Pennsylvania
updated
9:05 p.m.
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A funny thing happened on the way to completing legislative redistricting in Pennsylvania: diverging from all prior experience, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the plan adopted by the Legislative Redistricting Commission (LRC) was invalid and remanded it back for a second drawing. In so doing, the court threw PA's primary process--scheduled to be held at the end of April--into cha...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - 1:45 p.m. - 8 clicks 
Third and State celebrated its one-year anniversary this week. We launched on February 1, 2011, and 350 posts later we're still going strong. We couldn't do it without our readers, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back at what posts you liked the most. And so we bring you a countdown of the top 10 most viewed blog posts at Third and State. 10. Governor Corbett Unveils 2011-12 ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - 1:45 p.m. - 7 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . Lancaster Rep. Mike Sturla was quoted in Capitolwire (paywall) on a Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) proposal to limit access to SNAP, or food stamp, benefits to households with fewer than $5,500 in assets: "We're going to take the concept of the safety net and flip it and tell people they have to impo...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - 10:05 a.m. - 8 clicks
The news in the Pennsylvania Attorney General race is about the money the Democratic candidates have raised. PoliticsPA : Kane’s husband helps to run his family’s business, Kane Trucking in Scranton. He loaned $1.75 million to his wife’s campaign, reports PhillyClout , and contributed $500,000. The former Lackawanna County assistant District Attorney currently has $2,009,911 on h...
Gort42 - 5:09 a.m. - 12 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare submitted its final proposal to the federal Food and Nutrition Service for an asset test on SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps). As the Department explains in its proposal: The Department of Public Welfare has submitted its final plan to the Food...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Thu 2:21 p.m. - 5 clicks
HARRISBURG, PA – Late yesterdaythe Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected Bayer’s request to haltlegal proceedings over its birth control drug Yaz. “This is a huge victory forconsumers from Pennsylvania and across the United States” said Michael Morrill,Executive Director of Keystone Progress. “Bayer has been reckless indistributing a drug that had potentially lethal medical impacts.&n...
Keystone Progress blog - Thu 9:08 a.m. - 13 clicks
President of State Seniors’ Group Says New Food Stamp Rules will Hurt Families’ Efforts to Recover from Temporary Economic Problems Jean Friday, President of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, released the following statement regarding the imposition of new “asset tests” on food stamp benefits, which disqualify beneficiaries for having between $2000 and $4000 in savings...
Keystone Progress blog - Thu 8:41 a.m. - 10 clicks
As you may know, it is the "Year of the Bible" in Pennsylvania, thanks to unanimous support, from republicans and demmocrats alike, for a resolution introduced by Rep. Rick Saccone. I had a lively phone conversation with Saccone's office before we produced this one, in which I kept listing all the Bible laws that might be inconvenient in our times. The woman on the other e...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Wed 10:01 p.m. - 6 clicks
A blog post by Chris Lilienthal, originally published at Third and State . Legislative inaction on a natural gas drilling tax has cost Pennsylvania $300 million in lost revenue, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Our Drilling Tax Ticker tracks the revenue Pennsylvania has lost since October 1, 2009 by not having a tax in place. It shot past $300 million Monday morni...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Wed 1:08 p.m. - 11 clicks
Wed, 02/29/2012 Not trying to be comprehensive, just sharing stuff that interests me with people who might want it. If you don’t want to receive this please reply with “Unsubscribe” in subject line. Also posted to http://nwpapeace.org/ and www. erielead .org/ CALENDAR Feb 2 – “Why We Fight” Occupy Erie Movie Night 6:30pm MHA Bldg 11th ...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Wed 12:27 p.m. - 12 clicks
Keep up the pressure! Tell Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to fully fund public education and put teachers back to work. It took a court order, but the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania has enough funding to last through February 23. The unionized teachers who committed to work without pay have been granted a brief reprieve. But as we wrote, this is far from sufficien...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Wed 8:27 a.m. - 11 clicks
Six term Republican Todd Platts has walked his talk with regard to term limits, announcing his retirement after 6 terms. He seems to have caught some off guard and even aggravated his own party. It is an open seat. Why isn’t there more interest from the Democrats in contesting this district? ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Wed 3:46 a.m. - 4 clicks
(Click photo to enlarge) Lil Ricky came in third in the Florida primary, by the way, with 13.4% of the vote. (h/t to BagNewsNotes via AmericaBlog ) ...
