IRS neglects to tell 1 million taxpayers that illegal immigrants stole their Social Security numbers

Washington Times: IRS doesn't tell 1 million taxpayers that illegal immigrants stole their Social Security numbers

Gene Wilder, 1933-2016

Public Remains Supportive of School Choice

Public Remains Supportive of School Choice

The Tip of the Hillary Iceberg

Americans cut online ties because of bitter election, study finds

Americans cut online ties because of bitter election, study finds

Minorities have no friend in Hillary Clinton

When it comes to helping blacks, especially poor blacks, Hillary Clinton has a sorry record, according to columnist John Lott:

Democrats clearly haven't served blacks well, and more of the same isn't going to help. If blacks are willing to listen to Trump, his logical arguments may have a real chance of winning them over.

 John Lott: Minorities have no friend in Hillary

College campus lunacy

Walter Williams: College campus lunacy

Trump warns of Hillary Clinton 'war' on farmers during visit to Iowa

Trump warns of 'war' on farmers during visit to Iowa

Upholding the standards of truth and fairness in journalism

The director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University writes about the lack of objectivity and fairness in today's media climate, especially when it comes to covering the presidential race.  

Andrew Conte: Upholding the standards of truth and fairness in journalism

Comprehending Pa.'s liquor reform oddities may drive you to drink

Eric Heyl: Comprehending Pa.'s liquor reform oddities may drive you to drink

How the EpiPen Really Works ...

Toomey-McGinty race among most hotly-contested

Toomey-McGinty race among most hotly-contested

What does a 14-foot likeness of Trump looks like?

Patriotic paint job rallies Trump supporters in Youngstown, Pa.

Nonbelievers sue over Pennsylvania House's opening prayers

If they don't believe in God, why do they care if someone else offers a prayer?

Nonbelievers sue over Pennsylvania House's opening prayers

Kathleen Kane's reign of terror ends

Pennsylvania voters elected the first female and first Democrat to the office of Pennsylvania attorney general in 2012. A protege of the Clintons, Kathleen Kane was touted as a future governor of U.S. Senator. Instead, her political career quickly went down in flames. Stripped of her law license and convicted of perjury and obstruction, Kane resigned from office and awaits sentencing.

Veteran political reporter Brad Bumsted:

The sad saga of Kane's chaotic and often illegal tenure as Pennsylvania's attorney general could have been avoided by a "no comment" on March 17, 2014, when she began to build a web of lies about a legislative bribery case she declined to prosecute. Kane now will be fortunate if she can stay out of prison.

Brad Bumsted: Kathleen Kane's reign of terror ends

GUEST COLUMN: Eye of the Storm

By Lowman S. Henry

As August melts into September the halls of the state capitol building are relatively quiet. This is a marked contrast to a year ago when state government was in what turned out to be the early phases of the longest budget stalemate in state history. This year the budget, or at least the spending part of it, was done reasonably close to the constitutionally-mandated June 30th deadline, the revenue component followed several weeks later. 

But is this just the eye of the storm?

In capitulating to too many of Gov. Tom Wolf's spending demands the state legislature larded up the budget with nearly $1.4 billion in new expenditures. This despite claims of a $1.5 billion dollar "structural deficit" the governor claimed needed to be addressed. Even those using Common Core math can calculate that left the state nearly $3 billion in the hole.

To pay for this spending orgy some $650 million in new taxes were cobbled together, and accounting gimmicks employed, to produce a "balanced" budget. But the budget isn't really balanced and even that $650 million contains projected revenue that will never actually materialize. For example, lawmakers planned to charge the state's casinos $1 million each to purchase 24-hour liquor licenses. Apparently nobody thought to ask if the casinos wanted such licenses, as there now appears to be no takers. 

The budget also includes revenue from on-line gambling.  The problem is legislation has yet to be passed authorizing on-line gambling. After adopting the budget, the General Assembly adjourned for a two month recess delaying any possible revenue from that source deep into the fiscal year. 

And, predictably, the taxes that were hiked on existing businesses are having a dramatic negative impact. A 40% tax imposed on vaping supplies is driving many vaping stores - almost all of which are small businesses - out of business. That means not only will projected revenue from the tax fall short, but the state will also lose out on sales tax revenue as the stores shutter their doors. 

That Republicans in the legislature caved into $1.4 billion in new spending defied logic.  The GOP had fought an epic budget battle with the governor the previous fiscal year and won. Not only did they win, but not a single lawmaker seeking re-election was denied by voters due to the budget fight. After posting a historic win, Republicans essentially forfeited the next game.

All of these elements are coming together to produce the perfect fiscal storm as budget talks begin for next year. Don't forget that "structural deficit" of $1.4 billion hasn't been addressed. A significant portion of the new taxes enacted this year will fail to materialize. And, Gov. Wolf continues to demand a lengthy menu of spending hikes - and the taxes to pay for them.

