It is educational and a bit humbling to note the overwhelming different reactions to our views of our readers on two very different subjects.
Tag: featured
Fear and loathing in Hungary
One would think that such an oppressive political climate combined with rising poverty levels would result in greater disaffection, if not open rebellion as it did in 1956. But EU membership serves as an enormous safety valve on Hungarian society. Anyone fed up with the “Christian nationalist” government of Viktor Orbán is at liberty to pack up and move to Germany or England, which is precisely what hundreds of thousands of Hungarians have done since Viktor Orbán and Fidesz returned to power in 2010.
The value of apologies; the meaning of charity
Two article in Thursday’s New York Times touched upon important ethical issues.
Here Comes the Big One: The ReformCA Marijuana Legalization Initiative
The Control, Regulate and Tax Cannabis Act of 2016 would allow people 21 and over to possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana and it would set up legal marijuana commerce overseen by a pair of new state agencies, the California Cannabis Commission and the Office of Cannabis Regulatory Affairs.
To retake the Pennsylvania legislature, Democrats first must regain the state Supreme Court
Whichever party controls the court appoints a tie-breaking member to the redistricting commission and most recently, that has been a Republican who voted for partisan gerrymanders.
Another example of media bias against A. G. Kathleen Kane
“Rules of the Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates judges, and the Disciplinary Board of the State Supreme Court, which investigates attorneys, require complaints be kept confidential except under limited circumstances. [Ms. Kane’s spokesman Chuck Ardo] said the rules do not apply to people initiating the complaint, however.”
Hillary Clinton says she does not support Trans-Pacific Partnership
Speaking at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, as part of a two-day swing through the leadoff caucus state, Clinton said that she’s worried “about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement” and that “pharmaceutical companies may have gotten more benefits and patients fewer.”
Capitolwire: Performance audit highlights ‘dereliction of duty’ at state Department of Education.
In the 80-page report, DePasquale says “misguided leadership” and a “dereliction of duty” at both agencies left 561 under-performing schools without any help recovering from academic distress and the state, itself, without a master education plan for the last 16 years.
Thousands of federal drug inmates set for early release
The more than 5,500 inmates set to go free in November are among the first of what could eventually be tens of thousands eligible for release. The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted last year to retroactively apply substantially lower recommended sentences for those convicted of drug-related felonies.
KEISLING: Pressure builds for U.S. Justice Department to investigate PA Supreme Court’s porn email chain
A state official who asked not to be identified said a federal prosecutor recently called for a special prosecutor to examine the email chain.
TSUKERMAN: Attitude of Russian public to Putin’s bombing of Syria
“The Government’s decision is consistent with international law and the mentality of our people, that is for peacekeeping, the moral, the active role that Russia has always played in different parts of the world, especially in the Middle East… The fight against terrorism, the struggle for justice and peace, for the dignity of people who are experiencing the challenge of terrorism – is the sacred struggle.”
Capitolwire: Amid budget debacle, House wants to move medical cannabis bill by year’s end.
In the report, the group struck a balance between SB 3 and the “far more conservative” House Bill 1432 by allowing 14 qualifying illnesses — including chronic pain and PTSD — but limiting the number of licenses and dispensaries.
MORRIS: “Cadillac Tax” for Obamacare bothers labor unions, too
The “Cadillac Tax,” a form of excise assessment, would charge employers to pay 40 percent of the cost of benefits in excess of $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family to continue to subsidize Obamacare.
On Hungarian frontier, support for prime minister’s tough refugee stance
“The government didn’t spend its time or money on preparing for the refugee crisis. Instead, they spend their time and money exploiting the situation for domestic political purposes,” said Andras Biro-Nagy, head of research for Policy Solutions, a Budapest think tank…