3-19-2007 Master Exploder

Since Gage and Taylor made their way here all the way from Tennessee, writing on the internet had to take a back seat for a while. No biggie, though. Weren’t much worth carrying on about anyway.

Some of those who opine away on the internet feel the need to post something or other every day, even when there’s really nothing of note going on. While that’s fine and all, I do not bother unless the mood definitely strikes me. Content is important, provided that it’s something more substantive than pictures of fall foliage, or how that foliage delights us to no end..

My son-in-law got pulled over by the Wilkes-Barre Police Department last night and I’m happy to report that no arrests were made, and we will not be filing a federal lawsuit much like a former Wilkes University employee did. When the cops pull you over, all that you need to do to avoid being put in chains is be compliant, be polite and respectful and consider that your being pulled over has more to do with drug interdiction than the color of your skin.

Now, get this. He was driving a rental vehicle with Tennessee tags that, get this, were not readily visible because of the tinting on the rear window. And he was driving in Wilkes-Barre, claimed to be a resident of Tennessee, and had a PA drivers license showing his address as being in Pottsville. And if that’s not suspicious enough, he claimed he drove here all the way from Tennessee to visit relatives in Wilkes-Barre. And if that’s not confusing enough, he was wearing a Buffalo Sabres sweatshirt. Now, if you’re the cop at the scene, do you call for backup and the leg irons yet?

Turns out, our police officer conducted himself in a very professional manner, and pretty much hit it by the numbers. He asked if there was anything in the vehicle he should know about, i.e., weapons or illegal narcotics. And he asked if he could conduct a search of the vehicle. After the search, and after the paperwork checked out, the son-in-law was free to go.

As a matter of fact, the officer cut him a huge break for not citing him for driving without a valid New York Giants bumper sticker. Whew!

Anyway, so you know, while you were sleeping last night, the boys in blue were out there doing what we pay them to do. Namely, protecting us.

This just in at 1:20 pm: He just got pulled over again, so that’s twice in 12 hours. Perhaps we need to issue a BOLO alert.

Calling all cars, do not engage the black 2007 Trailblazer with the invisible temporary tags.

Did You Know; Shift Happens - Globalization; Information Age:

What do we have, 8 weeks or so until the primary election? The weather has not cooperated whereas door-to-door politicking is concerned, but it’s definitely time to start firing up the campaigns.

This one is interesting, albeit, somewhat astonishing.

Candidate has plans for firehouse

What we have here is a promised proposal from city council candidate Tim Anderson and former city administrator Jim Hayward, to “restore fire protection to our neighborhood.”

Not being privy to the details, there’s no sense passing any sort of premature judgment on any of that. And it’s probably a politically astute move to curry favor with the Heights residents in that newfangled voting district that are still perturbed over the closing of their neighborhood firehouse.

Although, while it my be possible to secure the funding to build another new firehouse, close scrutiny needs to be given to the manpower needs, the associated costs, plus the benefits of any additional manpower needs. While the city may be running in the black, the red ink could make a comeback if every council member to be elected plans to spend on this, that and everything to please the constituents of their separate districts.

For council members, proposals are like sphincters, as in, everybody’s got one. But the mayor is ultimately responsible for the budget, the bottom line and which color ink the city’s financial situation will be written in.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, be very leery of council hopefuls bearing enormous gifts.

The other thing to consider is why a former city administrator who did absolutely nothing during his two terms at the helm to repair the 2 closed firehouses is suddenly concerned about our fire protection.

Seems a bit opportunistic to me.

Then we‘ve got this hopeful repeating the familiar “forgotten neighborhoods” spiel.

Election briefs

If elected, Troy wants to reopen the Heights firehouse and Coal Street pool as well as seek the necessary funding to reopen the ice-skating rink and tennis courts. He would also like to reduce the EMS tax to its original level and increase funding for the public works department so that services such as recycling, street and storm sewer cleaning and snow removal can be improved. Troy invites everyone concerned about the future of the city and all who would like to become part of his campaign to contact him at…

First of all, there is a plan in the works to do a complete overhaul of Coal Street Park, so this sounds like much adieu about nothing.

Reduce the EMS tax to it’s original level? Um, and lay-off one of those two new platoons of police officers we hired with the proceeds of the increased tax? Frankly, there would be no alternative.

Sorry, but there’s only one way to significantly improve upon the services provided by the DPW employees and that would be by hiring more of them. So the bottom line of the city comes into question again. Can we rebuild the park, reopen a firehouse, staff it, hire more DPW workers and then balance the budget?

Seems a bit undoable to me.

So far, this guy stands out. No promises of grandiose spending. No plans to build anything of note. No mud flying at anyone. Rather, a plan to get people together to envision where their neighborhood is, where it needs to be and how it can reasonably expect to get there.

Sounds like someone understands the confines of the position.

Council candidate promises to be a good listener

As a representative of my district, I plan to meet with residents on a regular basis and listen to your issues of concern.

With the help of a volunteer committee, we will prioritize these issues and clearly identify those that must be presented to and addressed by city hall.

I would like to get local businesses involved in addressing community issues that can be handled within our own district, and, in turn, encourage residents of our district to become more involved in supporting local business.

It’s time to make a focused effort in the business of improving our communities.

Seems a bit more realistic than most of what I’ve heard.

