Taking a break

I am taking a break from this site for a while, for my ones of readers i will still be contributing to PA Water Cooler. For NEPA news check out Gort and Danny

Horsham Stops Pedophile

Here is another example of why sexual predators should not step foot in Horsham.

Benjamin Evans, of Blue Bell, arranged to meet with the girl at the Wawa on Horsham Road and Limekiln Pike on Tuesday night after a conversation through text messages. He asked if she wanted to perform oral sex on him and told her how to do it, said a criminal complaint released Wednesday.

The girl and her mother were with Montgomery County and Horsham detectives at the Horsham Police Department during the text message conversation Tuesday night and Evans was arrested when he arrived at the Wawa. Evans admitted to police that he had conversations of a sexual nature with the girl and said they arranged to meet at the Wawa after a talking about a sex act, court documents said.

He met her at a soccer camp he was helping out at. I guess he wanted to be a12-14 year old girls soccer coach, but I don’t see that happening now. Also it seems he ran and thankfully lost the Democratic nomination for Wissahikon School Board.

Kicking a Man while He is Down

Since John Roberts appears to be doing well, Patrick Leahy attacked the Chief Justice as an activist

"I think in his actions and the actions in which he has joined, he has made the court an arm of the Republican Party."

Really The Robert’s Court made three big decisions this term. The first case upheld the Partial Birth Abortion ban. So basically this activist Court only deferred to Congress and upheld a bill that even pro choice Senators Specter and Biden voted for.

The second decisions limited the effects of Republican John McCain’s Campaign finance bill that was signed into law b president Bush. I would think this “arm of the Republican Party” would be in sync with its president and top Senator.

Finally Leahy was all upset that the Court has decided to limit state government’s ability to use race as a factor. As usual columnist Roger Simon provides a fair report and wrote what Leahy objected to.

"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,"

Attacking the Supreme Court never plays well. Even Franklin Roosevelt lost that battle. Republican’s have been prudent in attacking activist judges and for the most part not singling out any Justices except those they compliment.

Pray for a Robert’s Recovery

Earlier today John Roberts had a seizure, but it looks like he will be ok. I am sure everyone on this blog and in America is praying that the Chief Justice of the United States, makes a full fast recovery. He has two young kids and he is the best thing to happen to America since Ronald Reagan. Not only has he been upholding the Constitution, but it seems he has convinced Justice Kennedy to do the same on a more regular basis.

Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia

We all know, despite over 200 murders so far this year, Philadelphia is still a better city than Pittsburgh, and the best city in the nation therfeore the world. (See the Constitution) The Phillies displayed this dominance today by sweeping the Bucs over the weekend without Chase who was intentionally injured by the Nationals on Thursday.

Chased Out

The bullpen sucking was no surprise, but the Phillies would have won if the Washington Nationals did not cheat. Their rookie pitcher intentionally beamed Chase Utley and Ryan Howard on consecutive pitches. At first it did not seem like a big deal, but now Chase is on the 15 day DL. Despite the usual bullpen meltdown the Phillies would have won if Chase were not hurt. He would have reached base at least one more time, but instead he went 0-2 after being targeted; both of these outs ended an inning, so Ryan Howard batted with no one on base late in the game. This poor sportsmanship and evilness should be no surprise considering there best player, Dimitri Young, beats helpless women.

The Washington Nationals are now "On Notice" and are number one. (LaRussa is off no other chnages for now)

Alex is Famous!!!

The Capitol Hill paper/website, the Politico, has an article featuring PAWaterCooler.com’s Editor and Founder Alex Charyna.

As a contributor I want to thank Alex for the opportunity to write for a larger audience. This blog seems to only pick up readers when I mention my thoughts concerning a particular athletic activity that some consider a sport. Alex has done a great job keeping the site running, for people like me tend to take week long posting breaks, but he rarely takes a day off. As referred to in the article I love his coverage of the best county in PA. In addition to his great post and ability to find great stories, Alex had done a great job managing the blog and recruiting contributors.

