The Larry Kane Report

There is no question that the baby boomer population, raging in age from 48 to 63 will be the tipping point on health care legislation that will be fiercely debated in DC after Labor Day. What’s the issue here? It turns out that this vital group of voters, so critical to Barack Obama’s victory last year, is, by all measures of surveys, scared that payments to their key group of doctors – cardiologists, oncologists and the like, may be diminished, causing a major deterioration in the quality of care. This may be the greatest threat to the Obama and Democratic plan. Keep an eye on this issue as the great debate unfolds.

Forget the actual Michael Vick debate. One score was settled in last week’s exhibition game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Emasculated for years by national media, Philly fans showed their class with a polite and restrained mini-ovation for Michael Vick. Message to national media: we may be a little over the top, but we are the classiest fans in America. As I said a few weeks ago, this is the original city of second chances.

A YEAR LATER…

It was a year ago this week that Sarah Palin was nominated for Vice President. I was there in St. Paul to watch the coronation, and to listen to the voices of the media who proclaimed  her the biggest star in politics. Lesson learned: Beware of smooth talking fear stalkers who have simple solutions. Palin was a bust. It had nothing to do with her style, which was colorful and fascinating. The fact was, then and now, that Palin knew little of the problems facing America. It was that, not the petty vagaries of politics, that did her in. It is difficult to convince the voters when you know the issues, especially when you don’t seem to have a clue.

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A final question on the release of terrorist Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan spy who is dying from prostate cancer. Have the Brits lost their minds? People die in prison all the time. Plain and simple: the man who caused the Pan Am 103 bombing in 1988 should have been executed after his conviction. But he lived to see a hero’s welcome in Libya. No wonder British PM Gordon Brown is viewed as such a weakling,.

The budget impasse in Harrisburg now rests squarely on the shoulders of GOP leaders in the Senate who are risking political catastrophe. Next year, the GOP may see a “replace the Clunkers” campaign if the Republican Party doesn’t get its act together. Ironic, isn’t is that Attorney General Tom Corbett has the best shot in a while to bring the Governor’s seat back to his party, but some hacks in the Senate are being outflanked by Ed Rendell. Rendell knows how to play the game and right now the Republicans are losing the public relations battle in this deadlock in Harrisburg.

Alycia Lane got a nice gig in LA. The former KYW TV anchor was redeemed when her ex co-anchor was convicted by the Feds of cyber spying on her.  Now she’s been hired by the NBC TV stations. They also own NBC 10 in Philadelphia. Is this a stop for her on her way back to Philadelphia? Doubtful, but you never know.

A word about Interstate 95. It has been months since I’ve seen a police car on the Expressway. I’ll say it again. 95 is not patrolled, nor is it safe. Where are the police? Or, are they too understaffed to protect lives on Philadelphia’s dangerous highway. This a problem that can be as fatal as gunfire. It underscores a major dilemma in Philadelphia – not enough cops. Take away the safety net, and the city crumbles.

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The Michael Vick controversy is loaded with emotional flash points: Andy Reid, citing his own family struggles, and Tony Dungy , his life shattered by his son’s death, finding the courage to stand up for someone who was abandoned by fans and most of America after committing heinous crimes on animals. A generous attitude rules. A team not known for accepting people with a troubled past, reaches out to one of the most controversial sports figures of his time. The reaction is harsh, very harsh, and some would say the reaction, and the anger is appropriate to the crime. I would say that, and I would also say that Michael Vick’s actions as a human being were disgusting  and ruthless.

But you have to admit that  this is the original city of second chances, in sports and in life in general. Of course, there is no way to compare our history of “second chances” with the hole that Vick dug for himself in the dog fighting scandal but it’s worth taking a look at our recent history.

A guy named Ed Rendell lost his race for Mayor in 1987 and was declared politically finished by the brilliant writers in the city. Ron Jaworski was booed so badly here that I don’t know how, at times, he had the stamina to actually  take the field. There’s a manager named Charles Emanuel who was villified and emasculated and insulted by writers, fans and talk radio ranters for several years. Bob Clarke, the man who made this a city of champions the hard way with grit and courage, had so many moments of glory and agony in Philadelphia sports.

Of course, no one in public life here  has ever done anything as brutalizing as Vick’s crime, but we have looked the other way at sports figures who committed domestic violence,  and pro football players elsewhere who have been associated with shootings and suspected of killings. The hockey world has accepted back a former local star found guilty of gambling. Most people here would put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame in a minute.

There is something unusual about the Philadelphia psyche. We are quick to judge, but in the end, there is a generous and sometimes warm acceptance of flaws in human behavior. I know. I saw it throughout a career in broadcasting that spanned the last 43 years. People from our area get a raw deal from network broadcasters who portray as a city of outrageous fans who have no respect for civility. That is an unfortunate stereotype. We are winners in many ways. We’re just hard on the people who represent us.

The fact is that people from our area are are generous to a fault, and willing to change their perspectives if they think they are wrong. There are limits though.

