Chelsea Getting Married... Whoop-dee-doo

OK Philadelphia, get a grip...this ain't a fairy tale dealio. Might be a scary tale though, before it's over given the lineage on both sides?

I have no beef with Chelsea or her intended Marc Mezvinsky, but let's get real about a marriage of politically opportunistic families. I actually hope the media gets over their slobbering long enough to remember that between Bill Clinton's penchant for cheap blue dresses and well the Mezvinsky parental units and their School for Scandal which is shall we say...ummm...legendary...hmmmm, ummm, well maybe leave the kids alone so they aren't tainted by the literal sins of the fathers?



Marjorie was a self-aggrandizing one term wonder in the U.S. Congress whose favorite charity has always been her own ambition. She was famous for (among other things) constantly trotting out her adopted children like the Von Trapp Family Singers.

Big Ed Mezvinsky's claim to fame wasn't his time as a U.S. Congressman but the time he served for bilking people out of their money like a Madoff of his day.

So whateva' as they say, but let's resist the Philadelphia media urge for revisionist history...they ain't no Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier, either. Her daddy was a skirt chaser, her mama has balls of steel. His daddy is an ex-con, and his mama well she has balls of steel too. Let the kids get married in peace and make their own life...although I am damn sure the Mezvinsky clan will milk this for all it's worth and become even more insufferable in the process.

Posted on Mon, Nov. 30, 2009
Clinton daughter, Chelsea, engaged to be married
BETH FOUHY
The Associated Press

Hedge Funds
Chelsea Clinton Plans a Merger
November 30, 2009, 2:23 pm

So where do the Mezvinsky parental units live these days? Aren't they divorced? Oy, the seating charts for this wedding reception will be very interesting indeed....Chelsea, keep your last name....

frugalista fashionista fun

O.K. Main Liners - admit it - times are tough. We're not skipping out to our chic boutiques as often. So what's a girl to do? Come on now, think back....did your mother or any of her friends do clothing co-ops between circles of friends when kids were little or we were all going to proms?

Why not apply that to grown up girl clothes?

My friends and I do it on the QT - we swap - we're tired of something, have gained or lost a few pounds, coveted that perfect holiday glittery top in our BFF's closet? Do a swap! It dresses up your existing wardrobe and well....free clothes, who knew? And for those of you who get the heebie jeebies from thrift and consignment shops? Well....you know where these clothes have been, don't you now?

Now I also will admit I comb the thrift shops and consignment shops for the occasional filler piece - especially the cool vintage things - but what I don't buy at these stores are shoes - some have great success - I get an "ick" factor.

There are tons of great thrift and consignment shops on the Main Line, but one I don't shop regularly is the Junior League Thrift Shop in Ardmore. Now it looks better inside since they spruced up, but their clothes are just priced too high for what they are...and a lot of their clothes just smell. I like the store, the ladies are nice, but they price too high for the condition of a lot of the clothes.


I find the farther west you go on the Main Line, the better the thrift and consignment shop. Just my experience. I am not telling you my favorites lest they become more popular and shopped out. Sorry, but in this economy it's every girl for herself!!

I find these alternatives more to my liking as opposed to what that "Cheap Chica" on one of the local TV stations does - she's cute, but cheap is cheap and I would rather have higher quality resale or recycled items and not something that looks like a knockoff...she's also more of a trendy girl. Trendy ends up cluttering your closet...Classic and well made never goes out of style...after all some of those designers who shall remain nameless that Main Liners covet aren't reinventing the wheel, they are only designing new based on what their mamas had in their closet in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s...

Tacky, Tacky, Tacky

I mean seriously. What is this? College and they didn't get invited to a frat party? Even then it was social suicide, right? Who crashes a White House state dinner??? And she's not some twenty something crashing a club line in NYC or LA to meet rich guys, although one can't help but wonder how she met her husband? And hubby is a polo player and winemaker or something? Wonder who his daddy is?? One thing I read said they are being considered for Real Housewives of DC? What would the Countess of the NYC Housewives say??


These people don't deserve a reality show or to make money from T.V. appearences, they deserve some sort of federally levied spanking. Wonder how their taxes are doing? Do they pay their fair share? Do they have any "undocumented" workers?

There are some things you just don't do in this world and I think crashing a state dinner at the White House is one of them. Bad behavior like this which is also incredibly tacky should not be rewarded, but like the Octo Mom, they will undoubtedly be rewarded.

Of course what is even more profoundly disturbing is that they actually got into the dinner.



Obamas’ Uninvited Guests Prompt an Inquiry Sign in to Recommend
By HELENE COOPER and BRIAN STELTER
Published: November 26, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Secret Service is investigating how a couple aspiring to be reality-show celebrities managed to appear at President Obama’s first state dinner without being on the guest list, provoking questions about security at the White House.

The inquiry was begun after a Virginia couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, slipped past multiple layers of high-level White House security Tuesday night and managed to rub shoulders, literally, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, among others, at Washington’s most exclusive social event this year.

Edwin M. Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service who spent his Thanksgiving Day dealing with phone calls from reporters, would not discuss the investigation in detail but said the initial focus was on “a Secret Service checkpoint which did not follow proper procedure to ensure these two individuals were on the invited guest list.”...Representative Peter T. King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, called for a Congressional investigation, saying in an interview Thursday that he was shocked at the lack of security at the White House on Tuesday night. Since 2003, the Secret Service has been part of the Department of Homeland Security....Brian Williams, the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” and a guest at the dinner, saw the Salahis arrive when he was waiting in a line of cars to enter the East Gate of the White House. In interviews broadcast on NBC on Thursday, Mr. Williams said the couple’s vehicle was turned away, adding, “Actually the first ring of Secret Service security had worked.”

“After their vehicle was turned away, they hopped out,” Mr. Williams said. “What attracted our attention was there was at least one camera trailing them. And a makeup woman got out and fixed the woman’s hair and then started powdering the man’s forehead.”

