November 9, 2023
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, when we celebrate all who have donned the uniform to protect and defend our great nation. On this 248th birthday of the United State Marine Corps, we bring you the story of Philly’s own former marine, Kevin Murphy, and his cheesecake shop, Semper Pie. Enjoy!
Also, allow us to hit you with this news from our friends at Independence Blue Cross (Shameless Client Plug!), who recently launched a new initiative to train former service members for careers in nursing. Great work, IBC!
The most important pop culture news of the week was that yesterday marked 30 years since the release of the Wu-Tang Clan’s first record, with the band being celebrated all across New York City. Use proper grammar so we could stop with the propaganda. #IYKYK
West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has announced he will not run for re-election, which leaves the Democrats’ chances of holding that chamber to exactly slim and none. And Slim just left town.
Meanwhile, longtime activist Jill Quixote, er, Stein has announced she will again run for president on the Green Party ticket. After sitting in a New York courtroom this week, the announcement was the best thing Donald Trump could have heard. In her announcement, Stein said 60% of Americans would prefer someone from a third party as president. Reached for comment, 60% of Americans said, “Yeah, but not, like, HER.”
But all was not bad for the Democrats, as they enjoyed a very good Tuesday evening nationwide. In Pennsylvania, Democrats swept all of the statewide judicial races, paced by newly elected Supreme Court Justice Dan McCaffery’s six-point win. The next time the GOP has a shot at winning control of the Supreme Court will be in the mid-2030s, when Eric Trump and Hunter Biden are squaring off for president.
In western Pennsylvania, Sara Innamorato overcame a mountain of cash to grab the Allegheny County executive job and will be the first woman to hold that post. Weirdly, the continued bashing of her as a “socialist” never really caught on with voters. Who could have predicted that a strategy that failed 67 previous times would fail again?
The City of Brotherly Love has some real sisterly affection now, with Cherelle Parker being elected mayor in a race that the AP could have called on Monday afternoon. Parker will become the city’s first female mayor in January. Friend of Triad Gerri Walker (Shameless Client Plug!) of the Behavioral Wellness Center at Girard will serve on Parker’s transition team. Parker, Innamorato, McClinton, Ward, Todd… who runs the world? Women!
The field of Republicans pretending they can beat Donald Trump in an election got together Tuesday night, and it was a spirited affair in front of seven million American viewers. The fact that the former president widened his lead in the polls after the debate should tell you all you need to know. For our money, anytime you can get a potential president to refer to her opponent as “scum,” you gotta tune in.
Voters in Ohio voted to legalize weed, meaning every state bordering Pennsylvania has legalized it, despite the Democrats holding the lower chamber and the governor’s mansion in our Commonwealth. A new poll was released Wednesday showing an astounding 70% of Americans now support legalization, which is remarkable when you consider 70% of Americans can’t agree that it’s Friday.
Our good friend John Denny put fingers to keyboard this week to lay out why now is the time to open Pennsylvania’s primary elections to independent voters, many of whom tipped the balance in some state and local races, we suspect.
In final election news, with the election of a Bucks County Democrat to a district magistrate role, the PA House will be back to 101-101 in very short order. Welcome back, friends, to the show that never ends.
A record-low 47% of Americans believe the death penalty is applied fairly in this country, we learned this week. When roughly half the country believes that we just might be unfairly ending people’s lives, maybe it’s time to kick the tires on some alternatives.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, with the help of the Federal Reserve, unveiled a report showing that recent chronic inflation may have really been greedflation, which is way worse than stagflation, we assume. The report draws a pretty straight line between corporate profits and inflation, which might explain why everyone and their mothers are going on strike these days. The playbook here seems to be, “If we can’t control inflation, let’s change its name.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a new focus on health insurance coverage for autism treatment. Some of us ancient souls remember former House Speaker Dennis O’Brien, who Shapiro helped to ascend to the speaker’s chair, being the state’s foremost advocate for children with autism.
This week began a new state trooper application period since the governor dropped the college degree requirement. We shall see if the relaxed entry requirement will move the needle. If you know someone who is interested in a law enforcement career, let them know.
We did some musings on our socials this week, led off by Roy Wells’ thoughts on trust in public affairs. Sometimes your messenger is as important as your message.
Meanwhile, Mike Manzo sketches out a “what comes next on energy” scenario, now that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is about as dead as Dillinger. Mike is an energy nerd with lots of free time.
In our We Can’t Make This Up segment this week, we take you to northeast Pennsylvania, where a pig named Kevin Bacon was finally captured after weeks on the run, with some social media help from the actual Kevin Bacon. Fun fact: actor Kevin Bacon does not eat bacon, a fact which we are sure is appreciated by the other Kevin Bacon.
That’s what passes for news around here, as the chill sets in and we get prepared for Michigan and head coach Cheater McCheatyface to invade Happy Valley. Until next time, from all your friends at Team Triad, have a great weekend!