Free Republic

Supporters of a proposed maglev train from Pittsburgh International Airport to Greensburg wooed state representatives Friday with promises the project could create thousands of jobs in high-tech manufacturing, if the government could pay the $5.3 billion price tag. Building the 54-mile magnetic guideway between the airport, Downtown, Monroeville and Greensburg would create demand for an estimated 533,000 tons of steel and 712,000 cubic yards of concrete, and the precision-welding technology that would be used to turn the steel into the track could then be exported around the world, proponents told members of the state House Transportation Committee during a hearing...

Juanita Warman, 55, leaves behind 2 children, 6 grandchildren. Juanita Warman, 55, was a single mother who worked her way through the University of Pittsburgh, became a nurse and joined the military, where she worked as a physician assistant, said her sister, Margaret Yaggie of Roaring Branch in north-central Pennsylvania. Warman was being deployed to Iraq for medical duty, after serving a recent posting in Washington state. She was excited to go, but her thoughts were of her two daughters and six grandchildren, Yaggie said. On her Facebook page, Warman wrote, "I miss my girls and their beautiful children. It's...

While roaming the grounds of the US Capitol yesterday, Kristinn Taylor obtained a list of possible democrat defectors of the now infamous “Healthcare” bill. Kristinn was asked to post this list of wobbly democrats on FreeRepublic in an effort to mobilize our forces and overwhelm these members with phone calls and e-mails asking them to vote NO on the socialization of our healthcare. We also learned that Nancy Pelosi had just scheduled the vote for tomorrow; Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM. For all those who were unable to answer the call to surround the Capitol yesterday, here is...

Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican judge from Western Pennsylvania, prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs yesterday to claim a decisive win in the hard-fought battle for a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. Melvin's victory shifts the political balance on the state's most powerful bench to Republican, and could portend a re-energized conservative base in the 2010 gubernatorial and congressional elections.

The Senate approved Tara O’Toole’s nomination as Under Secretary for the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security via voice vote last night. As we pointed out the day before, this should be of concern to anyone interested in making sure that billions in taxpayer dollars do not get funneled to a bio-security boondoggle brought to you by O’Toole and her close and corrupt ally John Murtha, who is currently under investigation for ethics violations. Under O’Toole’s jurisdiction now falls the decision concerning the Murtha-supported effort to make the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) “the...

A Franconia Township homeowner who found a burglar in his home early Sunday morning grabbed a shotgun and fired several shots as the person fled. According to Franconia Township Police, the resident of a home in the 300 block of Oak Driver heard a noise in his kitchen at 2:30 a.m. The homeowner saw a man run out of the kitchen door after taking an undetermined amount of cash that was left on the kitchen table, police said. Wielding a shotgun, the homeowner chased the burglar through his backyard, firing several rounds in the direction of the suspect, police said....

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Joined by an unlikely ally, Terrell Yarbrough's lawyer fought for his client's life on Wednesday, one day after the Pittsburgh man was found guilty of killing Franciscan University students Aaron Land and Brian Muha. The Washington County jury that convicted Yarbrough of first-degree murder and conspiracy is trying to decide if the 29-year-old East Liberty man should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. Dr. David Hammer testified on Wednesday that Yarbrough was born to a drug-addicted mother who was high while pregnant. As a result, Yarbrough's I.Q., social behavior and...

A powerful subcommittee chairman working on financial regulations didn't appreciate Rahm Emanuel's role in trying to change his bill — and he pointedly reminded members of his panel that President Barack Obama's chief of staff isn't in the House anymore. Rep. Paul Kanjorski sounded annoyed when freshman New Jersey Democrat John Adler invoked Emanuel's name while pushing a controversial amendment to Kanjorski's investor protection bill. “What seat does he occupy here?” Kanjorski demanded about freshman Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), pointing around the half-empty Financial Services Committee room. Kanjorski is chairman of the capital markets subcommittee, and he didn't like the...

NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 4, 2009 – Army Staff Sgt. Megan Krause’s words come out in a rush, as if she wants everyone to hear and learn from her story. Staff Sgt. Megan Krause, an Army Reserve medic who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, hopes to help other servicemembers by telling her story of seeking help when post-traumatic stress had her spiraling out of control. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Krause, an Army reservist with the 365th Engineer Battalion in Pennsylvania, does want people to hear her story, and she wants to connect with servicemembers so they...

