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Jack Nicholson’s Kids
I was surprised to find out today that Jack Nicholson has five children with seven different women. Continue reading
Betty Gottlieb 1927-2021
By Diane Gottlieb and Katja Gottlieb-Stier Betty Allanoff Gottlieb, who was thought to be intellectually disabled in kindergarten because she spoke only Yiddish, graduated high school at fifteen, and attained a PhD in Biochemistry at 61, died on the thirtieth of March 2021, twenty-four years and three weeks after the death of her beloved husband Harry Gottlieb MD. Betty had unparalleled joie de vivre. A passionate learner, her interests were perpetually expanding. A first generation American born to Jewish immigrants from what was then the Russian/Polish border, Betty lived with her parents and extended family on South 4th Street in Philadelphia in the building that became Southwark and, most recently, Ambra restaurant. She studied Biochemistry at Temple University and continued this focus pursuing a PhD at Indiana University. As the only woman in the department she was often discouraged by her male supervisors. Following a chance reacquaintance with Harry Gottlieb… Continue reading
Vote for Amendment 3
This is an update of the remarks I gave at a press conference led by Senator Vince Hughes and the Urban League and attended by Liz Randol of the ACLU, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, District Attorney Larry Krasner and many others last week. A proposed constitutional amendment stating that equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged because of an individual’s race or ethnicity is on the Pennsylvania ballot next week. The amendment would bring rights protected under the U.S. Constitution into the PA Constitution. Racial and ethnic prejudice, bigotry, and discrimination are totally antithetical to the basic rights of human beings. The protection of these rights is so central to a decent and just political community that at the federal level we have embedded it in our Constitution, thereby creating a way to appeal to the Courts if and when Congress, the presidency, and state and local… Continue reading
Restructuring PASSHE is the Wrong Plan for PA Higher Education
Krasner leads us towards justice
This is a response to Wilfredo Rojas, a critic of Larry Krasner who complains about Krasner’s efforts to pursue justice in the loss of his son, a Temple student who was murdered. Wilfredo, first, let me say that I’m very sorry for your loss. I was talking with a friend yesterday about families, like my own, where parents have had to see their children die about how this is the most devastating that can happen to a person. Nothing the criminal justice system can do will stop the ache in your heart. And that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to provide justice for our communities. As I said to others, human civilization is based on recognizing that injuries to individuals have to be answered by the community not by individual or family revenge. That idea is the most enduring legacy of Greek thought and practice and was immortalized… Continue reading
How Will PA Use Its ARP Funds: for the People of our State or Corporate Tax Cuts
The FY2021-22 PA State Budget: The People’s Budget & Tracking ARP Funds in PA
This is a recording of a Zoom meeting hosted by the PA Budget & Policy Center on Thursday, April 15, 2021, to provide updates related to PA’s state budget and the allocation of the $7.3 billion in assistance that the American Rescue Plan delivered to PA’s state government. PBPC director Marc Stier talks about the fiscal challenges facing the Commonwealth and discusses the “People’s Budget,” an effort by several legislators to propose a way to raise the revenue necessary to make long-overdue investments in important programs and priorities. The video also features PBPC’s senior policy analyst Diana Polson presenting recently updated information about how American Rescue Act funds will be distributed in PA, highlighting an online spreadsheet for tracking these allocations: Tracking American Rescue Plan Funding Distribution in PA. Continue reading
Mass Incarceration is on the Ballot in Philadlephia in May
Almost every time someone is arrested for murder in Philadelphia, he has a criminal record of some kind. In many cases it is for minor drug dealing or for possession of a gun. So, the tough on crime crowd that supports Carlos Vega for DA crowd blames the criminal justice system in general and the DA, Larry Krasner, in particular for the murder saying that if only the guy arrested for murder were in jail, the crime would not have been committed. What people who advance this idea forget is how many people in this city are involved in minor drug dealing and are carrying illegal guns. Most of them will not murder anyone. We can’t just arrest the corner drug dealers with guns who are likely to commit murder in the future. We don’t know who they are. If we throw the book at every one corner drug dealer… Continue reading
PRESENTATION – A Necessary First Step: Governor Wolf’s Proposal to Provide Adequate & Equitable Funding in PA Schools
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A Necessary First Step:Governor Wolf’s Proposal to Provide Adequate and Equitable Funding of Pennsylvania Schools
Click here to download or read the paper full screen. Continue reading