Good News, Bad News

I mentioned before that Horsham is considering a strict law banning sex offenders. Well I have some good news, since the township is considering this law prison officials have not released child rapist, Sheldon Granor, as scheduled. The parents and children of Horsham have some more time before they must live in fear of this monster.

The sad news is that he was going to walk free in only three years. His crime was not only deviant but also very violent. The details of the rape of a little girl are so disgusting that cannot bear to post them. If you click here and read you will become sick as I did, for he only got 3 years.

Yeah Its that Bad

How bad is Philadelphia’s crime problem?

I just saw a story about the 232 murders on the local news in DC.

Teachers and Health Care

As usual public education and Luzerne County are behind the curve. Everybody these days is contributing his or her own money to Health Insurance. It seemed as if Pennsylvania teachers escaped this trend, but now 59% of teachers contribute to their premiums. This is not the case in Luzerne County where teachers only one school district. There are many fights over this issue and of course the teacher unions play the victim. (article)

“It’s just not fair to say that if you have to do it, then teachers have to do it,” replied Pennsylvania State Education spokesman Paul Shemansky. “How would you feel if you had a good health care plan, and your employers said they were taking it away? If you’re a teacher starting at $34,000, your checks aren’t that big and paying $900 a year in health care hits you hard. Once you start doing co-pay, do you think co-pays will ever go down? They’re only going up, and once you start paying in, you’ll keep paying more with each contract.”

Well $34,000 is a lot of money in NEPA, and NEPA teachers are relatively wealthier compared to their neighbors than SPEA teachers making more money. As you can imagine NEPA is full of Simon Cambells; one is Frank Scavo, a school board member who is is willing to personally go head to head with the teachers unions.

Conservative Perspectives

Pat Buchanan’s magazine, The American Conservative offers two interesting perspectives on two “leading” issues of the day.

Political Scientist James L. Payne discusses about government’s involvement in Health Care.

If I lived in Massachusetts, as of July 1, 2007, I would be violating the law. That’s when the state will require everyone over 18 years old to have health insurance. I don’t have health insurance, I don’t want it, and I refuse to buy it even though I can afford it.

Thank you Mitt Romney, Payne then explains the benefits of being uninsured.

Spending my own money on healthcare helps me set a rational limit to medical spending, even on spending to preserve my life. Not buying health insurance and not allowing politicians to force others to fund my needs helps me keep my consumption of medical resources within fitting bounds.

Political Philosopher Roger Scruton tackles the environment. He begins with explaining its connection to communism and other liberal movements.

There is a third and I think more interesting motive for the Left’s capture of the environmental cause: the cult of the victim. There has been a tradition on the Left, going back to the 19th century and to Marx in particular, of judging every form of human success in terms of its victims. It is assumed that when someone makes a profit, someone else must suffer a loss. This idea of human society as a kind of zero-sum game, in which every benefit is matched by someone else’s cost, is dear to a certain kind of left-wing thinking. And in the Earth, we have a wonderful victim—one bigger than any human being, who suffers the results of all of our profiteering.

However he mentioned the need for conservatives to deal with the environment. He paraphrases Edmund Burke calling society a contract between the living, the dead, and the Unborn. If we, the people not the government, treat our property and planet as trustees for later generations instead of the owner, we can go a long way.

This is similar to the views of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick as he worked to preserve open space. But the environmentalist did not support him for they only care about the latest “problem” which is currently global warming.

Horsham’s Conservative Heritage

Earlier this week Horsham Township was named the 15th best town in America therefore the world. I believe this a testament to our Conservative Heritage since the town’s creation. Horsham has always had low municipal taxes that created an opportunity for job growth. The School District still spends too much of our money, but compared to other districts in the state we are blessed. (The taxes are not as bad as surrounding districts, and the educational quality is high.)

Horsham has low taxes, because spending has never been out of control. The township has refused to participate in activates better preformed by private companies such as trash pick up. The conservative heritage of Horsham runs deep. As the town grew the leaders wisely chose not to build a library. Building a library in the 1960s could have resulted in an unmanageable debt, and it would have been rebuilt or restored at a high cost. (There were sufficient libraries in surrounding towns and universities.)

