Friday, December 31, 2010
Rep. Vereb calls for jail time for Sunshine Act violators
Elected officials routinely thumb their nose at the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law and conduct the public's business behind closed doors because they know the only punishment is a slam on the wrist. A little jail time might get thim to think twice about breaking the law, especially you school board members out there.
Vereb calls for jail time for Sunshine Act violators - timesherald.com
Vereb calls for jail time for Sunshine Act violators - timesherald.com
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Strange bedfellows seen sharing similar fates
The end of the road for Jim Matthews and Joe Hoeffel?
PhillyBurbs.com: Strange bedfellows seen sharing similar fates
PhillyBurbs.com: Strange bedfellows seen sharing similar fates
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Cleaning up Ed Rendell's mess
Amazing how much damage Ed Rendell has done to Pennsylvania over the past 8 years. Despite $8 billion in new spending and billions more in borrowing, Rendell failed to solve any of the state's major problems and is hading the mess to Gov.-elect Tom Corbett.
Rendell gives Corbett handbook of challenges ahead | PoconoRecord.com
Rendell gives Corbett handbook of challenges ahead | PoconoRecord.com
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Political End Runs
Thomas Sowell on how Barack Obama repeatedly bypasses Constitutional restrictions on executive power to enact his socialist agenda against the will of the American people.
Political End Runs - HUMAN EVENTS
Political End Runs - HUMAN EVENTS
Monday, December 27, 2010
Bureaucrats Secretly Implement ObamaCare
Government Death Panels will soon be deciding who lives and who dies as Obama's bureacrats begin to implement new Obamacare provisions starting Jan. 1
Bureaucrats Secretly Implement ObamaCare
Bureaucrats Secretly Implement ObamaCare
Why are teachers learning Spanish?
Teachers in the Reading School District are learning Spanish? Shouldn't the students be learning English?
City teachers learning Spanish
City teachers learning Spanish
14 places to slash federal spending
Democrats and their big-government allies are always arguing there's nothing to cut from the bloated federal budget.
The folks at Reason magazine beg to differ, offering 14 specific programs or agencies that could be slashed to save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
My favorite:
End (or at Least Audit) the Fed:
The folks at Reason magazine beg to differ, offering 14 specific programs or agencies that could be slashed to save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars every year.
My favorite:
End (or at Least Audit) the Fed:
The Fed is the biggest bastion of central planning in the American economy, and eliminating it would both move us toward a freer market and remove history’s most powerful enabler of government waste. If that’s politically impossible, auditing the Fed would at least peel away the bank’s veneer of inscrutable wizardry to reveal the feckless dithering at the heart of U.S. monetary policy.Read the full article, "How to Slash the State: 14 ways to dismantle a monstrous government, one program at a time," here.
Taxman spying from above
Pennsylvania State Rep.-elect Mark M. Gillen is troubled by the government's use of aerial reconnaissance to spy on property owners.
Young's column had powerful implications (12/26/10)
Young's column had powerful implications (12/26/10)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
20 years of giving: Operation Holiday delivers
Thanks to the Pottstown Mercury, 252 families, with a total of 701 children, were provided food and gifts in 2010 by the newspaper's Operation Holiday program.
20 years of giving: Operation Holiday delivers (video) - pottsmerc.com
20 years of giving: Operation Holiday delivers (video) - pottsmerc.com
Washington's Bureaucrats Are Overpaid, Inexpert And Cost Us Time And Money
Taxpayers can no longer afford to fund the political class and the minions who support them.
Washington's Bureaucrats Are Overpaid, Inexpert And Cost Us Time And Money - Investors.com
Washington's Bureaucrats Are Overpaid, Inexpert And Cost Us Time And Money - Investors.com
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
1,200 followers on Twitter
I have 1,200 followers on Twitter but I'm always looking for more. Click on the blue Twitter link at the top of this page to follow my posts.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Pennsylvania Turnpike makes U-turn
Here's what we do know: Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will go up Jan. 2, 2011.