2 Political Junkies - Wed 3:26 a.m. - 27 clicks
Florida - 6545 of 6796 Precincts Reporting - 96% Romney , Mitt 763,848 46% Gingrich , Newt 524,741 32% Santorum , Rick 219,634 13% Paul , Ron 115,271 7% Newt Gingrich said he is in it to the end but that could change tomorrow. He also brought up President Obama's singing and blew the food stamp dog whistle again. Mitt Romney read a speech off a teleprompter saying ...
Gort42 - Tue 11:45 p.m. - 12 clicks
A former Carney staffer dropped this into my inbox: . SCOLLO FOR CONGRESS . Phil Scollo, 56, a resident of Dingman Township, Pike County, announces his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination to run for Congress in the 10th District. The decision comes on the heels of last week’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that quashed proposed redistricting and, with it, Mr. Scollo’s plan to...
Gort42 - Tue 11:45 p.m. - 15 clicks
From Nothington Post : I’m a registered Republican, and I’m ashamed of the GOP Since Pennsylvania makes me choose a party in order to participate in our electoral system, I chose Republican because in the old, and classic definition of the word; I’m a conservative. Conservative used to mean you wanted sound money. Conservative used to mean balanced budgets and spending within our mean...
Gort42 - Tue 11:45 p.m. - 11 clicks
Newt Gingrich is a Republican running for President. Newt (Best name for a prospective President, EVER!) has proposed that the United States establish a base on the moon by 2020, and eventually create a new American State. Newt has endured the predictable ridicule for his proposal, but lost in the laughter was a statement from mayoral Spokesman and advisor Mike Fleck that the Ma...
The Lehigh Valley Political Blog - Tue 5:02 p.m. - 15 clicks
A blog post by Michael Wood, originally published at Third and State . The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is telling the stories of Pennsylvanians impacted by five years of state service cuts in a new series called the Price of Service Cuts. In today's installment, we take a look at funding cuts to higher education and how that is helping to make college even more unaffordable fo...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Tue 10:40 a.m. - 12 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) has released local data on jobs in December. Later today L&I will release the full data here . What follows is a run down of how newspapers across the commonwealth covered the new release. Sean Adkins, York Daily Record — Restaurant's serving up jobs whi...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Tue 7:23 a.m. - 5 clicks
Remember this blogpost from this weekend? It was the one where Grover Norquist threatened that if the Bush tax cuts aren't extended and if the Ryan Plan for restructuring Medicare wasn't implemented, the GOP would Impeach President Obama. At the end of it, I asked Senator Toomey (since he'd signed one of Norquist's tax-pledges) whether he'd be in favor of impeachment if those criteri...
2 Political Junkies - Tue 4:28 a.m. - 23 clicks
The last few press releases I got from Congressman Lou Barletta have me confused. He votes for a Balanced Budget Amendment that would gut what is called discretionary spending ending just about every social program that the federal government funds. In his response to President Obama's State of the Union address he decried that "Since the president took office, a record number of Ameri...
Gort42 - Tue 2:08 a.m. - 15 clicks
Tom Corbett thinks you should starve if you're poor and trying to save up some money. Just when you thought Republicans could not get more barbaric, the Governor of Pennsylvania has decided to reinstate an asset test for recipients of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps), which means that someone who has assets (not including their house and first c...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Mon 10:26 p.m. - 13 clicks
A blog post by Chris Lilienthal, originally published at Third and State . The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center is telling the stories of Pennsylvanians impacted by five years of state service cuts in a new series called the Price of Service Cuts. In today's installment, we take a look at funding cuts to services that help victims of domestic violence. After suffering abuse,...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Mon 3:06 p.m. - 12 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . In the State of the Union address last week, President Obama called for more investment in programs that link training in higher education to employers. This morning the Harrisburg Patriot-News has an excellent article detailing one such program here in Central Pennsylvania. Diana Fishlock, Patriot-News - ArcelorM...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Mon 9:09 a.m. - 12 clicks
January 27, 2012 by Tina Shannon You might think it depressing to stand in a parking lot in a cold blowing rain on a Saturday afternoon to protest for our voting rights. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over fifty people, black & white, young and old, stood together outside State Senator Elder Vogel’s [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Sun 8:27 p.m. - 13 clicks
I recently worked with CNN to 'decode' testimony from the preliminary hearing on perury charges surrounding the alleged sexual molestation of young boys by fallen Penn State assistant footbal coach, Jerry Sandusky. The testimony provided fodder for mulitiple theories about masculinity, sexuality, secrets and organization cover up. Read more hear... I was pleased to be a part...
