Month: May 2010

A lot of questions about PAM

I hope you cover somewhere in your PAM series the matter of the reported number of students vs. the actual number at any one time. There have been charges of enrollment inflation for the purpose of making the Academy appear more successful than it actually was in terms of enrollment. It has been said that […]

EDITORIAL: Resurecting public trust

“The absence of trust is clearly inimical to a well-run society. The great Jane Jacobs noted as much with respect to the very practical business of urban life and the maintenance of cleanliness and civility on city streets. If we don’t trust each other, our towns will look horrible and be nasty places to live. Moreover, she observed, you cannot institutionalize trust. Once corroded, it is virtually impossible to restore. And it needs care and nurturing by the community – the collectivity- since with the best of intentions no one person can make others trust him and be trusted in return.”– Tony Judt, “Ill Fares The Land.”

BP Turns to Next Attempt After ‘Top Kill’ Fails

From AOL NEWS / AP: With BP declaring failure in its latest attempt to stop the uncontrolled gusher feeding the worst oil spill in U.S. history, the company is turning to yet another mix of risky undersea robot maneuvers and longshot odds to plug the blown-out well. Six weeks after the catastrophe began, oil giant […]

Chapter 11 bankruptcy: PAM’s potential doomsday machine

As an adviser to the Business Committee of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music (PAM), perhaps my very first act in September, 2009 was to raise funds among the Business Committee to engage Larry Michael, Esquire, of the law firm Dilworth and Paxton from Philadelphia. He was a leading bankruptcy law practitioner and the firm was distant enough not to be influenced by the Lancaster establishment.

An Internet editor’s fantasy

For every legitimate comment sent to NewsLanc, we have to wade through an average of about sixty spam messages, two-thirds coming from one hawker of pornography.  (It takes a lot of extra time looking at all of these…just kidding!) The fantasy is a movie about inexplicable murders across the globe through slow strangulation.   Only towards […]

INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL

Editorial “Nancy’s new rules” states:  “…Republicans blamed [Nancy Pelosi[ for torpedoing President George W.  Bush’s $700 billion plan in 2008, then blamed her for the passage of Obama’s bailout.” Also, “Earlier this month, she announced new travel rules for lawmakers and their families.  Lawmakers must travel in coach or economy class for all domestic and […]

Scientists Build Case for Undersea Plumes

From the NEW YORK TIMES: This week, another research vessel confirmed the existence of a huge undersea plume. And on Thursday, a team of scientists appointed by the Obama administration offered a more credible estimate of the flow rate at the broken well, putting it at two to four times the previous calculation. That higher estimate only added to the sense among academic scientists that much of the oil must be hovering in the deep sea, instead of surfacing.

US consumer savings jump to highest level since January

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: Consumer spending stagnated in April as workers kept a tighter grip on their wallets and sought to rebuild their savings. Savings increased to 3.6 per cent as a percentage of disposable income in April, after falling for the previous two months, according to a report from the commerce department on Friday. […]

BP Says Attempt to Plug Gulf Well Going As Planned

From NEWSMAX / AP: BP’s chief operating officer says the attempt to plug the gushing Gulf oil well is going basically according to plan. Doug Suttles says the company has shot assorted junk into the well along with heavy drilling mud to try to overcome the pressure of the oil. He says the job remains […]

EDITORIAL: Castle Doctrine easy to defend

From the YORK DISPATCH: For what could become his first bill to make it into law, state Rep. Scott Perry picked an easy target. The Dillsburg Republican’s latest proposed legislation would allow homeowners to use firearms or other deadly force against intruders without first retreating, as required under current law. A variation of the “Castle […]

Bill Clinton Approached Joe Sestak To Drop Senate Bid At White House Request

From AOL: Former President Bill Clinton approached Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) at the request of the White House to suggest that the congressman drop his Senate bid in exchange for a position in the Obama administration. The revelation is in a report by Bob Bauer, the White House counsel, who conducted an internal investigation into the matter. Despite the information about Clinton’s efforts, Bauer states definitively, “We have concluded that allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law.” … (more)

US Toll Passes 1,000 Deaths in Afghanistan War

From NEWSMAX / AP: The American military death toll in Afghanistan surpassed 1,000 at a time when President Barack Obama’s strategy to turn back the Taliban is facing its greatest test — an ambitious campaign to win over a disgruntled population in the insurgents’ southern heartland. More casualties are expected when the campaign kicks into […]

Editorial: Don’t be a tax cheat

From the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Despite a rough start, Pennsylvania’s tax-amnesty program is worth the effort. The state is giving tax cheats until June 18 to pay up. Revenue Secretary Daniel Hassell told the Inquirer Editorial Board that 26,000 filers have come forward to date with plans to pay more than $40 million in taxes owed. […]

Rendell abandons PA state sales-tax overhaul.

Associated Press: Gov. Ed Rendell acknowledged Thursday that his plan to reduce Pennsylvania’s sales tax and boost revenue by extending it to more goods and services is doomed – at least in this election year. “It’s just very complex and you’d be stepping on the toes of a lot of special interests. I don’t think […]