Archive for December, 2006

I suppose, I should laugh. The thought of Bill DeWeese being blindsided and not being elected speaker, despite theoretically leading the majority party in the Pennsylvania house is wildly entertaining.

But, despite today’s defection of Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone of Berks County,  who wrote a letter to the rest of the Democratic caucus telling them he would rather support Republican John Perzel for speaker than DeWeese, I’m not sure this game is over. I’ve been hearing reports since almost election day that a GOP legislator had been tabbed to flip for the Democrats under pressure from Ed Rendell.

How sweet would it be for DeWeese to own his speakership to Rendell, as the two hate each other? Or, alternately, watch DeWeese get flushed down the toilet.

Caltagirone, who plans to stay in the Democratic Party, was clear that the thug-like behavior of the Democratic leadership, DeWeese in particular, was the reason he decided to back Perzel.

"I have become increasingly distressed over the years with the manner in which our Democratic leaders have conducted the business of the caucus," he wrote his colleagues.

"The leaders of our caucus have shown little regard for many members of the caucus, the constituents they represent, and the legislative initiatives we should be supporting," he said in the letter. "Instead, they have operated the caucus as a personal fiefdom, promoting their own personal and political ambitions behind a wall of secrecy and petty personal vindictiveness."

Let me be the first to step up and buy Tom Caltagirone a beer for telling it like it is. I can think of a half-dozen Democratic state reps who would have every right to vote against DeWeese but this guy stood up for it. He’s completely right. Bill DeWeese embarrasses me to be a Democrat and every day we keep him in leadership reflects more poorly on us than him. We need to purge the party of these corrupt, immoral hacks and truly become a party of reform, whether it be locally, in our county party or on the state level. When the national party leadership is less morally challenged than local and statewide leadership you know we have a big, big problem.

As Democrats, I ask you to stand up in support of Caltagirone and help to lead the fight to give us party leadership we all can be proud of. This is a rare opportunity for us, finally, to unshackle this party from corrupt and inept leaders and start making progress.

One of the worst things about being a politician is that you can’t say things that are potentially unpopular. But as a father and a journalist, I have to say, booster seat rules that require any kid under 4-9 to use such a seat are nuts. Sure, both of my kids still use booster seats and thankfully, they don’t put up much of a fight. Maybe that will still be the case in a couple more years. Maybe.

But let me make two points on this issue: since there are a large number of adults who are under 4-10, does this mean that they need booster seats and that cars are highly dangerous for them to ride in? Second, living in a state where Graco, one of the top makers of car seats, pushed hard for the changes to require car seats until age 8 (which other states followed, sheep-like), how much of this zeal for safety is really more corporate welfare requiring you to buy car seats? There are simpler, seat-belt based options that test out roughly just as safe as the booster seats do — at less expense and with other, serious benefits.

Let us consider the long-term impacts on such decisions: car seats mean less space, less car-pooling (it’s a nightmare to work out ride sharing now for kids under age eight) and bigger cars. That means more CO emissions, more global warming and maybe, millions of deaths from flooding, starvation and so on in the third world in exchange for a minimal safety benefit here in Pennsylvania. As cars get stronger and safer, it’s impossible to completely determine how much these booster seats truly make any kid safer.

Sure, some twit will say (in a high nasal voice and while wearing a cheap Sears suit): "McGann Wants Your Kid to Die!" or "McGann hates children!"

Obviously, I don’t want your kid to die. But the Republican Mommy-State needs to go back in the kitchen and bake some cookies and leave the rest of us the hell alone. At what price safety? Kids would be really safe if we required them to sit in their cribs until they were eight, too. But then, they’d be not dying, as opposed to living. There’s a balance to be found. Require car seats to age 4? Sure. Beyond that, though, the tradeoffs have to be considered.

And if you’re not already offended, here’s a link to a piece on my other site that mentions video games, serial killers, strip clubs and prostitutes and no, it’s not about Harrisburg, either.

I’m ready to announce a new member of the Brandywine New Media family: TekTruth.com.

As some of you may know, I spent a decade writing about technology, particularly home theater, and have decided to get back into the business as my own boss. Although site development was slowed by illness (which, thank God, seems finally to be once and for all on the run) I was hoping to get things up and running by year’s end and the big annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (where barring an act of God, I will not be at) and some how managed to do so.

If you appreciate my unique sense of humor, you might enjoy the long-form history of Home Theater, some 5,500 words of wit (allegedly) mixed with actual facts. Please check it out and let me know what you think, by signing up for the forums on the site.

Also, as the comments section of this site have been dominated by spam — I’m going to lock down comments and ask people to make their comments on the IHateItAll.com forums — which allow for comment on a whole range of political, social and pop culture subjects.

Finally, I have to share this shot of my stepson Eddy Foster with Gov. Mark Warner from this past weekend — a man a lot of people think will be the Vice Presidential Democratic nominee in 2008. Eddy, now a freshman at the University of Vermont, has come a long way from his days as a kid helping out on campaigns — and really came into his own running the volunteer and literature operation for my 2004 campaign. Since then, he’s moved on to a number of posts with first the Chester County Young Democrats and ultimately, the National Young Democrats.

Like any teenager, there are still times will want to smack Eddy in the head, but you have to be pretty proud of everything he’s already accomplished. He’s a good kid and has a bright future — and I have to say I’m proud of whatever small role I might have had in his choosing this path.

Yesterday, I enjoyed a delightful break from the world of coding and writing to attend the wedding of Stephanie Beemer and Dave McLimans — a Chester County political power couple if ever there was one. As you may know, Beemer has been the primary aide to Sen. Andy Dinniman for years, going back to his days as Chester County Commissioner and McLimans is head of the county AFL-CIO council.

And both are good people, with whom I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of campaigns. I wish them nothing but happiness and joy in their lives together.

And of course, the wedding was spendid — taking place in courtroom 1 of the county courthouse, the large, historical space that just seems to come alive with it’s interesting detailed past.

Of course, the reception, which seemed to have the movers and shakers of the Democratic Party, turned quietly into a confab, as alliances were discussed for the upcoming county commission races in 2007. Now, obviously, I won’t be running for anything myself but it should be an interesting process to watch — and might just be enough to get me back involved, if the right candidate feels a need for my help (obviously, I’m not holding my breath).

Another interesting topic of discussion was Lois Murphy. It would seem my caustic take on her race was not exactly out of the mainstream of party thinking — at least those not in party leadership positions. There was a tangible anger in the room about both Murphy’s effort and how she dealt with people in Chester County. I think it is safe to say that should Murphy attempt to run for a third time, the Democrats in Chester County will be surprisingly united in opposition — and could put forward their own candidate. If Murphy is smart, and for all her political failings, I think she is, she’ll read the writing on the wall and bow out gracefully.