Author Archives: Mike Shortall

Lady Allyson of the 1%

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Democracy can be a tough nut to crack.  But it gets so much harder in this day and age if you have neither the power nor the money that your opponent can muster and use to keep you at bay.

Nate Kleinman

This was the lesson Nate Kleinman learned this week in his bid to challenge Representative Allyson Schwartz for the Democratic nomination in the Pennsylvania 13th Congressional District.

Kleinman is a human rights activist and political organizer within the Democratic Party.  He has worked for President Obama and Joe Sestak in his failed U.S. Senate bid.  He is also considered the first Occupy Wall Street political candidate.  But he really had no chance against the very well-financed, very well-connected Schwartz.

REP Allyson Schwartz (D-PA 13)

REP Allyson Schwartz (D-PA 13)

Allyson Schwartz, currently serving her fourth term, has always been a savvy fund-raiser, and is reported to have in excess of $2.3 million in her war chest.  Her only Republican challenger is Joe Rooney, a former U.S. Marine fighter pilot and current resident of Ardsley.

Schwartz’s funding for the 2011-12 election cycle came primarily from large individual contributors (57%) and Political Action Committees (38%), only 3% came from small individual contributors.  Her biggest corporate and association sponsors include Comcast Corp, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and the American Association of  Orthopaedic Surgeons.  Her top industry support comes from lawyers, health professionals, pharmaceuticals and insurance companies.

Not exactly residents of the 99% …

You would think that with all that fire power behind her, the last thing Allyson Schwartz needed was the appearance that she was insensitive to the interests of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Yet when it came to Nate Kleinman, Allyson Schwartz went for the throat.  She could out spend, out fund-raise, out network, and out wait just about any in-party challenge with one hand tied behind her back.  Not to mention the difficulty such an insurgent Democrat faces in getting any form of support from within The Establishment of the DNC when running against such a successful incumbent.

Challenging the validity of nomination petition signatures (required to qualify to appear on Election Day ballots) has become a regular tool for suppressing political opposition.  It’s the quick and dirty way to score a knockout; yet it rarely works to the satisfaction of the petition challenger.

The petition challenge has become one of the accepted political practices with which I have a problem.  When did it became acceptable to silence opposition in the public square?  It smacks of fear for open debate.  It makes a candidate look petty, aloof, and overbearing.  But as bad as that looks, it gets even worse when the conqueror decides to machine-gun the life rafts.

And this is the part of the Kleinman episode that makes Allyson Schwartz look ruthless and more than a little afraid.

Last week, Kleinman decided to withdraw his name from the ballot as a formal challenger to Schwartz’s Congressional seat.  Instead he decided to continue his candidacy by seeking to win the April 24 primary via write-in ballots.

As if Democracy wasn’t already hard enough.

The reason Kleinman decided to throw his lot with the Hail Mary of write-in ballots is the tortured hell that Schwartz’s campaign intended to put Kleinman through just to keep his candidacy hidden from the Democratic voters of the PA 13th.  In a move reminiscent of Richard Nixon-esque dirty tricks, the Allyson Schwartz campaign pushed the nominating petition issue to the extent that Kleinman, who has no real political organization, would have had to spend weeks of his own time sitting down with Schwartz’s rather ample campaign staff to go over each and every individual petition signature to prove their validity or to rehabilitate questionable entries.

In other words, keep Mr. Kleinman penned up in a conference room, off the street, out of the public’s view, and away from any potential media attention.

And just when Nate Kleinman was standing there like a deer in the headlights, the Schwartz campaign pulled out the napalm by filing a claim that would have required Kleinman to pay the legal costs incurred by the Schwartz campaign!  “It’s a legal option for the campaign to request that Nate Kleinman pay legal fees,” says Rachel Magnuson, Rep. Allyson Schwartz’s Chief of Staff.

Nice …

And since Kleinman’s “campaign war chest” totals just $10-15,000., as compared to Schwartz’s $2.3 million, it’s not hard to see what that move was all about.  It was an attempt to threaten Nate Kleinman with personal financial retribution for having dared to challenge Lady Allyson of the 1%!

More PC wackiness

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Every once in a while, I have one of those days where it seems that everything I read in the newspaper irritates the bejesus out of me.  Today was one of those days when a number of articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer elicited much head-scratching and eye-rolling. 

Allow me to share.

First up was a report from the U.S. Department of Education that claimed that 70% of all in-school related arrests or referrals to law enforcement involved African-American or Hispanic students.  Despite the fact that black students made up 18% of the sample, they comprised 35% of student suspensions and 39% of expulsions.  (Similar data in this vein for Hispanics and other groups was not presented.)

