Suzanne Almeida, program director for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, chats today starting at 1 p.m. on the ticket-fixing scandal involving judges in Philly's Traffic Court. On a mobile device? Click here to join the chat. Click here to read a Sunday Currents column by Almeida and Lynn A. Marks, PMC's executive director.
Robert W. Patterson chats online at 1 p.m. Monday about Mitt Romney's loss and what it says about the GOP. On a mobile device? Click here. Read his Sunday Currents column.
Mark Bowden, the author of 'The Finish: The Killing of Osama bin Laden," takes your questions and comments today at 1 p.m. On a mobile device? Click here to join the chat. To read an excerpt of his book, click here.
Race has been a factor in American politics ever since the Constitution said three-fifths of the slave population would be counted in determining each state’s delegation to the House of Representatives.
After the Civil War, the Republican Party benefited from blacks’ adoration of the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, to reap votes. Franklin Roosevelt was beloved for his New Deal, but many African Americans continued to vote Republican until 1948, when Democrat Harry Truman, who had integrated the armed forces, pushed for a civil rights bill.
Truman raised the ire of Southern Democrats, who formed their own party dedicated to states’ rights — the most important right being the subjugation of African Americans. They were called the Dixiecrats, and are worth a history lesson now because their legacy is a factor in the racially polarized politics we have now.
While Mayor Nutter hints that he may have bigger things in store for Richard Glazer, his recent decision to pull the plug on Glazer’s impressive six-year stewardship of the city Board of Ethics is a puzzle from almost any good-government vantage point.
Under Glazer’s volunteer chairmanship, the independent agency — granted tough enforcement powers by Philadelphia voters in 2006 to do battle with the city’s pay-to-play political culture — has grown into a major force for City Hall reform.
Glazer, 69, a lawyer who also runs the Pennsylvania Innocence Project at Temple University, presided over the levying of penalties on more than 40 city officials, candidates, and other political players for crossing the line on campaign spending and other ethics rules.
Revealing that you have been sexually abused doesn’t come easily at any age. Child victims often fear for their lives. Years later, they fear the reaction of others to such a shocking admission.
But unless victims come forward, nothing changes. Just look at the Jerry Sandusky case, which has led to sweeping reforms at Pennsylvania State University to protect children and make sure sexual attacks are reported.
The importance of coming forward was reiterated this week by boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, who spoke candidly at a Penn State conference on child sex abuse about a secret he had kept hidden for years.
For those who think government serves little purpose, look at how authorities marshaled forces to save lives as mega-storm Sandy washed over the region. There are smaller public efforts as well that show how smart government intervention can protect residents.
For example, a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia concludes that more than 1,600 young drivers likely were prevented from having traffic accidents because New Jersey requires them to place a red decal on their license plates.
Researchers compared monthly accident rates for roughly two years before the decal law became effective in May 2010 and about a year afterward. They found that overall, accidents involving young drivers declined by 9 percent and crashes after midnight fell by 13 percent.
For years, New Jersey sent juveniles awaiting trial to county detention centers, locking them up even for minor crimes. But a new report on juvenile justice reform shows that there is another, more effective, alternative that saves taxpayer money and protects society.
The number of juveniles jailed across New Jersey has declined by more than half since the state started a program eight years ago to divert them to other options, according to the Kids Count Special Report.
Funded by a $200,000 grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the program has been implemented in 16 counties. Similar programs have been adopted in other states. The results in New Jersey are staggering. Last year, there were 4,093 juveniles admitted to county detention centers, compared with 10,191 before the program began in 2004.
Typically, when mere humans need to be reminded of who is really in charge, the weather is more than happy to oblige. As it did Monday, when tropical storm Sandy roared through the East Coast and made the all-important presidential race a secondary news story.
Sure, the politicians did what they could to remain the center of attention. Thus you had Gov. Corbett literally reading the latest weather report before TV cameras, as if the stations’ meteorologists hadn’t already done that. But that’s only a mild criticism.
For the most part, political leaders from President Obama to Govs. Corbett and Christie to Mayor Nutter and other national, state, and local officials deserve applause for preparing communities for the storm by evacuating residents in harm’s way, setting up shelters, diverting or shutting down traffic and transit, and later making rescues as needed.
