Tag Archives: Poconos

Nov 5 2013

Pocono Township – Fear and Half-truths Defeated

It would seem from unofficial results that the Pocono Township First Class Initiative has overwhelmingly passed with 77% of voters supporting the change to how we are governed.  Congratulations to all that worked on getting the first class initiative passed – kudos for your hard work and great results.  I’m also pleased that the people of Pocono Township were intelligent enough to vote for what is best for our community as well as send a message to the Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township that we aren’t as dumb as they think.  It is no longer the time of the good old boy network and it is time we actually have citizens step up with the skills, experience and integrity needed to help manage and grow our community as it demands in the coming years.

All that being said, I’ll take a chance of being seen as a poor winner but I would suggest that we not underestimate the drive and willingness of the Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township to do whatever possible to undermine progress since returning to anything resembling the status quo will protect and ensure their personal gains no matter the cost to the township.  Don’t be fooled as many of these people have been working behind the scenes for years to push their agenda. our elected officials essentially only pawns in the process.   We all have a view into who many of the “Vote No” business people are and anyone who has attended the information meetings have heard the slanted and  misrepresented views and information they were willing to spew and stand behind in order to further their gains.

So what can we do?  Within our family, we have made it a point to speak loudly thru our wallets when we encounter businesses or people who work directly against that we believe – especially those who make it clear their concerns are only for personal gain and profit and care little for the needs or wants of others.  We will do the same to the extent we can locally and make sure that we do not support any of these people or their businesses.  If that sounds harsh I would ask you to think about who they have been concerned with over this needed change for Pocono Township and where they put their priorities.  I don’t believe they will just lick their wounds and skulk off into some corner.  No, they will work to find ways to undermine the changes and will look for alternative means to influence and turn decisions in their direction.  There needs to be ongoing vigilance of the upcoming changes as they happen.  I have no doubt that the people who have been most influential in this Initiative will remain fully engaged and attentive.  We, as the rest of Pocono Township, need to do the same to support them and to make it clear to those looking to step backward that it isn’t going to happen.

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.  It’s time we know who is behind that curtain.

Nov 2 2013

Pocono Township, PA – Scumbag Politics & Tactics Flow Downhill all the Way to Local Politics

poconoTwnp_map

I don’t normally blog about local issues but we citizens of Pocono Township, PA in the heart of the Poconos are in the midst of a ballot referendum that has become rather heated.  At issue is the governing structure of our approx. 12,000 resident community.  The question is whether to move to a First Class Township structure or to stay as a Second Class Township.  In reality, the guidelines and rules are quite similar across class of townships with only several key areas of difference – albeit important differences.  While I don’t intend to go into the details to a great extent, my opinion and perspective is that the change reduces the likelihood of personal agendas and influence, governance by proxy (who is really pulling the strings behind the curtain) and the myriad of unethical and unacceptable actions that have taken place in local government for years.  While we have slowly moved forward from the “old boy” network that was evident when we moved here 26+ years ago, the back room dealings and decisions remain an ongoing event.  Is it just Pocono Township?  No, it is rife throughout Pennsylvania if one does a google of incidents of impropriety in local government in PA.  The move to put this First Class initiative on the ballot was driven by the actions of several of our current Supervisors.  In fact, we now sit on a million $ lawsuit as a result of these supervisors.  But back to the issue at hand.  As with any change there are those who support and those that don’t.  Same here but interestingly enough (not surprising though) the “citizen” group that supports the current Second Class Township structure is made up of local business interests who fear the change as their level of influence will weaken if not disappear entirely.  My opinion only but given the tactics and the information spin their campaign has taken you can see fear and loathing as they look at the potential shift in power.  Again, not surprising, this is primarily a group of Republicans.  Now if we have learned anything at all about the current Republican Party, whether national or state, taking care of the people’s needs is not a priority.  One needs look no deeper than the recent Federal Government shutdown to see it at the national level.  At the state level, look at the havoc Tom Corbin, our Republican Governor, and his massive cuts to education and social programs to see it isn’t about anything beyond politics.  And we in Pocono Township now can be our own microcosm of what we see at higher levels.

 

Our three Supervisors - Guess which one is the RoadMaster?

Our three Supervisors – Guess which one is the RoadMaster?

This struck home very clearly this past week when we attended a “non-partisan” information session advertised to objectively address the differences between a First and Second class township structure.  The attorney, experienced in dealing in both structures, was actually very good.  However, on the table as one walked in was the propaganda literature being offered by the “Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township” (let’s call them CCPT) – a non-profit organization leaning heavily to the right.  I, for one, judge any organization by the honesty and accuracy of its message and supporting information – which means I do try to read and research most any statement or position taken before I decide my stance.  In this case, I’ve read (several times) both the First and Second Class Township Code documents so I think I’ve got the detail.  While it is obvious the CCPT has read and understands the differences, they have taken the liberty to play loose with the facts – something very obvious in their political literature.  Let’s take a look.

