Hell Hath No Fury Like A Maitre'D Scorned

We wrote about John Perzel and his maverick way a couple of days ago in republican Perzel is a backstabber and now we have received more news on the Party of Perzel as Tony Phyrillas calls it.

More than a number of people have written to tell us their story of an out of touch and out of control Perzel attempting to retaliate against real and perceived political insults.

It is no secret that Perzel hates Speaker Dennis O'Brien and has for years as Perzel got seniority because O'Brien made a run for congress, O'Brien had the touch and the personality to easily gain friends and allies in and out of the PA House of Reps. Perzel has friends that act like beaten and scared dogs or friends that share his delicate interaction style with other pols in Harrisburg. The latter are known as the Old Bulls and the former are known as the rest of the House.

Not O'Brien, he fits in neither category. O'Brien gained friends in the House because he gets things done, is a genuinely nice guy and he can be trusted to keep his word and not stab people in the back. Agree with O'Brien or not, he is his own man. Personally we here at PROPenn would like O'Brien to quit being friends with big budgets, but anyone that stands up to the Old Bulls is a friend of ours.

He is not a friend of Perzel and the fact that the Maitre 'D lost the Speaker position galled him enough, but to lose it to O'Brien has spittle flying from the foam around Perzel's mouth. He's reportedly so mad he would take his personal Dante and Luigi bar towel and go back to work if it wasn't more important to get even. And Perzel is trying to get even.

Now we're told that O'Brien's looking into Perzel personal patronage dump and cash cow, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, has little "r" Perzel in a school girl hissy-fit that had him directing money to every corner of O'Brien's district in the primary a few weeks back to support Perzel's bought and paid for write-in candidate in hopes of defeating O'Brien or at the very least to embarrass him so Perzel and the boys could have a chuckle.

He's used money that has no source, union funds, gaming money and funds from "special accounts" that he has been building for years. Rumor had Perzel's favorite pet, union Glaziers' boss, Joe Ashdale supplying boots-on-the-ground and walking around money aplenty leading up to the primary. Joe also supposedly had Perzel's other union buddies chipping in as well.

Didn't work.

According to a person near the campaigns, Perzel's backstabbing write-in became known to the O'Brien campaign so they decided to have some fun of their own and started a write-in campaign for O'Brien to also become the Democrat nominee.

The once most powerful Maitre 'D in PA got stomped. O'Brien won both nominations, Democrat & Republican, stomping Perzel's primary puppet by 5 - 1.

Sometimes an old bull becomes so pathetic people just turn their head and look away.

Pennsylvania's Big Ed Keeps Bringing Us Joy

36th out of 50, not including DC.

Ever wonder why the Twinkies, gasoline and insurance costs so damned much? Lawyers.

Q: What do you call a fifty foot deep hole half filled with lawyers?
A: A good start

I was reading (yes, I can) Tony the Greek and was a little ticked off by some stats he dug up concerning lawyers, limos and litigation.

Another failing grade for Ed Rendell's Pennsylvania

My momma always wanted me to be a lawyer, but I knew I was right not to during the last divorce. Whew, talk about cold fish, but he was driving a nice car and lived in a nice house. I helped pay for it. I shoulda known I was cooked when my lawyer pulled up in a Volkswagon Van-o-Wagon with a Brown's sticker right next to the little rainbowthingee on the back window, but she was nice. Just not a good lawyer. She had no fangs.

Everybody has a story about the lawyer that got all that money for someone over something like part of a bug in a fast food burger. Well, that somebody got a lot of money, but the lawyer probably got more, especially with all those copying fees....

So, Big Ed has been able to assist PA in its downward spiral towards James Carville's dream of PA being a state of trailer trash with gangland theme parks for bookends all supported by the ABA and welfare.

I love my state. Why are Rendell and his cronies trying to make it Jersey Lite?

republican Perzel is a backstabber

There's more to this story.

