Free Republic

I HAVE A FAVOR to ask of the union members who've been picketing the Pennsylvania Convention Center: Leave the Philadelphia Flower Show alone. As in for real, guys. If you're planning to disrupt the show the way some members of the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters disrupted the Philadelphia Auto Show on Feb. 7 - don't argue they didn't; we're not idiots - please just don't.

A man accused by federal authorities of attempting to funnel fighters and financial aid to the terrorist group ISIS had connections to Philadelphia and nearby Delaware. Up until August, Abror Habibov lived in a garden-apartment complex on Dover's Greenway Square and operated a cellphone repair kiosk at the Dover Mall, according to police and public records. The business was one of a string of kitchenware and repair kiosks Habibov, 30, ran at malls in Philadelphia and other cities along the East Coast, according to court filing

Royal Dutch Shell warned Gov. Tom Wolf that policies which hurt gas production could affect the company's decision on whether to build a multibillion-dollar plant in Beaver County to turn ethane into plastics, the head of a gas industry group said Wednesday. “I sat in a meeting with Gov. Wolf in August, where leadership from Shell looked the now-governor directly in the eye and said, ‘If you jeopardize the ethane supply, we likely don't invest here,' ” Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Spigelmyer told Tribune-Review editors and reporters. “That's a big deal. We need to make sure we have opportunities...

--SNIP-- Fattah Jr.'s previous businesses - the government contends that they were mostly scams - include Boy Genius Web Design, a high-end concierge service called American Royalty and a photo company called Fattahgraphy. He's earned money over the years by defrauding wealthy "clients" and taking photos for the Congressional Black Caucus and the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus, prosecutors said.

...According to WBNG in Binghamton, 15 New York towns in the southern tier of the state are considering seceding from New York and joining neighboring Pennsylvania because of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fracking ban. A local group called upstate New York Towns Association is examining whether such a plan is possible, and if it's worth the cost. James Finch, Conklin Town supervisor, told Capital New York that "everybody over the border has new cars, new four-wheelers, new snowmobiles," because of the stronger economy in Pennsylvania, which allows fracking.

Lawmakers in fifteen towns across four counties in upstate New York are pondering the possibility of seceding from the Empire State and being adopted by Pennsylvania. Fifteen towns in upstate New York have expressed interest in secession after the state banned fracking, according to an interest group researching the economic benefits of such a move.The Upstate New York Towns Association said 15 towns expressed interest breaking away to join Pennsylvania, which allows fracking, according to television station WBNG. Although the group declined to name specific towns involved in the effort, WBNG reported the towns are located in Broome, Delaware, Tioga...

One pill. I lost my son over one pill. On the first Saturday in January this year, my son arrived at the Allegheny County Jail in Pennsylvania. On Monday – not long after midnight – he was declared dead by Mercy Hospital. If the guards and the Corizon staff (a for-profit correctional healthcare company) at the hospital had been willing to provide him with the medicine that he needed to stay alive, he would not have died. You see, my son had seizures. The last major seizure he had was so bad that he bit off a piece of his...

After much thought and careful consideration, I am deeply saddened and disturbed at the actions taken by our governor this past Friday. Gov. Tom Wolf elected to place his own personal beliefs above the law of this commonwealth. As an elected district attorney, I took an oath to uphold the constitution of our commonwealth as well as the Constitution of the United States of America. Gov. Wolf recently took a similar oath; however, he has decided to usurp the roles of our Legislature, our courts, and the will of the people of this commonwealth. What Gov. Wolf does not understand...

A leading Republican consultant has ranked the top 10 presidential candidates for 2016 while claiming that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has about the same odds of winning the party’s nomination as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, The Washington Post reported. The unnamed strategist divided the GOP race for 2016 into "four lanes" — establishment, tea party, social conservative and libertarian, according to the newspaper. Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are the leading candidates in establishment, the largest lane, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is battling it out with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum...

State police from Belle Vernon and Greensburg chased a tractor-trailer for 34 miles through Fayette and Westmoreland counties in Western Pennsylvania as the driver threw items at his pursuers from the cab of his truck early Saturday. Christopher Boyer, 47, of Mifflintown, Juniata County, shoved a steel canister from his truck that hit and disabled a police car during the chase, according to state police. He also tossed a refrigerator, a mattress, his socks and his shoes. He was under the influence of Xanax, police said. cComments Another unintended cost of fracking. Dick at 3:25 PM February 15, 2015 Add...

