“There were many errors,sloppiness and bad judgment.”Jamie DimonThe CEO of financial firm JPMorgan Chase revealedFriday that one of its trading portfolios lost $2billion in the past six weeks. The announcement

spurred a sell-off of bank stocks in Britain and the United States, whilereigniting a debate over whether banks can be trusted to handle risk ontheir own.

Good neighbors deliverhope in Wyoming County

Today’s families might be faced with jobloss, aging, abuse, poverty and othersituations, leaving people feeling help-

less and hopeless.The natural disasters of 2011 broughtmany additional challenges to area resi-dents. Certain residents lost their homes,valued treasures, personal belongings andtheir way of life. But all wasn’t entirelylost; people found caring neighbors, help-ful strangers and a community filled withsupport fueled by H.O.P.E.The Wyoming County United Way iscommitted to H.O.P.E. – Helping OurPeople Every Day – and we discovered wewere not alone. We discovered that peoplecared. Generous donations came in fromour county and neighboring counties.Contributors gave selflessly both to the2012 campaign and directly to help resi-dents affected by the disasters in WyomingCounty, which led to the development of

the Long-Term Recovery Committee.This committee was specifically createdto assist victims of disaster. Donationscame from a variety of charitable sources,including from a church group sponsoringa Zumba dance-a-thon, students holding abasketball free-throw competition and theTunkhannock Disaster Relief Fund out ofWashington, D.C.You are the reason for the success of thiscampaign. Your contributions support 22local agencies providing assistance, focus-ing on the areas of health, education andfamily.

Thank you to all who contributed to the2012 campaign. Your donations make adifference to our residents by giving themH.O.P.E. – Helping Our People Every Day!

Flo DePoloPresident

Board of DirectorsWyoming County United Way

Resident lauds Mundyfor following high road

In this era of political corruption andunkind words exchanged between politi-cal parties, I find a ray of hope in stateRep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston.What grace it took to respond to stateRep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township,with the words “imitation is the mostsincere form of flattery.”Thank you, Representative Mundy, fordemonstrating that civility is possible inthe world of politics.

Cheryl A. FullerDallas

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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012 PAGE 9A

FORTY FORT – BrandonHarvey caught the ball.Maybe that doesn’t soundlike a major news event, butit was an accomplishmentof major league proportion.Harvey, 25, of Plymouth,

has Down syndrome. He’s a member of thestartup Victory Sports baseball league foradults with mental and/or physical chal-lenges. Last week he was playing third base– the “hot corner” – during a spring traininggame at the Little League field on TrippStreet in Forty Fort.A left-hander, Harvey stood at the readyfor anything hit his way, and on this mildearly May evening, he answered the call.The ball was pitched, the batter swung andthe ball was lofted in Harvey’s direction. Hehad it in his sights from the crack of the bat.He followed the flight of the ball – right tohis glove.Brandon Harvey caught the ball, some-thing unprecedented for this league’s partici-pants.To appreciate Victory Sports is to appre-ciate the effort that each player puts fortheach game. The participants are all adults –21 and over – who love to play sports, butafter “aging out” of Little League’s Chal-lenger Division, they had no options untilVictory came along.And the typical execution of baseballdoesn’t happen due to their physical and/ormental challenges. Whether they haveDown syndrome, or muscular dystrophy ormultiple sclerosis, these athletes aren’tgifted with the same coordination or agilitythat other athletes possess. But the effortand enthusiasm are there – and always at100-plus percent.