Democrats, Republicans and Perzel
A hot topic of conversation at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference over the weekend was the role of John Perzel in various Legislative races across the state.

I spoke to several Republican candidates who lost primary races on April 22. Each said the same thing. They could have won if John Perzel hadn't showered their opponent with money. That's what these candidates firmly believe.

Makes you wonder how different the Pennsylvania political scene would be if Republicans didn't have someone like Perzel playing games behind the scenes.

You expect Ed Rendell to campaign for Democratic candidates and hand out large amounts of campaign cash to get more Democrats elected. Republicans have one of their own working to defeat GOP candidates.

After my conversation with Perzel last week, I got the impression that Perzel didn't care if the Republican Party regains the majority in the House in 2009 ... as long as Perzel finds a way to return to the Speaker post. That's all Perzel cares about.

That means Perzel is very willing to work with any and all Democrats to form a coalition that will elevate Perzel to the Speaker's post.

At a time when reform is trying to stay alive in Harrisburg, the old bulls are trying to kill it and keep things the way they like it. Corrupt.

Perzel and the old bulls support Rendell and themselves more than the citizens of PA. Why hasn't Perzel been thrown out of the party?

Past Speaker's past speaks volumes

PA Young Republicans Chairman Matt Best:

Perzel is the reason why I left the Republican Party after the general election in 2006. Should he get elected Speaker, every Republican who votes for him should know that when I have an opportunity, I will work to get them fired, thrown out of office, do anything to make their worthless lives miserable, highlight their spinelessness, embarrass them, etc. I may be only one person, but if others will take the same attitude and no longer accept pathetic leadership, arrogance, and thuggery, then we will prevail.

10,000 more cops

PottMerc likes the idea. Cops walking a beat is always a good thing, but

“The No. 1 concern among us as legislators should be the safety of the public,” said Perzel.

Bull. Perzel's No. 1 concern is getting another union behind him.

Sex Ed like new math - anything is ok

We never had teachers like this.

33 new charges filed against stripper/ex-teacher's aide
Prosecutors have filed new charges against a former teacher's aide who allegedly let teens party in a hotel room she had rented in Westmoreland County.

Thirty-four-year-old Abbiejane Swogger is now charged with having sex with at least two teenage boys and with stripping for teen and adult men in a private home before the hotel party in February.

Swogger's attorney, Duke George, says the new charges are even more ridiculous than that hold ones.

Swogger was charged with felony crack cocaine possession and corruption of minors after police said they found cocaine, beer and teenagers in the hotel room rented on Feb. 22.

She faces a preliminary hearing on all the charges May 1.

Bitter vote

Hillary win PA

It musta been the God, guns and guts voter backlash.

First grade math shows slot legislation didn't add up

Big Ed didn't tell the truth?

Gambling money is not the answer
Nearly four years after Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law a bill that ushered in slot machine gambling in Pennsylvania, the state’s taxpayers will finally see a reduction in their property taxes

Most Pennsylvania homeowners could get an average $169 reduction on their property tax bill starting with the 2008-09 school year.

That’s a far cry from the “substantial” property tax relief promised by Gov. Rendell and members of the Legislature who supported casino gambling. The anticipated tax relief is about a 10-percent reduction off school property taxes — way short of the 30 percent in cuts Rendell promised when he first ran for governor.

“It took us a while to get here, but we are finally here,” said Michael J. Masch, the budget secretary for Gov. Rendell. That is an understatement. If Pennsylvania residents knew in July 2004 that the promised windfall from slot machine gambling would take more than four years to materialize and average less than $170, few would have supported the gambling initiative.
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Conveniently, there was no mention in the governor’s recent announcement that school property taxes have risen by hundreds of dollars for the average Pennsylvania homeowner since the summer of 2004. And it’s still not clear how many Pennsylvania residents will share the slot income.

I say follow the money and you will find the pols who pushed hard for this. Hint, look at the old bulls first. They've had more money put in'em then most slots.

