Last month I wrote a column titled "Enemies of the State (of Pennsylvania)," where I listed the villains responsible for the Great Pay Grab of 2005 and other abuses of power by the ruling political elite in Harrisburg.
This time, I’d like to focus on the heroes of the people’s revolution to take back the state from self-serving, greedy politicians. The grassroots effort to reclaim the state is remarkable. Over the past three months, dozens of Pennsylvania residents have risen to lead the revolt against the legislative aristocracy and their blue blood brethren in the governor’s mansion and the state courts.
Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, independents, Green Party members, conservatives and liberals have banded together for one common goal: remove the elected nobility that has bled Pennsylvania dry and restore Constitutional order in a state where lawmakers openly flaunt their disregard for the law.
Here are some of the key leaders (in no particular order) of the citizen revolt against the Harrisburg Hogs:
RUSS DIAMOND: The founder of the Web site www.pacleansweep.com, Diamond wants every member of the bloated Pennsylvania legislature kicked out of office. His Web site offers practical advice on how to organize a campaign to run against the entrenched legislators. He is also recruiting candidates who are willing to sign a pledge to repeal the pay raise and restore decency in state government.
GENE STILP: The granddaddy of the pay raise protest, Stilp was the man who filed a lawsuit when the legislators pulled the same pay raise stung in 1995. Stilp filed a lawsuit against the pay raise this year and most recently filed another lawsuit seeking an audit of financial records. Updates on his efforts to expose the corruption in Harrisburg can be found at http://genestilp.blogspot.com Stilp is also the man responsible for the 25-foot inflatable pink pig that was the backdrop for the Sept. 26 anti-pay raise rally in Harrisburg.
CHRIS LILIK: The founder of Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, Lilik is confronting the pay-jackers on several fronts. His Web site, www.grassrootspa.com, is the best place to start your day for a recap of all the news involving the state legislature and efforts to repeal the pay hike. A second Web site, www.informedpa.com, is the launching pad of a campaign by the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania to expose the legislative leaders who pushed through the pay heist. The group has raised money to pay for radio ads and billboards exposing the career politicians who need to be thrown out of office.
TIM POTTS: A one-time worker for Democratic legislators, Potts has escaped the Dark Side and is now working hard to restore accountability in Harrisburg. His is a co-founder of a group called Democracy Rising PA, which has four goals: make it easier for people to participate in public life, encourage competition of ideas for solving the state’s problems, give people maximum accountability for their taxes and set the highest standards of public integrity in the nation. For more information, go to www.democracyrisingpa.org
BARRY KAUFFMAN: The executive director of the non-partisan citizens’ watchdog group Common Cause/Pennsylvania, Kauffman has been exposing unethical behavior in Harrisburg for years. He was one of the leaders who filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of the July 7 pay raise. His Web site is www.commoncause.org, which has a link to the Pennsylvania organization.
JOHN KENNEDY: A maverick former state representative from central Pennsylvania who bucked the trend for years by refusing to accept many of the perks fellow legislators gave themselves, Kennedy has set up a Web site to help fight the pay raise, www.declarationofaction.org. Kennedy served in the state House from 1981 to 1988 and is living proof that legislators don’t have to mooch off the public all their lives.
As I’ve said before, the revolution cannot be won overnight. But we cannot live under the tyranny of 253 renegade legislators. Visit the Web sites mentioned here to educate yourself and spread the word. We must organize and gain strength if we are to have any hope of driving out the 253 kidnappers who took Democracy hostage in Pennsylvania.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Pay raise payback: Vote out Nigro, Newman
With the exception of the liberal Reading Eagle, which loves the establishment, almost everyone in the state is onboard with the campaign to oust Supreme Court Justices Russel Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman, who are seeking retention in the Nov. 8, 2005, ballot. These two judges are part of the problem with Pennsylvania government and should be the first casualties of the people's revolution to retake the state from greedy, arrogant politicians. Tim Potts makes a convincing case below for voting NO for Nigro and Newman.
Make Election Day ‘Rejection Day’ for Newman, Nigro
Make Election Day ‘Rejection Day’ for Newman, Nigro
What do you call it when someone takes your money without your knowledge or permission?
Honest people call it theft. Our governor, our legislators and our judges call it a pay raise.
That’s why people everywhere are angry. Because our political leaders treated us like nothing but walking wallets instead of citizens in a democracy.
Well we don’t have to wait until next year to strike back.
We can cast our first vote against the pay raise on November 8 by voting against two people who are already taking the pay raise. And they’re not even using so-called "unvouchered expenses."
They are Supreme Court Justices Sandra Shultz Newman and Russell Nigro. On Nov. 8, we get to decide whether they stay on our Supreme Court and keep getting the pay raise.
What do they have to do with the pay raise? Everything.
Our General Assembly enacts laws like the pay raise in the dead of night when we don’t — and can’t — know what they’re doing because our Supreme Court, including Newman and Nigro, has told them it’s OK.
Time after time, our Supreme Court has said it’s OK to make us pay for laws that we know nothing about until it’s too late. Time after time, our Supreme Court has said that the Constitution doesn’t mean what it plainly says.
What does the Constitution say? Among other things, it says that proposed laws must be considered on three different days in the House and three different days in the Senate. That’s six days total.
That seems clear enough. But our legislature and Supreme Court, including Newman and Nigro, have tortured this plain language to allow a bait-and-switch game where they tell us they’re going to do one thing, then suddenly do something completely different.
We’ve seen it year after year. Last year, it was the gambling law. It started out as a two-page bill and ended up in a matter of hours — not six days — as a 146-page law that is making Pennsylvania the slot machine capital of the east coast.
What did the original bill have in common with the final law?
Nothing. Not one single word. It’s classic bait-and-switch. A retail business couldn’t get away with that. Why should our governor and our legislature and our Supreme Court?
Yet on June 22 our Supreme Court said it was perfectly OK.
And what happened just 18 days later? Governor Rendell and the General Assembly, with the cooperation of Chief Justice Ralph Cappy, did exactly the same thing with the pay raise.
It started out as a 24-line proposal to limit salaries in the executive branch. But in a matter of minutes, it became a 22-page law to increase salaries in all three branches of government. And not one word of the original bill ended up in the final law.
So with both the gambling law and the pay raise, the only thing that got six full days of consideration was a blank sheet of paper.
It’s time to appeal to the Court of Common Sense.
It’s time to declare that anyone who thinks a blank sheet of paper is the same thing as a huge law doesn’t have the common sense or the judgment to sit on our Supreme Court.
The court says it owes "deference" to the legislature.
Wrong. The court owes deference to the people. The people are the sovereigns, and the legislators are the servants. Anyone like Newman and Nigro who doesn’t know the difference between sovereigns and servants has no business on the Supreme Court.
The court says it must "presume" that the legislature acts according to the Constitution.
Wrong. The court must "presume" that the Constitution means what it plainly says, not what legislators torture it to mean to suit their political ends.
Anyone like Newman and Nigro who can’t enforce the plain meaning of the Constitution in order to protect the people from abuse by their government has no business on the Supreme Court.
On Nov. 8, use your vote to say "yes" to representative democracy and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Use your vote to say "yes" to a government that treats us with respect and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Use your vote to say "yes" to our Constitution and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Remember: Our political leaders won’t change their behavior until we change our behavior.
So let’s change some behavior by voting Newman and Nigro "No!"
Timothy Potts is a former press secretary and director of communications for the Pennsylvania House Democrats. E-mail him at twpotts@kuhncom.net
Honest people call it theft. Our governor, our legislators and our judges call it a pay raise.
That’s why people everywhere are angry. Because our political leaders treated us like nothing but walking wallets instead of citizens in a democracy.
Well we don’t have to wait until next year to strike back.
We can cast our first vote against the pay raise on November 8 by voting against two people who are already taking the pay raise. And they’re not even using so-called "unvouchered expenses."
They are Supreme Court Justices Sandra Shultz Newman and Russell Nigro. On Nov. 8, we get to decide whether they stay on our Supreme Court and keep getting the pay raise.
What do they have to do with the pay raise? Everything.
Our General Assembly enacts laws like the pay raise in the dead of night when we don’t — and can’t — know what they’re doing because our Supreme Court, including Newman and Nigro, has told them it’s OK.
Time after time, our Supreme Court has said it’s OK to make us pay for laws that we know nothing about until it’s too late. Time after time, our Supreme Court has said that the Constitution doesn’t mean what it plainly says.
What does the Constitution say? Among other things, it says that proposed laws must be considered on three different days in the House and three different days in the Senate. That’s six days total.
That seems clear enough. But our legislature and Supreme Court, including Newman and Nigro, have tortured this plain language to allow a bait-and-switch game where they tell us they’re going to do one thing, then suddenly do something completely different.
We’ve seen it year after year. Last year, it was the gambling law. It started out as a two-page bill and ended up in a matter of hours — not six days — as a 146-page law that is making Pennsylvania the slot machine capital of the east coast.
What did the original bill have in common with the final law?
Nothing. Not one single word. It’s classic bait-and-switch. A retail business couldn’t get away with that. Why should our governor and our legislature and our Supreme Court?
Yet on June 22 our Supreme Court said it was perfectly OK.
And what happened just 18 days later? Governor Rendell and the General Assembly, with the cooperation of Chief Justice Ralph Cappy, did exactly the same thing with the pay raise.
It started out as a 24-line proposal to limit salaries in the executive branch. But in a matter of minutes, it became a 22-page law to increase salaries in all three branches of government. And not one word of the original bill ended up in the final law.
So with both the gambling law and the pay raise, the only thing that got six full days of consideration was a blank sheet of paper.
It’s time to appeal to the Court of Common Sense.
It’s time to declare that anyone who thinks a blank sheet of paper is the same thing as a huge law doesn’t have the common sense or the judgment to sit on our Supreme Court.
The court says it owes "deference" to the legislature.
Wrong. The court owes deference to the people. The people are the sovereigns, and the legislators are the servants. Anyone like Newman and Nigro who doesn’t know the difference between sovereigns and servants has no business on the Supreme Court.
The court says it must "presume" that the legislature acts according to the Constitution.
Wrong. The court must "presume" that the Constitution means what it plainly says, not what legislators torture it to mean to suit their political ends.
Anyone like Newman and Nigro who can’t enforce the plain meaning of the Constitution in order to protect the people from abuse by their government has no business on the Supreme Court.
On Nov. 8, use your vote to say "yes" to representative democracy and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Use your vote to say "yes" to a government that treats us with respect and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Use your vote to say "yes" to our Constitution and "no" to Newman and Nigro.
Remember: Our political leaders won’t change their behavior until we change our behavior.
So let’s change some behavior by voting Newman and Nigro "No!"
Timothy Potts is a former press secretary and director of communications for the Pennsylvania House Democrats. E-mail him at twpotts@kuhncom.net
Monday, October 10, 2005
Tips to overcome pay raise amnesia
The so-called experts keep saying that Pennsylvania voters will forget about the pay raise that state lawmakers gave themselves at 2 a.m. on July 7 by the time the May 2006 primary election rolls around.
Is it possible that 9 million voters will develop a collective case of amnesia when it comes time to deciding if they want to keep the people who broke into their homes in the middle of the night and relieved them of their hard-earned money?
We know the politicians are counting on memory lapses. That’s why they pushed through the pay raise in July — 10 months before any of them have to face the voters. But are Pennsylvania voters that absent-minded?
If you’re worried that you’ll forget that our "public servants" looted the state treasury to give themselves pay raises for 16 percent to 54 percent, I’ve come up with a few memory enhancers to help you out.
* Every time you pay $40 to fill your gas tank, remember that Pennsylvania has one of the highest taxes on gasoline in the country. For every gallon of gas you buy, 31 cents goes to Harrisburg in taxes. Gov. Ed Rendell rejected a call to temporarily suspend the gas tax in the wake of skyrocketing prices because it would reduce the amount of money politicians have at their disposal. And don’t forget that state lawmakers don’t pay for their gas. It’s free, along with the luxury automobile taxpayers provide these "public servants." While you’re struggling to pay for gas to get to work, remember that your state lawmaker can ride around in a Cadillac all day long at your expense.
* The cost of heating your home this winter is expected to rise anywhere from 30 to 70 percent. As you look for another blanket this winter because you’re trying to save money on natural gas or oil, keep in mind that state lawmakers gave themselves pay raises 10 times the rate of inflation. That will cover their home heating needs, with some money left over for a vacation on some Caribbean beach.
* Also keep in mind that state lawmakers — at the request of lobbyists for the utility companies — made it easier for utilities to shut off service for nonpayment during winter months. So when you pick up the newspaper and read about an elderly person found frozen to death in an unheated apartment, remember your state lawmaker who made it easier for utility companies to make their stockholders richer at the expense of senior citizens and the working poor.
* A few lawmakers have expressed concern about the coming winter and rising home heating costs, but so far the party bosses who control Harrisburg have expressed their usual disdain for the common people of Pennsylvania. Take the case of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a federal initiative administered by the state that provides assistance to Pennsylvania’s working poor to pay their utility bills. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that contributes nothing to the program. State lawmakers are sitting on a $135-million slush fund that they diverted from the state treasury. Part of that money will go to pay their salary increases. The rest is controlled by legislative party bosses so they can buy friends and influence people.
* A recent report by the American Bankers Association stated that more Americans are falling behind in their minimum credit card payments. A lot of people are using credit cards to pay for necessities such as groceries, gas and medical bills. As you fall deeper into debt to feed, clothe and shelter your family, remember that Pennsylvania’s legislative aristocracy — already the second highest-paid in the country — also provides itself with free medical insurance for its members and their families, a $129 meal allowance every day they’re in Harrisburg, a $650 monthly car allowance, a lifetime pension (in some cases as much as $50,000 a year), free life insurance and free long-term care insurance.
So, when bill collectors are threatening to ruin your credit or the bank is about to foreclose on your home, remember that Pennsylvania lawmakers are getting paid $81,000 to $145,000 for part-time jobs (legislators spent an average of 77 days in Harrisburg in each of the past five years).
While the Nov. 8 ballot is for local and county offices, there are two Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices seeking retention for 10-year terms. These justices are the highest paid in the country and have given state lawmakers a free pass in the past to violate the state Constitution by giving themselves illegal pay raises. It’s important that you vote "no" to retain Russell Nigro and Sandra Newman to send a message to the Harrisburg Hogs that Pennsylvania taxpayers are not going to take it anymore.
By firing two justices this year and two more next November, voters can change the majority on the seven-member state Supreme Court in the span of one year. That is an important step in taking back the state from the self-serving, career politicians.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Is it possible that 9 million voters will develop a collective case of amnesia when it comes time to deciding if they want to keep the people who broke into their homes in the middle of the night and relieved them of their hard-earned money?
We know the politicians are counting on memory lapses. That’s why they pushed through the pay raise in July — 10 months before any of them have to face the voters. But are Pennsylvania voters that absent-minded?
If you’re worried that you’ll forget that our "public servants" looted the state treasury to give themselves pay raises for 16 percent to 54 percent, I’ve come up with a few memory enhancers to help you out.
* Every time you pay $40 to fill your gas tank, remember that Pennsylvania has one of the highest taxes on gasoline in the country. For every gallon of gas you buy, 31 cents goes to Harrisburg in taxes. Gov. Ed Rendell rejected a call to temporarily suspend the gas tax in the wake of skyrocketing prices because it would reduce the amount of money politicians have at their disposal. And don’t forget that state lawmakers don’t pay for their gas. It’s free, along with the luxury automobile taxpayers provide these "public servants." While you’re struggling to pay for gas to get to work, remember that your state lawmaker can ride around in a Cadillac all day long at your expense.
* The cost of heating your home this winter is expected to rise anywhere from 30 to 70 percent. As you look for another blanket this winter because you’re trying to save money on natural gas or oil, keep in mind that state lawmakers gave themselves pay raises 10 times the rate of inflation. That will cover their home heating needs, with some money left over for a vacation on some Caribbean beach.
* Also keep in mind that state lawmakers — at the request of lobbyists for the utility companies — made it easier for utilities to shut off service for nonpayment during winter months. So when you pick up the newspaper and read about an elderly person found frozen to death in an unheated apartment, remember your state lawmaker who made it easier for utility companies to make their stockholders richer at the expense of senior citizens and the working poor.
* A few lawmakers have expressed concern about the coming winter and rising home heating costs, but so far the party bosses who control Harrisburg have expressed their usual disdain for the common people of Pennsylvania. Take the case of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a federal initiative administered by the state that provides assistance to Pennsylvania’s working poor to pay their utility bills. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that contributes nothing to the program. State lawmakers are sitting on a $135-million slush fund that they diverted from the state treasury. Part of that money will go to pay their salary increases. The rest is controlled by legislative party bosses so they can buy friends and influence people.
* A recent report by the American Bankers Association stated that more Americans are falling behind in their minimum credit card payments. A lot of people are using credit cards to pay for necessities such as groceries, gas and medical bills. As you fall deeper into debt to feed, clothe and shelter your family, remember that Pennsylvania’s legislative aristocracy — already the second highest-paid in the country — also provides itself with free medical insurance for its members and their families, a $129 meal allowance every day they’re in Harrisburg, a $650 monthly car allowance, a lifetime pension (in some cases as much as $50,000 a year), free life insurance and free long-term care insurance.
So, when bill collectors are threatening to ruin your credit or the bank is about to foreclose on your home, remember that Pennsylvania lawmakers are getting paid $81,000 to $145,000 for part-time jobs (legislators spent an average of 77 days in Harrisburg in each of the past five years).
While the Nov. 8 ballot is for local and county offices, there are two Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices seeking retention for 10-year terms. These justices are the highest paid in the country and have given state lawmakers a free pass in the past to violate the state Constitution by giving themselves illegal pay raises. It’s important that you vote "no" to retain Russell Nigro and Sandra Newman to send a message to the Harrisburg Hogs that Pennsylvania taxpayers are not going to take it anymore.