HARRISBURG - Joan Orie Melvin, a Republican judge from Western Pennsylvania, prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs yesterday to claim a decisive win in the hard-fought battle for a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. Melvin's victory shifts the political balance on the state's most powerful bench to Republican, and could portend a re-energized conservative base in the 2010 gubernatorial and congressional elections. With 91 percent of ballots counted, Melvin had won every suburban county around Philadelphia except Montgomery, where Democrat Jack Panella of Easton led by only a few hundred votes. "It's clear to me she won because of the...

As in the states with races getting national coverage Election Day was a Republican Day in Pennsylvania -- and especially Delaware County.

Gov. Rendell today chastised union leaders for calling a strike against SEPTA, saying they turned down a "sensational" contract in tough economic times. Rendell said the five-year contract spurned by leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 234 called for a $1,250 signing bonus upon ratification, a 2.5 percent raise the second year, and a three percent raise in each of the next three years. It also called for an increase in pension payments to workers and no increase in their health-insurance contributions. Rendell said he had agreed to give SEPTA $6 million from an economic development fund in the Pennsylvania...

New York beef manufacturer Fairbanks Farms has issued a voluntary recall of a little more than half a million pounds of ground beef. The recall, which affects states from Maine to North Carolina -- Maryland included -- comes after one person died in New Hampshire and people were sickened in other states after eating beef thought to be contaminated by the bacteria E.coli. The products, which include ground beef, meatloaf and meatball mix, carry sell-by dates from Sept. 19-28 and were sold under such brands as Trader Joe's Butcher Shop Fine Quality Meats, Giant Meatloaf & Meatball Mix and BJ's...

Sign up online to take one of our free buses down to Washington, DC from New Jersey on November 5th to oppose the government take over of our health care! Click here for more about the rallyBus Schedule from NJ on Nov 5 to DC. Click link for reservation for the free trip! * 6:30 am Blue Heron Park and Ride located off of Rte 15 at the Blue Heron Exit in Sparta. * 7:00 am Ridgewood Park and Ride located on Rte 17 south in Ridgewood * 8:30 am Shore mall behind Value City, 6725 Black Horse Pike, Egg...

Panella's Abortion Flip-Flop Makes Him Unworthy BY CHRIS FREIND State Supreme Court candidate Jack Panella obviously doesn't learn from history. When former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney entered the 2008 Republican presidential primary, he seemed to have everything going for him: top campaign staff, unlimited money, a solid national organization, and a (seemingly) attractive message. Yet his campaign was over before it began. Why? Because more than anything, he had a major credibility problem. You see, despite Mitt's talk of being a political outsider, he danced the Washington Two-Step as well as anyone. Somehow, Romney's core beliefs undertook a number of...

THERESA JONES had a drug problem and an empty wallet. In 2003, when a neighbor offered her $75 to buy him a gun, she readily agreed, even though the man had a criminal record and couldn't legally buy or possess a gun. After the sale, the neighbor carried off his new Ruger 9 mm pistol. Jones never saw it again. --snip-- Thugs recruit acquaintances with clean records to buy them guns, and women are a growing target. Blinded by love or fueled by financial need, women represent a quarter of about 350 straw buyers arrested in Philadelphia since a multiagency...

Bobby Bright (AL-2) Washington D.C. Office 1205 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 p. (202) 225-2901 f. (202) 225-8913 Dothan Office 188 North Foster Street Suite 105 Dothan, Alabama 36303 p. (334) 794-9680 f. (334) 671-1480 Montgomery Office 22 Monroe St. Suite 1B Montgomery, AL 36104 p. (334) 277-9113 f. (334) 277-8534 Opp Office 101 North Main Street Opp, AL 36467 p. (334) 493-9253 f. (334) 493-0370 Ozark Office 275 N. Union Avenue Suite 214 Ozark, AL 36360 p. (334) 445-4600 f. (334) 445-0517 Contact him https://forms.house.gov/bright/contact-form.shtml Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Congressman-Bobby-Bright/105468186762?ref=search&sid=1072359854.2422322198..1 To read further follow the link http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977880434

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A farm in every Pittsburgh neighborhood would be one of the goals of a Franco Dok Harris administration, the independent mayoral candidate said today, as his campaign sounded its final notes before Tuesday's election. The novel proposal -- which would have the city assemble vacant lots and help gather the expertise needed to transform them into farms Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09303/1009555-100.stm#ixzz0VRy1TKRj

He may have been starry-eyed, but he wasn't a fool. Carl Romanelli, a divorced father of two grown sons from Wilkes-Barre, knew that as the Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, he'd have a hard time beating the big boys in the race: Republican incumbent Rick Santorum and Democrat Bob Casey. But he hoped to focus on his issues: an end to the Iraq war, health insurance, the rights of women and gays. He did not foresee that, first, he'd get knocked off the ballot and, three years later, both he and his lawyer would be facing...

