News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Backward not a step William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 8-31-21
Pm ozz hvsgs zcjszm hcysbg Gsdhsapsf romg ofs vsfs, Kwhv giaasf’g psgh ct ksohvsf Obr oihiab’g psgh ct qvssf.
Vszsb Vibh Xoqygcb
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: Forward forward, backward not a step.
Czech Proverb
My Pillow For Joe — forwarded from The Election Wizard’s Telegram Channel.
Work of God William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 8-30-21
Sbejneq, sbejneq, onpxjneq abg n fgrc.
Pmrpu Cebireo
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent
John 6:29
Quitting wrinkles the soul William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 8-29-21
Ftq iadw ar Sap ue ftue: fa nqxuqhq uz ftq azq tq tme eqzf
Vatz
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.
Douglas MacArthur
Pennsylvania 5G Law Passes With Little Fanfare
By Bob Small
HB 162 was passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature, and signed into law as Act 50 on June 30 by the Gov. Tom Wolf. The Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act was passed with only three dissenting votes and little notice. The idea is to accelerate 5G infrastructure in Pennsylvania
We all, of course, want the modern world of 5G and any route to this sounds like it must be harmless. Well, yes and no. First, we learned of this item at the July Swarthmore Borough Council Meeting. We learned that the mini-towers required for 5G could be planted on the grass strips that many of us have between sidewalk and street.
This is property we had thought was owned by the homeowners and, we assumed, was part of what we pay taxes for We assumed we had control of what goes on on these strips. Guess not.
Now, according to State Senator Tim Kearney (D-26 and a former fine Mayor of Swarthmore) there are but sevem exceptions whereas a municipality can “refuse the installation of small cells.” None of these 7 exemptions apply to these street strips already having a planting of any kind of tree, neither fruit trees or saplings, or… These would probably have to go, though that’s a small price for progress, one supposes.
The apple harvest we had this year may be our last.
There’s an exception for Historical Markers, but this would not necessarily apply to, say, Swarthmore’s Historically Black Neighborhood. Each case like this might have to be brought up individually. How this might effect Swarthmore College is still unclear.
We have also been told that all these initial requests will be coming to your town by the end of the†month.
According to Legiscan.com, the only three nays, in the State House, were Democrat Kevin J. Boyle, and Republicans Carl Walker Metzgar, and Brett R. Miller, none of whom mentioned it on their websites.
Boyle, who participated in some forums I organized, did not respond as to his reasons to vote against this bill. No one in the Pennsylvania Senate opposed it.
Bob Small is a resident of Swarthmore.
Quit Mr Biden — For the sake of the nation and the world, someone please show Joe this photo and ask him to quit.
Hey, any Queen of Diamonds will do.
A book long enough William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 8-28-21
Lrp hctyvwpd esp mzoj. Bfteetyr hctyvwpd esp dzfw.
Ozfrwld XlnLcesfc
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
C. S. Lewis
Births of living creatures William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit 8-27-21
Iye mkx’d qod k mez yp dok lsq oxyeqr yb k lyyu vyxq oxyeqr dy cesd wo.
M. C. Vogsc
Answer to yesterday’s William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: As the births of living creatures are at first ill-shapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time.
Francis Bacon
Maskless Parents Cause Panicked Board To Call Police — A passel of protesting parents entered the Garnet Valley School Board meeting sans masks, Aug. 24, resulting in a call to police and the board members panically prancing from the room.
The Pennsylvania school district in suburban Philly passed a policy, Aug. 16, requiring all entering district buildings to wear masks.
The parents were pointing out that the policy wasn’t science-based. They were prepared to present evidence showing such, but, as noted, the board members panicked and pattered away.
Leah Hoopes, who was one of the parents and is one of our favs, says the policy is not just stupid but is counter-productive to health and education.
She notes that The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) describes significant contamination issues concerning masks and indicates they are ineffective if used improperly as they would invariably be.
“If this is about safety is Garnet Valley replacing the masks every time they are touched?” Leah said. “No because it’s the illusion of safety.”
Leah also points outs that hearing impaired children can’t read the lips of teachers wearing masks, a problem the district is pointedly ignoring.
“Garnet Valley spent $40,000 on resurfacing tennis courts ,tennis courts that were locked up in 2020, while they simultaneously told a mother of a hearing impaired child they wouldn’t pay for clear masks for the teachers so she could read lips,” she said.