DrChuckSpeaks - Sun 5:08 p.m. - 12 clicks
No candidate was able to muster the two thirds vote necessary to get the Pennsylvania Democratic Party endorsement last weekend,Th e Next Stage gives the play by play. Since then Dan McCaffery decided he didn't have enough support and dropped out of the race . That leaves former Congressman Patrick Murphy and Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Kane vieing for the Democrat...
Gort42 - Sun 4:22 p.m. - 13 clicks
Matt Cartwright announced Tuesday that he take on Tim Holden for the Democratic nomination for the the newfangled 17th CD. His announcement speech was music to a lot of Democrats ears (via DWT ) saying " But when a handful of representatives from the Democratic Party turn their backs on the middle class, and start voting like Wall Street Republicans, something is really wrong. Som...
Gort42 - Sat 4:00 p.m. - 15 clicks
In what many will see as a boon to SEPA Irishman Pat Murphy, Philadelphia Irishman Dan McCaffery is out of the PA Attorney General race. That leaves Murphy to take on Kathleen Granahan Kane (an Irishwoman – there’s a trend here). This undoubtedly will make things a little tougher for Kane, as McCaffery and Murphy [...]...
NEPArtisan - Sat 2:27 p.m. - 37 clicks
An astute reader drew my attention this morning to some recently introduced business of super-duper-uber imporance to the Commonwealth, a Resolution declaring 2012 as the "Year of the Bible" in Pennsylvania . This hypocritical and unconstitutional resolution is from the legislative desk of State Representative Rick Saccone (R-Elizabeth). Who's a very interesting fellow, indeed....
2 Political Junkies - Sat 10:44 a.m. - 19 clicks
Establishment Clause? We don' need no stinkin' Establishment Clause. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Legislature brought to the floor a nonbinding resolution declaring 2012 "The Year of The Bible". So as to expedite the process, it was called "noncontroverisial", therefore bypassing committee hearings. It's the sheer arrogance and ignorance that gets me. The text of ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Sat 7:27 a.m. - 12 clicks
Have the Feds finally woken up, or is President Obama’s new initiative ordering the Justice Department to finally investigate possible criminal wrong doing by lenders in the “man-made disaster” that is the US foreclosure crisis merely an election-year PR ploy? Rachel puts the man charged with digging into the mortgage industry’s dirty dealings, NY State Attorney Ge...
Comments From Left Field - Sat 5:09 a.m. - 9 clicks
GREEN PARTY OF PHILADELPHIA (GPOP) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING, January 23, 2012, MINUTES The meeting began at 7:00 pm at Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, 700 North Third Street , Philadelphia , PA. Minutes by Chris Robinson, At-Large GPOP City Committee, in Mike Nance’s absence. Facilitated by Belinda Davis, GPOP Treasurer. Welcome to Northern Liberties by Vivek [...]...
Green Party of Philadelphia - Jan 27 - 11 clicks
WaPo : The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views. But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul &...
Comments From Left Field - Jan 27 - 11 clicks
http://www.yardbird.com/... Here's some highlights of an excellent piece of research published today by Bill Keisling IV. In late 2008, a parent went to authorities to report that Sandusky had sexually abused her son, who participated in Second Mile. The County District attorney shifted responsibility for the case over to Attorney General Tom Corbett in early 2009. Sandusky...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 27 - 13 clicks
In case you missed it, here's Lil Ricky at a recent event in Florida: The woman's voice in the clip says a number of things, among them: I never refer to Obama as President Obama, because, legally, he is not. And: And my question is: why isn’t something being done to get him out of our government? He has no legal right to be calling himself President. Two obvious birther references. ...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 27 - 42 clicks
I usually don't cover political happenings in Lackawanna County but my friend and fellow blogger Tom Borthwick of NEPartisan sent this along. . HAGGERTY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY IN THE 112TH Dunmore , Pa. -- Kevin Haggerty is pleased to officially announce his candidacy for Pennsylvania's 112 th legislative district. "I believe this district needs somebody who represents their va...
Gort42 - Jan 27 - 10 clicks
Take Action - Tell Governor Corbett to fully fund education in Pennsylvania! Last week, a federal judge ordered that the state of Pennsylvania release $3.2 million to fund the cash-strapped Chester Upland School District. For the students, as well as the unionized teachers who worked for free for several weeks after the district ran out of money in early January, the trouble is far fro...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 26 - 9 clicks
You know, as an African American male, I have to admit that putting up with the racially-motivated attacks on President Obama by the right-wing has been more than challenging, lo these past three years. My usual response has been to ignore most of the attacks (as there are so many) or talk about them over steaks and a martini at the Prime Rib, with a good fr...
