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The 3-car pile-up of ethics, health care and advertising

Lawyer advertising has always been a matter of great debate in my office. Ever since the United States Supreme Court said it would be a violation of the First Amendment to prevent lawyer advertising, the faces and names of many lawyers have been spread across the airwaves and cables. Some of them are even beamed down from satellites, due to the advent of dish service. Most of the limits on lawyer advertising has gone by the wayside. The Rules of Professional Responsibility were supposed to prevent lawyers from saying they are the “best,” suggesting that they are doing business in ...

White House vs. the Federal Reserve

I have many concerns about the Biden administration’s management, policy initiatives and leadership, including their approach to the economy and working with the Federal Reserve (Fed). Biden Democrats’ combination of spending since early 2021 and their assault on American energy production ignited inflation. Since the spending and high gasoline, diesel, and home heating costs continue to be inflated, farming, building, manufacturing, and shipping costs have greatly increased. This has been a recipe for the highest level of continued inflation since 1981. In response to Biden’s ...

The teacher shortage isn’t the real issue for Philadelphia’s school system

Daniel Nansi always dreamed that his daughter would go to school in America — until he landed in Philadelphia. Originally from Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, Nansi moved to Philadelphia in 2017. This past year, Nansi’s wife and 13-year-old daughter Moïra joined him in West Philadelphia’s Mill Creek neighborhood. Before Nansi enrolled his daughter at the local public school, James Rhoads Elementary, he researched the school’s performance. Nansi said his whole idea of American education came crashing down when he learned that Moïra’s government-assigned ...

Is the pandemic over?

Well, it depends on who you ask. President Biden set off a minor firestorm when he said on “60 Minutes” that “the pandemic is over.” Opinions to the contrary exploded all over. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros said more cautiously (and more globally than President Biden) that, “We’re not there yet, but the end is in sight.” On the other hand, millions of Americans suffering from severe pandemic fatigue have returned to normal activities – eating in restaurants, attending concerts and sports events, shopping – and dispensing with their masks. ...

Are federal deficits actually going down?

The president is annoyed. On Saturday, during a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, he complained that “I’m so sick of Republicans saying we’re the ‘big spenders.’ Give me a break. Give me a break.” He all but said in one portion of the speech that he is spending a lot of money on special interests and yet “doing all of this while reducing the deficit -- last year, $350 billion, and this year by $1 trillion.” It’s magic. It’s amazing to watch a speech in which so few fiscal facts are correct. First, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that ...

Elected officials disrespect constituents

After seven months of trying to get the Old Lycoming Township Board of Supervisors to hold public meetings to have a discussion with the residents and taxpayers about the regionalization of the police department with TVRPD, they finally had the meeting Sept. 28 at the Old Lycoming Township Volunteer Fire Department social hall. The hall was filled with people. People came to ask questions and give their views on regionalization. What the audience did not know was the fix was in, long before the meeting was ever scheduled. The meeting was scheduled for 6 p.m.. Not a very convenient ...