tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6103380177435366793.post-14186020662350659282008-06-25T14:27:00.001-07:002008-06-25T14:27:57.202-07:002008-06-25T14:27:57.202-07:00DOHERTY CONTINUES <st1:city><st1:place>SCRANTON</st1:place></st1:City> SELL-OFF<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Mayor Chris Doherty, aided by his henchmen on City Council, McGoff, Gatelli & Fanucci, has continued his sell-off of <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> to his political cronies & friends! The latest move, not unexpected given the arrogance of this “my way or the highway” tyrant, is the giveaway of Public Access TV Channels 61-62 to a group (?) called Electric City TV (ECTV) comprised of his friends. <o:p> </o:p> The popular TV channels were effectively wrested from the control of Scranton Today, which has operated the stations for more than 9 years, on a volunteer basis, and turned over to a suspect group which has transitioned from “knowledgeable TV people” to questionable political cronies. And the deal was done without shame by this “crackpot”. <o:p> </o:p> For the benefit of those who don’t know (where have you been hiding?), the Mayor has sought to keep a veil of secrecy around his administration and has succeeded with the aid of his “puppet Council” of McGoff, Gatelli and Fanucci. Thousands of Lackawanna citizens, who have had the benefit of televised public meetings, will now be restricted to watching the proceedings at the whim of this mayor, and not only will be restricted to viewing the proceedings at unreasonable “rebroadcast” hours, but probably will be subjected to “edited” versions of the televised proceedings, all designed to maintain the veil of secrecy surrounding this hypocritical group of political hacks! <o:p> </o:p> Sadly, but normally, the move violates every principle of good government and common sense, but once again, this mayor has had his way, to the detriment of the public. It is the standard line routinely spoken by the “brain dead” of this city, “That’s the way <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> always has been….and that’s <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> politics.” <o:p> </o:p> What a disgrace and a crime that the citizens of this community are so apathetic (pathetic may be a better choice of words) that situations like this can exist and continue, unabated. <o:p> </o:p> The saddest part is to watch such “outstanding” citizens as Doherty’s press agent, Stacy Brown, Jr. Council ex-President (thanks for that one) Doug Miller, and a few others stand at the doorway to City Hall, snickering and belittling the efforts of a group of picketers who protested the move prior to Council meeting Tuesday morning. What a travesty and shame on these “outstanding” ass-kissers who chose to belittle the efforts of the group. <o:p> </o:p> Brown should be summarily dumped by the local media (also in Doherty’s pocket) and replaced by an honest news reporter. Miller, thankfully, has worn out his welcome while playing the role of “adult” activist on behalf of the administration at the same time he hides behind the “I’m only a kid” facade to seek sympathy for his ambitions. <o:p> </o:p> Lackawanna County Commissioner A.J. Munchak pointed out, at council meeting, that the entire ECTV proposal should be thrown out because of highly questionable discrepancies in their proposal. Facts and figures in the proposal did not match, and ECTV’s proposed “studio” is being challenged in a zoning dispute. Two of the original three “signers” have dropped out and the private group has offered no investment of their own but is relying on the use of public monies to kick off their “grab” of Public Access TV. All this has been accomplished thanks to those paragons of rotten politics, Doherty, McGoff, Gatelli and Fanucci. Munchak, received resounding acclaim from the citizens. <o:p> </o:p> The Commissioner, and several others after him, including a spokesman for Scranton Today, pointed out the travesty of awarding the contract to ECTV. One of the “founders” of the group has a questionable reputation when dealing with federal funds and has been accused of evading taxes. The fact that the whole project is being litigated should have been an alarm for the people of this city, but the bells apparently didn’t go off. <o:p> </o:p> As for Brown, a “staff writer” for the city’s only newspaper, he has made it obvious that he has become nothing more than a spokesman for this city’s dirty politics and a Doherty puppet. When shown a copy of the Scranton Post, a new attempt to present honest journalism in <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City>, Brown snickered and offered his “insight” that the new publication had little or no chance of survival. This from a “pat me on the back” supposed journalist who has admitted publicly that he is only in it for a paycheck! <o:p> </o:p> McGoff, Doherty’s hand-picked replacement for a former disgraced councilman, is about as obvious a puppet as anyone can be. When presented with any challenge to the Doherty agenda, this retired teacher stumbles and fumbles and acts like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Gatelli, whose ambitions are well-known, has become Doherty’s prime henchman on Council and at least is astute enough to try to present herself as a “civic-minded” representative of the people. The only thing lacking is her explanation of which “people” she represents. Her words and her actions are contradictory. It’s a shame how far she has fallen from being a likeable neighbor into a “pit bull” for Doherty. As for Fanucci, what can one say about this one except that she honestly believes she is an intellectual member of the governing body who is superior to those who are “uneducated” and beneath her. Her contempt for citizens is obvious and, from what we have been able to ascertain, her credentials as a hairdresser have placed her above the rest of us! This is Doherty’s “base” on Council. Says a lot for him, doesn’t it? <o:p> </o:p> Yes, I guess we are obviously biased in our opinions, since we have seen good government in action. