My Cow Died Last Night So I Don't Need Your Bull.

After all the stories surrounding the courthouse scandal in Luzerne County one would think that every person elected or employed by a government entity would be vigilant in the performance of duties to take care not to cross the line that would bring even the slightest suspicion.

Not so in Wilkes Barre it seems. The city’s deputy director of public works decided to use a city backhoe to remove debris from his yard. Brightest bulb in the socket, not. If his brains were TNT they wouldn't be enough of it to tip over a bottle cap. Really, what was this guy thinking especially with a salary of $$68,414 per year.

What amazes me about such an incident is the perception by the public that "these things go on". If the public would put its foot down and turn their voices up maybe our hard earned dollars wouldn't go to support such intolerable actions.

Look at this editorial by Senator Dayton Leach of Pennsylvania critical of the Grand Jury report about the need to restructure state governement. The culture that pervades his editorial is exactly what leads to behavior by a city deputy director of public works.


With respect to the Grand Jury who spent countless hours hearing testimony he states The methodology, conclusions and recommendations of the report are, in many respects, dead wrong.

He then goes on to explain:

First, let me concede that bashing the Legislature is effortless. Like any profession, we have our bad apples and it is lazy but easy to generalize their conduct to everyone. Further, because virtually every citizen is unhappy with some of our policy decisions, it's not difficult for a candidate for governor or other office to glean votes by pandering to those who think that only people who are corrupt or stupid could make the decisions we make.

That said, it is important that the following also be said: The overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania's legislators, on both sides of the aisle, are extremely smart, hard-working, completely honest people who are doing their level best to make Pennsylvania a better place.

If that is so Senator Leach start electing leaders who want to lead the fight to make your statements shine, not some half-baked attempt at legislative reform. Don't stop half-way go all the way. Reimbursement for actual expenses shouldn't be voluntary it should be expected.

This statement is really paving new ground.
The notion that legislators are, (except for rare exceptions) corrupt in any way is plain false. And thus any "reforms" based on this notion are ill-grounded. Sir, you get to make the rules. The public does not have a say in your rules. So you make the rules that benefit your elite then hide behind them and state "there is nothing illegal being done." My cow died last night so I don't need your bull.

He makes the claim An example of a sloppy factual assertion is that an "overwhelming majority" of legislators care more about serving themselves than serving their constituents. How many legislative aides were charged in bonusgate? Obviously Bonusgate and the related investigation into the misuse of taxpayer funds for political purposes has clearly demonstrated that these hires were for political campaigning, not constiuent services.

The rant continues
For example, a part-time Legislature is a terrible idea. We make decisions affecting tens of billions of dollars in complicated policy areas such as transportation, health care, criminal justice and economic development. In some matters, such as abortion, the death penalty and access to medical care, our decisions literally have life and death consequences. Senator, with all due respect, there are 50 states in this great Union of ours. Only nine of those states are labled to support full time legislatures according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 17 states are characterized as having part time legislatures. I guess the people in those states don't have complicated policy areas such as transportation, health care, criminal justice and economic development. My cow died last night so I don't need your bull.


State. Sen. Daylin Leach, D-King of Prussia, represents the 17th District in Montgomery and Delaware counties. So how many public works people in Philadelphia do you think use city equipment for personal gain? My cow died last night so I don't need your bull.

Does Eachus Really Think We Believe His Self Serving Statements?

From John Cole of the Times-Tribune:

The recently released Bonusgate grand jury report paints a highly unflattering but hardly surprising portrait of our legislature. It’s laughably bloated, expensive, self-serving and aimed primarily at preserving incumbency and protecting party leaders and caucuses.

Legislators have responded to the report in an equally predictable and depressing way.

Brett Marcy, spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus (D., Luzerne), said of the jury's findings: "It seems to be based largely on perceptions of the past and incorrect assumptions about the legislative process, rather than an accurate reflection of today's legislative operations."

Eachus is for Eachus not for Each Of Us! Outta Touch, Outta Office is the rally cry heard across his district.

Is The Caucus System Responsible For Our State Deficits?

The Grand Jury hearing the Bonusgate allegations as well as the misuse of taxpayer monies issued a scathing report of the party caucus system in Harrisburg as highlighted in this report from Robert Swift. In Karl Rove's book, Courage and Consequence, he writes "We saw that politics is not about power or status, but about ideas and ideals. To view it as about power was to treat it as a game, cynical and ultimately meaningless and cruel. But to understand that it was about great principles was to understand that politics could be hopeful and important exercise at the center of our democratic experience."