By firing two justices this year and two more next November, voters can change the majority on the seven-member state Supreme Court in the span of one year. That is an important step in taking back the state from the self-serving, career politicians.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Dispatches from the pay raise battlefront
Here’s a roundup of news from the front lines of the people’s revolution against the corrupt and arrogant political aristocracy in Harrisburg.
One of the pay-jackers has waived the white flag! State Rep. Sheila Miller, a Republican who has been collecting taxpayer checks for the past 13 years, has announced she won’t seek another term in 2006.
Miller, who represents the 129th District in northern Berks County, voted in favor of the July 7, middle-of-the-night pay raise and has refused to give the money back. Miller, a 53-year-old, part-time legislator and full-time beef farmer, has easily won reelection in her heavily Republican district every time she ran so her sudden surrender took many by surprise.
Miller wouldn’t say why she’s giving up the money, the perks and a lifetime membership in the exclusive Harrisburg Hogs Club. “It is time for me to move forward with future endeavors, focusing on family and farming, and applying my time and talents in another role as I wrap up 25 years in the policy-making arena,” Miller wrote to Speaker of the House John Perzel, the pay raise mastermind.
Maybe the anti-pay raise pressure got to Miller. Maybe she got religion. Doesn’t matter. Miller tainted her seven terms in Harrisburg as a champion for agricultural issues by participating in the Great Pay Heist of 2005. Her name will be added to what should be a long list of casualties as the people battle to retake Harrisburg from the larcenous legislators who run the place.
Don’t shed a tear for Sheila Miller. She will receive a lifetime pension courtesy of taxpayers as well as health benefits for her and her family, again courtesy of taxpayers. Berks County residents now have an opportunity to send someone who knows the meaning of public service to Harrisburg next year.
I was watching “The Untouchables” on TV the other night and kept thinking about the Pennsylvania legislature, especially when Robert DeNiro appeared on screen as Al Capone, the arrogant and defiant Chicago mob boss.
Capone had intimidated or bought off every official in Chicago, including the judges. The only way to stop him was to bring in the Feds. That’s where Elliot Ness and his “Untouchables” come in. They finally brought down Capone’s criminal empire. It might take a similar effort to fumigate Harrisburg.
The legislature made sure everybody enjoys the spoils of the July 7 raid on the public treasury, including Gov. Ed Rendell and state judges, who are now the highest paid in the country. Ralph Cappy, chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, saw his salary rise from $154,448 to $176,800. This is the same Ralph Cappy who billed taxpayers $36,894 in expenses over the past year. Does he buy a new robe every day?
A Harrisburg-area man filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the pay raise, but the lawsuit will be heard by the very same judges who are now enjoying fatter paychecks thanks to their legislative confederates. Judges who rule against the pay raise would be giving up enormous pay raises for themselves. The best hope for beleaguered Pennsylvania taxpayers may be the federal courts.
Common Cause of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizens’ group that works to make government more accountable to the people, is planning to file a federal lawsuit this month challenging the pay raise. While we’re at it, we might want to ask President Bush to send federal troops to surround the state Capitol. Perzel’s raiders are preparing for a long siege.
As many had feared, the warlords who control the state legislature will not allow a vote on bills to repeal the pay raise and the unconstitutional practice of collecting the pay raise early as unvouchered expenses.
Two bills were introduced in the past month to reverse the pay raise and abolish unvouchered expenses. The bills have been sent to the Rules Committee by John Perzel. And guess who decides when those bills leave the committee? You guessed it. None other than John Perzel, the GOP warlord who will not allow an up or down vote on the bills to repeal the pay hike. This is why it’s important to continue to put pressure on your state legislators, especially House members.
The legislature is made up of a few warlords and about 200 lawmakers who mindlessly follow orders from the warlords. As we get closer to 2006 and the opportunity to oust the entire 203-member House and 25 of the 50 state senators, you need to put the fear of God into your legislator. Right now, they’re more afraid of John Perzel than the voters. But without your vote, they won’t get the opportunity to go back to Harrisburg to grovel at the feet of John Perzel.
That’s the message you need to send to your state legislator. Remind them that they work for you. You can fire them. You will fire them on May 16, 2006, when you vote in the primary election.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
1 down, 252 to go
One of the pay-jackers has waived the white flag! State Rep. Sheila Miller, a Republican who has been collecting taxpayer checks for the past 13 years, has announced she won’t seek another term in 2006.
Miller, who represents the 129th District in northern Berks County, voted in favor of the July 7, middle-of-the-night pay raise and has refused to give the money back. Miller, a 53-year-old, part-time legislator and full-time beef farmer, has easily won reelection in her heavily Republican district every time she ran so her sudden surrender took many by surprise.
Miller wouldn’t say why she’s giving up the money, the perks and a lifetime membership in the exclusive Harrisburg Hogs Club. “It is time for me to move forward with future endeavors, focusing on family and farming, and applying my time and talents in another role as I wrap up 25 years in the policy-making arena,” Miller wrote to Speaker of the House John Perzel, the pay raise mastermind.
Maybe the anti-pay raise pressure got to Miller. Maybe she got religion. Doesn’t matter. Miller tainted her seven terms in Harrisburg as a champion for agricultural issues by participating in the Great Pay Heist of 2005. Her name will be added to what should be a long list of casualties as the people battle to retake Harrisburg from the larcenous legislators who run the place.
Don’t shed a tear for Sheila Miller. She will receive a lifetime pension courtesy of taxpayers as well as health benefits for her and her family, again courtesy of taxpayers. Berks County residents now have an opportunity to send someone who knows the meaning of public service to Harrisburg next year.
Time to call in the Feds
I was watching “The Untouchables” on TV the other night and kept thinking about the Pennsylvania legislature, especially when Robert DeNiro appeared on screen as Al Capone, the arrogant and defiant Chicago mob boss.
Capone had intimidated or bought off every official in Chicago, including the judges. The only way to stop him was to bring in the Feds. That’s where Elliot Ness and his “Untouchables” come in. They finally brought down Capone’s criminal empire. It might take a similar effort to fumigate Harrisburg.
The legislature made sure everybody enjoys the spoils of the July 7 raid on the public treasury, including Gov. Ed Rendell and state judges, who are now the highest paid in the country. Ralph Cappy, chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, saw his salary rise from $154,448 to $176,800. This is the same Ralph Cappy who billed taxpayers $36,894 in expenses over the past year. Does he buy a new robe every day?
A Harrisburg-area man filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the pay raise, but the lawsuit will be heard by the very same judges who are now enjoying fatter paychecks thanks to their legislative confederates. Judges who rule against the pay raise would be giving up enormous pay raises for themselves. The best hope for beleaguered Pennsylvania taxpayers may be the federal courts.
Common Cause of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizens’ group that works to make government more accountable to the people, is planning to file a federal lawsuit this month challenging the pay raise. While we’re at it, we might want to ask President Bush to send federal troops to surround the state Capitol. Perzel’s raiders are preparing for a long siege.
Want Democracy? Try Iraq
As many had feared, the warlords who control the state legislature will not allow a vote on bills to repeal the pay raise and the unconstitutional practice of collecting the pay raise early as unvouchered expenses.
Two bills were introduced in the past month to reverse the pay raise and abolish unvouchered expenses. The bills have been sent to the Rules Committee by John Perzel. And guess who decides when those bills leave the committee? You guessed it. None other than John Perzel, the GOP warlord who will not allow an up or down vote on the bills to repeal the pay hike. This is why it’s important to continue to put pressure on your state legislators, especially House members.
The legislature is made up of a few warlords and about 200 lawmakers who mindlessly follow orders from the warlords. As we get closer to 2006 and the opportunity to oust the entire 203-member House and 25 of the 50 state senators, you need to put the fear of God into your legislator. Right now, they’re more afraid of John Perzel than the voters. But without your vote, they won’t get the opportunity to go back to Harrisburg to grovel at the feet of John Perzel.
That’s the message you need to send to your state legislator. Remind them that they work for you. You can fire them. You will fire them on May 16, 2006, when you vote in the primary election.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Monday, October 03, 2005
Pay raise fallout: Revolutions can't be won overnight
After a 2½-month vacation, the Pennsylvania legislature is back in session. Hold on to your wallets and purses.
Both chambers of the House of Lords reconvened Monday for the first time since the Great Pay Grab of 2005. The contrast between what was happening inside the golden dome of the Capitol building and the steps outside couldn’t have been any wider.
Inside, the political aristocracy went about business as usual, wasting the people’s money, pocketing some of it and stroking their egos. Outside, about 2,000 Pennsylvanians — young and old, Democrats, Republicans and independents — braved the rain to rally against the pay raise, shouting "Repeal, Repay or Resign!"
The number of people who showed up for the rally is not important. The fact that every newspaper in the state carried a story about the rally on its front page the next day is a victory for taxpayers. The fact that television stations — who have ignored the biggest story in the state for 2½ months — finally carried news of the protest is a victory for taxpayers.
Revolutions begin with small skirmishes. The American Revolution was considered an isolated uprising in New England before it spread to all 13 colonies. And we all know how the Revolutionary War ended. While we’re on the subject, I just finished reading David McCullough’s outstanding book, "1776," about the first year of America’s battle for independence. It’s a fascinating account of the first days of what would end up being a seven-year struggle to overcome British oppression.
Those participating in the people’s revolution of 2005 in Pennsylvania can take heart in reading McCullough’s book. The early days of a revolution are often the most difficult.
The year 1776 was the "low point of our fortunes, not just in war, but in the whole history of the country. The prospects of there even being a United States were never more bleak," McCullough said in an interview. The Continental Army, disorganized and ill equipped, suffered a string of military defeats throughout 1776. There was little hope of breaking the tyranny of the British.
But the revolution survived its first year. Thanks to the courage and fortitude of George Washington and others, the cause of liberty was kept alive. So take heart, Pennsylvanians. The struggle to regain independence from the tyranny of the Harrisburg aristocracy and re-establish Democracy in Pennsylvania is an uphill climb, but victory can be won.
There are many Pennsylvania taxpayers feeling a sense of disillusionment today. I’m sure some thought that the House of Lords would repeal the pay raise before breaking for lunch on Sept. 26. Anyone familiar with the type of people who populate the halls of the state Capitol knows better. Pennsylvania lawmakers are professional lawbreakers. They hold Ph.D’s in pilfering. Most of them have decades of practice in picking the pockets of taxpayers. And they’ve gotten away with it time and time again.
The people’s revolution to retake their state government will not be won in a few months. It’s going to take years. We need candidates — honest, civic-minded Pennsylvanians — to run against the professional politicians in the May 2006 primary.
Do we have the fortitude to fight the war? The politicians are prepared to wait us out. They’ve fattened their bank accounts with our money. They are prepared for siege warfare. They can wait in their golden palace until we grow weary and retreat. If we do, tyranny triumphs. They will continue to rob us, our children and grandchildren blind. They will continue to live a life of luxury while the rest of us struggle to feed and clothe our families in one of the most heavily taxed states in the country.
So what’s next? First, continue to flood your state senator and representative with phone calls, e-mails and letters. Demand that they support bills to repeal the pay raise and eliminate the practice of unvouchered expenses. The special legislative session on tax reform called by Gov. Ed Rendell is a diversion to take our attention away from the pay grab. Don’t fall for it.
Legislators have been told for 30 years that Pennsylvania taxpayers need relief. They’ve ignored our pleas for decades. Do you think they’re going to come up with tax relief in the next 30 days? Keep hammering away at the pay-jackers. Confront them daily. Remind them that you are a witness to their crimes. Remind them that they work for you. Remind them that you pay their enormous salary. Remind them that you hold a powerful weapon — a vote they will never get unless they start looking out for you instead of their own selfish interests.
While Rendell and the larcenous legislators won’t face the voters until 2006, two names will be on the ballot in just six weeks. Russell Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman are seeking retention for another 10 years on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. You can send a clear message to Rendell and the other Harrisburg Hogs that taxpayers will not stand for the pay grab by voting Nigro and Newman out on Nov. 8.
The legislature has repeatedly violated the Constitution because it knows state judges allow them to do so. And don’t forget the pay-jackers shared their ill-gotten gain with judges by giving them pay raises on July 7. Pennsylvania now has the highest paid state Supreme Court justices in the country to go along with the most expensive state legislature in the nation.
By voting "no" to keep Nigro and Newman in office and voting "no" again in November 2006 when two other Supreme Court justices will be on the ballot, you have an opportunity to change the majority of the state Supreme Court within the space of one year. That would be a huge victory for the people’s revolution of 2005.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Both chambers of the House of Lords reconvened Monday for the first time since the Great Pay Grab of 2005. The contrast between what was happening inside the golden dome of the Capitol building and the steps outside couldn’t have been any wider.
Inside, the political aristocracy went about business as usual, wasting the people’s money, pocketing some of it and stroking their egos. Outside, about 2,000 Pennsylvanians — young and old, Democrats, Republicans and independents — braved the rain to rally against the pay raise, shouting "Repeal, Repay or Resign!"
The number of people who showed up for the rally is not important. The fact that every newspaper in the state carried a story about the rally on its front page the next day is a victory for taxpayers. The fact that television stations — who have ignored the biggest story in the state for 2½ months — finally carried news of the protest is a victory for taxpayers.
Revolutions begin with small skirmishes. The American Revolution was considered an isolated uprising in New England before it spread to all 13 colonies. And we all know how the Revolutionary War ended. While we’re on the subject, I just finished reading David McCullough’s outstanding book, "1776," about the first year of America’s battle for independence. It’s a fascinating account of the first days of what would end up being a seven-year struggle to overcome British oppression.
Those participating in the people’s revolution of 2005 in Pennsylvania can take heart in reading McCullough’s book. The early days of a revolution are often the most difficult.
The year 1776 was the "low point of our fortunes, not just in war, but in the whole history of the country. The prospects of there even being a United States were never more bleak," McCullough said in an interview. The Continental Army, disorganized and ill equipped, suffered a string of military defeats throughout 1776. There was little hope of breaking the tyranny of the British.
But the revolution survived its first year. Thanks to the courage and fortitude of George Washington and others, the cause of liberty was kept alive. So take heart, Pennsylvanians. The struggle to regain independence from the tyranny of the Harrisburg aristocracy and re-establish Democracy in Pennsylvania is an uphill climb, but victory can be won.
There are many Pennsylvania taxpayers feeling a sense of disillusionment today. I’m sure some thought that the House of Lords would repeal the pay raise before breaking for lunch on Sept. 26. Anyone familiar with the type of people who populate the halls of the state Capitol knows better. Pennsylvania lawmakers are professional lawbreakers. They hold Ph.D’s in pilfering. Most of them have decades of practice in picking the pockets of taxpayers. And they’ve gotten away with it time and time again.
The people’s revolution to retake their state government will not be won in a few months. It’s going to take years. We need candidates — honest, civic-minded Pennsylvanians — to run against the professional politicians in the May 2006 primary.
Do we have the fortitude to fight the war? The politicians are prepared to wait us out. They’ve fattened their bank accounts with our money. They are prepared for siege warfare. They can wait in their golden palace until we grow weary and retreat. If we do, tyranny triumphs. They will continue to rob us, our children and grandchildren blind. They will continue to live a life of luxury while the rest of us struggle to feed and clothe our families in one of the most heavily taxed states in the country.
So what’s next? First, continue to flood your state senator and representative with phone calls, e-mails and letters. Demand that they support bills to repeal the pay raise and eliminate the practice of unvouchered expenses. The special legislative session on tax reform called by Gov. Ed Rendell is a diversion to take our attention away from the pay grab. Don’t fall for it.
Legislators have been told for 30 years that Pennsylvania taxpayers need relief. They’ve ignored our pleas for decades. Do you think they’re going to come up with tax relief in the next 30 days? Keep hammering away at the pay-jackers. Confront them daily. Remind them that you are a witness to their crimes. Remind them that they work for you. Remind them that you pay their enormous salary. Remind them that you hold a powerful weapon — a vote they will never get unless they start looking out for you instead of their own selfish interests.
While Rendell and the larcenous legislators won’t face the voters until 2006, two names will be on the ballot in just six weeks. Russell Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman are seeking retention for another 10 years on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. You can send a clear message to Rendell and the other Harrisburg Hogs that taxpayers will not stand for the pay grab by voting Nigro and Newman out on Nov. 8.
The legislature has repeatedly violated the Constitution because it knows state judges allow them to do so. And don’t forget the pay-jackers shared their ill-gotten gain with judges by giving them pay raises on July 7. Pennsylvania now has the highest paid state Supreme Court justices in the country to go along with the most expensive state legislature in the nation.
By voting "no" to keep Nigro and Newman in office and voting "no" again in November 2006 when two other Supreme Court justices will be on the ballot, you have an opportunity to change the majority of the state Supreme Court within the space of one year. That would be a huge victory for the people’s revolution of 2005.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Monday, September 26, 2005
Enemies of the state: Pennsylvania’s pay raise villains
Technically speaking, Pennsylvania is a commonwealth, but who ever heard of the phrase "enemy of the commonwealth?" If you want to know what’s wrong with Pennsylvania, you need to look no further than its leadership. Below is a capsule look at the politicians behind the pay grab of 2005 and the people who run the worst state government this side of Louisiana. If you want to know what’s wrong with Pennsylvania, you need to look no further than its leadership. Here’s a look at the politicians behind the pay grab of 2005:
JOHN PERZEL — The most powerful politician in Pennsylvania is also the most arrogant and ignorant man ever to hold such high state office. Perzel, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is the pied piper who led unsuspecting rank-and-file lawmakers to support the pay raise, then took off for a junket to China so the foot soldiers could take the heat. When he finally got back to his home base of Philadelphia from China (followed by vacations in Bermuda and Italy for more rest and relaxation), Perzel first claimed he didn’t know anything about the pay hike furor that has dominated the news for two months. Then he came up with some nutty story about migrant farm workers in Lancaster County making $50,000 a year, so he deserves to get paid three times that much. Perzel is a loon and an embarrassment to the Republican Party. He needs to go.