Now, the rules of Victory are a bit lenient.Every player bats in each inning. The scoreis always tied. There are only winners in thisprogram. On this field, the dreams alwayscome true. And, nobody gets out – ever.But Brandon Harvey caught the ball.And when Harvey caught the ball, hecelebrated. He raised his hands, bobbed hishead up and down and gave high-fives toalmost everyone in Forty Fort. It was a ma-jor league moment in every way.Across the diamond from third base an-other celebration was going on; the batter,Jimmy Bonchonsky, was celebrating his“hit.” He crossed first base and stood hisground as he awaited the next batter. Bran-don Harvey might have caught the ball, butBonchonsky was safe at first.Everyone wins. And that is one reasonwhy the program works. The Victory pro-gram is a natural outgrowth of the Chal-lenger Division, except that Little LeagueInc. does not sanction an adult version ofChallenger – yet. So, when Challenger heldits 20th anniversary game during April 2011in Pittston Township, most of the first-everlocal Challenger participants turned out foran “old-timers’ game.”Edward Orloski, one of those Challengeralums, asked officials a simple, yet pro-found, question: “Why can’t we play baseballanymore just cuz we got older?”There wasn’t a reason, not a valid oneanyway. It’s just that nobody ever thoughtenough about it to see the need. So last fall

Victory Sports was born.The participants played baseball in the falland basketball in the winter. They also had acouple dances at which they renewed friend-ships and had fun – a lot of fun. The out-comes are not measured scientifically, butparents tell league officials that Victory hasmade a big difference in their children – allpositive. They have become more social andactive, and that’s a good thing.At that 20th reunion last spring, AndyAshby, former pitcher for the PhiladelphiaPhillies and other MLB teams, renewed hisfriendship with Christina Capitano, one ofthe first-year Challenger players who is nowin her early 30s.During a game in 1991 at what is nowPNC Field, Capitano walked over to Ashbyand asked for his autograph. Ashby com-plied and the wide-eyed Capitano, then 10,asked a question: “Why should I want yourautograph?”Ashby told her he pitched for the Phillies,to which Capitano responded: “You do? Sodo I.”Do you see the simplistic charm in that?So if you aren’t doing anything at 6:30p.m. this Wednesday, come to the PittstonTownship Little League Field just off thePittston bypass. You will see a real baseballgame played by real baseball players whoare concerned about one thing: giving theirvery best while playing the game they love.And Brandon Harvey, or somebody else,just might catch the ball.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, is vicepresident of Victory Sports Inc. You can send emailto him at boboyle@timesleader.com.

With Victory Sports league, everyone wins – literallyCOMMENTARYB I L L O ’ B O Y L E

THE OBAMA admin-istration’s proposedrule for hydraulic oiland gas drilling on

public lands is the equivalentof closing the barn door afterthe horses have escaped.The Interior Departmentissued a proposal last weekthat calls for companies todisclose the chemicals usedin extracting gas and oil fromshale deposits deep under-ground. The problem is, un-like an earlier plan thatwouldhave required them to releasethe information at least 30days before starting a well,the new provision says thecontents of the fracking fluid– water, sand and chemicals –don’t have to be divulged un-til after drilling is over.That’s hardly proactive.But the Obama administra-tion, under criticism fromRe-publicans and industry offi-cials for the president’s ener-gy policies, bowed to drillers’objections. They said the ad-

ditional paperwork wouldslow the permitting processand could jeopardize tradesecrets. It decided scientistswould be able to use the re-cords to trace any future con-tamination after the fact, andthat there was no reason torequire disclosure in advanceof drilling.The federal rule would ap-ply only to 3,000 or so wellsdrilled each year on 700 mil-lion acres of public land ad-ministered by the InteriorDepartment’s Bureau of LandManagement and another 56million acres of Indian land.Regulation of drilling on pri-vate land – themajority of the13,000 wells drilled each year– falls to the states, and somealready require prior disclo-sure of fracking chemicals.The rule for public landsshould be at least as stringentas those being imposed bystates.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OTHER OPINION: FRACKING

Fed drilling plannot proactive

SCHOOL DISTRICTSscrambling to closebudget deficits areturning to a variety of

approaches impacting theacademic experience of chil-dren – closing schools, layingoff teachers and eliminatingprograms. Sports also are onthe chopping block.Public schools were estab-lished to serve ourchildren. Too muchof the maneuveringinvolved in deter-mining how schoolsoperate seems to fo-cus on the interestsof other stakehold-ers: teachers, ad-ministrators and re-tired educators.While school boards chipaway at the expenses theycan control, they are strain-ing from the burden of man-dates, most notably theircontribution to support thepension fund for retiredteachers and administrators.In Milton Area School Dis-trict, the district’s contribu-tion to the pension fundjumped $400,000 from 2010-11 – enough to pay the sala-ries to keep 10 starting teach-ers in the classroom. Instead,the district is laying off teach-ers and bracing for pensioncosts to increase about$400,000 next year.Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh

Tribune-Review found that300 retired educators are col-lectingmore than $100,000 inpension payments each year.The pension payments forretirees are off-limits to re-form efforts. School officialssay tampering with pensionplans for existing employeesmight be illegal, as well.Union officials note that

educators con-tributed 6 per-cent of their payto the pensionfund even asschool districtscontributed farless. Ten yearsago, school dis-tricts paid 1.09

percent into the pensionfund. Today, they are paying8.65 percent, and the contri-bution could increase to18.19percent by 2014-15 unless asolution to the crisis is found.One possible solution?Members of the Legislatureget no pension unless they re-visit the issue and come upwith an alternative that doesnot depend on passing alongthe cost to school districts.The struggle to cover thecosts of the pension system iseroding the quality of educa-tion by consuming funds thatcould be better spent in theclassroom.

The Daily Item, Sunbury

OTHER OPINION: PA. CLASSROOMS

Pension costsput schools in bind

The struggle tocover the costs ofthe pensionsystem is erodingthe quality ofeducation …

QUOTE OF THE DAY

PRASHANT SHITUTPresident and CEO/Impressions Media

JOSEPH BUTKIEWICZVice President/Executive Editor

MARK E. JONESEditorial Page Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD

MALLARD FILLMORE DOONESBURY

➛ S E R V I N G TH E PU B L I C T RU S T S I N C E 18 8 1 !

Editorial

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“To see this kind of investment inan otherwise extremely difficultreal estate market and economicclimate speaks volumes about themomentum the downtown has

been able to achieve, despite any number ofsetbacks.”Larry NewmanThe Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry vicepresident touted the sale of the former Sterling Annex to a privatedeveloper planning renovation into housing units.

New EPA regulationsjeopardize coal industry

Pennsylvania’s coal industry, the fourthlargest in the country, employs 52,000people.New regulations from the Environmen-tal Protection Agency could force utilitiesacross America to abandon coal as a fuelfor power generation, which could verysoon put each one of these men and wom-en out of work.I am a staunch proponent of clean air,but the new EPA regulations will costpower plants and consumers millions, butwon’t measurably improve air quality.On the other hand, several independentresearch groups have concluded that thenew regulations would put thousands ofjobs in jeopardy and increase Pennsylva-

nia’s energy costs by as much as 8 percent.The choice is clear to me: We simplycannot afford more layoffs and price in-creases.Lawmakers in Washington will move torein-in the EPA with legislation sponsoredby Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe. I believe it’stime we stand up for the hard-workingmen and women who work in Pennsylva-nia’s coal mines by supporting this effort to

protect Pennsylvania’s coal industry.Reductions in the coal-industry work-force would be a severe setback for thisregion’s slowly recovering economy. Wehave a chance to put a stop to this poten-tial disaster, and for the sake of Pennsylva-nia families, I hope we will take advantageof that opportunity.

State Sen. Tim SolobayD-Washington

Writer a supporterof Smith for Senate

We need Tom Smith in the U.S. Senate.He is pro-life and has what it takes.Smith is a professional who needs to

be elected.Alex S. Partika

Wilkes-Barre

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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 PAGE 11A

IN THE DAYS leading upto June 23, 1972, we alllaughed a lot.We laughed about ev-erything – even thepounding rain thatseemed never-ending in

the prior two weeks.But then the earthen levees, weakenedby saturation from a bulging Susquehan-na River, were overwhelmed. On BeadeStreet in Plymouth and on RiversideDrive in Wilkes-Barre, they gave way andthe river grew to a mile wide, pouringinto homes and businesses throughoutWyoming Valley.We didn’t laugh – or even smile – for along time after.I was a flood victim and I worked inthe recovery, helping coordinate thecleanup in Plymouth and in Kingston.Later I worked for the Luzerne CountyRedevelopment Authority and helpedpeople return to their homes or purchasenew ones.Every morning for weeks I stood onthe steps of the old Plymouth BoroughBuilding as workers showed up at day-light to get their assignments. They werepaid $20 per day to clean the homes andbusinesses of their neighbors. They ar-rived clean each morning and returnedin the evening covered in mud to collecttheir daily stipends without complaint.They knew there was a big job to bedone and they did it.You could see the determination in

