ROLL CALL: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s tumble in the polls has made Republicans nervous about four pivotal Philadelphia-area House districts. Local GOP operatives fear this 2014 scenario: Corbett drags down the ticket for perennial targets Reps. Patrick Meehan, Jim Gerlach, Michael G. Fitzpatrick and Charlie Dent. Meanwhile, top potential Corbett foes count southeastern Pennsylvania as […]
Month: April 2013
Internet could solve a huge cost problem and open gates of education to all
Most people agree education is important. They also agree it is expensive. The internet can solve the expensive part of the problem. By granting degrees, colleges attest that a student passed a course of study but colleges do not guarantee student competency. On line education coupled with independent competency examinations and in some cases a […]
Colleges Adapt Online Courses to Ease Burden
NEW YORK TIMES: …Nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States arrive on campus needing remedial work before they can begin regular credit-bearing classes. That early detour can be costly, leading many to drop out, often in heavy debt and with diminished prospects of finding a job. Meanwhile, shrinking state budgets have taken a […]
Poll: Three Democratic challengers would easily beat Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014 contest
LEHIGH VALLEY MORNING CALL: Republican Gov. Tom Corbett would get trounced by any one of three Democrats if the gubernatorial election were held today, in part because he would lose the independent and female vote by large margins, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.
Uncivil discourse by co-host Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe
We watch Morning Joe while working out during the morning and benefit from the frank expression of opposing views. But co-host Joe Scarborough more than crossed a line of civility and basic good sense when he continuously and explicitly disparaged the intelligence of those who tend to agree with the economic views of New York […]
LCSWMA set to become the trash czar of Central PA
Originally founded decades back to handle Lancaster County’s solid waste and garbage, the authority’s takeover of waste processing in surrounding counties has been striking.
Russian neo-nationalists pursue church building and knife fighting
Last year Russian Orthodox Church has initiated a program of the construction of 600 new churches in Moscow, the first two hundred referred to as “Program 200.”
Pa. ordered to surrender data in voter-ID dispute
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: State transportation and election officials were ordered Monday to provide data on licensed drivers and registered voters to plaintiffs in the ongoing voter-ID dispute, hoping to answer a question that has baffled state officials for the last year: how many Pennsylvania voters do not already have photo identification cards from PennDot?… Commonwealth Court […]
O’Connor: Maybe Supreme Court shouldn’t have taken Bush v. Gore
WASHINGTON POST: “Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye,’” O’Connor told the Chicago Tribune editorial board, in reference to the controversial Bush v. Gore decision resolving a dispute over the 2000 election in George W. Bush’s favor. “It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn’t done a real […]
Arab League Seems to Concede to Israel on Area Peace Plan
NEWSMAX/ REUTERS: Arab states appeared to soften their 2002 peace plan on Monday when a top Qatari official said Israel and the Palestinians could trade land rather than conform exactly to their 1967 borders. Sheik Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, made the comment after he and a group of Arab […]
US expects first cut in debt since 2007
FINANCIAL TIMES: The US Treasury expects to pay down debt in the second quarter of 2013 as the budget deficit that has dominated national politics starts to shrink.
Luxembourg set to share companies’ bank details
FINANCIAL TIMES: Luxembourg is ready to share currently confidential information about multinationals’ bank accounts as part of efforts to shed the Grand Duchy’s image as a leading tax haven. Under pressure amid a renewed global crackdown on tax evasion and avoidance, Luc Frieden, finance minister, said Luxembourg was willing to expand the number of accounts […]
LETTER: helmets vs. no helmets
Despite his opposition to helmet laws, Gray said he has always worn — and will always wear — a helmet. “I’ve ridden 30,000 miles already this year, many of them through states where you don’t have to wear helmets,” he said. “I had a helmet on for every mile.”
Black pols stymied in Obama era
POLITICO: ..Consider what has taken place, or not taken place, since Obama broke the presidential color barrier in 2008: There has not been one African-American elected to the Senate — the only blacks in the chamber were appointed to fill vacant seats; the country’s sole African-American governor…