Jim Matthews Declares That History Began in 1999

This version is the best yet...Jim quotes history then re-writes it a half hour later.

Keep 'em coming, pawatercooler...they're brilliant!



Enjoy!

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Another Insane Rambling From the Commish

Jim Matthews is starting to sound like he's losing it...his delusional comments about Barry Miller in this next clip are proof positive that his elevator isn't reaching the 8th floor at One Montgomery...

Thanks again to pawatercooler.com (visit this link often) for providing yet another video in the series.

Enjoy:


By the way...Jim mentioned that Barry did a "yeoman's job" as his solicitor previously...I looked up yeoman on wikipedia.com and found this:

1 A member of the Yeomanry (a division of the British Territorial Army).
2 A member of the Yeomen of the Guard or Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London.
3 A small prosperous farmer (16th to 17th C.)
4 A freeborn servant in a noble or royal household (12th to 15th C.) ed note: how funny this one fits so well...King James III sure can pick 'em!
5 A deputy, assistant, journeyman, a loyal or faithful servant.

Hey, he said it, not me.

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House Rejects Proposal to Eliminate School Property Tax

I have to admit...I'm confused. On one hand, we pay no property tax, but just a wee bit more in sales and income tax, benefiting retired and fixed-income households. Harrisburg then doles out the money to each and every school district equally (yeah, right). School districts can still impose an EIT to cover construction of new buildings, repairs and the like. On the other hand, 100% of our property tax dollars stay in our school district...Sounds like this tax reform bill is alot like act 72 and act 1. I'll pay my taxes, thank you.

Read on.

B.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- State Rep. Sam Rohrer failed overwhelmingly today in his bid to radically reshape Pennsylvania's system of funding public education.

The House voted down, by a margin of 148-47, a proposal by the Berks County Republican to eliminate the current $10 billion in school property taxes and replace it with a higher personal income tax and by extending the 6 percent sales tax to many more professional services and products that are now exempt.

Mr. Rohrer argued, unsuccessfully, that Pennsylvania homeowners want a complete elimination of property taxes, not a partial reduction of several hundred dollars that will be done by using slots revenue and perhaps a modest increase in either sales or income taxes.

Since caskets and child care services would have been among the many items subject to the sales tax under Mr. Rohrer's plan, Rep. David Levdansky, D-Forward, said, "That plan would tax everything from day care to death.''

(editors note: that sounds like cradle to grave government interference in our lives)

Two other plans to reduce property taxes -- rather than completely eliminating them -- may be discussed in the House later today. Mr. Levdansky wants to increase the personal income tax rate to 3.29 percent from the current 3.07 rate and also increase the state sales tax by 0.5 percent. He would like to see that money used to reduce property taxes.

House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese of Waynesburg just wants to increase the sales tax by 0.5 percent.

The House is trying to complete action on some type of property tax relief before the end of January and send it over to the Senate.

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McCain Takes Florida

Looks like Guiliani's strategy paid off...for John McCain!

Read about it here.

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This is Priceless!

Ken Davis is quoted in today's Times Herald concerning the filling of empty committee seats:



“We want people who will work,” said Davis, describing what he seeks in a committee person.

What Ken soon forgets is that he appointed a multitude of these committee people, who's involvement has been nothing more than a vote on convention night. He also invoked what he called "chairman's prerogative" and allowed people who received as little as 1 write-in vote to become committee people (the standard minimum has always been 10 votes)

“These are our foot soldiers on which we have to rely if we, as a party, and our candidates want to succeed,” said county GOP Chairman Ken Davis.

Read: "I need more votes 'cause I just don't have the support now"

To read more about this and other goings-on, click here.
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The Creation of a Soon to Be Frustrated Blogger...

...0r, "How to Become a Republican Activist in just 21 Short Years!"

Part One:

I haven't always been a Republican...wait-let me rephrase that. I haven't always known I was a Republican.

It has been a journey that has taken me quite some time to realize.

