PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL: …How can Corbett not be held accountable for presiding over a culture that would tolerate such stuff? His acclaimed ignorance that it was going on is no excuse. In fact, as a leader, his cluelessness constitutes a form of permission. Meanwhile, two people involved in this scandal are now employed by […]
Where do we sign?
“Texas Secession Petition Racks Up More Than 80,000 Signatures” … Huntington Post
Virginia Shooting Spotlights Riddle of Workplace Safety
NEW YORK TIMES: …It is a nightmare for any employer: what to do with a volatile, constantly aggrieved worker who has had angry, even frightening confrontations with fellow workers — yet has committed no crime. Because he had no convictions and had not been adjudicated mentally ill, Mr. Flanagan was able to legally purchase from […]
In landmark case, labor board will let more workers bargain with their employer’s employer
EDITOR: Still more… WASHINGTON POST: …The board’s action is just the latest to tackle the trend. The Department of Labor has cracked down on employer misclassification of independent contractors, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has directed inspectors to consider whether principal employers might be at fault for the safety violations of their subcontractors. […]
John Boehner Calls Ted Cruz ‘Jackass’ at Colorado Fundraiser
NEWSMAX: House Speaker John Boehner fired a stunning blast at Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, reportedly calling him a “jackass” during a Colorado fundraiser. The Daily Caller, citing two people who attended the Steamboat Springs event for GOP Rep. Scott Tipton, reports Boehner glibly remarked that he liked that Cruz’s presidential campaign keeps “that jackass” […]
NLRB rules against business in pivotal joint-employer decision
THE HILL: …. The labor board determined Browning-Ferris should be considered a “joint employer” with the Phoenix-based staffing agency. As a result, the company can be pulled into collective bargaining negotiations with those employees and held liable for any labor violations committed against them. The NLRB ruling is a sharp departure from previous decisions that […]
U. S. Economy grew at 3.7% pace in Second Quarter
WALL STREET JOURNAL: …The Commerce Department said Thursday the nation’s gross domestic product—the government’s broadest measure of economic output—expanded at a 3.7% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the spring, faster than the initial estimate of a 2.3% growth rate. Other recent reports have shown gains in consumer confidence, retail sales and home building. Still, the […]
Labor Board Ruling Eases Way for Fast-Food Unions’ Efforts
NEW YORK TIMES: The National Labor Relations Board, in a long-awaited ruling, made it easier on Thursday for unions to negotiate on behalf of workers at fast-food chains and other companies relying on contractors and franchisees. The ruling, adopted in a 3-to-2 vote along partisan lines, was immediately attacked by business groups, who called on […]
KEISLING: Kane preliminary hearing: an embarrassment in a free society
Political show trial pits Philadelphia newspapers and corrupt state officials against an alleged news source
Capitolwire: Kane blames porn ‘peddlers’ for legal woes in unsealed documents.
When she was set to release the pornographic emails publicly, she claims Fina and Costanzo “triggered this grand jury investigation, they made materially misleading statements to the court to obtain a protective order, and through their scheming they avoided public exposure.”
Poll: Biden outperforms Hillary in general election; Trump leads GOP field
POLITICO: Vice President Joe Biden has the best favorability rating among top 2016 contenders in either party, and he would run a little better than Hillary Clinton in the general election, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday that also shows Donald Trump increasing his lead in the GOP race. Biden, who […]
These Influential Marijuana Users Defy The Stoner Stereotype
According to MPP, only six candidates out of the more than two dozen making a run for the White House have said they never used marijuana. The others have either made it clear they have tried the substance, or have suggested that they may have at some point in their lives…
Biden probably won’t beat Clinton. He should run anyway.
WASHINGTON POST COLUMN: …The rationale — floated to me by a Biden lieutenant — is that the vice president could serve as a stalking horse. His entry would shake up the race and thereby lower the barriers for other, potentially better-positioned, candidates to join the fray. This could turn the Democratic contest into a free-wheeling […]
How to Deal With New Psychoactive Substances?
Not only is the prohibitionist reflex ineffective, it arguably increases the harms associated with the use of these drugs. But to ignore them or ban them aren’t the only policy choices, and some advocates are calling for these novel substances to instead be controlled and regulated. One model they point to is New Zealand, which instead of banning “legal highs,” moved to regulate them in 2013.