JUDGE RALPH CAPPY — The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court all but admitted he orchestrated the pay raise debacle in a back-room deal with Perzel and Gov. Ed Rendell. It will be up to the state judicial ethics committee to determine the propriety of the state’s top judge working out a secret deal with the legislative and executive branches to hike his salary. His involvement in the pay raise travesty is unseemly at best. Revelations that Cappy and his fellow justices have billed taxpayers $164,000 in food, travel and lodging expenses (on top of their $170,000 a year salaries) is more proof that Cappy couldn’t care less for Pennsylvania taxpayers as long as he’s living in the lap of luxury. Cappy is not on the ballot any time soon, but there will be two Supreme Court judges seeking retention votes in November and two more judges on the November 2006 ballot. Vote "no" on all four judges to send a message to Cappy that no one is above the law.
ED RENDELL — Just months after a Washington, D.C.-based think tank gave Rendell an "F" for his economic policies, just weeks after the majority of Pennsylvania school boards rejected his Act 72 tax reform farce, Rendell gets himself embroiled in the pay raise fiasco. Is he trying to be a one-term governor? He’s already a part-time governor. Rendell spends more time from September to January concentrating on his other job as an Eagles football commentator than he does on state business. Maybe voters should do Rendell a favor and relieve him of his time-consuming duties as governor when he faces reelection. Former Lt. Gov. William Scranton, who will challenge Rendell in 2006, has already called for a repeal of the legislative pay hikes and a reduction in the number of legislators. That’s enough to earn my vote. This is what you need to know about Fast Eddie Rendell. On June 8, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he would never sign off on a pay raise for the legislature unless it approved an increase in the state’s minimum wage. On July 8, Rendell signed the pay raise bill for the legislature and himself even though there was no increase in the minimum wage. Around Aug. 8, Rendell was booed at a county fair as he waited in line to grab some food. He came out against the pay raise that he signed and defended a few weeks earlier. Fast forward to Labor Day and Rendell says the legislature must increase the state’s minimum wage. Where does Rendell stand on an issue? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. The political wind. Rendell will say anything to anyone to get a vote. Gov. Scranton sure has a ring to it, doesn’t it?
ROBERT JUBILIRER — This is the Republican leader of the state Senate. A career politician from Altoona (with 30 years on the public payroll), Jubilirer is a junior version of Perzel, not quite as arrogant or ignorant, but trying to get there. Jubilirer’s wife is a state judge who also gets a hefty pay raise under the July 7 pay grab. The good news is that Jubilirer is up for reelection in 2006. Voters will get a chance to retire him permanently.
SECOND-TIER ‘BOSSES’ — The top bosses, those pocketing pay raises of 34 percent to 54 percent, won’t give the money back. They’re willing to sacrifice as many rank-and-file legislators as needed to calm the voters. The bosses are secure in districts carved out specifically for them. If you see any of these names on a ballot — Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill, Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow, Senate Minority Whip Michael A. O’Pake, House Majority Leader Samuel H. Smith, House Minority Leader William DeWeese, House Majority Whip David G. Argall, House Minority Whip Mike Veon — write in "Mickey Mouse" instead. Mickey can’t do any worse than these rats.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
JOHN PERZEL — The most powerful politician in Pennsylvania is also the most arrogant and ignorant man ever to hold such high state office. Perzel, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, is the pied piper who led unsuspecting rank-and-file lawmakers to support the pay raise, then took off for a junket to China so the foot soldiers could take the heat. When he finally got back to his home base of Philadelphia from China (followed by vacations in Bermuda and Italy for more rest and relaxation), Perzel first claimed he didn’t know anything about the pay hike furor that has dominated the news for two months. Then he came up with some nutty story about migrant farm workers in Lancaster County making $50,000 a year, so he deserves to get paid three times that much. Perzel is a loon and an embarrassment to the Republican Party. He needs to go.
JUDGE RALPH CAPPY — The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court all but admitted he orchestrated the pay raise debacle in a back-room deal with Perzel and Gov. Ed Rendell. It will be up to the state judicial ethics committee to determine the propriety of the state’s top judge working out a secret deal with the legislative and executive branches to hike his salary. His involvement in the pay raise travesty is unseemly at best. Revelations that Cappy and his fellow justices have billed taxpayers $164,000 in food, travel and lodging expenses (on top of their $170,000 a year salaries) is more proof that Cappy couldn’t care less for Pennsylvania taxpayers as long as he’s living in the lap of luxury. Cappy is not on the ballot any time soon, but there will be two Supreme Court judges seeking retention votes in November and two more judges on the November 2006 ballot. Vote "no" on all four judges to send a message to Cappy that no one is above the law.
ED RENDELL — Just months after a Washington, D.C.-based think tank gave Rendell an "F" for his economic policies, just weeks after the majority of Pennsylvania school boards rejected his Act 72 tax reform farce, Rendell gets himself embroiled in the pay raise fiasco. Is he trying to be a one-term governor? He’s already a part-time governor. Rendell spends more time from September to January concentrating on his other job as an Eagles football commentator than he does on state business. Maybe voters should do Rendell a favor and relieve him of his time-consuming duties as governor when he faces reelection. Former Lt. Gov. William Scranton, who will challenge Rendell in 2006, has already called for a repeal of the legislative pay hikes and a reduction in the number of legislators. That’s enough to earn my vote. This is what you need to know about Fast Eddie Rendell. On June 8, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he would never sign off on a pay raise for the legislature unless it approved an increase in the state’s minimum wage. On July 8, Rendell signed the pay raise bill for the legislature and himself even though there was no increase in the minimum wage. Around Aug. 8, Rendell was booed at a county fair as he waited in line to grab some food. He came out against the pay raise that he signed and defended a few weeks earlier. Fast forward to Labor Day and Rendell says the legislature must increase the state’s minimum wage. Where does Rendell stand on an issue? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. The political wind. Rendell will say anything to anyone to get a vote. Gov. Scranton sure has a ring to it, doesn’t it?
ROBERT JUBILIRER — This is the Republican leader of the state Senate. A career politician from Altoona (with 30 years on the public payroll), Jubilirer is a junior version of Perzel, not quite as arrogant or ignorant, but trying to get there. Jubilirer’s wife is a state judge who also gets a hefty pay raise under the July 7 pay grab. The good news is that Jubilirer is up for reelection in 2006. Voters will get a chance to retire him permanently.
SECOND-TIER ‘BOSSES’ — The top bosses, those pocketing pay raises of 34 percent to 54 percent, won’t give the money back. They’re willing to sacrifice as many rank-and-file legislators as needed to calm the voters. The bosses are secure in districts carved out specifically for them. If you see any of these names on a ballot — Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill, Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow, Senate Minority Whip Michael A. O’Pake, House Majority Leader Samuel H. Smith, House Minority Leader William DeWeese, House Majority Whip David G. Argall, House Minority Whip Mike Veon — write in "Mickey Mouse" instead. Mickey can’t do any worse than these rats.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Friday, September 23, 2005
Legislators return to the scene of the crime
If you’ve ever watched a crime show on TV or read a mystery novel, you know that the criminal eventually returns to the scene of the crime. And so it is with the Pennsylvania legislature. After a refreshing 10-week vacation where the 253 co-conspirators had ample opportunity to figure out how to spend the $11,000 to $32,000 in pay raises they gave themselves, it’s back to the grind of three-day work weeks.
On Monday, both chambers of the Pennsylvania House of Lords will be in session for the first time since the middle-of-the-night pay grab on July 7. The Senate, where some members will get 54 percent pay raises while others collect up to $100,000 in additional income over the next four years, despite a Constitutional prohibition against collecting pay raises during their current terms, returned to Harrisburg on Sept. 19.
The House, where 14 yes-men were rewarded with committee chairmanships and $5,000 in additional pay by Democratic Party boss Bill DeWeese for stabbing their fellow Democrats in the back, will sneak into town Monday morning.
I say sneak because it’s going to be hard to avoid thousands of angry taxpayers who will descend on the state Capitol Monday. But I’m sure the House and Senate have private entrances to state garages where they can park their taxpayer-supplied luxury cars for free. Maybe they even have aides who will whisk them away in golf carts to their offices.
When you have 3,000 people on the payroll at the state Capitol, I’m sure there’s some job descriptions that include opening doors, fetching drinks and bowing before the members of the House of Lords during the 77 days of they year they’re in session in Harrisburg.
The July 7 slap in the face of taxpayers was supposed to keep us down. But something wonderful has been happening in Pennsylvania over the past two months. People are standing up to the overpaid, underachieving career politicians who populate the halls of the state Capitol. So far, 26 legislators who voted for the pay raise have backed down under pressure from constituents, who have flooded politicians with letters, phone calls and e-mails. But 132 others are taking the money. They need to be voted out.
The first order of business for the House of Lords should be to repeal the pay raise. Pennsylvania residents are suffering while career politicians are lining their own pockets. House Bill 1945 would repeal the pay raises. It has 40 sponsors so far. Is your state representative one of them?
The second item on the agenda should be to eliminate the unscrupulous practice of "unvouchered expenses" that allowed so many lawmakers to circumvent the state Constitution and accept the pay raises before the law allows.
Third on the list should be a written apology to every Pennsylvania resident, not only for the pay grab, but the complete failure of the legislature to address any of the state’s most pressing needs.
Gov. Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ralph Cappy and House Speaker John Perzel — the three-headed monster responsible for hatching up the pay raise plot — are living on another planet if they believe legislators deserve a pay raise. Pennsylvania already has the most expense state legislature in the country, but where are the results?
A study by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that only 19 percent of the bills introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature are ever signed into law. Twenty-eight states did better. California legislators, the only ones being paid more than our own Pennsylvania slackers, have a 60 percent success rate. The question one needs to ask about the pitiful success rate of people who are elected to enact legislation is this: Why are Pennsylvania lawmakers wasting their time introducing eight out of 10 bills that will never see the light of day?
Is the legislation bad to begin with or is the Pennsylvania legislature so large — so unwieldy — that nothing can ever get done? Why does Pennsylvania have the largest legislature in the country when states like California, New York and Texas can get more done with fewer people? Why are Pennsylvania taxpayers supporting this aristocracy that is not accountable to the people who elected them?
Once the pay raise issue is behind us, the legislature must enact property tax relief for the state’s homeowners. Rendell tried a public relations stunt by calling for a special session of the legislature to deal with property taxes, but it’s just another of Fast Eddie’s parlor tricks. I say the citizens of Pennsylvania should surround the state Capitol and not allow the 253 Lords out until they approve a tax reform plan that works. It may mean they have to put in more than 77 days at work this year.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
On Monday, both chambers of the Pennsylvania House of Lords will be in session for the first time since the middle-of-the-night pay grab on July 7. The Senate, where some members will get 54 percent pay raises while others collect up to $100,000 in additional income over the next four years, despite a Constitutional prohibition against collecting pay raises during their current terms, returned to Harrisburg on Sept. 19.
The House, where 14 yes-men were rewarded with committee chairmanships and $5,000 in additional pay by Democratic Party boss Bill DeWeese for stabbing their fellow Democrats in the back, will sneak into town Monday morning.
I say sneak because it’s going to be hard to avoid thousands of angry taxpayers who will descend on the state Capitol Monday. But I’m sure the House and Senate have private entrances to state garages where they can park their taxpayer-supplied luxury cars for free. Maybe they even have aides who will whisk them away in golf carts to their offices.
When you have 3,000 people on the payroll at the state Capitol, I’m sure there’s some job descriptions that include opening doors, fetching drinks and bowing before the members of the House of Lords during the 77 days of they year they’re in session in Harrisburg.
The July 7 slap in the face of taxpayers was supposed to keep us down. But something wonderful has been happening in Pennsylvania over the past two months. People are standing up to the overpaid, underachieving career politicians who populate the halls of the state Capitol. So far, 26 legislators who voted for the pay raise have backed down under pressure from constituents, who have flooded politicians with letters, phone calls and e-mails. But 132 others are taking the money. They need to be voted out.
The first order of business for the House of Lords should be to repeal the pay raise. Pennsylvania residents are suffering while career politicians are lining their own pockets. House Bill 1945 would repeal the pay raises. It has 40 sponsors so far. Is your state representative one of them?
The second item on the agenda should be to eliminate the unscrupulous practice of "unvouchered expenses" that allowed so many lawmakers to circumvent the state Constitution and accept the pay raises before the law allows.
Third on the list should be a written apology to every Pennsylvania resident, not only for the pay grab, but the complete failure of the legislature to address any of the state’s most pressing needs.
Gov. Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ralph Cappy and House Speaker John Perzel — the three-headed monster responsible for hatching up the pay raise plot — are living on another planet if they believe legislators deserve a pay raise. Pennsylvania already has the most expense state legislature in the country, but where are the results?
A study by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that only 19 percent of the bills introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature are ever signed into law. Twenty-eight states did better. California legislators, the only ones being paid more than our own Pennsylvania slackers, have a 60 percent success rate. The question one needs to ask about the pitiful success rate of people who are elected to enact legislation is this: Why are Pennsylvania lawmakers wasting their time introducing eight out of 10 bills that will never see the light of day?
Is the legislation bad to begin with or is the Pennsylvania legislature so large — so unwieldy — that nothing can ever get done? Why does Pennsylvania have the largest legislature in the country when states like California, New York and Texas can get more done with fewer people? Why are Pennsylvania taxpayers supporting this aristocracy that is not accountable to the people who elected them?
Once the pay raise issue is behind us, the legislature must enact property tax relief for the state’s homeowners. Rendell tried a public relations stunt by calling for a special session of the legislature to deal with property taxes, but it’s just another of Fast Eddie’s parlor tricks. I say the citizens of Pennsylvania should surround the state Capitol and not allow the 253 Lords out until they approve a tax reform plan that works. It may mean they have to put in more than 77 days at work this year.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Monday, September 19, 2005
What’s wrong with 'One nation under God?'
You can’t keep a good atheist down. Michael Newdow, the Cindy Sheehan of the heretic crowd, is back. He persuaded a liberal judge in California to rule last week that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional, forcing several Sacramento-area schools to ban the Pledge.
Newdow, you’ll recall, is the lawyer/medical doctor/intellectual moron who wants the words "One nation under God" stricken from the Pledge. He also wants "In God We Trust" rubbed off U.S. currency and he’s still steamed that President Bush recited the words "so help me God" when he took the oath to uphold the Constitution during his inauguration in January.
Newdow took his unholy crusade against the Pledge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, but the case was tossed out on a technicality. The justices never took up the merits of the case, leaving the matter for a future court to decide. It appears this case will be one of the first major decisions forced on the high court after John Roberts is sworn in as chief justice.
In a Sept. 14 ruling, activist Judge Lawrence Karlton agreed with Newdow that the Pledge’s reference to God violates the rights of children in three school districts to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." That same decision was reached earlier by another crew of Left Coast judges who make up the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2002 agreed with Newdow that the Pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.
The battle over church-state issues is at the heart of the cultural war that has divided this nation, pitting a motley crew of atheists, liberal extremists and card-carrying members of the American Civil Liberties Union against the rest of America.
Polls show that 90 percent of Americans believe in God. Two-thirds of Americans say they are Christians. The current wording of the Pledge of Allegiance has been recited by American school children since 1954 and there has never been a single case of a child irreparably harmed by pledging allegiance to "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
But militant atheists like Newdow will stop at nothing short of removing all semblance of faith from public life in America. With the ACLU by his side, Newdow wants to turn the U.S. into a godless, totalitarian state where people’s lives are controlled by a socialist politburo — not guided by a higher authority. It was tried in the Soviet Union for 60 years and we all know how well that worked out.
The Pledge of Allegiance is not a prayer. It is not a religious oath. It is a statement of loyalty to the United States of America by its youngest citizens. It is a daily declaration of gratitude for the privilege of living in the greatest nation the world has ever known.
Newdow and his secular rabble use the "faith card" much like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson use the "race card" to enflame their followers and obscure real issues. The Pledge is not about religion. And what if it was? Look what’s happened to our education system since the Supreme Court banned school prayer in 1962.
The Founding Fathers guaranteed us freedom of religion not freedom from religion.
The liberal mantra of "separation of church and state" was not the intent of the framers of the Constitution or the leaders of the states that ratified the Bill of Rights. The church-state divide is part of a campaign of deception perpetrated by left-wing radicals who hide behind groups like the ACLU and People for the American Way.
There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution to suggest that a wall should exist between church and state. The First Amendment, adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, prohibits Congress from passing laws "respecting an establishment of religion" and forbidding laws "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, the First Amendment says that Congress shall not recognize or favor a particular religion. It does not say the United States should be a godless nation.
The left-wing stormtroopers of the ACLU are forcing the removal of faith-based symbols from the public square every day. Try finding the cross, the Star of David, a nativity scene or a menorah — anything that symbolizes the Judeo-Christian heritage of this nation — on public display.
Meanwhile, the radical left pushes its secular agenda down our throats, forcing us to accept witchcraft, pornography and all sorts of perversion involving children as "constitutionally protected freedom of expression."
Students face discipline in our public schools for wearing crosses or uttering the word "God" in front of a classmate or a teacher. At the same time, children are forced to celebrate pagan holidays and study "Wican folklore" as part of their social studies’ curriculum.
Where in the Constitution does it say that the minority has a right to impose its wishes on the majority? When did the majority of Americans allow a fringe group of atheists, activist judges, media elite and radical college professors to hijack the moral compass of this nation?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Newdow, you’ll recall, is the lawyer/medical doctor/intellectual moron who wants the words "One nation under God" stricken from the Pledge. He also wants "In God We Trust" rubbed off U.S. currency and he’s still steamed that President Bush recited the words "so help me God" when he took the oath to uphold the Constitution during his inauguration in January.
Newdow took his unholy crusade against the Pledge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, but the case was tossed out on a technicality. The justices never took up the merits of the case, leaving the matter for a future court to decide. It appears this case will be one of the first major decisions forced on the high court after John Roberts is sworn in as chief justice.