You see, when I turned 18 ( in 1982) and was eligible to vote, I asked my dad, "are you a Republican or a democrat".

Dad answered that he was a democrat (for the record, my mom is a lifelong Republican). Being the good son that I am, I checked the "d" box.

I remember thinking...now what? I received my registration card and forgot about it.

Election day rolled around and If I recall correctly (I'm getting old, you know), Mom asked me if I wanted to go and vote. I was excited to vote for the first time and gladly went along. I, being uninformed about the candidates and issues, asked Mom who I should vote for. She replied that I should "vote my conscience".

I went into the booth and clicked off the levers on the machine as follows: one from the right, one from the left...right, left, right, left...and so on. I have no clue to this day whoi ran and who won. But, I voted! Yay!

I can only remember one democrat on the ballot back then who I voted for...Mom asked me to vote for Bob Borsky because he had helped her and a group of concerned parents during the 1980 Philadelphia School strike.

Scoot forward to 1986. I am a working man and have been toiling in my chosen career, printing, for a few years now. I am a taxpayer, and have recently moved out of my home and gotten married (for the first time...the "practice marriage".) I discovered talk radio, listening along with my co-workers to WWDB, and, in particular, Irv Homer...The Philadelphia area's premiere Libertarian. Needless to say, I caught the bug.

I was soon to re-register as a big "L" Libertarian.

check back for part 2 of this multi-part series soon!

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King James III, Part 3

I glommed this off of PA Watercooler...it's the third in a series of (?) audio clips with commentary.

Click here to see the video

I couldn't write stuff this priceless...Keep talking, commissioner. Keep talking.

B.
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It Just Keeps Getting Better!

Does the Hoeffel/Matthews administration take us for fools? Are we to believe that Joe Hoeffel didn't have an agenda and now an accomplice in Jim Matthews? Are we not allowed to question their "authority" when they seemingly makes decision that (only) they deem are for "the good of the county"? And all the while pushing the democratic agenda laid out by Joe and Ruth during their campaign? Are we supposed to stand idly by and let the county go to pot?

Oh, I get it....when the other side is watching us, they're "watchdogs" and it's a good thing. When it's us watching them, we're mucking up the works and standing in the way of "progress". Joe Hoeffel had the audacity to say (quoted in today's Times Herald"... "let’s not have you (Bruce Castor) just take shots at everything that is going on.”

What does he expect, that good solid Republican government has left the county seat just because Jim Matthews is no longer a Republican? Get real. I expect this from Commissioner Castor...this is what we elected him to do–to make sure that good, Republican government continues it's over 130 year tradition in Montgomery County.

A word of advice to the two democratic commissioners...when you mess with a watchdog, expect to get bitten!

B.

Read the full story by clicking on the link below:

http://www.timesherald.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily;jsessionid=KmLTHdkMgh3GJrJ2FG2PXMvCLLBHh3w8bqyh3F4lFgyyrJvLDB1M!-1055107857?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FNTH%2FHome&r21.content=%2FNTH%2FHome%2FTopStoryList_Story_1486695 Read Full Text/Comments

Justice For Maureen Faulkner? Finally?

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals is very close to a decision as to whether or not:

"Were the jury instructions confusing?"

"Was the trial judge biased in a later hearing?"

"In addressing the jury, did the prosecutor downplay the likelihood of a capital sentence's ever being carried out?"

"And - a key contention in Abu-Jamal's appeals - were African Americans purposely excluded from the jury?" (items in quotes are taken directly from the news article)

Read the latest in the saga of Fallen Hero, Daniel Faulkner and his widow, Maureen:

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080127_Ruling_near_on_Abu-Jamal_jury.html

Here's to holding on to a thread of hope that this piece of garbage gets his death sentence reinstated and carried out as swiftly as possible.

God Bless the Faulkner family and their close-knit "family" of supporters.

