27: "Clean out the Capital!"

Good friend Tim Potts is keeping the pressure on Pennsylvania Government. To go hand in hand with our call to the Attorney General to charge the thieves in the legislature who have not returned the money they are illegally keeping from last years now-repealed pay raise, Tim’s ‘Democracy Rising’ campaign has filed a request to the AG to investigate the alleged collusion that occurred between the three branches of government. Here is Tim Potts’ Democracy Rising Press Release, followed by a copy of the request to the Attorney General:

DR News February 9, 2006
tim@democracyrisngpa.com 717-243-8570
In this issue:
· Attorney General Investigation?
What Competition?
Ghost Voting Again
Faking Lobby Controls

Co-Founders Ask Corbett to Investigate Alleged Case-Fixing:

DR co-founders Kathleen Daugherty and Tim Potts yesterday asked PA Attorney General Tom Corbett to investigate allegations that in 1999 members of the state Supreme Court and members of the General Assembly negotiated the outcome of court cases in exchange for higher funding for the court system.

Former state Rep. Ed Krebs, R-Lebanon, made the allegations in a sworn affidavit submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The affidavit supports a lawsuit brought by Common Cause Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and individual plaintiffs, including DR co-founder Tim Potts.

The lawsuit argues that Pennsylvania citizens are being denied due process and equal rights protections under the U.S. Constitution because of an ongoing pattern of secret negotiations between the state courts and the state legislature. It asks the federal court to rule that last years pay raise, which state officials have admitted was worked out by all three branches of the government behind closed doors, was unconstitutional.

The Krebs affidavit alleges that in a closed-door meeting of the House Republicans in June 1999, Republican leaders told members they should support a dramatic increase in funding for the courts, because there were two issues currently before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, one concerning workers compensation legislation and the other concerning an increase in the state gasoline tax, about which the Republican leadership was very concerned. In reference to these two pending cases, [then] Majority Leader Perzel stated, We cannot afford to lose them.

Common Cause Executive Director Barry Kauffman also filed affidavits stating that Krebs' account was confirmed by two additional but anonymous members of the House Republican Caucus. For more about the lawsuit, email ccpa@dejazzd.com.

The DR letter to Corbett is attached.

Questions:

• Will the attorney general investigate?
• Were your lawmakers in office in 1999?
• Did they attend the House Republican Caucus?
• Were they aware of these allegations at the time?
• Do your lawmakers agree that these allegations are important enough for the attorney general to investigate?
• Will they publicly encourage the attorney general to do so?
  

Competition? What Competition?:

In 2002, only the Democrats provided the voters with a choice in the primary election for governor. With the withdrawal of Republican former Lt. Gov. William Scranton this week, the Republicans will still have a primary election. However, the only candidate to face Lynn Swann will be Jim Panyard, former head of the PA Manufacturers Association, who is not seeking the Republican endorsement and considers his candidacy a long shot.

But of the three remaining candidates Gov. Ed Rendell, Lynn Swann and Jim Panyard only Panyard has responded to the gubernatorial survey on integrity, a constitutional convention, and judicial appointments. The survey was authored by several statewide groups: DR, The League of Women Voters, Common Cause, PA Clean Sweep, the PA Council of Churches, Rock the Capital, Pennsylvanians for Legislator Accountability, and the Commonwealth Foundation.

See: http://www.democracyrisingpa.com/dr_fans.asp.

Questions:

• Do candidates believe that election laws should do more to encourage competition for public office? If so, what reforms are needed?
• Why haven’t Rendell and Swann responded to the survey?
• Now that the major candidates appear to have wrapped up their nominations, will they be more forthcoming about their views or less?

Ghost Voting Again:

On January 3, the only day of the year the Constitution requires members of the legislature to convene, the state House took 57 official actions on 26 bills with no lawmakers present but Speaker John Perzel, R-Phila. On February 1, the Senate took its turn by passing controversial legislation 42-3 when only 12 Senators were actually present. Senate rules permit proxy voting when senators are performing a legislative assignment outside of the Harrisburg area. However, no proxies were filed and the reason for most, if not all, of the absences was to attend the funeral of a fellow senators mother.

House rules also were violated, according to the Harrisburg Patriot, before the legislation passed 139-53. In the House, Rep. Steve Nickol, R-York, objected, saying that members had no chance to understand what they were doing because the language was inserted in the legislation the day before it was voted in both chambers.

Senate Majority Leader Chip Brightbill, R-Lebanon, told the Patriot, I feel comfortable with the process.

The decision of whether to bless this mess with his signature now rests with Gov. Rendell.

Questions:

• How much money did the various organizations interested in this legislation direct to Sen. Brightbill and other lawmakers before the action on this bill?
• What gifts did he receive?
• What entertainment did he receive?
• What campaign contributions did he receive?
• When did these transactions occur?
• Was legislation discussed?
• Will Gov. Rendell veto the legislation and insist that lawmakers adhere to the Constitution and their own rules when passing legislation?
• Will Gov. Rendell support the best lobby control law in America so that citizens can know as much as possible about the interests that are trying to influence government laws and decisions?

P.S.

Intends to protect executives and directors of Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bank from changes proposed by shareholders. Supporters say the bill protects jobs. Opponents, according to the Patriot, said the bill would weaken shareholder protections and could have the unintended consequence of making investors more reluctant to invest in companies here.

Faking Lobby Control:

House Speaker John Perzel on Tuesday predicted that Pennsylvania would have a new lobbyist control law by the end of June but refused to predict what would be in it. He did say, however, that he thinks the new law should be created by the same people who produced the pay raise. I will work closely with the governor, leaders of the House and Senate, and the Supreme Court to bring about Pennsylvania’s new Lobby Reform Law, Perzel said.

At the PA Newspaper Association conference last week, lawmakers from both the House and Senate downplayed expectations of true integrity in any new law, arguing that PA would have to take small steps for which they should get lavish praise rather than make the major improvements citizens want.

Comment:

When it comes to matters of integrity, the perfect is not the enemy of the good; it is the measure of the good. Mediocrity is the enemy of the good because it masquerades as the good.

Question:

• Why can't any legislative leader bring himself or herself to call for the best lobby control law in America? (See http://www.publicintegrity.org/ )
• Is it because they don’t want it, or because they just aren’t up to the job?

Tim Potts, Co-Founder, Democracy Rising PA

http://www.democracyrisingpa.com/

P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013717-243-8570

If confirmed, this will expose the long-suspected dirty dealings of the Courts and the Legislature in Pennsylvania.

