PREVIOUSLY: Why Louis CK Doesn’t Talk About Sarah Palin’s Vagina On Twitter Anymore PREVIOUSLY: “This message—even at a time of national crisis—was a base-rousing rallying cry, perpetuating her own victimhood and alleged bloodthirstiness of her opponents. One would have thought that Palin, like any responsible person in her shoes right now, could have mustered some sort of regret about the unfortunate coincidence of what she had done in the campaign and what happened afterwards. Wouldn’t you? If you had publicly defended a map with cross-hairs on a congresswoman’s district, and that congresswoman had subsequently been shot, would you not be […]
WEINERGATE: Breitbart Attempts To Slime Rep. Andrew Weiner With Bogus ‘Inappropriate Photo Sent To Young Girl’ Scam; Lamestream Media Takes Bait
NEW YORK TIMES: Representative Anthony D. Weiner, one of the most prolific users of social media among politicians, said his Twitter account was hacked this weekend when someone sent out a lewd photograph under his name to a young woman in Seattle. The episode unfolded Saturday night when it was reported on the Web site biggovernment.com, run by the conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. It played out all day Sunday on the Internet, with Mr. Weiner, a Democrat who represents part of Brooklyn and Queens, addressing the matter on his own Twitter and Facebook accounts, and with bloggers from the left […]
SIDEWALKING: Flags Of Our Fathers
War Veteran Cemetery, Syracuse, New York 10:01 AM by JEFF FUSCO
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
SOUND OPINIONS This week Jim and Greg are joined by Mike Watt of the Minutemen, a band that changed the game of punk rock. The San Pedro hardcore group was founded by Watt, drummer George Hurley, and larger than life lead singer and guitarist D. Boon, who died in 1985. That was shortly after the release of their hugely influential album Double Nickels on the Dime. Before then, punk rock was about breaking the rules, but it actually had many of its own. The Minutemen threw that out and began experimenting with their sound, jamming out and incorporating jazz and […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
Willie Nelson, Mann Music Center, 10:09 PM by JONATHAN VALANIA
RIP: Gil Scott-Heron, Godfather Of Rap, Dead At 62
“THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED”~a CLASSIC from BABA GIL SCOTT-HERON from jabari akhenamen on Vimeo. THE GUARDIAN: The musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron – best known for his pioneering rap The Revolution Will Not Be Televised – has died at the age of 62, having fallen ill after a European trip. Scott-Heron’s spoken word recordings helped shape the emerging hip-hop culture. Generations of rappers cite his work as an influence. He was known as the Godfather of Rap but disapproved of the title, preferring to describe what he did as “bluesology” – a fusion of poetry, soul, blues and […]
CINEMA: Hair Of The Dawg
BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC One good drink deserves another and when the original Hangover grossed nearly half a billion dollars in 2009, it was a sure thing that the Wolfpack was going to be back for a second round. Phil, Stu, and Alan are definitely the guys with which you still love to party yet how ironic that a film about cutting loose should be so unimaginative about how to run wild. It’s the difference between the expectations of a film that costs 40 million dollars and has no stars and being a $80 million dollar film that’s […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
Raphael Saadiq, Electric Factory, last night by JONATHAN VALANIA BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER If there is anything that Raphael Saadiq can’t do, it is only a slight exaggeration to say that scientists have yet to discover it. Sing? Check. Pipes of gold. Write songs? Check. Everything from classic old-school soul readymades to new-school R&B bump-and-grind. Play guitar? Check. He shreds like Ike Turner minus the coke and violence. Produce? Check. In addition to giving his own records a vintage Motown flavor, he’s twiddled the knobs for everyone from D’Angelo and Joss Stone to Macy Gray and Mary J. […]
RECKONING: Ratko Mladic, Europe’s Most Wanted War Criminal, Captured After 15 Years On The Run
NEW YORK TIMES: Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general accused of war crimes including masterminding the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995, has been captured in Serbia after more than 15 years as one of the world’s most wanted fugitives. Serbian news reports said that Mr. Mladic had been living under the name of Milorad Komadic and that he was captured in the small farming town of Lazarevo in Vojvodina, the Serbian province north of Belgrade, after authorities received a tip that the man known as Komadic resembled Mr. Mladic and had identification […]
Pedo Priest Scandal Rocks Archdioces Run By Pope’s Right Hand Man On Reforming Abusive Priests
LA STAMPA: The latest sex-abuse case to rock the Catholic Church is unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian Cardinal who has been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to respond to prior scandals of pedophile priests. Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. “I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for […]
ARAB SPRING: The Trouble With Saudi Arabia
BLOOMBERG NEWS: In his speech last week on the Middle East, President Barack Obama left little doubt that America stands with the people of the region in their demand for change. This puts the U.S. on a collision course with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has emerged as the leader of a new rejectionist front that is determined to defeat popular demand for reform. One would have expected Iran to lead such a front, but instead it is America’s closest Arab ally in the region that is seeking to defeat our policy. Though the president made no mention of Saudi Arabia […]
GASLAND: Who Died & Made Grover Norquist Elvis?
[Illustration by DONKEY HOTEY] PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Gov. Tom Corbett may be seeking opinions from his shale commission whether the state Senate-proposed drilling impact fee is a tax, but the group whose no-tax pledge he signed has issued its decree: it breaks the pledge. “Make no mistake, this proposal is a tax increase based on any honest and objective analysis,” Norquist wrote in a letter to Sen. Mary Jo White, whose committee would need to approve the impact fee, and other lawmakers. “As such, a vote in favor of Senate Bill 1100 also represents a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, […]
BOOKS: How To Spot A Psychopath
THE GUARDIAN: It was visiting hour at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital and patients began drifting in to sit with their loved ones at tables and chairs that had been fixed to the ground. They were mostly overweight, wearing loose, comfortable T-shirts and elasticated sweatpants. There probably wasn’t much to do in Broadmoor but eat. I wondered if any of them were famous. Broadmoor was where they sent Ian Brady, the Moors murderer, and Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper. A man in his late 20s walked towards me. His arm was outstretched. He wasn’t wearing sweatpants. He was wearing a pinstripe jacket and trousers. He […]