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The Further Ramblings of our Beloved Jim Matthews

Click on the link below...this is priceless!

http://pawatercooler.com/?p=3288

ENJOY!!!!!!

(I did!)

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A Common Misconception

It's Sunday afternoon and my son is entertaining several friends for his 12th birthday party. They're having a blast with their video game "tournament" and have just finished eating pizza and junk food. Needless to say, they are either getting ready to crash hard or, bounce off the walls.

During the pizza phase, the "Chuck Norris" jokes started flying and out came my son's 4 page list of "Norris-isms". One of his friends started telling one about Chuck Norris and President Bush, but prefaced it by saying that he "knows we support Bush, but...".

This is from an 11 year old. His parents are very liberal democrats. They know my political affiliation as I ran for office locally last year. I am a Republican, and proud of it.. The idea that we were Bush supporters just because we are Republicans had to come from somewhere.

This is the pre-conception that most liberals seem to have toward Republicans, whether in local races or national races...that our entire party is defined by the actions of one person, namely, our President, George W. Bush.

They couldn't be farther from the truth. To say that we are defined as a party because of who our leaders are is preposterous. We are defined by our principles, our religious beliefs, by our community service, by our patriotism and by our traditional family values.

Now, don't get me wrong...I voted for a Bush 4 times, twice for his father and twice for "Dub'ya". I also voted for Bob Dole. I didn't vote for Bush because he was George Bush, I voted for him because he is a Republican and, as a Republican, could not get behind any of the other presidential candidates fielded to me in the general elections. I supported our presidents during times of national crisis and did not support some of the issues that they gave to us, such as Bush Sr. raising taxes after promising not to, and Dub'ya's immigration policies.

I also supported Jim Matthews, before he became a democrat and gave away the courthouse.

I do not know who I like for president, as the race for the Republican nomination is far too watered down right now to commit myself to any one candidate. I do, however know this....I will support a Republican in November.

I wish people would understand and respect that I support Republicans because I am a Republican, not because of what their name is. It is because of their values, which, in most cases, match my own values.

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Silence Loud in GOP Ranks

(from Sunday's Times Herald)

By MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff

I know Republicans like to invoke the late former president Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment — Thou shalt not speak evil about any Republican.

However, even rank-and-file GOPers who busted their butts in last November’s elections are still waiting for their leadership’s thoughts on Republican Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairman James R. Matthews’s power-sharing pact with new Democratic county Commissioner Joseph M. Hoeffel III.

Hoping that their leaders could change things, these GOPers did not demand explanations or condemnations after the pact was first announced last month.

But now it is a done deal and still the silence persists. At best, the foot soldiers get a wormy little “what’s done is done, let’s concentrate on this year’s elections.”


Seems to me it would be rather hard to energize your workers when your leaders just give away the fruits of their efforts. But, hey, what does a mere mortal know about the machinations of political minds? Read Full Text/Comments

The End of the Season.

Most people think of this as the beginning of the political season, and that it is. The excitement builds, starting with the petitioning process, moving forward to the primary election, culminating with the re-organization of our respective political committees and the MCRC re-org.

I do agree that these things still excite me, but I must confess, I'm a bit depressed as well.

You see, when political season began this year, it coincided with the end of the late PA deer hunting season. And, in particular, this year I got skunked!

I have been both lucky and proud of the fact that I have been able to provide my family (and my extended family) with venison for their freezers for the past 8-10 years, with the only exceptions being when family crisis prevented me from hunting. This year, I've had to rely on the kindness of friends to fill my freezer. And I had awfully high hopes, buying a total of 6 doe tags in addition to my regular hunting license. You see, I had high expectations for myself. And I hunted alot. The deer just weren't where I was.

Which brings me back to politics. Our committee had their first meeting today. One thing that was not on the agenda was any discussion of the county issues and how the political fallout would effect local fund-raising, involvement and registration. The truth be told, the only time it was brought up, the subject was quickly changed and discussion turned to "moving forward" the buzz phrase that Ken Davis has been so eloquently repeating when asked of his opinion about the Matthews situation. Nobody was interested in anything except how to move forward.

