Michael Schiavo has formed a new political action committee, TerriPAC, to stick it to all the politicians that got in his personal business. I agree that the government overplayed it’s role, in fact they never should have been inviolved in the first place… but Michael Schiavo is a still a schmuck.

Government has little or no place in the medical decisions of my family.

That said, I don’t think he really gave a rat’s ass about his wife or her extended family.
He should have allowed Terri’s relatives to be involved in her final hours.

Take a look at the the site http://www.terripac.com/ and you’ll find that the logo prominantly features his name and the site features his picture ont he front page. For a PAC named after his wife, maybe he should have something about her on the site? Nah!

Maybe a better name would be MichaelSchiavo’sEgoGotBruisedandNowI’m BitchyThat NoOneIsPayingAttentionToMe!PAC

Guess TerriPAC won’t see any money from the NewmanPAC any time soon.

TerriPAC
MICHAEL SCHIAVO ANNOUNCES NEW POLITICAL COMMITTEE
December 7, 2005

FLORIDA – Michael Schiavo, whose 15 year struggle to grant his wife’s end-of-life wishes triggered unprecedented government intrusion and political grandstanding by political leaders from the Florida Legislature to President George W. Bush, today announced he has formed TerriPAC – a national political committee.

“The easiest thing would be to move on and let the headlines fade,” Schiavo said. “But my experience with our political leaders has opened my eyes to just how easily the private wishes of normal Americans like me and Terri can be cast aside in the destructive game of political pandering. The best way to hold them accountable is to make sure voters know where the candidates stand when they come looking for votes next November.”

In spite of overwhelming public feelings against their actions, politicians from Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., manipulated Michael and Terri Schiavo’s deeply personal family tragedy into a national media spectacle and exploited that attention for their own political gain.
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There is nothing more gratifying than seeing an article by a national columnist that validates my personal feelings. I’m not totally nuts, there is at least one other person out there that is asking the same question that I have been asking since I registered to vote at age 18. Why do I need a political party to tell me what to do, for that matter why does anyone?

A Pox on BOTH Parties!

Now, with Bush weakened by the war and other problems, Republicans on Capitol Hill are beginning to scramble for safety by voting their districts, not heeding partisan commands.

It is not an edifying spectacle. And the result may well be what it was for the Democrats in 1994, when the cry, “Every member for himself!” turned into a rout.

Leaving behind one big question: When both parties have lost public confidence, where do voters turn?

Additionally, let’s hope that this article is really the start of some sense in US government. In general, I worry about anyone that is at either end of any belief spectrum. Those are the nut cases, weirdoes, and freaks and should not have any considerable control over the majority, the majority that is suppossed to rule the roost in our country.

Political center makes a comeback

In Congress and in constituencies across the country, last week demonstrated a powerful and welcome trend: After a long eclipse, the people in the political center, the moderates, have regained their voice and are reasserting themselves.

Tony Phyrillas

The other pay raise kicks in for Pennsylvania legislators

An early Christmas present for our larcenous legislators?

Christmas comes early — and often — for the members of the Pennsylvania legislature. You didn’t think that an angry mob of voters was going to keep the larcenous legislators from lining their own pockets, did you?

Sure they repealed the July 7 pay raise as the noose tightened around their political necks, but they do not intend to part with the 3.6 percent pay raise they refer to as a cost-of-living increase. And where else but in the Pennsylvania legislature can you be on a two-week Thanksgiving break when your pay raise kicks in? They don’t even have to show up for work and they still get paid more for it.

The latest pay raise was put into place 10 years ago — the last time the legislators raided the public treasury — giving themselves immediate pay raises of 18 percent and enacting an automatic cost-of-living increase every year unless the legislators vote not to accept the higher pay. For the 10th year in a row, the legislators forgot to vote against the automatic pay raise. What’s in your wallet?

The legislators promised in 1995 that they would never seek or approve another pay raise for themselves as long as they could get an annual cost-of-living increase based on the inflation rate in Philadelphia. That “promise” apparently came with an expiration date. The July 7, 2005, pay raise vote by many of the same politicians who pledged 10 years ago never to give themselves a pay raise shows you can’t trust anything the Harrisburg Hogs say.

Our lawmakers have morphed into a permanent class of professional politicians, a legislative aristocracy if you will. Sadly, more than 90 percent of these freeloaders are reelected year after year. Two-thirds of them didn’t even have an opponent the last time they ran. That must change in 2006 or Pennsylvania is doomed.

Consider the following articles, both from the same issue newspaper….

Lancaster Online.com: Your Lancaster County News Source

Test slot machines arrive Richard Williamson, director of Gaming Laboratory Operations of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, samples the play of a slot machine that his office will test and use to train staff for a variety of investigation and auditing duties. Seven machines donated by manufacturers that have applied for a license arrived in Harrisburg Tuesday.

Still no decision by county as voting machine deadline nears

Although a Dec. 31 federal mandate is fast approaching, Lancaster County officials have yet to decide on which new voting machines they will purchase.

Under the terms of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, all voting machines in the county must be accessible to the handicapped and must provide for the manual audit of returns in time for the spring 2006 primary.

The reason the county hasn’t yet picked a voting-machine model, Stehman said, is only two machines have been certified by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Only certified machines can be bought by the 67 counties in Pennsylvania.

Now, here’s my question:

How is it that in three years the Commonwealth can only certify 2 voting machines but when it comes to slots we can come up with 7 models in a matter of 6 months?

Obviously the priorities of our government are skewed away from the basic tenets of democracy (one person one vote) in favor of bait and switch ‘gambling for taxes’ swaps.

PA legislators, if you haven’t already gotten the message after the PayJacking scandal; now hear this… PACK YOUR BAGS THE FREE RIDE IS OVER.

WGAL.com – Money – Lawmaker Perk $129-A-Day Just For Showing Up

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The state lawmaker pay raise is history but in an 8 On Your Side investigation News 8 found some Susquehanna Valley lawmakers taking home much more than their salary — thousands of dollars more.

Its money that some people say the lawmakers shouldn’t be taking. Some lawmakers from the Susquehanna Valley take home 24129 a day2C on top of their salary2C just for showing up to work

The money is called a per diem. Its a set rate lawmakers are paid to cover expenses — no receipts needed, no questions asked. In the House, the amount is $129. In the Senate, its $128. The money covers meals, but mostly its intended for overnight lodging to help lawmakers who live far from Harrisburg.

So this comes out after the pay-jacking and unvouchered expense fiasco?

Many people have said politics is really big business (and if no one has said that, I am now) and the $129 / day stipend for living expenses is proof positive that the citizens fo PA need to file a grievance with the better business bureau