Pols

ALL THIS finger-pointing and bickering on campaign finance rules and regulations has got to stop. This political grandstanding is NOT in the interests of voters and the future of the city. What's needed is clear criteria for candidacy. Keep this mess up, and the state will figure a way to hijack candidacy criteria from the city and put their own measure in place. Honest candidates and consistent guidelines would give Philly voters good reason to go out on Election Day. This isn't rocket science here.

I'D JUST LIKE to pay a great deal of gratitude to our wonderful politicians. 1. Thanks for working five days a week, 52 weeks a year at the minimum wage. 2. Thanks for term limits because keeping your job honest is priority No. 1. 3. Thanks for turning down perks from lobbyists, keeping the integrity of your votes. 4. Thanks for spending thousands of dollars on meaningless campaign ads instead of donating the money to worthy causes. 5. Thanks for party politics.

WHENEVER these bums and thieves in politics retire, why does it seems like a lot of these crooks never really retire? Let them pay for health insurance like I do and so many other retirees do. These health premiums are killing me and my wife. These crooks live high on the hog - I don't. Pat Panichelli, Philadelphia

A bipartisan interracial group of elected officials turned out yesterday at City Hall to support Common Pleas Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson's quest for a seat on the U.S. District Court bench. The Black Elected Officials of Philadelphia drew support from white pols of both parties and various legal groups. Mark Aronchick, Philadelphia Bar Association chancellor, said Jackson has been evaluated four times in her 16-year career by various legal groups and she belongs on the federal bench "totally on the basis of merit.

The Roofers Union scandal notwithstanding, Philadelphia voters did not rise up Tuesday and demand judicial reform. The only message that can be garnered from the returns on the judicial races was that, once you get beyond the high- profile contests, Philadelphia is still a solid Democratic town. That was good news for the Common Pleas Court candidates known as "Casey Five" - especially for Legrome D. Davis, John W. Herron and C. Darnell Jones 2d. Political upstarts appointed on merit alone, they had been denied Senate confirmation and had had to fight their way on to the Democratic ballot by narrowly defeating the party-backed candidates in the primary.

Howard Eskin, the sports broadcaster who is often a target of Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's barbs, set the tone of Stu's 19th annual Candidates Comedy Night last night with - what else? - a joke: "This is a night when politicians show their sense of humor by telling us jokes, and we show ours by electing them to office. " The lighthearted charity event at Finnigan's Wake, 3rd and Spring Garden streets, had local politicians parading to the mike to make funny with professional comedian Joe Conklin.

For guys like NBC's Tim Russert, the election season is the equivalent of the Olympics. "Every four years, this election of the president comes around," Russert said Monday. "And I don't know anybody who covers politics who doesn't get a surge from it. " He also gets a surge from big ratings. And a week ago, the Russert-moderated "Meet the Press" notched its 104th consecutive week as the most-watched public affairs show on the air. In doing so, the Russert-led show set the record for the longest winning streak in the series' 53-year history.

THE DECISION-making process that is shaping the future of Philadelphia's public schools can be characterized as nothing short of secretive, undemocratic and politically motivated. The focus of my outrage however is not toward Gov. Schweiker, who is doing what he's told. The source of my frustration is the Philadelphia public officials who have failed once again at representing the needs of thousands of Philadelphia public education stakeholders. It is unconscionable that any of our elected officials would support legislation that would make it easier for a for-profit company with a questionable academic and fiscal track record to run an entire public school district.

DID YOU ever notice that when it's time for pay raises, they always find ways to get these so-called lawmakers more money? The crooks on City Council all make $100,000-plus - whatever else they got going for themselves. Same for the weasels at the state level when it comes to raises, and the biggest thieves of all - the crooks at the federal level in Washington, D.C. They make the most money, plus whatever other deals they got going for themselves. Some say cut this, cut that to get these hefty pay raises because they pass it on to the taxpayers.

With their yellow, red and green tour trolley parked around the corner, the mayor and City Council huddled awkwardly in the middle of a North Philadelphia street. It was Sydenham Street near Indiana Avenue, where only two of the houses are occupied. City Council President John Street, who arranged the tour, said the city has to bring back blocks such as this. And bring them back in economically efficient ways. It makes more sense to rehabilitate blocks whole rather than piecemeal, he said.

