Friday, September 30, 2016
380,000 Page Views at The Centrist
My site counter has recorded 380,000 Page Views at THE CENTRIST. Thanks for checking out my blog ... and come back again.
Out of Touch: Millionaire Hillary Struggles to Define Middle Class
Out of Touch: Millionaire Hillary Struggles to Define Middle Class: When you sit atop a $62 million net worth, it’s hard to see all the peons below. However, Hillary Clinton has reiterated throughout her campaign that she is going to really help out the middle class and not raise taxes on them. But when a reporter asked what income range she’s talking about, Clinton took the long way around with her answer.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Pittsburgh newspaper to end print edition
Another death in the family. One of the best newspapers in Pennsylvania will end its print edition and go all-digital. More than 100 jobs will be lost in the transition. Sad.
Trib announces expansion in some markets, going all-digital in Pittsburgh
Trib announces expansion in some markets, going all-digital in Pittsburgh
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Obama 'Didn’t Know' About Hillary’s Private E-Mail but Sent Messages Under Pseudonym
Obama 'Didn’t Know' About Hillary’s Private E-Mail but Sent Messages Under Pseudonym: The FBI has revealed that President Obama used a pseudonym in his communications with Hillary Clinton over her private e-mail server and in doing so, likely sent classified information through an insecure channel knowingly. His involvement also contradicts his previous statements that he knew nothing about her operating communications from her basement.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Trump Edging Out Hillary in Three Key Battleground States
Trump Edging Out Hillary in Three Key Battleground States: Donald Trump now narrowly leads Hillary Clinton in the battleground states of Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio, according to Fox News, which conducted statewide likely voter polls Sunday through Tuesday evenings. Trump received a boost from working-class white voters, while Hillary's recent lackluster performances have hurt her among younger voters and women.
Monday, September 19, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
Hillary's Newest Book Bombs
Hillary's Newest Book Bombs: Readers apparently are wearying of Hillary Clinton's lies and boring statist policy tracts, because her newest book is a certifiable flop by publishing industry standards, according to The New York Times.
Hillary: I'm the 'Most Transparent' Presidential Candidate Ever
Hillary: I'm the 'Most Transparent' Presidential Candidate Ever: Hillary Clinton, fresh from a recent bout of overheating/dehydration/flu/pneumonia/exhaustion/etc., got back on the campaign trail with a Thursday morning radio interview, though she now seems to be suffering from something else -- serious self-delusion.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
No joke: Hillary Clinton featured in October issue of Women’s Health magazine.
Guess Who’s Being Featured in the Next Issue of Women’s Health?: We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: sometimes the headlines read just like The Onion. Currently, Hillary Clinton is not the picture of good health. She has pneumonia, a nasty, persistent cough and has trouble staying on her feet. Yet, the presidential candidate will be featured in the October issue of Women’s Health magazine. Oh, the irony!
The Cost for 9 of Obama’s Executive Actions: $31 Billion
The Cost for 9 of Obama’s Executive Actions: $31 Billion: The American Action Forum has determined that President Obama’s executive actions have cost taxpayers $31 billion and that covers only nine of them. This should come as no surprise, as Obama pledged he would circumvent Congress, as he said so famously in 2014: “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone… I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball.”
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Monday, September 12, 2016
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Friday, September 09, 2016
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
88 top generals, admirals endorse Trump for president
Trump touts endorsement of 88 retired military figures: Donald Trump won the endorsement of 88 retired generals and admirals, according to an open letter released Tuesday morning by the campaign. The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy, the former military leaders wrote in their letter. The letter was spearheaded by Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow of the Army, a 40-year-old veteran and Holocaust survivor, and Rear Adm. Charles Williams of the Navy. It comes ahead of Trump's veterans affairs speech in Virginia Beach, Va., on Tuesday. As retired senior leaders of America's military, we believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world, the generals and admirals wrote. For this reason, we support Donald Trump's candidacy to be our next commander in chief.
Friday, September 02, 2016
Obama eyes special declaration to take charge of elections
Homeland eyes special declaration to take charge of elections: Even before the FBI identified new cyberattacks on two separate state election boards, the Department of Homeland Security began considering declaring the election a critical infrastructure, giving it the same control over security it has over Wall Street and the electric power grid. The latest admissions of attacks could speed up that effort possibly including the upcoming presidential election, according to officials. We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure like the financial sector, like the power grid, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. There's a vital national interest in our election process, so I do think we need to consider whether it should be considered by my department and others critical infrastructure, he said at a media conference earlier this month hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
Thursday, September 01, 2016
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Monday, August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Kathleen Kane's reign of terror ends
Pennsylvania voters elected the first female and first Democrat to the
office of Pennsylvania attorney general in 2012. A protege of the
Clintons, Kathleen Kane was touted as a future governor of U.S. Senator.
