecting maybe 50 people if we were lucky but the CV put the total at 125-150. Many thanks to the staff at Rooney's Irish Pub for the great service in handling the unexpected surge in business.

Now for some Gonzo Journalism with a link heavy post that I'm sure will omit someone so let me know if I missed you.

We picked up the Blogfather and headed to wilds of the Tomato Capitol arriving a few minutes after 5PM to find the place was mobbed already. I walked in the door to find my friends and regular commenters Pope George Ringo and Forest Gump set up a command post at the bar. Mrs. G sat down next to them and I immediately started working the room.

The first candidate I spotted was State Rep John Yudichak who is running for the Democratic nomination to succeed Ray Musto in the 14th District and wanted to know how I came up with nickname Yuddy for him. Actually that came from lost long blogger Bill Fitz. His Democratic opponent W-B Mayor Tom Leighton told me to expect a big announcement next week that may make some people unhappy. The Republican in the 14th Senate race Luz Co Commish Steve Urban and his wife Linda hung out all night. Urban is also running for Lt. Gov


GOP 11th CD candidate Chris Paige who dropped his bid a few days ago was there but America's Mayor took a pass. I had a nice chat with Kanjo's campaign manager Joe Werner but I didn't run into anybody from the Corey O'Brien camp. Steve said they were all at the cage fight. WTF?

All 3 candidates running in the 120th State Rep race worked the crowd. Incumbent Phyllis Mundy (D) wanted to know if I was "just blowing smoke" when I said she was my favorite house member. I assured her that I appreciate her work on health care including supporting a single payer system for PA and holding the Blue Cross not-for-profit company (?) feet to the fire. The top people of that company can be paid 6 or 7 figure salary's while building up a surplus far in excess what is required by law then hand it out for various projects. Republican West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy promised a vigorous campaign. The Libertarian candidate Tim Mullen
is very interesting . The Greens and Libertarians always run candidates for office that are long shots like President, Senator or Governor. My advice to them has been to build a bench by geting candidates to run for a local post like council, school board, state rep, etc. He is doing that.

118th State Rep Mike Carroll and Monroe County's Terrance O'Conner made the rounds.


121th Jim O'Meara was available he is taking on Eddie Day who didn't show up.

119th Gary Zingaretti and Bob Morgan booked interviews. I was very disappointed that Mullery didn't make it.

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From Lackawanna County we had 114th State House candidate John Moran and State Senate
hopeful Frank Scavo.

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Jake Digel brought a posse that is supporting Senator Arlen Specter and Mike Dineen was their plugging Dan Onorato for Governor.

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Past candidates Joe Terrana and Dr Joe Leonardi joined into the fun along with Terry Best, Pittston Mayor Jason Klush and Exeter Mayor Casandra Coleman.

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A few State Committee candidates made the rounds including Sabrina McLaughlin and Tom Shibulla. I don't pay much attention to those races but anyone who is running for a spot on the GOP or Dem State Committees is welcome to do a guest post.

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Who did I miss?

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Elizabeth Skrapits has nice write-up in the Citizens Voice. My Cover is blown.

Candidates meet the faces behind the screen names



Bill O'Boyle of the TL was also there gathering info for a future story.

The bloggers report:

Lu Lac

Not Cease

Circumlocution

Another Monkey

ABFS

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Norton

Pittston Politics

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NEPArtisan

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Photo's can viewed at this link.

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The next Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society will be at Mark's Pub in May to watch the Kentucky Derby like we have done for the last 13 years.

I think that since this was such a success the next mega-meetup will scheduled for the fall and we will invite not only the locals but statewide candidates.

Happy Hour today

The next blogger meetup will be Friday March 26th at Rooney's Irish Pub 67 S. Main St. Pittston, PA 18704 starting at 5PM. There is big bar area with tables off to the side and plenty of free parking across the street where the Tomato Festival is held.

Our local internet scribes will be out in force along with our friends and many candidates with their supporters have confirmed that they will be attending.

Two questions have come up.

What is the dress code?

Yes, you must wear clothes even if it is warm out. Bloggers used to be known for writing while wearing their pajamas but I think that stereotype can be put to rest.