Write-in vengence

It appears that Fumo and Perzel are encouraging and helping fund write-in challengers against Republicans they don't like. One such is a write-in against Speaker Dennis O'Brien who Perzel despises.

With "republicans" like Perzel who's still wondering why Big Ed Rendell gets his way. Wait, do you think Perzel and Rendell are really the same person?

Tax Day

It is a dark day this day, every year it is.

Tax Day is a coming

"Over the past five years, the governor's priorities have been focused on increasing taxes, spending and borrowing," state Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, said during an afternoon press conference. "Our goal is to put money back into taxpayers' pockets and the economy. We need to refocus our spending priorities and cut taxes, which will make Pennsylvania more business friendly and create more family-sustaining jobs."

Democrats and the old bulls love taxes. Republicans should view them as a last resort.

Git me gun and the Good Book

Obama sez:

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them…And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Lord forgive me my bitterness.

31.9% of what you make goes to government

The best and worst states for taxes

PA is 20th in the nation when computing combined state/federal tax burden, which factors in property, gasoline, tobacco, sales and state income taxes. I wonder where's we'd be if local and hidden taxes were included.

Understand liberals? Huh?

"It goes without saying that liberals hate free markets, big business, even democracy when the voters disagree with them. If truth be known, they hate the human race — at least the part of it that is not them. Darn those human beings for not living their lives according to the liberal prescription."-- Charley Reesesyndicated columnist

Tony P has the rest

Inquirer hates gunowners and their supporters

Remember their names

House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.) thumbed his nose at his city constituents Tuesday by helping to defeat a measure aimed at stemming the tide of illegal handguns. He was joined in defeating the bill requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons by eight other Republican lawmakers from the suburbs.

There ought to be a political price paid by O'Brien et al for their obstinate resistance to a gun-safety measure supported by police, prosecutors and Gov. Rendell. Voters should contact them, and remember them at the polls on Nov. 4.

Here's the "no" voters' dishonor roll: O'Brien, Stephen Barrar (R., Delaware), Paul Clymer (R., Bucks), Gene DiGirolamo (R., Bucks), Robert Godshall (R., Montgomery), Art Hershey (R., Chester), Bob Mensch (R., Montgomery), Scott Petri (R., Bucks), and Thomas J. Quigley (R., Montgomery).

I wish I could vote for them, but then I'd have to live in the city of brotherly love where the love don't shine.

Obama outspending Hillary 5 - 1

Knockout try could be risky for Obama
Barack Obama raised $40 million in March, about twice as much as Hillary Rodham Clinton raised. He’s got 30 offices in Pennsylvania; she’s got 21 offices.

He’s outspending her on Pennsylvania television by about 5-to-1. And a flood of new voter registrations in the state — thousands of which were generated by his volunteers — suggest the electorate is changing in ways that work to his benefit.

Outspending a Clinton 5 - 1 is audacious. He'd fit right in in Harrisburg with a busdget like that.

Leftover $ in Harrisburg??????????

An Open Letter to the Pennsylvania General Assembly: Return Your Surplus to Taxpayers!

Dear Legislator:

On behalf of the nearly 17,300 Pennsylvania members of the National Taxpayers Union, I urge you to support efforts to devote the General Assembly's operating fund surplus to tax relief.
For years, the Assembly has hoarded hard-earned taxpayer dollars and now there is a sizable surplus. The Legislative Audit Advisory Commission has recommended that the Assembly adopt standards for how to deal with this money. Rather than expanding government and increasing spending, the best course is to return those dollars to the folks who earned them in the first place.

At a time when our economy is slowing, Pennsylvania ought to be collecting only the revenues necessary for legitimate core functions. The operating fund from which the Assembly draws its salary and pays for other costs has taken an extra $241 million out of Pennsylvanians' pockets in recent years. That money would be better used to feed the families, fill the gas tanks, and expand the businesses upon which Pennsylvania relies so heavily.

