http://www.philly.com/r?19=960&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F Philly.com politics headlines. en-us Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 2009-11-22T08:01:00Z en-us http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168201&44=70734392&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F20091122_Living_testimony_from_a_Pa__ghost_employee.html HARRISBURG - For decades, Pennsylvania government has been haunted by ghosts - the illegal kind embodied by patronage hires who, though flesh and blood, don't do a stitch of work for their government salaries. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 8f79ae4d0321aca3ffc2e4227c6e28da 2009-11-22T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70734232&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091122_Practices_devote_costly_hours_to_insurance_dealings.html At Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia, one of the region's largest specialty physician groups, the expensive quest to get paid by dozens of insurance companies begins days before a patient shows up for an appointment and can take weeks or months. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT ea9c1c86647b5cb16f1bf1753c5443b2 2009-11-22T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=323181&44=70734422&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fcity%2F20091122_Monica_Yant_Kinney__Car_moved_to_fix_street__Good_luck_finding_it_again.html When I lived in Old City, I would occasionally awake to the sound of workmen hollering into bullhorns that they were towing cars on my block. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 6caffc43940e075b3b156bea619e6f36 2009-11-22T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168201&44=70734382&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F20091122_New_N_J__role_awaits_Legislature_s_leaders.html When Democrats return to Trenton tomorrow and choose Senate and Assembly leaders, their new chiefs will gain power, influence, and a role they didn't expect: party spokesmen during a Republican administration. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 0c61dfadbdb916968377c6689eef9663 2009-11-22T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168201&44=70703307&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F20091121_ap_demssnare60votestomoveaheadonhealthcare.html Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:43:54 GMT 591c05b74dfb4b1b9bd5f95df4ae4849 2009-11-21T21:43:54Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=323181&44=70687242&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fcity%2F20091121_A_bicycle_blitz_in_Center_City.html Philadelphia police officers biked through Center City on a mission to make bicyclists more aware of their surroundings, their fellow travelers on the streets, and, most important, the laws they're supposed to follow. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 163d04239394c93bcd4c330179f77735 2009-11-21T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=403844&44=70695392&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitico%2FRSS_POLITICO20091121_Sunday_talk_show_tip_sheet.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:07:57 GMT 601c88a67e4cd7938bdb951f8ea12635 2009-11-21T12:07:57Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=403844&44=70695387&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitico%2FRSS_POLITICO20091121_GOP_eyes_McDonnell_strategy.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:19:33 GMT 11378ef62ce644b3a3bd83ffadb26aa1 2009-11-21T12:19:33Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70687017&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091121_Senators_vote_today_on_fate_of_health_bill.html WASHINGTON - The Senate is poised to approve today the start of a historic debate over health-care legislation aimed at making coverage easier, less expensive to obtain, and harder to lose. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 805ca91acd12101d6024966e58b75c2b 2009-11-21T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168201&44=70687247&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F20091121_Flight_to_Ohio_rescues__puppy-mill__dogs.html When a Philadelphia animal-welfare activist heard that nearly 400 Lancaster County dogs had been trucked to an auction in Ohio last month, he saw it as a chance to call attention to animal abuse in Pennsylvania. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 32102ea3e60285848de4b04f2fa1f38b 2009-11-21T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=403844&44=70618352&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitico%2FRSS_POLITICO20091120_Palin_asks___Rationed_care__already_.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:44:14 GMT 204db47cf7c84d5f0655cd20a95ca9a6 2009-11-20T13:44:14Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=403844&44=70618347&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitico%2FRSS_POLITICO20091120_House_GOP_ups_pressure_on_W_H__on_war.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:31:38 GMT dd62932613e98f82640f1b4b88e53a2a 2009-11-20T14:31:38Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168201&44=70600067&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F20091120_Corzine_warns_Christie_on__unenviable__budget_choices.html ATLANTIC CITY - Gov. Corzine's voice wavered as he choked out the words: "From the bottom of my heart, serving you as a U.S. senator and as governor have been the highest points of my life." Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT a02155a7fa955b668f36cd464f12806b 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=323181&44=70600422&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fcity%2F20091120_City_cyclists_cheer_one_bill__boo_others.html A less-motorized metropolis was the subject of City Council bills yesterday - one to allow human-powered taxis, another seeking strict regulation of the city's estimated 300,000 bicyclists that cycling advocates immediately denounced. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 545a2f3c3dc1b0b375ff2d40b50ab748 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70600052&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091120_Computer_glitch_causes_hours_of_flight_headaches.html ATLANTA - For the second time in little more than a year, a glitch at one of the two centers that handle flight plans for the nation's air-travel system set off delays and cancellations for passengers around the country. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT dde0c00c2dc3f7a76ffcecb704ec22f0 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70600802&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091120_Clout__Rushed_to_center_stage.html A TWO-TERM congress- man looking to knock off a five-term senator in a primary election needs a lucky break or two. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 5304312676219ee542f3c78ad1c08ea2 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70600062&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091120_Senators_dig_in_for_health-bill_showdown.html WASHINGTON - Digging in for a long struggle, Republican senators and governors yesterday assailed the Democrats' newly minted health-care legislation as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts, and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT addbf7ebf470f6112dac0e0efd1077ff 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=168206&44=70600057&32=3796&7=195367&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F20091120_The_mammogram_storm__Benefits_vs__risks.html Common sense tells women that while mammography is an imperfect, inadequate defense against a disease that will kill 40,000 of them this year, it is better than nothing. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT 3dd5ff590a61f7dc96ac11a7cb5acb7c 2009-11-20T08:01:00Z