William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 6-29-15
John as in policeman comes from an Anglicization of the French “gendarme.” John as in prostitute’s customer came from the pseudonym many of them used.
Day: June 29, 2015
Pope Francis Wisdom Shines
Conservatives like to pile on Pope Francis — sometimes even we do too — but when he’s right, he’s right and he is right about turning “capitalism” into some kind of idol. 
Here are 37 American businesses that wildly celebrated Friday’s (June 26) nonsensical 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court forbidding states to restrict a marriage to one man and one woman.
Leave aside that the ruling isn’t going to help anyone’s bottom line. Leave aside that it further endangers our already endangered Social Security program. Leave aside it complicates corporate human resources divisions and increases the cost of benefits programs.
It was hip and gives the rich, spoiled, never-bloodied ones who run corporate America to shout “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
The recognition that homosexuality is a sin is a rather small part of the Bible and, despite what some Democrats claim, God does not hate gays. Rejecting that one part, though, gives license to reject the whole thing.
Taking care of the poor and loving your neighbor for examples.
Victor David Hanson, a week ago, published a heartbreaking column on PJMedia.com describing how the water crisis and environmental fanaticism are causing people to literally abandon their homes in the working class interior of California while the gated-community hipsters in Silicon Valley and Hollywood enjoy rich lawns and expansive carbon footprints.
The people who run America’s institutions whether business, academic or political truly don’t care about gays as individuals unless that particular gay can be of some benefit to them, and they don’t care about non-gays either.
So kudos Pope Francis for having the insight to spell it out.
And what is the Pope’s position on gay marriage? It’s pretty clear.
Pope Francis Wisdom Shines
Tom Wolf Fiddles While Pensions Explode
By Scott Wagner
I am writing to respond to the June 25 Op-ed from Frances Wolf, first lady of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
It’s unfortunate that nearly a half-year after his inauguration Gov. Tom Wolf remains in campaign mode, crisscrossing the state with Mrs. Wolf and others making absurd claims about education spending.
Mrs. Wolf writes that King Elementary school, part of the Lancaster Area School District, has a library filled with 30-year-old textbooks and Mrs. Wolf is quoted saying, “They don’t have the funds to replace them with updated versions.” She leads readers to believe it’s the result of “devastating cuts” in state funding.
A quick check by my office reveals that the school district is sitting on a funding balance of $15.24 million.
And while the governor promises a windfall of new spending to help schools, he ducks action on the number one cause of school cutbacks and property tax hikes: skyrocketing pension costs.
That same school district the First Lady visited will see their pension costs go up by $4 million in 2016, which alone wipes out all of the promised new funding from the governor.
The fact is, Pennsylvania spends more on schools today than it ever has in the history of the Commonwealth, $27.4 billion.
That’s more than all but five other states in the nation. Pennsylvania is ranked 12th in per-pupil spending, at around $15,000, while the U.S. average is $11,300.
Obviously, if commitment to education was measured by dollars spent, Pennsylvania is among the most committed states in America.
But, if we measure that commitment by reining in the skyrocketing costs that are placing a crushing burden on schools, such as pensions and unchecked union dominance, then we have work to do.
Wolf wants to raise taxes – personal income taxes, sales taxes and impose a natural gas extraction tax. But in seeking his tax hikes, he should get off the campaign trail and make an honest appeal for his priorities.
State Sen. Scott Wagner, a Republican, represents the York County-based 28th District.