Month: March 2011

LANCASTER NEW ERA

Editorial “Corbett anti-tax view consistent”,  in reference to calls for taxes on extraction of Marcellus Shale gas, opines “It makes sense to ask gas drillers to pay for roads their trucks wear down or to clean up streams that their operations make dirty.  It makes no sense to take driller’s money for anything the state […]

The lost war against ourselves

Three years ago the Watchdog and fifteen year old son spent the better part of a week traveling through Guatemala, visiting projects sponsored by an international Non Governmental Organization (NGO) for the purpose of assisting Mayan villages. Security was not an issue in the capital, along the way, or in the villages.

The Real Reason Gas Prices Are Soaring

From AOL FINANCE: Dan Dicker, who has spent nearly three decades in the oil market, has a profoundly disturbing explanation of why the price of oil, and the gasoline that comes from the crude product, has risen so dramatically in recent months. It turns out, Dicker says, that the price has nothing to do with […]

Corbett maintains hard line on no Marcellus Shale tax

From the INQUIRER: As new taxes go, a levy on natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania would seem like a pretty easy political sell. Two-thirds of the state’s voters support the idea, several polls indicate. Every other major natural-gas-producing state has some sort of tax, and some of the biggest drillers have said they wouldn’t oppose one here so long as it was reasonable…

The battle to define Charles and David Koch

From POLITICO: When it comes to the suddenly infamous Koch brothers, there’s one thing the conservative Weekly Standard and liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald can agree on: The Kochs, Charles and David, have been a boon to the American political left… Virtually unknown as recently as 2009, the Kochs have become political household names, following in […]

Force the police to actually work

These ideas by Corbett [on education] are interesting and some of them have merit. By why not address the work rules in law enforcement also. There should be the ability by management to force the police to actually work when they are on duty, to schedule according to need and not by seniority and to […]

Senate to hold hearing on anti-Muslim bigotry

From USA TODAY: After a House hearing this month about the radicalization of Muslims sparked tears and accusations of demonization of an entire group of people, a Senate hearing Tuesday will look at what’s being done to address anti-Muslim discrimination. “Our Constitution protects the free exercise of religion for all Americans,” said Senate Assistant Majority […]

Gov. Corbett’s vision for PA schools

From the INQUIRER: One proposal that many suburban school boards fear and many taxpayers relish calls for voter approval of proposed district budgets when tax increases exceed inflation. If this were in effect now, more than 80 percent of the districts in Philadelphia’s suburbs probably would have to vote. Give school boards, for the first […]

Libyan Rebels Reclaim 2 Oil Centers in Sweep West

From AOL /  AP: Libyan rebels seized back two key oil complexes and pushed west toward Tripoli on Sunday, gaining momentum after international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Moammar Gadhafi’s military. The coastal complexes at Ras Lanouf and Brega were responsible for a large chunk of Libya’s 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, […]

SUNDAY NEWS

In “Another war based in theory”, Columnist Gil Smart opines: “… This has nothing to do with the poor oppressed civilians in Gadhafi’s Libya and their likely fate had we left Crazy Moammar to his own devices. That’s the story we proffer for public consumption, but as with our last war in Iraq, the justification […]

US growth stronger than expected

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: The US economy was in a stronger position than previously thought at the end of last year, but American consumers are showing signs of renewed pessimism, clouding the outlook for the US recovery. US gross domestic product grew at an annualised rate of 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of […]