Sue wants to know if Big Dan is really the illegitimate son of the Mean Old Man?

Show up and find out.

Kanjo doesn't back Carney?

PoliticsPA: Murphy gets appropriations nod from Pa. Democrats


Murphy won the recommendation over U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, himself a two-term congressman who represents northeast Pennsylvania. The two men and U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper were vying for the position.

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorksi appears to have cast the deciding vote in Murphy’s favor, which might surprise some political observers. Kanjorski and Carney represent adjacent congressional districts, meaning Carney’s newfound clout could have benefited the region Kanjorski represents. The two congressman, in fact, represent two of the same counties: Lackawanna and Luzerne.

UPDATE: A spokeswoman for Kanjorski tells PoliticsPA that the vote was taken by a secret ballot, meaning the other congressmen and women in the room did not necessarily know who voted for whom. She declined to deny Kanjorski voted for Murphy, saying she did not know who the congressman supported.


The last 2 Republican Congressmen from the 10th District, Don Sherwood and Joe McDade, had a seat on this committee and the late Jack Murtha wanted Carney on the panel. The late, great Dan Flood was the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations sub-committee for many years.

I have asked both press flacks for the Congressmen for comment and will post their responses when/if I get them.

PA Senate 14th District

TL: Pittston Township union representative Michael Saporito on Wednesday filed to withdraw from his candidacy for the 14th Senatorial District seat, according to a primary withdrawal list posted on the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Web site.

I spent a few days trying to find out some info about this guy is and came up empty. Saporito's petitions were being challenged by the Yudichak camp according to PittstonPolitics.com.

So that leaves 2 local Democratic heavyweights looking for the nomination to succeed Ray Musto. I must say that I'm surprised that there are not more people running for this seat on both sides. Of the the 4 people looking to go to Harrisburg I can honestly say I like them all and will be neutral in the race.

When you compare the job that Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton has done with the record of his predecessor you have to be impressed. He restored the bond rating of the city and added to the ranks of the police department. The downtown has seen more businesses open than close and it's not a ghost town after dark anymore. The trash is picked up on time and the streets are plowed when it snows. There have been some sore spots like the Heights fire house closing and staff reductions in that department. Yes, he has raised taxes because it was the responsible thing to do because we don't want to go back to the days of taking 3 tax anticipation notes in one year.

State Rep John Yudichak knocked off Stanley Jarolin in the 1998 Democratic primary and has been reelected easily since. Jarolin was best known for keeping us informed on which streams would be stocked with trout but not much else. He has had some significant achievements in his time in the State House including ending the unemployment penalty for people on Social Security. He refused to take the the 2AM payraise and has proposed legislation to end the per diem abuse.

A comment on a previous post said Word around Wilkes-Barre is that Leighton thinks he has the Senator seat in the bag already. His camp thinks that Kanjo is going to deliver it for him and he is going to deliver the Congressional race for Kanjo. They don't think Yudichak has a chance.

This is silly. Kanjo in another fight for his political life so he doesn't need to get mixed up in other races even if we all know that Kanjo and Yuddy don't exchange Christmas cards anymore. The last politician around here that could deliver a race was Marty Murray and those days are long gone.

Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban is the only Republican running for the State Senate seat but he is also running for Lt. Governor. I couldn't find a Urban for Senate website but did come across one for his Lt. Gov bid. Steve is the only one that I have voted for in the last 2 county commissioner general elections. He says he would be able to argue for county governments across the Commonwealth when Harrisburg decides to pass yet another unfunded mandate that passes the cost on to local government.

In the fall we will also be able to vote for a Libertarian candidate provided she gets enough signatures before August 1st. It won't be easy because the Dems and Reps have set an almost impossible number for 3rd party candidates to get on the ballot. Betsy Summers has run for a few offices before and was a member of the last Luzerne County Government Study Commission.


Note: All 4 candidates are threatening to show up at our blogger get together this Friday in Pittston.


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It's a gas

According to a flack from the American Petroleum Institute the fracking process of getting natural gas out of the ground will not pollute the drinking water in the area. Ask the people of Dimock in Susquehanna County about that. She claims that there is enough regulations in place by the PA Department of Environmental Protection although the DEP has been playing catchup. They don't have enough inspectors to deal with what has been already approved and the latest state budget calls for drilling in state parks in Harrisburg's never ending quest for more revenue. Now they think that table games at the casinos will be the salvation but that is a different subject.

