NEW YORK TIMES: …With only hours to spare on the last day of the fiscal year, Congress averted a government shutdown on Wednesday by approving a temporary spending measure to keep federal agencies operating through Dec. 11. In the House, the legislation was approved only because of strong support by Democrats — a sign of […]
Month: September 2015
KEISLING: Notes on a budget impasse
Once school districts in outlying Republican districts — read suburban, rural and white — begin to run out of money, we’ll see Republican lawmakers pressured to come to the table for a deal, Democrats hope.
Is Russian leadership fearful of growing Muslim and ISIL influence?
Kurban Bajram is the Eastern European name for the celebration of Eid al-Adha (which means in Arabic “Feast of Sacrifice”). The holiday marks the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail for God. Muslims around the world sacrifice sheep for this holiday, giving the meat out to their family, friends and to the poor.
The Prison Problem
Pfaff’s theory is that it’s the prosecutors. District attorneys and their assistants have gotten a lot more aggressive in bringing felony charges. Twenty years ago they brought felony charges against about one in three arrestees. Now it’s something like two in three. That produces a lot more plea bargains and a lot more prison terms.
Biden would enter 2016 race as most popular candidate: poll
AOL: …If the 2016 election was held today, voters overall say they’d back Clinton over Trump by 10 points (49 percent to 39 percent), but the former secretary of state would be statistically tied with Fiorina (45 percent for Fiorina, compared to 44 percent for Clinton), Carson (46 percent for Carson, compared to 45 percent […]
Could Suspension, Porn Affect Kane’s Criminal Case?
But the news that her license was suspended by the Supreme Court might not be all bad for Kane. Criminal defense attorney and former Bucks County first assistant district attorney David Zellis said the news could support Kane’s argument that there are powerful forces in state government seeking to remove her from office.
Obama and Putin Play Diplomatic Poker Over Syria
NEW YORK TIMES: After circling each other for the past year, President Obamaand President Vladimir V. Putin of Russiasquared off on Monday at the United Nations in dueling speeches that presented starkly different views on the Syrian crisis and how to bring stability to the Middle East. President Obama made a forceful defenseof diplomacy and […]
Key state labor leader isn’t fighting Wolf’s liquor reform proposal, and that’s one hurdle cleared
Central to that understanding is that Wolf’s plan would guarantee current and future liquor system workers are state employees, paid by and continuing to negotiate future collective bargaining agreements with the government…
The Real Roots of ’70s Drug Laws
NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED: …Today’s disastrously punitive criminal justice system is actually rooted in the postwar social and economic demise of urban black communities. It is, in part, the unintended consequence of African-Americans’ own hard-fought battle against the crime and violence inside their own communities. To ignore that history is to disregard the agency of […]
Russia Surprises U.S. With Accord on Battling ISIS
NEW YORK TIMES: For the second time this month, Russia moved to expand its political and military influence in the Syria conflict and left the United States scrambling, this time by reaching an understanding, announced on Sunday, with Iraq, Syria and Iran to share intelligence about the Islamic State. Like Russia’s earlier move to bolster […]
Bloomberg Poll: Americans Want Supreme Court to Turn Off Political Spending Spigot
NEWSMAX: Americans may be sharply divided on other issues, but they are united in their view of the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that unleashed a torrent of political spending: They hate it. In a new Bloomberg Politics national poll, 78 percent of those responding said the Citizens United ruling should be overturned, compared with 17 […]
MILLER: Democrats need to respond to Speaker’s resignation
In what will be a very contentious fight for Boehner’s job, Democrat Congress people need to commit their vote early to Kevin McCarthy.
Study projects Asians will become largest US immigrant group
AOL / AP: In a major shift in immigration patterns over the next 50 years, Asians will have surged past Hispanics to become the largest group of immigrants heading to the United States, according to estimates in a new immigration study. The study looks in detail at what will happen by 2065, but the actual […]
Are Airline web sites exploiting customers?
Their web site would lead us to believe that there are not many seats left. When we were trying to find the best combination of days and hours for our overseas trip, on each try the price went up until it was a thousand dollars higher and the choice of seats showed only middle seats available.