He thinks it won’t fix the economy, but that didn’t stop him from supporting it. Thanks Ed! Our children will love you when the bill comes due.
Category: Pennsylvania
Corruption in Eastern Pennsylvania
We should absolutely not tolerate crap like this. Kudos to the New York Times (you won’t hear me say that too often) for investigating this crap. Let’s just hope the Obama Administration doesn’t ratchet down prosecution of corrupt officials.
Crossbow Hunting
One issue happening, probably below the radar for most gun blogs, is the controversy going on right now in Pennsylvania over crossbow hunting. Many bow hunters are angry at NRA for their support of crossbow hunting in Pennsylvania, which was recently approved by the Game Commission over the objections of United Bow Hunters of Pennsylvania.
I question whether this was an issue NRA should have been involved in, but I think more from a “is it worth the trouble” perspective, rather than because I agree with the bow hunters.  Hunting is in decline. By many measures, this decline is serious, and is only going to get worse as more hunters die off, or get too old to go afield. Opportunities for hunting are dwindling. Anything that opens up more opportunities to get more people into the sport is ultimately beneficial to both the hunting and shooting communities.
The Humane Society of the United States will relentlessly dog hunters until they ban hunting in this country, one species at a time. They’ve already had success ending dove hunting in Michigan, and we all know about the bear hunts in New Jersey. They were also instrumental in the California lead ammunition ban, and are supporting a nationwide ban on lead ammunition. These people are good at what they do, and they are organized and well funded. In a lot of ways, they make the Brady Campaign look like pikers in comparison.
If hunters want to commit slow motion political suicide by supporting policies that restrict access to their sport, and ultimately reduce their numbers, and their political power right along with it, I’m not sure NRA really ought to stop them. Perhaps it’s not worth the grief. But both hunters and shooters will suffer if hunting disappears in North America. Hunters should get behind anything that expands opportunties for hunting. Bow hunters are being dangerously short sighted on the crossbow issue.
I am Categorically Opposed to Private Police
I have no problem with people who are appointed or elected to animal control positions carrying guns in the same manner of private citizens, but I am categorically opposed to giving law enforcment powers, particularly immunity, to people who are not sworn law enforcement officers. This is a recipe for trouble, and no good will come of it.
If Pennsylvania is going to have animal enforcement officers, they ought to be sworn police, employed by, and accountable to the public. I am very uncomfortable with giving private organizations, like the SPCA, quasi law enforcement powers.
Hat Tip to Another Gun Blog
Christopher Jones Memorial Fund
For my readers in Bucks County and Southeastern Pennsylvania, or even those of you outside the area who would be interested in helping out a law enforcement family who lost their husband/father in the line of duty:
Christopher Jones Trust Fund
Police and Fire Credit Union
852 E. Street Road
Warminster, PA 18974
I will be sending some funds along, since they are in the neighborhood here.
That’s Middletown Township Fire Chief Frank Farry, who is also my new state representative.  This is a tough time for Middletown.
It’s a Serious Problem, It Deserves Serious Solutions
VPC highlights the fact that Pennsylvania tops the rankings for black-on-black violence.  We haven’t seen much from VPC in a while, but what they are highlighting is a real problem, but it deserves real solutions, not VPC solutions which dismiss the problem as a gun problem, no doubt attributable to our states “weak ” gun laws.
Don’t expect VPC to tell you the real numbers though, and they indicate something very clearly: violence is not a Pennsylvania problem, it is a Philadelphia problem. Statewide, our violent crime rate in 2007 was 416 per 100,000. Take Philadelphia out of the equation, and Pennsylvania’s crime rate is 278 per 100,000. That puts us on par with Idaho, Hawaii, Iowa, Montana, and much of Western Europe. Philadelphia represents 12% of Pennsylvania’s population, but it creates 41% of Pennsylvania’s violent crime.
We’ve documented at great detail the kind of people that the Philadelphia criminal justice system allows to roam the streets terrorizing the city, and African American communities in particular. Until urban communities are willing to face that problem, the bleeding will continue, no matter what gun laws we pass in the rest of the state. Bad things happen when you let dangerous and violent people roam the streets. Crime reaches every aspect of quality of life, and makes it nearly impossible to have normal family life. You can dump all the money into education, opportunity, and jobs you want, but it won’t amount to a hill of beans if the only example of success a lot of inner city adolescents know is from criminal enterprise.
