SLATE: …In the extended interview, [Feidin Santana, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic] tells [NBC’s Craig] Melvin that he passes the area where the shooting took place on his way to work at a local barbershop every day. On the morning of Saturday, April 4th, he says, he was just walking by when he saw […]
KEISLING: Inquirer and Patriot-News re Kathleen Kane: So much smoke, so little fire
The danger of a public trial for the newspapers and their sources is that the subject of porno emails, the copious and ongoing grand jury leaks of materials to the newspapers, and the Philadelphia newspapers’ own role in alerting Corbett’s cronies to Kane’s “leaks” are bound to come out.
Greek state repays IMF loan instalment despite growing cash crunch
USA TODAY / AP: Greece’s government has given the order to repay a roughly 450 million euro ($485-million) loan instalment to the International Monetary Fund due Thursday — a debt Athens had insisted it will honor despite being severely cash-strapped. The debt stems from Greece’s international bailout, under which the country was extended 240 billion […]
Russia and Greece pledge to ‘restart and revive’ relations
FINANCIAL TIMES: …[Greek prime minister Alexis ] Tsipras’s visit, just a day before Greece was due to make a €450m payment to the International Monetary Fund, and his criticism of EU sanctions against Russia, had triggered speculation that Moscow could help bail out Athens in exchange for support in blocking an extension of anti-Russian sanctions. […]
Madonna & Young: It’s time to dump the electoral roulette for judicial positions
In fact, the federal level eschews any judicial elections. Judges are all appointed, from district court judges to the Supreme Court. Each is first nominated by the president and must then be confirmed by the U.S Senate…
Iran’s Leaders Fall Into Line Behind Nuclear Accord
NEW YORK TIMES: …It was perhaps the first time that conservatives — in this case mostly young people genuinely disappointed over the compromises Iran has made to reach a nuclear agreement — seemed disconnected from the power structure here. Analysts say the message from the top is clear: Get with the program. Senior officials, important […]
The rush to humiliate the poor
WASHINGTON POST OPINION: …“I have seen people purchasing filet mignons and crab legs” with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, the legislator explained, according to The Post’s Roberto A. Ferdman. “When I can’t afford it on my pay, I don’t want people on the taxpayer’s dime to afford those kinds of foods either.” Never mind that […]
Emanuel claims victory over Garcia, secures second term
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Mayor Rahm Emanuel soundly defeated challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia on Tuesday, capturing a second term in Chicago’s first-ever runoff election and striking a note of humility by thanking voters for “a second term and a second chance.” The win followed six weeks of a hard-fought, nationally watched second round in which Garcia tried […]
America will lose patience with European appeasement
FINANCIAL TIMES COLUMN: …Europe’s elites are post-historical. Living in history means living in a world of constant threat where there is no nightwatchman to keep the peace among nations, so nations must keep the peace themselves by maintaining a balance of power. But for 70 years Europe has relied on the US to do exactly […]
Does U of P Health System intend to become a health insurance company like Geisinger?
“ The insurance company would not only have every incentive to control the doctors’ and the hospitals’ costs, but also the means to do so. … Conversely, the hospitals and doctors would have no incentive to inflate costs or overtreat, because their ultimate boss… would be getting `the bill when those extra costs hit his insurance company. [Glenn Steele, Jr.] had already proved this on a smaller scale at Geisinger.”
Capitolwire: Surveyed voters overwhelmingly support medical marijuana, but the legislators representing them aren’t so sure.
Yet, in a Quinnipiac poll released Monday, 88 percent of 1,036 voters surveyed support adults using marijuana for medical purposes “or if their doctor prescribes it.”
LETTER: “Fina is a crooked cop”
Kathlene Kane promised to do a “no stone unturned” investigation of the Sandusky investigation, but limited her investigation to a small rubble pile in the midst of a boulder field. At a minimum, she should have addressed the fraudulent presentation and obvious evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
Chuck Schumer bucks White House on Iran
POLITICO: Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of Capitol Hill’s most influential voices in the Iran nuclear debate, is strongly endorsing passage of a law opposed by President Barack Obama that would give Congress an avenue to reject the White House-brokered framework unveiled last week. The comments Monday by the Democratic leader-in-waiting illustrate the enormity of […]
Iran and the Obama Doctrine
“Iran’s defense budget is $30 billion. Our defense budget is closer to $600 billion. Iran understands that they cannot fight us. … You asked about an Obama doctrine. The doctrine is: We will engage, but we preserve all our capabilities.”