Of course this begs the question as to how such a phenomena occurs and for answers to rectify the situation.  And just as plainly, all the reactions cited in the Associated Press column missed – or simply decided to ignore – the most obvious reasoning.  Instead these commentators focused on why non-minority students were not more equally represented.  In other words, they turn the issue into a Civil Rights issue instead of a parent, student, behavior, respect, and discipline issue!

As so often is the claim, there must be SOME OTHER reason for the aberrant data.  Either the System is applying investigative, enforcement, and punishment unequally across all racial groups or somehow the white people are gaming the schools and The System.

Give me a break!

Could it be that perhaps that African-American and Hispanic students are simply the source of more school crimes, assaults, and general misbehavior in relation to the national school population as a whole?  Could it be that maybe parents in some socio-economic groups simply do not pay enough attention to what their children are doing in and out of school?  Or how they behave and – even more importantly – how they PERFORM in school?  Is it possible that maybe the issue has more to do with values, priorities, and general parental involvement? 

Of course not!  Silly me …

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Next up was an unbelievable story out of Cumberland County, PA reported by Sohrab Ahmari, an Iranian-American journalist and associate research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and guest columnist for The Inqy.  The article relates a court ruling last week in the case of a Muslim immigrant that attacked a participant in the Mechanicsburg Halloween Parade, who decided to dress up as a “Zombie Muhammad”.  The incident was witnessed by scores of people; and the defendant even confessed to his part in the attack, where Ernest Pearce, a member of the Parading Atheists of Central Pennsylvania, was rushed and choked by 46-year-old Talaag Elbayomy.

Open and shut case, you say?!?  Silly, silly you …

But it isn’t the fact that District Judge Mark Martin found the broad daylight, confessed attacker innocent; it was the way the Judge decided to express his own personal views about how the American legal system applies to Muslim immigrants!  Among the findings of Judge Martin were the following Pearls of Wisdom:

  • The REAL victim was Mr. Elbayomy because his religious beliefs were offended. 
  • Mr. Elbayomy could not be expected to abide by American laws simply because he was an immigrant!
  • Mr. Pearce was an insensitive “doofus” (Yes, the judge’s very word!) for “mocking someone else’s religion”.
  • And finally, that Mr. Pearce was lucky he wasn’t hanged or beheaded as would potentially happen if he had the suicidal impulse to perform his imitation of “Zombie Muhammad” in Iran or Saudi Arabia!   

Mr. Ahmari – on the other hand – did an excellent job of explaining why such an irresponsible decision by a judge “… sends the worst possible message to American Muslims … about the rule of law in a free society”.  He explains how many Muslims have immigrated to the U.S. to “escape religious tyranny”.  And in a way Judge Martin’s ridiculous ruling also feeds the paranoia of some Americans who fear the specter of both Muslims and sharia law.

In the parade, Mr. Pearce’s “Zombie Muhammad” was accompanied by another Parading Atheist dressed as a “Zombie Pope”.  Apparently, no Catholics attacked.   

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Finally, the Irish-Americans are up in arms over their oppression.  But before you go off seeking a Union Jack to set aflame, it’s not the British this time.  No, it’s Spencer’s Gifts!

Seriously …

Outside the Aqua entrance to Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia, reporter Monica Yant Kinney covered the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation as they handed out green – of course – flyers alerting shoppers to “crimes against Irish culture”!  The problem being hats that say, “Kiss me I’m Irish!” and St. Patrick’s Day beer hookahs.

Even the Philadelphia County Ancient Order of Hiberians got into the act by noting their anger at the annual desecration of the shamrock.

Geez …  desecrating the Sacred Shamrock!

I always considered the Irish a stout, tough breed.  One not given to feeling sorry for themselves or for joining in with all the other ultra-sensitive ethnic groups resentful of how they have been portrayed.  As an American of Irish descent, I have participated in over 30 years of St. Paddy’s Days and never once felt demeaned or offended.   

Certainly the drinking and fighting characteristics of the Irish get overplayed, just as particular legends and physical traits of other ethnicities have for decades.  But I never looked at any of that as demeaning to my heritage.  In fact, I would hazard the opinion that it has actually made the Irish more likable as a down-to-earth people and more sympathetic in those times when sectarian violence tore apart the fabric of Irish culture.

I can understand the reluctance of culturally conservative Hibernians to engage in those stereotypes and activities they see as demeaning to Irish culture.  But it’s equally hard for me to believe that this is suddenly a wrong that needs to be righted.  Although they may see this behavior as devoid of any traditional Irish cultural appreciation, it still makes the Irish a whole lot more fun to be around than just about any other cultural group.