Nonetheless, some legislators would prefer to use the money to boost spending on programs like health care. Instead of spending millions on new programs that would expand the reach of government, elected officials ought to focus on relieving the burdens of taxation. Pennsylvania has the nation’s second-highest corporate income taxes, a high sales tax, and a property tax burden that is increasingly difficult to bear for hard-working families.

Politics has trumped the interests of taxpayers for far too long. The time has come to stop using the fruits of Pennsylvania's labor as a political shield in budget battles between the legislative and executive branches. The General Assembly should resist the urge to grow government and instead devote the operating fund surplus to tax relief for Pennsylvanians suffering from a slowing economy.

Sincerely,
Andrew MoylanGovernment Affairs Manager

Who's been naughty and who's been nice?

Presidential race is not the only important one on primary ballot


But no one has forgotten the last campaign in 2006, which occurred after lawmakers passed, then repealed, a fat pay increase for themselves and other high officials in state government.
Voters responded by unseating 24 incumbents, and the atmosphere became so poisonous that 31 others retired voluntarily.


The pay raise fervor has cooled, but now incumbents have to worry how voters will react to a new crop of controversies that include the law to add tolls on Interstate 80, the arrest of a politically connected owner of a Poconos casino on charges he lied about contacts with underworld figures, and last summer’s budget stalemate that briefly shut down large parts of state government.

The old bulls are being naughty now. Rumors of planted primary challengers are flying as the old bulls try to settle old scores. More later

Casey says Obama wright - Will endorse

Goes against Big Ed, Mad Dog and the Nutter from Cobbs Creek.

Bob Casey to endorse Obama, join bus tour

The endorsement comes as something of a surprise. Casey, a deliberative and cautious politician, had been adamant about remaining neutral until after the April 22 primary. He had said he wanted to help unify the party after the intensifying fight between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

By coming out for Obama, Casey puts himself at odds with many top state Democrats - including Gov. Rendell, Rep. John P. Murtha and Mayor Nutter - who are campaigning for Clinton.
...

Obama strategists hope that Casey can help their candidate make inroads with the white working-class men who are often referred to as "Casey Democrats." This group identifies with the brand of politics Casey and his late father, a former governor, practiced - liberal on economic issues but supportive of gun rights and opposed to abortion. (Obama favors some gun-control measures and backs abortion rights.)
...

The source, reached by The Inquirer yesterday, said that Casey was also impressed with how Obama had stood up to the pressures of the campaign, including recent attacks over the racially incendiary remarks of his former pastor.

Casey's decision was also personal, motivated in part by the enthusiasm his four daughters - Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena - have expressed for Obama, the source said. "He thinks we shouldn't be deaf to the voices of the next generation."

So, a poll of four gave Casey the green light to drop his hammer for Obama's vision and Pennsylvania's future. Ain't no more crazy than usual when you know two wrights don't make a wrong.

Break a leg Big Ed

What others are saying about our esteemed politicians and their unique style of ruling.

Not many surrogates this week, but Rendell vs. Richardson promises to be interesting, with Richardson proclaimed by the media to be a towering intellect and Rendell being the old fashioned, break-your-legs mob type.

Maitre d' of the year - 1884

Lecture Explores Origins of Mudslinging

This should be the definitive handling of the subject...

It's being held at the John M. Perzel Education & Technology Center ETC.

No kidding.

The lecture is based on “Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion: The Presidential Election of 1884.”

Haydentown High School 1910

Grandpa's class

Big Ed & friends going lame is good for us

Big Ed and his three stooges

Rendell left quacking

That hurts an equally lame-duck Rendell, who wants the General Assembly to approve his health care and energy proposals, plus millions of dollars in new state borrowing for infrastructure.

Rendell now has lost his three go-to guys: Fumo; former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, who remains in the House but out of leadership; and former House Minority Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, defeated in 2006.

