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Government Accountability
Pa. Supreme Court Protects Private Property in New Ruling
Harrisburg, Pa., July 22, 2026 — In a 7–0 unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Punxsutawney Hunting Club v. Pennsylvania Game Commission, sided with Pennsylvania landowners and ruled against warrantless searches on open fields. Under previous case law, the open…
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Education
Commonwealth Foundation Releases Analysis on 2026-27 Budget Deal
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Releases Analysis on 2026-27 Budget Deal
Education
Pa. Lawmakers Pass 2026-27 State Budget, Blocking Shapiro’s Tax Hikes and Preserving Emergency Savings
Read More: Pa. Lawmakers Pass 2026-27 State Budget, Blocking Shapiro’s Tax Hikes and Preserving Emergency Savings
Education
Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate Republicans for Advancing Tax Relief and Expanding Educational Opportunity
Read More: Commonwealth Foundation Applauds Senate Republicans for Advancing Tax Relief and Expanding Educational Opportunity
Rendell Announces Property Tax “Relief”
Gov. Rendell today announced an estimated $770 million in property tax “relief” from slots revenue, or about $200 per homeowner. As always, I put “relief” in quotes because the…
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Read More: Rendell Announces Property Tax “Relief”Education
Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?
Several state lawmakers and parents are protesting Governor Rendell’s proposed closing of Scotland School (HT GrassrootsPA) – a school ostensibly for children of veterans – claiming we must…
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Read More: Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?Education
Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?
Several state lawmakers and parents are protesting Governor Rendell’s proposed closing of Scotland School (HT GrassrootsPA) – a school ostensibly for children of veterans – claiming we must…
Media
Read More: Are Lawmakers Considering “Other Options” on Scotland School?Education
Charter Schools Always Face a Financial Struggle
Kevin Ferris has a piece in the Wall Street Journal on the difficulty that charter schools face funding their facilities. Ferris uses as his case study First Philadelphia Charter…
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Read More: Charter Schools Always Face a Financial StruggleHealth Care
Is Health Care a ‘Right’?
Many advocates of a single-payer, government run health care system use the argument that “health care is a right.” But as John Graham points out on State House Call,…
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Read More: Is Health Care a ‘Right’?Taxes & Economy
Thousands Attend Pittsburgh Tea Party
The Tribune Review reports that several thousand protesters showed up to the Pittsburgh Tea Party held today (HT GrassrootsPA). Instapundit has more, including a picture…
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Read More: Thousands Attend Pittsburgh Tea PartyRegulation
Pennsylvania Pie Fight
Wall Street Journal picks up on the fight over government regulation of homemade pies at church bake sales in Pennsylvania. My favorite part of the story is this:…
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Read More: Pennsylvania Pie FightTaxes & Economy
Natural Gas Lease Falls Through – PA Loses $31 Million in Revenue (and Jobs)
The AP is reporting that a natural gas firm, previously agreeing to pay $31 million for a lease of lands in the Marcellus Shale formation, has backed out of…
Media
Read More: Natural Gas Lease Falls Through – PA Loses $31 Million in Revenue (and Jobs)Education
Repealing Prevailing Wage Would Save Schools and Taxpayers Money
Sen. Mike Brubaker this week introduced S.B. 695, proposing a three-year moratorium on the application of Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage law to school construction projects. The Pennsylvania…
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Read More: Repealing Prevailing Wage Would Save Schools and Taxpayers MoneyTaxes & Economy
PA Earns 1 ‘A’, 12 ‘Fs’ on Taxpayer Organization Congressional Grades
The National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU) has released their annual report card for Congress for 2008, giving a record number of members the ignominious title “Big Spender”, including 12 members…
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Read More: PA Earns 1 ‘A’, 12 ‘Fs’ on Taxpayer Organization Congressional GradesTaxes & Economy
Which Tax Cuts Have Stimulated the Economy?
“‘We tried that, and it didn’t work,’ Obama and his partisans sneer in response to arguments that tax cuts are the key to restoring economic growth.” But as Peter…
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Read More: Which Tax Cuts Have Stimulated the Economy?Taxes & Economy
Video: Understanding The Financial Crisis
Great (and frightening) video from Stop Spending Our Future on the costs of “fixing” the financial crisis.
Media
Read More: Video: Understanding The Financial Crisis
WACO Blames Glenn Beck
Recently, the War Against Conservative Opinion (WACO) blamed Fox News’ Glenn Beck for the shooting deaths of three police officers in Pittsburgh. Even MSNBC’s Keith…
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Read More: WACO Blames Glenn BeckTaxes & Economy
Philadelphia Tries to Stop Tea Party
UPDATE: Victory ‘Thanks for everyone’s help in putting pressure on the city of Philadelphia! The problem has been resolved. They tea party is only required to pay for…
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Former Manager Sues PA Turnpike Commission for Political Firing
A former manager for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is suing the agency for wrongful firing, claiming he was let go because of his lack of political connectaions, the Post-Gazette…
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Read More: Former Manager Sues PA Turnpike Commission for Political FiringEducation
Vouching for D.C.
A new report from the US Department of Education finds the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program has been extremely successful. Matthew Ladner has more in NRO on the reports…
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Read More: Vouching for D.C.Government Accountability
Pennsylvania’s Lawsuit Racket
The Wall Street Journal has a scathing piece on pay-to-play politics in Harrisburg, specifically in relation to Gov. Rendell and his ties to another law-firm (HT John Lott):…
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Read More: Pennsylvania’s Lawsuit RacketTaxes & Economy
Big Business Still Loves Big Government
HT to Joe Collins for pointing me to Timothy Carney’s article in the Washington Examiner. Despite the oft-repeated rhetoric that free market advocates are the puppets of big…
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Read More: Big Business Still Loves Big GovernmentRegulation
Federal Cigarette Tax Increase will Reduce PA Tax Collections by $140 Million
A new report from the Tax Foundation looks at the cost of the recent federal tax hike on cigarettes, an increase of 39 cents to $1.01 per pack, state…
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Read More: Federal Cigarette Tax Increase will Reduce PA Tax Collections by $140 MillionTaxes & Economy
The Sunspot Recession Crisis
According to NASA, we are in the midst of the greatest sunspot recession since 1913. Analysts believed the sunspot recession had hit bottom in 2008, but activity has continued…
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Read More: The Sunspot Recession CrisisGovernment Accountability
PA House GOP Leader Offers Gov’t Reform Plan
Pennsylvania House Republican leader Sam Smith unveiled a 12-point government reform plan which he calls Pennsylvania’s Agenda for Trust in Harrisburg (PATH). The proposals are: No staff…
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