Who makes the best Bloody Mary in the city? Where is the best brunch?  Freindly Fire has no idea.  Thankfully, though, there are much smarter folks who know the best things in and around the nation’s fourth-largest market. For those gems, see the “Best of Philly” awards in this month’s Philadelphia Magazine.

There are, however, some other non-politically correct Best and Worst Awards that should be bestowed on very deserving winners…and losers.  Following is Freindly Fire’s List:

Best Of Philly

Best snowfall removal: Anywhere but Philadelphia. The streets were absolutely deplorable, with significant snow and ice on major city roads days after the storms, not to mention that many side streets were simply impassable. How did city residents react?  Almost 80 percent voted for Mayor Nutter in the May primary. In comparison, Chicagoans kicked out their Mayor for similar incompetence in 1979.   Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…just don’t complain when you can’t get to work. He’s your Mayor.

Best Political Comeback: IBEW 98 boss John Dougherty.  After losing a bid for the state senate and coming up short in clashes with Democratic party powerbroker Bob Brady, Doc came roaring back.  He garnered huge headlines by trying to reform the DRPA, but most significantly, orchestrated big wins in City Council races.  More than anyone, Johnny Doc has positioned himself to be kingmaker in deciding who the next Mayor of Philadelphia will be.

Best “It’s All About Me” Moment: City Council’s refusal to abolish the DROP retirement program for city employees --- you know, the one that makes elected officials rich when they “retire” for a day after being re-elected.  So while the folks who actually foot the bill are struggling just to survive, city lawmakers keep cashing in at the public trough.  Often forgotten in the criticism, though, is Council’s stellar stewardship of Philadelphia. Its leadership has produced the highest rates of taxes, murder, violence, and poverty in the nation, an education system that, by all accounts, is a colossal failure, and a city that is perpetually ranked as one of the dirtiest.  But give ‘em a break.  We’re not Detroit. Yet.

Best “I Don’t Recall” Moment: No, it wasn’t a political corruption trial, but the just-revealed grand jury testimony of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua as he weaved his way around prosecutors’ pointed questioning regarding the ever- widening Church sex-scandal.  The Cardinal’s memory lapse was an oh-so-convenient backdoor for covering his own derriere and evading discussion about his role in the cover-up, leading the grand jury to label him as “untruthful” and “not forthright.” Church officials need to be reminded that sins of omission can be just as bad as sins of commission, and that ignoring the 8th Commandment is not a prudent way to go through life. So much for always standing behind the kids….

Best Sports Move: Bringing Cliff Lee back. The Phils have been transformed from an organization that made the playoffs only three times in 26 years (and that’s with the wild card), to being perennial contenders. But being “very good” wasn’t good enough, so they brought back pitching Lee.  With Lee rounding out one of the best rotations in baseball history, the Fightin’s are fully expected to win the World Series, and that has them hanging out in hallowed Yankees territory, at least for the present.  Like the Bronx Bombers, the Phillies are now in the elite world where a season that culminates in anything less than total victory will be viewed as a failure. Tough as it will be to swallow if the Phils aren’t World Champions again, that expectation of perfection is rarely seen in any sport, and was nonexistent in Philly. Tip of the hat to the best --- and only--- sports braintrust in the city that has shown the resolve to do whatever it takes to win.

Best Thing About Philadelphia: Its people. It’s a blue-collar town, through and through, and that makes it as real as it gets. People wear their emotions on their sleeves, and it’s rare to not know where someone stands. Politics? Rough and tumble ---- sometimes literally.  Sports fans? The most dedicated, if not always educated, in the country. Run out every play, and you’ll be a Philly Hall of Famer, but cop a ‘tude,  pout, dog it (no Vick pun intended) or just plain suck, and you’ll be run out of town on a rail.  Everyday people? Not nearly as rude as we like to think we are.
That salt-of-the-Earth, you-know-what-you’re-getting character is innately Philly, and, while maddening at times, is beyond refreshing in an increasingly shallow world. Yo Philly, don’t ever change.

