We Shouldn't Need Mother's Day

We shouldn't need Mother's Day to remind us that mothers are important.
And hopefully most people really don't need Mother's Day for such a reminder.
I know I don't
Even though my Mother passed away eleven years ago, she is still with me every day. She is still at my side. She is still here for me. She still comforts me. She still encourages me. She still cheers me up. She still urges me onward.
Why?
Because she gave me love.
And love really is eternal.
It never leaves us. It never goes away. It never dies.
When a mother gives boundlessly and unconditionally of her love, she actually seizes a slice of immortality. That's one of the great miracles of motherhood.
My mother was a very proud woman -- proud but always accessible, always approachable. She carried herself with great dignity and actually appeared taller and more regal than she really was.
But she was irrepressibly human.
She was also funny and quite a cutup. She had a knack for mimicking others in a generous but nonetheless targeted manner. Quickly, and shrewdly, she sized people up and then followed her instincts.
Though not formally educated past grade school, she read the newspapers assiduously every day. So, she had a keen sense of what was going on around her and throughout the world.
She did not dwell on the past but rather always looked to the future.
She didn't burden herself with unpleasant thoughts and didn't have an ounce of spitefulness or vindictiveness in her.
She was not a complainer, even under the most trying circumstances.
Always, she was sustained by her immediate family. Her family always came first.
She was happiest when her family was with her. She never smiled so brightly or so warmly or so genuinely as when she gazed upon her family.
And we were there for her till the very end, doing all that we could to give back to her just a bit of the love that she gave us.
So, we never need Mother's Day then and we don't need it now.
Just as my Mother's love was never in doubt, the love that my sister and I gave back to her was constant and unequivocal.
And it continues to this day and every day.

Toomey: Runaway Gov't. Spending Must End

From former Congressman and Pennsylvania US Senate candidate Pat Toomey:

Every college student graduating today will leave their carefree university days behind with $30,000 of debt on their shoulders. No, I’m not talking about student loans, but their share of the country’s publicly held debt.

According to President Barack Obama’s administration’s Office of Management and Budget, the country’s publicly held debt for the fiscal year 2010 will total an unprecedented $9.3 trillion. That is the amount by which our cumulative budget deficits have exceeded the rare surpluses throughout our history. As the federal government continues its unprecedented borrowing and spending, that number is projected to rise to $14 trillion in 2015, or 73 percent of our national output.

The problem is, money doesn’t grow on trees — as our parents always told us. The federal government will have to pay back its debt somehow, and that leaves us, the American taxpayers, to foot the bill. The 2010 debt comes out to a whopping $30,000 dollars per man, woman and child — an unconscionable $120,000 for a family of four. In 2015, that burden will rise to $44,000 and $176,000 for the typical family. This is an outrage.

So, how did we get to this place?

When I served in Congress, I often criticized my Republican colleagues for abandoning their erstwhile commitment to fiscal responsibility. I thought we needed to stop the runaway spending and get control of our debt. But Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and company make the Republican big spenders look like rank amateurs by comparison.

First, they continued President George W. Bush’s ill-conceived bailouts of Wall Street, the auto companies and housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then, they passed the $787 billion so-called stimulus, pouring taxpayer dollars into politically motivated and often wasteful projects. These included $3.4 million for a road-passage for turtles in Lake Jackson, Florida, $1 million for a non-existent Oklahoma lake and $100,000 to renovate a privately owned restaurant.

The Democrats in Congress had several opportunities to reverse some of the damage they had caused by ending the $700 billion Wall Street bailout after one year and dedicating the remaining funds to reducing the debt. Despite bipartisan support for this prudent proposal, a majority of Senators voted against the measure, thus renewing the taxpayer-funded bonanza for yet another year.

The administration also passed a whopping $3.6 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2010 and additional spending bills stuffed with wasteful pork projects. At a time when families all across the country were forced to tighten their belts to make ends meet, Congress was letting loose.

To understand how bad Washington’s spending addiction has gotten, it is useful to offer a little historical perspective. Since the end of World War II, every administration has kept government spending at about 20 percent of our domestic output. In 2009 alone, the Democratic-controlled Congress increased spending to about 25 percent of our Gross Domestic Product — that amounts to a 25-percent increase in the size of the federal government virtually overnight!