1984:

Somebody went out of their way to make me aware of this and asked me to comment on it.

We’ve got a local blogger who has put together a “forum” and has invited all of the city council candidates to attend and participate.

I’ll use his post to provide the details.

LULAC CITY COUNCIL FORUM

ATTENTION: WILKES BARRE CTY COUNCIL CANDIDATES!

The LuLac Political Letter will sponsor a forum on Sunday May 6th starting at 3PM. To my knowledge, this is the first time that all city council candidates will have the opportunity to be together under one roof at the same time to discuss the issues facing the city. (Other forums have featured Mayoral candidates but I thought this might be a good idea). The Forum will take place at Genetti’s in downtown Wilkes Barre in the Imperial Ballroom. (I’m told there will be a Holy Communion party next store so no Jerry Springer language or chair throwing. Oh wait, that’s Scranton City Council!) WILK talk show host Sue Henry has graciously agreed to moderate the forum. Candidates will be seated according to district and will be given about 3 minutes to discuss their candidacy. (That’s what we’re thinking now but we haven’t firmed up the final details yet.) Then after every candidate has been heard from, we’ll get questions in writing from the audience. All candidates will get an invitation by mail but if anyone wants to let me know if they can participate, you can e mail me at yonkstur@aol.com.

At first glance, it sounds interesting. But with 29 city council candidates on the ballot, I think the logistics, if not the time constraints will force the event to be less than thorough. Either that, or it could turn into a marathon of sorts.

When I watch a presidential debate, the thing is usually too constrained by time, so many important issues are either bypassed altogether, or shortchanged during the process. And that’s with only two candidates and a moderator.

But being that Sue Henry is involved, maybe the event can be pulled off in a somewhat cohesive manner packed into a reasonable timeframe. But I can’t imagine how.

Either way, The Yonkstur deserves a ton of credit for trying to provide a forum not only for the candidates, but for the voters of this city.

Maybe we should do this in a more localized manner. For instance, we could get the 7 candidates here in the Nord End together and pepper them with questions. Not the easy questions, mind you. The kind of questions that bloggers tend to ask.

I hope he pulls it off.

The latest from the electronic scrum we call the internet: A former congressional candidate turned blogger. Welcome to the er,…revolution?

The Independent, Conservative, Common Sense Oasis by Dr. Joe Leonardi

Go Joe!

I has me a question I‘d like to ask of both Steve Corbett and Kevin Lynn, who can’t stop railing against Lou Barletta.

Iffin’ what you say is true, that we as stupid, ignorant and ugly local yokels (yourselves excluded, of course) have no right to try to enforce the federal immigration laws that the feds are charged to, but refuse to enforce, would that also mean that if the feds refused to defend us from a military invasion that we also have no right to bear arms and defend ourselves?

The primarily responsibility of the Fedrule Govmint is to provide for our safety, our general welfare if you will. And by refusing to protect our borders, they are putting our safety at risk as cases of tuberculosis and leprosy pop up all over the map. But according to the bleeding heart Dynamic Duo, we are not within our rights to defend ourselves from that most illegal of invasions.

So, which is it? If Spetsnaz paratroopers suddenly appear out back and start shooting at me while Congress debates whether it’d be too mean-spirited or not to defend the country, am I a racist, a bigot and an exclusionary divider of people for doing what the feds ought to be doing?

Should I open fire? Or will I get sued for doing so by the ACLU and every other bed-wetter this side of San Franfreakshow?

V’ger wants to know.

This one is beautiful. A well-known and oft-ignored city activist recently reacted to a retiring politician promising to become an activist by whining that he is a “real” activist, not that phony baloney kind. And I quickly suggested that our “real” activist ought to “get over himself.”

And I meant it. What, is that a claim to fame, showing up at city council meetings and repeating the same tried gibberish to the point of utter absurdity? Will that win one a presidential pardon if need be? Will that get your name listed right before General Patton’s and right after George Washington’s on the Who‘s Who list of American heroes? Sorry, but if that’s your only claim to fame, incessantly haranguing people for headlines, in my book you’re right up there with the absolute best of the best Maureen McCormick impersonators.

Check this out.

From the e-mail inbox NO!---you should get over yourself.

Who do you think you are? You type sh*t in your basement while other people get out there and stand for something. I think it’s the only way you can make up for your mundane little life you asshole. I would not vote for you if you were the only asshole running.

Get a life!

First of all, I never, ever sought out a single vote from anyone and I never will. I’m not really sure what you’re mucking on about with that.

Secondly, I’m not sure how this stereotype about bloggers typing in the basement grew wobbly legs, but I’m here to tell you that my ‘pensive ‘puter gizmo is not down there. I’m not really sure what you’re mucking on about with that.

My mundane existence? Trust me on this, while I’ve been called many disparaging things over the years, no one has ever described me as being mundane or boring. In fact, I’d rather be anything other than boring.

I’d really hate to turn the tables on you (NOT!), but how was it that that Times Leader reporter described me? “An interesting guy in a mostly homogenized town.” So, according to a member of the local press, I’m not the boring one living the mundane life in this town.

Trust me, I’m just stupid enough, just smart enough and easily immature enough to make sure I have a really good time most of the time. When it comes to having fun, I am the Master Exploder.

Just watch and see…

Now, piss off!

Later y’all