Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
Supporters often justify the Trump administration’s trade policies by claiming that increased trade with China, starting in 2001, decimated US manufacturing. But as this blog post shows, there are many reasons to doubt this “China shock” story. (For more reasons, see this post by Scott Winship and Bryan Riley.) For starters, the broader trend away … Read more
About a year ago, we wrote an editorial about the acquisition of an antiquated mid-cap corporation by another firm. This sort of thing happens all the time, and we don’t normally editorialize on such deals. Bipartisan groups of senators don’t usually care about such deals either, but in this case, one did, so we wrote … Read more
Last week, I wrote about the upcoming Palestine Writes Literature Festival, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from September 22 to 24. Featuring as speakers noted antisemites, running the gamut from Marc Lamont Hill to Roger Waters, the festival promises to be a veritable cornucopia of hatred of Jews: calls for ethnic cleansing … Read more
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — It’s 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning and a homeless man is curled up against the decorative angled brick below the archways of the large pane windows that line the office building known as the Fort Pitt Commons. For context, it is important to understand that 40 years ago this building was … Read more
Did you know that many Catholic patriots not only took part in the America Revolution but distinguished themselves in fighting for independence, even gaining the admiration of George Washington? Heroes like John Barry, Stephen Moylan, Mary Waters and Thomas Fitzsimons should be better known. Commodore John Barry Commodore John Barry stood tall in both physical … Read more
Richard Tems was about as loyal a Trump supporter as you can get. The Bucks County businessman and GOP committeeman has fiercely defended former President Donald Trump in editorials, interviews with reporters, and conversations with anyone within earshot. He voted for Trump twice and believed he was the right president at the right time. However, … Read more
This week, the University of Pittsburgh was under fire from State Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, who objected to conservative speakers, including competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles, and Daily Wire podcast host Cabot Phillips. Mayes’ objections reflect the growing anti-free speech movement, and its rationale of “speech-as-harm” that is sweeping the nation. … Read more
For nearly 30 years, Amos Miller has owned and operated Miller’s Organic Farm, an all-natural Amish farm located in Bird-in-Hand Pennsylvania. Like many Amish farmers, Miller likes to do things the old-fashioned way. He doesn’t use electricity, fertilizer, or gasoline, and he also stays away from modern preservatives. The farm’s reputation has grown over the … Read more
ON MONDAY, MAY 2, I logged onto my Chase bank account—and discovered my balance was $992.43, many thousands of dollars less than I expected. My first thought: I’m going to get hit with a low-balance fee. That, alas, should have been the least of my worries. I clicked through to see the account details, and … Read more
What is most interesting in this state is the Trump effect. He wrongly claims victory for Mastriano winning the primary because of his last-second endorsement, but Mastriano already was well on his way to winning before Trump got involved. The more compelling issue about Trump is that his voters will still tell you they loved … Read more
PITTSBURGH — Just moments after the press reported there had been no fatalities in the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, the tragic event instantly turned into a political spectacle. “Shame on the Republican lawmakers who didn’t support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” tweeted Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. “Pennsylvanian lives are on the line. It’s long … Read more
PITTSBURGH — Word travels fast in places like this city’s iconic small-business district filled with third- and fourth-generation family-owned businesses, the majority of which are centered on two things: relationships and food. Relationships and food, but not politics. At least not usually, thank goodness. The relationships come not just from the generational loyalty of people … Read more
For the first time in Westmoreland County [PA] history, no Democrat was elected to a countywide office seat in the November 2021 off-year elections. Not only did Republicans sweep all of the row office races here, they also won the district attorney and coroner races, ousting longtime officeholders that many in the community respected. . … Read more
The kook that Keystone State Republicans have been waiting for Dr. Mehmet Oz may be the perfect Republican candidate for our time: a talk-show host and snake-oil peddler with a throbbing persecution complex, a Fox News hanger-on with a couple of weird religious connections and no real political experience. He is seeking to take over … Read more
The Rev. George T. DeVille fills the gold-plated container — called a pyx — with 15 consecrated Holy Communion hosts. He places it in his left jacket pocket. DeVille climbs into his car. After distributing Communion to members of St. Oscar Romero Parish inside Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Cecil during an 8 a.m. Mass, … Read more
They are holy places rich with history, decorated with magnificent relics, larger-than-life paintings, spiritual steps, embellished stained glass windows and massive domes that can be spotted from miles away. Five Catholic churches — St. Anthony Chapel on Troy Hill, St. Nicholas in Millvale, St. Patrick and St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Strip District and … Read more
The 2020 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progressive changing of the leaves. While no tool can be 100% accurate, this tool is meant to help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year. Fall Foliage Map – SmokyMountains.com
Early numbers show how significantly the coronavirus is devastating states’ revenue streams — and could force choices between raising taxes or gutting services and laying off public employees. Why it matters: Even as some states move toward reopening, the economic ramifications of having shut down will haunt them far into the future. When states can … Read more
Natural gas is withstanding the coronavirus-fueled economic crash in a way that its closely associated relative, oil, isn’t. Oil prices have reached record lows, with the U.S. benchmark oil price briefly dropping below zero last month after trading at around $60 per barrel at the start of 2020. The U.S. natural gas price, meanwhile, is … Read more
Cities are cramped, sprawling suburbs are a dead end. That leaves two places well equipped for uncertain times. he Covid-19 corona virus has suddenly accelerated two momentous historical trends long lurking in the background of everyday life, but generally taken for granted until the crisis forced these issues: the end of globalism as we knew … Read more
MIDDLETOWN, Maryland — There is an argument to be made that the coronavirus pandemic could change the food supply chain for the long term. It may disrupt our across-the-board reliance on distant producers, processing plants, and large chain grocery stores. In the process, it would connect many of us to local food in the same … Read more
Cargill Meat Solutions, a 900-worker plant in Hazleton, Pa., that packages meat in plastic for supermarket shelves in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, has shut down temporarily after 130 hourly workers tested positive for COVID-19 and a rash of employees called out sick, a union leader said. Also this week, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed … Read more
At Greene County’s [PA] 29th Annual Ramp Festival on a sunny Saturday last April, a party atmosphere was in full swing with crafters, wood carvers, metal workers and a band. But the main draw were about 15 vendors selling ramp chili, ramp sausage, ramp cookies, ramp mints, ramp butter, ramp wine, ramp hardtack, ramp pancakes, … Read more
Until the late 1980s—shortly after Russell Baker showed his kids the old America—Main Street in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania had five department stores, including a Sears, a Montgomery Ward, a J. C. Penney, a Woolworth’s, and an independent, Racusin’s. Perhaps as those national chains had moved in, in the early 20th-century, locals worried about the invaders. But … Read more
The Little Sisters of the Poor will have their case heard before the Supreme Court yet again in their years-long fight against the federal contraceptive mandate. The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear oral arguments in the case of the sisters against the State of Pennsylvania, which challenged the order’s exemption from … Read more