Instead, her political career quickly went down in flames. Stripped of
her law license and convicted of perjury and obstruction, Kane resigned
from office and awaits sentencing.
Veteran political reporter Brad Bumsted:
Brad Bumsted: Kathleen Kane's reign of terror ends
Veteran political reporter Brad Bumsted:
The sad saga of Kane's chaotic and often illegal tenure as Pennsylvania's attorney general could have been avoided by a “no comment” on March 17, 2014, when she began to build a web of lies about a legislative bribery case she declined to prosecute. Kane now will be fortunate if she can stay out of prison.
Brad Bumsted: Kathleen Kane's reign of terror ends
GUEST COLUMN: Eye of the Storm
By Lowman S. Henry
As August melts into September the halls of the state capitol building are relatively quiet. This is a marked contrast to a year ago when state government was in what turned out to be the early phases of the longest budget stalemate in state history. This year the budget, or at least the spending part of it, was done reasonably close to the constitutionally-mandated June 30th deadline, the revenue component followed several weeks later.
But is this just the eye of the storm?
In capitulating to too many of Gov. Tom Wolf's spending demands the state legislature larded up the budget with nearly $1.4 billion in new expenditures. This despite claims of a $1.5 billion dollar "structural deficit" the governor claimed needed to be addressed. Even those using Common Core math can calculate that left the state nearly $3 billion in the hole.
To pay for this spending orgy some $650 million in new taxes were cobbled together, and accounting gimmicks employed, to produce a "balanced" budget. But the budget isn't really balanced and even that $650 million contains projected revenue that will never actually materialize. For example, lawmakers planned to charge the state's casinos $1 million each to purchase 24-hour liquor licenses. Apparently nobody thought to ask if the casinos wanted such licenses, as there now appears to be no takers.
The budget also includes revenue from on-line gambling. The problem is legislation has yet to be passed authorizing on-line gambling. After adopting the budget, the General Assembly adjourned for a two month recess delaying any possible revenue from that source deep into the fiscal year.
And, predictably, the taxes that were hiked on existing businesses are having a dramatic negative impact. A 40% tax imposed on vaping supplies is driving many vaping stores - almost all of which are small businesses - out of business. That means not only will projected revenue from the tax fall short, but the state will also lose out on sales tax revenue as the stores shutter their doors.
That Republicans in the legislature caved into $1.4 billion in new spending defied logic. The GOP had fought an epic budget battle with the governor the previous fiscal year and won. Not only did they win, but not a single lawmaker seeking re-election was denied by voters due to the budget fight. After posting a historic win, Republicans essentially forfeited the next game.
All of these elements are coming together to produce the perfect fiscal storm as budget talks begin for next year. Don't forget that "structural deficit" of $1.4 billion hasn't been addressed. A significant portion of the new taxes enacted this year will fail to materialize. And, Gov. Wolf continues to demand a lengthy menu of spending hikes - and the taxes to pay for them.
Making matters worse the governor and the legislature have not been able to agree on how to deal with cost drivers, particularly the skyrocketing cost of public employee pensions. Pension costs are gobbling up the lion's share of any new revenue produced by a still slow-growing state economy. Republicans have passed pension reform only to see it vetoed by Gov. Wolf. There are new legislative proposals on the drawing board, but they fall woefully short of resolving the problem. Even if some reform is enacted it will likely have minimal impact on the upcoming 2017-18 state budget.
Given all of this, will Republicans stick to their pledge that without addressing cost drivers they will not enact broad-based tax hikes - such as raising the personal income tax, expanding and/or raising sales taxes - or will they again cave into the governor's tax and spending demands? Much rides on the outcome of this looming budget fight, primarily the fiscal health of the commonwealth.
But, 2018 is a gubernatorial election year and this budget will be enacted as the campaign heats up. Gov. Wolf, if he seeks re-election, will want to show his base voters that he delivered the gods of higher spending. Republican voters will judge the GOP-controlled legislature by their ability to resist higher spending and more taxes. Add these competing political imperatives to the state's perilous fiscal circumstances and we should brace ourselves for the second wave of the hurricane.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
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