In a Sept. 14 ruling, activist Judge Lawrence Karlton agreed with Newdow that the Pledge’s reference to God violates the rights of children in three school districts to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." That same decision was reached earlier by another crew of Left Coast judges who make up the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2002 agreed with Newdow that the Pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.
The battle over church-state issues is at the heart of the cultural war that has divided this nation, pitting a motley crew of atheists, liberal extremists and card-carrying members of the American Civil Liberties Union against the rest of America.
Polls show that 90 percent of Americans believe in God. Two-thirds of Americans say they are Christians. The current wording of the Pledge of Allegiance has been recited by American school children since 1954 and there has never been a single case of a child irreparably harmed by pledging allegiance to "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
But militant atheists like Newdow will stop at nothing short of removing all semblance of faith from public life in America. With the ACLU by his side, Newdow wants to turn the U.S. into a godless, totalitarian state where people’s lives are controlled by a socialist politburo — not guided by a higher authority. It was tried in the Soviet Union for 60 years and we all know how well that worked out.
The Pledge of Allegiance is not a prayer. It is not a religious oath. It is a statement of loyalty to the United States of America by its youngest citizens. It is a daily declaration of gratitude for the privilege of living in the greatest nation the world has ever known.
Newdow and his secular rabble use the "faith card" much like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson use the "race card" to enflame their followers and obscure real issues. The Pledge is not about religion. And what if it was? Look what’s happened to our education system since the Supreme Court banned school prayer in 1962.
The Founding Fathers guaranteed us freedom of religion not freedom from religion.
The liberal mantra of "separation of church and state" was not the intent of the framers of the Constitution or the leaders of the states that ratified the Bill of Rights. The church-state divide is part of a campaign of deception perpetrated by left-wing radicals who hide behind groups like the ACLU and People for the American Way.
There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution to suggest that a wall should exist between church and state. The First Amendment, adopted as part of the Bill of Rights in 1791, prohibits Congress from passing laws "respecting an establishment of religion" and forbidding laws "prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, the First Amendment says that Congress shall not recognize or favor a particular religion. It does not say the United States should be a godless nation.
The left-wing stormtroopers of the ACLU are forcing the removal of faith-based symbols from the public square every day. Try finding the cross, the Star of David, a nativity scene or a menorah — anything that symbolizes the Judeo-Christian heritage of this nation — on public display.
Meanwhile, the radical left pushes its secular agenda down our throats, forcing us to accept witchcraft, pornography and all sorts of perversion involving children as "constitutionally protected freedom of expression."
Students face discipline in our public schools for wearing crosses or uttering the word "God" in front of a classmate or a teacher. At the same time, children are forced to celebrate pagan holidays and study "Wican folklore" as part of their social studies’ curriculum.
Where in the Constitution does it say that the minority has a right to impose its wishes on the majority? When did the majority of Americans allow a fringe group of atheists, activist judges, media elite and radical college professors to hijack the moral compass of this nation?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Thursday, September 15, 2005
California Dreaming: Pay raise doesn't add up for Pennsylvania legislators
Almost everyone in Pennsylvania is aware by now that our state legislature is the second highest paid in the nation — behind only California — since Pennsylvania lawmakers gave themselves pay raises of 16 percent to 54 percent. Yes, 54 percent!
While it’s been widely reported that the pay raises range from 16 percent ($11,000 a year) to 34 percent ($32,000 a year), it turns out that some Pennsylvania lawmakers will make out like bandits, seeing their annual salaries go from $69,648 to $106,986 overnight under the July 7 pay raise they approved without debate at 2 a.m.
The vote approving the pay-jacking was 27-23 in the Senate and 119-79 in the House. Gov. Ed Rendell promptly signed the bill into law and praised the lawmakers for raiding the public treasury.
As the weeks went by and it became clear to Rendell that he might have made the biggest political mistake of his life, the governor flip-flopped quicker than John Kerry on the war in Iraq. Now Rendell is saying the pay raise was a mistake and probably against the law, and he is willing to sign a bill to repeal the measure, if the legislators would just up their ill-gotten gain.
Standing in Rendell’s way is Big Bad John Perzel, the most powerful man in Pennsylvania. Perzel, whose salary rose to $145,000 as speaker of the House, doesn’t want to give the money back. Not one penny.
In fact, Perzel thinks members of the Pennsylvania legislature are still underpaid, even though they now make at least twice as much as the average Pennsylvania worker and half of what a member of Congress earns. Perzel also thinks that the work of governing Pennsylvania is comparable to running California, so of course Pennsylvania legislators should be the second highest-paid in the nation.
The California comparison has been bugging me, so I decided to do a little research. Let’s throw out some facts and you can draw your own conclusions.
California is the most populous state in the nation with about 36 million residents. Pennsylvania is sixth in population with around 12.4 million and dropping. California has the fifth-largest economy in the world — not just the United States — but the world. Naturally, you would assume that a state that has three times the number of people would need a lot more legislators to run the place. Not so.
California has 40 state senators elected to four-year terms. California pays its legislators $100,000 a year. An independent salary board determines the pay of legislators in California. The board recently approved an increase that will pay California legislators $111,000 next year.) Pennsylvania legislators set their own salaries. Anyone see an inherent conflict of interest there?
Pennsylvania has 50 state senators, elected to four-year terms. Perhaps Mr. Perzel can explain why a state like Pennsylvania, which is one-third the size of California, needs more senators in its state capitol?
The disparity is worse in the House. California has 80 members in its House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 203. Yes, 203! Can anyone explain why we need 203 politicians making at least $81,000 a year when California makes due with 80? Do the math. Multiply 80 times $100,000 and compare it to 203 times $81,000. Guess which state saddles its residents with a bigger bill to pay a corpulent legislative body?
California state senators can serve up to two terms and then have to get a job in the real world. That concept is foreign to Pennsylvania lawmakers. How do you make a career of feeding at the public trough if you can only serve eight years? There are no term limits in Pennsylvania, so politicians can leech off the public for 40 years if they so desire. And many do.
Over in the House, California residents may serve up to three terms of two years each. That’s it. Serve for six years and then you have to get a real job. In Pennsylvania, members of the House can serve as many two-year terms as they wish.
Did I mention that California legislators don’t get pensions? In Pennsylvania, a legislator who serves 20 years receives a taxpayer-paid pension of $57,000 a year. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
California also has an alien concept called democracy. In addition to constitutionally imposed term limits on politicians, California residents enjoy the power of initiative and referendum. Voters can petition to get a measure on the ballot. That’s how many propositions that have improved California (including term limits) have been passed. If Californians don’t like a law that the legislators have passed (hint: pay raise for themselves), they can use the referendum to repeal the law.
So let’s review. Because Pennsylvania has a bloated legislative aristocracy of 253 members, with 3,000 staff members to do their bidding, Pennsylvania taxpayers spend around $500 million a year to support their state legislature.
That gives Pennsylvania the distinction of having the most expensive legislature in the United States. Not only is Pennsylvania the No. 1 trash importer in the country, but we can also claim first place in the most tax dollars siphoned to pay career politicians.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
While it’s been widely reported that the pay raises range from 16 percent ($11,000 a year) to 34 percent ($32,000 a year), it turns out that some Pennsylvania lawmakers will make out like bandits, seeing their annual salaries go from $69,648 to $106,986 overnight under the July 7 pay raise they approved without debate at 2 a.m.
The vote approving the pay-jacking was 27-23 in the Senate and 119-79 in the House. Gov. Ed Rendell promptly signed the bill into law and praised the lawmakers for raiding the public treasury.
As the weeks went by and it became clear to Rendell that he might have made the biggest political mistake of his life, the governor flip-flopped quicker than John Kerry on the war in Iraq. Now Rendell is saying the pay raise was a mistake and probably against the law, and he is willing to sign a bill to repeal the measure, if the legislators would just up their ill-gotten gain.
Standing in Rendell’s way is Big Bad John Perzel, the most powerful man in Pennsylvania. Perzel, whose salary rose to $145,000 as speaker of the House, doesn’t want to give the money back. Not one penny.
In fact, Perzel thinks members of the Pennsylvania legislature are still underpaid, even though they now make at least twice as much as the average Pennsylvania worker and half of what a member of Congress earns. Perzel also thinks that the work of governing Pennsylvania is comparable to running California, so of course Pennsylvania legislators should be the second highest-paid in the nation.
The California comparison has been bugging me, so I decided to do a little research. Let’s throw out some facts and you can draw your own conclusions.
California is the most populous state in the nation with about 36 million residents. Pennsylvania is sixth in population with around 12.4 million and dropping. California has the fifth-largest economy in the world — not just the United States — but the world. Naturally, you would assume that a state that has three times the number of people would need a lot more legislators to run the place. Not so.
California has 40 state senators elected to four-year terms. California pays its legislators $100,000 a year. An independent salary board determines the pay of legislators in California. The board recently approved an increase that will pay California legislators $111,000 next year.) Pennsylvania legislators set their own salaries. Anyone see an inherent conflict of interest there?
Pennsylvania has 50 state senators, elected to four-year terms. Perhaps Mr. Perzel can explain why a state like Pennsylvania, which is one-third the size of California, needs more senators in its state capitol?
The disparity is worse in the House. California has 80 members in its House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 203. Yes, 203! Can anyone explain why we need 203 politicians making at least $81,000 a year when California makes due with 80? Do the math. Multiply 80 times $100,000 and compare it to 203 times $81,000. Guess which state saddles its residents with a bigger bill to pay a corpulent legislative body?
California state senators can serve up to two terms and then have to get a job in the real world. That concept is foreign to Pennsylvania lawmakers. How do you make a career of feeding at the public trough if you can only serve eight years? There are no term limits in Pennsylvania, so politicians can leech off the public for 40 years if they so desire. And many do.
Over in the House, California residents may serve up to three terms of two years each. That’s it. Serve for six years and then you have to get a real job. In Pennsylvania, members of the House can serve as many two-year terms as they wish.
Did I mention that California legislators don’t get pensions? In Pennsylvania, a legislator who serves 20 years receives a taxpayer-paid pension of $57,000 a year. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
California also has an alien concept called democracy. In addition to constitutionally imposed term limits on politicians, California residents enjoy the power of initiative and referendum. Voters can petition to get a measure on the ballot. That’s how many propositions that have improved California (including term limits) have been passed. If Californians don’t like a law that the legislators have passed (hint: pay raise for themselves), they can use the referendum to repeal the law.
So let’s review. Because Pennsylvania has a bloated legislative aristocracy of 253 members, with 3,000 staff members to do their bidding, Pennsylvania taxpayers spend around $500 million a year to support their state legislature.
That gives Pennsylvania the distinction of having the most expensive legislature in the United States. Not only is Pennsylvania the No. 1 trash importer in the country, but we can also claim first place in the most tax dollars siphoned to pay career politicians.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Pay raise farce: The legislative aristocracy vs. those overpaid Pennsylvania farmers
State House Speaker John M. Perzel, the boss of bosses in the Pennsylvania Legislature, wants you to know that he works a lot harder than some lazybones farmer who get up at 4 a.m. to milk his cows.
Perzel, a Republican from Philadelphia, stood before a roomful of GOP faithful over the weekend and told them they can take their concerns about the July 7 legislative pay raise and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Nobody works harder than John Perzel when it comes home to bringing home the bacon.
"The people in Lancaster County who milk cows are making $50,000 to $55,000 (a year). … You are paying a guy who milks cows $55,000, and (they’re) saying it’s too much to pay a member of the General Assembly half of what a member of Congress makes?" Perzel said.
Philadelphia isn’t exactly farm country, but I’m beginning to wonder what planet John Perzel is living on Guys who milk cows make $55,000 a year? The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says the average salary for a person milking cows on a large farm is $20,500 a year. Perzel makes $145,000 under the pay raise he pushed through the legislature.
Perzel went on to say that the 16 percent to 34 percent pay raises lawmakers gave themselves were justified because politicians "work hard and make personal sacrifices to serve the people of Pennsylvania."
Never mind that legislators make at least two to three times more for their part-time jobs than the average Pennsylvania resident earns at his or her full-time job.
In another outlandish comment, Perzel called legislators "volunteers" who often have to work weekends and frequently miss "holidays" and "birthdays" in the name of public service. Pass me a tissue. I think I’m going to cry. Which are they, John? Full-time legislators who deserve to be paid a minimum of $81,000 a year or volunteers? Now, I’m really confused.
A "volunteer" is someone from the Red Cross who went to New Orleans to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A state legislator making $81,000 to $145,000 a year for a part-time job is not a "volunteer."
If there was any doubt in your mind that Perzel and his flunkies need to be booted out of Harrisburg, his performance Saturday should put that hesitancy to rest. Perzel, a career politician whose own salary rose to $145,000 a year under the July 7 pay raise, is the poster child of everything wrong with the people we send to Harrisburg.
Not only are they not serving the people of Pennsylvania, but clearly the only concern Perzel and the rest of the legislators have is to line their own pockets.
While Pennsylvanians are struggling to make enough money to feed and clothe their children and provide shelter for their families, Perzel and the country club set in Harrisburg has lost touch with the average Pennsylvania — not to mention reality.
They’ve established themselves as new class of professional politicians — an aristocracy that is not accountable to the people. Their only purpose is to suck the lifeblood out of working Pennsylvanians.
Not only did they give themselves pay raises of $11,000 to $32,000 a year — just months after their last pay raise went into effect — but legislators also receive free health care, life insurance, a generous pension, $129 in lunch money, long-term disability insurance, an automobile allowance of $650 per month and all the free gasoline the gas tanks in their luxury vehicles can hold.
While the rest of us are scraping pennies to pay for $3 gas to get to work or take our kids to school, Perzel and the rest of the Harrisburg Hogs are riding around in SUVs and Cadillacs, with a full tank of gas courtesy of you and me.
It’s obvious Perzel has never worked on a farm. I’m not sure he’s ever worked a day in his life. Farming is a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day job. Most farmers will never see $145,000 in income in a year. The "job" of a Pennsylvania legislator consists of pushing paper around and looting the state treasury.
Over the past five years, the Pennsylvania legislature has been in session an average of 77 days a year. That’s all the time the job demands. The rest of the time, the Keystone State’s nobility are attending Rotary and Kiwanis breakfasts telling us what a wonderful job they do. Some of them take on tougher tasks such as cutting ribbons at store openings, riding around in parades or delivering oversize cardboard checks for various slush funds the legislator has created.
And if Perzel and his minions work so hard, why are we paying 3,000 other people to keep the state Capitol running? Do you think those form letters you get back when you write one of these moochers was written by them? They have staff to do the work. They have legislative assistants to draft the bills. They have aides to answer the phones and do the leg work at their district offices.
If you rounded up all 253 members of the Pennsylvania House of Lords and shipped them down South to do some honest work helping the hurricane victims, nobody in Pennsylvania would miss them. What’s there to miss? They don’t do anything.
There are close to 9 million registered voters in Pennsylvania. If 9 million people don’t show up at the polls next May to vote out every incumbent on the ballot, Pennsylvania is doomed. If we allow 253 leeches to continue to feed off the rest of us, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Perzel, a Republican from Philadelphia, stood before a roomful of GOP faithful over the weekend and told them they can take their concerns about the July 7 legislative pay raise and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Nobody works harder than John Perzel when it comes home to bringing home the bacon.
"The people in Lancaster County who milk cows are making $50,000 to $55,000 (a year). … You are paying a guy who milks cows $55,000, and (they’re) saying it’s too much to pay a member of the General Assembly half of what a member of Congress makes?" Perzel said.
Philadelphia isn’t exactly farm country, but I’m beginning to wonder what planet John Perzel is living on Guys who milk cows make $55,000 a year? The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says the average salary for a person milking cows on a large farm is $20,500 a year. Perzel makes $145,000 under the pay raise he pushed through the legislature.
Perzel went on to say that the 16 percent to 34 percent pay raises lawmakers gave themselves were justified because politicians "work hard and make personal sacrifices to serve the people of Pennsylvania."
Never mind that legislators make at least two to three times more for their part-time jobs than the average Pennsylvania resident earns at his or her full-time job.
In another outlandish comment, Perzel called legislators "volunteers" who often have to work weekends and frequently miss "holidays" and "birthdays" in the name of public service. Pass me a tissue. I think I’m going to cry. Which are they, John? Full-time legislators who deserve to be paid a minimum of $81,000 a year or volunteers? Now, I’m really confused.
A "volunteer" is someone from the Red Cross who went to New Orleans to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A state legislator making $81,000 to $145,000 a year for a part-time job is not a "volunteer."
If there was any doubt in your mind that Perzel and his flunkies need to be booted out of Harrisburg, his performance Saturday should put that hesitancy to rest. Perzel, a career politician whose own salary rose to $145,000 a year under the July 7 pay raise, is the poster child of everything wrong with the people we send to Harrisburg.
Not only are they not serving the people of Pennsylvania, but clearly the only concern Perzel and the rest of the legislators have is to line their own pockets.
While Pennsylvanians are struggling to make enough money to feed and clothe their children and provide shelter for their families, Perzel and the country club set in Harrisburg has lost touch with the average Pennsylvania — not to mention reality.
They’ve established themselves as new class of professional politicians — an aristocracy that is not accountable to the people. Their only purpose is to suck the lifeblood out of working Pennsylvanians.
Not only did they give themselves pay raises of $11,000 to $32,000 a year — just months after their last pay raise went into effect — but legislators also receive free health care, life insurance, a generous pension, $129 in lunch money, long-term disability insurance, an automobile allowance of $650 per month and all the free gasoline the gas tanks in their luxury vehicles can hold.
While the rest of us are scraping pennies to pay for $3 gas to get to work or take our kids to school, Perzel and the rest of the Harrisburg Hogs are riding around in SUVs and Cadillacs, with a full tank of gas courtesy of you and me.
It’s obvious Perzel has never worked on a farm. I’m not sure he’s ever worked a day in his life. Farming is a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day job. Most farmers will never see $145,000 in income in a year. The "job" of a Pennsylvania legislator consists of pushing paper around and looting the state treasury.
