PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Wed, August 06, 2008by Russ Diamond
PACleanSweep, a non-partisan organization aimed at reforming state government in Pennsylvania, today revived its online Hall of Shame feature to pressure lawmakers into signing a petition to call a ... [View Full Article]
Wed, August 06, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Whether you support John McCain or not, you have to feel some compassion for the guy. Almost everything seems against him. Running as the candidate of the incumbent party, the economy keeps looking ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 22, 2008by State Senator Jeffrey Piccola
(For years the Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy has advocated various government reform proposals. In this special guest opinion by State Senator Jeffrey Piccola, Senator Piccola outlines ... [View Full Article]
Fri, July 18, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Forget about baseball, Americans have found their new favorite pastime: becoming offended at the drop of a hat and demanding futile, insincere apologies. Why have Americans forsaken the tradition of ... [View Full Article]
Thu, July 17, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
It has all the elements of a sensational fiction thriller—an allusive title, "Bonus Gate," cold cash in the form of illicit bonuses handed out to both witting and unwitting accomplices, titillating ... [View Full Article]
Wed, July 16, 2008by Mike Leavitt
Yesterday, the president vetoed a Medicare bill that columnist Paul Krugman calls "enormously encouraging for advocates of universal health care." The battle lines could not be clearer. Any member of ... [View Full Article]
Tue, July 15, 2008by Russ Diamond
In 2005, the legislative pay raise was a seismic disturbance that rumbled beneath the surface of Pennsylvania's political ocean. In 2006, the electoral effects were felt in what was commonly dubbed a ... [View Full Article]
Wed, July 09, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Saddled with a 23 percent approval rating, perhaps the lowest in polling history, President George W. Bush has all the trappings of a president in over his head. Plagued by an economic downturn, a ... [View Full Article]
Mon, July 07, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
John McCain is winning—and winning handily. This is from the latest Franklin & Marshall College National Poll of 1,501 registered adults conducted in partnership with Hearst-Argyle.
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Thu, June 26, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Independence Day is our leading national holiday. It has no equal or rival in its prominence and popularity. But maybe it should.
To be sure, the Fourth of July ... [View Full Article]
Fri, June 20, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Back in the 1950s entertainer Louis Prima did a song about his "confused Italian greyhound" that would bark at him instead of at strangers and howl until Prima took his own albums off the turntable ... [View Full Article]
Wed, June 18, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
June, that most beautiful of months, is associated with some of life's larger pleasures: the beginning of summer, annual vacations, school graduations, Fathers' Day, June brides—and all those lazy, ... [View Full Article]
Wed, June 18, 2008by News Article
By Aaron Blake
The Hill
Posted: 06/17/08 05:53 PM [ET]
Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said this week that his economically conservative group might sit out the ... [View Full Article]
Mon, June 09, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
On the campaign trail, one of Hillary Clinton's favorite quips was the one about it taking still another Clinton to clean up the messes of yet another Bush. John McCain, who will soon be running hard ... [View Full Article]
Fri, June 06, 2008by Patrick J. Toomey
Wall Street Journal
June 6, 2008
Page A13
Today, the Club for Growth Political Action Committee endorses Alaska Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell in his bid to unseat ... [View Full Article]
Fri, June 06, 2008by Richard Viguerie
Halloween has come early this year: Republicans have forgotten how to run without scare tactics.