Well, I, for one, disagree that we need to push this under the carpet and just "move forward". I had high hopes for a Republican courthouse, and those hopes were dashed to the rocks by the traitorous decisions made by Jim Matthews, who we all helped get re-elected, when he gave Joe Hoeffel the keys to the courthouse.

Discussion is important, and this needs to be aired out before any "moving forward" can happen.

Back to deer season. I've been hunting the same ground for years. After about 8 years of trudging my sorry behind through the same woods, sitting in the same spot, essentially repeating past performances, do you think that maybe the deer might have learned something...that unless they changed their ways, they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes year after year...and wind up in my freezer.

The deer are gone from where I hunt because they learned from past mistakes. We should be so lucky to learn from ours. Read Full Text/Comments

The Ramblings of a Misguided Commissioner

Our friends at pawatercooler.com have posted an interesting sound byte...Jimm Matthews was interviewed on Lansdale WNPV 1440, and this is just a snippet of what he said about our District Attorney's hard fought landslide victory.

You can't get any better than straight from the horses mouth.

Click on the title to link to the page.

If you listen closely, doesn't Jim sound alot like Governor Rendell?

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Tony Phyrillas is 2 for 2 today

Click on the title to see the latest Phyrillas post. Matthews is taking a well-deserved beating.

Is it just me or does Jim appear to be losing his hair?

(Photo borrowed from Tony's blog)

B.

http://tonyphyrillas.blogspot.com Read Full Text/Comments

Tony Phyrillas is my Hero

Click on the title to link to Tony's blog.

(Tony's blog is what inspired me to start mine.)

Thanks, Tony! Keep up the great work.

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A new spin on things

A must-read from today's Inquirer.

This explains a lot. Jim is now looking to bend an ear or two after 3 weeks (or better) of silence.

We get ya, Jim...you miss us!

I, for one, sure don't miss you.

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Keeping Promises

One of the toughest things I've had to do as a parent is to make time to keep the promises I make to my children. I make a lot of promises, mostly to spend time with them. I break those promises now and again.

I've never really understood their disappointment with me until recently. You see, my parents always said either "no", or "we'll see". "Maybe", too.

One of the biggest disappointments of my adult life is the one that was just handed to the Republican voters in Montgomery County on January 7th of this year, when Jim Matthews gave the keys to the courthouse to Joe Hoeffel, a democrat.

His reasoning for this was laid out to us with several explanations leading up to the 7th, but afterward, just laid it on the line...he just plain hates Bruce Castor.

Now, nobody has to like everybody, contrary to liberal, feel-good political correctness, but lets get real...Jim Matthews threw the baby out with the bathwater. Jim's blatant disregard for the rank and file committee person, voter, and constituent is downright egregious.

Hence my bitter disappointment. Oh, how my kids must feel when I let them down.

Well, time will tell if Jim's misdeeds are going to be the end, as the naysayers are wont to say, of the Republican Party in Montgomery County.

To paraphrase a famous quote, we haven't yet begun to fight.

And, from now on, I guess I 'll have to just say "we'll see"...or "maybe"...or, just say "no".

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I'm a Republican...

...and proud of it.

I'm not only a Republican, I'm a conservative, right-wing, anti-abortion, pro-death penalty, pro-family gun-totin' NRA -Ducks Unlimited-PA hunting license-card carrying Republican.

I just wanted to get that out in the open after my welcome post, so there are no real issues with how you may perceive my opinions.

Have a great day.

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Welcome to Writemarsh!

Welcome to my blog.

I am new to this and will grow with the success of this forum, I'm sure. What you will get from this is my opinions, right or wrong. What I will get from you is your opinion, right or wrong.

Remember, this is for fun! Opinions are like arses...everyone's got one and most of them stink, now and then.

So, lets have a blast and keep it clean!

B.
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