So on this St. Patrick’s Day have a few green-colored cocktails (in moderation of course); grab a platter of corned beef and sauerkraut; and find the movie, The Quiet Man (starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara) on a TV near you.  Enjoy the atmosphere of fun and mirth.  Try to appreciate the Irish culture that Americans of all types have been exposed to each and every year on March 17.  But if you watch my favorite Irish movie, don’t fast-forward through the drinking and fighting scenes that involve Sean Thornton (Wayne) and the local Irish natives. 

Because if you do, you will miss half the movie!

Cranky Man for America!

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I struggled with this post for the better part of a week.  I wanted to try something different … a bit tongue-in-cheek.  A chance to spout off a bit about the current GOP primary cycle.  But I couldn’t come up with the right tone through this “brainstorm” of mine that would help generate a healthy debate over the woeful state of our national politics.

Here follows the first part of the drafted post. 

It is with Pride in America and Commitment to its Fundamental Beliefs that I announce my availability for Nomination as the Republican Party’s candidate for President of the United States of America! 

I stand ready to serve should The Party remain uncommitted and un-commitable to its current slate of candidates.

I cannot describe this effort as a “run” for the Presidency. 

As one with the 99%, I neither possess the funds nor the connections to launch a full throttle charge for the Nation’s Highest Office.  This will be more like a Stroll Towards Pennsylvania Avenue.  And – as befits a man who writes a blog dedicated in part to his Passion for Lawn Turf, this will have to succeed as a true Grass Roots Movement!

The post went on and on – much more so than I am willing to admit – as if I was half-heartedly tossing my hat in the ring, hoping to be carried into The Oval Office on the shoulders of the 99%. 

But even as I intended it as a humorous verbal assault on Hubris and the failings of Political Ambition, I realized I sounded politically ambitious and full of hubris.  Go figure!

I also came to realize, it’s not really all that funny.  And it’s certainly not limited to this cycle’s waning stable of GOP candidates, or even just the Presidential part of our National Politics. 

And so, like a few other blog ideas that sounded great as they bounced around in my head, I have abandoned that effort and decided on a more direct discussion of why National Politics in America Suck … is so frustrating. 

Maybe you all can help me figure out why.

More on this later.  Right now I’ve got to take a shower and get this icky feeling off me!

How to sing The National Anthem

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Whitney Houston singing The National Anthem

I waited to post this.  I didn’t want it to get lost in the clamor over another talented person who crashed on the rocks of their own poor judgement and lack of self-control.  But after catching this snippet on one of the many tributes played after her death, I felt this performance deserved recognition for the standard it sets for singing The Star Spangled Banner, a song so many performers butcher. 

The one thing you cannot deny, through all her later self-inflicted troubles,  is the talent Whitney Houston had before it went all wrong.  My wife, Carol, immensely enjoyed Houston’s singing.   

She could sing incredibly, no doubt.  But her greatest moment might have been that night she sang The National Anthem before Superbowl XXV in January 1991.

The national mood over the events in the Persian Gulf set the stage for a dramatic rendition that was so popular a recording of the event was sold as a single, whose proceeds were donated to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund.  The air campaign portion of Operation Desert Storm, which drove Saddam Hussein’s military forces out of an invaded Kuwait, was 10 days old. 

The country – especially those with loved ones already fighting in the air or preparing for the ground assault that would commence on February 23 – was anxious over a military operation where the possibility of attacks on U.S. soldiers by Iraqi forces rumored to have gas stockpiles and possibly even nuclear weapons were feared.  And these fears were compounded by the threat of domestic terrorist attacks, potentially at the very Superbowl at which Houston was to perform.

What resulted solidified Houston’s position as an entertainer, a national talent, and an international presence.

Whatever you might think of Whitney Houston’s wasted talent, her fall from grace, even her role in her own demise, it’s impossible not to be moved by Houston’s performance on that night in Tampa, Florida.

Whitney Houston sings The National Anthem

(Unfortunately, I’m unwilling – for a first time video post – to pay for the “video upgrade” at WordPress, so my apologies for making you go find it. Simply click the above.)

This video should be shown to every performer preparing to sing The Star Spangled Banner for the first time.  Maybe then we wouldn’t have to sit through so many tortured renditions by overly vain “artists”.

Cranky Man’s Lawn tips for Southeast Pennsylvania

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Dude … It’s February!  Even I’m not THAT obsessive.

