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Another bureaucratic bright light getting a big raise is Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll. This ditz went uninvited to the funeral of Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, 32, of Pittsburgh who died July 10 in Iraq. She sat next to a family member, asked who she was, then handed her a business card remarking that the government is against the war. Nothing like using a U.S. Marine's funeral as a campaign stop. I'm not sure how much of a pay hike Mrs. Knoll's is getting. Do you think she deserves it? *** Fast Eddie, by the way, defended Mrs. Knoll,...

Until now, Catherine Baker Knoll seems to have been Pennsylvania's version of the Teflon candidate. She survived a bond-refinancing scandal during her second term as state treasurer to beat out an eight-person field for the Democratic nomination as lieutenant governor in 2002. And while some snicker about her occasional misstatements on the Senate floor and in public, other people find them endearing. But the 74-year-old grandmother made national news with her unsolicited appearance at the funeral of Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich, a reservist from Allegheny County who died in Iraq. Her attendance angered the Marine's family, and with...

When Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll crashed yet another military funeral (this time for fallen hero Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich) and said to one of the grieving relatives “I want you to know our government is against this war” (while she passed out her quite important business cards to all who would take one—during Communion no less), I wondered to which government the lady was referring. Certainly, it was not the US government. And why did she show up, uninvited, in the first place? One would think, out of any common courtesy, she might have called to ask permission...

PITTSBURGH -- Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll apologized to the family of a Marine killed in Iraq for showing up uninvited for his funeral last week and giving out a business card. Knoll went to the July 19 funeral of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, 32, of Westwood, who died July 10 in Hit, Iraq. Family members said she left a business card and made a remark about "our government" being against the war. In a letter dated Monday to Goodrich's widow, Amy, Knoll said she left a card in case the family wanted to contact her "and as a sign...

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the story about Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll's uninvited attendance at the July 19 funeral of Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, who was killed in Iraq on July 10. According to the paper, Knoll passed out business cards during communion, and told a grieving relative, "I want you to know our government is against this war." Reading the story carefully, what stands out to me is this: the Light Governor really thought she was saying something comforting. That's more shockingly revealing, in a way, about how the liberals just don't get it than...

Knoll & Rendell: Disgraceful remarks Tuesday, July 26, 2005 Sometimes politicians need to stop while they're behind. Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll did a little politicking and offered some political commentary Tuesday last, uninvited, at the Carnegie funeral of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich. The Marine, 32, of Westwood, was killed in a mortar attack in Iraq on July 10. Mrs. Baker Knoll began talking to Sgt. Goodrich's aunt during the Communion service. She handed the aunt a business card; Knoll called the funeral a "function." Then Knoll told the aunt that the state government was "against the war." Outrageous. Visiting...

Note: where you see "a_ _ _ _ _ _", choose a 7-letter word beginning with "a" that you feel is appropriate for Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll (hmmmm....what word?...amateur?...artiste?...athlete?...hmmmm) MIDI - PROUD MARY They said goodbye to a hero Sgt. Goodrich served his nation selflessly Catherine Baker Knoll had not been invited Quite a spectacle they soon would see Anti-war stuff she's saying While mourners had been praying Knoll is...Knoll is...Knoll is such an a_ _ _ _ _ _ Knoll is such an a_ _ _ _ _ _ Why was this woman so heartless It was...

In the annals of feckless non-apology apologies, the one just served up by PA Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Check out the article below, and note this turn of phrase: "If my regard for his family's grief was seen another way, it is thoroughly regrettable." In other words, what is regrettable is not her awful behavior, but the way the Marine's family saw it. Sickening. -------------------------- Slain Marine's Family Gets Apology For Funeral Comments POSTED: 11:44 am EDT July 25, 2005 PITTSBURGH -- After being criticized for attending a Marine's funeral, Lt. Gov. Catherine...

When the family of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich gathered in Pittsburgh for the fallen Marine's funeral, they expected a large crowd – after all, they've lived in the area for generations and Joseph had been a police officer before becoming a leatherneck – but they didn't expect to see Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor show up, hand out her business card and tell them "our government" opposes the war...

Written apologies will be sent to a fallen Marine's relatives angered by Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll's uninvited appearance at the soldier's funeral and her criticism of the war in Iraq, Gov. Ed Rendell said Sunday. Rendell said he will send a personal letter to the family of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, of Westwood, and will ask Knoll to do the same. Goodrich, 32, a police officer and infantry unit leader, died July 10 in a mortar attack in Hit, Iraq. Rendell said he hadn't spoken with Knoll about the incident, but was disturbed by the family's...

The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war. (snip) What really upset the family, Goodrich said, is that Knoll said, 'I want you to know our government is against this war,' " Goodrich said.

Grief doesn't diminish their anger. Relatives of the late Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich are upset over what they consider to be Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll's cynical intrusion on their mourning. Goodrich, 32, of Westwood, had many roles in life: husband, son, police officer, handyman, landscaper, Central Catholic High School wrestler, altar boy. He died July 10 in a mortar attack in Hit, Iraq. Friends and relatives packed St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carnegie on Tuesday for the infantry unit leader's funeral. Knoll was among those in attendance. Rhonda Goodrich, 38, of Indiana County, the fallen soldier's...

Hands out business card, tells family 'our government is against this war' When the family of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich gathered in Pittsburgh for the fallen Marine's funeral, they expected a large crowd – after all, they've lived in the area for generations and Joseph had been a police officer before becoming a leatherneck – but they didn't expect to see Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor show up, hand out her business card and tell them "our government" opposes the war. Goodrich, 32, and fellow western Pennsylvanian, Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, 22 – both second-generation Marines – were killed in Iraq...

Lt. gov. crashed Marine's funeral, kin say Saturday, July 23, 2005 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war. Rhonda Goodrich of Indiana, Pa., said yesterday that a funeral was held Tuesday at a church in Carnegie for her brother-in-law, Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, 32. ... Then, suddenly, "one uninvited guest made an appearance, Catherine Baker Knoll." She sat down next...

Saturday, July 23, 2005 By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war.