Let's all rally to support LOU for Congress!

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Let's all rally to support LOU for Congress!

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Kathy Dobash

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Last-minute amendments could make city's 2010 budget work
By MIA LIGHT (Staff Writer)
Published: December 7, 2009

http://www.standardspeaker.com/news/last-minute-amendments-could-make-city-s-2010-budget-work-1.466790

I stopped in this budget meeting late that evening. I was not present for the whole meeting. When I sat down to observe I realized there was an interesting debate and exchange over approval of the city budget.

This is my opinion: The arguments were clearly to stall the budget process.

When Mayor Lou Barletta stated the bottom line:
"Place your ideas on a piece of paper. Stand up and defend it. We all have ideas in the shower." He continued and referred to the prepared budget as "not perfect". The members who showed opposition were challenged to suggest better solutions.

Bob Niles was very vocal to say: "Get it right." Then it was decided to go line by line.
One statement directed at the Mayor was by Councilman Niles: "Do it your way that is why we are in this mess."

At the beginning of this exchange Mayor Lou Barletta insisted there was no fluff in this budget.

He also stated: "For everyone that voted no, it is totally irresponsible."

A last minute amendment was considered. Let's wait and see if the city has a budget next week.

Posted 8 months ago #
harrison17
Wilkes-Barre
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Joined: Dec '09
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I fully intend to support Mayor Barletta for Congress. In fact, my LOU sign from the previous campaign went back up at the front of my house a couple weeks before he announced his decision to run again.

This race will be different than the last, though. There is already one announced challenger for the GOP nomination. In fact, one of the info links supplied by the LowerLuzerne member was from the website of Lou's challenger, Chris Paige.

I did some research on Chris Paige since I had never heard of him before. I uncovered some very interesting information. The public campaign finance websites verify that he contributed major cash (thousands of dollars) to the Hillary Clinton campaign in a couple of the quarters of her 2008 run for the White House. This bothers me considerably.

In November, a group that I meet with had Chris Paige address the group to talk about issues and answer questions. In short, our group was not impressed with the guy at all. He was very quick to make accusations against Mayor Barletta. He was rather condescending and came across as though he knew everything and was unteachable. As constitutionalists who believe in returning the federal government to its proper role, we disagreed with Mr. Paige on several issues.

On education, for example, we do not believe the federal government has any constitutional authority to have involvement in education, whereas Mr. Paige believes the government should be involved. On immigration, we are quite frustrated at the federal government's refusal to enforce the laws on illegal entry into this country, but Mr. Paige promoted a "path" to legality for illegals. On the Fed, we are fully behind the effort to audit the Fed so that we and the Congress can have full knowledge of the goings on at the Fed. Mr. Paige feels that there are some matters at the Fed where we just have to trust them and that Congress shouldn't be in the business of running the economy. In other words, he sees no need for transparency and accountability. Sounds like he would fit right in with those being nailed for corruption in Luzerne County. This candidate is at the other end of the spectrum of constitutional government from what we can tell.

In that meeting, we also asked Mr. Paige about his contributions to Hillary's campaign. He admitted making the contributions and stated very clearly that he makes no apology for having made them. He explained that he was a Democrat at the time and felt that between the two candidates -- Obama and Hillary -- he thought she was the better of the two. He also explained that he made the switch to the GOP because, for one, he is a businessman. He did not elaborate on how that translates into the GOP being the better party. He also stated that he and his wife were trying to have a family and that the GOP was more in line with their goals. Again, not much elaboration was given, so we are left guessing as to what his real motivation are for switching to the GOP.

What I find hard to believe is that Mr. Paige can switch his entire political philosophy enough to appeal to mainstream and conservative Republicans in such a short period of time. How is it that a liberal candidate, such as Hillary who has no respect for our Constitution and the rule of law, would inspire Mr. Paige in spring and summer 2008 sufficiently that he would contribute thousands of dollars to her campaign, and not even a year later he is bashing a conservative candidate like Mr. Barletta and hoping to appeal to conservatives to elect him as an acceptable alternate?

I'll tell you this: the only alternative I would want to Lou Barletta would be someone who is MORE conservative than Lou, not less, and definitely not more like Kanjorski. Not only is it an insult to my intelligence that Mr. Paige thinks he is an acceptable alternative to Lou, but I suspect Mr. Paige is at heart still a liberal democrat, and I further suspect that he has been planted in the GOP to drain funds and energy from Mr. Barletta so he has less of a chance at defeating Kanjorski in the fall.

While I don't see Mr. Barletta as the perfect candidate, he is definitely closer to the Constitution than either Mr. Kanjorski or Mr. Paige. In fact, if the truth could be fully known, I'd be willing to wager that Mr. Paige is closer politically and philosophically to Mr. Kanjorski than Mr. Barletta.

