Joe Sestak defends criminal trials for foreign enemy combatants and giving them same civil rights as Americans. And even defends trying them in Pennsylvania. Joe Sestak is to Left of Ed Rendell and Bob Casey in step with Obama Administration’s Eric Holder. Sestak is supporting trials for violent Jihadists and his connections to CAIR are to be noted. Oddly, and it may be once in our lifetime, Ed Rendell and Pat Toomey agree. Military Tribunals for Jihadists, at war with America.

 

Scott Ott Scrapple Face

Against all odds, against popular incumbent, with nearly no money against an incumbent’s campaign cash of about quarter million dollars. A very long shot almost comes in. Ideas nearly overcome incumbent’s natural advantage as well as campaign cash of about $727,000 against virtually nothing for challenger Scott Ott. Scott Ott’s campaign was to expose the fact that during Executive Cunningham’s term, the incumbent over spent revenues every year depleting substantial surplus reserves. In addition, Scott Ott presented a positive plan to address the budget issues facing Lehigh County: how to deliver basic services without straining The Forgotten Taxpayer.

“The final tally had me and incumbent County Executive Don Cunningham separated by only 870 votes out of 41,228 cast. His margin of victory came entirely from urban precincts where Democrats outnumber Republicans by three or four to one. Among the 30,000 or so voters who live outside of Allentown, I received about 2,500 more votes than he did.
FYI   300,000 people live in Lehigh County with 224,000 registered voters ( which seems like a high percentage registered to population ).  In November 2008, 152,473 votes were cast for Presidential candidates in Lehigh County.     Lehigh County’s Budget is approximately  $412,000,000 in 2010  Montgomery County, with population of 700,000 has a budget of $403,000,000

Filled with pro-life zeal, Stupak returned from his district and was led by his supporters into the Congress for forty days, to be tempted by Obama. Though under intense pressure to do so, he voted for no health care bill during those days, and when they were over he was exhausted. Obama said to him, [...]

Black students go on rampage at Philadelphia High School, beat 26 Asian students It is unconscionable that we, as a community, force mothers to send their children to unsafe schools. Parental choice is needed so kids are safe and so they can learn.

The Inquirer did not mention race of attackers and cbs3 “misstated” the facts and said the rampage was “white and black”. The school is less than 5% white. Expansion of School Choice, including letting students attend government schools outside their zip codes, is an ideas whose time has come. The Teachers’ Unions and the Education Establishment are committed to status quo. Children are being attacked. Time for a change.

It is an unconscionable tragedy that we force parents to send their kids to taxpayer supported, government schools like this where they are beaten and harassed regularly. Charter Schools and School Choice offer a viable alternative and discrimination by zip code allows this to happen. Schools in adjacent communities need to be open to these students who want and need and are willing to work hard to learn. Thugs and criminals need not apply. End Zip Code Discrimination in government monopoly, taxpayer funded, “public” school.

Students at a Philadelphia high school claim they are being targeted by gangs at their school because they are Asian. As a precaution, there was an increased police presence at South Philadelphia High School on Friday. It is disgusting disgrace that we force mothers to send their kids to schools where they get beaten up. Time for School Choice. The immigrant community are natural Free Market Limited Government entrepreneurs and there are those who are reaching out. These legal immigrants are more Constitutional Americans than native Americans. My immigrant grandparents came to US for work not welfare of which there was none.

I love that photo - it's like the three faces of Eve as far as female journalists. You have the super God Fearing Stand By That Cheatin' Man Wife of Male Slut Dawn Stensland next to Never Met Another Woman's Man She Didn't Want to Screw Divorces with Great Drama and Cha Ching Monica Malpass. The only normal one is that Connie Colla, now a real estate maven.Anyway, we all lived through the drama

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, of course, but jeeez. Under Pennsylvania liquor law, manufacturers of malt or brewed beverages must pay a $75 annual fee to register each brand. About 2,800 beers are now registered in the state; manufacturers submit applications to the liquor board, showing the agreement they have with the wholesaler. In the [...]

These lovely old houses are in Narberth.  One of the nicest small towns in America.

A massive compilation of links to information on historical subjects. The quality varies, but there are some real gems. Check it out here.

I guess Tim Burns never should have created those jobs in the first place… The DCCC wasted no time attacking 12th Congressional district candidate Tim Burns for selling his pharmacy tech company.  The Democrats are once again showing their true nature as haters of free-market capitalism. See, Burns created a product that had others were willing to [...]

