BY AMY Z. QUINN I have this Hillary Clinton fantasy. It’s something I’ve been, until now, reticent to share. Go figure. No, it’s not just about her being elected president, especially since that seems less and less a fantasy as Obama continues to plateau while Hillary’s air of inevitability continues to gain altitude, but about her inauguration. OK, OK, it’s really about the outfit she’d be wearing at her inauguration. My daydream ensemble looks nothing like that ill-advised number she sported at Bill’s first swearing-in — you remember, the one that made her look like Tinky-Winky? And my fantasy President […]
CLOSED ENCOUNTERS: Judge Tells NASA To Come Clean On 1965 Kecksburg, Pa. UFO Crash
WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA has agreed to search its archives once again for documents on a 1965 UFO incident in Pennsylvania, a step the space agency fought in federal court. The government has refused to open its files about what, if anything, moved across the sky and crashed in the woods near Kecksburg, Pa., 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Traffic was tied up in the area as curiosity seekers drove to the area, only to be kept away from the crash site by soldiers. The Air Force’s explanation for the unidentified flying object: a meteor or meteors. Eyewitnesses said a […]
SECOND GUESSING: The Case FOR John Edwards
BY LOREN R. DORGAN OF THE CONCORD MONITOR John Edwards says if he’s elected president, he’ll institute a New Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. To do it, he said, he’ll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes. Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government should underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called […]
WORTH REPEATING: Be Very Afraid, Please
BY BILL MAHER This week — as every week — all the Republican candidates talked about was who was toughest in the war on terror. While the country’s most populous state literally burned. The Democrats, as usual, said nothing, because they didn’t want to offend fire. The Republicans, including the scaremonger in chief, sell themselves as protectors of our safety. But since they’re all, except for McCain, armchair warriors, they’re only comfortable protecting us from fears they made up. Like the way Iran is itching for a war with the United States now. Ahmadinejad is pure evil! Terror has a […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Look Who’s Blogging!
Congratulations! If you are receiving this email, you have been credentialed for the NBC Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate at Drexel University. Attached to this email is the Media Logistics memo. This memo outlines the logistics aspects of the debate, services available to working journalists and general information helpful in planning your coverage of the October 30 Democratic Candidates Debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia. NBC’s “Terms and Conditions” for re-broadcast are in a forthcoming email. NBC will provide satellite coordinates for those outlets who wish to pull down its feed of the debate on October 30 and that information will be […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Always politically minded, chess master Garry Kasparov is now running for president of Russia. He’s the leader of an opposition coalition known as The Other Russia. He’s also published a new book, called How Life Imitates Chess: Making the Right Moves, from the Board to the Boardroom. In the mid-1980s, Kasparov became the youngest ever world chess champion. He was the highest rated chess player in the world from 1985 to his retirement in 2005. In that same year, Kasparov formed the United Civil Front party, with the mission of working to preserve electoral democracy in Russia. He […]
RIP: Porter Wagoner 1927-2007
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] It wasn’t very long ago that we saw Porter Wagoner onstage at Madison Square Garden, singing, playing guitar, sparkling like a sapphire. We feel even luckier now having made the trip to NYC, and as always, are stunned how fast cancer can take a life. [via CITIZEN MOM] LA TIMES: Porter Wagoner, 80 PREVIOUSLY: Porter Wagoner + The White Stripes, Live At Madison Square Gardens PREVIOUSLY: The Wagonmaster’s Comin’ PORTER WAGONER & THE WILLIS BROTHERS: I’ll Fly Away
MEDIA: FEAR OF A HOMELESS PLANET
BY JEFF DEENEY I was struck by a sense of déjà vu while looking at the Sunday Inquirer. They’ve gotten around to noting, once again, that the numbers of homeless men and women living on the streets — especially on the Parkway — are on the rise. Funny, if you remember this article from a little more than a year ago, you’ll notice that they’re essentially the same story, almost verbatim. Last year, the focus was on whether or not charity groups should be able to feed the homeless on the Parkway, and this year the focus is on a […]
QUESTION THE PARKING AUTHORITY: Stop Piracy!
BY PATRICK KERKSTRA INQUIRER STAFF WRITER When it comes to ruthless efficiency in local government, the Philadelphia Parking Authority would seem peerless. With an army of blue-uniformed parking enforcers blanketing Philadelphia each day, the agency has become one of the nation’s most aggressive towing, booting and ticket-writing juggernauts since state Republicans took control of it in 2001. The authority slaps nearly 1.6 million violation notices on the windshields of Philadelphia drivers annually, a 35 percent increase over 2001. Nearly 50,000 vehicles are towed, more than double the old figure. Meters require more feeding, the hourly rate at authority garages is […]
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Rain On The Scarecrow
PENNSYLTUCKY: Target Bin Laden, Strohl Valley, PA, Pop. 34, Sunday 3:47 PM [Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]