FINANCIAL TIMES: A federal judge has ruled that the National Security Agency’s contentious surveillance programme is lawful, handing a legal victory to President Barack Obama and a defeat to civil liberties campaigners challenging the scheme. Friday’s ruling sharply conflicts with one handed down last week in a separate federal case, raising the odds of the […]
Month: December 2013
Don’t tell Mayor Gray, but “Demographic trends now favor downtown”
Empty-nesters don’t need the big house and don’t want to mow the big lawn. High gas prices are making long commutes less practical. The urban renaissance in big cities ranging from New York to Portland, Ore. — and the revival of charming, vibrant downtowns in small cities like Missoula, Mont. — is making the bedroom suburb and the strip mall seem positively dull…
Chamber of Commerce Promises $50 Million in Fight Against Tea Party
NEWSMAX: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ready to take on the tea party in 2014 Senate primaries and elections with a deep-pocketed boost of establishment and business Republican candidates. “Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates,” Chamber strategist Scott Reed told […]
10-year Treasury hits key 3% level
USA TODAY: …Interest rates are starting their push higher to more normal levels after falling to historic lows in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which hit a 2013 low of 1.63% in early May, closed at 2.99% Thursday. It briefly ticked above 3% Thursday for the first time […]
No hands on deck: Dawn of the crewless ship
FINANCIAL TIMES: …There are plenty of compelling reasons to switch to crewless ships. But the main driver for Oskar Levander, head of marine innovation at Rolls-Royce, is cost. A ship that does not have to accommodate a crew for weeks on end can dispense with many if not all the life-support systems needed by humans, […]
Poll: Congress is Worst Ever
The telephone poll of 1,035 adults nationwide showed that 73 percent say Congress has done nothing to solve the country’s problems, with roughly 25 percent disagreeing.
Tapping brakes on gas giveaways
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER EDITORIAL: A salient feature of the natural gas embedded beneath Pennsylvania is that it is, well, embedded beneath Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, though, since novel drilling techniques began to enable the extraction of methane from the Marcellus Shale formation, the state’s leadership has coddled the industry as if it might easily go the way of […]
The unfairness of gerrymandering in PA
Without changing a single vote from the 2012 elections, Mr. Leach drew a map that flipped eight districts from Republican to Democrat…
Intell editorial: Shootings “Tragic, avoidable”
“Giliberti’s clinical diagnosis was bipolar disorder. The two other men killed by police in Lancaster County this year were described in news reports as ‘a homeless man with a history of mental illness’ and a man with ‘a history of alcohol-related legal troubles and depression.’ ” …
Getting Out of Discount Game, Small Colleges Lower the Price
NEW YORK TIMES: …When Converse College, a tiny women’s college here, announced that it was “resetting” next year’s tuition at $16,500, down 43 percent from the current year’s published price of $29,000, the talk was about affordability, transparency and a better deal for struggling families. But of Converse’s 700 undergraduates, only a small number — […]
Pa. treasurer McCord boasts business, congressional experience in bid for governor
Bright, fast-talking, exuding confidence, Rob McCord will tell anyone who asks that his record as state treasurer melded with his high-tech business makes him the Democrat “best built” to oust Gov. Tom Corbett.
Financial Scammers Increasingly Target Elderly Americans
WALL STREET JOURNAL: The fleecing of older Americans is becoming an epidemic. People 60 years and older made up 26% of all fraud complaints tracked by the Federal Trade Commission in 2012, the highest of any age group. In 2008, the level was just 10%, the lowest of any adult age group.
Christie Has History of Bullying, Petty Attacks
NEWSMAX: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie often takes petty revenge against people who he believes have slighted him, enhancing his bullying image, The New York Times reports. Christie has most recently angered many over George Washington Bridge lane closures in September. Two of his close allies ordered lanes closed for four days leaving Fort Lee […]
Whatever happened to NewsLanc’s Watchdog?
It was muzzled by the current editorial staff of the New Era. No longer are some editorials based upon prejudice, ignorance and errors, tossing raw meat to their most benighted readers. Instead editorials voice compassionate and reasoned conservative thought. This is another sign of the Republican Party returning to its traditional responsible role A wag […]