NEWS ITEM: Obama to slash Pentagon budget by $500 billion, reduce U.S. Army by 100,000 soldiers.

Jon Corzine Masters the Art of 'Vaporizing' Money - HUMAN EVENTS

From Investor's Business Daily:

For incompetence alone, Attorney General Eric Holder should resign in the wake of the illegal "Fast and Furious" gunrunning scandal. But fresh news that he knew of it and is covering it up warrants impeachment.

Friday Night 'Document Dump' Shows Eric Holder Knew 'Fast And Furious' Gun Killed U.S. Agent - Investors.com

The first rule of holes: When you're in a hole, stop digging ...

A perfect example of the sad state of affairs in Washington, D.C. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the Obama Administration will run a $1.1 trillion deficit in the fiscal year that ends in September. It would be the third straight year Obama has run up deficits of more than $1 trillion but the $1.1 trillion is slightly lower than the last deficit Obama ran. You call this good news? For the record, Obama inherited a $10.6 trillion national debt from George W. Bush. The national debt today is $15.2 trillion ... and rising every second.

Rep. Marino Introduces DownsizeDC.org's 'One Subject at a Time Act'

Governor Corbett Names Michael Potteiger as Chairman of Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

After 38 years, Pennsylvania State Rep. Camille "Bud" George has announced he will not seek a 20th term in the House.

George is the latest career politician to call it quits this year as the exodus from the Legislature continues.

George, 84, a Democrat, has represented Clearfield County in the state Legislature since Gerald Ford was in the White House.

George can now enjoy a lifetime pension (courtesy of Pennsylvania taxpayers) that could approach $100,000 a year.

Clearfield County lawmaker calling it quits after 19 terms

More of your tax dollars going down the Obama rat hole.

Massive Layoffs At Another Obama Stimulus Company - HUMAN EVENTS

Cash 5 Ticket Worth $330,000 Sold in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Nationally, Mitt Romney Leads Newt Gingrich By 6%

Lawmakers: Time right to revisit pay raise - Omaha.com

Obama's SOTU speech attracts fewer TV viewers

The liberal media is up-in-arms about Mitt Romney's personal wealth. But what's wrong with a successful person holding the nation's top job.

If Mitt Romney were elected president, he would rank No. 4 on the all-time list of richest presidents. He would also be in good company.

Here's is Forbes magazine's ranking of the 10 richest presidents:

George Washington
Herbert Hoover
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
Andrew Jackson
Theodore Roosevelt
Zachary Taylor
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Lyndon Johnson
James Madison

The Mercury - How rich is Mitt Romney?

Harris Poll: Over Half of Americans Still Not Likely to Vote for President Obama This Fall

Top 10 perils of Pelosi - HUMAN EVENTS

Bailouts Still $133 Billion Short Of Being Fully Paid Back — And May Never Be - Investors.com

As Obama demands rich Americans pay more in taxes, the IRS reveals 36 Obama aides are far behind in their taxes by Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com

Pew: New Reforms in 47 States and D.C. Improve Military and Overseas Voting

Governor Corbett Announces Confirmations, Nominations, Appointments

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. says Newt Gingrich is the GOP's version of Bill Clinton. (And that's not intended as a compliment.)

Read his full column at The American Spectator.

Airport greeting turns testy between President Obama, Jan Brewer

A Generation Losing Hope: The Shattering of the American Dream

Pennsylvania Launches Justice Reinvestment Initiative

First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds State Taxpayers Pay 14 Percent Higher Prison Costs Than Budgets Reflect

Voter Photo ID bill must become law - dailylocal.com

Highlights from the January 2012 Franklin and Marshall College Poll:

1. Most (47%) of the state’s voters believe Pennsylvania is headed in the wrong direction, a sentiment little changed during the past two years. The last time a majority of the state’s registered voters believed the state was headed in the right direction was September 2006.

2. More voters report they are worse off financially than are better off financially (26% and 15%, respectively) compared to one year ago, although most (60%) say their finances are the same as last year. Fewer voters expect to be worse off financially next year (13%) than they were last March (26%), the last time this question was asked. Most (51%) respondents report economic and financial issues are their most pressing personal problems.

3. President Obama has seen a minor improvement in his job performance ratings compared to the October 2011 Franklin and Marshall College Poll, rising from 37% positive to 40% positive. Voters’ rating of his handling of the economy, with only 29% providing a positive rating, is lower than his overall job performance rating. Generally speaking, more voters in Pennsylvania still believe it is time for a change (49%) than believe the president deserves re-election (44%).

