FINANCIAL TIMES: …The Syrian leader made his comments – a markedly stronger acknowledgement of the seriousness of the conflict than in previous remarks – as Turkey warned Syria not to make any incursions into its territory, warning it would retaliate if it did so. Turkey considered Syria a “clear and present danger”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, […]
Month: June 2012
Harrisburg’s debt history Chapter Four: Slide Show
By 1900, Harrisburg, in fact, was a hell hole of dirty, unpaved streets and untreated sewage that was pumped from the Susquehanna River into residents’ spigots, by way of a gravity fed reservoir built in 1862 in Reservoir Park. “Many streets were poorly paved or unpaved, even at intersections,” writes Wilson in The City Beautiful Movement.
New Jersey Assembly Approves Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
HUFFINGTON POST: Garden State pot smokers have a reason to rejoice, at least temporarily: New Jersey legislators voted on Monday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Governor Chris Christie (R), however, has vowed to veto the legislation. The New Jersey Assembly voted 44-30 to approve a measure (A1465) that would make possession of […]
A Cruel and Unusual Record (by President Jimmy Carter)
Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation’s violation of human rights has extended. This development began after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has been sanctioned and escalated by bipartisan executive and legislative actions, without dissent from the general public.
Charles Dickens identified as author of mystery article
GUARDIAN: …“Who has not been outraged by observing that cheerfully patronising mode of dealing with poor people which is in vogue at our soup-kitchens and other depôts of alms?,” runs the article, which was published anonymously on 18 April 1863 in the weekly magazine All the Year Round, under Charles Dickens‘s editorship. “There is a […]
Supreme Court makes two good decisions, and one bad one
From the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Editorial: NEARLY 500 Pennsylvania inmates who were sentenced to life without parole while they were juveniles may get another chance for freedom thanks to Monday’s Supreme Court decision that ruled such sentences are unconstitutional. Following a 2005 decision that outlawed the death penalty for juveniles, and a 2010 decision that outlawed life without parole for juvenile nonhomicide offenders…
Capitolwire: Senate approves corrections reform, sends to governor.
HARRISBURG (June 25)– The state Senate on Monday unanimously voted to send to the governor a bill to reform the state’s corrections system. The chamber approved amendments made to Senate Bill 100 by the House of Representatives that would implement much of Gov. Tom Corbett’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative proposals.
Arizona immigration ruling complicates Republicans’ strategy with Hispanics
WASHINGTON POST: Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on Arizona’s tough anti-illegal-immigration law stirred a growing debate among Republicans over how to navigate an issue that has energized the conservative base and turned off Hispanic voters.
Some on the right were taken aback to see Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., an iconic figure to many conservatives, side with the court’s liberals to reject several key provisions in the law and even declare that as a “general rule, it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain present in the United States.”
Turkish Border Is Crucial Link in Syrian Conflict
NEW YORK TIMES: The onetime ragtag militias of the Syrian opposition are developing into a more effective fighting force with the help of an increasingly sophisticated network of activists here in southern Turkey that is smuggling crucial supplies across the border, including weapons, communications gear, field hospitals and even salaries for soldiers who defect. The network […]
A viewer’s guide to the SCOTUS health care ruling
POLITICO: … • Is the individual mandate constitutional? • If the mandate is found to be unconstitutional, how much of the health reform law should go down with it? Or is the mandate “severable” — meaning it can be struck down by itself? • Is the health law’s Medicaid expansion constitutional? • Does a tax […]
Corbett offers fresh defense of length of Sandusky probe
From the THE PATRIOT NEWS: ….Corbett was Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, and gearing up for a run for governor, when the case was referred to his office in early 2009. In 2011, after his inauguration as governor, the pace of the Sandusky probe accelerated.
George Soros: Germany Has 3 Days Left To Save Eurozone Through Fiscal Union
HUFFINGTON POST: Billionaire investor George Soros says Germany has three days left to spearhead the creation of the “embryo” of a European fiscal union in order to save the eurozone. (Hat tip: Business Insider’s Joe Weisenthal.) “There’s a disagreement on the fiscal side, and unless that is resolved in the next three days, then I’m […]
New Home Sales Surge Ahead in May at Fastest Pace in 2 Years
HUFFINGTING POST / AP: Americans bought new homes in May at the fastest pace in more than two years. The increase suggests a modest recovery in the housing market is continuing, despite weaker job growth. The Commerce Department said Monday that sales of new homes increased 7.6% in May from April to a seasonally adjusted […]
Supreme Court decision on immigration law
HUFFINGTON POST: The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a split decision in the Obama administration’s challenge to Arizona’s aggressive immigration law, striking multiple provisions but upholding the “papers please” provision. Civil rights groups argue the latter measure, a centerpiece of S.B. 1070, invites racial profiling. Monday’s decision on “papers please” — Section 2(B) in S.B. […]