State Rep. Becky Corbin (R., Chester) knows about the ravages of contagious disease. ... Corbin, who said she still bears the physical scars from measles, went on to become a pharmaceutical chemist. ... Corbin and other lawmakers say they want to close what they call a "loophole" that has allowed parents to opt out of vaccinations based on philosophical objections, which along with medical and religious, are the three allowable exemptions. Pennsylvania is one of roughly 20 states that has a philosophical exemption, while New Jersey does not.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Newly elected Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is imposing a moratorium on the death penalty. He calls the state's current system of capital punishment "error-prone, expensive and anything but infallible." The Democrat had announced during his fall campaign he intended to issue such an order. Wolf said Friday the moratorium will remain in effect at least until he receives a report from a legislative commission that's been studying the topic for about four years.

READING, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police say a trooper fatally shot a man while serving an arrest warrant at a Reading row home. Police say the man resisted arrest before the trooper opened fire about 4 a.m. Friday. A neighbor tells the Reading Eagle he saw police in SWAT gear and heard shouting, a loud explosion and five or six gunshots. The trooper is a member of the state police's Special Emergency Response Team. The unit had been called in to assist Berks County detectives in serving the warrant. Police say the warrant was for the man who was shot....

Raymond Ventrone figured there had to be a better way to get people to surrender guns than offering “a few hundred dollars or a Giant Eagle gift card.” “I've never thought that was much incentive to turn a gun in for guys who make $2,000 or $3,000 a week selling drugs,” he said. “Let's go a step further and offer them a career.” Ventrone, business manager of Boilermakers Local 154 in Banksville, convinced his union to partner with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County police departments to establish a “Guns for Opportunity” program that offers anyone who turns in a gun the...

Court Nixes Faith-Based Birth Control Mandate Challenge JOE MANDAK Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh answers questions after a news conference in Pittsburgh. Zubik responded on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, to a federal appeals court decision that reversed lower court victories that challenged birth control coverage mandates as part of federal health care reforms. Zubik said that the church is no longer free to practice what it preaches. . PITTSBURGH (AP) — An appeals court has ruled that the birth control coverage required by federal health care reforms does not violate the rights of several religious groups...

MONESSEN, Pa. (AP) - Parents in a Pennsylvania school district are turning 50 shades of red over word search puzzles given to middle school students based on an erotic novel and movie. The students in Monessen were given puzzles based on "Fifty Shades of Grey" that contained terms including "spanking," ''submissive," ''leather cuffs" and "bondage." Other words on the list were more explicit. Parent James Carter complained about it at Tuesday night's school board meeting, saying he tried to question the school's principal and dean of students, but they refused to talk when he insisted on recording their conversation. "I...

Philadelphia has been chosen as the host of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, party officials announced Thursday. The decision is a huge disappointment for New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio had made a major effort to land the convention for Brooklyn. The city had put together a rich financial package to lure the Democratic National Committee.

After new pro-gun signs were vandalized in Conoy Township, leaders hope to sell similar ones to benefit local nonprofits.

Gov. Tom Wolf outlined his proposal for a 5 percent severance tax on natural gas production, most of the proceeds of which will go toward education funding. "It's not like this is out of the blue," he said, in a speech from a Chester County elementary school. "We're the only state in the union with natural resources without a severance tax." The tax, which Wolf said was modeled after one in place in West Virginia, was a key component of his gubernatorial campaign.

Licensing regulations reduce economic freedom by creating barriers to market entry. For example, in my current home of Philadelphia, bloggers are required to obtain a $300 permit from the city. Blogging is by no means a lucrative business. In fact, an estimated 80% of bloggers will never make more than $100 from their work. A city official ironically says Philadelphia “loves the self-employed”. These permit-happy bureaucrats fail to grasp basic economics: occupational licensing can be detrimental to the economy.