Over the past five years, the Pennsylvania legislature has been in session an average of 77 days a year. That’s all the time the job demands. The rest of the time, the Keystone State’s nobility are attending Rotary and Kiwanis breakfasts telling us what a wonderful job they do. Some of them take on tougher tasks such as cutting ribbons at store openings, riding around in parades or delivering oversize cardboard checks for various slush funds the legislator has created.
And if Perzel and his minions work so hard, why are we paying 3,000 other people to keep the state Capitol running? Do you think those form letters you get back when you write one of these moochers was written by them? They have staff to do the work. They have legislative assistants to draft the bills. They have aides to answer the phones and do the leg work at their district offices.
If you rounded up all 253 members of the Pennsylvania House of Lords and shipped them down South to do some honest work helping the hurricane victims, nobody in Pennsylvania would miss them. What’s there to miss? They don’t do anything.
There are close to 9 million registered voters in Pennsylvania. If 9 million people don’t show up at the polls next May to vote out every incumbent on the ballot, Pennsylvania is doomed. If we allow 253 leeches to continue to feed off the rest of us, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Friday, September 09, 2005
Pay raise revolt: Is there one honest person in Harrisburg?
"I am looking for an honest man."
— Diogenes (c. 400-325 B.C.)
Legend has it that the Greek philosopher Diogenes wandered the known world in the fourth century B.C. holding a lamp in his right hand as he searched for an honest man. Had Diogenes stumbled into Harrisburg circa 2005, he might still be searching for that one honest person today.
I’ve been using the term House of Lords to describe the royal lifestyle that members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly have established for themselves — at our expense. But it’s becoming clear that Pennsylvania is governed more like a feudal system run by warlords rather than a monarchy. And guess who’s serving the role of serfs? You and I — the beleaguered taxpayers of Pennsylvania.
Diogenes is best remembered for developing the notion of cynicism. Now that’s more like it. You can’t talk about the 253 "public servants" who inhabit the halls and offices of the state capitol without a healthy dose of cynicism.
Labor Day has come and gone and we’re still talking about the Great Legislative Pay Grab of 2005, the middle-of-the-night raid on the state treasury by 253 desperadoes. OK, it wasn’t that many. Some voted no, but I have yet to hear one of the legislators who voted against the pay raise come out and call their colleagues what they are — scoundrels who betrayed the public trust. As Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Too many legislators looked the other way or used the excuse that they were only "following orders" from the party bosses when the middle-of-the-night pay heist occurred. That’s not good enough. We don’t send representatives to Harrisburg so they can bow down and tremble before self-serving career politicians from Altoona or Philadelphia when the bosses decide it’s time to plunder the state treasury again.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24
Who are the people we send to Harrisburg serving? Their constituents or the pay-jackers? Can any state legislator look a constituent in the eye and tell you in all honesty that taking a 16 percent to 34 percent pay raise for themselves at a time when so many Pennsylvanians are struggling is good for the folks back home?
We can’t give ourselves $11,000 to $34,000 pay raises. Most of us haven’t seen cumulative 16 percent pay increases over 10 years, let alone in one year and just six months after a 5.2 percent cost-of-living hike kicked in.
We can’t take 10-week vacations. We don’t get $129 a day for lunch. We don’t get taxpayer-paid luxury cars to drive around in. We have to shell out $3.50 for gas to get to our jobs. Legislators don’t pay for their gas. They stick the folks back home with the bill. And how many of us can retire after 20 years on the job and receive a $50,000 annual pension?
The fact that the legislative pay grab is the dominant story involving Pennsylvania government two months later is a victory in itself. Despite the conspiracy of silence among the 253 members of the Pennsylvania House of Lords, the pay grab is all anyone wants to talk about.
I ran into an acquaintance at the supermarket last week. Hadn’t seen the man in six months. After exchanging pleasantries, he starts up with, "How about those state legislators? Can you believe what they did? They’re not going to get away with it." This was not a man who ever discussed politics with me before. But he’s looking forward to 2006 so he can vote against the incumbents.
Just the other day, a car passed by me with two large signs taped to its side windows. The signs read "Impeach Legislators!" in big, red letters, followed by a list of transgressions committed by state lawmakers against the citizens of Pennsylvania.
Letters to the editor continue to appear in newspapers weeks after the issue should have gone away. The Mercury has collected nearly 7,000 signed letters from readers demanding the legislators give back the pay raise. Petition drives across the state have collected tens of thousands of letters. At least 15 candidates have publicly announced their intention to run against incumbents and the spring primary is still eight months away.
The Harrisburg Hogs underestimated the level of abuse Pennsylvania voters are willing to endure before they fight back. Pennsylvanians are tired of high property taxes, lousy roads, mediocre schools, underfunded libraries. The last humiliation voters are willing to take at the hands of the most bloated and ineffectual state legislature is to be forced to pay these politicians more money.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
— Diogenes (c. 400-325 B.C.)
Legend has it that the Greek philosopher Diogenes wandered the known world in the fourth century B.C. holding a lamp in his right hand as he searched for an honest man. Had Diogenes stumbled into Harrisburg circa 2005, he might still be searching for that one honest person today.
I’ve been using the term House of Lords to describe the royal lifestyle that members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly have established for themselves — at our expense. But it’s becoming clear that Pennsylvania is governed more like a feudal system run by warlords rather than a monarchy. And guess who’s serving the role of serfs? You and I — the beleaguered taxpayers of Pennsylvania.
Diogenes is best remembered for developing the notion of cynicism. Now that’s more like it. You can’t talk about the 253 "public servants" who inhabit the halls and offices of the state capitol without a healthy dose of cynicism.
Labor Day has come and gone and we’re still talking about the Great Legislative Pay Grab of 2005, the middle-of-the-night raid on the state treasury by 253 desperadoes. OK, it wasn’t that many. Some voted no, but I have yet to hear one of the legislators who voted against the pay raise come out and call their colleagues what they are — scoundrels who betrayed the public trust. As Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Too many legislators looked the other way or used the excuse that they were only "following orders" from the party bosses when the middle-of-the-night pay heist occurred. That’s not good enough. We don’t send representatives to Harrisburg so they can bow down and tremble before self-serving career politicians from Altoona or Philadelphia when the bosses decide it’s time to plunder the state treasury again.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24
Who are the people we send to Harrisburg serving? Their constituents or the pay-jackers? Can any state legislator look a constituent in the eye and tell you in all honesty that taking a 16 percent to 34 percent pay raise for themselves at a time when so many Pennsylvanians are struggling is good for the folks back home?
We can’t give ourselves $11,000 to $34,000 pay raises. Most of us haven’t seen cumulative 16 percent pay increases over 10 years, let alone in one year and just six months after a 5.2 percent cost-of-living hike kicked in.
We can’t take 10-week vacations. We don’t get $129 a day for lunch. We don’t get taxpayer-paid luxury cars to drive around in. We have to shell out $3.50 for gas to get to our jobs. Legislators don’t pay for their gas. They stick the folks back home with the bill. And how many of us can retire after 20 years on the job and receive a $50,000 annual pension?
The fact that the legislative pay grab is the dominant story involving Pennsylvania government two months later is a victory in itself. Despite the conspiracy of silence among the 253 members of the Pennsylvania House of Lords, the pay grab is all anyone wants to talk about.
I ran into an acquaintance at the supermarket last week. Hadn’t seen the man in six months. After exchanging pleasantries, he starts up with, "How about those state legislators? Can you believe what they did? They’re not going to get away with it." This was not a man who ever discussed politics with me before. But he’s looking forward to 2006 so he can vote against the incumbents.
Just the other day, a car passed by me with two large signs taped to its side windows. The signs read "Impeach Legislators!" in big, red letters, followed by a list of transgressions committed by state lawmakers against the citizens of Pennsylvania.
Letters to the editor continue to appear in newspapers weeks after the issue should have gone away. The Mercury has collected nearly 7,000 signed letters from readers demanding the legislators give back the pay raise. Petition drives across the state have collected tens of thousands of letters. At least 15 candidates have publicly announced their intention to run against incumbents and the spring primary is still eight months away.
The Harrisburg Hogs underestimated the level of abuse Pennsylvania voters are willing to endure before they fight back. Pennsylvanians are tired of high property taxes, lousy roads, mediocre schools, underfunded libraries. The last humiliation voters are willing to take at the hands of the most bloated and ineffectual state legislature is to be forced to pay these politicians more money.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Pay raise shame: Legislators deny life insurance to National Guard as they line own pockets
Among the many pieces of important legislation not enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2005 was a bill that would permit the state to pay life insurance premiums for Pennsylvania National Guard members serving their country in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
More than 3,300 Pennsylvania guardsmen are serving in active combat zones overseas, and sadly, 11 have been killed in Iraq so far.
In the frenzy to line their own pockets with 16 to 24 percent pay raises before taking a 10-week summer vacation, legislators never bothered to vote on the insurance bill, or any other legislation to assist National Guard servicemen and women and their families.
The total cost to cover life insurance premiums for Pennsylvania’s National Guard soldiers and airmen for one year comes to about $1 million. The annual premium for a member of the National Guard or reserves is $312 a year, which provides $400,000 coverage for their families.
The $1 million cost of the program is a pittance in the bloated $24 billion state budget that was adopted by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in July.
At least one lawmaker was quoted in news accounts as saying he was looking for ways to save money and didn’t want to set a precedent by picking up the cost of the life insurance for guardsmen on federal duty because other government workers would expect the same benefit.
Ask any Pennsylvania resident where they would like to see the money go: in the pockets of the second-highest paid legislature in the country or to the families of National Guard members?
Our insensitive, greedy and unethical legislature never bothered to vote on the life insurance bill before heading for its summer vacation to spend the money its members gave themselves. In fact, lawmakers couldn’t even find the time to hold a hearing on the insurance bill, which was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Tangretti.
We keep hearing how hard our lawmakers work and how many hours they spend in Harrisburg. Apparently not enough hours to schedule a hearing on this important bill or bring it to a vote over the first six months of this year.
State lawmakers have an opportunity to correct this disgraceful error in judgment when they return to Harrisburg on Sept. 26. One of the first orders of business should be to pass the 12-bill package intended to assist National Guard members and reservists.
In addition to paying the life insurance premiums, the bills would establish a Military Family Relief Fund, provide college education assistance for service members, implement anti-discriminatory measures, provide extended paid leave for service members and ensure absentee voter privacy for service members.
The legislature’s reluctance to support Pennsylvania men and women who are risking their lives for their country and their state is reprehensible. It’s another condemnation of a legislative body that has miles to go to win back the public trust it betrayed with middle-of-the night pay hikes, revelations of slush funds and the blatant disregard of the state Constitution by taking early pay raises as "unvouchered expenses."
When giving yourself a pay raise takes priority over providing assistance for the families of Pennsylvania servicemen and women killed in the line of duty, it’s time for sweeping changes in Harrisburg.
More than 3,300 Pennsylvania guardsmen are serving in active combat zones overseas, and sadly, 11 have been killed in Iraq so far.
In the frenzy to line their own pockets with 16 to 24 percent pay raises before taking a 10-week summer vacation, legislators never bothered to vote on the insurance bill, or any other legislation to assist National Guard servicemen and women and their families.
The total cost to cover life insurance premiums for Pennsylvania’s National Guard soldiers and airmen for one year comes to about $1 million. The annual premium for a member of the National Guard or reserves is $312 a year, which provides $400,000 coverage for their families.
The $1 million cost of the program is a pittance in the bloated $24 billion state budget that was adopted by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell in July.
At least one lawmaker was quoted in news accounts as saying he was looking for ways to save money and didn’t want to set a precedent by picking up the cost of the life insurance for guardsmen on federal duty because other government workers would expect the same benefit.
Ask any Pennsylvania resident where they would like to see the money go: in the pockets of the second-highest paid legislature in the country or to the families of National Guard members?
Our insensitive, greedy and unethical legislature never bothered to vote on the life insurance bill before heading for its summer vacation to spend the money its members gave themselves. In fact, lawmakers couldn’t even find the time to hold a hearing on the insurance bill, which was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Tangretti.
We keep hearing how hard our lawmakers work and how many hours they spend in Harrisburg. Apparently not enough hours to schedule a hearing on this important bill or bring it to a vote over the first six months of this year.
State lawmakers have an opportunity to correct this disgraceful error in judgment when they return to Harrisburg on Sept. 26. One of the first orders of business should be to pass the 12-bill package intended to assist National Guard members and reservists.
In addition to paying the life insurance premiums, the bills would establish a Military Family Relief Fund, provide college education assistance for service members, implement anti-discriminatory measures, provide extended paid leave for service members and ensure absentee voter privacy for service members.
The legislature’s reluctance to support Pennsylvania men and women who are risking their lives for their country and their state is reprehensible. It’s another condemnation of a legislative body that has miles to go to win back the public trust it betrayed with middle-of-the night pay hikes, revelations of slush funds and the blatant disregard of the state Constitution by taking early pay raises as "unvouchered expenses."
When giving yourself a pay raise takes priority over providing assistance for the families of Pennsylvania servicemen and women killed in the line of duty, it’s time for sweeping changes in Harrisburg.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Taxpayer dollars will be used to defend Legislative pay raise
This editorial was published in The Mercury on Tuesday, September 6. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.
Where else but in Pennsylvania would taxpayers have to cough up the money to pay the lawyers hired by state lawmakers to defend themselves against a lawsuit challenging the middle-of-the-night pay raise legislators gave themselves?
No wonder thousands of Pennsylvania taxpayers are fighting so hard to take back their state government from a group of self-serving politicians who consistently vote to line their own pockets without a word of debate -- without any justification -- and then used a loophole to circumvent the state Constitution in order to collect the money early.
Pennsylvania law says that the state attorney general is responsible for defending the constitutionality of state laws, but the party bosses who control Harrisburg have hired outside law firms to defend them in a lawsuit brought by Harrisburg-area activist Eugene Stilp, who is seeking to overturn the controversial July 7 pay raise. The legislature also employs a large in-house legal staff at taxpayer expense, but those lawyers must be busy working on another pay-raise bill to represent their bosses in the lawsuit.
As long as they’re spending your money, the party bosses are willing to go hog wild with legal fees. The House has hired Philadelphia-based Stradley Ronon, while the Senate employed Kirkpatrick & Lockhard Nicholson Graham LLP, a law firm from Pittsburgh. Neither outfit comes cheap, but as the legislators would say, "It’s only taxpayer money, so just write a blank check."
Stilp was incredulous when he heard the news that House and Senate leaders had hired private lawyers to help them defend the pay grab. "It’s beyond belief that the defense of the illegal pay raise is being paid for by the people of Pennsylvania," Stilp said.
One of the problems with the pay raise -- in addition to the fact that lawmakers have done nothing to earn it and it’s repugnant to give yourself a pay raise -- is the fact that the attorney general, every judge in Pennsylvania and many members of the Rendell administration, including the governor, are included in the pay raise legislation. There is no place taxpayers can turn to in Pennsylvania to get an impartial hearing.
Regardless of how many lawyers the legislators hire, the judges who will end up hearing the case would have to give up their own pay raises if they rule against the legislature.
The deck is stacked against taxpayers. So don’t hold your breath waiting for justice in Pennsylvania. But don’t forget who brought us to this juncture in the first place -- the largest, costliest state legislature in the country. A group of 253 men and women who earn two to three times more than the average Pennsylvania worker doing a part-time job that requires them to be in session about 77 days a year.
Stilp, who is not a lawyer, will be representing himself as a citizen of Pennsylvania and a taxpayer when this case goes to court. Stilp won’t be alone. He has the moral backing of 12 million beleaguered Pennsylvanians who have been betrayed by their own lawmakers.
If the citizens of Pennsylvania lose this court case -- and the odds are long that justice will prevail -- they will have one more opportunity to restore rule of law to this state -- at the ballot box in 2006, when they can fire most of the legislators once and for all.
© Copyright The Mercury 2005
Where else but in Pennsylvania would taxpayers have to cough up the money to pay the lawyers hired by state lawmakers to defend themselves against a lawsuit challenging the middle-of-the-night pay raise legislators gave themselves?
No wonder thousands of Pennsylvania taxpayers are fighting so hard to take back their state government from a group of self-serving politicians who consistently vote to line their own pockets without a word of debate -- without any justification -- and then used a loophole to circumvent the state Constitution in order to collect the money early.
Pennsylvania law says that the state attorney general is responsible for defending the constitutionality of state laws, but the party bosses who control Harrisburg have hired outside law firms to defend them in a lawsuit brought by Harrisburg-area activist Eugene Stilp, who is seeking to overturn the controversial July 7 pay raise. The legislature also employs a large in-house legal staff at taxpayer expense, but those lawyers must be busy working on another pay-raise bill to represent their bosses in the lawsuit.
As long as they’re spending your money, the party bosses are willing to go hog wild with legal fees. The House has hired Philadelphia-based Stradley Ronon, while the Senate employed Kirkpatrick & Lockhard Nicholson Graham LLP, a law firm from Pittsburgh. Neither outfit comes cheap, but as the legislators would say, "It’s only taxpayer money, so just write a blank check."
Stilp was incredulous when he heard the news that House and Senate leaders had hired private lawyers to help them defend the pay grab. "It’s beyond belief that the defense of the illegal pay raise is being paid for by the people of Pennsylvania," Stilp said.
One of the problems with the pay raise -- in addition to the fact that lawmakers have done nothing to earn it and it’s repugnant to give yourself a pay raise -- is the fact that the attorney general, every judge in Pennsylvania and many members of the Rendell administration, including the governor, are included in the pay raise legislation. There is no place taxpayers can turn to in Pennsylvania to get an impartial hearing.
Regardless of how many lawyers the legislators hire, the judges who will end up hearing the case would have to give up their own pay raises if they rule against the legislature.
The deck is stacked against taxpayers. So don’t hold your breath waiting for justice in Pennsylvania. But don’t forget who brought us to this juncture in the first place -- the largest, costliest state legislature in the country. A group of 253 men and women who earn two to three times more than the average Pennsylvania worker doing a part-time job that requires them to be in session about 77 days a year.
