WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL: …[Donald Trump’s] politics are fundamentally personal, and not merely in the sense that he is compelled to make himself the center of attention. The businessman’s convictions on public matters are elusive; he is an unreliable guide to his own program, which can change from day to day; and to the […]
Kane seeks to keep feud with Philly D.A. from jurors
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: …Kane said the sting had been poorly run by former state prosecutor Frank Fina and might have been marred by racial targeting. Fina vehemently rejected that criticism. Williams spoke out in favor of Fina, whom he had hired as a prosecutor, and, acting on a dare from Kane, resurrected the investigation. He […]
Different gun laws at Cleveland and Philadelphia conventions: A tale of two cities
Although Pennsylvania law permits open carry of firearms elsewhere in the state, protesters at the Philadelphia Democratic convention can’t openly carry rifles and pistols without a permit, as can protesters in Cleveland. by Bill Keisling Pennsylvania law enforcement officials preparing for next week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia have an advantage over their counterparts at […]
The World Affairs Club throws me a line
The senior year at Lower Merion High School may have been the nadir of my life. As a junior, I had joined members of the class ahead of me in writing and producing a musical comedy for school production and editing the school newspaper. It was a very happy time and a major step in […]
Crimea Today
By Slava Tsukerman In 2014, right after annexation of Crimea, Boris Nemtsov, one of the leaders of Russian opposition and now assassinated, predicted that upkeep of Crimea would cost Russia $4 billion dollars annually. Upkeep of Chechnya had cost then $1.5 -2 billion. So Crimea, in terms of finances, would mean for Russia having two […]
Coaches at Penn State on defenses over Sandusky
LEHIGH VALLEY MORNING CALL / AP: … [Jerry] Sandusky’s former colleagues found themselves on the defensive because of claims in court documents unsealed last week that some assistants who spent time in the program while he was there may have witnessed Sandusky abusing children as far back as the 1980s… Three of the four coaches […]
LETTER: The lower middle class & the poor are being crushed
The lower middle class & the poor are being crushed by the last 2 years of new taxes. PA’s gasoline tax is the highest in the country at 51.9 cents per gallon. The poor & lower middle class are hurt the most by this as they have no extra income to cover it. The lower […]
State budget more “smoke”
By Dick Miller WE.CONNECT.DOTS: – -Republican controlled Pennsylvania legislature has won another budget battle. Democratic Governor Tom Wolf is now half-way through his term with little to show. Wolf defeated Republican Tom Corbett when voters decided that Corbett did not deserve a second term. In the Republican’s case, even with both chambers of the General […]
David Brooks’ column starts brilliantly but fizzles out
By Robert Field In columnist David Brook’s opinion piece “We Take Care of Our Own” published in the New York Time and re-published by LNP, he brings to our attention: “People committed to coherent communities will fight to defend the norms that hold communities together. They accept immigrants who assimilate to existing culture, but […]
The Republican platform committee rejects medical marijuana
by Phil Smith psmith, DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: NationalOn Monday, the GOP rejected a medical marijuana platform plank. Republican delegates meeting Monday in Cleveland ahead of the party’s national convention voted against endorsing medical marijuana in their party platform. The vote came after contentious debate, with some delegates making claims about marijuana reminiscent of Reefer Madness. […]
In Surprise Reversal, Democrats Call for “Pathway” to Marijuana Legalization
by Phil Smith psmith, DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: Meeting in Orlando Saturday ahead of the Democratic National Convention later this month, the party’s platform drafting committee dropped a moderate marijuana plank it had adopted only days earlier and replaced it with language calling for rescheduling pot and creating “a reasoned pathway to future legalization.” Bernie […]
“A Dead Son or a Living Daughter”: A Conversation with the Mother of a Transgender Child
BY ARON HIRT-MANHEIMER , 7/15/2016 I first met Eva in a Temple Tots program that my wife and I conducted at our Reform congregation in a small New England town. At that time, Eva was about 3 years old and living as a boy. She is now 10 years old, and we recently saw her […]
Stop Using That One Study to Pretend Racism Doesn’t Exist in Police Shootings
Samuel Sinyangwe July 14, 2016 medium.com The media—led by the New York Times—took an inconclusive study focused on a limited number of cases and made it a national story undercutting the notion that racial bias exists in police shootings. , , This week, a new study reported by the New York Times made waves […]
LNP’S accusations against Paterno counter factual
LNP editorial “This much is indisputable: Paterno knew he should have done more to protect children” goes on to say: “Even Paterno, in an interview shortly before he died, said he wished he had “done more” when McQueary told him in 2001 he’d seen Sandusky sexually abusing a child in the football showers.” However, Assistant […]