Tom Corporate Coming to Indian Hills on Friday

PA Governor Tom Corbett will be coming to Indian Hills Golf and Tennis Club as part of $1000/couple plate fundraiser to benefit the reelection campaign of Kurt Massser (R-107th) of Elysburg.  Just last Thursday, Shamokin Area School District furloughed 22 staff in response to the governor's budget cuts for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

While school districts are the big losers in Corbett's budget. Act 22 cuts a proposed 2 million to the elderly, handicapped, and children of Northumberland County.  Northumberland County Commissioner Steve Bridy is on the record for calling state legislator "cowardly."

“As a collective, they’re cowardly,” said Bridy, chastising the state Legislature, particularly state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-108 of Sunbury, and Sen. John Gordner, R-27 of Berwick, for delegating the proposed cuts to the secretary of the state Department of Public Welfare. “They’re the second highest paid (state lawmakers) in the nation, and it’s just wrong to push blame on someone else. It’s just asinine and hypocritical to cut services to the elderly and needy children.”

Schlegel-Culver and Gordner basically say we didn't know this would happen????

Act 22 was intended to give Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander temporary authority to cut fraud and wasteful spending and “in no way did we think it was going to come to this. These are unintended consequences,” Schlegel Culver said of the statewide budget cuts. “I know (Bridy’s) frustrated. Everybody’s concerned about it.”

Gordner said there was no way to foresee cuts would be made in to the department of aging, but hopes the funding will be restored if state revenue rebounds for a second month in a row in April.

The big lie the GOP and Corbett tell and repeat often enough is that PA's school funding crisis has been caused by federal stimulus funds drying up and local school boards.  He blamed local school boards as recently as last week. 

So if you look at the funding crisis from the Heartland Conference point of view, the problems faced the past two years at Shikellamy, Selinsgrove, Midd-West, Lewisburg, Mifflinburg, Warrior Run, Mount Carmel and Shamokin are all the result of inept school boards, business managers, and superintendents??? That if very hard to believe governor.

If you can't read between the lines the governor is attempting to privatize public schools through charter schools and vouchers.  As collateral damage, the public school teacher's union will be crushed.  One of Corbett's top contributor's is man named, Vahan Gureghian.  Read about him and the Chester-Upland SD here.  For profit companies making big $$$ off your childrens' education.

In case Mr. Corbett forgot about the goal of public education, here is very well written letter published in the April 17th edition of the Daily-Item.

Masser touts his credentials in the April 17th issue of the News-Item saying he votes what is best for the 107th.

The most frequent criticism made by potential Democratic opponents and other political critics against state Rep. Kurt Masser is that the first-term legislator can be expected to follow the "party line" by voting for whatever Gov. Tom Corbett and the House Republican leadership want.

Masser said such assertions couldn't be further from the truth. Although he makes no apology for being philosophically in tune with and supportive of much of the Republican agenda, Masser said he carefully considers how every bill would impact his constituents.

"With every vote I cast, I do my best to represent the (107th House) district," Masser remarked. "That is my job. It is not my job to please the leadership by going along with whatever they want."

The most recent example of Masser's independence, he said, was his vote against the voter ID law. Masser agreed with the "heart of the bill," he said, but strongly believed its implementation should have been delayed until 2013.

Voter fraud was so rampant around the state, Act 13 was passed with the fury of a flash flood.  Make sure to disenfranchise the electorate.  I agree with Mr. Masser it needed to wait until after 2013.  Again, Corbett needs to do all he can to stop President Obama.

The Daily-Item had some disagreement with Mr. Masser with HB 153.

Over the last 50 votes, the four representatives serving the Central Susquehanna Valley voted identically 47 times. Keller went his own way three times. On one of those occasions, Culver agreed with Keller.

Ninety-four percent of the time we could easily save $240,000 in salary by eliminating three of those legislators and never know the difference. Keller seems to be the legislator most inclined to think for himself. Why not pick him?

Who will be at the Indian Hills on Friday for dinner?  Not that the fare is bad as I myself am a member, but my guess is Senator Gordner, Rep. Culver, Rep Keller, some heavy hitters from the gas industry and Moran Industries.

As a side note, if you want to see what is happening to the Susquehanna River and water under the governor's watch, check out the Susquehanna River Sentinel. 

When election day comes up in November, ask yourself the following question, "Do you want to be able to buy dinner for your family or do you want the scraps off the $1000 plate????"

To borrow a line from the governor himself, "remember the children."

Onward Tom Corporate!!!

Tomorrow school district business managers, school boards, and superintendents will find out how smart they were when the Governor reveals the PA budget for 2012-13 fiscal year.

Stay tuned.

All Quiet Under the Teepee????

With the budget proposal of Governor Corbett on the table most school districts in the area have big problems and budget gaps on the horizon.  With the constant in fighting among board member for the last three decades the norm, no one has sounded off about any potential budget issues in the district.

With measure bordering drastic being discussed in Miton, Shikellamy, Mifflinburg, Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, and Midd-West, does Shamokin Area have any armour to stand up against Tom Coporate's tax cuts.