their eyes. You saw they had a sinceresense of pride in what they were doing –every day, seven days a week. Nobodycalled off sick. No one shirked his or herresponsibilities.As the muddy river water slowly reced-ed, people went back to their homes tofind layers of mud and destruction, con-fronting the full ugliness of a flood noone ever expected.This would be a challenge of monu-mental proportions. The hard-workingpeople of the Wyoming Valley were nowfaced with cleaning up their homes, res-toring their memories and rebuildingtheir lives in a way they had never imag-ined.No matter what one’s ethnicity or so-cial standing, all were reduced to mud-slinging, garbage-hauling laborers whocollectively would show an entire coun-try how to rebound from tragedy.This was no time to be concernedabout who deserved what – everybodywas in the same boat, so to speak. TheAgnes Flood of 1972 was a scary time.Loud messages on bullhorns awakened asleeping community with warnings ofhigh waters – of impending flooding – ofa disaster on its way.Still, because this had never happened

to most of them before, there was skepti-cism. Many thought what was reallyhappening could never happen.But it did. The water covered secondfloors in many houses. It washed homesoff their foundations. It carried furni-ture, appliances and memories all theway to the Chesapeake Bay.It was an event captured on film andshown across the country. WyomingValley was flooded, and the world knewit.But what the media reports didn’tshow was the real story – the spirit of thepeople who refused to let the Susquehan-na River take away their lives. They wereknocked down, but they got up to finish– and win – the fight.In September 2011, the river rose tolevels greater than 1972 and the im-proved levees held. But unprotectedareas were devastated – receiving morewater than Agnes provided. Those com-munities are coming back slowly.When you watch the documentaries ofAgnes and read the books and look at thepictures, realize what happened here.Don’t allow Agnes 1972 to be a memoryof devastation and ruin.Remember Agnes 1972 as a challenge:When the Susquehanna rose up, so didthe spirit of her people.And then kick back and have a goodlaugh.

Bill O’Boyle can be reached at 829-7218 or emailbobyle@timesleader.com

The Susquehanna couldn’t squelch spirit of her peopleBILL O’BOYLEC O M M E N T A R Y

DOES AMERICA needa national mammal?U.S. Sen. Mike En-zi, a Republican from

Wyoming, thinks so. And in arare show of bipartisanship,many of his colleagues agree.The United States has threenational symbols. The oak hasbeen the national treesince 2004. The rosewas designated thenational flower in1986.The bald eagle hasthe longest tenure; ithas been America’semblem since 1782.Benjamin Franklinpreferred the turkey,which he thought was morecourageous and respectableand was a native species. But aturkey grasping 13 arrows andan olive branch in its clawswould have lacked the majestyof the eagle on theGreat Seal ofthe United States.Now, the Wildlife Conserva-tion Society, the National Bi-son Association and the Inter-

tribal Buffalo Council want toadd the American bison to thelist of national symbols. Attheir peak, American bisonnumbered more than 50 mil-lion and ranged across most ofNorth America. The largestland mammal on the conti-nent, bisonwere hunted nearly

to extinction in the19th century. To-day, some 500,000bison survive. Mosthave been cross-bred with domesticcattle and live inherds maintainedfor their meat andhides. About 20,000bison are consid-

ered wild.The push to elevate the bi-son to national mammal is dri-ven by economics and history.Still, the burly bison with itsmassive head, short horns anddistinctive shoulder hump is afitting symbol of the UnitedStates.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OTHER OPINION: U.S. SYMBOLS

Should bison benational mammal?