Worst Of Philly

Worst Way To Earn A Living: Dealing with the dead.  Not funeral directors, coroners, and grave diggers (although all have been quite busy with skyrocketing murders). They all earn an honest living.  We’re talking about Michael Meehan, the city GOP boss and lawyer extraordinaire who gives the famous movie line “I see dead people” some real-life meaning.

Seems that a dearly-departed soul --- a year after dying --- retained Meehan as legal counsel to challenge the petitions of people running for Committee posts --- in his own Party. Meehan didn’t fare much better with the living, as many of his other “clients” signed affadavits stating that they never met or heard of Meehan, and that the signatures in Meehan’s possession were not theirs.

The Philly GOP led by Meehan may be dead, but the criminal investigation into the matter by the District Attorney isn’t. And who said lawyers couldn’t get any lower?

Worst Sports Move: Yes, it was last year’s move, but it’s been so devastating that it bears repeating. Getting rid of Donovan McNabb.  Life is now so boring without Number 5 around.  Just look at all there is to miss: throwing up in the huddle during the Super Bowl, laughing jovially when his team was losing, not knowing the rules of overtime, making racially-charged comments where they had no place, and always connecting with his favorite receiver --- the turf ---when the game was on the line. Sports in Philly just aren’t the same anymore, especially with Michael Vick being so dog-gone….normal.  Without McNabb’s drama queen theatrics over which to obsess, Philadelphia is on the verge of becoming, dare we say it, a civilized sports city.  Bring him back!

Worst Empty Promise: Philly’s pension will be OK. Anytime a politician admits that something is bad, it’s always worse. So when the Mayor says the city’s pension fund is 45 percent funded (less than 50 percent is considered somewhat catastrophic), you know there just won’t be a happy ending. With no more state or federal money to bail out the virtually insolvent pension, and no possible way Nutter can keep his promise to write an $800 million check to the pension (to make up for several years of deferred payments), look for retirees to start getting pennies on the dollar in just a few short years. Think it can’t happen in America?  Given the fact that the nation came within hours of default --- despite its magical power to print money out of thin air--- can anyone seriously believe that?

Worst Thing About Philly: Its people. Or more accurately, the people’s complacency. What can you say about residents who, despite the knowledge that things are going the wrong way, time and again reelect the very same people who created the mess? Philadelphia has the potential to be a world-class city, with not one but two major rivers (neither developed). It is ideally situated within a day’s drive of more than half the country.  As a major gateway for overseas travelers, it should unquestionably be a destination rather than a layover stop.  And with major ports, railroads, airports and interstates, it be should a no-brainer for companies to locate their operations in Philadelphia. 

Philly’s stagnant position stems from a lack of leadership. It’s time for Philadelphians to wake up and demand that their city take its rightful place as one of very best. But that mantle simply can’t be claimed until the people show the will to make a change.

Given Mayor Nutter’s virtually guaranteed re-election, though, that may have to wait another four years.  How ‘bout them Phils?

Chris Friend is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries
and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including
The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick
Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in
Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national
television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In 1979, Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic didn't effectively plow the streets after a snowstorm --- and as a direct result, he lost his primary election several months later. After similar snowstorms in Philadelphia this past winter, the streets were in deplorable shape --- and that’s being generous.

The result? Almost 80% of voters just told Mayor Nutter "job well done" in last month’s primary.

That's the difference. Chicago is "the town that works." Philadelphia is completely dysfunctional.

Apathy gets you what you deserve. That passive neglect by city residents has led to Philly’s very deserved reputation as a city of colossal failure, with virtually no promise of a renaissance-like turnaround.  And the numbers bear that out. 

A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trust says it all: those who have the means to leave the city do so --- as evidenced by 263,000 white residents (one-third of that population) who fled over the last 20 years.  Those who can’t flee get further crushed by an abusive and incompetent government.

Since voters keep sending leaders like Mayor Michael Nutter back to City Hall by overwhelming margins, the rest of the state --- particularly non-city state legislators --- have increasingly been sending a message to Philadelphia: “We don’t care about your problems any more. You’ve made your bed --- now lie in it.”

It’s about time.

                                                                              *****

Up until the 50’s, Philadelphia was the last major city to be run by Republicans.  The GOP had become wildly corrupt, and eventually lost power to the Democrats reformers, who have been calling the shots ever since.