This year it's Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's turn as the Democratic ... [View Full Article]
Fri, June 06, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Republicans in Virginia's 8th Congressional District can tell you the difference between swimming against a mere tidal wave and crashing up against a tsunami. This ever-changing U.S. House district, ... [View Full Article]
Thu, May 22, 2008by Russ Diamond
Any hope for independent and impartially dispensed justice in Pennsylvania took a turn for the worse this week, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ronald Castille further revealed his true ... [View Full Article]
Wed, May 21, 2008by Nathan Shrader
As gas prices continue rising steadily and consumers are paying more every time they visit the pump, Americans are warming up to the idea of a gas tax holiday. Meanwhile, the typical elites, big ... [View Full Article]
Mon, May 19, 2008by State Rep. Sam Rohrer
As the 2008-2009 state budget negotiations shift into high gear, Gov. Rendell must aggressively reformulate his fiscal priorities to keep the commonwealth from lapsing into a statewide recession. ... [View Full Article]
Tue, May 13, 2008by Mike Folmer
By Senator Mike Folmer
Prior to Gov. Ed Rendell's administration, state government was supportive of the Commonwealth's proud heritage of raw milk production. In ... [View Full Article]
Mon, May 05, 2008by Gary Hornberger
ast week, Governor Ed Rendell and Representative Tim Seip campaigned in Schuylkill County for the latest taxpayer-funded, universal health care proposal. The governor's compassion is obvious and his ... [View Full Article]
Mon, May 05, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Now no longer the center ring for the traveling Democratic presidential nomination circus, Pennsylvania's inventive political community has discovered a new favorite political parlor game to while ... [View Full Article]
Tue, April 29, 2008by Cory Steiner
As expected, politicians and candidates are responding to violent crime by being tough on those who obey the law. The gun control debate will never end, but I wonder what would happen if elected ... [View Full Article]
Tue, April 29, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Pulling out his veto pen on March 8, 2008, President George W. Bush was able to successfully thwart congressional efforts to ban the use of certain harsh interrogation tactics by Central Intelligence ... [View Full Article]
Mon, April 28, 2008by Charles Kennedy
One of the very first actions the Democratic party should take at their national convention in August in Denver is to deep six the role of superdelegates for all future conventions. It is simply ... [View Full Article]
Mon, April 21, 2008by Patrick J. Toomey
The NAFTA-bashing that defined Ohio's presidential primary has made its way to the Keystone State. With Pennsylvania's crucial primary next week, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in ... [View Full Article]
Fri, April 18, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
To everything there is a season, and for a couple of million now well-seasoned Pennsylvania voters, it can not come soon enough. After six weeks of candidates, commercials, and controversies, they ... [View Full Article]
Tue, April 15, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
To adopt a technical term widely used in Pennsylvania politics, Democrat Barack Obama "stepped in it" last week during a talk in San Francisco. He did so when he described working class ... [View Full Article]
Fri, April 11, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Arlington, VA—Surrender is not a term that appears in former United States Senator Mike Gravel's lexicon. Gravel, who until a few weeks ago was a candidate for the Democrat Party's presidential ... [View Full Article]
Mon, March 31, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has finally entered the high stakes game of presidential endorsements after months of studied neutrality. And he did it with some uncharacteristic pizzazz. The ... [View Full Article]
Tue, March 25, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
In Pennsylvania the springtime weather often changes suddenly. Humorist and satirist Mark Twain was describing New England, but he could have been talking about the Keystone State when he quipped, ... [View Full Article]
Tue, March 25, 2008by Nathan Shrader
The recent commentary on the racial politics of the 2008 campaign by former Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democrat nominee for Vice President of the United States, is just the latest ... [View Full Article]
Thu, March 20, 2008by Russ Diamond
PACleanSweep Action Alert
March 19, 2008
On Tuesday, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts held a press conference in the Capitol rotunda to announce its support for ... [View Full Article]
Mon, March 17, 2008by Stan Alekna
John Shearer's recent letter stated that it was "morally wrong to oppose" socialized medicine in the U.S. What is morally wrong is for Shearer and Dr. Bill Davidson to either knowingly or unknowingly ... [View Full Article]
Fri, March 14, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama, recently shared his views about the upcoming April 22nd Pennsylvania Primary, calling the Clinton campaign "the prohibitive favorite," who "should ... [View Full Article]
Mon, March 10, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Despite her not-so-surprising victories in Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas, Senator Hillary Clinton is still facing a tremendous uphill climb to win the Democrat nomination. Upcoming primaries in ... [View Full Article]
Thu, March 06, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Against all odds, contrary to most plans, and confounding to many politicians, it has happened. Pennsylvania is about to play a role in determining the presidential nominees.
