Consensus is the negation of leadership.--Margaret Thatcher

I live in Wilkes-Barre, so it was only fitting that my day should start with a bunch of bunk as soon as I turned this gizmo on and headed to The Times Leader site.

This is what we’re supposed to swallow now: The police department paid out $307,604 in overtime last year because of liberal vacation policies and sick leave abuses. We’re supposed to forget that the force was allowed to dwindle to 79 sworn members and many were never available for patrol duty in the first place. Remember when we crunched the numbers? We had something like 56 officers available to patrol 3 shifts 24/7? And didn’t Kathy Kane do the same thing as reported by the Leader?

As the election grows closer, now Wilkes-Barre’s recent history is being re-written. Nope, the force was not allowed to shrink to dangerous staffing levels, “a pre-existing formula mandated by the police union” and “contract-mandated desk jobs inside” were the cause of the overtime. I can easily remember the Sunday morning when we experienced our very last train car fire drowntown. I think it was toned around 10:30 a.m. Erika transported a creep caught trying to flee from the scene of the fire by the responding firefighters and had to transport and secure the guy at headquarters. The other two units available for patrol had to handle traffic control and the 911 calls just piled-up waiting for a patrol unit to become available. We had three patrol units that morning-that’s it. Why? Vacation policies? If so, somebody in management doesn’t know how to manage the vacation schedule? Or were the other 12 cops on-duty that morning busily filing files due to “contract-mandated desk jobs inside?” but never cued their mics once during their shift? Why those lazy and greedy unionized employees!!!

Let’s try a couple of snippets from the Leader story attributed to our top deputy dog.

"We're a real aggressive department - real aggressive now...”The key word being NOW. NOW, while we’re well into the run-up to the election. NOW, not last year when shootings dominated the news so often. NOW, not the year before when the first warning signs of a lack of a police presence started showing themselves. NOW the city has a pumped-up and aggressive police department, because being a lame duck mayor would be too much to bear for the largest ego in the city. NOW came just a tad late.

"I don't know where they [complaining residents] get off saying you can't walk the streets," George said. "We spoke to them. I don't know what their story is.

"Ross Street - that area has always been the red-light district. It's a lot cleaner now that it ever was."

I don't know where they [complaining residents] get off? Did I not touch on this attitude with all of the “fat boy” anger? The clear message is understood. These god-damned, law-abiding, taxpaying residents are becoming annoying, heyna? Where do we get off? Maybe the top deputy dog should hire a spokesperson. And where do we get off saying you can’t walk the streets? It is what it is. Perception is reality champ. Maybe we should send a police officer to interview senior citizens from the West Side and ask them why they are claiming as a group that they will never attend any movies in our drowntown, IF the Holeplex ever gets built? Perception is reality and if our streets have been so damned safe-where did that perception of the city come from in the first place?

I told ya’ a long time ago-we are no better than a necessary inconvenience to this administration. They confiscate our money, but they really don’t want to hear much from us. Shut up and pay your taxes. Shut up and waste your tax dollars be wasted. Did you folks read that Act 47 booklet yet?

“Ross Street - that area has always been the red-light district.”

There’s a contradiction. First we were told that there was no prostitution in that area to speak of, but now we’re told by our top cop that it’s always been the red-light district. So put an end to it already!!! Rather that issuing “coupons” to every other car bouncing from pot hole to pot hole in the city-direct one or two units per after dark shift to harass those piglets and their pimps until they give up and re-locate to Plymouth. Give me a nine millimeter and one of those awesome police bikes that haven‘t been stripped for parts yet-I’ll do it for Christ’s sake! Do they have sirens? I hope so. Way cool!

Under [Mayor Lee] Namey, we had 78 men, but we had 8 to 10 people who never came outside."

Came outside? That suggests that any cop not inside of headquarters is on patrol and that is not the case. How many do we have now that never come outside (patrol)? Just as many, if not more when you consider that we now have four school resource officers.

Here’s another management lesson that I am thrilled to provide, free of charge, to this collection of trainees running this city into the ground faster then the Iraqi‘s are throwing their hands skyward. Ready? Employees call off sick. Yup! That’s a fact of life for the bosses of the world. If the boss is continually forced to pay overtime to staff the shifts of the employees calling off, that exposes a glaring problem that hurts the bottom line right quick. Know what it is? The boss doesn’t have enough employees on the schedule in the first place. Another thing. If the employees as a group continually call off sick, that suggests that the overall morale of the employees could be sagging. I’m happy to be able to tutor our city’s administration. If y’all want me to teach you anything else-you know where to find me.

Hmmm! Not enough employees and sagging morale. Yup, that was the Wilkes-Barre Police Department during 2002. Where do I get off?

Another election season ploy is the renewed and heavy-publicized commitment to eliminating problem properties throughout the city. Today’s Voice reported that the NIT was at it again at a property on Barney street and had to remove debris and such. The mayor estimated that the cleanup and landfill fees could exceed $1,000. Let’s cut right to the laugh riot, the mayor’s quote from the Voice:

"The taxpayer shouldn't pay for that; the city shouldn't pay for that," the mayor insisted. "

No, but we paid $400,000 for the removal of the steam heat pile after the mayor and his band of bunglers failed to make sure the promised lien was placed on that property to recover those costs. Actually, most city residents capable of coherent thought believe that the expensive lien fiasco was a deliberate act.

We are paying the rent for the empty call center. We did pay $5 million for some concrete footers in our now famous Holeplex, but $1,000 in landfill fees two months before he faces judgment day at the polls is just too much to ask taxpayers to bear. This bunk is so transparent, it’s sickening.

"This is a message: fix up your properties, make them safe or the city is going to come after you. I don't care who you are.”

