What Is Wrong In The Ackerman Regime – and The Real Meaning of DRPA
The hints are there. The chaos. The confusion. The horrid handling of the attacks on Asian-Americans at South Philadelphia High School. Unexplained resignations. A failure of the school’s boss to allow transparency in key public records. A huge bonus that she took, and for what? An arrogance toward the media. A respected communications professional who goes to work for her, and quits two weeks later. A career cop, with impeccable credentials, who resigns as school’s security chief, with insiders telling us that the superintendent didn’t communicate with him. A School Reform Commission that refuses to fess up to the mess.
Is Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman a flawed genius? Insiders in the school district give me a mixed picture: a frenetic regime ruled by secrecy and poor communication, but a leader with a decisive and determined strategic plan for the city’s schools. Let’s hope that the latter prevails. There is too much at stake. I’ve been around for school administrations going back 44 years. I’ve never seen such a mixture of hope and despair coming out of the district headquarters. One thing is certain – Dr. Ackerman needs to explain why so much chaos and controversy surrounds her tenure. And she needs to heed an age-old recommendation: be clear and candid with the media, and certainly, not defensive. And Dr. Ackerman, blaming the news media for problems, like the one at South Philadelphia High, is an old and flawed technique. You need some straight advice, and if your lieutenants won’t tell you how to communicate in this town, I’ll be happy to. Two Mayors (not the current one) had their administrations damaged by a lack of communications skills. You could learn from their history. You could learn a lot.
DRPA – The Delaware River Patronage Authority
Here’s why the DRPA is in trouble. The Inquirer’s reporting of the patronage excesses were sourced by leaks from both sides of the river. You see, there are really two different agencies within the agency – the Jersey side and the Pennsylvania side – both fighting for the contracts and jobs of the patronage-laden agency. The competition between the two is fierce and costly. The problem with DRPA goes back decades. In 1971, during my tenure at Channel 6, we produced an award-winning special called “Public Bridges – Private Riches.” The broadcast outlined the excesses of power as the agency was planning the Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry bridges. There were revelations that planning for the PATCO high speed line was engineered by politicians who owned land near the end of the planned commuter line.. It was truly Public Bridges – Private Riches, and it remains that way today. Awarding contracts to friends is not illegal. But the greed for political patronage has exceeded the political normal. That’s why the DRPA crisis will end in a long running feud that will be eventually settled by the Governors.
Comments(36)
Larry
I missed you. But i did see you on CN8/TCN the other night and boy, you looked marvelous. You still have that warm smile and now with the sun tan, you really are another George Hamilton :)
DRPA – I am working on expose on this and want your help. Can you collaborate with me? Lets meet and have a soda and discuss. I know you love Fresca. I also have Tab in my fridge ;)
Let me know when…
Fondly and warmly
~~W~~
“A School Reform Commission that refuses to fess up to the mess.” Robert Archie’s hands are all over this “mess” as Larry puts it.He’s almost a one man shadow government.Larry,you should have included the strange saga of Carl Geene in this post.What a world class city this is-Greene,Archie,Ackerman,the Three Musketeers of Philadelphia.Or the new Three Stooges.
I agree with you whole-heartily Larry in regards to the Ackerman debacle. She has a way of alienating people by her condescending and arrogant demeanor. Interesting stat on national news this A.M….28% of black males in Phila. do not graduate from H.S. (58% overall nationwide). Phila. school system has a major challenge ahead.
Strange how Phila. has steadily gone down-hill, especially in regards to crime. I used to work at the old Gimbel Bros., and would think nothing of walking to the train station at 10:00 or 11pm. Today I wouldn’t think of it.
Larry flees the scene of a real debate and topic in record time to escape to a nice, little, noncontroversial topic of little importance. Brillant, Larry, brilliant!
Wow, I guess Larry’s getting the message to express an opinion rather than straddle neutral on every issue. His non stand on the mosque was the last straw for most of his Jewish constituency. Citing Obama as a man with Cojonnes, only to have him backpeddle within 24hours must be embarrasing.
Today, he actually expressed an opinion, albeit it a safe one, and only about six months after it was clear to all observers that Ackerman was out of control. So while he’s fianlly right about something, its far too little too late and actually reveals that he lacks moral courage on the issues of our day.
Who’s coming to see Glenn Beck at Lincoln Memorial on 8.28.10? Time for something refreshing and new and to bring everyone who loves America and its freedom together again!!!
I was planning to check out this Beck cat in person but I have another vacation to go on. Summer really isn’t a very good time for an event like this because the government is shutdown for the months of July and August. Every government employee has 30 days vacation. I’m planning to be in Hawaii with the family that week. Wading in shark waters and floating in an old tire on North Beach. Peace. Out.