Thoughts at Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to say how thankful I am for the love of my family and my friends.

I am thankful for what I do have, and thankful I don't have a desire to covet what I don't have.

To the duplicitous bastards we all have the misfortune to encounter in this world, God will be there to sit in judgement someday and well, Karma always has a way of evening it all out...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Love those around you, and revel in your families and friends and this great country that give us this day to literally be thankful. We live in difficult times, remember the small blessings.

For a really neat history of Thanksgiving throughout the ages, I invite all of you to check out Thanksgiving on the Net - The History of Thanksgiving and its Celebrations

So Ridiculous It's Sublime...

Be still my heart, Jim Schneller thinks he's running for Congress. Yes indeedy, the President of The Obama Fan Club wants our vote. Yep, next he'll be asking ol' Sarah Palin to bear his love child too....

Delco Times: Add another face in race for 7th Congress seat
Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009
By ALEX ROSE
arose@delcotimes.com

An Independent candidate from Wayne has emerged in the ever-expanding field seeking the 7th Congressional District seat in mid-term elections next year.

Jim Schneller, 54, is a fiscally conservative pro-life reformer who wants to reign in spending at the federal level, while working to reduce debt nationally and locally...Schneller, a “parishioner under every possibly meaning of the word” at St. Katharine of Siena in Wayne, said he attended Penn State University and Columbia University, studying a wide range of subjects including pre-medicine, mathematics, information technology and biology....Schneller said he believes the state and nation are at a fulcrum with the 2010 races. He expects to take a prominent role in his race and welcomes debate with his opponents.

To date, those Democratic opponents include state Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161, of Swarthmore; political consultant E. Teresa Touey of Massachusetts, and environmental lawyer Gail Conner of Edgmont.

Pat Meehan of Upper Darby, a former Delaware County district attorney and U.S. attorney, is the Republican candidate for the seat. State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, of Haverford, is also mulling a run but has not been actively campaigning.

Debates? Oh sweet lord....this whole scenario is worthy of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Jim Schneller Announces Run for Congress
By Proud American

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – Jim Schneller announced Thursday his entry into the race for U.S. Representative in Congress, to represent the people of Pennsylvania’s 7th district. The district was formerly represented by Joe Sestak....“Unwholesome forces with great power, many of them foreign, are now openly causing Washington to put American ideals of free enterprise, quality education, and rights to true freedom, on the back burner, while causing, at the same time, continual world strife, economic disparity, and often, severe inequality, especially for youth, families, and the elderly.”

http://www.jim4us.com/
Jim Schneller for Congress Committee

Joseph Forte's Pyramid of Hell: Who Pays?

I am a little confused as to how government receivers are going to be able to get what amounts to "victims" to cough up all that money? Is that like getting victims to pay twice? Where did the money go? Don't they know? Some of the victims are non-profits. Now one victim could I think cough up the money --- the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. They have it.

Now as for John N. Irwin, the Main Line accountant who did the funky reports without documents to back it up? Who knew he was also a venture capitalist? Will he be able to come up with $34 million? How have price tags been placed on his guilt and the guilt of others? Now him, I don't feel so sorry for, because as an accountant he knows he should have had a paper trail. I do not get accountants in this day and age who just take it on faith so to speak, without anything to back it up. But if this guy was part of a firm, who was watching him? They said Irwin was an original partner in Forte's limited partnership, correct? How do you not check out a limited partnership if you are investing in it? Accountants are service providers we need to be able to trust.

This Forte thing is still so strange...I feel like there is more to the story. Where is Forte now? Where is his family? Where is the money? How do you make so much money disappear? Is it hidden in a Swiss bank account or on some island somewhere? And why the hell at the end of the day would you invest with a computer salesman? Someone non-accredited or educated in the financial world?

If it is, I wish he would just 'fess up - I keep thinking about the schools that were duped....especially Hilltop which does so many GOOD things...what does the wife know? Or any other relative? Is the wife able to skate under innocent spouse rule?

At the end of the day I get what the receivership person is trying to do, because after all, people should be more responsible with their money, or in this case OPM other people's money...and well...if an investment sounds too good to be true, it generally is, isn't it? But it takes a crap economy for these charlatans and Ponzi schemers to show up because the system of checks and balances in this country is too political and flawed to begin with, isn't it? Because if the system of checks and balances actually worked would we be seeing these articles and hearing about the Madoffs of this world?

Aren't you all just sick of the players in the financial arena in this country? I am. I am especially sick of the ones who complain about the rules, yet articles like this come out so you discover they were just flaunting the rules to begin with. Every law maker and politician in this country shares culpability here because they ALL let people like this fall through the cracks while they are playing politics in Washington DC.

Happy Thanksgiving America. Our country is run by jackasses and is in the crapper. Joseph Forte is but one lone turd in the toilet. And oh yeah, let's stop calling it a recession, because face it, it's a depression now.

Sun, Nov. 22, 2009
Joseph Forte's financial pyramid scheme
By Harold Brubaker
Inquirer Staff Writer

For years, Joseph S. Forte acted like a wealthy man. The money manager gave $1.8 million to schools, invested $800,000 in private firms, even helped a brother-in-law buy a $580,000 house near his own in Sea Isle City.

But last fall, as the Bernard L. Madoff scandal unnerved wealthy Americans, Forte's world - built on lies to 100 investors who had entrusted him with $79 million since 1995 - crumbled....After first contemplating suicide, according to a court filing, Forte, 53, of Broomall, turned himself in in late December, confessing he had fabricated investment results - ranging from 18 percent to 37 percent - from the start.

On Tuesday, when he is to be sentenced in federal court in Philadelphia, Forte's victims will learn what price he will pay for wrecking their lives....But his investors, including dozens of individuals and such institutions as the Thornton D. & Elizabeth S. Hooper Foundation in St. Davids, Hill Top Preparatory School in Rosemont, and Wayne United Methodist Church, stand little chance of ever recouping much of their estimated $34 million in losses.