<p>ALLENTOWN, Pa (AP) — The city of Allentown is repealing sections of its gun ordinance in an effort to avoid being sued under a new Pennsylvania law. The Morning Call of Allentown reported that the city council last Wednesday voted unanimously to overturn a ban on weapons in parks, reverse a prohibition on weapons on city property and end a requirement that people report when their guns are lost or stolen. The city also is adding new language to protect the use of weapons in self-defense and to say the ordinance doesn't apply to lawful hunting and trapping. A state law passed last year gives the National Rifle Association and similar groups the ability to challenge illegal gun laws. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and other cities have already been targeted for legal challenges.</p>

Drive into tiny Conoy Township, Pa., and you'll see the standard "welcome" sign, but it also comes with a warning: "THIS IS NOT A GUN FREE ZONE." The signs are meant to alert criminals to the fact that many people in the rural Pennsylvania town of 3,000 are armed. A dozen have been installed so far and three more are slated to go up, which would cover every major road into the town. Officials hope the signs give would-be criminals second thoughts before causing trouble. He said the town’s five supervisors unanimously decided to put the signs up. “These signs...

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a western Pennsylvania teenager charged in the shooting death of another teen took a selfie with the body and sent it to a friend on social media. The 16-year-old boy is charged with homicide and a firearms count in the death of 16-year-old Ryan Mangan, who was found Wednesday evening in his Jeannette home. Police were contacted by the mother of another boy who said he'd received a photo showing the suspect with the victim after he'd been shot, and also received text messages from the suspect saying "Told you I cleaned up the...

HARRISBURG — The president of Planned Parenthood pointed to the recent election of Gov. Tom Wolf as a good sign for advocates for women’s reproductive choice, calling Mr. Wolf “the first governor in the history of the country who was also a former Planned Parenthood clinic escort.” Speaking Friday evening in Harrisburg, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, was speaking at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit in Harrisburg, a gathering of left-leaning activists and elected officials. “It’s pretty darn exciting to see a state where you actually bucked the national trend,” she said to the crowd, referring to...

Aaron Klein’s a long way from Rhawnhurst. A well-known, hawkish Middle East correspondent and author based in Tel Aviv, he’s developed broadcast chops that will result in him being heard in his hometown starting Sunday at 7 p.m. on WNTP/990-AM. The two-hour show, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” is just that, his investigative work, buttressed by interviews with politicians and terrorists. Real terrorists, but more of that in a moment.

A 16-year-old accused murdered was caught after taking a selfie next to the dead body, police said. "I've never seen it before," 30-year Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It was a key piece of evidence that led investigators to the defendant." Authorities received the selfie Maxwell Marion Morton took next to the body of Jeannette High School classmate Ryan Mangan in the victim's home. Morton was charged Friday with first-degree murder, homicide and possession of a firearm by a minor, the newspaper reported. He will be charged as an adult. Mangan was shot in the...

We to Monroville Mall about an hour ago. There were three ambulances and a few cops cars outside one of the Macy's entrances....I parked at an adjacent Macy's entrance. As I put the car in park and grabbed my purse, I noticed large numbers of people streaming from all the exits in my view, and the cars around mine suddenly came to live & drove off. I got my 7 year old out and was heading inside when a nice, older blonde lady with broken English said "don't go in....they shoot". As soon as we returned to the car, massive...

Colorado lawmakers rejected a proposal to give dying patients the option to seek doctors’ help ending their lives, concluding a long day of emotional testimony from more than 100 people.For one lawmaker who voted no, the issue was personal. Tearfully telling her colleagues she was a cancer survivor, Democratic Rep. Dianne Primavera recalled how a doctor told her she wouldn’t live more than five years. But she found a doctor who gave her a different opinion. […] A House committee considering the bill voted 8-5 against it after dozens of people with serious illnesses and others who have seen relatives...

Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of the House and Senate on Sept. 24, becoming the first pontiff to do so, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday. "We're humbled that the Holy Father has accepted our invitation and certainly look forward to receiving his message on behalf of the American people," Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters. Boehner is Catholic and extended the invitation for the pope to speak to lawmakers. During his planned trip next fall, Francis is also expected to visit the White House as well as speak at the United Nations in New York and participate in a...

Illinois still lays claim to the worst recession recovery in the nation. According to the BLS household survey, there are still 216,000 fewer Illinoisans working than when the Great Recession began, the worst of any state and one of only 22 states that still have fewer people working than when the recession started. .... The business-establishment survey for the 2008-2014 period shows 114,000 fewer payroll jobs in Illinois than when the recession began, the second-worst record of any state, and one of only 15 states yet to break even on the recession. Only New Jersey is down more payroll jobs....

