Please Pray for Jennifer

Monday morning, I was talking to my mother. Working weekends at the bar, I don't really get to see much news since I've been putting in close to 40 hours in 3 days. The story she told me made me sick and worried about the world we live in.

Jennifer Daugherty (photo) was 30 years old. Mentally challenged, she was independent enough to regularly take a bus from her home in a town near my home to go to appointments and shop. Last weekend, the trusting Jennifer found her way to a home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The six scumbags there spent the next 36 hours beating Jennifer with a towel rack and crutch, making her drink urine, bleach, and detergent, and finally stabbing her to death. Her body was then put in a garbage can and left in the parking lot of a local school.

The six suspects are: Robert Loren Masters Jr., 36; Ricky V. Smyrnes, 23; and Melvin Knight, 20, all of 428 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg; Peggy Darlene Miller, 27, Mt. Pleasant Township; Amber C. Meidinger, 20, of 103 Indiana Drive, Building O, Greensburg; and Angela Marinucci, 17, of Greensburg.


The story hit home for me because having two high-functioning special needs kids, I worry for their safety when I'm gone. Knowing I'm not going to live forever, I've tried to foster independence in them as any parent would, but this story makes me very afraid. What has happened to humanity when those who need the most compassion are fodder for someone's sick games?

The local media here has already tried garnering compassion for one of these sick freaks. Apparently, Amber Meidinger's mother had tried to sell her for $10,000 when Amber was six years old. What the hell does that have to do with poor Amber's involvement with this crime? The bleeding hearts would say that because she spent so much time in foster care that it emotionally scarred her. Boo freakin' hoo for Amber. She's still a scumbag.

As parents, we try to nurture our children to survive in this tough world. Parents with children who have limited understanding have it even tougher. Bastards like these six make me wonder if there is anything at all we parents can do to fully prepare our kids.

Today's society seems to have devalued human life to the point of almost no return. Distortion of abortion by the feminist movement coupled with light sentencing for heinous acts in the name of "understanding" has produced a generation of people who have no regard for life. To this generation, life has no value.

Also at issue is the fact that society no longer puts a stigma on the word "retarded." Used freely by many people and those in high offices (I'm talking to you, Mr. Emanuel!), I've always found the word offensive when used as an insult. Those who struggle with mental handicaps didn't ask for the added challenge of trying to fit into society and be accepted by us "normal" people. The lack of a stigma using the "r" word in a derogatory manner has taken away the compassion and understanding that the mentally challenged need.

I think innocent life should be held in the highest regard. I use the qualifier "innocent" because I believe in the death penalty. And if any people deserve it, it's these people. I think, though, that lethal injection would be too easy for them. Bring back Ol' Sparky or, better yet, make them relive what they did to Jennifer through her eyes. THAT would be justice well served.

As of last night, the report is that this will be prosecuted as a hate crime. Thank God some common sense has temporarily taken hold in the DOJ.

I ask that you please say a prayer for Jennifer, one of the newest members of God's legion of angels. She is happy, loved, and safe. Though missed by this world, we will meet her one day in Heaven. I truly believe that.

To join the Facebook group for Jennifer, please click here. Thank you! -- B & G

Pennsylvania Under State of Emergency

In what has become a storm to remember, we are now at a total of three feet of the white stuff within a 24-hour period. Pennsylvania has been declared a state of emergency by Governor Ed Rendell, and the outlook for the rest of the week is bleak.

It started yesterday afternoon. While the prognosticators out of Pittsburgh were calling for 5-8 inches in the mountains, they couldn't have been more wrong. When it started, it didn't stop.

I was fortunate enough to have the morning shift yesterday at the bar. I figured I'd be out at about 5 p.m., enough time to still safely make it home. WRONG! The evening bartender called off, so guess who was stuck working. That's right....everyone's favorite B & G fan.

As the snow fell and my energy levels plummeted, the decision to close the bar early fell into my hands. Still, people decided they absolutely HAD to have a beer, so I chased them out ASAP and closed down. It was about 11:20 p.m. by the time I got done with all of my post-closing duties. Still, I didn't worry. I have a Honda CRV with all-wheel drive. No worries, eh?