Glenn Beck has now called for the Catholic Church to stop building churches by playgrounds because Catholics are offensive and remind everyone of sexual abuse of children. What’s next?
Leo Bloom, there is no place here for your anti Catholic bigotry, dont forget you moron, we actually know who you are.
Who is this Leo Bloom cat? I think I dig the way he thinks. Peace. Out.
Barry read my post from yesterday you tool. It will tell you all you need to know about said Leo.
Speaking of Barry or Barack as I refer to him where has he disappeared to? The campaign trail? He’s considered a piriah in his own party. No one wants him to campaign for them. He is a dead man walking. A 3 year lame duck. He has no cache. He wields no power. He brings nothing to the table. He is an empty suit. He is a pantload. He is the First Pariah. Those without the cojones (aka cajones and cojonoes) to just say no when he offers to campaign for them will be sorry. He is the First Pariah. He started out harmlessly enough. Promising home and change. Promising transparency and bipartisanship. Promising not to make race an issue. Promising us a better world. How has that worked out? With the exception of cheeky bastards like Leo who will support the First Pariah until the bitter end most have jumped off the Soul Train. Even lepers like Sharpton and Jackson are off the train. Pelosi has a nervous little smile when she’s forced into a photo opp with the First Piriah. Most Dems have written off re-election in 2010. How much worse could it be for the Dems?
Yet Larry talks about yesterday’s news. Philadelphia School Board? DRPA? No news scoops on the Daughters of the American Revolution? Perhaps some dirt on Betsy Ross. Why not the Beatles? They are always topical and relevant. Why not back to free air? We can all get behind that. What about peeps Josh and Eddie? They are certainly in your fav five speed dials.
This regime has gone down faster than the Titanic. It has gone down faster than the Edmond Fitzgerald. It has gone down faster than Ted Kennedy on St Pattie’s Day. In fact it has gone down faster than Linda Lovelace. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Biden/Tatu in 2012! Buy your beachfront property in Rehoboth. It is about to skyrocket.
Don’t forget that Jews should not wear yarmulkes on Good Friday. Too soon.
Was Larry secretly the 5th Beatle or just a groupie? He clearly has A Ticket to Ride. Audio book now available and price reduced. May be he just got stoned with them and his tape recorder was playing.
Did you guys just see that poll that says Obama is a Muslim? No wonder he personally wants to build a mosque out of the bones of dead Americans. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
most people know he’s a muslim,some were late to the party.
my guess is he comes out after he’s defeated in 2012. i expect michelle will reveal at the same time that she converted to islam in 2007.
and malia – what kind of name is that ?
Knowing he is a Muslim makes it a little easier to unterstand why Obama wanted to try terrorist in NYC and locate a mosque near ground zero. His hostility and rusth to judgement toward white police officers in Cambridge also makes more sense now since militant Muslims often have outright hatred toward white police officers regardless as to whether they are actually fair minded people.
The whole thing makes more sense now. Obama’s father was a Muslin, and his formative years in Indonesia with his stepfather and atheiest mother is where he learned much of the more radical ideas that he took to muslim circles in Chicago and bastardized Christian churches like Reverend Wright’s, which was actually a facade for militant Islamic organizing and worship.
Muslin? Isn’t that cloth?
I guess that makes Barry a Black Muslim. At least he’s not a Blank Panther.
I remember Malcolm X. I remember Bobby Seale. I remember the Black Panthers. These guys were mean and tough hombres. Barack is as soft and fluid as a soft boiled egg. He does have the stones or cojones (aka cajones or cojonoes) as Larry likes to say. More like Humpty Dumpty than a Huey P Newton I’d say. He may share the same crazy ideas as these jamokes as Big Brother points out but he gets manicures and $100 shavecuts. He is as soft as a baby’s ass and his policy as messy.
I on the other hand come from the mean streets of Scranton. I had to be tough to survive. We moved to the tough town of Clayton, Delaware. Again I had to man up to survive. I was a football star. Have I mentioned that before? Big football star. I was fast ans shifty. Hey that’s a better description of Barack. Fast and shifty. Soft as a soft boiled egg but fast and shifty.
