Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

Wordless Wednesday

9/11 - 11 Years Later and Still at War

It's 11 years since cowards took advantage of the open, free society that we enjoy and flew airplanes filled of innocent people into buildings filled with still more innocents. Nearly 3,000 people died. America had been attacked on her home soil and we reacted like the proud, wounded nation we are.

For all of my daughter Emma's life and 90% of my son John's life, America has been at war. But it's not a war that has really affected them in any way. Or me either. Or most folks.

It's a real war.  Ask those who are fighting it.  They are sacrificing , giving lives and limbs.  Months and year of their lives.  Losing jobs and houses, coming home bankrupt with PTSD and an indifferent public.

But there's no rationing.

No shortages.

No real significant protests.

No body counts on TV each night.

Would we have tolerated 11 years of war if we had personal sacrifices required of us?

If our tv shows and sports events had been disrupted?

If we had not been able to get strawberries in February?

If gas or chocolate or razor blades were only available on alternate weeks?

Or how about, if, god forbid, middle class, white people from northern states would be compelled to serve?

Not a chance.

There is no way 'The War on Terror' would still be going on if you and I had been forced to make the same sacrifices of the men and women serving today.  Or those of the generations who have been conscripted to protect this nation from evil (immediate or potential) in previous generations. Or even if the sacrifices expected of those on the home front in World War II were expected of us today.

There would have been massive protests, perhaps riots. Politicians would have been run out of office and pay and benefits for the military would have been seriously adjusted.

As sad as it is to note on this day of memorial, in some ways, I fear the terrorists have won this war.  Yes, we got Bin Laden and toppled Saddam Hussein. Yes, we drove the Taliban from power (sort of). No, there have not been any other Al-Quaeda  attacks on our home soil. These things all point to victory.

But the cost has been massive. 6,280 American have given their lives since 9/11 in service of our cause.  We have spent around $4 trillion to accomplish our war goals. At home, our freedoms and liberties have been curtailed or eliminated, infrastructure funds diverted to hardening targets and strengthening the homeland. 

While we may not feel the effects of a decade of war every day, they are there. 

Our 11 years of war have had their toll. And it's one not often thought of by most of us and that seems completely lost in today's presidential campaign. Today I remember all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, as well all the heroes who risked and gave so much to save lives that day.

But I also remember all the warriors who have fought on my proxy, going where I can - and would - not.  And their families, silently suffering so that Emma and John don't. 

So many heroes to whom we give so little.

Thank you and I am sorry I have not made your struggle part of my every day.

Happenings on South Broad Street

If you have tried to drive around The City of Brotherly Love anytime in the last 6 weeks, you know there is a movie being filmed in town. Paranoia is currently shooting right outside my window at the Kimmel Center.  In the 1400 block of Spruce St, there is a row of trailers which I am told house the cast while the shooting is going on.  Over on Broad Street, the entire block from Spruce to Pine is lined with equipment trailers stuffed full of rack of lights, colored plastic sheeting for the lights, scaffolding, and all kids of other cool equipment.

Paranoia will star Harrison Ford, Liam Hemsworth (who has brought skanky Miley Cyrus to town to entertain him) and Amber Heard.  Sadly I have not run into Amber Heard yet.  Harrison Ford won't regularly be in town during this part of the shoot but will be here in December when shooting resumes.

In other News, The Atlantic Building at Broad and Spruce, formerly site of Ted's Montana Grill and before that Avenue B by Neil Stein, has sold. Apartment developers the Post Brothers bought the mostly-empty but still-stately property for a cool $33 million.  Apartments are sure to follow.

The Madness Has Ended - Or Has It?

Last night the Prince of Darkness and his minions smashed the forces of All That Is Good and Holy and took the national championship for NCAA Men's Division I Basketball. There was a score, but the score was not really indicative of how much The Prince's (John Calipari) forces dominated the boys from Kansas.  This was as thorough a destruction as I have seen of one team in a championship game and despite a late attempt by Kansas to make things look respectable, the game was really never in doubt.

This was the predicted outcome. The gifted recruiter Coach Cal would finally get his national championship ring and his players would disperse to the winds to prepare for the NBA draft, possibly never having seen a UK classroom this semester. Bill Self's KU squad, already a loser to Kentucky back in November didn't have the firepower then and it didn't last night. Kentucky may not either next year, as they are set to lose freshmen superstars Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for certain and probably also Marquis Teague.

But Kentucky will reload with new talent, the recruiting of top prospects fueled by Coach Cal's first ring and the likelihood that the NCAA is still a few years away from catching up to him at Kentucky.  I don't really have a problem with the players to spend a year 'at school' and then head to the NBA draft.  For me, an educated, suburban, white guy to tell these kids who generally have so little academic preparation for college that they need a college degree to be successful while the NBA beckons with guaranteed millions is just stupid.

However, I do think that this is just another example of how college sports are nothing like what we pretend them to be. There is very little honorable or noble about universities making millions off the labor of athletes who will never graduate. Similarly, the athletes participating in this sham are little more than mercenaries, serving their term of enlistment for the bonus at the end of the line.

And it's not going to change. The NCAA tournament TV contract is an $11 BILLION deal. Anyone who has been to a Final Four has seen the obscene amount of money that gets thrown around in bars, restaurants and clubs wherever the games land each year. Then there is the merchandise.  People who can't find Kentucky on a map are bedecked in school color, wearing foam fingers and painting their faces. It's a virtual orgy of consumerism around a few games played by kids, who for the most part are not even able to drink yet.

It's a giant mess and it isn't going to get better.  I've always been a huge fan of March Madness, but this year may have been the beginning of the end for my enjoyment. The Madness isn't in Lehigh beating Duke (ouch that hurt) or in Butler making it all the way to the final game. It's in the masses believing that this is really amateur athletics and that the experience is somehow important to what colleges and universities are supposed to be about - namely education.

On Government and Health Care

If you are a Supreme Court junkie, as I am, it's been a pretty interesting week.  three days of oral arguments before the court over The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has had NPR's Nina Totenberg breathless since Monday.  I followed closely the radio and print accounts of the arguments and all of the analysis that came afterwards.

There were three basic areas of dispute.  The first, seemingly dismissed by the Court, is that the an obscure federal tax law from 1867 called the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) essentially bars bringing a case against Obamacare.  The law prohibits tax protesters from filing suit against a tax until the tax has actually been paid.  The Supremes seems dubious that there was even a tax involved here, even given that when the act is in force those who do not have health insurance will have to pay a penalty, which the IRS will collect.  It's a fine point I guess, but that's why lawyers are involved.

The second day was really where the fireworks were, with Obamacare opponents making the argument that the law is unconstitutional because it forces everyone in America to purchase health insurance.  Their essential argument was that the constitution does not permit the government to compel a citizen to purchase anything and that if the government could do this, it could compel people to buy anything at all, including broccoli.

The government's counter to this argument was that broccoli, no matter how much you like it, does not provide for a basic human need like access to health care does and that the government certainly has the right to regulate trade in such a huge area of the economy.  The government also argued that the only wa for health insurance to work was to have everyone in it all the time or else only sick people would buy it, making the whole system a horrendously expensive mess.