The official appointed to sell assets and raise money for Forte's investors has little to work with - unlike the receiver in the case of the Chester County Ponzi artist Tony Young, who allegedly defrauded investors of $23 million and paid cash for houses worth millions.

The receiver in the Forte case has already started demanding money back from investors who made money, and from schools and organizations that received donations from Forte.

His houses in Broomall and Sea Isle City were heavily mortgaged, according to a court document. The former computer salesman and Haverford gym owner owed more on a 30-foot motorboat - he paid $164,000 for it in 2003 - than it was worth. The sale of five cars brought in $42,375. The value of Bernadette Forte's jewelry was estimated at $13,000.

"There is no evidence that Mr. Forte accumulated a fortune," his attorney, Joseph M. Fioravanti of Media, said in a filing....But Forte appears to have been trying to get rich with investments in his own name in 15 private companies, the best-known being Real Entertainment Group Inc., the operator of World Cafe Live...The court-appointed receiver, Marion A. Hecht of Goodman & Co. L.L.C., of Washington, is trying to force 41 investors who took, in aggregate, $8.56 million more out of the fund than they put in to return the fictitious profits.

Two have agreed to return the full amount, said Hecht's attorney in Philadelphia, Arlene Fickler, of Hoyle, Fickler, Herschel & Mathes L.L.P.

"She is putting people through hoops of fire. I'm one of them," said an investor who declined to be quoted by name because he is still too embarrassed by the situation....The archdiocese "is cooperating fully with the receiver, but being asked to return these funds is a tremendous hardship for the church," Farrell said in a statement. "At this time, the schools and the parish do not know how they would raise the funds for repayment."

Hill Top Prep, for children with learning difficulties, is facing a double whammy: Not only did it lose nearly $1 million to the fraud by Forte, who was on the school's board, the receiver is seeking the return of $149,492 Forte donated to the school.

"There's a very real possibility that we'll lose this school," reads a comment in the government's sentencing memo.....A link between Forte, the Hooper Foundation, Hill Top, and at least three of the private companies that received Forte investments was John N. Irwin, a Main Line accountant and venture capitalist who regularly sat with Forte at Haverford Township Rotary Club meetings, helped Forte start the fund, and was one of his original investors.

Irwin also played a bigger role. He sent unaudited reports to investors based on data Forte provided. He told some investors to send checks to Irwin's company.

Hecht, the receiver, concluded that the fund has claims against Irwin, including "claims for malpractice, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment," and has demanded $34 million from him.

My Body, Their Negligence?

I am becoming more alarmed by the day about all the new found "guidelines" over the REALLY important health care issues that involve women like cervical cancer screenings and mammograms. I have known women who have had breast cancer, cervical and ovarian cancers. All were diagnosed young, and if they had not been able to get tests they would not have been able to be here still today.

On the flip side, I know women who did not find out they had some of these cancers until it was so late. Why? Basically because their health insurance wouldn't pay for certain tests including genetic ones. So why the hell is this country regressing in the case of medicine for women? Is this just part an parcel of telling us what to do with our bodies in general and trying to block our right to choose?

Jesus. Why not just round up all the women in the U.S. now and put us to sleep since apparently we are to have no choice in anything having to do with our bodies.

I think this is all being drummed up by the corrupt health care industry, which while it came about to help people, instead it's morphed into all about helping their company profit margins.

Guidelines Push Back Age for Cervical Cancer Tests Sign in to Recommend
By DENISE GRADY
Published: November 20, 2009
The New York Times

New guidelines for cervical cancer screening say women should delay their first Pap test until age 21, and be screened less often than recommended in the past.

The advice, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is meant to decrease unnecessary testing and potentially harmful treatment, particularly in teenagers and young women. The group’s previous guidelines had recommended yearly testing for young women, starting within three years of their first sexual intercourse, but no later than age 21.

Arriving on the heels of hotly disputed guidelines calling for less use of mammography, the new recommendations might seem like part of a larger plan to slash cancer screening for women. But the timing was coincidental, said Dr. Cheryl B. Iglesia, the chairwoman of a panel in the obstetricians’ group that developed the Pap smear guidelines. The group updates its advice regularly based on new medical information, and Dr. Iglesia said the latest recommendations had been in the works for several years, “long before the Obama health plan came into existence.”

Mammogram Debate Took Group by Surprise Sign in to Recommend
By GINA KOLATA
Published: November 20, 2009
The New York Times

The federal Preventive Services Task Force, the group that created a political firestorm this week with its recommendation that women get less-frequent mammograms, was created to be insulated from politics.

Yet, some observers say, its apolitical nature may have made it naïve about just how strongly Congress; some professionals, like radiologists; advocacy groups, like the American Cancer Society; and members of the public would react.

As soon as the task force’s guidelines were released on Monday, recommending against routine mammograms for most women in their 40s and saying women should consider having the screening test every other year instead of annually, the maelstrom erupted.

Republicans and some groups, like the American College of Radiology, said the guidelines were made in response to the Obama administration’s wish to save health care dollars.

The health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, distancing herself from the group’s recommendations, told CNN on Wednesday, “This panel was appointed by the prior administration, by former President George Bush.”

Editorial
The Controversy Over Mammograms
November 19, 2009
The New York Times

An expert panel’s recommendation that mammography screening to detect breast cancer be scaled back has caused consternation among women and doctors and prompted some attempts to connect the results to the debate over health care.

Is Tory Burch Really So Fabulous?

Will someone please tell me why everyone thinks Tory Burch is so "to die for" ? It can't be just because she went to Agnes Irwin or was married a Burch once upon a time, can it? I don't get the adoration at the Temple of Tory.


