White flag waved in ARC battle

While it certainly isn't a surrender by any stretch of the imagination, the developers of the American Revolution Center have agreed to put off building a convention center at the site for at least 15 years. Now, my first question would be that if you don't need it now, are you going to need it 15 years from now? And of course I'd have to follow that up with, if you agree to not build the convention center at all would that appease the ARC's opponents?
You tell me.

Ethics and politics, an oxymoron?

How can anyone have a problem with ethics reform?
I'll tell you how, when the reform isn't really reform at all.
Montgomery County employees are going to be barred from running for office if the recently tabled ethics reform policy is given new life, which I'm certain it will.
What's the point? I think the point is so county employees will not be involved in politics on county time.
Well, I'm fairly certain that's the law now, isn't it?
What do you think?

What a 'Vision'

Vision Quest is an organization that does a job most of us would rather not talk about, hear about, or quite frankly even see. They want to come into Norristown and set up shop at Norristown State Hospital, and they just might be able to do so, but I'm opposed to the idea. Not because of who they are, but because of where they want to set up shop. An urban setting is just not the place for this type of facility. There would be entirely too many temptations for the juveniles housed there, and entirely too many residents within a stone's throw of where they would be biding their time. While there are dozens of residents coming out in opposition to the move, and rightfully so, I'd like to suggest that some concerted effort be put forth to find an alternative site for Vision Quest so the conversation does not center completely around 'not in my back yard.'

Where's the gander?

County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, who seems to be an all-around good guy, apparently has never heard the saying, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." I'm talking about his recent assertion that County Commissioner Bruce Castor should be investigated for using his then-district attorney's office for political activities. It wasn't so long ago that Hoeffel's once time opponent, and now strange bedfellow, County Commissioner Jim Matthews, used his office for actually taping a political commercial, using staff members as extras, in his bid for reelection.
Come on, Joe, say it ain't so. Seriously, if you're going to take Castor to task for his (admittedly) discussing his run for state attorney general while in office you absolutely have to hold Matthews to at least the same standard. Those with not so short memories will recall Hoeffel actually sending out a letter that was nothing more than a solicitation for new business for his law practice using his then county commissioner seat as the reason new clients should seek him out.
Does that make Joe the new Goose?

The road will be traveled often

OK, my attempt to get you to look through rose colored glasses for a moment or two lasted about, what, a moment or two?
Well, it's back to reality.
Who was caught in the traffic nightmare last Saturday?
I know some of you were because you brought it up on other posts so I thought I would start a new post to consolidate the thread.
Obviously, something has to be done, and I for one appreciate the fact that Mr. Neilson came out to the Upper Providence meeting to let people know he was going to do just that.
The question is, though, just how much can he do? I mean, running a one-way street through a park just isn't the answer. Sure, it will alleviate some of the congestion for the time being, but what about when spring arrives and that park is full?
The only fix is going to be a full interchange off Route 422 at the Pawlings Road overpass. I can vaguely remember former Lower Providence Township Supervisor Tom Borai standing on the overpass in a photograph on the front page of The Times Herald. It must have been at least 10 years ago.
Why was he standing there, you ask? He was calling for a full interchange off Route 422.
Seems he knew then that the road would be traveled often.

New Year, new possibilities

OK, let's start the new year off on the right foot.
We spent the past year complaining about everything under the proverbial sun, and don't get me wrong, we'll get back to that real soon. I just wanted to start off the year with a blog about new possibilities in the new year. I've been working with some really great folks behind the scenes to find a new home for the Montgomery County Cultural Center. We're even going to give it a new name, the Norristown Performing Arts Center. It's going to be a place where you can go see off-Broadway quality theater and musical acts that you can remember from days gone by. Did you know Greg Allman was booked for New Year's Eve at the Keswick?
We're going to start a new feature in paper and online about people in the are who do good deeds, just because. 'Faces' will debut the first week in February. We're going to launch a social networking site to accompany the profile pieces so everyone will have a place to share their stories.
Those are just a couple off the top of my head. How about you? What do you see possible in the new year?

Stackless in West Norriton

Take a look up the next time you're driving down Main Street.
Make sure you're keeping one eye on the road, though, I don't want you to get into an accident.
When you do look up you'll notice that one of the Barbadoes Island smoke stacks is gone.
The other is going to come down soon, I hear.
There are a lot of eyes sores around the area, and while the smoke stacks were not as visible as most, they certainly didn't lend anything positive to the aesthetics of the area.
What other buildings or structures do you know about that need to be no more?

Postal mystery solved, ARC still coveted

Thank you, Mr. Rick Brown.
I thought I was going crazy last week when I saw the Eagleville post office had shut down, especially since my mailing address had recently been changed to Eagleville. Thanks, Rick, for letting everyone know it had simply moved. Unlike you, I don't live in Lower Providence. I live in West Norriton, but that's where I go to pick up my certified mail.

So, every one's tired of talking about the ARC, eh? I could talk about the hospital move, but there's nothing new going on right now.