Here is the letter to the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, the Honorable Tom Corbett:

Hon. Tom Corbett, Attorney General of Pennsylvania
16th Floor, Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Attorney General Corbett:

On Monday, Common Cause of Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, and individual plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Civil Action No. 1:CV-05-2036). It was accompanied by several sworn affidavits, including one by former State Representative Edward G. Krebs of Lebanon County.

The complaint and its supporting affidavits allege that in 1999 members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and members of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania negotiated the outcome of cases then pending before the Supreme Court in exchange for increased funding of the court system. If true, these allegations evince a monumental corruption of our constitutional system of representative democracy that must be remedied as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

The cases decided at that time, involving workers’ compensation and the enactment of an increased gasoline tax, have had a substantial impact on all citizens of Pennsylvania and have served as legal precedents in subsequent cases. All of the decisions since 1999 that have relied on the cases alleged to have been improperly decided are suspect, therefore, as fruit of the poisonous tree and may have to be reconsidered.

Events since July 7, 2005, already have eroded public confidence in the independence of our udiciary. This latest allegation can only weaken public confidence further.

While the federal court considers whether to permit the Common Cause case to go forward, we believe it is imperative that you, as Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking law enforcement officer, begin an immediate investigation into whether any civil or criminal laws of the Commonwealth were violated and what appropriate legal action should be taken. Perhaps a special grand jury or special investigating commission is appropriate to make recommendations on this matter. In any event, it is worth taking extraordinary steps to ensure that any investigation is free from even the appearance of political interference.

Mr. Krebs’s affidavit alleges that revelations about improper negotiations between the legislative and judicial branches occurred during a closed meeting of the House Republican Caucus on or about June 15, 1999. Although it is unlikely that there is a record of attendance at this meeting, the universe of potential attendees is known and should provide opportunities for cooperation with an investigation of these allegations. The universe of Supreme Court justices and staff also is known.

If this were an act of kidnapping or some other notorious crime, we believe you would pursue it aggressively. Nothing can be more notorious and worthy of aggressive investigation than the kidnapping of the judicial system itself. The citizens of Pennsylvania need someone they can trust to get to the bottom of this matter, to do what is necessary to restore public confidence in the impartiality of the courts, and to enforce the constitutional separation of powers. We urge you to accept this challenge.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Timothy Potts, Co-Founder Kathleen Daugherty, Co-Founder

Great work Tim, and Kathleen! Oh, the tools that are available to the ordinary citizens of this Commonwealth! The current sack of…legislators and justices… have taken many of them away from us, but we still have some left. The Federal and State Constitutions allow the citizens to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Obviously, there are several methods, or remedies, available.

There do, however, seem to be more than enough grievances to go around.

Get involved. Stay active. Vote. Organize your friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers (be careful there!), and spread the word. Tell your friends about Democracy Rising , and Operation Clean Sweep, Rock the Capital, Common Cause, and other grassroots organizations. Spread the word about this blog!

Do NOT accept this plutocratic form of government these miscreants have constructed for us.

Clean out the Capital!

THE CENTRIST

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

26: “Taking control, Phase Two”

Now we are getting somewhere. Our form of government includes a tenet called “checks and balances.” The three branches of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, are supposed to cooperate to a limited extent, but more importantly, they are supposed to watch each other to ensure there is no loss of sovereignty by the people. In other words, no branch should get too powerful.

The problem is that no one is watching all three branches to make sure they do not get too powerful. Indeed, over the past few years, we have seen our Pennsylvania government, all three branches, get far too powerful. It is the result of almost unprecedented cooperation between all three branches. For example, the three conspired to pass the midnight pay raise last year, thank God! I say that because it awakened the populace to such an extent that the actions of these hubris filled people we call Pennsylvania Government is being examined as it never has before.

Here is an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Click to go to the article.

Lawsuit alleges state legislators, courts traded favors

By Mario F. Cattabiani and Angela Couloumbis
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania's leading watchdog group alleged in a lawsuit today that the highest ranks of the legislature traded millions in state aid to the courts for favorable decisions dating to 1999 - and possibly culminating last summer in generous pay raises for more than 1,000 judges.

A state Supreme Court spokesman called the accusations "preposterous."

The allegations were laid out in a revised federal court challenge in Harrisburg to last summer's legislative pay raise, in which Common Cause of Pennsylvania contends that there has been political "back scratching" between top House and Senate members and the state Supreme Court for years.

At the heart of the new allegations is the contention that, seven years ago, legislative leaders negotiated with the high court to fund the state's judiciary, fearing that if they did not, the justices would rule against them on two suits involving constitutional challenges.

Given that history, Common Cause alleges it is more than likely that last summer's unpopular pay raises were the result of a similar deal between Chief Justice Ralph Cappy and legislative leaders.

"What we are telling the court is that this may not be a unique instance, that this may have been going on at various levels for quite a few years," said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause. "We are asking the [federal] court to get to the bottom of it. If it is going on, it needs to be stopped and the federal courts need to put the hammer down."

Speaking on behalf of Cappy, Tom Darr, deputy court administrator of Pennsylvania, said: "It is regrettable that an organization like Common Cause, which has always stood for the principles of good government, would file such a frivolous lawsuit."

He added: "A preliminary reading shows the allegations to be preposterous, baseless and reckless and the relief sought ridiculous."

The suit provides as evidence conversations held behind closed doors between Republican members of the House in June 1999.

During that internal caucus meeting, then-Majority Leader John M. Perzel (R., Phila.), now speaker of the House, allegedly told colleagues that they were moving ahead with the court funding because "we cannot afford to have the courts rule against us" on the two suits. One suit involved workers compensation, the other an increase in the state tax on gasoline for highway-improvement projects.

Perzel's comments came after members of the caucus complained that the legislature should not give in to "blackmail" by the court, the suit contends.

Former Rep. Ed Krebs, who was at the meeting, attested to the allegation in an affidavit filed with the amended suit. In it, he also alleges that then-Speaker Matt Ryan told fellow Republicans that another member, J. Scot Chadwick, had acted as a negotiator with the Supreme Court on the matter.

In an interview today from his Lebanon County home, Krebs said, "To me, it meant that if we didn't give them the money for the courts, we would lose the cases. It was a quid pro quo."

Chadwick, a former Republican representative from Bradford County, told the Associated Press that he did consult with court officials over the 1999 legislation, but that the meeting was informational, not a quid pro quo negotiation.

"I think that would be very wrong," he said. "I am an attorney by training and that would raise a red flag with me immediately."

The high court wound up ruling in favor of the legislature in both cases.

That wasn't the only instance of possible collusion, according to the suit.