4. Despite President Obama’s tepid job approval ratings, he continues to lead his Republican challengers in the state. Obama’s lead over both Romney and Santorum is still more than 10 points. The president is up two points on Romney from October; however, his lead over Santorum has remained stable at 13 points.

January 2012: Obama 41%, Romney 30%, other 8%, don’t know 24%
October 2012: Obama 35%, Romney 26%, other 10%, don’t know 30%
January 2012: Obama 43%, Santorum 30%, other 8%, don’t know 19%
October 2012: Obama 38%, Santorum 25%, other 11%, don’t know 26%

5. The explanation for the president’s current advantage may stem from several sources. First, less than half (46%) of voters are very interested in this year’s election; in January 2008, three in five (60%) voters were very interested in that year’s election. Second, President Obama is more personally appealing than either of the two Republican challengers tested with nearly half (45%) of voters having a “favorable” opinion of the president compared to around one-quarter who have a favorable opinion of Mitt Romney (25%) and Rick Santorum (29%). Importantly, this pattern holds true among independent voters.

Read the full poll results here.

Board Approves Purchases Land in Three Counties

The real State of the Union - HUMAN EVENTS

Pennsylvania Department of Health to Move Office for Birth, Death Certificate Requests

PA Insurance Department Announces 2011 Enforcement and Market Conduct Actions

Journalists are piling up subscribers on Facebook | Poynter.

Game Commissioners Propose 2012-13 Seasons and Bag Limits

John Gizzi: Obama leads with class warfare in State of the Union - HUMAN EVENTS

John Stossel: The real State of the Union - HUMAN EVENTS

Mitch Daniels' Response to the State of the Union The Weekly Standard

EDITORIAL: Obama's pipe-dream economy - Washington Times

New York Times Ignores Massive Pro-Life March for Fifth Year in a Row | NewsBusters.org

Obama's promise deficit - HUMAN EVENTS

10 Surprising Facts About Free Government Cell Phones

It's difficult to keep your nose clean when you're in politics this long.

Longest-serving Pennsylvania lawmaker goes on trial

James Lewis: Liberalism is dead. The radical left has killed it. Then the left stole its good name.

On the Intellectual Inferiority of Liberalism

11 stunning revelations from Larry Summers' secret economics memo to Barack Obama

Get ready to hear some real whoppers from Barack Obama as he pretends the "state of the union" is not dismal under his so-called leadership.

From columnist Joseph Curl:

There is one person — one American among the 300 million of us — who is not to blame for the state of the union. Everyone else, each of you, in some small or large way, bears some share of the blame, but not this guy. Not one little bit.

This guy is Barack Obama. He is not the least bit to blame for the dismal state of the U.S. economy. George W. Bush is, for sure, and that evil Dick Cheney, oh, no doubt. House Speaker John A. Boehner — evil, too — is, of course, to blame. But guess what? So is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and every Democrat in the House and Senate.

The truly dismal state of the union - Washington Times

Registered Sex Offender Numbers Increased 23 Percent in Past 5 Years

Number of Registered Sex Offenders in the U.S. Nears Three-Quarters of a Million

Survey Finds Unity Among Americans on Abortion Restrictions

Throwing Hollywood under the bus could pay dividends for GOP

President Obama's job-killing environmental extremism - HUMAN EVENTS

Rick Santorum on the 39th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade:

This anniversary is both a day of sadness for the more than 40 million babies who have been killed since Roe v. Wade and a day of hope as more and more Americans embrace a culture of life and as more and more young people march in Washington and around the country in support of life.

Read the full column in The Wall Street Journal.

More U.S. banks have failed during the first three years of the Obama Administration than in all eight years of the George W. Bush Administration.

Three banks have already failed in 2012, following the 92 banks that went under in 2011 and the 157 banks that failed in 2010 and the 140 banks that failed in 2009, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Regulators Shut Bank In Pennsylvania, Georgia & Florida; First Failures Of 2012 - NASDAQ.com

Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Expresses Condolences on Death of Joe Paterno

Mount Nittany Medical Center Statement on Joe Paterno

Obama's Energy Claims Are Dishonest - Investors.com

Top 10 things we want to hear in Obama's State of the Union address - HUMAN EVENTS

$50,000 in Fines Levied Against Two Casinos by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board for Regulatory Violations

Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in December, down from 7.9 percent in November.

