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Who will Harris pick for vice president? Why Shapiro and Whitmer aren’t the answers.
Originally published at USA Today Joe Biden is out. Kamala Harris is almost certainly in. The question now is: Who will the likely Democratic presidential…
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Education
Special Needs Students Thrive in Cyber Charters
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Education
Fully funded public education must include cyber charters
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Education
The Somerset Nine: Pennsylvanias Magnificent Seven
What does it take for school board members to be fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money? For the nine members of the Somerset Area School District (SASD) board of directors, the…
Commentary
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NutraSweet Candidates
In the summer of 1999, then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a “listening tour” throughout New York State to vet a potential candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Some variation…
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For Pennsylvania Taxpayers, It’s Not Easy Being “Green”
When it comes to being “green,” Kermit the Frog has nothing on Gov. Ed Rendell and the Pennsylvania House Republicans. The two sides are promoting dueling environmental plans, both of…
Commentary
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Taking Us BackBut Not to Prosperity
Few people are against preserving and protecting Pennsylvania’s farmland and open space. And fortunately for us, between 86 and 94 percent of our state is undeveloped, depending on who you…
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“From Poverty to Self-Sufficiency”
Matt Brouillette talked about true charity care for our poor at the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania's annual convention in Harrisburg.
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House Democrats Star in “Groundhog Day”
This week marks Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania—the day that the world’s most famous groundhog emerges from his hole to tell us whether or not we can expect an early…
Commentary
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No “Free Lunch” for Pennsylvania
"Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own," the Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman once remarked. For decades, Pennsylvania's state government has spent billions of taxpayer…
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Competition: The Real Solution to Public Transit’s “Crisis”
Pennsylvania's two major public transit agencies--the Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the Pittsburgh-based Port Authority Transit (PAT)--are facing a financial crisis. But it's not due to a lack…
Commentary
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“Strike the Root” of Pennsylvania’s Competitive Disadvantage
Henry David Thoreau once wrote that "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root"--meaning that when confronted with a problem, most people…
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PA Political Math: Higher Taxes = Taxpayer “Savings”
A recent news release from Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Alan Novak congratulated "Republican leaders and lawmakers ... for stopping Gov. Ed Rendell yet again from raising taxes on hard-working Pennsylvania…
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A Lack of Economic Freedom Threatens Our Political Freedom
One of the primary purposes of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions is to protect and preserve citizens' political freedom. The Founders realized that the American experiment could not succeed…
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Economic Freedom: Endangered in Pennsylvania
Only 5 states perform worse than Pennsylvania in a national ranking of "economic freedom," according to a new study released today (in association with Forbes magazine) by the San Francisco-based…
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Time to cook Pennsylvania’s “lame-duck” session
It is fundamental to democracy that voters have information--about candidates, about issues, about proposed solutions to problems. It also is fundamental that voters have information in time to influence the…
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Read More: Time to cook Pennsylvania’s “lame-duck” sessionGovernment Accountability
Give Taxpayers Same Deal Legislators Get
Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly are set to receive their annual automatic pay increase on December 1. Now keep in mind that our state legislators are already, according to…
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Time to Labor to End Compulsory Unionism
"We want a legislative program led by leaders and staff with sufficient clout that they may roam the halls of Congress and collect votes to reorder the priorities of the…
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Union Propaganda Can’t Hide Charter Schools’ Success
There they go again. Back in July 2002, during a slow news period, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a school employee labor union, issued a widely cited report "showing"…
Commentary
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Some truth in advertising, please!
As visitors to Harrisburg approach the State Capitol, they'll likely notice a number of quotations from luminaries of Pennsylvania history--including William Penn and Benjamin Franklin--testifying to the virtue of liberty.
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Liberty: The Highest Political End
Mark Twain supposedly once quipped that "No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session." He must have had the Pennsylvania General Assembly in mind.
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How to Increase Teacher Pay
Few people will disagree that the best school teachers are often paid less than they deserve. But even fewer people agree when it comes to figuring out what to do…
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Taxing the Internet
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, for the invitation to testify today on legislation concerning the “Streamlined Sales Tax Project.”…
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Renounce the “Faith”
Politicians are fond of saying, "Government doesn't create jobs, the private sector does." Yet the machinations of state and federal government--and the news releases that follow--reveal that most politicians truly…
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