In 2008, Bush’s final budget deficit totaled $459 billion. Now, that is a lot of money, and Republicans should never have allowed it to get that high. But even that large number constituted only 3.2 percent of GDP. One year of complete Democratic control and our deficit skyrocketed to $1.6 trillion, or nearly an astonishing 11 percent of our GDP in 2009. This is all the more frightening when you consider that Greece is facing the specter of default with a deficit that was 12.7 percent of GDP 2009.

An old adage comes to mind: “When you’re in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging.” But with the Democrats in control of the entire government in Washington, all Congress has done is dig.

Reigning in out-of-control spending that is creating unsustainable debt should not be subject to political gamesmanship. It is imperative that Washington politicians join together in a bipartisan movement to save our country from financial ruin. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we simply must stop digging.

Top Baby Names For Boys, Girls

Scoot over, Emma. Isabella is the new top baby name for girls.

Jacob is the most popular baby name for boys, continuing an 11-year run at the top, the Social Security Administration said Friday. Emma's reign was much shorter, lasting just a year before slipping to No. 2.

Pop culture appeared to influence many of the most popular names in 2009. Barack still didn't crack the top 1,000 for boys, but a version of the president's daughter's name, Malia, was the fastest riser for girls.

Top 10 for boys:

• 1. Jacob
• 2. Michael
• 3. Ethan
• 4. Joshua
• 5. Daniel
• 6. Alexander
• 7. Anthony
• 8. William
• 9. Christopher
• 10. Matthew

Top 10 for girls:

• 1. Isabella
• 2. Emma
• 3. Emily
• 4. Madison
• 5. Ava
• 6. Olivia
• 7. Sophia
• 8. Abigail
• 9. Elizabeth
• 10. Chloe

Bernie Platt Takes On $chool Admini$trator$!

Bravo to Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt for taking on the Cherry Hill School District's numerous and overpaid school administrators.
And Bravo to Cherry Hill Council President Dave Fleisher and the Cherry Hill Town Council for saying the right thing, doing the right thing and taking direct, strategic action to cut the School District's runaway budget.
Fleisher actually wants to give Town Council a line-item veto on voter-defeated school budgets and I agree with him.
This isn't about the kids. It's about a school district bloated with administrators and bureaucrats at every level.
At last night's Town Council meeting the Mayor got it right when he said: "People are angry and they believe the administrators of this school district are overpaid." That line prompted enthusiastic applause from the residents and taxpayers at the meeting.
Following up on a decisive "NO!" vote by residents on the school budget, Council unanimously directed the Board of Education to cut $2.5 million from the defeated school budget.
Council members suggested two cuts of $800,000 each -- in administrative expenses and in funds set aside for salary increases under a labor contract that is still being negotiated. They also urged the district to scrap a "curriculum initiative" that is set to cost $400,000. And they said the district should expect $500,000 in breakage -- savings due to retirements of older, higher-paid teachers.
The defeated budget would have raised the school tax by $122.17 for an average home. It sought the maximum 4 percent school tax levy increase.
The message to the Cherry Hill School District couldn't be more clear: Get rid of the bloated bureaucracy!

BTW, Here are just SOME of the Cherry Hill administrator salaries.
Remember: these do not include benefits and perks:
Superintendent: $262,931
Human Resources Director: $93,372
Assistant Superintendent: $135,339
Director of Curriculum: $137,676
Business Administrator: $119, 336
Ass't. Superintendent, pre K - 12: $163,547
Ass't Superintendent C & I, preK - 12: $161,546
Director of Guidance: $140,870
Ass't Superintendent, Bus. Adm, Bd. Sec. - $158,000
Director of Special Education: $140,325
Director of Operations and Facilities: $98,500
Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds: $84,163
Direct tor of Support Operations: $98,919
And the list goes on!

And this type of thing is replicated throughout the state.
In fact, relatively small New Jersey has 3,591 school district admin staff members with an average salary of $106,000.

So, Governor Christie is right.
Runaway municipal and school district taxing and spending must end.
School elections and fire district elections should be folded into regular primary and general elections to save costs and increase voter turnout.
Wherever possible, functions and costs should be shared and overlaps between entities should be eliminated.
In the towns and school districts, spending increases must be capped at 2.5% unless exceeding the cap is approved by the voters.
And local entities should receive and use the Governor's Toolkit for Lowering Costs.