Public order is one of the primary functions of government, and Philadelphia has been failing its citizens for years. That must be dealt with before this problem can even begin to be solved. That’s hard to do when your mayor thinks cutting the police and fire departments is a good first step. Philadelphia residents deserve better, but they aren’t going to get better until they start voting for it, and stop voting for people who will scapegoat guns while failing to address the real problems. VPC is only enabling that scapegoating to continue, and are doing a real disservice to the citizens of Philadelphia by doing so.
Get on Board GOP, Fast Eddie Needs Money
Ed Rendell has a message for Republicans:
Governor Rendell said he hoped Republicans wouldn’t oppose the stimulus bill in order to appeal their base:
“These are extraordinary times and it’s not the time to be redefining the party or staking out political ground. It’s time to rally around the needs of the country.â€
Except that most of this bloated piece of crap is nothing but a Democratic Party wish list all crammed into one big steaming pile of debt we’ll leave to our kids. But Ed needs money to pay his cronies he’s putting into high profile positions. Otherwise, he might have to lay off state workers. This is clearly no time for the GOP to act like an opposition party!
Decline of the GOP
This is an excellent analysis of where the GOP stands in the Philadelphia Suburbs. It’s not good. Not good at all. Bucks County, the county I live in, is now the most Republican County, and we traditionally haven’t been. Chester County is even in trouble:
It was once one of the most Republican counties in the state. It gave Nixon 64, 57, and 68 percent of the vote in 1960, 1968, and 1972 respectively; 61 and 70 percent to Reagan; and 67 percent to the elder Bush. Those large margins are gone, though it was the only one of these counties to vote for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. 2008 was a historic reversal, as McCain ran 7 points behind Bush’s 2004 performance, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to lose in Chester County since 1964.
The interesting thing is, Tom Corbett, who is on the short list as a possible candidate for Governor, did very well in the suburbs. The GOP’s losses in some formerly Republican counties, like Delaware and Montgomery, are probably not reversable. I think Bucks and Chester counties can still be saved for the GOP, but they have to front good candidates. As much as I like Pat Toomey, I think Corbett is a much stronger candidate for Governor in 2010, and I hope he runs.
The rest of Pennsylvania needs to be very concerned about this development, because if the Philadelphia Suburbs start voting with the city, they will dominate Pennsylvania politics like downstate New York dominates upstate. That will not be good for a lot of the values central, and western Pennsylvanians hold dear.
UPDATE: I think this commenter pretty much has it right:
1) We must remember these counties are largely Republican bastions to this day at the local level. Republicans control the commission/council in all four county along with a majority of the county row offices.
2) Republicans in these countries run on a different message than their national counterparts: good government. These counties are some of the best ran in the country. The same story can be said for local government. Lower Merion has a local tax rate below the state average while maintaining great services and schools. These people might be social liberals or moderates, but they are generally good government fiscal conservatives.
He goes on to suggest why the brand of Republicanism touted by people like Sarah Palin don’t go over well here. I would actually suggest Palin could sell herself here, since I think she has strong “good government” credentials. George W. Bush’s brand of big government conservatism was a disaster for the GOP in this area. There was little “good” about Bush’s governance from our point of view here. I think people here will coalition with social conservatives, but it has to be a coalition. If the Republican Party continues being the party of big government social conservatism, the Philadelphia suburbs will be solidly Democratic within a decade.
Toomey is In
Pat Toomey, who ran against Arlen Specter in his last primary and lost, has decided to throw his hat in the ring for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2010. The other potential prospect is Attorney General Tom Corbett, who has yet to announce whether he’s going to enter the primary race to head the GOP ticket. Toomey has strong credentials on fiscal issues, which I think the state needs right now. He’s also good on gun rights. I will probably be more favorable toward Corbett if he enters the race, because I think he has a stronger likelihood of winning a statewide race (since he’s already done it, in an overwhelmingly Democratic year), but that’s not because I think Toomey would be a weak candidate.
York Tables Lost & Stolen
The City of York, Pennsylvania has tabled its “Lost & Stolen” bill because the city soliticer’s opinion is that it violates state law.  Apparently some politicians are pissed because they didn’t pass it anyway. Rule of law, bah! Who needs that?