Last night, as promised, I dropped in on an "open house" party, with about 40 other people, that the Gracedale Goons hosted for Democratic Council and Controller candidates at the Klecknersville Fire Rangers Hall. I wanted to confront Controller Steve Barron over his idiotic claim that lawyers specifically hired "to facilitate and expedite all issues that will result in the alternate ownership (sale/lease) of Gracedale" were somehow excluded from looking into legal issues spawned by an Initiative to prevent that sale. I also wanted to confront Lamont McClure over his false claim that the County is sitting on a $60 million mountain of cash. But the only persons doing any speaking were the Gracedale goons.They actually treated it like an AA meeting. When Joe Mammana got up to speak, he insisted everybody shout "Hi, Joe" instead of the usual mild applause. They had to repeat it several times because they were not loud enough. Mammana claimed he'd do "anything" to save Gracedale, and I believe him. His wife is one of the circulators who signed the initiative petition twice.
I never did get an opportunity to confront Barron or McClure. Candidates were just recognized and did not speak. But among those in attendance,in addition to Norco Elections Comm'n Vice Chair Nicole Schlener, were AFSCME union boss Justus James. Ironically, they forgot to recognize the candidate they want elected most. Scott Parsons took a night off from sippin' the suds at Detzi's to bask in the praise of Gracedale Goons, and they forgot all about him.
The also failed to recognize another elected official in the back. The Northampton County Bulldog, Ron Angle, decided to drop in himself. Angle sat in the back and I sat up front. That way, it would be harder to take both of us out at the same time.
One Democrat running for office who absent is DA John Morganelli.
I sat alone, mostly snarling at everyone who came close, except for one hot blond who insisted on sitting with me even though I warned her she was going to make herself very unpopular with the people in that room. She's Tricia Mezzacappa, and is running for West Easton Borough Council.When it became apparent that these candidates were unwilling to expose themselves to questions, I got up to leave. As I did so, they all applauded.
According to one of the Gracedale Goons, "I followed him out however he almost was running to his car. Another observation was that not 2 minutes after Ron left Bernie answered his phone. Now we all know he has no friends that includes Ron who is using him for free legal advice. I suspect though Ron called to check if there was any chatting about him. They both met up later after they left. As I think someone tailed Bernie. I don't know who though I just heard it from an anon coward."
And they wonder why I call them goons.
By the way, I did meet up with Ron after the meeting.
62 comments:
A rather uninspiring report, BO. Expected more fireworks. How many people were there? Your photos show a lot of empty space. The group actually sounded a little subdued. Expected more of a Jerry Springer atmosphere.
I wanted to attend the meeting so I could educate myself on the issue but it was too close to dinner and I didn't want to upchuck my meal. No it wasn't the same piece of CROW that Ron Angle ate. He would love to have the support of the Gracedale Loons and Goons. He is going to need it
Ewwwwww....she signed the petition 2 times. WOW! That's headline news instead of the over 23,000 signatures!
By the way....Hi Joe Mammana!
FYI...don't think they failed to recognize anyone, I think this was a thank you for Gracedale supporters not any political BS. If Angle was a supporter.....I am sure he would have been invited!
"Ewwwwww....she signed the petition 2 times. WOW! That's headline news instead of the over 23,000 signatures!"
Gotta' love this attempt to minimize blatant election fraud. W'll see if the courts feel the same way be they are being advised.
"A rather uninspiring report, BO.
Unispiring people.
For a bunch of goons, it seems as though it was a well run and civilized gathering.
You are two are so predictable and easy.
Allow me to introduce myself
Bond, James Bond
You left the part out about damaging the cancer stricken little boy with your obscene gesture. Visably shaken his mother and father comforting him and his sister, I felt obligated to follow you out to call you on that. At the same time introduce myself. You know this is the third time you have either run out or stood me up. You run mighty fast for a overweight person.
BTW no one followed you (that I know of) maybe investigators, who knows, you both need investigating. I added that to see your response. You did not disappoint. FYI The format was planned although I wasn't aware as I am not affiliated with any of those groups. I wanted to hear everyone speak as well, however enjoyed chatting privately with all of them . You should have stayed for that part. I never met you in person, however, after last night, I don't see where you have any room to criticize anyone on their appearance.
Now next time lets' get it over with you know the pleasentries and such, I want you to be able to put a face on your adversary.
And iron your overcoat Columbo
What the....?
Bernie
Did you really give the finger in front of kids? Were the crying ?
You know I'm on your side however I remember you driving the point home about the goons saying asshole in front of the Boy Scouts.