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Fri, February 22, 2008by Richard Viguerie
by Richard A. Viguerie
The time has come for conservatives to move on, to shift priorities, and to work to elect conservatives at all levels now and in the years to ... [View Full Article]
Wed, February 20, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
The presidential nomination contests are now winding their way to a conclusion. Shortly, serious attention will turn to the selection of running mates. Already breathless speculation abounds in both ... [View Full Article]
Fri, February 15, 2008by Nathan Shrader
Thanks to the seemingly inevitable nomination of Senator John McCain, Republicans across the nation need to sit back, take a deep breath, and think long and hard about the direction and future of ... [View Full Article]
Wed, February 13, 2008by Lincoln A. Warrell
By Lincoln A. Warrell, Board Member, Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy
For the past 60 years, one scientific study after another have proven that adding ... [View Full Article]
Tue, February 12, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
George Bush famously has described himself as the "decider," referring to his presidential role in determining Iraq war policy. But in 2008 presidential nomination politics, the decider role may fall ... [View Full Article]
Sun, February 10, 2008by Patrick J. Toomey
While congratulations are still premature, with Mitt Romney dropping out of the race yesterday it is now very likely that the Republican Party will nominate Sen. John McCain for president. If that ... [View Full Article]
Mon, February 04, 2008by Charles Kennedy
Charles L. Kennedy
Senior Instructor
Political Science
Penn State York
clk8@psu.edu
• The Lock Haven University field hockey coach filed a ... [View Full Article]
Fri, February 01, 2008by Simon Campbell
\State Senator, Robert Mellow, recently touted his bill (Senate Bill 20) in this newspaper as a way to end teacher strikes in Pennsylvania. What the Senator conveniently forgot to tell readers was ... [View Full Article]
Mon, January 28, 2008by Leslie Carbone
K-12 EDUCATION cost U.S. taxpayers $536 billion during 2004-05. This figure,
4.3 percent of gross domestic product, is roughly equivalent to the entire
sum spent over the last five years on ... [View Full Article]
Thu, January 17, 2008by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
A considerable number of American writers and political analysts are finding themselves fully occupied these days trying to explain the Obama phenomena: how a little known, lightly experienced, ... [View Full Article]
Wed, January 16, 2008by Ken Schaefer
Political activist Gene Stilp lost his legal attempt to force the state Auditor General to conduct audits of the General Assembly's financial affairs. The Supreme Court's decision that Mr. Stilp ... [View Full Article]
Thu, January 03, 2008by Kenneth Schaeffer
Senator Scarnati's opinion column regarding Act 44 and the tolling of I-80 recently published in newspapers across the state is a mockery of common sense, objectivity and political truth. In short, ... [View Full Article]
Mon, December 31, 2007by Russ Diamond
Last year at this time, Pennsylvanians were filled with hope for big changes in state government coming to pass in 2007. Who could blame them? After replacing an astonishing 55 legislators, all signs ... [View Full Article]
Thu, December 27, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
One definition of crazy is to keep doing diligently the same thing over
and over when it's not working. By that definition America's
presidential primary system is seriously loony, for with ... [View Full Article]
Tue, December 18, 2007by Nathan Shrader
"In politics, today is not yesterday, and forever does not exist." These are the words of historian Geoffrey Perret, whose spring 2007 book lays out the blueprint for how our nation drifted from the ... [View Full Article]
Thu, December 13, 2007by Cynthia Clark
I moved to Pittsburgh in the fall of 1995, excited for the new excitement in what I thought was the "Big City." However, from the first day that I moved here, all I ever heard about was the mass ... [View Full Article]
Thu, December 06, 2007by Nathan Shrader
Washington—The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor was founded in 1869, four years after the conclusion of the War Between the States. The founding fathers of what could be the most ... [View Full Article]
Thu, December 06, 2007by Louis Petolicchio
Several weeks have passed since the General Election of 2007, and in those weeks the electorate of Pennsylvania have been subjected to the wit and insight of various political pundits who have pretty ... [View Full Article]
Wed, December 05, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
It's the dream of every political junkie in America and the nightmare of every presidential campaign: a contested convention that forces the nomination fight beyond the first ballot. But whether ... [View Full Article]
Mon, December 03, 2007by Charles Kennedy
If you were to ask the average American citizen, Joe Sixpack and Sally Chablis, what democracy is all about, I am sure that most of us would say, proudly and loudly, freedom. What we forget, ... [View Full Article]