In a sweeping order issued Thursday, the state Supreme Court overturned every juvenile court sentence handed down by accused kids-for-cash judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. between 2003 and 2008, clearing the records of thousands of former defendants. Ciavarella, who is awaiting trial on racketeering charges, broke the law by taking kickbacks from the operator of two for-profit juvenile detention centers and ignored court rules by failing to fully inform juveniles who appeared before him of their right to legal counsel, the court concluded in a unanimous nine-page opinion. Read the order The violations were so egregious that even juveniles sentenced...

HARRISBURG – Senator David G. Argall (R-29) announced legislation today that would reduce the size of the state legislature by more than 20 percent. Argall’s proposal would eliminate 10 House seats each decade through 2053. It would also eliminate five Senate seats. The legislation would ultimately trim the size of the Senate from 50 members to 45 and the House of Representatives from 203 members to 153.

For the third year in a row, residents and visitors have voted Philadelphia the city with the least attractive people, according to a survey by Travel + Leisure. But that's not all; the City of Brotherly Love also ranked as the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldy by 60,000 respondents who ranked 30 cities in several categories ranging from food to nightlife to culture. On the bright side, the beauty of the museums and art galleries was enough to boost Philly to the third spot in the Historical Sites/Monuments category.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's lead over his Democratic primary rival, Rep. Joe Sestak, has dwindled since summer, according to a Franklin and Marshall College poll conducted Oct. 20 to 25. The survey found Specter ahead of Sestak by 12 points, 30 percent to 18 percent, but 47 percent said they were undecided. In a similar poll from the end of August, Specter led Sestak by a larger margin, 37 percent to 11 percent, among polled registered Democrats. Matched against likely Republican nominee Pat Toomey, a former congerssman, the latest poll of 529 registered voters put Specter in the lead by...

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is in "a world of trouble" in his bid for a sixth term next year, a new statewide poll shows. The Republican-turned-Democrat's job approval ratings are the lowest they've been since the survey began tracking his performance in 1991. Now, only 23 percent of registered voters — fewer than one in four — believes Specter deserves to be re-elected, the poll found. "The problem he has is, quite frankly, the party switch as well as the shift he's made to the Democrats — this 90-percent voting record in support of President Obama — has created some...

For years, Philadelphia candidates for judicial seats and other offices have written checks to a New Jersey-based firm called Dan Silo Consultants. Insiders knew that there was no Dan Silo. It was the name used by Pete Truman, a former Philadelphia ward leader and elected official who brokered the support of an alliance of African-American ward leaders in return for some handsome consulting fees. Yesterday Truman, 74, was charged with filing a false tax return, failing to report consulting income estimated by federal authorities at $700,000 between 2001 and 2007. Also charged with filing a false return was Chester...

NEW YORK — A position-by-position look at the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees going into the World Series, starting Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium: ___ First Base Phillies: Ryan Howard. The NL championship series MVP was downright fearsome in the first two playoff rounds, batting .355 with two homers, 14 RBIs, four doubles, a triple and seven walks. All that after hitting 45 home runs and tying for the major league lead with 141 RBIs during the regular season. One of baseball's premier sluggers, the 2006 NL MVP lost 40 pounds last offseason and became a much better all-around...

MORE THAN six months after President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package was passed into law, the city of Philadelphia has spent less than $1 million in recovery money and retained just 52 jobs. The data was laid out in a memo sent to Mayor Nutter from Budget Director Steve Agostini, and obtained by the Daily News. Agostini, who was recently assigned to oversee the city stimulus program, also reported that the city's efforts to manage stimulus dollars have been hampered by limited communication between departments. The news comes as the local unemployment rate continues to climb. The Philadelphia jobless rate...

Hearing scheduled on G-20 arrests Students to air complaints Nov. 10 Wednesday, October 28, 2009 By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The city's Citizen Police Review Board last night tentatively scheduled a Nov. 10 hearing, ideally to be held on the University of Pittsburgh campus, to hear the complaints of students arrested during last month's protests of the G-20 summit. The time and place of the meeting is contingent upon arrangements to be made with university administrators. Review board Executive Director Elizabeth C. Pittinger said the board has received 75 complaints about police actions, a dozen of which involve sworn statements.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has agreed not to charge ACORN with violating a state law regarding quotas for registering voters, under an agreement reached in a federal lawsuit today. The agreement between attorneys for ACORN and Zappala's office drops the district attorney from the lawsuit that challenges a state law barring use of quotas to pay voter registration canvassers. Under the three-page agreement filed today, Zappala agreed not to charge ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, with violations of the state law it is challenging. The agreement does not immediately affect pending...