How about a performing arts center in Norristown?
I'd love to talk about that. How many of you would be interested in helping out with bringing a little culture into the county seat? We already have the state on board to the tune of $500,000, the county on board for some significant funds, and the borough, I mean municipality, is ready to help out any way they can, but we're also going to need some every day folks willing to throw a shilling or two into the pot.
Shoot me an e-mail at shuskey@timesherald.com if you think you want to get involved.

New heights in Lower Providence

Maybe this was in the paper and I missed it, but being a resident of West Norriton, which has the same zip code as Providence and East Norriton, I became one the new residents of Eagleville a few months back when the U.S. Post Office decided that's where we live now. To be honest, it really didn't bother me all that much. But, there's always a but, isn't there? Anyway, I went to Kmart the other day to buy a gift for a youngster in Norristown's preschool program and guess what I spied as I pulled into the parking lot. The Eagleville post office was closed down. I don't mean just for the day, the letters have been pulled off the front of the building.
So, stew on that one for a while and let me know what you think.
And if that's not enough to get your juices flowing what do you think about the latest with the ARC?
I thought that might work.
The National Parks Conservation Association has filed a federal suit to get the zoning overturned.
I'm beginning to think we might have another revolution before this thing gets built, no matter where it winds up getting built.

Here's the frightening part

I told you I would come back with some frightening numbers on where your tax dollars are spent.
Are you sitting down? You really should be.
Pennsylvania spent a whopping $108.3 billion in the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to the Commonwealth Foundation, and is expected to increase spending to $130 billion by the 2010-11 fiscal year. That's right. That's a billion with a 'b.'
Any time anyone starts talking in the billions I lose track. I can’t even imagine what a billion of anything looks like. So, thanks to the good folks at the Commonwealth Foundation, I’m going to break it down for you.
The state spent, in the 2005-06 fiscal year, $4,312 for every man, woman and child in the state. Really?
But it gets better. For the same year local governments spent an average of $4,378 for every man, woman and child in their respective municipalities. Seriously?
Unfortunately, I am serious. By the way, this amounts to an increase in government spending, on just the local and state level, by a little more than 98 percent since the 1991-92 fiscal year.
Governments have no reason to rein in their own spending. All they have to do if they need more money is increase taxes, and we all know how good they are at doing that.
I think it’s time to start a movement that requires a referendum on any local or state spending that goes beyond the rate of inflation.
Our federal government is a monstrosity. Did you know there are more than 14 million people working for our federal government?
Pennsylvania alone employs more than 80,000 people, according to our state’s own recruiting Web site.
That's right, the state government is so big it has its own recruiting Web site.
So, let's kick it up a notch, folks.
Government is simply getting out of hand, no matter what level you look at.

Where do our tax dollars go?

I'll tell you where I think it all goes. I think it all goes to our local, state and federal governments so they can tell us how we're supposed to be living. We spend as much money on people working in government than we do on programs that are supposed to be helping people.
When are we going to let them know we've had enough?
We work now until, what, April before we're actually finished paying our tax load?
Our state and federal governments are huge.
And locally, our school districts tell us how much money they're taking from us each year to give our children a quality education. How about we start telling them how much we're going to let them spend to give our children a quality education?
When did we let our governments get so big?
It wasn't just yesterday so you can't blame Bush, which a lot of people try to do for just about everything.
I think it's about time for some accountability.
Just where do our tax dollars go?
You tell me where you think they're going and then I'll come back with another blog with some absolutely frightening numbers.

Color blind

My candidate lost last night.
There will be time to reflect on that loss, but now it's time to reflect on the win.
The color barrier in this country has been shattered.
When I think about all of the times in my life when I've walked a little taller, they just don't seem to compare to what African Americans must be feeling this morning.
I'm working on a column for Monday's print edition and I'll be speaking with friends during the next few days to at least attempt to understand the magnitude of Barack Obama's march to the White House, forty years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington.
Please, take a few moments to share your thoughts.
I know there must be an awful lot of pride out there right now. What other emotions are being felt as the reality of the first man of color being elected to the highest office in the land settles in?

The writing on the wall

There is a very real possibility this could be a landslide, at least electorally speaking.
This is awfully reminiscent of two years ago when dems were swept into office on the congressional level with Nancy Pelosi leading the charge, telling us how she was going to fix everything within her first 100 hours.
Obama has told us how he's going to fix everything, and I mean everything, if he's elected.
Well, he won't take office until January, but after that, let's make sure we're holding his feet to the proverbial fire.

Down to the wire

I'm not really sure if that's going to be the case, but I'm hoping we'll get to call it tonight before we put the paper to bed.
Turnout is heavy everywhere, though, so it's going to be tough.
I voted a little while ago and I was number 938 in a precinct that normally gets two or three hundred.
There's plenty of time left before the polls close, though so tell me what you're hearing out there.
I'll be here all night, so let's get the conversation started.