Last summer, the suit alleges, Cappy lobbied the legislature hard to implement the pay raise, which hiked legislative salaries as well as those for judges and other state officials. It was rescinded in November by a contrite legislature that had been whipped in public-opinion polls.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to both the pay raise and the legislature's move to overturn it. Cappy has recused himself from hearing the case, which is separate from the Common Cause federal suit.

That lawsuit quotes an August e-mail about the pay raise that was allegedly written by Republican Senate employee Suzanne O'Berry to Matthew Brouillette, head of the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"I watched the formulation of all this up close with my 'special connections' to certain offices, and it was much more unsavory than a lot know," O'Berry wrote, according to the suit. "... I will say that family dining debate has become much more exciting."

O'Berry is married to Mike Long, a top aide to Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R., Blair). Jubelirer is among the defendants named in Common Cause's suit.

O'Berry told the Associated Press that she does not recall the e-mail and had no other immediate comment.

Attempts to reach Perzel and Jubelirer were unsuccessful today.

The Common Cause lawsuit asks the federal court to declare unconstitutional private conversations between judges and members of the executive or legislative branches about legislation that might come before them.

Joining in the lawsuit with Common Cause are the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and state Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) among others. The defendants include top legislative leaders of both parties in the House and Senate, as well as Gov. Rendell and state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr.

Contact staff writer Mario F. Cattabiani at 717-787-5990

or mcattabiani@phillynews.com.

I tell you its enough to make you want to stomp around and shout. These folks are lucky you are not in the same room with them right now. I know I’d like to be, and I would give them a piece of my mind.

These folks have consistently sold out the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and apparently have been doing it for years.

What gives me particular joy is that these greedy people will now have to sit in court to answer for their actions. This is a great second step (after Operation Clean Sweep) in holding these treacherous, hubris-filled, greed-mongers to account. So let’s not stop there, let’s turn up the heat, and start knocking them out of office this spring in the Primary Election.

Congratulations to Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, and the others who have signed on to this effort.

THE CENTRIST

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

25: “The Mohammed Cartoons”

The recent uproar over the Muslim/Mohammed cartoons that appeared in a Danish Newspaper have inspired a great (apparently) debate (apparently) among those ever watchful guardians of our souls, the media. Having seen these cartoons, we are of two minds.

The first, centers around the Philadelphia Inquirer’s decision to post those cartoons on its website. The immediate question comes to mind: Why? They justify it by stating: “The Inquirer intends no disrespect to the religious beliefs of any of its readers. But when a use of religious imagery that many find offensive becomes a major news story, we believe it is important for readers to be able to judge the content of the image for themselves, as with the 1987 photograph by Andres Serrano of a crucifix in urine. On that basis we reprint this cartoon.”

Hello! It should be obvious by now, even to the editors of the Inquirer, that these cartoons ARE disrespectful to those of the Muslim faith. So was the repulsive Serrano filth. But they’ll leave the judgement of that up to their readers.

Hello! The Inquirer says it will reprint the cartoons, yet their link takes you to the Brussels Journal. Anyone who wanted to see the cartoons could just as easily done a search for them and found their way to the same site. But the Inquirer found it essential to posture their way through this lame excuse for a rationalization to present something to you that will stimulate most, disenchant many, and repulse even more. Many will look at the images and think, “Right on!”. Nevertheless, it should not be up to the Philadelphia Inquirer to decide if you should see these cartoons. Nor was it right for the Inquirer to show, give voice to, tout, or otherwise encourage a sick pseudo-artist like Serrano by pandering to him and giving him a place in the sun.

In doing both, they have once again crossed the boundaries of good taste, common sense and respect. Yes, newspapers, and their staffs should have such ethics and mores, and should be cognizant of them at all times. This should apply to the mainstream media, as well. Their coverage over the past 18 months of the ugly face of the Democratic national leadership has been good for the Republicans, and bad for the Democrats. Nevertheless, it creates a false dichotomy that seriously does damage to many of our most revered institutions. The media should not cover these behaviors, out of respect for the individuals exhibiting it, out of respect for the people and institutions being attacked, and out of a respect for the audience. These are common sense, and good taste ethics.

The other side of the coin regarding the cartoons is actually in defense of them. In essence, the Muslim community has no one to blame but themselves. They have drawn down upon themselves the ire, and disgust of the western world by their behaviors around the world. The actions of Al Queda, the Taliban, and Hamas, in particular, are heinous, reprehensible and crimes against humanity.

Here is what the Brussels Journal has to say was the reason for the original publication: “The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no-one to illustrate his book about Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten [the Danish newspaper that originally published the cartoons] wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked twelve illustrators to draw the prophet for them. Carsten Juste, the paper’s editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.”

The result was an expression of how Islam and the Muslim world is perceived in Western eyes. It is not the fault of those western eyes that causes the perception to be this way. Indeed, it is the actions of the thousands of Islamicists who gather in the street, riot, fire off guns, all in protest of the results of a democratically held election. It is the fault of the murdering members of Al Qaeda, in all its forms, who hide in cowardly fashion and behead westerners – men and women alike, who have done them no harm, indeed, who have been helping them. It is the fault of the Taliban who’s regime was so repressive, women went underground just to get their hair done. It is the fault of the fundamentalists who should, instead, be called zealots; those same zealots who elect repressive fundamentalist regimes such as Iran, and those who tolerate such regimes like Syria. Anyone why says the Saudis are our friends needs a serious attitude adjustment. They, the Kuwaitis, the Emirates, and the Jordanians are only our friends as long as we do two things: use our military to prop up their totalitarian regimes, and buy their oil at exorbitant prices. It is those two premises that have kept Israel alive since 1948. We do those things because it helps to stabilize the area, and it provides us with a full oil import capacity (and that makes those who we prop up in power very, very wealthy).

Finally, and especially, it is the fault of the Mullahs, for they are the ones who encourage all of the above, and tell their followers it is not a sin to murder innocents, and those who are trying to provide assistance to the people of the Middle East. And those Mullahs are not confined to the Middle East. You will find them in Europe (who do you think was inciting the young Muslims in France to riot last November?), and in the United States, as well as in South Asia, and Southeast Asia. To the Mullahs, it is Jihad – holy war. Unless there is a rapid movement in the ranks of the Mullahs around the world, this will go on, and on for decades. It is not Israel, but Infidels (including Israel) they seek to destroy. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 23rd Crusade. The Muslims are showing up, but darn few of us Infidels are.

They have no one to blame but themselves, principally their Mullahs, for the cartoons they got. Remember back to the afternoon of 9/11/2001, when the footage started coming in from the Palestinians, showing them dancing in the streets in celebration of the death and destruction wrought by Al Qaeda. They do not just hate us, they want us dead, violently, as soon as possible. All of us.