I think you leave yourself wide open with this, and I am disappointed in your behavior.
I did, indeed, flip a bird to Barron, but that was before there were any children in the house. There was one group of about three children who came with a family and sat at the rear of the hall, I would never knowingly do anything offensive in front of any group of children.
Whoever this goofy goon is, he is afraid to confront me face to face. I sat at that hall for well over an hour and he or anyone could have spoken to me, as Ms. M did.
Union Goon, You can say they were on their best behavior.
Bond here
Nice try
They were there
when you did it
and saw you
maybe some photos will refresh your memory
Hey "Bond,"
Why did you lack the courage to confront me face-to-face? Why do you do it anonymously now? Why don't you post the pictures that supposedly will refresh my memory? Why would you follow me and not speak to me? Why would you wait until now to comment anonymously?
Prehaps you also noted that the child had their heavy winter coat hood up and zipped for the entire time (inside). The ravages of cancer are insidious. Shame on you.
As indicated, I at no time did or would flip the bird in front of any group of children. Just as you cart around all the Gracedale residents and try to inflame passions over them, you are now trying to do it with cancer-riddledd children.
By the way, why were no Gracedasle residents at this party? You were able to cart them off to a Couty Council meeting, but didn't have the time to bring them to one of your parties because there was no press there. .
I gave you time to confront Barron as you promised. I wanted so bad for that to happen. That was the only reason I was there. Seriously, I thought you were getting a coffee because you were in that area. I then thought you were going to the mens room only to see to late you had left. I had every intention of publicly asking you to apologize to that family. It was funny you must have sprinted. I got outside and heard a car started from in the front I assume it was yours. If I knew you were blowing hot air on confronting him I would have engaged you immediately when you walked in as I was standing outside. Don't think for a minute you or Angle intimidate me.
Bond
It's pretty obvious that you are intimidated, as evidenced by your failure to say peep to me during the meeting, but wait to instead confront me anonymously here with falsehoods. I was there a good hour and only left bc the candidates never spoke. I am not going to confront Barron privately, but will do it where all can see hjust how barren Barron is. And you, who claim to have followed me outside. I stopped and had a conversation with someone on my way to my car. Did you dive behind some bush?
Like most of that crew, you are a goon who lacks the courage to do anything for which you have to accept responsibility.
You flipped him the bird? Are you 12?
I can't confirm or deny your report of stopping to talk with someone.
I stated the facts as I saw them.
With that I bid you fare the well.
Until we meet again, Blofeld.
Bond
BO, this was a thank you get together put on by the COAF
not for or given by Gracedale residents so there was no reason to have residents there . Iam sure that group will have a big party for the residents right there at Gracedale when they win all these court cases you and Angle and Stoffa are using the taxpayers money to fight- tax payers with.
Not only are you three going loose out selling Gracedale, come election time your boss is going to loose all the way around.
I was there just to see you tell Barron off and of course you had every chance but you are all blow and no go.
And as far as you flipping the finger many people seen you do it and yes most of all the little boy seen you SHAME ON YOU !
Yes the little boy does have cancer
he has been back and forth to Philly more times than you have brains. And you keep bringing up about that person saying asshole
in front of the boy scouts, when what she did say was you know where you can shove that thing.
So BO stop slinging mud because your hands are the muddiest
Bernie needs a LIFE!
Bernie you hate on Barron because he is a real attorney and you lost that privilege. You know he will win big n November so you are going nuts.
"Bernie you hate on Barron because he is a real attorney"
is he really? did he take and pass the PA bar?
That James Bond stuff was funny. You should use that stuff for a screenplay. Like Peter Sellers movies. You already have the trench coat. I can't believe you would shoot the bird at that place. Those people are just waiting for that kind of behavior. You won't be able to live that down.
Barron went to law school, but I'm told he never practiced. Irrelevant though. He really is a nice person if you take some time and talk with him.
"Bernie you hate on Barron because he is a real attorney"
First, I don't hate him. Second, he's not a real attorney. He's failed the bar every time he's tried, which sometimes happens. Third, he's not a real accountant. His degree is in political science. Fourth, he has broken his pledge to be a full time controller. He is in the office about 15 hours per week at the most. Fifth, he's an opportunist. He already announced once that he was running for county exec when he thought Stoffa might step down even though he has zero executive experience and no wisdom. Sixth, he is either stupid or dishonest, take your pick. He threatened official retaliation against non-union T-Mobile for refusing to let Barron speak to some VP w/o an appointment about unionizing. A person who does that is either an idiot or corrupt or both.
