J.D. Needs A "Stimulus" Of Common Sense

(I know I’ve used this pic a lot lately, but it always seems to fit – and I also posted over here.)

I realize I’ve spent a good while now trying to ascertain tiny, fragile segments of reason and common sense lurking into the jingoistic, right-wing drivel of Bucks County Courier Times columnist J.D. Mullane, but I feel that I must continue in this exercise because I find it harder to locate those segments with each passing day.

And based on what he concocted yesterday, I should tell you that I seriously believe he has gone “around the bend” (here) in yet another round of criticizing the economic stimulus plan (with stimulus in quotes, as always)…

So how much of President Obama’s “stimulus” cash will come to Bucks County, and how will it be spent? It’s $156 million — including the generous $400 “individual tax credit” most of us receive in $8 increments each paycheck.

There are a few dozen public works projects, including $100,000 to refurbish of (sic) the Sellersville Armory. So if Sellersville is invaded by a foreign power, we’re set.

Before I begin, I should note that, except for the armory funding, I have no idea whatsoever as to how Mullane arrived at these numbers. I checked here (for total PA projects), here (for PA-related news releases), and elsewhere, and I can’t verify this (of course, heaven forbid that he cite his information properly).

But speaking of the Sellersville Armory, the following info comes from this link…

The money will be used for renovation and repair – including painting and repaving – for the Sellersville Readiness Center. This money comes at a time when repairs and jobs are badly needed in Pennsylvania. The money for these much-needed repairs will be part of the Department of Defense’s efforts to include energy conservation measures. In fact, $300 million of the $7.4 billion in Defense funds from the Recovery Act will go toward energy conservation and research so that the Department of Defense can continue our national effort to declare energy independence.

This will be a large project, covering the three-acre Sellersville facility, and will also include replacing windows and doors with energy efficient options. Readiness Centers – like the one in Sellersville – are vital to the operation of the PA National Guard. They serve as the home base for Guard soldiers and the local community at large. Sellersville Readiness Center is the headquarters for the PA National Guard’s 228th Forward Support Battalion, which is a component of the Guard’s 55th Brigade which has been active in helping the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“If Sellersville is invaded by a foreign power”…smartass.

Back to Mullane…

Other items:

$56 million for spy cameras on I-95, although the feds prefer to call Big Brother technology an “Intelligent Transportation System.” The cameras will, among other feats of snoopiness, snap the license plates of vehicles exceeding the speed limit, sending the owner a ticket via snail mail.

From here…

About 13,000 U.S. deaths per year result from speeding-related accidents, a total that represents about one-third of all traffic fatalities. "Despite progress in so many other areas of highway safety, as a nation, little success has been shown at addressing the speeding challenge. There is little public recognition of the problem," GHSA said, "and . . . law enforcement faces numerous obstacles enforcing speed limit laws." GHSA said its survey found that jurisdictions believe increased enforcement of speeding-related laws has become very difficult because of uncertainty in highway safety funding and a smaller number of officers because of retirements, as well as an increased emphasis on homeland security issues.

The story also tells us that the Governor’s Highway Safety Association has found conclusively that speed cameras reduce speeds on our roadways (and while I don’t have exact traffic volume numbers at this moment, I can assure you that, if there is one place where traffic should be monitored, it is I-95 in PA…not a bad thing for NJ either).

And this is another gem from Mullane…

The Department of Ed states that “in exchange” (for the $48.6 billion in grants to schools from the stimulus) school districts must commit to “advance essential education reforms to benefit students from early learning through post-secondary education, including: college- and career-ready standards and high-quality, valid and reliable assessments for all students; development and use of pre-K through post-secondary and career data systems; increasing teacher effectiveness and ensuring an equitable distribution of qualified teachers; and turning around the lowest-performing schools.”

So, for a few measly bucks public schools must cede local control to the feds, although how much control is unclear.

See how quickly J.D. makes the flip from “accepting stimulus funds” to “ceding control” (with Mullane knowing at least as well as I do that you’d have better luck trying to “cede control” of a picnic lunch from a black bear in this state than you would funding and control thereof from our local school boards).

More…

I called the Department of Education in D.C. to find out, and was told a “specialist” would call back, but never did.

However, I was able to hear Gov. Ed Rendell speak about the issue last week. Rendell was in Philadelphia making an appearance on Dom Giordano’s talk show on WPHT, to discuss how much Obama stimulus cash the commonwealth will bag.

The governor said that 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s high school graduates fail reading and math, but are awarded graduation diplomas anyway.

“We are handing them diplomas that are, essentially, meaningless,” the governor said.

The stimulus money headed to Pennsylvania schools will help resolve the “meaningless” diploma issue, he said. But that presumes giving the feds a larger role running schools.

I would sooner impale myself on a fondue fork than actually waste one second of my life listening to Dom Giordano on WPHT in these parts, and I was not able to find a transcript so I could fill in the context on Rendell’s remarks which I’m sure J.D. fails to provide here (sorry I’m having a bit of a tough time with that Google thingie on this post, but I’ll actually worry if and when I ever get paid for this; pretty pathetic that J.D. can churn out this drivel and get remunerated for it).

However, Mullane is the last person in the world who can criticize others for acquiring “meaningless” diplomas (I know for a fact that he’s written at least one column arguing that a college degree is unnecessary, but thanks once more to the technological marvel that is phillyburbs.com, I cannot locate it at the moment - I know he wrote it because someone wrote a Letter to the Editor in response to it).

The rest of what passes for his opinion column is pointless dreck owing to RNC-approved propaganda.

Once again, I apologize for the lack of linked material here. But if the Courier Times columnist in question (to say nothing of his editor – does Mullane even have one?) would actually bother to substantiate his information, then I would be able to refute it more thoroughly.

But then again, if Mullane’s commentary could actually be substantiated by information from the real world, then there probably would be no need to refute it at all.