If you can name your favorite William Butler Yeats poem, then share a mug of Irish coffee with me. Bonus shot of Bailey’s if it’s something other than the “Lake Isle of Innisfree.”
And lemme ask: a.) Jameson or Bushmills? b.) Stout or cider? c.) Galway or Cork or Dublin? d.) What’s your favorite spot in Ireland?
My answers: a.) Bushmills 12-year whiskey, only available at the distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. b.) Cider, which you can find on tap at Quips here in Lancaster. I have a sweet tooth, which Bulmers can sweetened even more. c.) Galway, hands down, because not only can you take day trips to, the Burren, the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher from that harbor town, but nights in the Quay pubs reaffirms the best of life. And finally, d.) Dun Duchathair on the Aran Islands. An ancient Celtic fort on the very edge of the European continent, massive granite cliffs running jagged along the shoreline, aquamarine ocean water reaching up as if to claim the island back to the sea and no one around you to disturb the peace.
Oh yeah, there’s stuff going on around our political island.
State Sen. Mike Brubaker has introduced legislation that would create a bipartisan commission to oversee how federal stimulus money will be spent in Pennsylvania. Now, before you drone off to sleep or click to YouTube to watch John Stewart smack down Jim Cramer, again, hear me out. According to Brubaker, the Guv is none too happy about this and told the Senator so. I’m waiting now for the Guv’s spokesman, Chuck Ardo, to call and tell me what the rumpus is all about.
“Even with the best intentions, these efforts will potentially result in some of these dollars to be misplaced,” Brubaker said of the estimated $10 billion in federal stimulus funds coming into the state. “I was uncomfortable with an unprecedented amount of money coming into the Commonwealth, and the members of the General Assembly … we have nothing to do with the stimulus package. I’m very uncomfortable with that.”
The nine-member commission would be made up of appointees from the Legislature, members of the governor’s cabinet and an appointee of the governor.
Elsewhere:
*State Attorney General Tom Corbett, let me officially welcome you to the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Corbett, in my judgment, starts off as the frontrunner in this race - name recognition, the only GOP candidate to win statewide in 2008, at the forefront of the Bonusgate investigation, which brought charges against two former Democratic state lawmakers and about a dozen staffers for a salary-bonus-for-campaign scheme they allegedly ran. Of course, Corbett’s going to need convictions to keep Bonusgate as a reason for anyone to vote for him.
*The e-mail trail between those Democratic House staffers who received substantial salary bonuses and former Majority Leader Bill DeWeese grows. The story is related to the Bonusgate scandal.
Update: This is a fine day for Brubaker, who aides say is wearing a green tie today. The Warwick Township Republican saw his two proposed laws to provide consumer protection for mortgage buyers and whistleblowers passed by the Senate.
From the news release:
Senate Bill 170 would prohibit a mortgage broker or originator from being the exclusive recipient of communications to a consumer. The legislation would prevent brokers from withholding information about interest rates, fees or monthly payments, and it would ensure that consumers are informed of the terms of their mortgage.
Senate Bill 171 would also help to prevent fraud by protecting mortgage company employees that report illegal activities or take part in an investigation, hearing or inquiry. The legislation would prevent an employer from taking actions such as reducing an employee’s salary or benefits, changing the terms of employment, or firing an employee.
Brubaker introduced the bills in response to the OPFM mortgage scandal that defrauded more than $26 million from Pennsylvania homeowners. Brubaker said that hundreds of Lancaster County homeowners lost millions of dollars due to the mortgage and investment fraud scheme.
“It is unconscionable for con artists to take advantage of homeowners through this sort of fraud, and the General Assembly must take action to prevent this from happening again,” Brubaker said. “I am very pleased that my colleagues have joined me in supporting legislation to protect homeowners, and I am hopeful that the House will take prompt action to send this bill to the governor’s desk in the near future.”
Brubaker said that both bills were drafted with input from the Department of Banking to ensure they offered consumers adequate protection from fraud.