Up until today, motorists who pay cash would not know how much the tolls would be because the bureaucrats at the Turnpike Commission decided to print tickets without prices on them.
That controversial (and stupid) decision has been overturned.
But tolls are still going up thanks to a plan pushed a couple of years ago by Gov. Ed Rendell and Democrats in the state Legislature.
Turnpike makes U-turn, decides to print tolls on tickets - pottsmerc.com
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Newspaper: Kill The Lame Duck
From Investor's Business Daily:
Governance: It is an anachronism a constitutional amendment tried to kill. It lets defeated legislators wreak political and economic havoc without consequence. Like the dodo, the lame duck should be extinct.
Kill The Lame Duck - Investors.com
Governance: It is an anachronism a constitutional amendment tried to kill. It lets defeated legislators wreak political and economic havoc without consequence. Like the dodo, the lame duck should be extinct.
Kill The Lame Duck - Investors.com
65,000 unique visitors
My site counter has recorded 65,000 unique visitors to The Centrist. Thanks for checking out this blog ... and come back again.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Ousted Lawmaker Energized By New Job
Hey, Pennsylvania taxpayers, your tax dollars will now go to ousted state Rep. David Kessler to study using algae as an alternative fuel. Pork-barrel spending at its worst.
Ousted Lawmaker Energized By New Job - Regional News - Berks Story - WFMZ Allentown
Ousted Lawmaker Energized By New Job - Regional News - Berks Story - WFMZ Allentown
Krauthammer to headline Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
The 2011 PA Leadership Conference, featuring the largest gathering of conservatives in Pennsylvania, has lined up one of the sharpest conservative thinkers in the world for this year's event.Charles Krauthammer, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and a Fox News commentator, will be the dinner speaker at the 2011 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference to be held April 8-9 at the Radisson Penn Harris Convention Center in Camp Hill, Pa.
From a press release announcing Krauthammer's appearance:
"We are excited to have Dr. Krauthammer as the next in a long series of influential conservative speakers to address the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference," said Lowman Henry, President of the Pennsylvania Leadership Council which organizes the event. "In an era when many commentators offer only shop worn analysis, Dr. Krauthammer stands out as a thoughtful voice of reason who injects logic and perspective into the public debate."Complete information and registration for the 2011 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference can be found at the conference's newly redesigned website, www.paleadershipconference.org
The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is the premiere annual gathering of public policy conservatives from through the commonwealth and beyond. The conference features well known national speakers, and a who's who of state-level government and policy leaders offering commentary and panel presentations.
Dr. Krauthammer was named by the Financial Times as the most influential commentator in America. Since 1985 he has written a syndicated column for the Washington Post, winning the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1987. His column now appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide.
A contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and to the New Republic, Dr. Krauthammer is a Fox News contributor appearing nightly on Fox's evening news program Special Report with Bret Baier. He is also a weekly panelist on Inside Washington.
Newspaper: Repeal automatic COLA for politicians
From the editorial pages of The Pottstown Mercury:
THORNS to the state Legislature for continuing the practice of automatic cost-of-living adjustments even though many legislators give them back or donate the money to charity. We don't want our tax dollars going to the charity of choice for lawmakers; we want the money to stay in the state coffers. The Legislature, along with members of the executive branch, including the governor, and judges receive an automatic cost-of-living adjustment each year under a 1995 law. This year, the COLA for lawmakers kicked in Dec. 1, while the higher pay for judges begins Jan. 1. Pay for rank-and-file legislators increased from $78,315 to $79,623 on Dec. 1, while higher-ranking officials are paid more. Instead of legislators giving it back, the law should be repealed.Roses for soliciting public input in schools' chief search - pottsmerc.com
Tax Deal Passes, GOP Wants Permanent Cuts
Take a look at the final votes to extend the Bush Tax Cuts - 277-148 in the House and 81-19 in the Senate, with solid Democratic majorities in both chambers. But this only a two-year extension. When more Republicans join Congress in January, let's push for a permanent extension to get the U.S. economy moving again.