The Daily Numbers: 25,000 unsecured bail for former Ridley Officer Brian Decker, who was held for trial on charges he assaulted a female clerk at a Wawa.
278.80 more in taxes residents likely will pay under the new Norwood budget. At least one resident doesn’t like it a bit and has put up signs in his front yard to let borough officials know how he feels about the tax hike.
5 inches of rain that could fall on the region this weekend. Hey, it could be worse. That would equate to 50 inches of snow.
18 years, how long state Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland has represented the 159th District. He’s running again.
13, age of child believe to be with a man who may have fled the country after police say they found child porn on his computer in his Upper Darby home.
4 signatures on the nominating petitions of 7th District GOP hopeful Pat Meehan that his camp believe are “questionable.”
200,000 dollar winning ticket sold in the Powerball lottery in Media. It didn’t hit the big jackpot, however. That will soar to close to $200 million Saturday night.
3.4 million dollars in tax receipts that turned up in Philly, but which was never deposited. Amazing that can happen in a city that is broke.
2 more 15-year-old girls who are now claiming a sexual relationship with a former school janitor in Downingtown.
72 percent hike in the cost of pension for employees looming in the Springfield School District.
120 million dollar deficit in Philly that has pols there talking about either hiking taxes or laying off workers.
31 young people hauled into court yesterday to face charges in ‘flash mob’ incident. One juvenile pleaded guilty.
600 local GM dealerships that will get a 2nd chance from the carmaker as they revise the number of sites that will be closed.
1 school bus and 1 car that collided yesterday afternoon in Schwenksville, resulting in several minor injuries.
1 person shot last night in Norristown.
3 people killed by trains across the region yesterday, 1 in Philly, 1 near Trenton, and 1 near East Orange, N.J.
300 pounds of pot found in a raid of a home in Reading.
3 of top 4 seeds to go down in the Big East Tourney. Put Villanova on that list. They’re 1 and done.
80-76 loss for the Wildcats to Marquette, who they beat 2 times this year.
5-1 thumping for the Flyers at the hands of the Bruins.
4 strong innings for Joe Blanton as the Phils shut out the Tigers in Florida yesterday.
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Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.Why do I suddenly get the feeling that Temple just might be the best team in the city?
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I Don’t Get It: Jihad Jane? Now we’re hearing about a suspected ‘Jihad Joe’ from Jersey. I don’t get it.
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Today’s Upper: Yes, it’s likely going to rain all weekend. It could be worse. That rain could be snow.
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Quote Box: “Brian Decker enjoys the same rights that we all do, and that is a presumption of innocence until all the evidence comes out.
- Defense attorney John List, after preliminary hearing for his client, former Ridley police officer Brian Decker.

I guess all the people who insist we’re in the pocket of the Ridley Police Department will have to find something else to complain about today.

Now who would that be plastered all over the front page of the newspaper? Well, that would be none other than former Ridley Township Officer Brian Decker.

This all started back in November, when an incident involving Decker and a female clerk at the Wawa across the street from the police station first came to light.

My legions of critics insisted that we were downplaying the story, in part because we were in cahoots with Ridley police.

Decker eventually was charged with assault. He checked into rehab and was formally arraigned on the charges about a week later. But his preliminary hearing had been continued several times. I get the feeling from some readers that we’re to blame for that, too.

This new, cozy relationship might come as news to Capt. Charles Howley, the top cop in the township. I like the guy, but we’ve had more than our share of disagreements.

Specifically, our critics noted that we had not run a photo of Decker, and it was not featured on the front page of the paper, as is the case with so many other criminal suspects.

They were right about that. But not for the reason they believed. They think we didn’t use a photo on purpose, that we were trying to protect Decker, and the Ridley police.

Not exactly.

The truth is we didn’t have his photo. There was a high school yearbook shot floating around the Internet, but I didn’t really want to use that one.

That all changed yesterday. We were there as Decker arrived at district court in Springfield for his preliminary hearing.

We took his photo. And we did a video of him arriving, as well as his attorney from after the hearing.

Decker was held for trial.

You can read all the other details here.

Then you can post a comment about how we’re still trying to go easy on Ridley police.

Just don’t look at the front page of the newspaper if that’s the case.

I had a visitor bright and early yesterday morning here in the office.

It was Pat Meehan. I had an inkling why he was here.

The former U.S. attorney and former top Delco lawman was doing a little damage control. Basically, he was doing what we call “getting ahead of the story.”

I had received a couple of e-mails late Wednesday and early Thursday from the Meehan camp alerting us to potential problems with his nominating petitions.

Meehan actually sent a letter to his successor as Delco D.A., his Drexel Hill neighbor Mike Green, asking him to review possible problems with some of the signatures on his nominating petitions.

The Meehan campaign had identified at lest four signatures that were “questionable.”

I don’t consider it a big deal. Of course, it did not stop a flurry of e-mails from his likely Democratic foe, state Rep. Bryan Lentz, alleging all kinds of problems with the Meehan situation, and again warning of the nefarious way the Delco GOP goes about its business.

The Lentz campaign said Meehan only took action after they began asking questions.

In other words, politics as usual. It rises to about the same level as the Meehan folks ripping Lentz for missing some votes while attending an event in Washington, D.C.

About the most interesting thing to come out of all this finger-pointing is a blast from the past. Apparently right in the middle of the Meehan petition problems is Paul Summers, a longtime political fixture in Upper Darby and the county who has had a couple of skirmishes in his past, including being forced to resign his post with the county convention and visitors bureau when this newspaper discovered he had been doing political work on the job.