Read this little ditty about team Tom-Tom.

Corbett: Gas Tax Could Hurt PA???

Tom Corbett on his visit to Lackawanna County said a gas tax could hurt PA.

But Corbett said he fears the industry will transfer gas well-drilling equipment and money for investment to other states where severance taxes on gas extraction might be lower if Pennsylvania imposes a severance tax on gas.

It's not a lie if you believe it.   Is the gas industry leaving other states with a severance tax???  In the article, Corbett wants coorporate headquarters located in PA.  For contributions????

Tom Corbett's War on Education

Last week PA Governor Tom Corbett unloaded his budget on the citizens of Pennsylvania.  Although PA is faced with a 4 billion dollar budget shortfall, the budget didn't have any new tax increases, but took an atomic bomb to education in PA.

Whatever you feelings about education in Pennsylvania are, the governor punted.  His proposal if passed and it does seem likely will drastically change the education landscape in PA for years to come.  Not only were there steep cuts to the local level but post-secondary levels were pushed back to 1983 funding

I my neck of the woods, you could look at the potential problems at these schools.

You could get a hint was coming when the PA Senate introduced SB1 long before Corbett took the oath.  SB1 is the school voucher program. A 4 billion dollar budget shortfall and the vouchers are the number one priority?????

If passed in the present form, the budget will do the following; increase tuition for college, increase class size in most schools, raise property taxes, and simply lose a generation of students.  There are people from outside the commonwealth that think our universities have something to offer.

What Tom Corbett really said to the people of Pennsylvania is that the people your sons and daughters spent the most time with and have the most influence on are the problem with society today.  Shame on you Governor?  Who ever said you have a friend in Pennsylvania??????

Change Set for Pennsylvania on Tuesday

Governor-elect Tom Corbett will be inaugurated on Tuesday in Harrisburg.  There were some surprising developments that took place earlier this week that raised some eyebrows.

Dan Meuser who was the Republican candidate pitted against Chris Carney in the PA 10th in 2008 will head up the department of revenue.   Meuser's campaign contribution to Corbett was 48K.

Barry J. Schoch was named to head up PennDOT.  His nomination drew the ire of a local chamber that was opposed to tolling on I-80.

Free speech will be under attack in Benton Township this week.  A public meeting will be held to discuss an exploratory application to drill a gas well.  Although, it is a public meeting the public will not be allowed to comment.

Remember people, you can't have the 2nd Amendment without losing sight of the 1st Amendment.

Fracking has a Friend In PA

Anyone remember the old tourism saying of years gone by?

According to the Newsweek article, state lands in PA could go from 25 active wells to 10,000.

Corbett to DCNR.......FU.

Once again the industry seeks the public's money for infastructure.

Corbett and Masser set to attend MCA game at Southern Columbia

107th District candidate Kurt Masser and Republican gubenatorial candidate Tom Corbett will attend the Mount Carmel at Southern Area football game tonight according to the News-Item.

Civics on the PA General Assembly

Having visited the PA Legislature on behalf of the American Cancer Society advocacy a few years ago was a rewarding experience and a lesson on how the General Assembly works.

With the election for governor coming up, there was a protest on drilling for natural gas in PA held at the Capitol in Harrisburg.  The rally is around stopping drilling to figure out a way it could be regulated and taxed.  I would be shocked if this happened before the November election.

Legislation is usually introduced in January after the "new" Assembly is sworn-in. and is on the calendar until for two years.  Every year the Assembly adjourns after July 1st until after Labor Day.  Every other year, elections are the worry from September through October.  In the election years, little is done until the "new" Assembly is seated.  Add to this, the annual battle of the budget that now takes place from the middle of May until early July. 

Even though our state legislators are full-time and compensated very well, they have many built in excuses not to get things done in 24 months. 

Natural gas is an opportunity for the PA economy.  However don't pollute the land and contaminate my water while drilling.  Growing up in the anthracite coalfields of the last PA energy boom, the scars and pollution are still evident today.  Anyone ever hear of the term "shit crick"?

This is only a small story in relative to the bigger story.  We have a candidate for governor who doesn't like bloggers and has received and "investment" of over 370K in contributions from the gas industry.  A former governor receiving 900K per year to act as a spokesman.  Same said governor also served as the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

If you have objections to you local gas company, you can be spied  upon and labeled an anarchist with your own tax money. These two topics and men will be covered in future posts.

Those of you who haven't learned the lessons of history are probably watching Glenn Beck.

Tom "Big Brother" Corbett to Face Onorato in the Fall

Well, why "Big Brother" do you ask? In a story that is making it's was around the blogging circuit, Tom Corbett issued a subpoena in his first act at GOP gubernatorial nominee.

In the story, Tom Corbett as AG issued a subpoena for the twitter and blogger records to find out the identity of an anonymous critic. In a strange twist, Judge Barry Feudale senior judge and former judge from Northumberland County signed off on the petition.

Here is the blog that has been critical of Corbett over the past few months. Of simply, here is the link:

http://casablancapa.blogspot.com/