POLITICO: Top Democrats believe they have struck political gold by depicting Rush Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party, a full-scale effort first hatched by some of the most familiar names in politics and now being guided in part from inside the White House. The strategy took shape after Democratic strategists Stanley Greenberg and James Carville included Limbaugh’s name in an October poll and learned their longtime tormentor was deeply unpopular with many Americans, especially younger voters. Then the conservative talk-radio host emerged as an unapologetic critic of Barack Obama shortly before his inauguration, when even many Republicans […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Bible scholar Bart Ehrman says that the Gospels are at odds with each other on important points regarding the life, death and divinity of Jesus. In his new book, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them) Ehrman examines how these contradictions affect our understanding of the historical Jesus — and of the authors of the Gospels. Ehrman is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of more than a dozen books, including Misquoting Jesus and God’s Problem. JOHN POWERS: Near the end […]
THAT’S KLANTASTIC: Another Public Official Forced To Resign After Emailing A Racist Obama Cartoon
STATEN ISLAND LIVE: Several people have asked him to stop. But as of today, Salvatore Ballarino [pictured, below] was still forwarding e-mails of jokes that make him chuckle — and that, at times, make others feel very uncomfortable. “I just sent six or seven out today,” he said. “If I get an e-mail and I think it’s funny, I’m going to send it out.” Many people are questioning Ballarino’s judgment after the member of the all-volunteer Community Education Council District 31 forwarded an e-mail that has put Staten Island’s African American community into a fury. The e-mail, a mock photo […]
HEAR YE: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Now playing on Phawker Radio! At the Barbary May 6th! “…pitch-perfect noise pop, sounding like it’s 1991 all over again. Impenetrable fuzz and fey mannerisms? Check. Superchunk-like melody? You got it. Can’t miss.” – Dusted “…just screams for continuous replay, as the catchy boy/girl harmonies wonderfully gel with the jangly, distorted guitars that echoes early My Bloody Valentine and Black Tambourine.” – Yellow Stereo “If dreamy, ’80s-sounding indie pop is your thing, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart have your number in a big way.” – Time Out NY *** RICHARD NIXON: Does NOT Like Faggy Dope Movies YOUTUBE: […]
ARTSY: Banksy Strikes Again
[Photo by Romanywg] DAILY MAIL: He is perhaps the most famous, or infamous, artist alive. To some a genius, to others a vandal. Always controversial, he inspires admiration and provokes outrage in equal measure. Since Banksy made his name with his trademark stencil-style ‘guerrilla’ art in public spaces — on walls in London, Brighton, Bristol and even on the West Bank barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians — his works have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds. He is also known for his headline-making stunts, such as leaving an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner in Disneyland, California, and […]
REVIEW: The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon
BY JONATHAN VALANIA Anybody else bother watching Jimmy Fallon’s debut last night? I did and I’ll never get that hour back — and it will be sorely missed when the end comes and I am raging against the dying of the light. First problem: Fallon’s ‘This is a pity date’ attitude. Obviously trying to lower the bar of expectation, Fallon did the whole show like he was walking on eggshells. Message: Don’t be too hard on me, I’m scared, it’s dark and there’s wolves after me. Opening monologue/stand-up? Laugh-free and utterly forgettable. The second bit, Slow-Jamming The News, wherein Fallon […]
REPO MAN: Landlord Charges Outrageous Late Fee
DAILY NEWS: When Miguel Davilla got into an argument with a tenant at his unlicensed boarding home in Fairmount Saturday, he didn’t put him out in the cold — he put him out cold — and then placed his dead body in the makeshift coffin he had built out of scrap wood in the home, according to police. On Saturday, the back rent sparked an argument between Davilla and Woodson that ended with Davilla bludgeoning Woodson to death with a wooden baseball bat, Homicide Capt. James Clark said. Only one of the tenants, who knew of bad blood between Davilla […]
How U.S. Pot Laws Kill 6,000 Mexicans Annually
WALL STREET JOURNAL: At a press conference last week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that President Obama would keep a campaign promise by ending federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. This means that the weed will remain illegal to transport and sell — and thus highly profitable for criminals — but there will be fewer repercussions for those who use it in states with liberal marijuana laws. The administration says it wants to end federal infringement on the rights of states. But the consequence of the policy change will be stealth legalization — which will create the worst of […]
DJ KOOL: Let Me Clear My Throat
Wookified just dropped this weirdly touching psychodrama starring Obama, Steven Seagal and John McCain that’s sure to raise a lot of questions. We kindly ask that you direct them at him. Thanks in advance.
BREAKING: Inquirer Swallows Daily News
Early reports are confused and conflicting, but from what we can gather Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney is meeting with Daily News peeps as we type this, to discuss folding the Daily News into the Inquirer…DEVELOPING UPDATE: Just got off the phone with a DN newsroom source and here’s the deal: Starting March 30th, The Daily News will become ‘an edition of’ the Inquirer. This is largely a technicality, meaning no job cuts, both papers function pretty much as is, separate news staffs and managers, both competing for stories, etc. By making DN an ‘edition of’ The Inquirer, Philadelphia Newspapers […]
TONITE: Rare Bird Watching
*** REAL ESTATE: South St. Not Just For Drunken Fat Tuesday Titty Shows Anymore [Photo by NDBUTTER] ASSOCIATED PRESS: A touristy shopping strip is battling the economic crunch by turning over vacant storefronts to artists, hoping the creative community will again breathe new life into a neighborhood it brought back from the brink in the 1970s. The plan is to establish a “creative incubator” on the South Street corridor by giving artists nearly free rehearsal or work space (they pay utilities but no rent) in a high-traffic area they couldn’t otherwise afford — giving their endeavors a wider audience while […]
NEWS CLUES: Like A Torture Tape Of The Truth
BURN AFTER READING: CIA Destroyed 92 Torture Interrogation Tapes The CIA destroyed nearly 100 videotapes of interrogations and other U.S. treatment of terror suspects, far more than previously acknowledged, the Obama administration said Monday as it began disclosing details of post-Sept. 11 Bush-era actions. The interrogations were a highly contentious issue during the administration of President George W. Bush, with many Democrats and other critics saying that some methods used amounted to torture _ a contention Bush and other officials rejected. A criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter. Monday’s acknowledgment, however, involved a civil lawsuit filed […]
HOT DOC: Intelligent Design Is Stupid
[via YAWOOT] THE U.K. REGISTER: The [British] government has announced that it will publish guidance for schools on how creationism and intelligent design relate to science teaching, and has reiterated that it sees no place for either on the science curriculum. It has also defined “Intelligent Design”, the idea that life is too complex to have arisen without the guiding hand of a greater intelligence, as a religion, along with “creationism”. Responding to a petition on the Number 10 ePetitions site, the government said: “The Government is aware that a number of concerns have been raised in the media and […]