Pennsylvania's Employment Situation for December 2011

Office of Justice Programs Weekly News Brief

Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) Calls on UN to Protect Christians of Syria

Report: Louisiana Most Pro-Life, Washington Most Pro-Abortion LifeNews.com

Governors of 12 States Officially Proclaim Jan. 22 - 28 National School Choice Week

Americans United for Life 'Life List' Shows Huge Legislative Gains for Life in the 50 states in 2011

Pennsylvania Governor Corbett Invites Nominations for Citizen Service Awards

President Obama's Rejection Of Keystone Pipeline's Oil And Jobs Dictated By Greens - Investors.com

Guess Which Party Has Taken in More Bain Money Recently? - HUMAN EVENTS

Looking forward to an Obama-Romney debate? Here's what it might look like.

An oil pipeline from Canada to Texas that would create 20,000 jobs and provide the United States with energy has been rejected by Barack Obama, who would rather keep Americans unemployed and dependent on Middle East oil.

Obama Administration Rejects Keystone XL

A Dispirited, Polarized and Deeply Pessimistic Electorate

Another UN Anti-Israel Spectacle

The Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state Supreme Court’s hearing on Pennsylvania’s legislative redistricting plan on Monday.

From PCN:

The state's highest court, for the first time, agreed to LIVE coverage by PCN beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, January 23 in Harrisburg. The state Supreme Court is scheduled to hear appeals to the legislative redistricting plan as proposed by the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission.

The justices will hear oral arguments of 11 prospective appeals filed in response to the redistricting plan that was approved in December of 2011. The state’s legislative districts were redrawn by a constitutionally-mandated commission to offset population shifts reflected in the 2010 census. A successful appeal will prevent the plan from becoming law.

PCN has been providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state’s Supreme Court proceedings since September of last year. The state’s highest court decision to allow PCN cameras into the courtroom is an historic first.

New procedures set forth by the high court regarding the broadcast of court proceedings now allows PCN to choose which session days to record, but all proceedings must be aired in their entirety. The January 23 session will be the first time LIVE coverage has been permitted during a state Supreme Court session.

PCN continues to record the En Banc coverage of the state’s Superior Court as well as the state’s Commonwealth Court. State Supreme Court proceedings are also recorded in their entirety.

Coverage of this session concerning the legislative redistricting plan is also tentatively slated to re-air on PCN at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, January 23.

State Supreme Court to televise legislative redistricting arguments - delcotimes.com

White House Locked Down After Democrat Occupy Mob Tosses Smoke Bombs - HUMAN EVENTS

Pennsylvania Game Commission Posts Agenda for January Meeting on Website

Freedom is Calling: Answer It at the National Constitution Center During an Extraordinary Celebration of the Constitution's 225th Anniversary

Are you any better off today after Barack Obama has spent $5 trillion over the past three years?

Emily Miller: Uncle Sam's empty cupboards - Washington Times

PA Governor Corbett Visits Future Site of Endo Pharmaceuticals HQ; Praises Company for its Continued Commitment to Pennsylvania

Center for Safe Schools Launches New Toolkit to Help Parents and Educators Address Bullying

Advisory Council on Privatization and Innovation Holds First Meeting

Distracted Driving and Teen Driver Safety Top AAA's State Legislative Safety Priorities for 2012

DEP Reminds Pennsylvanians that January is National Radon Action Month

Pennsylvania Income Tax E-Filing Options to Start This Week

Articles: How Obama Betrays Martin Luther King's Dream

Voter Advocate Explains the Conflict Between Liberal and Conservatives for Independents

March Will Not Be a Happy Month In Europe - HUMAN EVENTS

Governor Corbett Helps to Launch MLK Day of Service in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Obama's promises of hope and change have faded. Instead, we got despair and status quo.

Peter Ferrara, writing at Forbes.com:

The record of President Obama’s first three years in office is in, and nothing that happens now can go back and change that. What that record shows is that President Obama, with his throwback, old-fashioned, 1970s Keynesian economics, has put America through the worst recovery from a recession since the Great Depression.

Read the full column here.

Businesses Need Relief from Obama Policies, Not a Government Reorg - Investors.com

France loses AAA credit rating, socialism bombs out again - HUMAN EVENTS

Nuts. Obama Slams Romney for Destroying Good-Paying Jobs - HUMAN EVENTS

School Kids Boo Michelle Obama During Healthy Lunches Speech - HUMAN EVENTS

There's more conservatives out there, but the far left controls the media (and they yell louder).

Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S.