In the Grand Jury report anaymous members leveled their harshest criticism in a 34-page report against the legislative caucuses, which they said exist "in the shadows of the law, as the years go by eating up more and more taxpayer resources with little or no tangible benefit to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania."

While many, including lawmakers themselves, have proposed reforms during the five years since the controversial legislative pay raise, the caucus system hasn't come under much scrutiny until now.

The grand jury report cites examples of duplication of activities in the House Democratic and Republican caucus printing shops and information technology departments and overstaffing as problems, but has relatively little to say about the respective Senate caucuses. This omission occurs despite repeated statements by state Attorney General Tom that his Bonusgate investigation is looking at the illegal use of taxpayer dollars for political activities in both chambers.

Mr. Rove's words resonate loud and clear with what is wrong with the caucus system in Harrisburg. Both parties clearly view it as about power, not principles. Swift writes "From the day a new lawmaker is elected to office, the caucus system is a fixture. Members attend caucus orientation sessions before they take office, are assigned seats on the floor with other caucus members and meet every session day in closed-door caucuses to hash out policy issues."

As a result of that failed and flawed system we are faced with a $1.2 billion deficit in Pennsylvania this year and its not over.

The bad fiscal news comes with a month remaining before the June 30 deadline for enacting the fiscal 2010-11 state budget. The House and Senate return to session Monday to start a prolonged period in session leading up to the deadline.

A month ago, key lawmakers said Pennsylvania was headed to a revenue gap above $1 billion.

Lawmakers like House Majority Leader Todd Eachus wanted to make us believe he would be able to deliver a budget on time for next year.

"We are projecting a $500,000 shortfall in the 2010-11 budget," Eachus said to a Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Red Carpet Breakfast audience at Capriotti's in Tresckow. "There is an $800,000 medical assistance payment due from the federal government. If that is paid, we will be within range of our two-year budget planning process." Mr. Eachus you are not within your projections and the caucus system is partly to blame.

As the Grand Jury stated The jury members find the roots of the illegal campaign activity that happened at least through 2006 in the patronage hiring done by the caucuses. Many of the legislative staffers were hired regardless of qualification due to the intercession of a lawmaker, they suggested. Their positions are secure even if they cannot do their jobs adequately, so additional staffers have to be hired.

"That process, over time, has contributed to the existence of hundreds of legislative employees who, although paid by the taxpayers to do legislative work, do campaign work on state time or with state resources, or other non-legislative work," the jurors wrote.

The real problem are the career legislators in Harrisburg. They view their position as their primary job. One does not go to college to become a legislator. There is no degree awarded to be a legislator. Their viewpoint is causing them to work the system for themselves. Their per diems, their pay raises, their retirement, every benefit they bestow upon themselves violates every principle of public trust.

Will the caucuses do the right thing? If they forget about the power and winning elections they will truly understand politics. Until then the pubic will view them as cynical and ultimately meaningless and cruel.

PennDOT 35 Person Unit Criticized By Grand Jury To Be Disbanded

The Legal Intelligencer is reporting that Gov. Ed Rendell is disbanding a special unit of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that a grand jury said exists only to expedite paperwork for legislators seeking to win favor with voters.

The panel that investigated the state legislative corruption scandal criticized the 35-person unit in a scathing assessment of the Legislature released this week.

Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said Wednesday that the unit will be disbanded in the next few days and the employees reassigned elsewhere in PennDOT. However, he says they'll continue to help legislators with constituent requests.

The report also says the House Democratic and Republican caucuses employ — at a cost of nearly $900,000 a year — dozens of people to expedite processing of mostly routine PennDOT paperwork for businesses and other constituents.

Here are Brett Marcy two statements in the past week.

"We have worked hard to trim costs and find ways to improve efficiencies," said Brett Marcy, press secretary to House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.

On the grand jury report:

House Democratic spokesman Brett Marcy was critical of the report, saying it "seems to be based largely on the past and incorrect assumptions about the legislative process, rather than an accurate reflection of today's legislative operation."

Brett, now let me get this straight. Governor Rendell is disbanding a crew of 35 who serve the only purpose to expedite paperwork for legislators seeking to win favor with voters and you said what about the accurate reflection of the legislative operation?  On top of that the House Dems and the Republican caucuses are wasting another $900,000.00!! What a buffoon. Hanging around with Kanjorski teaches you how to stretch the facts.