But I’ll throw my faithful followers a few bones …

  • February is a good time to get your lawn equipment in top working condition.  Start looking into qualified lawn mower repair and maintenance businesses. Compare prices and get your mower in for its seasonal tune up now.  If you are a dedicated mower or you did not have your mower serviced last year, make sure the service person replaces the mower’s cutting blade.
  • Read up on aerating, fertilizing, dethatching, and other lawn-health related topics.  Only you have the best, closest perspective on what your lawn needs.
  • With that in mind, pick a good weather day and complete a walk-around survey of your lawn.  Note bad spots where thinning or bare areas exist. Look for spots where thick dead growth lies just beneath or even blocks out underlying grass plants (dethatching). 
  • Consider the amount of traffic your lawn saw last year from children, pets, equipment (like your mower), activities (parties, sports, play) and consider the benefits of aerating your lawn during the early, wet Spring.

In short, get ready for another lawn season.  The time you spend and planning you do today can help your lawn tomorrow, and will give your lawn the best shot at surviving the hottest stretches of the upcoming summer. 

One last tip:  If you are on the down slope of Hill 50, consider using this time before Spring to work on your body’s core muscle groups.  Nothing will put you behind your Lawn Schedule like a balky back!

Beyond Barbed Wire

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Beyond Barbed Wire, Kit Parker Films production, is a thought-provoking, emotional look at one of the most controversial events in American history.  The film takes a personal look at the Japanese-Americans affected by the American government’s short-sighted, knee jerk reaction to the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and other targets in the Pacific that kicked off America’s direct involvement in World War II.  The message is amplified by the primary focus of the documentary, those Japanese-American men who – despite the humiliation foisted upon their families – still felt duty and honor bound to fight for their country.

This is one of those incidents in American history that has always intrigued me.  And so, it was another foray to the Horsham Library looking for cheap music (Read: Free!) and something interesting to watch.  The interment of Japanese- Americans holds a fascination for me for the following reasons:

  • Only Japanese-Americans were ever interred in large numbers during World War II.  This despite the early war whispers of atrocities being committed by Germans on Jews and other “undesirables”.  Never were German- or Italian-Americans interred nor were they prohibited from fighting against their ethnic homelands. 
  • As the above would suggest, the racial implications are quite telling at a time when most Americans did not even know where Pearl Harbor was located.  Oriental cultures and their people were unfamiliar to most Americans.  Even in areas along the Pacific Coast where Americans of Japanese descent had been living for decades, they were often misunderstood or outright distrusted due solely to their racial and cultural differences.
  • These events occurred during the Democratic administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, arguably the most socially conscious, socially activist and – some might say – socialist Presidents.  In every other facet of the war’s management, execution and victory, Roosevelt is rightfully praised; which makes it all the more confounding how this suspension of liberty for a people both innocent and in many cases generations removed from direct contact with their ethnic homeland was allowed to occur.

Beyond Barbed Wire focuses on the Nisei (Japanese descendents born in the U.S.) who fought in Europe and in the Pacific theatres of war.  Both the 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion served with distinction in France and Italy respectively.  Their actions overcame initial resistance expressed by American military leaders to trust Japanese-Americans to fight during the war.  In fact, Japanese-Americans were prohibited from fighting in the Pacific against hostile Japanese forces  (unlike the the welcomed participation of German and Italian-Americans in Europe).  Many other Japanese men, fluent in their native tongue, were recruited or ordered to serve in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as spies and translators.

Many of these men came from families that were stripped of homes, businesses and all the comforts of normal American life.  The distinction made between Japanese living on the Mainland as opposed to those living in Hawaii is a story unto itself.  Hawaiian Japanese were treated differently than those on the Mainland.  Many Hawaiian Japanese had no idea what was happening to their Mainland cousins.  One of the interesting segments of the film deals with the visit of a group of Hawaiian Japanese to a Mainland interment camp.  The contrast is powerful.

It is very easy to become misty-eyed over the emotional stories being told and written by the slowly disappearing Greatest Generation.  Those men and women who set aside personal lives, goals and the safety of civilian life to rescue Europe and the peoples of the Pacific.  The stories of war’s horrors, of friends lost, of emotional traumas so difficult to imagine – for those of us who have never had to face war – are magnified by the realization that many of these aging Japanese warriors volunteered despite the way their country treated them and those they loved.

I continue to find this moment in history both troubling and extremely gratifying.  Beyond Barbed Wire is well worth the investment of one’s time to gain an appreciation for a vastly under-appreciated segment of America’s Greatest Generation!