The transformation can be summed up this way: Philadelphia went from competent but corrupt Republicans, to incompetent and corrupt Democrats, to what we have today: just incompetent Democrats.

Sure, there is still corruption, but, to be fair, Nutter seems to be cleaner than some of his predecessors.

That’s simply not good enough.  Truth be told, it’s probably a safe bet that the majority of residents would rather have corruption and competence than just plain incompetence.

                                                                              *****

Nothing works in the city.  Services are poor and unpredictable, despite the staggering costs that residents and businesses pay for them.  Opening a business is fraught with bureaucracy, red tape, and, many privately say, extortion--- both “legal” and otherwise.

The education system not only is in the hole $600 million, despite 70,000 vacancies in the School District’s capacity, but violence is commonplace, making it a deathtrap for many students.  Year after year, its “product” is so bad that a huge number drop out of school, and the rest have virtually no skills to perform even the most menial jobs after graduation.  Only about one-third of its 11th graders are proficient in math, and slightly more than 40 percent proficient in reading, according to standardized tests.  Yet those dismal figures were “earned” despite massive educational spending and smaller class size.  The truth is, the percentages are significantly lower, since the dropouts are not included in the scores.

The pension is catastrophically underfunded, so much that the Nutter has deferred payments for two years, promising to make it up by stroking a check --- after his reelection --- for $800 million.  There is simply no money for that, so, sooner than later, it is a mathematical certainty that pensioners will begin to receive reduced payments, and, possibly, no payments at all.

Crime is still rampant, yet the Mayor acceded to the Police Commissioner’s implied threat to leave, giving him a $60,000 raise --- making him the highest-paid employee in the city.

But rather than embark on a course that would clean up the city and reduce the tax and regulatory burden so that businesses and families would actually want to locate in Philadelphia --- thus increasing tax revenue --- the Mayor and City Council have done what they always do: put the screws to the residents who can’t afford to vote with their feet.

Philadelphia is, cumulatively, one of the highest-taxed cities in the nation.  From the job-killing wage tax to the 100 percent increase in the city portion of the state sales tax, and from the (“temporary”) ten percent hike in property taxes to the business gross receipts tax, taking more of the residents’ money is the only solution known to Philadelphia’s leaders.

And yet, it’s still not enough.  So Nutter has gone back to the tax well yet again, this time resurrecting his soda tax proposal and pushing for big fee increases in parking rates. Oh, and he’s lobbying for another ten percent property tax increase.  Remember, that would be in addition to the ten percent increase passed last year.

Good move.  That’s sure to bring in new businesses. 

Mayor Nutter’s governing strategy is predicated upon only one thing: handouts from the federal and state government. In fact, he admitted that the city would have been unable to pay its bills last year without federal stimulus dollars.

Up until now, his feeding at the public trough has paid off, as the state always came to the rescue with big bucks.  But the game has changed, as neither the state nor the feds have any money left to give. And now that those welfare checks to the city have dried up, the Mayor doesn’t have a clue how to govern.
This should come as no surprise, though, as he has virtually no experience in the private sector.  How often has he ever had to meet a payroll, or navigate the bureaucratic minefield when trying to open or expand a business? When was the last time he stayed up at night, worrying about covering his employees’ health care costs? And has he ever had to look someone in the face while handing him a pink slip --- because the city tax burden was simply too great to keep that valued employee on board?

Career politicians who sit in their ivory towers, insulated from reality, govern from the only “experience” they know: academic theory. And as the exodus of Philadelphians shows, that simply doesn’t cut it.

Philadelphia doesn’t have the luxury of being Washington or New York, where being downtown is a necessity.  Very few businesses have to be in the city, so the margin of error for Philly’s leaders is extremely small. And for those empty nesters and white-collar types who enjoy living in Center City, they are one mugging away from packing it up and moving back to the suburbs.

The lesson is simple: a government that overreaches yet remains incompetent results in a vastly reduced tax base --- which in turn leads to a death spiral.  It’s a concept any high schooler could grasp, but tragically, is completely lost on this deer-in-the-headlights Mayor.