No baloney. No excuses. No nonsense. Let's get it done!

Toomey Fund Rasing Continues Strong

Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey raised $1.05 million for the pre-primary reporting period in the month of April. Mr. Toomey has $4.6 million cash on hand and over 46,000 contributors.

This latest fundraising haul comes on the heels of a fantastic first quarter, in which Mr. Toomey raised $2.3 million, more than both Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak put together.

“I am very grateful for all the support our campaign has received over the past year,” Mr. Toomey said. “As I travel across the Commonwealth, I meet more Pennsylvanians who ask how they can get involved and support my effort to bring real fiscal change to Washington. It is because of our enthusiastic supporters that I am confident we will win in November.”

THIS Is The Spirit Of Nashville!

You are looking at the face of Nashville.
With your help, this great American city will recover and prosper.
It will recover because of its proud, determined spirit and its good, decent, hard-working people.
It will recover with the help of ordinary Americans just like you.
Here's how you can help, right now:
Text ‘REDCROSS’ to 90999 to donate $10 to flood relief.
To support The Salvation Army's relief efforts, make a credit card donation by calling 1-800-725-2769 or donating online at their website.
Hands On Nashville is doing widespread organizing of volunteers to help with a variety of flood recovery and relief efforts, as safe volunteer opportunities are identified by the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management. Register at the Hands on Nashville website.

WHY Was Nashville Igonored? WHY?

Why have the national media ignored the devastation in Nashville?
Why has the President said virtually nothing about it?
Why does the Obama Administration seem to pretend that this did not happen?
The media, the White House and the federal government have all dropped the ball.
And no one has called the Administration to task for this.

PLEASE Help Nashville And Environs!

As many of you know, we have a very special place in our hearts for Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville is like a second home to us.
We return again and again for the music, the food, the green, green hills, the hospitality of this great American treasure.
We love the city and its people and all that surrounds it.
We love Nashville and everything it stands for.
The floods that have devastated the Nashville area and the stark images that you see above make us want to do all that we can to help.
So, here's how all of us can help, right now:
Text ‘REDCROSS’ to 90999 to donate $10 to flood relief.
To support The Salvation Army's relief efforts, make a credit card donation by calling 1-800-725-2769 or donating online at their website.
Hands On Nashville is doing widespread organizing of volunteers to help with a variety of flood recovery and relief efforts, as safe volunteer opportunities are identified by the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management. Register at the Hands on Nashville website.

All photos by The Tennessean.

Airzona Law Just Like Philadelphia's

If your guts are clenched in the mistaken belief that Arizona cops will be collaring anyone whose complexion is darker than Rita's lemon water ice, hold on!
You don't have to boycott Southwest Airlines or dump
AriZona tea into the harbor if you believe storm troopers will round up anyone with salsa breath. You can picket City Hall - because Brotherly Love rules are not much different from Arizona's "racist," "hateful" law.
Under an executive order issued by Mayor Nutter in November, Philly cops are expected to conduct themselves pretty much like Arizona police.

To read the rest of Stu Bykofsky's excellent column in todays Philadelphia Daily News, click here.

Pat And Kris Toomey Welcome Baby Boy

On Tuesday night, at 11:45 P.M., Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey’s wife, Kris, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Duncan Olin Toomey was born 2 weeks early and weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Both mother and baby are doing well.
Duncan is Kris Toomey’s maiden name and Olin is a family name from Kris’ side.

Pat Toomey has canceled all his campaign events yesterday, including two editorial boards, and will be taking a short respite from the campaign trail to spend some time with his wife and three children. Pat and Kris have two other children, Bridget, 9, and Patrick, 8.

Pat Toomey issued the following statement: “This is a very happy and exciting time for our family. There’s nothing quite like the birth of a child to focus one’s attention on what really matters most in life. Both Kris and Duncan are doing very well. Duncan is a bundle of joy, and he is already being doted upon by his brother and sister. Kris and I are very grateful for all the well wishes we’ve received from so many people and look forward to being back on the campaign trail soon.”