Today, two Philly Democrats, joined the opposition to video poker in the Gaming Oversight Committee.

Watch this video to learn more and please join these two Philly elected officials, Michael O'Brien and Curtis Thomas, in their opposition to video poker. Encourage them to keep voting "no" and help turn other Democrats into no votes. Supporting casinos and the expansion of predatory gambling is not progressive, Democatic, or democratic. Check out the video and take action to stop casinos and the expansion of gambling and corruption in our state.

OK, so this is more of the funnier variety, but, add this to the stories of the day:

Prosecutors in the trial of former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo abruptly abandoned plans to call a key witness yesterday after learning that he had sent thousands of e-mails to Fumo and others.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Zauzmer said the witness, Leonard P. Luchko, who had been a top computer technician for Fumo, also posted comments via the Web site philly.com on Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News stories about the trial.

The surprising development caused a temporarily halt in the trial, which is set to resume this afternoon with testimony from a computer technician from Fumo's Harrisburg office.

Hmm, if I knew this was going to be such a big news story, I would have spoken up about it months ago... because the same guy has been on YPP, defending himself. (He also wrote a piece attacking Anne Dicker.) And, when he wrote, it was one of those comments that seemed pretty strange, so I googled him. And when I did, I found this, which sort of clues you in to who he is:

I am currently under indictment by the FBI because of my use of PGP software at our company. PGP encrypts email and also provides a Wipe utility for free space. I can tell you first hand that the FBI is completely out of control! They answer to no one and they use ever resource they have regardless of the law. With the Patriot Act, they were able to tap my phone, intercept my email and bully my internet provider without leaving any paper trail. Because there was nothing to find they were not able to use any of the information against me but when my lawyer asked for copies of all electronic surveillance he ran into a brick wall. The FBI denied there was any electronic surveillance and because there was no paper trail of warrants for my lawyer to follow because of the Patriot Act he was unable to get copies!

Now it turns out the guy has actually been emailing Fumo, too, when he is the government's star witness. (The same star witness who was found to have emailed "The boss wants us delete these emails!", or something to that effect.)

It probably isn't good for the government to have your star witness trashing the FBI for their tactics. Only in Philadelphia.

Unsurprisingly, and with little sense of shame, the State Senate and the Governor joined the State House, and passed a bill that puts even more of their constituents at risk from predators, as they legalized Wall Street's latest scam, for-profit credit counseling. (The last time I talked about this bill, I was greeted with a finger-jabbing tirade from a State Rep who called me a demagogue, and then started threatening me.)

The refrain from Dwight Evans is familiar:

Evans said for-profit companies have found ways to reach clients for years despite a ban on their operation. He said his bill will for the first time impose licensing requirements and give the state Department of Banking the authority to regulate the industry.

"In a Wild West, unregulated environment, anything can happen," Evans said in an interview. "Now both nonprofits and for-profits will have to meet standards, and consumers will know they're dealing with a regulated industry."

Yes, if there is anything that tells you that an industry will closely follow your law, it is the fact that an industry ignores your law.

I think I am going to start a business called Dan's Pickpocket. I will do it for a couple years, spread some lobbying dough and muscle around in Harrisburg, and then demand my industry be legitimized. Hell, maybe my pickpocketing futures could get rated, securitized and sold? Then we would be talking!

(And thank you for the parting gift to your legacy, Senator Fumo!)

Let's play a game! I call it, What is Dumber? I think the rules will be clear pretty quickly!

OK, OK, what is dumber?

A) Your hometown is being crushed under a tidal wave of predatory lenders. In response, your City Council passes a bill to protect Philly homeowners. However, even though you are from that City, you kill the law, and let the market feast on vulnerable consumers for years more. You say at the time that if more regulation is needed, you will provide it. Years go by, 40,000 foreclosures are filed in your city. And you do nothing. (This would be the Dwight Evans/ Vince Fumo approach from 2001.)