After years of misguided policies, there are no easy answers, but the future is easy to predict because there is absolutely no political will to affect real change.  Contrary to the fairy-tale fluff spewed forth at nauseating press conferences, nothing will improve, more folks will leave, Philadelphia will continue its sad decline --- and the Mayor will retire on an enviably-large pension.

Perhaps only then will he finally reap the whirlwind of his disastrous policies --- when his own pension check bounces. 

What a legacy.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative
reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries
and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including
The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick
Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears regularly in Philadelphia Magazine and nationally in
Newsmax, also serves as a frequent guest commentator on talk radio and state/national
television, most notably on FOX Philadelphia.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Stupidity isn’t a crime.  But neither is it a particularly endearing trait.

Just look at some voter stupidity displayed this past election:

-In Nevada, the people returned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Washington for six more years.  Despite being the second most powerful elected official in the country, with sizable Democratic majorities in his chamber and the House, as well as an ally in the White House, Reid has presided over --- and directly contributed to --- the worst recession in 80 years. 

What happens in Nevada stays in Nevada --- and given the voters’ choice, they should expect their unemployment rate, the highest in America, to be staying, too.

-California is a on a direct collision with an iceberg --- one over a half-TRILLION dollars thick.  That’s right.  The Golden State’s state pension obligations alone are over $535 billion.  Which, by the way, has contributed mightily to the state being bankrupt.  Literally bankrupt.

Yet whom did the people choose to lead them to safer waters? Jerry Brown --- again.  Yes, THAT Jerry Brown, who was Governor in 1974, and no, that’s not a typo.  Californians decided that the answer to their prayers was a blast from the past… 40 years past, a man who also ran for U.S. Senate, President, Mayor and state Attorney General. Nothing like going to the well for a creative, innovative leader. 

Californians’ collective stupidity will get them exactly what they deserve, and no Hollywood director could have scripted a horror movie any better.

With so many examples of throwing one’s vote down the toilet --- and the repercussions of doing so --- common sense dictates that others would learn from such mistakes and choose wisely.  But don’t count on it.

*****

Take Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in America. 

Will its citizens heed the message that sending Old Guard politicians to clean up the very mess that THEY created won’t work? 

Specifically, will Philadelphians allow themselves to get hoodwinked by Mayor Michael Nutter --- again --- as he seeks re-election next spring, pontificating about how great things are, and what a fantastic legacy he has already left on the city?

No to the first, and yes to the second.  

And they will get exactly what they deserve, too.  So get ready for misery, melancholy, and massive unrest.

*****

During an interview on FOX 29 this week, Nutter, for the first time in his career, actually articulated his vision coherently --- that handouts from the state, courtesy of his political pals, are the cornerstone of his Administration, and the lifeblood for Philadelphia’s future.

Fortunately for the Mayor, it will be enough to get him re-elected, most likely without even an opponent. Unfortunately for the people, it is a vision that has failed time and again, but this time it will be different.  The results will be catastrophically worse.  And Philadelphians will have no one to blame but whom they see in the mirror.

*****

Nutter’s huge push this week was for the re-election of Philadelphia State Representative Dwight Evans as Appropriations Chairman in the Democratic caucus . 

Why?  Simple: “Any bill that has anything to do with money has to come through the appropriations committee, and that is where Evans … has made sure Philadelphia’s voice and concerns are being addressed,” Nutter said.

Translation:  Oh my God! The spigot is about to be turned off by the Republicans, and I might actually have to…(gulp)….govern!  What will I do without my bailouts and pet projects from Dwight, courtesy of the 11 million other Pennsylvanians who don’t live in Philadelphia?   Does this mean I will actually have to do what I was elected to do…. trim the massive fat from city government, fund the pensions (even just a little), make the streets safer and not turn my head away from our deathtrap public schools?

The Mayor has every reason to be concerned, because even if Evans wins, he will be only be minority chairman, since the GOP thundered its way into an astounding 10-seat majority in the Statehouse on election day --- a thirteen seat swing.

