I found this rather curious post on the forum page. Funny how quiet that page has been since Dubya bushwhacked Colonel Kurtz. Or Senator Kurtz. Or whatever that pussy-whipped losers name is.

The downtown chainlink fence project -- biznilly, 22:14:48 12/17/04 Fri [1]

Just took a drive by the movie theatre sight. Boy, oh boy! If the rest of the movie theatre looks as good as that fence, we're in for a rip-roarin' good time! You know, McGroarty had some pretty lame press conferences in his time, but did he ever hype a fence? Flame On!!!!!

A fence? I can't remember McGroarty ever hyping a fence. But I'm sure he would have if he thought it would cement his legend just a bit more. (?)

Although, he did hype an emergency radio station that no one knows about. And he did hype a mobile communications command center that was never deployed for anything more challenging than crowd control for parades. And he did hype an undersized hovercraft that is currently for sale. Oh, and he did hype a half a soda pop truck supposedly filled with disaster supplies that was never deployed for any reason. He hyped Spanish lessons for city employees that never came about. He hyped a twelve-foot long bridge that took 18 months to build. He hyped the yet to appear new-and-improved Coal Street. He hyped the unbuilt Wilkes-Barre Expressway link-up with Hanover Township. He hyped water camels that pretty much did nothing but take up space. He hyped his award winning recycling program while Wilkes-Barre literally collapsed around him. He hyped the new super duper fire station in the shadow of the Cross Valley that was never built. I remember him hyping a gazillion screen theater. And an intermodal center. And a call center. He told us he could do more with less. And he promised us progress, but instead left us with $10.4 million in overdue, unpaid debts.

But a fence? Nah. McGroarty never hyped a fence.

Actually, he never managed to erect anything as grandiose as a fence without completely f**king it up. Leighton hasn't erected anything either, for that matter. But every single thing that is about to be erected in this city is already paid for. How'd he do that?

The fires of abject negativity flame on.

Today's Party Animals...column in the Voice mentions that a Parrish Street barber is mulling a run for a city council seat. Let me start by saying that I don't know a fargin' thing about the guy in the column. For all I know, he could be a great guy in addition to being a superb councilman one day. I take no issue with the guy or his credentials, whatever the heck they may be. What I do question to the high heavens is what the Party Animal scribes describe as a platform.

From the Voice:

Bob told Francis if he decides to run and is fortunate enough to be elected, he would not accept health insurance or car mileage and he would donate half his annual salary to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

"Sounds like an interesting platform," Tillie said.

Hmmm. Sounds eerily familiar, don't it?

Q: "Mr. Candidate, what will you do if elected to a council seat?

A: "Good question, Heidi. Why, by George, I'll serve for less."

Hmmm. That somehow qualifies as a bonified platform? Adding some chump change, some insignificant chicken scratch to the city's coffers sounds like a plan? Is that really the best the potential challengers can come up with these days? What happened to the vision thing? What about some ideas? Read between the lines, kiddies. The message is: City Council is currently overpaid. That's a plan? Vote for me and I'll save y'all enough money to purchase 300 pounds of grass seed?

The council wannabes are gonna have to do better than that if they want my vote. And despite being content with the actions of our council throughout 2004, it should be pointed out that I voted for only five of the folks (one of which is a newbie) currently calling themselves council thingies, or whatever the latest politically correct term happens to be.

Get in line and call me what you will, but "I'll serve without health insurance benefits" ain't gonna cut it.

Maybe somebody should totally jump on the class envy bandwagon and promise to serve absolutely free. You'll get nothing for your vote, but it won't cost you a dime. Wouldn't that energize the Chia Pet vote?

You know, if they'd market a life-sized Chia Mate, or a Chia Partner, I might just buy one of those things and watch it grow. Hot wax, anyone?

Let's steal a web page..from the Times Leader:

Posted on Sat, Dec. 18, 2004

$100 million in plans for W-B celebrated

WHAT'S NEW: City's riverfront project is set to begin in 2005 and be done in 2007.

By LANE FILLER

lfiller@leader.net

WILKES-BARRE - Touting $100 million worth of downtown development to begin or continue in 2005, U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, spoke Friday and likened the visit to "Santa Claus coming to Wilkes-Barre."

The funds and projects that encompass the $100 million figure are funded by state, federal, county and local governments. They include:

$1.4 million for downtown revitalization and $6 million for a proposed intermodal transporation center. Those funds had not been previously secured.

$2.5 million previously announced for street lights, a project in the engineering phase.

$30 million for the Riverfront Development Project, which Kanjorski says will begin next year and be completed by 2007.

$20 million for the Hotel Sterling. Project leaders are choosing an architect.

$35 million for what Kanjorski called the "South Main/South Washington corridor," including the new movie theater, state labor and industry building and 600-space parking garage. Workers have begun at the labor and industry building, and environmental work at the theater is set to start this month. The theater is scheduled to open in November 2005 and the labor and industry building should be complete by May. Those deadlines have been bandied about for months.

