Month: March 2011

Ohio Governor Signs Collective Bargaining Limits

From AOL / AP: Gov. John Kasich on Thursday signed into law a limit on the collective bargaining rights of 350,000 public workers, defying Democrats and other opponents of the measure who have promised to push for repeal. His signature came a day after the measure was approved by the state House and Senate, which […]

More defections from Gaddafi’s inner circle

From AL JAZEERA: There are unconfirmed reports that more people have left the inner circle of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, following the high level desertion of Moussa Koussa, Libya”s foreign minister, who arrived in the UK on Wednesday. It is understood a group of top officials who had headed to Tunisia for talks have decided […]

Empowered by Cognition; Endangered by Emotions

Cognition, which has become the preferred term for what used to be called “thinking;” is as close to an exclusively human brain function as there is. That other complex animals have similarly organized brains with rudimentary cognitive powers is obvious; so is the fact that brains are essential to life in virtually all species possessing […]

Wars cost money (and we need to start paying for them)

By Ezra Klein From the WASHINGTON POST: Let’s get one thing straight: Wars cost money. Even the small ones. Already, the United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars firing tomahawk missiles into Libya. Analysts say that the total price tag for the operation, if everything goes well and there’s no escalation, could easily […]

PA needs to shrink the House this decade, not next

From the PITTSBURGH  POST-GAZETTE: Reducing the size of Pennsylvania’s bloated Legislature is like the weather — everybody talks about it but nobody manages to change it. Proposals to shrink the nation’s largest full-time General Assembly have become perennials in Harrisburg, but none of the measures has advanced very far. The latest effort, introduced by House […]

PA bridges still the worst in U.S. survey of deficiencies

From the PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE:

Despite recent progress in fixing its substandard bridges, Pennsylvania remains the undisputed national leader in the category, according to a national report released Wednesday.

More than 25 percent of bridges in the state are structurally deficient, giving the state both the highest percentage and greatest number of deficient bridges in the U.S., according to the report.

Obama’s approval rating at all-time low 42 percent

From the Quinnipiac University National Poll: American voters disapprove 48 – 42 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing and say 50 – 41 percent he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012, both all-time lows, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today… Democrats approve 80 – 13 percent of the […]

TARP investment in banks repaid with profit

From THE HILL: The portion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that went to banks has now turned a profit for the federal government, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday. After receiving $7.4 billion in TARP repayments Wednesday, the Treasury has now received $251 billion from banks participating in various bailout programs, which is good for a $6 billion profit from the $245 billion originally handed out to banks…

Greenlight high-speed rail in dense corridors

From USA TODAY: …Bullet trains are expensive to build and far from cheap to run. They won’t work everywhere. The sweet spot is somewhere between about 100 and 400 miles. Any less, and driving becomes more convenient. Too much more, and it makes increasing sense to fly. Another must is a densely populated area with […]

New problems at Japan nuclear plant

From USA TODAY: …Repairs on the Japanese nuclear plant have continued, with pumps instead of fire engines now cooling all three reactors, using fresh water instead of corrosive seawater. Some of that pumping has evidently led to the latest problem: water laced with radioactive elements from the partly melted reactor fuel rods that has pooled […]

INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA

Article “Academy of Music says it will close” reports:

“The Pennsylvania Academy of Music will close its doors for good at midnight Thursday, officials said this afternoon. The academy’s eight-member board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to close, said chairman Dr. Thomas Godfrey.”

Corbett takes from poor, gives to rich

From the DAILY TIMES: The man who has called for a 54 percent cut in spending for higher education, $1 billion reduction for public schools, significant cuts to hospital Medicaid payments and ended adultBasic health coverage on March 1 now intends to turn a blind eye to the directive covering Tobacco Settlement funds. Pennsylvania enacted […]

White House moves to fund needle exchanges as drug treatment

From the WASHINGTON EXAMINER: The Obama administration has designated intravenous needle exchanges as a drug treatment program, allowing federal money set aside to treat addictions to be used to distribute syringes to narcotics users. The change marks a dramatic shift in the argument over needle exchange programs. Two years ago President Obama lifted the 21-year […]