I’m surprised that Larry isn’t writing about the imminent demise of the Democratic Party. That is a real story. From mandate victory and sweeping both houses in 2008 to this. Complete and utter chaos. Every man for himself. Tossing women and children out of the lifeboats as the Titanic sinks. Pelosi recognizes the significance of this Great Debacle. So much really liberal legislature could have been jammed up the ass of Americans yet so little has. Gay marriage rights. Free pass immigration. Open borders. Pandering supreme. Not now. Not in 2010. Harry Reid recognizes the significance of the Great Debacle. After 30 years in Washington he is unceremoniously going to be booted out on his ass and loses his Majority Whip status to boot. He leaves in disgrace like pals Larry Craig and Dan Rangel. And Barack Obama the President promising so much hope and change. The man that would transcend race and gender. The man the myth the debacle. This should be your lead story Larry for the next 3 months. Lead with it. How the high and mighty liberals have fallen from power and grace so fast that it makes our collective heads spin. This is a case study that will be studied in Poltical Science classrooms in great universities across America for decades. Does the late great teleprompter reading reporter Larry Kane jump on the story of the year? No instead he chooses to pile on poor incompetent Arlene Ackerman. State the obvious. Bash the bashed. Sling arrows. Take some cheap shots. Act indignantly. Will we see that Larry Kane in November after the elections. Pulling no punches. No holds barred. Feeding like a piranha on the piriah. Not likely. Our hero Larry is more likely to sum up the End of an Error in terms of what might have been. A socialistic nirvana. A nation rejoicing and embracing their differences. A nation united with one common goal. That great philosophical group War said it best:
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
I seen you ’round for a long long time
I really ‘membered you when you drink my wine
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
I seen you walkin’ down in Chinatown
I called you but you could not look around
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
I bring my money to the welfare line
I see you standing in it every time
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
The color of your skin don’t matter to me
As long as we can live in harmony
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
I’d kinda like to be the President
so I can show you how your money’s spent
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Sometimes I don’t speak too bright
but yet I know what I’m talking about
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
I know you’re working for the CIA
they wouldn’t have you in the Mafia
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Biden/Tatu in 2012! Vote for us and you’ll be our friends.
Sestak is no friend of Israel, I heard it for myself on TV. Pat Toomey is bunghole buddies with Israel, they dont say that on TV, but that’s what he wants you to think. Vote for Pat Toomey!
Any relation to Nancy Botwin on Weeds?
Why can’t we be friends? Indeed.
Yes, I am her cousin.
Just got out of rehab. After Larry’s assessment of my stature as an American I needed a break. As luck would have it I missed Lindsay Lohan. She had a private room. I still have that picture of her exiting a car without her panties on. I’ve got a picture of Britney Spears in the same pose but her cesarian section scar was pretty gross. In rehab I took a few lessons on how to be a good American. Lesson #1) Don’t say nothen ’bout nobody, especially Obama. #2 Don’t say nothen ’bout the Dumbocrats even though they want to spend us into oblivion. #3 Whenever someone mentions Sarah Palin just move your head sideways back and forth and say “tsk tsk”. #4 When speaking to Larry Kane always remember, he just doesn’t hide behind his name, he also has a large pair of stuffed cojones that he won on the boardwalk in Seaside Hights. Actually he didn’t win them. Snookie had an extra pair she didn’t need and gave them to Larry. What did I learn in rehab? If you see someone walking down the street with a big pair of cojones, it could be Snookie or Larry Kane.
As a Botwin, I have mixed feeling about Weeds. Sometimes entertaining but very hypocritical. Fundamentalist Christians are mocked, which could be funny if done equally to other groups. However, secular Jews and blacks get a free pass, while being extreamly hypocrictical as they destroy their community dealing drugs and corrupting children, all while spouting off anti American, anti Christian, and anti white sentiments. Who is behind this program Fish? It does underscore how badly the Boomer generation has screwed up themselves and their families.
Welcome back Ed, good luck with your recovery! I’ve had many well publized incarcerations and trips to treament. I’m doing well now, but deeply miss Gary and Dano, it is very lonely sometimes, so hang in there Ed!
I take exception to anyone who does not think Weeds is exceptional and that I am a great actress.
There is a bias though, but that is simply stating the obvious.
When my grandfather worked in the coal mines back in Scranton if they were behind schedule no one got vacation until they were back on schedule. No one. People didn’t leave and go have a good time in a crisis. This like so many other things do not apply to Barack. The more the country is in crisis the more vacations they take. Now in Martha’s Vineyard working on their tans and eating locally churned ice cream. They really needed to get out of the city that does not appreciate their mere presence. The First Pantload should lock himself in the White House bunker and figure out how to help business create at least one job. Instead he played his 44th round of golf yesterday at some swanky course in Edgartown. Must be nice. I’m lucky if I get out 5-10 times a year and I don’t really have any responsiblity. It’s like they don’t know what to do with themselves in the biggest house in America with 100 servants. (Jim Crow would not be happy). They have to see America while they can. Don’t forget the SPF-30 sunblock. Don’t each shell fish in months that end in “R”. Don’t worry about jobs or taxes or home market or unemployment. Don’t worry. Be happy. Let America see how much you can spend and how much you can enjoy yourself when someone else is paying for it.
Say what you want about George W Bush but he quietly went back to his ranch in Crawford, Texas when he was relaxing. No fanfare. No cameras. On SPF-30.
