I, POLLSTER: Phawker’s Hilariously Un-Scientific Pennsyltucky Primary Keystoned Cell Phone Poll

BY JONATHAN VALANIA A long time ago, in a Clinton campaign far, far away, James Carville famously declared that Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and Alabama in between. Aw, yeah: Pennsyltucky. We know thee well. It’s sort of like watching the Dukes Of Hazzard after smoking too much kielbasa. Like sweat socks with a Sunday suit. Like the Deer Hunter costumed by Wal-Mart. It’s the long dark Chicken Dance of the national soul. Lord help us all. Anyway, with the national press are already converging on the Keystone state to get some local color on their laptops, we feel an […]

INSTA-REVIEW: Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple

Now playing on Phawker Radio! Why? Because we love you! BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT Break open a bag of Funyuns! There’s a new Gnarls Barkley record! The dynamic duo of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo kicks off their new album with “Blind Mary,” a “cute” number about stalking a blind girl named Mary. How sweet! This one has that digital approximation of the ’60s Ed Sullivan sound, which seems to be this band’s bread and butter when not doing the Night at the Roxbury party music. I’m really feeling nostalgic for that “Groove Is in the Heart” band, Lisa Stansfield, […]

RASMUSSEN POLL: No Country For Old Men?

RASMUSSEN: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows John McCain’s lead growing against both potential Democratic opponents. McCain currently leads Barack Obama 49% to 42% and Hillary Clinton 51% to 41% margin (see recent daily results). African-American support for Clinton has collapsed, falling to 55% in the general election match-up. Obama, on the other hand, earns solid support from African-American voters but attracts only 36% of white voters in a match-up with McCain. Over the past month, McCain has gained ground in Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Both Democrats continue to lead in New York, […]

JUST IN: Flaming Lips To Headline ‘Jam On The River’

[Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA] INQUIRER: This year, The Jam is presenting two days of psychedelic sounds on the Delaware River with three nights of after-party concerts at area venues. Flaming Lips — the nation’s reigning weirdy-beardies — top the May 24 lineup at the Great Plaza on the waterfront. Also on the Saturday billet are Josh Ritter, RJD2 and Bassnectar. Disco Biscuits — Philadelphia’s celebrated noodles-with-jam band — top the May 25 music menu, which also includes Deadmau5, Avett Brothers, Lotus, and American Babies. MORE

NEW YORK TIMES: With Florida And Michigan Off The Table, Clinton Nomination Becomes ‘A Longshot’ At Best

NEW YORK TIMES: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton needs three breaks to wrest the Democratic presidential nomination from Senator Barack Obama in the view of her advisers. She has to defeat Mr. Obama soundly in Pennsylvania next month to buttress her argument that she holds an advantage in big general election states. She needs to lead in the total popular vote after the primaries end in June. And Mrs. Clinton is looking for some development to shake confidence in Mr. Obama so that superdelegates, Democratic Party leaders and elected officials who are free to decide which candidate to support overturn his […]

FREE TIBET: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

At least not in China. This footage is AMAZING. Never in my lifetime have I had cause to use the words “cathartic” and “orgy of destruction” in the same sentence. Until now. BUSINESS WEEK: Since riots broke out in Tibet last week, authorities have imposed martial law and tried to control the flow of information into and out of the region. The government has banned journalists and tourists from entering Tibet. And officials have imposed strict controls over the Internet in an effort to spin what happened in Tibet and neighboring provinces to conform with Beijing’s version of events.That’s resulted […]

VADER: Cheney Celebrates Five Long Years Of Making Beautiful War Fishing Off Sultan Of Oman’s Yacht

ASSOCIATED PRESS: The vice president’s visit to Oman, part of a 10-day trip to the Mideast, fueled speculation that the United States was ratcheting up military pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. As a quiet U.S. military ally, Oman allows the United States to use four air bases — including one just 50 miles from Iran — for refueling, logistics and storage of pre-positioned military supplies. Cheney denied that he’d stepped up his opposition to Iran’s nuclear policy. “I’ve been pretty consistent over time about Iran,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ratcheted up the rhetoric. I felt strongly […]

MEDIA: Kia Gregory Is Movin’ On Up!

INQUIRER: We’re very pleased to announce that Kia Gregory, a columnist and reporter for the Philadelphia Weekly, will be joining The Inquirer as a City Desk reporter on April 4. Kia grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Dobbins Vocational Technical High School, at 22nd and Lehigh, and worked for seven years as an accountant before the journalism addiction got her as a night student at Temple University. There, Kia’s gift for writing and her dedication to the craft became immediately apparent to all who came in contact with her. One of her professors, our own Howie Shapiro, remembers giving Kia […]

NPR 4 THE DEAF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006

RADIO TIMES w/ MARTY MOSS-COANE Hour 1 The Iraq War five-years later. Part One. We’ll start our conversation with FEISAL ISTRABADI who served as Iraq’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations from 2004-2007. We’ll talk to him about whether Iraqi leaders are making political progress needed to stabilize the country. Then CONRAD CRANE who co-authored the latest counter-insurgency manual for the U.S. military about how long we can sustain the current troop levels, and PAUL HUGHES who worked with the Coalition Provisional Authority right after the invasion on reconstruction programs. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 […]

TODAY I SAW: The Tao Of BB

[Photo by JUSTIN ROMAN] BY JEFF DEENEY On the corner of 57th and Arch, there’s a stuffed Tweety bird lashed to a tree. Large, black letters, “RIP BB,” are written in marker across the the bird’s oversized yellow forehead. Across the street is a dumpy Chinese takeout joint with a crew of corner boys posted up in front of it. It’s a warm, sunny late winter day and there’s a lot of foot traffic on the block. When the camera comes out and we start to shoot the curbside memorial the corner boys point at us, waving to each other […]