What usually takes 10-15 minutes under clear conditions took me over 45 minutes. The hubby had called and said to go to his mom and dad's to await his call letting me know that the driveway was passable. Cars and trucks littered the roads the entire way home. Living near a ski resort, I'm used to seeing people who can't drive in the snow, but nothing of this magnitude. Even the most seasoned winter driver was going to have difficulty.

I arrive at my in-laws' house shortly after midnight. Psychotic from lack of sleep, I'm cranky, hadn't showered or brushed my teeth since leaving the house before work, and I had a bad headache. I tried to park my car and wait for the phone call announcing a clear driveway at home. Notice I said TRIED.

Getting my Honda stuck, I decide to do the unthinkable: wake my in-laws to let me in. I trudge through almost two feet of snow and get to the door. No one answers the doorbell, so I pull out my dying cell phone and call inside. My father-in-law comes down and opens the door.

Going upstairs, I place a call to the hubby.

"I'm at your parents'. I'm so tired I could cry, so screw plowing tonight. I'm getting a blanket and sleeping on their couch. Do not call and wake me in the morning; I'll call YOU. Love you, good night, and kiss the kids for me in the morning."

This morning, the decision to keep the bar closed came from my cousin. After hearing "state of emergency", I think that was a safe bet. Honestly, I REALLY hope we just keep it closed tomorrow. PennDOT is recommending people stay off the roads for at least 24 more hours.

Monday will be the day I go to Wal-Mart to stock up as Tuesday through Friday they are calling for another storm system to move in, dumping at least 4 to 5 inches on Tuesday. Bitter cold temps and drifting snow will also make things nasty.

I pray that everyone stays safe and warm. Please don't take chances if you don't have to. Masses have been cancelled for tomorrow with the bishop giving special dispensation. I figure if God had wanted me in church tomorrow, He would've stopped the snow at 3 inches.

Right now, Al Gore and Punxsutawney Phil are at the top of the B & G Shit List.

(Note: The photo is of the half pipe snowboard course at Seven Springs Resort, a ski resort near my home.)

Pennsylvania Going Republican--Latest Polls Show Hope

I never thought I'd live to see the day where Arlen "Magic Bullet Theory" Specter would be unseated. Here in Pennsylvania, he's become almost as entrenched in his seat as Ted Kennedy was. By now, the actual seat itself is probably growing into Specter's gluteus maximus. From all accounts, though, it looks like Specter's days are numbered as are the rest of the Dems in this state (I will NOT use the word 'commonwealth').

In a poll conducted by The Philadelphia Daily News, Pat Toomey, a former U.S. Representative from the Allentown area, has opened up a 14-point lead over Specter in the fight for the Senate seat coming up for grabs. Could Pennsylvania be the next Massachusetts? I pray so.

Among likely voters, Toomey leads Snarlin' Arlen 45-31 percent with 20 percent undecided. I will tell you folks that in Pennsylvania, that's saying something.

"I can't deny it's all very encouraging," Toomey said. "But I'm also very aware of the fact that the election is nine months away. A lot can happen. So I'm going to run like I'm 20 points behind."

Pat Toomey lost to Specter in 2004, but it was a narrow victory for Specter, who defected to the Dems last year.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D), of Delaware County, is leaving his job to challenge Specter in the primary. In the poll, Sestak doesn't fare as well against Toomey as Specter does.

Among likely voters, Toomey leads 41-19 percent with 37 percent undecided. Registered voters favor Toomey over Sestak 28-16 percent with 51 percent undecided. In short, a Toomey-Sestak matchup would be a massacre.

Also in Pennsylvania, the reign of "Fast Eddie" Rendell is coming to an end (THANK GOD!) after Rendell served the maximum two terms as governor. In this race, the most likely candidates are going to be former AG Tom Corbett for the Republicans and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onarato for the Democrats. Trust me when I say that the people of Pennsylvania DO NOT want Onarato as governor. When one looks at how Allegheny County has been run in recent years and how the assessment of property has been bungled, it proves that Onarato is not the man to be running the state.