 

Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township Propaganda

Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township Propaganda

So – we have only CCPT choosing six statements to scare the public into voting against the First Class Township initiative this Nov 5th election.  When you dig a bit into the detail it becomes quickly clear that not one of these statements is really true – if we define true as meaning it is entirely true – so we have the spin factor to contend with.  These are all partially true – leaving out important details that when considered take the bite out of all of them.  To help put, I’ll rate these on a simple scale – the Bullshit Scale.  Pretty simple – the more BULLSHITs – the larger the lie or partial truth or the larger the manipulation. I don’t really need a symbol for entirely true since none of the statements actually qualify.

Let’s take a look at each one –

1. Raises the maximum general purpose tax rate to 30 mils.  Okay – in a First Class township this is true.  They are comparing to a Second Class Twsp where the GENERAL PURPOSE TAX RATE is capped at 14 mils.  However, there are several additional opportunities to add other tax mils to that number in the Second Class code – in actuality when comparing apples to apples, the total potential tax burden is actually higher in a Second Class Township – they just don’t have it all in the general tax bucket.  And, by the way, this is really about the maximum potential mils – doesn’t really read that way in this literature leaving quite a bit of room for interpretation that our taxes will rise. So this is not only misleading but implies something (raised taxes) that it has nothing to do with.

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

2. Mandates that all future police officers qualify as Civil Servants.  Yes, all future police officers will have to pass a test established by a Civil Service Commission established to oversee all matters related to the Police Department.  Not sure the problem with requiring that future police officers be required to pass a test that is specific to Pocono Township as it is a test created by the commission.  I guess the problem is that a board of three, non-paid commissioners can’t play favorites as easily and having it establish an equal playing ground for police qualifications means there might actually be a test to get a job.  No criticism of our current police force in Pocono Township at the moment but having to demonstrate qualifications is not a new concept for getting a job.  No current policemen lose their jobs and yes, there is qualification to be a police officer in the future.  Then again, anyone working for any form of government can be considered a civil servant – not sure why today’s policeman don’t fall into the same category.

civil servant

noun

: a person who works for the government : a person who works in the civil service

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

3. Mandates a Township Manager Position.  This one is somewhat true but it does require a bit more examination at which point it becomes less than forthright.  Our illustrious supervisors, since they all hold down township positions (part of the problem – they are their own bosses and accountable to no one other than at election time) felt the need to hire a Township Administrator at somewhere around $60K salary.  So the current position is not called “Manager” but it essentially does what the “mandated” role will do – especially since the commissioners can define the job generally as they please.  So to protest the new position might be a little disingenuous.  The other interesting consideration here is that the Code also provides the Commissioners with the power to abolish the position of Township Manager.  As I read it, doesn’t sound like a mandate.

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

4. Substitutes elected Supervisors with Court Appointed Commissioners.    Not really but in the initial transition to a First Class Township there is no provision for a special election and the new Commissioners need to be in their position by the January following the election.  A board of judges from our County Courts does the initial appointment but that is the only time there is not an election to select the Commissioners.  So part truth but a bit misleading all the same.  Once established, all Commissioners are elected as current Supervisors are.

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

5. Mandates that anyone holding a position with the township must quit their job before they can seek public office.  The only consideration close to this that I can find in the Code is that Policemen cannot hold any public office while being a policeman. I’m calling this one a total fabrication – sounds good as a talking point but this is an outright lie.  I’m only deciding not to give it 10 BULLSHITs since I can’t find it and I could have missed it – doubtful but maybe.

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT

6. Can result with 5 new commissioners who have no experience running the township and potentially no experience with the sewer system and its known deficiencies.  Okay – I guess this is true but again we have an intent to mislead and make a problem where there is not necessarily one.  To be honest, this can happen anytime anyone new is elected to Supervisor in the current structure.   All we need to do is look at the current Supervisors (kind of our local Moe, Larry and Curley of sorts) to see that this concern about experience is not a new one.  Our current trio consists of an ex-policeman who most recently sold advertising for billboards, a road department employee and a plumber.  Don’t get me wrong, these can be honorable professions but I fail to see the deep experience that any of these three brought to the table with they were elected.  Not really anyone with broad and deep management experience or capability among them.  As far as sewer knowledge, I’ll give the plumber some latitude when it comes to dealing with crap but given the size of the sewer project (many millions, many years, much coordination), I might concede this point a bit if the number and the size of problems being realized wasn’t so large – and the plumber has been around for most of it.

Rating – BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT  BULLSHIT

Total BULLSHITs – 47 (yes, that’s a lot of BULLSHIT)

Average BULLSHITs – 7.83 – on my scale, I’d say this average rating positions the good Concerned Citizens of Pocono Township as pretty high up there on the BULLSHIT scale – pretty much full of shit.  Just the type of people I want leading my township and its future.