And that will issue in a dark age the like of which the world has never seen. I am not too worried about the cartoons. The Muslims should be, however, as it signals a rising tide of resentment and animosity toward people of their faith. They might just get their 23rd Crusade. But it won’t be like any of the previous 22.

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. "
--Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

24: Alan Henry for State Representative in 91st District

Yes, this is an endorsement. For a Democrat. That noise you hear is Daddy yelling at us from beyond the grave, “The last two times you did that were disasters! Jimmy Carter and Ed Rendell! You'd better be right!”

We’re sure we’re right. There are important principles and values at stake here.

Months ago we would have naturally endorsed incumbent Steve Maitland. We even volunteered to help Maitland’s next campaign. Besides, he’s a personable, likeable, all around nice guy. That was before he voted for the Midnight Pay Raise, and before he refused to pay it back, instead paying his law school tuition with it, and weakly rationalizing that it would make him a better representative.

We believe, with others, that it is long past time to stop asking those who still have not repaid the unvouchered expenses they took under that pay raise, to give it back. We believe it is now time for the Attorney General to file charges of felony theft in Commonwealth Court against those so disposed to steal from the taxpayers what the rest of the General Assembly repealed, and the Governor signed into law.

Effective representation begins with trust. When you can no longer trust your representative enough that he will do the right thing, especially something so obviously right, then you can no longer support that representative. This is the case with Steve Maitland, who has broken the trust with his constituents.

We look for a new representative and, with the very capable aid of Russ Diamond at Operation Clean Sweep, we find Mr. Alan Henry of Upper Adams. Mr. Henry has served the public for many years as a first responder, has some very good training in negotiations, and has an agenda for his term of service, if elected.

Mr. Henry stands on these issues:

• Term Limits - Mr. Henry vows to keep his promise of serving no more than twelve years (six terms) as State Representative, and will work to impose such a limit on both houses of the General Assembly.
• Education – Mr. Henry supports the No Child Left Behind program, keeping fiscal control of schools local, reducing class sizes, advancing early childhood education, and lowering college tuition.
• Property Tax Relief – Alan supports Act 72, and would work to reduce or eliminate property taxes on farmers and homeowners, especially seniors.
• Development – Alan sees the need to impose per-unit impact fees on developers to alleviate the impact of infrastructure and other related costs currently passed on to the taxpayer.
• Environment – Alan Henry supports zoning and comprehensive community planning to avoid random developments with failed septic systems and undrinkable water.
• Emergency Services – As an EMT/First Responder for many years, this would naturally be an area where Alan Henry’s expertise and experience can come directly into play. Alan wants to make the Adams County Emergency Services Training Center a reality.
• Crime – Mr. Henry supports increased police presence in Adams County.

To see all of Alan Henry’s issue positions, climb on board his extensive website at:

Alan Henry for State Representative – 91st Legislative District

We like the positions Alan Henry has taken on the issues noted above and other issues. Alan has no legislative record, Maitland does. Two bills in 14 years, a broken promise to not run after the twelfth year in office, and not returning the money from the repealed pay raise. Perhaps law school will make him a good attorney, but 14 years in office has not made him a good representative.

When searching for a candidate, one should look for a number of qualities, among which are integrity, honesty, commitment, ambition, candor, and clarity of goals and objectives. These qualities all go far towards the making of a leader. Steve Maitland’s score on these counts has been compromised by his unethical stand on the Pay Raise. Maitland has also proven that he is not a leader. Alan Henry shows all the signs that he will meet and exceed these criteria, and be an effective, capable voice for Adams County in Harrisburg. Adams County needs and deserves new representation.

Let’s help kick the hubris out of Harrisburg by starting in the 91st Legislative District!

Vote for Alan Henry in May, and in November!

THE CENTRIST

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

23: “Closing the Loopholes”

Our heroes from Operation Clean Sweep, Democracy Rising and Rock the Capital have joined forces with local activist Gene Stilp of Stop the Pay Raise, Inc. in his court suit against the legislature and their activities around the pay raise, since repealed. Why is this still going forward, and gaining momentum and support as well, if it has been repealed? Because, there is still business to take care of, primarily to make sure it does not happen again, and to make moot the raise, and subsequent repeal, thereby erasing it entirely. This would force those who have (illegally stolen) money they still have not returned into a bind. They would be forced to repay all monies received under the pay raise. Further, the suit seeks to declare the use of “unvouchered expenses” unconstitutional.

Here is the press release on today’s event in Commonwealth Court:

THREE FILE COURT PAPERS AGAINST THE PAY RAISE

January 31, 2006
Three central Pennsylvania government reform advocates today filed court papers supporting lawsuits that seek to have the July 2005 pay raise and unvouchered expenses declared unconstitutional. The lawsuits were filed last year by another midstate activist, Gene Stilp.

Russ Diamond, chair of PA Clean Sweep; Eric Epstein, coordinator of Rock The Capital; and Tim Potts, a Carlisle activist, argue that lawmakers violated several provisions of the state Constitution.

“…[T]he secret drafting of major legislation behind closed doors and the ‘unveiling’ of such legislation at the last possible moment prevents legislators from even reading what they are voting on, let alone deliberating in the fashion contemplated by the drafters of the Constitution,” the three argue.

“Further, such a practice deprives citizens of their inherent right of participation in the lawmaking process that affects every aspect of their lives,” they said. “It is simply inconceivable that this debacle [the pay raise] could have or would have occurred had the public been given adequate notice of what became Act 44 and adequate opportunity to weigh in on its merits or demerits.”

Diamond, Epstein and Potts contend that the pay raise violated four parts of the Constitution by:

· Changing the subject of the original bill. The original proposal limited salaries in the executive branch while the final law increased pay for all three branches of state government.

· Failing to have the proposal considered by a committee. Although the final bill emerged from a conference committee, it received no hearings in the appropriate standing committees of the House and Senate.

· Including more than one subject. The law put pay raises for all three branches of government in the same proposal instead of dealing with each branch of government separately.

· Failing to give the proposal three days of consideration in each chamber. The conference committee removed all of the language of the original bill and substituted language that had received no consideration in either the House or the Senate before being brought up for final passage.

“These are some of the most fundamental building blocks of good legislation, no matter what the issue,” said Diamond.

“The failure to uphold these Constitutional protections will only give the people more bad legislation. The pay raise is only the most infamous example,” he added.

The brief filed today also asks the court to reverse previous rulings and declare unconstitutional the practice of giving lawmakers “unvouchered expenses.” Lawmakers have used the device to collect additional compensation prior to elections, despite a constitutional provision that appears to prohibit it.

