Israel is now right up there with America as one of the most unequal societies in the advanced world. And Israel’s experience shows that this matters, that extreme inequality has a corrosive effect on social and political life…
Tag: featured
The power of the PA Millennial boom
In Pennsylvania, there are more than 2.8 million of them. More than half a million of them are concentrated in Pennsylvania’s two largest cities, with more than 450,000 living in Philadelphia and more than 100,000 in Pittsburgh…
How Business Made USA Christian (???)
The first thing that came to mind while reading this prominent article that covers most of the front page of the Sunday Review was how old is the author?
Travel to Asia and a book on Putin led to reflections on Lancaster
Over half a century ago when we first arrived in Lancaster, the public’s business was conducted with transparency. The Steinman newspapers and TV station were devoted to the public good, both in reporting and through philanthropy. Business investment was encouraged and, when perceived to have merit, funded by the banks. Business thrived and investors, not the public, assumed the risks.
FORWARD: How Bibi’s Speech Raises Stakes for All of Us
But he didn’t talk to a broader America weary of yet another Middle East war and skeptical of military intervention in that messy region. He didn’t show Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China why a better deal, or a military option, is better for them. They are the ones at the negotiating table; not Israel.
Syracuse, Boeheim and the N.C.A.A. (Deja vu Penn State?)
I have dwelled on this report because it illustrates that despite the blows it has taken recently — in court and elsewhere — the N.C.A.A. remains not only a powerful institution, but one that is all too willing to abuse that power.
The Russian Laundromat
The tax haven of choice in this operation was Belize, and the sums involved in each transaction were huge, ranging from US$ 100-800 million.
For those ACA haters who believe that government is the problem
…20 to 25 percent in cost to oversee claims and otherwise manage the company was par for the course – despite the fact that administrative costs to pay for health care in other countries were typically closer to 5 percent 9meaning a 95 percent MLR) and Medicare’s administrative costs were les than 1 percent.”
Inquirer exclusive: How the perjury case against Kane was built (Purports to be ‘news’)
Kane’s camp has said she authorized the release of only one record: a 2014 summary of Peifer’s interview with the agent. She has said she did not believe the summary was covered by grand jury secrecy rules and presumed that it, not other material, would be shared with the Daily News.
KEISLING: The moral and ethical decline of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Part 2
For many in Pennsylvania, the suicide of state Treasurer Budd Dwyer remains the day when the Philadelphia Inquirer permanently went off the rails, created a fall guy, and made state politics a senseless, inhumane blood sport, not governed by facts, fairness, or basic human decency.
Capitolwire: Feds offer more PA-specific details about insurance exchange enrollments.
According to the DHHS data, 81 percent of state residents who qualified for a federal tax credit toward their insurance premiums could have gotten insurance coverage for less than $100 a month (with the credit included), but only 51 percent actually selected such a plan. Sixty-two percent could have gotten coverage for less than $50 per month, but only 23 percent did.
Come to Rome for the cathedrals, the ruins . . . and the red-light district?
EDITOR: The ‘streetwalker’ problem has been largely eliminated in the USA by Escort Services.
Admiral Sestak condemns breach of U.S. foreign policy protocol by Senate Republicans
Senators have the absolute right to argue and disagree with the President’s approach to any issue. But for Sen. Toomey to sign a letter to a foreign leader urging that leader to ignore the institution of the American Presidency is inexcusable, embarrassing, and shows a lack of experience and understanding about America’s standing in the world, led first and foremost by the U.S. President.
The Feel-Good Gene
People with the variant FAAH gene are less anxious and are thus less inclined to like marijuana. They actually experience a decrease in happiness when smoking marijuana, compared with those with the normal FAAH gene, who find it pleasurable.