So when we look across the “concerns” and the “facts” as to why we should stay a Second Class Township, one would think that it should stand on its own merit – not the lies, spin and manipulation that is evident in this case.  Maintaining the status quo in this case only really seems to be good for those running things today – whether as supervisors or puppet masters pulling the strings in the background. They all have something to lose and it is personal in every case.

We can only hope that there are enough of us Pocono Township citizens who can see this for what it is when Tuesday rolls around.

Nov 2 2012

Awards of the Day – Politics as Usual

It has been quite a week for many on the East coast including many of us not exactly on the coast.  To a great extent, we in the Poconos were pretty lucky.  As Hurricane Sandy made her way to landfall, we managed to pretty much be in the path of the eye of the storm – not that there wasn’t damage and impact.  For many in our area, they remain without power.  We lost power Monday evening and did not get it back until Wednesday afternoon around 3pm.  Inconvenient yes, but not the disaster that unfolded across much of the tri-state area.  I at least had a generator so within an hour of the loss of power, we were sitting in a lit house and our refrigerators and sump pumps were all functional.  The real inconvenience was we quickly ran out of water as there are relatively few areas with public utilities so when the volume of water in our captive air tank was exhausted, that was about it.  Luckily, we have learned to plan and were well stocked with water and other things we needed.   Again, this was an opportunity to realize how lucky we were which wasn’t clear until we got our cable and internet back and we could see what many had and will continue to have to deal with.

That brings me to probably to me what was so different from what has been front center almost every day for the past, I don’t know, 6 months or so – the presidential election.  I can’t say I thought too much about it and it was actually refreshing to get a break from the explosion of ads and political rhetoric with which we have all been inundated.  It also meant I got a break from blog material – less that incensed me and less to somehow find catharsis for.  But wait, it didn’t take too long.  So today I’m going to actually recognize some positive and give some kudos as well as cite some of the usual bullshit that I continue to be astonished that so many believe and embrace.

Let me start with the positive.  In the past I have not always been kind to Chris Christie, NJ Governor.  There is much of him that exemplifies everything I despise in Republican Party.  However, I need to give him credit for two things this week.  One, it is obvious the man says what he believes and feels – I have to respect that quality whether I agree with the content or not.  Secondly, Christie quickly put politics to the side and was unabashed in his praise of President Obama in light of the support and attention he got for NJ when it was most needed.  And I expect he knew he would take shit for it from his fellow Republicans.  Again, kudos for having some balls.  So today, I want to award Chris Christie the “Hero of the Day” award for being real.  I don’t labor under any illusion that when things calm down he will quickly move back into the fold but that’s okay – he at least showed he is not the imbalanced jerk that most of his Republican peers are.

BFFs

 

My other award today is actually related to the “Hero of the Day” award.  Let me say that the recipient demonstrated behavior that was not a surprise and is consistent with being probably one of the most vile people on the planet – so I guess there is something to be said for consistency.  But he does lose points for lack of creativity.  In any case, the immediate condemnation of Chris Christie by our recipient is indicative of his general lack of compassion, empathy and most other generally positive human emotions and feelings.  Yes, I expect many will have already guessed it – it is no other than that shit hole of a human being – Rush Limbaugh.  He again takes lowlife to a new level – as hard as that is in his case.  I might also suggest that his loyal followers get to share in this award given their general inability to deal with life in general – demonstrated by their blind allegiance to someone of Rush’s calibre and character.  Rush, take a bow – oops, you dropped one of your pills – is that a Viagra or a oxycodone?

A Triple Crown Winner! Take your pick – Head up the Butt, Horse’s Ass or Bag of Shit or any combination of the above!

 

I think it is also fitting to also recognize the runner-up for jerk of the day – a man who isn’t used to being 2nd in much of anything – Donny Trump – for a myriad of stupid ass things that come out of his mouth – he again provides some pretty interesting support that man did evolve from apes – some less than others!

 

Don’t feel bad – you are only runner-up today. You still are one of the biggest shit bags I see out there today!

 

Aug 5 2012

The Award of the Day – Recipient #2

Today I am proud to present the 2nd Award of the Day to a local stand-out.  I have found this individual often demonstrates the depth of bias and intolerance we see on a national level but after reading her latest letter to the Editor in the Pocono Record (this too a local embarrassment), I didn’t have a second thought in deciding she was deserving of special place in what I expect will be an ever-growing list of people who actually deserve little respect or success in life.

Today’s award goes to a local pastor – one who has consistently demonstrated behavior and opinions that are directly aligned with the intent of the “Head in the Butt” award.  Previously bestowed on Rand Paul, Rev. Marilyn D. Smith has risen again to the occasion with her latest letter.  Unfortunately, this one isn’t really much different than most she writes.  Once again, more reason to embrace being an athiest.