Top 10 Obama Revelations - HUMAN EVENTS

PA Banking Department Announces Quarterly Report on Enforcement Actions

Governor Corbett Announces Nominations, Appointments

Obama's Student-Loan Order Saves the Average Grad Less Than $10 a Month - The Atlantic

This is the same bankrupt company Obama funneled a half-billiion of your tax dollars to.

Solyndra Wants to Pay Six-Figure Employees Huge Bonuses - HUMAN EVENTS

Column: Archbishop Chaput offers thoughts on Catholic school closings - pottsmerc.com

Investor's Business Daily:

In the 30 months since the recession officially ended, nearly 1 million people have dropped out of the labor force — they aren't working, and they aren't looking — according to data from Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the past two months, the labor force shrank by 170,000.

Unprecedented, Tepid Recovery Under Obama Begs Question: Where Did All The Workers Go? - Investors.com

Pennsylvania DCED Helps Oaks, Mont Clare Fire Companies Merge in Montgomery County

Pennsylvania Powerball to Offer Better Odds, Bigger Jackpots Starting Jan. 15

Romney: Obama's a Venture Capitalist, Too - HUMAN EVENTS

Gayle King is what passes for mainstream media journalism these days?

Gayle King Sucks Up to Friend Michelle Obama; Lets Her Throw Race Charge | NewsBusters.org

Governor Corbett Announces Recent Appointments

The price of liquor is going up again under Pennsylvania's government-run monopoly.

Pa. liquor board votes to increase prices on hundreds of products - pottsmerc.com

From Investor's Business Daily:

In a telltale Friday-night document dump, the White House released records showing the latest lucky recipients of Obama-Care cost waivers.

By the wildest of coincidences, 87% of them belong to Big Labor unions. Interesting, since Big Labor pulled out all the stops to get the president's signature on health care reform passed in March 2010. But as the waivers came, it's clear they never had any expectation of paying for it.

Big Labor Wins Big On ObamaCare Waivers, While Those Who Resisted Pay And Pay - Investors.com

Media To Blame For HalloweenGate Cover-Up - Investors.com

Stella Paul: The Top 5 Reasons Obama Must Be Removed as Commander-in-Chief

ACLJ: More Than 35,000 Americans Reject President Obama's 'Recess Appointments'

Half of Americans Dislike President Obama's Track Record as President and Believe Positions He Has Taken as President Have Hurt the Country

Are you getting your money's worth from the Pennsylvania Legislature, one of the largest and most expensive legislative bodies in the United States? The annual cost of running the Legislature tops $300 million. Pennsylvania taxpayers can send a strong message about state government in 2012 when all 203 House seats and 25 Senate seats are up for grabs?

Pa. Legislature campaign cycle kicks off - pottsmerc.com

Obama's unconstitutional power grab - HUMAN EVENTS

Gary Bauer Endorses Sen. Rick Santorum Sunday at South Carolina Event

Stonycreek River Voted Pennsylvania's 2012 River of the Year

Sad news about one of my favorite political commentators.

Tony Blankley R.I.P. - HUMAN EVENTS

Allen West: Our Incompetent President’s Defense Cuts Decimate the Military - HUMAN EVENTS

The U.S. is $15 Trillion in the red and Obama wants to give federal workers a pay raise?!? Stop the madness!!!

Pay Raise Proposed For Federal Workers - HUMAN EVENTS

Top 10 Predictions for 2012 - HUMAN EVENTS

Millions of voters have left the Democratic Party since Barack Obama was elected president. The rest? They're walking around with bags over their heads.

Poll: Percentage of Americans who identify as Dems at 22-year low - The Hill's Ballot Box

ACLJ: Nearly 30% of U.S. House & 100,000 Americans Urge Supreme Court to Reject ObamaCare

Obama's abuse of power threatens to shut down Senate - HUMAN EVENTS

PA Department of State Announces Disciplinary Actions Taken Against 104 Licensed, Commissioned Professionals, Organizations

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Congratulates New Troopers at Graduation

Investor's Business Daily says Barack Obama has trampled on the Constitution b bypassing the Senate to appoint more radicals to his administration:

President Obama's nonrecess "recess appointments" can't be excused as over-the-top electioneering. This president has crossed over from socialistic extremism into lawlessness and, perhaps, impeachability.

Read the full editorial at the link below:

His Illegal Recess Appointments May Start Lead To Talks Of Obama Impeachment - Investors.com

NIA Projects 2012 Social Network Stocks Boom

Jay, Dave, Jimmy and Conan toe the liberal line when it comes to making fun of politicians. Obama is strictly off limits.

