Libertarian Republican Pat Toomey Officially Announces PA Senate Bid

Well, the rumors can now come to an end. They started out with the rumblings that Pat Toomey, former Club For Growth CEO, would make a run for PA governor in 2010. Then when Arlen Spector delivered that kick in the face to conservatives everywhere by voting yes to the stimulus, rumors started flying that Toomey would challenge him for his Senate seat.

Today Pat Toomey officially announced his bid for Senator. He has launched an official campaign website toomeyforsenate.com and is taking donations and volunteer information to start his fight against the closet liberal Arlen Spector.

In a video on his site he explains exactly why we need him as a Senator. ""We can stop the bailouts and the spending stampede; we can reduce the burdens on taxpayers; and we can unlock the ingenuity and job creation potential of our great nation once again," Toomey said in his remarks. "I am running for the U.S. Senate because I believe the economic stakes for our country have never been higher. The people of Pennsylvania deserve the very best from their leaders in Washington – but that's not what they are receiving."

I agree Pat. We need you.

PA Democrat Acting Labor Secretary Sandi Vito Arrested After Being Too Drunk To Sign Her Own Name

You will notice how the article below doesn't reference a political affiliation of Vito. Well I will. She is a Democrat. With numerous ties to the unions.

From Penn Live:
Acting Labor and Industry Secretary Sandi Vito was too drunk to sign the citation issued to her for public drunkenness, according to documents that were filed Wednesday in court.

The citation against Vito, which carries a $200 fine, was filed in District Judge Joseph Solomon's office Wednesday, a week after Vito was picked up for public drunkenness at the Harrisburg Hilton.

Vito was found "extremely intoxicated" in the hotel bar, according to city police Officer Amy Bright, who issued the citation. The document also said Vito was shouting an obscenity at Bright and others.

Vito, 43, entered a rehab facility a day after The Patriot-News reported the incident. She is expected to return to her $136,120-a-year post after a leave that will last about two weeks, authorities said.

Vito has been recommended for confirmation by the Senate's Labor and Industry Committee, and a vote is expected by the Senate within a few weeks.

Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to continue to support her, administration officials said.

In a statement she issued after the incident, Vito said she was arrested after she declined to take a cab instead of walking to her home in Shipoke.

Sources familiar with the incident said police were summoned by hotel employees after Vito either fell out or jumped out of a cab that was summoned for her and refused to get back in.

The Philadelphia Tea Party Is On!!

I'm getting details on the Philadelphia location for the nationwide tea party protest on Friday.

The event in Philly will start at 12pm at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. We are expecting a big crowd. We have been getting a lot of interest so far. Please visit our Facebook event page to RSVP or just show up on Friday. Although an RSVP would be appreciated.

Make sure to bring signs and your enthusiasm!

If you have any questions at all, e-mail me at gopforliberty@gmail.com

Three Democrat Pennsylvania Judges Plead Guilty In Kickback Scheme

Three judges have plead guilty on corruption charges in PA.

Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella, Michael Conahan and William Sharkey, all democrats, pleaded guilty last week to fraud charges after prosecutors accused them of taking kickbacks to send juvenile offenders to private detention centers.

All three men face up to 10 years in prison.

From The ABA Journal:
"Prosecutors said the kickback scheme began in December 2002, when the judges shut down the county juvenile detention center on the ground it was in bad shape and said juveniles should be housed at two private centers, according to the Times account.

Ciavarella says he only sentenced juveniles to detention centers if they deserved it, but his record is tougher than the norm, the Times story says. He sent one-fourth of juvenile defendants to detention from 2002 to 2006, compared with a state average of 1 out of 10, the story says.

Juveniles have a constitutional right to counsel, but about half the juveniles appearing before Ciavarella had waived that right, the Times says. Only Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina require representation for juveniles.

The case has spurred the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review all juvenile cases decided in Luzerne County in the last five years and all appointments by the judges in the last seven years.

Former Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta attended the hearing. She has said she reported improper conduct by the judges to the FBI, according to the Legal Intelligencer article. The state’s judicial discipline body banned Lokuta from the bench in December based on findings that she belittled her staff, used court personnel to clean her home and created a warlike atmosphere with other judges."

What you will find missing from the ABA Article along with just about every other news source that is running this story is the political affiliations of the judges. All of which are Democrats.

"Fast Eddie" Rendell Ponying Up $10 Million For Philadelphia Inquirer Bailout

It's sad to see that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is still so desperately out of touch with his PA constituents. After it was announced this week that Pennsylvania is facing a $1.9 BILLIONdeficit, and the strong negative public reaction to Rendell's $35 million Bailout of Boscov's Department Store, Rendell is looking to secure a $10 Million bailout for blatantly left-wing biased news rag The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Chris Friend from the Philadelphia Bulletin, recently sat down with Chuck Ardo, the Governor's press secretary for clarification.
"The Bulletin: It has been reported that Inquirer publisher Brian Tierney has approached Gov. Rendell for a $10 million bailout for the newspaper.

Did that conversation take place?

Chuck Ardo: The governor and Brian Tierney have had a number of conversations over the course of the last several months. The governor has made no commitment as a result of those conversations.

TB: Is the bailout something that is still on the table?

CA: He would certainly be open to discussions with Brian, but we need to look at the situation that we are in economically and financially, and I think any discussions have to be seen through that prism.

TB: If the governor were to say, “Sure, we’ll do it,” from where would the money come?

CA: If the governor was persuaded to the wisdom of helping Philadelphia Media Holdings, the money could come from a number of revenue streams. It’s hard to say, and would depend on what kind of help they would need.

TB: Would that require legislative approval, or would it come from the executive branch?

CA: There are ways that the executive branch can do this without need for legislative action.

TB: Would the money be a grant or a loan?