The state Supreme Court upheld the practice in a 1986 ruling by then-Chief Justice Nix following another pay raise. The three activists join Stilp in asking the court to overturn the 1986 ruling as “an obvious circumvention of the Pennsylvania Constitution….”

“We’re simply asking the legislators to be true to what they put on paper. You cannot simultaneously uphold and break the law,” stated Eric Epstein, coordinator of RocktheCapital.org.

A ruling of unconstitutionality also would end the lawsuit by some state judges seeking to have their own pay raises reinstated.

Following the defeat of state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro for another 10-year term on the court, the legislature repealed the pay raise. However, some judges have filed their own lawsuit claiming that the repeal resulted in cutting judges’ salaries, which violates another provision in the Constitution.

The brief filed today argues that by ruling the pay raise was unconstitutional, the court can avoid the judges’ lawsuit since they would not have been entitled to the higher salaries in the first place.

“I hope the events of 2005 convince the Supreme Court that its previous rulings have allowed the legislature to go too far in distorting the intent and the plain language of our Constitution,” Potts said.

“To uphold the way the pay raise was passed will put the Supreme Court at odds with the Court of Common Sense and undermine public confidence in the entire judiciary for years to come,” he added.

Contact:
Russ Diamond, 717-383-3025; chair@pacleansweep.com
Eric Epstein, 717-541-1101; ericepstein@comcast.net
Tim Potts, 717-243-8570; 717-571-9471; twpotts9@kuhncom.net

I have posted a copy of the brief on the PA Laws blog in three parts. All are indexed and all have links the next section, the previous section, the index, and back to this blog.

In conclusion, I wish these gents luck, and note, they are fighting a battle in a court that is made up of judges who were part of the original pay raise deal (in fact, Chief Justice Ralph Cappy was complicit in the construction of the pay raise!), and several of whom have since filed suit to reinstate the raise – for themselves!

I guess there is no conflict of interest there, eh?

THE CENTRIST

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!” THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

22: "An Evolutionary History of the world..."

[nb: This has been kicking around the internet for a while. But it works for me.]

Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer & would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in winter.

The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as "the Conservative movement."

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girliemen.'

Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided. Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.

Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, military people, athletes and generally anyone who works productively outside government. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to respond to the above before simply laughing and forwarding it. A Conservative will be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other "true believers".

And I posted this as soon as I got it!

[Editorial Cartoon Source: Glenn McCoy by Glenn McCoy, ©2006 Belleville News-Democrat]

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved

21: "A Call for Official Action"

Close friend W. G. Davis over in Gettysburg has written to the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett. He has also sent the same letter, an open letter, to the Gettysburg and Hanover newspapers. Here is the letter:

An Open Letter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General:
The Honorable Tom Corbett, Harrisburg

Mr. Attorney General,
I am a taxpaying citizen of this Great Commonwealth. I am formally and directly requesting that you file charges of "Theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received", and/or "Theft by unlawful taking or disposition" in Commonwealth Court against all members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Courts, and the Pennsylvania Governor's office who have illegally retained money collected under the now repealed pay raise passed by the legislature in July, 2005.

It is my belief that those who have thus far refused to return the money that the legislature repealed in good faith last November, are in violation of the criminal code of Pennsylvania.

Thank you,

William G. Davis
Gettysburg, PA

Here’s hoping it does some good. Shame and guilt have failed to register on these crooks, perhaps a criminal complaint will do the job. That’s one way to pry them out of office!

Sharpen up your resumes, you clowns, the Circus is hiring down in Florida where it winters!

“Kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!”

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

20: “PACleanSweep to Make Historic Announcement

CENTRIST is always amazed and awed by courage, whenever it manifests itself. That’s why we were floored when we read the press release below. Russ Diamond at Operation Clean Sweep (and others like, Tim Potts at Democracy Rising) should be commended for maintaining the courage, integrity, and perseverance in keeping the fire stoked while holding the feet of the legislature to it. Such undaunted courage and leadership has led to a movement among the voters, and an unprecedented challenge to the legislators of our Commonwealth. All 230 members of the House, and half the 50 members of the Senate are up for re-election. A large number of them have already decided not to run. The following announcement should stun you, and hopefully, galvanize you into action. It is not too late!

PACleanSweep to Make Historic Announcement

PACleanSweep Candidate Announcement
Monday, January 30, 2006, 11:00 a.m.
Capitol Rotunda Harrisburg PA

ANNVILLE, PA [01.26.06] - PACleanSweep will make history next week when it introduces over 70 candidates for the Pennsylvania General Assembly in the Capitol Rotunda. The non-partisan grassroots organization has been working to raise, interview and approve challengers to incumbent lawmakers across the Commonwealth since it was founded last July.

"A revolution is about to begin in Pennsylvania," said Russ Diamond, PACleanSweep founder and chair, "and this group of candidates is just the opening salvo. We have a backlog of candidates who are seeking our support. Each is committed to the restoration of honor, dignity and integrity to a legislature which has become self- serving, unresponsive and out of touch with ordinary citizens."

"There are currently over 140 candidates who have signed our declaration, and we continue to receive new declarations in the mail every day. There's no telling how many will be in the field for the May 16th primary."

Fallout from last year's pay raise debacle has sparked citizen action, voter outrage, an unprecedented legislative reversal and the defeat of a Supreme Court justice - a Pennsylvania first. PACleanSweep hopes to raise the largest number of legislative challengers in recent history.

In addition to submitting the PACleanSweep Declaration, the candidates to be introduced at the Rotunda have completed a personal and political profile and have been interviewed by members of the organization's Board of Directors over the last three weeks. A list of these candidates will be posted at www.PACleanSweep.com on Tuesday, January 31.

The announcement allows voters two weeks to become familiar with candidates before petitioning begins on February 14 for the May primary election. Republican and Democrat candidates for the House of Representatives must gather 300 signatures from registered voters in their party to have their name appear on the primary ballot. Senate candidates need 500.

The public is encouraged to attend.

About PACleanSweep:
PACleanSweep is a non-partisan effort dedicated to defeating incumbent elected officials in Pennsylvania and replacing them with true public servants. For more information, please visit www.pacleansweep.com.

