MIRAGE PEOPLE: The Capitol Years, Johnny Brendas, Sat. Night [FLICKR] [Photos by Jonathan Valania]
NY TIMES: BRING ME THE HEAD OF ABU GONZALES
UPDATE: “I think for the sake of the nation, Attorney General Gonzales should resign.”–Sen. Charles Schumer NEW YORK TIMES Editorial The Failed Attorney General During the hearing on his nomination as attorney general, Alberto Gonzales said he understood the difference between the job he held — President Bush’s in-house lawyer — and the job he wanted, which was to represent all Americans as their chief law enforcement officer and a key defender of the Constitution. Two years later, it is obvious Mr. Gonzales does not have a clue about the difference. He has never stopped being consigliere to Mr. Bush’s […]
FUNNY PAGES: No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn!
[Courtesy of Married To The Sea]
HIZZONER ’07: Jesus In It To Win It
BY MICHAEL CURRIE SHAFFER INQUIRER STAFF WRITER It’s not easy to be a minor mayoral candidate. The insiders mock you, the media ignore you, and the public has never heard of you. About the only time you get mentioned in a newspaper is on filing day, when some curious journalist sees your name, scratches his head, and wonders just who the heck you are. Like right now. So, for the record: Queena Bass and Jesus White — the self-styled Davids facing five Democratic Goliaths in this mayoral primary — both say they have a “calling.” White [pictured, right], who described […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
THE WOLF SURVIVES: Los Lobos/Taj Mahal, The Keswick, Thur. Night [FLICKR] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Taj Mahal doesn’t work too hard these days. Perched beneath a big ol’ floppy straw hat and a generously-sized Hawaiian shirt, he sits down when he plays guitar and lets a chorus pedal do all the heavy lifting. These days his voice sounds like he swallowed an alligator and washed it down with gasoline. Which was just fine with the capacity crowd of middle-aged Boomers who have turned to his music as soulful comfort food ever since his incendiary performance on the Rolling […]
SHOCKER: Patriot Act Misused! Constitution Abused! Private Lives Of 143,074 In The Homeland Spied Upon!
WASHINGTON, March 9 — The F.B.I. has improperly used provisions of the USA Patriot Act to obtain thousands of telephone, business and financial records without prior judicial approval, the Justice Department’s inspector general said today in a report that embarrassed the F.B.I. and ignited outrage on Capitol Hill.The report found that the bureau lacked sufficient controls to make sure that its agents were acting properly when they obtained records using administrative subpoenas [AKA, National Security Letters, or NSLs], which do not require a judge’s prior approval. And the report found that the bureau does not follow some of the rules […]
LIVE AID: These Are The CAPITOL YEARS Of Our Lives
BY AMY Z. QUINN You could call the Capitol Years’ show tomorrow at Johnny Brenda’s a comeback, as they haven’t played in town since November. You could call it the kickoff to the Philly contingent’s triumphant march toward Austin and next week’s South By Southwest Music Conference. “Or you could call it our fund raiser to pay for the trip to SXSW and back,” frontman Shai “Son of Eli” Halperin told me. The band’s most recent album, Dance Away the Terror [NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO] is only a few months old, its first single “Mirage People” — inspired by […]
Fox News Is Afraid Of Obama, VERY AFRAID
Not so much a news as an incredible simulation.
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
These are the cover stories that try the souls of alternative weekly art directors: A legendary newspaper columnist with a face for radio and an It Boy mixmaster with a radio for a face. I’ve seen this before: usually the AD in question will break down sobbing in the 11th hour before deadline, kicking and pounding the floor, IT CAN’T BE DONE! IT JUST CAN’T! they’ll scream. By this point the publisher will usually rush in, grab her by the arms, shake her, maybe slap her across the face once or twice until she snaps out of it (this sometimes […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY Singer and poet Patti Smith will be inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame on March 12. Smith got her start in the punk movement of the 1970s with the album Horses. Smith’s upcoming album, Twelve, is a collection of covers of classic rock tunes, including “Gimme Shelter,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Are You Experienced?” Twelve will be released on April 12. Smith will go on tour in Europe this spring. Originally broadcast on June 24, 1996. ALSO, R.E.M will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12. […]
HIZZONER ’07: Did Brady Fumble At The Goal Line?
BY DAVE DAVIES/DAILY NEWS You can lose an election at the ballot box, and sometimes you can lose one with the slip of a pen. Mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Bob Brady failed to list his city pension on the financial-interests statement he filed with his nominating petitions Tuesday, leaving him open to a challenge that could potentially end his campaign. “It may well be an error,” Brady campaign spokeswoman Kate Philips said late yesterday, “but it was not a purposeful omission. We plan to file an amendment.” But that may not be enough if another candidate challenges Brady’s candidacy in […]
MAILBAG: ‘I Was A Commie, Pinko, Fagot, Bastard’
—-Original Message Follows—- To: Dan Buskirk Subject: Re: Milkshake Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 23:07:27 -0800 (PST) Dan, Thanks for the great review. It still amazes me the reaction we get from audiences after all these years. And it’s particularly gratifying to hear that you get it. I still get my kicks sitting in the audience and listening to the reactions that occur in all the right places. It is interesting that people make comments that the dialog or attitude of the characters seem cliched, when in fact Captain was made in 1969 when most people acted and said what […]