Fri, November 30, 2007by Leslie Carbone
Louisiana is a lovely place to be a tourist, but a lousy place to be a student. But the nation's eyes should be riveted toward the Bayou State, because its education system may be about to improve ... [View Full Article]
Mon, November 26, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Most reform movements exhibit a natural life cycle of birth, growth, and decline. Often conceived in the white hot passion of public outrage, they typically achieve some initial successes that ... [View Full Article]
Mon, November 19, 2007by Leslie Carbone
By Leslie Carbone and Don Soifer
Some opponents of market-based education reforms are pointing to an October study as they attempt to downplay the benefits of ... [View Full Article]
Mon, November 19, 2007by Cory Steiner
With a 24% voter turnout in Bucks County both Republicans and Democrats got trounced again by the "I Don't Care" Party. I wonder if this 76% of non-voters really doesn't care. It's my theory that ... [View Full Article]
Mon, November 12, 2007by Karl Rove
This week is the one-year anniversary of Democrats winning Congress. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid probably aren't in a celebrating mood. The goodwill they ... [View Full Article]
Thu, November 08, 2007by State Senator Pat Browne
Too often, government tends to be reactive instead of proactive. Government often shies away from making major changes unless a crisis is already at hand. However, when it comes to the state's ... [View Full Article]
Fri, October 26, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
It was a riveting moment. Pennsylvania's 43rd governor, Republican stalwart, and former U.S. attorney, General Dick Thornburgh, facing down the country's 43rd president, Republican George Bush, and ... [View Full Article]
Fri, October 26, 2007by Simon Campbell
The Strike-Free Education Pact was recently unveiled in Harrisburg by State Representatives Todd Rock (R-Franklin) and Bob Bastian (R-Somerset) to outlaw teacher strikes in Pennsylvania in statute, ... [View Full Article]
Mon, October 22, 2007by U.S. Representative John Peterson
The tolling of I-80 will not only have a devastating economic affect on the 17 counties I represent, but will harm Pennsylvania as a whole.
Under Governor Rendell ... [View Full Article]
Thu, October 18, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
It is a widely accepted political certitude these days that George W. Bush's presidency will be rated very low by historians and political scholars. The conventional wisdom holds that his ... [View Full Article]
Mon, October 08, 2007by Kenneth Schaeffer
In the face of additional disclosures and embarrassment, Richard Willey has finally been fired. Although this action by PHEAA's Board of Directors comes far too late, it at least converts Willey's ... [View Full Article]
Fri, September 28, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
"First, we kill all the lawyers!" This was the infamous scheme proposed by Shakespeare's aptly named character, "Dick the Butcher," in the play Henry VI. The Shakespearean plan was to liquidate the ... [View Full Article]
Wed, September 26, 2007by Nathan Shrader
Buckle up—it's going to be a wild, expensive ride on the socialist express if Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected the White House in November '08.
Senator ... [View Full Article]
Mon, September 24, 2007by Mike Folmer
State Senator Mike Folmer
Governor Rendell has called the General Assembly into Special Session to "consider any and all legislation regarding funding for and ... [View Full Article]
Thu, September 06, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
What are we to make, if anything, of the rash of recent allegations and legal actions in Pennsylvania linked to public corruption?
The list is a growing one: a ... [View Full Article]
Tue, September 04, 2007by Policy Brief
September 4, 2007
Courtesy of our friends at Democracy Rising PA...
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when the state Supreme Court suspended Superior ... [View Full Article]
Mon, August 27, 2007by Leslie Carbone
As a new school year opens, students, parents and teachers hoping for quality education face an ironic opponent: the National Education Association, America's premier teachers union. When it comes to ... [View Full Article]
Tue, August 21, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
Time Magazine, in what may be another sign that the Democratic presidential race is becoming a rout, has recently published a speculative listing of prospective candidates for the vice-presidential ... [View Full Article]
Thu, August 16, 2007by Kimberly Geyer
"Gatekeeper of the Future"
What is the Charge (rationale) for doing this?
The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has indicated ... [View Full Article]
Thu, August 16, 2007by G. Terry Madonna & Michael L. Young
On its surface, the ongoing political fracas about tolling I-80 seems simple enough. Folks in rural northern Pennsylvania don't want to pay more to use their highway so folks in urban Southeastern ... [View Full Article]