SUMMARY: The proposal to build a sports arena on Market Street East needs a full public evaluation to determine whether it will serve Philadelphia. I have prepared this paper to urge that public process because I believe there is substantial evidence that building the arena on Market Street fails Philadelphia in several respects: It fails to maximize employment opportunities for long term economic growth. It fails to maximize construction employment. It harms Chinatown which has been under pressure from developers for decades. It harms Old City, Washington Square West, and other surrounding communities. It creates a major healthcare problem [...]

The Supreme Court is not only broken. It is also a threat to democracy and to the rights so important to all of us. To reform the court we need to defeat Trump and vote all down the line for Democrats or Working Family Party candidates to make sure that Court Reform goes forward. This posting is long, but makes the case of how corrupt our current court is. Please read it and if you agree with it SHARE IT. With apologies to Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson it is now urgent that we call out the rogue and illegitimate Supreme [...]

I have been voting since 1968, that is 14 elections for President. In all this time, especially on issues of foreign policy every candidate I have voted for, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, has had serious flaws. This year is no exception. I suspect I am not alone in having this problem. However, given what is at stake in 2024 I will vote for, and urge others to vote for Biden and Harris to prevent Trump and his insurrectionist thugs from gaining power. Despite the shortcomings of Biden, especially with regard to justice for Palestine and a [...]

The war on Christmas is rolling along and Fox News has the proof! So, a while back the Daily Kos published an account of a Fox News show hosted by a guy named Jesse Watters in which he interviewed a cultural critic. Riley Gaines who seems to have earned that title when she tied for fifth place in a swimming meet. Anyway Ms. Gaines challenged us to be outraged by the existence of a disabled African American Santa in a wheelchair. She contended that this was proof of the war on Christmas. Well, I wanted to see for myself, [...]

While we can all hope that Mr. Trump can control his statements that risk the safety of jurors, witnesses, court and public safety employees, prosecutors and judges, if he chooses to violate conditions of bail and orders of the court we can rest assured that the federal government already has a network of small, prison facilities for prisoners who would be at risk in a general prison population and people in witness protection who need protection when providing testimony that could cause safety concerns. These prisons are small, usually on a campus with other prisons and are very secure. [...]

Thanks for sharing a thoughtful and considered opinion on the current crisis in Israel and Gaza. Also, thanks for sharing JoAnn and Michael’s article. I served for several years on the board of Americans for Peace Now with them and respect them as I do you. That said, let me try to outline my concerns and observations about the Gordian knot that I believe prevents the course of action you and they propose. First, as of last week, which does not include at least 1000 additional aerial bombardment attacks by the Israeli Air Force, 60,000 homes had been destroyed [...]