Sara Banaszak argues that a severance tax like just about every other state imposes will drive drillers away. I doubt that because there is to much money to be made. She also said the EPA should not get involved and Congress should keep the exemption to the Clean Water Act that Haliburton's chief lobbyist Dick Cheney got passed.

There is a bill in Congress to give the EPA jurisdiction over this called the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act. The last time I talked to Congressman Chris Carney he was noncommittal on this bill. That's a surprise.

He gave us this statement:



Washington, D.C.—Congressman Carney (PA-10) released the following statement today in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement that it will conduct a comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health.

“Ensuring our community has safe drinking water in the midst of our natural gas boom is of significant concern to me and my staff and I welcome the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement that it will conduct a comprehensive study to review the effects of hydraulic fracturing. I supported legislation last year directing the EPA to conduct this analysis so that we can determine whether the fracking process requires more federal oversight.

The Marcellus Shale has presented our region with a tremendous economic opportunity and we must take every step necessary to ensure that the health of our families is not compromised as a result.”


Sorry Chris but this is mush. The state and federal governments need to get a handle on this before this turns into another environmental disaster on the scale of what happened in the last 2 centuries as a result of coal mining. We can live without a lot of things but clean water is not one of them.

I haven't been paying as close attention to this issue as I should but my blog buddies have and they can explain more about this issue than I can .

See

Susquehanna River Sentinel


Frack Mountain

Paige out

Chris Paige has dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination in the 11th CD. That makes Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta the presumptive nominee to face Paul Kanjorski or Corey O'Brien in the fall.




His statement:

Goodbye & Farewell


Recently, Mayor Lou Barletta decided to transform our primary fight into a legal dispute. Although I am confident that I would prevail, I am equally confident that a protracted legal battle would not advance the causes I believe in, and - ultimately - those issues are more important than my personal political fortunes.

I began this race because I had something important to say about the bailouts and their moral, economic and political costs to our society and because I was alarmed by the dangerous ongoing transformation in our country and its politics, and I sincerely regret that I won't have an opportunity to continue fighting for you and for the ideals we share. Realistically, I knew the forces in favor of plundering our wealth and subverting our democracy were likely to prevail in the end, but I believed that I had been called to try, and I tried with everything I had. Mother Theresa said it best, "God doesn't require that you succeed; He only requires that you try." And, by that standard, we won - we kept the faith, and we fought for what we know is true.

While I was campaigning, I met a great many people in desperate need of help, and I tried my best to represent them and their needs. I am profoundly sorry that I failed them and you, but the fight must go on. The continuing assaults on our liberties and our prosperity has claimed and will claim millions of victims, and those victims and their families deserve our support. Short of illness, nothing inflicts more damage upon a person and his or her family than job loss, so I always remembered that the fight against job-killing big-government policies was a fight to defend people, not economic abstractions. To me, this was not an intellectual debate; it was a fight to save my friends' jobs and my neighbors' homes and our society's freedom, and I only regret that I could not do more.

And to all of my friends and supporters, let me thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I am truly humbled and deeply honored by your friendship, and I profoundly regret that I was unable to justify the faith you placed in me. My wife and I need some time alone to grieve the loss of our child, but when that time has passed, we will organize a small party as a token of our appreciation for your hard work and sacrifice. No man is a failure who has won friends like you!

Again, I thank you all for your support and friendship, and I wish you all the best!

Goodbye and farewell,

Chris Paige

Luzerne County Home Rule

The Luzerne County Government Study Commission has been busy writing a new charter for county government since being elected last fall. They have adhered to a tight schedule with the goal of putting a plan on the ballot this November even working through a major snowstorm when some members couldn't make it to the meeting.

I was a big proponent of the last plan that called for an elected county executive and a 9 member council with 6 positions elected by district and 3 at-large. It met the goal of separating the legislative and executive functions of the present 3 Commissioner system plus it got rid of electing row officers.