Seriously, not trying to be mean, don't know the woman other then her products aren't long-wearing (especially the shoes) and she used to date Lance Armstrong (which is now becoming like who hasn't dated the guy?) - and who else was it? Philly Magazine wrote about one of her dalliances...not that I begrudge a girl her dalliances, but hers all seem to be strategic power plays...she started small with Mr. Eagles Eye and worked her way up - loved it when they said:

Because in fashion, the only thing worse than being today’s tabloid headline is being yesterday’s.

I am glad she designs what she likes, but I still don't get the hype and devotion. Her things are nice, but does anything grab me and say "must have or die"? Well no, that would be Prada, Carmen Marc Valvo,Pamela Rolland or something....I dunno, I loved it when Jezebel described her as a fake WASP...'cause that is what she is interestingly enough...

Now Cityfile, they captured it perfectly in March and cracked me up:

Tory Burch Tweaks Her Image

This isn't the best time for a socialite to be pitching a high-end lifestyle brand. But you can't blame Tory Burch for trying to remake her image to suit the current economic climate....she expects her line to continue to grow as hedge-fund wives "downgrade from Hermès and Halston." "We have a lot of designer customers shopping in our stores who think of us as their Gap," Burch explains. As for her high-profile split from ex-husband Chris Burch and the handful of men she's been linked to since then (including Lance Armstrong, Ron Perelman, and Lyor Cohen) don't think for a minute she's been pleased to see her name in the news....

...""But, at the same time, I'm flattered that women relate to me on different levels....women relate to me."

....Breaking up with an uber-wealthy venture capitalist, rebounding publicly with a string of famous womanizers, all the while juggling work, children, and immaculately highlighted hair: It's a universal experience.

Whatever...she isn't required wearing yet, thank goodness...and for those who love fashion chit chat, justsnarky recommends "INSIDE THE TENTS" and Philadelphia Daily Candy.

Sarah Palin To Become Radnor Township Manager After Book Tour??

....OK, OK...I am kidding, but wouldn't that add some spice to John Osborne's trashcan surfing life?

But sigh, Sarah has pretend-written a book and Oprah used her for ratings....Mind you, I think Sarah Palin might be better at mud wrestling or something. I can't stand her. I wish she would just go away.




Sarah Palin on Oprah Winfrey Show: Five best outtakes
By Peter Grier | 11.16.09

Five Questions The Big O Should Have Asked Sarah Palin
Amy Alexander.Author, Journalist
Posted: November 17, 2009 02:42 PM
Huffington Post

Luck O' The Irish Runs Out for Clan O'Neill in Delco?

It seems the O'Neill family from Newtwon Square is being cursed by an angry leprechaun or something. In late October Big Papa O'Neill was sentanced and could face deportation. And yesterday, Roisin Eileen O’Neill, 24, of the 2100 block of Pony Trail Drive, Newtown Square,got sentanced for her drunken highway ride that killed someone's beloved grannie.

This of course was the same family where the son shot a friend while playing with guns or something at an underage booze fest...What a family....I guess in the end, Karma and Fate are real bitches, eh? These people need a family package to AA and rehab don't they? What bar was this woman at in Conshohocken before she got on the Blue Route the wrong way? It seems to me that all her stops never got reported? Because where they reported her getting on the highway, well was there a side trip to the kiddie bars of Conshy as well? I have always wondered when reading articles in this case who served her what? And when? And where? Because in my mind bartenders that serve obviously intoxicated people should be liable too.

Sobbing Roisin O'Neill gets 5-10 years in jail in fatal crash
Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Carl Hessler Jr., chessler@pottsmerc.com

NORRISTOWN - A Delaware County woman sobbed Thursday as she admitted to driving drunk and the wrong way on the Blue Route, causing a crash that killed a woman headed to Media to visit her grandchildren.

Roisin Eileen O’Neill, 24, of the 2100 block of Pony Trail Drive, Newtown Square, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to five-to-10-years in state prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and recklessly endangering others in connection with the Sept. 12, 2008, fatal crash on Route 476 in Plymouth.

The two-vehicle crash claimed the life of 63-year-old Patricia Waggoner and placed six other drivers in danger....Prosecutors described O’Neill as “falling down drunk” at the time of the 12:55 a.m. fatal crash, accusing her of driving on the Blue Route in the wrong direction and at a high rate of speed before her vehicle slammed into a car operated by Waggoner. Waggoner, who was on her way to visit her son and grandchildren in Media, was pronounced dead at the scene.

U.S. NEWS
OCTOBER 21, 2009, 3:49 P.M. ET.Businessman Likely to Be Deported to Northern Ireland
By PETER LOFTUS
Wall Street Journal

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- A prominent local businessman who came to the U.S. from Northern Ireland more than 25 years ago probably will be forced to return.

Wednesday in Philadelphia, a U.S. judge sentenced Sean O'Neill, who came to the Philadelphia suburbs in the early 1980s, to 18 months in prison on tax, immigration and firearm charges. He is likely to face deportation proceedings during or shortly after his prison term.

After coming to the U.S. when he was in his early 20s, Mr. O'Neill built a construction business that helped him achieve a net worth in the millions, then he later opened a popular Irish pub. He supported local youth-sports teams and hosted charity events. His family's 14,000-square-foot home in horse country about 15 miles west of Philadelphia has a sign on the driveway gate that reads "Failte," which is Irish for "welcome."

But things started unraveling for Mr. O'Neill three years ago, when his teenage son, Sean Jr., accidentally shot and killed a friend at the O'Neill home -- with a gun belonging to the elder Mr. O'Neill -- while his parents were away on vacation. While investigating that shooting incident, state police found documents suggesting Mr. O'Neill had been arrested in Northern Ireland. The police told federal investigators, who found that Mr. O'Neill had been convicted in 1977, when he was a teen, of belonging to a banned youth organization, Fianna na h'Eireann, that authorities said was dedicated to the violent overthrow of British rule in Northern Ireland.