DrChuckSpeaks - Jan 26 - 11 clicks
A blog post by Chris Lilienthal, originally published at Third and State . The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center launched a new series today featuring stories of Pennsylvanians impacted by five years of state service cuts. The first installment looks at the demise of the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) after it was cut deeply in the 2011-12 budget and how it ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 26 - 9 clicks
In the 2010 cycle Blue America backed Sheila Dow-Ford against reactionary Pennsylvania Blue Dog Tim Holden. 2010 was a conservative year and Holden won. Since then, he has voted (on crucial roll calls) with the Democrats 31.96% of the time. That's right-- Holden has backed the right-wing agenda espoused by Cantor and Boehner 68% of the time. But something else has happened since 2010-- PA-17 w...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 26 - 5 clicks
We Need Some ‘Street Heat’ on Sen. Elder Vogel, Join Us! By Tina Shannon Progressive Democrats of America Dear Friends & Fellow Progressives, The right wing in our nation has always and continually made every effort to keep people from voting. At one time only white male property owners could vote. This was expanded to [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Jan 26 - 8 clicks
As I've written elsewhere , my profoundest disappointment with the Obama Administration revolves around its refusal to prosecute the war crimes of the Bush Administration. Two days after his inauguration, the President signed Executive Order 13491 - ordering the US back into compliance with US and International Law regarding the use of torture - and that's a good thing, of course. Torture is ba...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 26 - 5 clicks
Pa. high court rejects remapping plan Wow. This is a surprise given that there are 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats on the court. Chief Justice Ronald Castille sided with the Democrats that the plan for the state legislature chopped up too many towns just to advantage the Republicans. . Justice Joan Orie Melvin predictably thought that was OK. In a 2009 appearance in Wilkes-Barre she gave a...
Gort42 - Jan 26 - 8 clicks
As re-reported here at Daily Kos , The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is at it again: The Inquirer began asking about Patterson's side job as editor of The Family in America, published by an Illinois-based research center that advocates for the "natural human family . . . established by the Creator." In the journal, Patterson has weighed in on everything from what he called "misgu...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 25 - 5 clicks
Yawn. The Trib's up in arms about ACORN . Again. And they're spinning reality so madly that one fears for their sanity. Again. Specifically I want you to look at the end of the second paragraph: Corrupt ACORN affiliate Project Vote -- former employer of President Obama -- is pulling Justice Department and White House strings to register more voters on public assistance, ...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 25 - 6 clicks
A blog post by Chris Lilienthal, originally published at Third and State . Pennsylvania Representatives Dave Reed and Eugene DePasquale rolled out legislation today that would take a first step towards closing corporate tax loopholes in Pennsylvania. Corporate tax loopholes have been a problem for a long time in Pennsylvania. They don’t create jobs but do drain needed resources from goo...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
[A shortened version of this also appeared on Jan 24, 2012 as an Op-Ed in Erie Times News' Opinion Pages/Another View] President Barack Obama invoked the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt before an audience in Kansas in December that “Government should help level the playing field to create equal opportunities”. This is profoundly important for America's future and for its middle class which needs...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
Mitt Romney, the front-runner Republican candidate for President, recently boasted about his record on job creation; this brought up his tenure as CEO of Bain Capital, a Private Equity firm, to the forefront of the national debate. Not only his mixed record on job creation at Bain was attacked by other Republican candidates and Democrats alike, but more importantly the nature and role of Priva...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 25 - 6 clicks
In early January, when Pennsylvania's Chester Upland school district ran out of money to pay teachers, but the teachers union passed a resolution that teachers would stay at work as long as they could afford to do so, math and literacy teacher Sara Ferguson was one of the leading voices explaining that decision. "We need the students to know that we’re here and we’re not abandoning them," ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 25
On the Topic of Obama, the GOP Can’t Even Blush Anymore By Carl Davidson Keep On Keepin’ On! If Hollywood gave Oscars for shamelessness, the Republican responses to President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night, Jan 24, would have swept the field. Take Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels, who gave the official GOP response: [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Jan 25 - 7 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a pretty good summary of the State of the Union. Here is the full text of the President's speech, and Wonkblog has a version of the speech with only what they define as specific policy proposals . What follows are our favorites from the speech. Community colleges and workforce d...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 25 - 2 clicks
Perhaps you've heard -- there's something ugly going on at Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV. Way back in July of 2010 the on-air staff at WTAE voted to be represented by the AFTRA union. But all this time later, they are still without a contract. In the meantime, according to the Fairness 4 WTAE Facebook page , staff have had long-scheduled, pre-approved vacations denied at the last minute; have had to ...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery State of the Union Address “An America Built to Last” Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 Washington, DC As Prepared for Delivery – Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. ...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
Mon, 02/20/2012 Jan 28 - Erie Food Not Bombs Vegan Meal Noon at Perry Square Erie PA For info or to become involved: (814)923-2032 eriefoodnotbombs@gmail.com Find on Facebook. “We recover food that would have been discarded and share it as a way of protesting war and poverty. With fifty cents of every U.S. federal tax dollar going to the military and forty percent of our food being d...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
Photo by Terrapin Flyer on Flickr, via Creative Commons In the Chester Upland School District in Pennsylvania, unionized teachers worked without pay for weeks after the district ran out of money. The district relies on state aid for 70 percent of its funding, and the $900 million in education cuts put in place by Republican Governor Tom Corbett have put teachers and students in an ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 24 - 2 clicks
Olyphant is the perfect example why redistricting should be left to independent professionals, not politicians looking to pad their party votes. The PA Republicans and Republican King Corbett did exactly what the people didn’t want when voting – confusion. I want to note I don’t live in Olyphant, but am in the same position – [...]...