I have some reservations about what they are cooking up this time. My biggest objection is not having an elected but appointed county manager. I don't like having a "Mayor of the County"that is not accountable to the voters. If they think that politics won't be a factor in hiring a county manager I have a bridge in Alaska that I would like to sell you.

An 11 member council elected at-large I can live with but I would prefer to see less members. And they won't have offices or clerks is a worry. Eleven part time people with outside interests will need a staff to keep tabs on things.


The part I like is that the coroner, register of wills, recorder of deeds, treasurer and sheriff would all be hired based on qualifications not elected. These are management/clerk positions with no policy responsibility. After all there is no Republican or Democratic way to perform an autopsy or register a will. Right now the row officers are not accountable to anyone so when nonsense like what has been going on in the sheriff's office or a row officer is spotted selling used cars on company time they can't be disciplined or fired if the infraction is serious enough.


Study commission members Rick Heffron said everything the commission has done so far can be changed.

I will await the final product before deciding whether or not I will support it.

Blogger meetup

The next blogger meetup will be Friday March 26th at Rooney's Irish Pub 67 S. Main St. Pittston, PA 18704 starting at 5PM. There is big bar area with tables off to the side and plenty of free parking across the street where the Tomato Festival is held. It's easy to find just drive north on River Street from W-B and it's on the left.

It looks like we will have a good turnout. So far I have received confirmation from about 15 campaigns for Congress, State Senate and State House that the candidate and/or supporters will be attending. That includes Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Pastafarians.

Our political bloggers from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties will be there along with our readers, commenters and people who are just interested in local politics.


This is an informal mixer with no speeches scheduled. There is no charge for admission.

Thanks to my colleagues for promoting the event.

Coal Region Voice

PittstonPolitics

Another Monkey

NEPA Blogs

Not Cease From Exploration

Circumlocution for Dummies

NEPartisan

StopLouBarletta.com

A Big Fat Slob

The Lu Lac Political Letter

Scranton Public Policy Examiner


Thanks to the local papers for publishing the announcement.

Political Scene

Bloggers to host area candidates at Rooney’s

This event is sanctioned by the Northeast Blogging Council and the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society.

Kanjorski is a yes

WASHINGTON - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) provided the following statement explaining how he will vote for the health care reform bill. The bill will be voted on later this evening.

"Today I will vote for legislation designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of health care. Americans already spend more on health care than the people of any other nation. If we take no action, health care costs are expected to double over the next ten years, just as they have over the last ten years. It is not the bill I would have written if it were up to me alone, but it is the best we can do at this time.

"This was one of the most difficult votes I have ever cast, primarily because there is a great deal of confusion about what this bill will do. Senior citizens do not have to worry about losing any benefits because of this bill. In fact, their coverage for prescription drug costs and preventative care will improve. No federal funding will be used to fund abortion. The bill does not empower the federal government to take over health care. If people are happy with the insurance they have, nothing needs to change.

"However, this bill allows the American people to choose the health insurance plan that best fits individual and family needs by creating a marketplace of insurance plans. For too long, private insurance companies have monopolized how health insurance operates. This bill attempts to rein in those private insurers by prohibiting their most egregious abuses: denying coverage for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, imposing a lifetime cap on medical care, and limiting the ability of individuals to change jobs without the fear of losing insurance coverage. It will also enable young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.

"I thank the many Northeastern Pennsylvanians who have shared their thoughts with me on this important legislation over the past few months. When you are sick, the last thing you should have to worry about is how to pay the bills. Insurance is supposed to relieve this worry, but instead the current system has made that worry worse. Today, we are working to reverse this course."

The Democratic leadership ditched the Demon Pass approach that had so many of my Republican friends knickers in a twist. So the House will pass the Senate bill and after the President signs it that will be the law of the land. A separate bill to be sent to the Senate to fix the differences but even if they screw it up health care reform has passed.

This is a big win for President Obama, the Democratic Party and most importantly the American people. I hope that the news coverage will switch from process stories to explaining the benefits but I won't hold my breath. Right now Fox News is is off the air on my cable system which is probably a local problem but it could be that all their heads have exploded and took out the electronics.


ABFS, LuLac and LVR have been doing the play by play all day.