Recently the People of Horsham through a referendum decided the conditions were ripe, and the township built the best public library in Montgomery County. Instead of going into extreme debt the Council took a courageous risk; they slightly raised taxes, and the amount was unnoticeable when compared to the school, state, and national taxes. After one year the funds were raised and the council lowered taxes. Most governments would look for more spending projects, but Horsham Township believed we could spend our money better.

And the people of Horsham have done a wonderful job when the government does leave us to our own devices. Saint Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church is perhaps the best example. The Church fosters a community environment for people of all faiths. Its yearly weeklong summer carnival is the town’s top social event, and it does not cost taxpayers a dime. The K-8 school also saves the school district millions of dollars. Other voluntary originations such as Horsham Little League provide services for the disabled.

The report by CNN considers the closure of the Willow Grove Naval Air Base as a potential drawback to Horsham, but this is not true. The township’s conservative heritage, embodied by manager Mike McGee, creates opportunity for more growth. Employers would fight each other for the chance to set up shop in township that governs least.

The threat to Horsham is the fact that the power to redevelop the base was taken away from the people of Horsham by the U.S. Congress and given to Governor Ed Rendell. Fast Eddie, Jack Murtha, Arlen Specter, and Patrick Murphy want to fill the closing base with government jobs and contractors. The runway would still be used for government business only, but there is still a chance for a civilian airport down the road, something the entire township rejects.

The other threat to Horsham is the potential of a Democratic takeover in Montgomery County, for the Republican leadership has become too comfortable with power. The county, like Horsham, has been run conservatively for the past 100 years, and the Democratic candidates plan on raising taxes. It is hard enough for Horsham to create a pro-growth environment in an anti-business state and a Democratic Courthouse would make it near impossible.

The threats facing Horsham are not the random events out of its control such as the closing of the Base, but the attacks on the conservative heritage from the state and federal government concerning the base and a potential Democratic Courthouse. I think the latter may not happen and I hope we can survive the former, for Horsham’s Conservative Heritage is strong.

Vick v. United States

I have never believed in the hype surrounding Michael Vick; I saw him as an athletic quarterback with an average throwing ability with no ability to read a defense. I was not worried about him when the Birds faced him in either playoff game. Concerning his predicament I have come to two conclusions. The NFL should suspend him for immoral behavior, but he should not go to federal prison.

The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 is repugnant to an original understanding of the Constitution. First common sense would dictate that this is a matter for local officials; I prefer federal agents hunting terrorist. Also the power to regulate dog fighting in an individual’s home cannot even broadly be derived from Article I Section 8. As usual the United States Congress abused the commerce clause as a police power.

Since original intent has been out of style since 1937 it would seem unlikely the Court would overturn this regulation, but since 1995 the Court has conservatively, in both senses of the word, limited Congress’s commerce power. In United States v Lopez the Court ruled Congress couldn’t prohibit guns in school zones. The late great Chief Justice William Rehnquist explained the limit.

Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce.

The Supreme Court upheld the “substantial relation” test in United States v Morrison. The 5-4 decisions ruled the Violence Against Women Act unconstitutional; Congress can no longer regulate non-economic violent crimes such as rape. Assuming that Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito would join the Lopez and Morrison majorities it would not be unreasonable to predict that Court would consider The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 a breach of the commerce clause.

If Congress does not have the power to prohibit guns in schools or regulate violent crimes, it would seem unlikely to have the power to end dogfights. I know the law is crafted in such away to regulate the interstate aspects of dogfights, but according to Congressional Research Services the Act out laws animal fighting in general.

Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for violations of the Animal Welfare Act relating to: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture.

Personally I do not see any “substantial relation to interstate commerce” in the “sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture.” I have never rooted for #7 in my entire life, but I hope within in the next few years I can cheer for a limited national government when the Roberts Court affirms a restricted view of the commerce clause in the Vick v the United States.

Horsham Named Top Town

Horsham, PA of Montgomery County, MY HOMETOWN has just been named one of the top towns in the World. I have been saying that for years. More later I have to got to class.