Federal authorities arrested Mr. O'Neill in June 2008 on charges that he fraudulently obtained U.S. legal-residency papers by concealing the 1977 U.K. conviction. Mr. O'Neill, a hunter who owned several firearms, also was charged with illegally possessing a rifle silencer, falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and conspiring to avoid taxes by paying his restaurant employees off the books from 1997 through 2006.

"He built his life here in the United States on a series of critical lies," federal prosecutors wrote in a memo to the judge in the case.

A little more than a year ago, Mr. O'Neill's daughter Roisin, while under the influence of alcohol, drove the wrong way on a suburban Interstate and crashed head-on into another car, killing its driver, a woman from Massachusetts.

...Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@dowjones.com

What Secret Doesn't Radnor Township Want Residents to Learn?

That they are being dumped because of their lack of cooperativeness? Their secrey? Their back door whisper down the lane? Well maybe it has to do with that nasty press release sent out by some people called Fitch?

Oh here...read it:

November 12, 2009 1650 +0000 UTC
Fitch Withdraws 'AA' Rating on Radnor PA Outstanding GOs

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In the course of routine surveillance, Fitch withdraws the 'AA' rating and Stable Outlook on the Township of Radnor, PA's (Township) outstanding series 2002 A and 2004 AA general obligation bonds due to a lack of ongoing disclosure information.

Fitch will no longer provide rating coverage of the township of Radnor.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

Do you know what a "lack of disclosure" means to everyone's pockets? How will double digit tax increases wear on the linings of taxpayer pockets? So next time some Radnor commissioner tells you open government isn't what everyone wants, show them this blog post....this is what happens when Radnor keeps secrets, avoids answering questions.

So Radnor, how's that 2009 goal working for you? You know the one to RAISE the bond rating? Were all those hungry, hungry hippos worth it?

Radnor is in the crapper. So you know what? I think people should get charged for certain kinds of trash pick up. There are plenty of people who are able bodied enough to drag their trashcans to the curb from their high end abodes. If they can't, pay for it. But you'll save money on the personal trainer by working out with trashcans once a week. And property taxes? Take a good look at things like empty parcels of land developers and whoever sit on? Why not charge a little more there? Why not raise your fees for the permits and whatever developers have have to take out? Why should fees for the little guys be the same as the fees for the big guy if the big guy can afford more money?

And oh yes, Radnor? Why the hell do you take your direction from a worker who shows up to a meeting in Eagles loungewear and he doesn't even live in Radnor? Does he even know what a bond rating is?

Radnor has kept employees fat and happy at the expense of the residents of Radnor. So how about all those unfunded vacation days, bonues, and whatnot from the Days of Dave Bashore? Does Radnor seriously think they can pay as they go?

Careful Radnor, better look sharp lest you become the next Darby. For Christ's sake. This news hits the wires, while locally, we're seeing articles about John Osborne? Like he's so wonderful? What does he actually do all day except drink free coffee in the township building?

Radnor talks about working to the best interests of the residents only it never happens the way they say, does it?

Once again Radnor is embarassed in the media - it's even on CNBC...

Schneller Vs. Bajus In Wayne?

So....I got this little comment:

Totally new topic, Snarky. Do you have any interest in running this one up the flagpole:

What would happen if one of us were to move the entrance and layout of our driveway or build a swimming pool without getting a permit from Radnor township? Then, after things were built, we told the zoning board:"Oh, sorry. I didn't know I needed to!". That's what's going on with that rebuilt brick commercial building at 103 N Wayne (home of the old appraiser). It always seemed odd that the sidewalk was changed in front of it, and a large, step up concrete patio surrounded by a black metal fence appeared out of nowhere. It would be fun for outdoor eating and smoking, I guess, but it's a total pain in the ass for pedestrians. At one point, sidewalk walkers have to skinny into single file to get through the opening at the corner of the fence and the street lamppost. Turns out, looking at the public notice in the paper this week, the owner of this still vacant property never bothered to get a permit or any other kind of permission from Radnor Township to built it!! Nobody in a position of authority noticed this thing going up, right in the center of town? The zoning board has scheduled a hearing on November 19 to take up this little 'oops'. What do we think the board is going to do: make him disassemble the construction or let it remain and give him a slap on the wrist? The owner says it qualifies as a "town commons" so it should be allowed to stay. Uh..right.

Oh, now see I thought of course someone would have gotten permission to something like that...so I pulled up the township website and miraculously I found a zoning notice...it said:

APPEAL #2820 Mr. James Schneller’s appeal of alterations to the sidewalk and plaza in front of 103 N Wayne Ave, and erection of fence in front of property as well, without a permit nor approval of the Department or other official. This is an appeal of any approval or deemed approval that exists. Existence of a town commons is requested to be found.

And when I did a little googling on 103 N. Wayne, up popped King Bajus. Who knew? I didn't...I don't follow all these little things...but there it was in color:



Now I don't know where the public notice is in the paper...but to Steve Bajus I say this is like an adult man getting some babe pregnant: you are old enough to know better, and they haven't deeded the town of Wayne to you yet. I mean you talked about this as a "facade renovation" in 2008, right? How could you think you could create a moat? And as for Radnor not noticing, well entirely probable since most employees hang at the mini mart on North Aberdeen, or piss and moan at Joe's and complain to that Marty guy (that's his name, right? Marty?)

Bajus is a total shit for trying to do this, but since he thinks he owns the town? I mean look across the street at Great American Pub Land? How is it right, normal or fair that all those ugly tables, drunk gliders, etc are allowed to eat all of the sidewalk? I love outdoor cafes, but shit people, this isn't Paris. If it was Paris we wouldn't be having this conversation because well, they just do cafe dining right...Personally I find it annoying to have to step over drunks at the Great American Pub after a nice dinner at Theresa's or after leaving a movie. Boathouse has it's share of adult sidewalk drunks too. I think the center of town has gone from fabulousness to tackiness, truthfully...which is why I don't go there often anymore.

