BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY In the spring of 1969, four activists from the Philadelphia chapter of the Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) were arrested for plotting to blow up the Liberty Bell after the police found bomb-making materials in the refrigerator of their West Philly apartment. According to the police, the planned destruction of the Liberty Bell was part of a larger plot hatched by a network of student radicals to destroy national landmarks across the country. The shocking news spread quickly when footage of the police search of the apartment — captured by a KYW […]
SH*T MY UNCLE SAYS: Don’t Ask And Don’t Be A Dick
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY Don’t you just love it when the opposition party shows its true colors in public? The other day, during a publicized Republican presidential wannabes debate, when a gay active serviceman asked Rick Santorum how he would handle an individual such as himself (vis-a-vis repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell), many in the audience booed the soldier. Let me repeat that: They BOOED him! That’s right, they actually booed an active-duty American serviceman who is putting his LIFE on the line for those very same assholes day after day in Iraq! Of course, the fact that a […]
JUDAS PRIEST: Monsignor Indicted For Enabling & Covering Up Priest-On-Child Rape Gets Standing O
INQUIRER: Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church official awaiting trial for allegedly protecting sexually abusive priests, drew words of encouragement from Philadelphia’s new archbishop and a standing ovation from scores of priests at a private gathering last month, according to people familiar with the event. During the invitation-only dinner for Archbishop Charles J. Chaput at a parish hall in Montgomery County, Chaput singled out Lynn in the crowd and noted how difficult the ordeal has been for him, according to one priest who attended and two people briefed by others at the gala. Much of the audience, which included […]
EARLY WORD: We The People
Nearly 1,000 turned out tonight to decide where and when to occupy. The verdict: City Hall, Thursday at 9 AM. Bring a blanket. PREVIOUSLY: U SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION PREVIOUSLY: The Declaration Of The Occupation PREVIOUSLY: The People Are Too Big To Fail #OccupyPhilly General Assembly, Arch Street United Methodist Church, 7:30 PM
HANK: Are You Ready For Some Football To Eat Crow?
REUTERS: After his “All My Rowdy Friends” song was yanked from the “Monday Night Football” opening by ESPN later that day in protest, Williams issued a statement acknowledging that his “analogy was extreme” but insisting it was intended to illustrate how ludicrous he thought it was for Obama and Boehner to team up at golf. “They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will,” the bearded singer said. Williams, 62, was scheduled to return to the Fox News Channel with an interview on Tuesday on the “Hannity” show, but the network told Reuters that […]
TONITE: Welcome To The Occupation
OccupyPhilly will be holding a General Assembly tonight. When: Today October 4, 2011 Time: 6:30PM-9:00PM Where: Arch Street United Methodist Church at Broad and Arch st More info: Go here and here We will be voting on a location on where to occupy. So come out and support the movement!
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass had made a fortune betting against the subprime mortgage market when it collapsed in 2008. And now Bass is set to make lots more — from a Greek default. Bass’ story is chronicled in Michael Lewis’ latest book, Boomerang: The Meltdown Tour, which tells the stories of the fiscal recklessness in both Europe and the U.S. that led to the current debt crisis. Lewis tells Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross that Bass realized that governments around the world weren’t ending the 2008 financial crisis — they were just delaying it. So Bass decided that […]
THE EARLY WORD: Hell Hath No Fury
At the Painted Bride January 10th-14th. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting on Tuesday, October 11 at 12pm and can be purchased at paintedbride.org, by phone at 215.925.9914 or in person at 230 Vine street. Box office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm – 6pm. LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well into her 50s, she still looks fabulous — and recognizable. (Clearly, she prefers plastic surgery tune-ups to a complete overhaul.) Dressed in a chicer-than-chic black-and-silver dress, her flaming red hair arrayed like Medusa after a supermodel makeover, she takes command of the stage with the authority of someone […]
CINEMA: Highway 61 Revisited
BY ALEX POTTER Two-Lane Blacktop, starring a pre-fame James Taylor and a post-fame Dennis Wilson, has been called the quintessential road movie. The mysterious, stoic and taciturn Driver (the progenitor of Ryan Gosling’s The Driver character in Drive?) is played by Taylor and his equally mysterious and stoic sidekick, The Mechanic, is played by Wilson. Director Monte Hellman, who went on to co-produce such celebrated indie films such as Reservoir Dogs and Buffalo ’66, deliberately selected non-actors to portray the Driver and the Mechanic. Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and James Caan were all interested in the role that the […]
MAPS & LEGENDS: Occupy Wall Street Going National
MOTHER JONES: Now in its third week, the loose-knit protest movement known as Occupy Wall Street has stirred action from New York City to Los Angeles and many cities in between. While questions remain about the anatomy and goals of the movement, one thing is clear: It has grown in scope, tapping into widespread American anxiety about the grim economy and anger over corporate greed and the increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. Here we present a view of protest activity from coast to coast and the movement’s growth thus far. What began as a call […]
CHRISTIE: I Am Sick Of This Crap, What Part Of ‘I Am Not Friggin’ Running’ Don’t You Understand?
CBS NEWS: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination, saying that while he thought seriously about entering the presidential race, “now is not my time.” Christie said he made his final decision last night and told those closest to him this morning. He said he went to the bed last night “knowing exactly what I wanted to do” for the first time in weeks. He declined the chance to close the door on a future presidential run, saying he is “not going to preclude any employment in the future.” The New […]
WORTH REPEATING: The People Are Too Big To Fail
CHRIS HEDGES: The state and corporate forces are determined to crush this. They are not going to wait for you. They are terrified this will spread. They have their long phalanxes of police on motorcycles, their rows of white paddy wagons, their foot soldiers hunting for you on the streets with pepper spray and orange plastic nets. They have their metal barricades set up on every single street leading into the New York financial district, where the mandarins in Brooks Brothers suits use your money, money they stole from you, to gamble and speculate and gorge themselves while one in […]
HOT DOC: The Declaration Of The Occupation
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, […]