"Mad As Hell" Grand Jury- Pennsylvania

Tracey Mauriello of the Post-Gazette characterizes the report developed by a grand jury investigating the misuse of taxpayer money commonly referred in the media as Bonusgate as a "mad as hell grand jury".

A "mad as hell" grand jury that investigated the Bonusgate scandal issued a list of recommendations improving a state Legislature they condemned as "broken," but was skeptical that any of the proposals would ever occur in a system so rife with corruption.

"The current operational structure and ingrained procedures of the Pennsylvania House Democratic and Republican caucuses are irretrievably broken and in desperate need of systemic change," the grand jurors wrote.

The self-serving culture of the Legislature's caucus system and patronage is so entrenched, the grand jury wrote, that the only way any change might take place is through a constitutional convention.

"The grand jury has determined beyond any doubt that the General Assembly, if left to its own devices, is utterly incapable of reforming itself," the report said.

The wide-ranging recommendations, filed Monday in Dauphin County Common Pleas Court, call for eliminating partisan caucuses, reducing a bloated staff and even changing the kinds of constituent services handled in district offices.

The grand jury found that legislative employees spent "an enormous amount of time working on political campaigns when they were supposed to be performing their legislative duties." They said "all campaign work on legislative time must be eliminated."

In a filing that accompanied the report, Judge Barry Feudale, supervisor of the grand jury, said grand jurors were "mad as hell" to hear from numerous witnesses that "no one's guilty because everybody does it."

Link to Grand Jury Recommendations at Post-Gazette

Come November lets see if the voters are as angry as the grand jury members and have the courage to oust those in power.

Pennsylvania Grand Jury Recommends Sweeping Government Overhauls

In this report out of Pennlive.com the Associated Press announces sweeping findings from the Grand Jury empaneled to investigate the misuse of taxpayer money commonly known as Bonusgate.

Despite dissemination of this report Todd Eachus's state site contains no mention of it.

A grand jury that investigated the state legislative corruption scandal known as Bonusgate wants the General Assembly to make sweeping changes, from how it hires and supervises employees to how it provides constituent services and even the way it debates passage of the annual budget.

A 34-page report obtained Monday by The Associated Press describes the Legislature as bloated with unnecessary staff and living in a time warp that reflects practices other states outlawed decades ago.

“This grand jury concludes, without any hesitation, that the current operational structure and ingrained procedures of the Pennsylvania House Democratic and Republican caucuses are irretrievably broken and in desperate need of systemic change,” the jury wrote.


“In the eyes of this grand jury, it is beyond dispute that numerous legislative employees have for years spent an enormous amount of time working on political campaigns when they were supposed to be performing their legislative duties,” the grand jury wrote. “All campaign work on legislative time must be eliminated and this will result in a surplus of legislative work unless rapid, meaningful change occurs.”

The 2,800 legislative employees amount to nine for each representative and 17 for each senator, the jury said.

“Despite the best efforts of numerous witnesses before the grand jury, nobody was able to justify such a large number of employees for this body,” the jurors wrote.

Among other reforms, the grand jury said the Legislature should:
— Eliminate, or at least make more transparent, the special leadership accounts that give House leaders millions of dollars in discretionary spending to control.
— Stop per diem payments to lawmakers, or at least tie them to actual expenses.
— Convert the General Assembly to a part-time body, impose term limits and give House members four-year terms.
— Combine the House Democratic and Republican print shops, information technology departments and personnel offices. Hire based on “standardized, published job descriptions.”
— Cease constituent service work related to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, described as a giveaway to businesses and a wasteful means of currying favor with voters at taxpayers’ expense.
— Impose tougher ethics practices, halt all payments and benefits to staffers on leave to campaign and ban compensatory time. Keep legislative employees from entering campaign offices during work hours.
— Prohibit using the same vendor for legislative and campaign purposes.
— Revamp the state budget process, making line items more descriptive and halting per diems if the budget is not passed by June 30.
— Eliminate taxpayer-funded political caucuses.

The report also called for a limited constitutional convention, saying it was concerned that the General Assembly “will remain in its ’time warp’ and meddle with, obfuscate, ignore or kill every recommendation.

Let's see if Eachus knows what the term leadership really means. Let's see if he rises to the occasion or serves us more slight of hand. Let's see if Brett Marcy can spin his words more.

Just today the AFL-CIO was demanding that there be no more cuts to Pennsylvania to preserve their member jobs which include doing campaign work on legislative time according to the Grand Jury.

This post is the facts..get ready for the fiction.