Road Apples, #49

Jack-hammers - I had the joy of experiencing intermittent jack-hammering last night, as the gas company was working a few feet from the front of my house on some sort of problem.  I realize that this was no doubt a necessary repair, but my God, every moment I was about to fall asleep they would fire up the jack-hammer.  Without fail.  I am tired.

Shooting at Ft Hood - First, what happened at Ft. Hood was a truly tragic event; condolences to the families of the victims of this senseless event.  Second, look for the Glenn Beck's of this world to somehow manage to blame the tragic shooting at Ft. Hood on President Obama.  The likes of Michael Savage will no doubt make some "Hasan?  That sounds an awful lot like Hussein to me..." comments.  These are folks who never miss the opportunity to turn a tragedy into a political event, not unlike the extreme lefties that they mock.

Love Shack - Former NYC Commissioner and failed Homeland Security nominee Bernie Kerik plead guilty to 8 federal counts yesterday, and will serve between 18 and 33 months in jail.  Amazing, utterly amazing.  This guy was a walking abuse of power.  While I generally like Rudy Giuliani, this guy does make you question at least some aspects of his judgment.  Sometimes good leaders are horrible judges of character.

The Election is Over - and I just realized that I've not really mentioned anything about it on a local level.  All told, I think the results in my neck of the woods were fairly positive...or at least have the potential to be positive.  Judge Nealon won retention, which is a very good thing.  Also a good thing is the election to judge of Attorney Moyle.  Regarding Scranton City Council, Mayor Doherty will now be facing a veto-proof majority, led by Janet Evans. That's not necessarily a bad thing, provided that the principals involved, namely Ms Evans and Mr Doherty, realize that they are being paid to work together to solve problems.  For Mr Doherty, this means consulting with council every once in a while.  For Ms Evans, this means actually doing something other than simply complaining about "the man".

Sometimes Things Break - I had my washer repaired yesterday morning, to the tune of $164.83.  The pump was leaking, and given the age of the machine, it's not unreasonable for this kind of thing to be replaced.  As I tell my children when they bemoan broken things, "sometimes things just break".