Stilp, who is not a lawyer, will be representing himself as a citizen of Pennsylvania and a taxpayer when this case goes to court. Stilp won’t be alone. He has the moral backing of 12 million beleaguered Pennsylvanians who have been betrayed by their own lawmakers.
If the citizens of Pennsylvania lose this court case -- and the odds are long that justice will prevail -- they will have one more opportunity to restore rule of law to this state -- at the ballot box in 2006, when they can fire most of the legislators once and for all.
© Copyright The Mercury 2005
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Pay raise tally: 2 big idiots; 25 who saw the light
Kudos to the 25 Pennsylvania legislators who have seen the error of their ways and decided not to accept the "unvouchered expenses" that enable lawmakers to collect pay raises 16 months early, despite a Constitutional ban on midterm salary hikes.
Rep. John W. Fichter, a Republican from Montgomery County, is the latest lawmaker to reject the extra money after initially accepting it in his paycheck that went out Aug. 1. The 25 legislators are in the minority, but at least they're willing to heed the pleas of their constituents.
A total of 133 of the state's 252 Senate and House members have accepted the expenses, which increased lawmakers' pay by at least 16 percent to a minimum $81,050 a year. Fichter would have made $85,100 a year with the unvouchered expenses, getting an extra boost because of his subcommittee chairmanship post. Instead, he will make $69,647 this year.
The salary increases for all House members will take effect after the November 2006 election — unless they’re voted out of office before then. The Constitution bars midterm pay raises, but many lawmakers have used a loophole in the law to start collecting the money early.
Now let's turn to the Abbot and Costello of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
Daggers to Pennsylvania House Speaker John M. Perzel, believed to be the mastermind of the Great Pay Grab of 2005. Perzel, a Republican, made his first public appearance in Harrisburg since the raises were approved on July 7, but refused to answer questions about the fleecing of taxpayers.
Several reporters attempted to get Perzel to comment about the pay raise and the public backlash, but Perzel would only say, "There’s nothing to talk about. It was passed on July 7." Wrong, answer, Big John. There’s plenty to say about the middle-of-the night heist of taxpayer dollars without debate or public hearings. Not to mention the scandalous violation of the state Constitution by lawmakers who sneaked their pay raises early under the guise of unvouchered expenses.
Playing dumb, Perzel told reporters he knew nothing about plans by rank-and-file legislators to introduce bills to either rescind the raises entirely or repeal the unvouchered expenses scam.
"I haven't heard about it yet. If that’s what you guys are saying, I guess somebody's going to introduce it. We'll see what happens," Perzel said.
This is the most powerful man in Pennsylvania? The problems in Harrisburg start with the leadership and Perzel is Exhibit A.
Daggers to Senate Pro Tempore Robert Jubilirer, another party boss who instigated the 2 a.m. pay raise, for attacking critics (voters) in radio commercials.
Jubilirer, a Republican, doesn’t defend the middle-of-the-night pay grab in commercials airing in his home district near Altoona, but goes on the attack against a group call Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, which is spearheading a campaign to expose the money-grubbing politicians who control Harrisburg.
"An outside special interest group is spending thousands of dollars on negative radio ads attacking our state senator, Robert Jubilirer. Don't believe them," the commercial trumpets. Attacking the messenger is a popular tactic when phonies are exposed. All the information presented by YCOP is a matter of public record.
Jubilirer voted for the pay raise and demanded loyalty from his rank-and-file members. Now that most Pennsylvanians are wise to career politicians like Jubilirer, the party bosses are going on the attack.
The primary election is still eight months away, but Jubilirer’s desperate attempt to cover his tracks shows us how worried politicians are that the voters are on to them.
Rep. John W. Fichter, a Republican from Montgomery County, is the latest lawmaker to reject the extra money after initially accepting it in his paycheck that went out Aug. 1. The 25 legislators are in the minority, but at least they're willing to heed the pleas of their constituents.
A total of 133 of the state's 252 Senate and House members have accepted the expenses, which increased lawmakers' pay by at least 16 percent to a minimum $81,050 a year. Fichter would have made $85,100 a year with the unvouchered expenses, getting an extra boost because of his subcommittee chairmanship post. Instead, he will make $69,647 this year.
The salary increases for all House members will take effect after the November 2006 election — unless they’re voted out of office before then. The Constitution bars midterm pay raises, but many lawmakers have used a loophole in the law to start collecting the money early.
Now let's turn to the Abbot and Costello of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
Daggers to Pennsylvania House Speaker John M. Perzel, believed to be the mastermind of the Great Pay Grab of 2005. Perzel, a Republican, made his first public appearance in Harrisburg since the raises were approved on July 7, but refused to answer questions about the fleecing of taxpayers.
Several reporters attempted to get Perzel to comment about the pay raise and the public backlash, but Perzel would only say, "There’s nothing to talk about. It was passed on July 7." Wrong, answer, Big John. There’s plenty to say about the middle-of-the night heist of taxpayer dollars without debate or public hearings. Not to mention the scandalous violation of the state Constitution by lawmakers who sneaked their pay raises early under the guise of unvouchered expenses.
Playing dumb, Perzel told reporters he knew nothing about plans by rank-and-file legislators to introduce bills to either rescind the raises entirely or repeal the unvouchered expenses scam.
"I haven't heard about it yet. If that’s what you guys are saying, I guess somebody's going to introduce it. We'll see what happens," Perzel said.
This is the most powerful man in Pennsylvania? The problems in Harrisburg start with the leadership and Perzel is Exhibit A.
Daggers to Senate Pro Tempore Robert Jubilirer, another party boss who instigated the 2 a.m. pay raise, for attacking critics (voters) in radio commercials.
Jubilirer, a Republican, doesn’t defend the middle-of-the-night pay grab in commercials airing in his home district near Altoona, but goes on the attack against a group call Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, which is spearheading a campaign to expose the money-grubbing politicians who control Harrisburg.
"An outside special interest group is spending thousands of dollars on negative radio ads attacking our state senator, Robert Jubilirer. Don't believe them," the commercial trumpets. Attacking the messenger is a popular tactic when phonies are exposed. All the information presented by YCOP is a matter of public record.
Jubilirer voted for the pay raise and demanded loyalty from his rank-and-file members. Now that most Pennsylvanians are wise to career politicians like Jubilirer, the party bosses are going on the attack.
The primary election is still eight months away, but Jubilirer’s desperate attempt to cover his tracks shows us how worried politicians are that the voters are on to them.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Exploiting human misery for political gain
It came as no surprise that Cindy Sheehan, the troubled woman who spent the summer camped near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, would find a way to blame the president for Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
Judging from her previous rants ("The United States is the biggest mass murderer in the history of the world" and "This country is not worth dying for" and "George Bush is a killer"), Sheehan followed the script of her left-wing puppet masters by blaming the president for the death and destruction left behind by the hurricane.
If you haven’t been following Sheehan’s meteoric rise in the left-wing media as a 21st century version of "Hanoi Jane," Sheehan believes her son’s death fighting in Iraq was caused by President Bush — not the Islamic terrorists who killed Army Spc. Casey Sheehan. Doesn’t matter that her son volunteered for the Army and never objected to serving his country in a time of war.
"Baghdad Cindy" Sheehan wants the United States to surrender from Iraq and Afghanistan and abandon Israel. She also wants President Bush, whom she has called "the biggest terrorist in the world," a "filth-spewer and warmonger," an "evil maniac," and a "war criminal" impeached and put in jail.
The apologists for the radical left say Sheehan is exercising her right to free speech. Any reasonable observer would conclude she crossed the line into treason a long time ago.
Cindy Sheehan can stand in the Texas sun all day and scream obscenities at the president’s motorcade, but do we need to see her face on television every night or read her tirades in newspapers every day? Sheehan offers no alternative to facing the Islamic fascists who want to kill every man, woman and child in the United States except to surrender.
The United States is not worth dying for? Tell that to the millions of Americans who gave their lives in World War I and World War II and Korea and Vietnam. Tell that to the brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan who took the fight to the enemy to protect their homeland from another attack.
Openly sympathizing with the fanatics who killed 3,000 innocent Americans on Sept. 11 — not to mention her own son — is the mark of a lunatic. When the puppetmasters behind Sheehan — Michael Moore and his Hollywood pals, Democratic Party strategists (including Howard Dean’s former campaign manager) and The New York Times — are done using her for their purposes, they’ll toss aside.
Speaking of The New York Times, the newspaper’s editorial writers are complaining that President Bush gave "the worst speech of his life" when he announced how the federal government would respond to the hurricane relief effort. Didn’t give a good speech? Give me a break. The people of New Orleans don’t need inspiring speeches or political harangue. They need water, food, medicine and shelter. But the New York Times couldn’t resist taking a pot-shot at President Bush in an editorial titled, "Waiting for a Leader."
No criticism of the Democratic governor of Louisiana, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic during the first 48 hours after the hurricane struck. No criticism of New Orleans’ Democratic mayor, who got the first lifeboat out of town and abandoned the city’s poorest people to fend for themselves.
Cindy Sheehan is a pawn of the radical left. But how do you explain a string of Democratic politicians — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Al Sharpton, New York Sen. Charles Schumer, New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco — jumping on the "It’s all Bush’s fault" bandwagon?
All of them came out with absurd statements that the President’s environmental and economic policies somehow led to one of the greatest natural disasters in history. Last time I checked, New Orleans was settled 300 years ago. Bush wasn’t the president back then. He wasn’t the one who decided to build a city below sea level in one of the most active hurricane zones in the world.
And what kind of nitwit would hold a political leader responsible for floods, earthquakes, droughts or hurricanes? Criticizing the response to the natural disaster is one thing. But blaming the president for causing it?
Instead of working as one nation to rescue the people who are suffering and work to rebuild the devastated Gulf Coast, the Michael Moore/Cindy Sheehan crowd is trying to use the misery of the victims of Hurricane Katrina for political gain.
The left has already played the race card, calling the disaster a "Black Genocide," implying that a white president is intentionally killing black Americans.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. inexplicably compared the hurricane to the invasion of Iraq and questioned how a president who professes to be a Christian would allow the black residents of New Orleans to suffer? An NAACP spokesperson accused the administration of "disparate treatment" of the victims because most were black. An ACLU leader said the federal response would have been much different if white people were trapped in New Orleans. And the absurdity goes on.
"Baghdad Cindy" and the bottom feeders from the political left have done more harm to their cause than they realize. The floodwaters will recede. Homes, offices, churches and schools will be rebuilt. New Orleans, one of America’s great cities, will rise again. The left has lost what little credibility it had by using Hurricane Katrina for political grandstanding.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Judging from her previous rants ("The United States is the biggest mass murderer in the history of the world" and "This country is not worth dying for" and "George Bush is a killer"), Sheehan followed the script of her left-wing puppet masters by blaming the president for the death and destruction left behind by the hurricane.
If you haven’t been following Sheehan’s meteoric rise in the left-wing media as a 21st century version of "Hanoi Jane," Sheehan believes her son’s death fighting in Iraq was caused by President Bush — not the Islamic terrorists who killed Army Spc. Casey Sheehan. Doesn’t matter that her son volunteered for the Army and never objected to serving his country in a time of war.
"Baghdad Cindy" Sheehan wants the United States to surrender from Iraq and Afghanistan and abandon Israel. She also wants President Bush, whom she has called "the biggest terrorist in the world," a "filth-spewer and warmonger," an "evil maniac," and a "war criminal" impeached and put in jail.
The apologists for the radical left say Sheehan is exercising her right to free speech. Any reasonable observer would conclude she crossed the line into treason a long time ago.
Cindy Sheehan can stand in the Texas sun all day and scream obscenities at the president’s motorcade, but do we need to see her face on television every night or read her tirades in newspapers every day? Sheehan offers no alternative to facing the Islamic fascists who want to kill every man, woman and child in the United States except to surrender.
The United States is not worth dying for? Tell that to the millions of Americans who gave their lives in World War I and World War II and Korea and Vietnam. Tell that to the brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan who took the fight to the enemy to protect their homeland from another attack.
Openly sympathizing with the fanatics who killed 3,000 innocent Americans on Sept. 11 — not to mention her own son — is the mark of a lunatic. When the puppetmasters behind Sheehan — Michael Moore and his Hollywood pals, Democratic Party strategists (including Howard Dean’s former campaign manager) and The New York Times — are done using her for their purposes, they’ll toss aside.
Speaking of The New York Times, the newspaper’s editorial writers are complaining that President Bush gave "the worst speech of his life" when he announced how the federal government would respond to the hurricane relief effort. Didn’t give a good speech? Give me a break. The people of New Orleans don’t need inspiring speeches or political harangue. They need water, food, medicine and shelter. But the New York Times couldn’t resist taking a pot-shot at President Bush in an editorial titled, "Waiting for a Leader."
No criticism of the Democratic governor of Louisiana, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic during the first 48 hours after the hurricane struck. No criticism of New Orleans’ Democratic mayor, who got the first lifeboat out of town and abandoned the city’s poorest people to fend for themselves.
Cindy Sheehan is a pawn of the radical left. But how do you explain a string of Democratic politicians — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Al Sharpton, New York Sen. Charles Schumer, New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco — jumping on the "It’s all Bush’s fault" bandwagon?
All of them came out with absurd statements that the President’s environmental and economic policies somehow led to one of the greatest natural disasters in history. Last time I checked, New Orleans was settled 300 years ago. Bush wasn’t the president back then. He wasn’t the one who decided to build a city below sea level in one of the most active hurricane zones in the world.
And what kind of nitwit would hold a political leader responsible for floods, earthquakes, droughts or hurricanes? Criticizing the response to the natural disaster is one thing. But blaming the president for causing it?
Instead of working as one nation to rescue the people who are suffering and work to rebuild the devastated Gulf Coast, the Michael Moore/Cindy Sheehan crowd is trying to use the misery of the victims of Hurricane Katrina for political gain.
The left has already played the race card, calling the disaster a "Black Genocide," implying that a white president is intentionally killing black Americans.
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. inexplicably compared the hurricane to the invasion of Iraq and questioned how a president who professes to be a Christian would allow the black residents of New Orleans to suffer? An NAACP spokesperson accused the administration of "disparate treatment" of the victims because most were black. An ACLU leader said the federal response would have been much different if white people were trapped in New Orleans. And the absurdity goes on.
"Baghdad Cindy" and the bottom feeders from the political left have done more harm to their cause than they realize. The floodwaters will recede. Homes, offices, churches and schools will be rebuilt. New Orleans, one of America’s great cities, will rise again. The left has lost what little credibility it had by using Hurricane Katrina for political grandstanding.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Monday, August 29, 2005
Pay raise arrogance reaches a new low
Legislators dare you to vote them out
Hey, stupid. Yeah, you. Go ahead. Try to vote me out. Do your best. I’m a member of the Pennsylvania House of Lords (aka state legislature). You can’t touch me. I’m invincible. I can rob you blind any time of day or night, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
That, in essence, is the attitude of many of the people you’ve hired to serve in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. Not only did they vote themselves exorbitant pay raises in the middle of the night, but they believe you’re too chicken to do anything about it.
Sure, about two dozen of the 253 lawmakers have seen the error of their ways and decided not to take the 16 percent to 34 percent pay raises. Some have even pledged to repeal the pay hike when they get back to Harrisburg on Sept. 26. But the vast majority are digging in.
They don’t think you’ve got the brains or guts to stand up to them — to fire them. So they’re going to take the $11,000 raise on top of the 5.2 percent cost-of-living increase they took at the beginning of the year, and they’re going to tack on another cost-of-living increase in 2006 just because they can.
And you’ll continue to pay every penny to maintain Pennsylvania’s royalty in the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.
Allow me to introduce you to state Rep. Jacqueline R. Crahalla, a Republican from the 150th House District, which includes Collegeville, Lower Providence, Trappe, Upper Providence and West Norriton. What does Rep. Crahalla have to say to her constituents who would rather she not have increased her own pay to $81,027 a year, as well as that of her husband, District Judge Benjamin Crahalla, to $74,566 a year as part of the same pay raise bill?
"I’m staying the course," Crahalla told The Philadelphia Inquirer when asked if she was willing to heed the demands of constituents. "The nastier people get, the more stubborn I get."
Hmmm. Stubbornness. Just the kind of trait we need in a lawmaker. To her credit, Rep. Crahalla has been one of the few lawmakers willing to explain the indefensible 2 a.m. raid on the state treasury. She says she routinely puts in more than 50 hours a week on the job. She says judges and cabinet officers should be paid more.
Rep. Crahalla could make a strong case for boosting the salaries of judges and county district attorneys, but there’s no justification for giving herself an $11,000 raise.
Crahalla conveniently forgets that the state legislature met an average of 77 days in each of the past five years.
While the typical Pennsylvania worker puts in at least 245 work days during the year (assuming three weeks vacation), state legislators go to Harrisburg 77 days, take a 10-week summer vacation, go home for at least a month for a winter holiday and take every government holiday off as well.
I’m guessing Rep. Crahalla finds things to do around her district the 200-plus days the legislature is not in session. On the bright side, there’s no heavy lifting involved in being a state lawmaker — unless you pick up that hefty paycheck in cash. Does any of this justify legislators being paid more than twice what the average worker in Pennsylvania is making?
Has Crahalla given any thought to the thousands of senior citizens in her district who are struggling on Social Security? Their cost-of-living increase this year was 2.7 percent, or $15 a month. If the Crahallas need $20,000 more to get by, what does Rep. Crahalla tell the folks back home trying to stretch that $15 until next month’s check?
Arrogant is not a strong enough word to describe the hundreds of Harrisburg pay-grabbers. Insolent might be the better word. The contempt these "public servants" have shown the people who elected them is palpable.
In addition to the unbelievable display of disdain these politicians have for the people in their home districts, another interesting point in the Inquirer article was the fact that so few politicians were even willing to "defend" the pay grab. The reporter who wrote the story called 25 lawmakers, but only two were willing to talk. Imagine that. A politician who doesn’t want his or her name in the newspaper. That’s a first.