The final day's arguments were based around the complaint to the states governed by Republicans that the regulations that the act placed on Medicare were an unconstitutional violation of states rights by the federal government. The states also made the argument that the entire act must be struck down if any portion of it were deemed unconstitutional.

In the end, despite favoring universal care on a human rights basis, I found the arguments presented against Obamacare to be compelling.  I specifically agreed with the idea that individuals can't be told to buy a product, no matter how useful the product is or how much the product is needed to provide for the common good.  While we all agree that everyone should have access to comprehensive, affordable healthcare, we can't provide it by requiring everyone to buy personal coverage.  It's not who we are as a nation.  We don't solve our problems by mandating behavior.

So a government-funded, single-payer insurance system like Canada's must be the answer, right? 

I will surprise my libertarian and conservative friends (and my liberal friends too, I guess) by saying no, I think that government control of the healthcare system is not the answer either.  I work in higher education, where I have seen first-hand how the government can take over programs that have some problems but are working and regulate them into a costly, inefficient mess in a matter of years. Government can't even figure out how to collect trash efficiently and we want to entrust 1/6 of the economy and our health to its organizational ability?  I think not.

The real answer is that the solution is a lot harder than a health care bill. It will added efficiency such as a realization that not every hospital needs every new device. It will take philanthropy.  One of the reasons that health care has gotten so much more expensive is that non-profits and religious groups have been driven out as healthcare mega corps have been able to outbid them for top docs, leaving only charity care for the NPOs to provide. 

America has to invest in itself to get though what I consider a health care crisis.  That means those who have resources making a concerted effort to voluntarily provide for the less fortunate though philanthropy.  It's not good enough to buy proton guns for major research hospitals.  Someone has to be willing to subsidize mammograms and and infant care for folks who can't afford it on their own.

It also has to start with individual responsibility. One of the reasons that health care is so expensive is that we are so out of shape. Obesity, heart disease and diabetes are epidemics in the country, starting with toddlers. You don't have to join an expensive gym or hire a personal trainer, but it's time to get off our butts and go for a walk, to volunteer to clean up a park, or to coach a youth team.  We're lucky enough to live in a country with abundant access to clean, fresh water.  We should be drinking more of that and a lot less soda and juice.

I know I sound a lot like a small government conservative here, but I think that a regulated private healthcare system with significant philanthropic care is the best way to solve this problem. People also have to realize that their choices affect the community at large.  The Supreme Court is going to gut Obamacare when the justices rule in June. But that's not a bad thing.  It was a bad compromise on a grand idea.  Now it's time to more forward with a better plan.

Friday Fantastic Four - Catholic High School Edition

While the Friday Fantastic Four is a day late, I have an excuse. Yesterday, pretty much everyone who went to Catholic school in the Philly area was watching our news feeds to see what the fate was of the high schools that a blue ribbon commission had recommended for closure.

The news broke yesterday afternoon and there was jubilation across the area as parents, students and alumni learned that all of the schools would be spared, though Prendie and Bonner will merge in order to survive. All of the FB posts, pictures of crying girls, biting commentary and emotion got me to thinking about my fore years at St. James in Chester.  And with those thoughts came today's fan four:

What were the four best things about going to Catholic high school?

1. Being part of something bigger than myself - We had a network, a brotherhood and even today, 17 years after Bevilacqua shut us down, STJ lives on!
2. Uniform skirts - Yes, I went to an all-boys high school, but whenever we could, we would get out early and shoot up to Cardinal O'Hara where the girls were!
3. Knowing every guy in my class - I graduated with 180 other guys.  I can honestly say that I knew every one of them, and probably knew every guy in school by name.  I'm not unusual.  Many of us are still in touch, 25 years later.
4. Having a celibate man teach us about the value of marriage - Phrases like 'allaying concupiscence' sure made us want to run out and get married, Fr. Brugger!

I feel great for everyone who helped save the Philadelphia area Catholic high schools from the chopping block, especially the Bonner and Prendie folks back home in Delco.  Congrats!

And That's The Ballgame - Andy Musser Passes

The three voices that I most associate with my youth have all left us now.  First 'His Whiteness,' Richie Ashburn stepped out of the announcer's booth in New York City and passed into the night after calling a Phillies - Mets game in the Phils' dreadful 1997 last-place season.

Fresh off calling the 2008 World Series win for the Phils, Harry Kalas died preparing for a game in Washington, DC.  I cried that day, and again a few days later when thousands welcomed Harry home to Philly one last time.  While we still get to hear him sing 'High Hopes' every time the Phillies win at CBP, I still tune in sometimes and expect to hear him calling the game.

And today we lost Andy Musser, the third member of the Phillies broadcasting crew of my youth.  He was always the quietest of the three, the most generally reserved, but I really think he only paled in comparison because of the two Hall of Famers he worked with.  His double play calls were as smooth as Bowa, Trillo and Rose were on the field.

Some would argue Musser's voice went silent years ago when the Phillies management pushed him aside to give Chris Wheeler a larger role.  I still heard a bit of a bit of it in my mind though until Harry passed a few years ago. Wheeler and Tim McCarver were a part of those broadcasting teams as well, but never really seemed to be as big a part.  McCarver went on to make it big in broadcasting.  Against all odds, Wheels is still here, over-analyzing every pitch.

I grew up lisetening to the Phils on the radio on my grandfather's porch, and on TV on Sunday afternoons at my other grandfather's in Essington.  The silences were as important as the things that were said.

Today, we lost my last link to the soundtrack of my summer afternoons and evenings. I'm sad, but I remember seeing Musser a few years ago at a beer event he was working.  Someone inevitably asked him if he missed the games.  He looked wistful for just a moment and said something like, 'I'd be crazy if I didn't, but I've got a good life.'

Andy, thanks for all the great memories and say hello to Whitey and Harry for me.  I'll have an Anchor Steam for you!

Philly is Still Occupied - For Now

Dilworth Plaza is still an occupied camp as of lunch time today, with about half as many tents in evidence than there were 2 weeks ago. 

I took a walk on this beautiful late November Monday, enjoying the bright blue sky and what is probably the last day we will see with 60 degree temperatures until April.  There were throngs of people out walking the Center City Philadelphia sidewalks, and lots of them were headed over to Dilworth Plaza, site of the Occupy Philly encampment.

Since the group was supposed to be out by late yesterday, some of the Occupiers have moved on.  Others are very much  still there.  Signs up around the plaza note that the Occupy Philly group plans to move to a number of decentralzied locations once the inevitable forcible eviction begins.

The mix of hard-core homeless to hard-core activist is about 50-50 right now, with several dozen of each group milling around quietly.  Police and media are prominently present.  There is a much quieter air than I have seen before, no bullhorns or group chants, no music or any really signs of energy.

Warm food was being distributed, a few folks were packing up, and mostly people were sitting around, waiting to see what is going to happen next.  I didn't bring my Canon on my walk today, as the big camera attracted some unwanted attention on my last visit.  Instead, I snapped today's photos with my HTC Thunderbolt camera.  Many others were doing the same thing, documenting what it seems may be the final day that Occupy Philly calls Dilworth Plaza home.