The only way this gets stopped whomever you are who wrote me this comment is if people actually show up at the meeting and bitch. And the stay at home mommy shopper set should want to because they won't get a stroller or a toddler safely around that for long.

Do I think Radnor will make him remove it? No. They don't want to anger the king.

Schneller might actually have this one right. Hopefully the earth won't stand still as a result.

Here is the description in Bajus's own words - he is trying to pull a Hempcher/Great American Pub:

Building Type & Size:
Retail Space
Gross Leasable Area 2,378 SF
Plus Basement

Features:

Property Features:
Private parking in rear
Adjacent to community parking
Walk to Septa R5 Train, shops & restaurants
Convenient to Blue Route 476, Route 202 and PA Turnpike
100% Sprinkler coverage
New High Efficiency HVAC System
New Sidewalks

Retail Features:
New storefront with large display windows
Great exposure on North Wayne Avenue in the center of downtown Wayne
Located near Wayne's busiest intersection off Lancaster Avenue (Route 30)
Open floor plan
Basement storage
Tall Ceilings
Outdoor Dining available for restaurant
Tremendous foot traffic
Surrounded by great mix of high end retailers and restaurants

A Lil' Shout Out To Brooke De La Villanova

Oh Brookie Dahhlling? Where are you? This juicy bit is right up your keyboard, more so than mine.

That's right, curiosity has gotten the best of me, and it's time Brooke De La Villanova gets on this case of the society editor whodunit. Only this is a case of everyone knows whodoinit, it's a case of why is it happening at all?


Everywhere you go this season, the new fashion accessory to the Main Line Fashionistas is a society editor side show. And I am thinking that a certain society editor is headed for a melt down? She seems more rumpled than usual and seems to be, well, man-handling the society dames for photos? These ladies are delicate flowers and bruise easily, so easy on directing the elbows as all are not visual battleships....

I mean oh my gosh by golly, can't we all just be grown ups? After all there are so many society editors to chose from with the magazines now, oui? What makes this one think she can have a fit of the nasties everytime another one is in the room? It doesn't matter which one it is, either. And how long until there is a complete revolt from the ladies who luncheon set? Club lunches have been a-buzz with "Oh my gosh, how do we deal with her?" conversations...which of course totally detracts from who is divorcing whom, who is stepping out on whom and whose hubby isn't bringing home enough bacon bits to suit...

Perhaps the little octogenarian dictator needs a spa day to encourage attitude adjustment? They say the occasional makeover is good for the soul...and heaven knows that Edsel needs a new paint job....

Sigh....the society photo process used to be fun and games....but how much fun is it watching one freak out week after week, event after event? And the behavior and the pissing on the charity committees to mark turf is a bit much, don't you think? It takes the bloom off the society rose as it is the wrong kind of high society cat fight, is it not? And lordy, all those boob shots week after week makes one wonder what team someone is playing for after all these years?

So Brooke, dahhling, weigh in...throw a few pearls of wisdom out there....

Is This Teach Our Children Well?

What is the deal? When did girls become the new sports brawlers? Funny, soccer doesn't look like rugby to me...this conduct is so profoundly disturbing. What happened to good sportsman/sportswoman conduct? Is that what these coaches in our schools and in our local leagues are teaching boys and girls? How to behave like thugs???


Women's soccer player suspended for dirty play
November 6, 2009 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PROVO, Utah - New Mexico has suspended a soccer player for several plays in a Mountain West Conference semifinal that have drawn some unwanted attention to the tournament.

Elizabeth Lambert, a junior defender, is shown in video highlights throwing elbows, taking out BYU players at the legs and finally yanking BYU forward Kassidy Shumway to the ground with a tug to Shumway’s ponytail.

Lambert’s actions have made her an instant celebrity for the wrong reasons. Highlights have been airing nationally since Thursday night.

Hmmm, maybe we should be glad a coach didn't get elected in Radnor?

The Most Terrifying Rumor in Radnor

Better look lively Radnor. Rumor has it that the quid pro quo for Bill Spingler working for candidates to get Radnor a Democratic Majority is he gets to be Prez come January? That is a horrifying thought....

Hmmmmm, better not let that happen....all the progress will go right out of Radnor....

Not that any of this is unexpected, is it? After all, Bill Spingler never does anything unless something is in it for him, does he?

Only thing Bill doesn't get, is he can't control the chatter over the lunch counter.....people do chat, don't they? Sometimes they just don't pay attention to who else is listening to that cell phone call, right?

All the political dies hards better stop talking and get busy....

Up In the Clouds of Delusion: Delco Republican Party Chairman Tom Judge

Delco Republican Party Chairman Tom Judge said he was shocked by the Republicans’ loss in Radnor....“They were out campaigning every night,” he said. “There was no break, they were there and I certainly appreciate it. The committee people got the vote out and that’s the most important thing.”

HUH????? That IS the stupidest thing I ever heard. Seriously, did he see the crap the Radnor Republicans foisted on an unsuspecting populous as "campaign literature"? Did he check out the candidates? Has he checked out the candidates in the last few years? Were any traffic accidents the result of those god damn stupid school board signs?

ROFL. Up in the clouds of delusions that one is....Psssst? Has anyone seen Mimi Auchincloss yet? Rumor has it she was in seclusion yesterday? Has she sent out a post election wrap up? Or is she still working on the spin? Will Tom Judge end up being the only Delco Elephant sailing off into retirement? Or will the Meemster follow suit?

My goodness, politics sure will get more fun 'round Radnor now I think....but again, don't go crazy...no stimulus money to buy Land Rovers in Wayne....

Party leaders pleased with election outcome
Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009

It was simple math and abysmal voter turnout that nixed Democratic countywide candidates’ chances in Tuesday’s election, according to county Democratic Party Chairman Cliff Wilson.

“We now have a registration in most places that is fairly competitive, in some places where there’s an edge,” said Wilson. “(But) if we get every one in four of ours out (to vote) and they get every one in three out, they win.”