Rendell's Big Three -- Fumo, Perzel and Veon -- helped ram through a state income tax increase and other tax hikes, the 2004 casino law (engineered by Fumo) and property tax reduction schemes aimed at placating the voters.

Big Ed was quoted, "WUP-Wup-wup-wup-wup"

Billy does the Allegheny country

Former President Clinton stumps for wife in Pittsburgh area

Yeah, like that power couple will bring reform anywhere. The game's the same, just the names on the checks change.

The Voter Taketh & The State Giveth Back

Or the state taketh whenever they damned well please.

Pennsylvania takes away voter say on property tax hikes

h/t Tony Phyrillas

Did Murtha pressure military to get himself off hook

and how much pressure did Murtha put on the military to keep Haditha Marines on the hook to CYA his own miserable butt?

Murtha granted exemption from explaining
A member of Congress who publicly condemned U.S. Marines fighting the war on terror in Iraq for killing civilians in "cold blood" is being granted an exemption that means he will not have to answer questions about his statements, including his earlier explanation that his information came from the highest levels of the Marine Command.

The exemption has come in a military court proceeding against Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, one of four Marines still facing charges in the battle that erupted when a team of his Marines was attacked by insurgents in the city of Haditha.

Murtha's statements are key to the defense of Chessani, according to officials with The Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Chessani against the charges.

"If you go back [to Murtha's description] there was no [Improvised Explosive Device], there was no firefight, it was like there was a phantom menace," said Brian Rooney, a spokesman for the center, told WND.

"However we have the firefight on video. You can't deny it," Rooney told WND after a recent two-day motions hearing in Chessani's case came to a conclusion.

Read the rest and get your blood boiling.

'Stay' at home payraise

Didn't one of the Gambino's make a lot of money while serving a sentence?

After returning raise, LaGrotta took it back

Former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta revoked repayment of his controversial 2005 pay raise after he lost his 2006 re-election bid, boosting his pension benefit.

Mr. LaGrotta, 49, who is on house arrest after pleading guilty to conflict of interest charges, yesterday confirmed that he stopped repaying the money and sought a refund for what he had already paid.

"After losing the primary in 2006, I decided to stop having the amount of the pay raise deducted from my salary. I also was reimbursed for the months I did pay back. It was perfectly legal, according to House Comptroller Alexis Brown," Mr. LaGrotta said yesterday.

The raise, which was repealed after four months, added $4,414 to Mr. LaGrotta's annual pay, bringing his 2005 total compensation to $77,568.

State law mandates that any raises for lawmakers cannot take effect until the session after they are approved. But in passing the raises, lawmakers created a loophole that allowed many, including Mr. LaGrotta, to receive higher pay immediately.

Like many other House members facing re-election in 2006, Mr. LaGrotta, an Ellwood City Democrat, initiated repayment plans to reimburse the state for the short-lived raise that infuriated constituents and was ultimately repealed. However, when he was defeated anyway in the May 2006 primary, he stopped making payments and eventually, requested and received reimbursement for what he had already paid back.

Blackjack Murtha

He's making Pennsylvania proud.

Oh, so very proud.

Moon over Harrisburg

Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1504 were stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any more supplies.

Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realised that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504.

He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night.

The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg Columbus to restore the Moon -- which he did, in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

Hint to Speaker Dennis O'Brien; tell Big Ed, the Maître de and Dealer DeWeese that if they don't stop spending like a bunch of drunk power hungry liberals using our credit cards at the Federal Wal-Mart you'll make the Moon go away. Do that and maybe Harrisburg might just start paying attention to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Of course they'll tell you that they hung the damned Moon, but you just Moon them. The citizenry will applaud you.

Only 9,999 Cops Now Needed On Philly Streets

It's only logical, less criminals, less cops. I mean when the country club has fewer golfers they need fewer caddies, right? But too few bartenders just piss off the clientele, so be careful when using this or any formula. In fact, it's better to let trained professionals, say like John Prezell, Persell or Perzel, do any figuring.