Making matters worse the governor and the legislature have not been able to agree on how to deal with cost drivers, particularly the skyrocketing cost of public employee pensions. Pension costs are gobbling up the lion's share of any new revenue produced by a still slow-growing state economy. Republicans have passed pension reform only to see it vetoed by Gov. Wolf. There are new legislative proposals on the drawing board, but they fall woefully short of resolving the problem. Even if some reform is enacted it will likely have minimal impact on the upcoming 2017-18 state budget.

Given all of this, will Republicans stick to their pledge that without addressing cost drivers they will not enact broad-based tax hikes - such as raising the personal income tax, expanding and/or raising sales taxes - or  will they again cave into the governor's tax and spending demands? Much rides on the outcome of this looming budget fight, primarily the fiscal health of the commonwealth.

But, 2018 is a gubernatorial election year and this budget will be enacted as the campaign heats up. Gov. Wolf, if he seeks re-election, will want to show his base voters that he delivered the gods of higher spending. Republican voters will judge the GOP-controlled legislature by their ability to resist higher spending and more taxes. Add these competing political imperatives to the state's perilous fiscal circumstances and we should brace ourselves for the second wave of the hurricane.

(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal.  His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitue.org.

Defeat Katie McGinty

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A eulogy for John McLaughlin

Long before CNN or Fox went on the air, the most insightful political commentary came from John McLaughlin's weekly show on PBS. He was a true pioneer.

Pat Buchanan: A eulogy for John McLaughlin

Health insurance covers too much, not too little

Colin McNickle: Health insurance covers too much, not too little

Two Americas: Immigration

Hillary Clinton lying for 13 minutes straight minutes

The Hardest Question for Democrats to Answer: Is Hillary Honest?

The Hardest Question for Democrats to Answer: Is Hillary Honest?: It's easy to answer the question, "Is Hillary Clinton honest?" for anyone who's not a Democrat. But for New Hampshire Governor Maggie  Hassan, that's a question she dodged like a prize fighter. During a recent interview with CNN's Manu Raju, Hassan exhibited her special ability to get out of the way of tough questions — not once, but THREE times: RAJU: Do you think that she's honest and trustworthy?

Hillary's Back Door

Pa. store owner: State government is killing my business

State government is killing my business

Trump to begin buying ads in swing states, including Pennsylvania

Trump to begin buying ads in swing states, including Pennsylvania

Fewer college students opt to pursue career as teachers

Fewer college students opt to pursue career as teachers

Hillary Clinton Role Models Ad - So Many Lies in 90 Seconds

Hillary Clinton counting on illegals to put her in White House

Hillary drafts illegal 'Dreamers' to get immigrants to vote: Hillary Clinton's campaign on Sunday announced a program to recruit undocumented Dreamers into a voter registration army even though they are not allowed to vote. Celebrating the four-year anniversary of President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Clinton launched Mi Sueno, Tu Voto (My Dream, Your Vote), to rally and secure commitments from immigrants who can vote. The DACA program created so-called Dreamers, the children of illegal immigrants who the president has offered renewable two-year work visas and deportation deferral. The goal for many in the program is amnesty. On Monday, the Democratic National Committee also heralded the DACA anniversary and said that Clinton will go further than Obama as president. Hillary Clinton is committed to introducing immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship within her first 100 days in office and she will continue defending DACA and DAPA from partisan attacks, said the DNC.

Carrying Water For Hillary

Media's misfires on Trump's Second Amendment remark

John Lott on the Clinton camp and its dishonest liberal media allies: "The reaction to Trump's statement  comes across as a type of political Rorschach test for liberals, revealing their own biases more than anything else. Have people been conditioned to take everything literally?" 

John Lott: Media's misfires on Trump's Second Amendment remark

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ObamaCare's future: Condition critical

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Just around the time that Barack Obama packs his bags and leaves the White House, the house of cards that is ObamaCare could come tumbling down.

Editorial: ObamaCare's future: Condition critical

Study: Networks Squash Hillary’s Terror Woes to Scold Trump’s Gun Remark

Study: Nets Squash Hillary’s Terror Woes to Scold Trump’s Gun Remark: Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton should have been forced to deal with campaign messes on Tuesday, but the three networks only treated the Republican’s problem as a huge gaffe worthy of extensive coverage. ABC, CBS and NBC deluged viewers with five times more coverage — 25 minutes and 35 seconds versus 4 minutes and 41 seconds — to Trump’s “Second Amendment people” remark than they did to the father of an ISIS-inspired terrorist sitting right behind Clinton at a rally in Orlando, Florida.

Conservative Leaders: Media Must Report on the Christian Genocide

More Than 30 Conservative Leaders: Media Must Report on the Christian Genocide: Christianity is on the verge of being wiped out in the Middle East. Ancient communities that have existed since the time of the apostles are being systematically eliminated. In Iraq alone, the number of Christians has plunged from one million to under 275,000 in the last 12 years alone.

Suffolk University Iowa Poll Shows Trump Leading Clinton

Suffolk University Poll Shows Trump Leading Clinton by 1 Point, 41-40% in Iowa. Hillary Seen  Untrustworthy by 62% of Likely Voters.