Changes At Occupy Philly

Yesterday I took a bit of a walk at lunch and headed over to the Occupy Philly encampment at Dilworth Plaza, adjacent to Philadelphia City Hall.  I have visited four times since the occupiers took root there in September.

There has been some news lately, as just after the election, Mayor Nutter took to the airwaves to declare that the Occupy Philly group had changed, and that given the change he was going to have to start dealing with them differently.  Nutter noted issues with public health and safety as well as the group's refusal to move to an area across the street to allow a planned renovation of the Dilworth Plaza site to begin.

The Occupy Philly folks on the other hand have shot back that they have not changed, but rather it's Nutter that has been on the move.  Various Occupy Philly members made statements in stark contrast to the Mayor Nutter's allegations.  And, predictably, there were some folks in the middle, not sure who was right as the movement heads into the winter.

From my visit, I have to say that the encampment is distinctly different than it was in late summer.  Then it seemed like a large portion of the group were college students enjoying the warm nights and permissive atmosphere rather than having to stay in their dorm rooms.  When I visited during the day, the core group was a combination of aging hippies,  some homeless people, a group of hard-core activists and a sprinkling of young people.  All of those folks were there in the evening hours too, but there was also a night-time influx of vocal college aged-students, suspiciously clean for folks allegedly living outside.

Things have changed a lot in the last few weeks.  The population of hard-core homeless is much greater.  There are obviously people there up to no good.  Most of the college students are gone.  Many of the older folks have moved on as well.  The police presences is decidedly more edgy. The place has the look and smell of a homeless encampment; it does not feel like a political movement from my perspective. 

My photos don't show the change as much as they should.  I didnt take as many this time and I definitely was careful who I shot.  For the first time, I was subjected to open hostilty as I walked among the tents.  There were areas where I not only didn't feel welcome, but I didn't walk though because they did not appear safe.  It's also clear that there are concerns among those camping there about safety. 

I am not sure what the future is for Occupy Philly.  Will it be cleared away by force like Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Oakland?  Will they move across the street to the area suggested by the city?  With the movement continue to with as the temerature drop anonly those experienced with sleeping outside in a Philadelphia winter are willing to stay?

Whatever happens, I do feel like it will be happening soon.

Election Day Is Tomorrow

All across the county, Americans will go to the polls tomorrow to exercise our constitutional responsibility to voice our opinion and select our leaders.  For the most part, the general elections are local affairs, from my dad's first contested race in over 30 years of politics to town councils and state house elections that are the true grass roots of our political culture.

In my new home town, we have been consumed lately by allegations that our Republican mayor, Chris Myers has some skeletons in his closet and is now essentially being blackmailed by a man he paid for sex while on a business trip.  Signs like the one to the left have appeared all over town.  It's inflamed the community and the media, but really won't have much effect on politics here as no Democrat bothered to run for anything this year.  It's not as though there aren't some serious issues facing the community.  Sigh.

Due to the NJ politicos making deals to protect themselves, there are not really any serious races for the state house in Trenton.  Only three races are expected to be remotely close.  I love how Trneton really enpowered people with these new districts!

In Burlington County, the Freeholder election is the most important, but the Surrogate race is certainly the most colorful.  I have no idea what's going on with former Dem turned Republican George Kotch and Medford Lawyer Sander Friedman, who are vying for the Surrogate post, but I sure wish I had a third choice.  Just reading about this stuff makes me want to take a shower.  The race is a big ekough deal for the Republicans that I caught a TV attack ad against Friedman that ran this weekend on cable.  Pretty big spending for a seemingly useless post.

The Freeholder race pits the lone Democrat on the board, Mary Anne Reinhart and her running mate Machell Still-Pettis against the Burlington County GOP's slate of newcomers, Leah Arter and Joe Howarth in the heavily Republican-represented county.  While control of the Board is not at stake, the race is big enough that the county's big boys have bought TV time in this race too, really smacking Reinhart pretty hard. 

The Republicans have a lot of negative material to work with, as the Shamong Dem wrangled with the sheriff last week, while managing the most tepid newspaper endorsement I have ever seen. When people who are supporting you say that you 'need to try a different approach if re-elected,' I think there are some issues with your candidacy.  I've met Ms. Reinhart and found her violently confrontational approach distasteful and over the top.  I'll be voting the other way on this one.

Finally, in Cherry Hill, my friend and fellow Cabrini alum Steve Buividas is running for mayor.  I know very little of the issues or politics in this race, but I can tell you that I know Steve and he is a good person and will be an honest and strong mayor.

Whomever you support, I urge you to go to the polls tomorrow.  It's what our democracy is built on and it's the only direct way he have to make our choices known.  If you don't go out to vote tomorrow, I don't want to hear your complaining when things don't get done the way you want them to get done.

Occupy Philly

It's a beautiful day for a walk, so I took some time earlier today to head up Broad Street to Dilworth Plaza, next to City Hall to see the Occupy Philly rally/demonstration/gathering.  Honestly, if not for the police on every corner and the middle of Broad Street, you might not know anything was going on.

From 200 feet away, there was no sign of the latest outgrowth of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  On my way into work today, there were helicopters in the air and news trucks everywhere.  By noon though the 200 or so Occupiers were mostly surrounded by cops, confused homeless people, citizens documenting the situation,  and folks like me, just enjoying the day.

Clearly the Occupiers had thought things were going to be bigger, staging a Medic area, a family zone, sign painting stations and food distribution areas.  None of that appears to be really necessary.  There were plenty of signs and food. 

What there wasn't was a coherent message.  Forgiving student loans was a common these, corporate greed another.  But mostly the crowd seemed to be trying to convince itself that the gathering meant something.  I just didn't feel it.  To me, the folks there looked like an odd blending  of the kind of folks you see on the steps at UArts every day and some seriously aging hippies.  There were also several kids who can't play guitar.  Maybe they read somewhere that you need to have guitars at protest rallies.

I have to say that i see this movement as a left wing version of the Tea Party.  Nothing too organized, very diffuse ideaology, no center theme.  Except that they are angry with the way things are and they want change.  Both groups are dissatisfied with the way the nation we live in is being run.  Neither seems to have a clue as to what to do about it though.

The Tea Party movement was co-opted by the far right of the Republican Party, and this Occupy movement seems to have been co-opted by labor unions.  It will be interesting to see if the unions have as much success focusing the anger of the Occupiers.  It will also be interesting to see how many show up tomorrow.

On Change and Facebook

Come on people.  Are you frigging kidding me?

From looking at most of the web today, and certainly at Facebook, the only thing that people did all day was bitch about the new changes coming at FB.  The first part of the day was spent complaining about the changes to the Facebook feeds that were rolled out yesterday.  Legitimate news organizations devoted entire programs to the changes and the complaining.  The second act in the Day of Facebook Change was the rapt attention paid to FB founder Mark Zuckerberg's unveiling of the real changes coming.  After an intermission of rejoicing that the 'Like button' survived the update, the final act of today's drama was a wave of whining and moaning by people who don't want others to see their comments or 'likes.'

