Albert Paschall
Fri, August 13, 2010
Revenge of the Foot Soldiers
What does a big, blundering bureaucracy led by a legislature whose senior leadership has been tainted by scandals galore the last few years do to small local, generally respected governments?
Fri, May 21, 2010
End of the Specter Era
What do you do if you are a political junkie in Pennsylvania since October of '08 when McCain/Palin had pretty much imploded? You 'jones' out. For those who may not understand the verb 'jones', to ...
Mon, April 19, 2010
Take the Zoning Test
As spring arrives new construction can begin. Soon you will see houses, offices and stores springing up. This might be a good time to test your local zoning skills. The Zoning Test won't take long. ...
Wed, March 31, 2010
The Time to Die
On a quick guess, of the myriad of programs, initiatives, regulations and laws in Pennsylvania's $28 billion budget which is the most ineffective, rarely used and total waste of money?The answer is a ...
Thu, March 11, 2010
The Wrath of Winter
The biggest news in southeastern Pennsylvania yesterday was that the sun came out. It hadn t really made any strong appearances for the last couple of months. As this region was battered with over 7 ...
Tue, February 23, 2010
Tales of the Main Line Spies
The eyes of Pennsylvania are turned on Philadelphia s Main Line. The fabled land of mansions, the stuff of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn featuring some of the richest names in real estate: Bryn ...
Fri, February 12, 2010
Star Wars Again
In the midst of the February freeze in Pennsylvania what would be your choice to get away?A balmy beach in Jamaica or a ride in outer space?
Jamaica, of course, ...
Tue, January 26, 2010
Obama's Blues
There is the story of the patient visiting the doctor and the doctor says: "I have good news and I have bad". The patient asks: "what's the good news?" The physician replied: ...
Wed, January 13, 2010
The Race of the Energizer Bunnies
Somedays doesn't it just seem politics no longer scrapes the bottom of the barrel? That's long gone now the campaign masters seem to pick up the barrel and use the crawly things underneath it to ...
Wed, December 23, 2009
Redemption of the Avenging Angel
In the Bible's Book of Revelations it says: "and the first angel went and poured out his vial and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon men." If God were to create such an avenging ...
Thu, December 10, 2009
Why Sarah Scares Them
What is it about Sarah Palin that scares the mainstream media? An edition of Newsweek last month, that would better be named Gossipweek, used its cover and 7 pages to bash the former Alaskan Governor ...
Wed, November 04, 2009
The Case of the Missing Slot
Holmes and I were firmly ensconced in our parlor at 221B - Baker Street on the first evening at the end of daylight savings time. The shadows grew eerie and by late afternoon darkness was upon us ...
Mon, October 26, 2009
Calling the Ghost
Ever think of all of the ways that you support Pennsylvania? Every time you gas-up you drop nearly 33 cents into the state's treasury for every gallon you buy. If you pick up a pack of cigarettes ...
Tue, October 06, 2009
IBO: An Endangered Species?
Could it be that there is a beast that is more threatened than the short tailed albatross, the blunt nosed leopard lizard or the black footed ferret in this country? Could the government have failed ...
Wed, September 23, 2009
The Tears Wiped Dry
Ever spent time in hell? Not Dante's kind of inferno, the kind that exists all over this country - pediatric oncology wards.
This hell is full of contrasts. The devil is the disease, ...
Fri, September 11, 2009
Texting: To Die For
Is text messaging the end of civilized English as we know it? When a 20-something emails you an acronym that reads RUOK and you can't figure it out - are you outdated, old-fashioned or just plain ...
Wed, September 09, 2009
Texting: To Die For
Is text messaging the end of civilized English as we know it? When a 20-something emails you an acronym that reads RUOK and you can't figure it out - are you outdated, old-fashioned or just plain ...
Tue, August 25, 2009
The Trillionaires Club
Could it be that hard to start a new club? It would seem to be simple. Get some front money, align common interests and recruit members who enjoy the same ambitions.
But does running ...
Fri, August 14, 2009
Health Care Clunker
I tried to turn my car into a 'clunker' but it didn't work. It's only two years old, gets 30 miles to the gallon and runs well. It can't meet the government criteria for a ...
Mon, July 27, 2009
In Their Own Backyards
My wife says I buy too many newspapers. That's probably true. I'm guaranteed two a day and often pick up two or three others. At the end of the week I usually have three weekly papers and where I ...
Wed, July 15, 2009
So Sue Yourself!
I've been thinking about suing myself. Plenty of reasons to. What I do on a golf course could almost be called criminal. Most times that I've been on one I hurt my neck an ankle or a wrist. ...
Mon, June 15, 2009
Specter: A Fine Gold Watch
Columnists are probably the earth's most unappreciated people. We research; we write and rarely hear from our fans, always from our critics. Over the last decade I've certainly developed my share ...
Tue, June 02, 2009
As Valley Forge Turns
Recently on a visit to a remote island, just before departure on a rainy day, my abundant supply of reading material dried up. Refusing to pay ridiculous prices for American magazines I sat back to ...
Fri, May 22, 2009
My Father-in-law's Toys
My father-in-law loves his toys. Big flat screen TV's with tons of speakers, state of the art laptops and a Cadillac DTS that is correct in only one color: bright red. Add a Florida home in the ...
Thu, May 07, 2009
Lights, Camera, Cut
A long time ago in a town that was then far from anywhere I saw Hans Solo in person. Well I saw the back of some big guy, dressed in Amish Clothes, from about 300 yards away and everybody said it ...
Tue, April 21, 2009
The Battle at Valley Forge
There is a story of two young boys being raised by a single mother in a small town. The boys were full of mischief always getting into some kind of trouble. It was so persistent that soon everybody ...
Mon, March 09, 2009
Newspapers: Back from Where We Came
Starting a newspaper column isn't easy. I dabbled at it for awhile then in the early 90's decided to write a thematic series. I wanted to cover song writer Joni Mitchell's 1971 classic "The ...
Mon, February 23, 2009
President Obama's Smile
My dental challenges actually began a couple of years ago when I lost a fight with a rabbit. The building that I work in is a 300 year old fieldstone tavern and some rocks in the foundation had come ...
Tue, February 17, 2009
Lincoln's Tears
In late June of 1863 General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was sweeping north with the intention of capturing the city of Harrisburg then swing south and surround Washington DC. The ...
Mon, February 02, 2009
Skin in the Game
As President Obama and Congress debate another trillion dollars in 'economic stimulus' spending - the European style socialization of the United States - we have to wonder who, as the say, has skin ...
Tue, December 30, 2008
Bush's Department of Legacy
Deep in the bowels of the White House an obscure and until today secret department has been activated. It hasn't had any work since 1992 but undoubtedly President Bush, like his father before him, ...
Mon, December 08, 2008
'Twas the Month Before Christmas
'Twas the month before Christmas
All over this state
And retailers were worried
The shoppers were late
The merchandise was arrayed
With discounts galore
But ...
Tue, November 25, 2008
All Those Zeroes
$775,000,000,000. That's what it looks like. Seven hundred and seventy five billion dollars. For just about any entity other than the US Government it is not a manageable figure. It is however ...
Mon, October 20, 2008
The Voters of November
"Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established that a series of offensive missile sites are now in preparation on that imprisoned island."
In October of ...
Mon, October 06, 2008
On the Ninth Day
(Wayne County in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains - On the 9th day God woke up and looked around and thought "What am I going to do now? I've painted myself into a corner. How do I get out of ...
