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NBA scandal was predictable to all but NBA

Everyone saw this coming except the NBA. It seemed obvious: An industry built on winning money instead of earning it will attract those willing to break the rules to make a buck. And yet, when news broke last week about FBI arrests, including a current NBA head coach and player, those who have promoted the marriage of sports and gambling said they were shocked and disappointed. “I was deeply disturbed,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. And so I had a pit in my stomach, it was ...

Energy must remain priority

We know that the need for energy in both the U.S. and world is only growing. We’ve noted numerous times before that the role renewable energy can play in meeting that need will still be determined by as-of-yet-unrealized technological advances, and we’ve argued that until then, the United States and Pennsylvania need to be committed to meeting needs with conventional sources — natural gas and oil. We were encouraged that the Senate is looking at how to assist industries in exporting liquified natural gas. The reliability of foreign markets will improve the feasibility of ...

AI not yet ready for the courtroom

“Pro se” is a legal phrase that speaks to how an individual is represented in court. It is Latin, meaning “for self.” It refers to a party acting as his or her own advocate in a legal proceeding. While a lawyer may be the smart move, a person isn’t obligated to hire someone to do the job. There are obvious problems with this. Lawyers go to school for years to learn the ins and outs of the court system. Law school can have a high bar of entry to start. The education is a combination of grueling memorization, precise writing and creative problem solving. Even after all ...

Deposit insurance for billionaires?

Politicians in Washington have the shortest memories. Maybe that’s why they so seldom learn from their sometimes catastrophic mistakes. It was less than 20 years ago that the U.S. economy was flattened by the mortgage and banking crisis. Anyone remember? The experts said that the odds were tiny that the housing market could crash; that the federal housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would never need a bailout; that mortgage-backed securities were as good as gold. Then they crashed overnight spectacularly and devastatingly. Banks made riskier and riskier housing loans to ...

What world’s richest country can’t afford

Undermining the principles that made America wealthy is no way to fix poverty. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently participated in a CNN Town Hall. Sanders appears to be passing the socialist leadership torch to AOC. Don’t expect her to support collective ownership of that prize. You shouldn’t discount her ability to one day win the presidency either. As seen by the ascension of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party is increasingly comfortable with socialism. Many young people are, too. During their town hall, Sanders articulated the appeal. ...

Term-limits ordinance should respect principles

To understand where Williamsport is today, it may be helpful to reflect on where America was nearly 75 years ago. When the 22nd Amendment was passed to limit future presidents to two terms, President Harry S. Truman had not yet decided whether he would seek a third term. Nobody doubted he had the right to, or pretended he didn’t, because of what was then a deeply engrained principle of our democratic republic. Laws should not be applied retroactively. Attempting to entrap somebody who was engaged in an activity or behavior that had been legal should be recognized as an ...