The largest landmammal on thecontinent, bisonwere huntednearly toextinction

MOSTOFTHE time –heck,allof thetime–progress in theseparts feels like build-

ing sandcastleswith a bully lurk-ing in the background, ready towreak havoc and kick improve-ment into rubble.Build a movie theater in

downtown Wilkes-Barre, thencondemnthehistoricHotel Ster-lingdespitemorethan$6 million spent onpreservation.Install portals in

theWilkes-Barre leveethat reconnect resi-dents totheriver, thenwatch as a recordflood destroys homes and dis-places lives along the unprotect-ed lowlands up and down thebanks.Conduct and complete the

first countywide property reas-sessment in four decades andcompletely revamp the countyform of government with a newhome rule charter, even as a fed-eral corruption probe exposesthe depth and breadth of crony-ism, kickbacks and good-old-boyarrogance.One step forward, two steps

back … what’s the point?

Well, for starters, assumingthat’s true: If you don’t try, youjust slide down the slope faster.But consider the possibility

that things actually are gettingbetter faster than theyaregettngworse. No area resident is apt tospout Dr. Pangloss’s Pablumfrom Voltaire’s Candide: “All isfor the best in this, the best of allpossible worlds," yet bright

spots sometimesseemtobeoutshin-ing the gloom.News of private

development of theSterling Annex onWilkes-Barre’s Riv-er Street is one ex-

ample; plans by Harrold’s Phar-macy to renovate the Old RiverRoad Bakery across town is an-other.Coal Street is straight and –

for the first time in years –smooth. Shickshinny and WestPittston– twotownsparticularlyshattered by last year’s floods,are rebounding.There’s more, but hopefully

the point is made.Once inawhile itpays to turn

focus fromthe failures, andpayalittle more attention to the pro-gress.

OUR OPINION: PROGRESS

Let bright spotsoutshine gloom

The bright spotssometimes seemto be outshiningthe gloom

QUOTE OF THE DAY

PRASHANT SHITUTPresident and CEO/Impressions Media

JOSEPH BUTKIEWICZVice President/Executive Editor

MARK E. JONESEditorial Page Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD

MALLARD FILLMORE DOONESBURY

➛ S E R V I N G TH E PU B L I C T RU S T S I N C E 18 8 1 !

Editorial

User: mdessoye Time: 06-22-2012 14:45 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 06-23-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: edit_01 PageNo: 11 A Color: K

“I don’t feel I deserve it and Iwould have never expected it.”Dr. Stanley DudrickThe Nanticoke native, 77, spoke demurely about thenaming this year of a new hospital in Poland in hishonor. During his career, while at the University of

Pennsylvania, Dudrick pioneered a technique that allows people whocannot eat to be fed through a tube that bypasses the intestines –considered by some to be one of the three most importantadvancements in surgery during the past century.

State of private sectoris anything but ‘fine’

For those people who think the privatesector is “doing fine,” as PresidentObama declared at a press conference

in early June, they might have been in-terested to see what was going on around 1p.m. June 11 at Penn Plaza at South MainStreet in Wilkes-Barre. The parking lot ofthis strip mall was filling up fast, and a lineof people, mostly young, snaked around tothe far south corner, where the Bank ofAmerica was located.The occasion? The bank teller at thedrive-up window said that Save-A-Lot, anew budget grocery store that had recentlymoved in and was soon to open, was “hir-ing.”These people all were looking for honestwork, not unlike so many in our countrytoday. Most, I would guess, were not expe-rienced produce managers or bakers orbutchers, able to command (well, maybe

not any more) more money for their skillsand experience. Instead, I would guessthat most of these young people werelooking for an opportunity to get at leastentry-level work, with a chance to moveup.I passed by there more than an hourlater, and the line was shorter but stillthere. A chilling statement about the stateof our economy.

Diana MorganWilkes-Barre

Morality’s gone missingin today’s evil society

Evil exists. When a society sets out toremove all aspects of God from itsconsciousness, what remains?When God goes, morality becomes rela-tive. What is right for me might be wrongfor you. What restrictions does one havewhen there is no accountability? The law?Hah! The law is only effective when peopleobey it. If you have no moral obligation toit, why regard it? Consequences do notseem to matter.We, as a society, have bred this. Thesewer pipe of Hollywood magnifies it.When you throw out the good in a society,only evil remains. God is good and youhave a free will.If you do evil, the onus is on you, notGod.

