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Philly Civic Leader To Seek Dem Nod For U.s. Senate

A $200,000 bailout for responsible individuals
Here&rsquo;s my idea for a bailout. Our economy can be stimulated by having our government reward those of us who have made responsible decisions. We are not going to reward those people who made terrible decisions, getting mortgages they could not pay for or buying homes that were overpriced and unaffordable.
The bailout would include:
The federal government gives $200,000 to all the individuals in the United States who have paid their mortgages, car notes and credit cards on time for the past five years.
The stipulations are as follows:
All individuals receiving the $200,000 must first use the money to pay off their mortgages. This will give banks and lending institutions all the money they need to begin to loan money to individuals wanting to buy or build homes. (No need to bail out the banks, and this will create construction jobs!)
If there is any money left after paying off mortgages, the individuals must then pay off their automobile loans. Once again, this will free up a substantial amount of money for the banks, lending institutions and individual automobile credit companies. Also, this will help increase auto sales because many times individuals without car loans are most apt to buy new cars. Improving auto sales will bring the laid off autoworkers back to work.
Next, if any of the original $200,000 is left, it must be used to pay off credit cards. Again, this will free up money for the credit card companies. Without debt, individuals will be more willing to purchase items that they want or need. This will certainly help the economy get back on its feet and again bring workers back to work or create new jobs.
And lastly, the recipient must spend any remaining money within six months on goods or items for homes, offices, etc. The money cannot be used for savings or to pay off other bills.
All those steps will assist our country in getting back on its feet by providing money to loan to businesses for operations and expansion, thus creating jobs. We all know job creation means income taxes paid to our various governing bodies, all claiming to be in debt due to job loss.
Old-style political attacks on Carney won&rsquo;t work
What a sad state of affairs when Republicans, unable to work with the new president to help the country crawl out of the economic hole they put us in, have decided that now, only weeks after the swearing in of the new Congress, is a good time to start the next campaign.
Of all the non-issues to harp on, they have decided to focus on whether Congressman Chris Carney accepts, rejects or donates to charity a 2.8 percent cost-of-living salary increase. And apparently he can&rsquo;t do it right as far as they&rsquo;re concerned, anyway. They&rsquo;ve been after him all this time for having donated the last raise to charity.
Unable to take any responsibility for what Republican misuse of power has brought us to, they have decided to go after a very conservative Blue Dog Democrat, and are desperately trying, in opposition to all the facts, to paint him as a money-wasting liberal.
My favorite part of this little crusade was the statement that we must watch to see Congressman Carney&rsquo;s &ldquo;true nature.&rdquo; I think if you&rsquo;d been paying attention you would have clearly seen his true nature. It starts with fierce patriotism; he still serves his country as an active member of the Naval Reserves. He is a deeply committed family man; his devotion to his wife and children is well known in the 10th District. And with all his travels around the district, with his service to family and country, he still managed to bring home more monetary help to his district than any other freshman congressman.
So why don&rsquo;t you stop your nonsense and have the courage to be a little honest here. You want to bring down the congressman not because it&rsquo;s best for the 10th District &ndash; because it most certainly is not &ndash; but simply to regain lost power.
I have a suggestion for you that might really help the people of the 10th. Instead of sniping from the sidelines, why don&rsquo;t you actually meet with Chris. If you have any good ideas about how to fix our ailing economy, I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;d be glad to listen &ndash; after all, he comes home and talks to his constituents all the time.
Our country voted for a new president and a new way of doing things. Constantly going after your opponent with trumped up charges and negative attacks is not something we care to hear anymore. Congressman Carney has done a terrific job representing us. Work with him to help all of us.
Your old-style politics is no longer welcome. Give it a rest.
Follow Truman&rsquo;s dictum to get control of bucks
America wants to be the nice guy, but nice guys end up last.
Like the very underrated President Truman said, &ldquo;The buck stops here.&rdquo; If we did the things that he wanted us to do, we would be in better shape today.
When World War II ended, our fighting men and women came home. For their protection, he wanted to put a control on prices, rents, autos and homes. Put a hold on free enterprise. 
Our main problem in the country is &ldquo;greed,&rdquo; million-dollar salaries and bonuses, which should be controlled. There are no-show people getting salaries all over the country.
Spending is one big problem that should be controlled. Money is being drained out of company funds and then they are looking for bailouts with the people&rsquo;s taxes.
Every city, state and Washington, D.C., should have a strong person to manage the money and account for every dollar that is spent. The first thing they have to do is get their houses in order, starting from the top floor down to the first floor.
Close Guantanamo, but keep detainees far away
 Everybody in this community, as well as individuals everywhere, wants to be safe. Many question whether or not the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison is the best decision.
In my opinion, it is in the best interest of Americans to see the prison shut down, but under certain circumstances.
The prison in Cuba holds about 245 men suspected of being terrorists or being involved in terrorist activities. This is what seems to frighten most people; but what frightens them even more is the fact that the government wants to detain the prisoners in Pennsylvania and other states. For our protection, they should be detained in a foreign country far away from the citizens.
The closing of the prison will help keep the United States concerned about the welfare of others. Prisoners had been tortured, which isn&rsquo;t right.
Some new rules would help protect teen drivers
Teenagers from Wilkes-Barre and throughout Luzerne County are injured and killed in car crashes that we might be able to prevent. 
The latest data from the state Department of Transportation show that in 2007 there were 101 fatalities and 9,726 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers in Pennsylvania. Car crashes remain the leading cause of deaths among 16- to 19-year-olds. 
Teenagers will always take risks. So, what do we do?
Strengthen the laws that govern young drivers. 
AAA urges support for House Bill 67. It would prevent junior drivers from driving with more than one passenger under age 18; require more hours of driving experience, including 10 hours of nighttime and five hours of inclement-weather driving; and prohibit the use of interactive wireless communications devices. 
Right now, a teen driver in Pennsylvania can have as many passengers as there are seatbelts in the vehicle. They aren&rsquo;t required to get driving experience at night or during inclement weather. And, they aren&rsquo;t prohibited from talking on the cell phone or texting when driving &ndash; which many do.
Young drivers are prone to peer pressure, inclined to take risks, increasingly distracted and tempted to multi-task behind the wheel. Teenagers between 16 and 19 are four times more likely to die in a car crash than their parents.
Let&rsquo;s do something about it. 
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A $200,000 bailout for responsible individuals Here’s my ide