Democrats did make substantial gains in Millbourne, Radnor, Chester and on the William Penn School Board, which went Democratic for the first time in 30 years. But Republicans had the better night, with solid wins countywide and in Haverford, Sharon Hill, Morton, Norwood, Ridley Park, Marple and Nether Providence.

.....He noted that even in Radnor, the GOP county candidates still beat their Democratic opponents. That points to voters being more motivated by local issues than party affiliation in areas Republicans lost, said Reilly, which means his party is still alive and well despite the gradual equalizing of voter registration in the county over the past several elections.

Delco Republican Party Chairman Tom Judge said he was shocked by the Republicans’ loss in Radnor as much as he was by a win in Sharon Hill, which went Democratic in the 2007 municipal election, but he was not surprised by how well the countywide candidates did.

“They were out campaigning every night,” he said. “There was no break, they were there and I certainly appreciate it. The committee people got the vote out and that’s the most important thing.”

This was Judge’s last election as chairman of the party, a position he has held for 34 years. He is expected to become “chairman emeritus” following a special election Nov. 10 to select an interim chairman that would serve out the remainder of Judge’s term to April 2012. Reilly said he is the only candidate to have filed a petition for that position with a special party election board.

Who is Watching Us Eat on The Main Line?

Ok even more super creepy then a cyberstalker, is this little thing in Philadelphia Magazine for November, 2009 in their PulseChatter on page 24 which talks about hidden cameras in upscale restaurants including an unnamed Main Line Restaurant. Ok yes, it sounds like a bad episode of "Cheaters" but seriously, if people aren't supposed to record your conversation without permission, what about filming you without your permission?

It's just creepy because where are the cameras? Are there any in the ladies room? The men's room? Where? And which restaurant on the Main Line does this?

Boy gentlemen, better watch that happy hour Tom Foolery, huh? Because we all know the Main Line is famous for high fallutin' boys who take that wedding band off and pretend they are slezoid singles once in a while, don't we? And every time I see one of those men in particular smiling with his wife in the society pages, why it just is enough to make me barf.

Pulse Article
Restaurants: Say Cheese!
Where your dinner and Big Brother intersect
By Don Steinberg

In these high-tech times, the fact that you may be videotaped by hidden cameras while you dine in your favorite restaurant may not be as surprising as it is creepy. But more and more restaurants are going the surveillance route. Melissa Scully, director of operations for Garces Restaurant Group, points cameras at entrances of all five of Jose Garces’s places, for security. The owner of one upscale Main Line restaurant has no fewer than nine cameras installed in his place. “It makes you feel comfortable that you can see what’s going on,” he says.

.....Turning the cameras on tables is the newer development: Our Main Line restaurateur says he does watch diners live via laptop when he’s not in the building...While restaurateurs still likely care more about that fork than the guy who dropped it, in this surveillance society, it doesn’t take much imagination to envision where this could be headed. Consider Doohan’s advice: “Married men: Don’t bring your girlfriend.”

Hmmm, what is the moral of this story? Don't pick your nose in public.

Just Snarky Has A Cyberstalker!

Well blog faithful, I thought I would point out that for some reason unknown to me, people claiming to be Lisa Paolino and Michael Sembello seem obsessed...with my blog? Seriously aren't they supposed to be busy saving the world or something? Shouldn't they be on a honeymoon canoodling somewhere?

On October 14th, I put up a post about something in a local magazine that made me giggle. It was kind of an end note to a drama filled saga. Well, it brought back Radnor's apparent undead in a slew of comments under this post.

The latest comment appears to have the true chracteristics of stalking and harassment:

October 30, 2009 6:52 AM
Michael Sembello said...
By the way, as a follow up, I find it Interesting that you will only post comments that you screen which happen to be negative about most people without checking you facts. I challenge you to put my comments on your page. I do have the ability to find out who you are and will not stop confronting people like you until you speak with me personally. I would like to know what you do for a living and wouldn't it be better to put the time that you take to run a negative blog into something positive. You don't know me and I don't know you, but maybe if we had a nice conversation, we could help change the world and promote positive thinking. For example, I will send you videos and photos of all of the children that Lisa and I just helped in catastrophe stricken Indonesia.

OK first of all, I have published all of their asinine comments they have sent me to date. (And newsflash, I am under no obligation, moral or otherwise to do so as this is my blog.) I even gave them their own snarkalicious post that they seemed to crave like a pair of publicity whores over their apparent nuptials.

But noooooooo....the obsessive behavior continues.

This is my response:

Dear Michael,
Hello? This is MY blog. Not yours. Not Lisa's. And if this is Michael I would be surprised. Either that or you are as egomaniacal as Lisa, huh? Because y'all are a wee bit too obsessive for the purported jet setting power couple you claim to be.

Lisa always accuses her critics of not fact checking, it is her M.O., her raison d'être.

If you wish to threaten people like Lisa has spent her whole life doing, knock yourself out. But seriously, for someone who wants to have a nice conversation it is sure Sybil like to then threaten me isn't it? Again why I think this is Lisa.

I am not going to promote your social agendas, it's not what I care about. If you want to start a blog devoted to your charitable mission that is simply marvy, but I do not work for you, nor would I care to. You see, if I had the voice you claim to have, I would concentrate on the issues that plague people in this country, the one that gave you birth: The United States.

As for this little snippet of yours:

"I do have the ability to find out who you are and will not stop confronting people like you until you speak with me personally. I would like to know what you do for a living"

There is a thing called stalking and harassment. And right now, you are bordering on both.

I talk about a lot of things on my blog, but truly, Lisa Paolino has never been the focus as much as she would like to be. You are not on my radar, what you do with your life is not on my radar...don't you get it? I don't care.

Go away. Live your life in Florida, do your thing. Your obsessiveness, Lisa, will always be your undoing.