B) Fast forward 7 years, the house of cards that is Wall Street has finally fallen. The Federal Government now looks like it will provide a 700 billion dollar golden parachute for stockholders and CEO's. Meanwhile, those homeowners who haven't been foreclosed yet have their only real hope coming from local advocates, City Council/the Mayor, and a couple creative Judges who have banded together to help them. In response, rather than pitching in to help your constituents (you know, the ones you screwed 7 years earlier), you legalize a Wall Street industry ripe with fraud, with an entire business model focused on going after vulnerable homeowners. (This is the Dwight Evans approach from 2008, as we wait to see if Vince joins in.)

So, quiz: Which is dumber?

(And hey Fumo, is this really what want your last bill to be?)

1) Indicted State Senator Vince Fumo is in big trouble:

In another blow to State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, a computer technician who prosecutors said carried out an electronic cover-up for Fumo has agreed to plead guilty and is expected to testify against his former boss.

Leonard P. Luchko, 51, who worked in Fumo's South Philadelphia office, is scheduled to plead guilty on Monday before a federal judge, according to a document filed yesterday in U.S. District Court.

These computer guys were the ones caught deleting all kinds of information, allegedly at Fumo's direction. If nothing else, the feds now almost certainly will have him on obstruction of justice.

2) The City Commissioners story continues to have legs. In the last week or so, it has been in local media all over the place (The Germantown Courier, Mt Airy Times Express, Art Museum Home News, Northeast Times, etc). And on Monday, the Daily News had a nice editorial about it, as well. The story resonates because the premise- that election results are password protected- is just so ridiculous, and because hundreds of people signed on to force a change.

3) Speaking of corruption, Councilman Jack Kelly's Chief of Staff entered a not guilty plea yesterday. In the meantime, Inga Saffron has more on those shady developers also charged.

4) In site news, you can now get YPP delivered to you by email. Over there --->, just enter your email address in the box, and voila. It should be formatted for whatever device you are using, including blackberries.

5) And one more: From Its our Money, Ben has a a bunch of things up about recycling, including an op-ed today in the paper, a podcast with Dave Heller of WHYY, and a Q/A with Christine Knapp of Penn Future.

Wow folks -- what a victory for people fighting to make sure that we get casinos moved out of any Philadelphia neighborhood that doesn't want them --

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080704_Evans__Fumo_give_casinos_a...

House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans and State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo said at a news conference that they would draft legislation to remove the casinos' tax breaks if they did not abandon their proposed sites on the Delaware River waterfront.

The locations, which were decided upon 21/2 years ago, are "untenable and contrary to the public interest," the Democrats said in a statement.

"We are sending a message to citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that we are trying to fix the problem," said Evans, joined by nine Philadelphia-area lawmakers in addition to Fumo. "We didn't think it would be the problem it is today, but it has created tension for people in the community as well as politically."

OK, YPP soon won't have Vince Fumo to kick around any more. I can see why he dropped out of the race: combine his heart issues with the massive indictments against him, and he probably figured it wasn't worth the trouble to keep fighting.

The big question is: who does this help? You've gotta think that the favorite now is John Dougherty, given his already high profile. Then again, either Anne Dicker or Larry Farnese could easily focus on Dougherty's faults as a candidate, and take him down a few notches. But could Dicker + Farnese, in effect, split the 'reform' vote, giving Johnny Doc an easy win?

Looks like lots of fun + games in the 1st PA Senate district,
-Z

Love them or hate them, the two state races sucking all the air out of the room (besides of course the Presidential race) will both be the subject of one of the only neighborhood head-to-head candidate forums of the season.

Come See the 1st Dist. State Senate Debate on March 12th
A THRILLA IN SOUTH PHILA!

Candidates Night

Wed. March 12th
Palumbo Recreation Center
10th and Fitzwater Street

7:00PM

State House Candidates at 7PM sharp!
Peggy Banaszek, Bob Gormley & Babette Josephs

State Senate Candidates at 7:30 PM sharp!
Anne Dicker, John Dougherty
Larry Farnese, Office of Vincent Fumo
& Jack Morley

Come with your questions,
concerns and comments.