Phighten for Life

If the Phillies lose today it will be the Franchises infamous 10,000 loss. After being down 3-0 the Phightens crawled back. Starting Pitcher Adam Eaton stayed calm and helped his own cause with the bat going 2-2 with a sac bunt. Even Pat Burrell contributed with a timely solo homerun. At the end of the sixth inning the rain and wind was pouring down and a rain delay began.

The Rockies ran inside while the Phightens gathered in the dugout. As the grounds crew rushed to cover the field the hounding winds caused some to be covered by the tarp. Immediately the entire Phillies Bench ran out to help save the men underneath and then helped cover the field. The team out themselves out there to help save some lives and then gives the workingman a hand. I think this last game before the All Start break is just hat the doctor ordered. Lets hope Mother nature gives the Phillies a three inning “save” and they build on this momentum into the second half of the year.

UPDATE The game did not get called, but the Phils won 8-4 and will not lose number 10,000 before the All Star break. I expect a winning streak after the break because no pitcher wants to be that guy. Look for great team chemistry for the rest of the year.

The Liberty Bell and John Marshall

This day in 1835 the Liberty Bell famously cracked. Unfortunately more people know more about the crack in the bell than the man who the bell was rung for that day. The fourth and greatest Chief Justice John Marshall died two day earlier on July 6 2007 and he has been slighted by the schoolbooks of today. His contribution to America is only bested by his hero George Washington and James Madison, the father of the document he revered. In honor of Marshall I will make a foolhardy attempt to briefly cover his life and impact on the nation.

Marshall is the quintessential American; Historian Jean Edward Smith described Marshall as the “Definer of the Nation.” His famous decisions such as Marbury v Madison, Gibbons v Ogden, and McCullough v Maryland are still good law. He helped unite a still fractured nation under the Constitution and established an independent judiciary, which is marvelous thing when Justices such as Marshall, Rehnquist, and Roberts look to the Constitution and not their own political desires such as Earl Warren.

Unfortunately a few famous cases is all most people know about John Marshall. His life is an amazing story; his father Thomas Marshall was a self-educated man living in the Virginia Frontier. He fought with and befriended George Washington in the Virginia Militia. He encouraged his son to read, and when possible found his son formal schooling. During the Revolution both Marshall’s fought for Independence. John became an officer immediately and was put in an elite unit. He spent the winter at Valley Forge and fought in the first battle under the American Flag. He defended Richmond as Thomas Jefferson ran away.

After his time as soldier he attended law school at William and Mary under the direction of the well-known George Wythe who also taught Jefferson, Clay, and Monroe. He moved from the Virginia Frontier to Richmond where he practiced law and was elected to the state legislature; he also served as a City Councilman. He was well known as one of the best lawyers in the Country. He was called to serve as a diplomat to France in the early Adams administration. He was the man who refused to bribe the French minister in the XYZ affair. He returned home a Hero and he planned on practicing law and making money, but others had different plans. Retired at Mt Vernon George Washington “convinced” Marshall to run for Congress. As a Federalist he was elected in Republican Richmond, because of his popularity form the XYZ affair, his popularity with his neighbors in general, and he opposed the Sedition Act. His popularity was so great that even the arch Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry endorsed John Marshall. Also Marshall was apparently an expert at campaigning at the bars. As a Congressman Marshall was Adam’s go to guy in the House, but he lead other moderate federalist in the repeal of the Sedition Act. He considered it an affront to liberty and repugnant to the Constitution.

Later in his administration John Adams removed cabinet members more loyal to Hamilton than himself; he appointed Marshall to be Secretary of State, and when Adams was gone Marshall was the acting chief executive. In the final days of his administration Adams appointed Marshall to be Chief Justice. In addition to the above-mentioned cases Marshall did much more to serve his country. Most notably he wrote a five-volume biography of George Washington that was the best of its time. He also maintained a healthy relationship with the other justices. He was able to bring together federalist firebrands such as Justice chase with Jeffersonian appointees. During the War of 1812 he joined Richmond’s Committee on Vigilance and lead the sub committee on fortification. This was not a ceremonial role for the Chief Justice of the United States. He made sure his hometown was ready to defend itself against attack. Personally I think this is what defines Marshall as the quintessential American; he was man who loved his country and wanted to unify it, but he was always dedicated to his community and family.

