The Larry Kane Report

Sometimes you have to leave town to get a better picture on the stories you left behind. I’m home now after a research trip to Britain for a new book project.  I did not get delayed by the Icelandic ash. But, I did do a lot of thinking about some of the stories that have engaged us in the last several months. One of them came quickly to mind, when a man I was interviewing in London, asked me, “You’re from Philadelphia. Is that where the teenagers are spied on by the schools?”

The question just showed me how far the spygate scandal in the suburbs has hurt our reputation.

And so the story remains in my gut. What I just can’t get out of my mind is the failure of administrators and others at the top to perceive what a mess they’ve made to the incredible reputation of the Lower Merion school district. The more I think about it, the madder I get. How could anyone believe that such a program was the right thing to do, under any circumstances? Now, I know that this story has been written to death, but I can’t let go. (READ MICHAEL SMERCONISH COLUMN IN SUNDAY INKY PLEASE!)

I can’t let go of the fact that educators , the people we trust to teach our kids, could not realize that a potential for spying and all kinds of irregularities was clear. The danger was clear. The potential was great. I’m sure no one wanted to become spy-masters, but they have sullied the reputation of one of the finest school districts in the nation. This is something you would expect in a big brother state. not in the USA.

Forget the court action. That’s just a sideshow. The taxpayers and parents of Lower Merion should seek what the professional educators seek. . The Lower Merion school administration needs some common sense remedial action.

ARLEN AND JOE

We always knew it would get nasty, but not this early. The flap over Joe Sestak’s military service and congressional attendance is only the beginning. I couldn’t think of a more interesting contest. Arlen Specter, who has survived everything from cancer to his former Republicans, is fighting to win the Democratic nomination against a feisty and quite outspoken Joe Sestak. It could be close. Then again, the way it started this past week, could be the harbinger of nastier things to come. Joe Sestak has already accused Arlen Specter of “swiftboating” him. Specter demands that Sestak remove images of himself in uniform, citing Pentagon policy. They both have millions to spend. It’s will be a brawl to the end. Frankly, I like it. Primaries can be grim and boring affairs. I think this contest may get prompt some voters to actually show up.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission’s charges against Goldman Sachs have been met with the usual defiance by big investment companies. But this one may be different. If, as the government says, Goldman was selling investors a product designed to provide failure to investors, and winnings to bigger investors, who were betting on a housing bust, this could be the biggest financial scandal since, well, Enron. This could make the AIG mess look very pale by comparison. “If” is the big word here, but in reality, the usually timid SEC rarely files any fraud charges without extreme care and diligence.

Certainly, there are many fine people who work at Goldman Sachs, but if the SEC charges hold up, the firm may go into a tailspin.

There’s another important factor to consider in this investigation. The SEC itself is under fire for failing to regulate the robber barons who helped incite the recession. The public, leaning towards populism, is fed up and wants some heads to roll. The Obama and Bush administration officials who are very close to the Goldman Sachs hierarchy, or who were close, should quit now before the heat is really turned up.

Goldman Sachs? It should check things out. If there was a problem, it should fess up and move on.

No one likes government regulation, but in the current climate, votes will be lost faster than fortunes. And the accusations against  Goldman  Sachs could open up a wider investigation into the government’s role in propping it up during the height of the recession collapse.

How Goldman reacts in the next few days will decide whether it survives the alleged scandal, or finds investors trying to jump off a leaking boat.

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Discussions are ripe about sports betting in the tri-state area, and that’s a good thing. Budget crises are hitting local and state governments. Sports Betting, now run by illegal and internet interests, is a grate giveaway. The state and federal government should own and run sports betting in the USA. Why is the government allowing all those profits to go to private sources? It is perhaps the greatest political miss of our time! And look at all the tax revenue that our governments are missing.

There is a great deal of hypocrisy in this debate. The NFL opposes sports betting, yet thrives on point spreads. If sports betting is illegal in most of the country, why do newspapers and internet sports sites routinely print the point spreads?

Give me a break. Legal, government-run sports betting, perhaps on the internet, is a no-brainer. Let it happen soon. After all, if it’s such a widespread phenomenon, why shouldn’t the government make $$$$ on it? Think of all the money its losing right now.

THE WYNNS OF CHANGE -

We have to find out why Steve Wynn made a sudden turnabout and dropped his plan for a casino in South Philly. The neighborhood is, of course, very happy. But it would be nice to know why he pulled out. Was it money? Certainly, the city did all it could to make the man happy. Did he fear something in the plan? If you’ve got the story, let me know.

MASTERS MISHAP-

What a nerve for the President of Augusta National Golf Club to berate Tiger Wood for his excesses. Tiger, of course, is guilty of sin, but Augusta has no excuse for its decades of bigotry and exclusion. It is, and remains, a bastion of aristocracy.  Tiger deserves plenty of heat, but talk about sins against women! Augusts is one of the most restricted sites in the world, and its leaders hardly have the right to be pious.

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At first glance the campaign by Montgomery County State Senator John Rafferty, pushing legislation to allow beer sales at markets, and gas station convenience stores looks good. BUT NOT SO FAST!

As expected, Pa. Beer Distributors have been fighting for years to allow the sale of six packs. Harrisburg says no. Now, a powerful lobby, led by the big beer companies, has infiltrated the State Legislature, desperately trying to allow groceries and smaller stores at gas stations to sell beer. That could put neighborhood beverage distributors out of business. But there are bigger issues.

This is a story that is important to consumers and parents. Alcohol is now the number one drug of choice for teenagers in Pennsylvania. Selling beer along with gasoline is a recipe for disaster.

What will happen to beer prices if you can’t buy the beer in bulk, by cases, as you now do at beer distributors? What do area police say about the ease of buying beer at markets where checking id’s could be very rough?  Rafferty talks about issuing licenses in mass. Who decides? Are we setting ourselves up for more corruption potential?

Why do I care? Because it’s another one of those Harrisburg schemes that look good, but avoid the issues of consumer pricing, and the public ‘s safety.

Will Rafferty guarantee that the enforcement will be so tough that underage drinkers will be safely barred from beer and drunk driving?

Parents, beer lovers unite: Don’t let this legislation slide through without checking the facts.

As the booze companies say: drink responsibly. I say: legislate responsibly.

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