NEPArtisan - Jan 24 - 4 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . Tonight President Obama will deliver his State of the Union Address to Congress. We are expecting the President to recommend an extension through the end of 2012 of extended unemployment insurance benefits and the payroll tax credit. It looks as though a major theme in the address — besides the catch phrase “built to last”...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 24
When I was younger (so much younger than today), living in Southern Connecticut in the early days of cable TV there, we were able to watch the local evening news from New York City along with the local evening news from New Haven or Hartford. I got to Roger Grimsby and Bill Buetel do the "Eyewitness" news on Channel 7. For a while, their weather guy was a man named "Tex" Antoine. I do...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
The papers are reporting that a guy from California will be offered the job as the first Luzerne County manager under home rule later today. The CV and the TL say the pick is Robert Lawton. I don't know much about him other than what I read in papers but certainly wish him the best. He is walking into a mess of a budget situation left over by former Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla , Steve U...
Gort42 - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
Leo Gerard Greets Mark Critz GOP-led Redistricting Unsettles Old Patterns By Timothy McNulty Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jan 23., 2012 – The United Steelworkers union announced its support this morning of U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, in the increasingly competitive race for the new 12th congressional district. Republican mapmakers combined the seats of Mr. Critz and fellow [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
From the inbox: Ransom Young announces today that he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for State Representative in the 116th district. Young, 57, a life-long resident of Butler Township with deep roots in Southern Luzerne County, owns and operates the family farm of four generations that has been enrolled under the Luzerne County Agricultural Preservation Program sinc...
Gort42 - Jan 23 - 4 clicks
This was sent along from my friend Kathy. All: It is my hope the newly elected Luzerne County Council does not hastily appoint citizens who do not qualify for positions on Boards, Authorities and Commissions. I also hope other citizens are given time and concern to apply and adjust schedules for interviews. Do not use this process to discourage or limit interested applicants. Below is par...
Gort42 - Jan 22 - 7 clicks
GREEN NIGHT OUT: End the War for Oil GREEN PARTY OF PHILADELPHIA, http://www.gpop.org/ http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=470 At Green Night Out on January 14, Toby Jones, Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University, discussed “The Long War: Oil and U.S. Power in the Middle East.” Jones explained to the diners that the U.S. War [...]...
Green Party of Philadelphia - Jan 22
Reading the Lansdale Reporter, I noticed two sound off articles that irked me. The article, Let's Occupy the classrooms instead and Pa. in need of education reform shows a disconnect from the solutions that our commonwealth and nation need. That solution is reasonable discussion and compromise, not cuts and righteousness. In the first article, the author tries to discuss the speck in liberal’s...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 21
I got an email from a friend a few minutes ago saying that Newt Gingrich will win the South Carolina primary with 40% of the vote based on his/her glimpse of the exit polls. We will see. This certainly has been a strange week in the weirdest presidential campaign seasons I have ever seen. On Thursday one story kept stepping on the other. It turns out that my favorite GOP candidate, Rick Santor...
Gort42 - Jan 21 - 2 clicks
It's almost official. From Borys : Attorney Matt Cartwright plans a "major announcement" Tuesday at a downtown Scranton hotel where he is expected to say he will seek the Democratic nomination to the 17 th Congressional District seat held by incumbent Rep. Tim Holden...Mr. Cartwright gave no indication of a dissatisfaction with him on issues, Mr. Holden said. We will see about that dis...