We don’t care who they are? Wow! So when are we going after that dump on Jackson street, owned by a former county commissioner who has decided to run for that office again that is literally falling onto the ground? Never.

Let’s check a couple of e-mails. I gotta go, state testing for me tomorrow morning. More freaking skills!

*****Mark,

about Fat Boy and the goofs who support McG: is that "political affiliation" or "political affliction"? I'm opting for the latter.*****

Again:

*****I think it is hysterical that McCheese has to go outside the city limits to have his fund raiser. I am guessing he probably has "issues" with Gus Genetti too and probably most every other business in town.

It doesn't surprise me that he went back on his word. He continues the same pattern of lies and deceit. I expect him to pull some rather desperate stunts in the next couple of months. He will undoubtedly fall flat on his face and I for one am looking forward to a good laugh.

TLFM.

West Side Dude*****

Again:

*****Mark

Well the rent a mob crowd is at it again. First, they held their anti-war protests that were actually anti-America and anti-Bush. Now they are holding their "die-in's". I really wish one of these groups would call me. Heck, I would be willing to lie down somewhere with a sign. Well, not really, I'm not wired that way. Not to mention the fact that these so called protests are being funded by the organizations these folks are defending. The World Worker Party, ANSWER, The International Action Center, Black Bloc, and Not in Our Name, to name just a few, are socialist or even Marxist organizations that receive funding as 501-C-3, non-profit organizations, and spend the money supporting naive college kids that think their 1-2% are the majority. Like I said before, the new math is working well, not to mention the fact that these students think history is Madonna and Marilyn, rather than Lincoln and Washington. Funny how history class became social studies through the years and now social studies has only retained the word social.

Why hasn't anyone in the mainstream media asked these kids why they would accept money from an organization that supports North Korea like the World Workers Party. Why would they protest in support of Saddam and Castro and Jong (the folks that fund these organizations) when thousands of people have been murdered by these dictators. Let's see...Saddam gases his own people and 4500 die instantly. Saddam good. America wants to get Saddam out of power so he can't do this type of damage to either his own people or anyone else and we are evil? America bad. Bush bad. Here is the message, loud and clear: IT'S OKAY TO TAKE MONEY FROM BRUTAL DICTATORS THAT KILL THEIR OWN PEOPLE AS LONG AS YOU ARE LIBERAL. Sorry, sad but true. Reason? Again, loud and clear: BECAUSE THERE IS A REPUBLICAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Where in the world were all these people in 1998? For crying out loud, Clinton actually started an attack on Iraq and then stopped it in the eleventh hour, only to restart it again a few months later. There was no resolution, no UN addresses, no speeches to Congress. Instead what you saw was the standing President of the US talk directly to the world, and then launch the bombs. And even though I think Clinton was the worst thing to ever happen to this country politically speaking, I would have stood shoulder to shoulder with him. It was one of the only times I spoke up for him as did many of my friends that are conservative, as did Congress and the Senate-both sides of the aisle.

Instead, we get Daschle bashing Bush with more mindless rhetoric. We had a unanimous vote on resolution number 17 Mr. Daschle-remember that. That resolution called for Saddam to disarm immediately or he would be disarmed. Unanimous. Yet somehow Bush failed in diplomacy? Someone tell me: What did Bush do or say differently over the last four months? He has not changed his tone or his message one iota. France has changed, Germany has changed, Russia has changed, but Bush sure as hell didn't. I guess France didn't expect to deal with a man that says "I'm coming for dinner" and then actually shows up. As the months have rolled on, there has been more information in support of Bush than against, even to the point of Hans hiding findings from the UN. You can find a hundred articles written on links between bin Laden and Saddam and even more on Saddam and his weapons, his treatment of his own people, and his lies over the past 12 years. So, Mr. Daschle are you upset that President Bush didn't want to give Saddam an 18th resolution? Because when he broke that one, we could then give him a 19th, and 20th, hell pick a number Tom, how many should we give him-is 50 a nice round number? And Mr. Daschle, what evidence did any of these nations uncover that would lead them to believe that Saddam is anything but a liar? Perhaps it was the interview with Dan Rather "be a communist?" Sure, Saddam lied to Dan about not having the weapons that he began destroying only days later, but the man did get up to go pray. So what if he destroyed some of the missiles he didn't have, and we can look past the drones that he and Blix conveniently forgot he had.

No, Mr. Daschle, the truth is very simple. Saddam is an evil human being with no regard for his people or his country. Bush didn't change. Some countries changed when they found out that Bush was true to his word. And you know what? Even if I didn't like Bush, I could at least respect him for standing by his word (as I did when Clinton stood by his in '98), because at the end of the day, that is what matters-not the political games or protests-his word. Mr. Daschle, Saddam is a liar and so are you, so at least the two of you have something in common.

Keep the faith. Support our men and women. Pray for them...and for the people of Iraq.

Private Sector Dude.*****

One more time:

*****Hey Mark,

I titled this, correction, but it's more of an informational message. The question, How do traffic stops make the city safer. Here goes, I'll try not to get too long winded.

Those of us that have children benefit. When we pull a car over, say it's for 10 minutes. About 30 or 40 cars pass by, depending on the time of day. The theory is that word spreads about police activity and people pay closer attention to their driving. More benefits for the kids, most of your very successful narcotic interdictions come from traffic stops, the drugs get here somehow. There are literally dozens more reasons for traffic enforcement, but I'm gettin kinda tired. A majority of our time on the road is spent answering calls for service, despite what may be printed in the paper, scannerland knows this all to well. Downtime is spent patrolling or monitoring activity in some of the problem areas.

Probably the number one reason why a city resident should be glad to SEE someone pulled over is, it ain't THEM. LOL*****

Hey, you guys wouldn’t ticket an aging Huffy, would you?

Nite nite.

TLFM