PHILADELPHIA — All men may be created equal, but all voices are not. Actor James Earl Jones read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence in his unmistakable baritone on Tuesday, the day before Independence Day. The reading took place at the National Constitution Center during the unveiling of one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. The nearly 800-year-old “Great Charter,” which helped inspire the Declaration, is on loan from Great Britain’s Lincoln Cathedral. It will be displayed for three weeks beginning Wednesday. ASSOCIATED PRESS: The Magna Carta, Eh? WIKIPEDIA: “Magna Carta was originally written because of disagreements between […]
PHILLY MAG: Did CIA LSD Create Our Monster?
John Cassidy, Heidnik’s best friend in Philadelphia: I met Gary in ’74 or ’75 in Philly. He claimed the Army gave him LSD while he was in Germany. Sometime over there, he had a nervous breakdown. A legitimate, real nervous breakdown. And then he said he got this brilliant idea. He said, when he came out of it, why the hell should I come out of it if I can get disability? He formed his own religion after he left the Army. I believe it was originally just a tax scam, but towards the end he was believing that stuff. […]
NO FUN: Jersey Gets Medieval On Firecrackers
But State police major John Hunt says the other message in the crackdown is for parents who believe fireworks are a rite of passage and sparklers can’t be harmful to children: “Would you let your child put their hand over an open flame? And yet a sparkler has the propensity of burning at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit or more, depending upon the phosphorous and magnesium, some of the chemical makeup.” KYW: Where The Nanny State Meets The Police State
GAMBLOR: The Fart Of The Deal Part II
In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz: Ha-ha!
DISCLOSURE: 150 NJ Sex Offenders On MySpace
TRENTON, N.J. – Nearly 150 convicted New Jersey sex offenders had profiles on the social networking Internet site MySpace.com, with more than half either probation or parole, the state attorney general said Tuesday. “We have the proof in hand to confirm the worst fears of New Jersey’s concerned parents and educators , that sex offenders are active on Web sites used by children and teenagers,” Attorney General Anne Milgram said. The names of the registered sex offenders were turned over to the state after the Attorney General’s Office issued a May 21 subpoena. A second subpoena was served on June […]
KILLADELPHIA: 1 More Dead Since You Went To Bed
Just before 11:30 p.m., police found a man with multiple gunshot wounds in the 2400 block of Morris Street in South Philadelphia, police said.He was pronounced dead at the scene minutes later, according to Officer Beth DiDonato. Terence Foman, 29, lived in the 6200 block of Pine Street in the Cobbs Creek section of the city. Police are looking for motives and suspects in the case, which is the city’s 204th homicide this year, DiDonato said. (Although 206 cases were initially reported as murders, two were later ruled to have occurred in self-defense.) [via the INQUIRER]
BREAKING: BUSH COMMUTES LIBBY SENTENCE
WASHINGTON — President Bush spared former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak investigation Monday, delivering a political thunderbolt in the highly charged criminal case. Bush said the sentence was just too harsh. Bush’s move came just five hours after a federal appeals panel ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. That meant Libby was likely to have to report soon, and it put new pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby’s allies to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. “I […]
REALITY CHECK: Executing A Former Child Prostitute Like Karla Faye Tucker Was ‘Excessive,’ Sentencing Libby To Two Years For Lying To The FBI Is The Law
BY SISTER HELEN PREJEAN In his autobiography, Bush claimed that the pending execution of Karla Faye Tucker “felt like a huge piece of concrete…crushing me.” But in an unguarded moment in 1999 while traveling during the presidential campaign, Bush revealed his true feelings to the journalist Tucker Carlson. Bush mentioned Karla Faye Tucker, who had been executed the previous year, and told Carlson that in the weeks immediately before the execution, Bianca Jagger and other protesters had come to Austin to plead for clemency for her. Carlson asked Bush if he had met with any of the petitioners and was […]
LIVE & DIRECT: Presidential Candidates Forum
PROFILE IN COURAGE: John Edwards works the crowd AMY Z. QUINN REPORTS: Today I liveblogged ACORN’s presidential forum at Bright Hope Baptist Church at 12th and Columbia in North Philadelphia. Mayor-apparent Mike Nutter spoke, followed by his political frenemy, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, but the big names were presidential contenders Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. Here’s a stitched-together version of the day’s events, stinkin’ inverted triangle be damned. About Bright Hope Baptist Church: It isn’t a terribly fancy church, especially for someone used to the Catholic more-is-more approach to things like marble, paintings and fancy vestments. Bright Hope […]
MEDIA: Man On The Street Interviews With Fat No-Neck White People And Their Horrible Cracker Spawn STILL Functionally Useless To Readers
In North Carolina, Lawson explained, “We’re much more courteous.” The pace of life back home, she said, makes Philadelphia seem maniacal. “If I lived here,” said Lawson’s colleague Lola Decacus, “I’d have to be on something.” Realizing how that sounded, she clarified. “High blood pressure medicine.” In contrast, Meg Kroll from Fort Lauderdale found Philadelphia positively mellow. “Everybody’s angry in Florida. It’s a more aggressive environment. Many people in South Florida have forgotten the basic ability to be courteous.” She and her entourage were passing a parking garage when a car tried to exit. “We were blocking the sidewalk. He […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse, who’s been covering the United States Supreme Court since 1978, talks about the just-concluded court term, the landmark decisions handed down last week, and issues facing the court in its next session. PLUS, rock historian Ed Ward profiles songwriter Doc Pomus, the Brooklyn-born blues singer and songwriter who died in 1991. Born Jerome Solon Felder, he survived a childhood case of polio and went on to write hits for Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, among others. His songs include “Lonely Avenue,” “Viva Las Vegas” and “Save the Last Dance for […]
GAMBLOR: The Fart Of The Deal
ATLANTIC CITY – Unhappy with the bids it received, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. announced today it is no longer for sale. The company headed by celebrity dealmaker Donald Trump, issued a statement today saying its board of directors concluded that “none of the indications of interest received to date for the acquisition of the company represented or was likely to lead to a transaction that was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.” Trump had been seeking $2.2 billion, including the assumption of $1.5 billion in debt, for the company’s three Atlantic City casinos. Shares of Trump […]
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN: Royal Marines Under Fire
WARNING: Liberal use of the word “fookin”