Featured Commentary category, Page 128
Thomas Palley: Bernie Sanders — nothing to fear but fear itself
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Eighty-seven years ago, those were the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1933 inaugural speech. Today, they resonate with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, which confronts a barrage of attacks aimed at frightening away voters. Fear is the enemy...
Jonah Goldberg: Bernie Sanders too often sees only what he wants to see
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who did not have a great performance in Wednesday’s Democratic debate, nevertheless said something interesting. “We’re not going to throw out capitalism,” Bloomberg said. “We tried. Other countries tried that. It was called communism, and it just didn’t work.” I’m unclear on when...
Eric Falk: 2020 may be one of our most important elections
Elections, particularly for such high-profile offices as president, governor, and United States senator and congressman, are usually an interesting combination of highly contested and yet innocuous affairs. Candidates try to sharply draw differences between themselves and try to “activate” their respective bases, motivating them for the necessary turnout. Yet when...
S.E. Cupp: On breastfeeding and Michael Bloomberg
He may have hoped his billions would speak louder than his baggage, but Michael Bloomberg has experienced a cavalcade of bad press over the past two weeks that should make him a painfully hideous choice for any voter, but Democrats in particular. There’s his support of stop-and-frisk, an anti-crime policy...
Matthew Brouillette: The truth behind the turnpike nightmare
It’s like a recurring bad dream. A new year, a new Pennsylvania Turnpike toll hike. Now, driving the length of the highway costs upwards of $65.70 — not counting the return trip. Only, this nightmare is real. We know the usual suspects: infrastructure needs, mandates that the turnpike fund mass...
Colin McNickle: Legislature must act to salvage PASSHE
Problems continue to grow worse for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). And there remains little doubt that dramatic changes are needed at several of the universities in the 14-school system, says a scholar at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “It is time for the Legislature and...
Rev. Sandra Strauss: Lawmakers should clamp down on illegal gambling
There is no question that Pennsylvania is under siege from an out-of-control explosion of illegal gambling that is occurring in gas stations, convenience stores, corner stores and pizza parlors where teens gather. Currently, there are at least 15,000 so-called “skilled games” machines in operation in communities across the state. Despite...
John Stossel: Revolutionary Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders leads the race for the Democratic nomination. He may become America’s first self-described “democratic socialist” president. What does that mean? Today, when Sanders talks about socialism, he says: “I’m not looking at Cuba. I’m looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden.” But Denmark and Sweden are not socialist....
Walter Williams: Political bias & anti-Americanism on college campuses
A recent Pew Research Center survey finds that only half of American adults think colleges and universities are having a positive effect on our nation. The leftward political bias, held by faculty members affiliated with the Democratic Party, at most institutions of higher education explains a lot of that disappointment....
Donald Boudreaux: Conservatives can be just as mistaken as ‘progressives’
Oren Cass has launched a new conservative think tank, American Compass. It’s meant to “restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity.” Family, community and industry — and liberty and prosperity — are indeed important. But as he inadvertently...
Zach Shamberg: Pa.’s seniors should be a priority
Earlier this month, in the lead-up to his annual budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf announced several new initiatives geared toward protecting Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable populations. In all, these initiatives represent more than $40 million in new spending to help those in need. That includes $1.4 million to enhance the state’s...
Pat Buchanan: A Democratic establishment in panic
From the day he entered the race, Joe Biden was the great hope of the Democratic establishment to spare them from the horrifying prospect of a 2020 race between The Donald and Bernie Sanders. Today, that same establishment wants Joe out of the race. Why has Biden suddenly become an...
Gary English: Tax-shifting schemes won’t provide property tax relief
On Feb. 3, Pennsylvania legislators and their followers held a rally on the Capitol rotunda steps that fits the current state of affairs of ignorance: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” and shall expound. For the past eight years, the Legislature and the Pennsylvania Taxpayers...
Jonah Goldberg: Democrat-Republican role reversal
For most of my life the rule of thumb was that the GOP was the ideological party and the Democratic Party was the coalitional party. This always was an overgeneralization. Democrats had an ideological perspective, and Republicans had coalitional interests. But from the New Deal to around the end of...
Gary Smith: Character & convictions of Washington & Lincoln
In the aftermath of President Trump’s impeachment trial and in light of the scathing attacks on both Trump and potential Democratic candidates as the 2020 election approaches, the celebration of Presidents Day is a good time to rise above the current political recriminations and rancor by reviewing the character and...
S.E. Cupp: Never-Trumper’s message to Never-Sanders crowd
Tuesday night’s victory in New Hampshire gives Sen. Bernie Sanders unequivocal frontrunner status, and anyone trying to couch his win as less than significant is trying to sell you something likely named Buttigieg, Klobuchar or Bloomberg. This will terrify the members of the anti-Sanders wing of the Democratic Party —...
Rich Askey: Let’s talk about fixing Pa.’s educator shortage
Do you like living in a world with doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs and artists? We wouldn’t have any of these professionals — or countless others — without educators. Education is the career that makes every other career possible. So it should trouble all of us that Pennsylvania, like much of the...
Nathan Benefield: A responsible state budget? Only in your dreams
In his sixth budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf asked us to “imagine” what Pennsylvania would look like if he could purchase everything on his wish list. To cover the costs, he wants to raise overall spending a massive 6.1%. He also wants to borrow $5.5 billion — a loan that...
Walter Williams: A more or less perfect union
“A More or Less Perfect Union” is a three-part series, produced by Free to Choose Network, that is airing on PBS stations across the nation. The documentary is a personal exploration of the U.S. Constitution by Justice Douglas Ginsburg, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit and...
John Stossel: Trump’s good, bad & ugly
President Trump “saved the United States,” says former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. He’s one of the “smartest, most clever and successful” presidents, says Fox’s Jeanine Pirro. No, he’s “dumb and racist,” says comedian Seth Meyers, and guilty of “rampant corruption,” say commentators on MSNBC. The man divides opinion like no...
Thomas Kubica: A letter to Sen. Rand Paul
The following is a letter to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul: Dear Sen. Paul, I read a recent Washington Examiner editorial which included comments you made regarding the impeachment trial, former ambassador and national security advisor John Bolton, and the political future of other Republican senators. You disparaged Bolton, who I...
Scott Brady: Sanctuary cities undermine law
On Jan, 6, 2020, 92-year-old Maria Fuentes was raped and murdered by Reeaz Khan, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant in New York City. But this tragedy was entirely preventable. In fact, Khan should have been in custody at the time because six weeks earlier Khan was jailed and arrested for domestic...
Michael McGough: Is the Justice Department scooping up dirt about Joe Biden from Rudy Giuliani?
Is the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr facilitating Rudolph W. Giuliani’s attempt to blacken the name of former Vice President Joe Biden? That’s an understandable concern after Barr acknowledged this week that the department indeed was willing to evaluate information Giuliani had gathered from Ukrainian sources about...
Pat Buchanan: Failed coup of a failing establishment
It has been a bad few days for the establishment, really bad. In a 51-49 vote, the Senate refused to call witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump and voted to acquit the president of all charges. As recent polls show socialist Bernie Sanders surging in the lead, the...
Ronald Fraser: Pa.’s parole & probation merry-go-round
State-run parole and probation programs are designed to keep people convicted of crimes — including a large number of nonviolent crimes — out of prison. But in Pennsylvania, according to a recent Council of State Governments study, “Confined and Costly: How Supervision Violations are Filling Prisons,” “On any given day...