It's not like nothing else happened today.  The stock market crashed.  The Republicans continued pandering to the lunatic fringe.  REM broke up.

But everywhere you looked today, or listened or read, it was all about Facebook.  I know most of the world is addicted to Facebook, heck I know I spend too much time on it, but this is insanity people!

On 9/11

You can't be an American these days without knowing that today marks the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Washington DC area.  Even my daughter, blissfully unaware of the war on terror all of her life, understands today's import.

Today is first a day to remember those who were lost.  Most of them ordinary people, just going about their lives when evil was visited upon them.  The families, friends and nation they left behind didn't get to say goodbye and could not mourn personally.  Instead their loss was subsumed into a great American grief.  I hope that the intervening 10 years have given everyone who knew them an opportunity to remember them as they were, real people, living real lives.  People who made mistakes and did wonderful things, fathers, mothers, children, confidantes.

We should remember too the people who knew there was a danger and went into harm's way, showing the terrorists the finest example of American courage.  The first responders, the heroes of Flight 93, the workers who died from environmental dangers in the 10 years since.  Ordinary people who did honorable things, showing the world that evil will not - cannot - prevail.

Today should be a day when we go out and live our American lives. Watch football, shop, play baseball or soccer, enjoy time with our families.  We need to live 9/11 as a day like any other American Day.  Americans never forget, but they always move on.  Today is a day for doing both, and each honors those we lost 10 years ago.

Friday Fantastic Four

History is happening right now in Egypt as a popular uprising appears to have toppled the Mubarek government.  It's live on CNN and across the internet on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Which got me to thinking of all the history I have seen in my life. Thus, the Friday Fantastic Four is BACK, baby and back in a BIG way!

What are the four most historic events you witnessed or have lived though?

1. The Fall of the Berlin Wall - Nov 9, 1989.  This was arguably the biggest historical event in my life.  The Cold War came to an end, Millions tasted freedom for the first time and communism's stranglehold on Eastern Europe was broken
2. 9/11 - I was in New Hampshire and I drove home listening to NPR, marveling that our nation was so fragile.
3. The Challenger Disaster - January 26th, 1986 - I was in biology class when spaceflight was shown to be anything but routine and seven Americans lost their lives.
4. Barack Obama elected - November 4, 2008 - Our country did what many thought might never happen and looked beyond race to elect the first non-white president in our history.

How about you?  What are your top four?  There is certainly room for debate for folks of my generation.  The older set has some other amazing stuff to choose from.  What do you think?

This is A Big Meeting

It kind of blows me away to be at a huge conference sometimes. There are over 2000 people in this session and we lined up 45 minutes early to get in. What's more is that the session repeats 3 times during the conference.

There are big changes happening in how America pays for higher education. The US Department of Education is hosting about 10,000 folks at Disney World this week to talk about those changes. While I have not seen any weapons this week, there is clearly some hostility in the sessions as long-time aid officers vent about their feelings on the newest Federal rules.

Needless to say the bars are full at night!

I'm Confused

I don't talk politics much on this website.  While I was brought up in a house where politics was a regular part of the dinner table, the back yard and virtually every other discussion held, I have learned that talking about government and elections is not for the faint ot heart.  I guess it's also that I am somewhat of the political anomaly, that rare social liberal and economic conservative.  Since I don't run into many folks that agree with my flat-tax, pro-marriage rights platform, I tend to keep things to myself.

So I have been sitting on my thoughts about Tuesday's massacre election for a few days and I have finally been moved to write.  My apologies to those at work and at home that have already heard a condensed form of this diatribe, but here goes. 

Can some explain to me how it's possible that every Democrat running for everything from dog catcher to US Senate got sent home on Tuesday night unemployed except the guy running against the woman who went on TV to proclaim that she is not a witch?  How is it possible that a major political party can so badly screw up an election that they manage to lose the US House, virtually every governor's race, every contested state house and a vast majority of local elections as well?

To make it even worse, the Democrats lost all this ground from the majority position, taking no advantage of their incumbency or experience, but instead were content to have the fight taken to them on every front by candidates with less experience and frankly less compelling reason to be in government.

Let's look at things from this perspective.  How is it possible that a party that accomplished so much in less than two years was sent home early from the dance Tuesday night, without so much as a whimper?  Are you really going to tell me that the Majority Leader of the Senate barely holding his seat in Nevada is a big win? Are you frigging kidding me?!?  Come on!!!  How did you get into the position where your top legislative guy is scrambling for his political life?

It's not like the Democratic Congress and White House have been sitting around for the last few years!  They've actually accomplished a surprising amount.  Here are a few highlights:

• Ended the war in Iraq
• Created millions of jobs
• Averted global economic disaster by taking decisive action
• Passed important consumer protection reforms
• Took the war to the terrorist leader Osama Bin-Laden in Afghanistan
• Provided free health care for every single American citizen
• Created standards that save drivers money and improve air quality
• Pass $200 Billion in tax cuts

Seems like quite a list.  Even if you don't necessarily agree with the accomplishments, the Democrats got a lot done didn't they?  And the feats are made all the more impressive by the fact that they did it without the support of the Republicans, who tried to block nearly every accomplishment with partisan politics, just because they could.

So how did these guys lose?

It's pretty simple really.  They let the other team dictate the game. 

Instead of campaigning on how The Shrub Bush left them a mess that they are working hard to clean up, the Dems were content to get pounded by the Reps for "passing a $700 billion stimulus."  No matter that $200 billion of that money was tax cuts, the Republican's Holy Grail.  Obviously the cuts didn't go to the right people.

Instead of pointing out that they passed a program providing free health care for every American Citizen, the Dems sat back and let themselves get pounded for "Obamacare."  Did anyone in 2008 really think that the American health care system was working?  Nope.  These guys did something about it.

Everyone wanted us out of Iraq.  We're out.  Strangely, no one mentioned this.  Maybe because we really didn't really accomplish the mission and we're all kind of perplexed at how we didn't despite spending over $3 trillion and countless American lives.  Kind of makes the stimulus plan look small , huh?

Still, despite being left the biggest economic mess in history by the bush administration, fighting wars on two fronts, cleaning up a natural disaster created by a foreign company and having to do it solo, the Democrats somehow decided that they had not done enough to run a campaign.  Instead they let the campaign run them.

I was at a loss as to how this was possible until I saw Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on national TV on Tuesday night trying to explain what the loss meant.  His meandering answer didn't mention a single issue.  Instead he talked about having to "look inside the numbers" and "see how things look in a few days."  It was like listening to Andy Reid after a loss.

In a few days it's going to look like Tim Kaine is the most ineffective campaign coordinator since King Phillip of Spain.  The numbers are going to tell him that he squandered an opportunity to attack a badly divided Republican party and has left his own party crippled for decades to come as a result.

My final question is this, "If some guy in his study in Mount Laurel, New Jersey can figure this out, how come all those highly paid Democratic strategists can't?"  I won't say that I thought that the Dems had all of the best candidates.  In fact, there were plenty of Republicans that I did vote for and would have voted for if I lived elsewhere.  What I will say is that I can't believe that one team decided just to sit this one out and see what happened. 