Gort42 - Jan 21 - 2 clicks
A blog post by Michael Wood, originally published at Third and State . Pennsylvania's revenue picture remains mixed as Governor Tom Corbett prepares to roll out his 2012-13 state budget proposal in a few weeks. Pennsylvania continues to see an increase in collections over last year, but revenues trail Corbett administration estimates so far this year. That has prompted the administration ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 20
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released data on employment and unemployment in December. Compared to the summer months, the top line numbers were good, with unemployment falling three-tenths of one percent to 7.6% (U.S. rate is 8.5%). Nonfarm jobs were up 6,500, which is a pretty good nu...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 20
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . Yesterday, Pennsylvania's new Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) held a conference to release its economic and budget outlook for the next five years (PDF). The event included presentations from staff at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve , IHS Global Insight , the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Conferenc...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 19
Google, Wikipedia , Reddit and many other sites going dark yesterday got the attention of our alien robot overlords also known as the United States Congress. A bunch of Senators and House Members who sponsored the legislation have had second thoughts and withdrew their support for the bills. On the local level 17 th District Congressman Tim Holden (soon to be a candidate in parts...
Gort42 - Jan 19 - 4 clicks
History will be made this weekend, as the first big budget (for a film with a non-white lead) all-black lead-action movie hits theaters across America. Recently, George Lucas, who had to finance the film on his own dime, given that Hollywood wouldn't support it, spoke with Jon Stewart about his experience with making this historical action thriller -- absent a white lead. The film stars Cu...
DrChuckSpeaks - Jan 18 - 9 clicks
Coming to you from high atop the Scrapple News Tower in downtown Philadel-PHI-AY, AP Ticker brings you another Piggie of the Week. Today, AP goes local, taking aim at the Philadelphia Daily News, a once great paper that continues its downward spiral. ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 18 - 8 clicks
Recently I attended an annual event hosted by the League of Women Voters of Monroe County called the Legislative Breakfast, where one of the guests was my Pennsylvania State Legislator Rosemary Brown . Given my previous experience with Rosemary Brown, chronicled in my last blog (along with the bulk of the forum which focused mainly on the voter ID bill she voted for), when I got the opportu...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 18 - 9 clicks
It wasn't a big secret that the Intergovernmental Committee of the Lehigh County Commissioners would be meeting Tuesday night to interview the three candidates to replace Glenn Eckhart. The Voters promoted Eckhart in November and he took office as County Controller a few weeks ago, after defeating incumbent Tom Slonaker for the job. But for some reason, other t...
The Lehigh Valley Political Blog - Jan 18 - 9 clicks
Saturday 3:00PM to 4:00PM Folk Plus is a blend of music from the contemporary folk scene hosted by Angela Page. Angela’s vaste knowledge draws from her experience of music gathered from over 30 years in the folk world. She ran the Oneonta Side Track Cafe in the late 70′s, being first to bring artists like [...]...
lefty - Jan 18 - 8 clicks
The Irish Wolf 503 Linden Street Scranton, PA. 570-342-0401 Irish pub on courthouse square. Pub fare, bottled and draught beer, live music....
lefty - Jan 18 - 8 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports this morning that Bank of New York Mellon has reached a partial settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under the deal, the bank will stop listing services as "free" that it, in fact, charges a fee for. What remains to be settled are monetary damages for allegatio...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 18 - 8 clicks
A new post is up on the changes in Medicaid at the Department of Public Welfare. PUSH: Since August, 88,000 Pennsylvania children have lost Medicaid benefits - Philly.com Related Post The Pennsylvania Medicaid Budgetary Squeeze ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 18 - 9 clicks
Monday, January 23 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Northern Liberties Neighbors Association www.nlna.org 700 North 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19123 215-243-7103 and gpop@gpop.org Green Party and Occupy Philly Green Party members will decide how GPOP [...]...
Green Party of Philadelphia - Jan 17 - 10 clicks
A blog post by Sharon Ward, originally published at Third and State . Large financial institutions, including many that received financial bailouts in the wake of the financial crisis, are making hundreds of millions of dollars off interest rate swaps negotiated with the City and School District of Philadelphia. That's the key finding in a new report the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy C...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 17 - 10 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . Key elements of the Corbett administration's strategy are to cut business taxes while reducing spending on public health and education. This morning we learn this strategy has resulted in the loss of health care for 88,000 Pennsylvania children. Don Sapatkin, The Philadelphia Inquirer — Since August, 88,000 Pennsylv...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
I start today with the P-G's Tony Norman : Last week, video footage of four U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of three dead Taliban fighters went viral. With the exception of a handful of morally dead ideologues on the right, the reaction to the video was one of revulsion at home and fury abroad. As Americans, we were reminded that just because we choose not to pay attention to the war in Af...