How this all plays out is going to be interesting to watch. I'm sure ACORN is going to be VERY active in Pennsylvania. There are a lot of dead people that need to register to vote.

Why PA Needs a Republican Governor

I'm thanking the Good Lord above that we are in the final year of Ed Rendell's last term. Pennsylvania has always leaned to the left due to the population concentrations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but Republican governors are not unheard of.

I was reading some polling data on RCP that shows Democrat Dan Onorato slightly ahead of Republican Tom Corbett (former State AG). Then I realized there is one reason this state needs a Republican governor: Mumia Abu-Jamal.

This piece of human excrement entered the world as Wesley Clark in April of 1954. He claims that he was given the name "Mumia" by a teacher during an African studies exercise in school and later adopted the surname "Abu-Jamal" (father of Jamal) after the birth of his son in 1971.

At the age of 15, he helped found the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panthers in 1969 after he and three friends were beaten by white supremacists at a George Wallace rally they were protesting. Mumia successfully petitioned to have his former high school's name changed from Benjamin Franklin Senior High to Malcolm X High. Wouldn't want to honor a Founding Father now, would he? His alliance to black separatism and racism has never wavered throughout his life.

On December 9, 1981, Abu-Jamal shot and killed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner after being pulled over. Faulkner was able to shoot Mumia once, and, according to a prosecution witness at the hospital, Abu-Jamal was quoted as saying, "I shot the mother fucker, and I hope the mother fucker dies." The prosecution presented six different witnesses who testified that Mumia was indeed the killer. They couldn't all be wrong, could they? Common sense says the odds are staggering.

After a three-hour deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict, and Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death. He's still sitting on death row as I type this. He has been given 27 more years on this earth than the officer he killed and has continued to spread his hate-filled anti-white rhetoric on the taxpayer's dime. Amnesty International has come to the defense of this scumbag as have many high-profile celebrities such as Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Nelson Mandela, and others. All claim that evidence was fabricated and stories have changed over the years. There are even reports that someone else since confessed to shooting Faulkner. Abu-Jamal has been made an honorary citizen of over 26 cities around the globe such as Paris (of course) and Copenhagen. Like the JFK assassination, the truth will probably never be known.

In April of this year, the SCOTUS upheld the murder conviction and, as of this writing, the prosecution is waiting to hear whether the death penalty will be part of that ruling. Damn straight it should! The rush was on to execute Timothy McVeigh (a white racist dirtbag), but let the state carry out the sentence on a black racist, and the howls from the left will echo into deep outer space. Does it make sense to anyone?

Amnesty International should thank their lucky stars that I won't be elected to the governor's office. Should that ever happen, I'll sign the damn death warrant five minutes after taking the oath. I would hope a Republican governor would do the same. The family of Daniel Faulkner deserves closure.

John Murtha: This Little Piggy Went to Capitol Hill...

I would hope and pray that people in this district WAKE THE *&@# UP and vote this clown out!

From Roll Call comes this article about His Royal Fatness. I'm just going to post the whole article as they have done a superb job.

Murtha Earmarks Funded Garment Company’s Sonar Project

By Paul Singer
Roll Call Staff

July 7, 2009, 12 a.m.

For the past several years, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has funneled more than $3 million in earmarks to a company in his district to build an underwater “swimmer detection” sonar system for the Navy to use to protect its docks and ships.

But the company, KDH Defense Systems, sews bulletproof vests. It had never built a sonar system and had no expertise in sonar engineering. The sonar project was to be the first product of a new “startup” company.

Documents indicate the company did have a plan — which never came to pass — to partner with other local defense contractors close to Murtha, and it also had the assistance of a lobbying firm that employed both Murtha’s brother and his former appropriations aide.

The firm ultimately ended up hiring a British company to do the engineering, fell into a dispute, lost its original military customer and by the end of last year had completed a prototype, which the company president said would have to be re-engineered before it can be produced in any quantity.

Murtha spokesman Matt Mazonkey said the project achieved its goal.

“This program was a research and development effort, not procurement, and a prototype was delivered, was tested and now is the property of the U.S. government,” he said. “KDH did develop and provide a sonar system, which was tested successfully by the government in December 2008.”