So the question remains: Are the Philadelphia Eagles being hypocritical by giving Vick a chance, as some of our newly-moralistic sports writers suggest?  Or, a second question: does hope trump hypocrisy?

Personally I view the hiring of Vick as a gesture of civility and hope.

The other night, Steve Stone, a former president of Beth Or Congregation in  Maple Glen, asked me what I thought about Vick. I said, “I would give him a second chance with conditions, notably that any problem. any  return to even a hint of violence, would mean he would be fired on the spot.”

Steve said, “How about Larry Mendte? Shouldn’t he get a second chance? How about Alycia Lane?”

Great question.

The question has been bothering me ever since it was asked. Where does hypocrisy end and where does reality begin?

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THE REAL HEALTH CARE CRISIS

Like everyone else in America, I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can about the complicated plans for health care reform. So far, paying for the reform is a puzzle, and we need the pieces to be put together quickly. The will to get a reform package in place is definitely there. But there has been one question that is largely ignored, and mostly not answered.

How will the American health care system handle the inclusion of 39 million people into the system? We know already that certain states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have a shortage of doctors. We know that emergency rooms are overworked, snd sometimes barely able to handle the current load. We will need more doctors, more clinics, more hospitals and more nurses. Does anyone inside the Beltway know the answers to these questions? This issue may be the most important on the agenda. If the care is not there, no health reform package will ever work.

REPUBLICANS TO NUTTER – WHO CARES?

So here, without embellishment, is the problem facing Michael Nutter, the Mayor of Philadelphia. Dominic Pileggi, Pa. Senate Majority leader, says he won’t fast track the state budget resolution just to help Philadelphia in its dire budget crisis. Mayor Nutter says wholesale cuts will be coming shortly, including those affecting the public safety. The Majority Leader, who represents nearby Chester and Delaware Counties, has said repeatedly that Philadelphia should not be treated any differently than other cities waiting for a budget.

That’s an interesting take from a major state leader who represents a district where a large chunk of voters has a real stake in Philadelphia’s financial health, many of them working for city companies. Leader Pileggi may be risking his own party’s chances at taking back the Governor’s seat next year. I do know this – Democratic strategists are salivating over Pileggi’s drop dead attitude toward Philadelphia. Power is fleeting. That’s the great lesson that few have learned in the Pa. Legislature, on both sides of the aisle.

GOOD NEWS (for a change) FOR GOP

Pat Meehan is seriously considering running for the Congressional seat held by Joe Sestak, the Democrat who will challenge Arlen Specter next year. Meehan, the former corruption-busting U.S. Attorney, will have a good shot at taking the seat back for his party. Meehan had considered running for Governor, and despite heated pressure, turned down an opportunity to run as Lt. Governor with Tom Corbett, the expected Republican nominee for Governor.

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It sticks to you. It just won’t go away, that disgusting feeling, that sense of hopelessness that people who are elected to protect and to serve are so full of baloney they might wind up hip deep in their own political waste.

What sticks to you is Daniel Rubin’s column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, spotlighting one of many people whose lives have been shattered by accidents, fatal and otherwise, that have been caused by people using hand-held cell phones. Rubin’s column did what a great columnist should do. It made me mad and mindful.

The fact is that Pa. State Representative Josh Shapiro’s bill to ban held hand cell phones while drivinng was defeated by some lying members of the Pa. House, liars because they promised t0 vote for it and then reneged, as Rubin so eloquently pointed out. To those who voted for the legislation, thank you. To those who voted against it, just remember as you go about your day that even more death may ride the highways because of your failure at common sense prevention.

To those of you who use hand held cell phones while driving, just think of how one single moment can change your life forever.

Jersey Vision – Can It Happen In Your Town ?

The recent corruption crackdown in New Jersey has startled even the most experienced observer, but it came as no surprise to this observer and my band of friendly journalists. First of all, government is all about money, contracts for everything from paving to parking.  The smaller the community, the easier the pickings. Who to watch for: anyone with control over zoning. Zoning is a powerful tool. The majority of zoning board members, zoning professionals and small town mayors and commissioners are honest, but keep this in mind. ANYTIME A COMMUNITY SUPPORTS ZONING THAT IS CONTRARY TO PUBLIC SAFETY, ANYTIME ZONING CREATES CONGESTION AND IS UNFAIR TO BUSINESS COMPETITION, IT MIGHT BE WISE  TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. A MUCH CLOSER LOOK.

READ ALL ABOUT, IF YOU CAN?

Sunday, August 2nd VOICE OF REASON, at 9:30 on Comcast Network is a show that highlights the failure of Philadelphia to take care of the future by educating its citizens. This program is about the 550 thousand people who are not literate enough to compete in the modern workplace. It’s about the 200 thousand who do not have a high school diploma. Frankly, its the story about the failure of Philadelphia’s educational system from generation to  generation. And you wonder why the jobless rate is so high in Philadelphia?

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