Brought to you by
Bella Vista United Civic Association
www.bvuca.org
267- 872- 4686

Many have seen the recent commercial in which Vince Fumo claims to be 'indispensible' to Philadelphia's fight for sensible gun laws. Unfortunately for Fumo and for the residents of Philadelphia, the facts do not support Fumo's claims.

We produced a rebuttal for the Brady Campaign. Check it out and let us know what you think:

Pebbles Bam Bam it will be recalled predicted / championed Rene Gilenger running for State Senate against Vince Fumo, which many folks (including myself) pooh-poohed saying "But she's running Larry Farnese's campaign, pshaw". Well it appears she was half right. Rene Gilenger is running Larry Farnese for State Senate against Vince Fumo.

And also for State Rep against Babette Josephs at the same time - which much to my surprise is perfectly legal.

Under state law, Farnese can keep his options open for a long time - even to appear on primary ballots as a candidate for both House and Senate.

"State law does not prohibit multiple candidacies for public office," said Cathy Ennis, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State. "They just can't hold more than one elected state office."

Well you learn something new every day.

There’s something funny going on when it comes to Vince Fumo these days. And I don’t mean funny ‘strange.’ I mean funny ‘ha-ha.’

Let’s face it. It was never any great stretch of the imagination to expect that Vince Fumo might end his career being labeled a crook. There was always an air of shadiness to his powerful dealings and his money deals. People recognized that he brought a lot of money to the city even as they suspected he liked to take a little taste for himself. People recognized that he was a powerful politician, while at the same time recognizing that sometimes that entailed running roughshod over people, legal procedures and common ethics.

I don’t think anyone was really surprised when that 139 count indictment came down, and if in the end he is found guilty…well, it will only be surprising in that he didn’t figure out some way to weasel out of it all.

"It is an honor just to be nominated."
-Lying award show losers.

Following my ode to Donna 'See No Evil' Miller, now we find that out that our very own Vince Fumo has been nominated for an award. OK, so it is not an Oscar. And it is not an award for best local governance, or most creative use of staff time (well, it sort of is).

In fact, national blog Talking Points Memo has nominated our own Vinsanity as a nominee in the 'best local scandal' category of their annual awards show.

Let's all be honest here, Vince Fumo is no Susan Lucci. He will accept nothing less than a win. And, if he wins, Fumo could be at a kick-ass awards after-party with national nominees such as Alberto Gonzales and Larry Craig.

Let the lobbying begin!

I usually enjoy Mary Patel's "Political Notebook" in the City Paper, but today's issue just gets some basic facts dead wrong about the race for Fumo's seat.

Patel writes:

Another female grassroots activist could soon enter the picture, as Sheila Ballen is said to be planning a run. Ballen, the state Department of Education's spokeswoman, ran unsuccessfully in 2004 against then-state Rep. Marie Lederer. Ballen and Dicker may wash each other out, and possibly draw from the same money pool of supporters.

The problem with this claim is that it's totally false, and has been so since ray Murphy posted about it LAST WEEK.

Dear friends,

Philadelphia, PA, Nov. 27 -- Today, the Anne Dicker for State Senate Campaign is running the first in a series of three full-page ads aimed at educating voters about the particulars of the Vince Fumo indictment. The three full-page ads will run on successive Tuesdays with the next two running in the Daily News on December 4 and 11.

To download a copy of the full page ad: www.DontFeedtheAlpacas.com

So recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Joe Vignola and a couple of other progressives over a cup of coffee. I had never met the guy before and I am a recent enough resident of Philadelphia to mostly know him in his former capacity as the head of PICA.

Of course I know that Joe was swept onto City Council with Rendell on Rendell's first win as mayor - back in the days of symbolically cleaning the toilet in City Hall. Back when they inherited a city many didn't believe had a viable economic future, a city with an operating budget $250 million dollars in the hole, with a bond rating in the toilet and host of infrastructure problems. Somewhere in the back of my head there was some vague stuff about City Controller and an unsuccesful long shot race for Senate against the vast Heinz personal fortune.