From one of my favs in Congress Allyson Schwartz:

Families across our nation understand that the status quo in health care is unacceptable and unsustainable.
And, they have called upon us - through millions of supportive calls, emails, and messages to Congress - to pass a uniquely American solution to ensure that all Americans have access to meaningful, affordable health coverage.
That moment is now.
It is time to put American families – not insurance companies - in control of their own health care.

It is time to hold insurance companies accountable to keep premiums down and prohibit the denial of care and coverage.

It is time to ensure that Americans have access to affordable health insurance choices.

It is time to finally fix the Medicare prescription drug gap, known as the donut hole, and provide seniors with greater access to preventive and primary care.

It is time to contain the rising cost of health care for Americans, and reduce the deficit for our nation by $1.2 trillion.

Later today, Congress will take action to bring down health care costs for middle income families, help small businesses afford coverage for their employees, improve coverage for seniors, reign in wasteful spending, and provide access to coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans.
This vote comes after hundreds of hours of debate, meetings, and bipartisan dialogue.
In the 13th Congressional District, health care reform will improve coverage for 443,000 residents, provide tax credits and other assistance to 135,000 families and 15,000 small businesses to help them afford coverage, and improve Medicare for 115,000 beneficiaries.

Carney is a yes

I just got this statement. That's a relief because if he voted No I was prepared to endorse Dave Madeira.



WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Carney (PA-10) today made the following statement with regard to the health insurance reform bill Congress will take up on Sunday:

“We’ve been through a long, difficult debate over health care. I’ve listened to my constituents through 14 town halls and thousands of phone calls, personal visits and letters. I’ve talked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. And I’ve heard from health care experts, economists, and the Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the cost of the program.

Throughout this debate I have focused on several overarching priorities and I believe, after careful review, that this bill addresses them. This measure denies insurers the ability to reject coverage to people with so-called ‘pre-existing conditions,’ a common sense provision that, as a cancer survivor, I feel particularly strongly about. Covering maternity care will no longer be optional for insurers; pregnant women and their unborn children will be guaranteed coverage when they need it most. And the arbitrary and exorbitant insurance premium increases that have hamstrung small businesses and working families will no longer be possible.

This bill takes critical steps toward providing quality, affordable health care while reducing the cost burden on our hardworking families and small businesses. It does so in a fiscally responsible manner, reducing the deficit by an estimated $138 billion over the first 10 years and an additional $1.2 trillion in the following decade.This bill also continues the longstanding ban on public funding for abortion, a factor that weighed heavily on my mind in recent days.

I am voting for this legislation because all Americans should have the same insurance choices enjoyed by members of Congress and their families. If it’s good enough for members of Congress, it is good enough for the people they represent.”


Slobby is predicting that Paul Kanjoski will vote no to protect Sallie Mae

HCR down to the wire

The House vote is scheduled for Sunday right now but that may change and our 2 local Congresscritter's voted for the bill the first time. They have been listed as undecided in all the whip count stories that I have read over the last few days but I would be surprised and very disappointed if they vote against it.

Tonight the Wapo is reporting that Paul Kanjoski will vote for the bill.


Eight others who had said they were undecided -- Reps. Brad Ellsworth (Ind.), Bob Etheridge (N.C.) Paul Kanjorski (Pa.) Mary Jo Kilroy (Ohio), David Obey (Wis.), John Spratt (S.C.), Dina Titus (Nev.) and Charlie Wilson (Ohio) -- said they would vote yes as well.

I will try to confirm this later today.

Chris Carney remains "undecided" about the latest national health insurance bill. As of Friday afternoon, he said he still was listening to what "both sides of the issue" were saying and was studying the legislation.

Carney sent out another press release yesterday slamming the big business special interest groups that are running ads in the district.



WASHINGTON – Congressman Carney today called out the hypocrisy of an ad campaign running in the 10th district funded by a group that has repeatedly fought on behalf of big tobacco interests. This is the very same industry that profits from giving people cancer, yet the group Americans for Prosperity has bought huge amounts of additional ad time to try to scare the public about health insurance reform.

Congressman Carney today made the following statement:

“I find it unconscionable that this group is putting huge sums of money behind a TV ad with the sole intent of trying to scare the people of the 10th Congressional District by falsely implying that mammograms were going to be denied to women under 50 years of age.