I mean what the fuck? She's yesterday's news, and she claims to be a publicist? Do they seriously think Cyberharassment and Cyberstalking will get them the recognition they want for their new charitable endeavors?

This guy Sembello is supposed to be a big deal, professional musician? Oy vey. What a matched set they make if this is him.

Each comment is a little more spiraled out of control. It is indeed an interesting psychological study in pathological behavior. If any other blogger is being harassed by these people, please, feel free to share.

Did The South Rise Again in Radnor?

I swear I thought I was seeing things this morning when I tapped into Main Line Suburban Life this morning. Oh to be a fly on the wall in Mimi Auchincloss's house...too funny....her sign blitzes, nasty campaign literature, her candidates....All "Gone With The Wind"....Yes, it's true the only victories the Radnor Republicans had in the commissioner races were where the candidates were unopposed.

John Nagle and Elaine Paul Schaeffer won.

For supposedly the first time since around the Civil War, Radnor Township is in Democrat control. Now mind you, I don't want them to go crazy now. I am not looking for stimulus money so people in Radnor can all go buy a Land Rover in Wayne. But a little harmony would be nice. However, I also don't mean Kum-Bay-Ya with Bill Spingler as Board of Commissioners President. Because that would be a literal Nightmare on Elm Street.

I'm not sure about that Elaine Paul Schaeffer to be honest, am not sure if she is good or bad, BUT anything and anyone after Enrique Hervada will have to be some sort of improvement. BUT, John Nagle is a much better deal then Ernie Shapiro would have been. Ernie just didn't know enough about any one issue, and I think he would have maybe done better if he had just acknowledged that from the start, but as we have come to expect, he was just another Charlie McCarthy doll in Radnor Republican politics. He got hosed in the election and he probably got used by the Republican Party in Radnor. Now perhaps Mimi will tart him up a bit to run again against John Nagle after he fills the last couple years of La Paolino's term, who knows. But maybe now after how many years of appointed commissioner control they might get a little representation? (I keep wondering what reporter will call Lisa for her reaction --- that ought to be really amusing)

So we'll see what change brings to Radnor. Hopefully it's more then has come to Washington because honestly? I'm thinking I wasted that vote except for the fact that it kept Sarah Palin away for the time being.

I am glad this election is over. Now maybe somebody can hire a township manager around here, ok?

Main Line Suburban Life
Board of Commissioners will have Democratic majority
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
By Sam Strike

For the first time in a century Radnor Township’s Board of Commissioners will have a Democratic majority after the party’s candidates won two contested elections for seats on the seven-member board.

John Nagle and Elaine Paul Schaefer were successful in their bids to win the township’s 5th and 4th Ward seats respectively.

It was Nagle’s fourth campaign for the post; he beat Republican Ernie Shapiro to fill two years of the term left vacated by former commissioner Lisa Paolino, who resigned this summer.

According to unofficial results from Delaware County, Nagle garnered 369 votes to Shapiro’s 295 votes.

Schaefer was successful in her second attempt at the seat, this time against Republican contender Harriette Waldron. Two-term commissioner Enrique Hervada did not seek re-election this year.

According to unofficial results from Delaware County, Schaefer garnered 598 votes to Waldron’s 463 votes.

After the results came in, Schaefer said she felt “reaffirmed” and that the votes “reflect how astute Radnor voters are.”

It is kind of funny how the Radnor Democrat Party Leadership is crowing considering they never really seemed to wholeheartedly support Nagle and Schaeffer before, isn't it?

We've Come A Long Way, Baby...But Septa Hasn't

Well good morning all! It's a beautiful day outside, so you have no excuse not to vote today, right? Unless of course you count on Septa to get where you're going, but I will get to that in a sec.

In Radnor, it's a brave new world out there - hopefully people will have enough sense to take advantage of it and tune out the noise of some who offer nothing, yet criticize everything?

I look at this way, the Lisa Paolinos of this world stick around so long because we allow it - I give her a mention on election day since she so seems to have tried to pathetically pimp her wedding to this blog. If someone sees her at the polls today and she brings #3, make sure he's really registered to vote OK? And I guess that is one of the largest issues in Radnor - people voting who shouldn't be. I hope this year people call the appropriate parties this election and not just talk about it after the fact. And seriously, what is up with Camp Mimi and their creative writing attempts in politically motivated junk mail? Call it what it is, John --- bullshit. But again, what do we expect? It's always the same old Delco song and dance.

In other news, those losers at Septa have struck. Oh yeah Rendell, good job. Oh yeah Nutter, good job. If Septa didn't suck so much I would say give them a raise, but hey, what do we get for out money? Not much when you look at transit systems in other parts of the country. Those greedy bastards at Septa should be glad for the jobs they have in this economy. Sorry but I don't feel so sorry for them.

Tue, Nov. 3, 2009
SEPTA workers strike; thousands caught off guard
By Robert Moran and Melissa Dribben
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Hundreds of thousands of commuters scrambled this morning to find a way to work or school after SEPTA's largest union staged a surprise pre-dawn strike, shutting down down all subway, bus and trolley service in the city.

The walkout by Transport Workers Union Local 243, which began at 3 a.m. and caught commuters off guard, also affected Frontier Division buses in Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties.

But Regional Rail, Paratransit and other services outside the city continued to run.

With Philadelphia Public School students off today for a teachers' in-service, the city should be spared the full impact of the strike until tomorrow.

As the first glimmer of dawn broke this morning, striking SEPTA workers huddled in small clusters around the Frankford Transportation Center as would-be passengers continued to arrive with no idea that nothing was operating.

Colleen Logan, 45, showed up at 5:20 a.m. to discover that she would not be able to ride the Market-Franford El to her job as a waitress at Snow White Restaurant in Old City.

"Yesterday it was supposed to be done and over with," Logan said. "Nobody really had a clue."

Logan said she feared that if the work stoppage drags on, she will be out of a job.

"They get paid well," she said of picketers. "They get enough benefits. What more do they want?"