Rick Santorum, Values over Politics

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I have always admired Rick Santorum as a politician.  You know what he believes; what he values; and more importantly where he will stand next week, next month, next year.  He can not sneak up on anyone.  His positions are well-known; and he sticks to what he believes regardless of how unpopular those views and values are with certain segments of the electorate.

From a political point-of-view, Rick Santorum is a breath of fresh air. 

That is why this moderate Pennsylvania Republican has always found Santorum to be a sound choice among state and national politicians.  Santorum’s stance on social issues – whether you agree or vehemently disagree  – are honest to a fault; based on a foundation of personal belief; and never affected by the expediencies of political popularity. 

This is important because I have become disgusted with the nature of National Politics and National Politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle.  The vitriol, the skullduggery, the deliberate efforts to undermine progress on the National Agenda has exceeded my patience.  It has gotten to the point that I prefer to limit my political interests and activities to local issues and offices. 

So when it comes to politics on the National Level, I’ll take predictable, principled, and reliable over swaying with the breeze of Public Opinion.  The Best Man should win over The Best Politician every time!

You do not see this principled approach from Mitt Romney, who is universally recognized as a politician that moves effortlessly from one position to another depending on how the political winds blow.  

You will not see President Obama taking politically unpopular positions on issues such as gay marriage – despite his steep Liberal Inclinations – or the sacrifices needed to save Social Security and the National Budget in a re-election year.  Remember the Simpson-Bowles Deficit Commission???  President Obama wishes you wouldn’t. 

Many fear Rick Santorum for the personal values he holds and the potential for how those values would play out in the realm of social issues.  This anxiety is not new.  Every conservative candidate for President has been feared by their liberal counterparts for their stance on social issues.  In Santorum’s case, the reaction is more visceral because he will not abandon those positions when campaigning.  He did it in his unsuccessful bid to win re-election to The Senate in 2006; and he is doing it now as well.  

But Fear of Santorum is misplaced based on what I would refer to as The Oval Office Effect.

  • The Presidency changes you.  Just ask President Obama.  Examine what happened to his pledges to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as he entered The Office, or how quickly his promise to empty Guantanamo Bay of terrorists in order to try them on U.S. soil went by the wayside.  Then ask yourself, what did he learn in the intervening months of transition that undoubtably changed his “hard and fast” campaign positions?   
  • When one ascends to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, layers and layers of National Responsibility are revealed and the weight of those charges is enough to make any President mindful of ALL the People he is bound to protect and serve.
  • John F. Kennedy‘s candidacy in 1960 faced some of the same fears of Religious Influence.  Many in the country feared his ties to the Vatican – solely because he was an active, practicing Catholic – as an open door for The Pope to influence U.S. policy and international relations.  Those fears were never realized.
  • A President is a National Leader, yet he controls only one-third of the Government’s check-and-balance structure.  All Presidents enter The Office with their own sets of values, priorities, and bases of power … be they Liberal or Conservative, religious or secular, progressive or populist.  The effects these positions have on public policy are limited through parlays with the House and Senate, as well as the challenge of running the gauntlet of Judicial Review.        
  • Mid-term elections in the House of Representatives offer the possibility of drastically changing political coalitions.  The threat that an entire National Agenda can be waylaid by such shifts in the political orientation of Congress tends to reign in the more controversial tendencies of any President.

None of this would reflect a change in Santorum’s long-held values.  But it does speak to the practical political reality of affecting sweeping changes to social policy based on those values.  

This rationalization will mean nothing to those on the opposite end of the Political Spectrum from Rick Santorum.  But for those who are more moderate in their politics and in their views on social issues, it is important to consider the political realities of National Leadership and to resist the temptation to toss aside such a principled politician as Rick Santorum simply because his position on social issues is seen as controversial or unpopular.

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I post this as a statement on the ridiculous phenomena of Nanny State-like obsessiveness.  What would YOU do if you sent your child to school with a reasonably nutritious – if not perfectly so – lunch, and this is what happened???  Were fried chicken nuggets REALLY a better option?!?

And I wanted try out this reblogging feature …

Love Hurts

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As I was getting My Beloved’s Valentine’s Day offerings together this morning, including my usual MO of leaving a card strategically placed in the kitchen for Carol’s discovery, during the envelope sealing process I suffered a self-inflicted paper cut on the upper lip.

(Did you know you can cut a New York strip steak with the edges of a Hallmark envelope?!?)

So now All Day Long, I will be reminded just how bittersweet Love can be.

So remember … When Cupid lets fly his Arrow of Love, the person on the receiving end gets a nasty puncture wound.

Happy Valentine’s Day!