Their claims are entirely misleading, and are nothing but a callous attempt to scare women, cancer survivors and their families. The Web site Politifact.com rated the ad a “Pants on Fire” lie.

As a cancer survivor, I find it outrageous that this group would try to scare people in such a manipulative way. But even more appalling is that tobacco companies spent decades lying to the American people about the cancer causing effects of smoking.

The fact that this group has repeatedly fought for big tobacco and now wants to kill health insurance reform tells me that they have no interest in fighting cancer but rather solely in protecting profits.

Big health insurers are also spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in our region to pressure my vote. I can’t understand how big health insurers can raise rates in some cases by 39 percent and then rationalize spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns to mislead the public. These big health insurers should be spending their money to give families and small businesses lower rates.
Here’s my challenge: If these companies are serious about helping people who have cancer, take these ads down and spend the money covering people, not covering up the truth.

I won't be bullied by special interests and I certainly won't be bullied by insurance companies and tobacco companies. I am going to do what I believe is the right thing to do for the central and northeastern Pennsylvanians and I am going to listen to the people of Pennsylvania who don't have the money for lobbyists or television ads."



Passing this bill is both good policy and good politics. It's good politics because you can't spend a year on one of the Democratic Party's top policy goals for decades and come up empty. It will make the Democratic Congress look stupid and ineffective dealing a body blow to the President.

It's good policy because it opens the door to further reforms to the health care system.

Ezra Klein lists the immediate benefits:


Legislation that covers 32 million people. A world in which 95 percent of all non-elderly, legal residents have health-care coverage. An end to insurers rescinding coverage for the sick, or discriminating based on preexisting conditions, or spending 30 cents of each premium dollar on things that aren't medical care. Exchanges where insurers who want to jack up premiums will have to publicly explain their reason, where regulators will be able to toss them out based on bad behavior, and where consumers will be able to publicly rate them. ... The final closure of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit's "doughnut hole."

.. you also get the single most ambitious effort the government has ever made to control costs in the health-care sector. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill cuts deficits by $130 billion in the first 10 years, and up to $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years. The excise tax is now indexed to inflation, rather than inflation plus one percentage point, and the subsidies grow more slowly over time. So one of the strongest cost controls just got stronger, and the automatic spending growth slowed. And then there are all the other cost controls in the bill: The Medicare Commission, which makes entitlement reform much more possible. The programs to begin paying doctors and hospitals for care rather than volume. The competitive insurance market.

This bill is not perfect but it will do a lot of good. My advice to Kanjo and Carney is vote for reform and defend your position.

Update: Kanjorski's office tells me that the Wapo story is incorrect. He is still undecided.

St Patrick's Day past

Poetry from the inbox




THE DARK OVERCOMES THE GREEN

I recall so clearly on that cold green night

The echo of frightened squalors

Looking for some light of hope.

The circled dance of the damned raged at the other Pub

Where safety reigned and water was rampant

For those who were the sires failed to appear elsewhere

And the fires that waited in the darkness knew.

Tonight, Jerry doth not sleep!

“Dance!, Dance!, Dance!!” cried the stately prince.

Whilst embracing the swine beneath his floor.

Let Jim be the diplomat as we bargain our fate.

Upon the hill the Pub of giants was sulking in its memories;

For its brethren had chosen abandonment over loyalty.

Memories of Duffy’s cries of knowledge and Richard’s moans of pain;

Surely, are we not all profiled in the eyes of the evil Prince????

The morose silence broken with a ray of light from Dante’s boardroom.

THE dark sky broken up with sights of past and present agonies burning.

Like marshmallows and Styrofoam on a summer grill.

Tonight Jerry rises from his ashes and adorns his jogging suit. Jerry doth not sleep tonight!!!

As the other Pub turned out its lights and the prince embarked to subterranean perversion the Pub on the hill was now a living value of soot and broken granite.

The roast beef Sodom and Gomorrah that followed was soon crushed by the aching memories of lost souls yearning for consumption of forbidden beverages and not the conversation of fair-weather drinkers. Joe’s toupee could not hold the ravaged spirit back. No roast beef today or ever!

