by psmith, February 17, 2016, 03:15am, (Issue #920) This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here. No state east of the Mississippi has legalized marijuana, but that’s very likely to change this year, and New England will be leading the way. Two of the six New England states will likely […]
KEISLING: Bill Cosby’s case raises important legal, social and political issues
With a personal wealth once estimated at $400 million, television star Bill Cosby can certainly afford a long-running interlocutory appeal. The rich irony is that the Philadelphia street urchins like Fat Albert and Weird Harold, whose stories propelled Cosby to fortune and fame from his street days in Philadelphia, probably could never afford such an […]
Capitolwire: AG Kane won’t seek re-election.
By Kevin Zwick Staff Reporter Capitolwire SCRANTON (Feb. 16) – Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced Tuesday she is not seeking re-election, capping a stunning fall from the height of state Democratic politics. Kane, a first-term Democrat who is facing criminal charges and potential impeachment, vowed to continue to “fight tirelessly” against the “good ole’ boys […]
MILLER: In school funding impasse, we have met the enemy
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: “Who is to blame for the school budget mess we have in Harrisburg?” the pollsters ask. By Dick Miller Governor Wolf? Legislators? Republicans or Democrats? All of the above certainly bear some burden, but, so does each one of us. We allowed these so-called public officials to be elected or re-elected. A split ballot […]
Is Donald Trump running on the wrong ticket?
According to the New York Times’s article “Fewer Candidates in Debate but Plenty of Punches Thrown”: “Mr. Trump declared forcefully, to a national audience, that President George W. Bush had deliberately lied to the country in order to start a war. Red-faced and shouting, Mr. Trump said President Bush was to blame for not averting […]
Scalia’s Absence Is Likely to Alter Court’s Major Decisions This Term
NEW YORK TIMES: Justice Antonin Scalia’s death will complicate the work of the Supreme Court’s eight remaining justices for the rest of the court’s term, probably change the outcomes of some major cases and, for the most part, amplify the power of its four-member liberal wing. It takes five votes to accomplish most things […]
Emails show Kane on defensive as political troubles mount
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER:… For Kane, the game changer was an article in The Inquirer published March 16, 2014, disclosing that the previous year she had secretly shut down a corruption investigation that caught elected officials on tape pocketing cash. Within days, Kane had hired prominent Philadelphia lawyer Richard A. Sprague to pursue a possible defamation lawsuit… […]
TSUKERMAN: “The night of the long shovels” in Moscow
By Slava Tsukerman Ninety-seven kiosks and small shopping centers located near or around Moscow monumental subway stations were demolished during the night starting February 8 as “illegal”. The demolition was a result of the city government’s decision to remove structures, which in their opinion, were built without formal planning permission, were making the city ugly, presented some […]
SMITH: A Maryland Lawmaker’s Paradigm-Shifting Approach to the Heroin and Pain Pill Crisis
By Phil Smith DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: With nearly 47,000 Americans dying of drug overdoses in 2014 — more than from gunshots or car crashes — the problem of heroin and prescription opioid (pain pill) addiction is getting well-deserved attention. From community town halls to state capitals, as well as in Congress and on the rival […]
Top Republicans Stay Quiet on Release of Their Tax Returns
NEWSMAX: Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, offered this year’s hopefuls advice about a hard-learned lesson: Release your tax returns before the primaries and avoid tough scrutiny later. But the top three Republicans leading in national polls don’t appear to be listening. Even as other candidates — most notably Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush […]
LETTER: Is Kane carrying out a real investigation of ”old boy network?”
I keep hearing about how she is going to take down the old boy network, but I have yet to hear one concrete allegation aside from the e-mails. This is probably going to turn out like her investigation into how Corbett delayed it to protect somebody or another. That one blew up in her face […]
KEISLING: Failed vote to oust AG Kathleen Kane portends real trouble for state’s long-entrenched political and media interests
The fall of the House of Insiders “Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie, for tellin’ fortunes better than they do?” – Bruce Springsteen by Bill Keisling For more than a year Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s opponents in government and the media put out a script that everyone else was supposed […]
LNP editorial doubles down on its bad call for the removal of Attorney General Kane despite all of the recent disclosures.
By Robert Field Editorial “The problem with Kathleen Kane: How can the attorney general be unable to practice as an attorney?” studiously ignores the significance of all that has been revealed over the past two months. According to the article, “Attorney General Kathleen Kane has done the commonwealth a great service by revealing the […]
Graham Spanier files breach of contract suit against Penn State; defamation action against Louis Freeh
PATRIOT NEWS: Reopening a long-delayed fight for his reputation, former Penn State President Graham Spanier filed separate lawsuits Wednesday against the university and its chief Jerry Sandusky investigator, Louis Freeh… Spanier claims Penn State trustees and Freeh colluded to make him, his top administrators and former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno fall guys […]