Capitol news........

The Patriot-News always has a little column in the daily paper called "Inside The Capitol", which has a little piece in it called "Heard On The Hill" which is usually a little quote from someone official in the Capitol. Yesterday's "Heard On The Hill" was a quote from the Gov's Press Secretary, Chuck Ardo: "LED (lights) would cost approximately $1,800....and is thus cost prohibitive. However, the governor's energy plan will help ensure that the cost of lighting every Christmas tree and menorah in Pennsylvania will cost less in the future." Apparently Chuck was asked about why the Capitol Christmas tree will not be decorated with the energy-efficient lights now available.

What, we can't afford $1,800 for LED Christmas lights now? Come on Governor, surely you can find $1,800 somewhere to buy the new lights? Jeez Louise. And the Gov has this really great-sounding energy plan that he is pushing and he can't decorate the state tree with LED lights? How ridiculous is that?? Aaaargh!!


Meanwhile.......
PA House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese's ousted top aide gets a new job. Isn't that great? (snark) I knew he would find a lobbying job somewhere. It always seems that these ousted political people get hired by lobbying concerns. Triad Strategies, one of the capital's leading lobbying and image-making firms gave him a great job - senior associate in the firm's communications practice. He'll be making as much or more than he was making in DeWeese's office. So are the other ousted staffers going to get nice new jobs too? We'll see.

DeWeese and Co. are still not out of the woods yet with this legislative staff doing campaign work on OUR dime scandal. I bet this scandal will grow and there will be more Dem wrongdoings with that, AND, when State Attorney General Tom Corbett looks more closely at the Republican side in this scandal he'll find this mess on their side too. I think the Attorney General should also look at the campaigns in 2004. There was a lot of that going on in 2004. I know someone that was shipped to one of the counties surrounding Philly and that person worked in that county for 3 - 4 months leading up to that November 2004 election. I have a lot of friends working with the state, and I hear lots of things.

You know, if all the residents of Pennsylvania just hear HALF of what all goes on in the state capitol, they would vote them all out in the next election. ALL of them. If you think for one minute that our elected state representatives are there working for us, you've got another thing coming. Just ask State Senator Mary Jo(I love mercury and polluters) White (R-21st). Her district leads the state in mercury levels, and she wants to kill any and all bills to cut down on mercury pollution, and all pollution, and crack down on industrial polluters. I wonder if her constituents realize that she works exclusively for special interests in her district and not the health and welfare of her constituents. Jeez Louise!

Once in a blue moon (around re-election time) SOME state legislators will actually do something for us working stiffs in Pennsylvania. Everyone should take a really good look at their state reps and their records to see what have they done for US lately?