But Kanjorski also announced that the riverfront project, to include a pier, amphitheater, walking trails and a plaza, would begin in 2005 and be complete in 2007, two dates not previously unveiled.

"It was sort of a 'state of the city' address for Wilkes-Barre," Kanjorski said later in his presentation, delivered outside City Hall. "We wanted to let people know that with $100 million of public and private development in the city scheduled for 2005, the future looks very bright for the city."

The only new funds announced were the $6 million in federal funding to build the Intermodal Center first promised by Mayor Tom McGroarty and $1.4 million in federal funding for downtown revitalization.

The $1.4 million was intended for the downtown streetlight project when Kanjorski first sought it, but with the engineering started and the funding in place for the project, Mayor Tom Leighton believes the city can use the funds for other revitalization projects.

Kanjorski delivered his laundry list of funding accomplishments while touting cooperation between city, county, state and federal government. He described revitalization in Northeastern Pennsylvania as a contest between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in which "all the residents, as well as those in outlying communities, will be the winners."

It sure sounds as if they've got much more than a single fence up their friggin' sleeves, but what do I know?

There's a reason I chose to reprint that Leader story here. That reason being the huge chuckle I get everytime somebody calls SAYSO and refers to Tom Leighton as "one-term Tommy." One-term Tommy? Don't count your culm before the anthracite burns, heyna?

Despite being grossly overpaid, (?) our current city council and the mayor promised nothing but cooperation while getting our finances in order, and revitalizing our downtown simultaneously. Well, guess what? They are well on their way to accomplishing both of those lofty goals. But still, the folks that study photo-copied city documents and call themselves leaders for having done so are calling this elected bunch of ours the worse thing ever perpetrated upon us since the advent of franchised drive-thru circumcision clinics.

Methinks otherwise.

Methinks we're going to be just fine. Methinks the mostly toothless critics of "One-term Tommy" are going to be the laughing stock of the city in a year or so. Methinks they'll be contemplating a fatal Viagra overdose soon enough, and that would suit me just fine. What a fitting end for some of the biggest dickheads ever to grace our soon to prosper city.

Sez me.

And speaking of mass suicide...how are you Phillies fans doing as of late? Ready?

Bummer, Phils fans. Maybe next, next year, heyna?

Or not?

Just for the fun of it...let's explore the latest goings-on from the National Football League.

To put it very, very bluntly, I'd be totally shocked if either one of the two Philadelphia teams actually made it to the Super Bowl and I'll tell you why.

Be honest, Ben Loss-less-berger must have a rabbit's foot the size of freaking Nevada. The guy can play, and he'll probably get even better over time, but luck has had a big part to play in his success. If the Giants weren't reduced by injuries to grabbing defensive replacements from soup kitchen lines, Loss-less-berger throws five interceptions and the Steelers get blown out yesterday. Sure, he hit the wide open recievers when they presented themselves, but he threw just as many interceptions that weren't caught, and severely under-thrown balls that turned into huge gains. An objective observer would have to admit that Eli Manning easily outplayed him.

Sorry, but beating the weakest teams in the league by three points week-in and week-out does not a champion make. The Steelers are a team primed and ready for a playoff upset. At least, they'll call it an upset. I'd call it way overdue.

Then there's the Eagles.

The Eagles offense led by Donovan McNabb is virtually unstoppable on most weekends. But every once in a while, they encounter a real defense. And then McNabb quickly reverts to his deer-caught-in-the-headlights approach to quarterbacking, ala Randall Cunningham. Consider the Redskins/Eagles tilt. I was looking forward to watching this game since the Redskins happen to possess one kick-ass defense. And I wasn't surprised in the least by what transpired. McNabb looked totally confused 90% of the time and his play was mostly ineffective. Much like his recent later round playoff performances. But the Eagles eeked out yet another close victory.

In all honestly, being that there really aren't very many strong defenses on the NFC side of the equation, I'd say the Eagles have a better chance of surviving and appearing in the Super Bowl than that of the close-to-the-vest-or-die Steelers. But if neither team dances at the big dance, it sure as hell wouldn't surprise me.

Get this sh*t. My brother and his seven year-old son were at Giants Stadium yesterday, and some goof dropped a cow bell from the upper deck which skulled a nine year-old kid sitting a couple of rows in front of my bro. The event staffers swarmed around the kid and tried to suppress the blood flow coming from the top of his skull. I have no way of knowing if the cow bell-toting guy was sober or not, but I kinda doubt it in a big way. And I'm tired of hearing of ugly and completely needless happenings at sporting events that can be directly attributed to alcohol consumption.

Give me half a reason and I'll party with the best of them. But never where 77,000 people are assembled supposedly to take in a sporting event. Public safety demands otherwise, but the folks selling the beer, namely the leagues and the teams involved, really don't care about any of that public safety stuff besides paying it lip service afterwards.

I hope that kid is okay and I hope he never finds himself sitting between Ron Artest and some drunk who can't control himself at a major sporting event.

Anywho, who do you expect to see in the Super Stupor Bowl? The Steelers? The Eagles? Or two other teams?

Lemme know.

CYA