Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole — A new law that gives victims of crime in Pennsylvania a voice in the parole process of inmates has recently taken effect, reports state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning ParoleAct 14 of 2013 makes it clear that a crime victim or representative for the victim may appear personally before the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and provide testimony related to an inmate’s application for parole. Victims or their representatives also may choose to appear through video conference rather than by telephone if the board has that capability.

In addition, the law also will protect victims against potential retaliation by criminals by keeping the testimony confidential.

Act 14 Gives Victims Voice Concerning Parole

Wynnewood Institute Features Civilization

Wynnewood Institute Features Civilization — Niall Ferguson’s Civilization will be the subject of a free lecture by Professor Thomas Patrick Burke, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 12 at the Wynnewood Institute, 104 Haverford Road, Wynnewood, Pa, 19106.

Register at  wynnewood@wynnewood.org

Hat tip Teri Adams of Independence Hall Tea Party Association.

Harry Potter Picks Redskins Over Eagles

Harry Potter picks Redskins over Eagles

Just an observation as to whom Harry Potter might root for in tonight’s game between the Redskins and Eagles: The House of Gryffindor’s colors are red and gold.
Harry Potter Picks Redskins Over Eagles
The House of Slytherin’s colors are, well . . .

Harry Potter Picks Redskins Over Eagles

Seriously, if you were a dog killer what House would you belong to?

 

Harry Potter Picks Redskins Over Eagles

Steven Bucci 9/11 Speaker For Delco Pats

Steven Bucci,  a former Army Special Forces officer who has a doctorate in international relations, will be the speaker at an event to commemorate 9/11 sponsored by the Delaware County Patriots,  7 p.m., Sept. 11 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 327 N. Newtown Street Road (Route 252) Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Bucci is director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at Heritage Foundation and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation for issues involving homeland security and sefense.

Bucci who commanded the  3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces,  led deployments to eastern
Africa, South Asia and the Persian Gulf — including Operation Desert
Thunder in 1998 in response to Saddam Hussein’s threats to violate the
no-fly zone over Iraq.

He was at the Pentagon on 9/11.

To register for the event visit here.

Meehan Syrian Statement

Meehan Syrian Statement — Congressman Pat Meehan (R-Pa7) has placed the following statement on his Facebook page:

Meehan Syrian StatementI have very serious concerns about potential strikes on Syria. Many critical questions remain unanswered: What are our national goals and objectives, and what is the strategy to implement it? How will it strengthen our national security, and can we guarantee we can end Syria’s chemical weapons programs?

What are the potential consequences for our allies in the region, specifically Israel? 

Sending our men and women into combat is the most grave decision a public official can make, and so far

I’m not satisfied that this administration has sufficiently answered these questions to the Congress and the American people. I will continue investigating, asking for answers to these questions, and listening to the people of the 7th District before the vote next week.

Meehan Syrian Statement

Workers Lose Under Obamacare

Workers Lose Under Obamacare

By Elizabeth Stelle

Yes, workers lose under Obamacare.

Imagine one Monday your boss tells you the company is cutting your hours so they don’t have to give you health insurance.  This bad news is compounded when you start shopping for insurance and discover that premiums have skyrocketed in the last few years.

That’s a tough blow for any worker, but it’s becoming the new normal for individuals and families across Pennsylvania—even labor unions that supported the law are voicing their concerns.

Recently, the Nevada Chapter of the prominent union coalition AFL-CIO released a resolution stating, “The unintended consequences of the [Affordable Care Act] will lead to the destruction of the 40-hour work week, higher taxes, and force union members onto more costly plans—eventually destroying [union health plans] completely.”

No wonder Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Philadelphia to defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) against growing public opposition. Secretary Sebelius continues to deny the law’s adverse impact on workers, but stories of layoffs due to Obamacare are a dime a dozen.

Thanks to the ACA, public sector workers like school aides around the state are losing hours, pay and in some cases even their jobs.  East Lancaster County School District and Dallas School District in Luzerne County are cutting back on support staff to avoid the ACA’s “employer mandate” that penalizes employers for not offering health insurance to full-time employees—encouraging employers to use part-time workers and contractors, instead.

Ironically, the very organizations that ostensibly exist to protect these public sector workers—government unions—enthusiastically supported the job-killing law.

For example, in 2012 and 2013 the National Education Association gave $250,000 to Health Care for America Now!—a group lobbying for Obamacare.  The Service Employees International Union also launched $12 million in television ads supporting the law. It seems these unions failed to take into account the law’s many negative consequences.

The ACA was intended to expand access to health insurance, but in practice it reduces employment, increases insurance premiums, and hikes taxes through a complex labyrinth of rules and regulations. In effect, it’s making it harder—not easier—for the average person to access health insurance.

Under the ACA, all employers, including governments, with more than 50 employees must provide full-time workers—those working 30 hours or more per week—with health insurance.  Moreover, employer health insurance plans must meet new federal regulations and mandates regarding the cost to employees.  Failure to meet these mandates results in a substantial fine.

That’s a major burden on job creators around the country and here in Pennsylvania.

Because of the health care law’s harsh financial penalties, restaurant chains including Applebee’s and Papa John’s, big box stores like Wal-Mart and even grocery stores like Wegmans are cutting hours or benefits.  In fact, the people who struggle the most to find affordable health care—the working poor—are those hardest hit as their hours and paychecks shrink.

President Obama recently suspended this job-killing employer mandate—though his authority to do so is questionable—until after the next election.  Unfortunately, that still leaves businesses trapped in an state of uncertainty, not knowing when the government will require them to provide insurance or face a penalty.

Not only are these workers being hurt with fewer hours and less pay, but they will pay more for insurance under the ACA.  So, too, will small businesses and full-time workers.