As nearly 15 years has now gone the past is surely the present today. St. Patrick had his snakes and Jerry has his demons. Indictments flow from the land of milk and honey. Indictments are ripples of revenge for the dark light of a night not soon forgotten.

The prince flies low today; but he still flies and you best understand the fact. A badge does not erase the miseries caused; of words of comparison to Sigourney Weaver and the fair maiden Colleen; but there is no screening of Alien tonight. Only death.

Tonight, Jerry doth not sleep.

Nor do we!!!!

Ballot Challenges

According to the PA Department of State website 11th CD Republican candidate Chris Paige's nominating petitions are being challenged by Wm Maughan, Maureen Ace and Robert Ace. According to pa2010.com One of them is being represented by Lawrence Tabas, a Philadelphia lawyer who also serves as general counsel to the state GOP, which is firmly behind Barletta.

No surprise really because trying to knock your primary opponents is part of the game. I expected the Corey O'Brien camp to challenge Brian Kelly's signatures.


Paige responded to the challenge in the pa2010 comments:

Since I haven’t been served with either complaint, I can’t comment beyond the obvious: this is a deplorable cowardly move that flatly contradicts Mr. Barletta’s frequent comments to the media that he welcomed additional challengers into the race. Assuming this report is correct, we are pleased that discovery will allow us to investigate Mr. Barletta’s own activities.

McGruff admits that the Barletta campaign has information that provide the basis for the challenge.

In the Senate race Joe Sestak wants Joe Vodvarka off the ballot so people don't have 2 choices in voting against Arlen Specter.

Challengers

In 2008 not one of our Democratic members of the PA State House from Luzerne County had a Republican opponent. This year all 6 seats that that I keep track of will be contested in the fall.

The only open seat is the 119th District were we have Republican candidate Rick Arnold and 3 Dems in what promises to be a spirited primary to succeed John Yudichak who is running for the State Senate. The Democratic contenders are recent Controller candidate Bob Morgan, Bear Creek Surpervisor Gary Zingaretti and Attorney Gerald Mullery.

In the 12oth Phyllis Mundy will be facing Republican West Pittston Mayor Bill Goldsworthy and Libertarian Tim Mullen.

Majority Leader Todd Eachus has represented the 116th since 1997 and now finds himself up to his ass in alligators over the Bonusgate scandal. He will have to get past Republican attorney Tarah Toohill in the fall.

Pittston Rep Mike Carroll had a primary challenge from young PJ Best 2 years ago in the 118th but no opposition in the fall. Republican Terrance O'Conner will not get him a free pass this time.

Eddie Day Pashinski defeated former reformer Christine Katsock (we dodged a bullet there) in the 2006 election to succeed Kevin Blaum who was one of the best people we ever sent to Harrisburg. Fellow Plains Twp resident Jim O'Meara will snag the Republican nomination in the 121st.

Lackawanna corruption

The US Attorney's office is promising some some big news later today in Lackawanna County. Whatever else he did I think that former Commissioner Bob Cordaro should be dragged through the streets for chasing the Red Barons out of town.


TT: A federal grand jury in Scranton indicted Lackawanna County Commissioner A.J. Munchak and former Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro this morning on public corruption charges.

Both are indicted on charges of racketeering and tax evasion. Mr. Cordaro faces a maximum of 364 years and a $7.7 million fine if convicted. Mr. Munchak faces 193 years and a $3.25 million fine.

Click here to read the indictment

Homeless Vets

This is a guest post.



We Must Do More for Homeless Veterans

Last summer I volunteered for the NEPA Veterans Multicare Alliance and the LC Veteran Affairs office. I was surprised to learn that over 100k veterans are without permanent housing. That over one in three homeless men are vets. I feel this is immoral. If we asked someone to risk their life for our country, then are we not obligated to ensure they at least have a home? This is another reason I am voting for Joe Sestak for Senate.

The retired 3-star Navy admiral traveled five cities across Pennsylvania last week to bring the homeless veterans issues to the public. Traveling with members of Vet Vision, a national veterans advocacy group and publication that endorsed his Senate bid, Sestak warned that with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans more likely than veterans of any other conflict to end up on the streets, we must do all we can to prevent that from happening.


