Do we want a good shave or a status symbol? My Italian barber prides himself in shaving with a straight blade. I won’t tell him (for fear of my life), but it leaves more stubble than the safety blades I use. I have been buying Gillette Fusion blades, so costly that they are kept under […]
Commitments on Three Fronts Test Obama’s Foreign Policy
EDITOR: Buried at the bottom of a page midway in the front section of Thursday’s New York Times, this article is a profound analysis of foreign policy challenges that President Barack Obama and the USA faces in today’s turbulent world.
The Innocent on Death Row
NEW YORK TIMES Editorial: The exoneration of two North Carolina men who spent 30 years in prison — one on death row — provides a textbook example of so much that is broken in the American justice system. And it is further evidence (as though more were needed) that the death penalty is irretrievably flawed […]
Hoping PA right-to-know request has a ghost of a chance
Perhaps my right-to-know request can be summed up by asking, “Who you gonna call?” If the department won’t respond to my questions, where can I get answers? If the work was done, show us the work. If the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the governor will stop their stonewalling, perhaps we can see reality and not just ghostly apparitions
Barack Obama, David Cameron: ‘We Won’t Be Cowed By Barbaric Murderers’
HUFFINGTON POST: World leaders, nervously eyeing a growing threat from Islamic State militants, will seek to build a united front this week against the violent extremist group and keep it from creeping beyond its borders… [President] Obama and [Prime Minister] Cameron co-authored an op-ed published Wednesday evening in the Times of London, accusing the militant […]
Democrat Chad Taylor’s exit shakes up U.S. Senate race in Kansas
KANSAS CITY STAR: …[Chad] Taylor’s stunning decision Wednesday to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race forced partisans and analysts to recalculate the potential outcome of the Kansas contest… After surviving a brutal GOP primary in August, Roberts — and other Republicans — were counting on a four-way election to split his opposition, giving the veteran […]
USA TODAY cuts 60 to 70 jobs due to declining print ads
USA TODAY: …”USA TODAY is working to align its staffing levels to meet current market conditions,” the newspaper said in a statement. “The actions taken today will allow USA TODAY to reinvest in the business to ensure the continued success of its digital transformation.” In the second quarter, Gannett reported that its publishing advertising revenue […]
Marijuana Legalization Supported By A Growing Majority Of Americans, Survey Shows
HUFFINGTON POST: … The survey, released last week from online polling data company CivicScience, asked more than 450,000 U.S. adults over the last two years this question: “Would you support or oppose a law in your state that would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana like alcohol?” Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they support marijuana legalization […]
Active Role in Class Helps Black and First-Generation College Students, Study Says
NEW YORK TIMES: The trend away from classes based on reading and listening passively to lectures, and toward a more active role for students, has its most profound effects on black students and those whose parents did not go to college, a new study of college students shows. Active learning raised average test scores more […]
RMU poll has Wolf with 31-point lead
That poll drew the ire of Corbett’s campaign manager, Mike Barley, who launched a Twitter barrage against respected F&M pollster G. Terry Madonna, calling the results a “junk poll.” In turn, Democrats mocked Barley for attacking the proverbial messenger as Corbett has trailed Wolf in virtually every poll following the primary…
Ukraine crisis: Obama in Estonia ahead of Nato summit
BBC: US President Barack Obama has arrived in Estonia for talks on Russia and the Ukraine crisis with Baltic leaders… Correspondents say the three states, which joined Nato in 2004, are worried about Russia’s intervention in Ukraine… Nato recently announced plans to set up the force to protect Eastern European members against possible Russian aggression… […]
9-foot Joe Frazier statue rising in Philadelphia
“Properly promoted, I think it would be much, much bigger than Rocky,” said Robin Hazel, who was visiting the city recently from Ottawa, Canada. “Rocky is great, it’s a movie. But Joe Frazier’s real. And he’s Philadelphia.”…
Rybinsk Reservoir, a Russian Atlantis by design
The Rybinsk Reservoir, often called by Russians the Rybinsk Sea, is a reservoir on the Volga River, formed by the Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam. At the time of its construction (1935-1947), it was the largest man-made body of water on Earth.
Pragmatism trump politics
The Department of Health and Human Services last week accepted Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to use federal money to pay private companies to provide health coverage to uninsured people. Many work in low-paying jobs and about 600,000 Pennsylvanians could benefit from the expansion, which is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1…