Barron may not get re-elected to his current position. As to the County Executive, he will have some company if he runs to be sure.
He has all the slime of Callahan but none of the looks or charm.
It is a shame how he is using this crowd of people for votes.
Bernie stay on top of this game he is playing about the lawyers working for the county.
I will. I was incensed by his insinuation that Ron was passing along information.
Bernie -- you hound. Is she married?
Yes. And I'm retired from that sort of thing.
"Union Goon, You can say they were on their best behavior."
I was not there, I was only basing my comment off of what you described.
And your comment is accurate. They were behaved ... for once.
You and Angle are pissed at Barron because he caught you both in the act. He discovered the unethical and possibly illegal activity of the Stoffa law firm with you and Angle.
He is not finished with his probe and you guys may find yourself in deep trouble. If he turns his information over to the DA, you and Angle could end up being cell mates.
No wonder you are upset. he nailed you and Angle big time.
Truth in Life
What barren Barron did is make a complete idiot out of himself by claiming there's something amiss about a law firm doing exactly what they were hired to do.
He will not allow the firm to be payed Bernie, so I guess he was right.
I guess it will all come down to what your definition of facilitate and expedite is. I'm betting on Clinton.
I'm not exactly sure what you are saying, but if you are saying that barren Barron will not authorize payment to Eckert, you are wrong. It's not his call. It is the County Exec's call. And although he'd like to be, barren Barron is not the County Exec.
barren Barron
thats funny
Heir Ohare
Is it not the controllers job to check into money matters to make sure there is no fraud!
It would be Herr O'Hare. If you want to evoke a Nazi image, at least spell the words correctly.
Under Godwin's Law, the first person to bring up Nazis, Hitler and that kind of crap, loses the argument.
"Is it not the controllers job to check into money matters to make sure there is no fraud!"
If you want to ask a question, finish it with a question mark, not an exclamation mark.
Where's the fraud? Explain that. County Council adopted a resolution authorizing the Executive to hire Eckert Seamans. Its mandate, according to the express terms of the resolution, is to "to facilitate and expedite all issues that will result in the alternate ownership (sale/lease) of Gracedale." They are lawyers. An initiative effort is begun to stop the County from selling Gracedale. Their work on litigation to stop this Initiative is a direct result of the mandate they received from County Council.
There is no fraud. There is political pandering by barren Barron, in an attempt to ingratiate himself with unions (There;s a shocker) and the Gracedale crowd. He thinks he can get more votes by being on your side, so he'll use the authority of his office to insinuate something is improper when, in truth, the law firm is doing what it was hired to do.
This will not be the first time Barron has abused the authority of his office. Just a few short months ago, he was censured bt Council for threatening retaliation against a nonunion company who declined to meet him without an appointment to discuss union issues.
He has not learned, but is just continuing to abuse his office for political purposes.
Bernie look at it this way,could county council possibly be worse off if the people vote out all the incumbents and elect new people.Due to the fact that this council has done nothing but create controversy with bullshit law suits no plan for the future,and always crying they have no money,and one individual who constantly disrupts meetings when he dislikes the topic a person is talking about!
Sujre it could be worse off. We could have a bunch of anonymous Gracedale Goons on council. Oh that is right. They don't live in Norco.
Why didn't any of you big mounts approach Bernie and Angle when you had a chance at your little "party?" Scared of two old men?
You will have to forgive me if i hit the wrong key,I did not know this was an english class.Critical of others as usual.
And your not critical of others?
Bernie you missed the point, what are the duties of the controller?
"And your not"
Please do us all a favor and enroll in an elementary school grammar class.
"what are the duties of the controller?"
Um, read the home rule charter. He is supposed to an independent official, not a union hack. His chief duty is to audit, not call news conference that criticize the executive for doing what is authorized by council resolution.
After reading the HRC it is clear that Barron is doing what he was tasked to do. An audit is one of the basic duties of his position.
On the other had, if what you say is true, 15 hours a week does not constitute working full time hours.
No where in there does it say he can not hold a news conference. I don't think it is a bad thing for the taxpayers to be informed.
I was at the "Gracedale Party". Bernie did give the finger but, who cares? If the kids were there and they saw it, they see worse on tv or at home. The boy has cancer, my prayers to him and his family. His cancer should not have anything to do with Bernie giving the finger. Whoever made that comment is just adding gas to the fire. The event was not the place or time to confront anyone. That was not the purpose of the party. It was an event to thank the people who supported the Gracedale "goons". Joe did make everyone say "Hi Joe" a few times which was rather childish. The crowd did follow along to speed up the process. I would say the cowd had about 60 people. After Joe's speach, there was alot of chit chat and people had a good time. It didn't end until after 9pm. The Gracedale "goons" put on a good party. Just don't eat the cake.