The leading voice on this issue in Congress, Sestak has already taken steps to help the Obama Administration’s goal of eliminating veteran homelessness within five years, including supporting the Veterans Bill of Rights, introducing legislation to increase housing assistance and getting additional funding to treat combat-related mental illnesses.


I don't need to point out to your readers what these people have done. We should be treating them as heroes. Why do our governments act as though we don't even owe them a decent home?

Thanks

Austin Smith Ford
Mountain Top

Carney to Health Insurance Companies-Buzz off

A TV ad sponsored by an outfit calling itself The League of American voters has been airing on local cable and broadcast stations this last week asking people to call Congressman Chris Carney to tell him to vote no on the on "the Obama-Pelosi Plan" for healthcare reform. It is full of the usual lies and distortions (transcript here) and the LAV is headed up by that man of integrety Dick Morris. It is a 501(c)4 organization that is not required to disclose donors but you can guess where the money is coming from. Wherever you are on political spectrum I think we can all agree that if an organization runs a political spot we should be told who is paying for it. Congress really needs to amend the law especially after the Citizens United decision by the activist Supreme Court that overturned the will of the legislature and it's own precedents.


Instead of convincing Carney to vote against the bill it sounds like the ad pissed him off. I got this press release on Friday.




CARNEY: BIG HEALTH INSURERS SHOULD BE ASHAMED

Carney calls out insurance executives for running national ads in the 10th District



CLARKS SUMMIT – Congressman Carney (PA-10) released the following statement in response to the four ad campaigns funded by big health insurance companies that are running in the 10th District:

"I appreciate the input I have been getting on both sides of the health care debate. But I find it appalling that the hardworking families of the 10th district have to compete with big health insurance companies to get their voices heard. Big health insurance companies are seeking to use scare tactics to influence my vote. There are at least four national groups funded by big insurers that have poured more than $267,000 into our district. I represent the people of central and northeastern Pennsylvania, not insurance executives.


These big insurers should be ashamed. People getting dropped from their coverage because of preexisting conditions don't have millions of dollars to spend on TV ads. How many of those people could have been covered by the millions of dollars insurance companies are spending to organize and advertise against health care reform?

As I've said throughout this debate, I will judge every plan based on whether it increases affordability, denies insurers the option of rejecting people with preexisting conditions and enables people to take their insurance with them when they change jobs. We must also protect coverage for our seniors and ensure that federal funds can’t go to pay for abortions.

It is time to give families the choices that they have been badly lacking and bring affordability into a system that has run out of control.”

Carney voted for the bill the first time around and it sounds like he will vote for it again despite all the national publications that list him as undecided. I made my view clear to the Congressman last week and have told Paul Kanjorski's office the same thing. Pass the damn bill. It's not perfect but can be improved on just like Social Security and Medicare have been over the years. Their Republican opponents are going to slam them for voting for it the first time and if they vote no this time they will look weak ala John Kerry. I voted for it before I voted against it.

I usually look at the overall voting record knowing that our reps will sometimes vote for or against things that I disagree with but this is a litmus test with me. If a Democratic Congress can't get this done it shows that they are not fit to govern.

You Tube weekend

We are inspired by each other. Blog buddy Steve of Not Cease From Exploration today wrote a about dispute between the record company EMI and the band Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd won the argument.

A long time ago I travelled from Omaha to Los Angeles to see the Pink Floyd Wall show and then got to see it in London a few months later. It was the best rock concert I have ever seen.





EMI has had disputes with other artists such as the Sex Pistols who wrote a song about it.

Blogger meetup

The next blogger meetup will be Friday March 26th at Rooney's Irish Pub 67 S. Main St. Pittston, PA 18704 starting at 5PM.

I scouted out the place today and it's perfect for us. There is big bar area with tables off to the side and plenty of free parking across the street where the Tomato Festival is held. It's easy to find just drive north on River Street from W-B and it's on the left. Mapquest it. The DJ doesn't start until 8:30PM so we won't be blasted out. The menu looks good with everything from sit down dinners to bar food and munchies. For those who want to light up a smoking station is right outside the front door.

The menu