Taking the advice of Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Allentown City Council unanimously voted to repeal some of its firearms ordinances to comply with a new Pennsylvania law Wednesday night. The city faced a lawsuit by the Lehigh Valley Tea Party if it did not repeal those gun laws, because that new state law allows organizations to sue municipalities. The city repealed its gun laws so it would not be sued.

. . . . After the robber demanded money, Chitwood said the older man “immediately reached out to the gunman’s right hand” and attempted to take control of the gun. “A struggle ensues — this is a 67-year-old tangling with a much younger man — and as (the robbery victim) starts to lose his balance, he reaches into his waistband and pulls out his gun, a .38-caliber revolver,” Chitwood said. “As he’s falling backwards, he fires one shot.” The robbery suspect, described as a black male in his late teens or early 20s, was shot once in the head and...

In November the frustrations of Maryland’s voters with their state’s failed Democrat leadership finally boiled over and provided Larry Hogan an upset victory over the Democrat’s chosen candidate Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. It would be easy to dismiss this victory as the revenge of Maryland’s far rural parts if places like Howard County, a bedroom community of both Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD, hadn’t also elected new Republican leadership. It’s obvious this election had deeper meaning: voters clearly repudiated the Democrats and their cronies’ failed leadership and commitment to business as usual. Yet, some in Maryland think they can continue...

HARRISBURG – A tractor-trailer driver faces charges after police say he forced a driver into the median in a road rage incident on Friday. State Police at Harrisburg charged Stepan Brezden, 42, of Willowbrook, Illinois, with one count of reckless driving and one count of driving on roadways laned for traffic after a road rage incident on Interstate 81 south near Lemoyne. Police said Brezden was driving his tractor-trailer erratically while “engrossed in a bout of road rage” with another driver. During the incident, police said Brezden forced the driver, a 22-year-old Mechanicsburg woman, into the center median of the...

You almost have to feel sorry for new Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf (D). The man’s just moved into Harrisburg, gotten his voice mail straightened out, starting to get a feel for the morning commute, and then WHAMM! – his (Democratic) Attorney General (Kathleen Kane) is on the verge of being indicted for perjury and his (Democratic) Treasurer (Rob McCord) is resigning, not to mention preparing to plead out on extortion charges:

Few congressional observers ever expected that U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) would cosponsor the “Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act,” to abolish the corn ethanol Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires that increasing volumes of this biofuel be blended into gasoline. Their collaboration again proves the adage that politics often makes strange bedfellows. The RFS was a mistake when enacted ten years ago. Since then, despite attempts to curtail it, the program has expanded and had more lives than Freddy Krueger. Perhaps the senators are now paraphrasing William Shakespeare and Marc Antony, saying “I come to bury...

BRANDON RUFF really didn't think it was going to end like this. The veteran Philadelphia police sergeant, who in August was detained and later pulled from duty for trying to turn in three handguns anonymously, told the Daily News yesterday that he has learned he is going to be arrested and fired on Monday. --snip-- decided to hand in the weapons there while he was off-duty on Aug. 3, believing he could do so anonymously under a no-questions-asked policy. Police officials have said such an assumption was ludicrous

A decision to ban oil and gas drilling on state land in Pennsylvania was met with praise and criticism, with an industry leader describing it as a "lose-lose." Louis D'Amico, president and executive director of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association, said the moratorium struck a blow against an industry that's already returned more than $700 million in revenue to the state in the last seven years. "This is a lose-lose for Pennsylvania's taxpayers and energy consumers," he said in a statement Thursday.

<p>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pennsylvania liquor regulators say they've stopped the illegal sale of a bottle of rare bourbon at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.</p>

Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing, represent technology developed in the 1980’s, are responsible for extracting Shale Gas and Shale Oil [Unconventional Liquid Hydrocarbons] from previously non-productive shale formations about one mile below the surface. As this technology was applied throughout the USA environmental upsets occurred (e.g. well water contamination in Weis County TX and Methane leaks in Dimrock PA. Recent peer review studies [Cornel, Stanford, Duke, Texas University, Penn State University and Ohio State University] have shown that these incidents could have been avoided by maintaining proper well integrity. State regulatory agencies now require adherence to industry standards, to ensure...