But court records suggest the prototype has had a troubled history.

In October 2004, Dave Herbener, president of KDH Defense Systems, made a presentation at a meeting convened by the Defense Department about his proposed “underwater intrusion detection system.”

According to slides of that presentation, Herbener said he already had a $1 million earmark for 2005 “supported by Congressman John P. Murtha ... funding is earmarked for KDH Systems.”

In the 2008 appropriations bill, Murtha secured $2.4 million for KDH for a “waterway threat detection sensor system,” and a 2006 press release from his office indicates that he also secured an earmark for KDH in the 2007 appropriations bill for a “waterfront perimeter detection system.” Murtha’s office offered no details about the total amount earmarked for this system.

In an e-mail to Roll Call on Monday, Herbener said KDH only received about $1.5 million for the sonar project, with the remaining funding going directly to other contractors.

KDH had no expertise in sonar systems. Herbener — a former employee of defense giant Lockheed Martin — founded a company in 2003 called KDH Defense Systems to sew bulletproof vests. In April 2004, KDH signed a $2 million contract with the Navy to sew the vests — though the company did not yet have a manufacturing facility.

But Herbener did have a strong background in radar. “My work with Lockheed included significant design, manufacture, and testing experience of sophisticated weapon systems with a primary focus on radar. It is my nearly 20 years of experience with Lockheed that helped me to develop our T3 Sonar,” he told Roll Call.

But when asked “Do you know how to develop a sonar system?” by a lawyer in a court case last fall, Herbener responded, “No, I do not.”

He also had a lobbying firm — KSA Consulting, which included Kit Murtha, the Congressman’s brother, and Carmen Scialabba, the Congressman’s former Appropriations Committee aide, as lobbyists on the KDH account. Herbener told Roll Call: “KSA Consulting has provided marketing and related services to KDH. KSA introduced KDH to Congressman Murtha.”

Herbener’s October 2004 slides for the swimmer detection project indicated that KDH was “teamed with” two other Pennsylvania companies with close connections to Murtha, Kuchera Defense Systems and Coherent Systems International — also a KSA client.

An attorney for Kuchera said “they have never teamed with KDH on any projects.” Herbener told a federal court that Coherent dropped out days after the initial contract was signed.

Kuchera and Coherent have received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha. Kuchera was raided by the FBI in January, reportedly as part of an investigation into the company’s government contracts. Coherent is party to a federal case in Florida alleging that other subcontractors skimmed from Coherent earmarks.

Herbener ended up hiring a British sonar company called Curtis Technology to develop the electronics for the underwater sonar, a relationship that dragged through a series of delays and disputes until Herbener finally filed suit in federal court in Pennsylvania in May 2008.

In testimony in that case last September, Herbener explained that the sonar project was not actually a project of KDH Defense Systems — it was a separate company that he established in 2005 called KDH Electronic Systems. That company “is a startup,” Herbener testified. “We were hoping this sonar system would be our first product.”

In September, Herbener told the court, “The program in general has gone waylaid.” Disputes with Curtis Technology led to repeated delays, and the original customer — the U.S. Navy — “has pretty much given up on us and they’ve moved on,” buying a similar system from a competitor company.

KDH shifted to an Army contract with the U.S. Special Operations Command when the procurement official overseeing the project moved from the Navy to the Army, Herbener said. But because of concerns about the project, “they’ve refused to reward the contract to us and we’re on the verge of running out of funding,” he testified.

Working with Curtis and other contractors, KDH managed to construct a prototype, but Herbener told the court: “The current prototype is a prototype. It’s not intended to be built in any kind of quantities.”

“Ultimately, to have a production system, we would most likely change out components, hardware, probably rearrange components, maybe redesign,” he said.

Herbener told Roll Call on Monday: “The situation with Curtis has definitely slowed down our progress. I am most confident that if the Curtis issues had not arisen, our sonar system would have been produced and in full operation by now.”

But he also said that the protype has been successfully tested four times and that KDH is continuing to make progress on the sonar system. Herbener said he has hired a new subcontractor and that “as funding permits we firmly believe we can field an end item production system in short order — possibly 3 to 6 months.”

