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Wolf leaving too many in cold

By Gene Barr In a year that’s already been plagued with financial hardships, small businesses, nonprofits, day cares and the education and medical communities recently received more troubling news when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed critical liability protections on the last day of the 2019-20 legislative session — effectively leaving these industries out in the cold as they struggle to overcome myriad challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic. This health care crisis has required an all-hands on deck effort. Businesses throughout the commonwealth have made innumerable ...

Innovation brings hope to horizon

For centuries, America has been the land of promise, and we have led the way in lifesaving advancement. In the span of my own medical career alone, I have witnessed remarkable innovation — from groundbreaking discoveries to new therapeutics and even cures for deadly diseases. In 2020, America’s scientists and researchers once again stepped up to meet a new challenge. As the COVID-19 virus interrupted our lives this spring, our incredible science community already was working on therapeutics and a vaccine. In just a few short months, we went from having nearly zero ...

We are in ‘bluebird moment’

It is Judy Garland versus Vera Lynn. It is The 1939 song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” versus the 1942 hit “White Cliffs of Dover.” It is America in its prewar reverie versus Great Britain in its wartime trial. This is, for America’s two political parties, a Bluebird Moment. Let me explain: Garland sang that “Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly.” Lynn crooned that “when the dawn comes up/There’ll be bluebirds over/The white cliffs of Dover.” There the visions — there the lyrics — divert, and there the two parties do as well. The Republicans ...

America’s presidential process matters

The 2020 presidential election is not over yet. There are multiple legal challenges and recounts pending in key states, and, under a long-standing legal process, those events must play out before a winner is officially declared. I know roughly half the nation does not want to hear that, but it is the truth. We have been down this road before. Twenty years ago, a young television reporter stood outside the vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 days keeping viewers up to date on the occupant’s challenge to the vote count in Florida. Vice President ...

Court ‘balance’ has often swung

Recent controversy over the recent Supreme Court nomination and its impact on the balance of the court suggests an historical analysis might provide some insight into the matter. I use the political party (D or R) of the president making the nomination as proxy. Judicial temperament further defines the candidate. Rs say “the constitution says what it says” (sometimes called textualist or strict constructionist) and the Ds view it as a “living document” and changes with the times (activist or interventionist). I start with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt presidency. ...

School bus industry in jeopardy

Most of us remember the popular children’s song, “The Wheels on the Bus.” When we were kids, we sang it with our friends as we rode a yellow bus to school; as parents, we taught it to our own children. But in every school district across the state, the future of the yellow bus is at risk. Pennsylvania is in danger of losing its school bus drivers and the businesses that employ them. We must make certain that school buses and drivers are available to transport students when they return to the classroom. To ensure that happens, pupil transportation must be funded and supported ...