Just say no to the ‘Murtha’ shipyard

by Chris Freind

Reports have surfaced that Pennsylvania Democrats are in favor of naming the iconic Philadelphia Navy Shipyard after the recently-deceased Congressman John Murtha.

I have just one question for those who favor of such a preposterous idea—people like Congressman Bob Brady:

“On what planet have you been living?”

Yes, naming the veritable shipyard—one that played a decisive role in the Allies’ victory in World War II—after a man who flagrantly disregarded that old document…

04/03/10 at 5:18 pm | Comments (17)

Restoring Glass-Steagall

by E. Teresa Touey

We need to restore the Glass-Steagall Act now. Enacted during the Great Depression, it separated commercial banking from investment banking, providing our economy with stable economic growth for nearly 70 years. Large amounts of federal dollars have since been spent to stabilize a wrecked economy, including the TARP money approved by the Congress over the last three months of the Bush administration in 2008 and the economic stimulus package enacted by President Obama.The rationale sold…

03/03/10 at 3:09 pm | Comments (4)

Beyond disrespect

by Peg Luksik

We display yellow ribbons to support our military men and women. We pray for them, privately and publicly. We write letters and send supplies. In every segment of our society, Americans are telling the members of our Armed Forces that we appreciate their sacrifice and value their service.

With one exception.

The administration is planning to bring the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11 onto American soil and into American civilian courts for trial. The…

02/03/10 at 1:42 pm | Comments (13)

The 99 percent rule

by G. Terry Madonna and Michael L. Young

Call it the 99 percent rule. Ninety-nine percent of criminal trials only matter to a small cadre of participants. Defendants, victims, judges, defense lawyers, and prosecutors all play their respective roles. And, of course, society has an abstract stake in it all. But win, lose or draw, it is this finite group for whom the personal stakes are the highest and the outcome truly matters.

But not this trial.

The well-publicized…

22/02/10 at 7:00 am | Comments (2)

Why Jack Wagner’s the best choice for Pa. Dems

by Nathan R. Shrader

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is in the midst of a vigorous primary election to succeed Gov. Ed Rendell. Unlike their Republican counterparts, the Democratic State Committee wisely decided against making a party endorsement, setting up an opportunity for the state’s 4.3 million Democratic voters to make an unbossed vote on May 18.

The Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls are Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner, state Senator Anthony Williams of Philadelphia (who…

19/02/10 at 7:30 am | Comments (13)

A different kind of congressman

by Doug Pike

There are some people who have spent their lives wanting to run for Congress. That’s not me.

I spent most of my life as a journalist—as an advocate for common sense and progressive change. I wrote editorials for The Philadelphia Inquirer for 14 years, and it was a great job. My job wasn’t to turn a cute phrase, but to dig deep into issues and advocate for change on problems such as corruption, wasteful spending…

18/02/10 at 1:46 pm | Comments (11)

It’s time for single-payer health care in Pa.

by Cindy Purvis

“It’s about jobs, jobs, jobs, stupid.”

This was the answer I recently received from a state Senator when I tried to talk to him about single-payer health care legislation currently before the the General Assembly, HB 1660 and SB 400. The good senator was not being unkind or flippant; he was just trying to emphasize where the voters’ minds are as the 2010 elections approach.

While I understand his point of view, this narrow understanding…

16/02/10 at 7:00 am | Comments (17)

The greatest theft in human history

by Chris Paige

Conventional wisdom holds that the bank bailouts were deplorable, but necessary. In reality, the bank bailouts were both deplorable and unnecessary. Saving the banks did not save the world. Saving the banks deepened and prolonged the recession, and saving the banks threatens to impoverish this nation. Let me explain.

According to Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) and other bank-bailout apologists, the bailouts prevented a catastrophic run on the American financial system. Just think about that claim…

15/02/10 at 8:45 am | Comments (6)

Let’s fix our bridges—now

by E. Teresa Touey

We have an absolute responsibility to ensure public safety in the Commonwealth. We can do this, create jobs, and spur business while doing what we need to do anyway. Let’s fix our bridges and let’s fix them now.

Pennsylvania leads the nation in structurally deficient bridges. If elected, I would use my congressional office to bring a sense of urgency to solving this problem. There are 41 historic Delaware County bridges tgat lie in the…

14/02/10 at 4:13 pm | Comments (0)