Suffolk University Iowa Poll Shows Trump Leading Clinton by 1 Point, 41-40 Percent - Suffolk University

We Can't Afford A Clinton Presidency

Hillary Clinton pandering to illegals

Editorial: Pandering to illegals

5 Reasons For Pa. Residents To Fear Bigger Tax Hikes in 2017

5 Reasons To Fear Bigger Tax Hikes in 2017

Newspaper: Only Trump Can Turn Sickly US Economy Around

Investor's Business Daily, one of the nation's top financial newspapers, says Donald Trump can turn the U.S. economy around:

"Trump's economic proposals are vastly superior to Hillary Clinton's divide-and-conquer, tax-the-rich policies, which would further hobble U.S. growth by imposing $1.3 trillion in new taxes and onerous new regulations on the economy -- leading to fewer jobs, lower incomes, bigger deficits and a less secure future for all Americans."

Read the full editorial - Look Out, Hillary! On The Economy, It's Advantage: Trump - at the newspaper's website.

Forget Trump's Tax Returns, Let's See Hillary's Medical Records

The dirty little secret the liberal media is hiding: Hillary Clinton has serious medical issues that should disqualify her from seeking the presidency.

MARC SIEGEL: Hillary Clinton’s health and our right to know

Hillary Wants To Finish The Job Obama Started

Trump reaches out to conservatives with economic agenda

Trump reaches out to conservatives with economic agenda

Ludicrous legislation takes toll on Pennsylvania Turnpike

Eric Heyl: Ludicrous legislation takes toll on Pennsylvania Turnpike

Obama's Legacy: Replacing work with welfare

Stephen Moore: Replacing work with welfare

The regulatory tab: The cost for control

The regulatory tab: The cost for control

Fake Republicans for Hillary

Fake Republicans for Hillary: The defection of fake Republicans will make the party more conservative.

Feds Say Displaying Gadsden Flag Probably Racist

 

Feds Say Displaying Gadsden Flag Probably Racist: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has decided that displaying the "Don't Tread On Me" Revolutionary War banner (the Gadsden Flag) is to be considered racial harassment.

'13 Hours' Home Video Sales Surge

'13 Hours' Home Video Sales Surge:
Michael Bay’s movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi has been enjoying a surge in home video sales following the RNC.

If you like your Iran ransom payment, you can keep your Iran ransom payment

Who loads $400 million on a plane in the middle of the night unless you're involved in some sort of international criminal enterprise? That's the Obama Administration for you.
White House denies $400M was ransom to Iran

More felons on U.S. streets: Obama cuts short prison terms for 214

Obama cuts short prison terms for 214

3 of 4 NYT bestsellers are anti-Clinton books

3 of 4 NYT bestsellers are anti-Clinton books: For the first time, three of the top four New York Times nonfiction best sellers are anti-Clinton books.
Two new books jumped to the front of the all-important hardcover nonfiction list just this week: Armageddon, by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, and Hillary's America, by Dinesh D'Souza.

Pew: Voters see better future under Trump than Clinton

Pew: Voters see better future under Trump than Clinton: American voters believe that Republican Donald Trump will do a better job turning the country around that Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, especially in the areas of immigration, national security and the economy.
According to data tweeted out Tuesday by Pew Research Service, voters considering six major issues believe Trump would be a lot better in handling them than a Clinton administration.

The Wolf at the Door

Pa. school districts holding on to $4B in 'surplus' tax dollars

At a time when almost every school district in Pennsylvania has raised property taxes on residents, an analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation finds that these very same districts are hoarding $4 billion in "surplus" accounts -- far more than the state requires. A "surplus" is another way of overtaxing residents.

Saving for a Rainy Day – But Whose Money?

The Perils of Kathleen (Kane)

This is what you get when you elect an inexperienced Democrat into office (and I'm not talking about Obama).

Taxpayers to pay $150,000 to resolve Kane 'wrongful termination' lawsuit

Student loan lunacy in the age of Obama

Student loan lunacy

IRS targeting: The stench grows

EDITORIAL: IRS targeting: The stench grows

Hillary Clinton Tends To Her Flock ...

Obama's America: Welfare is the new work

The welfare state of mind has spiraled out of control in America especially during the Obama years, writes Stephen Moore in The Washington Times ... and will continue to grow worse if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

Welfare is the new work

Hillary's Hate

Hillary's Hate: The Saul Alinsky devotee crystallizes who will be anointed -- and who will be damned.

Obama VA Spent $20M on Art While Soldiers Died Waiting for Care

VA Spent $20 Million on Art While Soldiers Died Waiting for Care: Watchdog group Open the Books has blown the lid off the Veterans Affairs agency for spending tens of millions of dollars on needless artwork instead of giving our injured soldiers the care they need. Between 2004 and 2014, the VA dolled out nearly $20 million on art commissions, including custom sculptures, art installations, and a giant Morse Code display on the side of a parking garage (above photo) to honor blind vets. The colorful dots and dashes light up and are translations of Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt quotes. The cost: $300,000.

Theory vs. reality: Free speech on the web

Theory vs. reality: Free speech on the web