A number of great white sharks have been spotted at Cape Cod this summer. It’s like the summer of 1977 when Jaws terrorized the community. Let’s hope they find the First Pantload. He’s trying to create his own big stir. How many Secret Service men will lose their lives in the duty of their country saving the empty suit from Jaws?
As for me golf at Bear Trap followed by family dinner at Chucky Cheese. So many kids and really creepy people at that place. Makes me feel right at home. Just like Congress and Rehoboth.
Welcome home Ed. You are always welcome here. Don’t let Big Brother get you down.
TMI on Britney Spears. You are creeping me out.
Biden/Tatu in 2012! There are no small people only small thinkers.
My name is Ed and I have a problem. I believed that this was a no holds barred blogging site. I believed in Larry Kane. I believed in the rights of Americans to free speech. I don’t believe in all the liberal BS here. I believe that you work hard and get ahead. I don’t believe that the government was intended to provide handouts. I believe this is the worst President since Hebert Hoover. I believe in the free trade system. I am against government interference into business. I’m against government interference into healthcare. I’m against to much government regulation into energy and the environment. I’M THE ONE WITH THE PROBLEM?
Has anyone tried Netflix? What a value, and if you get the package with internet access it is unbeleivably convenient. Larry, I strongly recommned you subscribe to Netflix and use this blog to discuss movies and cable series that you watch on demand. It would be much more interesting than the drivil you currently write and participants would enjoy discussing the films and mocking your incorrect reviews and commnentaries. You are getting older now and winter will be here before you know it. For 8.99 per month you would have unlimited material to discuss plus your wife and kids would finally take an interest in the blog, so it would be good for the entire family. I’d like you to start with the Boy in the Stripped Pajamas, it is a chilling Natzi era film and is riviting. For ligther fare, I’d recommend Hot Tub Time Machine or the Hangover.
Obama is getting a very cool reception in of all places Martha’s Vineyard! The Bush T-shirt with Do you miss me yet, is a big seller this summer. November is going to be a turning point for Obama, he will need to embrace Reaganomics or else. small private sector job growth is the key to revoery and he just doesn’t seem to get that through his head. No more teachable moments. He also needs to acknowledge the success in Iraq, celebrate it and admit he got the surge wrong.
Mrs Filet and I catch previous season of Weeds every summmer on Netflix. We refuse to pay premium for Showtime. It’s more the principal than the $15. Weeds is quirky and unpredictable. Well developed characters and excellent writing. I don’t condone their lifestyle but they are pretty fun and sad at the same time. We also did 3 years of Mad Men last summer and 2 years of Damages this summer. It is a great way to catch up on a series. I recommend both.
Obama is a lost cause. Even his party are trying to separate themselves from his lost regime. 2010 begins the dawning of a new age. Not Aquarius. The end of an error. The beginning of the economic recovery and the end of socialism. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. GOP coming to take me home.
Fish, I’ve never agreed with a post more than #31. We caught all seasons of Madmen this summer, and now up to season #4 of Weeds. Now I want to check out Damages since you seem to have good judgement on this topic. Netflix is the greatest entertainment value- bar none! Almost too good to be true.
Mrs Fish likes Damages better than her fav last year Mad Men. I agree Netflix is a great deal Seen any good movies lately, Nancy? We’re watching Pelham 1-2-3 tonight.
Weeds marathon tonight. John Adams is pretty slow, but well done. Hot Tub Time machine was oddly thought provoking, as in how minor decisions at critical junctures in life can have a major impact on later outcomes. It’s a silly comedy, but was written by two guys from Penn class of 2000, its taken in over $50 million already- worth checking out since its basically free via Netflix.
Larry the regime change you should be talking about here is in Washington not Philadelphia. We need to exterminate the rats in DC starting at the top. Barack needs to go ASAP. Tomorrow is too soon. I can be sworn in in the morning and he won’t know the difference until his 44th vacation is over. He’ll get back from MV with a nice tan and ice cream stains on his presidential logo polo shirt to find all his belongings out on Pennsylvania Ave including Mrs Robinson. If it rains all day all the better. Think about how many people are still out of work or lost their home as a result of inactivity by the First Pantload. The lovely Jill and I will be moved in by noon. Hail to the New Chief!
We love Netflix at the Biden compound as well. Personally I was disappointed by The Hangover. Maybe it was overhyped. Maybe it was a generational thing. I too like the flexibility of the on demand movies. I have 8 hours a day to kill in Washington. Netflix is a very good use of my time in DC. That will all change tomorrow.
I never cease to be perturbed with Chucky Cheese. I hate the racket they are running there. Prizes cost a fortune in terms of tickets that need to be earned. You have to play games all day to win tickets. It is scam perpetrated on the youth. I think I’ll order a congressional investigation.
Biden/Tatu in 2012! No problem too big or too small.