Democrats in Congress deserve a D-

A Hat Tip to Tony Phyrillas for steering me to this article in The Washington Post about the failure of the Democratic-controlled Congress to change the culture of corruption in Washington, D.C., (or pretty much do anything else in 2007).

I'd give the Democrats a D- for their first year in power. In other words, changing 30-40 members of Congress from R to D didn't make a difference.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

And I wish Nancy Pelosi would stop her bitchin' about how the Republicans won't let her have her way. Grow up. Either lead or get out of the way.

American-made toys

Fox News anchor E.D. Hill has been publicizing companies that sell American-made toys.

www.zebulonUSA.com

www.HolgateToy.com

www.HeirloomWoodenToys.com

www.PerlerBeads.com

www.AmericanPlasticToys.com

www.TAGToys.com

www.BacktoBasicsToys.com

www.BirthdayFairies.com

www.Step2.com

Pennsylvania leads in Congressional pork spending

Interesting post today at TONY PHYRILLAS about how the so-called reform Democrats who ran in 2006 have spent their first year in Congress bringing pork barrel projects to their home districts.

If you need any further proof that Democrats can't be trusted, read the article.

Among the 20 worst pork spenders in Congress are five members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation: Rep. Christopher Carney, D-10th; Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th; Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-8th; and Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7th. Pennsyvlania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. also made the list.

Now don't you feel silly for voting for these Democrats just because you didn't like George W. Bush? You can correct your mistake in 2008 (or 2012 in Casey's case).

Democrats are killing business in Pennsylvania

I came across an interesting column by Ralph Reiland, who teaches economics at Robert Morris University. He's also a prolific columnist for the Pittsburg Tribune-Review, one of the few conservative newspapers around.

Reiland makes the argument that the "bigger government" policies of Ed Rendell and his Democratic followers have ruined Pennsylvania's economy. Let this be a warning for the rest of the country if Rendell's pick for president, Hillary Clinton, gets in.

Here's Reiland's column at The American Spectator.

The absurdity of Al Gore's Nobel Prize

I was having trouble sleeping last night. Must have been the news that Al Gore was named the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This confirms my long-held belief that mental illness is the most under-diagnosed disease afflicting mankind. Certainly, the selection committee must include escaped mental patients. But it shouldn't come as any surprise. The radical left has infiltrated many of our institutions, including television, colleges and universities, politics and many world agencies such as the U.N. There's a logical explanation for Gore's selection. Follow the pattern as presented by the blog When Evil Prospers.

Holding Hillary Clinton accountable

Where does Hillary Clinton stand on the Iraq War? Depends on which day of the week and which way the wind is blowing. Interesting post by Tony Phyrillas about how the mainstream media treats Madame Clinton differently, especially when it comes to her flip-flop on the war.

And that photo of the lady protesting Bush in Lancaster, Pa. Looks like Cindy Sheehan has some relatives in Pennsylvania Dutch country.

NJ politicians are crooked, too

I was shocked when I came across this Tony Phyrillas article about the most corrupt members of Congress that nobody from New Jersey wasn't included on the list. Don't the folks at CREW recognize the Garden State anymore?

We're feeling left out. Our politicians are just as crooked as the rest of them. Read the full story here.

You can't trust The New York Times

Normally I wouldn't be caught dead looking at The New York Times, whose motto should be "All the Left-Wing News We Can Slant."

But I started hearing about the break The New York Times gave to MoveOn.Org so it can smear Gen. Petraus, so I had to check it out for myself.

Yes, it's true. The New York Times charged the left-wing smear site, MovOn.Org just $65,000 to place a full page ad in the paper questioning the loyalty and truthfulness of America's top general in Iraq.

I don't know how much control the money people have in newspapers, but I know that newspapers are in business to make money. They have no incentive to give somebody a break on advertising, especially a one-time attack like the one by MoveOn.org. I don't know what a normal charge is for a full-page ad, but I know The New York Times gave MoveOn.org a huge break to get its attack out.

The newspaper itself admitted it made a special deal with MoveOn.org on its pages. Here's a link to the Times' article.

Whatever happened to fairness? Why must The New York Times work so openly with only political party? And if any of you still believe there's not a liberal bias in the news media, you should go back to sleep and wait for the tooth fairy to pay you visit.

The Clintons failed us on 9/11

Polls say 4 in 10 Americans would never consider voting for Hillary Cinton in 2008. That still leaves 60 percent of voters who could do irreparable damage to this country by putting Hillary in the White House.

That's a scary prospect.

If you're still considering Hillary Clinton as presidential material, please take the time to read this article by Tony Phyrillas from his blog.

We've already seen what can happen to this country (Sept. 11, 2001) with the Clintons in charge. We can't risk another 9/11 by electing Hillary Clinton.

Here's the link to "How the Clintons Failed to Prevent 9/11 from TONY PHYRILLAS.

Alive and Kicking

OK, it's been exactly a month since my initial posting. Obviously, it was not my intention to be away this long. I've had some health problems that kept me away. Things are looking much better and I promise I won't neglect my blogging duties.

So, a lot has happened in the past month.

Gov. Ed Rendell's transportation plan has unraveled and we're back to leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Rendell has also been in the news because he took money from a fugitive financeer from California. That should come as no surprise. Rendell has taken money from all sorts of unsavory characters.

Over in New Jersey, we had the arrest of a dozen school board members and two state legislators involved in a kickback scheme. What's the big surprise. That's the way they do business in Jersey.

I've tried to keep up with the news, but some of my favorite bloggers took most of August off. I'm referring to Mr. John Micek at Capitol Ideas and Mr. Brett Leiberman at Pennsyltucky Politics. I think they're back from their long vacations, but it's hard to tell. These guys cover state government, but do they have to have the same work schedule at the Legislature? The only reliable blogger I've kept up with is Tony Phyrillas. Doesn't this guy ever take a vacation?

Hello out there

Welcome to my very first blog posting. I've been an avid reader of blogs for years, but never had much to say until now. If you've spent any time in the blogosphere, you've probably reached the same conclusion. I could do better than 95 percent of the bloggers out there.

I will share my views as often as possible, but I have a life (which is something many bloggers seem to lack.)

I'll also point you to some of my favorite bloggers. Be warned. You'll have a hard time pinning me down to one political party.

I'm about as independent a political thinker as you'll find. I've voted for Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, Socialists ... you name it.

I don't care about parties. In fact, I think parties have destroyed our political process.

By the way, don't expect to learn much about me. I live in Pennsylvania and work in New Jersey. That's all you need to know about me. Who I am is not important. And I've also seen how other bloggers use their sites to attack anyone whom they disagree with. So let's keep personalities out of this.

If you have something interesting to say, go ahead and say it.

If you don't agree with something I have to say or something another bloggers says, suck it in. It's a free country. Let the marketplace of ideas pick the best thoughts.