What happened?  Y'all got your ass handed to you.  The map is red from one side to the other.  California even voted down legal weed.

Something to Consider

There was an interesting story on NPR this morning discussing the importance of this year's state house and state senate races across the country.  One of the races that was detailed was the contest to replace State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D) in Pennsylvania's 161st Legislative District, covering Central Delaware County. (Yo DELCO!!!!) The race isn't important because of who is running.  In fact, I am not even sure the story mentions either of the forgettable candidates.   Instead it's important because this is a district that could 'flip,' meaning  a seat currently held by a Democrat could easily be won by a Republican.

And that matters in Pennsylvania, because that could mean that control of the state House of Representatives could flip with it from Democratic control to Republicans.

So what, you say.  Sounds pretty normal.  One seat can make the difference.  That's why every votes counts, right?

Right.  Or in this case, every dollar.

Because also riding on PA-161, and a handful of other local races around the nation, is really control of the entire legislative branch of the Federal government.  how is that possible?  Redistricting my friend.

Re-districting is the drawing of congressional districts done after every Census.  In most states (Arizona is a notable exception), the re-districting is controlled by the political party that hold contol of the State House.  Since PA-161 could flip control of the Pennsylvania House from Dems to Republicans, it's of huge interest to those who want to re-draw those lines to squeeze Democratic district out of the Pennsylvania delegation and create a safe Republican district.

Redistricting is a fascinating art, generally creating safe districts for the power party's incumbents while doing everything possible to minimize the number of safe districts for the opponent.  Districts are often odd shaped things, picking up pockets of solid red or blue folks and narrowly connecting them to other solid areas to create a safe district.  An extreme example is FL-3, which is spread over nearly 100 miles, stretching from inner city Jacksonville to central Orlando, connected only by a narrow stretch of uninhabited land. 

Republicans created this district ten years back to minimize the effect of solidly Democratic urban regions by placing the two cities in one district.  Thus, the Republicans kept the suburban districts safely red in each of the cities and tossed the Dems a bone with a blue district.

So the simple fact of the matter is that there are a handful of local races this year that will affect the maps of a dozen of the biggest states in the country.  With those maps swing perhaps a sixth of congress.  Which has the party brass and the special interests salivating.

And that is why Harold Ickes, veteran Democratic strategist on the national scene  is managing the show for the Dems in PA-161.  As he notes in the NPR story, since there are virtually no rules on local campaign finance, the big dogs are free to pour money into the race.  He's forecasting that over $14 million will be spent by the Dems in this election.  Almost $18 million will flow into the race from the Republican side.  Former RNC chief Ed Gillespie is runnin the GOP show.  These guys are going to spend over 10 times what was spent in the last election in this district.

Why?  Bang for the buck.  This one little district could have a major effect on 10 congressional districts.  Elections in th US congressional races have tough spending rules that will limit the impact of money on those races.  So the investment is going into this race to try to create influence on all the others that will be fought over the next 10 years. 

I'm here to say this has to change.  I think Federal election rules should apply in any election year that would decide control of re-districting.  The gerrymandering of districts, while steeped in history, and often hilarious to see on the map board, robs voters of the local representation that our nation's founders envisioned when creating the bicameral legislature.  Finally, while it seems impossible, there has to be a non-partisan way to create fair districts.

Ok - enough of the civics lesson.  Time to watch Roy go for his 20th!

Reflections on 9/11

Virtually everyone here in the United States and the world over will be talking about remembering and looking back today.  While this is an entirely appropriate impulse on the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC, looking back doesn't do enough.

This is a time to look forward.  To live.   To experience.  It is of immense importance that we spend today being Americans, celebrating our freedom, experiencieng all the wonderful things our country has to offer, gathering to show that we are a people of hope and optimism. 

In doing so though, we must also remember all those that died that day and in the years since who were going about their normal American existences when hatred reached out and took them from us.  The example should be simple.  In their names, we must live our lives without hatred and in support of the ideals that this nation was founded on.

So I say go out today and enjoy baseball games and dance classes, back yard bar-b-ques and dinners out on the town.  Be defiantly free in your ability to do as you wish.  It's the best way to show those who hate us that hatred cannot stand a chance in the face of optimism and determination.

Why Isn't There Outrage?

I've been musing about the fact that for months now, oil has been POURING into the Gulf of Mexico, befouling the coastline, killing thousands of marine animals, birds and fish, and generally destroying life as we know it along the coast of Louisiana.

And no one seems to do more than glaze over when the news shows the damage.  For the life of me I don't get how the public is not demanding that more resources be brought to bear on this problem.  Why aren't there pickets at every BP gas station?  Why aren't there crowds throwing eggs at BP limos approaching Capitol Hill?

It's got to be that we don't get just how huge and ruinous this disaster is.  I found a little tool online that shows you just how huge the problem is.  And here are a few photos to drive the point home.  And let's not forget that in the criminal haste to get the well closed up and the rig moved on to more profitable waters, 11 men were killed as BP executives were apparently clueless as to how their company operated.

I say it's time we declare this disaster a threat to national security and federalize all BP assets in this country.  When they are done cleaning up the mess, BP can have back what's left of it's company.  That's the same approach they are taking with the Gulf of Mexico.  Maybe things will move a bit faster then.

It Was Only A Matter Of Time

I've written before about the nightclub atmosphere down at Citizens Bank Park. I don't think it's a bad thing, but things get out of hand now and then.  Apparently last night's Dollar Dog Night was one of those out of hand nights at the ballpark.  Among the 45,000 drunks on hand was a 17 year old who ran out on the field waving a rally towel. 

While the rest of us tuned into the Phils' loss saw nothing but Ryan Howard laughing into his glove, this intrepid YouTuber caught the mayhem on his phone.

This morning all Channel 29 and Steve Keeley are talking about is the use of the Taser by the Philadelphia Police Officer to subdue the fan.  How about we talk about how the kid got into that condition and how much abuse the cop had to put up with before he decided to take the kid down with an electric dart to the back?

I say if you run onto the field, you get what's coming to you.

One Hell of A Year

This is a year people will talk about for a very long time, both locally, as well as nationally and globally.

On a local level, the major story is the Phils breaking the curse of Billy Penn and winning it all for the first time in 28 years.  What a season and what a parade!  Chase Utley said it best.  We also had the usual vultures circling Andy Reid, only to see him pull a rabbit out of the hat again and get the Eagles to an improbable playoff bid.

We lost Johnny Marzano and Ann d'Harnoncourt (the only time those names will ever be in the same sentence) and effectively lost Vince Fumo.  Killadelphia was still violent, though 15% fewer people lost their lives.  Michael Nutter slashed city spending and Willie Goode's squeeze got nailed by Jeff Cole.  In South Jersey, Wayne Bryant went from most powerful man in South Jersey to just another convicted felon.  The Fort Dix terror plotters will go to jail, but not for as long as Bryant.

Alicia Lane and Booker got fired, Larry Mendte was creepy, the Comcast Center opened and Striped Bass and Samson Street Oyster House closed.

Nationally the big story was the people doing the right thing and electing the best man regardless of skin color.  Tina Fey was better as a VP candidate than Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaign looked the same when he was running as it did when it was suspended.  One governor had a hooker take him down and another sold a US Senate seat. 