For More Information contact:
Russ Diamond
PACleanSweep Chair
info@pacleansweep.com

Or Contact
Jerry Kelley
PACleanSweep Media Relations Director
publicity@pacleansweep.com

70 Candidates vetted, and another 70 plus in the process. There are 228 combined seats up for grabs in both houses. That leaves 88 candidates to go for the legislature. And the call is out to make the primaries open this year, by asking the party state committees to withhold endorsements until after the primary. They likely won’t, but then, what do you expect from the machines that keep sending us bozos to fill the seats in the Capitol, on the bench, and in the Governor’s mansion. Do your part! Contact Russ at Operation Clean Sweep. Run for office!

"Let's kick the hubris out of Harrisburg!"

Now, about that Governor’s race…

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

19: "Senator Teddy vs. His Women"

You know, I only saw this item in one place on the web. The MSM missed it entirely! It seems pseudo-ethicist, and all around nice guy Senator Ted Kennedy announced “he will quit the Harvard Alumni "Owl Club" that bans women...the Club was barred from Harvard in 1984...Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito was criticized for past membership in a similar Princeton club...”, according to Harrisburg Online. The Dems handling of Judge Alito, with implied smears, especially by Senator Teddy, were pathetic, ritualistic sh*t-throwing, that they have perfected over the years. What they did to Judge Alito, and to his wife, is unforgivable.

But Senator Teddy, a master of hypocrisy, has certainly never let his own behavior stop him, and has piled up a record of dead and destroyed women behind him, like Mary Jo, and Joan. Now we find out he’s been a member of a misogynistic fraternal organization at that nest of liberals, Harvard, for decades. In fact, Harvard disowned the club two decades ago, but it apparently never occurred to Senator Teddy that the club might be a bad thing.

But remember, this is the man who abandoned Mary Jo Kopechne to a watery death lo these many years, and who abandoned his wife to alcoholism (that perhaps he had something to do with), and who apparently ran a loose enough ship at home when his nephew, William Kennedy Smith allegedly raped a guest one night on the property, while Senator Teddy sat without his pants on a sea wall with another couple. (Boggle!!!).

After this history of his dealings with women, he apparently felt complacent enough to slur the reputation of Judge Alito to a point that Mrs. Alito had to leave the hearing room in tears. Imagine her, sitting there hearing her man called a racist and knowing it is not true, and being unable to do anything about it.

But Senator Teddy is a product of his party. It is a party that has abandoned all pretense of decency, respect, and decorum; that puts on a face of ugly hatred anytime a TV cameraman’s lights go on. They have totally destroyed the concept of “loyal opposition”, and disgraced the American political process. And they are led by Senator Teddy, a male beldam who has failed at almost everything in his life except getting elected.

They smear by inference and by accusation. Unfortunately for her, Senator Hillary has now joined the party by casting allegations against Bush. She even went so far as to call the Republican led Congress “a plantation”! Such comments not only slur by accusation, but smear by inference, and this one went far too far.

But lacking a message, the Democrats have no other method of grabbing face time on the tube, or getting their names in the print media. We do not see the Dems being praised in the media for proposing great legislation, or on TV for creating a policy that benefits America. We only see them crowing that Bush lied, or Bush broke the law, and never a lick of proof!

And they do not learn from their mistakes. Senator John, the “other liberal from Massachusetts”, did nothing but attack during his recent run for President. No one, repeat, no one, knew what he stood for, or what his policies were. When the press tried to pin him down, he waffled. He was good at attacking, however. Loyal Democrats in the big cities near big waters trudged to the polls on election day and cast their votes for their candidate – and went home to watch him lose, because he had no message other than hate! He had no message about Iraq, only that Bush had botched it and he’d do a better job.

Still, the Dems only message is hatred of Bush, and accusations, and obstruction to anything the Republicans try to get through Congress. The one thing the Dems can’t stand more than not being in the White House is not being in control of Congress, where they had a four decade run from the fifties to the mid-nineties. During that period of time, they largely ignored the Republicans, and established rules for the operation of the House and Senate that they now find to be intolerable. If it is a “plantation”, it is one built solely by the Democrats!

What concerns the CENTRIST the most is how someone as obviously misogynistic as Senator Teddy is allowed to get away with it for decades. The press knows. Everyone knows, but Senator Teddy. But I guess if you are a liberal, it’s okay to be a misogynist.

[Source: Dana Summers, by Dana Summers, Tribune Media Services, Inc, © 2006]

[Source: Glenn McCoy, by Glenn McCoy, Bellville News Democrat, © 2006]

[Source: State of the Union, by Carl Moore, Creators Syndicate, © 2006]

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “

THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

18: “The Odor From the Capitol Is Worsening!”

It seems as though our repugnant Pennsylvania General Assembly has descended to new depths. Now they are going after the media in Pennsylvania, apparently in retribution for the pressure applied by the media over the past six months to right the outright theft of taxpayer funds by that legislature in their Midnight Pay Raise.

Here is an investigative report from WTAE, ABC-TV 4 in Pittsburgh, at ThePittsburghChannel.com.

The article can be found at:
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/6064218/detail.html

Team 4: 'All-Out Assault' Planned On Media, Lawmaker Says
POSTED: 3:56 pm EST
January 13, 2006
UPDATED: 6:30 pm EST January 13, 2006
The following report by Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons first aired on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2006.

Team 4 has a voicemail recording of Democratic State Rep. Tim Solobay, of Canonsburg, saying that state lawmakers are preparing an all-out assault on the media. Solobay hints that the first volley is a bill that would start charging sales tax on all advertising in Pennsylvania.

Solobay left the voicemail message for editor Cody Knotts, who works at The Weekly Recorder, in Claysville, Washington County.

In the message, Solobay says, "But you know, for the most part, the majority of the legislative feeling about the media right now is if there's something they can do to screw them, you can imagine it may occur."

"That got my blood boiling because the Legislature thinks they're invulnerable," said Knotts.

Like many newspaper editors in Pennsylvania, Knotts wrote prolifically last year about the 16 percent pay raise that lawmakers took, and then gave back under heavy media pressure.

Then, last month, he learned of a bill in Harrisburg that would hit the media hard -- lifting the sales tax exemption on advertising, along with some other services.

Knotts said the plan would cause some businesses to stop advertising.

"We don't have a big profit margin," said Knotts. "We're sitting at around 3 or 4 percent, maybe, and it's going to cut that down to where we're losing money and then how can we stay in business."

Media executives in Pennsylvania, including those at WTAE-TV, have been lobbying lawmakers to kill the advertising tax.

Knotts called Solobay.

"So, I called Tim and said, 'You know, I think this is a mistake.' He called back with that response about what it was really about," said Knotts. "So, I don't know. The newspaper might be a business you want to get the hell out of right now, because there seems to be quite a vendetta from what I'm hearing on the senior staff and everything else."