CA: It would depend on what the discussions might lead to. But as of now, no commitment has been made at this point.

TB: It’s one thing when the government becomes involved in car companies and banks, but how do you think the public would react to a media company seeking and receiving government bailout money from Gov. Rendell? Can it truly be viewed as objective and unbiased in its political reporting?

CA: The entire concept of a democracy depends on an informed public. Newspapers are a critical source of information, so there is a fundamental need for newspapers to continue to provide that information to the public. Now whether that information rises to the level of triggering help from the commonwealth, is something we’ll have to wait for the future to unfold.“


Reactions all over Pennsylvania to this situation have been negative. “I guess my first reaction would have to be, ‘Are you kidding me?,’” said state Rep. Doug Reichley, R-134th, of Lehigh County. “Mack Trucks in Allentown could use a bailout, but I haven’t seen the governor’s office soliciting them to see how much aid they need. Maybe the governor’s office could make the best out of two bad situations by placing slot machines in all the Boscov’s stores,” he said. “That would be a way of drawing shoppers into the failing retail chain he is trying to prop up, and would assist the declining slots revenue until the two Philadelphia slots locations are done with litigation.”

“If the Inquirer didn’t alienate 50 percent of its potential customer base with left-wing nonsense masquerading as news, it wouldn’t be in Harrisburg with a cup in its hand. If I cut my customer base in half, I’d be out of business in a week,” said Kevin Kelly, founder of The Loyal Opposition in Philadelphia.

“Thomas Jefferson understood the importance of a free press in a free society when he said, ‘Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,’” said Matthew Brouillette who is the president of the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation.

This whole bailout boondoggle, has this blogger wondering just how long The Inquirer was looking to slip their hands in the state's pockets, it might explain this slobbery little knob-job that was somehow granted front and center print distinction back in September of 2008. With tough investigative and unbiased reporting like that, it's hard to see why this paper is going under.

Libertarian Leaning Republican Pat Toomey Running for PA Governor in 2010?

There are strong rumblings in the state of Pennsylvania that Libertarian Republican Pat Toomey, president of the anti-tax group Club For Growth, is accessing his viability as a candidate for the 2010 governors race in PA.

According to Keystone Politics, "He has also put calls out statewide to supporters this week with the aim of raising money to do some preliminary polling."

I also was pleasantly surprised this morning when I checked my facebook account and saw a invite to support Toomey in his run for Governor.

This is news all Pennsylvania Republicans can be excited about. Toomey is a candidate that supports individual rights and personal responsibility, a much deserved break from the big nanny state government policies of "Fast Eddie" Rendell.

PA Based Retailer, Boscov's, Will Get Promised Bailout

Boy this really pushes my buttons.

I used to work for this place during my college years, and let me tell you, Boscov's Department Stores do not deserve a bailout!! Everyone associated with the store saw the looming bankruptcy coming. Why are the Pennsylvania taxpayers responsible for their mess?

According to the Pottsville Republican(my hometown paper), 5 counties in PA are funneling money through the estranged and once again owner of the chain retail store, Al Boscov.

Schuylkill, Butler, Blair, Cambria, Lackawanna and Lebanon counties, will serve as a conduit for nearly $35 million in state government loans meant to keep the department store chain afloat.

“Boscov’s has been a stalwart in the community for years,” county Director of Economic Development Mark Scarbinsky said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “We’re only a conduit, a channel for this money. It is not local taxpayer dollars funding this.”

Seriously Mark Scarbinsky. Really. Local tax payer dollars are not funding this? Because it is the state's money you are using? Is that really your logic? You do realize that the locals in this community also PAY STATE TAXES RIGHT!?!?! Your incompetence is stifling, Mark Scarbinsky.

Snyder county has been the only county so far to refuse funds to Al Boscov. Kudos Snyder County! Do you have room for one more? I can't live in a place where the County Commissioner and Director of Economic Development think the citizens that live here are frickin idiots.

As for my fellow Schuylkill Countians and Pennsylvanian's alike, join me in boycotting Boscov's. It will be a cold day in hell before I step foot in that money-grubbing overpriced dollar store ever again. I have Christmas gifts that I would like to have returned there, but now I'm saying screw it, I'll donate my unwanted gifts. The Women in Crisis Center is much more deserving than that place.

I hear Bon-ton is falling on rough times. I say everyone that is through with Boscov's and their crap hi jinks, do your shopping at Bon-Ton and keep a business afloat in the right way.

Ammunition Accountability Act: PA House Bill 2228 aka The Encoded Ammunition Act

The more I read about the doings of our government, the more I think George Orwell may have been on to something. His prediction was just about 25 years off.

There is a movement within our government to track our every move. I just discovered a movement known as The Ammunition Accountability Act that some legislators in Washington are pushing hard for. The act makes it mandatory that ammunition manufacturers encode each box of bullets with a unique serial number that will make the bullet traceable. The legislation also makes it mandatory that the retailer of the ammunition, positively identifies and records the consumer buying the bullets for entrance into a government database.

There is currently legislation pending in 18 states regarding this act. Those states being:
Alabama
Arizona
California
Connecticut
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
and Washington

Being from Pennsylvania, I have done a little research on my own home state's bill.
PA House Bill 2228 is legislation that was proposed February 5th 2008. Not only does the PA act follow suit with the nationwide movement in making encoding of ammunition mandatory, the PA bill also proposes a tax on bullet manufacturers to fund the government database tracking and a sales tax on consumers who buy ammunition. Five cents per round to be exact. Really? Five cents per round?? That seems a bit much don't you think?

I have created a petition to let our state legislators in Pennsylvania know that the citizens of this state are not happy with these plans. Please sign the petition and let everyone you know, that would be interested in this cause, know about the act and that Pennsylvanians will not stand for this. Our freedom depends on it.