He got along with Presidents Madison, Monroe, and J.Q. Adams; he vacationed with Monroe and took daily walks with Adams. His feud with Jefferson was well known. The two were distant cousins, but Jefferson live on a plantation with slaves while Marshall was from the frontier and opposed slavery. The Chief Justice favored checks and balances, while Jefferson did not believe a judiciary should thwart the majority of the moment. Marshall also did not have a great relationship with Andrew Jackson, who even Thomas Jefferson considered too democratic. He famously asked Marshall to enforce his decision concerning the relocation of Indian Tribes.

It is fitting that the Liberty Bell cracked honoring the recently deceased Marshall, for the demagogue Andrew Jackson replaced him with Chief Justice Taney; these two men caused the nation to be deprived of Liberty until the Civil War. An independent judiciary no longer checked the government, and the Taney Court declared all black men slaves.

Bucks County Commissioners’ Race

With all the talk about Montgomery County’s historic commissioner’s race other county commissioner races seem to get left tin the dust. In Bucks County Incumbent Commissioners Jim Cawley and Charlie Martin are out to prove Patrick Murphy’s extremely slim win was an anomaly. The voters of Bucks County have no reason to replace the incumbents; Bucks County has thrived under Republican government for the past twenty or so years, and Commissioner Martin has been in the Court House for over a decade. Despite a few victories and changing demographics it seems the GOP will hold of the Democrats.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Bucks’ GOP is in trouble. In fact, the county is more staunchly Republican than the other two state counties that touch Philadelphia — Delaware and Montgomery — he said. Madonna gives Bucks incumbents Charley Martin and Jim Cawley a 60-40 lead over Democrats Diane Marseglia and Steve Santarsiero, who are township supervisors and new to countywide races. (full article)

Lets hope the momentum of a GOP victory in November propels Mike Fitzpatrick back into the Congressional Seat that is rightfully his.

Supporting Incompetence

How do you fix a mismanaged public transportation agency? PA House Democrats voted to increase the amount of board members from the area’s most incompetent county. Now the SEPTA board will be dominated by the City of Philadelphia; suburban counties can be bullied into raising taxes for SEPTA.

Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-18, said that could give Philadelphia the final say over routes and capital projects in the suburbs. "That just allows the city of Philadelphia, I think, to dominate the board and override any decision that Bucks County and the suburban counties would make," he said. "That was one thing that really forced me to vote ‘no.’ "

So basically Suburbanites who don’t ride the train or bus because it is already not suburban friendly will have to pay increased taxes to help fund an entity that would become more dominated by the City. Before any government spends another dime on SPETA I have two suggestions. First look at the DC METRO as an example of user and suburban friendly public transportation. Secondly read this report by the CATO institute on the practicality of buses instead of trains in most situations. It also discusses the efficiency of privately owned public transportation.

Not in My Backyard

For the people of Horsham the only thing worse than having a civilian airport in your town is living near a child rapist. Fortunately my hometown's Council and the State House are both considering limiting the housing options of sex offenders.

A recently introduced House bill would tighten the state's Megan's Law by prohibiting sexually violent predators who commit certain crimes on children younger than 14 from living within 11/2 miles of any school that teaches children in kindergarten through elementary school. Another bill requires sexually violent predators to wear global positioning system tracking devices. Both are in the House Judiciary Committee.

Of course there are some complaints.

Sex offenders now out of jail claim such laws are unconstitutional and continue to punish them after serving their time.

I don’t even think Earl Warren or Patrick Murphy could think of a way this violates the Constitution. I think having a jury trial that convicts a person of raping little kids can be considered due process of law. I also do not find it cruel and unusual to let everyone a rapist lives down the street and to not allow the rapist to live near a school. I hope the Horsham Council and/or the State House do the right thing and help protect our children form these monsters.