WASHINGTON POST Column: …The consequences would be widespread. The Pentagon would have to cut spending 8.8 percent, estimates Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a think tank specializing in defense issues. Among civilian workers, there would almost certainly be furloughs. Procurement contracts would have to be rewritten to reduce purchases;
Month: January 2013
Corbett son-in-law under federal investigation
PHILLY.COM: The Philadelphia Police department confirmed that a narcotics officer was taken off the street and placed on administrative leave Thursday, following the results of an FBI and Internal Affairs investigation. The department said it would not identify the officer because he had not been arrested or formally charged… [Gerold] Gibson was targeted specifically by […]
Chuck Hagel, John McCain Clash Over Iraq Surge
HUFFINGTON POST: …“Will you please answer the question?” McCain said. “Were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the ‘most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.’ Were you correct or incorrect, yes or no?” Hagel added that his comment about the “most dangerous foreign policy blunder” was […]
Why monetary policy does not restore prosperity on its own
CONTRIBUTOR: Tell me again when the economy will recover. Why should businesses invest when the Fed, pumping 85 billion a month, can do all the work for the foreseeable future? EDITOR: Monetary and fiscal policies are two different things. Through its monetary policy, the Federal Reserve simply makes funds available to banks at low costs. […]
People can throw out a lawmaker anytime they want
READING EAGLE Editorial: The Issue: Sen. Pat Toomey and others sponsor a constitutional amendment to limit the terms of members of Congress… But as we have said many times, term limits, regardless of length or composition, are a poor substitute for a well-informed electorate, which has the opportunity to limit the term of any elected […]
Corbett: Shell tax breaks a way to expand manufacturing in state
PITTSBURGH POST-TRIBUNE: … [Gov. Tom] Corbett has been their top cheerleader. He’s offered more than $1 billion in tax breaks to the chemical arm of Royal Dutch Shell plc to encourage it to build an ethane processing plant — called a cracker — in Beaver County. He was willing to invest so much because it’s […]
A Senseless Death
Several years ago, I was a public school teacher in central Harlem, New York City. There was one difference between these kids and the ones from my suburban childhood. My students, like Hadiya, lived in a war zone. Most lived in the projects of New York City. Each day they passed a gauntlet of thugs and drug dealers.
First, legalize medicinal use of pot
In a Letter to the Intelligencer Journal / New Era editor, Mr. Ron Simmons of Ephrata gave some very wise advice: “I understand two Franklin & Marshall staffers did a survey (2010) in which 80 percent of Pennsylvanians favor the legalization of pot for medicinal use. There have been so many documented positive effects reported […]
Feds move to indict Traffic Court judges
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: A FEDERAL investigation into ticket-fixing as political favors in Philadelphia Traffic Court is expected to culminate Thursday morning with sweeping indictments of most of the current judges and some retired judges… One Traffic Court judge expected to be charged is already under indictment for a separate accusation. Robert Mulgrew was indicted by a […]
EDITORIAL: Privatization doesn’t need to be crooked to be predatory
It is estimated that the proposed replacement of Pennsylvania State Stores through the sale of licensing rights will generate approximately a billion dollars of revenue. Who is pushing for the privatization of the State Store system? Who is pushing for the privatization of the lottery system? Who pushed for the development of the Lancaster County Convention Center project?
CC Chapter Six revised: Razing History
In early 2000, the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) began the process of purchasing properties around the proposed Penn Square convention center site. In March, the Authority, led by Chairman Jim Pickard, bought four dilapidated buildings bordering South Queen Street, Vine, and Christian Streets. The land and buildings were purchased for a reported $539,900.
Liquor privatization: Pa. Gov. Corbett wants to shut state-run stores, auction licenses
Under his plan, the state’s 600 state-owned liquor stores would be shut down, with about 1,200 wine and spirit licenses auctioned off and separate licenses available for supermarkets, convenience stores and big-box retailers.
Obamacare Glitch: Some Families to be Priced out of Health Coverage
So if the employer isn’t willing to chip in for family premiums — as most big companies already do — some families will be out of luck. They may not be able to afford the full premium on their own, and they’d be locked out of the subsidies in the healthcare overhaul law…
William ‘Mo’ Cowan is Governor Deval Patrick’s pick to serve as interim US senator
BOSTON GLOBE: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has picked William “Mo” Cowan, his former chief of staff, to serve as the state’s interim US senator until the successor to John F. Kerry is chosen by the voters in a June 25 special election… Cowan said he was “honored and humbled” to get the temporary post, which […]