State Treasurer Rob McCord's unexpected announcement on Thursday of his resignation, effective Feb. 12, gave rise to speculation about what brought it about so suddenly. Then within hours after issuing a news release saying he was returning to the private sector after having achieved all of his goals as treasurer, three media outlets cited anonymous sources confirming that McCord is under federal investigation. Philadelphia TV station WPVI reported that McCord was being investigated for alleged theft of campaign and other funds. The Morning Call in Allentown subsequently confirmed that report and also reported that the probe has been going on...

Rachel Levine, a doctor dedicated to diversity and LGBTQ health who is a transgender woman, has been appointed physician general by Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf. If chosen to serve in the governor’s cabinet, Levine, who has worked in the fields of pediatrics, psychiatry, and behavioral health for three decades, would become the highest-ranked transgender woman ever in the Pennsylvania government. Though he couldn’t say for certain, a spokesperson from Wolf’s office told Philadelphia magazine that “he believes Levine is the first transgender woman to hold the title of physician general.” Levine is the chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine...

Morgan said she is not worried about anyone coming after her, because she packs heat. In the five months since Jan Morgan banned Muslims from her gun range in Hot Springs, Ark., business has boomed and predictions of a lawsuit brought by federal civil rights enforcers have so far proved inaccurate. Morgan, who claims keeping Muslims out of her Gun Cave Indoor Firing Range is a matter of public safety and not a constitutional issue, says she made the decision in September after two customers she deemed suspicious visited. She said their furtive behavior and cellphone ringtones of “Allahu Akhbar”...

Gov. Tom Wolf stood with a small group of lawmakers Wednesday morning to rally new efforts behind bills that would extend basic anti-discrimination protections statewide on the basis of sexual orientation. For Pennsylvania, a state where in most municipalities a person can still be fired from his job or denied housing because of his or her sexual orientation, Wolf said the extended anti-discrimination bills fit the state's heritage perfectly. "Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn on the basis of tolerance. On the basis of religious freedom," Wolf noted. U.S. District Judge John Jones gave the LGBT movement a push with...

When professors do pay attention to religion, they usually get it wrong. “Conservatives would rather have [social welfare] provided by religious organizations, which is incompatible with other aspects of Catholic social teaching,” Robin Sowards, an adjunct professor at Duquesne University told an audience at the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Vancouver, Canada. Here are a few highlights from the history of Catholic Charities: October 24, 1727—“Ursuline sisters arrive from France to open an orphanage, school for street girls, and health facility in New Orleans. It is the first formal Catholic charity in the present United States.” January 1, 1845—“The...

Menendez: Obama Admin Statements on Iran 'Sound like Talking Points Straight out of Tehran'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A heated exchanged between President Barack Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) broke out Thursday over whether the U.S. should reimpose sanctions on Iran amid ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, according to two senators who were in the room. Menendez, the leading Democrat pushing for additional sanctions against Iran, forcefully pressed Obama on the need for additional sanctions during a meeting in which Obama urged Menendez and other senators to drop their efforts to pass sanctions legislation. Additional sanctions, Obama argued, could torpedo ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The unusually sharp exchange, between...

Everyone involved seems to be trying to put the best face on it, but Barack Obama went so far as to suggest senior Democrats like Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who take a hard line on Iran, are doing so purely to appease their donors. Obama said that as a former senator himself, he understood how outside forces — like special interests and donors — can influence senators to act, one of the senators recounted.

U.N. gives mixed signals on Tehran cooperation as nuclear talks intensifySenate Democrats on Tuesday backed away from a bipartisan push for immediate new sanctions on Iran, bowing to President Obama’s call not to undercut international talks to get Tehran to curb its nuclear programs in the coming weeks. The shift, announced Tuesday by Sen. Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat and one of the party’s outspoken hawks on Iran, came amid a series of mixed signals from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency over the question of whether Tehran was honoring promises to put its suspect nuclear programs on hold as...

Ten Senate Democrats warned the White House in a letter Tuesday that they will support legislation imposing new sanctions on Iran if a framework to roll back the country’s nuclear program isn’t reached within two months. "In acknowledgement of your concern regarding congressional action on legislation at this moment, we will not vote for this legislation on the Senate floor before March 24," said the letter, led by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who is the co-author of Iran sanctions legislation. "After March 24, we will only vote for this legislation on the Senate floor if Iran fails to reach agreement...