Lastly, at a fund-raising event for Mr. Barletta during his last campaign, I presented Lou with some constitutional/conservative materials. In response, he looked me straight in the eye and stated very firmly, "Thank you. I WILL read them." I took the mayor at his word, and I have no reason to doubt that he would read them. It seemed to me that he is teachable. As a Congressman, he works for us and not the other way around. Mr. Paige does not come across this way. He appears to be unteachable.

BTW, we had another candidate at that November meeting who is running for the statehouse as a representative. He responded to one question we asked him by saying, "I'm not familiar with that issue. Would you tell me about it?" After a brief explanation, he stated, "If it is as you say it is, I would have to oppose it." This is an example of someone who is teachable. He will listen to his constituents if elected. Mr. Paige doesn't strike me as someone who will listen, but will tell you what's what and will do what he wants in the Congress or do what the major arm-twisters tell him. We've already had enough of that. We want something better.

Michael Harrison
http://www.NEPALiberty.com

Posted 8 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 237
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Michael,
in desperation for his own political gain the Mayor is proposing to sell a major asset, the Water Authority,http://www.standardspeaker.com/news/authority-board-has-questions-on-mayor-s-plan-1.495880 as you will read in this article all the money the authority makes goes back into the system, unlike when a private company, one in which the Mayor wont say who might buy it, will it be the China, Japan, Iran, we dont know. but when a private company or entity purchases it they have investors and overhead to pay, that equates to higher rates for citizens both IN and OUTSIDE the city, now the Mayors spin doctors will tell you how it will save the city, but all it does is switch one tax, property with another higher water bills.

As far as his financial abilities here is a good article to read http://www.standardspeaker.com/news/barletta-to-unveil-economic-plan-today-1.493524 what you get from this CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN is 70% increase in property taxes, 18% increase in earned income tax, and a 6% increase in garbage fees, the garbage fee is a story in itself, you see the Mayor allowed people to go without paying their fees until almost a MILLION dollars were owed to the City, why allowed it to go for so long? why does he allow a crisis to happen before he takes control? incompetence? after all this is where the city is financially, http://www.standardspeaker.com/news/barletta-plan-for-city-sell-water-authority-build-solar-power-plant-1.495234 Millions in debt, now remember the Mayor has been in office over 10 years, the outcome is HIS so..............

you can say Mr Paige isnt what you want, but i know what Barletta is, a failure. so NO he cant be teachable as you say, what he could be, is sent down the road packing.....

Please keep an open mind. and if in the end the Mayor is not succesful for Congress and you still are impressed with him as an elected official, please do the right thing, MOVE to Hazleton, he could be your Mayor, he isnt mine.

thanks

Posted 8 months ago #
harrison17
Wilkes-Barre
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Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 11
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We've extended and invitation to the mayor to attend our meeting and answer questions. I'll see what he says about these management issues.

In the end, if I find that I cannot support him, I will most definitely not be supporting Mr. Paige. I would rather support a third party candidate in that case.

Michael

Posted 8 months ago #
WHRisch Jr
Berwick, PA
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Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 5
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Hmmm, if I had to bet, I am going to take a wild guess here and say that Mr "lowerluzerne" is Mr Paige or is working for him. It would make sense for all of his Lou bashing at least. Of course I could totally be wrong but that is my hunch?

Posted 8 months ago #
Kathy Dobash

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 931
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WHRisch,
Lower Luzerne is Dee Deakos. She is very clear that she does not support Lou Barletta.
It is not a big secret.

You can reply to her commentary. I must work on my art and try to earn an income!

I wish she would just start her own blog topics.
I have recommended she use her own name.

This will never happen.

Make your statement loud and clear everywhere with your real name.
I do not respond to it with a serious effort.

Some of this is entertainment for those who choose anonymity.

Why be afraid to hide behind a false name?

Competition and discussion of issues can be good. I believe in the process to debate. The Primary election will be interesting.

Let's have challengers for all the positions for the 2010 vote!
I say this for all the positions. This is the election process.

Posted 8 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 237
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here is another interesting story reported in the Times Leader today, is this a fiscal conservative? http://www.timesleader.com/news/Hazleton-agrees-to-repay-.html
why is it so wrong to bring counter thoughts and factual stories to this site, or is it just PRO BARLETTA? what my comments show are a trend of his inability to run government, and if i am correct we ALL believe Washington is out of control when it comes to being fiscally responsible!
WH, i do not work for Mr Paige nor do i know him personally, who i do know is Mayor Barletta and his record, if you would take the time and read the accurate news articles you can form your own opinion of Mayor Lou's shortcomings are.

Do your homework before endorsing anyone, i am not trying to preach to you but just giving advice ......

thanks.

Posted 8 months ago #
Kathy Dobash

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 931
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Dee Deakos:

A very Merry Christmas and all of those lovely holiday greetings to you.

