Author: Marc Stier

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Ruth Damsker made a sacrifice for our country. So can you.

  By Elections and Voting, Pennsylvania

It is hard to find heroism and courage in our politics these days. When was the last time you saw a major politician take a big risk or an unpopular stand? If you live in the Delaware Valley, however, you don’t have to look far to see political courage. You just have to look at Ruth Damsker, who is running for reelection as a Country Commissioner in Montgomery County. Now you might wonder how a candidate for County Commission could possibly show heroism. To see the answer, you have to understand just how important the County Commissioner’s race is in the third biggest county in the state. Democrats have not won two of the three seats on the Montgomery County Commission in anyone’s memory. Like many formerly suburban counties around the country, Montco is becoming Democratic. It votes Democratic in national and state-wide elections. But the old party habits have… Continue reading

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Catholic and Jewish Theology and Plan B

  By Pennsylvania, Sexual and gender equality

A lot of the opposition to emergency contraception (EC), also known as Plan B–which is being debated now in the PA House of Representatives–comes from the Catholic Church and other religious opponents of abortion. Because I’ve taught a course on Just War Theory, and most of the leading contributors to that theory work in the Catholic tradition, I have some familiarity with Catholic moral thought. And I must say that there is a plausible argument from within that tradition for allowing EC. Catholic just war theory teaches that it is permissible to do evil—that is, kill innocents—provided that one is doing so in a war of self-defense and provided that one is not aiming at the innocents. The doctrine of double effect says that so long as the death of innocents is not the intent of the military action but rather that one intends to strike at a legitimate military… Continue reading

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Fight for EC / plan

  By Pennsylvania, Sexual and gender equality

Sometime this week—perhaps as early as tomorrow, although I don’t know for sure—the PA House of Representatives will take up once again HB 288, Daylin Leach’s bill to require hospitals to inform all rape victims about the availability of Plan B also know as Emergency Contraception (EC) or the morning after pill. We need your help to enact this piece of legislation. The bill probably had the votes to win a few weeks ago, but some presumed supporters— including Philadelphia Representatives Donatucci (D-185), Kenney (R-170), J. Taylor (R-177) and D. O’Brien (R-169) agreed to put off the vote for a time in the hopes of finding a compromise that would not incur the wrath of the lobbyists for Catholic Church. Rosita Youngblood (D-198) did not vote. Please act today to encourage these and other legislators to support HB 288, without any damaging amendments. Continue reading

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Wanted in Philadelphia: The No Deal

  By Neighborhoods, Philadelphia

That was the conclusion of an enjoyable and enlightening meeting of community and civic leaders convened by the Great Expectations Project of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Fels Institute. The goal of the meeting was to discuss the relationship between community and civic groups and the city and to determine whether a new deal needs to be struck among us. What we really want, it seems is a no deal. Continue reading

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Making the world safe for transfers

  By Philadelphia, Transportation

The Commonwealth Court ruled today against SEPTA in its appeal of Judge DiVito’s injunction against SEPTA’s decision to eliminate transfers. And, as I will explain below, it was not just the great legal work of Mark Zecca and Stella Tsai but also the opposition of citizens to the elimination of transfers that made the difference. Continue reading

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A debate between Governor Rendell’s left and right hands

  By Casinos, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Two weeks ago a high level summit meeting took place in East Falls, one that might determine the future of gaming in Philadelphia. This secret—and so far unreported—discussion took place between Governor Rendell’s left hand and his right hand. The result was that his right hand convinced his left hand to leave the casinos in their current location. Left hand: I promised the residents of Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Society Hill, Pennsport, Whitman and the other residential communities along the Delaware River that I would try to relocate the Sugar House and Foxwoods casinos. You are the one who has been pushing gambling on the waterfront for years and, I might add, the one that pulls the slot machine levers in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. What have you done to keep my promise? Right hand: I asked the casinos operators to move. I asked them nicely. I shook their hands.… Continue reading

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From RxPA to single payer

  By Health Care

This is the third of four posts on the health care issue. For an overview of the various posts click here. Supporters of single payer health insurance have been arguing that enacting RxPA will delay the enactment of single payer health insurance in Pennsylvania. Since I think that single payer health insurance is a good idea and most likely to be enacted at the federal level, I’m not so concerned about this. But I do want to respond to one of the arguments that single payer advocates have been making and then show how we might move from RxPA to single payer. Continue reading

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Problems with single payer in PA

  By Health Care, Pennsylvania

This is the second of four posts on the health care issue. For an overview of the various posts click here. There are two basic problems with enacting a single payer system in Pennsylvania. The first is that it is pretty much politically impossible this year. The second is that for constitutional and other reasons, a single payer system enacted in Pennsylvania won’t be as progressive as we would like it to be. Let me start with the first problem, briefly sketch the second one, and then come back to the first. Continue reading

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The progressive debate about health care reform in PA

  By Health Care, Pennsylvania

To the extent that people with progressives inclinations are focused on the health insurance issue in Pennsylvania—and, right now, too many of us are not focused enough on it—they find themselves torn between two different plans. One is Governor Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania (RxPA). The other is a single payer plan, put forward by the Health Care for All coalition. It is a strange debate. For one thing, most of us, on both sides of the debate, would like to ultimately move to some kind of single payer system with the costs of health care provided by progressive taxation, not by employer sponsored plans paid for by employers and employees. We differ only about whether it makes sense to push for a single payer system in Pennsylvania right now. It is strange, also, in that the proponents of single payer seem to be focusing more on denouncing those who support… Continue reading