LEGAL INTELLIGENCER: Attorney General Kathleen Kane has hired Bruce L. Castor Jr. as solicitor general, making him second-in-command at the Office of Attorney General. Kane announced the hire Tuesday. According to OAG spokesman Chuck Ardo, Castor will be Kane’s chief policy adviser, and will implement all nonlaw-related policy. “He is certainly the highest-ranking lawyer at […]
At least 180K join GOP as Pa. primary nears
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: …At least 128,000 voters statewide have changed their registration since Jan. 1 to join the party. Nearly 85,000 of them had been Democrats; 42,000 were independents or third-party voters. The GOP has also racked up 55,468 more first-time registrants. The changes reflect what experts are calling an unprecedented number of party switches […]
Kane Denied Bench Recusal, Quashal of Charges
LEGAL INTELLIGENCER: Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s bid to have the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas bench recused from her case, as well as a number of other motions she sought, have been denied…. In her March 4 omnibus motion, Kane had argued that three Montgomery County judges have an interest in her case, so […]
The Unfolding Story Of Latin America
NEWSLANC EDITOR: Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers represent the left of the Left. Make of the below what you will. Zeese may be ‘left’ on somethings, but has been proven been ‘right’ (as in correct) on a lot of others, most notably drug policy reform and harm reduction. NEWSLETTER ARGENTINA, BOLIVA, BRAZIL, CUBA, DEMOCRACY, ECUADOR, HONDURAS, IMPERIALISM, OLIGARCHY, VENEZUELA By Kevin Zeese and Margaret […]
State budget impasse? Certainly not settled yet
By Dick Miller (261) Sunday, March 27, 2016 – Is the protracted state government budget impasse over? Not exactly. Republican legislators claim victory because the spending formula for fiscal year 2015-16 calls for no state tax increase. A more exact meaning to the preceding is that no forthcoming tax increases will be blamed on GOP lawmakers, […]
Robert Ebeling, Challenger Engineer Who Warned of Disaster, Dies at 89
NEW YORK TIMES: …Mr. Ebeling (pronounced EBB-ling), an engineer at Thiokol, knew what the rest of the world did not: that the rubber O-rings designed to seal the joints between the booster rocket’s segments performed poorly in cold weather. A severe cold snap in Florida was about to subject the O-rings to temperatures more […]
Government rental subsidies far superior economically than construction subsidies
By Robert Field An LNP article “CH&E to bul Wilkes-Barre affordable housing project” reported a $14 million budget to build 56 units, which comes to $250,000 a unit. This must be at least $75,000 per unit, and perhaps $100,000, more than it would cost to develop such a project conventionally. This is not a negative […]
Some facts about Joseph Stalin
By Slava Tsukerman On March 12, NewsLanc published my article about Russians commemorating Anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s Death. In the article I didn’t hide my negative feelings toward those who today praise Stalin. And to my great surprise some of the NewsLanc readers disagreed with me. Here are their comments: “Stalin consolidated Socialism in the […]
Heroin Epidemic Is Yielding to a Deadlier Cousin: Fentanyl
NEW YORK TIMES: …Fentanyl, which looks like heroin, is a powerful synthetic painkiller that has been laced into heroin but is increasingly being sold by itself — often without the user’s knowledge. It is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine. A tiny bit can […]
Why the columnists at the New York Times produce so much junk
By Robert Field The first thing the New York Times should do is limit columnists to the publication of one article a month. No one can produce a worthwhile column each and every week. For example, Paul Krugman has been writing variations of the same three or four articles, if that many, for a decade. […]
Ethics court fines former Justice Eakin $50,000 for lewd emails.
CENTRE TIMES / AP: Pennsylvania’s judicial ethics court fined a former state Supreme Court justice $50,000 on Thursday, one week after he resigned because of his role in a sweeping scandal over lewd and objectionable emails exchanged within the state’s law enforcement circles. The court expressed “disgust,” saying former Justice Michael Eakin “dramatically lessened […]
PA State Police admit they can’t investigate — the State Police
We don’t need another incomplete cover-up by the Office of Inspector General of the State Police Academy cheating scandal — we need a real investigation with teeth by the Attorney General’s office by Bill Keisling How bad is corruption in Pennsylvania government? Last week Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Tyree Blocker sent a […]
Court won’t alter judge retirement age amendment language (but)
AP NEWS: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down a request to tweak a constitutional amendment voters are scheduled to decide next month regarding judges’ mandatory retirement age, but it’s possible the ballot measure could be pushed back to November under revised language… But the 5-to-0 court opinion said its decision did not […]
A remarkable video concerning newly organized York syringe exchange
This spring Common Sense for Drug Policy will expand to York its support of syringe exchanges in Reading, Lancaster and Harrisburg . Below is a remarkable description via a video that was put together by York volunteers concerning what the harm reduction program will accomplish: http://www.ydr.com/videos/opinion/editorials/2016/03/22/82113222/