The other oddity about all this is that Meehan at one time prosecuted people in the county for problems with nominating petitions.

It’s not going to make much difference. Meehan has more than enough signatures to stay on the ballot.

No doubt the name-calling and finger-pointing will continue on both sides.

I guess the issues will just have to wait.

Head for the hills! Batten down the hatches! Run for your lives! PANIC! Apocalyptic amounts of water will be FALLING from the SKIES this weekend, landing on the GROUND and generally wreaking HAVOC on your life! And, of course, make sure to stay tuned to your local news station for reports and advice on [...]

Baseball season can’t start soon enough.

The Flyers got blown out last night, 5-1 by the Bruins, and they looked bad in the process. This team will still make the playoffs, but does anyone believe they’re going anywhere once they get there?

The Sixers continue to wallow in what has been nothing short of a disaster of a season. Comcast-Spectacor execs are apparently mulling the fate of coach Eddie Jordan. I’m not exactly sure what they’re waiting for to pull the trigger. Jordan should go, and he probably should take G.M. Ed Stefanski with him.

Then there’s Villanova. They went one and done in the Big East Tournament, and in the process probably booked themselves a plane ticket to some far away spot in the NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t long ago most people were conceding they could be the No. 1 seed in the East. Now they just might be considered the most overrated team around. Does anyone else now wonder if Temple just might be the best team in the city?

The Eagles? Don’t get me started.

At least there’s baseball. Joe Blanton went four strong innings yesterday in Clearwater. The Phillies starting pitching is looking very strong.

Just a few more weeks….

Carol Aichele

The Arrogance of Aichele and the Chester County Republican Establishment Insider Network.  

 

Recently, I received an email from Chester County Establishment Insider evidencing that Chester County Republican Committee Endorsement for  Lt. Governor of Carole Aichele was done without interviewing or, apparently, considering any other candidate. “Rigged” is the word I would use to describe excluding input from committee people, activists, and concerned voters. The Chester County Republican Committee, basically, picked the candidates and told voters for whom they could vote.

                                                                                              

 

Carole Aichele’s relationship with Steve Aichele, chair of SaulEwing, who has a relationship with Tim Carson, bond counsel at SaulEwing, who is Turnpike Commissioner of the Turnpike which is being investigated by both FBI and Penna. AG,  with Turnpike Commissioner Pat Deon who also chair of SEPTA and leader of BucksCo GOP is an incestuous incumbency that is not creating jobs and productive growth in Penna and keeps power and money in hands of a few connected to the elected. Not a good situation, in my view and the view of many others. Tea Party people are not happy. Grassrootspa has link to poll down for Carole Aichele by Republican Establishment Pollster Susquehanna Partners. This may well be valid poll. It would be more interesting to know what Republican Primary Voters think. You may recall that Skip Brion handpicked Carole Aichele to run for Senate 19 seat in special election of May 2006. Because Republicans did not vote for Republican endorsed candidate Carole Aichele, she lost a seat that had been Republican for more than a 100 years to Democrat Big Government Andy Dinniman. The fall off vote tells the story of Carole Aichele’s popularity among the people who know her best. We would be interested to see a poll in Chester County and it would be interesting for Republican Voters to know all the choices they have for Lt. Governor as well as other positions.

 

Chester County Republican Committee Establishment Insiders did not hear the message from Massachusetts… Tea Party does not want ‘business as usual”; we don’t want the parties picking the candidates; we want to have input into the candidates for our government.

 

Communication builds Community, not Command and Control Mandates. Community, Yes; Government, Less.

 

 

Today is “Girl Scouts Day” commemorating Juliette Gordon Low’s founding of the first Girl Scout group in Savannah, Georgia. There were only 18 girls in that first troop — now there are millions, and they all sell cookies. I think we may have found the source of the childhood [and maybe the adult] obesity epidemic. [...]

Atheist Michael Newdow, who once claimed that he was raped by his wife (????), and who has apparently devoted his entire life to removing “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” from our money, has been defeated again: A federal appeals court upheld the use of the words “under God” in [...]

Looks like Tim Burns gets the GOP nod in Western Pa in his run to replace the deceased John Murtha. This evening’s count was 85 to 46. In the Southeast, the Montco Democrats got together and chose Reading Dr Manan Trividi over millionaire Doug Pike by a count of 77 to 22.

Politico: The top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says the Obama administration may have broken the law by offering Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) a job in order to persuade him not to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter. Sestak has said that the administration offered him a high-ranking government job if [...]

After ripping Steve Welch’s similar economic philosophy just last fall, I can hardly let Tom Corbett off the hook. Benefield is right – the Corbett plan is a repackaged version of the corporate welfare schemes that have plagued PA for years. Maybe it’s a little less overbearing than something the Democrats might have offered, but [...]