"The legislative agenda, maybe not come this spring, but I bet you can guarantee right after November, there'll be an all-out assault on the written media," Solobay said. "Let me tell you, I'm just kind of telling you what I'm hearing."

"When the idea and the real plan behind it is, 'We're going to screw the media,' that's a problem, because their goal is to shut people up. They want to be able to give themselves 16 percent pay raises and not have a complaint from the media about it. They don't want to have anybody in the public speak up," said Knotts.

"There's no vendetta against the media that I've seen. I don't think it exists. I don't see it in any legislation," said State Sen. Jay Costa.

Costa is a sponsor of the advertising tax bill, but he says it now appears that the media's lobbying campaign has worked.

"Well, I think in light of what we're hearing from people who are very concerned about the impact of the expansion, we're looking at some other ways maybe to try to drive out property tax relief," said Costa.

Solobay is in South Carolina, but Team 4 spoke with him by phone.

He acknowledges that he did leave the voice mail message on Knotts' phone, but now says he didn't really mean what he said about a vendetta in Harrisburg against the media.

Copyright 2006 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. If you have been looking for a backlash such as this after the taxpayer revolt last November that cost Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro his seat on the bench, here it is.

Make no mistake about it, the General Assembly, in particular, the leadership (such as it is), and the judiciary, are angry at voters for forcing the issue!

Well, hello, Dolly! They haven’t seen anger like they are about to in May. The continuing saga of the “unvouchered expenses” (the early taking of the pay raise) that still is with us because a high number of legislators insist on keeping the money, needs to come to a quick end.

With that in mind, Centrist is calling for the following action:

• The Pennsylvania Attorney General needs to enforce the repeal of the pay raise, and arrest any legislator who has not repaid the early “unvouchered expenses”, charging them with ‘felony theft by unlawful taking’.

• The Pennsylvania Attorney General needs to charge the leadership in both houses of the legislature with conspiracy to commit fraud, and obstruction of justice, for their concerted effort to not recover the repealed funds.

• The Pennsylvania Attorney General needs to enforce the clerks of both chambers to immediately halt all paychecks, and expense moneys going to any legislator who has not repaid the “unvouchered expenses”.

It is time to send a very loud and clear message to the legislature of Pennsylvania, a message that will resound from the Governor’s Mansion to the township offices:

Enough bull! Do the people’s business, and not yours! Stop playing games with the people’s money! Leadership of both houses MUST resign their leadership positions immediately. Their constituents ought to pressure them to resign their seats immediately. Either way, vote them out, election by election.

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

17: “Is Congress Asleep?”

A passing comment tonight on Fox News (Brit Hume on his Special Report) grabbed this blogger by the throat, and sent him scurrying to the Internet Search pages. The remark was to the effect that, “…everyone knows everybody’s phone records are for sale for a couple hundred dollars.”

Here is an article from the Chicago Sun Times from January 5, 2006. If this doesn’t scare you into action, you are already dead meat!

Your phone records are for sale

January 5, 2006

BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter

The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone -- for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts.

Criminals can use such records to expose a government informant who regularly calls a law enforcement official.

Suspicious spouses can see if their husband or wife is calling a certain someone a bit too often.

And employers can check whether a worker is regularly calling a psychologist -- or a competing company.

Some online services might be skirting the law to obtain these phone lists, according to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has called for legislation to criminalize phone record theft and use.

In some cases, telephone company insiders secretly sell customers' phone-call lists to online brokers, despite strict telephone company rules against such deals, according to Schumer. And some online brokers have used deception to get the lists from the phone companies, he said.

"Though this problem is all too common, federal law is too narrow to include this type of crime," Schumer said last year in a prepared statement.

The Chicago Police Department is looking into the sale of phone records, a source said. Late last month, the department sent a warning to officers about Locatecell.com, which sells lists of calls made on cell phones and land lines.

"Officers should be aware of this information when giving out their personal cell phone numbers to the general public," the bulletin said. "Undercover officers should also be aware of this information if they occasionally call personal numbers such as home or the office, from their [undercover] ones."

Test got FBI's calls in 3 hours
To test the service, the FBI paid Locatecell.com $160 to buy the records for an agent's cell phone and received the list within three hours, the police bulletin said.

Representatives of Data Find Solutions Inc., the Tennessee-based operator of Locatecell.com, could not be reached for comment.

Frank Bochte, a spokesman for the FBI in Chicago, said he was aware of the Web site. "Not only in Chicago, but nationwide, the FBI notified its field offices of this potential threat to the security of our agents, and especially our undercover agents," Bochte said. "We need to educate our personnel about the dangers posed by individuals using this site and others like it. We are stressing that they should be careful in their cellular use."

How well do the services work?
The Chicago Sun-Times paid $110 to Locatecell.com to purchase a one-month record of calls for this reporter's company cell phone. It was as simple as e-mailing the telephone number to the service along with a credit card number. The request was made Friday after the service was closed for the New Year's holiday.

'Most powerful investigative tool'
On Tuesday, when it reopened, Locatecell.com e-mailed a list of 78 telephone numbers this reporter called on his cell phone between Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. The list included calls to law enforcement sources, story subjects and other Sun-Times reporters and editors.

Ernie Rizzo, a Chicago private investigator, said he uses a similar cell phone record service to conduct research for his clients. On Friday, for instance, Rizzo said he ordered the cell phone records of a suburban police chief whose wife suspects he is cheating on her.

"I would say the most powerful investigative tool right now is cell records," Rizzo said. "I use it a couple times a week. A few hundred bucks a week is well worth the money."

Only financial info protected?
In July, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission seeking an end to the sale of telephone records.

"We're very concerned about Locatecell," said Chris Jay Hoofnagle, senior counsel for the center. "This is the company that sold the phone records of a Canadian official to a reporter 'no questions asked.' "

Schumer has called for legislation to criminalize the "stealing and selling" of cell phone logs. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set up a unit to stop it. He said a common method for obtaining cell phone records is "pretexting," involving a data broker pretending to be a phone's owner and duping the phone company into providing the information.

"Pretexting for financial data is illegal, but it does not include phone records," Schumer said. "We already have protections for our financial information. We ought to have it for the very personal information that can be gleaned from telephone records."
fmain@suntimes.com

Copyright © The Sun-Times Company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Link to article:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-privacy05.html

Now, I don’t know about you, but it is long past time for Congress to wake up and do something about this, NOW! Stop the posturing and pass legislation making it a class A felony to sell, rent, give away, loan, or transfer in any way the records of citizens of this nation - phone, internet, medical, credit card, banking, or business. The only exceptions being credit records to licensed, regulated credit bureaus, and law enforcement (with a warrant).