Specter's Re-election Coffers May Be Drained

Here in Pennsylvania, we are anxiously awaiting next year's race for the Senate seat now held by Snarlin' Arlen Specter. Specter's likely opponent will be former Rep. Pat Toomey, who recently left the position as president of the Club for Growth, whose mission it is to drain Specter's campaign coffers before the mudslinging ever begins.

The organization's political action committee wants to contact contributors who gave money to Specter's re-election campaign before he switched parties in late April, and let them know they can ask for a refund, Politico reports.

"Senator Specter agreed to return the contributions he received before switching parties, and we want to help him make good on that commitment," said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola, a former Indiana congressman.

The Club could get donor information from the Federal Election Commission database, but the FEC has a restriction against using its published material to solicit donations.

However, the Club has asked for an FEC advisory opinion, arguing that it would not actually be soliciting money from donors but urging them to ask for a refund.

The Club for Growth advocates limited government, lower taxes, less government spending, fair-trade. It was founded in 1999 and now claims over 40,000 members.

This is such a great idea by the folks at the Club for Growth. It's about time someone learns to play the game. Holy cow!!! We may just have a conservative senator for the first time since Santorum!

Hope springs eternal in the Keystone State.

Governor Ed Rendell's (D-PA) Tax Scheme

Those of us in Pennsylvania are about to get royally screwed once again by Mr. Ed. Citing increases in the state welfare rolls, he has proposed $500 million in spending cuts. To offset the spending increase, he wants to raise the state income tax from 3.07 percent to 3.57 percent. That's about $250 m

ore annually for someone making $50,000 a year.

Janis McDonald, an administrator for UPMC, blames "the way they spend money" in state government.

"I would like to see a copy of that state budget," said McDonald, 62, a registered Democrat from Herminie. "I'll betcha I could make the necessary cuts -- God knows I've already had to do it at home.

"The people on the dole can't pay. God knows the wealthy won't pay; they'll wiggle their way out of it. Most don't pay income tax, per se," she said. "(Rendell) just goes around with that smirk on his face. I say, you better just keep your hands out of my pocket."

Rendell contends that four of 10 people in Pennsylvania don't pay income tax because they're senior citizens or have lower incomes. That leaves us honest, hard-working schmucks in the other 60 percent.

During his tenure, the state budget increased 37 percent, more than twice the rate of inflation. From the 2002-2003 budget to the 2008-2009 budget in effect, the budget increased $7.6 billion to $28.3 billion. And he wants everyone else to sacrifice. He so reminds me of a union thug!

In many ways, Pennsylvania has become a microcosm of California. Higher taxes, corruption, and small sections of the state dictating what the rest of us get. People in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas, where population is heaviest, would rather die than vote Republican. Our last Republican governor was Mark Schweiker, who took over for Tom Ridge when Ridge left to be Homeland Security Secretary. Even that wasn't true conservatism.

Pennsylvania has always been my home. It saddens me to see the wrecking ball of government coming for it.

Fair Tax, anyone?

There's Hope for Pennsylvania!!

Politico.com is reporting that Pennsylvania is joining the growing list of states whose Republican legislative members are introducing bills to exercise a state's rights under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution. WOO HOO!!!!

State Representative Sam Rohrer (R) has led the way for Pennsylvania to assert itself in the dictation of its own affairs. The Tenth Amendment allows for states to invoke sovereignty over those matters not spelled out in the U.S. Constitution. While we would still have to deal with whatever Democrat or RINO occupies the Governor's office in Harrisburg (a true Republican would stand a snowball's chance at being elected governor), at least the federal government would be told to kiss off.

“This administration has the ability to stick it in the eye of the states and to really pointedly attempt to undo everything that’s been in place,” Rohrer said. “They want to throw Reaganomics out; they want to step in and tell companies what they can or can’t do.”

Pennsylvania would join Idaho, South Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and other states whose people have had enough in combating intrusive actions by the federal government. In fact, Texas and Georgia have gone so far as to start talking secession.

I think the clouds have parted and the angels are singing over Pennsylvania today.