It would be Herr O'Hare. If you want to evoke a Nazi image, at least spell the words correctly.
I did mean "heir"
as in "inherit the wind"
Due to you taking it upon yourself to repeatedly, subjectively, censoring people when they cross the very thin line you created in this arena
I view this as a threat to intellectual freedoms
counselor
There you go again, proving that you're BOTH stupid AND dishonest.
Union Goon, Please explain what frickin' audit Barron was doing that led him to call that news conference? What law or policy was being broken by Stoffa? That firm was doing precisely what it was hired to do, but barren Barron called a news conference to make some points with unions and threaten the county exec for doing his job.
In other words, Barron is doing now exactly what his was doing a few months ago when he was censured.
This was such an obvious BS story that only the ET and 69 ran with it. TMC and Patch took a pass.
I was at the "Gracedale Party". Bernie did give the finger but, who cares? If the kids were there and they saw it, they see worse on tv or at home. The boy has cancer, my prayers to him and his family. His cancer should not have anything to do with Bernie giving the finger. Whoever made that comment is just adding gas to the fire. The event was not the place or time to confront anyone. That was not the purpose of the party. It was an event to thank the people who supported the Gracedale "goons". Joe did make everyone say "Hi Joe" a few times which was rather childish. The crowd did follow along to speed up the process. I would say the cowd had about 60 people. After Joe's speach, there was alot of chit chat and people had a good time. It didn't end until after 9pm. The Gracedale "goons" put on a good party. Just don't eat the cake.
No one would care if Bernie would not incessantly remind us that someone said asshole in front of Boy Scouts
oh! my"
"hush yo' mouth"
From all accounts the kid was upset as he is in a fragile state. To him it does matter if some huge man in a overcoat coat creates a scene.
BTW the kids weren't there when Bernie did that.
Were they?
Prehaps you can recall that it was Bernie who told all that he would confront Barron at this event. I don't think it was a proper venue for any of his threats to confront, or childish displays. If he knows the man works 15 hours a week he knows where and when to find him for this "showdown". This was a ploy to incite and intimidate the people from Gracedale and Barron. This perpetrated in concert by Angle and Bernie, there is no other explanation. Why else would they be there?
Bernie....you were there to antagonize and try to instigate trouble....you know it and everyone else knows it! The only thing is...it blew up in your face because the event was not what you expected and then what happens, your real demeanor came out with the "flipping of the bird". You have the nerve to use names such as goons, thugs and kooks, so what are you calling yourself after this act! I could come up with a few, but then I would be stooping to your level. Maybe you should start taking a good look in the mirror instead of constantly throwing stones at others.
dj
dj, Nothing blew up in my face. I went there expecting that McClure ands Barron would at least speak. I forgot they aren't really interested in being informative. And I'd flip the bird again.
Very well though out honest, and at the same time mature comment Bernie.
Barron sees himself as one of the smartest politicians out there. The old Reibman crowd is pushing him because they see him as clueless as Reibman. They want the old pay to play system and they see Barron as the ticket to the deal. Check out his handlers.
He thinks they love him for his brains.
You are right Bernie. Keep on this crap. There are about 100 bad choices who would do a better job than that muppet dwarf as County Executive.
We don't need another clueless County Executive with 100 millon dollar bonds.
I like how when people disagree they use the discriptive adjectives and colorful metaphors to enhance their points of view. This must make them feel superior and to them validate their point.
muppet dwarf
gracedale goon
raging alcohlic
goofy goon
union goon
union thug
fat man in a raincoat
Ohare is one of the biggest and relentless offenders of this childish wordplay.
I guess it would be boring without it though.
Nevermind ...jackwagons
You know I can't help but think about the saying that the definition of crazy is if you keep doing something over and over again and expect different results. I feel that way when I know that the small bag of Goldfish and small Coke won't satisfy me, however, I buy them anyway only to regret that I didn't go for the large bag and bottle. Now as I sit here at the computer with the empty bag and bottle I lament. Anyone else ever feel like that?
Let me be the first to agree that you are crazy. Now go get some help.
Hey! I just got an idea!!! Bernie why don't you run for county council, then you can be right next to Ron and really give it to the county!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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