We’re approaching the two-month anniversary of the Great Pay Grab of 2005. The politicians who orchestrated this betrayal of public trust can’t hide forever. Eventually, they will return to the scene of the crime.
Will the 23 legislators who voted for the pay hike but changed their minds about taking the money stand up to the party bosses who run Harrisburg? Will the 79 House members who opposed the pay grab in the first place stand up to the tyrants? Will the 23 senators who voted against the pay hike demand a vote to rescind the pay raise?
Only three state senators need to reverse their vote on the pay hike. And 26 state representatives need to change their vote to repeal the raises. Gov. Ed Rendell, who is getting booed more often than Terrell Owens these days, said he will sign the bill abolishing the pay grab.
Voters in the 150th District will let Rep. Crahalla know if she still has a job in Harrisburg when she faces reelection in May 2006.
What about your state legislator? Have you told him or her in no uncertain terms that their future hinges on whether they do the right thing for the people they promised to represent?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Hey, stupid. Yeah, you. Go ahead. Try to vote me out. Do your best. I’m a member of the Pennsylvania House of Lords (aka state legislature). You can’t touch me. I’m invincible. I can rob you blind any time of day or night, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
That, in essence, is the attitude of many of the people you’ve hired to serve in the Pennsylvania House and Senate. Not only did they vote themselves exorbitant pay raises in the middle of the night, but they believe you’re too chicken to do anything about it.
Sure, about two dozen of the 253 lawmakers have seen the error of their ways and decided not to take the 16 percent to 34 percent pay raises. Some have even pledged to repeal the pay hike when they get back to Harrisburg on Sept. 26. But the vast majority are digging in.
They don’t think you’ve got the brains or guts to stand up to them — to fire them. So they’re going to take the $11,000 raise on top of the 5.2 percent cost-of-living increase they took at the beginning of the year, and they’re going to tack on another cost-of-living increase in 2006 just because they can.
And you’ll continue to pay every penny to maintain Pennsylvania’s royalty in the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.
Allow me to introduce you to state Rep. Jacqueline R. Crahalla, a Republican from the 150th House District, which includes Collegeville, Lower Providence, Trappe, Upper Providence and West Norriton. What does Rep. Crahalla have to say to her constituents who would rather she not have increased her own pay to $81,027 a year, as well as that of her husband, District Judge Benjamin Crahalla, to $74,566 a year as part of the same pay raise bill?
"I’m staying the course," Crahalla told The Philadelphia Inquirer when asked if she was willing to heed the demands of constituents. "The nastier people get, the more stubborn I get."
Hmmm. Stubbornness. Just the kind of trait we need in a lawmaker. To her credit, Rep. Crahalla has been one of the few lawmakers willing to explain the indefensible 2 a.m. raid on the state treasury. She says she routinely puts in more than 50 hours a week on the job. She says judges and cabinet officers should be paid more.
Rep. Crahalla could make a strong case for boosting the salaries of judges and county district attorneys, but there’s no justification for giving herself an $11,000 raise.
Crahalla conveniently forgets that the state legislature met an average of 77 days in each of the past five years.
While the typical Pennsylvania worker puts in at least 245 work days during the year (assuming three weeks vacation), state legislators go to Harrisburg 77 days, take a 10-week summer vacation, go home for at least a month for a winter holiday and take every government holiday off as well.
I’m guessing Rep. Crahalla finds things to do around her district the 200-plus days the legislature is not in session. On the bright side, there’s no heavy lifting involved in being a state lawmaker — unless you pick up that hefty paycheck in cash. Does any of this justify legislators being paid more than twice what the average worker in Pennsylvania is making?
Has Crahalla given any thought to the thousands of senior citizens in her district who are struggling on Social Security? Their cost-of-living increase this year was 2.7 percent, or $15 a month. If the Crahallas need $20,000 more to get by, what does Rep. Crahalla tell the folks back home trying to stretch that $15 until next month’s check?
Arrogant is not a strong enough word to describe the hundreds of Harrisburg pay-grabbers. Insolent might be the better word. The contempt these "public servants" have shown the people who elected them is palpable.
In addition to the unbelievable display of disdain these politicians have for the people in their home districts, another interesting point in the Inquirer article was the fact that so few politicians were even willing to "defend" the pay grab. The reporter who wrote the story called 25 lawmakers, but only two were willing to talk. Imagine that. A politician who doesn’t want his or her name in the newspaper. That’s a first.
We’re approaching the two-month anniversary of the Great Pay Grab of 2005. The politicians who orchestrated this betrayal of public trust can’t hide forever. Eventually, they will return to the scene of the crime.
Will the 23 legislators who voted for the pay hike but changed their minds about taking the money stand up to the party bosses who run Harrisburg? Will the 79 House members who opposed the pay grab in the first place stand up to the tyrants? Will the 23 senators who voted against the pay hike demand a vote to rescind the pay raise?
Only three state senators need to reverse their vote on the pay hike. And 26 state representatives need to change their vote to repeal the raises. Gov. Ed Rendell, who is getting booed more often than Terrell Owens these days, said he will sign the bill abolishing the pay grab.
Voters in the 150th District will let Rep. Crahalla know if she still has a job in Harrisburg when she faces reelection in May 2006.
What about your state legislator? Have you told him or her in no uncertain terms that their future hinges on whether they do the right thing for the people they promised to represent?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Pay raise outcry continues into week 7
This is the latest editorial in The Mercury (Pottstown, Pa.) on the Legislative pay grab. The newspaper has collected 7,000 protest letters from readers in the past three weeks. They will be delivered to Harrisburg when the Legislators return on Sept. 26.
At the beginning of week seven since the legislative pay grab, few things have changed since the debacle first unfolded on July 7.
The first legislative leader to change his mind on collecting the midterm raise as an unvouchered expense — Rep. Brett Feese, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee — came forward last week. He became the first leader to reverse his earlier decision. Feese’s decision does not apply to his actual raise, however, which he will collect, starting in December 2006.
Most of the leaders, who received the biggest raises, accepted the early payments. Three others in leadership — Sens. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin; Mary Jo White, R-Franklin; and Connie Williams, D-Delaware — refused the special payments from the beginning.
Feese was among the three latest lawmakers to rescind their acceptance of the unvouchered expenses, pushing the total to 17.
At the same time, other legislators dug in their heels in defense of the 16 to 34 percent raises they awarded themselves on July 7, repeating the argument that they work hard and deserve the raise.
“I think this is fair compensation for the amount of hours we put in,” said state Rep. Jacqueline R. Crahalla, R-150th Dist., noting she routinely works 50-plus hour weeks. “This job is tough and every two years, your reputation gets knocked to hell if you are seeking reelection, and there is no job security,” said Crahalla, adding that “municipal administrators” often get paid more and have better job security than state lawmakers.
The pay raise legislation, passed at 2 a.m. on July 7, boosts the base salary of state lawmakers from $69,647 to $81,050, with committee heads and those in leadership posts getting additional hikes. Pennsylvania now has the second highest paid legislators in the country, behind only California.
Throughout the state, voter outrage has continued loud and strong. More than 7,000 people have sent protest letters to legislators as part of Operation Giveback, a letter-writing campaign sponsored by The Mercury to “send a message to Harrisburg.” A Web site and a radio station conducting similar campaigns have also reported phenomenal voter reaction.
Area lawmakers voting against the pay hike were state Sen. John C. Rafferty, R-44th Dist., state Sen. Rob Wonderling, R-24th Dist., state Rep. Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist., state Rep. Carole Rubley, R-157th Dist., and state Rep. Douglas Reichley, R-134th. Reichley, however, took the money as an unvouchered expense.
Voting for the hike were Crahalla; state Sen. Michael O’Pake, D-11th; state Sen. Robert Thompson, R-19th; state Rep. Dennis Leh, R-130th; state Rep. Raymond Bunt, R-47th; state Rep. Timothy Hennessey, R-25th; state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155th, and state Rep. Robert Flick, R-167th. Schroder reversed himself after initially accepting the unvouchered expenses and announced he would not take the raise early.
Taxpayers are upset not only with the magnitude of the pay hike but also with legislators’ poor track record on property tax reform, jobs growth and schools funding. One legislator ludicrously defended the vote to give themselves a raise as part of a package that ultimately benefitted taxpayers.
Ask taxpayers how much they’ve benefitted from the legislators’ pay grab.
In particular, ask them this week as they try to pull together the money for local school tax bills that have a discount due date if paid by Aug. 31.
We think we know what their answers will be.
Copyright 2005 The Mercury
At the beginning of week seven since the legislative pay grab, few things have changed since the debacle first unfolded on July 7.
The first legislative leader to change his mind on collecting the midterm raise as an unvouchered expense — Rep. Brett Feese, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee — came forward last week. He became the first leader to reverse his earlier decision. Feese’s decision does not apply to his actual raise, however, which he will collect, starting in December 2006.
Most of the leaders, who received the biggest raises, accepted the early payments. Three others in leadership — Sens. Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin; Mary Jo White, R-Franklin; and Connie Williams, D-Delaware — refused the special payments from the beginning.
Feese was among the three latest lawmakers to rescind their acceptance of the unvouchered expenses, pushing the total to 17.
At the same time, other legislators dug in their heels in defense of the 16 to 34 percent raises they awarded themselves on July 7, repeating the argument that they work hard and deserve the raise.
“I think this is fair compensation for the amount of hours we put in,” said state Rep. Jacqueline R. Crahalla, R-150th Dist., noting she routinely works 50-plus hour weeks. “This job is tough and every two years, your reputation gets knocked to hell if you are seeking reelection, and there is no job security,” said Crahalla, adding that “municipal administrators” often get paid more and have better job security than state lawmakers.
The pay raise legislation, passed at 2 a.m. on July 7, boosts the base salary of state lawmakers from $69,647 to $81,050, with committee heads and those in leadership posts getting additional hikes. Pennsylvania now has the second highest paid legislators in the country, behind only California.
Throughout the state, voter outrage has continued loud and strong. More than 7,000 people have sent protest letters to legislators as part of Operation Giveback, a letter-writing campaign sponsored by The Mercury to “send a message to Harrisburg.” A Web site and a radio station conducting similar campaigns have also reported phenomenal voter reaction.
Area lawmakers voting against the pay hike were state Sen. John C. Rafferty, R-44th Dist., state Sen. Rob Wonderling, R-24th Dist., state Rep. Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist., state Rep. Carole Rubley, R-157th Dist., and state Rep. Douglas Reichley, R-134th. Reichley, however, took the money as an unvouchered expense.
Voting for the hike were Crahalla; state Sen. Michael O’Pake, D-11th; state Sen. Robert Thompson, R-19th; state Rep. Dennis Leh, R-130th; state Rep. Raymond Bunt, R-47th; state Rep. Timothy Hennessey, R-25th; state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155th, and state Rep. Robert Flick, R-167th. Schroder reversed himself after initially accepting the unvouchered expenses and announced he would not take the raise early.
Taxpayers are upset not only with the magnitude of the pay hike but also with legislators’ poor track record on property tax reform, jobs growth and schools funding. One legislator ludicrously defended the vote to give themselves a raise as part of a package that ultimately benefitted taxpayers.
Ask taxpayers how much they’ve benefitted from the legislators’ pay grab.
In particular, ask them this week as they try to pull together the money for local school tax bills that have a discount due date if paid by Aug. 31.
We think we know what their answers will be.
Copyright 2005 The Mercury
Monday, August 22, 2005
Has your state legislator apologized yet?
I’ve been checking Web sites of newspapers across Pennsylvania since the House of Lords (aka the state legislature) gave itself an exorbitant pay raise six weeks ago.
To my pleasant surprise, every newspaper in the state — from the big city papers in Philadelphia, Allentown and Pittsburgh to the smallest daily papers scattered across the state — has editorialized against the unjustified pay raise and the reprehensible method it was approved (under cover of darkness on the last day of the Legislative session before lawmakers went on their 10-week summer vacation).
I’ve read hundreds of letters sent to newspapers by residents of Pennsylvania who feel violated and betrayed by people who are supposed to look out for them. It’s like having a member of your own family commit a crime against you.
One of the most interesting articles I’ve come across was in the Lancaster New Era.
It was a story about a state legislator from central Pennsylvania who not only reversed his stand on the pay hike (at least 16 legislators have done so since July 7) but this lawmaker publicly apologized to his constituents.
State Rep. Tom Creighton, who originally voted for the pay raise and defended it for five weeks, now admits it was an "error in judgment" that violated the "faith and trust" voters placed in him, according to the newspaper.
"In asking for your forgiveness on my vote on the pay raise, I’m committing my full energies in the remaining days of my term to fixing a broken system," Creighton said in a letter to residents of the 37th District.
"In the coming days, I will be introducing legislation to repeal the legislative pay raise, and intend to work with my colleagues and a growing number of concerned citizens like you, to restore the faith and trust you’ve placed in me," he wrote.
Creighton also told the newspaper that he originally voted for the pay raise because the Harrisburg party bosses put the squeeze on him. Voters in Creighton’s district need to think long and hard if they want to send this man back to Harrisburg next year when it appears he turns into a spineless jellyfish and does what he’s told. Imagine his campaign theme: "I will mindlessly obey others."
It’s difficult to say if Creighton’s apology is sincere, but it is a step in the right direction. Unlike the conceited party bosses — John Perzel, William DeWeese, Robert Mellow, David Brightbill, Robert Mellow, Samuel Smith — who refuse to even acknowledge that the pay raise was a mistake, at least Creighton heard what his constituents were saying and put their needs ahead of his own.
When will area lawmakers show some backbone and apologize for their grave error in judgment?
I am referring to Sens. Michael O’Pake, Robert Thompson, Connie Williams and Stewart Greenleaf and state Reps. Tim Hennessey, Raymond Bunt, Dennis Leh, Robert J. Flick, Dante Santoni Jr., Tom Caltagirone, Sam Rohrer and Jacqueline Crahalla. They voted for the pay raise and have so far refused to give the ill-gotten gain back.
State Rep. Douglas Reichley also has a lot of explaining to do. He initially voted against the pay raise, but then showed up in Harrisburg to collect the pay hike even though the state Constitution prohibits lawmakers from approving pay raises for themselves during their current term.
Rep. Curt Schroder decided not to take the pay raises even though he voted in favor of boosting his salary by a minimum of $11,000 a year on top of the very generous perks legislators enjoy as members of the House of Lords. One recent study determined the total compensation package (salary and benefits) for a single state legislator costs taxpayers $150,000 a year.
While wholesale changes are needed in Harrisburg (228 of the 253 members of the bloated Pennsylvania House of Lords will be up for reelection in 2006), voters should be willing to give Sens. Rob Wonderling and John Rafferty and state Reps. Tom Quigley and Carole Rubley the benefit of the doubt. They voted against the pay raise, and as far as I know, have not accepted the money as "unvouchered expenses," the euphemism lawmakers are using to circumvent the Pennsylvania Constitution.
On the bright side, the list of legislators who have decided not to participate in the "unvouchered expense" scam is now up to 105.
Back to Rep. Creighton. "Trading principled decisions for legislative expediency is never right," Creighton wrote. "Unfortunately, for me, the State Capitol and its internal system of punishments and rewards got the best of me in that fateful vote."
Creighton wrote that he reversed his position "after much reflection, prayer and the counsel from countless friends like you."
He concluded by saying he is deeply sorry that the residents of Pennsylvania have lost faith in their lawmakers because of the pay grab. "The process needs to be responsive to the people, to the voters. If I made a mistake, I think I need to state why I made the mistake and explain why I won’t do it again and try to fix it."
The rest of the legislators who voted for the pay grab need to step up to the plate and say they’re sorry. They still have a long way to go to regain the public trust they violated, but an apology is a good place to start.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
To my pleasant surprise, every newspaper in the state — from the big city papers in Philadelphia, Allentown and Pittsburgh to the smallest daily papers scattered across the state — has editorialized against the unjustified pay raise and the reprehensible method it was approved (under cover of darkness on the last day of the Legislative session before lawmakers went on their 10-week summer vacation).
I’ve read hundreds of letters sent to newspapers by residents of Pennsylvania who feel violated and betrayed by people who are supposed to look out for them. It’s like having a member of your own family commit a crime against you.
One of the most interesting articles I’ve come across was in the Lancaster New Era.
It was a story about a state legislator from central Pennsylvania who not only reversed his stand on the pay hike (at least 16 legislators have done so since July 7) but this lawmaker publicly apologized to his constituents.
State Rep. Tom Creighton, who originally voted for the pay raise and defended it for five weeks, now admits it was an "error in judgment" that violated the "faith and trust" voters placed in him, according to the newspaper.
"In asking for your forgiveness on my vote on the pay raise, I’m committing my full energies in the remaining days of my term to fixing a broken system," Creighton said in a letter to residents of the 37th District.
"In the coming days, I will be introducing legislation to repeal the legislative pay raise, and intend to work with my colleagues and a growing number of concerned citizens like you, to restore the faith and trust you’ve placed in me," he wrote.
Creighton also told the newspaper that he originally voted for the pay raise because the Harrisburg party bosses put the squeeze on him. Voters in Creighton’s district need to think long and hard if they want to send this man back to Harrisburg next year when it appears he turns into a spineless jellyfish and does what he’s told. Imagine his campaign theme: "I will mindlessly obey others."
It’s difficult to say if Creighton’s apology is sincere, but it is a step in the right direction. Unlike the conceited party bosses — John Perzel, William DeWeese, Robert Mellow, David Brightbill, Robert Mellow, Samuel Smith — who refuse to even acknowledge that the pay raise was a mistake, at least Creighton heard what his constituents were saying and put their needs ahead of his own.
When will area lawmakers show some backbone and apologize for their grave error in judgment?
