HUFFPO: For the past two months, a major American magazine and an allied news service have been engaged in a legal battle with the United States Navy over records that they believe show that John McCain once was involved in an automobile accident that injured or, perhaps, killed another individual. Vanity Fair magazine and the National Security News Service claim to have knowledge “developed from first-hand sources” of a car crash that involved then-Lt. McCain at the main gate of a Virginia naval base in 1964, according to legal filings. The incident has been largely, if not entirely, kept from […]
SUSPENSION OF BELIEF: Reign Out
[Photo by STEVE IVES] Looks like we pick it up tomorrow, sixth inning, 2-2. Cute kid-wearing-a-Fanatic-costume pic after the jump…
FILIBUSTED: Ted Stevens Found Guilty On All Counts, Opening Door To A Filibuster-Proof Dem Majority
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska’s political patriarch. The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, added further uncertainty to a closely watched Senate race. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week. MORE DAILY KOS: Alaska disqualifies felons […]
DEATH OF PRINT: Inquirer Circulation Plunges In The Wake Of Outrageous Phawker Guest Editorial
EDITOR & PUBLISHER: For those holding out for some improvement in print circulation, this morning brings disappointment. The Audit Bureau of Circulations released the latest figures for the six- month period ending September 2008 and the report shows major drops in circulation at the big metros. According to ABC for the 507 newspapers reporting in this period, daily circulation slipped 4.6% to 38,165,848 copies. For the 571 papers, Sunday dropped 4.8% to 43,631,646 copies. For comparison purposes, in September 2007 reporting period, daily circ fell 2.6% and Sunday was down 4.6%. […] Daily circulation at The Philadelphia Inquirer slipped 11.0% […]
WINNER: Best Halloween Costume
DAILYKOS: So there I was, walking down the street minding my own business. I was sporting both my Obama ’08 baseball cap, and my “McCain + Palin = LIES” button. Suddenly, this short, angry old white guy runs up and punches me in the eye. I was so surprised I fell to the ground. Then he reached down, and using a sharp, yellowed fingernail he carved the letter “M” in my cheek. MORE HUFFINGTON POST: John Moody, executive vice president at Fox News, commented on his blog there that “this incident could become a watershed event in the 11 days […]
50 YEARS LATER: Still Kind Of Blue
DAILY NEWS: LIKE SO MANY occasions that turn out to be momentous in hindsight, the recording of Miles Davis’ landmark “Kind of Blue” album carried no special aura, no hint of the iconic future in store. “I just figured it was another good Miles Davis record,” shrugged drummer Jimmy Cobb. “Just one that I happened to be on.” It hardly needs to be said that Cobb’s impression is a vast understatement. In the 50 years since its release, “Kind of Blue” has come to be regarded as a landmark, the pinnacle not only of Davis’ output but perhaps of jazz […]
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: The Badlands
BY JEFF DEENEY Last week’s daylight shooting of multiply convicted drug gang leader Jose “Mostro” Ortiz and the wave of retaliatory carnage unleashed in the Badlands provides an opportunity to share some knowledge I’ve gained about that neighborhood’s inner workings. I learned a little bit about the Badlands both during the time I spent working there in social services (most recently as a school based behavioral health worker in an elementary school not far from the original murder scene) and through conversations with former and active addicts who have recently been involved in the area’s drug culture. Hopefully my contribution […]
KILLADELPHIA: 3 More Dead Since U Went To Bed
INQUIRER: Three overnight slayings capped a bloody weekend in the city as Philadelphia homicide detectives continued to search for shooters who on Thursday gunned down the leader of a North Philadelphia drug gang and his associate. Late Sunday, a 42-year-old man was shot four times shortly after 11 p.m. on the 1000 block of Pallas Street in West Philadelphia. The man, who has not been named by police, was pronounced dead at 5:23 a.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Investigators have no motive or suspects in the slaying. Early this morning, a 27-year-old man was shot once […]
STAMPA BAY: Phils Crush Rays 10-2
ESPN: As if Game 3 didn’t provide enough drama, Game 4 is just the same. When Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton hits a home run, things are going Philadelphia’s way. Can the Rays respond? Phillies 10, Rays 2
OCT. SURPRISE: U.S. Launches Attack INSIDE Syria
ASSOCIATED PRESS: DAMASCUS, Syria – U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack Sunday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as “serious aggression.” A U.S. military official said the raid by special forces targeted the foreign fighter network that travels through Syria into Iraq. The Americans have been unable to shut the network down in the area because Syria was out of the military’s reach. “We are taking matters into our own hands,” the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the […]
EDITORIAL: Why Whitey Can’t Vote
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER As a lifelong Caucasian, I am beginning to think the time has finally come to take the right to vote away from white people, at least until we come to our senses. Seriously, I just don’t think we can be trusted to exercise it responsibly anymore. I give you Exhibit A: The last eight years. In 2000, Bush-Cheney stole the election, got us attacked, and then got us into two no-exit wars. Four years later, white people reelected them. Is not the repetition of the same behavior over and over again with the expectation […]
SMELLS LIKE VICTORY: 150,000 In Colorado
[Photos by SAUL MORA, STACEYFIGEL, K/J WILSON, EBATTY & STROH78] ASSOCIATED PRESS: Roaring toward the finish, Barack Obama presided Sunday over two Colorado rallies that together drew about 150,000 people, a startling turnout in a key swing state. In Denver, the city where he claimed his historic presidential nomination, Obama stepped on stage and seemed surprised at his own following. He saw an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people — the largest U.S. rally to date in an Obama campaign full of them. “Goodness gracious,” Obama said as peered at the human mass in Civic Center Park. Smelling victory, […]
HOWARD POWER: Phils Win Game 3
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Carlos Ruiz finished off a madcap ninth inning with an infield single with the bases loaded, and the Phillies outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 early Sunday in Game 3 of the World Series for a 2-1 lead. This was midnight madness and then some on a rainy night that pushed the start to 10:06 p.m. and it wrapped up at 1:47 a.m. Ruiz, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard homered for the Phils, but it took three kooky plays to win it on a bases-loaded trickler with no outs. It all came down to this: Rays reliever J.P. […]