Rep. Perzel's son goes into rehab, avoiding trial on assault
Samuel Perzel, son of state Rep. John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, has been accepted into a program for nonviolent first-time offenders - thus avoiding a trial related to an alleged assault on a police officer last year.

Perzel, 18, was arrested in November after he allegedly hit a female police officer in the face.
He was scheduled to face trial on misdemeanor charges of simple assault, resisting arrest and related offenses.

Instead, in court yesterday, defense attorney Joseph Canuso and Assistant District Attorney Jill Fertel told Municipal Court Judge Karen Y. Simmons that Perzel has been accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program.

Perzel, a college freshman outside the city, was not in court.

Canuso said after the brief proceeding that his client is expected to appear in court April 4, when he is to formally enter the ARD program.

Wonder if we'll ever get receipts for the $5.1 million that vanished into thin air. Vanished almost as magically as the misspelled name and more serious charges. Maybe they're all "outside the city". Where's Oscar Wallace when you need him?

Another Big Ed Rendell Success Story

Or Building A Better Titanic

Is Rendell Nuts?
Pennsylvania governor confuses taxpayers with leprechauns

Apparently, Gov. Rendell considers the following performance measures a “success”:

From 2002 to 2007, Pennsylvania ranked

38th in job growth,
40th in personal income growth, and
42nd in population growth among the 50 states.

Pennsylvania ranks

39th Best State for Business by Forbes Magazine.
37th Best State to do Business by CEO Magazine.
34th State Competitiveness Report 2007 by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University.
44th on Economic Performance, 37th for Economic Outlook on the American Legislative Exchange Council’s State Economic Competitiveness Index.
F (tied for worst state) on the Alliance for Worker Freedom ’s Index of Worker Freedom.
24th Best Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.
27th Best State Business Tax Climate by the Tax Foundation.

Read more about our Rendell Hell here at the Commonwealth Foundation and thank the Lord for Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

Time To Ask Perzel And The Clerk Again Please

$5.1 Million Redux With Johnny the Perzel

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Tony Phyrillas: Citizen activist continues the fight
Some of Stilp's latest targets include the $5.1 million that Prince John Perzel, Speaker Emeritus, managed to remove from the Speaker's stash when it was becoming clear late last year that Prince John would be sent into exile.

"Unfortunately, even after the mistake of the pay raise, actions occur which are not normal in the view of the average citizen." Stilp writes. "It is amazing to the average citizen that a member of the legislature can move $5.1 million dollars from one account to another at his own volition.

"Stilp wants each of the 203 members of the House to explain to their constituents how one individual (Prince John Perzel) can have sole control of $5.1 million in taxpayer funds.

Stilp has a lot of questions for lawmakers:
The account was said to be a "surplus" account that had been built up over the years. Why wasn't that taxpayer money returned to the taxpayers?

How do you clearly explain to the taxpayers back home the methodology that allows this to accumulation to happen?

How can you make sure these actions do not reoccur?

Can you give a clear history of the workings of the financing of the Speaker's office for the past decades that shows how these actions are taken?

Who else is involved?

Will you start the investigation of the $5.1 million surplus?

Can you prepare a resolution to accomplish this? Will you subpoena the former Speaker, now Speaker Emeritus?

Do you approve or disapprove of the actions that have occurred?

Does the former Speaker currently have access to the funds that he personally transferred?

What are the transferred funds currently being used for? Who now controls these funds if it is not the former Speaker?

What are you going to do to return the $5.1 million to the taxpayers and not to any House account?

Why aren't these questions still being asked?

If the Maître de wants to give just the old folks a tax break, he could start by coughing up this $5.1 million and opening his books from the time he has been in office to find the remainder. Of course then DeWeese and the rest of the old bulls in Harrisburg can do the same thing to show us what they did with our dollars and how they really spent their time "serving" us.

