#PABudget: Speaker Turzai Received Over $50,000 from Natural Gas During Since Killing Severance Tax Debate At a June press conference , House Speaker Mike Turzai was joined by Chamber of Commerce and oil and gas lobbyists as he took the severance tax off of the budget table. He came out against the proposal claiming that…
“Fund Our Schools!” “Fund Or Fail!” Those were among the chants that filled the Capitol rotunda today as about 450 students from all of the 14 universities of the PA State System of Higher Education converged in Harrisburg to demand full funding for their schools. After experiencing the deepest cuts in the history of the…
#WatchingWagner: Scott Wagner Launches Unofficial 2018 Gubernatorial Campaign.
#WatchingWagner: Scott Wagner Launches Unofficial 2018 Gubernatorial Campaign. Going into Governor Tom Wolf’s second budget address, there are two things that will be certain. This year is an election year, which means that there will be another protracted budget fight as both sides – mainly the Republicans – dig in try to possibly fend off more conservative…
Aging Buildings Are to Blame for Lead Exposure in Pennsylvania
Aging Buildings Are to Blame for Lead Exposure in Pennsylvania On Wednesday, Vox released a report linking lead exposure levels in 18 of Pennsylvania’s poorest cities to lead exposure levels in Flit, Michigan. In the article, the author notes that lead based paints are to blame for high exposure in Pennsylvania, but it did not explain the complexity…
High Poverty Rates Stricken 18 Pennsylvania Cities Where Lead Exposure is Higher Than Flint
High Poverty Rates Stricken 18 Pennsylvania Cities Where Lead Exposure is Higher Than Flint For the past month, Flint, Michigan has been under the national microscope for its lead contamination. Residents from Flint have been complaining about the city’s water for a couple of years, but the government did not acknowledge the disaster until two a…
PA Has Its Own Flint Water Crisis: The Slow Burn Shock Doctrine of Right-Wing Leadership
PA Has Its Own Flint Water Crisis: The Slow Burn Shock Doctrine of Right-Wing Leadership Most of us have watched in horror as the details of the Flint water crisis has unfolded over the past several weeks. What is happening in Flint is unconscionable and should be the poster-child for the necessary consequences of the Tea…
Bernie and Hillary Splitting Iowa Delegates – Clinton Slight Edge From Coin Tosses
Bernie and Hillary Splitting Iowa Delegates – Clinton Slight Edge From Coin Tosses It’s after midnight now and the official winner of the Democratic Iowa Caucuses is still “too close to call” according to all the media outlets. We know that Ted Cruz topped Trump to take the GOP side of the contest, but there seems…
Excited for Democracy: Iowa Caucuses, Philly Teachers Election, and Friedrichs
Excited for Democracy: Iowa Caucuses, Philly Teachers Election, and Friedrichs I’ve got to admit, I’m excited. The Iowa Caucuses a I am in full political geek mode. As messed up as our political system is, I still get super excited about the REAL beginning of the presidential election cycle – when people, not pundits get to cast…
Sarah Palin’s Quixotic Quest for Relevance
Sarah Palin’s Quixotic Quest for Relevance She’s back and tightly holding Donald Trump’s coattails. That’s right, Sarah Palin, having again found the media spotlight, is casting her shadow across the more thoughtful conservatives. This past week she declared her undying love and support of Trump’s attempt to seize the presidency from the more experienced and knowledgeable…
A Model of Unionization We Can No Longer Afford: Philly Teachers to Decide Future
A Model of Unionization We Can No Longer Afford: Philly Teachers to Decide Future Yesterday, current Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president, Jerry Jordan, made an appearance on the Rick Smith Show to discuss the union’s upcoming, contested election. Jordan and much of his leadership team are facing a significant challenge from the Caucus of Working Educators, group…
Juicy Pumpkin Juice 