Halloween trends are telling. Just ask Robert Thompson, a pop-culture expert and the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. Here's an interesting trend: Halloween has fast become the second-most-decorated holiday. Jack-o-lanterns and goblins and lighted trees are all over the place now. Halloween spending has risen to nearly $5 billion annually -- not bad for a non-gift-giving, non-government-sanctioned holiday. And more adults than ever are dressing up. "The post-World War II years were the golden age of Halloween for kids," says Thompson, "a trend that continued into the 1980s. But in the...

A few months ago, “Ida” was sitting on top of the world. She’d been lauded as the “eighth wonder of the world” whose “impact on the world of palaeontology” would be like “an asteroid falling down to Earth.” Falling, indeed. On October 21, Nature published an article announcing that “[a] 37-million-year-old fossil primate from Egypt, described today in Nature, moves a controversial German fossil known as Ida out of the human lineage.” Wired also published a story, noting that, “[f]ar from spawning the ancestors of humans, the 47 million-year-old Darwinius seems merely to have gone extinct, leaving no descendants,” further..."...

Democratic Party Encounters 'Obama Hangover' In State, Local Elections The president hits the campaign trail on behalf of Democrats, but the electricity of 2008 is tough to recapture. Peter Nicholas October 25, 2009 Reporting from Kennett Square, Pa. - As he is quick to point out, President Obama is presiding over two wars, a sour economy and an epic fight to rework the nation's healthcare system. Now tack on a trio of state and local political races. With an off-year election fast approaching, Obama is stepping up his commitment to Democratic candidates in hopes that an infusion of campaign charisma...

MARK CIAVARELLA, of Kingston, the former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, was charged on Jan. 26 with accepting $2.6 million from private individuals in exchange for rulings that benefited two juvenile detention centers the county utilized. He pleaded guilty, but the plea agreement was rejected by a judge. A grand jury issued a 48-count indictment against him on Sept. 9. He is awaiting trial. MICHAEL CONAHAN, of Wright Township, a former senior judge on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, was charged on Jan. 26 with accepting $2.6 million from private individuals in exchange...

Transit system workers in Philadelphia voted to authorize a union strike Sunday, less than a week before the Phillies play their first home game of the World Series, but a transit spokesman said he hopes a deal can be concluded before then. Willie Brown, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 234, said the 4,700 workers voted overwhelmingly to allow him to call a strike if negotiations with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority fail. Talks are slated to resume Monday. Brown said he hoped a walkout would not affect the series, but he said workers have been without a contract...

Reporting from Kennett Square, Pa. - As he is quick to point out, President Obama is presiding over two wars, a sour economy and an epic fight to rework the nation's healthcare system. Now tack on a trio of state and local political races. With an off-year election fast approaching, Obama is stepping up his commitment to Democratic candidates in hopes that an infusion of campaign charisma might pump up turnout. What the party is finding, though, is that the electricity of 2008 is tough to recapture.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, today, finally got around to publishing a in-depth report regarding the Luzerne County youth court scandal. "How? Why?" they ask in the headline.

Mark Greenbaum is a native of South Orange and bemused observer of his home state who lives in Washington New Jersey has it tough. Whether it be jokes about the unusual odor coming from Secaucus, the Kandahar-like crime levels in Camden, or the needles washing up on the Jersey Shore, people love to heap ridicule on the Garden State, often leaving citizens like myself feeling inferior and embittered

Reporting from Kennett Square, Pa. - As he is quick to point out, President Obama is presiding over two wars, a sour economy and an epic fight to rework the nation's healthcare system. Now tack on a trio of state and local political races. With an off-year election fast approaching, Obama is stepping up his commitment to Democratic candidates in hopes that an infusion of campaign charisma might pump up turnout. What the party is finding, though, is that the electricity of 2008 is tough to recapture. Some Democratic candidates running for local office around the country call the phenomenon...

Friday, September 25, 2009 Please Stand-Up and Make Your Voices Heard! On Wednesday, September 16, the Abington Heights School District voted 4-3 to eliminate funding for the Abington Heights High School Rifle Team. Unfortunately, the Abington Heights School District is choosing to balance the budget on the backs of tomorrow’s shooters. Rifle teams, such as these, help foster the future of our Second Amendment freedoms, shooting sports, and safe firearms training. The Abington Journal even reported that coaches, team members, and parents were not given advance notice that funding for the team was in jeopardy at the school district’s meeting...