The economy collapsed, despite every effort to give billions of taxpayer dollars to wealthy people.  Gas prices rocketed to over $4 and then dropped back to $1.35 here in Moorestown.  More than 300 Americans died int Iraq War, a fact that is sadly well down the list of 2008 events.

Michael Phelps outswam everyone in Bejing, including tiny 14 year old Chinese gymnasts.  The big story in China for the year was the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in May.  Terrorists struck Mumbai in an bloody week of fighting that killed more than 300.  Israel began an assault on Gaza this week, preparing for an invasion.

While the economy has had an effect on me personally as well as the rest of the world, I have been lucky this year.  The kids are great, I got to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a great trip, as well as call the Division III Final Four, visit Sedona, Annapolis, Maine, Disney, DC, Maine again, Gettysburg, Toronto, NYC, Boston, State College and Southern California. 

I got to watch the Phils clinch with John and my princess walk in a parade the same day the Phils celebrated their second championship in my lifetime.  I've got a challenging job and work with great people.  My family made it through the year with no health crises and we see lots of the greatest friends in the world. 

And I made an important decision about my future that I will talk about another time.

In many ways 2008 was a rough year.  I feel very lucky to be able to be looking forward to 2009 while still being able to say that 2008 was a pretty good year here. 

From Another Delco Guy to you - Happy New Year.  Be safe and enjoy!

On Paul Newman

Yesterday I got the news that Paul Newman died just before John and I left for the ball park.  It's not something I was ready for or the kind of thing you want to hear on a Saturday, or I guess any day for that matter.

Paul Newman played the kids of guys I easily identify with.  Guys with fast smiles, quick wit but a darker, more intense side.  There's a reason he played the hero in two film adaptations of Richard Russo's books, Empire Falls and Nobody's Fool.  He was dashing and cool, but a thinking man's star.  And, despite those devastating blue eyes, his on-screen relationships didn't seem to come easily to him.  He was, for all his star power, an everyman.

My favorite role is from Nobody's Fool, where he played Sully, the town handyman and 60-something teenager who enjoys his beer.  It's really Newman's first role that acknowledged his age and he is it with his usual grudging panache.  I'm also a big fan of his work in Absence of Malice, playing the son of a mafia boss who's just trying to make his way when he is accused of murder.  He does anger so well in this film and also brings a mis-cast Sally FIeld along to create excellent intellectuial and sexual tension.  My son knew exactly who Paul Newman was when I decsibed him as the voice of Doc Hudson from Cars.  Newman cut across three generations.

To me, his work as a philanthropist and supporter of liberal causes in addition to his business and racing interests go a long way to demonstrating that Paul Newman didn't just entertain, he worked to show us what we too could do with our talents if we just worked as hard as he did.

On Tim Russert

RIP Tim Russert
Originally uploaded by timothypedersen

I met Tim Russert last May in Buffalo, New York as he spoke as the home-town guest to a conference he attended. It was a few weeks before father's day and he spent most of his 40 minute speech talking about his dad, Big Russ. He also spun some fun yarns from the set of Meet the Press and took us inside what his day is like.

Afterwards, he stood around the makeshift conference bar with a few of us political junkies and had a beer, talking about the possibilities of the 2008 race that was still a year away at the time. He was down-to-earth, extraordinarily well-informed and generous with his insights and time.

I chose the image today from the 244 on flickr because it was not your standard headshot and seemed to capture the guy I met over a beer in his hometown.  Thanks to Timothy Pedersen.

For quite some time I really didn't think that much of Tim Russert's work on NBC. For some reason, his style and I did not connect and I generally avoided Meet the Press, which I considered a poor competitor to This Week.

Then came the White Board Moment.

On a night when seemingly no one on television was able to explain just what was happening, Tim Russert threw aside the technology and the maps and the millions of dollars of stuff at his disposal and communicated directly with the American public. He clearly showed us what was happening and how important Florida had become.

With a $2 white board.

In that moment I felt understood this guy and how well he connected with the US populace. Last year, I was gratified to find that my analysis was correct, but more gratified to get a chance to hear him talk about his dad and his son, to thank his wife for all of her time spent helping him and to thank those of our group for helping students like his son Luke go to college.

Last week he got to see Luke graduate from Boston College. Russert had done an awful lot in his career, but I am glad that "Little Russ" got the chance to see that moment before the screen went dark yesterday.

DUH!

I learned the hard way a few years back to always make sure I log off my email when I step away from the computer.  The FBI seems to think that Larry Mendte didn't learn that lesson until this week. 

A Philly.com story today notes that the FBI was called into the Larry Mendte - Alycia Lane email case when a CBS3 staffer found a computer logged into Lane's Yahoo Mail account months after the station had fired her.  The staffer let Lane know.  No one is saying WHO exactly called the FBI, but Mt guess is the station wanted to make sure it wasn't on the hook for this one and made sure it was covered by getting the feds involved.

All this to see the bikini pix, Lar?

Delco Guy Mendte is in trouble here.  The feds have been on this for months.  He's off the air until it gets cleared up.  His wife is still on the air over at Fox29, but my guess is that she is SERIOUSLY pissed.  I'm not thinking 29 is going to pick Mendte up to fill the Huddleston gap.

Clinton Onslaught Continues

Looking to press his wife's razor-thin margin of victory Tuesday, former intern-banger President Bill Clinton will visit Philadelphia Democratic ward leaders Friday.  I assume this meeting will take place in a smoke-filled back room of some South Philly grocery store.

I'm not sure what Bill hopes to accomplish here in Philly.  my guess is that the ward leaders are pretty set in their positions at this point.  The city's big D's, Nutter and Rendell, are behind Hillary already, so maybe it's just a maintain friends visit. 

Perhaps he's more 'street money' ready.  Whatever the case, it's unlikely that just TALKING will do much to sway this group.

Nutter Nails It

Michael Nutter has been on the job as Philadelphia mayor for six weeks and it looks like his patience is already wearing thin.

Asked for a comment in the incident where some brainless scumbag shot a 16 year old after the kid accidentally hit him with a snowball, Nutter went off.  "The snowball incident has to be the dumbest-ass event of the year," Nutter growled.

He's right.  In a city where we are constantly bombarded with dumb-ass events, killing a 16 year old over a snowball is about as bad as it gets.  But it's the kind of even that should show Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey that waiting won't save lives.  It's been a month since Ramsey brought Philly cops together and unveiled his crime-fighting plan.  I have not noted any change in the violence.

Let's get things moving.  Let's use this senseless murder to take the fight to the dirtbags and the bottom-feeders.  It's time to lock up gun dealers who make straw sales and their customers who pass the illegal guns on to the streets.  Stop and frisk should be a reality in the city, not a much talked about civil right issue.   Tavin Rutledge deserves as much.

Kyla Ebbert Nude This Time

Remember this past summer when some moron at Southwest Arilines took it upon herself to decide that a paying customer was wearing a too-short miniskirt and threw Kyla Ebbert off the plane?

Yeah.  I had forgotten too.

