In Philadelphia, that is:
Fourteen months into a campaign that has the feel of a movement, Sen. Barack Obama has collided with the gritty political traditions of Philadelphia, where ward bosses love their candidates, but also expect them to pay up.
The dispute centers on the dispensing of “street money,” a long-standing Philadelphia ritual in which candidates […]

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For years now there have been rumors circulating that Wegman’s is interested in a spot in Lancaster County, and why not. Economically this may be one of the most dynamic communities in the commonwealth; there’s money to be made here (which is why all those other national retailers keep coming). Though I’ve also been told […]

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Dunno whether it carries the same weight as Rendell backing Hillary, but significant nonetheless.

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See, you know, when Republicans play the race card, I expect that from them. When Democrats do it, it’s just execrable - but, as Will Bunch notes, maybe in states like this one it’s to be expected:
A sculptor brought in to mold a Hillary Clinton voter would have crafted Geraldine Ferraro from scratch. She’s 72 […]

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See, I’m not necessarily opposed to this, Rep. Tom Creighton’s idea that casinos ought to be required to send monthly win-lost statements to those who have registered for “reward cards” and get maybe free drinks or food, that sort of thing.
I have zero confidence that it will accomplish what Creighton thinks it will, however:
Creighton said these […]

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C’mon Joe, don’t call me “Mr. Smart,” that’s my dad. And by the way, I think it’s a good thing that LOL has a righty blogging on the site, we can play some rhetorical raquetball around here. Wear a helmet.
But back to the matter at hand. You say this:
The left doesn’t trust the people enough […]

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If you’ve never lived in Pittsburgh this probably won’t mean anything to you. If you have spent time in the ‘burgh, however - it’s just a very sad thing.
Myron  Cope died of respiratory failure this morning at age 79.
Cope had several claims to fame over the course of his long career in sports, and in […]

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Post-Gazette reporting that there will be public hearings in Pennsylvania this summer on the prospect of privatizing state stores:
Sen. Rob Wonderling, R-Montgomery, introduced the privatization bill this month, arguing that the state should not be in the liquor business. In the bill’s current form, about two-thirds of the 623 state stores would be sold to […]

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Tony Norman at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders about Gov. Ed’s “blunt talk” on race, and how Obama’s might prevent some Pennsylvanians for voting for him:
“You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate,” he said bluntly. Our eyes only met briefly, […]

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Why must the wingnuttery always, always, always emanate from Lancaster County?
Because you look at the state of the commonwealth, you see economic issues, you see the plight of our cities, you see questions about gaming revenues and tax issues. So clearly, we can understand why state Sen. Mike Brubaker should make a priority out of: […]

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I’ve always been sort of wary of the term “fixed income.” It’s used, of course, most often with seniors - they’re on a ”fixed income,” and therefore in peril. And that can certainly be true, though it’s also true that just because you’re on a ”fixed income” doesn’t mean you shop for dinner in the dog food aisle. One […]

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s got a very interesting series going on Pennsylvania’s liquor control system - its benefits and (mostly) drawbacks. Among other things, it examines the strange way in which the LCB can decide where to locate a state store - helps, apparently, to be in with Gov. Ed.
And then there’s this:
Also this month, the PLCB reached preliminary […]

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So I’m down talking to Bob Dano yesterday, owner of Engleside Beverage Mart, about this and that, and he raises a point I hadn’t ever considered - but one I find absolutely stunning.
Did you know, and I didn’t, that there is no state liquor store anywhere between the North Queen street store and the Maryland […]

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Hm. Remember back when Bob Casey Jr. was running against Rick Santorum, and it looked like Green candidate Carl Romanelli - conveniently funded by right-wingers - was about to jump into the race, possibly siphoning liberal votes from Casey?
Romanelli never got on the ballot. Today comes word that one big contributor to the failed effort, […]

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Call this one step up, half a step back.
As detailed in this morning’s Intelligencer Journal, a Washington County Democratic state legislator has proposed a bill that would permit wine sales in farmer’s markets. But then you read that at least two prominent local wineries, Mount Hope and Nissley, probably wouldn’t do so - because an […]

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The state Senate today passed a smoking ban now being criticized as too soft, too full of compromise. It should have been tougher, proponents say.
It shouldn’t have been passed at all.
I suppose as a good liberal I’m supposed to support smoking bans. But here’s an instance (one of many, actually) where I’m not liberal at […]

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