From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: …The House Republican whip, [Mike Turzai] from Bradford Woods, says Pennsylvania should sell licenses for as many as 750 retail stores and 100 wholesale distribution centers for alcoholic beverages, excluding beer, in order to raise at least $2 billion. That would go a long way toward resolving the state’s looming pension […]
Month: April 2010
Pennsylvania legislative staff is nation’s largest
From the TIMES-TRIBUNE: Even with above-average salaries and benefits, the state’s 253 legislators actually account for only a small portion of the total cost of running the General Assembly. The real expense comes from its support staff, which numbers nearly 3,000, the largest legislative staff in the nation. Its 2,918 employees outnumber the next two […]
LETTER: Rendell’s call for help is a smoke screen
[Concerning “Rendall seeks greater help for the mentally retarded”], this is sad because it is far from the truth. There are proposed 17.3 million in cuts to community services. 700 plus students leave education each year, serving only 100 leaves 500 or 600 added to the waiting list of already 18,000 waiting for services. That’s right 18,000 are already sitting at home with NO services!
Debunking Harry Anslinger- Early drug warrior
Editor’s note: (Wikipedia: Harry Jacob Anslinger (May 20, 1892 – November 14, 1975) held office as the Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition, before being appointed as the first Commissioner of the Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) on August 12, 1930. He held office an unprecedented 32 years in his role […]
George W. Bush Book ‘Decision Points’ out Nov. 9
From NEWSMAX / AP: The publisher of former President George W. Bush’s book “Decision Points” on Sunday set a Nov. 9 release date, unveiled its cover design and announced new details about it. Bush has said he is not writing a traditional memoir but an account of key decisions in his life. The cover features […]
California Support for Pot Legalization At 56% in New Poll
A SurveyUSA poll conducted this week for a consortium of California television stations showed majority support for marijuana legalization. An initiative that would do just that, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, will be on the ballot in November. The poll found that 56% of those surveyed responded affirmatively to the question, […]
CORNERED, The New Monopoly Capitalism…
Have you ever wondered why it costs over $200 and as much as $400 to purchase a pair of prescription glasses no matter where you went, even though off-the-rack glasses for those who are simply near sighted can be had for a $20 bill at almost any drug store?
Foreign Affairs: A Dragon Tattoo and a Prophet
Back in July of 2006, the small Chicago based distributor, Music Box Films, released “Tell No One,” a French thriller based on a novel by an American, Harlen Corben. Much to everyone’s’ surprise, the movie, winner of several French “Cesars” raked in over 6 million US dollars, a big number for a foreign language film.
Question: Are there first and second class citizens?
For those who travel tourist class, it may be a matter of annoyance that holders of first class plane tickets are expedited through security while other passengers may face long waits. Clearly paying the premium entitles the ticket holder to special treatment by the airline. But why should the U. S. government favor one traveler […]
Editorial: The time has arrived for merit selection of judges
From the CHAMBERSBURG’S PUBLIC OPINION: The typical citizen’s defining notion of a judge has historically centered on the idea that his or her rulings will impartially adhere to the evidence, laws or legal precedent before his or her eyes. But the idea of a judge as an unbiased arbiter of competing arguments has been undermined […]
NEW ERA
A column by Michael Barone headed “Obama’s Gangster Government” goes on to discuss a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to prosecute Goldman Sachs for allegedly violating the law “when it sold a collateralized debt obligation based on mortgage-backed securities without disclosing that the CDO was assembled with the help of hedge fund investor John […]
EDITORIAL: Laptop tracking or drug testing run amok?
Let’s contrast the New Era editorial “A laptop tracking program run amok.” With the Intelligencer New Era news article “Drug-testing plan stirs little debate at Manheim Township High School.” The editorial huffs “Forensic computer experts determined that Lower Merion School District officials secretly captured at least 56,000 webcam photographs – far more than they initially let on – from ‘missing’ laptops.”
2005 PART III: Shellenberger & Henderson move into the crosshairs
“If there are those who would make county decisions without public scrutiny, we do not agree with them. If there are those who would do without a forthright explanation of costs, risks, and benefits to county taxpayers, we do not agree with them.”
Obama Calls Arizona Immigration Bill ‘Misguided’
From AOL News …Calling the proposed law “misguided,” Obama cited the failure of the federal government to enact comprehensive immigration reform as one reason that the Arizona legislature was compelled to act. “Our failure to act responsible at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others,” Obama said Friday at a […]