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen it in <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City>! Nor have we seen an honest and fair media in this area. Apparently the Scranton School of Politics and Journalism are lacking severely when it comes to graduating a class of sincere and dedicated “future leaders”. It’s probably best that this city go back to it’s coal-mining days when the city thrived. It certainly hasn’t made progress in common sense! <o:p> </o:p> To pick up on the council meeting, doesn’t it seem odd that a proposal by Councilwoman Janet Evans to table the $90,000 OECD give-away to ECTV was defeated, but the same proposal, minus Evans’s call for an “examination” of the RFP, submitted by Gatelli, was accepted? The watered-down version was tailored to alleviate McGoff’s (Doherty’s) reservations about the vote, and was only a ploy to stall the $90,000 giveaway until a more opportune time. The amazing (?) thing is that following the council meeting, Brown reported that “His Arrogance” (Doherty) had declared that the ECTV group would take over operation of TV61-62 as of July 1st anyway. This despite the fact that they have no money, no equipment, no plan, and no clearance to operate in their proposed “studio”. <o:p> </o:p> Unfortunately, Scranton Today’s forces caved in, seeing the handwriting on the wall, and consequently, YOUR Public Access TV will now be in the hands of the Doherty forces. This will unquestionably be the demise of televised viewing of the Scranton-Lackawanna County Taxpayers and Citizens Assn., a thorn in Doherty’s rose bush, and will likely result in edited versions of council, school board, and “authority” meetings. <o:p> </o:p> We only hope that we won’t soon see the renaming of public landmarks to be <st1:place><st1:placename>McGoff</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <st1:street><st1:address>Gatelli Way</st1:address></st1:Street>, and Fanucci’s Follies.. When they hang Doherty’s picture as ex-Mayor (and we hope that’s soon), we will head the drive to drape the portrait in black, signifying his real accomplishments! <o:p> </o:p> IMPEACHMENT SHOULD BE AN OPTION<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> If there ever is to be any justice in <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City>, a way should be found to boot this Mayor and administration from office. Impeachment should be an option, but under the “laws” and “rules” of <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City>, and <st1:state><st1:place>Pennsylvania</st1:place></st1:State>, it would appear there is no way the citizens can gain relief, short of voting these tyrants out of office. <o:p> </o:p> We, and several others, have contacted Federal officials, including the Inspector General of HUD, seeking redress and an investigation into misuse of federal funds to suit the Doherty administration. Though much of our City and County government is under investigation, we only hope the guardians of our public money will step in and substantiate our beliefs, and the “perpetrators” will be indicted and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This seems to be the only way to awaken the apathetic voters and to restore honesty and integrity to this community. <o:p> </o:p> It is time for federal action on behalf of the taxpayers who are being ripped off by this city government and to restore <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> to its rightful place as a city of the future. Where are you, federal agents? You have a job to do, so please, get with it! <o:p> </o:p> POLITICAL MACHINES NEED TO START UP <st1:stockticker>NOW</st1:stockticker>!<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Forget national politics! It is time for political hopefuls to begin to gear up and unite against <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City>’s present political machine. It is never too early! <o:p> </o:p> If there is to be any successful move to unseat our present political hacks, a united front must be started to try to catch up with the well-oiled political group backing Doherty, McGoff, Gatelli and Fanucci. They are way ahead with $$$ and ambition. <o:p> </o:p> While there are several Mayoral and council “candidates” waiting in the wings, the time is now for presenting a united effort to take back this city. Grass roots efforts need to begin and a combined and sincere effort must be made to present a slate of candidates who can unseat the present charlatans. <o:p> </o:p> Involvement of all potential anti-Doherty candidates in a united effort to gain control of our city is a must. Petty differences, self-serving ambitions, and past differences must be set aside and a seriously viable group of candidates must be determined. Past history should be considered prime in this effort, and only those candidates who can prove their sincerity, honesty and integrity should be presented at the next local elections. <o:p> </o:p> <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> is mired in deceit, political patronage, and complete disregard for the citizens. The elitist politics of the past has got to be buried, once and for all, and a new generation has got to emerge. <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> needs leadership that has the foresight and intestinal fortitude to put it back on the right track. We need to embrace a common sense approach to the economic disaster which faces us; save the people from political vultures; and restore this city as a livable and desirous place to live and raise a family. Our distressed city needs to be rescued from the tax and spend politics which favor only the rich, and we have got to seek to bring industry and new jobs into the area, not more service jobs. <o:p> </o:p> Rescuing <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> from complete oblivion is a necessity, and the time to prepare for change is not sometime in the future, it is right now! Unless an honest &^sincere effort is made by the voters and potential candidates, we can kiss <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> good-bye and change its name to “<st1:place>Hicksville</st1:place>: Home of The Elitists and Deprived”. Is this what you want? <o:p> </o:p> Sure it sounds radical, but unless we wake up and smell the roses, there won’t be any roses left to smell. We are already overgrown with weeds and Doherty’s concrete wonders, save his playground (<st1:place><st1:placename>Nay</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename>Aug</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype>Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>). Do you really want to see a city of vacant properties, Gatelli’s trees, no youth, and over-burdened taxpayers? <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:City> wasn’t built in a day, but it didn’t take very long for it to be destroyed by despots! <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> faces the same future unless somebody begins to make a move, <st1:stockticker>NOW</st1:stockticker>! <o:p> </o:p> We don’t need self-serving losers running for office! What we do need are candidates who can produce and who want to serve the majority of voters. “Wannabees” who split the vote are a detriment, and its time for them to get smart and unite behind serious contenders! If it means making a deal, then by all means do it, but let’s get moving. Unless you do, the Divide and Conquer Doherty forces will continue to lead <st1:city><st1:place>Scranton</st1:place></st1:City> on a path to destruction and ruin! United We Stand! Remember? <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133494421287272163noreply@blogger.com