After that, Southwest issued an apology and used the situaion in their ads for a bit, Ms. Ebbert, either a college student, an aspiring lawyer, or Hooters waitress, depending on where you read, appeared on every bad TV show on the tube.

Then, blessedly, she disappeared off the face of the earth, except for parody writers and on myspace.

Until yesterday, that is, when Ebbert announced that she had posed nude for Playboy.  Like we all didn't see THAT one coming!  It took about 12 minutes for the photos to be leaked to the internet.  If you must see the images, here they are, but you have to go to confession later. 

Don't worry mom, "they are very tastefully done" according to Ebbert.

Back to School

Emma returns to her little school today and John starts second grade tomorrow.  Emma will miss seeing her friend Miss Terri each day, but has agreed to be 'a good girl' and see how things go.  john is rather grudging in his acceptance that summer is ending and the school year beginning.  He has opined that school should start after baseball season ends and should end in April when it begins again.

I always had mixed emotions about returning to school in September.  I always looked forward to seeing my friends again, but I disliked the uniforms at St. John's in Wallingford after the freedom of Walden.  I did not do well with the long periods of sitting quietly and paying attention.  John seems the same way, saying that recess and gym are the parts of school that he likes.   Emma has not had to conform much so far in her early schooling, but certainly likes to do her own thing.

Here's to all the little ones who head back to school this week and to all those who teach them .  I know it's a big job and one of the most important around.  Let's hope the summer vacation has everyone all charged up for the new year!

The photo is from John's first day at school, two years ago this week.  Emma was not happy he was getting all the attention!

Thanks Alberto!

  Liar Liar 
  Originally uploaded by drwhimsy

I jkust want to take this moment to thank Alberto Conzales for the WONDERFUL birthday present he has given me and the nation by his resignation today.  The Liar General had trouble remembering his name when called before Congress, let alone details of a super-secret program to spy on ordinary Americans or the political machinations that went into firing the US Attorneys.

CNN reports that Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff will be nominated by The Shrub to replace Gonzales. ANYONE will be better than AG as AG, but what about Chertoff should give us hope he acn do better?  His super-organized response to Hurricane Katrina? 

Still the cupboard in the Bush Administration is pretty bare of talent in the second half of a failed, lame-duck administration.  I guess a former jederal appelate judge and prosecutor is about the best we could hope for.  Let's hope he is too bust cleaning up AG's messes to make any of his own!

The Fourth of July

Over two centuries ago, just a few miles from where I write today, some of the most progressive and enlightened minds of the millennium gathered in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State House to discuss the future of the British colonies on the continent.  They met in the midst of a conflict between the best trained and equipped army of the day and a band of farmers, merchants and laborers armed with personal weapons and non-traditional tactics.  The goal of this gathering was to support the popular uprising with the legal and philosophical underpinnings of a new government.

On July 4th, the gathering of men named Jefferson, Hancock, Adams, Franklin, Rush and many others from all across the continent declared that everyone living here was now free from the British crown.  They later drafted documents serving as the basis of the world's first modern representative democracy.  A bill of the basic rights of man would follow.

Some say that the United States is the greatest nation in the history of man.  We have certainly done more than our part to advance freedoms, extend human knowledge and increase the station of human kind.  Today however, we are engaged in a war that sullies the work that those men in Philadelphia did and that so many other men and women have improved and extended in the last two and a half centuries. 

Our place as the first and arguably the best does not give us the moral right to impose our will on others.  We have the responsibility to protect ourselves and our future, but we cannot do so by bullying other peoples into submission.  We need both statesmen AND warriors, and warriors need the advise and consent of the statesmen to be morally empowered.

It seems today that we have forgotten the feelings of oppression and occupation that led to our popular uprising against the world's most powerful empire.  Now we impose our will because we can and that makes it right. 

We need to remember one of the basic tenets that went into the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776.  That is that the consent of the governed is what creates a government's legitimacy.  When a government loses that consent it loses its moral ability to utilize power. 

The folks at 1600 Pennsylvania would do well to pause today to read our country's Declaration of Independence and think about where it has all gone wrong.

Town At A Crossroads

I live in Moorestown in South Jersey.  It's the kind of town with flags on the utility poles, parades down Main Street and older, dignified homes with wide green lawns.  According to a marker near my house,the town is named for Thomas Moore, the town's first tavern owner, but the Lenni-Lenape Indians lived here hundreds of years before.    Like many towns with traditional downtown districts or "Main Streets," Moorestown has been facing a number of interesting planning and development issues over the last several years.

There is much controversy and many varied opinions in town about the recent proposed plan for the future of the Main Street area, Lenola and the Route 38 corridor.  Several of the council member have even come up with a separate plan.

Clearly everyone realizes Moorestown is at a crossorads and that development and big-box retailers are pressuring the kind of life that Moorestown has always embraced.  The acme moved out of downtown.  The car dealer moved to Cherry Hill.  Subway and Starbucks took over the bank and the lumber yard is struggling.  There isn't much time left for talking.

Historical Influence

Since 1700, Moorestown has has a significantnt Quaker influence.  Moorestown Friends School is a major employer and downtown landowner as well as the area's premier prep school.  The Meeting House and burial ground are still landmarks in the central business district.  The Quaker influence is also still felt in the town's "dry" status.  Several recent proposals would allow alcoholic beverage licenses for restaurants, a move that some estimate could bring in up to $10 million in needed cash.

While some see liquor licenses are a cash windfall as well as an opportunity to re-invigorate the town's portion of the Moorestown Mall area on Route 38, others see it as an abandonment of one of the values that has made Moorestown a hot residential real estate market in recent years.  Personally, I can't understand how a town named for a tavern owner ever went dry and I am not sure that the period of time from Prohibition to the present trumps the 200+ years before that.

Lenola

And then there's Lenola.  You might call it the 'affordable' section of town.  You might also call it the part of town where the 7-11 is, where Milton Street lives, where the Section Eight housing is and where Micky D's has an outpost.  In other words, it's the part of town people say "Oh You live in Lenola," like they just stepped in something when they hear you are from there.  The houses are smaller, many of them are rental units and everything looks just a bit tired.  Plus, it's where the more industrial business have traditionally been centered, leaving a  gritty, tried feeling on this side of town.

Town Hall

In a plan to help both the downtown business district and to kick start the Lenola section, Moorestown council member Seth Broder has proposed moving the town hall from its current location in the center of town to a former industrial waste dump "on the other side of the tracks" in the Lenola section of town.  I agree that the downtown area needs a shot in the arm, and a large parcel of ground downtown could be just the thing the small businesses need to add the critical mass needed to combat Best Buy, Home Depot and Barnes and Noble out at the mall.   But I think this plan is ill-conceived. 

First, the library would stay put, limiting the value and size of any mixed-use development that could inhabit the current town hall location.  Second, you're talking about moving the town hall to a toxic waste dump? 

Surely there have to be some other ways to get things moving in Lenola.  How much will the town hall actually help Lenola if you are going to also keep some services downtown?  Re-hab the old town hall and find another use for the toxic waste dump.