Tax Deal Passes, GOP Wants Permanent Cuts - HUMAN EVENTS
Tax Deal Passes, GOP Wants Permanent Cuts - HUMAN EVENTS
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Dems driving businesses under with high taxes
The United States leads the world in something - the highest corporate income tax. And Democrats wonder why we've had 10% unemployment for the past two years?
A Rate Which Lives In Infamy - Investors.com
A Rate Which Lives In Infamy - Investors.com
Corbett Inaugural website launches
Gov.-elect Tom Corbett and Lt. Gov.-elect Jim Cawley's Inaugural website has launched at www.CorbettCawleyInaugural.com
The theme of the new Republican administration is "Rebuilding Pennsylvania," which is a big task after the disastrous eight years of the Rendell administration.
The website provides detailed information on the Inaugural activities. Pennsylvania residents can also find information on how to reserve and purchase tickets for Inaugural events.
The site will be updated right up until the January 18, 2011, Inauguration.
The theme of the new Republican administration is "Rebuilding Pennsylvania," which is a big task after the disastrous eight years of the Rendell administration.
The website provides detailed information on the Inaugural activities. Pennsylvania residents can also find information on how to reserve and purchase tickets for Inaugural events.
The site will be updated right up until the January 18, 2011, Inauguration.
Cost of PA Legislature: $318M a year
It costs $318 million a year to operate the Pennsylvania Legislature. Anyone think they're getting their money's worth?
Commission: Legislature's spending fell last year - pottsmerc.com
Commission: Legislature's spending fell last year - pottsmerc.com
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
DCED Secretary Says Harrisburg is 'Financially Distressed' Under Act 47
Another U.S. city run into the ground by Democrats.
DCED Secretary Says Harrisburg is 'Financially Distressed' Under Act 47
DCED Secretary Says Harrisburg is 'Financially Distressed' Under Act 47
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Rep.-Elect Kristi Noem: Businesses need certainty to start hiring
Rep.-Elect Kristi Noem: Businesses need certainty to start hiring
Monday, December 13, 2010
65,000 Visitors to The Centrist
My site counter has recorded 65,000 unique visitors to The Centrist. Thanks for check out the blog ... and come back again.
You call this pension reform?
This is Ed Rendell's idea of pension reform. The bill, which was backed by the teachers union, was passed with the support of Rendell and the Democratic majority in the state Legislature.
From The Associated Press:
From The Associated Press:
Structural changes passed last month in Pennsylvania's large pension plans for state government workers and school district employees will still leave taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in new costs in the coming years.Pension law leaves taxpayers with $5B annual cost - pottsmerc.com
The cost to the state government and school districts will go from $1.25 billion this year to just under $2 billion next year, but the average annual price tag for the coming decade amounts to $5.3 billion.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Bank failures under Obama set record
Bank failures continue at a record pace as Obamanomics take its toll. The feds have shut down banks in Michigan and Pennsylvania, bringing the number of U.S. banks that have failed in 2010 to a record 151. Heckavu job, Barack.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Newspaper: Bush job approval rating higher than Obama's
How the mighty have fallen. Americans are waking up from their Kool-Aid induced stupor and realizing what a huge mistake they made in electing Barack Obama president.
A new Gallup Poll shows the job approval rating for "The Anointed One" has dropped below that of President George W. Bush.
Check it out at the liberal New York Daily News and at Politico
A new Gallup Poll shows the job approval rating for "The Anointed One" has dropped below that of President George W. Bush.
Check it out at the liberal New York Daily News and at Politico
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Cuckoo In Cancun
The global warming crowd may be suffering from hypothermia.From Investor's Business Daily:
Still think those who continue to push the idea of man-made climate change are well-grounded and rational? Think again.Read the full editorial at the link below:
Consider Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She opened the U.N's global warming conference last week with a prayer to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of the moon.
This mythological supreme being of fertility is supposed to be good for sending rain for crops. Maybe that's the sort of blessing Figueres had in mind when, from Cancun's — no joke — Moon Palace, she called Ixchel "the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving" and hoped delegates would be inspired by her.
