Murtha Flip Flops - Stabs Pelosi In Back

Murtha's comments on 'surge' are a problem for House Democrats

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one of the leading anti-war voices in the House Democratic Caucus, is back from a trip to Iraq and he now says the "surge is working." This could be a huge problem for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders, who are blocking approval of the
full $200 billion being sought by President Bush for combat operations in Iraq in 2008.

Murtha's latest comments are also a stark reversal from what he said earlier in the year. The Pennsylvania Democrat, who chairs the powerful Defense Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee, has previously stated that the surge "is not working" and the
United States faced a military disaster in Iraq.

We know Black Jack cashes his own checks, but without Pelosi and her handlers who was going to do his thinking for him when he screwed up and admitted this?

No Wonder Perzel (Prezel) Wants 10,000 Cops In Philly

Perzel's son is arrested

Samuel Perzel, son of state Rep. John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting a female Philadelphia police officer.

Perzel, 18, was in a rowdy crowd of 50 to 75 people who had gathered on 2nd Street near Tasker in South Philadelphia about midnight Nov. 18, according to police records obtained by the Daily News.

Police were called to the intersection to break up several small fights and to move the crowd along.

When Officer Melissa Curcio tried to arrest Perzel after he ignored repeated arnings to disperse, the teen - who "had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath" - allegedly punched Curcio in the face, the records show.

Curcio, who is stationed in the 3rd District in South Philly, ultimately got Perzel onto the ground and in handcuffs, according to the records.

Perzel was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering another person.

I wonder where he learned to act like that and have such disdain for the law??????

Love is a Many-Vendored Thing in Harrisburg

We all had an interesting e-mail from a friend in Harrisburg this morning. It was ironic in that the e-mail was about e-mail and our fearless leaders in the State Legislature that are leading us down a primrose path to protect themselves from love and love lost.

Everyone should have an apartment or a love nest in Harrisburg. In fact maybe we should rename Harrisburg Virginia because Harrisburg, it seems, is for lovers.

Scuttlebutt is that legislators could be talked into open records going forward in time including not only voting results, but also what they voted on, ie, the bills. What a concept, voters knowing what their legislators are voting on and how they voted. Maybe when Pennsylvania grows up we can be like other states and know where our reps stand on issues.

Rumor has it that the kids in the capital might even allow the common folk to look at spending, taxes and entitlements before they're voted on. Some wag even suggested this info could be on the Internet. Of course we all said in unison, "Yeah, right".

This could all happen for the future, but there is no way any of this will be retroactive. The Democrats can shred records faster than a speeding bullet and the Republicans can run from a vote or position even faster, but e-mail is for ever, which many of the kids in the House and the Senate have found out. And boy are they scared.

It seems that many of those who serve us may also serve others in a more private way while serving us in other "sessions". And the e-mails could provide a a trail of evidence to the pompatous of love in Harrisburg. A virtual Pocono on the Susquehanna with heart shaped beds and lots of give aways.

We can just hear some of the old boys, as they leave a long hard day at the capital, humming;

"I really love your peaches want to shake your tree, lovey dovey, lovey dovey...".

Not all the time, don't you know. Just when they're in session which is why we will never have a sunshine law that is retroactive or so it seems.

Instead of a full time legislature and part-time loves maybe we need exactly the opposite. It would cost everyone less money.

e-mails are forever, not just diamonds.

BONUSGATE SURPRISE Not

18 years, 18 months, 18 weeks, 18 days, 18 hours or 18 minutes, How long have the illegalities gone on? Maybe only Rose Mary Woods knows, but I'd bet that Bill DeWeese might know about the additional 1/2 a minute a destruction order can take.

Democratic caucus trashed files, sources say

Internal House Democratic Caucus documents were shredded as a grand jury investigation was under way late this summer, according to several independent Capitol sources.

The documents are believed to include personnel records that might be pertinent to Attorney General Tom Corbett's investigation of whether legislative staffers were paid bonuses for political work, sources say.

A Democratic legislator, who asked not to be named, said he heard "20 to 30 boxes" that included "leave slips and comp time" records were shredded.

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, who says he is cooperating with Corbett's investigation, did not respond for comment last night through his
spokesman.

As we have said over and over, reform cannot be gotten from the "old bulls" of the legislature. The "old bulls" have controlled the money and the flow of money for as long as most people can remember. The destruction of these files was not a mistake. It was deliberative. The destruction was not ordered by some new guy like Denny O'Brien or a wet nosed kid from Scranton. The order came from the top, but which head on this two-headed bull gave the order, Democrat or Republican or both. They share the same old dirty bed.

Bitchen To The Right Of Me, Bitchen To The Left...

John Baer Returning lawmakers have their hands full

"Reform's not dead," House Speaker Denny O'Brien tells me, "it's only wounded." Yeah, well, I'd say critically wounded, in need of instant resuscitation. One place to start? Pay back the bonus money to the General Fund.

"Reform is dead", "Reform? It'll never happen", They'll reform like last time which was no reform in no time". Everybody has a bitch and everybody loves to whine, but nobody wants to help what could be the last hope for reform for a long while. That help is House Speaker Dennis O'Brien.

The guy is going to get knifed big time. Perzel, Smith, DeWeese and all of Brutus' other buddies are already lined up with their knives sharpened. Rendell is in charge of the sharpening.

DeWeese wants what he believes should be his. Perzel wants what he believes is his and will be for ever. Smith just whines about party loyalty as if he knows what that is. Rendell doesn't really give a damn as long as whoever it is gives him what he wants which is more money than the citizens of Pennsylvania possess.

O'Brien knew this, but hoped that reform would move legislators forward because the citizenry was fed up. He may not have been everybody's choice, but when the void was there he stepped forward. He saw the knives. he had no illusions.

He was wrong.

Reformers to the left bitched that he wasn't a Democrat. Reformers to the right bitched he was a puppet to DeWeese and Rendell. The rest just bitched because that is what they have always done. What O'Brien knew was that the "old bulls" were going to fight him every inch of the way and hurt him as much as they could. The reformers snatched their moment of sun in the press and faded away. The rest, like most forum watchers, sat back to enjoy the show. O'Brien's hope lay with the people.

He was wrong.

The people, except for a few, did little or nothing except bitch, pontificate and point out how they could do things better. They did nothing. Well that's not true, people voted a lot of people out of office. No follow up, just pulled a lever and considered their job done.

A legislature as hide bound and corrupt as ours is going to take some time to change. Baby steps, if you will, for the fat self serving porkers in office. Any activity more vigorous might cause them to trip over their money bags and cause injury.

We are wrong.

O'Brien doesn't just talk the talk like most in Harrisburg. He is considered dangerous because he walks the walk which means he is extremely dangerous because he is a believer and is passionate about his beliefs.

We here at ProPenn do not agree with Speaker O'Brien on many things, but we agree with his reforms. In fact we demand his reforms and are working for them in a positive fashion.

Do you care to stop bitching long enough to join the hard work of daily helping reform our legislature.

If so, do so. If not, kindly be quiet.