Conclusion

I think that all of the ideas proposed have some merit and serve as a great place for a  properly emnpowered town governing board to make some substantial long-term planning decisions.  These decisions need to take into account he history of the town while acknowledging that even the best place to live in the nation must change to continue to be attractive in the future.

It's time for Moorestown to address that the affordable sections of town look run-down and forgotten in comparison to Vernon Hill's neighborhood and that it's going to be tough to get a decent restaurant in town without a liquor license.  While I will pay for great schools and safe, clean streets, most people have a financial limit that they are willing or able to pay in taxes.  Moorestown needs to attract commercial tax eatables to  provide long-term residential tax relief.  failing to do so will only serve to price the town out of reach of the folks who have lived there for decades.

media credits: Flickr member Guy Noir's photos "Second Street Flags" and "Second Street House." Thanks!!!

Lindsay Lohan Smashed

Former cutsey child actor turned 20 year old trainwreck Lindsay Lohan wrecked her Mercedes SL-65 on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills last night.  She walked away from the wreck and was treated and released for injuries to her chest (God, I hope she's ok.  She's already had so much work done on that chest.)

TMZ reports that  investigators found 'a usable amount of cocaine' in the car.  Jesus.  she MUST have been destroyed to leave an ounce of blow on the front seat in The Hills.  LAPD charged Lohan with DUI.

Guess re-hab didn't take for her either.

Happy Victoria Day!

It's Victoria Day here in Canada.  For those of us not Canadian citizens, that's like 4th of July in the US.  Most everything was closed, there were crowds down near the Falls and fireworks.  A fairly festive evening.

I spent most of the day at the EASFAA conference in Niagara Falls, NY.  That city is not doing real well with the exception of the casino, though the convention center is brand-new and beautiful.  The downtown mall is eerily empty, shops and all.  It looks like a neutron bomb went off.  A security guard quickly ushered me from the premises when I attempted to take a few shots.  When asked if taking pictures was against the law, he simply said "Yes it is."  I ignored him.

We hit some wineries in the Niagara region of Ontario late this afternoon.  The folks at Caroline Cellars were particularly nice!.  We headed back to the Falls and had a fairly good dinner.  Fireworks filled out the day.

Photos are really slow to upload on the hotel wireless connection, so I will have to wait until I return home to get most of them up. 

As If We Needed Further Proof

Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified yesterday on Capitol Hill that Alberto Gonzalez, then the White House Counsel, pressured a bed-ridden John Ashcroft to approve the now-infamous warrantless wiretapping program.

Ashcroft was Attorney General at the time, but had ceded responsibilities to Comey.  Comey and the FBI director went to the hospital to protect Ashcroft from Gonzalez. 

It's hard for me to feel sorry for the priggish trampler of civil rights Ashcroft.  I certainly never thought anyone would make him look good, but Gonzalez makes him look like frigging Alexander Hamilton.

In related news, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel became the fifth Republican Senator to call on Gonzalez to resign.

Since we have not seen any evidence of it, it's unlikely G Dub 43 will do the right thing and can Gonzalez.

Thanks to Flickr member Daquella manera for today's image.

Michael Nutter for Mayor

A few months back, after meeting Michael Nutter at a social event, my girlfriend asked me what I thought of him.  I told her that I thought he was great and would make a near-perfect mayor, but that he couldn't win.  Today I am forced to consider the possibility that I was wrong. 

Not in that Nutter is great.  He is.  But in thinking he couldn't win, i was apparently selling him short.  And seriously overestimating Chaka Fattah.

Today Nutter is surging in the polls, in a statistical dead heat with the free-falling Tom Knox.  He picked up two endorsements today, including the only one that counts, The Inquirer.  He's looking like the horse to bet on.  Yeah, Knox could still spend his way into office and Brady still has the ward leaders which could help him slime his way to victory, but for once it seems like smart and hard-working might just be enough to make a Philadelphia mayor. 

It's not like anyone can be worse than the current clown.

Walking to Work

Just about every day on the walk to work I run into something at screams out to me to take a picture.

I love working in the city.  Nearly every day on the way to work I see something that screams to have a picture taken.  I took a few shots today that indicate to me how much of a crossroads this city is at right now.

We have old and new construction, high prices and low prices, new residents and the homeless all in very close proximity.  In addition, there are the pressures of business and commerce on the infrastructure,  crime problems in the neighborhoods and the never ending problems with the school system.

Yet it's one of the most vibrant and interesting places I have ever been.  I am very lucky to be able to come to work here every day.

In breaking news, Lynn Abraham has just figured out that John Street is a terrible mayor.

Morning Mini Post

In case you have not checked In lately, I have lots of new photos up on my Flickr page.  Some, like the shot to the right are from John's recent T-ball games and practices.  He's having a great time and enjoys the game as well as his teammates.

Others are from the recent flooding that hit the Philadelphia region and specifically Burlington County very hard.  I drove through Lumberton and Mount Laurel on Monday and took some pictures of the devastation.

I also have a new set up of The Gardens section of Mount Holly.  Built as a public housing project of one and two story attached homes, the area was plagued by the ravages of drugs and crime over the last few decades.  The area has been controversially designated for redevelopment and is largely abandoned.  A few families are holding out, either because they have nowhere to go or because they simply refuse to give in and leave.

Continuing my urban decay theme, there are many pictures from a series I am doing on Camden and the wonderful buildings I found a long the Broadway corridor which are a window into a gloried past that is so far from Camden's current reality.

Finally, there are many new shots of the family up as well, including some of my little angel Emma (right).

Today is supposed to be the best weather of the year and I am planning to head outside and do some yardwork and see what 78 degrees and sunny will feel like after weeks of a chilly, nasty spring.

Only the Names and Numbers Change

I'm home today and have the opportunity to catch a lot of the media related to the tragic shooting of 32 innocent college students at Virgina Tech yesterday.  I work at an urban university here in the northeast, and I can't imagine the impact such a tragedy will have on the VT community.  My thoughts are with the dozens of parents who will have to come to the Blacksburg, VA campus to bring their children home for burial.

They won't have the joy of a commencement or even the difficulty of a transfer.  All they will have is the outpouring of support from a nation that is shaken yet again by a gun rampage whose origins we can't understand.  I wish there was more for them.  I wish they had something more.

There are a million thoughts in my mind at this time.  I won't say that any college I have ever worked for would have done better, but gosh it seems like the two hours after the initial shooting should have given Virginia Tech Police time to find this guy and do something.

NPR interviewed a Lucinda Roy, a professor of the gunman today.  She discussed her attempts to inform campus authorities about her concerns about the 23 year old South Korean murderer.  Her concerns went unheeded.

Liviu Librescu survived the Holocost, endured Communisim in Romania and was a well-thought-of professor at VT.  He saved several students yesterday, heroically putting his body between them and the gunman.  He died in his classroom.  he was 76.

I'll be interested to talk to my brother, who just this minute is touching down on a return flight from London.  I want to know how this horrible event was reported abroad and how his feelings differ from those of us who saw it unfolding live here in the US.

About the headline ... it just seems like these incidents keep happening in the US.  I can't help but think that if guns were harder to come by, that many of the hundreds who have died since 1999 would be alive.