Their e-mail alone would probably ensure they couldn't get elected as village crap shoveler.

Rendell's Little Taxes And Small Spending Starts Adding Up

As Big Ed said, "This isn't a tax it's 42 cents a year." It's chump change for our Harrisburg hoods. We should bow and say thank you to Big Ed's boys because we're too stupid to know what is good for us.

Here is a little list of Big Ed and his boys' chump change programs. Of course, we are the ones paying all this chump change which makes us the chumps.

From the CF Policy Blog:

Small costs add up. Sure a few hundred thousand is small potatoes in a $27 billion budget, but these things add up. In fact, I decided to look over the budget and find all the small ticket items and see what they add up to (the calendars are actually an expense from a larger budget item, but the exercise should prove informative). There were 203 programs receiving less than $1 million, which cost taxpayers $73 Million. Jumping up to programs receiving $10 million or less (equil to less than $1 per person) there were 450 programs costing taxpayers over $1 billion. And at $60 million - remember that this is the annual cost of Governor Rendell's energy plan, which he bills as the cost of a cup of coffee per/month - I found 571 programs costing $3.9 billion.

"Small Ticket Items" in State Budget

Level Number of Programs Cost of Programs (Thousands)
Less than or equal to $300,000 104 $14,046
Less than or equal to $500,000 157 $36,726
Less than or equal to $1 Million 203 $72,759
Less than or equal to $10 Million 450 $1,011,392
Less than or equal to $60 Million 571 $3,940,224

Prepared by the Commonwealth Foundation

Folks, that is $5,075,147,000. as in 5 billion.

What does a BILLION dollars look like since we don't think anyone in Harrisburg knows. Well, maybe best buddies Perzel, DeWeese and Big Ed do because someone has to add up all those waiter tips, dry cleaning bills, gas receipts and walking around money costs.

What is a Billion Dollars?Here is a million: $1,000,000.00 Here is how many million it takes to equal $1 Billion:

$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 100,000,000 (we are now at one-hundred million. Let's continue)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 200,000,000 (we are now at two-hundred million. Whew, on we go.)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 300,000,000 (Three hundred million...>>>>>>>>> )
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 400,000,000
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 500,000,000 (Five-hundred million. Half way there.)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 600,000,000 (Six hundred million... come on stick with me here.)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 700,000,000 (Seven-hundred million...deep breath)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 800,000,000
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Sub total= 900,000,000 (900-hundred million done.)
$1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00 +1,000,000.00

Total= 1,000,000,000 Ah! $1 Billion... one-thousand million is a billion.
(courtesy of i69tour)

Now do the above 4 more times just to get what the little programs cost that our legislature have passed.

It should warm the cockles of your little hearts almost as much as it warms the pockets of those in Harrisburg that profit from these programs.

To see what the entire budget looks like you'll have to do the math yourself. That many zeros hurts my head.

Big Ed Rendell, Our State Jester

Gov. Ed Rendell Fires At Reporters

"Are you nuts, Jon? Are you nuts?," Rendell said.

"As a media person you should say, 'This is ridiculous, it's 42 cents a year folks. This isn't a tax it's 42 cents a year.'

" He added: "Any fair reporter should take that press release and mock it. They should report to their citizens that this is a joke.

" Rendell told Jon that his budget really did not include tax increases because the fees it contains on cigarettes, electricity and property insurance are just pennies.

Ha Ha, Big Ed, you're right, its a joke!. You know how to have us rolling in the aisles. Pennies are nothing, right? They don't add up to anything, do they? I mean pennies are only money, right?

Dem Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Aren't Really Changes At All

House Dems and Repubs fun around and split for home, again, to celebrate Martin Luther King. If Martin Luther King was still alive he'd sue every one of them for defamation.

"It's a borderline joke is what it is," Rep. Will Gabig, R-Cumberland, told the Associated Press. "It will do nothing. It will not reduce property taxes by one dollar. It will not change the system at all."

