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Mar
2
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John Perzel has a big ol’ op-ed in this week’s Northeast Times. It’s about his opposition to the privatization of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Perzel’s plan is to tax commercial vehicles who fill-up in New Jersey and travel through Pennsylvania on the way to Ohio. Yes, this will most certainly work. But Perzel has another reason to not lease the turnpike: Foreign companies might buy it, and that’s an affront to everyone who died on 9/11.
I am not making this up. Emphasis mine:
But there’s an even larger risk as the governor actively seeks foreign investors.
The east-west turnpike that connects Pittsburgh and Philadelphia also serves to connect the rest of the state with interlocking state and interstate federal highways that are crucial in an emergency, as well as for transportation of military cargo from Pennsylvania’s military supply depots to the Port of Philadelphia and beyond.
Do we really want the major highway used by our military and the state police controlled by foreign interests who have no stake in Pennsylvania’s security? [...]
Foreign control of our roads is a frightening prospect in our post-9/11 America, and not a route Pennsylvanians should travel.
Yes! The workers who currently staff the turnpike will suddenly transform to communislamofascists when some Australian company buys the road! Thanks for protecting us, John Perzel!
Don’t lease the turnpike to foreign investors [Northeast Times]
Dec. 6, 2006: East India Turnpike Company?
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dmac | 1:35 PM | 0 Comments
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Feb
20
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An article in Sunday’s Inquirer detailed the disturbing Flash animation found on the taxpayer-funded state House Republican Caucus website. Oh, did I write “disturbing”? I meant “unintentionally hilarious.”
The animation, which you can view here, plays “Gonna Fly Now” — and I’m sure the state got all the proper licenses for that song, too! — and shows John Perzel jogging down the street. Only it’s not John Perzel, it’s Undead John Perzel, as his eyes are rolled completely up into the back of his head. (I assume The Undertaker taught him how to do it.)
After handing a “no taxes” paper to a cartoon couple, a totally jacked Undead Perzel weighs in. He’s followed by Ed “Fat Cat” Rendell — really, that’s how he’s labeled — who breaks the scale. Now, Hallwatch.org doesn’t include weight — come on, Goppelt! — but … oh, come on! John Perzel’s not in any great shape either. It’s as if Horatio Sanz were making fun of Butterbean for his weight.
Anyway, the two then proceed to fight — Undead Perzel has Arnold Schwarzenegger in his corner, inexplicably, while Rendell has John Kerry — and Undead Perzel wins the fight and rips up Rendell’s “higher taxes” proposal.
There’s no real explanation as to what this cartoon is actually trying to campaign for; Undead Perzel doesn’t face Rendell in any elections. After the Inquirer asked about the material, it was taken off the state GOP website and everyone apologized for wasting our money or something.
Me, I don’t really care. There’s only one thing our goverment does well, and that’s humor. You can’t get this kind of humor from the private sector. Really. Who but the government could come up with Undead John Perzel?
Watch the ad here
A tangled web at State House [Inquirer]
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dmac | 9:30 AM | 1 Comment
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Jan
3
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Ahh! That photo at right — the one where the guy is ready to eat your soul — is one Dennis M. O’Brien, who was elected Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania yesterday. Before the vote, John Perzel was expected to keep his position as Speaker since one Democrat planned to vote for him and the Dems only had a one-vote margin in the house.
But Democrats came up with a better plan: Bill DeWeese — who was in line to be speaker had one of his party not pledged to vote for Perzel — and Dwight Evans asked O’Brien if he’d be willing to become speaker but let Democrats lead the committees.
During yesterday’s raucous nomination process, O’Brien even sat with his son on his lap. (Clearly, this man is a lifelong politician. And what a surprise: He was first elected to State House at 23.) He also gets a 56 percent increase in pay in going from a rank-and-file member to House Speaker.
He also said he wouldn’t be switching parties:
“The appreciation level from the other party is very temporary, but the memory of those you left is eternal. Why would I do it? For 30 pieces of silver?”
Ahh, you see: We study Biblical history so we know not to repeat it.
Gavel passes from Perzel [Inquirer]
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dmac | 12:39 PM | 0 Comments
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Jan
2
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Even though it seemed like Republican John Perzel was going to remain as Speaker of the House, Democrats apparently cut some sort of deal and … elected a different Republican House Speaker.
