The LuLac Edition #1892, January 8th, 2012
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Former Judge Mark Ciavarella.
ANOTHER INDIGNITY
There are many people in this area that feel no sympathy for tainted and imprisoned Judge Mark Ciavarella. The story of his corruption will live on in the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania. But the final indignity is going to be the settlement reached with builder Robert Mericle for the kids that were railroaded by Ciavarella. Michael Sisak reports in the Citizen’s Voice that one of the Attorneys representing the for profit detention centers said that the proposed settlement before Federal Judge Richard Caputo “would reward juvenile offendes who committed numerous crimes, or sexual crimes, violent crimes robbery, burglary and first degree felonies more than it will those who committed lesser misdemeanors”, I’m not defending Ciavarella’s action in the detention center scam but I do know this. Prior to becoming a Judge and even after his election, Ciavarella preached the gospel of tough love. Many say he was the perfect patsy in need of cash and was manipulated by Mike conahan and Bob Powell. But that said, he was a true believer in making sure kids who were violent got what was coming to them. How ironic would it be that in the final analysis, the kids he so desperately wanted to punish got a greater financial reward from his corruption activities and are now free on the streets…..with cash rewards while he sits in a Federal lock up. The final indignity indeed.
WHY NOT THE BEST?
I never thought I’d be agreeing with the Urbans on anything regarding the new Luzerne County Council. But as far as the new County Manager hiring process, they do have a point. Even during the campaign, Independent Council candidate Rick Williams said the applications should be extended and maybe he was right about that too. The three top candidates actually aren’t impressing me at this very moment. The top guy from California has been touted as “the front runner”. Council member said if this guy isn’t chosen, it’ll knock the wheels off of the selection process. Really? Robert Lawton has had a series of short term positions. And his mortgage is under water in California. Can he get bonded? Will he stay? And while this is certainly not a reflection on Mr. Lawton or anyone having mortgage difficulties, remember this, we had a Judge who lost his way because he was in debt. Do we really want to take that chance again? The other candidates, Patrick Becher of Oneida, N.Y. is said to be eliminated because he wants more money than Lawson and a third finalist- Jeff Naftal of Lancaster, S.C. is said to be unable to get a majority of votes on Council. So it looks like the Council is putting all its eggs in one basket. Maybe it is time to reassess and maybe re open the search. The accolades given interim manager Tom Pribula this week included the words “straight shooter”, “honest as the day is long” and “dedicated public servant”. It kind of bothers me that in regards to the top three, I’ve not heard those words. Yet. In 1974 Jimmy Carter wrote a campaign book, “Why Not the Best?” Given the information out there about the three finalists, it seems like the County Council is just “Hoping for the Best”.
posted by David Yonki @ 12:01 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
My solution to the ongoing problems
which will only get worse in Luzerne County was to move to Lackawanna County where everything is now completely in order thanks to the efforts of the dynamic duo of Mike Washo and Corey OBrien. At least they arent on their way to jail as far as we know. Good government requires good people and good people just dont run for office anymore and I dont blame them. The only real answer is to blow it all up and start all over again as advocated so long ago by LULAC/Dave Yonki.
Yonk, You are dead on with your words of wisdom with regard to the county manager. We now have an interim manager so there is no rush to pick a permanent manager. I guarantee you that if the wrong person is chosen, it will take two years to made a correction. The first year will be spent waiting for positive ressults and the second year will be spent looking for a replacement. So two years with no poitive results. Pribula is in place so let's see what he does. He is mandated to come out of the box running and he will have to show an intelligent resolve to the budget. That means he cannot bow to the local Tea Party, he must simply do what is right and put the county on firm ffooting. It is up to him to build a sound foundation.
Hey 9:58
I sure hope if you moved to Scranton you dont expect the Fire department to show up if your house catches fire. Plus you have the advantage of the Janet Evans city council. Not exactly a move up, but I wish you the best. Maybe Arkansas would be a good next choice or Alabama!
Students,
Mr. Yonki once again hit the nail on the head via one of his commentaries.
Regarding Judge Ciavarella, we all are horrified by his abuse of power and yet we must understand one very important factor. Judge Ciavarella is NOT serving the sentence he presently endures because of kids for cash. He is serving for extortion.
Just as many believe that the Civil War was fought over slavery (it was not---it was fought over whether or not an individual state had the right to secede from the Union) many also believe that Ciavarella is in jail for his treatment of juveniles. This, class, is a dangerous and reckless belief.
As Bill Clinton noted in his eulogy for Richard Nixon, "We should not judge a man on nothing less than his full record."
Judge Ciavarella had a very decent record with regard to juveniles. And now, thanks in no part to his own corruption, we in Luzerne County shall witness all juvie offenders treated with the proverbial kids gloves.
It will not matter if a young thug breaks your window, slashes your tires, breaks your jaw or rapes your wife (and I would not be surprised if many of you in this classroom had participated in such acts)----so long as they are under the age of 18 they will be viewed upon as victims. "Oh, the poor child, we must understand him. He had a rough life on welfare. Sure, he likes to go to bars underage and break a few bones but it is not his fault". Poppycock.
Students, unless we begin to address the horrific acts of juvenile crime with a stern hand instead of an open one, we shall soon see these young thugs grow into adult thugs who will have no hesitation when it comes to inflicting violence on their fellow human beings.
In closing, there is a saying that you could get away with crime in Luzerne County if you had the right connections.
Now, in addition, you can also get away with crime if you are under 18 years of age.
Something to think about this morning.
Class Dismissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ruby Claire has left a new comment on your post "The LuLac Edition #1888, January 8th, 2012":
America is powerful country in the world but It has fear of middle east countries..why?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anon, 1053: Simple answer: O I L.
Yonk, I think you are missing 2 things. First off, our charter is much tighter by design and vote of the people than others. And there are reasons for job jumping or multiple jobs (as you well know) in one decade. When you see job jumping, you have to remember that these other counties are not like our new form of government. Most others have elected sheriffs, recorder of deeds, etc. that have way too much and are independent and can tell the administrator "F U".
However, why did the candidates want this particular job? Because it's an administrator's dream come true. I heard third hand that one candidate remarked, this job in Luzerne County is the "super bowl of management positions", because it allows a manager to do what they want with less political garbage and row officers screwing up their world.
Okay, here's my take on the County manager position. This is an entirely new animal in Luzerne County history, people have to remember one central thing about these people: THEY ARE ADMINISTRATORS, not politicians, yet they spend their professional life working for politicians. What does this mean: every few years, they have to put up with new politicians coming into office using words like "mandate from the people" and "clean house". Sure enough, the politicians always start fresh. As one candidate was heard to say: "we're like baseball managers....we could win the world series with the red sox like francona, and still be fired a few years later".
My pistol does not ask its target's age. It reacts to actions and behavior when necessary.
bottom line is they all are terrible and are a bunch of do-nothings..i am so glad that i didnt vote for ANY of these county council politically privileged people...say that 10 times fast!
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