2 Political Junkies - Jan 17
On Dec. 5, the U.S. Postal Service requested an advisory opinion from the U. S. Postal Regulatory Commission on a proposed service change that would eliminate overnight mail service for significant portions of first-class mail and periodicals. Two-day delivery would be greatly expanded, and some current two-day service would become three-day delivery. These changes would allow for the propos...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 16
Occupy: Resurrecting Rev. King’s Final Dream By Leo Gerard United Steel Workers In public squares across the country, Occupy protesters honor Rev. Martin Luther King’s memory on this holiday devoted to him. Their tribute is more meaningful and enduring than the granite monument that President Obama dedicated to Rev. King in Washington, D.C. last year. [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Jan 16
Pennsylvania: The new #1! In the summer of 2011, here on Sunday Kos, I attempted to quantify the level of interest we could expect in the 2012 elections for each state. The top three states were largely where you would expect: Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. But Montana cracked the top 10, as well. Clearly a lot has changed since July. The redistricting process has been completed in...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 15
The redistricting plan for congressional districts in Pennsylvania marginalizes Erie. Following the 2010 census, redistricting was necessary and Pennsylvania is losing a seat, but this could have easily been done without splitting Erie County, home of the state's fourth-largest city. For the first time, Erie County will be split into two congressional districts, and Millcreek Township into...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 15 - 3 clicks
In the video above, teachers from the Pennsylvania school district that has run out of money to pay teachers speak about why they're continuing to teach as long as they can. The school district has filed a federal lawsuit trying to get the state to keep the schools open. And more: Great example of student activism : [S]tudents at universities investing in HEI Hotels and Resorts ...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 14 - 4 clicks
I have a new post up on the PUSH website on the Affordable Care Act and Cost containment. PUSH: STOP Obamacare in Pennsylvania: Where We Agree with Them ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
It's so tempting to jump to conclusions when two events are closely related by time, distance, some other numerical measure, or all three. Take for example the Penn State scandal. After the alleged incidents were first reported to authorities and Joe Paterno by Mike McQueary in 2002 the district attorney for Centre County at the time, Ray Gricar , disappeared in 2005 and was de...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
The local Pittsburgh chapter of Healthcare 4 All PA is launching it's own site with several talented authors. The link with the first post on gender and racial differences in Pennsylvania's uninsured can be seen here. Pennsylvanians United for Single Payer Healthcare year % uninsured white MOE +/- % % uninsured black MOE +/- % % uninsured hispanic ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
The news media has seized on the latest CNN Iowa poll which suggests the latest "surge" for former PA Sen Rick Santorum. This poll has Romney at 25%, Paul at 22%, Santorum at 16%, Gingrich at 14, and Perry at 11% with the others in single digits. A lot has been made of Santorum placing 3rd in this poll but given that the margin of error in this poll was +/- 4.5%, firm conclusions cannot be dr...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14 - 3 clicks
The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Nassir Ghaemi www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive Last month Stephen Colbert had Dr. Nasir Ghaemi on his show who wrote a book titled A First Rate Madness leaders saying that America's more successful Presidents such as Lincoln or Frankli...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
My new guest post is up at the Pennsylvanians United for Single Payer Healthcare (PUSH) website on a Facebook group which seems to have the opposite goal. I take apart their analysis of the uninsured. PUSH: STOP Obamacare in Pennsylvania and the Uninsured ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
My new post for Pennsylvanian's United for Single Payer Healthcare (PUSH) is up correlating the updated PA County % uninsured data with other county health and demographic data. PUSH: Correlating PA County % Uninsured Rates with Other County Level Measures ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
A new version of the Healthcare for all PA education website is up. This post has been reported on the Incidental Economist as a model for health care blogs. It's a great source of info on healthcare including the image below on the real sources of high health care costs click the link below for part two. Taking a break from Census data to talk about The Incidental Economist | Healt...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
This is my first cross post on my two blogs (this one and PUSH-Pennsylvanians United for Single Payer Healthcare ) because it fits in so nicely with what I've been talking about on both of them, Rick Santorum and the uninsured. As the former Senator from our state is quoted in the story linked below stating that no one has died due to a lack of health insurance while campaigning in Iowa in ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
What a shock last night after coming home and hearing that the man who had personified Penn State football since before I was born had been fired after assuming that they would let him finish his last season. While there are many things to be learned from this and the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal the biggest one for me is if you have knowledge of sexual abuse crimes being co...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
The new SAHIE estimates use a new survey, The American Community Survey, to derive it's estimates of the uninsured for each county for 2008 and 2009. Previously the Census Bureau used the current population survey. This may partly explain why the 2009 estimates look somewhat different for the new estimates (especially Centre County home of Penn State U see last post ...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
My new guest post is up on the Health Care 4 All PA as the new Small Area Health Insurance Estimates or SAHIE are out for the years 2008 and 2009 for each county in the United States. I reported the county estimates for the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the 67 counties in Pennsylvania to get an idea of the impact of the recession on the uninsured at the local level in the Stat...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
After presenting at PodCamp Pittsburgh 6 this September at Point Park University I had hoped to post the YouTube video of my presentation here titled Presenting Statistics in Social Media. Unfortunately due to technical glitches only 18 of the 40 presentations were saved and can be viewed here . I can however embed the slides from that presentation plus the results of a survey tha...