DeWeese and Perzel don't sneeze without checking in with each other. After a confab they check in with Big Ed just to make sure.

The real borderline joke here is that these clowns are supposed to represent us in Harrisburg.

Rendell's Cure That Kills

Why elect Hillary to get socialized medicine when Big Ed wants to get it done right here at home?

Rendell's snake oil: The wrong Rx

Gov. Ed Rendell is busy hawking "Cover All Pennsylvanians," his scheme to provide everyone in the state with affordable - i.e., subsidized -- basic health coverage.

CAP, as it's known, supposedly would provide uninsured individuals and employees of small businesses with insurance from private companies for $280 or less a month.

Businesses would pay about $130 per employee. Employees would pay between $10 and $70 a month, based on income. Families of four earning under $60,000 a year would be eligible for discounts or state subsidies.

Mr. Rendell claims 800,000 Pennsylvania adults lack health insurance but that CAP can cover them all by 2012 for just $1.4 billion. But the Commonwealth Foundation says Dr. Ed is selling snake oil.

Just think what Big Ed can do for medicine after what he's done for taxes and corruption in government. For just $1.4 billion of our bucks Big Ed can hurt a lot of people. Of course then the death tax kicks in right after the sick tax kills you.

All this help is killing me.

Thanks to Tony P.

Texas Fishing In Pennsylvania Waters

Funneling motorists through the toll gates like salmon means big money for some, but who is raking in the cash and who's paying it?

Turning Asphalt Into Salmon Runs

How Politicians conspire with owners of private highways to make you pay—twice.

Today’s question: why would a motorist cough up to drive on a toll road? That’s easy: to get somewhere he can’t go on a free road, or, more likely, to get there with less agony.

Now, let’s go back to the owner’s side. In order to harvest more cough-ups, what would it take to pile more agony in the paths of motorists who choose to avoid a toll road? I can think of a few dirty tricks. Hire a couple of freelancers to fake breakdowns during rush hours. Other days, they could lose mattresses off the backs of pickups, something that would cause chaos in traffic but no damage to anything but the mental health of commuters.
...

Your chance to join the salmon run may be in the planning stages even now. A number of states are scheming to set up toll booths on interstate highways. Pennsylvania announced a $3 million contract with McCormick Taylor to set up a system to track and record every car on interstate 80 for billing purposes. This is the same McCormick Taylor that has been pumping campaign donations into the coffers of Governor Edward Rendell and then Speaker of the House John Perzel. (emphasis mine)

I don't really like fish that much and I hate being treated like a fish that didn't see it coming and can't get off the hook, especially by a bunch of old anglers.

Yes, Money And Size Do Matter

I am one of many that believe fewer criminals on the street means fewer crimes being committed.

a smaller cheaper state legislature? maybe.

When criminals don't have "walking around" money to fund their livlihood, their crimes are not so organized as to have the ability to launder cash and hire lawyers to make criminals look like candidates for sainthood for the "good works" they really do locally and statewide.

Candidate, District, Total Expenditure(cycle 1, 2 & 3)

Friends of Sen Jubelirer Comm, 30, $1,400,398
Brightbill, Dave, Friends of Comm, 48, $1,002,414
Friends of John Perzel, 172, $ 864,289 *
Veon, Mike, Comm to Elect, 14, $ 823,187
Fumo, Vincent, for Senate, 1, $ 571,283
John Perzel Victory Fund, 172, $ 483,069 * Total $1,347,358
Wheaton, Heidi, PA Patriots Form, 36, $ 334,581
DeWeese, Bill Campaign Comm, 50, $ 316,686
Baker for Senate, 20, $ 290,346
Friends of Mike Brubaker, 36, $ 266,424

It is also easier to follow the money when there are fewer criminals to follow. I don't know about Philadelphia, but maybe Harrisburg could use those 10,000 cops on the street.