A Daily Times story describes the number of protestors as between 30 and 40. Leah says it was 50.
One of the few bright sides about the pandemic is that our public schools are revealing themselves to be nowhere near as effective, or caring, as those who run them pretend they are. The possibility of reform progresses. Money should follow students not systems whose primary purpose seems to be providing six-figure pensions for the privileged. Vouchers would automatically shift the power balance to the parents from the bureaucracy.
Judicial Elections Hugely Important In Pennsylvania, forwarded from Leo Knepper of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania
By Gina Diorio
While next year’s U.S. Senate race and, to a lesser extent, gubernatorial race are capturing much of the political media’s attention, Pennsylvania has another statewide election in just a few months. On Nov. 2, voters will elect four judges to open seats on our three statewide appellate courts.
Before moving to Pennsylvania, I lived almost all my life in Jersey, where the governor appoints judges. So when I realized some states elect their judges, I was befuddled. Then, when I learned Pennsylvania elects judges in partisan elections, I was dumbfounded.
You might be thinking, who cares? Why do these races matter? I’m glad you asked.
Pennsylvania has three statewide appellate courts: Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Commonwealth Court. Superior Court and Commonwealth Court are equal in ‘rank’, so to speak, but hear different types of cases.
The 15-member Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and most civil cases. And the court’s rulings can have a major impact on individuals, local businesses, and more.
For example, the Superior Court has ruled on “venue shopping,” the practice of allowing trial lawyers to cherry pick where they bring personal injury cases—regardless of where the alleged injury occurred—based on which court has a history of ordering big payouts. (Hello, Philadelphia.)
The Superior Court has also chimed in on whether workers can sue former employers for illnesses that appear long after they’ve left their jobs (another potential trial lawyers’ dream).
The 9-member Commonwealth Court, meanwhile, hears cases relating to state and local government.
Last year, when businesses challenged Gov. Wolf COVID orders, some of these cases went to Commonwealth Court. When the League of Women Voters challenged our congressional map back in 2017, that lawsuit began in Commonwealth Court. And when my organization, Commonwealth Partners, challenged our state’s unbalanced budget, we filed the case in Commonwealth Court.
Of course, our 7-member Supreme Court can overturn or sustain any ruling from the Superior or Commonwealth courts on appeal. However, it can also take any case directly, regardless of its status in the lower courts.
We saw this last year when the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction over whether the General Assembly could terminate Wolf’s emergency disaster declaration without Wolf’s approval. As you’ll recall, the court ruled against the General Assembly—paving the way for the recently passed constitutional amendments reining in a governor’s emergency powers.
The Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction over whether the General Assembly could terminate Wolf’s emergency disaster declaration without Wolf’s approval.
Given that each judge in all three appellate courts is elected, the stakes and costs of judicial elections can quickly mount.
In 2015, Pennsylvania set a record for the most expensive state judicial races in history to date, at more than $15 million.
Spending was so high because three seats on our Supreme Court were up for election, and Democrats saw the chance to flip that court and have the final say over all the types of cases mentioned above—plus many more.
Democrats succeeded, and as a result we’ve seen the court toss our congressional maps, change the voting rules just before last year’s election, and uphold Gov. Wolf’s business shutdown orders, to name just a few things. (For more on harmful Supreme Court rulings since 2015, check out Commonwealth Partners President and CEO Matt Brouillette’s recent op-ed.)
This year, voters will choose one Supreme Court justice, one Superior Court judge, and two Commonwealth Court judges. (In full disclosure, Commonwealth Partners, has endorsed candidates in each race.)
All these seats are currently held by Republicans. Democrats hope to expand their 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court, flip the Superior Court (which currently has an 8-7 Republican majority), and make inroads into the 7-2 Republican majority on the Commonwealth Court.
Of course, seeking partisan gains for partisan ends is a barrier to an objective judiciary. Instead, we should seek judges who uphold the rule of law.
So as November approaches, Pennsylvanians would do well to recognize that, despite their lack of excitement, judicial elections are critically important—and vote accordingly.
Gina Diorio is the Public Affairs Director at Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, an independent, non-partisan, 501(c)(6) membership organization dedicated to improving the economic environment and educational opportunities in Pennsylvania. www.thecommonwealthpartners.com.