And did we mention that the multitasking Ixchel is also some kind of jaguar? Given her many roles, is it really reasonable to ask her to also save the planet from global warming?
But then if she did that, the alarmists wouldn't have to take junkets to balmy resorts in December to save the world from mankind.
Cuckoo In Cancun - Investors.com
Obama Unravels…
NRO's Jim Geraghty: "Watching Barack Obama in a press conference discussing the tax deal, it feels like we’re watching his presidency lose all coherence."
Obama Unravels… - By Jim Geraghty - The Campaign Spot - National Review Online
Obama Unravels… - By Jim Geraghty - The Campaign Spot - National Review Online
Obama's New Theme Song: 'Surrender'
A dedication to Barack Obama for caving in on the Bush Tax Cuts. Maybe we can repeal Obamacare while we're on a roll?
Monday, December 06, 2010
Pa. leads nation in teacher strikes
Pennsylvania has more teacher strikes than in all other states combined!!!
Pa. leads nation in teacher strikes - pottsmerc.com
Pa. leads nation in teacher strikes - pottsmerc.com
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
Newspaper: Thorns to greedy PA judges
From the editorial pages of The Pottstown Mercury:
THORNS to Pennsylvania judges for disregarding the tax burden on Pennsylvania residents by leasing luxury automobiles including Cadillacs, Mercedes and high-end SUVs. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Sunday that 25 jurists in the state lease cars under a provision that reimburses them up to $600 a month; 13 opt not to lease vehicles. The state began paying for cars for appellate judges in 1990, and the practice continues despite other elected and appointed state officials who use cheaper fleet vehicles to keep costs down. The state's top judges are among the nation's highest paid. Some make in excess of $175,000 a year, yet lease high-end vehicles at taxpayer expense. Among the judges' cars are $568 a month for a 2010 Cadillac driven by Chief Justice Ronald Castille and $450 a month for a 2010 Mercedes Benz driven by Superior Court Judge Sallie Updyke Mundy. Supreme Court Justice Max Baer leases a 2010 GMC Acadia from his brother's Washington dealership for $510 a month. One person quoted in the news article called it symbolic of a "culture of arrogance." Sound like Harrisburg?Roses to state rep for helping remodel Boyertown office - pottsmerc.com
Unemployment Rate Climbs to 9.8%
The failure of Barack Obama's economic policies is complete. The U.S. unemployment rate for November rose to 9.8% - with the number of unemployed Americans climbing from 14.8 million to 15.1 million.All this despite trillions of dollars in federal spending to "stimulate" the economy and reduce unemployment.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today:
"Today's jobs report showing unemployment jumping to 9.8 percent only confirms that President Obama's agenda of out-of-control spending, higher taxes, and bigger government has the economy moving in the wrong direction. Despite the clear message sent in last month's elections, Democrats continue to ignore the American people by remaining focused on enacting a host of liberal priorities that will do nothing to create jobs. All the while, they have left a massive job-killing tax increase hanging over the heads of every single American family and small business, prolonging the existing economic uncertainty that has kept employers from hiring. Instead of continuing the same wish-list mentality that pushed through big government Democrat programs in the face of high unemployment and record deficits, Democrats should work with Republicans to start putting the American people's priorities first – getting our country back on a path to economic prosperity and making sure no one sees a tax hike on January 1st."
Roses to State Rep. David Maloney for helping remodel Boyertown office
Republican David Maloney hasn't taken office yet in the PA Legislature, but he's already saving money for constituents in Berks County's 130th District.
Roses to state rep for helping remodel Boyertown office - pottsmerc.com
Roses to state rep for helping remodel Boyertown office - pottsmerc.com
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Does Pennsylvania Consider Actor Mark Ruffalo a Terrorist?
Another reminder of the disastrous Rendell Administration.
Does Pennsylvania Consider Actor Mark Ruffalo a Terrorist?
Does Pennsylvania Consider Actor Mark Ruffalo a Terrorist?
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