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, is making his mark on financial regulatory reform. The 11th Congressional District representative has four bills he introduced that will be "marked up" or reviewed in committee this week. They include: * Investor Protection Act (H.R. 3817). * Accountability and Transparency in Rating Agencies Act (H.R. 3890). * Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act (H.R. 3818). * Federal Insurance Office Act (H.R. 2609). Kanjorski has appeared on numerous cable news shows in the past several weeks. He has met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, and had a private meeting with President Barack Obama...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   The "Junkiest" Junk Science That Taxpayers' Money Can Buy   Friday, October 09, 2009   Now, more than at any other time in anyone's memory, the federal government is in no position to waste taxpayer dollars on gun control advocacy "research."  Nevertheless, the National Institutes of Health recently gave anti-gun researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine $639,586 to conduct a survey intended to prove that possessing a gun doesn't benefit assault victims. Criminologist Gary Kleck calls the resulting survey "the very epitome of junk science in the guns-and-violence field—poor...

In a major deal for the Pennsylvania snack foods industry, which is under pressure from national players and from America's increasingly ambivalent relationship with junk food, Snyder's of Hanover Inc. is buying crosstown rival Utz Quality Foods. Inc. The two family-owned companies were short on details in their announcement today, which is sure to unnerve residents of Hanover, Pa., where the two companies have five factories that are major employers.... The price was not disclosed. Snyder's, a pretzel maker founded in 1909, has plants in Indiana and Arizona, in addition to its flagship site in Hanover. The company employs 2,250....

The 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was about an Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella, who was supernaturally commanded to build a baseball field on his farm. Once built, the 1919 Chicago White Sox were reincarnated to play on it. There is a Field of Dreams in Philadelphia – like the movie, this field also has reincarnated a past team - because the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies seem to be a reincarnation of the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics. They have several things in common. The 2009 Philadelphia Phillies ...

HAZLETON – Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, whose campaign committee is still $153,670 in debt from his 2008 losing effort to unseat U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, said he may challenge Kanjorski again next year. “I’m considering it,” said the Republican. “But I haven’t made any decisions.” Barletta said losses to Kanjorski in 2002 and 2008 are not enough to sway him from sitting out this next election cycle. He said he’s been urged by members of his party to challenge Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, yet again. Tory Mazzola, the Northeastern U.S. spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), said, “We’re hopeful...

The latest undercover sting video showing ACORN advising a fake pimp and prostitute on how to break the law was released today.... This new video is especially significant because ACORN claimed repeatedly and strenuously that ACORN's Philadelphia office threw the make-believe pimp (James O'Keefe) and prostitute (Hannah Giles) out when it learned of the planned illegal behavior. ACORN lied through its teeth -- and the new video showing what really happened in Philadelphia proves it.

ERIE, Pa. -- An Erie-area man will spend four to eight years in state prison for severely assaulting his ex-girlfriend's toddler despite a letter requesting leniency from ex-Gov. Tom Ridge. Mr. Ridge says in the letter that he is a neighbor of 21-year-old Matthew Lazenby, who lives with his parents in Millcreek Township. Mr. Ridge says in the letter that Mr. Lazenby is a "loving and nurturing father" despite his crime.

This should not shock anyone, we have seen this all happen before with the famous undercover videos done late this summer. Will Katherine Conway-Russell, office director at the Philadelphia ACORN office be fired? Will the main stream media post dozens of required retractions since they claimed James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles were kicked out of the ACORN office? Will Media Matters disown ACORN and post their own retractions? Update: More video added. We’ll have to see, but I find it interesting that Andrew Breitbart is providing just enough time between ACORN visit video releases to allow the main stream media,...

Fearing that negative public feelings toward lawyers could be let loose, the Pennsylvania Bar Association backed away yesterday from calling for creation of a citizens' commission to look into changes to the state constitution. The best that a roomful of 350 lawyers could do with the hot-potato issue was to decide to pick another group of lawyers to look into constitutional proposals at a later date. (snip) The group's worry was that an eventual constitutional convention might take up issues the Bar Association has been fighting for decades, such as tort reform and caps on attorneys' fees.

Alinsky Rule #1: “Power isn’t only what you have, it’s what the enemy thinks you have.” (Note: video at link)