David J. ObazaNanticoke

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THE TIMES LEADER www.timesleader.com FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012 PAGE 13A

THE HEADLINES blaredTuesday, all relating to theseverity of the NCAA’s pe-nalties for Penn State Uni-versity.Should Penn State haveto pay for the way it mishan-

dled the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case?Absolutely. Was the NCAA fair in its sanc-tions meted out at a Monday press confer-ence? Absolutely not.This is not to suggest the university wascorrect in the way it handled the Sanduskysituation. It failed its students, its supportersand most important it failed the victims ofSandusky, a pedophile who probably willspend life in prison.But the NCAA penalties will harm moreinnocent people. There is no intent here toequate Sandusky’s young victims with thevictims of the NCAA’s actions, but some-thing must be said.First, what was the rush? Why couldn’t theNCAA have waited until all the related courtcases were heard and adjudicated? Perhapstestimony and facts presented in the up-coming trials of former athletic director TimCurley and now-retired vice president GarySchultz will shed further light on the subject.Maybe these court cases will find the PennState upper echelon of administrators –including coach Joe Paterno – even moreculpable.Many people, mostly those with strongPenn State ties, refuse to believe their be-loved football coach was capable of con-sciously leading a cover-up of Sandusky’sdastardly deeds. It’s a tough pill to swallow,given Paterno’s record and persona and his

philanthropy.As attorney Mike Hudacek of Plymouthsaid this week, one phone call would havedone the job and removed Penn State fromthe equation. One phone call to the author-ities, one complaint to be filed, one revela-tion that there was a monster in their midstis all it would have taken. And more impor-tant, additional victims would have beenspared the abhorrent advances of Sandusky.The NCAA has accepted the Freeh Reportas gospel. The NCAA apparently felt it hadenough to pass judgment. But this was, afterall, a criminal case, not a recruiting violation.The NCAA could have been more effectivein its penalties. Fine the university millions,remove all those people responsible for thecover-up, send a clear message that this willnot be tolerated.But why punish these football players andcoaches? They were not participants in thecover-up. Why take away wins from playerswho sacrificed, went to class, graduated andbrought honor to themselves, their familiesand their school? And why take away Pa-terno’s/Penn State’s wins? Those victorieswere earned fair and square on the footballfield. Penn State didn’t cheat the system likeother athletic programs have.You don’t improve a university by hurtingits students and athletes. The NCAA couldhave deliberated longer. Penalties that wouldbe even more effective could have been

found and levied.Instead, Penn State athletes who dreamedof playing for the Nittany Lions are tornbetween staying loyal to the institution theylove or accepting offers from other collegesthat dangle in their faces possibilities of bowlgames and national titles. Tell me, howmany of these schools can compare to PennState when it comes to graduation rates,academic standards and playing football bythe rules?At a time when a sensitive situation calledfor a sensitive, thorough, fair evaluation, theNCAA failed. It seemingly bowed to pres-sures from uninformed sources, like mediatypes with questionable motives, to destroynot only a football program, but also a stu-dent body, a fan base and a university thatshould have been measured more for all ofits good than for the inactions of a few mis-guided men.Much of the good that Penn State doesmight not continue because of these penal-ties, and that is wrong. Athletic and academ-ic programs will suffer needlessly. Is thatwhat the NCAA is about?God bless Sandusky’s victims. God blessPenn State.And shame on the NCAA for not thinkingoutside the box before acting.

Bill O’Boyle, a reporter for The Times Leader, canbe reached via email at boboyle@timesleader.comor by calling 970-72 1 8.

