NEW YORK TIMES: Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser, sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday over his plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next week, saying his actions had hurt his nation’s relationship with the United States. Mr. Netanyahu’s decision to travel to Washington to deliver the […]
Month: February 2015
Gov. Tom Wolf’s first state budget may include a plan for lower school property taxes
PENN LIVE: With campaign promises solidifying into governing plans at this writing, Gov. Tom Wolf appears to be ready to join a long line of Pennsylvania governors who have tried to significantly reduce property taxes. Multiple sources told PennLive this week they expect Wolf’s “tax fairness” plan to include a major slash at residential school […]
Part 3: Pennsylvania judges make million dollar pay grab
Today’s advocates of extending the retirement age of Pennsylvania judges to 75 intentionally ignore the political influence and corruption issues of the proposal, and instead try to change the conversation to medical issues.
Alaska becomes 3rd state with legal marijuana
USA TODAY / AP: Smoking, growing and possessing marijuana becomes legal in America’s wildest state Tuesday, thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conflicting laws and court rulings. Making Alaska the third state to legalize recreational marijuana was the goal of a coalition including libertarians, rugged individualists and small-government Republicans […]
Christie broke law by cutting pension payments, judge rules
NJ.COM: In a significant blow to Gov. Chris Christie, a judge ruled today that the governor broke a law he signed by cutting $1.57 billion from a pension payment this year, and must now work with state lawmakers to restore the money. The decision could blow a massive hole in the current state budget, sending […]
REP. MIKE STURLA: Democrats offer agenda to get Pa. moving
POTTSTOWN MERCURY OP-ED: Over the past four years, Pennsylvanians were able to witness the attempt by the Corbett administration and Republican-controlled legislature to cut their way to prosperity with a focus on social and political ideology versus sound governmental policy… They passed across the board business tax cuts, cut long range capital budget projects, and […]
Capitolwire: Pennsylvania has a ‘low self-esteem’ problem, Wolf says.
“I think Pennsylvania is one of those under achieving states that could do a lot better with the resources it has and I think one of the responsibilities of leadership in Pennsylvania is to address, head-on, not only the structural issues, education, transportation, all those things, but also the psychological issues that keep us and hold us back.
Wolf’s aggressive first month spurs list of GOP grievances
PHILLY.COM / AP: …”Next thing you know, there was Gov. Wolf standing there grinning,” said Bloom, a Cumberland County Republican. It was one of Tom Wolf’s surprise visits with lawmakers that are sowing good will among the Legislature’s huge Republican majorities, and the Democrat might need every drop of it after an aggressive and, at […]
Run for local office — Now
Municipal election years are odd numbered, like 2015. This year, in this state, we will elect thousands of council members, mayors, township supervisors, school board members, county administrators, tax collectors and judges at all levels.
President Obama Has, In Fact, Expressed Love for His Country
NEW YORK TIMES: …In 2008, when he was still a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama uttered the magic words in Berlin, during a speech to thousands… Mr. Obama used a similar construction, as president, in 2011, during a town hall meeting in Illinois, when he recalled “why I love this country so much.”… [O]ver hundreds of […]
Pennsylvania flush with cash for transportation projects
PENNLIVE / AP: hile other states struggle to pay the upkeep on their highway systems, Pennsylvania is implementing a multifaceted, multibillion-dollar blueprint designed to accelerate road and bridge projects, improve mass transit systems and increase subsidies to local governments. The higher taxes, fees and fines approved in 2013 are being phased in over five years […]
Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher
NEW YORK TIMES: …“The whole doubt-mongering strategy relies on creating the impression of scientific debate,” said Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at Harvard University and the co-author of “Merchants of Doubt,” a book about such campaigns. “Willie Soon is playing a role in a certain kind of political theater.” Environmentalists have long questioned Dr. […]
Big Pharma Is America’s New Mafia
In fact, the heavy influence of pharmaceutical dollars inspired the former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Marcia Angell, to conclude, “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines.”
Notes on Oscar: A Few Last Minute Observations
2014 was a lousy year for narrative features. Then, suddenly, at years’ end, it wasn’t. Starting around Thanksgiving distributors offered up a handful of quality features that were aimed at adults.