Time for the 2-minute offense

Is it just me or are you seeing a little change in the polling numbers, too?
McCain is making that last quarter drive that could just put him into the end zone first.
I'm not certain why it's happening, but a few thoughts would include that people are trying to figure out just how the Wizard of Obama can promise every American everything and then give them a tax cut to boot.
Some things just don't add up and a trillion dollars in new spending combined with a tax cut is one of them.
Here's the playbook that we need to be following.
Instead of giving health care to everyone we need to open up health care to competition by allowing people to buy across state lines. That's John McCain's playbook by the way, not mine.
Instead of rolling back the Bush tax cuts and then pretending to give tax cuts to everyone, how about we leave the tax cuts in place and cut government spending?
It's time for the 2-minute offense.
The game's on the line.
I'll be here throughout Election Day. Drop me a line and we'll chat about the numbers as they come in.

Where do you stand?

Election Day is almost here and I think there are historical numbers of people who have not made up their minds about who to vote for in this historical election.
So, for those of you still on the fence I would suggest it comes down to values. You can throw in some morals there too if you want, but I personally have a hard time throwing that stone.
So here's where I stand.
I don't want government getting any bigger than it is.
I don't think our government should pay for everyone's health insurance. I think people should work hard for what they get in life. And no, I'm not against health care for the poor...we already have it.
I don't think we should run from Iraq because I do believe that if we don't take the fight to them, they'll bring the fight right back here to us. Check out the movie Obsession.
I don't want a redistribution of wealth. That's called socialism. We have done just fine with our capitalist society. I don't think I should help out 'those behind me.' I think those behind me should work their tails off to catch up with me. Trust me, it really wouldn't take that long.
When I put it down on paper my choice for president becomes crystal clear. John McCain.
Where do you stand?

Bs in the bailout plan

Have you noticed a recurring theme in all of the speeches being made by Congress concerning the bailout?
Every time someone gets behind a microphone they talk about how much we need this plan. Every congressman and congresswoman is concerned about our welfare. We're in a crisis, they say and we're going to pass this bailout plan because if we don't all working class Americans will feel the pain in their pensions, their 401Ks, their IRAs and their savings accounts. They keep saying 'they' because members of congress aren't worried about their retirement. They're not worried about their retirement because their retirement is government funded. They're not worried about Social Security because they don't pay into the system that every hard working American pays in to because they set up their own pension plan. We can worry all we want about race for the White House, but we better start paying closer attention to Congress. We need a grassroots effort to change the way our elected officials in Washington earn their keep.
Did you know earmarks have also been added to the bailout plan?
That's right, more bs in the bailout plan.
Exactly who are we bailing out again?

I've got your bailout

Are you kidding me with this $700 billion bailout plan?
This is the best they can come up with?
Are we seriously thinking about giving the former head of Goldman Sachs complete control over the money?
That's just insane. One of the sticking points is about compensation for the heads of all of the failing companies. Again, are you kidding me? How about none. That's a good amount for the heads of companies that are causing a nationwide financial crisis. I've got an idea. The rebuilding money we're sending to Iraq stops today. I'm not talking about troop support, I'm talking about the rebuilding money. Didn't we just hear that Iraq has a phenomenal budget surplus? Why are we still sending them money? I've got another idea. Instead of bailing out all of the companies why don't we bail out the hard working people who are losing their homes. I'm not talking about the people who should never have bought the McMansions in the first place, I'm talking about the people who were suckered into a mortgage with a 4 percent arm that ballooned when they weren't looking.
I've got another idea. Every pork barrel projects gets thrown into the slop bucket today. That has to be a few billion right there. This is ridiculous, folks. If this goes through our grandchildren are going to be paying for this one.

Money for nothing

Or should I say nothing for your money. Times are tough folks, you don't need me to tell you that. So why is it that local governments feel it is OK to spend your money on things you might not want. I'll just give you a couple of quick examples and you can chime in with your own. Let's see how many municipalities we can include here in the wasteful spending department. We'll move on to state and federal government later.

Lower Providence; they're having more meetings on the proposed American Revolution Center than the Senate holds to confirm a Supreme Court justice. How much money has been spent by the township on attorney fees? And, how much more do the residents want to spend on attorney fees?

Norristown; they've hired a pr firm to come up with "Where you belong" to the tune of $60,000. I don't know about you, but I don 't really need anyone telling me where I belong, especially for that kind of money.

Let me hear from Lower Providence and Norristown residents on the above two, and anyone else who thinks their township is wasting money. I'll be at my desk here in the wasteful spending department.

Palin's grand slam home run

How far out of the park did she hit the ball? I'm thinking Barry Bonds couldn't have hit one that far.
Let's get past the fact that she's a woman, folks. If she was a man no one would be saying anything about whether she should be running for office. Let's get past the fact that she's still a little on the young side, at least compared to me. She's older than Kennedy was when he was elected, and she's running for vice president, not president.
In my last blog I told you I didn't know enough about her to pass judgement, so I asked you what you thought of her. Now I'm going to tell you what I think of her. She's sharp. She has a lot on her plate and she's handling it all. She's honest. She put it all on the table in her acceptance speech. She told America her family has problems just like every other family. But perhaps the most important point she made and other speakers at the convention made for her is that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. Running a state, no matter the size, has given Palin the experience she needs to sit at the right hand of the president, certainly more so than Biden, and more to actually sit in the Oval office than Obama. Style over substance, that's what you get from the Democrats. Personally, I prefer substance.