Posted 8 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 237
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it just doesnt end for the Mayor and his bad decisions. Read this interesting story,
http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Press/WagnerRecoversForHazletonPoliceFirefighterPens.html
"The city never challenged the part of the audit finding regarding leave buybacks. In an agreement signed by the parties on Dec. 17, 2009, the city agreed to discontinue its court case and repay $176,648 into its police and firefighters pension plans by making monthly payments for the next four years." tell me how many police would that have paid for? did he ask council what they thought when he did this? NO, he has brought this city to its knees and now wants to skip town!

Posted 8 months ago #
WHRisch Jr
Berwick, PA
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Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 5
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It seems as though the city of Hazleton had no other further choice after the recent legislation passed to limit this type of practice but to drop their suit. But it seems to make obvious common sense to use use taxes intended for pensions, which is a post retirement use, to pay for post retirement health care costs. It seems to highlight the bigger problem of public pensions to begin with. Why don't they invest in retirement funds, plans or 401Ks like everyone else that is paying their salaries has to? Pension plans are not only killing budgets of local municipalities, boroughs and cities but they are set to cripple the Commonwealth very shortly too. Our State will soon be on the path of bankruptcy following CA & NY and others. Most economical philosophies fail to look to the future and the consequences. Both can't be stopped and will have to be dealt with in the future.

So if you hire more police with the money as you suggested, how much would they cost the public in the future? It becomes a liability to the community not only during his/her service but for the life of that retired individual as well. So to say you can spend $176K for what would seem to be a worthy idea for the public is only a huge entitlement on the future of the public.

And glad to hear you aren't working for Paige too

Posted 8 months ago #
Kathy Dobash

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 931
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I DO NOT BELIEVE MAYOR LOU BARLETTA IS SKIPPING OUT ON US!

There is extreme abuse with pension plans and WE all know how it works!

Some people are given jobs just to build their pensions. Criminals involved with the Kids for CASH scandal and others within organizations and school systems have used and abused the system. They do not deserve to keep their pensions.

Who keeps track of the local government employees and their accumulation of time?

This is good we have some conversation that appears to be civil in nature about these topics. I hope more join in on the conversation!
I am very busy.
I am working on many items. I hope more join in on this discussion!

Posted 8 months ago #
StacyVB
Philadelphia
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Joined: Dec '09
Posts: 13
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go Lou

Posted 8 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 237
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if who you hang out with says anything about you as an individual look at what the Mayor's supporter McGruff wrote about legislators missing votes,what he didnt do was his homework. there was a follow up story on this and just look why a majority of them missed votes.
https://owa.pahouse.net/owa/redir.aspx?C=32f16f8699d0475e82ebef593006fb1c&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pennlive.com%2fmidstate%2findex.ssf%2f2010%2f01%2fpennsylvania_lawmakers_miss_vo.html

it goes on to say that TWOof them were in Iraq fighting for our Country, one was with his young child that died from cancer, one of them actually was battling cancer himself, then we had some that had surgery's, and the reasons go on and on.

so what is the point, the point is do your own research, dont take what you read to be factual, i can not believe Bareltta's supporters would go to this extent to try to show up Eachus, who we all know he doesn't like, but WAIT, Eachus wasn't on the list, he actually was doing what we sent him to Harrisburg to do, WORK>

Posted 7 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
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i was browsing the web and came across this blog. http://pennsylvaniaprogressive.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/barletta-campai.html
another example of Barletta's spokesperson doing what they do, mislead.
when will this be resolved, do you know?

Posted 7 months ago #
Kathy Dobash

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 931
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I do not have information about the issue in your last statement.
I cannot answer your question.
Ask those involved.
Here is an older item but it raises questions about our Majority House leader.
http://sightonpennsylvania.blogspot.com/2009/08/iis-it-time-for-todd-eachus-to-resign.html

We now have a broad breakdown of budget items.
Line by line can we defend these so called:"Special Leadership Accounts"
I would like some accountability from Representative Todd Eachus in regard to his "Special Leadership account" It contains millions!

Posted 7 months ago #
lowerluzerne

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Joined: Aug '09
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lmao, you say you have no information yet you follow this Mayor blindly? read the article, it will show you how 2 of the reps served in Iraq!!!!! would you blame them for missing votes for that reason?

if i was like you i would say, ask Eachus about those accounts.

Posted 7 months ago #
Kathy Dobash

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 931
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Hello!
It is time to go to sleep!
I am asking about that budget stuff!
Anyway..let me know when you are switching parties again.
I will let you know times and meeting locations.
Are you going to run for a city or county office?

LOL Why not claim yourself as a representative of a 3rd party?
;^)
Maybe your whole purpose is just to bring issues to the front page.
Do you go to meetings for furthur public political awareness and discussion?
Are you thinking of a run for public office?
I am wondering what your intentions really represent?

Of course you do not blame people for missing votes when it is impossible situations.
Hey ...I never said I had a problem about it.

Sweet dreams.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Tomorrow is another day.

Posted 7 months ago #