With warm weather bringing out swimsuits, it's time to think about fitness, and a return to the gym. So there I was at the gym, and there it was, up against the wall, a gleaming new machine I hit hard for half-an-hour. It had everything I wanted: Snickers, M&Ms, Three Musketeers, Babe Ruth, Butterfingers, Skittles, iced tea (uh-oh) ... Summer brings not only swimsuit (and Hawaiian shirt) weather, but also the Stu Bykofsky Candidates Comedy Night, steaming into its 22nd year in August.

DOVER, DEL. - A bill that would allow illegal immigrants in Delaware to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities has failed to clear a Senate committee. The so-called DREAM Act, which stands for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, failed to win enough votes Wednesday to be released by the Senate Education Committee. The bill would have permitted undocumented students to pay tuition and fees at the in-state, resident rate at the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical and Community College.

WHERE'S ALL our so-called minority leadership in the positions of authority in this city? I grew up in South Philly, my mother is black, and the one thing I'm proud to say is that we are represented in local and state government. That being said, where are the results? Why is this city no safer? Now, if we had a plethora of white faces in these same positions of authority, we'd be screaming that they "don't care" about the bad minority neighborhoods because they "can't relate. " Guess who else can't relate?

THE Daily News ' editorial, "Hush, Doctors: Gas industry gags physicians" is false and shows a lack of understanding by the Daily News and Sen. Leach of Act 13's disclosure provisions. Some due diligence would have revealed that Act 13 contains one of the nation's most forward-thinking disclosure requirements. Our law, which provides for disclosure through the publicly accessible online database known as FracFocus.org, was modeled after Colorado's new law. The Colorado law was embraced by a broad spectrum of environmental groups, such as the Environmental Defense Fund.

JOHN PERZEL was that rarest of Philly birds - an elected Republican with power. Today, he's expected to be sentenced to prison for abuse of that power. The 62-year-old Mayfair native was scheduled to be in a Dauphin County courtroom in Harrisburg this morning. He pleaded guilty in August to eight felony counts of conflict, conspiracy and theft. The plea came after he was charged with running a scheme to spend millions of tax dollars on computer technology to help GOP campaigns.

A WESTERN Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to cut state funding for the database used by gun dealers to check prospective buyers' criminal and mental-health records before selling them a firearm. State Rep. Tim Krieger, R-Greensburg, contends that the database, the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS), wastes money because such a check can be made in a federal database, the National Instant Check System (NICS). Legislation he introduced in January requiring dealers to make presale checks with NICS instead of PICS is under review in the state House Judiciary Committee.

THE WAR on women - especially over their contraceptive and reproductive rights - has entered a new, younger battleground, as witness the warped airwaves of Rush Limbaugh as he attacked a young law student for her stand on contraception. And now, an Indiana legislator has lowered the age of this war's targets even further to include girls. State Rep Bob Morris made headlines recently when he refused to join in a resolution honoring the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the USA. (The first Girl Scout meeting was held in Savannah, Ga., on March 12, 1912.)

AND NOW a report from the "The Island of Misfit Toys. " It's at least possible that one broken mess in Harrisburg starts to get cleaned up this week. Possible, that is. This broken mess is the one around the Legislature's once-a-decade job of drawing new House and Senate maps to reflect population shifts after a census - a/k/a gerrymandering redux. The job should be finished by now, but you know how your Legislature operates. Its first attempt was rejected by the state Supreme Court as unconstitutional because the pols divided more municipalities, even political wards, than the court deemed necessary.

LONDON - When it comes to religion, British politicians tend to heed the advice of Tony Blair's spin doctor, Alastair Campbell: "We don't do God. " In contrast to the United States, the deity is rarely invoked on the campaign trail or in political speeches. But a Muslim cabinet minister has become the latest member of Prime Minister David Cameron's government to urge the country to embrace its Christian heritage. Sayeeda Warsi also said "militant" secularism posed a threat to Europe, a comment that has angered atheists and highlighted the divisive political potential of religion.

IT'S REPUBLICAN primary season so that means every day some musician is complaining that his/her/their song is being used without permission. A few days ago, the fellow who wrote "Eye of the Tiger" was upset that Newt Gingrich had appropriated his song (which may be replaced by Beck 's "Loser"). Now K'Naan is annoyed that Mitt Romney used his song "Wavin' Flag" during his Florida primary-victory speech. The Somali-born, Canadian-based rapper said in a statement that Romney's campaign hadn't sought approval to use the song and that he would not have granted permission if it had. He says he wants to make sure Romney does not use his song again and is seeking legal action.