Three years into the ACA, average family premiums have increased by $3,000.  The CEO of Highmark predicts premiums will continue to rise ¾this after Highmark already increased Pennsylvania’s individual and small group rates in 2010 and 2013.  Meanwhile, Aetna raised premiums in Pennsylvania by 10 percent in 2011, noting the ACA as a significant cost driver.

Elected officials must now find ways to protect both public and private sector workers from such skyrocketing premiums and pay cuts. A good start would be giving those without employer-based insurance the same tax benefits businesses receive—leveling the playing field for all Pennsylvania workers.

Elizabeth Stelle is a policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation

Workers Lose Under Obamacare

Can GOP Take N.J. Legislature?

Independence Hall Tea Party PAC President Don Adams will discuss “Does Christie Have Coat-tails?  Can Republicans Win the Jersey Senate and Assembly” with the Cherry Hill Tea Party, 7 p.m., Sept. 9 at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 520 S. Kings Highway, Cherry Hill, N.J, 08034

It’s free and open to the public.

StartPage Claims Search Engine Privacy

StartPage Claims Search Engine Privacy — Tom Flocco has sent us a link for Holland-based StartPage, which bills itself as the world’s most private search engine.

StartPage says it doesn’t store your IP address, use tracking cookies or make a record of searches; claims to protect you from NSA spying and gives 100 percent real Google results in complete privacy.

We’ve been using DuckDuckGo, which claims similar things. We are happy with DDG but StartPage sounds fine too.

Thanks Tom.

StartPage Claims Search Engine Privacy

Union Membership Labors

 Union membership labors

By Chris Freind

Talk about freeloading. The nine of 10 Americans who aren’t part of organized labor still took full advantage of Labor Day, that hallowed holiday honoring unions, aka “the working class.”
And since those 90 percent aren’t considered “working people” (meaning they must not work) every day is clearly a holiday for them. So relaxing on Labor Day just seems like sticking it to the unions.

What else is new? Public-sector unions are seeing their salaries, benefits and pensions under constant threat of reform from dastardly Republicans trying to stave off bankruptcy. The nerve!

For some unions, that might mean paying more than, God forbid, 5 percent of their health care costs, even though most in the private sector pay far more.

Far “worse,” some Republicans want to allow public union members to negotiate with their prospective employer individually, with free market-type incentives allowing for a fair offer for both employee and “employer” (the taxpayer).

An offer is made and the individual accepts or declines, same as in the private sector. Accountability and efficiency would increase, and unmotivated, bureaucratic sloths would be eliminated.

Sound fair? It is, and it’s called the elimination of collective bargaining. But union leaders demonize its supporters while fighting to continue a system that is completely broke, even opposing attempts to replace antiquated pension plans with 401(k)s. The result? Only 11 percent of the workforce is now unionized, and the decline continues.

Despite a complete inability to articulate its message, the GOP is not anti-labor. It just happens to be the one cleaning up the mess, especially in states like Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. Noticeably absent is soon-to-implode Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Corbett has pursued a business-as-usual policy.

For decades, unions have reaped the rewards of Ponzi-style pay-me-later deals made between union bosses and gutless politicians interested only in self-preservation. But the piper has finally come calling.

Math doesn’t lie. There simply isn’t enough money to continue paying high wages and lavish benefits. It’s either reform or bankruptcy. There’s no third option.

Originally, joining a public-sector union was a trade-off: You wouldn’t make as much, but received a healthy pension and job security. But all that changed after millions in union dues were used to defeat politicians who dared cross labor.

Now, salaries of many public workers are higher than those in the private sector, with pensions so extravagant that Wall Streeters blush with envy.

But with an economy still in shambles, tax revenue down, and baby boomer retirements skyrocketing, the pension system has become permanently unsustainable.

Is it right to reform pensions and benefits? Don’t public-sector union members deserve what they were promised?

At the risk of seeming callous, that’s irrelevant. There isn’t enough money. Period. Unlike the feds, states and municipalities can’t print cash so cutbacks are inevitable, especially on big-ticket items like labor and pension costs.

The alternative is far worse: Bankruptcy. And municipalities can and are declaring. In towns nationwide, including Detroit, the message is simple: Agree to reforms, or risk losing everything. Yet unfathomably, that message is lost on the teachers union in America’s eighth-largest school district (Philadelphia), which is refusing any pay concessions despite a massive deficit, making the district one of the nation’s foremost candidates for bankruptcy. Obviously, it’s not fair. Rank-and-file union members were promised an unfulfillable bill of goods by long-gone hacks. But to paraphrase JFK, anyone who believes in fairness is seriously misinformed.

Unions are not being singled out, as the private sector has fared far worse, with considerably higher job losses and some pensions returning pennies on the dollar. That’s not fair either, but it’s reality. So what now?

Union leaders should tone down the hype, stop the personal attacks, and enter the real world. Reforms are imminent, not because of political principle, but because the money is gone. Failure to be reasonable will result in a protracted battle the unions cannot win, guaranteeing unnecessary pain.

Union bosses are supposed to represent their members’ interests, so it would behoove the rank-and-file to hold their leaders accountable, which they haven’t done. On the two issues that mattered most — defeating NAFTA and Most-Favored-Nation trading status for China — union leaders batted zero. Ironically, both passed under Bill Clinton. Yet labor still blindly supports the Democrats, who take their votes for granted.

Want to stop the union bleeding? Repair the roof now, while there’s still a little sunshine, and don’t wait until the monsoon strikes.

There will never be a perfect “union,” but if reforms aren’t made quickly, there could soon be a Labor Day with no labor. And we’ll all be the poorer for that.

Union Membership Labors