It will require VERY stiff penalties. How about 10 years imprisonment in a high security prison, no parole, no time off for good behavior, ten full years, and a $500,000 fine.

Frankly, this is a greater threat to your civil rights, and Constitutional protections than anything the NSA is doing.

This needs to be done fast! Call your Congressmen and Senators today! Demand immediate, bilateral, bi-cameral action to stop this intrusion immediately!

Sheesh! Where was Congress on this anyway, asleep? More likely just lining up for their face time on TV.

Get them working for you again!

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.

16: "Beyond Repugnance"

THE CENTRIST finds it extremely difficult to contain his revulsion at the further actions of the man who has disgraced the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Thanks to good friends Tim Potts at

Democracy Rising PA, and Russ Diamond from Operation Clean Sweep, here is the latest in the ugliness inside our Capitol Building, heaping shame upon this once great Commonwealth. I expect, like me, you will find this beyond repugnance.

Dear Friends,

In place of the usual Pay Watch essay, below is the story of what happened in the General Assembly on Tuesday. Russ Diamond, founder and chair of PA Clean Sweep, covered the Senate. Democracy Rising PA covered the House. We think it speaks for itself.

Tim

“The General Assembly …shall meet at twelve o’clock noon on the first Tuesday of January each year….” --PA Constitution, Article II, Section 4

Inside the General Assembly, this Constitutional requirement is known simply as “First Tuesday.” So at the appointed hour on January 3, Kathleen Daugherty and I as co-founders of Democracy Rising PA, along with Barry Kauffman of Common Cause/PA, convened in the visitors’ gallery of the House of Representatives.

If you had tuned your television to the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN), you would have seen House Speaker John Perzel bang the gavel and bring the House to order. He immediately recognized “the gentleman from Washington County Mr. Daley” (Rep. Peter J. Daley II, D-Donora), who moved that the House adjourn the session day that had carried over the Christmas and New Year’s break.

The Speaker intoned that the motion had passed on a voice vote, and then convened First Tuesday as required by the Constitution. The House recessed at 12:05 p.m. after recording 57 actions on 26 bills by voice vote.

That’s what you were allowed to see because PCN can’t control the cameras. What you didn’t see was that Speaker Perzel was having visual and auditory hallucinations.

There was no Mr. Daley. In fact, not a single elected Representative other than the Speaker was in the chamber. So when the “ayes” out-polled the “nays,” it was by the slimmest of margins – that is, zero. And by this same margin, other business occurred by voice vote without a single voice voting. The constitutionally required session was a fabrication and a fraud.

Our Representatives and Senators take an oath to “obey” the Constitution. The Constitution requires them to show up for work on exactly one day a year. Yet despite abundant work to do and an oath taken on a holy book to do it, only the Speaker among 203 Representatives was there.

If lawmakers can’t exhibit integrity in the small things, why should we have confidence that they will exhibit integrity in the large things?

Tim Potts, Co-Founder, Democracy Rising PA
--------------------------------------------------------
Across the rotunda there were actual Senators on the floor, but only a handful. By my count, less than one-third showed up for work on the one day the Constitution requires the General Assembly to convene.

After the Senate was brought to order at 12:10 p.m., a few House bills were logged and Majority Leader Brightbill was recognized. The purpose was to nominate the Senate Pro Tempore, Robert Jubelirer, for re-election to his post.

The nomination was peppered with accolades and seconded by Senators O'Pake and Wenger. There were no other nominations. Senator Jubelirer was unanimously re-elected and sworn in by his wife, a Commonwealth Court judge.

This was an occasion I shall never forget. Standing between enormous portraits of George Washington at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg in 1863 was Senator Jubelirer swearing to "support, obey and defend" our Constitution in 2006. In the wake of July 7, the moment was utterly surreal.

He then accepted the gavel from the Lt. Governor and proceeded to address the few Senators present. During his speech, he referred to First Tuesday as "ceremonial." And this is when I began to understand.

What I began to comprehend is that on a "ceremonial" day, when the General Assembly only superficially "convenes," it is perfectly logical to swear to "support, obey and defend" a document which for the rest of the year seems more like something to be poked, prodded and cajoled in search of loopholes and shortcuts to benefit those doing the cajoling.

Ironic, isn't it?

Our Constitution is not merely ceremonial. The mandates within shouldn't be only technically met. Supporting, obeying and defending the plain language of the document ought to be a year-round vigil. Our most fundamental law must be returned to its rightful place - shielding liberty from abuse by limiting the power of those who govern.

This is what Pennsylvania wants. This is what Pennsylvania needs. This is what Pennsylvania demands.

And in 2006, Pennsylvanians will settle for nothing less.

Russ Diamond, Founder and Chair, PACleanSweep.com

Tim Potts, Co-Founder
Democracy
Rising PA
www.democracyrisingpa.com
P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA
17013
717-243-8570

Friends, these two men are doing marvelous work exposing the cretins who have turned the Pennsylvania legislature into a three ring circus. Any visitor to the Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg should expect to see trapeze artists swinging from the heights inside the rotunda, and peanut shells on the floor, while the legislators appear as trained, barking seals, arrayed on the floor under the rotunda.

These clowns we have so carelessly elected and re-elected to the legislature have no shame, no remorse, no conscience, and certainly they accept no personal responsibility for their heinous acts.

CENTRIST demands the immediate resignations of Perzel, Jubelirer, et al from their positions of leadership in the legislature. Won’t you join me? Contact your newspapers, write letters to the editors, demand they resign their leadership positions immediately!

Most self-respecting, honorable men and women would step up when their leaders are openly breaking the law, and strip them of those positions. And here is a golden opportunity, since Perzel clearly committed fraud upon the Commonwealth, and abused his position of Speaker of the House, and Jubelirer elected himself without enough members present to make the election valid. Here is the opportunity for members of the floor of both chambers to finally show they have courage and ethics, and take actions when next convened to demand a new election in both houses, and THROW THE BUMS OUT! All of them! Perzel, Jubelirer, Mellow, Brightbill, Smith, Fumo, DeWeese, O’Pake, and Piccola! These men have conspired to steal from the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the Midnight Pay Raise). Now they flout the very Constitution they swear to uphold.

But try to find enough “self- respecting, honorable men and women” in that legislature.

Start in May. Vote them out. Continue in November. Vote them out.

Out! All of them! They are beyond repugnance. Let God sort them out!

THE CENTRIST

"It is the duty of every citizen according to his best capacities to give validity to his convictions in political affairs. " Albert Einstein

Copyright © 2006: “THE CENTRIST”. All Rights Reserved.