This one’s from Philadelphia, too. Denny O’Brien represents the Far Northeast and is well-known for his stances of being for seniors and against people who aren’t for seniors. He also puts up these little campaign sign-like things that say “Merry Christmas from Denny O’Brien” in December.
No word if Perzel is planning on moving out of the Speaker’s office anytime soon — he hadn’t after the Dems took the House — so this should be pretty amusing for the next two years.
Philadelphia’s O’Brien elected Pa. House Speaker [Inquirer]
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dmac | 2:07 PM | 0 Comments
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Jan
2
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Despite the election switching the Pennsylvania House to Democratic control, 102-101, Republican State Rep. John Perzel will remain Speaker. Why? Well, one Berks County Democrat, pissed he didn’t get a leadership position, plans to vote today for Perzel as a form of revenge.
Well, okay, the State Rep. — 64-year-old Thomas Caltagirone — didn’t say he was doing it as a form of revenge, but all the other Democrats and everybody, ever, can tell it’s done because the poor baby didn’t get to be on the important House Committee on Legally Being Corrupt or whatever.
Protesters camped outside Caltagirone’s office yesterday, urging him to change his mind rather than take his ball so nobody else can play. And Philadelphia State Rep. wondered if Ed Rendell was “in a safe house,” uncovering an even bigger story that someone’s trying to kill the governor.
Caltagirone is no stranger to making headlines. As the Inquirer’s Cynthia Burton notes:
Caltagirone last made statewide headlines in the mid-1990s, when an aide accused him of sexual harassment. The aide said she walked into a room, found him lying naked on a bed, and when she fled, he followed her in a car and threatened her at gunpoint. A state grand jury investigated, but no charges were ever filed. About two years ago, Caltagirone rehired the aide.
His Christmas party must be awesome.
Colleagues: Pa. House switch is revenge [Inquirer]
Dec. 21, 2006: Dem. State House Leader Uses Inspiring Rhetoric From Confederate General Also Famous For Killing Mexican Civilians
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dmac | 11:12 AM | 3 Comments
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Oct
31
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State Rep. Matt Wright came up with a good way to get his opponent in next week’s election to stop running attack ads.
He threatened to sue.
Yes, that’s right. Wright, a Republican, saw an ad for opponent Chris King that featured footage of Wright on the floor of the state house, so he went and whined to John Perzel who got a Williamsport lawyer to threaten a lawsuit if the ad wasn’t removed. (That’s Wright in the photo from his official state senate page, which includes this complete personal history: “Married to Donna[.]“)
Footage from the floor of the state house, you see, is copyrighted by, uh, the state house. And so using footage for political campaigns is against the rules. We wouldn’t want our constituents learning what actually goes on there! (The state senate has similar rules, naturally.)
Perzel spokesman Al Bowman said the purpose of the restriction is to “protect the integrity of the proceeding[.]“
Ha! Let that one sink in. King, of course, will stop running the ads on Bucks County cable television. All hail the mighty lawsuit!
Attorney: King’s TV ad violates copyright law [Bucks County Courier Times]
Matt Wright [PA House]
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dmac | 2:16 PM | 0 Comments
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Sep
12
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• The Eagles will be selling 1500 standing-room only tickets for each home game tomorrow morning, sending IT departments into a frenzy when they realize that every single person at the office is constantly refreshing the Eagles homepage. [Daily News]
• John Perzel has proposed a huge increase in police officers all over the state, including 1,300 new cops in Philly alone. Perzel: “We’re here today to send a clear message to the drug-dealing thugs, the illegal gun-pushers, and all those responsible for terrorizing our neighborhoods and communities - your days are numbered.” Drug-dealing thugs had a mixed reaction to the news. [Inquirer]
• Herb Denenberg answers the tough questions: “Question: Can an insurance company refuse to insure my dog?” [The Evening Bulletin]
• Is it any coincidence that when a Northeast Philadelphia native is in space, the astronauts lose a bolt into the abyss? I think not. [AP/CNN.com]
• Now you can get to Harrisburg in 90 minutes instead of two hours! Yay? Hurrah? Does anyone actually travel to Harrisburg? [AP/Philly.com]
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dmac | 4:05 PM | 1 Comment
Chris Ferguson, Cops, Crime, Eagles, Evening Bulletin, Harrisburg, Herb Denenberg, John Perzel, Leftovers, Space, Tickets, Trains, Transit
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