CSI without Dead Bodies - Jan 14
By Doug Foote - Reposted from Working America's Main Street Blog Two days ago, the Chester Upland School District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, ran out of money. Despite this fact, the schools are still functioning. Children in the predominantly African-American school district are still attending classes every day, as if nothing is different. But something is very different. Th...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 13 - 3 clicks
Philadelphia Daily Record, Monday, January 9, 2012, pages 4-5. http://www.phillyrecord.com/daily-2010/PDR-2012-01-09.pdf The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) is not impressed with Mayor Michael Nutter’s second inaugural speech which was delivered at the Academy of Music on January 2, 2012. “This speech was long on platitudes and short on plans,” said Chris Robinson, GPOP City Comm...
Green Party of Philadelphia - Jan 13 - 4 clicks
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . The Reading School District has a backlog of building repairs approaching $750 million. Is anyone in the Governor’s office or perhaps the Legislature paying attention? To see firsthand, they don't even have to go to Reading; they can just turn on CNN this weekend! David Mekeel, Reading Eagle — Reading schools to get...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 13 - 3 clicks
Just some things I liked on Facebook. Two depressing stories about fracking. One: EPA abandon's PA town over destroyed water . The president is a democrat right? Two: fracking tied to local Pittsburgh quake . I saw the tremors. Truthdig invite to reasonably dissatisfied New York Times reporters . I am studying this Cory Doctorow...
Three Rivers Online - Jan 13 - 3 clicks
Meet Occupy Wall Street’s Favorite Banker By Ryan Holeywell SolidarityEconomy.net via Governing Magazine Jan 4, 2012 – Try to find a bank president that’s beloved by supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement. It’s not impossible. You’ll just have to travel to North Dakota. Meet Eric Hardmeyer, who bears the unlikely distinction of being perhaps [...] ...
Beaver County Blue - Jan 12
Fri, 02/10/2012 Benedictine Sisters of Erie declare Community Support for Occupy Movement http://eriebenedictines.org/story/community-support-occupy-m ~~~ Jan 20 - Occupy the Courts – Erie action Federal Courthouse Funeral for democracy. Procession will begin at Gazebo at 11am and proceed to Federal Courthous...
Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy - Jan 12 - 3 clicks
Fran Santoleri and Bonita Davis are continuing to teach despite their district not having money to pay them. ( NEA Today ) How's this for a crisis in American education? One school district outside of Philadelphia is going broke. Straight-up broke. The Chester Upland school district has already laid off 40 percent of its teachers and professional staff and about half of its support staff...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 12 - 3 clicks
A blog post by Mark Pricei originally published at Third and State . The Philadelphia Inquirer has an editorial this morning questioning the wisdom of the Corbett administration's move to limit access to food stamps for poor families. The Inquirer reported earlier this week that the state would reinstate an "assets test" for Pennsylvanians receiving food stamps beginning in May. Th...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 12
I normally don't write diaries, but as I am now producing and editing political/news videos from a decidedly left point of view, I've decided to start posting them here in a weekly diary. Piggie of the Week is one of the many series available on-line at Scrapple TV and the Woodshop Films youtube channel. Many (not all) have some connection to Pennsylvania, where we are located. I h...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 11
A blog post by Mark Price, originally published at Third and State . When the economy is as weak as it is today, the prudent approach to the state budget is a balanced approach that looks to cut spending and raise additional revenue. A Patriot-News editorial this morning points out that nonprofit groups providing services to victims of domestic violence and rape, as well as people with se...
DailyKos (Pennsylvania) - Jan 11