Please take a quick read and I have no doubt you will agree with my decision to give her this prestigious honor.

Not only does Rev. Smith show her great love of everyone, one of the primary tenets of Christianity, she has demonstrated quite an ability to take care of her personal life as she has undoubtedly provided her offspring the same love and guidance she likely shows to the minions of idiots who sit in her church every week.  I am always amazed when someone takes information that shows what would seem to be a deficiency in some aspect of life (in this case parenting) and somehow makes it look as if they did something good.  I take this next paragraph from the website of Preaching Women.com, which highlights the life of Rev. Marilyn.

“This woman of God knows what it is to be  praying mother to see the promises of God fulfilled in each and every one of her promised seed.  Pastor Marilyn found herself crying out to God for the lives of her own children.  Today, Pastor Marilyn and Pastor Charles is blessed to have seven children, some of whom have tremendous testimonies of deliverance from drugs and alcohol.  The same anointing of God has fallen upon their children and four grandchildren.”

Way to go Marilyn – nice job adding some quality people to the world!  I have to wonder if being a jerk and a half-wit is also a choice.

Given the percentages, in having seven children, I also wonder which one of them is probably gay.

Feb 18 2012

Like the swallows to Capistrano…

The harbingers of Spring – like the swallows returning to Capistrano every year, we in the Poconos have our own annual migration to anticipate. Unfortunately, unlike sparrows, this particular breed of animal talks, walks and generally finds many more ways to make it obvious they are here. I speak of New Yorkers. That species of homo erectus that hasn’t quite made it as far up the evolutionary ladder – unless of course you solicit their own opinion of what they know and how much they can provide you insight into that which is around us. From that vantage point, they have moved far beyond the rest of us, so much so they are above most rules that have been established to help maintain order and decorum as we intermingle.

As I ventured out this morning it hit me clearly between the eyes as our main thoroughfare again resembled a parking lot, only to be disturbed by those cars (mostly with those hideous orange and black NY plates) who felt the rules didn’t really apply to them – u-turns across the highway, no blinkers, pulling over with no warning, using the turning lane as the means to move a bit quicker to some unknown left turn that we “assume” exists somewhere down the road.  Time to begin to take the back roads – there they can only drive with their wheels across the center line and share your side of the road – especially around curves.

I also got to experience them outside of their car. I made my Saturday morning trip to the local grocery store. As my family knows, I rarely can seem to venture out without returning with some story of some idiot that I encountered – and they were out there as usual this morning but there was one person in particular that stood out – and so appropriately given it was a New Yorker. I was one checkout lane over from her and her two kids. How did I know she was one of them? Actually pretty easy – we don’t usually get the attractive ones out here – she was big – everything was big – her hair, her clothes, her butt, her mouth, her kids. You would think that being that unattractive you wouldn’t want to be attracting any more attention than necessary. Well, that is also one of the distinguishing characteristics of a New Yorker – they don’t see themselves that way, they don’t care who is around them and, because they are higher on the evolutionary scale, all the rest of us around them don’t really matter. This particular lady had an issue with her olives. There weren’t enough on the cold cut tray she had purchased so she was making it very clear to the checker (as well as everyone else in the front half of the store – and it is a relatively big store) that someone had told her she could get additional calamata olives at no extra charge – not just any olives but calamata olives – and did I mention at no extra cost to her. No matter what the checker asked her as the checker was trying to get to the core issue on her plate – how to ring up the olives – the women essentially felt the explanation she gave should suffice and just continued to repeat it again and again. She had started checking out before I did and she was still there as I left so I didn’t get the opportunity to watch the end of the show.  I do think that checker should be put up for some sort of medal to honor her patience – not sure I could have been as nice as she remained.  Actually I am sure I couldn’t.

You might ask, “why would that be your business or bother you at all” – a fair question, one that I’ve been asked by those around me on numerous ocassions. It probably shouldn’t but there are a couple of reasons. First, at this point in my life, there are alot fo things that just annoy me on general principle.  Second, I have this notion that in a public place, people should be cognizant of others around them and respect that right that we all have not to have to listen to more noise pollution than necessary. You can yell when something is on fire – not sure I need to know you have an issue with calamata olives. Third, I also watched (and heard) her basically embarass the hell out of her daughter because she wasn’t emptying the cart in the manner the mother felt was right. And she did it equally loud – maybe more so given she had to yell over the distance of the cart and form the end of the check out lane as she had to keep wandering down there to makes sure the bagger was bagging to her specifications.  And lastly, I just find New Yorkers to be generally obnoxious, rude, and annoying. I just see a NY license plate and I have a visceral reaction – kind of like a rat after spending some time in a Skinner box.

And it is only February.