I am referring to Sens. Michael O’Pake, Robert Thompson, Connie Williams and Stewart Greenleaf and state Reps. Tim Hennessey, Raymond Bunt, Dennis Leh, Robert J. Flick, Dante Santoni Jr., Tom Caltagirone, Sam Rohrer and Jacqueline Crahalla. They voted for the pay raise and have so far refused to give the ill-gotten gain back.
State Rep. Douglas Reichley also has a lot of explaining to do. He initially voted against the pay raise, but then showed up in Harrisburg to collect the pay hike even though the state Constitution prohibits lawmakers from approving pay raises for themselves during their current term.
Rep. Curt Schroder decided not to take the pay raises even though he voted in favor of boosting his salary by a minimum of $11,000 a year on top of the very generous perks legislators enjoy as members of the House of Lords. One recent study determined the total compensation package (salary and benefits) for a single state legislator costs taxpayers $150,000 a year.
While wholesale changes are needed in Harrisburg (228 of the 253 members of the bloated Pennsylvania House of Lords will be up for reelection in 2006), voters should be willing to give Sens. Rob Wonderling and John Rafferty and state Reps. Tom Quigley and Carole Rubley the benefit of the doubt. They voted against the pay raise, and as far as I know, have not accepted the money as "unvouchered expenses," the euphemism lawmakers are using to circumvent the Pennsylvania Constitution.
On the bright side, the list of legislators who have decided not to participate in the "unvouchered expense" scam is now up to 105.
Back to Rep. Creighton. "Trading principled decisions for legislative expediency is never right," Creighton wrote. "Unfortunately, for me, the State Capitol and its internal system of punishments and rewards got the best of me in that fateful vote."
Creighton wrote that he reversed his position "after much reflection, prayer and the counsel from countless friends like you."
He concluded by saying he is deeply sorry that the residents of Pennsylvania have lost faith in their lawmakers because of the pay grab. "The process needs to be responsive to the people, to the voters. If I made a mistake, I think I need to state why I made the mistake and explain why I won’t do it again and try to fix it."
The rest of the legislators who voted for the pay grab need to step up to the plate and say they’re sorry. They still have a long way to go to regain the public trust they violated, but an apology is a good place to start.
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Money-grubbing politicians feel the heat
An editorial cartoon in The Mercury this week raised the question of whether Pennsylvania lawmakers were hearing the public outrage over the Great Pay Grab of 2005. Rest assured, they’re hearing you loud and clear.
The citizens of Pennsylvania are going to win this one. The Pennsylvania House of Lords (aka state legislature) is feeling the heat. The 253 state House and Senate members remind me of George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. Through arrogance and audacity, legislative leaders have led their troops into hostile territory, where they are greatly outnumbered by Pennsylvania taxpayers. Like Custer, the party bosses have managed to get their forces surrounded. And we all know how the Battle of the Little Big Horn turned out.
The party bosses that masterminded the pay grab — Perzel, DeWeese, Jubelirer, Mellow, Brightbill — are losing soldiers daily. Two more legislators have changed their minds and decided not to accept "unvouchered expenses" that let lawmakers collect their new pay raises 16 months before the Pennsylvania Constitution allows, according to The (Delaware County) Daily Times. Rep. Nicholas A. Micozzie and Sen. Dominic E. Pileggi joined 12 other legislators who initially accepted and — amid a roar of public disapproval — subsequently rejected the special payments that are equal to their prospective raises, the newspaper reports.
The party bosses have circled the wagons and are preparing to fight for the pay raise to the last man. But the foot soldiers who were led into this battle with the promise that voters are too dumb to figure out what the Legislature did at 2 a.m. on July 7 or too lazy to do anything about it are deserting the Custers who led them into the quagmire. As constituents continue to confront legislators, it’s becoming every man for himself, and politicians, by their very nature, will do whatever it takes to save their own skin.
Newspapers continue to lead the charge with daily revelations of the greed and back-room dealing in the Pennsylvania House of Lords. The Mercury has collected 3,400 signatures opposing the pay grab in just 10 days. Four of The Mercury’s sister newspapers in southeastern Pennsylvania have joined the cause. We will deliver the letters to Harrisburg next month.
The number of Web sites helping organize the people’s revolt against the greedy politicians is growing. PACleanSweep.com reports 38,000 visitors to its Web site. The group has also signed up 2,200 subscribers to receive e-mail updates on the progress to clean up the mess in Harrisburg. Former state Rep. John Kennedy, who launched his own campaign to repeal the pay raise, reports 17,000 people have visited his Web site, www.declarationofaction.
The newest Web site devoted to winning back Pennsylvania from the gluttonous politicians is www.InformedPA.com. The group is planning to plaster the faces of the leaders of the pay grab on billboards across the state.
The politicians are blaming news coverage of the pay raise for stirring up the public, but as usual, they underestimate the intelligence of voters. You don’t need a Ph.D. to realize someone just reached into your pocket to relieve you of your hard-earned money. This revolt is grassroots. And voters won’t forget the pay raise when 228 of the 253 members of the House of Lords face reelection in 2006.
It’s not just the pay raise that is drawing public scrutiny. Residents are fuming about the $150,000 in taxpayer money being wasted by state lawmakers attending a junket in Seattle. Pennsylvania is sending nearly 100 delegates to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The only legislator from Berks, Chester or Montgomery counties I know went to Seattle is Rep. Dante Santoni Jr., a Democrat who "serves" the 126th District outside Reading.
Santoni, one of the drones who was promoted to a committee chairmanship when Democratic leader Bill DeWeese punished 15 Democrats who voted their conscience by not supporting the pay grab, willingly took the $11,000 pay raise and the chairmanship post, which added another $4,050 to his pockets. Santoni is also billing constituents for the $1,750 cost of attending the conference.
In western Pennsylvania, Rep. Frank LaGrotta said someone approached him in a supermarket and called him a thief for taking a "vacation" at taxpayers’ expense. LaGrotta decided not go to Seattle.
This is a defining moment in Pennsylvania history. Citizens must stand and fight the flagrant theft of public money and public trust. There are nearly 8 million registered voters in Pennsylvania.
Regardless of party affiliation, we need to work together to oust the 200 or so legislators who raided the public treasury on July 7.
Even if the 2 a.m. cowards rescind the pay raise when they get back to Harrisburg after their 10-week vacation, they will try to rob us again.
The only solution is remove them from the temptation of taking our money. Remember the pay raise! Vote them out!
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
The citizens of Pennsylvania are going to win this one. The Pennsylvania House of Lords (aka state legislature) is feeling the heat. The 253 state House and Senate members remind me of George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. Through arrogance and audacity, legislative leaders have led their troops into hostile territory, where they are greatly outnumbered by Pennsylvania taxpayers. Like Custer, the party bosses have managed to get their forces surrounded. And we all know how the Battle of the Little Big Horn turned out.
The party bosses that masterminded the pay grab — Perzel, DeWeese, Jubelirer, Mellow, Brightbill — are losing soldiers daily. Two more legislators have changed their minds and decided not to accept "unvouchered expenses" that let lawmakers collect their new pay raises 16 months before the Pennsylvania Constitution allows, according to The (Delaware County) Daily Times. Rep. Nicholas A. Micozzie and Sen. Dominic E. Pileggi joined 12 other legislators who initially accepted and — amid a roar of public disapproval — subsequently rejected the special payments that are equal to their prospective raises, the newspaper reports.
The party bosses have circled the wagons and are preparing to fight for the pay raise to the last man. But the foot soldiers who were led into this battle with the promise that voters are too dumb to figure out what the Legislature did at 2 a.m. on July 7 or too lazy to do anything about it are deserting the Custers who led them into the quagmire. As constituents continue to confront legislators, it’s becoming every man for himself, and politicians, by their very nature, will do whatever it takes to save their own skin.
Newspapers continue to lead the charge with daily revelations of the greed and back-room dealing in the Pennsylvania House of Lords. The Mercury has collected 3,400 signatures opposing the pay grab in just 10 days. Four of The Mercury’s sister newspapers in southeastern Pennsylvania have joined the cause. We will deliver the letters to Harrisburg next month.
The number of Web sites helping organize the people’s revolt against the greedy politicians is growing. PACleanSweep.com reports 38,000 visitors to its Web site. The group has also signed up 2,200 subscribers to receive e-mail updates on the progress to clean up the mess in Harrisburg. Former state Rep. John Kennedy, who launched his own campaign to repeal the pay raise, reports 17,000 people have visited his Web site, www.declarationofaction.
The newest Web site devoted to winning back Pennsylvania from the gluttonous politicians is www.InformedPA.com. The group is planning to plaster the faces of the leaders of the pay grab on billboards across the state.
The politicians are blaming news coverage of the pay raise for stirring up the public, but as usual, they underestimate the intelligence of voters. You don’t need a Ph.D. to realize someone just reached into your pocket to relieve you of your hard-earned money. This revolt is grassroots. And voters won’t forget the pay raise when 228 of the 253 members of the House of Lords face reelection in 2006.
It’s not just the pay raise that is drawing public scrutiny. Residents are fuming about the $150,000 in taxpayer money being wasted by state lawmakers attending a junket in Seattle. Pennsylvania is sending nearly 100 delegates to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The only legislator from Berks, Chester or Montgomery counties I know went to Seattle is Rep. Dante Santoni Jr., a Democrat who "serves" the 126th District outside Reading.
Santoni, one of the drones who was promoted to a committee chairmanship when Democratic leader Bill DeWeese punished 15 Democrats who voted their conscience by not supporting the pay grab, willingly took the $11,000 pay raise and the chairmanship post, which added another $4,050 to his pockets. Santoni is also billing constituents for the $1,750 cost of attending the conference.
In western Pennsylvania, Rep. Frank LaGrotta said someone approached him in a supermarket and called him a thief for taking a "vacation" at taxpayers’ expense. LaGrotta decided not go to Seattle.
This is a defining moment in Pennsylvania history. Citizens must stand and fight the flagrant theft of public money and public trust. There are nearly 8 million registered voters in Pennsylvania.
Regardless of party affiliation, we need to work together to oust the 200 or so legislators who raided the public treasury on July 7.
Even if the 2 a.m. cowards rescind the pay raise when they get back to Harrisburg after their 10-week vacation, they will try to rob us again.
The only solution is remove them from the temptation of taking our money. Remember the pay raise! Vote them out!
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
Monday, August 15, 2005
Pa. residents must organize to take back their state
The revolution is on. The shots were fired in the wee small hours of the morning of July 7 when most Pennsylvanians were fast asleep. That’s when 253 renegade politicians gave themselves outrageous pay raises on the last day of the legislative session before going on a 10-week summer vacation.
The 2004-05 session was one in which our well-paid legislators again failed to deliver property tax relief to the state’s beleaguered homeowners, failed to deliver health insurance reform for small business, leaving thousands of Pennsylvanians without health coverage, failed to provide adequate Medicare funding for the state’s poor, and failed to raise the state’s minimum wage, keeping thousands of the state’s working poor in poverty.
To reward themselves for complete failure, they broke into the state treasury in the middle of the night and ran off with pay raises ranging from $11,000 to $36,000.
The anger and frustration among the state’s besieged taxpayers continues to rise with the August heat. The revelation that Pennsylvania lawmakers will fleece taxpayers for another $150,000 to spend the week vacationing (I meant to say attending a conference) in Seattle is another kick in the groin for Pennsylvania taxpayers.
That bit of news was followed by an investigative piece in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that exposed a $135 million slush fund set up by the party bosses who rule Harrisburg. This account is controlled by legislative leaders — the same ones who pushed through the pay raise and the very same ones who punished legislators who voted against the money grab by removing them from committee chairmanships. The $135 million can be spent at the discretion of the party bosses. They can buy off anyone in the state with the money, which used to be part of the state treasury until the party bosses confiscated it for their private accounts.
And the very same article in the Tribune-Review revealed that our hard-working, full-time state legislators averaged 77 session days a year for the past five years in Harrisburg. So much for working "24/7" as some of these charlatans have been telling constituents. Anyone interested in a part-time job (you only have to show up 77 days a year) that pays $81,027 to start with the potential to make $145,553 if you rise to the post of party boss? The line forms behind me.
So what can the tormented taxpayer do between now and May 2006, when Pennsylvania residents can extract their revenge on these bandits in three-piece suits?
First, educate yourself. House Democratic leader William "Boss Hogg" DeWeese complained last week that Pennsylvania newspapers have been writing too much about the pay raise. He thinks the news coverage is behind the outrage. In other words, if taxpayers would be kept in the dark, it would be a lot easier for the state Legislature to carry on its criminal activities.
DeWeese’s contempt for the people of Pennsylvania speaks volumes of the arrogance of elected officials in this state. They are not public servants. They have crowned themselves as royalty — a Pennsylvania House of Lords — to rule over the rest of us commoners. This is all the reason Pennsylvania residents need to clean house in Harrisburg.
Second, continue to voice your opposition. Call and write your legislators. Challenge them at public forums to defend the pillage of taxpayers so they can maintain the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Participate in The Mercury’s Operation Giveback. Write a letter to the editor. Call your local talk radio station. Keep it alive.
Third, and most importantly, start making plans for the May 2006 primary election. All 203 members of the House of Representatives and 25 of the 50 Senators will face reelection next year. Unless the incumbents have opposition on the ballot, there’s no way to get rid of them. Consider running for office yourself. You can’t do any worse than the do-nothing dregs we have in office now. If you’re an independent, a libertarian or a member of another third-party, you must change your registration to Republican or Democrat in order to vote in the primary. That’s crucial.
There are several Web sites already set up offering advice on how Pennsylvania residents can organize and work to take back their government from the freeloaders who inhabit Harrisburg.
Former state Rep. John Kennedy, a Republican from Cumberland County who declined his pension and perks while serving from 1981 to 1988, has set up an informative site called: www.declarationofaction.org.
Another good site is www.genestilp.blogspot.com, the Web log of activist Eugene Stilp of Harrisburg, who has filed a lawsuit to overturn the pay hike.
The newest site attempting to organize residents is www.democracyrisingpa.com
Also worth checking out is www.pacleansweep.com, which was set up by Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County businessman, whose goal is to kick out the entire Legislature. Diamond’s site offers a lot of practical advice on how to make wholesale changes in Harrisburg in 2006 and beyond. And who — except for the 253 mutineers — doesn’t believe change is needed?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
The 2004-05 session was one in which our well-paid legislators again failed to deliver property tax relief to the state’s beleaguered homeowners, failed to deliver health insurance reform for small business, leaving thousands of Pennsylvanians without health coverage, failed to provide adequate Medicare funding for the state’s poor, and failed to raise the state’s minimum wage, keeping thousands of the state’s working poor in poverty.
To reward themselves for complete failure, they broke into the state treasury in the middle of the night and ran off with pay raises ranging from $11,000 to $36,000.
The anger and frustration among the state’s besieged taxpayers continues to rise with the August heat. The revelation that Pennsylvania lawmakers will fleece taxpayers for another $150,000 to spend the week vacationing (I meant to say attending a conference) in Seattle is another kick in the groin for Pennsylvania taxpayers.
That bit of news was followed by an investigative piece in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that exposed a $135 million slush fund set up by the party bosses who rule Harrisburg. This account is controlled by legislative leaders — the same ones who pushed through the pay raise and the very same ones who punished legislators who voted against the money grab by removing them from committee chairmanships. The $135 million can be spent at the discretion of the party bosses. They can buy off anyone in the state with the money, which used to be part of the state treasury until the party bosses confiscated it for their private accounts.
And the very same article in the Tribune-Review revealed that our hard-working, full-time state legislators averaged 77 session days a year for the past five years in Harrisburg. So much for working "24/7" as some of these charlatans have been telling constituents. Anyone interested in a part-time job (you only have to show up 77 days a year) that pays $81,027 to start with the potential to make $145,553 if you rise to the post of party boss? The line forms behind me.
So what can the tormented taxpayer do between now and May 2006, when Pennsylvania residents can extract their revenge on these bandits in three-piece suits?
First, educate yourself. House Democratic leader William "Boss Hogg" DeWeese complained last week that Pennsylvania newspapers have been writing too much about the pay raise. He thinks the news coverage is behind the outrage. In other words, if taxpayers would be kept in the dark, it would be a lot easier for the state Legislature to carry on its criminal activities.
DeWeese’s contempt for the people of Pennsylvania speaks volumes of the arrogance of elected officials in this state. They are not public servants. They have crowned themselves as royalty — a Pennsylvania House of Lords — to rule over the rest of us commoners. This is all the reason Pennsylvania residents need to clean house in Harrisburg.
Second, continue to voice your opposition. Call and write your legislators. Challenge them at public forums to defend the pillage of taxpayers so they can maintain the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Participate in The Mercury’s Operation Giveback. Write a letter to the editor. Call your local talk radio station. Keep it alive.
Third, and most importantly, start making plans for the May 2006 primary election. All 203 members of the House of Representatives and 25 of the 50 Senators will face reelection next year. Unless the incumbents have opposition on the ballot, there’s no way to get rid of them. Consider running for office yourself. You can’t do any worse than the do-nothing dregs we have in office now. If you’re an independent, a libertarian or a member of another third-party, you must change your registration to Republican or Democrat in order to vote in the primary. That’s crucial.
There are several Web sites already set up offering advice on how Pennsylvania residents can organize and work to take back their government from the freeloaders who inhabit Harrisburg.
Former state Rep. John Kennedy, a Republican from Cumberland County who declined his pension and perks while serving from 1981 to 1988, has set up an informative site called: www.declarationofaction.org.
Another good site is www.genestilp.blogspot.com, the Web log of activist Eugene Stilp of Harrisburg, who has filed a lawsuit to overturn the pay hike.
The newest site attempting to organize residents is www.democracyrisingpa.com
Also worth checking out is www.pacleansweep.com, which was set up by Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County businessman, whose goal is to kick out the entire Legislature. Diamond’s site offers a lot of practical advice on how to make wholesale changes in Harrisburg in 2006 and beyond. And who — except for the 253 mutineers — doesn’t believe change is needed?
E-mail Tony Phyrillas at tphyrillas@pottsmerc.com
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