And what exactly has Evans done for the city?  Well, according to the Mayor, he “delivered” economic development, and funded countless “projects and programs” to maintain Philadelphia’s role in Pennsylvania “time and time again.”

But now, Nutter is at a loss as to how he can “continue the growth and opportunity we’ve seen in Philadelphia” should Evans lose his fight. What he doesn't understand, and never will, is that the fight is already over, the arena is clearing out, and the lights are flickering.

Growth and opportunity? Granted, we’re heading into a mayoral election year, but isn’t that just a bit over the top?

Here’s the real deal, absent the Mayor’s feel-good but empty rhetoric:

There is ZERO opportunity in the city to live and prosper, because the environment is so hostile to residents, students and businesses --- an environment Nutter helped create as both City Councilman and Mayor.

As for growth, it must be admitted that the Nutter does have a point here in one regard.  Taxes have grown at an extraordinary rate, since the Mayor has demanded and/or signed into law the following taxes in just the last three years:

Property tax (a 10 percent hike--- but hey, it’s only “temporary!”)

City portion of the state sales tax (a100 percent hike)

Soda tax

Trash tax

Cigar tax

Pipe tobacco tax

Chewing tobacco tax

Blogger tax

One has to ask why the need to impose all these taxes in what is already the highest taxed city in the country, especially if the Mayor had been doing his job.  A job which, in his own words, is to increase educational achievement, attract businesses to the city, and to “maintain city finances, get people jobs and make Philadelphia a safer city.”

Here’s the answer: because he hasn’t accomplished any of those things.

The only “shared sacrifice across the board” that has taken place under Mayor’s reign has been the taxpayers’ backs breaking under the load of an utterly failed Nutter Administration.

The city is insolvent because the state bailouts and the federal stimulus are done, the pension will be bankrupt in less than four years (a situation accelerated by Nutter deferring pension payments for two years), the wage tax remains second-highest in the nation, educational attainment is on par with third-world nations, and Philadelphia still has one of highest rates of murder, violence and poverty in America.

But no worries.  The Mayor has a solution --- the (possible) state minority appropriations chairman will save the day.

And if you believe that, you’re one of those still waiting for Titanic: The Sequel.

Nutter, in begging for more state handouts, explained his rationale: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

For decades, Philadelphia’s mayors, including Nutter, have shown their terrible table manners by pigging out at the public trough.

Finally, that slovenly feast is coming to an end.  But if Philadelphia is to ever regain its former glory, if it is to become a lean-and-mean center for innovation and prosperity, then its citizens must first shed their defeatist attitude that an ingrained Business As Usual Mayor can lead them there.

Anything less is just…stupidity.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com

Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."

Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

FREIND Debates Business Blogger Ben Waxman On FOX 29:

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/will-philly-meet-same-fate-as-greece%3F

City Council Up For Re-Election Must Take A Stand On Huge Cash-Outs and One-Day Retirements

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has stated his desire to leave the city better than he found it.

Fat chance.

Nutter’s  unwavering --- and incredibly naïve --- belief that he can tax Philadelphia out of its cataclysmic financial crisis has plunged the city further into the abyss.

Perhaps the greatest example of the city’s peril is the pension bomb that is about to explode.

Any pension funded at less than 50% --- money currently in that pension to pay for future retirees -- is considered “severely distressed.”  That’s insider-speak for the brink of insolvency, where there isn’t enough money to even meet bare bones requirements.

And what is Philadelphia’s pension?

45% funded.  In other words, it’s underfunded by a staggering 55%.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. Fast Eddie never gives up, no matter how short-sighted his ideas may be.

When we last left our lameduck leader during the 2009 fiscal debacle, which took 101 days to pass  a budget, the Governor was doing what Democrats do best --- transferring  money from the people to government coffers.  How? By initiating yet more tax increases on an already overtaxed public.

No surprise there.

At a time when Pennsylvania families are doing the responsible thing --- tightening the belt and exercising fiscal restraint --- the Governor does the polar opposite. Rendell has proposed a budget increase of 4%, in large part to pay for his pet projects, while incomprehensibly ignoring the fact that revenues are declining. 

But given the fact that Rendell hasn’t signed an on-time budget since taking office, why not go eight-for-eight?