NCAA acted hastily and unfairly on PSU sanctionsBILL O’BOYLEC O M M E N T A R Y

WHAT’S IN YOURwallet?Maybe a lit-tle more green,now that Capital

One must reimburse 2 millioncustomers for over-aggressiveselling.The big bank was fined $210million last week by the Con-sumer Financial Protection Bu-reau for selling customers cred-it card products they could notuse or did not want.The penalty was the first ac-tion by the new regulatoryagency created by the Dodd-Frank law, Congress’s responseto the financial crisis of 2008.The bureau, which was foughtby Republican lawmakers, ischarged with protecting cus-tomers from high-pressure, de-ceptive or aggressive tactics bybanks and other financial firms.The agency said CapitalOne’s call centers misled cus-tomers on payment-protectioninsurance, an option to helpcard holders pay their creditbills in the event of job loss,

death or disability. Regulatorssaid the marketers deceivedcustomers into thinking thatthe protection was free, manda-tory and would improve creditscores; the bureau’s 30-page or-deralleged that call centers soldthe provision to ineligible out-of-work customers and forced iton them without consent.As a result of the federal ac-tion, Capital One said it willmake sure its subcontractorsadhere closely to a proper salesscript and not engage in unfairtactics. Later this year custom-ers will receive refunds averag-ing less than $100 apiece.This is just the kind of rolethe bureau was expected toplay, and its successful actionshows how wrong-headed thepolitical opposition to the agen-cy’s creation was.If this type of action becomesthe norm, taxpayers will gettheir money’s worth from theconsumer watchdog.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OTHER OPINION: BANK WATCHDOG

Consumer bureaualready paying off

IT TURNS OUT formerU.S.Rep.PaulKanjorski ofNanticoke has redefined“I’m running for public of-

fice” to mean “I have a privateoffice.”Voters ousted the veteranlegislator in part because of hispenchant for funneling otherpeople’s money into familypockets. But losingthe election appar-ently didn’tmean los-ing that proclivity.As staff writer An-drew Seder reportedin Wednesday’s edi-tion of The TimesLeader, Kanjorski’scampaign commit-tee, Pennsylvaniansfor Kanjorski, hasmanaged to dispensemore than $122,000 in the 19months since the 2010 election.Knowing Kanjorski has notbeen running for office, the ob-vious question is this: Wheredid the money go?• To Kanjorski himself, formileage reimbursement.• To K&K Real Estate, aholding company owned byKanjorski and his brother, ap-parently as monthly $3,000payments for office space in abuilding they own, where Kan-jorski now runs a private con-sulting firm.• To pay a woman for officeand clerical work.

• To pay for cellphones, of-fice supplies, stamps and – nokidding – flowers.So if you happened to havedonated to Kanjorski’s cam-paign committee in a firm be-lief hewas the rightman for theoffice, now you knowwhich of-fice your money is helping himkeep. That would be the offices

of “Kanjorski &Associates LLC.”Even if this is le-gal (perhapssomeone shouldfile a complaintwith the FederalElection Commis-sion to find out),it’s not ethical. Ifyou lose and youhave campaigncontributions left

over, they should go solely to-ward paying off campaigndebts, to another candidate’sactive campaign or back to thedonors.Despite his flaws, Kanjorskidid a lot of good for his constit-uents, funneling federal moneyto many worthy regional pro-jects.But he does us no good bycontinuing toburnish thearea’ssad reputation of cronyism andnepotism using other people’scash.Theonly campaignhe’s fund-ing now is one of self-aggran-dizement.

OUR OPINION: CAMPAIGN MONEY

Donor bucks keepKanjo in ‘office’

Voters ousted theveteran legislatorin part because ofhis penchant forfunneling otherpeople’s moneyinto familypockets.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

PRASHANT SHITUTPresident and CEO/Impressions Media

JOSEPH BUTKIEWICZVice President/Executive Editor

MARK E. JONESEditorial Page Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD

MALLARD FILLMORE DOONESBURY

➛ S E R V I N G TH E PU B L I C T RU S T S I N C E 18 8 1 !

Editorial

At a time when a sensitive situation calledfor a sensitive, thorough, fair evaluation,the NCAA failed.

User: jmacintyre Time: 07-26-2012 19:41 Product: Times_Leader PubDate: 07-27-2012 Zone: Main Edition: Main_Run PageName: edit_01 PageNo: 13 A Color: K