U.S. News: Late Night Comedians Target Republicans 3-to-1 in 2011 | NewsBusters.org

Auditor General Jack Wagner Says Debt-Ridden Pa. Turnpike Commission's Existence is in Jeopardy

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to Consolidate Financial Management Services Under Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Waivers

GIANT Food Stores Agrees to Acquire Sixteen Genuardi's Stores in Greater Philadelphia

Rick Santorum in N.H. today: "I don't think most Americans believe the vision of America that Barack Obama is selling."

Brent Bozell Column: Occupy's Celebrity One Percent Backers | NewsBusters.org

The race card never gets old for the liberal media. New York Times Editorial Page Editor Calls Boehner Racist for Asking Obama to Delay Speech to Congress:

MRC.org - Media Research Center

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Reports Significant Slot Machine Revenue Growth in December

Governor Corbett Orders Freeze of Nearly $160 Million in State Spending

It's common knowledge that FDR's economic policies extended the Great Depression. And Barack Obama's failed economic policies have extended the Great Recession.

Ralph Reiland: Obama selling same snake oil as FDR - pottsmerc.com

Erick Erickson: Everything you heard last night was bull - HUMAN EVENTS

David Limbaugh: Why Are Liberals Blind to Their Bias? | NewsBusters.org

AAA Foundation Challenges Motorists to Adopt Responsible Driving Habits in 2012

Anyone But Ron Paul for President - HUMAN EVENTS

Freshman state Rep. Warren Kampf, R-157th Dist., announced Monday he will seek a second two-year term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

"During my first year in office, I have answered the public's call to restore fiscal discipline to state government and have focused on making our state more competitive in the national marketplace," Kampf in a prepared statement. "I am proud of my efforts thus far, but know there is still much to be done. Restoring our economy by reversing the failed policies of over-spending and over-borrowing of the previous administration will take time."

Kampf said he is running again because "there is more work to be done both to fulfill his pledge to the people of the 157th District, as well as to keep Pennsylvania on a course toward economic recovery."

"I am continuing to develop comprehensive legislation to address the pension issue in our state by creating a defined contribution retirement plan, like those in the private sector have, for all new state hires and will introduce it early this year," Kampf said. "I will continue to work to ensure education funding remains a top priority in the budget, and push for further reforms to our state's tax structure to help lure new job creators to our state and encourage current businesses to expand and create more jobs."

During his first term, Kampf kept his pledge to lead by example on reform and fiscal discipline, refusing perks like a state-paid automobile and per diems, as well as not accepting the salary COLA for both 2011 and 2012, and not enrolling in the legislature’s defined benefit pension system.

"I ran for this office to try and make a difference for local residents and Pennsylvania, not to take part in the perks of office. I promised to turn my back on those perks in these difficult times and have kept that promise," Kampf said.

An attorney by profession, Kampf served for seven years as a Tredyffrin Township supervisor before his election to the state Legislature.

The 157th House District covers portions of Chester and Montgomery counties.

Liberal Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus is all giddy about a group called Americans Elect, which claims to be nonpartisan and wants to play a major role in electing the next president.

Keep an eye on the Americans Elect - dailylocal.com

But check out this column by G. Murphy Donovan at American Thinker, which implies that Americans Elect is a front for Barack Obama:

Americans Elect: An Obama Trojan Horse?

Allied Van Lines has released its 44th annual Magnet States Report showing which states people are moving into and the states people are moving out of. Pennsylvania is No. 2 on the list of outbound states, meaning people are fleeing the state as soon as they can. The Keystone State continues to suffer from eight years of disastrous economic policies under former Gov. Ed Rendell (and the last three years of Obama's awful economic policies haven't helped either.)

From the report:

Illinois usurped the title of top outbound state with the highest net relocation losses (more outbound than inbound shipments), followed by Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and New York – all part of the top 5 outbound states in 2010. Illinois lost ground this year, with a net loss of 1,198 moves out of state, versus 2010 losses of 1,050. Michigan, the No. 1 outbound state in 2010, had a net loss of 900 moves, an improvement over last year's 1,149 outbound moves. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York rounded out the bottom five, with net relocation losses of 940, 841 and 669, respectively.

Read the full report at the link below:

Allied Van Lines Announces 44th Annual Magnet States Report

What makes you think the coming year will be any different from Barack Obama's first three disastrous years?

IBD/TIPP Poll: Americans Predict Tax Hikes, Recession, Downgrade, Destabilization In 2012 - Investors.com

The Top 10 political and policy stories to watch for in 2012 - HUMAN EVENTS

All but one Chesco GOP legislator seeking re-election - pottsmerc.com